The Manakete had been planning to take to the air, noticing the distracted Bolters at the back of the line, and then attempt to pick off the Dwarves one by one. With the ones after him not having anything to shoot him out from the sky, it would be easy to just hurt them through his fire. He had been thinking that he was winning this unfavorable battle of one versus many. He was a fool for thinking so. He was a fool for believing that only those he can see had been posing at him for a battle. He failed to realize that there was another person aiming at him.

Searing pain.

Boiling hot water, liquid, whatever it was. It was hot. He could feel it slowly eating away at his scales. He looked over and saw the red liquid on his back. He could barely hear Jarde over the thumping of his heart that was prevalent. He growled in anger but the pain was great, he needed to leave. He needed to fall back. He stumbled backwards, still in his Manakete form, and in the process, he would knock back the Varjan Elite attacking Eclisse.

He would then go to a relatively safer place and he transformed back into his human form and then collapsed on the ground, and then letting out a pained grunt. He could still feel the pain of the fiery liquid on his back but it has certainly disappeared when he transformed back. He let out labored breaths. He needed help. However, through the pain, he dug up the spellbook in his cloak and then attempted to summon something to at least fend off anyone who tried to attack him. At least only for a little while. He needed to recover from the attack.

@Darkmoon Angel

"Don't worry," Roane called back, struggling to maintain the quiver in her own voice. "I'll make sure no one gets too close." She glanced back, giving Taka a small nod. She had seen the Outlaw eyeing her ax uneasily moments prior the attack, and she had a growing hunch that just perhaps moving him closer to enemies wasn't exactly the best.

A movement caught her eye. A swift figure, her nagitana slicing towards the bolsters with incredible speed. Roane hesitated for a moment, her suspicion fading as she caught the warrior's gaze. This one was unfamiliar, but help was help. With a small nod of gratitude, she switched her gaze elsewhere on the battlefield. There, near their original position, was her regiment. Varjans and dwarves flanked them--a duo that could only yield disastrous results. Biting back a swear as another arrow sank into the Wyvern, the fliers slowly descended down towards the surrounded regiment

Lyth hovered a few feet above the ground, his claws barely scraping the dirt. His breathing was labored, stray arrows sticking out of his body like overgrown thorns. There was no way they could fly higher unless they wished to fall a crash. Yet, despite the dragon's grievous wounds, his eyes burned with a ferocity that challenged the foes around him.

Roane patted her steed assuringly. A mixture of emotions swirled around her, pushing tight against her chest. Fear. Anger. Anxiety. But one rose above them all, tightening her grip on her axe and steeling her gaze. Cold, burning determination.

With a snarl, Lyth lunged at one of the heavily armored warriors closing in on Eclisse. Roane twirled her ax. Years of woodchopping and farm work had shaped her hands into nimble tools of trade, heavy and calloused with work. But here, in the face of an enemy, they had become tools of war. She shouted and sank the blade into the side of the Elite. Lyth reached out to claw him for added injury. Before the Elite could react, she hurriedly moved away, though still within an arrow's reach.

"Are you alright?" she called to Eclisse and Myno, her gaze momentarily leaving the foe.

Tomoe looked around; obviously, charging into a crowd of angry dwarves all armed with crossbows offered a high amount of risk. "I don't suppose politely asking to move aside is an option," she said to herself, before spotting a lone Dwarven infatryman with a large, unwieldy axe heading her way. It would be much easier to stamp out one barracuda than escape a swarm of piranhas. Or some other more situationally-fitting analogy.

Dashing back and turning around, Tomoe swung her guard naginata in front of her as the Dwarven infantryman approached. Using her shielded weapon, she parried the blows the infantryman attempted to land on her. The dwarf's broad axe was hefty, and while normally an axe would snap a poled weapon in two, the combination of the awkward weapon and Tomoe's shielding kept the two soldiers head to head. Tomoe did not want to glance backwards, for that would be the end of her. Instead, she shoved the broad side of her naginata into the dwarf with the force of a tipping cart, attempting to knock him down, slash his leg, and pass through to find a clear path to Prince Jarde.

With note that the wyvern rider had acknowledged her arrival, Tomoe pushed forth.

The Varjans had been brought to a slow pace from the damage they had taken, giving Eclisse even more time to dodge their attacks. One of the varjans even started to feel the effects of Blackfangs poison and was finished off by a quick arrow to the neck. "Nice shot... Now to finish off the other... What the..." Eclisse looked up in time to see a dark red fireball flying over, it hit its target too, Myno. "Crap! Myno hang in the... Agh!" Eclisse wasn't watching her flank and paid for it as one of the Varjans tackled her onto the ground and was about to plunge his sword into her.

Luckily, Myno, in a blind rampage trying to get to safety after getting hit by that fireball from earlier, knocked the Varjan over onto the ground. Eclisse quickly scrambled to grab her sword and plunge it into the chest of the knocked over Varjan. While she did so, the other Varjan was being kept busy by Roane and her wyvern, the Varjan looked like he was in his last battle. "Are you alright?" Eclisse got up and dusted herself off before answering Roane.

"I'm fine now... But you need to get that wyvern of yours some help... Here!" Eclisse had taken the vulnerary from her coat pocket and tossed it to Roane. "Its not much... But we can't have your wyvern kicking the bucket!" Eclisse then took her blade and charged at the remaining Varjan to deal the final blow.

-@Polaris North-

You summon a Mauthe Doog which stood vigilantly to protect you as the battle raged on. Fortunately, the Dwarves and the Varjans have begun to ignore you and your allies and focused their efforts on each other.

The Ereb prince Jarde arrived while keeping a fair bit of distance from the wolf monster you summoned. "Myno, was it? Come on, we have to get out of here." He sheathed his sword and picked you up, slinging one of your arms over his shoulders.

The pain you have sustained was slipping you almost into unconsciousness and you could only hear Jarde's faint voice giving out orders as you were half-dragged out of the battle.

-@ToadRopes-

With the Dwarf in your way taken care of and likely immobilized thanks to your blow to his leg, you reach Jarde's group as the Dwarves and the thick-armored men began focusing on each other, paying lesser attention to everything else.

You spot Jarde carrying someone and he, too, also spotted you. "You!" He called you out. "It doesn't seem like you're part of the fighting, you should get out of here as soon as you can!" He told you. "In fact, you should join us for now. We'll have a higher chance of surviving if we stick together." He suggested.

"Come on!" He went towards the wyvern and its riders whom you protected from the Dwarven Bolters earlier. It appeared that they have landed with the winged creature having sustained injuries.

-@Fubsy, @Nanashi Ninanai, @cloudystar, @Lady Athena & @Darkmoon Angel-

Eclisse managed to dispatch the two Varjan Elites and now there were none to threaten the wyvern group for now.

However, they were now surrounded by the Dwarves and the Varjans fighting each other but ignoring them. For now at least, who knows when they would get roped into the fighting again?

Jarde, with Myno slung upon him, met up with the group and soon, Merilia too. It appeared they were the only ones who were remotely together while the rest were somewhere in the chaotic battle.

-Everyone-

Jarde took a look at everyone in the group to find out who was present. He found Eclisse, Angelise who has the unconscious Nyx on her horse, Roane on her injured wyvern along with Taka, Myno on Jarde's shoulders and Tomoe the newcomer who Jarde did not know her name yet. Merilia was also present with her sword still unsheathed and watching for any hostiles that would approach them. There was also the Mauthe Doog Myno had summoned.

"Tsk!" The prince began thinking how to get his regiment out of the mess when suddenly, a loud thunder cracked and bright lightning fell on a large portion of the fighting Dwarves and Varjans. When the dust cleared, a woman of blue clothes and hair quickly approached the regiment.

"Lord Jarde! This way!" The Sage woman yelled. "We must leave!"

"What about the others?" Merilia protested. "Keerin, we can't leave them behind! We should look for them!"

"We cannot do that amidst all this chaos!" The woman named Keerin retorted. "Surely you all agree?" She questioned the rest of the regiment.

"No! We can't abandon them!" Merilia continued to protest before turning to the rest of the regiment. "Come on you guys! I know we haven't known each other for long but it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to look after them!"

Myno could barely gaze at Roane and barely registered her words. He let out a grunt as a reply - whether it was a 'yes' or a 'no' would be up to her to decipher. But he was obviously in no good shape. He, himself, knew it. He inwardly cursed to himself for being inattentive. Years of sleeping seems to have made him rusty in the art of war. The Mauthe Doog he had summoned stood by him loyally, its aim to protect him from anything that was an enemy. Although no one seemed to even notice him anymore as the Varjans and Dwarves ignored him to battle with each other.

The Manakete heard yet another voice - it was the boy prince's voice. His eyes blurred and cleared repeatedly as he gazed upon the prince. He was saying something he could not decipher. But he guessed it was somewhere between the lines of 'we have to get out of here' and 'get to safety'. He let himself be dragged by the prince, feet under him barely walking in a straight line. He fought for his consciousness. He certainly couldn't fall unconscious now, not in the battlefield. He would just be a burden and that was the last thing he wanted to be.

There was a flash of bright light that temporarily blinded him. It took a while for him to process that it was an attack - a lightning bolt striking down on a huge portion of the battlefield. He could hear a new voice calling out to the prince who was supporting him. He still had his consciousness for now and could understand bits and pieces and he managed to put two and two together. That red clothed girl and the blue clothed girl - Keerin, he thought her name was - were fighting whether or not they should leave the others. Myno wasn't thinking clearly as his mind was too busy fighting for consciousness but he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Leave." He muttered but it was loud enough for others to hear. "Retreat. Too many."

"...I definitely wouldn't mind retreating since everyone's pretty banged up right now. But I definitely know with a large group like this, it'll be hard to get out even with this distraction. I could help cover you guys escape and get out myself, after all, thieves like me always find a way out hehe. Though, I may need someone to back me up just for a moment to hold off anyone getting too close. Can't perform miracles without a little extra effort, not a magic person, only a thief."

Taka hops off the injured Wyvern, giving his flying aquaintance a soft pat on the back as a sign of gratitude. He starts taking out his bow and preparing a few arrows to shoot, waiting for the Prince's call if Taka can hold back any chasing stranglers in case there are any. But he did look at Eclisse (but only gave her a look), Tomoe (a nod since he did notice her taking out archers for him and Roane's sakes earlier), and Roane (with a smile for the ride earlier). He would take any three of them since the others seemed to be plenty injured of the sorts and wished to get out rather quickly. After all, maybe this'd be a good chance to show he was mostly...okay fully committed to their little group. That and he had an awful hunch about something that he really hopes isn't true due to his...little heists on the food.

@Fubsy@ToadRopes@Darkmoon Angel

Roane nodded in thanks as Eclisse tossed her a vulnerary. Popping the cap off, she poured its contents into Lyth's mouth before tucking away the medicine for future use. The wyvern flapped his wings as the newfound energy coursed through his veins as and the wounds from his pain ceased to bother him. A rose echoed through the battlefield as he flapped his wings, rising a foot off the ground. Roane smiled and patted Lyth, yet there glimmered grimness in her eyes. The vulnerary helped, but it didn't change the fact that the regiment was surrounded by foes. Dwarves, Varjans--soldiers of all walks of life, trust wavering with every side they chose.

This was too much. Way too much in too little time. Roane's eyes darted around, strung at the limp Nyx and barely hanging on Myno. They were alive, thank the gods, but for how long? She was no Cleric, but it didn't take much to figure out that another battle would only end up in more needless death. She gripped the reins tight, eyes scanning over the battlefield. But there were more out there. She didn't know how she could sleep knowing she had the choice to save them, but simply left. Roane's gaze darted back and forth between them, hesitance clear in her eyes. Slowly, she closed her eyes.

"Forgive me." The murmur was barely audible amongst the clatter of battle. Yet the words carried the weight of her choice.

Her eyes snapped open and she flew to the manakete, drawing out and giving him a vulnerary. "He's right." The words were hollow with guilt and defeat. "We can't risk another battle. We're too ill prepared." Her gaze darted to the ground. "I don't want to leave anyone behind. But..." she swallowed hard, "the official meeting tent is aflame, we have several injured on our unit, and we're completely surrounded by foes. Our best chance is to retreat."

Lyth growled and headbutted Taka, the closest a wyvern could get to a sign of affection. Roane nodded back to Taka. "I'll try to help if I can. Lyth is fast, and I'all be alright as long as I'm careful." And I'all be able to try to search for my lady. The task remained unspoken, yet the concern screamed in her mind.

Tomoe nodded back to Taka. "If there's a possibility of finding the others without risking more casualties, I am bound by duty to go after them. Now that being said, that all depends on the possibility, but we should decide quickly..."

Tomoe gripped her weapon. "That being said I have been sent here to perform the duty of protection first and foremost. And I don't know how much say I've got given how I've just merely appeared in the heat of battle. I assure you, I'm an ally."

She thought back to the feelings of loneliness she suffered in her childhood, how that anxiety persisted through her life; she did not want anyone to be stranded amongst a sea of enemies.

Her weapon was an asset, but it was just one, two, three people within a tidal wave. One does not stop a tsunami by throwing a stone at it. "I do not wish to be a hindrance to the group, so if we want to save the others, we're gonna have to work quickly and carefully. Is that plausible?"

Things just kept getting more hectic. It seemed that this battle wasn't going to stop until everyone was dead. Eclisse stood by with the rest of the group, Roane was able to get her wyvern going with the vulnerary she gave her which was good, but she wanted to stay behind and help Taka with finding some people who could still be alive in this mess.

*sigh*... Never leave a man or woman behind... Eclisse muttered under her breath. I'll... Help out too... If there's a chance that whoever your looking for is still alive in this mess... I'll take it... The rest of you can run if you want... She sounded cold on that last statement, but they had wounded and needed to get to safety. Hell, if Eclisse made it out of this with everyone else alive... She would call it a job well done for being a mercenary.

"I know I know, I'm just staying behind to get you guys a better chance to escape. I'll definitely follow behind quickly, I can move fast...just whoever stays behind with me, he or she better be able to catch up...otherwise I won't be able to help as much if I end up dying too hehe."

Taka notions to others to follow him for those who were staying behind for a moment as he readies his bow once more. He was still waiting for the order from the prince to head out. His own instincts were telling him to run but he wanted to at least guarantee the others a good escape route in case it would lead to faults. That and who knows would join them if he held off the wave for a moment? The bandit was very confident that he could get out of this quickly...as long as no one slowed him down nor he got caught in a close ranged fight. Can never know on the battlefield after all...

"Only one of you is fine, but be quick though. This brief moment of piece isn't going to last long!"

@Fubsy@Darkmoon Angel@ToadRopes

Nyx lied on the horses back. Her pendant was noticeably glowing brightly. She was also starting to radiate a slightly green glow herself.
Her body was also extremely hot, Angelise would definitely be feeling the heat and so would the horse. She was groaning as if things were getting worse.

Nyx stood before the podium within her head and the green orb sitting upon it. Upon closer inspection the podium seemed to be more of an alter for this orb. The green orb was glowing brightly and it had the kind of aura of wanting to be touched. She reaches towards the orb and touches it. The orb felt as if it had a heartbeat...

Taka

"I know I know, I'm just staying behind to get you guys a better chance to escape. I'll definitely follow behind quickly, I can move fast...just whoever stays behind with me, he or she better be able to catch up...otherwise I won't be able to help as much if I end up dying too hehe."

Taka notions to others to follow him for those who were staying behind for a moment as he readies his bow once more. He was still waiting for the order from the prince to head out. His own instincts were telling him to run but he wanted to at least guarantee the others a good escape route in case it would lead to faults. That and who knows would join them if he held off the wave for a moment? The bandit was very confident that he could get out of this quickly...as long as no one slowed him down nor he got caught in a close ranged fight. Can never know on the battlefield after all...

"Only one of you is fine, but be quick though. This brief moment of piece isn't going to last long!"

@Fubsy@Darkmoon Angel@ToadRopes

"I stay and help Taka... We'll have a better chance at surviving with speed on our side... Besides Roane, this isn't exactly the best battle for your wyvern... We don't need any stray arrows or fireballs knocking you out of the sky..." Eclisse wasn't looking for approval, she didn't want to see any fellow comrades fall in this battle. "What are you waiting for!? Go, me and Taka have this!

-@cloudystar, @Darkmoon Angel-

Jarde nodded at the two of you. "All right. As your commander, I order you to come back unscathed okay?"

And so the two of you were off, back to your camp that was now overrun by chaos and fighting. Fortunately, no one seemed to impede your little trek to the camp but the both of you still had to skillfully avoid and evade dueling soldiers, nasty brawls, injured people begging for help and dead people simply laying on the ground.

The two of you reach the camp without a fight but the same could not be said about the camp itself. Several of the tents were already burning. Some of the pots and utensils were strewn about. There was no sign of your allies however and you would need to scour more of the battlefield to find them. Probably not a wise decision though.

Suddenly, someone came crashing down in front of you. Both of you recognized him as your ally Cylus, albeit covered in blood and wounds. He did not notice you and seemed to be more focused on his current opponent. Cylus' opponent was taller than both of you and wielded two thorny swords but he was focused in Cylus too.

-@Polaris North, @Fubsy, @ToadRopes and @Lady Athena-

After Taka and Eclisse had left, Jarde turned to the remaining. "All right, let's move out!"

"Follow me, everyone!" Keerin lead the group through the area she called down a powerful, magical thunder into which was now mostly devoid of soldiers and fighting.

However, Nyx suddenly heated up which forced Angelise's horse to buck her off. Keerin was immediately onto her and examined the unconscious Manakete. "She is radiating a tremendous amount of heat. How do we move her?" The Sage asked Jarde but the question was directed to everyone.

A decision needed to be made soon as the gap made by Keerin was slowly being filled by the fighting again.

Myno had been slowly recovering from his half-unconscious state. His will allowed him to think rather coherently and to move without Jarde's help, but he was still being supported. Fine by him, but at least he knows he can do something without the prince. The group has decided that Taka and Eclisse would go around and try to find the others. It was foolish to split up, but they looked confident and capable so Myno did not voice any of his concerns.

However, he could easily say that they would be fools to expect that they were still alive. In the previous war, he always heard that. Sending out a scouting team to look for their missing soldiers only to find them dead on the ground and they would come back disheartened. The Manakete has seen too much of those to expect the best; in war, one always has to expect the worst to happen. You can never be too careful after all.

His attention snapped towards the horse that buckles to remove Nyx from it. Myno wriggled himself off of Jarde's hold and then half-walked, half-stumbled towards Nyx. He knelt down beside Keerin and examined his fellow Manakete. "Dragonstone." He pointed out, gesturing towards the glowing pendant. "Maybe... first time turning into a dragon." He continued before placing a hand on her skin and retracting it almost immediately. "I can touch her for some time. Heat's the same as when I turn." He then frowned. "But I'm too injured to carry her."

Recognizing the swordsman from earlier, Taka immediately shot off the two readied arrows in his Iron Bow rapidly at the man fighting his pal from before. No hesitation, easy shot, no flankers...perfect time to strike. Hoping his arrows rang true, he yells over to Cylus to get his attention.

"Hey, Cylus! Let's get out of here, leave that man and live! We're getting out of here now, we'll fight again another day. You coming, the company is nearby still!"

He looks at the swordswoman who was next to him and shrugs a bit. Taka would have preferred to have a quicker means of escape from Roane and her Wyvern...but the lady did have a point about the arrows. Would be a pain to deal with the archers once more...that and this lady seems rather fast on her feet. Makes more sense after all, an ax-wielder over a swordswoman. Taka gives her a nod and starts forming the plan in his head to take the route they just took to enter this area, but only a little more curvy on their return trip so that they can move around any opposing threats that seemed to be approaching.

"Hey, err...lady who is pretty serious all the time. If you can cover my flank just for a moment, I'm going to help my friend over there get over here with my arrows...while also planning our escape route. Seems like people are slowly filling in and no other survivors, so it's time to go soon!"

@Darkmoon Angel

@cloudystar
Eclisse gave a nod towards Taka, she would've prefer to be called by her name but her name can wait till later. Right now she needed to do some covering, she brandished Blackfang and proceeded to attack any who would try to interfere with Taka's plan.

Nyx's mind
Nyx was sent flying backwards as the green orb on the alter burst into a large green flame that started to resemble a dragon of some kind within her head. She watched as it lunged towards her with great speed. Instincts taking hold of her causes her to try and escape the flames grasps. Rather unsuccessfully though. She lied on the ground absorbing the flame.

Battlefield
The other manakete was very close to what was actually happening. But it was not Nyx's first time she has changed rather this was her second. She had transformed one other time, a time similar to this but this time was different. She wasnt alone... Nyx and the dragonstone in her pendant now both glowing. The girl cries out in pain still seeming very unaware of her surroundings. She squirms like crazy as she seemed to be trying to resist the change. She stops suddenly and begins to cool down... When her eyes fling open, her eyes seemed to be draining of the sky blue and leaving a rather crimson red. She sprouts a pair of wings and a tail. She begins to move towards the fighting as her transformation continued. She jumps off the ground towards the sky. Her body completely covered with scales and her body being much larger and less human looking. Her face pushed out into a dragon muzzle and her teeth became sharper and more fang like. Her hands and legs resembling that of a dragon. She launches a Medium-large ball of green flames towards the fighting with no regard for sides.

--@cloudystar, @Darkmoon Angel--

Taka's two arrows lodged themselves into the gladiator's chest and made him stumble backwards. The fight between him and Cylus temporarily broken.

Cylus stood up but his sustained wounds prevented him from moving quickly and he limped towards Taka and Eclisse. Once he reached you, he took one glance around before suddenly pushing Taka to the ground. A familiar, spike sword then impaled him in the chest. It appeared that the gladiator had thrown one of his swords at Taka which Cylus blocked with his body.

Cylus dropped to the ground, looking at Taka. "Go... get... out of... here..." He said in his final breaths.

The gladiator was then joined by multiple Varjan Warriors and outnumbered the duo five-to-one. Confident in their victory they began to advance on Taka and Eclisse.

--@Lady Athena, @ToadRopes, @Polaris North, @Nanashi Ninanai--

Nyx's fireball exploded a portion of the fighting. A move that did not go unnoticed.

Multiple Footmen then surrounded Nyx. They had long polearms which they thrust and jabbed into her, piercing through her scales and creating wounds. Not only that, there was a whole group of Footmen with bows taking aim at her. The Footmen's colors indicated that they were of the Concilium.

"W-Wha... What are we going to do?" Merilia frantically turned to her allies.

It was then Jarde unsheathed his sword once more. "Merilia, we're going to get the bowmen." The prince declared before turning to Tomoe. "You, take Angelise and get those polearmed Footmen off Nyx. Try to minimize casualties, okay?" He then turned to the ice-haired Sage. "Keerin, heal Myno. I want him assisting Tomoe and Angelise in taking care of those Footmen."

"Am I clear? Let's go!"

Keerin brandished her Heal staff and hovered it near Myno. "Don't move much, sir. This will not take long."

Myno stumbled back when she began transforming into a dragon. He had to honestly give that transformation a ten over ten. But her attack did not help their eventual tactical retreat. The men of Concilium began to advance towards her and began using their polearms to pierce her scales. And what's sad about that? It was working. She was being wounded. He drew in a breath and then curled his fists. There was no choice, he had to transform again. However, before he could do that, Jarde ordered this Keerin to heal him.

He let out a grunt as a reply as he stood still, looking at the field. As soon as she was done healing him, he was ready to go. Minimal casualties, Jarde said. Of course, they were still Concilium after all. However, it was hard to not get angry at the ones who were actively trying to kill one of your teammates. Didn't they know that she was Concilium as well? Gods above. "It is much appreciated, Sage." He said.

Like what Keerin said, it did only take a while. He felt his back feel a lot less painful and his energy came flowing back to him. He then nodded at Keerin and then stood back, the dragonstone in his bracer began glowing. Much unlike what Nyx went through, he didn't seem to be resisting or was in pain during the transformation.

The pale yellow dragon roared, as if to get the attention of the other footmen before barreling (quite quickly may I add) towards the archers with every plan to just knock them out.