Dawn of a New Age (Open)

[Eren]

The air was cool and crisp in the early morning, as Eren flew over the forests of the newly liberated Bern. The country glowed, perhaps in his own mind only, or perhaps in actuality, somehow the land was glowing, rejoicing, breathing, as new life and new hope was poured into it. Now Bern would return to its rightful glory, and now the people would be able to return to a life of worth, a life of peace, a gainful and just existence. Until all was calm, he would maintain his watch, patrolling the skies and defending the innocent from the throngs of bandits, all trying to support their family and put food on the table by any means they could. It was awful, the depths to which people had to drop during the occupation. But now it was all over; now there was a new dawn.

The Dragon Knight swooped and banked, basking in the sun and feeling the wind whistle through his hair as he and Mika descended, curling, in a maneuver they had practiced so many times before. The pair cut upward at the last minute, landing in a clean motion next to a mountain lake. The field surrounding it was full of flowers and grasses, and as his Wyvern drank, the Rider smiled, stabbing his spear to the sky and letting out a joyful whoop.

"Bern! Bern! Long live the land of my birth, long live the people of her grand mountains and dense forests! Long may this proud country stand, and may it be ever free from the grip of the oppressor!

Free at last, free at last! We in Bern are free at last!"

[Eren]

The sound of wingbeats filled the sky and then a wyvvern, pale yellow like the color of drying hay, swooped down, its rider dismounting and spinning a lance in his hand before approaching the Dragon Knight and calling out to him.

"Barrata! It's been a while. Stayed well, I take it. And look at you, always fancy with your axes. Never could just agree with the company, could you?

Eren laughed, clapping the man on the back and jamming his spear into the dirt before giving the man a firm handshake.

"Chung. Good to see you. Lost track of all of you after the split, is everyone okay?"

Chung nodded, quickly recalling the names of their former comrades and giving the retired Brigadier General the updates. Eren, clearly relieved that his former men were to a man unharmed and doing well, looked to Chung with a mischievous glint in his eye. Pulling the Spear out of the ground, he waved the other man to follow him while he walked to Mika, and then withdrew the rest of his spears.

"Say, Chung, you were always a crack shot. See that tree off there? Give it a throw."

Chung obliged, spinning the Spear in hand and hurling it, the motion clean and the follow-through textbook as the projectile slammed into the tree. The man gave a chuckle and then tossed two more, landing all three close to each other. Deadly precision.

"Nicely made stuff, these Spears. Had 'em balanced just for you?"

"Actually custom made, Chung. Man named Valcrist did them for me. Damn nice smith, that Valcrist. We got through a scrape with some Revenants, back in Lycia. Pretty good with a bow himself.

Say, Chung. You're not doing anything now, right? What say we head on down and see if they could use guys like us in the new force? Combat experience isn't an issue, and we're sure as hell qualified for the flight components."

Chung mused it over, tossing his own lance up and down.

"Aw, hell, why not? It's been a while since I had some fun. Guess we can give it a shot."