Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 24x: Fires of Liberation

[Mercakete]

The skies were fairly clear of Zaftran forces, but there were still those balaticians to worry about -- not to mention the dragon -- so Tas stayed low. He saw Lev rejoin Ivanko's formation and Kiev and Nikita were in-sight now, too. (Oh good...) Relief flooded over the courier, though he couldn't fly over to them safely just yet. They were too close to the balaticians and though Tas was fairly certain he could avoid any bolts fired, he didn't want to risk breaking the others' focuss. The battle had progressed to a point where he could safely investigate that lone woman, however, and so flew Namid over to her, landing close enough to talk comfortably.

"Well, that's all I can do," sighed the woman as she watched the skies. No one was falling anymore so they were all out of her range. She'd managed to save a good many wyverns and riders, though, even if she couldn't be sure which side was in the right. When the low-flying rider approched her and landed, she looked at him curiously. (Certainly not a seasoned warrior. His armor is only medium at best, too.) "Hello; what can I do for you?" she asked as she sat down on the bit of rubble she'd been standing on.

"Um... What?" Tas asked, confused by her carefree demeanor.

"I asked what I could do for you," she chuckled. Then she displayed her staff. "See? I can heal things. I can use light magic, too, but I don't want to take sides in this since I don't know who's in the right. Looks like a skirmish from down here. Oh hey! You know what's going on, don't you? What's your name, anyway?"

"Um, Tas. I'm Tas," he replied, still trying to figure out what to make of this woman. (She's out here in these ruins durring a revolution with no clue what's going on... Why is she out here in this frozen place in the first place?)

"Nice to meet you! I'm Raechel. Now, mind answering my question?"

"Uh, well, see those wyvern riders over there? The ones being led by the giant, gray one," Tas began to explain, pointing out Ivanko and his army.

"Mm-hmm mm-hmm. Some of them were hurt, but the ones who got low enough should be fine now," Raechel replied.

"Well, they're Ivanko's mercenaries. They're fighting the Zaftran royal army in a revolution because the current leadership is opressing the country," he explained.

"Oh, that doesn't help at all... I don't support revolutions, really, but this one seems to be in the best interests of the people... Oh, wait a minute! Does this mean I'm near Kalten?" she asked.

Tas had assumed she'd known where she was so this was a bit of a confusing question. "Well... Yes. ... Are you lost or something?"

"Eh, I just travel wherever the wind takes me. I was hoping to find some snow-dwelling nomads, but it doesn't look like they're going to show up, what with this revolution going on and all. Are you one of the mercenaries?"

(Well that explains things somewhat...) "No, but some of them are my friends. I came with them to help their morale." (A lot of good that's doing... I have to stay out of the way and they have to focuss on their jobs... I'm so useless...)

"You look like you need a morale-boost yourself," Raechel observed, "What's wrong?"

"I'm not used to fighting, really. I've seen a lot of battles in the past week or so -- well, nothing to compare with what everyone else here has seen, but more than I ever have before -- but I didn't expect thise kind of...disaster... That and I feel so useless and helpless. I can fly well, but if I tried to help them I'd only hurt them right now." The courier sighed, hanging his head for a moment before looking up to the battle again.

"Well, you're still supporting them. You came all the way here to watch a war, even though this must be horrifying for you. I'm sure they understand that and that in and of its self is a great reassurance," she replied, her smile reappearing.

"I hope so..."

"Hmm... Well, I've got a problem if that's the case." Her frown had returned as she looked towards the citadels. Tas looked up questioningly in the moment she'd paused before she continued, "My physic staff can't reach all the way over there from here, but I don't want to leave my horse behind. Not like I could get over there without wings anyway. I need to help these people, though. With all the destruction, there has to be just that many people who need help, after all, and a lot of them probably aren't even part of this conflict."

"Oh my-- You're right!" Tas hadn't even thought about that before.

"Is that your wyvern?" Raechel asked, indicating Namid.

"Um, yes... I'm a courier, so--"

"Perfect! If you're a courier, you can deliver my horse and me into the battle zone, right?" she asked, wirling around to face Tas exuberantly.

"W-what? No! I can't do that! I don't know if Namid could carry everything! I mean, two people, everything he's already carrying and a horse?! And into the battle zone?!" This woman was crazy.

Edited May 10, 2011 by Mercakete

[Inactive Account]

"<I can't tell what Zolkov's up to well enough to see if it's a good time to try contacting him, but it seemed clear that he is not one who would do as I asked,>" Borodin replied. As she was about to call one of the other generals, the new connection she'd acquired lit up. "<All right. I'll contact you once I've talked to the other generals,>" she told the mercenary. "<Is there anything about to happen I should be warned of?>"

[Phoenix]

Ambitious Men

Lev: <Yeah, once that dragon is dealt with, the palace is going to be getting hit from the roof section. We've got the most room to maneuver there, so that's where we're headed. Speaking of which, is there anything you can tell us about this big guy before we take him on? Right now we're looking at substantial casualties, and we want to keep our chimera reliance during the final stages of the battle to a minimum.>

Ixion: The gigasi can't off load the mercenaries into the citadels because their structural integrity is questionable at best, and any routes to the palace may have already collapsed. Burrowing into the palace is also a great risk, so from here we may have to rely strictly on the chimeras, or prolong the battle with aerial drop offs.

Ivanko: I'm in favor of the latter. I didn't bring these guys to sit back and watch from the bottom of the mountain, and you know what will happen if they think chimeras did this and not men.

Ixion: Understood. I'll withdraw the gigasi to the bottom of the mountain to offload the mercenaries and then send them back underground. It will be up to our fliers to get them up here though. As for the citadels and any supplies therein, I think we should consider those lost for the time being. Too much of a risk raiding by tunnels or by air even after the battle.

Lev: <We're leaving the citadels alone, too much chance of a sudden collapse. Nothing else relevant at the moment, Borodin.>

Ivanko: Borodin, huh? Tell her we're getting ready to kick the door in so stay out of the way.

Lev: <Uh ... stay away from any doors ....>

[Inactive Account]

"<I can't really give any advice on the dragon,>" Borodin replied. "<If you could disable the flames or that might be of use, but that will be difficult. An explosion near his head might stun him, at least.>" Again she felt some regret at helping the invaders take down an old friend, but the lives of the people outweighed that. "<I'll work on bringing the other generals around now.>"

Closing that connection, she took the doll linked to General Makalov from Iris. "<This is Borodin,>" she said by way of greeting. "<How is the situation with your troops?>"

[Phoenix]

Makalov

The battle thus far had gone quite poorly for the Zaftrans, and every one of them that was still alive knew it. Makalov's men had been stationed in the northeastern citadel, but had to evacuate by air and through the tunnels. They had begun their retreat the moment the gigas burst up through the mountain and into the complex. The inconceivable amount of damage to the lower floors made escaping through the tunnels all but impossible, and men had to go through the rubble one at a time, a rate that threatened to see only a quarter of them escape to the palace before the whole thing came crashing down on top of them.

Makalove himself had been on one of the top floors and so was spared from much of the destruction. He still had to evacuate by air or risk dying if the citadel collapsed under its own weight. By the time he was safely in the air his spirit doll linking him to Borodin lit up and he took it up giving it a fearful look.

Makalov: <This is ... I can't even ... Grrrrr how on earth did this happeeeen?! Where in the hell did those monstrosities come frooom?! She knew about this! She must have!>

After venting, he spoke through the spirit doll directly.

Makalov: <Brigadier General Borodin, is this why you came to me before? Because you knew they had this kind of power at their disposal? Half of my men are airborne, fleeing as passengers from the citadel. Anyone else that survived is heading through the tunnels back to the palace. I can only account for a little less than half of them right now.>

Enter The Dragon

As the wyvern riders began to overpower the Zaftran opposition, the palace came back into view. So many of the Zaftrans had been isolated during the fighting, that they had no choice but to scatter and distance themselves from the battle or face no less than three mercenaries at a time, a grim proposition, and almost none of them tried it. Those that did perished, and the survivors tried to regroup elsewhere to prepare for a counterattack.

The now victorious wyvern riders formed up behind Ivanko as he led them toward the roof of the palace, the first position they had to take to win the battle. Waiting for them and standing firmly in their path however was Orteiga. Before Ivanko could lay out a plan of attack, Orteiga opened his jaws wide and let loose an overwhelmingly massive burst of flame. It was wide enough to completely engulf a small building, and Ivanko and his riders scattered to avoid it. Still thirteen riders were caught in the flames and died of all those directly in its path. Reforming with that kind of power being aimed at them was unwise, and Ivanko quickly gave the others the signal to stay spread out. Losing that many riders in one attack again was not going to happen if he could help it.

Ivanko: Well, this should be interesting.

Looking down to Victor and tapping the bull on the neck to get his attention, Ivanko gave the mount rebellious mount a stern look. Victor gave him the usual look of begrudging tolerance.

Ivanko: Listen up, Victor. We don't back down from this. We kill this thing, or this is where we die, and mark my words, that dragon will kill us if we don't work together. Now I need you for this, alright? You're not going to be able to kill him without me, and I'm not going to be able to kill him without you, so for the moment, screw this master servant, crap. I need a partner for this battle, understand?

Victor's eyes somewhat lost their hateful glare for a moment. Ivanko's words, not all of them he knew very well, but none of it made any kind of sense to him at first. Ivanko was speaking to him like some of the others under him had spoken to their wyverns, mostly his children. They weren't nearly as domineering as Ivanko was, but now he was acting like them. What the hell was going on?

Ivanko: You see that thing over there?

Ivanko pointed toward Orteiga as they approached and Victor eyed the beast.

Ivanko: He's stronger than you are. He's stronger than I am. He's going to kill us both. If you don't want to get fried by that thing, then we need each other, understand?

A truce? Ivanko wanted to coordinate rather than dominate for the purpose of defeating the super wyvern? That made plenty of sense to Victor, and despite his hatred for Ivanko, he didn't want to test his luck against the fire breather. What he wanted was to maim it, and drive it from the land and claim it for himself. Better yet, if the dragon was smart, it would not only back down, but answer to him. If it wouldn't, he would make sure it died. He would need Ivanko's help for this, so he snorted at the man and turned his attention to the super wyvern. This was going to be one hell of a battle.

OOC:

Can't write the rest tonight. Too much stuff is happening. Will pick up the rest later.

[Balcerzak]

"<I can't really give any advice on the dragon,>" Borodin had said, and that caused Iris to frown a bit. The general had wrapped things up with the mercenary second then, and had begun talking to one of the other generals in her next spirit doll conversation, leaving her to consider the options. The adjutant had assumed that there had been some grand plan already set in place. Without it, this defection was a lot closer to a mad scheme that she would really have preferred. Cause an explosion by his head... she pondered. I really hope she isn't counting on me for that, something tells me fighting fire with fire would be... less than effective. I mean, I'd be up against /dragonfire/ here.

A bit unnerved, and honestly hoping the mercenaries would be the ones bearing the brunt of the difficulty in that particular encounter, Lt. Frederikov nonetheless began frantically trying to come up with any sort of contingency, some way in which she might manage to leverage her talents that could conceivably have any noticeable effect. Anything with the least amount of elaborate or suspicious preparation time involved to pull it off, well that would be for the best

Edited May 16, 2011 by Balcerzak

[Inactive Account]

"<I didn't know exactly what they were up to, but I suspected something like this,>" Borodin told the other general. She'd thought he'd been holed up in the palace... she supposed that in the citadel, he at least would be out of the way. "<The imperials aren't going to win. Call off anyone you have in the fight and concentrate on reducing casualties,>" she told him. With that command issued, she closed the connection.

She still had two more contacts to call, but seeing the mercenary leader head for the dragon, she realized that she needed to handle her own troops now. She got out the dolls to Kouriatov and Ilyushin. "<Orders,>" she said into them.

"<Yes?>" came the reply, in stereo.

"<You're both to get all your troops inside the building. Inside, not out on the walls. Anyone with medical knowledge needs to be ready to use it.

"<The mercenaries are going to be entering the fortress soon. Do not engage them. If it's possible to do so, disable but DO NOT kill any imperial soldiers who try to fight them off. Give the mercenaries access to supplies if they need them. Healers are to aid both sides. When those orders have been transmitted, I want you both to take your best and start on the imperial guard. Be quiet and careful.>"

"<Understood.>" "<Yes, ma'am.>"

She turned to face her troops on the wall. "<We're leaving the engines open,>" she announced, and repeated the same orders she'd just given, omitting the part about the imperial guard. "<Get inside. I'll be in soon enough.>" As she watched the battle between the huge wyvern and the much bigger dragon begin, she got out the callers to the other two generals who had been potential allies.

[Mercakete]

The discussion consisiting of Raechel insisting that her horse couldn't possibly weigh too much for Namid to carry and Tas' continuous referring to the task as impossible under the present circumstances was interrupted by a stream of fire in the sky, causing man, woman and wyvern to look up at the bright flame. Some, Raechel managed to heal as they fell. Others, she could tell, were already dead and there was nothing she could do for them.

"See? That's what I mean! There is no way Namid could carry us all over there! It slows us down way too much!" Tas insisted.

"But that is why I must go," Raechel replied, just as fervrent, "People are dying, Tas. I can heal them. Don't you understand that? Don't you care?"

Of course Tas cared. As justified and necessary as he knew this removal of the imperial family was, he still privately agonized over how many were dying, dead and going to die. It seemed so ruthless but...there was no other way. As much as he'd like to ferry her over... "...Namid can't carry you. I can't get close enough. We'd die and then nothing would be acomplished. We have to live. That means waiting. It's hard for me, too. I have friends who are in danger, but the best thing I can do for them is to stay low until that dragon is taken care of and I can see I won't be fired at. I'll try to take you over the walls then."

"... You have a lot of sense, boy. ... That can't be healthy."

Tas' only reply was a sympathetic half-smile. Waiting was hard, but it was something both of them had to do.

[Phoenix]

The Vanguard

Orteiga singled out Ivanko and Victor as he prepared another fire blast. When he let loose the flames at them, Victor slipped under the attack easily and continued a wide approach. The other wyvern riders had to keep their distance, for even Victor was cutting it close with his evades and he was the fastest out of all of them save for one. Ixion rode atop Stratos as she circled around the other way. Whether Orteiga knew they were coming was uncertain, but Ixion wasn't going to leave this solely up to Ivanko.

Ixion: (This dragon is powerful but it only has one head. It won't be able to focus on two different targets at long range that are this far removed from one another, though I find it irritating that we may to subdue this dragon with bug bites rather than a decisive attack. We won't know how tough he is until Victor gets a hold of him.)

Another attack came, and Victor climbed over the flames and made a rapid turn toward the dragon. He was close enough to launch an assault now and wasted no time between attacks. Ivanko was ready as well raising up his sword. Orteiga quickly shot at them again, and this time Victor had far less time to dodge and his wing was grazed by the flames. Still their approach was successful and Victor collided with Orteiga's head knocking the dragon off balance!

The bull wyvern quickly grabbed on as tightly as he could with his claws and bit down on the dragon's head, nearly piercing one of his eyes. Ivanko leaped from the saddle and drove his sword down through Orteiga's skull as deep as he possibly could shouting through the attack. Orteiga didn't fall and instead began shaking his head rapidly to get them off.

Ivanko: Vic! Break off the attack! We need to get some distance.

Victor tried his hardest to tear off a piece of Orteiga's face but only Ivanko's weapons seemed capable of piercing the dragon's bones, and Orteiga quickly used his right paw to begin prying away at Victor. Blood from both beasts was flowing in large amounts before the dragon finally got the wyvern off. Slamming Victor down on his back, he reared back his head ready to try and incinerate the bull one more time. Ivanko leaped down from Orteiga's head with his sword in hand and ran it into the dragon's right eye both halting the dragon's attack, and anchoring himself high above Victor, who was still trying to get out from under the enemy's paw.

Orteiga let loose a loud scream, and a burst of fire came out with it, the heat alone nearly cooking Ivanko alive. He let go of his sword and descended toward his wyvern who had just muscled his way free of the dragon's paw. Rising up to catch Ivanko, they quickly arrived at the dragon's head again. Ivanko aimed to retrieve his sword but that would have to wait, as the dragon readied another blast that they couldn't possibly dodge this time. They're only chance was to strike first, and Ivanko took out his tomahawk as he stood up at the edge of the saddle. Victor moved below Orteiga's head and bit down on his neck as hard as he could, while Ivanko jumped up to send the axe straight down the dragon's throat.

Ixion finally closed in and the dragon summoned yet another burst of fire aiming to get at least Ivanko. Ivanko threw his axe and was rescued from the attack by Ixion and Stratos, the flames just barely missing them. The hand axe became lodged in Orteiga's throat for only a few seconds before the sheer heat reduced it to molten metal. Victor didn't relent for a moment in his assault, using every limb available to swat, tear at, and scratch away at the dragon's thick hide. Not until Ivanko and Ixion flew back around for another pass did Orteiga finally manage to get Victor off of himself. As Victor landed right in front of him, Orteiga unleashed a flame assault at the bull that nearly engulfed him. He took off and turned to put distance between them, but Orteiga didn't let up, and kept firing shots at him until the tip of his wing was struck. Victor cried out in pain but kept airborne, even with the tip of his wing set ablaze.

As Victor passed, Ivanko leaped back into the saddle and tried to ignore Victor's injury just as Victor himself was. They turned to face the dragon again and started their next approach. Orteiga relented only because he felt his attack would have kept Victor busy long enough for him to assess his own damage. It wasn't good. His neck was more than just a little bloody. There were punctures and open gashes everywhere, each pouring blood out onto the ground beneath him.

Zolkov had had enough and aimed to stop them before Orteiga was compromised and took to the air on his wyvern. He bought Orteiga time to ready himself by flying in front of the dragon and intercepting Ivanko and Victor. The two exchange a blow each during their high speed pass, and Victor failed to kill Zolkov's wyvern. Ixion and Stratos slipped right by them however, and the Dark Druid unleashed an attack of his own that struck Orteiga's only remaining eye.

Ixion: That should reduce his accuracy considerably ... now if we're fortunate, he won't begin desperately taking potshots at us.

Orteiga opened his eye fighting against the tremendous pain and found that he wasn't completely blind, only that a hideous coating of dark energy and blood was making it nearly impossible to distinguish friend from foe. He could still see the one that took the shot however and let loose the greatest and largest fire attack that had been launched since the start of the battle. It was too large to possibly remove oneself from and Ixion instead drew up as much energy as he could erecting the most powerful barrier he could manage. It was so concentrated neither he nor Stratos could be seen through it. The flames engulfed them and when the attack subsided, the barrier fell apart revealing a slightly singed Ixion and Stratos. Ixion's face ran with sweat, and Stratos was swatting at her own nose to get the awful smell of charred flesh out.

Ixion: It's not enough yet ... and I doubt I'll be able to catch him with his guard down again. (That took everything I had ... and more ...)

Zolkov followed behind Ivanko and Victor as they approached Orteiga again but couldn't close the distance in time. Ivanko swung hard and cut a huge gash along Orteiga's cheek as they passed, sending the dragon into frenzy of head shaking and roaring. Zolkov followed right behind them passing Orteiga and readying his sword. As Ivanko and Victor came around for yet another pass, Zolkov was ready for them and veered off course to try and flank them. Victor kept his eye on the dragon, and Ivanko prepared to counter Zolkov just in case. The wyvern lord came in hard and fast but Ivanko didn't attempt to block his attack. Instead he swung wide and chopped off a piece of Zolkov's wyvern's wing, while Zolkov landed an attack that nearly took Ivanko's head. The mercenary leader was only nicked though, and Victor wasted no time in biting down on the wyvern's tail and yanking it which threw Zolkov off.

The Zaftran wyvern lord grabbed onto his wyvern's head and hung on as Victor flung them away and continued his approach toward the dragon. So pained by his bloodied wing injury, Zolkov's wyvern began to descend toward the ground Orteiga stood on, not wanting to continue fighting.

Zolkov: <IT'S NOT OVER YET!!! WE HAVE TO PRESS ON!!! DO NOT GIVE UP!!!>

The wyvern heard and fought through the pain to remain airborne, even with a wing that was barely holding together, and raining blood down over the mountain at an alarming rate. Zolkov wasn't going to give up. In his mind, defeating Ivanko would end the battle, and with the mercenary leader right before him, he could not yield or back down. He would die first.

Zolkov: IVAAAANKOOOOOOOO!!!

The mercenary leader glanced back at the approaching Zolkov and glared. Behind them was the zealot, and before them was the dragon.

Ivanko: We need to finish the both of them, and quick.

[Inactive Account]

disregard this post, it broke physics

Edited May 18, 2011 by Kiryn

[Phoenix]

Lost Ground

During Ivanko's battle with Orteiga, the rest of his airborne riders had begun to spread out making a massive blockade around the battle zone. It was all they could do to keep Zolkov's men from swamping Ivanko and Ixion in a last ditch effort to end the battle that way. Still, seeing their commander fighting alone caused many of the regrouping units under his command to concentrate their efforts on storming past the mercenaries by hitting the same area in full force. Half of Zolkov's battalion came flying as one big flock and inevitably forced their way through. A dozen riders were lost on both sides, and the blockade began to collapse as the mercenaries flew out trying to surround and entrap the battalion. The result was another massive flock of mixed fighters duking it out, with only a handful of Zolkov's men escaping the fighting.

As the six riders approached, they spotted their commander engaged with Ivanko already. From the looks of things, they wouldn't get there in time to make much of a difference, not unless Orteiga could keep them at bay a little longer, but Ivanko was charging him down like a mad bull and Zolkov was right behind him still. With Ivanko approaching from one side, and Ixion still on the other, Orteiga decided to give up his position and risk allowing enemies through the rooftop entrance. He slammed his wings down hard shaking the area and lifting himself into the sky. Ivanko grunted when he saw the dragon blast off hundreds of feet above them.

Ivanko: ... it's mobile.

Zolkov: IVANKOOOOOO!!!

Ivanko had just a moment to glance back as Zolkov caught up and leaped from his wyvern to try and impale him through the head. The mercenary leader ducked and Zolkov missed sailing over Victor who tried to bite him but only succeeded in tearing off his cape and sending him into a spinning tumble. His wyvern caught him and they put some distance between them before either Ivanko or Victor could take a whack at them.

Ivanko: Grrrr, piss off!

Banking to pull away from the man and pursue Orteiga, Ivanko readied himself for the bigger target. Zolkov quickly joined formation with his six riders and went after them.

Rider: <Sir, are you alright?>

Zolkov: <Do not worry about me. I'll be fine so long as we cut the head off of this usurping snake once and for all. Ready yourselves. We will get them away from Orteiga and give him an opening to incinerate them. Understood?>

Rider: <Sir!>

Orteiga continued to rise and occasionally shot down a small blast to try and kill his opposition, but Victor would dodge them and continue to climb up after the dragon. Ixion was pursuing as well but the approaching riders took his priority and he flew over to try and intercept them. Meanwhile the first three not including Zolkov flew up and surrounded Ivanko. Victor snarled at the wyverns daring them to come closer. Just then Orteiga launched a fire attack hoping Victor's lack of room to maneuver would be the end of both him and his rider, but Victor lunged and grabbed a rider's wyvern by the neck and used him as a shield. The blast burned the wyvern and rider to skeletal mess and Victor chucked it aside whacking another rider off his wyvern, killing him, and continued his climb gaining with every flap of his wings.

Orteiga, now frustrated, gave up on the fire attacks and decided to use his claws to take Victor down. He stopped his climb and began a nosedive aiming to catch Victor off guard, and that's exactly what happened. There was no time to move and the two drakes collided, each is skull giving off a loud bashing sound as Ivanko flew up from the saddle and planted his sword deep into Orteiga's back!

Zolkov: (I see ... that is why Orteiga is having so much trouble. When he focuses on one, the other deals a mighty blow. He cannot concentrate on both, and they're taking advantage of that to no end. Ivanko is not just a rider and that bull is not just a mount. They fight both together and separately. Two warriors that combine and separate as needed to take down their opponent. Let us see if I can't do something about that right now!)

Zolkov flew up alongside the falling beasts and came at Ivanko, who couldn't very well block an attack with his only remaining weapon being used as a grip to keep from falling several hundred feet down to the palace. Zolkov's attack might have killed Ivanko if the man hadn't yanked his sword free and fallen underneath as the wyvern lord passed. Orteiga felt the sword come free and began swatting with his feet to try to hit Ivanko during their fall. As Victor got a hold of the dragon's already wounded neck, the dragon glanced Ivanko with a lucky kick that he barely blocked with his sword. The hit still threw him away from their struggle and left him open for Zolkov.

Ixion put up his barrier just in time to act as a ramming device and it shattered as he flew through three of the riders. One of them including his wyvern was killed, the force crushing their bones like glass and sending them tumbling from the battle. The other two were injured but still able to fight. Hardly losing any momentum, Ixion turned to go and catch Ivanko again, but he was far shorter on time this go around. Zolkov was still close enough to stop however. He aimed a simple dark spell at the wyvern lord blasting his sword arm and slowing his wyvern. That allowed them to slip right on by and catch Ivanko who had missed the roof altogether and had begun to fall alongside the palace wall passing floors of siege engines.

Victor and Orteiga had fallen and crashed on the roof of the palace, Orteiga's weighed causing a minor cave in on the top floor. Climbing out of the wreckage, he spotted Victor trying to shake himself off, and quickly smacked the bull as hard as he could with his paw. The attack sent Victor tumbling around across the roof, but he dug in hard to catch himself at the roof's edge. Orteiga wasted no time in sending a fire attack his way, which Victor avoided by backing up off the roof and latching onto the walls. He slid a bit further down than he wanted, but it was the best grip he could manage. Once Ixion had caught Ivanko, they turned to head back up and help Victor, who was clearly on his last legs. At the top of the palace, was Zolkov, with a few riders backing him up.

Ixion: He's stubborn.

Ivanko: I know.

Ixion: But so are we.

Ixion erected another barrier and kept his course. If Zolkov wanted to try and kill them with his sword now, he was certainly welcome to, and he did, but all of them could do little more than crack the barrier, and it didn't shatter until they were past all of them. Orteiga was right in front of them now.

Ivanko: That mouth of his isn't aimed at us. Get me close!

Ixion understood.

Zolkov: <STOP THEM!!!>

Zolkov and his riders turned around to give chase, but the flying chimeras from before had returned and swamped them. The riders were brutally attacked, bitten, and clawed at until they were all dead ... all that is ... except for Zolkov, who forced his way out of their flock with his sword impaled through one of their heads. Every unarmored part of his body was bleeding to varying degrees, but he and his wyvern were still flying. The flying chimeras followed still.

Orteiga saw Ivanko and Ixion approaching fast and turned to shoot them down, but Stratos had flown over his head just as the flames came out and they missed entirely. Zolkov however had to dive to avoid them and he and his wyvern inevitably crashed on the roof. The wyvern lost consciousness, and Zolkov was sent tumbling thirty feet across the ground. Ivanko left Ixion and Stratos and landed on Orteiga's head once again planting his sword into the dragon's skull aiming for a kill, but for some reason the dragon's skull didn't seem to be a weakness. Still, the attack had bought Victor time to haul himself back up onto the roof, and the bull came in fast, first galloping to gain speed, and then flying.

The fire dragon didn't have time to worry about Ivanko and readied a fire attack for Victor instead. Victor didn't care anymore. It was him or the dragon. One of them was going down right now, and he wouldn't break off his attack. He was going to beat the dragon to the punch or die. Ivanko knew this and ripped his sword from Orteiga's skull delaying the dragon for that last crucial moment before leaping from the dragon's head. Victor was obviously going to need some room he thought.

Victor came in and just as Orteiga unleashed his attack, the bull wyvern opened his jaws wider than had ever been seen before, and his teeth sank into Orteiga's thick flesh as they fire blasted his right wing and set it completely on fire in the process. Holding on as tightly as he could, the bull used his momentum and grip to tear the dragon's throat open. His entire body flipped around in a full circle around Orteiga's head leaving two massive gashes around his neck and sending torn scales, blood, and a couple of his smaller teeth flying. As Victor completed the spin, he let go of the dragon's neck and raised up his paw and clawed Orteiga's cheek trying to drag him down. Orteiga finally fell, his body hitting the ground with a resounding crash.

Zolkov rose up to his knees to see Orteiga struggling to breathe, and Victor climbing out from under him. The gray bull was soaked in dragon blood. The blood from Orteiga had doused the flames covering Victor's wing. Instead of making his way over to Ivanko who was standing nearby, he climbed up on top of Orteiga's back and let out the loudest roar he could manage. It was him, he had done this, and he would let every wyvern in Zaftra know it.

Zolkov: <O-Orteiga! ORTEIGA!!! STAND UP!!!>

The only response the dragon gave was moving his paw and head just a little bit. The wyvern lord lowered his head and slammed his fist into the stone ground, furious. Ivanko meanwhile eyed the entrance to the palace. It was almost time to begin the inner siege it seemed.

Ivanko: ... thanks for the help Victor. You earned this.

The bull continued to roar as loud as he could, using Orteiga like a foot stool for several minutes. Kiev and Krinkov were utterly stunned by what they had seen. Nikita was more impressed than afraid and wanted a closer look, but Irina seemed to be intentionally keeping at a safe distance.

[Mercakete]

"Look, look! The dragon is down! Can you fly us over there now?" Raechel asked enthusiastically as she pointed to where Victor's roars were coming from.

"Uh... I...guess I did promise that..." Tas managed to reply, somewhat dumbfounded at what of the battle they could see from the ruins. "Okay... Show me where your horse is."

They weren't far from where Raechel's horse was quietly waiting for his rider to return. He was somewhat surprised that she had company, though. Immediately, Tas went to work, retrieving straps of leatehr and iron buckles, clipping and fastening until Namid's harness was modified with two, sturdy straps hanging from the normal harness. The straps went under the horse's belly, right near his shoulders and hips to distribute the weight safely. Though the courier was nervous around the horse, Namid's proximity and his own objectivity helped him to work efficiantly and effectively.

With the modifications complete in a timely manner, Tas stood back and looked at his work. (I just hope Namid has enough raw strength to pull this off... We've never carried a horse before...) "Alright, Raechel, you'll be on Namid's back with me. I hope this goes alright..."

The takeoff wasn't nearly as smooth nor speedy as either Tas or Namid were used to. In fact, all Namid managed to do was spook the horse and hover, being forced to fly along as the horse ran.

"Makeitstopmakeitstop!!" Tas' panicked cries were reflected in the tone of Namid's voice as he let loos a soft roar.

Raechel was completely calm. "Hmm. Oh well. We'll have to find another way up the mountain. Okay, Tas, you're fired. You don't have to carry us up there anymore. At least you tried so I can hold you to your word on that.."

"Can't you make your horse stop?!"

"Not from here. He'll stop on his own once he can't run anymore. I'd advise just cutting the straps or something so we can fly over to where people need my help without him. Could you wantch him for me once you drop me off?" she replied, suddenly growing hopeful again, "He was a gift, so I don't want him running off."

Tas wasn't really paying attention. As soon as she'd said the best way to calm the horse down was to let the straps go, Tas was holding onto Namid's harness and hanging off the side, working to unfasten the straps from there. Once undone, the two mounts separated. Namid climbed in altitude and the horse only ran a few meters more before he was satisfied with wondering what exactly had happened and was content to shakily mill about.

Namid was still carrying his passengers -- one of which was still clinging to the side of his harness -- and flying speedily towards the mountainside, looking for a safe place to land unless directed otherwise. The straps that had been used to keep the two mounts together in the attempted airlift still dangled from Namid's other side. Raechel was just enjoying the flight as Tas slowly climbed back up the harness to Namid's back. Though the speed at which Namid was flying made it somewhat difficult.

Edit: Oops; wyverns can't lift horses, apparently.

Edited May 18, 2011 by Mercakete

[Inactive Account]

As the soldiers and ballisticians began to head inside, Borodin's connection to Glinka lit up. "<Orteiga's down,>" Glinka reported. "<Don't think I've ever seen anything like that...>"

"<Useful to know. Any other news?>" Borodin asked. It must have been quite the fight, if Glinka were exclaiming upon it like that.

"<Not really. Rescue's in progress, but we're going slowly-- trying to avoid collapses.>"

"<All right. The main fight's moving inside. Ilyushin and Kouriatov are going to it, as am I. Keep following previous orders unless I call to tell you otherwise, or the outside situation renders them impossible.>"

"<Yes, ma'am. Anything we should do about Orteiga? I don't think he's dead,>" Glinka added doubtfully.

Borodin thought. Orteiga would have been a valuable ally if they could have brought him around, but his loyalty to the imperial family made that impossible. If he was saved, he might repay the favor with violence if the imperials fell. It depended on his reaction... "<If it's possible to approach, send in some healers with Sleep staves,>" she instructed. "<If they can knock him unconscious, and are confident that they can keep him that way, heal him. Otherwise, he's a loss we'll have to accept,>" she concluded.

"<Got it.>" The connection closed.

Borodin turned to Iris. "<Connections to Generals Uspensky and Markov, please,>" she said. She looked to her unit as a whole, the few handpicked who had anticipated fighting alongside her rather than on the walls. "<After I make these calls, we're headed for the area around the throne room.>"

[Mercakete]

"Nice to see you again!" Raechel cheerfully mentioned as Tas finally managed to get onto Namid's back again.

"No time to talk," was Tas' only reply as he climbed onto Namid's other side to detach and pull up the straps. Once he managed that and securing them back into the saddlebags, he climbed back into the saddle and began directing the mountain wyvern.

"How long does it take to be able to change gear like that mid-flight?" asked Raechel, impressed.

"I've been around wyverns all my life. Trick-riding is how I learned to fly so I've known how to do it for a long time now," the courier answered, "We're getting close to the walls. hang on, cause we'll have to fly pretty steeply."

Soon after his warning, Namid flew almost vertically, flying incrediably quickly until they passed the top of the wall. Then Namid levelled out again and they glided around a little bit more. "Where would you like to be dropped off?" he asked Raechel, noting the citadels, walls and castle below them. He wasn't too comfortable in this particular section of airspace, so he hoped the healer had previously decided where she wanted to go.

"Where do you think the most casualties are?"

That question signalled that she was still deciding, which resulted in Tas' gloved hand meeting his forehead guard.

[Phoenix]

Forward HQ

Irina had been keeping a safe distance for a time, but when she noticed Tas in the area, she gasped and tried to get close enough to warn him of the danger. His passenger was admittedly a bit of an afterthought, as his safety in general pushed out her other thoughts.

Irina: Tas! What are you doing over here?!

Zolkov's battalion was quickly routed again and had to spread out. Ixion helped to stay their advance with more flying chimeras but the time to act was now, before the internal defense could be consolidated any further. He landed Stratos and dismounted her before looking over at the horribly wounded dragon and the bull wyvern roaring victoriously over him still. The next phase was to secure the roof of the palace for their side and prepare to send in anyone available who wasn't seeing to the defense of their new beachhead.

The numerous wyvern riders began landing on the roof and that was when Zolkov's presence became all too apparent. The man was quickly approached by several unmounted riders armed to the teeth, but he wouldn't allow himself to become a captive at this stage. His wyvern was awake, and so he took his chance and dashed toward the edge of the palace and leaped over the edge. His wyvern hastily followed. The other riders didn't bother pursuing and instead returned to the others.

The immediate area was quickly secured, so Ixion began trying to attend to the mercenaries still trapped inside the gigasi. The first thought that came to mind was somewhat dangerous, so he could only test it with one of them, and the rest would have to be let out and airlifted.

Ixion: Clear the area and brace yourselves! The gigasi in the citadels are withdrawing to the mountain base! Another is going to scale the palace from the outside.

Lev: Ah shit! <Borodin! Borodin, can you hear me?!> Ixion! Which side are you using?!

Ixion: The west side.

Lev: <Borodin! Keep any allies and neutrals away from the west side of the castle! I mean EVERY FLOOR, every section near the western side! Keep them away from there! There's a demolition job scheduled for that area in about two minutes, best guess.>

As time passed, the gigas on the side of the mountain began a steady crawl up to the base of the citadel ruins. The other gigasi had gone back into their holes and reemerged at the base of the mountain near the forests. There they released the mercenaries who could only wait around for airlift. Scaling the mountain with no gear, and while partially dampened from being inside the beast was nothing short of suicide. The palace shook violently as the remaining gigas' body slammed against the stone walls. Using it's head, it bit through the walls and buried its head a dozen meters into the complex. The mercenaries within were ready to be released once the shaking subsided.

Ixion: One hundred mercenaries per gigas. We only have one hundred men at the bypass position so in order to take advantage of this opportunity, we'll need to be rather quick.

Ivanko: Right. Ixion, you and I are at the front of the pack. We blow through them and meet up with our boys already inside. Next we split up and handle our individual objectives.

Ixion: Right. I'll handle the other royals. The emperor is all yours.

[Mercakete]

The courier was actually relieved to hear and see Irina again and he openly expressed it was a somewhat-tired smile. "Irina! It's good to see you safe. How're you holding up?" he asked before her question registered and he tacked on an explanation to his question, "I met this woman down in the ruins when I saw you, Lev and Isotov flying from that chunk of rubble and flew over. She's been healing people with her staff from where she was but needed to move along with the battle, I guess. She says that she needs to help all the people getting injurred."

"North!" Raechel's sudden exclamation surprised Tas and he immediately looked north.

"What? What about north?" he hurriedly asked.

"We can land on the northern wall. Ooo! Or maybe in that central building! The south looks like it could collapse soon and I won't be much use dead, as you pointed out. East then. Lets go to the eastern wall," the purple-haired woman decided, smiling as though she'd just picked which pie she wanted from the market.

"Looks like I'm flying to the east wall..." Tas muttered half to Irina and half to himself. He was reluctant to go just yet, though. Giving Irina an awkward smile, he asked again, this time with a bit more calm and sinserity rather than cheer to his tone, "How have you been holding up?"

[Phoenix]

OoC: I seriously have no idea what you mean by "wall".

Irina and Stephanie

Irina: Uh, I've been fine, I guess. No injuries yet, but be really careful, Tas. This place is really dangerous.

As if to emphasize her point, Zolkov and his injured wyvern came into view. Not heading directly toward them, but not all that far off, the wyvern lord was making his way back toward his men, and some of them were circling around both sides to regroup and prepare for some kind of counterattack. The two fliers were somewhat in that path, and Irina realized it immediately.

Irina: Oh no, they're going to pick us both off if we don't get to the others ... Tas! We need to get to the top of the palace where the mercenaries are gathering. Forget about where she's trying to go and just follow me!

Stephanie: It seems that keeping our distance from the palace has come back to haunt us ...

Irina: Don't worry, we'll be alright. We just need to move now, before they get the mind to fly us down.

Rooftop

Some of the mercenaries had seen that Irina and Tas were along the flight path of the converging enemy forces and reported to Levski as quickly as they could. He in turn looked over with his own eyes trying to make out what was going on and grimaced. He went with the first idea that came to mind since it appeared that Zolkov had already gotten his men reorganized and they were heading their way. Ixion's flying chimeras were heading to intercept them, but that wouldn't stop them from catching Irina and Tas before they made it to the roof.

Lev: <Borodin, it's me again. If you can hear me, I need a big favor from your shooters soon ...>

Iso and the Kiev

During the chaos, Kiev had lost sight of and gotten separated from Irina. Not knowing what to do now, he let Iso steer him around. Frankly that wasn't going well, since Iso too had lost sight of Irina, and unlike Kiev, he didn't have long range eyes, nor the conditioning for flying, so anything further than a few hundred yards away could be anyone. He found himself guiding Kiev higher into the air trying to get up to the heights of the palace but found that in that general area, there were flocks of warriors meeting on both the top of the palace and out over the southeast citadel. Iso wasn't certain which side was which, but getting closer to check either side was a serious gamble, risking possible capture or death if he picked the wrong side to investigate first.

A hint helped him make the right choice as he drew closer. Victor's roaring, not all too familiar, but coming from the roof, and being the only bull in the battle currently, the choice was obvious. Ivanko was on the roof, and obviously not capture since Victor was alive. That's where the two of them headed, hoping to get there before something else ridiculous happened. Something ridiculous did happen however. They found themselves ascending up alongside the gigas that was climbing up the western side of the mountain and were nearly rocked out of the air by he turbulence and falling debris. Once the gigas picked its location to bury its head into the palace, Iso and Kiev emerged over the edge of the roof and landed near the IMs setting up there.

Iso: Giant worms climbing up the sides of mountain top palaces, wyverns toppling dragons, citadels being brought down by man made earth quakes ... this is history in the making, isn't it?

Mercenary: Isotov?! Hahah! Nice of you to join us, comrade.

Iso: Yeah I guess ... where's Irina?

Mercenary: Not sure, talk with Ivanko or Lev. They probably know.

Iso just nodded and began leading Kiev toward the Forward HQ at a steady pace.

[Inactive Account]

As Iris got the requested dolls ready, Borodin was distracted; Lev was shouting into his link. There was no time to reply; instead she activated the links to Ilyushin and Kouriatov again. "<Get everyone into the eastern half of the fortress,>" she instructed. "<West wall's about to be attacked. You have two minutes.>" Ilyushin confirmed that she'd heard; Kouriatov requested a repeat, which Borodin provided. As the link closed she gestured for her unit to follow her: while she was in the center of the southern wall, they couldn't be too careful about entrances and exits. She took off towards the southeast corner at a jog. As they ran, the communicator lit up again: the second-in-command needed a favor. "<What do you need?>" Borodin asked, stopping when they'd reached what she determined to be a safe distance.

Edited June 3, 2011 by Kiryn

[Phoenix]

Authority

Lev: <I need the southern siege engines to start firing at the approaching riders, but they've got to wait until our stragglers are out of the way. I'll probably have to handle that personally. I'll be marked so let them know, please?>

Iso arrived just in time to catch what Lev had said.

Iso: Stragglers? You mean Irina and Stephanie?

Lev: Tas too. Look, stay here for the moment. I'll deal with this.

Iso: The hell you will! That's my sister out there and you're about to have them unleash an arrow storm in her direction?!

Lev: We're in a warzone, so I don't have time for this sibling shit right now! Your sister gets into trouble and your first thought is to run off and rescue her when she's more at home and experienced in the air than you'll ever be! You go out there now and you'll slow her down! I'm not having it! If you don't do what I say and when I say it, I swear to god, I'll floor you. Understand? Now stay put!

Iso: I don't take orders from you, Lev.

Lev: You don't have to take my orders. There's four hundred IMs here who will. Restrain him until I get back.

Without a word of warning, two mercenaries grabbed Iso and pulled him away from Kiev. A third took Kiev's reins and kept the wyvern back while they tied up the fire sage.

Lev: If he struggles too much, knock'em out. No need to be gentle, he's a Zaftran like us, so he'll live.

Iso: GRRRR!!! LEV, YOU BASTARD!!!

Lev: You'll thank me when you both make it out of this alive, now sit down, shut the fuck up, and don't do anything stupid.

With that, the wyvern lord mounted Krinkov and after informing some others of what he was doing, he was given a streamer to make him easy to spot. Once that was on the tip of Krinkov's tail, they took off and made their way toward Irina and Tas.

[Inactive Account]

"<I've sent most of my men inside. I won't be able to run more than a handful of engines,>" Borodin replied. Of her personal unit, two could use ballistae; she signaled for them to get ready, and climbed up onto a ballista herself. "<Frederikov, if you have a Meteor tome, I need you to get it ready,>" she instructed. "<Ryzhanov, on Tornado.>" She looked to the group of riders they were to aim for: they had to be Zolkov's, she thought. She wasn't sure whether he was among them, but if he was, she'd need to bring him down to try and at least slow the rest. "<We're aiming for that group of Zolkov's riders. Don't hit the mercenaries they're headed for.>" She looked through the sight of her ballista to see if she could place the leader. She saw several different wyverns that might have been Zolkov's; she took aim at the one that appeared to be injured. Unless he'd seen a healer, that might well be him. "<On my signal.>" She watched, waiting to see that they were clear to fire.

[-Cynthia-]

The sky began to fill with mercenaries and the raven thought it wise to turn into a less conspicuous form. Moments later, a fly was buzzing about Isotov's shoulder, figuring that the fire mage was a bit too irate over the matter of his sister to notice a small insect. Listening to the conversation between the mercenaries, the fly was pleased to note that Isotov would not be going much of anywhere.

If he were to go off and try to get himself killed I would have to intervene...and I have no desire at the moment to decide this battle one way or another. Better to let these Ivanko Mercenaries prove to themselves that they are the true victors, rather than me swooping in for the rescue. If I were to decide this conflict for them, that would cheapen their victory and ultimately make them weaker. Still, acting as a little insurance for Proxima's survival is probably worth my time. Besides, I have a feeling this battle is about to get even more interesting...

[Mercakete]

"I'm fine with the roof, too. I just thought that'd be more dangerous," Raechel mentioned with a shrug before adressing Irina and Stephanie directly, "I'm Raechel, by the way. It's good to meet you."

"We can worry about who's who later," Tas interrupted, following Irina's advice and directing Namid to fly towards the central building with all the people on the roof. He wasn't flying at full speed, however, worried that Namid might be able to outfly Nikita and wanting to stay together as much as was within his power while still flying as quickly as the slowest between the two of them could.

[Phoenix]

Hectic Rendezvous

As Levski approached Irina and Tas, Ixion watched from the roof trying to make his own estimates as quickly as possible.

Ixion: That brigade isn't gaining on them anymore but they're still too close for them to get out of the way without being engaged by at least a few of them. Cover them!

The flying chimeras changed course, from trying to intercept the brigade of wyvern riders to literally shielding Irina and Tas as Lev arrived. The chimeras completely surrounded the two riders and Lev flew into the small flock to instruct them.

Lev: Huh, wasn't counting on help from Ixion ... Irina, Tas, listen to me. There's going to be some incoming fire on these guys, and we're in the way, so I need you to follow me on an alternate route to the palace, alright?

Irina: Lead the way.

Lev: <Borodin, we've got our cover, you're free to fire. We're taking a higher route than these guys.> Alright, let's go!

The wyvern lord led them higher and higher until the palace siege engines had a clear line of fire. The chimeras followed Lev's movements precisely and kept the three shielded throughout the maneuver. Meanwhile back on the ground ...

Fervor

Ivanko looked his sword over. Since it was the only viable weapon he had left for combat on the ground, he needed to be sure it wasn't damaged from the fight with Orteiga. Looking over at the dragon made him curious. He hadn't heard anything about a dragon beyond Ixion's suspicions, and yet here it was. The Zaftran royal family had a dragon loyal to their cause ... what cause? Ivanko didn't care at the moment. He had already lost people so there was anything but turning back.

Suddenly Orteiga began to stir prompting Victor to slam his paw down onto the back of the dragon's neck, right over the wound areas. This made the dragon flinch from the pain but didn't stop him from pushing against the ground to raise his body. Victor finally decided to get off and prepare to finish the beast. As Orteiga rose up in front of the mercenaries, they mostly backed off raising their weapons. Ivanko just watched, with his sword at the ready.

Orteiga: Why do you do this ...? All of ... you ...

The dragon's body began to glow and a moment later he shrank down into his human form, which looked horribly maimed by comparison, his neck was still slashed open on all sides, and his lips were dripping blood at an alarming rate. Victor was utterly stunned. The super wyvern had turned into a human? He glanced at Ivanko to gauge the man's response to this and was even more shocked to find that the man wasn't surprised in the least. Looking back at the ... thing before him, he roared at it, almost forcing it to the ground.

Orteiga: ... a-and you ... why do you fight?

The bull snarled and butted him to the ground with his snout before stepping over him and roaring down in his face yet again. Anyone else's eardrums would have been compromised.

Orteiga: ... Oh ... I see ... just following your path as a patriarch. Power. Territory. Legacy ....

Ivanko: Why are you helping the royal family?

Orteiga: Not ... everything needs to be solved with violence. I was here to ... force you to reconsider a diplomatic solution ....

Ivanko: I'm done with diplomacy. Your wounds ... will they kill you?

Orteiga: ... sooner ... or later.

Looking to the others, he spoke up.

Ivanko: Victor's got things handled for the moment. Don't heal him until I return and give the word. If he dies before then ... oh well.

Orteiga: That is, oddly generous of you, mercenary leader.

Ivanko: Hardly. We heal you even a little while you've still got something to fight for and we'll have another fight on our hands. We wait til this is over, when it's just you, me, Victor, and Ixion, and we won't have as big an issue putting you down if you try anything.

Orteiga: Offer one hand, and arm the other ... ... wise.

[Mercakete]

"What are these things?!" Tas excalimed in alarm as the chimeras flew around them. He was directing Namid as best he could to follow Lev's lead, but he still kept glancing over to the strange, flying creatures. (I can avoid things being thrown at me well enough but... This is crazy! Ok, just follow Lev... Calm down... ... ... I swear the green one's looking at me!) Tas inwardly cringed as he tried to keep his focus...and glanced up at the green one again.

Raechel simply tried to ignore what was going on around her. Tas was right before when he said this was no time for introductions. Keeping focussed was the important thing here.

[Inactive Account]

Borodin heard the message and pulled the lever on her ballista, firing on her target. The bolt punched into the rider's armor. "<Fire!>" she instructed her troops, loading in another bolt. There were more riders than they could possibly take down themselves, but they wouldn't have to. Two more riders fell from the sky; her men were expert shots. A small, magical cyclone materialized, beginning to tear into the riders.