"Aye girl. I expect all kinds of things to be assaulting the ship. Supposedly a group of harpies live in a storm around here, but they don't worry me. Damn Elemental Drakes worry me, as the goddamned things like when a good morsel wanders close to the storm, as it means they can pick it up, eat it safely around the storm, and keep having a good day." Raven Hayes continued to go about the deck, making sure that the weapons, and everything was being set to his satisfaction before moving forward.

"Course, who knows what else lingers in the storm? Not like we have an experienced set of people who wander into storms and know whats going on. So, we'll need to be ready, cause I don't plan on going down without a damn fight." As the cannons were all pulled out and put in place, the ammo and weapons all ready, Raven turned back to the few mages who announced some intentions.

"That crossbow you have there looks like it could get the job done. I don't know what kind of mess we could get into, but I don't think the storm will show mercy." Walking by a crewmember, Raven grabbed a modified crossbow of his own and checked it, checking the autoloading crossbow before lowering it.

"Keeping the outer shell intact? A fair idea, though I wonder how you will manage it. I do not think the storm will simply let us...keep all of our armor handy. The assistance will go well though, especially with an icy cover as well. Hopefully the mix of steel and ice would make an effective shield. If you think you can handle it? And how close to the edge will you need to be to enforce this...armor?"

The ship slowly was circling back so as to set up what almost seemed to be a running distance until it would charge into the storm. The crew were still finishing up getting read on the decks and below decks, strapping down anything that might be launched free, and closing up whatever doors that might swing open causing issues if they were hit by something. The Dead Iron was armored up, and ready to charge and challenge the storm that sat in front of it.

"You know, with how you mages are going about all this, I think we'll get along just fine as we go about our business." Raven commented as Alice, the crewmember from before, walked up to confirm that things on one of the lower decks were prepared. "Course, I imagine that's a bit premature as we haven't even wandered through the storm yet. If you got a bigger and faster idea for the storm, speak it soon or prepare to defend the ship!"

Drew had drifted around the ship before, taking some food and finding corners to nap in. He had gone from sleeping to walking back to sleeping a few times before they arrived at the storm. He had no words for what he was looking at. It was always on the horizon, but to see it this close was overwhelming. And the big guy was planning on going through it. Of course he was. Because that made perfect sense. Sure, they were not going directly through the storm itself, but it was close enough that Drew was starting to wonder if Raven was actually insane. This matter with the northern academies caught his interest, but he'd wait until the current crisis was dealt with.

He now chimed in, ready to play his part. "I can reinforce any ice that's made. I'm not skilled in the Blizzard path, but I know some of the basics. If anything gets close, I can try to redirect it." He doubted he could blow away a Drake, whatever that was, but he could give the harpies some trouble. He had limited offensive options, but he was confident he could pull his weight defending the ship. He was confident enough that he would stick with his own element and not use any of the weapons on the ship. "I mean, how bad could it be?" he said, knowing full well that it could be worse than he could imagine. But there was no need to remind the others of that.

How bad could it be, Hidalgo said, and Vanahara's lips twitched. How bad could it be indeed. In short, very, very bad.

"I won't need much extra metal, sir," she answered the Commander. "I plan on keeping it where it is, not building a new hull." She gestured to Nataly and Eve, nodding to them in turn. "Any pieces we lose, they should be able to patch, at least for a while. Hopefully, they won't need to." Vana folded her hands behind her back again, swaying slightly to one side as she considered the problem of getting close enough to be able to hold the metal together. "Ideally, I'd be outside," she said slowly, considering. "Obviously, though, that won't work. In this case, the maintenance catwalks should work well enough." It would involve a lot of running around from danger spot to danger spot, but there was a reason she kept herself fit. If she thought she couldn't handle it, she'd speak up; Vanahara wasn't prone to false pride.

"I can handle keeping the energy of the others up and helping those who get injured in the inevitable shaking of the ship as we travel. Being hit by winds and elements will be bound to injure a few. Mira can handle protecting the ship from some of the energies of this storm."

Alexander said after thinking his position over a bit. He had spent his free time playing cards with some of the men in the mess hall. Getting to know them and their stories while learning of their culture as well. It had been an enlightening experience to hear how the lives of these men and women were both the same and different from his own. Now however he prepared himself to heal any who might get injured or aid any mages who may grow tired during their surely long journey through the storm. If nothing else he could keep some of the younger mages from passing out.

The Commander laughed, almost heartless in this case as the mages began to go to where they could either begin to coat the ship in an icy armor, or taking the metals and bending them to a more impressive and solid defense for what they were about to do. He couldn't claim to have jumped through this kind of mess before, but might as well learn what this storm was capable of. He took one last look over the entire ship, musing at how the now ice covered warship was a sight to behold.

"FULL AHEAD! WE EITHER END UP ON THE OTHER SIDE, OR CRASH CLOSE ENOUGH THAT WE WALK IT!" Raven shouted, to which those on the decks cheered as the ship's propellers picked up speed, and the ship began its charge into the storm. Once it breached the initial clouding of elemental storms slamming into the ship, it turned into another world under the storm.

Jagged mountains were in some areas, having lava flowing from some, water flowing from others. The pillars all seemed to change constantly, with water suddenly changing to a flow of small boulders, then to light pouring from the openings. The view could only be noted for a moment, as the sky had not relented during their initial charge. Stones slammed into the side of the ship, chipping away at the ice shield that had been made around it, then to be replaced and sometimes in tandem met with suddenly lightning strikes, which the metal armor took simply. Still more elements struck. At first, the ride seemed almost simple with the storm not being as heavy through the path they were taking.

Then creatures began to flock from the mountains. It almost seemed like they were half dragons, with only having hind legs, and wings, but their intent was clear to attack, and they looked quite hungry. Alongside them were harpies, who seemed to be pushing the drakes onward, seeming intent on also taking on the ship. What was most surprising was the number of them flying out of the stones, almost coming in waves. As they began to swoop in close, the cannons began to fire, blasting some of the beasts and harpies out of the sky. Others began to try to jump onto the deck to try and take what they could, and go after whatever crew they met.

"CANNONEERS KEEP FIRING! EVERYONE ELSE, KILL THEM!" Raven shouted, turn his attention to a drake that had landed on deck snarling at him, leaping at it and drawing a blade that slammed into the creature's face, which caught the creature off guard as the sudden steel slamming and cutting through much of the top part killed it. However, there was no shortage of other enemies, as a pair of harpies now demanding his attention. Much like the rest of the crew, the mages were no exception to the drakes wanting to make meals of them, or the harpies wanting to take them away to enjoy later.

All the while, the storm became increasingly fierce, with more of the armor being at some points suddenly blasted away by a lightning bolt of shadows, or a beam of light suddenly focused on a part of the ice armor, leaving it open to the boulders and fire lancing around the ship.

"All right, Kei. Time for introductions." Ling pulled out an autoquiver and loaded it into her crossbow with a satisfying click. The first bolt dropped into place automatically. Taking aim was rather more difficult than usual, what with the dozens of wings flapping about. Ling tried to focus: the ship's deck was the biggest concern, not the fascinating storm and its constant chaotic shifting. Drakes. Harpies. She'd never met either, but from their attitude towards the Jurai crew, she didn't expect they would sit down to chat.

Ling adjusted her aim slightly and pulled the trigger, punching a bolt into the wing of one of the drakes. A nearby harpy spun to face the alchemist, propelling itself forward with a push from its own pair. Ling just yanked on the reload lever and brought her weapon to bear. That second to reload was all she had before the fiend was up close and personal, screeching and swiping at her tunic. The physical characteristics of a harpy were best appreciated from a distance: it had a face only a mother could love, its skin was black-grey, its talons were filthy... and it stank to high heaven.

The harpy slashed at Ling, and she felt talons tear fabric and skin in equal measure. She winced. But she held on and rammed Kei into its chest, knocking it back a couple feet. The drastic measure gave her the opportunity to fire a bolt into the harpy, clean through the leather it presumably wore as armour. A second bolt was enough to kill it, leaving it bleeding on the deck. Ling scrambled backwards, having no interest in stepping anywhere near the reeking body. She quickly glanced down at the injury the harpy had caused: it didn't seem to be bleeding too badly. Maybe she could ignore it for now, but it would need attending to later. Right now, there were more of the foul things to put down.

She reloaded Kei - twelve rounds left in the quiver - and began to look for a new opening to shoot something.

Horatio had managed to migrate below the deck in the time prior to the attack. He helped the crew members in the weapons room, assisting with arming the cannons. It was simple, familiar work, similar to a gig he had on a tour he traveled a few years back. As the ship began into the storm, the young rogue could easily hear the sounds of swirling winds and crackling energies smashing up against the ship. It was to be expected, they were flying through a storm after all, but the sounds of screeching and scratching were what really got his attention. The hands posted at their battlestations, and fired off the cannons and prepped to rearm for more. Joey did his best to keep up with some of the more expedient workers, patting down the gunpowder before loading the cast iron ammunitions. Through all the commotion and noise, Commander Raven's command came through loud and clear.

As Joey and a crewmate pushed a cannon back into firing position, something from the outside gave it a hard tug. Before the cannon's wick could be lit, another extremely firm tug yanked the cannon out of its post, taking a crew member with it. Joey may've not seen of the mate's demise, but he could hear his screams spontaneously silenced by the crunching of bone and gnashing of teeth. Before Joey had time to curse, an imposingly large, dark feathered monstrosity eagerly entered the hole the cannon once occupied. It hastily squeezed its way in, screeching and snapping at the men that dared to oppose it.

"Bloody hell-!" Joey exclaimed, dancing back a few steps as the monster thrashed about the war room. "This must've been one'a the harpies the Commander talked about." His thoughts were rather calm for someone laying eyes on such a thing for the first time. He let out a long, absentminded whistle, one that immediately got the harpy's attention. Joey looked as if he might've mistakenly said something inappropriate. "Oops. I didn't just insult you in your bird language, did I?" He asked, beginning to ease back with a hand slowly edging towards his pouch. In a flash the harpy flapped and bolted towards him, only to receive a handful of sand to its beady, black eyes.

"SCRAWWWW!" The harpy screamed as it reeled back and forth, noticeably blinded by the dirty move. Never the one to waste a perfect opportunity, Joey pounced onto the beast, successfully performing a guillotine grapple 'round the stank beast's neck. This move was hard to hold however, as the harpy possessed more strength than Horatio could anticipate. With a simple flex upwards, Joey was flipped head over heels, right over the birdy's backside. The dusty Earthshaper scrambled back to his feet. It was still impaired, for the most part, its feathery appendages made it a challenge to really get the stuff out. As it continued to crash and thrash about, Joey exchanged glances between the entrance leading to the top deck, and the other frightened crew hands occupying the space with him. "I'm gonna need another strategy..." He pondered. Maybe he could just rush it again.

Vanahara nodded, moving to take her position in the middle of the deck. She didn't have long until they were in the thick of the storm, and she needed to bolster their defenses before then. Setting her feet firmly, she brought up her hands, moving through an Ironworker form—a simple one made not-so-simple by sheer size as the metal plating of the ship's hull began to thicken at key points. Glancing up at the storm again, Vanahara quirked a brow and stabbed her fingers upward, drawing a lightning rod up slowly from the stern of the ship. No use having the whole hull electrified. Thick ice began creeping over the plating, and Vana nodded to the hydromancers in thanks.

The wind began to pick up, and a thought occurred to her. She'd never been on an airship before, but her home had used sand gliders to travel long distances—living so close to the storm made for near-constant winds—and one piece of equipment was always present. Striding over to one of the masts, she found what she was looking for, the one thing that was always available on a ship—rope. Taking three separate ends, she lashed them quickly to an available metal ring, taking an extra moment to bind the metal itself to both the rope and the mast it was attached to. With the opposite end of one rope, she pressed it to the metal at her belt, and the iron began to worm its way through the fibers of the rope itself—the most secure hold she could manage. Walking back to the middle of the deck, she tossed the other two ropes to the two Hydromancers, Celeste and Andrade.

"Tie them around your waists," Vanahara said shortly. "Helps you keep your feet." Satisfied that they'd be able to knot a rope by themselves, she moved about halfway towards the prow of the ship, setting her feet and taking a deep breath as the ship picked up speed and slammed full tilt into the edge of the Storm.

It was like nothing she'd ever experienced. Living a few kilometers from the very outskirts of the Storm was one thing; standing on an open deck while it raged around you was quite another. Still, though, she kept herself rooted to the deck, and when things started coming out of the storm, she didn't flinch. Her fists clenched, and the metal of her bracers began to spread and sharpen.

Keeping hold of the hull as she was, she felt it when it was breached, head whipping around as she sensed the harpy tearing into the cannon bay. She was no Master—she couldn't grab a cannon out of the sky, not in this wind, and she didn't dare try to take control of the beams of metal flying through the sky, not when they were bound with light like that. What she could do was try to make up the loss.

"Lost a cannon on the starboard side!" she shouted, turning over her shoulder to face the hydromancers. "Patch the hole if you can!"

Turning on her heel, she slammed her fist into an oncoming harpy who thought it had found a distracted meal, the point of her now-sharpened gauntlet biting deep. Ducking under the creature's talons as it gurgled on its own blood, she came up under it, digging her shoulder into it's stomach and heaving. The mortally wounded thing went flailing over the side, it's claw hooking into Vanahara's belt, and she would have gone over too if not for the rope attached to her belt.

Almost immediately, Vana swung back into her position, feet spread as she regained her grasp on the hull. While the beasts were more likely to go after the easy pickings on the deck, flaming stones and shards of the light-metal could do just as much damage while she was distracted. Now, though, she could focus again, and she straightened out and reinforced dents as quickly as they appearaed. Locking her arms, Vanhara grimly thought to herself that she'd be on her knees and bleeding out before she let this hull crack.

Eve nodded to Nataly, Drew, and Vanahara before going over to the starboard side of the ship and beginning to coat it with ice. Luckily the air was full of water and ice already from the proximity of the Storm, it was a simple matter to pull it from the air and cover the ship. Within a couple of minutes she and Nataly had the entire ship covered, and she could sense where Vanahara was strengthening the hull from where the ice was forced to move.

Then they entered the storm. It was amazing, like they were transported to an entirely different planet, but it didn't take long until Eve was focused again on keeping the layer of ice around the ship. small bits of earth and lightning consistently broke the ice, the electricity in the lightning being grounded by the metal hull and heating it up to melt the ice around it at the same time. However, as fast as the Storm's elements were breaking their shield, she and Nataly were replacing it just as quickly.

She was distracted a moment by the rope that Vanahara had tossed to them, and she nodded her thanks as she quickly tied the rope around her waist. Trusting the knot to be strong enough, she turned back to her ice, pulling some from the storm to patch where the other elements of the storm kept breaking the shield of ice. She began to get annoyed at how the elements of the storm seemed to be working together to defeat their efforts.

When Vanahara yelled to them that there was a cannon lost Eve quickly spread a thin layer of ice over the cannon ports to find where the hole was. She hadn't put much ice by the cannons, the constant firing would just increase the risk of it shattering, but when she found the empty port she pulled more ice from the storm and filled it, the ice forming on both sides of the wall and fusing in the space between them.

Before she could even take a breath after that, a harpy landed on the deck beside her thinking that she would be its next meal. She pulled her sword off her back and sliced it in two, then formed a bunch of small, sharp shards of ice using the water from the rune in her sword's hilt, throwing them towards more of the harpies and aiming for their eyes.

She continued this strengthening of the ice shield and volley of ice attacks on the harpies until one managed to get behind her and lift her from the ship's deck, causing her to drop her sword as she was pulled into the sky. The rope around her waist managed to stop their ascent, causing the harpy to dig its claws into her shoulders and start tugging on her, painfully and in vain as it tried to fight against the rope. She managed to calm down after a moment, and started coating the harpy in ice, starting with its wings.

The harpy shrieked and they fell back to the deck, Eve managing to land on the creature and pull its claws from her. Shakily, she grabbed her sword back off the ground and shoved it into the harpie's torso, where its heart would be. The creature fell to a heap on the deck as she removed her sword, and went to sit with her back against the railing so nothing could get her from behind again. She held her sword in her lap in front of her, ready to defend herself again as she went about re-repatching the layer of ice around the ship, making sure that the hole in the cannon bay was still closed.

The battle raged on below deck, with the harpy continuing to blindly thrash about the weapons room, and with Horatio constantly looking for a way to attack it. One attempt had him receive a kick to his chest for his efforts, and sent him flying towards the harpy's point of entry. Joey would've already considered his demise imminent, if it weren't for a sturdy sheet of ice interrupting his fall. Seemed one of the hydromancers already sealed up the hole the monster made for itself. "Phew. Hydro kids...work fast..." He groaned, heart jumping in his chest. The harpy screeched and presented its back, and Joey saw an obvious entrance. "Time ta put this bird down." With a springboard off the ice, the rogue lept with his blade bare, embedding the blade into the beast's body.

"SCREE! SCRE-urk" One stab after another, Joey planted the blade in the harpy's neck, dislocating its spinal cord in enough spots to get it to shut up. The lifeless body was quick to slump to the ground, giving the earthshaper a chance to roll away from the beast. He stayed at a low stance, bringing his dagger to the ready. Its blade and his hands dripping with pungent blood. "Ya still wanna go? Glass ya once, and you'll get glassed again, luv." The harpy failed to respond. Joey smirked, and rose to his feet. He cleaned the blood from his person, wiping himself clean on the harpy's feathers.

"Heh. Y'know, s'not the first time i've had ta backstab somebody..." He gave brief allusion to his past life, glancing at the surviving crew members. "I'll go up top, see if they'll need any extra hands." With a smirk and a quick salute, he retreated to the main deck.

Raven leaped from one opponent to the next, a machine of death to anything that dared to get close, and when he happened upon something that was attempting to give him pause, a threat to anything close enough to put a crossbow bolt into. The creatures were unrelenting, but then they didn't have to kill every last one of them, they just needed to escape the damned storm. Bringing his blade back around once more, he looked toward the front, hoping to see the way out of the storm, or at least the end of it.

"HOLD STEADY! WE'LL GET OUT OF THIS GOD FORSAKEN STORM YET, AND LEAVE A TRAIL BEHIND US!" Raven shouted, knowing full well they needed to kill these things faster before they began to get into the ship too deeply and start hitting things and slowing them down. They just needed to hold, and for the mages to make sure that the elements didn't bring them down.

Despite the appearance of the ship being swarmed by monsters, they were doing rather well...until the storm began to show its force. A flaming boulder slammed onto the deck of the ship, shadows delivered by steel slammed into the ship, and began to eat away at the ice. A spike of light cut into the side of the ship as an icicle, and then blasted a small hole clean through. The ice and metal was tough, but the storm didn't have to worry about concentration or exhaustion.

Slowly the ship began to descend for one to try and give the ship a bit more time to dodge the things falling from above, and so more power could be poured into going forward. This brought the ground close, kicking up any dust, rock, dirt, and anything else that the winds could kick up. The Commander and working crew of the Dead Iron knew what was going to happen though. The ship wasn't made to be pierced by elements cutting through the ship whole, and they were going to start dropping involuntarily.

"BACK INTO THE SHIP! NOW! EVERYONE INTO THE SHIP, TO THE STAIRS!" Raven shouted, making his own way back to the stairs, slamming a blade into the skull of drake, and then pulling it free. "WE'LL LET THE STORM HAVE EM!"

Nataly had stationed herself near one of the empty cannon holes as she figured direct contact with the hull of the ship would allow for the quickest and most effective frost coverage. Between herself, Eve and all the ice that was already readily available to them in the air around the storm, it didn't take too long to cover the ship in a thick coat of sheer cold. She was focusing on throwing as much water on there as she could before she was distracted by something thunking near her. She looked up, seeing the Iron Lady at the end of a thick length of rope, an end of which appeared to be laying nearby at the end of a long coil.

"Tie them around your waists. Helps you keep your feet." That was all she said before she moved back towards the center of the ship.

The Hydromancer shrugged her head to the side as if to agree. "Makes sense." She abandoned her icemaking for the moment to loop the rope around her robe, cinching it as tightly as she could around her waist. Nataly wasn't sure if her knotting would be good enough, she tried to remember back to the days back home when her father showed her how to tie ropes but they were so long ago. With the fury of the storm swirling around, it was tough to pass a memory test at this point. So Nataly did the best she could, trying to approximate the knots in her mind as she secured herself to the tether.

By the time it was announced that the fire power of the ship had been reduced, Nataly was trying to get reset back in her position. The storm seemed to intensify, be it from natural or external forces, it was swaying a bit more than she thought. Soon it wouldn't matter. Nataly heard a thud, seeing Eve face to face with one of the harpies that began boarding the ship and before she could move to help her fellow Blizzard specialist, another one landed with a clunk in front of her. The legends were liars. There was nothing human in this feathery beast that snarled in front of her, maw full of jagged teeth bared in her direction. Drool dripping down onto it's wicked sharp talons. Nataly inched back towards the edge of the ship. Alainia damn it, that thing is digusting...

Nataly held her hands out, trying to collect enough moisture to form a pair of daggers she could use to battle this creature, but the harpy seemed to sense this was not a submissive stance. The beast flew at Nataly, only giving her time for a pair of shiv like shards, but it would be enough. The Hydromancer hit the deck, letting the creature fly above before raking the shards against it's torso. The harpy fell to the planks, black feathers now stained red with blood. Nataly did her best to pounce while she had the opportunity. It was a less than graceful movement, and the repeated plunging of ice into hide wasn't befitting of someone of her looks, but she didn't care at the moment. This sucker was dying. After nine plunges, the creature ceased to move.

A swipe of the head to collect the beads of sweat off her forehead was all that Nataly was allowed in terms of respite as the ship lurched and shook again with the crashing of stone and ice into the vessel. "Ahhhhh!" Ms. Andrade stumbled back to her spot on the railing, attempting to gain some cover from the raging elements while she slipped her hand back out onto the hull, desperately trying to restore some semblance of armor to the battered ice shield over the hull.

"BACK INTO THE SHIP! NOW! EVERYONE INTO THE SHIP, TO THE STAIRS!"

"What?" Nataly looked over to see the Commander plunging into the depths of the ship via the deck stairs, and it looked a great distance away. "I...can I even make that without taking a hit? I dunno." She stayed put for now, waiting for an opening to try and dash for the stairs.

The harpies and drakes were still coming, and Vanahara could feel the ice outside of the metal hull starting to splinter. Two hydromancers could only do so much in the face of this maelstrom. If this is a narrow part of the Storm, I never want to see its eye. She did her best to harden the metal plating from here, but sooner or later the hull was going to break. She needed to be closer.

Vana barely avoided stumbling as the ship rocked, turning what had been a punch into a move that sent her sliding under a harpy's outstretched talon. She swept its avian feet out from under it, sending it crashing to the deck next to her, and took the opportunity to slice her punching dagger across the back of its neck, neatly severing the spinal cord. She rolled back to her feet almost immediately, but the damage was done—she could feel the punch of a drake's talons as it scored the outside of the hull, and there would only be more to come.

Her head whipped around as the Commander gave the order to retreat belowdecks. Vanahara frowned, but nodded, wrapping one hand around the rope at her waist and using it to pull herself against the wind towards the hatch. As she neared the stairs, though, her eyes caught on Andrade and Celeste—hunched against the railing, at the very edge of the deck. If they didn't move soon, they were going to get plucked off by some opportunistic harpy, and then the ice really would fail. Not to mention, they'd be dead.

Vana released the rope, letting herself be pushed backwards towards the railing. When she was about halfway there, something screeched along her senses, and she turned on instinct. A chunk of steel sputtering with flames slammed into her stomach, and she reeled backwards, arms coming up reflexively to grab it as the wind was knocked out of her. Gasping for air but somehow still on her feet, Vanahara hissed as the flames licked at her forearms, but cased in treated leather as they were, only a few inches of skin were really burned. Even as she watched, though, the flames burnt themselves out—they were purely elemental, with no one to guide them and no fuel to consume. What she was left with was a chunk of strangely light metal about the size of a man's head, and two hydromancers that needed a path below deck. She took half a moment to formulate a plan, and then she moved.

By the time Vana reached the railing, the white steel had spread into a shield, two inches thick and almost as big as she was. Holding it like that was taking more concentration than she could afford for long—she didn't know what else was in this metal, but she suspected it was water, because it moved like quicksilver but was reluctant to hold any one shape. She braced her foot against the railing next to Andrade with her eyes on Celeste a little further down the railing, shield held over their heads with one straining arm.

"Go!" she shouted, bringing her other arm up to brace the shield as a harpy slammed into it. "I'll cover you, get down the stairs and hold the ice!" A mad dash across half the deck was only going to end in blood and tears, but maybe with a shield at their backs, they could make it before the Commander was forced to close the hatch.

Using the lasers he could easily control in a defensive posture, Alexander helped protect those on the ship's medical crew who were gathering those injured in the battle. Following one of the groups he found a well-oiled machine being pushed to capacity. The soldiers were clearly capable but the harpies were proving that their numbers and swarming attacks could still take a heavy toll in a hurry. Rather than helping the groups to drag more of the injured into the ship he set about where he would be most useful. Rolling up his sleeves Alexander found a patient and began to work.

The man was clearly very injured, slashes and bite wounds covered his body as he bled onto the bed. With the other medical and support staff busy he hurried to guide his healing energies to the worst of the man's wounds. Rather than focusing on healing every cut and bruise while healing his pain he only focused on those injuries which were life-threatening. Already he could tell a couple of other men had died in the small space, clearly designed to save space over taking in and caring for large numbers of battle casualties. His patient's bleeding slowing to a trickle after a few minutes Alexander knew the man's body would heal the rest of the injuries given time. Moving onto a soldier with a broken arm sustained in a fall. It was going to be a long day in his estimation.

Drew was captivated by the storm. It was unlike anything he could imagine, both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Perhaps it was fortune that he was mostly unaffected by the initial monster attacks and elemental rain. He kept himself busy by just focusing on reinforcing the ice while he could. But soon he was forcibly shaken out of his stupor by the ship starting to descend. "What the...?" He said, shaking his head. "Stupid... come on, Drew. You're better than this." he growled, looking at one of the monsters trying to approach. He took a deep breath, focusing on what was going on around him. There was too much to process. Monsters and elementals, damage to the ship, orders from the captain; he was grateful for the chance to get back inside.

Unfortunately, he had started on a different end of the ship, so he could not make use of Vana's shield. He started trying to get back as quickly as he could. He was fast on his feet and well balanced, able to keep a steady pace. At least, he did before a harpy spotted him and tried to rip him apart. This forced him to jump out of the way, landing on his back as the monster went around in the air for a second pass. Drew hastily tried to roll out of the way, avoiding the harpy's attempt to grab him. He got up to his knees, deciding not to try and avoid it a third time. He reached a hand out, focusing on the air around him. For a second, it looked as if his hand were surrounded by a storm cloud, and sparks flew around his hand. He let loose a bolt of electricity at the flying monstrosity as he got back to his feet, backing his way to Raven. He would stay at the doorway as long as he could, trying to get another spark ready to cover his fellow elementals. He didn't say anything; they didn't need any more distractions.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Scar, metal clanging could be constantly heard as it echoed through the canyons.
If one were to center on the source of the clanging, they would find a large-ish hut, made out of pure steel, seemingly ignoring the Scar, being way too close to it for any sane human being to live in it.

The man living in the hut was not sane; at least, by some certain accords, regarding not only his site of residence, but also his obsession with the Scar, restlessly studying it with a variety of advanced instruments and spells, as well as the fact that he lived in similar huts for almost three years now, in a stat of almost complete isolation, barring his trips to the closest avalaible Scar -infested area at the time and reading the nearest village for supplies.

That man, named Jonathan Silvas, was also the source of the constant clanging, as he was carefully forging the frame of his latest-conceived instrument over the flames into which bellows were continuously supplying with air, seemingly with no external guidance. He did not need to go through all this trouble; he was able to manipulate the metal into its needed shape with no tools at all, which is exactly what he had done with the extremely delicate components that were to be inserted to the frame, in much less time than he had spent forging the simple metal pyramid. He insisted on using his hands, though; he was afraid that eventually, his fellow Elementals would become so accustomed to using their powers for everything, that they would not only forget their roots, but also stop honing their body and grow weak. Besides, the constant clanging and the heat from the flames kept him company, in times where his books, or even the social interaction with the superstitious and uneducated villagers could not.

Suddenly, between the clanging, he heard a fade beep from the other room, which meant that one of his instruments had caught something out of the ordinary. And truly, his dodecahedron-shaped Storm Core Abnormality Recorder had caught something big travelling through the milder (if this can be said for a storm made out of all kinds of supernatural power) areas of the Scar in a respectable pace.
"Poor souls", his lips muttered, "trying their human best to conquer the greatest force of nature known. May Reaver have mercy on them." His mind begged to differ, however, and was now racing. This ship -whatever it was- would show up earlier if it had come from his side, which meant that it had reached at least halfway through. And they seemed -he checked his topographical map of the Scar he had constructed- yep, they were traveling through the most faded path in the Scar that was avalaible to them, which clearly showed some capability. There were Elementals up there, he had no doubt about that. Could they be coming from the Academy? Possibly.

But why? Could they be coming to pick him up? He didn't think so. Even though it was possible that the years have showed them the possibility for research that is avalaible at the Scar, and even if they had realised his ambitions were more than the constant ramblings of a man grown mad from the knowledge, they had no way of knowing his position, or even the fact that he was alive- let alone th fact that he was following the Scar throughout the known world. They probably didn't even think it was possible. Fools, he shook his head. They were content with sitting in their Academy and believe that there was no other course of action; have their walks around the garden, train young students on how to throw their little magiks onto one another and never wonder about where it all comes from -just like they grew up. "Have faith in your powers" some would say, "never question what is bestowed by the Gods upon ye" would say others. Fools.

But now he realised that he actually was rambling, and in a way that almost made him question his own sanity. His mind was so much more peaceful away from those affairs for so long. But now, there was no time to waste. He started trotting around the room, grabbing scrolls from here and there as he deemed necessary. He never was on good affairs on organisation, which now proved to be a problem as he tried to guide himself through the chaos of scrools, books, and experiments. He didn't care, though; he had all the time he needed. When he had acquired all the scrolls and books which he considered vital -he could remember the rest more or less anyways- he reached for a sizable backpack, into which he fitted them along with as many non-Scar specific instruments he could fit. He left any Scar-specific instrument back where it was, and decided to one day return to get what they had recorded. He then sat down and observed the movement of the ship through the S.C.A.R.

He no longer cared about what as the ship, or who was onboard, or who sent it, or where it went.

If it survived through the Scar (still highly unlikely), he wanted to be on it.

"HOLD STEADY! WE'LL GET OUT OF THIS GOD FORSAKEN STORM YET, AND LEAVE A TRAIL BEHIND US!" As Horatio charged up to the main deck, the defiant cries of the commander were heard. Joey only had but a brief glimpse of the man in action, the human whirling dervish hacking his way through whatever looked ugly and unfriendly. It was quite inspiring, actually. Joey may've not considered himself to be the most heroic fellow, but he loved a good scrap. And looking about the mayhem unfolding on the deck, he couldn't help but join in.

"Aye, sir!" He called, rushing into the fray. He targeted a harpy, one noticeably smaller than the one he had to wrestle below deck. Already sprinting at full tilt, he lept through the air, securing his legs firmly around its neck. The forward momentum of a 170 pound man could most likely put you on your back if you're not prepared for it, as the Earthshaper was so quick to prove with the unorthodox tackle. The harpy, stunned and dazed from such a rush, was at his mercy. Joey had to work quick, brandishing his blade to perform a case of shivs into the bird's abdomen. Even if it could survive the barrage of stabs, he was sure to make sure it wouldn't fight back, not without its guts spilling all over the place.

He rolled away from his defeated opponent, as the ship was forced to make a hasty descent. It didn't take much for him to notice the sand and dust kicking up along the sides of the aircraft. "Corr! Gives me a chance to refill my sack!" He ran alongside the metal railings, dragging his open hands through the airborne dirt. Passing a hand through dust might've felt like playing with smoke to some, but for Horatio it was comparable to collecting a handful of snow. He collected a decent sample for his sack, patted his clothes down with some (for extra insurance), and launched a quick shot of the stuff at another harpy, just because.

"BACK INTO THE SHIP! NOW! EVERYONE INTO THE SHIP, TO THE STAIRS!" The Commander called again. Sounded like recess was ending. Joey took a second to survey the battlefield in that time, noticing the towering girl protecting others with a formidable shield, the male Hydromancer conjuring his own lightning storm, and the crossbow wielding Alchemist needing a distraction. Using two hands, Joey collected what looked to be a snowball-sized clump of sand and bolted towards her, taking a second to remember her name.

"Ling! Cover your face!" As she stared down a drake, Joey launched the ball at her feet, the deceivingly compact sphere creating a large shroud between her and the beast. This left the dragon disoriented and blind, and left Joey beside the girl. "Can you see?" He cleared a path for her in case she couldn't. "Get below deck, i'll be right behind ya!" She nodded and sped off, with Joey fast on her heels. And just in time, too. As Joey gave a glance back at the dragon, he could see a spew of flame cutting through his fabricated dust storm. He had the urge to rush back and shove a clod of earth down the lizard's gullet, but figured he'd be concerned for his personal well being, just this once.

Iridessa no longer had any time to admire the Scar. It turned out she could apply her skills against the harpies, drakes and miscellaneous storm denizens, and had a grand old time burning them to cinders. She'd never seen the creatures before. They were wonders to look at, albeit horrific ones. As much as she enjoyed the chance to test her skills, she found herself tiring quickly. It took significant portions of her strength to vanquish any one of the creatures, and the conditions of the Scar didn't make it any easier. Buffeted by strong winds carrying whole deserts' worth of dust, and the constant thunder and flashes of bright light were starting to grate. Looking around, she realized the events on deck around her were equally chaotic. They were limited, and the storm was not. The shouts of the commander reflected that, and Dess willingly retreated, using the last of her strength to blast through an attacking harpy. She made it to the stairway relatively unharmed, although a sheen of sweat covered her body.

As Nataly looked up across the deck, she saw the sturdy body of the Ironworker dashing towards the railing while carrying a shield of unknown origin. How is she...where did she...do I care? Vana landed with a thud next to her on the railing, bracing herself with her legs, shield held high as another harpy slammed unsuccessfully into it.

"Go! I'll cover you, get down the stairs and hold the ice!"

Another crash of stone on wood near the two of them was enough to convince Nataly she was not going to survive by huddling against the railing any longer. She nodded at the Ironworker and mentally got ready to count down. OK...OK...1...

"Go!"

Vana took off for the hatch where a couple of the other mages still stood and Nataly did her best to try and keep up. It was clear that Vana was going to have to slow down to adjust for the pace of the Hydromancer, and she was, but still Nataly struggled. The sound and feel of fiery chunks and shadowy blasts raining down upon them was tough to overcome, but she tried. She almost stumbled to the hatch, into the waiting arms or the Commander and couple of the others, but she made it, her robes singed but still doing their job.

"Are you all right?" one of the crewmen asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so..." Nataly answered as she did her best to stand. She didn't even get a chance to thank Vana. Vana was already heading back to the railing to try and pluck Eve from the same clutches she was in.

"Good. The hull's failing. We need all the help we can get to stabilize it."

"Oh...shoot! Yeah! OK, yeah, lead me somewhere I can touch it." The crewman did as ordered to move Nataly back to a point where she could continue the reinforcement work on the hull to try and help this dogged vessel survive the furious onslaught.

As Eve sat against the railing, trying and failing to keep the shield of ice intact against the ever-growing ferocity of the storm, the order to retreat was lost to her in the chaos. She didn't even notice everyone else rushing to leave until Vanahara yelled at her from where she was shielding Nataly. She followed after the two as they went below decks, starting to wonder if they were even moving through the storm anymore with how much was being thrown at them.

When she got inside she waited there for everyone else to get in, and then helped to seal the door shut with ice to try and keep any of the creatures or elements from following them. There were people going around and checking other's wounds, and she noticed Nataly being led somewhere by one of the crew, likely to somewhere she could continue to strengthen the ice. After a moment of thought, Eve decided to make her way down to the cannon bay. She could use the breach from before to reach the rest of the hull now.