Perched on a tall building, with her body so low that she was practically lying on her belly, Leanne looked at the wreck that was once the capital of her beloved Republic... now a place of pillage as the savages of the Plutocracy ran the city.
The Empire attacked... but now the men of the Fire bound nation were tasting the might of berserker axes. Just as her own people had, countless times in this horrible war.
Leanne cursed herself for getting carried away with her thoughts and instead surmised the field. The Fire Empire seemed to be retreating... the force of the Plutocracy unshakable. This would not do.
Leanne needed them to fight for longer. For more of the invaders to spill their own blood fighting each other. Thus, her course of action seemed certain. She couldn't see a good way of making the Fire retreat seem unsound... other than striking at the might of the Water. The crazy woman who was responsible for so many of the Fire loses... that would be her last resource. She didn't want to face such a strong supported figure in a zone where she had no friends.
Instead she searched for a place where she could turn the tide of the battle... a siege machine to take down, a group that if removed might present a weakness to the Empire...
As the battle raged and the bodies of the fallen began to pile up on the streets of the once proud and majestic capital of the Wind republic, A lone knight of the Fire Empire's army clenches his hands on a billhook; a weapon looted from a fallen Republican soldier from a few weeks back when he had broken his Halberd from using it to stop the thunderous charge of a Republic knight. But enough about the past, for the knight is now face to face with a trio of "Boyars" the elite of the Plutocracy and amongst their most heavily armed warriors, beaten only by the Tzar's guard. The standoff is then broken by one of the mail and plate armored nobles taunting the knight.
"Give it up you dirt-farming Imperial dog! There's three of us and only one of you!"
Another one speaks, finishing the threat of his ally for him.
"Da! Now if you would be so courteous to drop that peasant weapon and let yourself be ransomed for a handsome-"
Before the arrogant noble could finish his statement, his face was caved in with a mighty thrust of the Knight's polearm, The mail coif that the unlucky noble wore to protect his face failing to protect him as the "peasant weapon's" iron spike pierced through the iron veil and stabbed through his skull with a sickening crunch, mashing his brain into a grey goop and killing him instantly.
"Shit!!!"
The other two Boyars rush in with their spatha-like swords and attempt to stab through the gaps of the Knight's armor, but the Knight; having been in the hell that is war for far longer than the both of them was able to twirl his body enough so that the blades bounced uselessly against his half-plate armor before using the billhook to trip one of the nobles with the polearm's wicked hook and whack the other upside the head, but the noble was able dodge the killing blow and manages to ram the knight towards the ground, whereupon the Plutocracy elite pulls out a dagger from his belt and attempted to stab the Knight neck with it, only for his arm to be stopped by the knight's own.
"Die you pathetic peasant!"
The Boyar puts more weight into his arm, attempting to use gravity and his weight to defeat the Knight's greater strength; but the knight was able wriggle his legs enough to get enough leverage and manages to roll the rival noble off of his chest; swiftly getting up and managing to duck under the other Boyar's sword, grunting; he dispatches the noble by using the billhook's spike to skewer his nether regions; causing the noble to wail in a darkly humorous high-pitched voice before being silenced forever with a swing of the heavy polearm to his temple, cracking his skull and killing him with massive head trauma.
"Damn you!!!"
The last Boyar had gotten up and charged towards the Knight in rage, seeking to avenge his fallen comrades; but it was not to be as the Knight sidesteps and trips him down with the shaft of the billhook before finishing him off with a mighty thrust of the weapon's butt-spike through his mail armor, piercing through the iron rings and plate and impaling his internal organs; leaving him to die from bleeding to death. Removing the spike from the soon to be corpse, the Knight then lifts up the visor of his Bascinet and wipes the sweat off his face.
"Now that the general's dead... How now will I be able to return to the Empire aside from inside an urn or aboard a prison ship?"
It seemed to be a pretty random thing to be worrying about in such a FUBAR'd situation such as this, but to Gunter von Orman; it was of the utmost importance since he had just spent the last of his loot to bribe General Rodriguez to let him return home with an assumed identity as a soldier of the Fire Empire can only return home in side an urn as ashes or as a cowardly deserter to work in the tungsten mines of the Balearic isles with no hope of escape. Neither option sounded appealing.
edited 3rd May '12 10:26:43 PM by Strigon
Shameless Self-promotion ho!Roger swayed and stumbled as he made his way out of the side alley, his rolling and unsteady gait having less to do with too much time spent at sea and more to do with the empty bottle in his hand.
He had thought that a little time in a big city was just the thing he needed to relax in-between jobs. He should've known that the end result would be far from relaxing since couldn't go more than a day without getting caught up in some stressful skirmish or other, though this one seemed to be a little more serious than a skirmish-
His train of thought was interrupted by a large mass of fur-covered flesh, blocking the alley's only exit, an axe in one hand.
"Oh-ho!~Bring it on then, friend. M'ready n'time you-*hic* are." he slurred, obviously more than drunk. He held a cutlass in one hand and the empty bottle in another, giving his foe a mocking salute with the glassware. The enraged berserker charged and howled like the savage beast he believed himself to be.
As the pelt-wearing warrior closed the gap for a skull-cleaving downward swing, Roger leaped back-or at least attempted to. Instead he stumbled and fell over his own feet, dropping the bottle and thrusting out with the cutlass in apparent panic.
The savage warrior hardly slowed, only to slip on the bottle and tumble over on top of the inebriated pirate captain, the thrusting cutlass impaling the barbarian despite its lesser tip. After several moments of thrashing, punching and frustrated yells, Roger pushed the heavy corpse aside and removed his blade, surprised to find himself still alive. Drunken bravado quickly set in as he wiped the sword off, got up and swayed out of the alley.
"Ha-ha! That'll teach him to mess wi' Roger Cipher, greatesht pirate that ever sailed the sea!"
edited 3rd May '12 11:09:51 PM by Dblade26
As the former Wind Republic knight looked for something that would stop the Empire's retreat, she saw a Plutocracy command chariot, near the city's western gates.
A command chariot is where the plutocracy commanders hang out in battle. It's a large square chariot, fortified by steel and pulled by two very larger Bulldroks, which are 12-feet tall carnivorous buffaloes
Miguel cursed again. The retreat was going far too slowly for his taste, and the barbarians were making things even harder. Two of said barbarians picking that exact moment to attack the captain.
Miguel snarled. "I have no time for this!"
One barbarian sliced at Hyperion's flank with his axe, but the Flamewyrm's tough scales deflected it. Miguel thrust his lance through the man's eye, and with a sickening sound, pulled it out and blocked the remaining barbarian's attack with the same motion. The barbarian growled and aimed to strike again, but Hyperion had reared on his hind legs and crushed the man's head.
Miguel exhaled. He was getting fatigued because of the fighting. He scanned his surroundings again and saw.... a lone knight massacre multiple Boyars. Astonished, Miguel urged Hyperion to the direction of the knight.
"Hail! Who are you? Have you not heard the order to pull back?"
Meanwhile, in the alleyway where the pirate was, two Imperial soldiers were hiding.
"S-screw this! I don't wanna die!"
"Yeah! I don't care if we're called deserters!"
....then they noticed the drunk pirate.
"Ack! Who are you?!"
Gunter saw and heard Miguel, not only that; but he also recognized the young officer as the late General Rodriguez' lieutenant. Now if he were to make the noble officer indebted to himself; maybe the boy could use his connections to get him a boat ride to Germania...
"I have heard the order sir, but was unable to comply due to being cut off from the rest of my unit and having to fight my way out of this damned hole to safety. But since you are alone, a knight such as I simply cannot let a commanding officer be stricken down by the savages. And thus I must accompany you for your safety since at this moment, your life is far more valuable than any in this legion."
The Knight then thumped his armored chest with his left hand as a form of salute.
edited 4th May '12 1:06:33 AM by Strigon
Shameless Self-promotion ho!War is hell. Of this, there is no doubt. And if there ever was, it would disappear on this day. On this battlefield... no. Battlefield was no longer the word. A battlefield implied a battle. No, what was happening here was simple slaughter, not worthy of being called a battle. So it wasn't a battlefield. It was a killing ground.
A lone Imperial soldier, his tendons in his left leg cut and his left ear missing, hauled himself across the ground on one good leg and two hands. No, scratch that. Make that one good hand. A simple jab at blinding speeds came from behind the man, quickly plunging into the back of his right hand before emerging out the other side. He screamed in pain, and the jabs continued. One hole, two hole, three hole, four hole, until his right hand was a bloody pulp.
He could barely keep himself focused, in fact the adrenaline was probably doing most of that for him. Escape was now most certainly impossible, if it hadn't already been. He couldn't even hobble. Rolling on his back, he tried to bend his back enough to face his killer. He knew who he didn't want to see, because he knew if he did, his death would not be swift. But at the same time, he knew that would be exactly who he'd see.
"You... filthy... monster..." he sputtered out, before another jab punctured his sternum.
"Sorry, you lose," the figure said without a hint of remorse, jabbing at the man's chest until it was clear he was most certainly dead. Morana laughed. "Sorry buddy, but you really should've known who you were up against."
Giving the man one last good jab, Morana left his blood to spill while she looked towards the horizon. Today had been fun. So many good fights... but you know what would be even more fun? Taking the head of that dead General's lieutenant. But where to find him...
"Come out come out wherever you are..."
edited 4th May '12 2:02:32 AM by KSPAM
I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serialWen Bo-Cheng looked outside of his bunker. Alright, alright, the streets were deserted. Well, except for the bodies. The Earth Alliance teenager had visited the big city in order to search for new material for his latest story, but found himself in the middle of another big battle. The problem here, was that Wen wasn't ready to admit this was a battle. In fact, he wasn't ready to admit there was a war at all. He went back into his little hole, still wearing his travel clothes- some sort of mix between a hoodie and a shirt, fingerless gloves, pants and boots, all of them either green or black. He searched for something inside his pack... no, that wasn't it... oh, that certainly wasn't it... there! He removed a small notebook from his green pack, and began to write on it with some sort of pencil that was strapped to the back of the notebook:
"Gong remained hidden inside his little hole- no, that doesn't sound good... Gong remained hidden inside the inn with his friends. He had simply wanted to experience a bit of big-city life, but found himself in the middle of an odd ritual."
He peeked outside of the hole and saw a dead Water Plutocracy soldier nearby:
"A very unusual ritual where people apparently fight against each other. Nevertheless, Gong knew that he had to find the key for the secret chest. "What shall I do now?" asked the fearless Gong. "Maybe we could find a way out of the city through the underground tunnels! said his spunky girl friend- not girlfriend, just a friend that happens to be a girl—"
Soon, he heard voices again, and dropped the notebook, immediately freezing. Wen wasn't a coward, oh no, he loved adventure, he loved going after it, but right now, he was in the middle of something he always tried to avoid or ignore. Wen wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the war, thanks to a little problem in his childhood: he never met his parents. Apparently, he was born orphan. And reading about the war, reading about the countless deaths, made him remember about the Father and Mother he never had. And he didn't want to do that. So, that's why when the city was attacked by the Fire Empire, all Wen could do was create a big hole with his earthbending and hide in there, hoping that no one would notice him. Curled up into a ball, he soon heard a few voices- one that sounded very, very drunk. He raised his head, watching the events between the two Imperial soldiers and the pirate... and waited.
edited 4th May '12 2:41:00 AM by Stratofarius
"Yes sir."
Gunter follows his CO, making sure that he's right next to him; thus ensuring that there's nothing going to jump them from an alleyway or if one of those thrice-accursed Cossack musketeers
◊ is currently aiming at them from atop it's filthy barbarian perch. Fortunately for the Knight and the captain, there were no such soldiers troubling them; but they did however notice a pair of Imperial swordsmen hiding in an alleyway and talking to what looked like a civilian, or most likely; a mercenary. Gunter then turns to Miguel and says what he thinks of the situation.
"Damn sellsword must have captured them, but since he's motivated by money..."
Gunter lowers his billhook as a sign of non-hostility before approaching and entering the alleyway.
"Stay your sword mercenary, I've come not to fight but to offer a proposition."
Gunter looked at the Merc and easily realizes that he is drunk off his ass, making dispatching him a piece of cake should he turn out to be hostile.
edited 4th May '12 5:44:21 AM by Strigon
Shameless Self-promotion ho!Robert stood atop the city walls, throwing icicles after the fleeing sildiers. Suddenly though a bolt of fire hit his right shoulder, forcing him to stumble back a bit...a bit too far. As he stepped backwards, there wasn´t any wall to stand on. Luckily a fountain had been under his position, softening a fall that would surely have ended in a few broken bones otherwise. "Well, I guess the battle´s over then.", he remarked while stepping out of the fountain, bending the water from his robes back into it.
The two soldiers yelped in surprise as Miguel and Gunter appeared right in the entance of the alley.
"Ack! Um...uh, we were just regrouping,honest!"
"Yeah, we're not trying to escape or anything!"
Miguel's eyes narrowed in anger.
"Escape?! Are you trying to dessert?!"
"And who is this drunken fool?"
edited 4th May '12 6:07:04 AM by DeathChariot
Haruki lay flat on a roof, covered in dirt and debris, hiding from what was either a conflict or a slaughter, although it seemed to be closer to the latter. Whichever the case was, it wasn't safe for civilians, especially not a weak child, hence why he had fled to the rooftop as soon as he had seen a battle beginning. It wasn't a brilliant hiding place, but it was enough to keep him away from anyone who didn't specifically target people hiding on rooftops, and he could see the ground below to an extent, although it was not an easy sight.
Commanders. Head of the Army.
Perfect.
Leanne grabbed her staff and opened it up in glider form and then jumped from the ceiling she was looking the battle from. She flew extremely low over the buildings of the city, until stopping at the roof of the nearest building to the chariot. There she took a better look at it... checking to see if any of the commanders was in sight for her to shoot with her bow and arrow from hiding.
Roger regarded both the terrified soldiers and the two newcomers with an easygoing smile that said everyone in the world were friends if you looked at them through a big enough wine bottle.
"Hm...OH! m' Captain Roger Shipher n' *hic* Theshe'r m'newesht crewmembers. Jush' joined up thish mornin so they haven' got 'ny closhes that aren't their old uniformsh. n' acourshe we're runnin' away. 'Yer empire paysh ush ta fight in 'yer battles, not to die in 'em. Theshe 'uns shtill have tha' militery discipline in 'em so they're kinda 'shamed about the fact, 'specially infronta such fine gennelmen like ye're shelves. I wash takin' on that ber'sherker there n' tol' em to stay outta mah way con' *hic* shidering the tight quarters."
He turned back, a beaming smile on his face "'Sallright boysh, you c'n *hic* come out now. All of you."
Even drunk, Roger wasn't foolish enough to miscount the number of enemies around him.
edited 4th May '12 9:53:51 AM by Dblade26
Leanne only saw one commander, one that was clad in ridiculously expensive yet equally through covering and tough Gothic Armor
◊, where the only weak spots being the armpit and the crotch; both of which are incredibly small and difficult targets. Physical protection was not the only defense the Commander had however, as he is being flanked by a pair of Cossack Musketeers, tough frontiersmen recruited from the most desolate and hostile regions of the Plutocracy and infamous throughout Aliyase for their unerring accuracy and eagle-like vision. The pair's duty was to guard the commander with their lives, and judging from the rather large number of decapitated heads with bullet wounds mounted on the chariot; they were damned good at their job.
Yes, those Cossacks decorated their commander's chariot (with his permission of course) with the heads of those who tried to assassinate their charge. I don't really know why I came up with such a macabre idea...
Gunter saw the dead Berserker's body behind the pirate, causing the knight to be a bit more careful around this "Roger Shipher" since only the most skilled and audacious of warriors can ever fight and kill Berserkers one on one.
"You mean to tell me that you're going to take these two deserters into your ship?"
Gunter knew this much about Empire uniforms; you either stole them from their rightful owners or you're a deserter. And the more plausible of the two scenarios is that those crew members are deserters.
"I may be willing to overlook their act of cowardice and your recruitment of criminals, provided that you do a favor for me."
edited 4th May '12 10:07:52 AM by Strigon
Shameless Self-promotion ho!Wen froze again. Oh Spirits. Did he say all of you? Did he notice Wen hiding in the little hole he created with his bending? The teenager began to place all of his belongings inside his bag, and pulled up his hood, covering his face. He had to make an escape, but what to do, what to do:
"Oh, this will make great material for my next story!"
He chuckled, and then slapped himself in the forehead after realising that he said that out loud. Wen remembered one of his earlier stories, called "The Mystery of the Badgermole", where a lonely wanderer manages to escape a group of evil thugs by mingling with different groups. He got up from the hole, raising his hands, a weak smile in my face:
"Oh ho! That's me! I'm with him! I'm with the drunk guy! I wasn't trying to hide!"
Laughing, he stepped out of the hole, and walked over to Roger. He slung an arm around him, still laughing, and whispered like a scared little kid:
"Ooooh, don't kill me, please..."
He then raised his voice again:
"Yeah, me and him, great friends! Good friends! Not enemies! Friiiiends."
edited 4th May '12 10:04:49 AM by Stratofarius
Roger whispered back, though slurring constantly "Relaxsh yourshelf man, if I wanted you dead i'd have let the ber'sherkers *hic* eat you
He turned back to the Fire Empire officer "Acoursh i'm takin' 'em with me. I'm the Jolly Roger n' any man or woman what's *hic* dishatishfied with their life 'r wantsh ta be free to find happiness f'r him or hershelf alone c'n join my crew. Now, whatsh thish *hic*...favor?"
"When the last of the Imperial forces retreat, take me to the province of Germania."
Easier said than done, as the province is the Empire's military and industrial capital; where the majority of their arms and armor are made and where the Imperial Army ply their lethal craft near-daily with wargames and drills. Because of those two factors, getting to Germania in anything but an Imperial-registered vessel or on foot is harder than getting a Water Plutocracy noble family to have a peaceful, poison and dagger free dinner.
Shameless Self-promotion ho!Taking the commander out in one well placed seemed mighty unlikely for the lone Airbender... And battling those two elite bodyguards to then try to kill the armored commander before any reinforcements came to ruin her day... That strategy should be taken only as a last resource.
Still, Leanne did see an avenue for her to attack. She notched and arrow on her bow and then took careful aim before shooting an arrow to one of the Bulldroks that pulled on the commander's chariot. Leanne's aim was not to kill the beast... instead, she aimed to cause it enough pain to make the mighty beast start moving in an uncontrollable rage much like those of its tamers.
Still, she didn't have much time to sit idly by and see if her gambit payed off. If she did so, she was at grave risk of being shot by the bodyguards. The moment the arrow flew she retreated out of sight by the building's roofs, moving a few of them away from her original position before she peeked her head to see what happened with her arrow.
"Job Acshepted! meet ush by the docksh!" Roger slurred back, without even a moment of hesistation. Getting through to Germania would be anything but a picnic, but complying with this officer's request would be the easiest way to get everyone out of here without anyone getting hurt and fulfilling both the deserters wishes for freedom and whatever need took this man to Germania in the first place, and if anyone could do it, The Jolly Roger could...though that might be the liquor thinking.
Roger strode casually past the two officers and towards the docks while motioning for the others to follow him. "Come along if you'd like ta live matesh. We've got to prep the Halcyon to sail at a moment's notish, n' I've got to shober up!"
The Airbender's gambit payed off, the beast she struck went berserk and started bucking and kicking about, causing the other to do the same and shaking up the chariot's occupants; thinking quickly, the Musketeers grab the commander by his arms and jump off the chariot. And right in the nick of time as the two beasts suddenly charge forward into a wall, destroying the burnt masonry easily before rampaging through the Plutocratic lines; causing numerous casualties. After dusting themselves off and helping their charge up one of the Cossacks comments on what just happened.
"That was a Bodkin arrow! No other arrow could pierce a Bulldrok's hide with such ease!"
"Where's that damned assassin?!"
While one of the Cossacks searches in the direction of where the arrow came from, The other stays by the commander's side and looks around him, armed with the knowledge that Republican assassins never stay in the same place.
"Excellent. But before we leave, first we must ensure that the Legion's retreat is secure."
edited 4th May '12 10:40:55 AM by Strigon
Shameless Self-promotion ho!Haruki, unable to keep himself still anymore, shifted himself and moved across the closer roofs until stopping on yet another. He looked down onto the street below, seeing more soldiers and what seemed to be a pirate. He would be seen if anybody looked up or even had good vertical peripheral vision, but he remained standing and watching passively.
"Germania?!"
Wen let out a quiet whimper when Gunter said that word. Going to Germania meant two things to Wen: adventure and dangerous situations. Germania was the literal center of the War. He could still ignore it, all he had to do was just... look at the bright side of things. He took a step back, and began to follow Roger. Midway through, he turned towards Gunter, still smiling:
"Just friends! Not enemies!"
Once he was out of Gunter's sight, he immediately rushed up to the pirate, leaning and whispering:
"T-thank you for saving my skin... and... GERMANIA?! Are you crazy?! You're going to get destroyed out there!"
Gunter was not fooled by the foreigner's act, he knew that he was from the Earth Alliance from his face and hair, but it wasn't too important as the Empire and the Alliance are generally on good if slightly distrusting terms with one another. Noticing that he was walking away to avoid him, the knight shouts some good advice for Wen.
"Relax Earthie, The Imperial army doesn't burn your countrymen on sight."
edited 4th May '12 10:48:42 AM by Strigon
Shameless Self-promotion ho!

The 4th day of the month of Eiri,year 1200
Awyr City, the former capital of the Wind Republic,now a battlefield
Blood. Dead bodies. The screams of men,women,children. The sounds of battle. All around you. How did you find yourself in this hell? Were you in the city,simply minding your own business? Were you one of the Plutocracy soldiers stationed there? Were you an invader from the Empire? It doesn't matter now. All that matters now...is survival.
Early that day, the Empire launched a surprise attack on the Plutocracy-held capital city.They sent the First Legion, led by General Rodriguez to subjugate the city. The Empire was confident that they would take the city without trouble. They thought that the "barbarians" would fall quickly. They were fools. The Plutocracy soldiers fought back with sheer ferocity....and a secret weapon. A young berserker,capable of controlling the very blood of her enemies. Now,the tide has turned. General Rodriguez is dead, and the Imperials are in a desperate struggle to survive....
Miguel sat atop Hyperion, jabbing his spear into the neck of a Plutocracy soldier. The captain looked around him and cursed. This was not a battle, this was a massacre. He had to think of something before he and his men all died.
"Captain, behind you!"
"What?"
Miguel was tackled by a large man from behind, and fell from Hyperion's back. The man who attacked him was a large bear of a man, draped in animal skin. A berserker.
The Berserker howled and raised his ax, but before he could strike, the Imperial soldier who had tried to warn Miguel had ran up to them and cut of the barbarian's head.
"Are you hurt, Captain?"
"No. Thank you,Morales." Miguel stood up, just in time to stab another enmey who was about to stab Morales.
"....Thank you, sir."
Miguel had once again mounted Hyperion.
"Morales.Tell the men to retreat."
"What? But we are Imperial soldiers! We cannot retreat from barbarians!"
"It's either your pride or your life,soldier."
"...I understand."
...And thus the order was given. The remaining Imperials began to fall back....
edited 3rd May '12 8:49:43 PM by DeathChariot