Fire Emblem: The Path of Valor

[Jessica]

OOC


The kingdom of Vaea, a beautiful and prosperous land built near the blue of the Evlon ocean. A glorified territory with landmarks that brought plenty of guests from neighboring and even rival kingdoms. Some of those tourists even ended up becoming citizens due to the beauty the kingdom had to offer, which helped the Vaean population grow exponentially. For many generations the Kings and Queens of Vaea preferred to have their kingdom embrace the natures surrounding them over destroying it all to make a traditional kingdom. The Exhalt appeared to be indifferent, and so left the ways of their land untouched. The people were happy, but the life of the royal family could be so much better.

It had been 8 weeks since the disappearance of the Vaean princess. After a meeting with a neighboring kingdom turned hostile, the royal siblings had been forced to retreat in different directions within the safety of the forest. The prince and Exhalt returned safely to their home, but the princess had not been in sight. Worry grew, but hope remained that the princess had gotten sidetracked and would return soon. She had her retainers; they would sooner die than let anything happen to her... The night turned to days, days became weeks, and those weeks had become months. It seemed like she and her retainers would never return. The Exhalt's hope gradually faded. That hope turned to belief that perhaps the Vaean princess may have fallen in battle... Or is suffering a fate worse than death itself.

On this day though, the peaceful days of the kingdom would come to an end. A scream from a village man as an unknown warrior dressed as an Abian attacked him. Behind him came and flew more. All with various clothing with weapons just as sharp. The village drastically grew into a panicked state, the villagers trampling over each other and locking themselves into basements to try to escape the bloodshed. A massacre ensued of these innocent villagers, with no one knowing if there were any survivors left. With no lives left to take, the Abians moved forward, into the kingdom and advancing towards the castle of Vaea. But of course, they couldn't leave the citizens alone either, which led to another battle. The warriors of Vaea fighting hard to protect the innocent civilians.


Sapphira, by her commander's word, was forced to alert the prince at once of the oncoming attack. The Abian soldiers seemed to have been weakened, but they only had so much time before a lone group of them would make it to the castle. One may have not been a problem, but with the amount of them arriving, it wouldn't be impossible if the royal family were to fall due to the numbers rather than the physical strength these Abians held. So, without hesitation, Sapphira quickly arrived to the castle front and burst her way in.

"Milord!" She called for him, rushing quickly through the castle until she was in front of him. "Milord, soldiers of Abia, they breached the borders into the kingdom a-and they come to the castle." Sapphira warned.

 

[Sairoh]

From his perch at the library table, Ansael looked up with a nigh imperceptive crease in his brow. His fingers tightened around the fire tome that he'd been leafing through, as he recognized the entree, and the news she had brought. "Sapphira..." the prince ran a hand through his hair, distraught. "First Aria goes missing, then this... Naga, what has the world come to?"

War, in theory, was not a foreign concept to Ansael. In between the pages of his textbooks, he had been spared no expense of war's glory, as well as its gore. Tactics were also a staple of his lessons - though peace had reigned, it was tradition for nobility to be able to command. And yet, nearly all of his theoretics seemed to slip away, like a thief in the night the moment war came off the pages and into reality.

That was, nearly.

Ansael stood up and snapped the tome on the table shut, before tucking it away into its holster at his hip. "What is the state of the Abian's advance, and of our defenses? Surely there must be some route to escape if necessary... And," Ansael paused. The crease in his brow deepened with a trace of worry - the lone sign of his hesitation, despite his otherwise impassive face. "Where is the Exalt?"

 

[WhiteAngel]

From what had gone from a peaceful morning inside the walls of the kingdom had turned into a nightmare and quickly. Raela through her time here for many months had been adjusting to her new life and it was a very welcome one indeed. Her own house, a simple business and a willingness to help others however she desired. She had grown to care about her new rulers and she too contributed worry as the days, months and weeks went by. It only took one spark to ignite the fire and that spark was a seemingly innocent villager which soon spread panic and worry for all those around her.

"Take whoever is wounded and sit them upright or lay them down! Apply pressure to wounds if needed!" She called to the civilians that lendes their assistance to her as Raela found herself going back and forth with as much medicine she could carry for tending to the injured but it never seemed to be enough for how much had been inflicted. Quickly cutting some cloth and tying it tightly around the wounded area of her patient she gave a reassuring smile and nodded "rest for now, you've done enough for one day" she said quickly gathering her things and moving to another suffering more wounds than the last as the cycle kept repeating.

"The quicker we fend this attack off...the quicker I can tend to everyone...and rest at ease of not being found..." the thought went through her mind as she kept her hood firmly in place to hide her horns and scales. Her tail was tucked inside her coat however her scales on the hands and upper arms were not always so easy to hide. In Vaea, Raela could walk with ease and not have to worry about her features. But when urgent matters like this soon arised, she worried that she'd be found, and taken as a prisoner but with so many still in need of her help, she wouldn't go quietly or without some sort of scuffle.

 

[Rax Rosetta]

The disappearance of the Vaean Princess Aria had created numerous problems for many parties involved, including a certain Tactician. Said tactician, Ansgar Staudinger, had recently excused himself from an emergency meeting with the Exalt herself, considering his new orders, and was moving through servant passageways at the given moment. Unlike the royalty or even some retainers, Ansgar preferred to move through the side tunnels and paths that ran throughout the castle itself. Such a sight, the Tactician of Vaea, moving through such places was such a commonplace thing to see now that he never got questioned or odd looks anymore. The man had more secrets than plans, which was saying something, yet the Exalt trusted him none the less. Such was this trust that he had been instructed to meet up with the Prince, who yet remained in the castle Library, according to the guards, and accompany him for the time being.

Slipping out a side door into the main throughway for a scant few moments, he entered the Library itself through a side door, well maintained and quiet in its operation, catching the warning from a Cavalier and the following questions from Prince Ansael, and a quiet yet firm voice came from Ansgar, speaking towards the Prince as he always did in the process. "Your Exalt is safe, Prince Ansael, though I suggest your thoughts linger not on such matters. However, you do live here Prince Ansael, surely you are familiar with the defenses and escape routes such a place would permit, no? How well do you think the castle is prepared for the Abian forces?"

Of course, Ansgar was well aware of the state of affairs within the Castle itself, but he wanted to see if the Prince was paying attention to his surroundings more than the tactician suspected he did. After all, cloistering oneself away in tomes and books was, while a fine way to pass the time, hardly an effective approach towards life itself. Being of same height as the Prince, Ansgar's silver eyes met the Prince's evenly, reading into any movement or action, though he had not dismissed from his attention the Cavalier, speaking to her without breaking off his gaze. "Ms. Sapphira, I believe your name was? If you would be so kind as to detail everything you recall about these Abian soldiers, at your earliest convenience, it would be greatly appreciated." Unsurprisingly to some, Ansgar had a great deal of distrust in the situation at hand, something was off, and it was, as of yet, beyond Ansgar's ability to detect what. But that only made him more concerned, if nothing else, and it was another item added to the lists and plans he kept in his head.

 

[Jessica]

She had been about to answer the prince's question, but instead another man appeared. One with a cloak who seemed to have the same cheery face as the Vaean prince... Now wasn't the time to think about that. This person was asking good questions; perhaps he was the adviser or the tactician... Sapphira was the only one who could give them answers, and she couldn't waste any more time when her comrades were dying at every second she spent listening.

"Yes of course. These soldiers appear... otherworldly, to put it into words. They wear tattered clothing from the kingdom of Abia, but their skin is dark purple in color.. Their eyes glow, and once defeated they.. evaporate. These things seem to rely on numbers rather than strength, and they are surrounding the kingdom from all sides. My apologies for jumping the chain of command milord, but there is no time. Our numbers are wearing, and our defenses grow weaker. We are doing our best to protect the castle and the citizens.. but I fear the enemy will kill my comrades before Vaean reinforcements can arrive." Sapphira, as she spoke, was doing her best to keep it together. There would be no use in panicking in front of the prince.

 

[Rads]

West gate and side of Vaean kingdom, Ruby is fighting and dancing with the men they rise up and start pushing back some of the enemy's as they are inspired by her bloody but graceful dancing. He put slams his tail into one from above smashing him to the floor then quickly goes down and stamps on and quickly starts to rip him apart you can hear the screams for a mile as the soon to die soldier is about to become lizard food.

Ruby starts to sing this song and move to song I'm the battle demoness amvs - Bing video

They cry out saying" it's a demon in female form men run for your lives, A commander of them says" it's just one woman and her lizzard don't you dare flee, i will burn you down where you stand you worms". The men continue to run and say" Burn us then it sure as hell beats the shit out of being ripped to pieces like a chew toy ". The commander true to his word burns the ones running away and a new unit of flyers appears ruby and her pet retreat and allow the archers and so on to take them down.

After the archers and so on let loose smashing down the flyers, she rejoins the front lines and continues to smash and cut them down and loudly says" You're all so bloody weak you deserve to be mowed down like the dogs you are, is there not one man among you that can give me a fight i truly seek i want to hear out blades clash the sound of the struggle the sound of flesh being cut that is what it means to truly be apart of the battle field".

One men steps up and rushes her and she blocks with the blade and smiles widely and then swiftly turns on her heels to slash at his side. The man barely dodges the counter and the loud sound of ringing metal fills the air, in his mind' i've got to end this quickly this bitch is crazy and strong as hell my physical power won't last compared to her agility'.

 

[Sairoh]

Ansael turned around, startled. He had been near certain that he had been alone in his thoughts, as he always was in the vacant library. He registered the solemn outline of the Tactician of Vaea before anything else. The Tactician's presence was not entirely unfamiliar to the Prince - there were a handful of times Ansael had caught a glimpse of the shapeless figure, usually with the Exalt. And yet, there was an inherent air of mute elusiveness that seemed like it would always remain.

The prince slipped his eyes shut and let out an inaudible breath at the Tactian's words, slowly and steadily. Peace, Ansael. You need to calm down, he thought to himself. That's why you came to the library in the first place, isn't it? To stop that incessant worrying of yours, yes? Well, first you have got to calm yourself and start acting like a prince. When his eyes flickered open again, Ansael returned the Tactician's gaze with a level stare. Though they stood at the same height, the Prince couldn't help but feel that he was still shorter than the other man in stature. "I apologize if my priorities are askew," he replied, intent on giving nothing else of his misgivings away. "As for my perspective, I had hoped to learn more of the current situation by my inquiries over assumptions... as conditions in this time are surely apt to change."

Ansael then broke eye contact to look back at Sapphira when she spoke. His eyes widened slightly at the ghastly description of the Abian soldiers she provided. Purple skin? Vanishing corpses? It was terrifying to the Prince to even hear of such atrocious perversions of nature. Ansael waved off the cavalier's apology - there was, as she said, no time to waste. "We can pull back civilians and wounded soldiers to the castle. Though we do have a slightly more defensive hand, but so long as our offenses hold, we should be able to stall the enemy's advance and force them to retreat at the very least," the Prince paused to look at the Tactician.

"Are there any instructions from high command?" he asked pointedly. Though Ansael did have an idea of how to proceed, he was well aware of how easily he could become a liability in the midst of a potential seige. A reckless soldier was one issue, but a reckless prince was an entirely different kind of headache.

 

[Jessica]

Sapphira would have to be the bearer of even more bad news she felt. Though the prince's plan seemed fine, there was another issue needed to be mentioned. "Um, milord. These Abians do not speak, nor do they seem negotiable. Outside these castle walls, it's kill or be killed... I'm afraid "retreat" is not in the enemy's vocabulary." The cavalier explained to him. As far as she and the rest of her comrades were concerned, these Abians would not stop until the castle walls were painted red with royal blood.

 

[Sairoh]

Then our only option would be to get rid of the Abians entirely. Ansael concluded his thoughts. There were an innumerable amount of questions that the Prince left unsaid - How many were there left? How many of our own forces are left? However, the cavalier's urgency rang through above the conundrum of his thoughts. Now was not the time and place to be doubtful.

Ansael pursed his lips together. "Regardless, we must hurry," he spoke firmly. "Our time is short. We will speak as we go." With that, the Prince made way to the library door, in a rare show of forwardness. After a quick deliberation, he chose a path out through the castle side - the best vantage he hoped to get without being front and center. As he fell into a brisk pace, Ansael nervously traced the spine of the fire tome in the holster at his hip, the same spine he had traced at least a hundred times before, to ease the knot in his stomach.

 

[WhiteAngel]

The more time Raela spent on her patients, the more people became injured as she soon found herself almost overwhelmed and the enemy growing closer "God's...there's too many..." she said feeling lost as she helped who she could to their feet as she called out to those in panic or running for their lives "fall back! Fall back!" She called as she helped a wounded soldier to their feet as she carried them further inwards into the kingdom hearing the screams and angered cries of the enemies invading. "This is getting worse and worse...princess where are you?!" She thought again to herself losing a bit of hope as she slowly found herself getting cornered at all ends of their routes along with many of the villagers.

She growls taking a step backward soon against a wall as she shakes her head "Keep together! We will make it through this!" She calls trying to offer some sort of support to those around her but they were getting closed in on rather fast "Milord, Sapphira, princess...assist us in our time of need..." she prayed silently as she took the knife from her boot keeping it pointed backwards and gripping it tightly ready to strike if she so had to.

 

[Jessica]

"Wait!"

The Exhalt called before her brother, the Tactician, and Sapphira could leave the building. She was a tall woman, fully armored with long curly pink hair. As bright as what the Vaean royalty had been known for. She seemed apologetic in her eyes, but spoke once more.

"Forgive me Ansael, but I need Ansgar here to work out further plans. At this rate, the rest of the city will fall to these things before you and your group even finish fighting. I am sure soldiers and commanders will be happy to assist you.. Recruit as many as you can and do what you must."

 

[Sairoh]

The prince turned around sharply at the sound of the all-too-familiar voice that called out to them. His elder sister, or more importantly, the Exalt of Vaea. Despite the brewing conundrum, her presence alone set Ansael at ease. A token of respite. He shook his head at her apologies, waving them off. "There is nothing to forgive, sister," he replied with tender eyes. "Do as you must. We shall ward off our enemies as long as we are able." The prince pursed his lips, as if to say more, but chose not to. He offered the Exalt a short, but respectful nod as a farewell, then turned back to Sapphira.

"Let us go."

The moment Ansael stepped off of the castle steps was when direness of the situation became dreadfully apparent. The Vaean troops were falling back from the Abian advance with scores of injured soldiers strewn across the streets. Grimly, the Prince drew his tome out of its holster and pressed the pages open with his thumb, fully readied to cast. His goldenrod eyes darted across the sight before him, before latching onto a single point in the battle. Huddled against a wall was a small group of people with many injured among them, nearly surrounded by enemy soldiers. "Sapphira! There, against the wall," Ansael drew the cavalier's attention.