Blood for Steel (PM me before joining)

[Aidan Lowell]

((Well, y'know, except for you Zach. You can totally join without hoops to jump through.))

It wasn't easy intergrating into the army, it was much more of a challenge then the first time Aidan did it. Then again the first time he wasn't a wanted man with aspirations of leading the whole thing. It had been a few months since he spoke to Selibas and was put into his squad along with other men. He had since taken to wearing a helmet on his head at most all times. He also changed from his previously ostentatious armor into a more humble suit that allowed him to blend in with the soldiers a bit more. It was sort of unnecessary though, the manhunt for him seemed to have lost a lot of steam and most people believed he was dead. Still he rathered to be safe then to be sorry, and his aloofness seemed to have had an effect on his comrades. They listened to him more, even if he was just a soldier. That didn't seem to matter though, the rebellion was so incompetently jumbled that the difference between a commander and a soldier wasn't nearly as it should be. It wasn't Selibas' fault, nor Kelvins, nor any of the other commanders. There was just a clear lack of chain of command, the commanders were all seperate factions. Separate armies almost. What made soldiers the rebellion here, and what made the rebellion in the capital where two totally different things.

Aidan was a voice of reason, of experience that many of the soldiers lacked. They were mostly just villagers fed up with Ilia, or mercenaries looking for glory, or deserters of the army, but none of them were too terribly experience in working in an outfit such as this. This was where Aidan managed to find his niche, he helped the soldiers adjust. He was understand, while at the same time having a feeling of authority. It wasn't long until it wasn't just a feeling anymore, and he really did become a voice of authority. It seemed the more people began to trust him, and rely on him, the more skilled at it he became. He was able to foresee things many others missed, and put together plans others didn't think of. He was a beast in battle, able to shrug off blows that would knock a lesser man right to his feet and then pierce through their flesh in a single thrust of his mighty spear. It was almost... scary seeing how much Aidan had changed from before. Of course only Saturos would really be able to notice, for as far as the soldiers knew... this was simply how Dan always was.

This is where Aidan found himself, standing at the head of his own group of soldiers. Of men, and he was tasked with a very important mission. He was to pick up a shipment of weapons from their mysterious backers, a group of men who didn't want to be identified, for funding the rebellion was a serious case of treason to the Ilians. Aidan knew not who these people were, but he knew they weren't to be trusted completely. Their steel was one of the few things that kept the rebellion from collapsing into itself, but they knew nothing about them. They were anonymous to the point of sheer frustration. They were cloaks, and garbs to hide their faces. They never met with the same representatives more than once, and they always met on different conditions and areas. These weapons were of vital importance to the army however, so they had to accept all the secrecy for a chance to win this war.

He stood in a clearing in the woods with a battalion of soldier, none too many, too many soldiers made their 'friends' skittish. Enough to protect the shipment on the way back to the encampment. Aidan stood there, clad in his steel and helmet. They were loading the weapons onto a wagon so that they can take it back to the encampment, and everything seemed fine. For the moment at least. Aidan had a bad feeling though, in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't quite place it, but he just knew something might happen. He had a few of his men in reserve and ready to aide them at a moment's notice, because he had long since learned to respect this feeling of his. It's what lead him this far, and only seemed to grow stronger and more accurate the more he trusted it.

It was odd, and he couldn't quite explain it. He's always had good intuition, maybe he had just honed his instincts? It wouldn't be the only odd thing that's happened to him. "Keep your eyes peeled." He said to his second in command, standing next to him. "I have a bad feeling."

[Euphemious]

“I don’t like this”, spoke Euphemious. He did not like the idea of meeting somebody in the woods to get supplies. Even more less when the nobles wore hoods and cowls like common thieves. None the less he had to endure. The army needed the supplies and Euphemious was a new recruit. Even if he had an opinion to voice it did not matter.

In truth though Euphemious knew why they were so secretive. A noble house is something to be cherished and protected. The Lowlanders were once noble as well, but shifting policies and old grudges tore their name from that prestigious title. He and his two cousins had reclaimed their family sword, the proof of their nobility, but the name was still not restored, nor was their ancestral home. For that very reason Euphemious was here with Aidan. If he fought bravely and help take back Bern from Illia he might be able to win back his families noble title, and if not that he could still earn some coin to rebuild Lowlander hall. Euphemious had a lot riding on the success of Aidan portion of the rebellion and he was willing to bet his life on it.

“Is there a problem Commander”, spoke Euphemious as he heard him give orders to his second in command. Euphemious was not thrilled with the idea of being attacked here. The woods were not a bad place for a knight to be rotted, but the thick branches and dense woodland made movement difficult. If they were assaulted retreat would be problematic.

[Akan]

- THE HIDDEN ARMY -


Too young!? What do you mean too young!?

These were Akan's last words before being kicked out of the arena. He surely is the best lancer ever, so he is able to fight in the arena depsite being young, but it seemed like the adults weren't of the same opinion, poor fools.
By the way, Akan took his father's old armor and left his city to follow the original plan: find a lance teacher.
If he can't fight, the only way to grow stronger is training, and Akan pretends that his training is perfect.
Only the best for the best, right?

After hours of walking with a rumbling stomach (the kid really tought that a piece of bread and three slices of dried meat would be enough), he found himself in a dark forest, and the straight way was lost.
As he leaned at a tree to rest, he saw someone hiding in the woods, so he approached him, intrigued.
The man wasn't the only one hiding: another rebellious noticed Akan walk with the caution of a ninja (a trainee ninja... Presumably a drunk and fat trainee ninja), so he approached the kid from behind and immobilized him, taking care to tap his mouth so that he couldn't shout.
The soldier is now heading to the commander, to know what to do about Akan.

[Zacharia]

One of those odder things just so happened to be the teenager standing right next to him, as his second in command officer. He was just as surprised as many of the older, far more eligible men for the job. Okay, well, maybe not quite as surprised. The grip on command was like that of a child trying to lift a palace with their bare hands. They had also really gotten to know each other over the past few months as well, even if Daniel was a little bit tight around the collar about his backstory. While the big man chose a armor much more humble in design than his original set, what Zacharia got was...well, a hand-me down. Taken from the corpse of a boy slightly older than he was right after he had shown up. It fit him well enough to not jiggle around much as he tried moving around in it. It was hardly more than a chestplate and some combat boots--the rest of it was either tossed or melted into spare metal which they so desperately needed. That was why they were here today, actually. He had no clue who these men were, but he did think about them very often. They could very well be Illians, or they could be dragons. Who knew for sure?

Like Daniel, he faded into the ranks of a common soldier, even if he was constantly around the man(which was probably another factor for being second in command). Dan had been something of a father figure to the mage throughout their time here. True to his word, the knight had been watching over him like a hawk in every battle, and likewise for Zacharia. He had also managed to get a little bit of lance practice in during their fleeting moments of spare time as well, just in case of course. S steel suit and a spear in his hand just wasn't his kind of thing, just like holding up a book and chanting some magic words was no one else in the entire army's thing. It takes an assortment to make a full house, as they say.

The blue-faced man was around as well, but strangely not in place of the mage. Not like he would complain about that, of course. Daniel had been very quick to correct his name as Saturos the first time he let "blue-face" slip from his mouth in front of them. He wasn't quite sure, but it had been like he was holding back a chuckle at what he said. Or a snarl. "Is it just me, Daniel..." he mumbled into the other man's ear. "Or do they look even more on edge than they do normally? I can see some of them literally shaking under all that clothing they're wearing." Dan had likely noticed before he did, which wasn't far from usual. You just simply couldn't beat him at reconnaissance. He looked around at all the soldiers surrounding him.

[Aidan Lowell]

A few of his soldiers were growing restless. Many of them were undertrained and new to battle, Aidan held no distaste for them however. He imagined the other commanders stuck them all in his squad as a sort of punishment or passive aggressive showing that they weren't happy how the soldiers were all looking up to him. Whatever the reason, it did not matter, if anything he enjoyed it. He was able to teach these fighters the basics of combat, and he was able to keep them safe with his startling foresight. It was a perfect fit in a way really, these men were the future of Bern. Of all of Elibe. That was his judgment, and was one of the things that prompted him to make Zach his second in command. The kid was sharp in his own way, he had ambition and promise, and most importantly he stuck by Aidan since the very beginning. Aidan rewarded loyalty, for loyalty is the most important quality any soldier could have. Not crushing strength, not razor wit, but unwavering loyalty. Loyalty is what separates a soldier from a common mercenary, what separates an enemy from a friend.

A soldier came up to Aidan, and the man turned to look at him. His helmet covering the confused look on his face, making him look as stoic as ever. "Commander Daniel, we found a man hiding. We fear he might be an Illian scout, but he was all alone. What should we do with him?" At his words another man came up with a boy that looked unfit to tie his own shoes, let alone be a spy with any efficiency.

Aidan stared at the kid for a moment before sighing. "I don't think he's any danger to us. Ilian scouts are much more efficient. He was probably just wandering the forest at a bad time." He had a feeling this kid meant no harm, and he would trust that. It wouldn't be the first time he's done something that could be seen as rash on the pure basis of 'my gut says so'. "Let him go." He told the soldier and he did, then he looked right at the boy with all the unfeeling emotion that a helmet conveyed. So he let his words speak for him. "Get out of here, you're getting involved in things far more dangerous than you could imagine kid."

Aidan turned from him back to Zachariah, who pointed something out. Something... interesting. He had a good eye, that was for sure. "You're right Zachariah... They are rather fidgety today." He thought for a second. Then it hit him, a slow dawning realization. It was almost as if someone was whispering to him the answer in his ear. "That's not them." He said quietly, so only his second in command and perhaps that kid from before if he hadn't the good idea to run could hear.

In an instant, Aidan moved in a flurry of movement, pulling out his wall of a shield and holding it up high. An arrow that had been fire at almost that exact moment plinked against the shield's mighty steel, saving the soldier that had been it's original target. "Ambush!" He shouted at the top of his lungs so all the men could hear. Almost as if his voice itself shattered the moment, the two men in cloaks threw off their garb and dashed forward with serrated knives, assassins or thieves. A dam of excitement burst as the forest about them came to life with the shouts and frantic movement of a whole squadron of Ilian soldiers all wielding weapons and poised to destroy them.

The nobleman smirked, he had expected this. He turned to a soldier nearby, his voice sharp and to the point. "Send in the second squad, tell them the Pegasus has landed. Go! Quickly!" With a nod of understanding the man ran off. "Men! Get in position! Archers in back, knights in front!" He shouted again. He turned to Zach and almost grinned. "Stick with me Zach." These Ilians were working on a limited clock, as soon as the second squad arrived they'd be outnumbered three to one. So how much damage could they do while they still held the advantage?

One of the assassins made a mad dash to Aidan himself, leaping and striking with his jagged blade. Aidan blocked the blow with his shield, and when he came back to strike again, Aidan struck him with his foot. He fell back, but did a backflip as he touched the earth and quickly recovered. He noticed the other assassin was missing. "Zach, keep your eyes peeled, I think those two are after us. Tell me if you see anything." He'll block the blows, and Zach will rain magic from behind. It was a surprisingly efficient combination.

[Euphemious]

“I knew it”, spoke Eupemious as assassin popped out from the bushes. It was clear that whoever this man was they were supposed to be meeting was not the person. Though this very fact worried Euphemious some as that meant someone within the rebellion was working with the Ilians. A hooded man with a blade charged towards the knight. Assassin or thief spoke Euphemious to himself as the man came closer. Swiftly he stuck his spear out and the man practically impaled himself on it. “Thief”, spoke the knight out loud as he pulled the spear out of the man’s chest.

“Knights in the front”, shouted Aidan. Eupehmious turned to follow the order and saw another assassin coming from Aidan blind spot. “Commander, enemy at seven o’clock”, shouted Euphemious as another Illian rushed in to attack him. He blocked the blow like he did before, but this man was fast enough to dodge his strike.

"Damn Illians", shouted Euphemious as he stuck out again against his opponet.

[Akan]

- AMBUSH -


Just free, Akan turns visibly outraged.

You are lucky that I have not noticed you before, otherwise I'd break your face!

The man simply turn to return to his position, without giving the slightest attention to the kid.

Tsk! Unfortunately someone here doesn't understand with whom he's dealing.

Akan can feel the tension in the air. Of course, he thinks that's normal to be a little distressed after seeing his excellency, so he doesn't realize the gravity of the situation until the conflict begins.
As the first arrow is fired and Aidan begins giving orders right and left, Akan steps back.

Damn! What am I supposed to do now!?

He was excited by the fight, but he wasn't dull enought to think that he could endure a skirmish without a weapon.
The only solution was to flee, but there's just no way one of his kind can accept to run from combat.
In the end, he just moves away and hides in a shrub, waiting for the opportune moment to get out of it.
Luckily, that time is not long in coming. One of the rebellious soldiers, maybe a newbe, strays from the group, and quickly becomes the target of an enemy that, from shoulders, sinks his blade into his side.

Gwah...

The young rebel falls, and his foe leaves the scene. Seeing no enemies around, Akan quikly leaves the shrub to approach the fallen guy. Looking better, the kid recognizes that he is the same that brought him to Aidan.

Look who's back!

Gah... Go away you idiot of a kid.

Spoke the one who was hit to the one who was saving him.

Akan takes the soldier from the armpits and drags him in his former hiding place.

Say, what's your name?

Lu... Lucas.

As the soldier is covered, Akan takes his spear.

Well, thanks Lucas!

Akan runs away before the man can say something like "this is crazy" or "leave this place at once" or something not-stupid-but-pointless like that.
Time to kick some ass! (hoping not to be killed in the process...)

[Zacharia]

Where Dan's smile had failed to shine through, Zacharia picked up the slack for the both of them with a wry grin. This was not something he was expecting at all, rather thought they would be ambushed from behind on the way back. They had gotten too lucky lately, and that easily lead to arrogance. Arrogance is good in moderation though, he thought. The boy wasn't anywhere big or strong enough to take a blade head-on, but that was what Daniel was for. He had however, mastered a few tricks in the past few battles. Balls of dark matter were too hard to aim right, kind of like throwing an actual ball. There was a certain power he'd read about in the arcane book he carried with him; overpowering one's mind. If you capture the mind, the body is forfeit to you. ...He'd try that after he could stop cutting his hand open trying to scry. All of these things passed through his mind in the blink of an eye since their commander called them into formation. "Zach, keep your eyes peeled, I think those two are after us. Tell me if you see anything." Hmm, where had the second one gone? It'd take some doing to climb up a tree in the thick of this fighting, and the man who wasn't currently trying to break Dan's shield with the equivalent of a sharpened stick was wearing brighter clothes than the drab gray cloak he threw off. The question wrapped itself up quickly as the man he was looking for popped out of the bushes some yards away, and dashed forwards towards the back-to-back duo with his serrated knife. Zacharia flipped his book open, and chanted in a foreign language that sent a shiver down his spine. At his command, a lump of the swirling black stuff he'd become so familiar with seemed to appear at the ground before him. Thankfully, the man charging forwards didn't notice until it was too late. The mass shot upwards into a solid beam with a pointed end, catching him in the knee as he jumped forwards to bring his knife down on Zacharia's head. He cried out in pain as the mage yelled, "Found him!" and summoned another pile of mass, forming it into a ball the size of his fist and threw it at the man as hard as he could. It was hard to hit anything with one of the balls over fifteen feet away, but near impossible to miss if they were closer. The man's eyes rolled up in the back of his head as he sank to the ground, telling him he was either unconscious or dead, hopefully the latter.

Only then did he turn his focus around to the many foes fighting like mad against their forces. It helped that he had a big shield and an even bigger man looming over him to block out the rest of the world. Were these people Illian? They had nothing that signified who they were on their ragtag uniforms. They were at least Illian supporters, and that was really all that mattered as he threw two spells from behind Daniel and took down a particularly lithe lance fighter.

[Euphemious]

Euphemious stabbed his assailant in the chest as Zach finished off the assassin. “Looks like they did not need my help after all”, spoke Euphemious. A loud ring filled the knights head as he took a blow on his helmet from behind. He gave a silent thanks to the blacksmith that took the time to fashion his armor properly. The knight turned around to see another man wielding a short sword.

“Only knifes and short swords”, spoke Euphemious with surprise. The enemy had to know that Aidan would bring knights and soldiers. Thieves and assassin were at a grave disadvantage against them. So why bring them. At that moment it hit him. “They’re a distraction”, spoke the knight as he trusted his shield forward. The steel slab found itself on the man’s jaw knocking him to the ground. The knight wasted no moment stabbing toward the ground, but the thief had already recovered. He rolled out of the way as Euphemious spear struck only dirt. “Annoying vermin”, spoke the knight as he struck toward the thief again.

[Asri]

"Oh, so they are here already." Asri watched the fight from a safe distance. She just arrived a few seconds ago, a little late to join the party. The thief was tasked to inform that an ambush had been prepared for those soldiers. It could be Ilia, although it wouldn't be wise to limit the suspects only to the the snowy country. She was late, though, the ambush had already found their prey. "I knew I shouldn't have taken this job. I knew I wouldn't make it on time," she muttered to herself, looking dissatisfied with this failure. 

There was a great risk if she decided to foolishly join the fray. Both sides didn't know her, they might attack her randomly. She wondered how to tell the soldiers that she was in their side. For now, at least. While wasn't the member of the rebellion itself or their sympathizers, Asri had taken many profit doing jobs for the rebels, and occasionally doing some jobs for Ilia. This country had been a gold mine for her to reap money easily, after all, people needed her "skills" in this time of chaos. She was a free agent, both sides could use her service by paying the right sum. Sometimes some people had wanted to dispose her for knowing too much, but she had always read two steps ahead and escaped easily. 

"Hmm, the request is to keep the officers alive....But they don't need my help it seems." Asri had spotted two men who she needed to keep alive until she got her payment. They were fighting their assailants with their combined might, a wizard and a knight surely made a tough combination for their enemies. The soldiers were doing quite well themselves as well, they would probably be fine without her help. "Whatever I suppose I have to wait until they get bored killing people..." she thought.

[Aidan Lowell]

Things were going well, mostly due to the preparations Aidan had made in the event of an ambush. He was right about it again, and while before no one would have taken such reservations seriously Aidan had seemed to proved himself very talented in predictions in very short order. It was enough to make all the other commanders suspicious of him, and there has been more than one accusation he was actually a spy sent to feed information to the troops. An odd accusation, to be sure, as it only seemed to end up fouly for Ilia, but it definately held some water amongst the upper brass. Or whatever it would be called in this coalition, it was just as unorganized as it had been at the start. If anything it was only growing worse and worse with each passing battle. The infighting growing more intense, each commander trying assert their authority over the other and everyone was too stubborn to give way to one another. This is what Aidan needed to solve.

Of course the battlefield is really no place for contemplating the politics of this rebellion, as Aidan was simply preoccupied trying to keep his men alive and killing as many assassins as possible, to send a message to whoever had the audacity to plan this attack. His neck snapped to the right as a man burst out from seemingly the sky, a hefty axe clutched within his hands. Coming crashing down from above, Aidan raised his shield to meet him, but the force of the blow almost sent him toppling back. He didn't even flinch however, as he was an immovable wall of steel, and it would take much more then whatever these assassins could throw at him to take him down. With a heave of his arm he thrusted his shield forward, throwing the man back. He stumbled back but got back to his feet in moments and came swinging once more, Aidan once again met the man's axe with his sheild, swatting the blade away as if it was nothing but a fly and parrying the strike. A thick gush of blood sprayed from where the thick lance impaled the man, he was too slow and couldn't recover quick enough, he couldn't stop from being impaled on the head of Aidan's dragon lance.

Aidan took no time pushing the man off and turning his sights away from the corpse. His eyes snapped over again, he just had a gut feeling and he had to act on it. "Archers! Fire to the northwest!" Aidan shouted and shortly after a volley of arrows flew into the woods to the northwest, just as he had said. There was a short moment of silence before a sizable group of men came stumbling out of the woods, many clutching wounds made by arrows. Just as he thought! In fact... it was exactly as he thought. That's... weird. Why did he think that? The thought just popped into his mind from nowhere bu- Ack!

He quickly brought his shield up once more, blocking an errant arrow, bouncing off the hard steel with a small 'plink' sound, the battle thoroughly pushing what little thoughts he had in his mind out with fierce abandon. Maybe it was the universe's way to say 'don't think about it so much'. Just appreciate your instincts and good luck. "The reinforcements will arrive shortly! Hold the line!" His voice came bellowing out once more.

[Asri]

Asri continued to watch the battle for a few minutes. Aidan seemed able to keep his soldiers alive and focused by giving right order at the right time. A good commander, even if that kind of praise would be given to him only if he won the battle. "A nice hit although a bit slow. Sometimes I wonder why some soldiers like wearing that iron pot, it's not stylish at all. Well, it's quite useful in this kind of battle, probably," she muttered to herself as she watched Aidan fight.

Asri heard some rustling, telling her that some people were coming to her direction. The thief leaned to nearby tree, hiding herself behind a big trunk. More enemies? This would be bad for Aidan and his men if these newcomers joined the fray. There was nothing she could do to stop their advance so she kept hiding her presence as she watched they marched toward the battle.

"Archers! Fire to the northwest!"

"Yes...to northwest.....WHAAT???" Now she realized that she was exactly in where the rain of arrows would strike mercilessly. And soon it really happened. Asri cursed and screamed as she crouched behind her tree, hands protecting her head. The sound of arrow piercing the wood or hitting the ground filled the air. "St Elimine, if you truly exist, please help me! I will buy you drink if I survive!!!" Seriously, this might be her worst day. At least it didn't take too long, the arrows stopped coming after a few seconds and none had successfully killed her.

As soon as it finished, she came out from her hiding feeling glad for not dying. But her next problem came. What left from those men, they who didn't die when the arrows striked, seemed to notice her. Whatever their glare meant she was sure she wouldn't want to see them act first. She sighed as she felt it was the right time to introduce herself to Aidan, just to make sure she would find a good human shield. The thief ran through the battlefield, trying to find the shortest path toward Aidan while avoiding the fighters.

"Listen, handsome...Before you decide to stab me I have to tell you this," she said to the knight. Asri made sure she kept her hands up so he would know she wasn't his enemy. She smiled playfully as she talked to him, positioning herself outside his spear range. Maybe some soldier would point their weapon when they saw a stranger approaching the leader. "I was supposed to tell you about this welcome party. Unfortunately you aren't my only date today so I was forced to be late by....circumstances. I am glad you reacted quite well, though. Now, can you be nice and let me hide behind your big body, Mr Iron Man?"

[Euphemious]

“The Northwest”, spoke Euphemious to himself as he turned. Following his leaders orders he turned his shield. It was just as Aiden said. Arrows came down like rain from that direction. Many of the soldiers attempted to block with their shields, but the only ones who came out without a few more holes in them were the knights. Their massive shields and thick armor kept the arrows out. Euphemous wish he could say the same for the mercenaries. Still there was more work to be done. Just because the enemy fired a few arrows does not mean they are finished with their assault.

“Hold the lines”, shouted Euphemious repeating Aidens orders. The other knight did the same reinforcing their group unity. The knights formed up like a wall. Their shields were broad and their armor was thick. No stray arrow was getting through them.

[Zacharia]

Zacharia could practically-- no, literally feel the blood splashing on him from Daniel's wake. Having a human shield did have its downsides sometimes, but he really shouldn't think about it. Just keep exploding heads, he thought as the next target's head was displaced from the rest of his body, with a spray of even more blood on the mage. "How can there be so much blood in people??" he thought aloud. If Dan heard that little comment, he didn't care as he impaled an enemy. The magic was starting to tug a little at the forefront of his mind. Usually the symptoms for over-magicking went as followed: A little pull, a headache, followed by a migraine, followed by the all-encompassing soul sucking force of the darkness. How could anyone know what happened anyway, much less write it down in a book for students to read?

He was nicked a few times by only the longest reaching of weapons, or opponents that Dan failed to pick up in his knight-vision helmet, which were a lot more. In their conversations on the way to the rendezvous, he distinctly recalled the man telling him about how he fought on nothing but gut feelings. While effective for him, that was near-certain death for a dark mage like Zach. He cringed as a lance-wielding soldier swooped down low and sliced his leggings open, revealing an already starting to bleed gap. He would've jumped back, but primal instinct made him take the hit like a man because of the commander behind him. He yelled and with a flick of his wrist a pitch black binding wrapped itself around his neck and gave a sharp but sick twisting noise. He fell lifeless at Zach's feet, spear still vised in his hand. Zacharia bent down amidst the fighting to bind a piece of his shirt against his leg to staunch the bleeding. He could definitely feel a draft across the bottom of his belly now despite his face, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. "Archers, northwest!" he shouted from behind Daniel as the rest of the force repeated it in sync.

While he bound the gash, a red-haired...person sped past him to yell something at Daniel from beyond the reach of his blade. Handsome? Zach could hardly see his hair underneath that tin pot. Maybe she had a thing for big noses, who knows? "You're a little late! The guy's only got room for one kid behind him." He rose up to wipe the sweat from his brow when a piercing pain ran through his arm and rattled his spine. He let out a piercing cry as the sudden arrow from the retaliating fire embedded itself in his arm, the head scraping against the bone on re-entry and poking out from the other side of his arm. The good news, and only good news about that was with the angle it was pointed at, it would've surely busted his guts, if not his heart.

[Aidan Lowell]

A woman in red began to weave her way through the fighting, stumbling out of the injured soldiers formation to the northwest. Aidan viewed her with a cocked brow as she came into view and closer, she however did not draw her blade nor did she move like someone ready to strike. The knight remained on guard, but stood down from striking her. It always left a foul taste in his mouth to kill a woman anyways. She then began to speak, and it almost was enough for him to bust out laughing. He didn't, of course, he was a gentleman. Sort of. Still it's been a long, long, long time since anyone's called him 'handsome'. 'Gruff' 'gritty' 'rough' or even 'manly' sure, but handsome? Not since those women who would flirt with him back when he was a noble, the reasoning being similar to this woman's surely. Flattery, which was well and fine in it's own right but still came off a bit insincere.

Someone nearby moved towards her, but Aidan held out his shielded arm and said "Stand down." Which the soldier did, perhaps a bit reluctantly. A volley of arrows seemed to be flying between the two forces, which made things very dangerous for the less heavily armored individuals. It would take quite the blow for an archer to pierce this shell of steel, but less so for it to find give in the less armored Zach. Arrows were hard to anticipate, and thus hard to protect against since they flew through the air with such speed. Without seeing the archer beforehand, it was nigh on impossible in a chaotic field such as this. Which is exactly what happened as an arrow soared through the skies and impaled itself on the poor pupil. He shouted in pain, which made Aidan cringe in shame. "Zach, are you alright? I'm sorry, you can pull back if you need to." The battlefield was dangerous to everyone, but especially so on a young man like Zach. He had an entire life to live, and barely any battle experience, Aidan has taken it upon himself to protect him but... it wasn't an effort without errors.

He looked at the thief and sort of groaned. "We don't have time to talk right now, just get behind me and try not to die. Know if this is a trick, your life is forfeit." He moved forward quickly, thrusting his shield in front of him as another arrow came to try and pick the injured Zach off. Aidan narrowed his eyes in either anger or annoyance, as there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it. He didn't trust the thief, but then again only a fool would, but he had a feeling she wasn't dangerous. At least right now she wasn't, if this was a ploy to take his head they really could have done better.

A soldier came hurrying from quite a distance away while they brawled and kerfuffled with the forces, out of breath and moving as fast as he could "Commander Dan!" He said from a distance shouting. "The reinforcements they... They're not coming!" What? Damn it! They were doing fine, but without reinforcements it was only a matter of time..

"Everyone, prepare to fall back!" He gave the order with a sour face. It was a blow on his pride, but he would prefer to escape with as many lives saved as possible then to continue and fight a battle that they may win but not without heavy casualties. This was a group of recruits, they weren't prepared for fight a force like this without reinforcements. The question was who could have commanded that the reinforcements so that they wouldn't arrive? It wasn't the time for stupid internal politics of the rebellion, but it made the knight furious. It would no doubt bring a pricey blow to their morale as well, and it wasn't exactly the most stalwart of things to begin with.

They would have to abandon the wagon full of weapons, which was undoubtedly a blow to the whole corps. He would be blamed for this failure with no question in his mind, many of the other commander seemed to dislike Aidan. They thought he rose through the ranks too fast, they thought he was potentially a spy, and worst of all they felt threatened that Aidan was going to try and usurp them. If it was up to the knight, it wouldn't just be a threat it would be a certainty. If, no, when he was in charge, there were a few people he knew that wouldn't agree and leave. For them it wasn't about Bern, it was about glory. "We'll make our retreat once we thin the numbers slightly. We don't want them to follow us back to the camp." Aidan muttered. For the most part, Aidan's force did very well. Few casualties so far, and they were prepared for an ambush from the get go. The problem was they were clearly outnumbered, outmatched, and without reinforcements. So they needed to bide their time and look for the best chance to escape, this was a battle of survival and not one of winning.