[h2][center][color=crimson]Edelgard von Hresvelg[/color][/center][/h2]
[center]Skyworld[/center]
[center]Level 2 [color=crimson]Edelgard[/color] (9/10) -> (1/20)[/center]
[center]Word count: 917 words [/center]

[hider=New Ability for Edelgard] [b]Flickering Flower[/b] - A powerful combat arte which, in addition to dealing greatly increased damage compared to a regular attack, stuns an enemy for a period of 5 seconds after use. Has a cooldown of one minute.[/hider]


With the massive form of Worship finally sunk, the angelic forces rallied shortly before continuing on. Citronpool Harbor itself was already a wasteland by the time Edelgard and Roxas flew by atop Ortho, the angels having attacked the place prior to their arrival. Ortho set down, resting and stretching his wings, angling his body to gently coax the pair of Seekers off so he could take his own break before they all moved on. Once they were on solid ground, Edelgard turned to Roxas. 

[color=crimson]”While I appreciate your willingness to follow standard military protocol, young man, it is far from necessary for you to subordinate yourself to me. I’ve seen what you and your friends are capable of, and I do understand that you are not likely to stay overlong with Lady Palutena’s forces. My commands to my platoon are not strictly yours to follow, nor are you required to address me by rank or title. You may refer to me simply as Edelgard, or Lady Edelgard should you feel the need to use some sort of title.”[/color] The smile on her face was real, but there was a sort of put-on patience to it that hinted at a deeper dissatisfaction that the presence of the Seekers was [i]required[/i], rather than at it in general. 

[color=crimson]”That aside, we had best get our preparations finished. They won’t wait for us to begin the final assault. If there’s anything you need to do, now is the time.”[/color] Her piece said, Edelgard went to a large, open space to await Ortho’s return, once the griffin had spread its wings sufficiently. 

After she and Roxas were aboard Ortho and airborne once more, Edelgard steeled herself for the coming battle. This was the stronghold of the Corruption, Skyworld’s greatest enemy. It would be no simple feat to find and purge the source, to end the battle against this most dreadful foe. All of their preparations came to this.

The sight of the final island filled Edelgard with more confusion than dread. The geography, if it could be called such, resembled no sane place. Were her mind weaker, she might find that more disturbing, but she had seen her fair share of horror in this war. No, she was ready to do battle, to put an end to this war. As Ortho grew closer, the details of the creatures, if they could be called such, on the train grew clear. Little more than physical manifestations of Corruption with limbs and weapons, the things slithered about the train of evil like maggots on a rotting corpse. 

After a bit more flying, Ortho passed over the track, keeping his flight path aligned with it for a few moments, to give Edelgard, and Roxas if he so chose, time to dismount and land aboard the vile locomotive. 

Edelgard’s own landing let out a thunderous sound, and a bevy of Corrupted turned to her, pausing for a moment before they broke out into a frenzied attack. Following behind her a moment later were the black Eagles, and they set upon the Corrupted things like they never had before, emboldened by the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Swords flashed out, Shields and Staves bolstered their allies, and Bows hovered just out of reach, peppering their foes with arrows. 

The Corrupted were not without means to fight back, however. Disgusting things stretched their bodies, granting them much more range with which to attack the flying Featherbows with their many flailing hands, seeking to pull them into a maw of horrors. One type of Corrupted had a sort of steam-powered cannon, launching balls of Corruption into the ranks of angelic forces, threatening to overwhelm and turn them on their allies. Another belched fire from the furnace that comprised its furnace, while others could only swipe at Edelgard and the angels with their sharpened, blighted talons. 

[color=crimson]”Do not falter here, Black Eagles! We have come to the heart of this Corruption, the very bastion of our enemies! We will emerge victorious today, just a little more!”[/color] A cheer rose up through the ranks of the Eagles, though having fought two battles already, and now a third against a fresh enemy, Edelgard knew that many of them would not return. She did not dwell long on this inevitability, but she accepted it all the same. The lives given today would grant every denizen of Skyworld a new future. One full of hope and light. Their sacrifices would not be in vain. 

Edelgard’s axe flickered out in a rapid, familiar pattern against a particularly large creature with more arms and legs than she could count, the Empress unleashing Flickering Flower against the Corrupted monster. As the arte carved into the thing, it found itself overwhelmed by the force, and slumped, stunned for a few seconds. Edelgard wasted no time in climbing onto the creature, much as she had done to Beloved, to get her licks in. Her shield slammed into one of its masked faces, and Aymr crashed into its inky form, even as fire licked over her armor from a forge-gut Corrupted that a Feathersword crashed into from above, cleaving the thing in twain with a single blow. [color=crimson]”Th-thank you.”[/color] Edelgard grunted out, even as she carved and tore her quarry in twain, disgusting globules of Corruption hanging off her armor like worms writhing in dirt after the rain. Shaking herself off not unlike a dog, Edelgard launched herself into another assault, trusting her comrades to watch her back.