Steel the Bait (PM for entry)

[Hektor]

The anti air tactic proved effective as the wyvern riders were now staying away from his position, the ones that were left anyway. His tactics had effectively stopped almost all ground troops from getting to him, from the ice on the ground to the shards of ice that were being whipped around into the opening of enemy armor, there were few approaching him now. However this had a cost, many of the archers in the outfield had taken aim upon him. He noticed the increase in arrows only slightly at first before more of them started to come down. He quickly used his arcane symbols to make two plates of ice appear on both sides of him causing many of the arrows to either deflect away or stick in the frozen water before he sent the blocks back at the arrows. The chunks followed the arcs of the arrows back to the archers but he couldn't tell if he had even gotten any of them and he didn't care. That was just to stop the arrows momentarily.

Thunder soon rang out among the field again, Nayru must be at work, but he was soon distracted by a nearby scream. One of the men just out of the advanced training regime had been hit; the arrow somehow had gotten under the man's right shoulder pauldren and went partially through. The arrow point was sticking out of the other side; the force must not have been great enough to carry it through. That was truly the worst, he needed see a healer soon.

The man began writhing in pain in the horse, beginning to lose his balance. Hektor deftly jumped off the horse, wincing in pain as weight was put on his left leg, the leg that had an arrow in it earlier, and limped overto ease the man out of his horse.

"W-what are you doing sir! You are leaving yourself open!" The man said, clearly in great amounts of pain from the arrow through his shoulder.

"I'm getting you back to the wagon, as you can no longer effectively fight." Hektor was concerned that the man may die on his first mission out. That would be a horrible thing, especially since he didn't even know their names yet. It was supposed to be standard to not learn the names of the troops unless it is a special circumstance as to avoid getting attached. Too bad that never worked. Hektor helped the man back and up into the first wagon out of direct harms way. "Hold pressure to the wound until the battle is finished." He ordered until he limped back out into the battle field.

The first thing that happened was He heard a loud crack of thunder that rang throughout the battle field, it left his ears ringing, Nayru must be at work again. The next thing that happened was that he noticed that his horse was not in it's place, it was scrambling out on the ice flailing wildly. He couldn't exactly see what the problem was from there but whatever it was it wasn't good. If he got close he would get hurt it was best to leave it. The battle seemed to shift while he was moving the man, one side of the battle was almost completely devoid of soldiers from either side. What exactly had happened?

Hektor quickly hobbled to the other side of the caravan, avoiding the patches of ice with his two still active men, until he could see more of the rebels. He began to pour more of his energy into spraying water onto the legs and feet of the rebel troops not on the front lines; he didn't want to get his side wet after all. The men with him immediately began to put them selves between him and the oncoming arrows so they could block them with their shields. It almost made him sad that people were putting their lives on the line for him, but he pushed that from his mind as he slowly began to turn the snow to ice, but it wasn't quite there yet.

[Clair Feldsky]

Clair turned for the other side of the conflict. Things were not finished yet, and however drained she was starting to feel, she was going to see this through. She steeled herself against the fray she would be entering and choked up on the lance and gripped it more as a close combat weapon. As she rounded the bend, she saw the enemy forces embroiled with her collection of fighters. The area near the front was where the heaviest of the fighting was taking place, and she could see Lawton doing his best to suppress the enemy before they could get close enough to harm his people. All around her, she could see injured bodies. Some rebels, some burning blades. She caught glances of her people, still fighting but battered and bruised as they filled the gaps that were being forced into the defender lines as the enemies pushed in. Both sides were fighting desperately now, the rebel forces circling and trying to force one of the defenders out from the lines so they could pick him off. Archers traded shots back and forth as the stench of blood and war filled the air. Clair neared the front where Law had a shield wall trying to protect him from incoming fire.

The lightning still flew around her as she moved into the front formations, but it wasn't directed anymore. It was simply the weapon reacting to the battle around it. It unnerved her a bit that the weapon seemed to have a mind of its own, especially when it kept trying to encourage her to lash out with its lightning. Every time she was tempted to let its power fly however, she would remember the wave of weakness that had assailed her only moments before. She couldn't afford another one of those. She wasn't sure how much energy it was costing her to fire off those lightning bolts, but it wasn't worth the risk.

The air grew cold as she pushed her way into the fights between the sage and the enemy soldiers. The chilled air was no doubt the work of his magic. The fray was filled with nothing but confusion at first, but she quickly fell into a rhythm of teammwork with the shield wall she'd become a part of. Striking past allies with her lance while filling in a gap in the defenses. It was a battle of attrition, in which the enemy was always trying to draw you out too far. If you overextended, they'd single you out and spear you before you could get back to safety. As long as you kept up your teamwork with your shieldmates though, they were the ones who would have to overextend to get to you. Arrows flew wildly, seeming to skip off an unseen barrier as they neared or passed close by the Ilian Falcoknight. She tried to position herself between the sage pumping the enemy's ground space full of water and the archers trying to target him. The fighters were getting tired though, and weariness made for sloppy fighting.

Behind the hills somewhere, a horn blew out suddenly. It's sound rippled over the hills and across the caravan to where it fell on the ears of the grim companies hard at it. The rebel forces immediately seemed to alter in how they functioned, archers increasing fire towards those nearest to them, and shields and skirmishers starting to break away and creep backwards.

At this point, if they were leaving, she'd be more than happy to let them go so she and the Burning Blades could regroup. If they were just going to back up and sit their for their archers to take potshots at them though, that wasn't going to work for them. She turned her eye skyward long enough to see that they aerial battle was still going on, but she couldn't be sure whether it was still a battle or if the rebellion's wyverns were trying to break away. Not from the ground, at least.

"Push forward! Stay with them and clear them off the road!" As she shouted, she raised her lance overhead for a moment, waving it in a lightning traced circle to rally the others, then lunged forward. Arrows immediately came flying her way as she struck at the retreating forces. Most skipped harmlessly away thanks to the Delphi Shield she carried, but there were a couple that struck home. One bounced off the golden surface of the shield, while another penetrated into the back of her hand as she thrust her weapon forward. It didn't feel like it hit full force, but it did stick through the leather gauntlet she wore for a moment before falling out. She bit her tongue and held back a choice curse as she fought. Her weapon strike was a miss, but it did the trick in pushing back the enemies quicker and gave the rest of the defenders an example to step up and follow. Pretty soon, the whole area was alive with defenders surging forward, and the rebel line had no grounding to stop pursuit leveled at them. The rebellion had lost their control of the situation. It was either retreat or be run over now as the defenders picked up momentum.

[Clair Feldsky]

With the defenders surging forward and the attacking rebels now backpedaling hard to keep from being utterly trampled by their foes, it was easy to tell that her troop and their escort had rebuffed the enemy. The battle was done, and they'd proven a tougher snack than the beast. There was a good deal of finishing to do yet though. The falcoknight commander was at the head of the pursuit, drawing fire in a way that would have spelled the end of her were it not for deflection of her shield. As it was, she was careful to stay as much behind her Delphi Shield as she could, and was trying to fall back into a formation with the other shields as more and more arrows cascaded towards her. Arrows shattered on the sheild as they approached her, or bounced off into the fray. She took one in her right calf and felt the stabbing jolt lance through her, slowing her step. She let out a hiss and grimaced as she saw the archers level one last volley of arrows at her before they too would have to turn and flee. There was a twang of bow strings and then the solid thump of arrows caught in heavy shields as the other fighters crowded in around her, building a wall as she was slowed.

She watched as the rebels pulled back. It had been brutal for both sides, and she doubted that they'd be returning, but they needed a little extra insurance. After the battle, there was still plenty to be done though. They needed to secure the area, and get their healers equipped to work on the worst cases before they could get worse or expire.

"Good pushing, Soldiers. That was a shield wall to be proud of. Don't drop your guard yet though. We have to make sure they aren't coming back." Clair gave a brief smile and encouraged the fighters nearby. Or, she tried to, at least. She wasn't always sure that she was connecting to people around her on the personal level, and that was something she regretted. They seemed pretty pleased with themselves at the moment though, glad that they had survived and taking a breath before the adrenaline crash came. That was good enough she supposed, as she turned and headed back towards the caravan.

There was a quick sharp whistle from Clair, and within a moment she spotted the magnificent white form of her pegasus arcing through the air towards her. She spotted the veteran soldier in her little troop of knights looking around, before he spotted her. Once he did, he started heading towards her as she took a step towards the main wagon in the cavalcade. That was good. It'd save the time of her waving him over to her now. Glad that wasn't his first rodeo.

"Ach... Damn Archers...." She growled under her breath as she reached the wagon, and leaned on it. There was still an arrow in her leg. The normal and human part of her was screaming at her to rip it out. Anything to remove the foreign spike from her body. The soldier had locked that part down several minutes ago now though, and pushed it aside. There was still work that needed done, and this wasn't going to be a life threatening injury. She was starting to feel drained now though. It'd been an intense battle, and she'd drawn off of the Thunder Lance she carried a great deal. It drained her to use that artifact. There was more to it than pointing it at what needed to be burnt.

"Well Commander,... You look about as bad as the last time you jumped into the middle of a brawl, plus a few scrapes and an arrow. Hold still. Then we can wrap it, and when Owen finishes up over there, he can see to patching you up the rest of the way." Helmut always seemed to speak in a calming and relaxed manner. It was like his experience had prepped him for everything, so while he might not have seen everything, he almost always knew the best course of action. That was one reason that she always appreciated having him around.

"Yes. Get that arrow out of me. Then we'll give it a quick wrapping, but I have to track where the rebels go from here...." The Ilian champion braced herself against the wagon as Mut bent down to look over the injury. It'd gone clean through the black leather on her leg. That was the second time that she'd let an opponent strike her straight through her armor.

"Well, well...." Mut's gravelly voice slowed as he seemed to be studying something. "... With respect, Commander, you're full of horse hockey." Clair frowned at his words, and swiveled a cold gaze down to the crouching man. Did she say she always appreciated having him around a moment ago? "I'm leaving the arrow in. You need to get off this leg, and we might need to get Owen over here sooner. I'd get someone else to handle the scouting. Aggravate the leg, and it might not heal right. It's passing awfully near some important muscle tissue."

That stopped her. She was so set on going herself, and tracking down the rebel's trail though.... It would be a slap in the face to her to have to give that up. Mut seemed to sense her inner turmoil, and pointed out the right course of action again. "Burning Blades will have scouts to spare. Delia and Sashra might even be fit to go, but if you go, you might never be walking right again.... Give us our orders, Commander." The way he emphasized her title, it was as though he were reminding her that she couldn't, and shouldn't do everything. That's what they were here to do. A unit of knights would always work better than one alone.

Clair waited a breath more and tried to find a way around his logic, but there was no easy solution. She gave up with a huff, and spoke quietly to him.

"Alright, Mut. Help me up into the wagon. Then secure the area. Send Owen my way once there's an opportunity, but I don't want anyone losing their life on account of my injury."

"I'm sure he'll agree to that, Feldsky. Let me help you up."

Gingerly, Clair managed to climb up the heights and into the wagon. It was situations like these that made her wish that it wasn't so much higher than a regular wagon's deck. She watched as Mut left and set about getting watches posted more efficiently and layed out supplies for the medically inclined. The groups were coming together and patching themselves back up strong. It would be enough.... Reaching behind her, Clair pulled up a pole laying flat along the seating deck, and tied off a patterned cloth to it as she stood it tall in the wagon. It was a symbol learned by Ilians, specifically aircavs. Standing orders to avoid combat and scout. The scouting would be up to the aerial Burning Blades, and maybe Delia if she was up for it.

[Hektor]

Hektor held the front lines with his magic, turning the snow to ice to impede the rebel's movements. The magic was becoming increasingly more tiring to keep up even in the heat of battle with the adrenalin flowing. Not that adrenalin had any effect on one's magical capacity, it just may make the user feel like they have more because they don't feel the tiring effects until later.

The battle had kept raging on with him not doing too much more than he was doing before. Or well nothing of note. He kept sending ice shards at the enemies whenever they got near, slowly advancing on them whenever the defenders were able to gain any ground. Nothing too notable. He did however see Nayru moving along the lines in quite the expert fashion as she defended wherever she went. She even spent some time quite near him, and during that time he noticed something quite strange. Whenever arrows began to fly by her most of them just seemed to be deflected, sort of like a magical barrier? Did she have more magical items other than her lance? Another possibility was that there was some other magic user in the battle that he hadn't noticed that was able to set up barriers. That was quite a useful skill to have, or have employed under you. Either way this Nayru was lucky, or well she worked hard for it. Luck wasn't always the cause for everything. It just seemed like it had a hand in everything sometimes.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes, a horn seemed to ring out from the other side of the hill. At that point the rebels seemed more desperate than ever to get away, and that wasn't all. The archers also changed their focus from trying to hit him a bunch along with the flyers to trying to hit those apparently closer to them. That means that they were retreating, that the battle was won! Or was it? He kept moving forward a ways, stopping as many rebels as he could with his magic before pulling back. His mission was to stop the rebellion and it was relevant for him to stop or put down as many rebels as possible lest they regroup and become a threat again. Sadly this was neither the time nor the place to take these rebels out, the caravan was probably going to need to get rested and recuperated after that battle.

Once he was heading back to the caravan along with the others that pursued the rebels away, his adrenalin rush began to fall and with that the pain in his right leg from the arrow wound re emerged with nearly crippling pain, almost making him fall over. His men quickly rushed over to see if he was alright. "Sir! Are you okay?! Do you need a healer? Quick one of you go fetch one! We can't take any chances!"

"Calm down Men, It is just an arrow wound, I'll be fine. It just hurts. Let the healers tend to those in more life threatening situations, I'll be fine." He told them as he began to form a chunk of ice in his hand to hold to his wound to help dull the pain.

The men just continued in a hushed tone "Sir, you are far to important to be put out of action by an arrow. We need to take every precaution and get you a healer."

An annoyed look came across Hektor's face at that point."No. And that's an order and that's final. I won't even think of seeing a healer until the others are tended to." He said, lowering his voice so random onlookers wouldn't hear. These men looked after him too much. Sure he was a military commander for half of the greatest nation there was, but no one out here knew him. Or at least they shouldn't know him. And that meant he was safe for now which meant he could rest and get the others healed up. "Go tend to your comrade, I'm sure he is in a much worse condition than I am." The men nodded and went off to go help the other man leaving Hektor to himself.

He just limped around the caravans a bit,holding ice to his wound and helping where he could. Although that wasn't much in his current state. After a while he came upon another wagon that he had over looked before, with him focused on looking over the field and all, and upon it sat Nayru. It appeared that she also sustained a wound to the leg. He would have went to see how she was holding up after the battle but she was giving orders. The Ilian air orders for scouting while avoiding combat. Since she was busy he just roamed around the area helping thouse he could without stressing his leg too much.