Drifting Pollen

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

Hillside Hamlet

The first thing Anne Mayer did, once she and her allies had finally cleared the battlefield, was sit down on the grass and take a long moment to catch her breath. Even if she'd seemed relentless while the fight was still raging, the exertion from all that running around had added up over time... Fortunately, the enemy this time had been pretty weak. Even though she'd ended up a little tired, her body didn't feel like it would give out from a skirmish like this one.

While she rested, the Knight took stock of her surroundings, and with some relief found that her side had suffered no serious casualties. She thought she'd seen Mokou take a hit in all the chaos, but it clearly hadn't kept her down for long. Most importantly, the village had come through it all more or less unscathed, and the sight of those fragile houses still standing tall was enough to drive the tension from Anne's shoulders with a shuddering sigh.

A bloodless victory. The joy and satisfaction welling up inside her could be read clearly on her features, and for just a moment the tired veteran looked nearly ten years younger.

At a measured pace, she approached the girl with the scissors, arriving a short while after Rayne flew down. The witch had already started asking the important questions, and Anne waited for Gwen to answer before following up with her own. "Anne Mayer," she introduced herself, and extended a handshake to the blue-haired girl, who might have passed for a Knight if she'd shown up in more familiar circumstances. "Forgive me for prying, but... The two of you aren't from around here either, aren't you?"

Her serious look was back, cool and analytical. Even accounting for the fact that she didn't know much of this nation and its customs, it seemed all too convenient for a pair of such powerful fighters to have just been hanging around a village even smaller than Aventon. More likely they'd popped up the same way Youmu and Remilia had after the initial 'summoning,' only much further away from the supposed epicenter of the event.

Just how far have things spread...? If otherworlders were appearing out here, then it stood to reason that they'd manifested in even more distant regions as well, perhaps even as far as the capital.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

Hillside Hamlet

Once she'd reached a suitably high vantage, Anne paused to take stock of the situation. She'd been ready for the worst, but thus far the battle seemed to be playing out entirely in their favor. Sanae and Mokou rained down destruction from above, while Fran tore into the horde from the flank and thinned out the numbers reaching the defensive line formed by the two strangers. The mercenaries appeared to be holding their own, the caravan was moving to safety, and Lewa, Joker, and Youmu had each made steady progress around the fringes, all closing in from different angles on the bulk of the enemy force.

The enemy, however, would not relent. They did not scatter or retreat, but pressed on with a seemingly mindless zeal, like a living tide pulled by some unseen natural force. At Rayne's warning, Anne's emerald eyes fixed upon the larger units, and the mass of dark projectiles that arced up from their direction.

"Not leaders. Artillery! Take them out first!"

The Knight Witch was already on it. Fast, versatile—and, as everyone was about to find out, enormously destructive when she cut loose. She was ideal for handling issues as they cropped up, a trump card to counter whatever their foes might bring to bear.

That left one visible problem: the strays, still moving towards the hamlet unchecked by any defending forces. Winning this battle was one thing, but if a few creatures slipped through in the meantime... Just what kind of damage would they do?

It would be easiest if they never had to find out. With a deep breath, Anne kicked off from her position and raced down the hill, using her momentum to circle around the edges of the wider battle towards the settlement and its borders. It wasn't the same kind of explosive speed she'd shown back at the sparring session with the mercenaries: this was more like the sprinting pace of a regular soldier, only sustained without fail over a distance that would have left most gasping for breath. It would take a few seconds for her to get where she needed to be, but there would be no escape for her targets once she did.

As an amorphous monster crossed her path, the Knight finally drew her sword. Without slowing down, she sliced clean through it in a single one-handed strike and moved on before it had even finished dissipating. Two more loomed ahead, and two more swift flashes of her blade turned them into four. Using half of one disintegrating body as a foothold, she leaped to the side just as a ball of dark energy soared past and crashed down where she'd been a heartbeat before.

Without batting an eye, Anne pressed onward.

Her condition had improved somewhat after all the rest she'd had in Aventon, but she was still holding back, regulating her output to the bare minimum required for the task. Fortunately, the enemy here was slow. Even if their sheer numbers meant that some of them slipped through the killing field and approached the village proper, Anne would run each of them down and wipe them out before they could do any harm. Some fought back, flinging misshapen tendrils her way. Her sword was faster, carving through blackened slime with the same ease that it cut through the air. Creature after creature boiled away and vanished from existence, while the Knight beelined for the next one, and the next one, and the next.

It's not exactly glamorous, being on clean-up duty... But I can handle this much without issue. As the last line of defense, she'd make sure that nothing at all got past.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

On the Road

"With your skills as a diplomat, I shall be expecting you to serve as my aide upon our arrival at the capital."

Not halfway through the journey, and she was already being subordinated? That Remilia sure was a haughty one... Fortunately for the vampire, though, Anne didn't particularly dislike her brazen confidence. Though she sighed under her breath, the Knight answered the call with a resigned and nostalgic smile. "Normally I'd have to charge you for that kind of service, Lady Remilia. But since it's all for a good cause, we'll call it even if you can get the needed results."

For better or worse, she'd make a deal with the Scarlet Devil, and put her faith in the other woman's abilities. She seemed to fit the mold of a court lady much better than Anne did anyhow, and it'd be nice to have someone serving as a metaphorical shield between her and any overeager aristocrats. Being forced to marry one evil emperor was enough for this lifetime, thank you very much...

The conversation carried on, but besides the sensible suggestion of splitting up into teams to investigate further, much of it went over Anne's head. Fran wasn't a chimera, but a superpowered ghost? Mokou was actually a noble, and could resurrect herself besides? The sudden flow of unexpected information was nearly enough to give the Knight a headache, though she chipped in with her own minor contribution. "I'm not sure if my techniques have counterparts here, but the technology I'm carrying should be well beyond anything this world has developed." To demonstrate, she raised one hand and brushed it against the sleeve of her coat, which briefly revealed a glowing forcefield of interconnected hexagons floating just above the material. "Of course, it might just get brushed off as more magic... If I had some proper tools, it'd be easier to prove it directly."

Another task for when they reached the capital, perhaps. In the meantime, Anne followed along with Sanae as she sought out someone to fill them in, and once the essential questions were done with she smoothly walked up and introduced herself by name. And, she wondered, what did he go by? See, she and her companions had never seen the capital before, but surely he must know the place well—perhaps he could suggest some landmarks or historical sites to go and visit. She assumed the ruling family lived there, right? Ah, and where there were lofty nobles there would always be rumors and gossip surrounding them, which might make for an entertaining topic of conversation, especially if he'd met any local aristocrats and had some stories to share...

And so it went. It wasn't just about gathering info, but about building a relationship, getting this trader and his fellows a little more comfortable talking with the otherworlders in general. An ongoing project that proceeded over the next several days, with Anne approaching merchant and mercenary alike to make small talk and gentle inquiries. When she wasn't resting or chatting up the rest of the caravan, she tried to spend some time with the remaining otherworlders as well... Who were all beginning to feel a little less like strangers by now.

Say, would Lewa mind if she took a closer look at his mechanisms? Joker clearly knew how to handle a dagger, but she had a few tips to improve his performance. Why could half the group seem to fly, especially everyone from Gensokyo? Fran didn't seem much for conversation anyway, but as time passed and Anne watched her gather flowers and weave them carefully together, the Knight's expression slowly shifted from wariness to curiosity.

...Until, as inevitable as the coming of the dawn, the tides of war washed over them all once again.

---

Monsters. Nothing like the things Anne was used to fighting, but clearly inhuman nonetheless. Though she wore a grim expression, the fact relieved her: this way she could cut them all down without remorse. This time, no one would have to die.

Fran was off like a rocket, already on top of the priority target. For her part, Anne considered for a moment, dividing up forces in her head.

"Wide-area attackers should focus on clearing where the enemy's most concentrated—that's you, Mokou, along with Sanae and Fran. Joker, Lewa, see if you can deal with the ones trickling around and then hit the main horde from the back? Lady Remilia, I request ranged support, along with healing for any of us that go down... Rayne, watch from above for weak points and shore them up however you can. If you can spot key targets or enemy leaders, signal those of us on the ground." She hadn't spotted Youmu yet in all of this, but knowing that girl, she might well be in the thick of the fight already.

Of course, Anne had no way of guaranteeing that the others would follow along with her tactical advice. Even so, she trusted that their combined firepower would be enough to cleanly mop up a swarm of enemy infantry. She was more concerned about the possibility of a nasty surprise—and thus set off at a steady pace up the hills, seeking out a central position roughly overlooking the entire battlefield.

"I'll be joining in too, this time."

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

On the Road

Long journeys like this one weren't wholly unfamiliar to Anne, though she'd rarely ever taken so long to cover such a short distance. It left the Knight with all too much time to ponder, her mind swirling with old regrets and fresh pangs of anxiety. She still worried about what might happen to the village, and especially the young siblings, whom she'd promised to come and see again once her business in the capital was done. She kept glancing back down the road every few minutes, as though half-expecting to see a fresh column of smoke rising in the distance.

...There are children in the capital, too, aren't there? Families, parents, people with loved ones they cherished more than their own lives. Back in Aventon Anne had arrived too late to make much of a difference, but this time, if she could only get there soon enough, she would protect everyone. That desire burned in her like a hidden flame, and for much of the time her eyes remained fixed on the path ahead, as though she could will the whole caravan to travel faster.

"I can go with you, since I have diplomatic training." When Remilia piped up, the Knight was the first to answer, having already considered the problem over the past few days. "I'm not sure the authorities will let us see the monarch directly, but if we lead with information about the attack on Aventon, they'll have to at least hear us out. A kingdom can't ignore raids from beyond its borders, especially not from a threat as big as the Heralds."

More importantly, the destruction of the village was easy to verify: both the merchants and the mercenaries had seen the aftermath and could vouch for Anne's group if necessary. "First we show that our word is reliable, then we leverage interest in our exoticism. Build connections, and use it to gain access and support." With luck, they'd be able to secure aid for Aventon, as well as the cooperation of the local military in dealing with whatever threat Lavielle had warned them about.

@Izurich

The Land of Skara: and the Songtale of the Breaking

This sounds fun! Might play a fae if that's allowed.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

Aventon - Southern Gate

Goddesses. Shrines. Frogs. Summonings. At this point Anne decided it was best to just go along with things, and not ask too many questions until this whole matter was over and done with. I should focus on the essentials. What do I need to be able to protect everyone? What potential problems should I be looking out for?

"Options, yes. If the process that brought us here can be reproduced without Lavielle, then figuring out how should be enough to solve our major problems." What even qualified someone as a goddess, though? The only person from the Cosmic Century who might fit the bill would be Mother Knight, and Anne was skeptical that she'd be willing to help even if she could. "We also have to keep in mind the surrounding circumstances, though. If Sanae was able to summon someone here on her own, isn't that evidence of Lavielle's warnings being true?"

The weakening of barriers between worlds. A great danger soon to arise in the capital. In Anne's mind, the likelihood of those two phenomena being linked was extremely high.

But where do the Heralds come into all this...?

"We need to head to the capital soon." She looked to Sanae, who'd supposedly just been bolstered by her frog-goddess. "If most of us are going to leave, then we should do what we can to keep the village safe in the meantime. Can you set up barriers, something like back at the church, but more long-lasting?" It probably wouldn't be enough to fend off another full assault, even with Lily and Saria around, but in the worst-case scenario any extra layers of protection could buy the townspeople critical minutes to escape.

@PKMNB0Y

Rerun: Blackguards!

Svanhild

When Svanhild called for order, for information, it was the black-clad witch who answered first. Perhaps not so deranged as she seems, that one. A shame that she couldn't have brought better news: her first few words confirmed all of the frost giant's direst fears. Damn it all! Not ten minutes in and we're already discovered—did that abomination drop us here on purpose, knowing this would happen?

It didn't matter. She had to keep her head in the moment, and navigate through this as she always did. The forest would offer us cover and slow their pursuit, but there's no guarantee they wouldn't run us down before we reached the treeline. What's more, if word of our presence gets back to Sulfrey, we'll be hunted all the way to the capital...

"...We stand our ground," the giantess finally declared. It helped that the pyromancer had raised up some form of cover, enough to guard against archers and buy the group a little time. "Ogre, you're with me. We'll break their advance, trap them together—the rest of you can flank them then, and unleash Hell upon them all. Do not let any of them escape." Routing the enemy would not be enough: they had to end this immediately, and with overwhelming force. If anyone on her side showed mercy, if any of them even hesitated long enough to let an enemy slip through their fingers, it could end up spelling doom for them all.

With this lot, though? That may be the one thing I'll never have to worry about.

No time for further thought. A rallying cry tore through the air, accompanied by a flash of light that forced Svanhild to shield her face with one hand. Even as she squinted against the light, however, her other arm moved with unerring precision, turning her sword-point earthward her lips muttered words in a long-forgotten language.

Blue ice erupted outward from either side of her blade, and within heartbeats crystallized into the form of a massive tower shield. Taller than Svanhild herself, wide enough for three grown humans to hide behind side-by-side, and with long spikes on its lower edge that the frost giant now drove into the earth with all her formidable strength.

"Steady—!"

And then the enemy was upon them. A roiling mass of flesh and steel and noise and death, led by a mountainous mass of teeth and scales that failed to swerve at the last moment as its rider took a dagger to the eye, that failed to stop itself before it crashed head-on into Svanhild's frozen barricade and sent cracks spiderwebbing across the shield, as the giantess roared her lungs out and dug powerful toes deep into the soil and held, held her ground for all that she was worth, held just long and hard enough to bring the wyvern to a full halt and leave it momentarily stunned while the horses behind it stumbled or reared away from a massive and unexpected obstacle, and she wanted to scream out NOW, to tell all those mad bastards she'd been stuck with that this was their chance, before the damn beast recovered and tore into them all. But her breath was all spent, her efforts wholly focused on checking the monster's advance, and in that moment she could only pray to all her ancestors that they would somehow manage not to fuck this up.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Anne Mayer

Aventon - Southern Gate

"Hi, do mind if I join the supervising?"

Anne glanced up, and greeted the Knight Witch with a small smile. "I wouldn't object to it. An extra pair of eyes would actually be very handy for something like this." She trusted the small woman well enough, and the fact that she'd worked with Frankenstein before was a point in her favor... Disregarding whatever it was that had happened with the cows. If we're talking about going overboard, that would be the number-one example, wouldn't it?

Together with Lewa (provided he agreed to come along), they made their way down to the battlefield at the south end of the village, and positioned themselves at the front of the watching crowds. Once the combatants were in position, the duels began—and Anne's prior assumptions were abruptly bowled over by the events that actually transpired.

For one thing, these mercenaries were absolute chumps. As she watched the brawler struggle against Mokou's attacks, it was all she could do not to clutch her own head in frustration. Right there. An obvious gap in her attacks. Come on, what's with that footwork? Are you trying to get hit? You're too predictable, she's leading you straight into a trap—and there it is. Damnit, were you even paying attention during basic training?? She felt a tug at her coat, and turned her head to find Alvin and Millie looking up at her expectantly. Was she going to fight too, they wondered? Anne could only muster up a shaky laugh. "Er, I think that might be considered bullying at this point..."

Frankenstein's match was proof enough of that. To Anne's surprise, the construct girl exhibited an admirable amount of restraint, using only the bare minimum of force to finish off her opponent. Guess there's no need to worry about her for now... Her gaze drifted over to Joker, who was actually struggling for a little bit before he brought out his Paranormal Power. Some basic combat training, but he relies too much on his abilities. At least he seemed to have decent control: she could tell that he'd held himself back from inflicting any serious injuries.

Out of everyone, Youmu impressed her the most. Honed movements, accurate predictions, and perfect discipline even with a wooden blade. Back where Anne came from, she'd already qualify as a Knight, and probably make quite a name for herself taking down high-rank Beasts. Sanae, though... She was elusive, but her attacks seemed more showy than effective. At least until she held up her stick, and conjured up—another strange young woman?

...Just how many of these people were there??

Unfortunately, she had no time to stand there and deal with the massive implications of what had just happened. Murderous intent radiated out from the newcomer, darker and heavier than even the miasma she summoned around her. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the escalating crisis, and the enormous snakes that reared up out of the ground—but anyone paying close attention might see Anne subtly lean forward, and hear the earth crack open beneath her feet.

<Suppressor off. Limiter release, level one.>

A gust of wind. The Knight vanished from mortal sight.

At the same moment Sanae threw herself in the serpents' path, something blew past behind her, sweeping up the mercenary caster before any harm could befall her. A cloud of dust kicked up to one side, and there was Anne, skidding to a halt with the young mage held tightly in her arms.

"I've got you." She'd had to restrict her acceleration to avoid hurting anyone along the way, but Sanae's intervention had bought her enough time to safely grab her target. Even so, she was breathing heavily, her veins bulging out against the side of her neck from the blood pressure forced through them. Slowly, carefully, she set the mercenary down, positioned so that Anne stood between her and any further attacks.

"If you don't mind... I think we'd better call this one a draw."

Thankfully, Sanae seemed to have things handled by now. Rather than ask any questions or try to intervene further, Anne waited and watched, happy with any outcome that didn't demand more exertion on her part.

Rerun: Blackguards!

Svanhild

Nomads, wanderers, people of the plains. Looking at them, Svanhild could only remember her own clan of giants, the friends and allies long lost to her now. Primitive on the surface, yes, but with a rich, deep culture all to their own, and a way of life dating back all the way to the time of myths. If she had only met these Easterlings under better circumstances, had only been able to sit around a fire and speak peacefully with them, just what sort of stories might they have shared? What sort of tales, to delight the soul and enrich one's view of the world?

Chances were she would never know. The scum of the Westerlands, her supposed companions, could only think in terms of crude stereotypes and their own selfish desires. Barbarians, savages, animals to be slain. Threats to be removed, and rewards to be claimed. No sooner had Svanhild laid eyes upon the approaching party than a horrifying shriek split her ears, and she stumbled to the side with hands clutched tight to her head.

The vile tricks of a monster—but they're not directed at you. The giantess clenched her teeth, and forced herself to stand straight despite the ringing in her ears. By the time she managed to refocus her eyes, she saw the Easterling party decimated, heads blown apart and flesh stripped away from naked bones. A cold fury filled her then, and she cast her arm out to one side.

"HOLD!"

Blue ice materialized in her open hand, a massive broadsword as long as she was tall. She held it out before the Warden's misfits like a barrier, before any of them could go thoughtlessly charging off and get themselves killed. "Hold, you dolts! Look around and think for once in your sorry lives!"

The Reavers were scattered, their front lines entirely broken apart by the one-two punch of the magical assault. Some had curled up on the ground, still clutching at bleeding ears, while others cowered behind shields or tried to play dead among the corpses of their former comrades. They weren't berserkers, nor rabid animals: even with half of them still alive they couldn't yet muster the will to renew their forward charge.

No, what concerned Svanhild more was why they'd been charging in the first place. She spoke urgently, loud enough that even the half-deaf would be able to catch her drift. "Why come at us out in the open? They can't have seen us from below that ridge. And if their scouts had found us ahead of time, they could have waited to ambush us after we entered the woods." She couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong—she thought she might've glimpsed something up in the sky, but the scream had destroyed her concentration before she could pin it down. All she knew was that if her side kept up this haphazard retaliation, they'd be sitting ducks for anything else lurking out there.

"Someone wake up that plague-ridden wretch. And if anyone knows magic for observing distant terrain, use it."

Rerun: Blackguards!

Svanhild

The creature explained her intentions, and Svanhild listened in absolute silence. Unflinching, unyielding, even when wild visions flooded her mind and some new thing gazed back at her through them. To feel fear was natural and inevitable, but to express it—to show any sign of weakness before so many watching eyes—would be fatal. The giantess's discipline held firm as an iron wall, her terrors confined to a tiny black room in the very depths of her consciousness.

In contrast, her jailers had revealed their own fragility. The White Tiger, the mighty king, turns to his monstrous pet rather than face the threat directly. And our captor, for all her wicked power, passes the task down unto us. To Svanhild the reason was clear: they were scared of this gold-masked god. They dreaded a war against him, and chose to poke and prod with spies and pawns, hoping to find a hidden flaw that would shatter his empire from within. She knew all about the way they operated: the kingdom had used the very same strategy to defeat her in the past.

Ironic, that she should be the one to carry it out now.

The chamber abruptly shook, and began to unravel itself all around her. Blinking in surprise, the giantess subtly shifted her feet, though a quick glance showed her nowhere was safe from the effect. Logically she knew that their captor would not try to kill them now, but even so it took all her willpower to stand firm and embrace the oncoming wave of magic and madness. She had to stay focused, had to remember the plan—not the one spelled out for her by that smiling abomination, but the one that she'd tucked away in her hidden thoughts the moment she'd understood the situation.

Locate the spies. Infiltrate the god-king's court. Find Ael-Gol...

...And help him burn the Westerlands to the ground.

Cradling this deadly spark, this desperate hope for revenge, she plunged headfirst towards her fate.

---

...How long had it been, since she'd last seen a sky so bright?

Her eyes cracked open, and a sharp breath filled up her lungs. Warm, sweet, fresh in the way that only untainted air could be. After all these years, it felt like a miracle, like something impossible. She wanted to weep, to cry out, to fall down on her knees and plunge her fingers into the rich and beautiful soil. The only things that stopped her were a habit of self control and her awareness of the silhouettes around her—shadows that resolved themselves into familiar shapes as her vision adjusted to the light.

It seemed the wretches had come with her, all eight of them. The majority maintained their composure better than she'd have expected—which only made the lone exception stand out all the more. Her eyes narrowed with irritation as she watched the pyromaniac dance and flaunt his power, almost as if he was trying to draw unwanted attention down upon them. A madman and a fool, better disposed of now before he could cause any further trouble...

...Or so she'd have thought, if he hadn't immediately followed up with critical information about the region. It was enough to make Svanhild raise an eyebrow, and unclench the half-formed fist she'd planned to bury halfway through his skull.

"Your word's as good as any." With a languid roll of her shoulders, she started off in the same direction as the man and the ogre. "Best we cover as much ground as we can before nightfall. Fill us in about the roads along the way."