[IC] War Notes

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The Imperial Records

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Imperial Records #000

The Valys Continent: A great landmass composing most of the Known World. Valys is a land of sharp mountains, deep forests and vast plains the majority of which are very low populated thanks to the many dangers —both natural and not— that plague the land. Valys weather is predominantly temperature in nature and very humid thanks to the the large oceans all around it. Nevertheless some areas, like high mountain ranges, or isolated islands have climates and biomes unique to them.

A large number of beings inhabit Valys. Some of them are natural like wolves, bears and horses. Most of them are fearsome beasts which are said to posses incredible powers and that threatens mankind's everyday life on a constant basis.

However, men persevered. It created civilization and culture, mastered fire, steel and magic, founded nations that rose and fell to the inexorable tide of time. The Golden Era of Valysian men may have ended a long time ago but mankind still thrives on this land. Currently the three main powers which claim domain over the land are known as the Arcadian Empire, the Grand Duchy of Westris and the Alliance of the Free States.

Imperial Records #000

Imperial Records #000-A

The Empire: The Empire occupies most of the Northern Valys, a mountainous land of deep valleys and temperate forests full of natural resources which power the Empire's mighty economy. The very Northern however are a harsh land where few can prosper. Despite its riches, the fact that the Empire is plagued by dangers, both mundane and supernatural is the main reason why it hasn't succeeded in reunifying the continent once.

Imperial Records #000-A

Imperial Records #000-B

The Alliance: The Alliance occupies most of the Southwestern Valys, along with many of the maritime territories of the Valys Southern coast. Their lands are far poorer in resources to the Empire but have a better agricultural potential, allowing the many smaller states that comprise the Alliance to stand up with numbers that pretty much match the Imperial Army toe-to-toe.

Imperial Records #000-B

Imperial Records #000-C

The Grand Duchy: Of the three major powers in Valys, the Grand Duchy is the least plentiful of resources and population, or so is said, but they more than make up for it with intellectual and technological advancement. They occupy the high mountains and plains of the Northern Valys, nearly completely encircled landlocked, except for some bits of the North Sea's coast.

Imperial Records #000-C

The Empire.

Imperial Records #001

Arpeggio: The Capital of the Arcadian Empire and largest city in the Known World, with a total population of a little more than a million souls. The city is was founded —in fact, the older parts of it were carved— in a heavily defended mountain side, making it nearly impossible to siege. Arpeggio is a truly vivid and luxurious city unlike any other in Valys. It's perfectly cobbled streets, beautiful arched bridges and many ancient monuments dating all the way to the Empire's foundation are true treasure trove of mankind's history.

Imperial Records #001

Imperial Records #002

Orello: Fort Orello and its namesake village were located. Being one of the last remaining citadels of the Old Empire, originally build to thwart the lackeys of the vile Goddess of Strife, Orello is one of the Empire's most critical defense positions, standing right in the way of the Grand Duchy's forces.

The village of Orello itself is very well known through the most of the Empire for the quality of it's beer, made from their freshly clean waters, as well as for their sheep, whose both wool and meat are coveted as luxury goods.

Imperial Records #002

Imperial Records #003

Aquaria: Second only to the Imperial Capital in terms of importance, self-administered City of Aquaria is the trading heart of the Empire, it's no exaggeration to say that all of the Empire's treasures pass through Aquaria before reaching the Capital. The City of Water is also a major hub for enlightened, having the most advanced schools and academies, not to say anything of museums and the Grand Library, which is said to house a countess number of volumes in its maze like chambers. The Aquarian Royal Guard are the stalwart defenders of the city, known for their fierce determination and skill at arms, thought most of them aren't as magically gifted, unlike the Cadenza Knights.

Imperial Records #003

Imperial Records #004

Religion & Myths: A long, long time ago it's said that Valys was a land of peace, where mankind and their Gods, known collectively as The Thirteen, lived in peace and harmony. Under the rule of the Gods, mankind built its greatest civilization, the Arcadian Empire, which lived in a Gold Age of peace and advancement far beyond that of today's world. However, the Goddess of Strife grew tired of the other Gods' complacency, tricking them, stealing their divine essences and, eventually, killing them.

With the power of all of Gods together, the Goddess of Strife wagged war against mankind, building an army of dark and twisted creatures. It seemed like men were doomed, falling like flies before the mighty of the Goddess, only thing they could do was pray and try to survive.

Mankind's prayers were heard by The Three, who came to their aid. Some say that The Three are mighty archangels left behind by the Fallen Gods to safeguard the world in case of disaster, other say that they are beings of immense power —dragons, perhaps— created by the Goddess of Strive who ultimately grew a consciousness and challenge their Mistress besides mankind. Yet others say that they were neither, but humans who, somehow, achieved the greatness necessary to lead their armies to victory. The Three are said to have imparted, some say they have in fact sired or gave birth, to the first Vessel Bearers. To this day any who can manifest a Vessel is regarded as a physical manifestation of The Three by the most superstitious.

Regardless of the truth about The Three, it's said that, with their aid, humanity finally could push the armies of the Goddess of Strife back and defeat the Goddess herself. However, she was too powerful to be destroyed. Instead of that, it's said that the Goddess' divine essence was divided in thirteen parts and sealed away in the distant reaches of the world to never be seen again. It's still a common belief between certain natural philosophers and historians that areas with unnatural concentration of monsters and old ruins may indicate the places were such remains have been sealed. Nevertheless, the danger posed by such a research keps it out of reach of any rational scholar.

Imperial Records #004

Imperial Records #005

Time & Age: .

Imperial Records #005

[KoL]

W A R N O T E S

BGM

The land of Valys, a world tormented by the shadow of conflict ever since time immemorial. This world which is divided by three great powers, the mighty Empire, the resolute Alliance and the crafty Grand Duchy, may be a world that will never know the meaning of true peace, whose frontiers shift and waver to the dance of its nation's powers like the ocean tides ebb and flow according to the caprices of the moon.

However, even such a world of conflict has its moments of much-needed reprieve and that's is exactly what the Liberation Festival is for. The annual feast in which all warriors put down their arms and the people celebrate the defeat of the vile Goddess of Strife by the Heroes of Legend. During the days of the festival, a competition between the aspiring knights of every nation is held in neutral grounds and all battles are abolished by law.

But, as is said, all rules have their exception. Such an exception would soon become the turning point of a group of Imperial Cadets sent to a patrol mission at the Northern Frontiers. What fate has in store these young warriors? Will they give in to the weight of the whole world? Will they forge a name for themselves and become the next legends to be celebrated for eons to come?

That's what we are about to find. But first, their story shall begin like many others, around a hot meal in a bone-chilling Northern evening...

Northern Arcadia
^{Arden Highlands}

"Alright, Cadets, you have been doing a good job so far but don't let your guard down just because we are a couple days away from our last objective, Fort Orello, the last bastion of the Empire's defense in the North. If you let your own competence cloud your judgment, you are liable to meet an unsavory demise on the battlefield." The raspy voice of the Knight Captain Velocchio sent by the Academy to oversee the Cadets' training echoed through the camp as she barked orders left and right.

The darkness encroached fast fast on the hilly lands of the Northern Empire, especially around this time of the year when the Winter was still a very fresh memory. After all, the Liberation Festival was celebrated on the first weekend of every Spring, without a fault... at least on recent history.

A freezing wind blew through the Cadets' camp, threatening to blow away their all too precious fire even as tonight's meal was about to get ready to eat. Such a meal, a hearty venison stew, was a luxury for soldiers on the battlefield, brought to them by luck on today's hunt. No doubt it would also be the last good meal, non-preserved meal they would have before reaching their expedition's destination as the lands around this area are comprised mostly of complicated hills and forests.

Beyond the exceedingly complex terrain, which in an of itself acted as a barrier to deter unfriendly advances from the North, laid the famous valley where Fort Orello and its namesake village were located. Being one of the last remaining citadels of the Old Empire, originally build to thwart the lackeys of the vile Goddess of Strife, Orello is one of the Empire's most critical defense positions, standing right in the way of the Grand Duchy's forces.

The village of Orello itself is very well known through the most of the Empire for the quality of it's beer, made from their freshly clean waters, as well as for their sheep, whose both wool and meat are coveted as luxury goods.

However, unknown to the Cadets', they would not have an easy time reaching their destination.

Half an hour later

"Unknown armed forces spotted to the northeast of our position. It's the enemy, the enemy, Sir— gahh!" Those were the last words of Wagnil Strauss, one of the group's scouts, before being hit in the back by two gun shots. It seems like the very enemy he spotted managed to track him back to the Cadets' camp and began their attack without any sort of warning.

"Our position have been compromised, get your arms and ready yourselves for the battle," the Captain shouted as she took cover behind tree, holding on to Strauss' limp body.

The enemy, which attacked from all sides of the camp, were comprised of light infantry forces, numbering at around one and half dozen. Apparently, one third of their forces were comprised riflemen, with the remaining soldiers wielding light shields and battle axes, all their gear bore a striking resemblance to that of the Duchy's military, thought they didn't bore any form of visible identification. They attacked in groups of two shocktroopers and one riflemen from separate directions leaving only a small corridor, which would lead straight into a nearly impossible to traverse rocky hillside, open for escape.

What was the reason behind such an attack? Who was behind it? And what would the Cadets do in face of such a drastic outcome? That's what will be found out pretty soon... maybe.

@McFazzer @Er0r @Onarax @Mercurial @TheWindel @Mega Birb @Hammerman @Mag Lev @DracoLunaris @Leotamer @Ghost Queen @Lonewolf685 @Crimmy @SilverDawn

[OwO]

Neno

As the flames of their camp flickered from the belated winter winds, Neno enjoyed his meal. In all honesty, he didn't like it. The thick meat was much too gamy. There was no fat to congeal, nor melt in one's mouth. Only the thin broth managed to make the meat edible. His mother's stew was much better than this. In fact, he was sure than an ape could make a better meal than what he had before him. Despite Neno's critiques, he still greedily gobbled the meal down. It was the only actual meal he had eaten in a long time. The thoughts of hardtack, cheap preserved meats, and ancient vegetables managed to be an effective means of flavouring an otherwise drab meal.

However, as he tried to savour what little of a meal he had left, an unknown man began to yell a warning. Neno looked over right as gun shots rang through the camp. It was as if the world froze. Not a single sound was made, besides for the ringing of his ears. In the brief respite of combat, Neno's mind processed one thing: all hell was going to break loose.

What little stew was left in his bowl was quickly dropped as he scrambled for cover. He needed to understand what was happening. Without so much as an ounce of hesitation, he dove behind a fallen tree and began to look around. They were surrounded, save for a single exit up a rocky hillside. It was an easy escape for Neno, except for the riflemen. If they had caught him rappelling up the hillside, he would be an easy target.

The only way to escape would be to rout them. Or kill them. Either or.

The enemy seemed to be set up to have two guards protecting one rifleman. It was a viable strategy in most battles. However, that would only be if the guards could protect the rifleman. Already forming a half-baked plan, Neno tugged on his scarf. It quickly disassembled into ribbons, twisting around his arms and his back. The length on his right arm quickly tightened into a single thread and twisted along the ground towards one of the groups.

Neno turned his body, his back along the ground and his legs bent the thick collapsed tree trunk, as if he was preparing to jump and slide across the ground. His thread quickly contorted along the ground and behind the rifleman's cronies. It slid past the rifleman, instead bending up a tree and along a thick branch. As if it were a snake, the thread lashed out at the rifleman. It quickly wrapped around his neck. Without so much as an ounce of hesitation, the thread tightened into wire, yanking the rifleman off of his feet. An unexpected snap echoed to Neno. The rifleman was most likely dead from the sudden jolt of the wire around his throat, but Neno didn't take any sort of chance. The wire cut deeper and deeper into the rifleman's neck as Neno kept reeling the thread in.

That was one rifleman down.

[Hammerman]

Esther von Degraff

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Esther shivered when the cold wind blew pass their encampment. She held herself together, having no cloak or anything warm that she could snuggle into. At least she had the warm stew in front of her, she thought. It wasn't very delicious, but as a soldier, it was already quite the luxury to be able to eat something like this. She had to thank the unfortunate deer for giving them their nourishment for tonight. She drank the stew and ate the meat in it delicately, like the way she was taught too back at home. It was certainly not really the way a soldier supposed to eat, but it seemed they weren't that rushed to finish their meal tonight, so she decided she would really enjoy and savor the taste of this meal.

That line of thought was soon proven wrong by the arrival of a man shouting that there were unknown armed forces spotted to the northeast of their position, before he fell to the ground by a pair of gunshots piercing his back.

At first, Esther froze in her place, not knowing what to do. She was still not that experienced in combat so she still hadn't really had that mind of a soldier, able to stay alert at all times. Thankfully, it only took two seconds before she snapped out of it. She quickly threw away the stew she was holding in her hands and went for cover, just like how she had been taught by the Academy.

Fear quickly gripped her heart once she noticed that they were surrounded from all sides. They were numbered one and a half dozen, equipped as light infantry units. One third of them was composed of riflemen, while the others carried light shields and battle axes. They travelled in three, one riflemen and two shocktroopers. She noticed that there was only one way of escape, through a nearly impossible to traverse rocky hillside.

"Calm down, Esther, remember your training and think about this logically..." she said to herself as she felt her heart beating like mad. She took a deep breath and put a hand on her chest; her usual way of calming herself. First of all, she should be able to traverse that escape path thanks to the mobility of her vessel, the pair of red slippers she was wearing right now. From there, she would switch them to boots mode and attack the enemy from afar. Yep, that sounded like the best possible course of action she could take right now.

She then saw one of the riflemen going down, thanks to her comrade Neno's ability. Quickly, she darted out from her hiding spot, using the temporary chaos to head to the rocky hillside. The terrain didn't hinder her at all, since she could just leap over whatever rocks were on her path. When she got to a decent position, she switched her vessel to combat mode, turning it into a pair of red over-the-knee boots. Quickly, she stomped her feet and sent a wind blade towards the nearest enemy group. Unfortunately, she only managed to get the rifleman as the other two had shields that blocked her attack.

[Mega Birb]

Venison stew and weather cold enough to freeze the ass off of anyone else. Gerhardt was back in his home territory, and as such, he was in better spirits than probably everyone else there.

Captain Velocchio had told them all to not become complacent, though the northerner had his doubts about anyone attacking them this far out of the way. Still, he wasn't about to speak out of line, she was a fearsome leader and he wouldn't consider it wise to cross her. He did, however, look up at her from his meal just as something went amiss. "You sure are trying to make me homesick today, Cap-"

Right as the two gunshots rang out, the pendant around his neck flashed a dull gold and disappeared, returning a moment later as a lengthy sword in the student's hands. Gerhardt's stew, unfortunately, was sent spiraling into the frozen ground as he jumped to his feet and readied the blade. From what he could tell, enemies were encroaching on them from all directions, and Neno was already dealing with one of them. A quick glance around showed a rocky slope that would allow for an escape by only the most dexterous of the group, which he was one of, but that would mean the majority of them would be stranded. That left only the option to rout them or kill them.

He gave Mystletainn a spin before gripping the blade with both hands and starting a slow advance, intending to goad the guards of the riflemen into coming for him directly. Before the fruition of his plan, he heard a crack and a bullet whizz. On pure instinct, he leaned to the side and chopped the air, a satisfying ting ringing out as the bullet met with his blade and was cut down. In short, his agility and reaction time would be his shield. "We won't win an ambush on the defensive! Let's move and stay close!" Still readied, he silently hoped others would follow his strategy and form up behind him.

[DracoLunaris]

When the attack came Althea had long since scarfed down the stew, something she had somehow done without removing her mask, and was sitting quietly scratching away in the leather bound notebook with a quill, writing a short entry in her journal. The sound of the twin gunshots caused her to leap to a standing position in surprise, dropping the diary and writing implement. She saw the scout collapsing and picked up her doctoring bag in her left hand while the bangle around her right grew to cover her forearm with a silver gauntlet.

She ended up taking cover from the attackers behind a tree next to the Captain The young girl was breathing heavily behind her mask, while she had been trained like the others she was still a doctor in training first and a soldier second. She resisted the urge to just stay pinned to the tree till this was all over and she could help the wounded. They were outnumbered and surrounded, if she didn’t help there might only be corpses at the end of this.

She looked to the fallen journal as she focused her magic through her Vessel, yellow lines of light spreading from the gem on the back, remembering how she had promised her father that she would stay safe and leave the fighting to the warriors.

“Sorry dad, no choice now”

She ducked out of the tree briefly and hurled the glass vial that had formed in her hand at one of the groups 3. The glass shattered and a white smoke enveloped the combatants, smothering them with tear gas, a chemical weapon that causes severe eye, respiratory, and skin irritation, pain, bleeding, and even blindness.

The closest group thoroughly distracted by their inability to see she turned to the captain who was next to her with the shot scout in her arms.

“Late me take him captain, I have medical training.”

Despite how scary the situation was she managed to keep her voice steady, speaking clearly and concisely. It was important for a doctor to sound like she was in control of the situation and it also helped reduce the problems the muffling effect her attire had on her words.

If the captain agreed she would rush over to the tree they where behind and take the scout from her, examining the shots he had taken.

[Mercurial]

Leon Brandeau

Leon wondered if it was some form of providence that they happened to go somewhere so familiar for their assignment. Of course, since the Brandeau estate was somewhat further back from the borderlands, he hadn't been able to visit his home, but it was certainly close enough to feel nostalgic. Of more interest was Fort Orello, which was to be their last destination. Leon had a brother stationed at the fort, so it would be great to get the chance to see him on the last leg of their journey. Even if this was just a common patrol assignment, Leon felt like this was probably the best patrol assignment he could have ever gotten.

Then, it seemed as though fate set out to ultimately ruin the experience. They were alerted to an encroaching assault force by their ill fated scout Wagnill. Most of everyone Leon could see were quickly rising to the occasion, and even if they were surprised, they were still among those training to be the fighting elite of the Neo-Arcadian Empire. Leon wasn't about to allow himself to be seen to be less than ready either. As a cadre of soldiers accosted him from the left, Leon readied his vessel and called upon a rocky wall of spears to both protect himself and impede their advance. Wasting no time, he followed up by thrusting Bastion forth from behind the wall, causing it to erupt forth as a powerful lance of stone and earth. The two shock troopers that spearheaded their group were knocked back by the force of the blow and were flung towards the rifleman they were meant to escort, collapsing atop him and ending up in a tangled mess together.

Having finished with his group, Leon heard his fellow northerner's voice ring out, calling for others to stand with him. He raced over to join Gerhardt. "I'm with you, Gerhardt! We'll turn away the enemy together!" He responded to him. He then prepared to fight in a tight group as need be. He imagined there were those in the capital that would mock him for so readily rallying behind a peasant, but the Brandeau family never stuck their nose up at the common man. He was more than ready to take arms alongside any of his comrades in arms.

@Mega Birb

[Leotamer]

Natus had been hiding before the attack started, preparing to eat. He had brought his own food; solid, tasteless, and efficient. Food that had a broth or liquid element could be dangerous, a single stain can be the difference between being spotted or being invisible. He was not surprised when the foreign army attacked, simply storing his food in a hidden pocket, pulling his bandanna over his face, and pulling out Mercy and turning her into battle form.

He did not attack yet, the others seemed capable of holding of these grunts. What he did do is observe them, and prepared him to take out any runners when the other inevitably lost. These soldiers were woefully under prepared, which meant one of two things: They simply did not know they would run into this group, or this is simply fodder to distract us as more capable foes approached. Either way, he would have to stay alert. A single runner could be trouble, and a captive could be very useful.

[Hammerman]

Esther von Degraff

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Esther heard Gerhardt's rallying shout, and then Leon's own shout giving his readiness to follow with his plan. She was filled with hesitation. Should she join them down there? Safety in numbers was one of the most basic teachings of the academy after all. But for her, who wasn't really used to battle at all, jumping into the middle of the fight sound like a suicidal move.

Thankfully, the enemy kindfully nudged her along to her choice, by having some of their riflemen aiming at her. She let a loud "Eeep!" as she covered her head with her hands before crouching to the ground, as a futile attempt to escape the bullets heading towards her, even though the wind barrier created by her vessel blocked all of their attacks just fine. Like I said, she still was not used to this whole war business.

With her being a target like this, she might as well join the others. At least that way she could take off some steam from herself. And so she quickly transformed her vessel back to its dormant state, used its power to do a far leap right towards where Gerhardt and Leon were. It should've made her vulnerable for any bullets that happened to cross her paths, but the riflemen targeting her certainly did not expect her to do such a bold move. And so she landed relatively safely; relatively since due to her nervousness she botched her landing and tripped as her feet touched the ground, making her fall face first to the ground. It would be a hilarious scene if not for the fact that they were in the middle of a life and death battle now.

"A-ah, I-I'm sorry!" she said to Gerhardt and Leon after she stood up on her feet once more. "I really need to be less clumsy..." she said to herself, though loud enough for the two to hear.

"A-anyway, what's the battle plan? I'm willing to do anything you order me too!" she continued. She never saw herself as a good strategist, or a good thinker in general, so she thought she should leave the thinking to the others.

@Mercurial@Mega Birb

[Crimmy]

TZI TI'AMTUM

Around twenty ... twenty-one attackers? The hot stew shifted in his mouth. One, two ... a few were going down? Tzi flattened himself back against a rock, bowl gripped precariously in his large hands as the bullets continued to fly. The attack was definitely a real surprise. Not as surprising as the meat; they must have gotten an older deer for his share, because the few remaining cuts floating in the bowl were definitely gamier and tougher than he'd expected. It was chewy. Too chewy. The broth was pretty great for something made on the road, even if it needed a bit more spice and pizazz, but the meat? He just hadda give it a thumbs down.

Wagnill'd taken more of a beating than whatever got the meat so tight. Poor bugger, he was missing out on the non-deer parts of the stew. The tall young man dropped into a crawl, minimising his profile in the darkness of the campsite. A few shots continued to ring out above. The enemy'd definitely gotten the jump on them. He grinned, balancing the bowl on his head as he began to shuffle forward through the cold, rough dirt. How excitingly forward of them. Too bad they were going to get real beat when he could get around that rock. He couldn't just jump up and start swinging at them immediately. It was way too dark, and with everyone jam-packed like sardines in a small area, his trident could hurt some of the pals. The surprise had caught them off-guard there.

He didn't have the luxury of getting into a good position, especially at night, but the gods must have decided that he could get away with being harder to see when pressed up against the dirt. If the attackers had successfully surprised them all, then it was only fair that Tzi was going to do the same back. The others were already doing that. He could hear Gerhardt and Leon's rallying cries. He grabbed the bowl of stew, throwing it straight up into the leg of an unsuspecting rifleman that in the chaos had failed to notice his worm-like approach. It was a waste of a meal, but he'd gotten most of the meat out of the way anyway, and desperate times called for desperate measures. It wasn't so great that he couldn't waste it. And it was hot too, so that'd help.

Tzi didn't expect it to be super effective. No, it was just a distraction. As the sudden influx of heat caught the rifleman off-guard, the islander scrambled to his feet. It happened in an instant. His muscular frame impacted the attacker head-on without warning, a real reversal of the situation at the start. He wouldn't relent from the assault, because a second later, his carving fork was in hand, manifesting into a trident that immediately stabbed down.

The gunners would have to meat their makers first.

If they could turn the momentum of the ambush against the attackers, then it'd be a much more level field.

Blood pumped through his arms.

It was going to be fun.

[Er0r]

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Mercy Mable

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Mercy was glad their journey was headed to a close, as she couldn't wait to disrobe and plunge herself into the waters of a nice warm bath. Her hair felt greasy, and her skin dry. It would be nice to take a little respite during the time of the festival, perhaps even get a new book should one be available. Every deployment seemed to be longer than the last, and never really holding any excitement. Mercy turned another page of her book. A sultry grin threatened to spread across her face. Though, as to not loose composure, Mercy switched focus onto the stew. She had delayed herself from grabbing her share as she always does. Preferring to take the shorter end of the stick and let the others get what they need.

The stew would've been a welcome addition, if it wasn't for the two gunshots and the captain's order of retaliation. Mercy's book clapped shut as she stowed it away and she readied herself. Looking around she could see the situation they were in; frowning when she saw where the two shots had made their mark. Her eyes jumped to Captain, who was holding on to Strauss. 'Tch, pity he wasn't dead... Could've been useful in taking out the enemy.' her thoughts carelessly ran through her mind. She wasn't all that close to Strauss, but she had nothing against him. 'You better live until our next encounter, Strauss. C'est la vie~'

"OOOHHHOHOHOHO~ You Peasants Dare to Surround Us? Tis a shame you throw away your lives so carelessly. You'd do better to turn back now and live the rest of your days as cowards within your own cities~! For I am the Princess of Death; ruler of your soul in both this world and the next. But to protect my comrades, I shall give my life!"

Mercy boasted as loud as she could without putting strain on her voice. Anyone who has seen her fight might just chalk this up to her being weird, though preferable to how she usually acts. Regardless, the enthusiastic youth drew forth Thánatos and pointed the blade towards the sky. She hesitated. Then with a grin, the blade spun downward as she gripped it with both hands and stabbed it deep ... between her arm and side. Those unknowing might think she actually stabbed herself, though in a way they'd be right. A minor cut broke her skin as her blood fed the blade. Her body laying as stiff as she could manage on the ground. Her blade began to glow as a skeleton began to form next to her body. Rattling, as bones connected to bones until the skull was finally placed. Then from out of the skeleton, a shade flew out, wailing about.

Mercy gave a simple order to attack as she laid there. Immediately the skeleton ran towards the nearest group of enemies and began to brawl with their rifleman; bashing the group of soldiers with its bones as they tried to defend themselves from the undead threat. The spirit flew about the battlefield, swooping down at enemies in hopes to distract them. There regrettably wasn't much for Mercy to do in this stage of the battle, but she hopes the enemy enjoyed her show as she tried to lighten the load on her comrades.

[TheWendil]

✠ G R A D O N G I L T W I T H ✠
^{⛨ Current Location: Imperial Camp ⛨}

When Captain Velocchio had given her warning to stay sharp and aware, it was almost like she was asking for trouble to come. And like a lumbering beast that happened upon its meal, trouble came barreling forward and crashed into their guard. The initial warning of the enemy’s movement was cut short by gunfire and out of instinct and reaction the rest of the Imperial cadets scattered and took to the woods like a natural habitat.

For Gradon the ambush was a good downer for the rest of the night. There went a perfectly good meal that would have no doubt sat well in his stomach; instead he was left with the presence of lost meat and the cold-cutting winds that marked battle and strife. Putting his back to one of the many trees in these icy lands, he peaked around to study the enemy’s positioning and pattern.

Three in a group, keep the guns protected by the big guys; it was classical but no less effective. He could only hope the training that was so spent on his comrades wouldn’t be wasted in reckless abandon. They were told to group up in situations like this and seeing a few of his peers attempt to take the soldiers on their own gripped his own safety for the concern for others.

Luckily someone seemed to have the right idea and Gradon heard who he thought was Gerhardt shouting. Raising his wrist, the purple bracelet coiled around it shimmered before expanding into the familiar form of Round Table. Moving away from his position, an instinctive flick of his arm sent a bullet zipping away from his form and back to the rifleman unlucky enough to pot shot.

As he ran to Gerhadt’s position, he noticed a good many of the individual battles around him before spotting Leon and Esther, both of which had joined Gerhadt. “We should slowly advance our position and take the fight to them,” he offered up since they seemed to be sharing strategies. As he said so, he continued to block bullets with swings of Round Table, this time acting to defend his comrades. “Or we hold this position and wait for the Captain to arrive.”

Thankfully it didn’t seem like any of the other students had been taken down; nothing less than expected from Imperial cadets. And the tides were changing as well, the appearance of a dark specter taking away men from their lives zipping around the battlefield. Seeing all this left Gradon feel more confident…and more puzzled as to why this battle was happening in the first place.

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@Er0r, @Crimmy, @Hammerman, @Leotamer, @Mercurial, @DracoLunaris, @Mega Birb, @SilverDawn, @KoL

[Hammerman]

Esther von Degraff

---

Esther listened as closely as she could to Gradon's instruction. So they had two choices right now, either to advance forward or stay here and wait for the Captain to arrive. Honestly, she was okay with both as her wind barrier could protect them either way. She could use her wind barrier while walking after all, as long as her vessel's boot form was active.

"I can do both!" she replied to him. "I can protect us all with my wind barrier! If we're going to move forward though, we have to do it at a walking pace as while my vessel is in its boots form, I can't really move that fast," she explained further. "I'll leave the decision up to you though! I really don't know about this stuff..." she said while scratching her head, still smiling.

@TheWindel

[Lonewolf685]

Leblanc Farris

[[ Location : Imperial Camp ]]

In the space of sixty seconds, anything can happen. In that minute span of time a sea weed haired young woman could fill her bowl and empty it with only a streak of spilled stew trailing from the corner of her lip to prove it existed at all. A laudable habbit for men-of-arms, but she'd fostered this habit in her early days among the cities bowels and it had served her well to this day. It was all just energy to burn, fuel for the night, and in her haste a sense of taste never entered the equation. Warmth and thickness of broth were all that mattered, and even the gamey lumps of meat were swallowed without any concern for choking.

It needed more vegetables. She thought with an idle gaze settling upon the wilderness beyond the fire's obscuring light, more a general remark on the food she was growing accustomed to then the meal in particular.

Blase ruminations were not to be the order of the night as the twin cracks of the rifleman's' salvo sent the night into a frenzy of motion. Her nameless Vassel unfurled and grew taught around her neck in response to the threat, causing her pupils to expand not from alarm but a conscious desire to see clearly in the nights gloom.

"Hmm..." A step to the side into the protection of a leeward tree of particularly dry wood averted the gruesome union of Leblance's pelvis and a stray shot, earning the trio of assailants where it originated from a glower in response and little else. It did not take a genius to know they were surrounded from the moment the first shots rang out, and were she to try and break the encirclement she'd have needed either favorable terrain or the full support of her comrades to avoid having to deal with being shot from either side.

Rallying calls from those unwilling to succumb to scattered gunfire drew her from her impromptu cover and sent Leblanc dashing through the center of camp to reach the gathering of warriors and maidens alike with a snap of torn wood preceding the acquisition of a branch now clutched in her off hand. Even in the midst of blistering steps she made hardly a sound in her passing, a habit of balancing the pressure along her feet leaving little in the way of disturbance for all the good it did in that raucous firefight. The seaweed haired girl dove forward as the night was parted with a crack and the air where she once was now trailed a streak of white smoke from a bullets lethal trajectory.

Her body curled and rolled forward, propelling itself momentum till she got her feet back under her and resumed her sprint without pause. More importantly, in her travel she came to cross paths with the pot they had procured their stew and now clutched in her hands was a blazing torch ignited from the smoldering embers beneath the stew. While her flight had been graceful she had no compunction with flailing the torch against every bush or tree she came across before tossing it aside and joining Gradon and company at the forefront of the breach.

"I've altered the terrain." Leblanc said flatly and drew large knife from its thigh holster, all the while flickering flames danced along branches and brambles, a growing light and bloom of smoke to obscure the attackers behind it. "Let's move before they circle around."

@Er0r, @Crimmy, @Hammerman, @Leotamer, @Mercurial, @DracoLunaris, @Mega Birb, @SilverDawn, @KoL, @TheWindel

[McFazzer]

Crispin Clean

Bullets whizzed and rattled into the surrounds like deadly hail, chunks of wood splintering through the air. The world turning quiet, the lone soldier firing at the camp checking his gun as no sound was made when fired. Out of the rifleman’s mouth a silent scream as a crimson blade protruded, a nub of flesh falling to the ground as he was freed from this mortal coil. As the rifleman gasped his last, blood flowing down his front staining the uniform red, sound slowly flowed back into reality. Cracking salvos of bullets. Orders shouted. Fires blazing.

The rifleman had died on his feet as the blade still supporting him was tilted, sliding down the length of the blade, the rifleman rolled into the newly lit flame, adding the new scent of cooking human flesh to the rage of battle.

Clean’s form was revealed by firelight, spotless as ever, as his blade gleamed starkly contrasting with his white attire. Flicking his wrist an arc of blood splatter flew off his rapier sizzling and evaporating on the flames. Running to join up with the main group Clean was more than annoyed. He simply went to go get water to wash up after the meal and then on the way there he almost tripped over these soldiers that blocked his way. A surprise attack from the rear might be construed as ‘un-fair’ or something equally unbecoming. Fair? In combat? What a novel idea. Clean was confident with Dumah in his hand he could escape on his lonesome, but that defeated the purpose of a training camp. Plus, escaping an ambush didn’t mean that he could handily fight his way back to civilization, if there were any more parties roaming about, where he could be charged with going AWOL at the very least.

Ambushing soldiers suddenly sprouted throwing blades in their necks and flashes of crimson freed their bodies from having to support their heads. As the hem of his pants were stained increasingly red, Clean picked up the pace just wanting to be out of this battlefield. Seeing a group up ahead Clean smiled slowly, parrying dagger now in his left hand as it grew more crowded and Dumah became slightly more cumbersome. Walking through the smoke and arriving with the group, Clean looked rather distressed as he checked himself for soot and bloodstains.

“Why are we still in this hell hole? We lack fortifications to hold out for a siege and they have dense forest blocking a direct assault, the only benefit we have in this situation is that battle axes aren’t able to make best use of this battlefield. I’d love to not die here, so shall we retreat?”

[Mag Lev]

Willem Valentine

Why had it been Academy students who performed this march to Fort Orello? It is true that they were training to become members of the Empire military, but how could that equate to a mission into the far North of the Empire to visit a fort? Will did not like to have to travel even further away from his family than he already had to, the march north simply being another annoyance that he must experience for the ‘Good of the Empire’. Though, his annoyance faded and took second place to surprise as bullets began to fly at their camp. What were enemies doing this far north and why were they attacking all of them when they were so close to a Fort?

Willem had little time to react as a bullet landed to his right, nearly striking his leg as is passed by. It only took an instance for his sword to form and his knuckles to turn red from clutching it with anger. If they were going to try and kill them then they better not miss because Willem wouldn’t dare allow them a second chance at such a failure. Another bullet headed straight for him, then it was gone in an instant with him barely having moved. To Will, they were hardly a threat. His natural skills enhanced by his Vessel, his speed, agility, and reaction time all far greater than before. It only took him a moment before he took down one of the soldiers rushing towards him, the man seeming to have only noticed him after his blade has run through his lung.

”I cannot say I am sorry for you, for you were foolish enough to attack us as if you had the advantage. You came prepared for this death, I hope. I’ll plead that we bury you when we can so that you soul can be free.” He slid his blade out of the man’s body, taking a short step back as he collapsed and gasped for air. It wasn’t the quickest death, but it was a death either way. Willem looked around, knowing full well that not even he could take on all the soldiers alone, until he found a group of students who were all together, protected by some fire and smoke. It took him only a short moment to cover the meters between them and land beside those at the forefront of the group.

”They wanted a fight and they shall get one. Standing around won’t do us much right now. We might as well do as much damage as we can here and now while they are distracted by the flames. Those of us with close-combat capabilities should engage the swordsmen and let those with a preference for range take care of the gunners. Watch out for each other though, we can’t tell when a bullet is flying at our backs.” Willem said with a plain face, they were outnumbered but the foes weren’t like them, they were Vessel users and they held the advantage even then. But killing people was no reason to smile, even if it was to protect themselves. He held his sword in one hand, a bit of blood trickling from his fingers, and looked at the group. ”I’d say now is the time to charge and take them out. We’ll worry about our fellow Cadets once the battle is done.” He said as he took a step forward towards the chaos.

”Though, I would expect we won’t get much time to rest here soon, especially if there are enemies here when we are nearing the Fort.” Will was unsure if what he thought was true, but no amount of soldiers in this number should’ve made it to their position so easily if everything was okay in the Fort. He simply turned and ran forward, intercepting a soldier who had been brave enough to rush towards the smoke and fire.

[KoL]

W A R N O T E S

BGM

"I'll leave him in your hands, then," was the Captain's reply to Althea as the combat medic trainee approached the downed Wagnil. Following that she attacked the duo of Shock Troopers left behind when Neno dealt with their Rifleman.

Lunging at them with a precision and resolve sharpened by a life on the battlefield, the Captain trusted her blade at one of the men's neck, twisting it in a gory display as she pulled back to attack the other's shield arm and groin with an upward slash.

The chaotic fight was taxing for one's attention, even so, the Captain turned out to see how the other Cadets were doing. "Don't attack from behind the enemy again, Degraff! You were exposing yourself unnecessarily. You were lucky they didn't—" the seasoned warrior's shout was interrupted by an explosion that hit their camp very close to the group led by Gerhardt. "They brought artillery too? What in the world is happening here?" The Captain gasped in disbelief at the sheer intensity of the enemy's attack as she resumed fending off the target nearest to her.

Meanwhile, Althea would find that Wagnil's state wasn't the best. A quick glance would reveal that he had one of his lungs as well as his lower back (and likely part of his intestine) perforated by the gunshots. The bleeding was intense and the chances of he walking on his own in the near future were inexistent. Chances of survival were below twenty percent, at best.

Even though he was knocking on death's door, Wagnill raised a bloodied hand, thrusting an object at Althea's hands. "Don't let them— take it..." he said with great difficulty as blood welled from his throat. The item, which was covered in Wagnil's blood, turned out to be a bloodied and battered journal.

At the sight of it, the enemy soldiers gestured toward Althea, one of them shouting "We found it, don't let them take that away! Kill everyone if you have to!" Another explosion rang way closer to the medic this time as one of the Riflemen gestured, seemingly relaying information to a Grenadier further back in the woods.

The fire and severe resistance were unexpected factors. "Just our luck to find a bunch of wannabe soldiers right in the middle of nowhere," the Rifleman who seemed to be the commander of the enemy forces complained. "We have no choice, use everything we have against them. If we can't have it, at least we must be sure to burn everything," he said before ordering a tactical regroup.

At such a command, the remaining Shocktroopers who could disengage from their fighting did so. Five of them formed a line between the group of gathered cadets and Althea, while two more went after the masked girl. The single surviving Rifleman aside from their leader focused on keeping the Captain at bay while the Grenadier lined a shot the grouped students. "Like fish in a barrel," he said as he was about to pull the trigger.

No matter what happened, it seemed like this mostly unwanted skirmish was going to end pretty soon.

@McFazzer @Er0r @Onarax @Mercurial @TheWindel @Mega Birb @Hammerman @Mag Lev @DracoLunaris @Leotamer @Ghost Queen @Lonewolf685 @Crimmy @SilverDawn

[DracoLunaris]

She took hold of the wounded scout as the captain went to rally the troops. She lay out a sheet across the grown and then lowered him and herself onto it. She pulled/cut away the garments covering the wounded areas and inspected his injuries. They were bad, very bad. Some part of her consider the patient lost, that it would be best to put the poor soul out of his misery and focus on keeping everyone else alive. But she was a doctor damn it, or at least on in training, and she refused to give up even as she nearly wet herself from the explosion that almost reduced them both to paste.

She channeled her magic, the gauntlet glowing red, as she took the odd journal and placed it in the pocket that had once held her own. She placed the softly glowing flask she had just created on the ground for later and de-summoned the gauntlet, removed the bangle and placed it inside her medical bag. Having loose jewelry on your person while operation was an awful idea as it might catch on something and do additional damage.

“I’ll keep it safe for you but you have to stay with me Wagnil. you have to hold on. you have some explaining to do after this, but no more words now. just try to stay still as I work”

She retrieved her scalpel, tweezers, needle and suture from the bag while she called out for help, apparently they really wanted her dead but there was no way in hell she was leaving the patient to die like this. She tried to put on a calm confidence to hide her terror as bullets whizzed past them. Her call for help was a mostly steady one.

@Hammerman “Esther! I would really appreciate if you came over and helped shield the patient from fire with your winds!”

She then began the procedure and while she wished she had a more sterile environment, the sheet that she had placed between him and the forest floor would have to do. It was a somewhat ironic fact about treating internal injuries that you had to cut the external wounds open more to get inside, she used her scalpel to widen the upper wound so that she could get a look inside. First she used the tweezers to extract any residue of the round that still remained in his body, then she used the needle and suture to sew shut the puncture in his lung. She then performed a similar procedure on his intestinal wound. Finally she sewed shut the external wounds and tried to get him to drink the previously created concoction. The healing potion would accelerate the natural healing process and hopefully seal the wounds with tissue where the suture had pulled the two separated areas of flesh together. It would also help increase blood production, hopefully countering the blood loss he had suffered. He would need plenty of rest after this but if everything had gone as planed he would live.

This entire process was a lengthy and delicate operation, the patient was perilously close to death and any interruption to the procedure could spell his doom. In the end though it was down to whether Wagnil had the will and blood to cling to life as she worked. Once the operation was complete Althea’s gloves were covered in blood and her nerves shot from having to do such a delicate procedure under fire. She had done all she could.

[Hammerman]

Esther von Degraff

---

Before the two could answer, a familiar green-haired girl entered the scene. Leblanc was her name, and she was another cadet, just like Esther. She ran towards the group while burning any leaves and bushes she could find in the way. It certainly helped with distracting the enemy from aiming at them from a distance, even for a while. She urged them to move before the enemy could circle around the flames. She then was followed with a blonde man with a suit; Crispin, another one of them. He also urged the group to retreat, saying he didn't have any plans to die in this hellhole. Well, Esther could agree with that. She certainly didn't want to die either. She still had many things she wanted to do after all. And dying seemed painful. It was a grim thing to say, but she wished her wind blades would slice the enemy head's off for a quick and clean death.

After that, Willem arrived as well. He had a different plan in mind. He said that they should seize the chance while they were distracted by the flames. Close-ranged combatants should engage the swordsmen while those with ranged abilities should attack the gunners. A sound plan, she thought. With the shieldbearers being distracted by the others, she could snipe the gunners with her ability easily. She also had to make sure to guard herself and the others from stray bullets however as they would be up against multiple gunners from multiple angles. So Willem's advice to watch each other's backs was correct as well.

Esther however decided to ignore his comment about the possibility of the Fort being attacked, or worse, had been taken by the enemy. No sense in worrying a problem for the future right now! Gotta stay positive after all!

Suddenly, her positive reinforcement was broken with the Captain scolding her for exposing herself unnecessarily like that. "Y-yes, Captain, I-I'm sorry!" was going to be her response, but before she could say it, an explosion suddenly rang terribly near their location, making her close her ears instinctively with her hands. She had heard of this sound before. It was definitely an artillery, she thought. But why here? This was just a camp, not a fortress.

After that, she heard Althea shouting from a distance for her to come over to her side and shield her while she operated on her patient. She looked at her path but there were five enemy soldiers blocking her way. Not to mention the Grenadier lining his shot right towards them.

...Oh crap, she had to block that!

Quickly, she activated her vessel, creating a wind barrier that surrounded the group.

"S-sorry Althea, but I'm kinda occupied here!" she shouted back at the medic. If she moved from her position now, she was afraid that her teammates would be blown apart by the grenadier's explosives. And she couldn't send a wind blade towards the man, as it would dispel the barrier she had erected. She needed another to take care of him.

"S-someone, get that grenadier at once so I can get to Althea's place!" she shouted to no one in particular.

@McFazzer @Er0r @Onarax @Mercurial @TheWindel @Mega Birb @Hammerman @Mag Lev @DracoLunaris @Leotamer @Ghost Queen @Lonewolf685 @Crimmy @SilverDawn

[Leotamer]

A city, a town, a forest, a burning forest, a desert: It didn't matter the terrain, all Finis members are trained to be a shadow in both the light and the dark, invisible to normal eyes, not by magic, but pure skill and training.

Natus spotted the target threatening his team. Against an army, he is weak. Against a single man, he is a grim reaper. He had positioned him behind the grenadier, moving without a sound. He reached towards the ground and grabbed as much dirt as he could from the ground, with his blade in his other hand. As he moved, he striked the group with the red-edge of his blade, moving quickly and without hesistiance or pause. And without stopping his stride, he made two brutal slashes against the tendons of the would-be bomber, leaving them with the red mark.

He turned around, and the red marks he left on the ground and the person exploded as he took the dirt and throw it into the crowd to cover his escape. At least one bullet flew towards him, but did not hit. He retreated back into stealth, hoping he had placed enough force into his attack to kill the man quickly. Another sneak attack against the same enemy twice would be harder, but not impossible.

[Mega Birb]

As Gerhardt cut down another bullet that was going for him, he noticed the injured Wagnil getting pulled into cover. He was still alive, so while he had the chance to, the northerner held his left hand out towards him. From his index finger, a red, ethereal link shot out and latched onto the dying man, signalling the transfer of Lionheart onto him, effectively stabilizing him through Althea's efforts to save his life. He returned his attention to the group that had formed around him, to which he allowed himself a grin. "Stab through their line, then split into two groups! I'll go with the left, Leon take the right!" With some level of orders given in the bullet hell this was turning into, along with grenades starting to rain in on them, he gave a rallying cry before swiping another bullet out of the air and charging into the trio at 12-o'clock in the ambush.

Since he was leading the charge, firearms started to get pointed at him, and Mystletainn kept catching the flying brass that wanted him dead. As he approached the trio, the two axemen guarding the gunner readied their defense. It was cleaved through, though, by Gerhardt unceremoniously deactivating his Vessel and drop kicking the shield of the left axer, knocking him prone. The lowborn warrior was in a similar position, though he hopped to his feet in time to move to the side of a downward swing from the other guard. As he tried to recover his weapon, Gerhardt grabbed onto it and kicked him away with the heel of his boot. Now in possession of an axe, the northerner immediately put it to use to by spinning around and slamming the sharp end into his victim's collarbone. It was ripped out a moment later as another shot broke the night, this time avoided. Aiming to return fire, Gerhardt freed his new weapon and took a hop-step before releasing it from his grasp, spinning towards the rifleman. There was a satisfying thud as it connected and buried itself in the unfortunate soul's chest.

There was still the remaining axeman who had been flattened earlier. Mystletainn returned to Gerhardt's hand as he jumped for the enemy, slamming the end of the sword into the chest of the warrior. A second later, the northerner stood up and pun his Vessel once in his hand, both parties ever so slightly stained with blood now. "They aren't so tough, let's keep moving!"

@Hammerman@DracoLunaris@KoL@TheWindel@Mercurial