Assault on Varden Patrol (Open)

[Ozig]

It had been a week since the battle of Belatona, but the soreness and wounds still remained fresh on Ozig and his company. He had made the decision to leave his son, Jorix back at the Varden camp. At Belatona, Jorix had taken three arrows and survived. He suffered a punctured kidney and liver and the third arrow tore his left quadricep. He had earned much respect from the other men for surviving such an onslaught. Mabryn had healed his major organs with magic, but decided to let the leg injury heal naturally both as a matter of principle and to teach Jorix the lesson that not everyone has an Uncle in Du Vrangr Gata that can fix punctured organs so easily, some die slow and painful deaths. Ozig debated even bringing his Other sons, Simpsov and Rikard on this mission to escort a supply train north from Feinster. Simpsov told Ozig that it was no longer his choice, and that they were all grown men with their own families who could choose to fight or not. He as a father had to accept that.

There were about a hundred and fifty men with the convoy guarding several carts and carriages carrying supplies. One armored carriage from the Surdan treasury clunked along the road at the head of the convoy surrounded elves and humans, Driven by and filled with heavily armored Dwarves, and headed By none other than Du Beorngar and Ozig himself. Technically his brother Elgrim was the commanding officer, but they both agreed to a joint command halfway through the journey They had the urgals accompanying the Convoy placed at the rear out of their sight. Even though they were allies there was still bad blood between most of Du Beorngar and the Urgals. Ozig, his two brothers, and two of his sons walked at the front of the convoy. Elgrim believed that elevating oneself on a horse on a long forested trail was one way to die first in an ambush. Hodvu the werecat and Kyrik the dwarf rode on the Armored carriage. Due to their diminutive statuses, they were becoming thick as thieves throughout Du Beorngar's travels.

Ozig and his brothers were reminiscing about their childhood, walking along the road when they came across a woman with a burning carriage and torn clothes, helplessly sitting on the side of the road. Elgrim gave the order to hold the convoy and the order passed down through the ranks until a gruff urgal voice gave the order at the end. The convoy halted and Elgrim looked to his brother and said
"Wait here brother."

The prim and pressed varden officer walked ahead of the column to the girl, using his halberd as a walking stick and resting his other hand on the hilt of his sword. He spoke up

"Are you OK miss?"

[bookgrubz]

Astra stared out of the dark green foilage on the side of the road. Around her, were the other Empire soldiers chosen for this mission. Keeping her hand on her sword, she watched as the Varden officer asked if the woman was ok.
Astra smiled. How stupid could this guy get? If she was in his place, she would instantly know it was a trap. The Varden were fools, and this proved it.

Nice post book, but remember to keep an eye on the rules. Minimum 100 words per post, preferably. I know not much is happening yet but just throw in a few details on surroundings and such. x] - Rhax

[Cloquet]

((I'm just assuming this happened before any of the dragons hatched for the new riders.))

Aldric was mildly upset that he had been one of the chosen to escort the wagon around in the spine. The only upside was that he was so close to his home, Feinster. Although he hadn't ever travelled north into the tailbone before, but he thought in a way it looked familiar. At any rate he had been hoping to resume his duties as a courier for the Varden after the battle. After having seen a battle close an in person, he felt bewildered, possibly the same feeling if he saw an elephant in person. The courier job had seemed much more appealing after that.

Aldric glanced around at the weary men walking by his side. He had seen a few of them during the battle, but he had never formely met them. The Bears were leading the convoy off, Ozig and a few of his sons walking in the very front. Ozig had a some what of a reputation, so that was how Aldric knew him, but he had never spoken with the man before. He wondered what kind of conversation they could strike up with each other, unless Ozig wasn't the type to talk. Can't ever understand why some one wouldn't want to talk. It's almost a necessity of life to be social.

His random train of thoughts was interrupted suddenly when a burning carriage, and a woman with torn cloths sitting in front of it. He took to note everything surrounding them at that time, the whole scene and every little detail. There just wasn't something right about all of this in his mind. Sure it was the Spine and he had heard strange stories about it, but really? His muscles started to tense up and his eyes darted around quickly, searching for anyone or anything else. Something bad was about to happen; was what his gut told him.

[Emiryal ♕]

Firern was crouched near a rocky outcrop. He watched as the Varden approached. His line of sight was obscured by the taller trees but he could see their location well enough. He was about as big a one house, but his black scales would look more like the shadow of the outcrop he was next to. That and Emiryal had cast a spell to hide him. There was little chance the Varden would see him, even as large as he was.


Emiryal for his part was standing by Firern's fore leg. He was in his usual black armor trimmed in a bright red crimson color. His left hand rested on one of his twin rider blades on his belt. He couldn't see the Varden through the trees from where he stood. But with his connection to Firern he could see what his dragon saw. It was a rather different distortion of the image, one that Emirayl had gotten used to from training and bonding with his dragon.

Isikal, his Eldenuri, was unusually quiet today. She had never been the friendly or open type but neither was she ever this quiet. She was angry with Emirayl, but she was obliged to help him through her oaths.

"It's not like I have a choice," Emiryal complained to her now. "You know I have to do this." He shifted slightly as Firern spotted the Varden. "I know that," Isikal snapped. "So then find a way around this mess. You elves are supposed to be good at things like that aren't you."

Emirayl paused. "I won't. Even if I do find a loophole to use I won't. Who knows what Galbatorix will do if I defy him like that. You know what he did to Murtagh and Thorn when they did that and let Eragon go. I can't let that happen to Firern. I won't do that. I can't."

Isikal was silent for a while then finally she growled. "Fine." She didn't say anything more after that. Emiryal knew she wanted to say more and try to persuade him. After all Isikal had gone through what Emiryal was expected to do.

If Empire intelligence was correct this Varden patrol was no ordinary one. They had Eldenuri with them and possibly an egg. How many or any other details had not been attained. All Emiryal knew was he had been ordered in the ancient language to retrieve at least one Eldenuri or more.

The act of stealing them wasn't what had Isikal in such a bad mood. It was what Emiryal would have to do after that. He was told to break the dragon's mind and bend it to the will of the Empire. It was a difficult task that required dark magic, but he had to do it. And Isikal had been ordered to help him do it. She had been broken in such a way when her heart of hearts had fallen into the king's hands.


Firern pulled Emiryal from his thoughts on it. The Varden had stopped now to help the lady it seemed. All was going according to plan. Firern shifted and looked like a cat ready to pounce. His wings were slightly unfolded in anticipation and his tail moved back and forth slightly.

[Kathena]

Amanes sighed as she place her hand on her sword which was sheathed in her belt. The mountains in the Spine looked much more dreary than the climate in Du Weldenvarden. She had originally volunteered to join the patrol through the Spine, but now she was doubting her choice. She very well knew that Urgals lived in these mountains, and she had a disliking for them. Also hated the journey because they had been walking all day along side the cart. The only reason the elf had wanted to go in the first place was because Aldric and Silis had wished to escort the cart as well. She wasn't sure why Aldric had wanted to do it, or maybe he was just picked for it, but Silis had a pretty wild guess about what was inside the cart.

The dirty blonde haired elf glanced around at the Bear People. They were a strange group to her, but the Varden seemed to benefit from them. Next, Amanes glanced at the women Ozig was speaking to. Why would anyone just stand around? If I saw a group of people I would talk to them in a heartbeat. She thought, blinking slowly in confusion. Sighing, Amanes glance over at Aldric. He seemed quite bored as well. Then the elf turned her chocolate gaze to her adopted sister. She didn't seem very bored, for she was doing what she usually does. Playing with her dagger. Amanes was slightly surprised Silis had chosen to join them in her human form, but she guessed the werecat wished to speak to her fellow Varden members for once. Amanes sighed once more as she stood there. This would be a long day indeed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silis watched the patrol with her sharp emerald gaze. She didn't want to join the patrol, but she wanted to know what was in that cart. She hated not knowing what was going on with the Varden. The werecat had spied on impotant conversations multiple times, but no one ever got onto her because no one ever caught her. She never told anyone either, for she simply wished to know what was going on. It never did any real harm...

The humanoid was crouched by the soil, tossing her knife from hand to hand as she always does. She was gotten surprisingly good at not cutting herself over the years, and catching the handle instead. She stared at the stranger that the leader of the Bears was talking to with narrowed eyes. She didn't like the sound of a woman wondering in the Spine alone. No, it wasn't possible that she was alone. The woman had to have a haband or friends with her somewhere. Or was it a trap? Silis didn't care. She already had her knife out and ready anyway, and she wanted revenge. She wanted revenge on the stupid rider who broke her leg, and if not on him, anyone else. Although right now, she didn't care. She could get attack anyone who tried to take the cart instead. A small gust of wind blew a few tree branches to her right and knocked her sleek black hair in her face. The small humanoid pushed it a side with her hand and continued playing with her dagger.

[Emiryal ♕]

Carimiev's Eldunari was wrapped in a soft green velvet cloth. The Varden were on the move again and transporting him to another location, presumably to protect him from falling into Empire hands or to a more strategic location. Carimiev preferred to believe the later. After all he could take care of himself.
The cart he was in bounced over the bumpy road and once again Carimiev longed to just take to the skies, something he hadn't been able to do in over a century. Then they stopped. Carimiev thought nothing of it. Maybe one of those silly horses had gotten a burr on it's hoof or something. He was slightly annoyed with the slow beasts who seemed to be very simple minded.

He had not wanted to give away his position should there be any danger, so he had withdrawn and didn't know why they had stopped, only that they had. He wanted to know why.

The ancient dragon reached out towards Amanes and Sills with his mind and brushed theirs slightly. It was definitely not an attack on them. No, Carimiev was loyal to the Varden's cause he would not harm one of them. "Elf, werecat. Why have we stopped?" he asked in the ancient language.

[Rhaxta]

The woman was weeping softly, her face covered by small, pale hands. Her cloak had been torn and her hood was left askew, so as she turned towards the approaching Varden soldier a curtain of long white hair came loose and tumbled down her back and over her shoulder.

Flickers of red shone off her hair from the lights of the dying fires. Her dark, silver eyes- flecked with gold- were wide and fearful and as they approached small whimper escaped past her pale pink lips. She instantly flinched away as the man gestured toward her, yet her facial features remained soft, if fearful. Yet if one looked intently enough, there would be something vaugely unsettling about her eyes.

It was plain to see she was an elf, albeit one shorter of stature than usual. She was only about 5 feet tall, and until she stood up it would be easy to mistake her for a child.
''The dark..they killed the others! She...she...'' a great tremor ran through her, the click of her sharp white teeth in her shudder audible even over the crackling of the fires.


~~~

As the man had approached, the slightest tendrils of consciousness reached out from the elf and brushed up against Vulnar's.
He opened his eyes and sat up, having taken a suitably relaxed pose upon Freki's back to doze two hours earlier. It had been a long wait, now finally it was time. He turned and gestured silently to Emiryal, who had had also made himself comfortable upon his soul-partners frame.

Freki ducked down and braced her stretched out wings behind her, flat to the ground as she could manage.
Her silver-trimmed claws - adorned with steel claw sheaths- pierced into the first few inches of rock to give her purchase.

Sharing a perch had been awkward, due to Freki's voluminous wing span, yet they had managed eventually by having her stretch them out behind her much like a cape to give Emiryal and his dragon room.

However, now in the time of movement it meant Firern would have to take off first, for Freki to stretch out her significant wings enough to gain flight herself.

''Remember, one to the south with the soldiers, one to reinforce her. I don't trust the wretch. We box them in when they try to escape with the eggs, eldunari or whatever it is they supposedly have.''[/i]

((Your pick which you want to do there, Nedra ))

~~~

The woman released another chocked sob and shuddered, casting a weak arm vaguely to forest to the east of the convoy.

''That way! There were only three of them but..one was...''. Her pupils visibly narrowed in terror, and another convulsive tremor wreaked her frame before she slumped back down onto her behind.

''Shade...''




((Pretty much jump in as and when opportunity presents itself, kiddies! Naturally you can have a few standard soldier NPC's to slaughter applicable to both sides. ))

[Kathena]

Silis froze as the dragon reached into her mind. After the dragon spoke, the werecat relaxed her shoulders slightly. She had stopped tossing around her dagger once the emerald Eldunari had spoken. Blinking slowly to take in what had happened before turning towards the cart. A small smile flashed on her face before her dipped her head. She had wished to bow to the dragon, even if he could not see her. Carimiev, Alfakyn. She greeted to the dragon in her mind. Their is an elf women ahead. Ozig is talking to her, and she is saying something has killed her companions.

The short, black haired humanoid had the feeling to put her dagger away, but she couldn't bring herself to it. She didn't like that elf, and she really wanted to know what she was thinking, but she did not do magic. She wished she could look into her mind, but she was only a werecat. Of course, Silis adored being a werecat and would never give it up for anything. The humanoid tried to rake the soil with her claws, until she realized she wasn't in werecat form. So, instead, she simply dug her dagger into the ground. Lifting it out of the dirt, she examined the blade. It was slightly dull, which wouldn't do in her part. A nearby rock sat beside her so she gentily scraped the blade againest its rough surface. She overlooked it once more before giving an approving nod. Then she glanced at Amanes before looking back towards the cart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanes smiled sweetly when she heard Carimiev speak. Then she reached her own mind out to Silis's so she could hear her adopted sister as well. The elf swayed back and forth as the werecat spoke as well. She wondered what the elf wanted to do with the patrol, but she honestly don't care. As long as the stranger stayed away from the cart, Amanes was not bothered by her presence. Yes sir. The elf seems quite troubled. She said softly.

Amanes' silver armor gleamed in the sunlight that shone through the tree limbs. She personaily didn't want to wear her armor the whole time they were escorting the cart throughout the Spine, but it did not seem as if she had much of a choice. Her expression had brightened within the last few minutes, but sweat still clung to her brow from walking all day in her armor.

[Ash & Jackle]

Ash finnaly reached the battlefield. It had taken a day from when Galbatorix told him to go, and he was already late.

Better late then never, right Iormúngr

You humans and your sayings.

What?

Nothing.

Flying over the battlefield, Ash noticed it was getting very up close and personal. He didn't want to get into that. Muttering a small spell, he turned Iormúngr and himself invisible. It took quite a toll on his strength, and he had nothing to take from. He had long since depleted all his dad had left in the quartz on the end of Zar'rocs Ilian.

Iormúngr, stay above for a little bit. I will keep us invisible as long as I can.

You want my help Ash?

No need Iormúngr I am fine. I will tell you if I need your help

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whats going on out there. There is quite the commotion. I wonder if they need my help. Jackel thought to herself. She reached out with her mind and noticed a lot of things. The foremost was that her old teacher, Carimiev was surprisingly nearby. She also noticed the Dragon and Rider high up. They must be new. They didn't notice her presence yet. She reached up and looked for who they were affiliated with. She found his name, Ash. Then he noticed her and started putting up a fight. She thought it was admirable, but with one flick of her thoughts, she broke through his defenses. He and his dragon, who she learned was named Iormúngr. That name sounded familiar. Like a bad echo in her head. She finally stopped his movement, and looked for who he was. She found he was Empire, both forced and willingly. She stopped his spell by severing the flow of his magic, and kept him at bay, waiting for the Varden to find him. She contacted Carimiev saying Who should I tell about these two?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash noticed the presence in his mind soon after it found his name.

Oh no! It's looking for who I am allied to! he thought, and started to throw up defenses around his mind, concentrating on a picture of Iormúngr. It didn't work, because with a flick of thoughts, the presence asserted dominance over him and Iormúngr. It must be strong to be able to stop both of us! The presence found he was serving the Empire, and cut off his magic feeding the spell keeping him and Iormúngr invisible. Ash backtraced over the lance of thought that kept them imobilized, and realized it was a she, and more importantly it was a dragon. But there were no dragons in the area except for one he recognized as Emirayal's dragon, Firern. So where was this one? He also noticed that this mystery dragon was contacting another one. One called Carimiev. Where were these dragons?

[Cloquet]

Aldric wiped the sweat off of the side of his face. Though he didn't dare take his helmet off just yet. The sun was very annoying, it had been unbelievably hot lately, especially during the past week starting with the battle of Belatona. The Spine did seem very dry, he hadn't been in it very often, but he knew that it was drier then he remembered. Of course he could just be hallucinating the heat some how, considering how tired he was. Last night he had been practically drunk from lack of sleep and only managed an hour or so of sleep. He glanced back around the group of Varden soldiers, wondering how many of them were just as tired if not more then him. The Bears were important so they could either have plenty of sleep or no sleep for a week. Aldric shook his head and tried to refocus his thoughts once again.

The woman up ahead in the path seemed to be scared of something. Maybe she was legitimately in trouble. Though he knew that something bad was about to happen. Aldric looked around to see if he could read anyone's expressions, but stopped when he noticed that Amanes had suddenly smiled. What's she smiling about? He lifted a brow, but knew that it probably wasn't anything important. For all he knew she could be talking with Sillis telepathically. He looked back over to the front of the group. He shuffled slowly, closer to the head of the gathering, brushing past the occasional soldier. The woman was saying things and he could barely make out what it was. He stopped, about five feet away from the carriage, his armor brushing the shoulder plate of another soldier. He stood up on his toes trying to see past the larger soldiers. A slight breeze picked up some sand and blew in his face, forcing him to blink and let out a small cough. He wiped his face again then looked up.

He took a few more steps, but stopped once again, this time frozen by what he had just heard. “Shade.” was that really what the woman had just said? It couldn't be! It just couldn't. Or could it... He felt a shiver run down his spine and suddenly the heat seemed to morph into a still cold. The probability of a shade being here at this moment was... likely... considering the Varden seemed to take this load with importance. Aldric looked upwards for a second at the clouds floating across the sky. Whoever is up there... please protect us... He didn't know exactly who he meant by us but he felt like they needed some kind of divine protection if the woman had in fact uttered the word shade.

[Emiryal ♕]

Carimiev didn't answer Amanes nor Sills for a moment. It wasn't unusual for him to be quiet like this. He was thinking about what they had told him and the situation. Finally he spoke, Tread cautiously, this does not seem right. But help the elf if you can, he advised. He sent both words and the emotion of unease.

It seemed odd that a shade would leave the elf alive and only kill her companions. Something was not right. But if the woman spoke true then to not aid her would be to loose a potential ally.

Carimiev felt his old apprentice's pressence. He was a little frusterated with her for what she'd done. She could've given away the Varden's seceret that they had Eldunari. But at the same time he was proud of her. The information would be useful. Do not let them get away, he warned. A rider and dragon are a formitable foe. Tell Aldric and Ozig and I will tell Amanes and Sills, he said. Ozig was in charge of this patrol and the others were good warriors.

He brushed Amanes' and Sills' minds again. There is a rider and dragon above. I don't know if there are more or what his intention is. Be weary. I will assist you should they attack, he said.

~~~

Emiryal stiffened when Vulnar gave him the signal. It was time to act now. He nodded and quickly scaled Firern and strapped himself into the saddle. I don't trust her either, it seems that's the one thing that even the Varden agree with us on, Emiryal said. He despised the Varden though. We will reinforce her at the front. When he didn't trust her that made his choice a dangerous one. If she turned on him he'd be fighting her and the Varden. It was a risk he was willing to take though.

There was a constant energy drain from him. He was protecting some of the Empire soldiers from pain and making them the laughing dead as the Varden called them. The spell was complex and required constant energy, though when they went into battle the engery drain would be significantly more.

Emiryal cast yet another spell to silence Firern's movements. Firern was already hidden and more or less invisible but the new spell would keep sharp ears in doubt. As soon as the spell finished Firern spread his black wings and took off. He took off nearly straight up so he wouldn't clip Vulnar or Freki with his wings. He assended quite high before he leveled out and glided high above the tree's. He circled to the right before he angled towards the Varden. He'd attack from straight on.

Emiryal saw Ash and Iormúngr appear. What were they doing? They were going to give the Empire's move away. He reached out intending to ask them what was going on when he brushed another conciousness that belonged to neither of his allies. He was about to cast a spell to hide them and then help him drive off the other conciousness, but Firern stopped him.

Stop, you need your strength for what we are about to do. If you waste your energy we won't be able to capture or resist the Eldunari. We have more important matters and they aren't in any danger right now, Firern said his voice like a mountain stream.

Emiryal tightened his grip on the pomel of his sword. I know, he said and abandoned the words he had been about to speak to restore Ash and Iormugr's invisibility. It was enough of a drain on him to protect the soldiers and hide him and Firern. He needed to conserve his energy to confront any Eldunari.

Firern was now in position and tucked his wings in and dropped to gain speed. Just as he was approaching the Varden he flared his wings out and landing right behind the woman and bathed those nearest her in black flames. He was big enough to block the road.

[Ash & Jackle]

Oh and Carimiev, they know about the Eldurani. Or at least heard of the fact that dragons can live after their bodys die. Jackle thought, then released the contact, having to focus, as the rider was fighting back. As soon as he had done, Jackle reached out for Aldric and Ozig. There is a Rider and Dragon above us. They are with the Empire. I will hold them as long as I can. Rally troops around the dragon. Stop him at all costs. He knows about us. And with that, Jackle turned back to the rider and dragon who she was holding. As soon as she turned her attention back, a great probe came from the dragon, Iormúngr, weaking her. She then felt the rider, Ash, probe her, and her defenses fell swiftly. She could no longer control them, as she needed to stay in control of her thoughts, and not let these two Riders of the Empire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash heard, from the connection he had with the dragon, that the dragon told her to keep him in the air, and to tell the patrol leaders. She also told him the Empire had information about these two. He put up a small fight, enough to make her question if he was trying to get free, or if he was struggling to move his body. She told two of the Varden, and when she was turning her attention back, her concentration wavered, and Iormúngr struck at her with his mind. Then Ash followed quickly after, and caused her to release him and Iormúngr, and let the energy of Ash's spell flow again. They turned invisible quickly, and flew down swiftly, to where Eniryal and Firern was. Ash let the spell fade, and told Emiryal what had occured with their magic, and the dragons, and how the Eldurani, as this dragon had said to her former master, Ash had also found out, stopped him, and where they were approxamatly, able to hold the dragon, Jackle as he found out, at bay. He knew this Carimiev or whoever it was, would start attacking as soon as he gave Jackle enough leeway. He sensed Jackle's supprise at how powerful and strong Ash and Iormúngr were.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jackle thought quickly. They told their partner about her and Carimiev. She tried again to regain control, and this time succeeded in throwing Ash and Iormúngr, and stopped them again. She then started shuffling through their memories for their True Name, which she knew could stop them. She found they were struggling again. She made sure to focus on them this time. They told an elf. She knew she couldn't stop him, without losing her hold on Ash again, so she pulled out of their memories, and focused on keeping her thought blanket on their minds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash noticed that Jackle was attempting to regain control of him. On the third attempt, she regained it, and searched their memories for their True Name. She had also cut his magic off again, so he could not try anything funny. She focused on the job at hand, and stopped both him and Iormúngr. She even stopped Ash and Iormúngr from talking with their minds. She pulled out of their memories, and kept their minds in her control. No doubt she was waiting for the elfs and Varden to surround them.


(OCC: Nedra, there would be no energy drain. In the books, Arya said it was a small spell, and only required the smallest amount of energy to preform.)

[Kathena]

Silis lifted her head up at the sound of Carimiev's voice. Empire Riders in the Spine? She had thought that they had doen farely well in sneaking away from Belatona, but she guessed she was terribly wrong. If she was in werecat form she would have lashed her tail, but all she could do was dig her knife into the soil even harder.

Yes, sir. I swear that I shall protect you and the Eldunani. I am no match to a Rider, but I will try my best. Besides, the sight of an Empire Rider means I can finally get my revenge. She said, a nasty grin growing on her face. Shaking her head, she quit the goofy grin. The humanoid's sharp emerald green eyes narrowed as she stood up. Silis glanced down at her robes and noticed how filthy they were. Of course she never wore armor in case she wished to turn into a cat in the middle of the battle. It was easier to excape from blows in werecat form. Although her river rock necklace and her dagger would always remain with her. She could get more robes, but never those. Silis brushed the dirt off of her robes with her hands before looking at Aldric and Ozig, wondering if they knew about the rider nearby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanes stood shocked, at the news of the enemy rider. The elf didn't speak at first, but she nodded her head gracefully. She didn't want to see another Empire rider. She had seen plenty of Varden riders who she enjoyed seeing, but the ones loyal to the Empire frightened her slightly. She didn't have power anywhere close to their's. She had magic and swordmaship like they did, but she did not have a dragon. And she didn't think of herself as the kind of person that a dragon would choose. She would have to go on fearing them her whole life.

Thank you, Carimiev. We appericate the help. She thought. The curly haired elf unsheathed her sword, the sound of it scraping againest her belt echoing through her ears. Sighing, she examed the blade of her sword. It seemed sharp enough for battle. She exchanged an aquirred glance with Silis before blinking her chocolate eyes. The truth was, she didn't want to fight the Empire again. They had not beat them in Belatona, but that doesn't mean they have not recovered yet.

[Cloquet]

Aldric looked around cautiously, expecting something to jump out at him at any moment. His fears were realized when he felt a presence press against his mind, Dang magicians always picking on us without majic! He shouted in his mind as he tried to focus on one thing, which was really very hard for him. Soon he was thinking about many things, about how bright the sun was, then about radient Amanes's hair looked in the sun. He stopped though when he didn't feel an attack and was very relieved to find that some one was only contacting him.

An enemy Rider?! He was even more terrified now. If there was a shade and a Rider then they had no chance. It probably wouldn't be best to think like that but he couldn't help it. Whoever had contacted him asked him to rally troops... Him? Out of all people? maybe he had made an impression during the battle of Belatona but he highly doubted it. He was definatley not a fit match for a Rider, the only way he could see himself fighting a rider was if he were a rider himself, and that was sure to never happen. Hogs would sooner sprout wings and take to the skies before a dragon chose him.

He glanced over to Amanes and Sillis, who both looked like they were ready to fight. Obviously they had been told of the Rider as well. Not sure what to think then he thought to the entity, Umm... Thank you. It was important to be respectful after all this person had helped them out. Glancing over to some soldiers he was about to gather a group of tough looking warriors to help him when a black dragon dove down behind the woman. A jet of flames poured from it's maw and Aldric felt himself instinctively fall to the ground in an attempt to avoid the blast of heat.

After he felt like the flames had stopped he put his arms down and glanced around. Lots of soldiers that had been nearest to the front had been burned to a crisp and he could see that those who had survived were now being stabbed by a torent of Empire soldiers flooding out of the woods and from behind the rocks. Now was the time to act, he had no more time to think left. Aldric looked over to some of the Bears and shouted, "Ozig to me! We have to take that dragon down!" He wasn't sure if Ozig had heard his desperate cry, but it was worth a shot. In no time soldiers were upon him and he had no room to think anymore.

[Kathena]

Amanes blinked in surprise as black dragon appeared behind the women on the path. The elf watched as he began to open his mouth, but she didn't give it another thought. She dived towards the ground, falling among the smooth, green grass as flames baked the air above her. She could feel the heat lashing out at her, but she simply kept her eyes shut in terror until the heat disappeared, and the black fire was extinguished. The dirty blonde haired elf's eyes fluttered open as her mind processed what had just happened. It was the Empire dragon from Belatona.

Amanes reached for her sword which had fallen beside her and gripped it tightly. She slowly stood up and lifted her sword, not caring to brush the dirt off her armor. Her mind swirled with thoughts, but the main question she wondered was this: Are Aldric and Silis ok? She glanced over at Aldric who was warning Ozig with a desperate cry. The warriors in front of him seemed slightly burned, their bare skin was white from the flames. There were soldier running out of the forest and strait towards them. Then she glanced over at Silis who seemed to be doing alright.

Amanes turned towards the soldier closest to her, her chocolate brown eyes blazing with angry. He ran up to her and lifted his sword as if the bring it down on her. The enemy's sword gleamed in the sunlight before beginning to come down, but the elf's agility was too quick for him. Amanes swung her sword to block him, only relaxing her tense shoulders once she heard the metal clink together. "Don't expect to burn others and not get burned back," She whispered as a sweet smile grew on her face. The soldier blinked in confusion, which made Amanes bat her eyelashes in pleasure. He didn't seem to know what she was capible of. Well, I can't do much. She thought. But this is what I can do. "Brisingr!" She said quietly. The soldier's eyes widened as a tiny flame appeared on his mail shirt. She knew he could easily put it out, but her word choice had pleased her in a way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silis's emerald eyes widened a the fire exploded out of Firern's mouth. She was out of reach of the flames, for she was crouched right beside the cart. I promised I wouldn't let anyone touch the cart. She reminded herself, but an anxious feeling swept of her and a myschievious grin grew on the humanoid's face. It was Emiryal and Firern! Now she could finally get the revenge she so very much longed for. Sure she might get hurt along the way, but a healer could fix that. She flipped her long, sleek black hair out of her face.

Silis slowly reached for her river stone necklace, her sharp gaze fixed on the dragon. As her fingers touched the stone she clutched it and made a silent wish. She wished to Azahel and her mother that anger would not consume her forever. That if she got her revenge or not today, that she would live a happy life anyway. She sighed, and loosened her grip on the necklace's charm. Her arm dropped to her side and she gripped her dagger instead. This wasn't time to wish though. The Empire's soldier were nearly upon her already. Bearing her teeth as if she were in werecat form, she snarled.

[Ash & Jackle]

Ash pushed against Jackle again. Feeling Jackle recoil, like she was slowly failing to keep him back. Either that or she was distracted, Ash pushed again, and Jackle redrew. Ash didn't push back. As long as she was gone, Ash and Iormúngr decided together they would attack a few of the Varden. He stepped up to a few, and releasing the magic that had been keeping him and Iormúngr invisible, stabbed Zar'rocs Ilian through one guys chests, and he fell backwards. Ash ran forward, and using a spell his old master had taught him, shouted "Böetq brisingr!" and set two more Varden on fire. By the time he got to the fourth and fifth, they had gotten their swords out, and were warily approching when Iormúngr swooped in and blasted fire over their heads. They jumped down, onto the ground, just as the fire passed over their heads. Ash then quickly beheaded them with one stroke as they tried to get up. Twirling quickly he blocked a sword that was heading to his neck. He quickly dispatched the soldier, and moved on, going towards the cart where he knew Jackle to be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jackle felt Ash pushing harder and harder. She was slowly pulling out, needing to save her strength just in case on of Ash's friends came after her. Eventually she pulled out enough, he was able to throw off her influence. She then let her mind see all, and be a receptive void for all of the Varden men's fears, and noticed that some of the Empire soldiers were painless. She quickly found where the Ash and his friends were, and told Carimiev so he would know.
I found the two. We need to tell people about them. Ash is fighting his way here right now. Please help me.

[Kathena]

Silis glanced at Emiryal and Firern longingy, but then she noticed a flicker of movement of of the corner of her eye. The humanoid whirled around and spotted Ash strolling towards the cart. That set Silis' mind ablaze. Did he really think he could just walk up to the cart and take what he wished? No, it would have to be much harder than that. She wouldn't going to give Carimiev and Jackle without a rough fight. He might be able to kill the normal humans with ease, but a werecat is alot harder to a human. She thought with an over confident smile.

"So, you are a human rider?" Silis asked Ash. She thought about how weak Ash thought she must look, for she was barely over four feet tall, but she was more than what she looked. "Well it's nice to meet you. You seem to really wish to get to this cart, huh? I wish I could say I wanted to let you, but that would be lying. How about a fight?" She asked twirled her dagger throughout her fingers. She knew she was talking big, yet she was a werecat and he was a human. She could easily beat him, except for his magic and his dragon. Yet, she still had a good chance.

I can't break my vow. She told herself, but really there wasn't much she could do but fight her best. Silis made a promise she almost couldn't keep, and maybe now she would pay for it. Sighing, the humanoid gripped her dagger tightly, waiting for Ash to strike.

((OK, please don't kill her or hurt her in one post. Please just say he is about to strike and let me react. Sorry, but I really don't wish to loose this character.))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanes watched as the soldier standing in front of her franticly picked up dirt and tossed it on his burning mail shirt. He's not very good at this, is he? She thought in amusment. She just stood there, watching and waiting. Finally, the dark haired soldier looked up at her like she was crazy. "Oh, come on. Don't look at me like that, just fight." She said smoothly, taunting the young man. He just raised his dull sword and ran at her, aiming the blade inbetween her ribs. Amanes simply hopped out of the way od the dumb soldier and slashed her sword across his throat. The man's eyes widened and stared blankly in front of him until he collapsed. Amanes sighed and shook her head in displeasure. How stupid can Empire soldier possibly get? She asked herself, wondering if they even go throught training.

Amanes stood their, her silver sword glittering in the sunlight, waiting for another soldier to fight. The elf didn't like standing still for so long though. She soon got bored of waiting, and she allowed her mind to reach out. She was searching for someone to search their memories, or at least stun them enough to have a quick, short fight.

[Emiryal ♕]

Ash & Jackle: oh I forgot about that detail. sweet okay then Emiryal will be able to keep them painless soldiers for pretty much the whole time then.

I'd expect they would know about Eldunari, or at least that vile Galbatorix would and told them, Carimiev said to Jackle. He observed as chaos broke out. He remained aware of what the elf and the werecat were should they need his help. He reached out with his mind and found the painless soldiers of the Empire. He broke into one of their minds and found out the spell had been provided by Emiryal. There were at least two Empire Riders that he knew of now.

His mind brushed against Firern's and Emiryal's. He wasn't attacking but just observing. However, he sensed satisfaction from them as he touched their minds. The Empire knew or suspected what was in the cart and he'd just confirmed that unintentionally to the Empire Rider.

He attacked Emiryal's mind. His expertise and age should've made it an easy task but he found resistance not just from Emiryal but Firern and another mind. A mind he recognized as Isikal. That caught him off guard and prevented him from penetrating any of their minds.

Then Jackle told him more of Ash. The Empire had planned this well. Calm yourself Jackle and focus, he advised before attacking Ash mentally. Ash was the closest threat and needed to be stopped.


~~~


Emiryal watched as some of the Varden soldiers perished from the flames. He seemed to not care that they had died. He grinned as Aldric called for another by a name he did not know. He doubted they be able to really take down Firern. Emiryal himself had placed many wards around him. Just then Carimiev attacked his mind the attack stopped as quick as it had started. So they did have Eldunari with them. His mission would have to come first before he proved Aldric wrong.

He loosened the straps on the saddle and in one fluid motion he jumped from Firern's back and drew both twin swords. "Thrysta vindr!" Emiryal shouted as he struck the ground. The spell blasted aside some of the Varden soldiers and cleared a path to the cart. He ran straight for the cart. Any soldiers that managed to get in his way he slew.


~~~


Firern roared in defiance as he saw the dead or harmed soldiers from his flames. He didn't dare burn them again or risk catching the Empire soldiers in the blaze. Instead he swung a massive claw at Aldric.


~~~

Isikal watched the ambush. It wasn't until Emiryal's mind was attacked that she fully started paying attention to who was in this battle. She jumped into the mental frey without hesitation and found Carimiev's presence. She had meet him only once, but she had certainly heard of him. Then he withdrew from the attack. Then she realized Emiryal was running for the cart. He was going to capture Carimiev she realized. She wanted to scream no and to turn on Emiryal but her oaths would not let her do any such thing.

[Ozig]

It all happened so fast. One moment Elgrim was talking to a troubled girl and the next a black dragon had swept in and spit its jet of flame directly at him. Elgrim miraculously survived the charring flames, but he did get badly burnt. As the empire soldiers charged, Ozig and the bears sprinted to Elgrim, picked him up and dragged him aside behind a large boulder. Ozig was in a frenzy. He ruthlessly slaughtered all his opposers. He was seeing red. That was his little brother who was badly burned. Ozig was supposed to take care of him.

He didn't hear Aldrics cry, but Ozig was rallying all available men to the carts. Ozig spotted the Dragon's rider as the dragon tore through the Varden men nearby. Ozig continued to fight, and then saw the rider making a beeline for the cart. Ozig sprinted at the rider and jumped at him, attempting to blindside him and tackle him from the side. It was going to be another long, hideous battle. WIth a dragon to take on, Ozig didnt know what they'd do.

[Cloquet]

((umm... I feel like I should warn that there is some 'graphic' violence in this post, it kind of depends on your definition of graphic though. I don't think it's graphic enough to need revising, but if it does I'll figure something out...))

Aldric grimaced as he noticed that the Bears hadn't noticed him. He wasn't sure how exactly this was going to work out. He didn't have time to devise a clever plan of any sort. The Empire had planned this very well, they may be fighting for the wrong reasons, but they were not fools. He looked over quickly to see that Amanes was joining the fight as well. Still even with help from the elves he couldn't see them winning this one just yet. His heart sunk again as he looked back towards the battle, the feeling of fear starting to creep in again.

He swung his sword at another soldier, grazing the surface of the man's chest plate. The man stepped forward in a jabbing motion, a motion that Aldric would have blocked if they had been fighting hand to hand combat, but instead he imitated what he had seen others do, what he believed to be a perry. It was clumsy and he felt the sword hit the side of his armor with a dull thud, but he had blocked the main part of the attack. Then he clenched his fist, put his sword hand around the man's neck and pulled him into a jab. The man fell to the ground, unconscious, and Aldric moved on to the next.

Before he could though a dark silhouette blotted out the sun, he could barely make it out from the corner of his eye. It was a huge claw, the claw of the black dragon, and it was aimed straight for him. He had no time to react at all, there was little he could do. He tried to quickly jump out of the way, but the claw caught along the right side of his body. With a loud snap pain jolted through his body and he felt himself fly backwards and hit his head against a few rocks. Sounds around him muffled and his vision blurred into almost nothing, but he clung onto consciousness with every fiber of his being. His right arm stung, and he didn't know what had happened to his sword, but he knew that his shield was a few feet away from him. He gasped for breathe, as he fought back the pain that swelled in his arm, like his blood was liquid fire. I have to get up. He told himself sternly, though his body disagreed with him. There was no way he'd let himself die at that moment, no it wasn't time yet.

He forced himself to his knee, being careful not to use his right arm. The battle was some distance away and as far as he could tell there were no soldiers about to stab him. With a tremor he felt his right arm, realizing with horror that his arm had been dislocated. It would be hard to relocate it with armor on, but he had to try. He grabbed his arm, twisted it and pulled it straight in front of him. His teeth gritted as it flared up under his skin, every nerve crying out in pain. Then it instantly stopped once he felt it pop back in place. Kind of anti climatic. “Right, you're going to pay for that one day dragon.” He swore under his breathe. At the moment though he had to focus on rejoining the battle as soon as possible. He had no idea how long he had been out it could have been hours for all he knew!

As he took his shield from the dirt he felt the fog in his head begin to clear and he marched straight towards the battle, which was still going on. A soldier noticed him and lashed out. Aldric managed to block with his shield then push his shield into the man to stun him. He pushed him again then punched his jaws, feeling the joints snap apart under his knuckles. Then he grabbed the man's sword and began to swing once again, being cautious of how close he was to the dragon. It wouldn't be good if he was hit again.