The Tiran Wars: Liberty, at all Costs

[Deleted User - 819397]

Joshua was amazed by the Northerner's strength. He had almost singlehandedly opened the channel Joshua had asked for. Pressing the advantage, he leapt from his resting place and did his ducking, weaving run through the channel, making it harder for the remaining crossbows to hit him. However, his luck finally ran out as a bolt found its way into his left arm. His complete lack of armor meant it went deep into his arm, possibly into the bone itself. Forcing himself to keep his hand from clenching, as that would only make the blood flow faster, he leapt at the one who wounded him, slicing his neck open. He then quickly jumped so that a guerilla was between him and the crossbows, then jumped and slayed the next one until they had all fallen. He then retreated back to the safety of the rocky outcrop and dropped heavily into a sitting position, succumbing to the pain that had engulfed his arm. "I was too confident." he muttered, angry at himself.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Upon leaving the relative safety of the narrow passageway that led to the pool, Mei was immediatley set upon once more, quickly sidestepping the axe blow meant for her head, she slammed the palm of her hand into the guerrilla's unprotected nose, the bone crunching under the sudden impact. Moving quickly so as not to lose her advantage Mei sent a flurry of blows, striking him where he was least protected before delivering a spinning kick to the side of his head, sending him sprawling to the ground, his head hitting the hard stone floor with a crack.
Dashing accross the open ground Mei quickly took shelter beside Alexandria and Ral as crossbow bolts filled the air around them if we don't do something about those crossbows soon they'll kill us like rats in a pit Mei thought to herself, echoing Ral as he sought help from the swordmaster in dealing with their current predicament, however it was the Northman that was to make the first move, charging headlong into the wall of men, hacking and slashing like a madman in order to open up a gap large enough for the nimble swordmaster to dodge and weave his way through in order to reach the crossbowmen behind, his blade flashing in the dim light of the cave.
Spotting the dying remains of the campfire Mei rose to her feet holding an outstretched hand out towards it causing the dying embers to instantly explode into life once more.
Standing in the open, Mei knew nothing of the fighting going on around her as the words flowed from her mouth, lost in the euphoria brought on from the power she was felt welling up from within her. Slowly raisng her outstretched arms she watched with satisfaction as the flames within the campfire rose into the air, forming a single burning maelstrom before being hurled at the assembled troops who upon seeing the great mass of fire hurtling towards them scattered in an attempt ot escape leaving three of their number dead, their charred remains left smoking on the ground.
Slowly she began walking forward like a that of a sleepwalker as she continued to speak the litany of words required to shape yet more carnage, a ball of flame the size of a grapefruit appearing in her left hand as her bright red hair floated about her head as if a strong wind had caught it, her eyes blazing bright red as she threw the flaming ball with a cry to glance off of a mans shoulder, his shabby tunic catching alight but otherwise unhurt.
Drunk with power Mei slowly began to realise that she was losing control of her abillites as sparks shot from out of her fingertips on their own accord. Closing her eyes she took several deep breaths in an attempt to regain some measure of control before preceding to watch as the man frantically beat at his clothing, she would have to be careful too much power would be dangerous for all of them.

 

[DeletedUser]

Ral charged forward as the rebel lines broke, fleeing before a massive ball of flames that consumed a few of their comrades. Hunkering down behind his shield, Ral purposefully knocked into one of the rebels. Using his shield, Ral smashed downwards into the man's forehead with enough force to kill him instantly. His arm ached from the strain of holding the great metal shield in front of him, Ral wasn't trained with a shield, only a sword and this left him quite tired, when he finally let the shield fall to the ground.

The rebels had enough, their ranks broke completely and the lucky few close enough to the cave mouth escaped. There were only a small number of rebels left and they were quickly dispatched, this attack had come in the morning, whoever sent it had hoped to catch them in their beds or groggily eating their morning meal. They hadn't counted on the camp already being awake and functioning.

As the last of their attackers fled from the open cave mouth, Ral looked around for Alexandria. He had lost sight of her in the shuffle and his worst fear was of finding her skewered in their tent, or worse, captured. Alexandria was outside the tent, using their blanket to cover herself, as she looked through their bag, which had been knocked outside in the opening moments of the battle. She fished through the sack until she came up with something clean to wear, then she disappeared back into the tent, fastening the strings upon the inside flap for some privacy.

Ral ran a hand through his hair, grimacing as he realized his first victim's blood had soaked his head enough to look like he had been wounded. Blood was hard to get out of hair. He was trying to comb as much of the gore out of his hair as he could, when he went over to the companions.

"Do you think this attack changes anything? Should we make a stop over at the rebel camp on our way out of here?" Ral asked his friends.

 

[DeletedUser]

"No, we should carry on with the plan, stop for nothing.delays will only increase the chances of failure. we must press on." Thorin growled, he couldn't see any reason at all for stopping at the camp. so pressing on was the only option.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Joshua brought himself out of his pain-induced haze and mentally berated himself. He had been so shocked by the pain of the crossbow bolt he'd forgotten a part of his training. He mentally probed his wound, feeling all of the agony that came from it, accepting it entirely. He then "put it aside", a term that meant he effectively ignored the pain entirely. Due to their lack of armor, Swordmasters had to know how to deal with intense pain so they could survive several heavy hits. For some reason, opening oneself entirely to the pain, accepting and even embracing it, allowed it to be put aside, forgotten. This was incredibly difficult to learn, as it could only be taught through trial and error. However, once known, it only became easier, and one had to show mastery of it to become a full Swordmaster.

Joshua joined his allies. "I agree with Thorin. The longer we hang around near the rebels, the more we'll be attacked. We should move as soon as possible or else we'll all be dead within a week, if not sooner."

His part said, he worked his way around to Mei. "Hey...do you think you could do something about this?" he asked nonchalantly, holding up the arm with the crossbow bolt embedded in it, blood still streaming from the wound. "Even though I'm ignoring the pain, the blood loss is starting to make me light headed." He spoke with utter calm, the pain not prevalent in his mind.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

One final jet of flame arced from out of Mei's fingertips as the rebels broke and fled leaving the small group of adventurers standing amidst the litter of battle.
Mei paid little attention to the conversation going on about her as she extinguished the flames that had been creeping up past her wrists towards the rest of her body, although the fire had no effect upon her skin they would still set alight her clothes, rubbing her hands together briskly she extinguished the flames with a word and a shower of sparks.
A shadow fell across her as Joshua approached her with blood flowing freely from a wound in his arm and although he showed to sign of being in pain it was clear that if something wasn't done about it that he would soon pass out from blood loss. "Perhaps we should sit down?" she suggested fearing that not only would the Joshua feint but she might also the spells having left her feeling giddy and light headed.
Finding a clear piece of floor to sit upon Mei examined Joshua's arm with eyes that still glowed with arcane fire and hands that were warm to the touch although considering that she had wielding balls of flame only moments before that wasn't too suprising.
Delicatley probing the wound Mei quickly discovered that neither the bone or any of the tendons had been struck meaning that once the bolt had been removed and the wound sewn that the injury would quickly heal with no lasting damage, however first she had to remove the bolt.
Casting the swordmaster a nervous glance Mei called over her shoulder "Could somebody come and hold Joshua still whilst i remove the bolt from his arm please" she liked to think that Joshua wouldn't strike a woman but pain did strange things to people and she didn't want to take the chance "This is going to hurt.... once i'v removed the bolt i want to cauterise the wound in order to stop the bleeding" she explained nervously, normally she would have mixed something for the pain but they would need what little draught she had already prepared to keep the blood mage under. It was also quite clear that it was no longer safe to remain here, the rebels could come back at any moment.

 

[DeletedUser]

Ral sheathed his sword at his hip, it thudded to the bottom of the scabbard with a finality. Mei and Joshua needed his help, but they had to wait for a moment. He walked over to the tent he and Alexandria had spent the night together in. He opened a few of the strings that held the flaps closed, only enough to stick his head inside.

Alexandria gasped for a moment and covered herself, before realizing who it was and playfully raising an eyebrow "Can I help you?" she asked with a smile. She turned her back to him teasingly.

Ral smiled, as he let his eyes trace her curves for a moment, before he teased back. His eyes flicked back and forth, bouncing off each side of the tent for a moment, before settling on the bard again "Yes, I think you can. We need someone to look out and make sure we aren't attacked again."

"Oh, Ral, you're impossible." Alexandria huffed, trying to stifle a giggle.

"I just needed to know if you were hurt, is all." Ral said honestly, his eyes growing warm. "Stay safe, my love, put on an extra set of mail." Ral winked, before pulling his head out of the tent and tying it shut once again.

As Ral straightened his hair again, walking over to where Joshua had sat down, resting his arm against the log they had sat upon the night before. "Thorin, I beg you keep watch. We may not be safe yet." Ral called before kneeling down behind the swordsman, Ral took hold of Joshua's shoulder and his other arm, putting all of his weight down upon him. "Now my friend," Ral said, giving the swordsman a reassuring pat upon each shoulder "this ugliness shall be over soon."

 

[DeletedUser]

"Will do." Thorin replied, he picked up his axe, walked outside and sat down on a rock, watching for any signs of movement. the rebels that had attacked earlier might come back, although Thorin doubted it, after such a dismal failure they would be regrouping and tending to the wounded.
Thorin examined his axe, the blade was covered in blood and brains from the fight, he'd have to clean it again, although he'd leave some of the blood on there, it had been an unspoken contest within his people, of who could gather the most blood on his blade. Thorin could remember one nutter who almost bled himself dry in attempting to accumulate the most.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

With Ral taking a firm hold of the swordmaster Mei gritted her teeth as she took hold of the bolt embedded into his arm, silently hoping that it wasn't barbed else what she was about to do would cause serious possibly permanent damage to the muscles in his arm.
Summoning up all the strength she had within her Mei twisted the bolt first left then right before wrenching it free from out of Joshua's flesh with a sickening sucking sound as it came free. Tossing the thankfully unbarbed crossbow bolt away Mei covered the wound with her hand, thick red blood bubbling up through her fingers as she applied pressure to the wound muttering an incantation beneath her breath causing the palm of her hand to heat up instantly, cautersing the wound with the sizzling of flesh.
Already weakened by the earlier use of magic Mei's head began to swim as the sickening smell of roasting flesh and effects of the spell took hold, next thing she knew her vision had gone dark and she was falling onto the hard stone floor of the cave.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Joshua made sure to hold on to his training during the process of healing, embracing the pain and moving it aside. Still, it took all of his willpower not to scream and try to clutch his arm in agony as each step of the process was more painful than the rest. However, upon the process' completion, his arm felt much better. He motioned for Ral to release him, and began to stand. He then noticed Mei was falling and quickly rose and caught her. "Easy there," he muttered, half amused, half worried. "It's much better to sit down slowly, not all at once." He inwardly fretted that the cost of healing him had been too steep, particularly when they had to move so quickly away from the cave to protect themselves.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Strong arms wrapped themselves around her as she began to plummet towards the ground with alarming speed, the sudden stop snapping her out of the feint that had taken her.
Opening her eyes slowly, Mei found herself looking up at the swordmaster and even though asked after her in a light hearted manner she could see the concern in his eyes as he looked down into hers “Sorry ….I…I…must over done things there a bit….thank you for catching me” she stammered trying her best not to blush, he was rather handsome when she came to think about it and collapsing like some silly damsel from a fairy story was the last thing she wanted to do.
Allowing herself to be gently lowered onto the ground Mei took a drink from out of the flask of water she’d filled from the pool earlier that morning, the cool water felt good as it flow down her throat “We should get moving before they come back” she said, returning the flask of water to her small satchel before gingerly rising to her feet “I’ll have to stitch that wound for you later it’ll hold for a little while if you don’t do anything to strenuous with though” she explained to Joshua before leaving to gather the rest of her things.

The sun was barely above the trees when the group of companions finally left the cave, heading away from the other resistance fighters as they made their way towards the mysterious desert realm of Jehanna.

 

[DeletedUser3717]

Name: Tenaka
Age: 24
Gender:Male
Class: Warrior
Weapons of Specialization: Sword
Skills: Swordcraft, Cunning, Dodge, Strategic planning, strength and speed
Biography:

Tenaka didn't have an ordinary childhood. When Tenaka reached the age of 16 his father sent him away to a place known as the "Dragon" The dragon are an elite fighting forced that had over 5000 warriors.

Where as the other teenagers would go outside to play Tenaka would stay inside studying and perfecting his warrior skills. He had no time to play he wanted to learn to become the best and that's what he did.

When the first war broke out it was the Dragons job to sort everything out proving him self before in many skirmishes Tenaka got the rank of General at the age of 20 being the youngest warrior ever to do so. His planning and skills were far better than anyone else. He got the nickname Death Dance because when he got into battle he had the elegance and grace of a dance and killed with such perfect skill that nobody was left standing.

After the war the dragon was disbanded and suffering losses from 4000 Tenaka was left on his own. The past 7 years he has been free lancing untill he came to this place.. Be prepared for death is only a dance away...




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Tenaka turned up late for the Guerilla.

"Typical me" He thought to him self as he approached an empty wagon with not even the sound of another person approaching.

Tenaka sat on the wagon. There was a bag of apples on this wagon she he decided to pick the most red apple and polish it. He took a bite out of the apple crunching and the juice flowing down his chin he wiped it away.
Tenaka heard the sound of a twig getting broken behind within a moment he had his sword unsheathed and stood there seeing another person..

 

[DeletedUser28032]

With Mei and Joshua still suffereing form the effects of the battle and the large northman burdened with the blood mage they made slow progress as they made their way through the tree's, although it would have been quicker to take the road they had agreed that going cross country would reduce the chances of them being discovered, by rebel or Tiran soldiers alike.
After about three hours or so of walking through the tree's, the dampled sun beating down on them as they passed they reached its edge to reveal a small village at the foot of a gentle grassy hill. The village itself appeared to be deserted its central stone marker devoid of people although one or two wisps of smoke could be seen rising from out of the low thatched hovels meaning that the villagers had either recently fled upon seeing the approach of soldiers or bandits or were currently hiding inside their meagre dwellings, either way it seemed they would receive small welcome here.
Suddenly Mei noticed something moving near the centre of town, a man was perched upon a wagon eating what appeared to be an apple "Is he one of ours or one of theirs?" she asked quietly to no one in particular as she leant up against a nearby oak tree, her head was still feeling a little fuzzy from this morning though thankfully little by little it was improving and with any luck it would be completely gone by the time it came for her to stitch Joshua's wound.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Joshua looked over at the man and shrugged. "I can't tell...mercenaries tend to wear their own garb regardless of their faction. I know a Swordmaster would never take on another color besides the gray of Jehanna. However, unless someone here knows he won't attack, I say we pass him by. Half of us aren't in any shape to be fighting, and I can tell that one is a seasoned warrior." One of the company stepped on a twig, Joshua couldn't tell who, and in an instant the man was up, sword out. Fluidly, Joshua calmly placed a hand on Audhulma, then hesitated. He believed that the man had been more startled than anything, which meant that he had been unaware that anyone was near, friend or foe. This implied that he hadn't been involved with the guerillas, marking him a neutral party.

Adopting his neutral, diplomatic stance and demeanor, he slowly stepped into view, hands up. "Peace, sir." His accent made the words almost musical. "We aren't trying to attack." He waited, knowing the next move was the newcomer's. Joshua was confident he could get Audhulma from its sheath and stab him in the heart if the man lunged, but he didn't want to take that chance if it could be avoided.

 

[DeletedUser3717]

Tenaka sheathed his sword when one of two men came up to him saying"Peace, Sir"
He looked like a likeable fellow. Tenaka walked over to him and extended his hand.

"Tenaka Khan, You can call me Tenaka" The man had a firm handshake and Tenaka for the first time in what seemed years.

"You seem like worthy Warriors"

 

[DeletedUser]

Ral was no experienced woodsman. In the south, where he came from, the forests were few and far between and the youths got little or no training in the art of skillfully moving through the tangled underbrush. So it was that Ral kicked himself as his boot fell upon a brittle twig that snapped with a great boom magnified by the complete silence that was heard throughout the forest.

He muttered obscenities under his breath as the man they were observing came up, sword in hand. "Sorry, Joshua." Ral said, as he followed the swordsman's example and laid a hand upon the hilt of his sword.

He kept his silence as the two parties spoke to each other. His original distrust of the man they were watching vanished at his final words: "You seem like worthy warriors."

With a great release of air, Ral spoke up "I am Ral Belfast, you are more than welcome to join us if you wish. I must warn you that our path is not an easy one."

((Sorry for my inactivity. The Holidays coming up and some family emergencies kept me away. Now breath, thread, don't die! *Hauling out a defibrillator*))

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

"Well met, Tenaka. I am Joshua." He stepped back a respectful distance, then decided it would be best to catch Tenaka up on what had happened, as it was a fair guess he was hoping to join the mercenaries. After explaining all that had happened since his own arrival, Joshua finished with, "We decided to head to and liberate my homeland, Jehanna, as they not only have a mighty army, they have ships on the coast that can get us to the other nations relatively quickly." He looked up. "So, are you in?"

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Leant against the oak tree, its bark rough against her skin as she basked in the morning sun she found it hard to believe that a war was being waged when in such tranqil settings as these.
Yet despite the aura of peaceful tranquillity given off by such a secluded village she knew that it was only an illusion, one that could be easily broken by the arrival of soldiers, the grassy hill before them stained with blood and scorched by fire, it would be best if they didn't linger too long.
Leaving her position by the oak tree she moved over to where the blood mage lay slumped on the ground, the large northman stood over him resting his big hands upon the haft of his axe "I don't believe we have properly met" she spoke quielty as she bent down to check the blood mages pulse and breathing, finding them to regular if a little slow "My name is Sun Mei may...may i have the pleasure of knowing yours?" she asked with a slight stammer, the fierce looking warrior easily towering over her and his armour alone weighing more than she did.
Upon hearing the northmans reply she bowed her head, a sign of respect in her own community and instilled into young girls at an early age.
It was as she was making her introduction that she suddenly became aware of how exposed they were, stood at the edge of the woods with the long grassy plain stretching out before them, such places were uncommon in the east where high and often snowy mountains were the norm.
Moving to stand beside Joshua she spoke quielty in his ear so as not to be overheard by the warrior before them, a serious breach of etiquette and one liable to earn a girl a beating from her mother but one she felt necessary all the same "We should keep moving....its a long way to your homeland, but not far enough from the rebels we left dead at the caves" she hoped the swordmaster hadn't heard her unease but all the same this little village didn't feel quite as peaceful anymore.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Joshua nodded slightly and murmured back as Ral made his introductions. "I agree...every minute we wait is another minute so much can go wrong in. We need to keep moving." He waited until the introductions and necessities were over, then asked, "All right...everyone ready to move on?"

 

[DeletedUser]

Ral looked around the clearing for a moment, searching the eyes of all his companions. After a long moment, he nodded "Yes, Joshua, we are ready to move."

He sat off at a trot. Ral was worried, the forest was completely quiet. There were no singing birds, squirrels or insects, it was as if they were all in hiding from some coming conflict. The companions found themselves in a dangerous position, stuck directly between two warring factions, and enemies of both. Their chances of survival were shrinking by the minute, the sooner they could burst out onto the plains and find horses the better.

Looking over his shoulder, Ral called to his friends "Someone put the mage over your shoulder, we're going to run for the next few miles." Ral watched as one of the yet unnamed troopers picked up the drugged blood mage, as if he were made of twigs and glue.

"Joshua, run ahead of us, you're the fastest."