Mars surveyed Matthew for a moment, tilting her head. "Oh." she stated "I heard of those people before. OH. YOU HAVE A BOOK ABOUT US? WHERE?" She flailed violently at his books, scooping half of them out of his arms and glancing at each book before dumping them on the ground with a bored expression, finally finding the one she was looking for and clutching it to her chest. "Oh HELL YEAH!" She flipped open the cover of the book, glaring at first couple of pages until she got bored of reading and dropped that book as well. "Baaah. I'll read it later." she stated, watching as the Dancer guy picked up each book and followed after Matthew. What a weird guy. Why would he pick up the mess Mars had made. Whatever, he could do what he liked. She did like watching him move though, he was remarkably graceful.

"YAR!" Mars shouted at Jerod, giving him a sly wink and a mischievous grin. "You know if you heat an axe up enough it will melt." she teased.

Mars turned to the girl who was still claiming to be a Manakete. "And i am just supposed to believe that one of my kind would breed with a human?" She asked, one eyebrow raised "Anyways, a Manakete who can't transform cannot be considered a true Manakete. It's a part of our culture.. but you wouldn't know that living with humans! The fact you can't transform was probably another reason why i can't smell the Dragon on you because you ARENT one. Saying things so stupid, just make you look like a fool. Manakete is a label reserved for those who can transform, given as a sign of RESPECT." her teeth flashed wildly. "You know, maybe i would have been a bit more accepting of you if you had just said something nicely instead of calling me a brat.. but now i am just starting to doubt your claim even more." she narrowed her eyes into slits, smoke curling from her mouth. "I am old enough to be your mother. Do NOT presume I am a child because I like to have fun!" a crackle of energy popped between her and the female before she decided she didn't care anymore.

Mars listened as he complained and told them what they had to do. "Oh. I CLAIM THE PLACE I WAS SLEEPING BEFORE!" She roared. She sprinted inside and claimed the bed she'd been sleeping on earlier, marking it with a few talon scratches near the foot of the bed. her bed was right across from a window covered in soot. If all else failed and she needed a quick getaway.. the window would offer the perfect way to escape. After she was done staring at the window for a moment, she skipped down to the Armory. Of course.. Manaketes never actually used weapons themselves, the only thing they had was their Dragonstones. Without it, she would be trapped in whichever form she managed to change into. She'd lost it once before and spent a couple of hours as a dragon desperately searching for it, only to find the chain had broken and she'd replaced it with something sturdier. Of course, her Dragonstone was not something she showed humans lightly. She kept it hidden beneath her armor, protected and safe from prying eyes. She ran a white gloved hand over a windowsill, curling her lip at the dust that came up. She watched as Jerod picked up a weapon stand and did the same herself with one on the other side of the room, stirring up dust. Her nose tickled and she scrunched it up before sneezing a burst of white hot breath right into the weapon stand, effectively lighting it on fire. She scrunched her nose up again and sneezed two more times, only making the fire worse. She rubbed her nose, shaking her head as she watched the weapon rack burn. "Whoops." she stated, shrugging. Her Dragonstone glowed beneath her armor, glittering a faint blue as her tail came out and slammed into the fire to put it out. She was a bit too rough with the wooden structure and it broke into several pieces. She watched what was left of the structure burning, deciding it wasn't worth saving and just watched it burn.

She heard something about leaving for somewhere. Well... she would follow these humans for now..at least they were fun to mess with a bit. And if she didn't like it.. she could just leave any time. It wasn't like they could do much to stop her from leaving.

_______________

Andross

Andross bowed low and deep to Matthew. "My apologies. I was not aware they were not the same title." If he had still been a slave, this transgression would have probably earned him a couple of lashes. "Do you need aid with those books?" a charismatic and apologetic smile danced across his face. Except before he could say anything the strange animal-like woman sprinted over to him and started throwing books off the pile. He flinched as each book hit the ground, picking up after her. Well.. maybe she was a Manakete then.. gathering from her interest in Manaketes... that could be so. He stared at her intensely, having never seen a Manakete before.

He followed quickly after Matthew, leaning the books he was carrying for the guy onto the desk. He flinched at the sudden and unexpected use of magic. "I can be ready whenever you need me. If you indeed need me." he bowed respectfully to the tactician. "It will be an honor serving you, my Lord." he smiled.

"Relax... Blade?" He guessed at the man's name, he really hoped he was right. "I'm not taking this force into battle I am however getting us on our way Plegia. I can tell most if not all of us are good fighters, however we can't afford the time or luxury of learning to work together in mock battles here." The tactician sighed. "Which is why I brought most of those books, the one's by Mark would be of good use. He forged an army on the move, which is basically what I'll by doing." He answered grabbing one of the books. "Granted it will be less combat focus more team movement focused. So combat training will have to be done on your own time."

"Thank you Andross, please take a moment and find yourself a room. You can set the books anywhere." The young man smiled and walked back towards the common area looking through his book. "So... Once we have a few carts and the basic's we can get moving and-"

A carrier raven landed on Matthew's shoulder and he quickly removed the scroll from the birds legs, reading it quickly he bit his lip. "Damn it! Alright, villagers recently spotted an army matching known Church forces somewhere near the middle of the border, along the main route to Plegia. So were going to encounter resistance along the way then. "Worse though, all sign of the main army just vanished, which means there entire army has either gone into Ferox or Plegia, since no news has come about the northern border being under attack it has be Plegia, but why would they... Of course!"

He rushed to an old chalk board near the back scribbling along it drawing lines and circles. "There moving in to Plegia to try and secure a port or at least divert attention and soldiers from the ports. If they can do that then they can land the armies from Valm and overwhelm us all." He finished his sketch, adding more lines grunting and rubbing his chin thinking carefully. "Wait if we... Got it!" He smiled and copied his plan down on to his journal quickly, out near the front wagons arrived, load with basic iron gear enough to go around at least.

Walking out the tactician smiled. "Alright everyone get ready and take anything you'll need. Food and tents are already loaded. We need to get going if want to stop Bern's army and repel the invading force. It's not going to be easy but I think my plan should get it done." He smiled, setting a bunch of books down in one wagon and then climbing in himself. Drivers and a few hands almost arrived to just to help keep the army moving quickly, Andres had made sure they would have all they needed.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Choletta's forces set about moving camp quickly. "We've kept out of sight and are careful about how we gather supplies. However we can say that's it is hard to move around Ylisse covertly, many of the townships and farm house's can easily contact the watch posts. Which in turn use carrier ravens to get messages around, thus we've simply been breaking camp and keeping on the move." The captain of the small army explained. "Since they don't know our exact location and we keep moving and stay under the tree's or deep in the forests the Pegasus knight don't trouble us. Also staying this close to the road let's some of our men scout and catch rumors and information from Ylisse." He finished looking back to the soldiers.

Genna walked over to Choletta's side pausing to look up at the tree's. "So if the rumor's are true, we can expect the champion to head through here right? I mean if he wants to prove Naga guides him, he need's to defeat Bern and us so he can stop our reinforcements right?" The girl added, looking between Choletta and the Captain. "Still not my place to say, you are leading us Lady Choletta." The archer bowed a little, staying at her side.

"Blade, huh?" The swordsman asked, raising a brow and hefting his sword over his shoulder with a shrug. "Well, I guess I'll take it." He sighed. "Better than 'you', or 'fool', or 'hindrance'." He said with a small laugh. "Alright, I guess I'll come along. Maybe it will help jog my memory a bit. Right, so, kid..." He said with a small smile. "Name's Blade then. It's nice to meet you. My sword is yours to direct. Hope you don't come to regret it." He held out a hand to shake.

Sayuri sighs looks over at the Manakete as they were about to leave. Their exchange had left a bad taste in her mouth. Sighing again she walks over to the Manakete, "I... Apologize... For insulting you earlier. Though I do stand by most of what I said I do have a couple things to clarify however, especially if you think a Manakete would never breed with a human. That's an arrogant thought. Skyborn Island is full of Human and Manaketes interbreeding. It's not strange. I am Half-Manakete. My Mother was a Manakete. I was raised on an Island of Manakete until I was 8 or 9 then moved mainland," She looks to the horizon with a blank expression, "But then again... What gives someone the right to think they know what someone without even learning anything about them," she starts to walk away but pauses to say one last thing, "Here's something to think about for the next time we speak. Manakete can be just as cruel or evil as humans. We're not automatically good," she walks over to her horse and mounts it making it obvious that she wanted to cool off some more before a full discussion started between them again. She raises her arm for Tsugi to land on and begins stroking her absentmindedly.

Brynhild sighed as she heard the rumors of the Shepherds being reformed. Sure by now it was practically old news as the excite died down from the beginning but considering how she locked herself into studying for the past few hours she was sure her tardiness would be excused hopefully. She wanted to join in and serve but was unsure if they would accept her. Closing her book she went to Siegrun with a small pat on the head she quickly mounted and flew off as fast as she could. With the speed she was going and being able to avoid the crowded streets below she was able to arrive fairly quickly at the garrison. "Ah please wait for a moment I would like to join if at all possible." She exclaimed as she looked around seeing multitude of wagons outside she probably arrived just on time since it seemed they were about to head out.

Word of the Shepherd's march to Plegia reached Regna Ferox remarkably quickly. The benefits of the two land's alliance. Though she had been putting of making a choice, Elesia knew that she was about to lose her chance. It was either get to the Shepherds on their march to Plegia, or be forced to wait for who knew how long. With a sigh, Elesia sought out her Western counterpart. "I'm going, I have to." She said as she entered his office. Office was a bit of a stretch actually, there was a tiny desk in the corner covered with papers, the rest of the space was for training purposes. Vraig was there practicing at the moment, swinging his axe around with surprising amounts of grace.

Vraig just grinned, his movements not stopping for a moment. "I was wondering when you were going to make up your mind. Khan or not, the Shepherds need allies more than the country needs two leaders at the moment. You may be Khan, but you're also a woman, traveling alone would be dangerous. Go to your warriors, take one with you as a Champion." As always, he was quick to offer advice. Good advice too. Elesia would definitely be taking him up on it. Though she didn't have an official Champion, now would be the perfect time to assign one. After a short goodbye, Elesia headed off to find her warriors.

It didn't take long to location them, there were really only three places they would be. The arena, which was empty right now. The training grounds, or the barracks, drinking and having a good time. Thankfully it was the training grounds, so they were all sober enough to listen to her. She waited patiently for them to all notice that she was here and stop their training. She would never interrupt a warrior, even in a mock battle. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, standing tall and proud like the leader she was. It had been weird at first, considering most of her warriors were older than she was, but she quickly learned that age didn't matter, it was all about respect. Something she did an excellent job of earning. All it took was beating each and every one of her warriors in single combat. At least, that's all it took to earn respect the Feroxi way.

"I'm going to meet up with the Shepherds and aid them in their quest to stop those damn Church of Naga idiots." She explained, intense green eyes meeting the gaze of most, if not all, her warriors. "I need someone to come with me, to be my Champion. Which one of you is willing to risk everything for a cause like the Shepherds?" Immediately, several people jumped at the chance, but Elesia didn't respond right away. She gave her warriors a moment to think, for everyone to make their choice. Then, and only then, she would make hers.

Raze had closed his eyes as he leaned against a nearby wall.

Up to date, there was nothing in this world that entertained Raze more than a good fight. When he was engaged in a battle with someone close to his ability, where the outcome was not in the favor of either combatant, he couldn't help but smile. This was why life was worth living, this was why he was born. But that feeling... had not been felt in a while now. Though he was young, so very young, he had started to pull ahead of all the others he was given a chance to spar with. It was not like he could wipe the floor with everybody, but as long as he paid attention and put his focus solely on the battle, he was certain to win.

This did make him happy at first. It was a clear sign he had great potential. Some of these people he could beat were experienced men close to twice his age, so that meant he could feasibly become a legend, right? And his ego did so love that part. Thinking that he could be written about in books as the greatest warrior his land had ever seen.... well, who wouldn't be happy about that? There were two obstacles to that goal, of course, but it wasn't like he could just challenge a khan to a fight whenever he wanted. But more importantly... fights had become less fun for him. Knowing the ending to a book diminished the entertainment from it, fights were the same. The only people he personally knew of weren't free all the time, and he was pretty confident the West Khan would not prove to be an equal fight.

He would have to get much, much stronger before that fight.

"Hey, the East Khan is here, Raze!"

Raze opened his eyes.

Today, as far as Raze and the other warriors were concerned, was nothing special up to this point. Another day of sparring, drinking, and then more sparring. Except that the East Khan had interrupted them before they got to the drinking part. This was certainly interesting. Maybe she would allow him to fight her? That would certainly cure his boredom and maybe help him improve.

"I'm going to meet up with the Shepherds and aid them in their quest to stop those damn Church of Naga idiots. I need someone to come with me, to be my Champion. Which one of you is willing to risk everything for a cause like the Shepherds?"

Raze wasn't surprised that many of his fellow warriors offered their blades to fight as a champion of the khan. But he would be damned if they would take such a chance away from him! It was a chance to not only finally be her champion, but to escape Ferox and possibly fight worthy foes. A perfect example of a win/win situation.

After the initial outburst of offers, Raze made his way to the front of the group that had formed, and demanded silence with his determined and cocky tone.

"Choose me! You could not find a warrior here who could best me in single combat and I live for a good fight. I would gladly give my blade and soul to fight as your champion, so there is simply no better option than myself."

Heather wandered around aimlessly looking for the tactician, constantly distracted by cats, pretty flowers, or the occasional jeweler. She wasn't really sure where he would be, but she had to run into him eventually, right? ....Right. Boy did her feet hurt though. Maybe she should have brought traveling boots....or a horse. As she passed by, people often stared. It seemed most people wore common clothes and her dress certainly wasn't common. Perhaps she should've packed more clothes, too.

She sighed and took a seat on a rock to give herself a rest. She shut her eyes and rested her elbows on her knees, and her chin on her hands, and pouting, "I'll never find him! I feel like I've looked everywhere...." she said. After a moment she opened her eyes to see a caravan a ways ahead of her. "Wait...that's....is that him?!" she said, excitedly. Heather picked up her staff, and held her dress in one hand as she scurried over quickly.

As she got closer and closer to the caravan, and to Matthew, she realized she was getting a little shy. What if he didn't want her? Her help! That is.... Heather approaced as stealhily as her swishing dress would allow, and slipped up into the seat next to him. Heather was now a little tongue-tied. She turned her head to him, her cheeks slightly rosy. "U-Uhm, hi. I-I've come to help you! If you'll have me that is....I-In your group I mean. Not um....anyway, my name's Heather!" she said awkwardly, with a matchingly awkward, delicate wave.

"There's no need to call me that, Genna. I'm no 'Lady'." Chloetta stated. They were the same age so there was no need. Heck, there was hardly any blood in her that would call for it. At this point she was merely an orphan picked up by the Church, twice. "Still, we could use the natural coverage to our advantage. There are a lot more trees and natural coverage in Ylisse than in Plegia." She added, taking note of Genna's staring. Perhaps there was a point along where the Champion's troop would move that her men could take cover for an ambush. "Have any scouts mentioned someplace where we could set up a surprise attack? For now, we are unsure of their numbers are we not? So if we could take as many out before they knew it, the better."

She may not have graduated from a Tactician's Academy like this so-called "Champion", but she sure as heck had true battlefield experience. Something she believed was something the boy lacked. What did she know though? She's been fighting since she was on Valm. "Though I plan to ask a few questions as well. Would one suspect me of being with the Church?" She questioned. Her clothing was not specifically like that of the Church, although ornate. Perhaps she could satisfy her questions before hand and feel better about the assault. Perhaps. "It could lower their defenses slightly."

Matthew was a bit shocked when a first a Pegasus Knight landed then a princess sat before the young man, he remembered Heather from the meeting she had been seat at the table to Saya and him. Of course he was just their as a bodyguard, though he could sworn he saw Heather looking at him more than Saya when the Exalt was speaking. That was probably him just imagining things, after Princesses don't fall for little guys like him, more the knight in shining armor type. Shaking that off he looked to the knight who had arrived. "Of course your welcome to join, honestly we can use all the help we can get."

He smiled turning next to the princess. "Of course you welcome to come along to... I just was wondering why you came all this way Lady Heather? I mean this is no doubt dangerous and I don't think your family would be happy if they knew you were here... However I won't stop, just please try to safe?" He gave a soft smile and climbed further in to the wagon settling down. "Anyone who wants to is welcome to ride with me, I've got room for couple of others in here." He picked up on of the books in the wagon, this one a tale about a Feroxi princess who left her power and wealth behind to travel the world with her Taguel friend, it was a good read and quite well written. Though it was a bit out of date as the book had been written when the Taguel had a much larger tribe, he also knew the Feroxi never had princesses. However the book was written in Chon'sin thus he forgave the error's, as he had a feeling the Chon'sin romanticized the stories of the Northern warriors.

As the wagons began to slowly trundle out of the city. Matthew leaned back shutting his eyes, the rocking of the cart didn't make him sick at all, just the damn boats. It someone even mentioned sailing again he planned to swim his way there... Or drown, both were preferred to ever getting on a boat again. Leaning his back against some of the bundled tents he wondered how his companions were doing and if they would bond at all on the trip in to Plegia.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

The captain nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, you are more unassuming than the rest of us, you could go do recon. If you want an ambush plan however, I would suggest Genna pretend to be wounded and you her healer. Flag down the enemy, then once they have stopped and unprepared we launch a strike targeting the Champion while Genna and you fall back and command as needed." He said, stating a plan more clever bandits would use. "If we won the battle it would give us plenty of supplies. However it your call ma'am." He said awaiting her choice, he figured she would do her scouting first before answering on what plan they would use.

"O-Oh, you remember me....even my name...." She honestly wondered if he would, but it was quite flattering that he did. He might recall her face, but they hadn't talked too much beyond exchanging names and small talk. Heather wondered if he thought she was pretty. She had sort of hoped to remain incognito, but maybe she should've worn something less recognizable. Heather bit her lip, already at a loss for words.

She shook her head, What is wrong with you? You're not always like this! ....Am I? I don't think so... Ack, he's still looking at me! She took a breath to relax herself and looked him in the eyes, "Like I said I came to help. I heard the same thing you did at that meeting and what the Churh intends to do is all kinds of wrong. I couldn't just stand by and doing nothing. So I came....on my own. It's kind of a miracle, actually..."

Heather smiled at him, "If that is your wish I'll do my best to try, my lord." Wait, what? Who says that? Are you crazy? she let her smile fade, "Honestly, I'm more concerned about you and your party. My father doesn't know anything about my....adventure, so he might get some strange ideas. He's pretty paranoid when it comes to me....so you be careful too! Without you, this whole army crumbles." I suppose it's good to warn him, but that....sounds like I'm adding more problems than help... Oh well, it's too late now.

She was glad to sit and ride in the wagon, especially if she could sit next to Matthew. Her feet were also killing her and it was nice to give them a rest. She wanted to talk to him more, but then he got absorbed in a book, and then eventually shut his eyes. Heather didn't want to disturb him so she simply kept quiet, although one could tell she very much wished to chat.

((My bad everyone, life was kicking my butt this week and i had a lot of things on my mind))



Having finished practically destroying what little was left of the Armory, Mars decided she was bored and walked outside. She wandered outside to the wagons, leaning back and forth from her toes to her heels, and humming a light song. She stiffened slightly as the false-manakete approached her, but instead of assaulting her with words, she begun to apologize.

"I suppose.. it is not impossible, and i was a bit rash in my words.. but you have to understand.. for a being who lives such a long life.. millenia upon millenia.. the idea of having a child with a human does not sit right. They will age faster than the mother.. and they will die before their mother. It is just not something i would think a Manakete would willingly subject themselves to."

She laughed. "Of course we can be. We can be anything because we aren't perfect beings." She wiggled her fingers at the girl as she left. And then.. she saw a meek human child approaching them, wearing a rather cumbersome-looking dress, her face was beat red. She was actually sort of adorable in that innocent puppy dog way. Mars sprinted over to the woman, a smile spreading across her face. "LOOK HOW CUTE!" She squealed, waving her hands exitedly. "Awkward, shy humans are the best kind of humans!"

She practically jumped at the chance to sit in the wagon with Matthew, she liked him and sitting with anyone else would be boring. She could always leave the caravan for a short time and take to the skies if she decided she should. She watched his face intently as he read, and then leaned back to close his eyes.

She glanced over to the shy human and grinned. "SO, What is your name?" she asked.

_______________

Andross

Andross simply stared at Matthew in confusion. 'find a room?' he blinked slowly in disbelief. He was supposed to have a room? He'd never.. actually.. had a room of his own anywhere before. I mean, he had lived with royals for a short time, and lived in the servants quarters in a heap on the floor but that didn't count as his own.. room.. Nowadays, mainly just slept wherever he could, usually on the ground wherever he could find shelter. He set the books delicately down on the table, absorbed in his thoughts.

About to ask the man if it was really alright for him to take a room, Andross paused as he saw the carrier raven. He listened intently as Matthew read the letter out loud, glad that he would not be asked to read it. As a poor slave, he never had the luxury of being taught to read. He watched with intent interest as the Tactician started scribbling on a whiteboard, a complex battle plan which looked rather sound. Andross had been privy to several war meetings as a young slave. He was definitely not supposed to pay attention to the meeting, but he had because he was curious. He'd been so quiet they forgot he was even there for nearly the entire meeting.

Andross already had what he needed. His trusty sword was at his hip and he had his dance steps in his mind. All he could do now was follow Matthew and hope everything ended well. He stood by the wagon, watching intently as Matthew loaded it with books. There was nothing Andross needed, he was always ready to go.. Such was the life of a wanderer.

Seeing that the first cart with Matthew was full, Andross joined the one where the Exalt, Saya was sitting. He smiled gently at her.

Elesia scanned her warriors as they made their choices. The ones who stepped forward were a mix of old veterans who were loyal to their Khan, and young blood wanting to prove themselves. But one stood out above all the rest, a young man with brown hair, who's statement was so cocky it shocked Elesia. She wondered how he could claim stuff like that, without being smacked around by the older warriors. Her answer came from one of them, a man she recognized. She had faced him in combat before, when she was championed to Vraig, he had been a warrior of the past East Khan and had stuck on when she had taken over. "He's right, Khan Elesia." The man said, "Raze there is your best choice for Champion. He's got a massive ego, but he has beaten all of us before."

Elesia nodded slowly, still not making her choice. She trusted that man with her life, and it was tempted to choose him, but that cocky kid might make battles more fun... And a referral from a man like that wasn't to be turned down. She wondered what Vraig would do in a situation like this. It didn't take her long to figure it out, she knew the man extremely well after working with him for a long as she had, either as his champion or his Eastern counterpart. "Very well then. Raze was it? Meet me at the gate in an hour, we leave then. If you're late, I'll replace you with someone else. Time is of the essence, we must catch the Shepherds on their way to Plegia. We travel light and we travel fast." With that said, she turned around and simply walked back out of the training grounds, without waiting for a response from Raze.

She headed to her quarters in order to pack for the journey. Following her own advice, she took only what was absolutely needed. It didn't take her long to have a small, light, bag prepared. She made sure her sword was sharp and in good condition, since this would be the last time she would be able to get it repaired for a while. With that done, she headed to the gate and leaned against the wall, waiting for Raze to show up. Her mind was wondering as her thoughts led to several different places. About how having a champion would work when she herself would be serving someone in battle. About how this Raze kid would do in battle. About how they would do fighting together. If his supposed arrogance got in the way, then she was sure as hell going to smack him around a little bit.

What was there to say? He had, of course, been chosen as the East Khan's champion and was now able to fight alongside her, something he had been aspiring to do ever since she had beaten him a few years ago. It appeared as though she didn't really remember him, and though this was to be expected, he still felt a pain in his chest. If he didn't leave an impression back then, then surely he would work his hardest to leave one now. Now that he would be her champion, well, it wouldn't be so hard to do now.

"I wouldn't dare let anybody claim my position, you needn't worry." Raze had went on to say, but whether or not the Khan could hear it as she departed was a mystery to him. She definitely didn't seem to want to waste time, so he figured he ought to hurry up and pack what he needed as well, even if it wouldn't take an hour to do so.

The crowd had now circled around Raze, who faced the man who vouched for him, but spoke to the entirety of the warriors in the training grounds, "I'll be sure to tell you stories of the adventure when we return. Just make sure one of you can wield a sword properly by that time, eh?" the normal, arrogant grin accompanied his statement and request. "Now," he motioned with his hand for the circle to break. "Let me through, I've got preparations to make."

......

....

..

.

While normally he wouldn't stick to a schedule someone else had made for him, Raze managed to appear at the gate just a little bit after Elesia, with a bag stocked with the things he needed to survive the trip, and of course, his blade. It occurred to him that this would actually be his first time traveling outside of his own home and that he should probably feel a bit nervous, but when he also thought about how he was actually the champion he had wanted to be, he couldn't help but have a huge grin on his face. How fortunate was he! Honestly, this was the first major life goal he had accomplished. Nothing of his magnitude had really happened to him before now, and the feeling was... unbelievably pleasant. Now if only he could beat her in a duel....

...well, as her champion, it wouldn't be proper to challenge her, would it? At least not until they got back. Jeez. Such a chance made him giddy, and made him feel like he was a child awaiting a treat. Hopefully before the Khan noticed his presence, he inhaled deeply and exhaled to calm himself and hide behind a nearby wall. He could be excited later, but for now, he had to properly introduce himself. He spent most of the time before coming here on how to do so, so it must be perfect! And so, with a large grin on his face and the characteristically confident voice, he darted out from behind the wall and approached the Khan, reciting... well, definitely not what he practiced...

"Bwahaha! Your champion, Raze, descends!" he announced. "From now on, no foe of yours is safe. Be it entire nations, dragons, or gods, I stand ready. Against me, nations will crumble, dragons will perish, and even gods will fall!" Raze claimed. "Just give the word."

Perhaps he was... a little bit nervous.

"Ach, w'atever ye say draconic lass. Ah've nae been ah pirate, 'nly crossed pat's wit' t'em many years ago." Jerod didn't even try to stop the Manakate from destroying the Armory, there really wasn't much way he could stop her right now. He just mitigated the damage to the best of his ability, knowing full well he was going to have to repair the place later when they really needed it. But the call finally went out for them to get onto the carts and get rolling. Champion lad's wagon filled up right quick, so instead Jerod hauled himself up to the second one, spotting some really floaty looking fellow and that Exalt lady. Well, this was a rather royal, pretty little wagon wasn't it? Jerod certainly felt out of place as he sat across from the dancer, grunting a bit as the weight of the armor coming down rocked the wagon slightly. He smirked, running a sharpening stone across the blade of the iron axe he carried while greeting the people he shared this wagon with, smirking as he commented. "Ach, ain' t'is some noble full wagon, now ain' it?"

Jerod didn't know much about this Exalt figure, to be fair, nor was it a real large concern of his. She was probably second in command, if not formally in charge period, and looked rather young for being the leader of Ylisse. Then again, hell, everyone was young once. She seemed capable enough in leadership, threats at him left firmly as bygones at this point, and left it at that. He unlikely was going to interact with her much outside the odd chances of ending up in the same wagon, so he didn't really sweat the thought much. Of course, that left him turning his thoughts to the other fellow in the wagon, and that was a very peculiar train of thoughts to be had considering how the man appeared to dress and handle himself. Certainly not an attire he ever expected to see a man wear, but he digressed, knowing very little beyond appearances. Seemed kind enough, long as he could hold his own, that would be that. He realized it was unlikely the dancer had caught his name before, and introduced himself over the sound of the sharpening axe blade.

"Ach, w'ere are m' manners? Names Jerod, dancin' man, at yer service." Jerod decided the nickname plainly enough, typically speaking, he rarely used people's names. The Champion was the lad, after all, and most folks tended to not get their real names used unless the situation was serious enough to warrant it. Otherwise, why bother, it was more entertaining to nickname people and let them complain about it later. He would rapidly become lost in his own thoughts, barring interaction from others in their wagon, staring at the sharpening blade while thinking. Hopefully they would find no reason to enter Feroxian territory, since he was sworn now and would be forced to have to return there if they did. Thankfully, knowing Ferox, they wouldn't be taking the knee in the face of this Crusade and would not likely need their help anytime soon. Much as he disagreed with their methods, he could not argue the results. In more ways than one.

"Then that may be the best plan." Chloetta sighed, wishing this was avoidable. As of now, however, it was her or this Champion. With little proof otherwise, she chose to believe her commanding officer, dispite the atrocities currently going on. War was complicated, and if he was merely doing what was necessary. . . So be it. "Now then. I want everyone to prepare. We're not sure on how long it will be before we find them, but I want everyone in peak condition." If nothing else, she showed what little amount of commanding authority she could muster as she ordered her troops to be ready. Hopefully, whatever Holy Ferver they held was easily enough to keep them active. "I want you to act moderately injured, Genna. And play it safe." The girl was fairly good at what she did. She would be a great loss if something happened today. "You all as well. Our goal is zero losses." The girl said as she looked over everyone nodding at them all. "That being said, let us prepare Genna. We need to wrap you up in gauze a bit before we start our operation. It'll give a little credence to our story."

Sayuri examined the rest of her party as she followed the carriages. She'd put Tsugi on her shoulder and pulled out a book on mid to high level magics that she was currently reading through and practicing. She was taking a break to actually take a look the group she was dealing with. So far... She wasn't impressed. The only two she had confidence were the Axemen and the Manakete. Everyone else seemed to either be a new soldier or someone who sheouldn't even be on the battlefield. Namely the lovestruck princess who was sitting in the front carriage with the tactician hired her. Not that he was much better as he looked like he'd never seen a battlefield. Sighing she looked at Tsugi a smirk playing at her lips, 'Maybe I'll have a little bit fun before we get to the battlefield. Send Tsugi to...' reaching up to scratch Tsugi on the neck she whispers to her as quietly as possible, "Hey Tsugi you should go play with the two up front. They look a little bored," dropping her hand she returns to her book as Tsugi flies off. She smiles waiting to hear the reactions if there were any.

Tsugi flies over the small caravan before landing on the girls head and starts examining the little crown on her head curiously.

Heather wasn't sure if she should be flattered or offended by the Manakete. On one hand she liked to be called cute or pretty, but in this case it seemed more like she was being treated like a pet. She didn't let it bother her too much, though. "Uh, thanks, I guess .... My name is Heather, it's nice to meet you! What's your name?" she said, smiling and holding out a delicate hand for her to shake.

And then she was attacked by some seemingly random crow! Well, not attacked, it seemed. She sat frozen as it sat on her head and examined her crown, occasionally pecking at it. She did however, move her hand to hold onto it, so it didn't try to fly away with it. "N-Nice to meet you too, little bird...." she said shakily, "...D-Do you like my crown? It is quite sparkly, isn't it?" she asked. Really wishing that she had worn different clothes now.

Matthew opened his eyes spotting the bird he lifted his hand, as he flipped open a wind spell book. "Now go back to where you came from. I don't want to have to blast you with wind but I will, you should bother princesses." He said in a chastising manner, knowing from experience the birds were much smarter than most gave them credit to be. He kept the spell pointed towards the little creature he would be gently enough to send it flying but no more.

He looked at the princess a little nervously. "Sorry if I'm not much for conversation, I haven't gotten any sleep since the boat ride." He explained as stretched his arms out and kicked his feet out, he stopped pulling off robe handing it to the princess. "Here, this should hide your jewelry and such for now. Keep bandits from seeing you or people from recognizing you." He added as if straightened up his white tunic, an armored breast plate that had once been hidden now showed. Along with his sword and tomes on his belt, his sack cloth pants were a light brown collar and had a few pieces of metal armor on over the fabric for protection. "Plus's it colder in Ylisse this time of year, very different from Valm." He added as then turned his attention to Mar.

"Mar's if you don't mind I'd like to try something." Before he finished explaining, he did what he had been sort of afraid to do earlier to calm the Manakete. Reaching out he just a way behind her ears, this had interested him greatly as the book he had looked in to stated this was an effective means at calming them. However he also seen this work with Taguel, thus if this proved true he could draw a conclusion that two races which could shift there shape were in some way connected. "The book I was telling you about mentioned this calm and relaxed Manakete. I wanted to see if it worked." He explained still rubbing behind her ears.

---

Genna nodded fetching gauze she also retrieved a dark red dye. "Here, add this to the bottom layer of the gauze. After that it will splotch and move as if blood coming up from a wound. It will looked better making it easier for them spot at a distance." She added giving the item to Choletta. The men quickly left to go set up ambush positions and place sentries. Leaving the two women alone, Genna lifted her shirt enough to show her stomach a good place to position the wound to make it look serious enough to require help.

Genna blushed a little doing this as she waited for Choletta to apply the dye and gauze. "So miss Choletta... You don't like the war much?" She asked before adding. "I don't either, but Bern saved me. I owed him, now that I think about it though... I don't want kill anymore villagers and children." She whispered in a quiet voice, making sure the soldiers couldn't hear her.

Blade stared casually at the bird. Its behavior was puzzling, but it was quickly clear that it was directed. As for the WHY of things, the man honestly had no clue, but it wasn't just random animal behavior. For the time being, though, the man sat down, then looked to Matthew. "Well, chief, whenever you're ready to move, just say the word." He spoke. In the meantime he did his best to figure out the group. Two hotheaded dragons (Or at least demidragons), a hothead whose tongue was almost incomprehensible, another hotheaded woman who seemed to have an irritable streak (avoid), a very confident dancer (people like that made him nervous), and a timid seeming young woman who was being treated as a princess (a hero worshiper perhaps? He couldn't be sure). For certain, it was a motley group. And there they were diving into the land of a nation where the young man had held his first memory after his loss.

"You know," Blade spoke, addressing both Matthew and Heather. "That's not a wild bird... Someone's pet, I'd guess."