Gisk

The Prince's Royal Guard

The cannon had arrived, and Faira ordered the crew to aim for the catapults, but it was a difficult job, as they were launching from behind the rocks at the foot of the hill. A good tactic, to be sure; the defenses on the wall didn't even know for sure how many there were. Faira stood at the wall, boldly looking out as boulders were launched, and the goblins' crude arrows flew past. She was in a good position to see when the martyr goblins with their explosive payload made their frantic run for the gate.

What? Gunpowder? The implications of this tried to chase themselves around her head, but she locked them down and roared, "Off the gate! Explosive incoming!"

Even as she yelled, she moved. Charging northward, toward where a staircase allowed forces on and off the wall, she grabbed Acrius about the middle, and lifted him bodily as she ran. Her other hand grabbed Rudolph by the arm and pulled him along. Him she let go of as soon as they were moving, but she was still carrying Acrius like a sack of flower, her muscles bulging as the Blood Heat coursed through her, when she jumped over the wall on the city side. She was close enough here that she landed on the stairs after a ten foot drop, her knees bending to absorb the impact. She charged down the stairs, but again jumped from them to the ground when she thought she was close enough.

Manald could be seen before the gate, getting ready, clearly having seen the imminent danger. Finally, Faira dropped her comrade and made her way to join the transformed beastman. She drew her sword as she walked, deftly undoing the scabbard from her belt and letting it drop to the ground.

"Come, guard of Bergkoff," she called, "Show me how you welcome goblins."

She stood firm next to Manald as the gate exploded inward.

@Fetzen@Inertia@Borosev

Star Wars: Raptor Squadron

Cool beans, and I'm here too, obviously.

The Prince's Royal Guard

Faira was disgruntledly tightening her armor back to its usual configuration, as she walked out of the main keeps courtyard to survey the city walls. She had decided to start with the north side, since it seemed to be under the heaviest attack.

The guards here were found cleaning the cannons with practiced haste. There wasn't much to see beyond the walls, the fields in front were torn and muddy from days upon days of troops marching across it. She could see ruts where whatever seige engines the orcs employed had been dragged to the field.

When the watch bell rang, Faira clutched the side of the wall and stared out for a moment, scanning the horizon before realizing that the attack was from a different point on the wall.

"Gods' blood!" She cursed, turning on the spot and running along the wall to get to the assaulted point. An order to move the city's only four cannons traveled along the wall towards the northern outpost, and by this time she could see the forces amassed below. She stopped one of the messengers and showed him her royal insignia. "We don't need four cannons for a bunch of goblins. Bring one, and your crew with the best aim. Leave the others, each with a full crew. They might be feinting."

She reached the western outpost on the wall, and found Rudolph already there.

"I just came from the cannons, the crew shouldn't be far behind me," she peeked out from behind a merlon. "If the cannon can break that catapult, we may not even need to leave the wall."

@Borosev

The Prince's Royal Guard

"Quite an animated mare you have there, Zatana."

"She is trouble," Faira agreed. "Come, we need to see about further orders now. This quiet won't last."

She made her way to rejoin the Prince, as the enterage was led into the keep itself. She nodded at Rudolph as they passed, but understood he likely had other matters to attend to now that he was home.

"Things are worse than they looked from the south side," she commented, scanning around at the more obvious signs of battle that were to be seen here.

The Prince's Royal Guard

Faira was scanning the rooftops, her sword still sheathed but unbelted and held in her hands, when the sound of the cavalry force arriving drifted through the gate. She put her hand on the hilt, ready for a fight, but relaxed when the gate began to open. Though happy the force had arrived, Faira felt a little put off that her ride here seemed to have been wasted. Zatana could have managed fine on her own, granted they would feel quite differently if something had happened on the way.

She approached the prince and his warlock right hand, "M'lord, Zatana should be back momentarily with the beggar's report." Just then, she caught sight of Acrius' "predicament," and approached the girl who had latched onto him.

"I'm going to need my comrade back," she said in a low, flat voice.

The Prince's Royal Guard

"As do I," Faira said, taking the rein, and watching as her masked comrade vaulted up to a rooftop. "Gods' blood, she wasn't kidding."

While Zatana was making her way to the meeting place, Faira dismounted, so that she stood between the two horses. When Zatana's unnamed steed made to bite her, Faira, without looking at it, kicked the horse in the shin. It was a light tap, not to hurt the beast, but just to distract it. And distracted it was, the horse started and looked at Faira in some confusion, then settled down, though still watched her from the corner of her eye.

"Hold," Faira said, handing the guard both reins and ignoring him as the mare tried to snap at him, while Steak moved behind him to get away from the more aggressive horse.

While this was happening, Faira began to undo straps on her armor(further distracting the guard). She loosened several around her biceps, thig, and calves. She redid the straps, and tested the new configuration by stretching.

Ready now, she looked to the rooftops for Zatana's return.

The Prince's Royal Guard

"That will do," Faira said, half turning before she had finished speaking, "Lady Zatana, we can plan our approach on horseback. Let us ride."

She turned from Balthazar, and made for the enclosure that held the guard's horses. Here she saddled her horse, Steak, and mounted, but waited for Zatana before setting out.

When they were on the road(though she expected they would leave it before they were much closer), Faira spoke.

"I can run faster than a horse, but only for maybe two miles at a stretch. When we're closer I can get there alone faster, but whether that's a good idea... we'll have to see the lay of the land. But what do you think?"

The Prince's Royal Guard

The meager camp that Faira used was already packed and ready for the continued march. With such a short distance left to travel, she had hoped to arrive yesterday, but it had simply gotten too late. She believed Prince Leonidas did not want to arrive by night, and though she could keep going, Faira knew many of the men were exhausted.

To her understanding, they would be approaching the city from the opposite side from where the invading force had come from, but she thought it possible that the orcs may have surrounded the city, maybe even sent scouts to the surrounding area. So she had made a habit of scanning ahead for any sign. Just like last night, however, there was nothing to see yet. They were simply too far.

Faira approached to where the prince and another member of the guard were discussing the defenses.

"If the city were under attack, we'd be hearing those new toys going off."

"Unless the fighting is over," she cut in, making no allusion to which way she expected it to have gone.

The Prince's Royal Guard

Name: Faira Blodwen
Race: Human
Gender:  Female
Age: 27

Appearance

Faira is tall and broad, her body is covered in stretch marks like a cat's stripes, the result of her Bloodheat expanding her muscles spontaneously.

Bio: Faira would love to tell people she lost her eye in battle, but she's no liar and the truth is it was injured in a shipwreck when she was small, and traveled aboard the merchant ship her father owned. She was pulled from the water near the shore of Dragon's Maw by a beastman named Erevan. He took Faira in, and taught her some of his ways.

Faira got on well enough wit Erevan's natural born daughter, Arn, until they were teenagers. It was found that Faira had the same elemental affinity to Life magic as Erevan, and he took her on as an apprentice to learn his family's traditional magic. Arn, who took after her mother with Earth magic, was jealous of Faira for this, and stopped calling her a sister. Though generally thick skinned, Faira was devastated by this change, and soon left to go see the world of humans that she was born in, but could barely remember.

The skills she learned in Dragon's Maw were best suited to combat, and she found work back in the Grand Empire as a mercenary.

Personality quirks:
Traits
1. When I set my mind to something, I follow through no matter what gets in my way.

2. I watch over my friends as if they were a litter of newborn pups.

Ideals: I would rather die than betray a friend.

Bond: Found Family. The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

Flaw: I fear I do not belong, despite my loyalty.

Friends/Rivals:
Erevan Blodwen, a beastman who rescued Faira when she was young, and raised her as a daughter.

Arn Blodwen, Faira's adopted sister. They were close once, but Arn is jealous that Faira was able to learn family magic that Arn herself could not.

Fighting Style: Southclaw. A ferocious style of swordplay, utilizing a bastard sword, sometimes accompanied by a large hunting knife. Rarely using a shield or heavy armor, it is weakest to ranged attacks that it is unable to block.

Equipment: A bastard sword, a wicked curved knife, fairly basic studded leather armor.
The knife is called Emberclaw, and has two small soulstones set on either side of the pommel. One is fire, the other earth. The spells carved into the blade will heat the metal white hot, while the earth magic preserves the blade's integrity, and prevents the heat from expanding beyond the guard. The spells activate at once, but the fire has four charges, while the earth only has three. It is activated by tasting the weirder's own blood. She won it in an arm wrestling contest with a captain she worked under once.

Skills/Abilities: Bloodheat. A special skill learned from her adopted family, in which one floods their body with life magic, strengthening it temporarily. It can take an enormous toll on the bones and ligaments, but makes the user faster and stronger than before. It also causes a fever, hence the name, and is dangerous over long periods.

Star Wars: Raptor Squadron

Hands still in tucked into her jumpsuit, Suga strolled out of the room, though a little faster than she had strolled in. She made her way to the hangar, and crossed where her ship was waiting. An assigned astromech droid was getting ready to be lifted into place, and she briefly checked its ID. R5-B7.

The Aggressive Reconnaissance fighter was freshly painted for Raptor Squadron. Suga mounted the ladder and climbed to the cockpit. Before getting in, she pulled her jumpsuit over her shoulders and zipped it up. She retrieved the harness from the cockpit seat and put it on, then climbed in and donned the helmet.

As the ship was whirring to life, she spoke into the radio. "Raptor Two, ready to launch."