Crimson Paladin

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

"I see your point, Sir Lonan," Ethelred acknowledged. "We head back, and it'll give the thing an opportunity to ambush us."

This monster was proving a difficult foe. It was fast enough to be able to withdraw from a fight at any time with impunity, and then re-enter it in the blink of an eye. It could kill with a single scratch, and its wounds didn't seem to be slowing it down.

"The wyvern has a massive advantage in mobility. It knows it can jump in, try to kill one of us with but a scratch, withdraw just as quickly as it appeared, then repeat at its leisure," he assessed. "But for all its swiftness, it's ground-bound."

Ethelred stuck the tip of his lance into the ground and began to slowly freeze the ground around it, slowly enough that if the others asked him to stop, he could. "If we're stuck here, we might as well make the battlefield more suitable for us. Between your water, my ice, and Luana's plants, perhaps we could reshape the terrain to be more advantageous to us- or disadvantageous to our foe. If that thing can't get a good grip on the ground, it won't be nearly as mobile. And if we somehow knew which direction it'd be attacking from next, we could prepare a nasty trap."

As he awaited their feedback, Ethelred continued to look around, scanning the area for that beast. With the way it could jump in at a moment's notice, with the way it could kill with just a scratch, he could not let his guard down for even a moment.

@Rune_Alchemist@BrokenPromise

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Roger Falkner and Shortclaw

The Morathi had fought hard and fought to the last man, but they with the element of surprise on the Lions' side, and the loss of their mounts, they lost this battle before it had begun. It didn't take long for the Lions to find and rescue the prisoners. With everything they could do having been done, Shortclaw returned to the horse pen and began to feed on the fallen horse. Roger was unsure what'd happen to the others, whether they'd be gathered up as spoils of war or left alone to form a feral herd. While he had less reverence for horses than most nobles, he acknowledged their usefulness, and a pack of trained war horses could be quite valuable.

As his mount tore into the carcass, Roger dismounted and began to assess where to take his cut. He'd have only a short window to prepare it before rigor mortis set in...

---

Shortclaw slowed his descent and gently touched down upon the watchtower. Roger dismounted a bit more cautiously than usual due to the relatively small size and considerable height of the griffin's makeshift roost- the last thing he wanted was to accidentally fall off the edge. The griffin immediately settled in for a nap, while Roger untied and unlatched a box from the saddle. He was lucky that Shortclaw hadn't decided to nap directly on top of the trapdoor this time, he thought as he began to climb down.

He had to be careful when going down the ladder with the box. It'd have been a lot easier if Shortclaw would've landed anywhere but the watchtower, but the griffin loved his high places.

Cadmon had requested news from his border fief, and as the Lions' Griffin Rider, Roger had been asked to convey the message and return with the reply. Ordinarily the business of ferrying small messages would be beneath the duo, but as a border lord, whatever news might come from Cadmon's lands was very relevant to the kingdom and to the Lions. Additionally, he hadn't just been sent for a message- he had also been tasked with retrieving Cadmon's pet Least Griffin. Perhaps the young lord wanted to participate in some falconry, or perhaps he simply missed the company of his pet. It wasn't unheard of for the Falkners to keep Least Griffins, even if they didn't typically train or breed them.

The griffin rider climbed down the tower, boxed passenger in tow. He made his way through the castle to where Cadmon's rooms were, and knocked on the door. If the young Earl wasn't here, Roger would head to the courtyard next.

"Are you there? It's Roger, I'm back with the news you requested. And your pet." As he spoke this, Roger pulled a sealed envelope out from within his armor.

@The Otter@VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

"As long as we're standing between them and the girl, they'll keep sending soldiers our way even with the other knights playing havoc up there," Fleuri replied, noting two more mercenaries coming at him. One carried a thrusting sword and buckler, the other with a one-handed hammer and shield. They were approaching at the same speed, clearly not wanting to face an Iron Rose one-at-a-time. A somewhat sensible and pragmatic approach, but not nearly sensible enough. "Their only measure of success here is getting the girl, regardless of how many men they have to spend to do it."

Fleuri had heard that some mercenaries, like Gerard's old company, supposedly gave extra pay to troops that'd take on the extra risk of fighting on the frontlines or being the first into the fray. He wondered if these Golden Boars were getting the same sort of extra pay to rush into certain death.

He didn't have any time to reflect on it now, however. He stepped back, positioning himself behind one of the fallen Boars that he had slain down a few moments ago. He swung his weapon upward at the warhammer-wielding boar, who manage to come to a stop and narrowly avoid running right into the tip of Fleuri's greatsword. The other one jumped over his dead colleague with his sword raised, aiming a thrust squarely for Fleuri's neck.

The Iron Rose deflected the incoming blade with one of his armored bracers, glancing it off harmlessly to his side. Then without skipping a beat, Fleuri tackled the swashbuckler mercenary, pushing his foe back and causing them to trip on the fallen Golden Boar behind him. No sooner had the swordsman fallen that the hammer-wielding mercenary came at Fleuri, attempting to bring the weapon's spike end down on the knight.

Since the dream, since the arrival of that foreign rabbit-woman, Fleuri had been training on improving the speed at which he could swing his sword, in hopes of being able to strike charging foes before they could strike him. Now was the time to put what he had been working on to the test. Returning both hands to his sword, he swung it at his foe's head in an attempt to decapitate them before they could bring their hammer down.

The blow was partially successful- Fleuri managed to strike first, almost without looking, but his blow had been a bit high, perhaps a tiny bit premature, and slashed the man in the face rather than finding his neck. The man dropped his hammer and screamed in agony, and even Fleuri didn't want to look too hard at the gruesome disfigurement he had just inflicted. It was almost certainly a fatal blow, but not immediately so. Clearly, Fleuri still had to work on his technique.

There was no time to waste, though. Fleuri stabbed the fallen swordsman in the chest as he struggled to pick himself up, then administered a mercy-killing to the other mercenary by stabbing him in the neck. It was just then that he noticed Haelstadt struggling, having been overwhelmed by their foes. He was in no position to intervene when Veilena's protector was decapitated. Gone in an instant, just like Sir Rickard.

Our defensive perimeter has just gotten smaller. If only the others had...wait...

To his shock shock, Haelstadt continued fighting and felling Golden Boars even with no head. Fleuri had no idea what sort of sorcery enabled this, even many forms of undead were unable to keep fighting after being beheaded. He wasn't going to worry about it now, though- if Fanilly and Tyaethe had concerns, they could wait until the end of the battle.

And the battle was not over yet, not by a long shot. Another wave of mercenaries emerged from behind the treeline. Most alarming was the quintet of monstrous, mutated men that were with them. One of them struck at Sir Fionn, but the other four were heading directly towards the perimeter, while other Golden Boars engaged and occupied the knights' vanguard.

According to what Clarice was saying, those mutants were filled to the brim with curses, twisting them into their unnatural forms. It left no doubt as to just how vile the Golden Boars were, to disfigure their own men into such monstrous curse-bearers.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about missing the fun this time, Sir Renar," Fleuri remarked as he readied himself.

@Psyker Landshark@VitaVitaAR

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

Ethelred took her hand and pulled himself to his feet.

"Ugh, I didn't see that coming," he mumbled as he regained his bearings. He had been banged up a little by that tail whack, but didn't seem to be too hurt. Still, his horse seemed unhurt and his armor appeared intact.

That wyvern was tough. It wasn't even slowed down by the wounds that they had inflicted. Its powers of rot seemed to counteract freezing, and stabbing the monster only seemed to make it angry. If only they had someone like Elias, Sorcha, or Elnith with them...

Ethelred wanted to keep going. He wanted to stab that wyvern until it was unrecognizable, freeze it solid, and shatter it into pieces. But it was not within his power to do so. Luana might be right, they may very well be outmatched. That thing would take whatever they could throw at it, and sooner or later it'd get lucky and inflict a fatal scratch upon one of them. The druid, in particular, had come very close to sustaining a physical injury from its teeth. Still, it'd feel quite shameful to return to Sorcha and report that they had failed to complete her task.

The thought that he wasn't strong enough to do what she had expected of him stung him deeply. He had wrestled with such thoughts before- in particular, he had always worried that the only reason he was strong to be one of Sorcha's elite knights was because of the cruel but flawed Unseelie curse that he was afflicted with. Now, however, it was no longer enough.

Might it be possible to further develop his ice powers, though? Could he learn to further master his cursed form and push its limits? Perhaps Elnith, having lived with her curse her entire life, might have some insight.
Perhaps the fairies would know. Not necessarily that unlucky fairy-in-a-jar that their resident mage had captured, but someone had to have answers.

It was something to think about, but there were more immediate matters to focus on right now.

"What say you, Sir Lonan?" Ethelred asked, turning to the Harzelslack knight. "Do you also believe this foe is beyond our ability to slay?"

If they were going to stay, Ethelred still had an idea or two up his sleeve.

@BrokenPromise@Rune_Alchemist

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Roger Falkner and Shortclaw

These foreign mercenaries weren't breaking. It was chaos, but they weren't retreating or surrendering. They had lost the battle from the start, but they didn't care- they were going to fight to the finish.The knight recalled what he had heard- that these Morathi were slavers who looked down on anyone who surrendered. Assuming they weren't hypocrites, they'd fight to the death rather than commit an act of shame that they believed warranted enslavement. One cluster of Morathi in particular could be seen massing- both swordsmen and archers.

Very well, we can do it like that, he mused as he looked about from his saddle, signaling to his mount to target the clustered enemies.

Shortclaw had been taught to recognize the danger that an archer could present to even an apex predator. The beast's response to the command was to circle around a tent, keeping low to the ground and out of the archers' field of view. Roger was little more than a passenger at this point, but such was the nature of their partnership- the rider designated enemies to attack or places to go, and the griffin would take charge of getting there.

Just before they came back into view of the archers, a bright light briefly illuminated the ground, coming from near the clustered enemies. Either their Hundi mage had just incinerated them, or someone had just detonated one of Lirrah's alchemical concoctions. As they crept into view from around the tent, Roger saw that neither of those presumptions were correct- it had been one of Kayliss' bombs, and it looked like the rogue was taking advantage of their disorientation to kill as many as she could.

She could use some help.

Shortclaw pounced, coming down on top of one the archers, then gave a cry and beat his wings to unbalance the rest of them. The griffin clearly wanted to be noticed.

@Psyker Landshark

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Captain Argus Fellborn

Gilles appeared to take the reveal well. Key word, appeared. It was too early to be sure how Gilles had taken the news, but Argus believed the headman might just be willing to go along with it. He'd wait until later to burden Gilles with the additional information of former occupation as a pirate- and the familiarity of his flag.

Perhaps it would be best revealed by crafting a new flag and showing Gilles. He could probably find the materials needed around here.

"Aye, I believe it be prudent to make preparations. If you would all excuse me, I must use this time to regain my strength. I have been fighting with little reprieve since making landfall," he spoke before beginning to walk away. "If another of my kind gives you trouble, do not hesitate to ask me to mediate."

He would have plenty of time to catch up with the other vampires, but his first order of business would be to fetch one of the gorebats and feed upon the stored blood. Depending on how thorough the gorebats were, fallen should sustain them for some time, giving the living a reprieve from being tithed and providing them some time to be eased into their new arrangements first.

The second matter would be to scope out the wounded to see if there were any villagers on death's door that might be willing to join his crew to forestall their end. He'd prefer to not enthrall this already small pool of mortals, but for those too wounded to make the journey, and for those whose wounds were too grievous to be saved, what did he have to lose?

Once they got to Alavaris, the pirate could focus on more long-term matters, such as catching up with the other vampires, rearming himself, press-ganging undead into his crew, studying Charlotte's necklace, and figuring out his next move. Between the spear-maid, the witch, and the villagers, there were many that desired something from the captain, and each of them could offer him something for his efforts. He wasn't entirely sure what Cynthia was offering, but the villagers could offer nourishment, and Charlotte was offering to help get his ship back.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

In contrast to the captain's orders, many of the knights rushed forward to go on the offensive against the Golden Boars. Fleuri saw the rationale- he himself generally felt that the best defense was a strong offense, and a counterattack like this would break their charge and demolish their momentum. However, the captain had ordered the knights to form a defensive perimeter to protect Veilena, not go rushing off into the fray.

With Tyaethe, it was understandable. She had centuries of experience, was a contemporary of Elionne, and had all the supernatural durability that came with being a vampire. From what Fleuri had observed, it was more or less expected that Tyaethe would use her own judgment in any battle. With the others however, such as Gerard and Fionn, it looked like they had just flagrantly disobeyed their captain's orders. Someone more versed in philosophy, tactics, and strategy could probably write entire texts discussing when and where it might be be justified to ignore an inexperienced 16-year-old's orders, but to Fleuri it just looked like they just didn't care for obeying the commands of their knightly order's leader.

At least Renar, unpleasant fellow that he was, had the sense to obey Fanilly, barking to Fleuri to cover their left flank while he'd cover their right. Fleuri didn't think that the Bastard of Brias, of all people, would be the one that'd have his back. A Curse-hound leapt over Renar's caltrops at Fleuri, only for the knight's greatsword to impale it right through the mouth. The beast swiftly disincorporated, freeing up the sword just as the human wave of Golden Boars closed in.

"I can do that," Fleuri responded to Renar as the first Boar came at him with a morningstar, while a second one came behind him readying a spear. The knight swung his sword downward, catching the weapon's head and diverting it down to the ground. He then gripped his sword's ricasso and smashed the crossguard right into the mercenary's face, stunning him. Just then, the second mercenary thrust his spear past his companion at the knight, only for Fleuri to dodge and catch the spear by the shaft with his left hand. With the weapon caught, Fleuri spun around, pulling the spear towards him and swinging his sword in a full circle, decapitating the off-balance spearman when it came back around.

The first mercenary, however, had managed to regain his senses quickly enough to duck under the swing, and as soon as the sword came over his head, he rushed at Fleuri, raising his morningstar high in an attempt to strike the knight's helmet before he could bring the blade back to him. Instead of blocking with the blade, however, Fleuri shifted both hands to the ricasso and caught the incoming morningstar on the hilt and crossguard. As this happened, the mercenary failed to notice Fleuri's right hand going down to the dagger hanging on the knight's belt. A split second later, he took a step forward and plunged the dagger into the man's neck.

"You clearly do not believe in a fair fight in battle," he spoke to Renar, sheathing his dagger and assuming a stance with his sword. "Neither do I."

@Psyker Landshark@VitaVitaAR

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

This wyvern wasn't giving up. In fact, it wasn't even slowing down. It leaped at Luana, unfazed by the increasing number of holes on its body.

He was a bit surprised that it focused on the druid and not the knight that had inflicted multiple wounds upon it. Whether it thought she'd be more easily felled, or if it viewed her druidic magic as the largest threat, or simply itself angered at being restrained and resisted at every turn, Ethelred weasn't sure what its motivation was. But he did know that he needed to act quickly, because her magic wouldn't hold it back forever.

He needed to strike where it be sure to do damage, and ideally where it was lethal. With the wyvern focused on Luana, he might have just a chance. The Frozen Knight rode slightly away, and once he felt he had enough distance to do this, he turned his mount around to face the wyvern. He then commanded his horse to charge. As it accelerated, he couched his lance beneath his shoulder and aimed it at the back of the wyvern's head and neck.

With Luana crouched and her spear braced, the wyvern was in between two sharp polearms ready to skewer it. If his blow hit hard enough, it could potentially knock the beast right into her weapon.

@BrokenPromise@Rune_Alchemist

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Roger Falkner

Their attack was successful- the griffin's attack caused the horses to panic and flee. The horse beneath them wasn't nearly so lucky, its spine having been cleanly bitten through. Roger didn't pay too much attention to the dead horse, though- he was much more concerned with everything going around them.

The attack on the horse pen had been the signal for the rest of the Lions to attack. The others rushed in, cutting down any of the mercenaries in their way. With the Morathi caught as unprepared as they were, and without their mounts, they were quickly proving to be easy prey for Velvetica's forces.

Shortclaw raised his head from the dispatched horse, his beak dripping with equine viscera. The griffin placed its front talons on the horse pen to prop itself up, and seemingly scanned the area, glancing over everything going on around them. Despite the presence of plenty of Morathi around them, the griffin did not instinctually move to attack them, nor did Roger command or try to compel him to do so. Instead, they stayed put, looking around, staying vigilant in case an actual threat appeared, or in case they heard the sound of a Lion that needed help.

Roger was fairly sure that his mount was greatly enjoying this. The immensely proud beast got a kick out of seeing humans fleeing before him, especially those designated as enemies. The Falkners in fact considered it an essential lesson in training a griffin to ensure that they view fleeing, panicking, or surrendering humans as food for their massive ego rather than for their stomach. Otherwise, disaster could strike if the wrong person became frightened at the wrong time.

They weren't just doing this for fun, through. The two of them were keeping watch in case any of the mercenaries managed to regroup and begin to fight back. In the frenzy of a fight, especially one that was going well, it was all too easy to get caught up in the moment and get caught off-guard when a new threat emerges or something goes wrong. If something like that were to happen here, the griffin and rider would be ready to spring into action.

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Captain Argus Fellborn

Memory Lane

"I've cast an illusion on the crate, there should be no more accidental discoveries. But why are you still playing this charade with him, Captain Gallow? Just kill this nosy sailor and be done with it!"

I knew someone on this ship couldn't trusted. It turned out to be the one person whom I was sure I could trust.

"I'm the one who runs this ship, not you. If I were to simply kill a subordinate without cause, it could inspire disloyalty or even mutiny. No, this must be done delicately, and the crew must approve."

Captain Gallow talked a lot about honor among rogues. He didn't actually believe a word of what he preached.

"Delicately? You could have just gutted him when he walked in here and told the crew that he attacked you."

"Do you truly think my crew to be that dull? The fact that we are having this conversation at all is proof that they're smarter than you think! If we want them to be on our side, we need to do this properly, in a manner that assures the rest of them that this one's death is just and warranted!"

The harbormasters thought he was being honest with them. The crew thought that he was being honest with them even as we helped him to deceive the harbormasters. I still wonder whether his officers believed he was being honest with them even as they helped him to deceive the crew.

A knock came at the door.

"Ah, that should be him, which means the pieces should be all in place. Now, my magical, well-compensing friend, you're about to see how dishonest thieves are handled on the Silver Swordbill..."

Fortunately, there was one person on the ship who kept his word to me...

Argus was in disbelief. All of his efforts to avoid frightening the humans with the knowledge of his true nature, and Kordelia just blurted it out. He had heard that the self-proclaimed "Princess" wasn't the sharpest cutlass in the armory, but he had hoped for just a little subtlety.

Aleksiya attempted to shut Kordelia up and cover for her oratory blunder. An admirable effort that might fool Gilles for a time, but only for a while. Sooner or later, the vampires would need to feed, and there would be no hope at hiding their true nature, or the motivation behind protecting these humans. And the longer the vampires conceal the truth, the more the truth will upset the mortals when it inevitably comes out. Such a perceived betrayal might compel them to fight back or escape, resulting in almost certain death for them.

The village headman, in particular, would surely take particular offense if they were to lie to him to his face after he explicitly requested the truth. Argus couldn't be sure if Gilles was a man of his word when he spoke of working together, but if he Any hope of a partnership or a mutual agreement would die.

Argus was no stranger to the power of fear. It was precisely for this reason that he feared the consequences of furthering this deception. These people were no doubt frightened and traumatized, having just watched their entire pitiful world turned upside down and their loved ones slaughtered by the beasts they wrongly believed they had some measure of safety from. He believed that this would be the optimal state of mind for them to learn the truth. Any earlier and they would have had enough confidence to resist. Any later and the reveal would come as an act of treachery.

Besides, in all of his piratical career, Argus was not one to fly false flags- when the []iSilent Swordbill[/i] appeared, her crew's intentions were worn plainly upon her mast.

"I appreciate the cover, Miss Aleksiya, but the longer the truth is delayed, the more damage it will inflict upon us all," he spoke to the vampire, then slowly turned back to Gilles, looking the mortal man square in the eyes.

"I agree, Mr. Gilles, if we are to work together, there must be some trust. It will inevitably come out, and it is best that it does so on our terms. I am more than a sailor. My strength, my inhuman power, it is because I am a vampire." he revealed.