[center][h3][color=#b3ccff]Esben Mathiassen[/color][/h3][/center]
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As he'd expected, Isolde did not care what arguments were brought up. Perhaps not self-righteous, but entirely bought into her own interpretation of things nonetheless. She was unwilling to consider any alternative, nor even to acknowledge that the Kirins did not, [i]could[/i] not have the information she demanded. Esben's eyes scanned over the group of Templars behind her once again, his impassive gaze held for a moment longer on those that started to shy away from the eye contact.

Shame was certainly a powerful tool, even in the face of such demagoguery. It could never sway the entirety of those arrayed against them, but only a few would make enough of a difference.

As Miina slipped in behind Galahad and Izayoi, Esben himself fell back behind the pair in the moment before the battle resumed. A blade swung his way narrowly missed, impeding a thrust that was sent at the same time. An arrow was loosed, the shaft cutting through the air near his leg before it buried itself in the dirt. Some of the templars jockeyed for position as they surged forward to meet the front line of the Kirins.

No mere luck behind any of that—appearances were important, certainly, and those that his words had found some purchase with understood that clearly. They couldn't openly help, but they could hinder what coordination the Templars were [i]supposed[/i] to have.

He slipped further away, coming in towards the back of the group, nearer to Ciradyl and Éliane. His sword hung at his hip, replaced with the journal that he had flipped open in one hand and was quickly scanning down the page. Sure enough, the fairies had decided that using his blood as the ink was what was needed to finalize the pact. A somewhat open-ended contract, though he didn't expect anything particularly ironclad from the supernatural beings; moreover, that benefited him as much as it might them.

He didn't recognize the language that they'd written the terms of the summoning in, but as the aether in the blood began to glow faintly under his focus, it was clear he didn't need to. He glanced up towards where Galahad landed heavily in the midst of the Templars, the arcane words spilling from his tongue almost unconsciously. A flash of red hair rushed up to the Grovemaster cloaked in white, Templars in the lead reeling back as they realized, suddenly, that the blades that were raised against them suddenly carried an actual [i]threat[/i].

Purple and green lights glowed at his sides, but the pair would have to go without any greetings for now. [color=#b3ccff]"Selene, give us your wind, now!"[/color] he commanded, and the purple fairy, as if expecting as much, lifted her hands in silent reply. Where the Templars were surprised by the sudden threat, they may be [i]alarmed[/i] to find that the Kirins were no longer quite so [i]slow[/i] facing them, a hazy purple nimbus in the area the only sign that they might recognize to mean that their targets had aid as well.

The same tingling feeling he'd felt down his spine as Eos and Selene completed the pact had returned, but this time he could feel the static coursing through his entire body. The closest he'd come to any such sensation was directly handling an active materia...it was curious to think that, for the fairies, he was proving a similar sort of magical battery.

He raised his arm with the journal, pointed at the suddenly-accosted Isolde. Though their shields were down, the Templars still had an effective White Mage with them, who needed to be kept off balance until they could chip away every last defence. [color=#b3ccff]"Eos,"[/color] he started, eyes firmly focused on the Grovemaster, [color=#b3ccff]"You know how to heal, [i]ja?[/i] Let's do the reverse to her."[/color]

The small, green-glowing family nodded, one arm atop Esben's, the other pointed out at Isolde as well. [b][color=#008b8b]"On it!"[/color][/b] she replied, and muttered a word that he didn't know; from the book he held outstretched, a sickly green bolt flew across the battle, striking the Grovemaster. [b][color=#008b8b]"That should keep her hurting for a little bit!"[/color][/b] the sprite replied cheerfully, regardless of whatever poisoned aether she'd sent hurtling across the ruins. Esben turned back to Éliane behind him, nodding to the middle of the fight.

[color=#b3ccff]"If you've got anything that can stun the lot of them without hurting any of our own too much, keep it ready. We may yet have to run from this."[/color]