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Post by Richter Abend on May 21, 2011 0:44:22 GMT -6
Richter rode at the front of his soldiers, leading them through the white washed Ilian plains. He wasn't particularly happy to be marching his men through this wasteland again, not so soon after finally getting a chance to rest in Edessa, but what could he do? Bern was waiting for him, and he wouldn't keep Bern for long.
The men were far more chipper than they had been on the trek to Edessa, a fact that the commander completely understood. After all, they had been exhausted by the battle at Ariston's fort, and had been walking on relatively empty stomachs through dry air and blizzard like weather. Now they were coming off of full meals, full night sleeps, and a lot of partying. The latter was probably more of a hindrance than a boon, now that he thought about it, but whatever disadvantages alcohol may have, it was excellent at keeping moral up. Fortunately, with his newfound authority, Richter had managed to replenish the troop's rations as well as requisition some new weapons and armor. He wasn't going to keep his men hungry or in second-rate Etrurian gear when he could keep their bellies full and equip them with some of Ilia's finest craftsmanship. Etrurian mail was soft, scratching easily, and swords crafted in the zealot-state chipped way too often. One couldn't expect much else from massed produced accoutrement, all things considered.
Sighing, Richter looked up at the snow-tipped peaks that they were marching abreast of as the cantankerous Ilian winds whipped his hair about. Luckily for the troops, they wouldn't be marching through them this time. After the pink haired Illian had picked up a map back in Edessa, he had noted that the best way through the mountain range was a fairly large gap that lay to the west. True, the route wasn't quite as fast as just cutting right through the range, but they would take it nonetheless.
Not only did they have extra time on their hands to get to Bern, but Richter hadn't actually known of the pass on the march up. He wouldn't tell anyone, though. If anyone asked, he'd just reply that he had been attempting to save time, because despite his ignorance, their rations had indeed been running out at an astonishing rate, a fact which Mavick had relayed to him before. Come to think of it, Richter still didn't know who the ration thief was. Hopefully Farlus would take notice if it kept up.
The commander then looked to the sky behind him, his brow furrowing. Clair still hadn't caught back up with them yet. Richter wasn't exactly worried, though, as much as he was just uncomfortable. Not only had he grown to used to the woman being his second, but he also harbored feelings for the pegasus knight that he was not yet ready to confront. Not to her face, away. Turning his gaze a bit to the side and pulling a bit of hair out of his face, Richter spotted Farlus who, now in a position of command, had been granted a steed as well.
"Farlus," he spoke, his voice raised a little, "how are you holding up?"
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David Krisby
Mercenary
DEAD
"Where is MY path to redemption?"
Posts: 81
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Post by David Krisby on May 21, 2011 9:15:00 GMT -6
David was among the troops, as he had promised. A very nostalgic moment for him, since it had been so long since he had been part of a rigid military unit.
"Heh, this is bringing up some bad memories... Maybe once we get to a battle of some kind I can take my mind off of things."
David hadn't seen Fran since they left Edessa, and wondered if she was even with them. It would be nice to have someone to talk to on this journey. Many of the mercenary groups he had been in just bragged to each other about their abilities the whole journey. Such conversations often broke out in fighting and the group disbanding.
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Farlus
Mage
[M:0]
You had better hope I can make use of you.
Posts: 67
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Post by Farlus on May 21, 2011 16:32:28 GMT -6
Farlus rode alongside his commander. Over his usual cloak he wore a fur-lined version made from cloth sewn over leather that he grabbed from his home before departing. It definitely helped against the biting mountain winds that one normally did not find in the city. He figured it was the high walls and multitude of buildings that kept things relatively breezy as opposed to an outright gale.
Farlus payed little attention to Richter's question. He heard it, but he was more occupied with something that was constantly making him uneasy. It wasn't the cold, however, or even the snow. Being a mage, he had a fool-proof method of warming himself magically. No, it was his new horse that shook him so. Farlus sat upon his steed, nearly losing his balance with every trot. If there was one thing the mage wasn't good with other than crowds, it was horses. The former being directly behind him, Farlus did his best to keep focused on staying in the saddle and looking forward. Hopefully, he could forget about he army behind him at least until he was off of his mount. However, he knew Richter would be hoping for an answer so he obliged him.
"Um... I'm doing al... alrigh- whaaah!" Farlus nearly fell off the horse as it trotted around an elevated bit of rocky terrain. He steadied himself again, shaking from sudden fright.
"Er... I'll be doing better once we make camp. Eheheheh..." Farlus chuckled nervously and once again focused on figuring out just how to ride the beast he sat upon.
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on May 22, 2011 10:37:34 GMT -6
Marcus walked a good distance away from the main force. He had been walking on his own for a while now, and he had been contemplating his earlier outburst in front of Officer Feldsky. Looking back on it, the dragon was incredibly ashamed over his loss of control over such a simple matter. But as his thoughts turned to his father, his anger flared in the back of his head. Marcus stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and then threw some nice, cold snow in his face. He let it sit there and sting his face for a brief moment or too, then wiped it off and continued moving. Hassan appeared next to him, an angry glare fixed upon Marcus.
"Why do you insist upon constantly thinking about that... beast?" Hassan snarled.
"Because I can't run from the past forever! I have to face my hatred of my father so I can never lose control again!" Marcus snapped at his lupine companion.
"You're not ready, Marcus. You may never be. Just trust me. I know what's best for you."
"Alright, Hassan. I'll go along with this for now. But if Officer Feldsky asks of it again, I'm going to tell her. And you can't stop me."
"Then you'll have to face the consequences," Hassan replied ominously, as his form melted into the snow.
Marcus shook his head and started to fall back in with the troops. He saw his pink-haired leader at the head of the formation and picked up his pace to catch up.
"Richter," he called out, "Mind telling me where we are headed? I've been a bit preoccupied and I missed the memo."
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Post by Richter Abend on May 23, 2011 3:18:24 GMT -6
Richter couldn't help but shake his head. Farlus was having far too much trouble with that horse to keep riding it. The horse, an officer's privilege, wasn't making him look like much of an officer at all. In fact, it just made him look like a buffoon. It was then Richter noticed a familiar face stride up next to him. It was Marcus. The commander hadn't seen the dragon since they had arrived at Edessa. Part of Richter had believed the hooded man had left the group and wandered off into the city, Mavick now having taught him that those who joined his force on a whim could leave just as quickly. Fortunately, however, it seemed that wasn't the case.
"Bern," informed the pink haired hero. "I met with the Edessan high command. We're to put down a string of rebellions that have been rising up in the land of the wyverns and restore peace and order." The mounted man shifted his gaze to the manakete. "Surely you have no problem with this? I'm not sure I want another asset leaving this force over such a narrow-sighted vision of freedom, especially not was one as key as you." A bit of bitterness crept into Richter's voice. It seemed Mavick's departure was having more of an effect on him now that he had previously expected.
"Also, Farlus, you can get off of the horse if you want," then spoke the pink haired commander, talking over his shoulder. "It's not like there's glue on the saddle. Unless you want to fall in the snow that is. If that's the case, keep riding." Richter's voice brimmed with invective not heard from him recently as he rolled his shoulders and pulled his horse back to fall in step with his staff officer, taking a position behind Marcus. It seemed that without Mavick's bitterness to weight his own against, or without Clair's good-natured attitude to balance out his own rough demeanor, Richter tended to regress back to his old salty self. That, or maybe it was just the snow getting to him. Probably neither, and Richter had just been in a particularly good/melancholy mood in the weeks post Ariston. Now it was back to the real world for everyone.
"My cousin, Lance-Captain Marle, traveled all the way to Edessa from Sacae through snow and mountainous terrain on foot wearing far more armor than I'd care to wear myself." Richter nodded towards Farlus's feet. "I'm sure a mage like you could manage. Don't you magic types tend to do better on softer ground than all the rest of us anyways? Magic flotation or something?"
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on May 23, 2011 7:58:48 GMT -6
"Rebellions, eh? Doesn't mean much to me, I suppose. I don't know much about these people's ideals or struggles, nor do I really want to," the dragon said, with a shake of his head. "There's far too much gray area when it comes to morality. For me, the decision is simple. I owe you my life, so I'll honor my debt and stick it out with you. Besides, it doesn't sound like these rebels have much of a chance of succeeding," Marcus concluded with a shrug of his shoulders.
At Richter's complaints about traveling in armor, Marcus chuckled and shook his head. "I keep forgetting that everyone doesn't have the strength or endurance that we dragons have. Travels like this, in armor liken this," he added gesturing to his own armor, "They don't have much effect on my kind. Not really sure why. It's got something to do with the dragonstone, I know that much. It was very sobering being without it. Rather maddening as well. Of course, being a thunder dragon, this weather has an effect on me though. I wish I still had my robe, but it ah...." His voice trailed off.
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Post by Garith Valkyrie on May 23, 2011 11:44:01 GMT -6
Garith had been treking in the back of the troops trying really to avoid contact with the other soldiers. He was somewhat happy though, he had never really walked through the snow. Some of the other soldiers kept bothering him about his scars and why his was caring such a large sword but he just ignored them every time. Eventually they left him alone and Garith was at peace begining by himself for a bit. He then felt a need to catch up when he noticed that he was about to be left behind. As he began to speed up he noticed a hooded figure run behind a tree not far from them.
Garith ignored it and kept moving catching up with the rest of the group. He had never been around this many people it was strange, Garith felt a bit awkward. He wondered where Clair had gone he didn't see her when they left. Matter of fact Garith hadn't really seen anyone he knew despite him knowing only about maybe four other people. Now he was getting bored he wanted to fight something, even if there was no fighting involved in wanted to do something.
"Man this is real boring," Garith mumbled to himself as he passed a few soldiers. Garith wanted to find Richter and ask him where they were going. He had hoped they were going to Nabata he kind of wanted to go there. One place he didn't want to go to was Bern he never really liked the place he had heard stories of the place being filled with blood thirsty bandits, though now that he thinks of it that sounded like fun. One upside to going to Bern would being able to meet Queht's son he remebered them saying something about him being a skilled swordsmen. Now Garith could see Richter a head of him riding a horse and speaking with someone else. He was going to wait until there conversation was done for him to say anything.
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Fran
The "Before" years
[M:0]
"I am so excited."
Posts: 66
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Post by Fran on May 23, 2011 20:40:27 GMT -6
Fran was looking at the army from the sky, her blue wings spread to both sides. She was still in her human form, the ice dragon just used a bit of her dragonstone power to get her wings out. She was thinking, she couldn't agree with this war, but it wasn't her place to speak her opinion to the Commander. She might be travelling together with them, but she never thought about joining as an ally. She was here merely because she wanted to stay close to Marcus and David. Honestly, her childhood friend seemed distant, they didn't talk much since they met in that fortress. Marcus might have something occupied his mind and forget about her. Then she met David, who had been a good friend for her. He had promised to take her adventuring when this war was over.
"They are having difficulties. The snow seems to have made their trip harder. I want to help them, but how? Hmm...", Fran muttered, crossing arms and talking to herself. She flew very high in the sky so no one could see her. Well, someone with pretty good eyes probably could. But he/she might mistake her as a bird, hopefully. Fran had been trying to keep her identity as a secret. Only some people knew about her. She wanted to avoid attention, her father told her to do so, he said some humans would try to use her power for their own benefits.
"I am bored. I hope David can fly..." she muttered. "Ah, that's right! I am gonna look for him." After she said that, Fran flew with an amazing speed toward the ground, far away behind the army. She enjoyed the pressure as she dived, the wind felt nice in her cheek. Fran landed without making much sound, and the snow made it easier because it absorbed the impact.
Fran then ran to catch up with the marching army, it made her tired. She moved through the soldiers until he found David between the mercenaries. "Hi David!" She waved as she walked toward him, calling his name.
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David Krisby
Mercenary
DEAD
"Where is MY path to redemption?"
Posts: 81
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Post by David Krisby on May 23, 2011 22:47:55 GMT -6
David trudged on through the snow he was so accustomed to. He hadn't had a drink in a while, and that made the cold even colder than usual. A girl's voice came from behind, and he turned to see Fran running up to him, she looked almost out of breath.
"Well, speak of the devil, you did come after all. I thought for a second that you had decided to stay behind in Edessa." David couldn't help but notice that the young girl looked far prettier than she had before. Had the booze dulled his women-senses?
"Oh, I think your friend is talking to the commander if you wanted to see him. If not, I could always use some company."
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Farlus
Mage
[M:0]
You had better hope I can make use of you.
Posts: 67
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Post by Farlus on May 24, 2011 17:48:29 GMT -6
Farlus was a bit insulted by what his commander said. Of course, that was the goal, given the tone of Richter's voice. It was true that he wasn't very good on a horse, but that didn't mean he had to just give up. Was this how Richter normally operated? Telling his officers to forget about working at being good at their job? Sure, riding a horse wasn't part of Farlus' job, but it was part of his image as an officer. The mage waited for this newcomer to finish speaking, not really paying any attention to what he said, and responded to Richter's pass in an oddly cold tone not heard yet by anyone around him. He also began rolling his "R"'s ever so slightly.
"No, no. It is my privilege as an officer and a visual reminder of my status. I will not simply give up. If there is something one is not good at then one must improve in that respect. I remind you that you hired me for this job. If I simply give up on everything I do not excel at, it will also reflect badly upon you." Farlus took a moment to realize how he was acting. Not good, he hadn't spoken like that in many years. Was it really so simple to frustrate him so these days. He'd become soft since Gavril's passing. Straightening himself out in the saddle, Farlus did his best to not rock too much with every trot, also desperately recomposing himself from the previous outburst. Well, it was an outburst as far as Farlus was concerned.
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Post by Richter Abend on May 24, 2011 22:48:06 GMT -6
Richter eyed Marcus, raising an eyebrow in slight confusion. The manakete had a tendency to ramble, as he was doing now. Something about his robe, Richter gathered, and as Marcus rambled Farlus began to speak with a cold indignation in his voice, subtly rebuking Richter for his comment.
The commander simply smirked in response. He was not perturbed by Farlus's response, simply impressed. A lesser man would have probably chuckled nervously and gotten off of the horse, falling into the snow anyway in the process. No, Farlus was stronger willed than that, standing up to the snide comments of a superior officer, and Richter respected him for that. He was committed to his work, and had a drive to improve and succeed, two things Richter saw has highly valuable to the troop.
"Well then, I expect you to excel, and nothing less," replied the pink haired Ilian, his voice official. He could tell that he was going to like Farlus.
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Fran
The "Before" years
[M:0]
"I am so excited."
Posts: 66
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Post by Fran on May 25, 2011 23:53:29 GMT -6
Fran finally caught up with David. "No, I don't have anything to do in Edessa after all. And I am also interested about Bern, although we might go to fight their people," she said. Yes, she didn't like this war, but she couldn't ignore it as well. She wanted to know more about this war with Bern, and she wanted to help looking for best solution.
"Oh, he might be having some important discussion with Commander Richter. I don't want to disturb them. Say, how long is it until we arrive in Bern? she asked, smiling. She couldn't hide her excitement to see the new land.
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David Krisby
Mercenary
DEAD
"Where is MY path to redemption?"
Posts: 81
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Post by David Krisby on May 26, 2011 22:01:03 GMT -6
David noticed that the army seemed noticeably more relaxed. He wondered if the short tactician's disappearance was the cause. David himself was glad he didn't have to hear that fly buzzing in his ear anymore.
"I don't know how long it'll take to get to Bern. It always takes longer to move an army than to walk by yourself. It shouldn't take too long to get to Sacae. I'm not too familiar with Sacae, so I don't know the time it'd take from there."
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Post by Garith Valkyrie on May 26, 2011 22:18:09 GMT -6
Getting increasingly bored waiting for Richter to finish talking with the other two people Garith then decided that maybe he should find something else to do. Then he heard people speaking behind him and he turned his head a bit to see a brown haired man who looked much older than him and a pink haired girl who looked Garith's age. He figured that maybe one of these two would know where to go. So being a tad nervous and shy he walked slowly over to the two people keeping his distance a bit.
"Umm excuse me sir, miss do any of you know where we are headed?" Garith asked his voice sounding nervous and shy.
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Fran
The "Before" years
[M:0]
"I am so excited."
Posts: 66
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Post by Fran on May 26, 2011 23:58:02 GMT -6
"Hmm...Sacae. It's the land with vast plain, isn't it? I want to see it," she said. "It would be nice to see the plain with green grasses, and it would be probably warmer for the troops than these snows." Yes, those soldiers might need to go to somewhere warmer than Ilia. For Fran, this low temperature was nothing, she was an ice dragon after all. But the soldiers were normal humans.
Fran looked at the boy, she sounded nervous for some reasons. "We are heading to Bern, to south. And we will have to go through Sacae first." Fran approached the boy with hand reached out. "My name is Fran. What's your name?" she asked, smiling.
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