The War of Zethrex

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​Vitali laughed a bit at the Jenkins comment and took another drink of his gin.

"Yeah you'll do fine tomorrow. Word is most of our forces might be going after the Alliance. Something to do with their new Sky Fleet. Whatever it is, it's bound to be intense. Better show up for mission briefing if you don't wanna get left out of the action."

And with that, he turned and started walking back towards the bar.

"See you on the field, Rahn."
 
"Yeah you'll do fine tomorrow. Word is most of our forces might be going after the Alliance. Something to do with their new Sky Fleet. Whatever it is, it's bound to be intense. Better show up for mission briefing if you don't wanna get left out of the action." Vitali chuckled lightly.
KeRahn swung his tail side to side, though it was out of the range where it would Vitali would get clubbed with the spikes on it. "I will." He said simply.
"See you on the field, Rahn." Vitali said before turning around and jogging back to the bar.

KeRahn stared at the glass shards still littering the ground. He wondered what would actually happen if he abandoned the Purgers. Everyone would despise him and call him a coward. A selfish one. He leaned back again. Were you being a coward simply for trying to survive? If you were trying to avoid being shot down and dying, did that make you a coward? Being selfish wasn't bad to KeRahn, so that didn't really matter.
He thought about the battle. He hated fighting in crowds. There were so many people around you, all independent from you. Especially people he wasn't too fond of. Would he be ready? He would be.
In the distance, KeRahn spotted the bird he had stunned earlier. It was flying, starting to climb up into the sky. He quickly pulled out his sniper rifle and shot it again. It froze and plummeted to the ground once more. This time, however, it would never be getting back up.

KeRahn grinned. He didn't care.
 
The sun was shining, only a few whisps of cloud in the sky. Just looking outside you wouldn't guess that tomorrow the air would be filled with smoke, lead, and residual magics. Sieg cracked his neck, old habits, and walked across town, passing a few joggers running the other way. Squinting he could see a few forerunners of the skyfleet, blurry flying objects in the distance. 'Looked like intel was right on with this one, the fleet should be arriving just in time for tomorrow's festivities,' he mused to himself. A brief flicker of light caught his eye followed by a small white bird dropping out of the sky.

Sieg turned a glance up to the nearby tree, eyes moving along the length of the sniper rifle's barrel.
"Damn good shot. Heard we had a Thaash in our numbers, never seen one outside Okira." He grinned, "Name's Siegfried, TacOps 9th squad. You in a sniper squad? I'd hate to see talent like that go waste in a common infantry unit."
 
KeRahn let out a long yawn and leaned back farther. He closed his eyes for a few moments, only to be awakened by another person's voice.

"Damn good shot. Heard we had a Thaash in our numbers, never seen one outside Okira. Then the man grinned. "Name's Siegfried, TacOps 9th squad. You in a sniper squad? I'd hate to see talent like that go waste in a common infantry unit."
KeRahn's eyes moved to look upon his new visitor. "Thanks pal." He said gruffly, though the compliment did please him. "The Thaash are starting to become more widespread. Expect to see more of them outside Okira." KeRahn then pocketed his sniper rifle. He wouldn't need it now. "Nope, not in the sniper squad. Just an all-around guy kinda." KeRahn paused. "Tysuva, by the way. KeRahn Tysuva."
 
Sieg nodded, making a mental note, Tysuva. His eyes turned back to the skyfleet on the horizon, "Never been one for a lot of small talk, myself, so I'll just be forward. I was just on my way to command to request a sniper for tomorrow's op, as we're short one. If you can shoot that well under pressure, there just might be a spot for you in Tac9 if you want it. We're charged with capturing one of those monsters on the horizon there," a few more skyfleet vessels slowly crept into view at the range of Sieg's vision, "we need the coverfire."

Sieg turned his head focusing on KeRahn's face, trying to read whatever may be there.
"Think about it, I'll delay my request to command till this evening. I'm staying at the Fallen Ironwood Inn, send a message there for me if you want the position. I can try to swing it with command. In the meantime, I'll let you get back to your rest I interrupted." Siegfried began to walk off, "Enjoy it, tomorrow Hell begins anew."
 
A voice could suddenly be heard throughout the city, issuing an announcement.

"All military personnel, curfew will be in effect at 9 PM, which is in approximately 10 minutes. All personnel must report back to base and check in with your platoon leader inside your barracks before going to sleep. Anyone who fails to report back in time will be marked as AWOL. I repeat..."

The announcement repeated itself once and ended. The announcement didn't seem to have a source, like a speaker system or anything. It sounded as if it was coming from directly above you, no matter where in the city you were.



Shortly after the announcement from the Alliance military was heard, a tall, dark haired man wearing a long coat and pants stepped out of the Purger's hideout, which was disguised as an inn within the town. He raised his right hand up into the air, palm open, and shortly after, a small blast of golden energy shot out of it. It rocketed into the sky, only to explode in what resembled a fireworks explosion once it reached a high enough altitude. That was the signal for the Purgers to return to base as well. They wanted to be just as rested for tomorrow as the Alliance so as to not be at a mental disadvantage.
 
Aminta quickened her pace, lights out was coming soon. She still was having difficulty find her quarters, lifting the side of her pink dress that flowed around her legs. She began to jog, "My room has to be here somewhere." Aminta said between each breath. Those deep blue eyes glanced at each door, trying to find her name engraved into the wood. At the very end of the hall she finally found it, a small smile pulled at her full lips. With her free hand she reached out to grab the handle, jerking the door free she stepped inside.

A small twin sized bed with her own personal white sheets, and a comforter she had made herself. Each soft square held childhood memories embroidered into the pictures, taking a slow turn she found the oak wood trunk that held her clothes, and battle gear. The ones that had dropped off her things, didn't bother touching her private wardrobe. Walking over to the drunk she lifted the lid. Aminta took her time pushing through the different fabrics till she found her white silk night gown. Pulling her gown from her body she replaced it with her nightwear. Once satisfied with the transformation she moved towards her bed, flipping off her heels along the way.

The sound of rustling fabric resonated into the room, as she pulled back the sheets and jumped in. It did not take her long to fall asleep, she dreamed of the war that was coming to their very door step. Even memories of the death of her family invaded her mind. Tossing in turning she fell into the nightmare, begging for the sounds of the morning trumpet to awaken her from her slumber.
 
Mila sat on her new bed awkwardly. She shouldn't be here. She left years ago and highly doubts that anyone would look over the fact she left and see her accomplishments. Sighing she stands up and walks to the throne room to meet with the Archmage. Each step she took she felt a sense of impending doom bury deeper inside her core. She hoped that it was one of the Archmage's good days and she won't be punished too harshly.
Looking up Mila sees the door to the throne room and composes herself. Knocking and then entering she swallowed. Swiftly walking to the front of the room she bows, introduces herself and apologises.
 
Taiberius was sitting on his throne, having just finished a meeting with several high ranking officers and members of his inner circle. The others were exiting the room just after Mila entered. However, possibly the most imposing figure in the room, perhaps even more imposing than Taiberius himself, was standing next to the throne. It was a tall humanoid figure dressed from head to toe in what looked to be some kind of demonic heavy armor. He held an even more demonic sword, which was pointed to the ground in front of him, with both hands resting on the hilt of the blade. It was motionless, almost like a statue, except for the head, which, with glowing blue eyes, was staring intently on Mila, his gaze never ceasing, and seemingly never even blinking.
dark_knight_ver_2_0_by_reaper78-d3husr6.jpg


Taiberius looked to Mila, still wearing his helmet, and spoke in a deep, elderly sounding voice.

"What is it you want? Shouldn't you be preparing for tomorrow's battle? This better be important..."
 
Tasha frowned, "Of course, I didn't think I was the only one who had a depressing backstory. I just thought I shouldn't assume that everyone did." Hearing the announcement she turned her head and let out a slightly irritated sigh. "I guess we have to get back, don't we?" turning to look at him for a moment she turned to go. "...Good luck tomorrow," she said over her shoulder.
 
"I'm sorry Archmage but I would like to ask your permission to re-join the circle permanently" Mila explained nervously. She side glanced at the Humanoid figure before staring down at the floor afraid of the being. It wouldn't stop staring at her and that was freaking her out.
 
Taiberius was quick to reply, with the same tone of superiority and elderly wisdom as before.

"You left the Circle, but came back when war was declared. I don't know if you came back out of fear of death by the Circle, or if you came back because you truly wish to do your part in winning the war for us. And frankly, i don't care to hear why you came back. But i will give you the chance that you seek... IF you manage to prove yourself. Tomorrow, we will storm the island of Ki'ar, not far from here. You will not only take part in this battle, but if you really want your place back in this order, then you will be at the front lines, among the first of our forces to set foot on the island. If you manage to survive after we inevitably win the battle, then consider your wish granted. Understood?"

The armored figure standing next to Taiberius simply continued staring at Mila. It was almost impossible to tell whether or not it was a real person in the armor, or if it was just an automaton.



Kite nodded to Tasha, and replied in a slightly hushed tone.

"Good luck to you too."

"He then turned and started to head back to his barracks, along with a couple other groups of soldiers. He made his way in, checked in with his platoon leader, and prepared for bed. Tomorrow was the big day, and he was going to make sure he was well prepared.
 
KeRahn looked up the darkening sky, seeing the exploding fireworks far off. It was the signal that all Purgers were to go back to the base. KeRahn actually considered simply staying outside, but decided that he should sleep inside. It would probably rest him a lot more better than sleeping in a tree. And his superior officer's nuts would explode. So he jumped down from the tree and headed back to the base.
At his leg, his sniper rifle was bouncing off his leg. He had decided to take Sieg's offer. No harm in not, and it'd be better than having to fight alongside Jenkins. As he walked back, he went through the details of his plan to abandon the Purgers if things did not work out for them. After skimming through the details, he became satisfied. Soon the battle would begin.

He wouldn't want to miss it.
 
Collapsing against the door of the keep, Frostbite gave up trying to barge into the building. It wasn't until five minutes before the actual curfew was she let in. She grunted her thanks to the person who opened the door and then lumbered her way to her cot. With a small ump she landed on her sheets, face first. Groaning she turned herself over and stared at the bunk above her. Although very tipsy, Frostbite managed to grasp the insanity of what was going to take place tomorrow.

"We're all gonna die," she said to herself, shaking her head.

While the Alliance were large in number Frostbite did have some misgivings about going up against the Magi. She herself couldn't believe it when they announced the successful creation of the Fountain of Youth. And although she was a child at the time her gut told her how wrong it was for a human to create something so fantastic and disastrous. To be able to live forever and not age... The thought made her scoff.

The lights went off with a loud click and Frostbite still stared at the cot above her. Although it was absolutely silent in her barracks, Frostbite thought she heard the sound of warfare around her - the guns, the shouts, the planes. She inhaled deeply and silently sent a prayer for her continued existence in this world. Eyes closed, she could only replay her drills to send her off to sleep.
 
"Yes sir" Mila said standing up straighter than before, more confident. She bowed and walked quickly to the door before spinning around curiosity striking her mind. "One more question Sir, Who or what is that being beside you?" she asked
 
Sieg sat at his desk, new message from command awaited him there. Cracking the seal he perused its contents, excellent, KeRahn Tysuva, transfer approved.
 
Taiberius paused for a moment, perhaps a bit irritated at the question, or perhaps glad to explain it. One couldn't tell due to his helmet. But after the short pause, he spoke in the same tone as before, gesturing towards the being next to him as he explained.

"This is our most successful experiment in the field of automatons. His name is Damien. He was once like any other person here... But we fixed that. We wanted to create a more perfect automaton, one that was even more deadly and efficient, but without sacrificing the unquestionable loyalty and cold, calculating nature that they have. The result is what you see here... A human man with no soul. He is exactly as he was before, but without the disadvantages that emotions bring to a soldier. He will follow the orders given to him without question and without any hesitation, just like an automaton, but with all the power of a high ranking Magi. He is now my personal bodyguard. The perfect soldier, to serve the perfect mage."

He paused again, as if to let that information sink in to Mila, then, with a bit of a humored tone to his voice, he spoke again.

"And i suggest you get used to being around him, because he will be on the battlefield tomorrow. I advise you not to get in his way when that time comes..."
 
Mila stared at the Automaton with intrigue. She couldn't wrapped it around her head. How could a man be ripped of his soul and still be able to move and fight? The blood mage pursed her lips in thought before smiling up at the Archmage.

"I assure you Sir I will fight for you with all my heart and once I see you soldier on the battlegrounds I will move out of the way. For that is my duty as a mage on the frontlines of an important battle, I promise my blood" she said bowing to the elder and backing away to exit the room.

Once out of her room she walked back to her quarters excited to fight and regain her spot in the circle the next. Mila quickly packed everything she would need for the battle and laid down to let sleep take her.
 
"And when he gets to
HeavenTo Saint peter, he will tell:
'One more soldier reporting sir,
I've served my time in Hell.'"​
[DASH=blue]The following morning, at 6 AM, the Magi forces are awakened by various alarms setup throughout their quarters in the fortress. They had until 7 to eat breakfast and report in for final mission briefing. Once the briefing was set to begin, Taiberius Kamen, archmage of the Circle of Magi, took his position at the top of the grand staircase overlooking the enormous enrty hall to the castle-fortress where the soldiers were gathered. As he spoke, a large, seemingly holographic 3D image appeared over the soldiers. No matter what angle the soldier was looking at it from, it always looked the same, and changed to match whatever Taiberius was talking about. His voice was echoed throughout the room, with a tone of greatness and superiority.

"Greetings, my fellow Magi. Today is a truly a glorious day! For today, we begin our journey to supreme power! To destiny! Today is a day that will surely be remembered forever, as the day the Circle of Magi began it's rise to what will inevitably and ultimately become our Ascension to Godhood!"

There was a loud roar of pride in agreement from the large crowd of soldiers in the room. The noise began to die down shortly after, and ceased entirely as Taiberius spoke again.

"Today, we attack the island of Ki'ar, which is but a stone's throw from here, and conveniently enough, is also but a stone's throw from the mainland of Niros. This island will serve as the staging point for our push into the mainland. The first step towards total domination of the Alliance. Our warships are in the final steps of their preparation as I speak, and will be used as transport to Ki'ar. It should only take about 1 hour to reach the island, and you should expect a fair amount of opposition. The island is much smaller than our island nation of Qortic, but due to it's close proximity, it is expected that the Alliance will have established defenses accordingly. We do not know their exact numbers, but whatever they have should pale in comparison to the forces we will be sending. Not to mention the fact that the overall power of their military forces will be overshadowed by our own. Now, as you approach the island, our battleships will demolish whatever coastal defenses they have in place, allowing for the carriers to get close enough to release the ground forces onto the island. Once landed, you will establish a beachhead, and continue the fight deeper into the island until every last Alliance soldier and citizen has been eliminated. That is our overall battle strategy. Overpower them into annihilation. Now go!"

And with that, Taiberius dismissed the soldiers. They all funneled out of the room, gathering whatever gear and equipment they needed, and made their way to the docks to board the warships. The fleet, which consisted of all kinds of warships, from enormous battleships, to small frigates, was already setting up it's formation, and many ships were already loaded. Once all soldiers were loaded up, the fleet left port, and began the trip to Ki'ar. 7,000 soldiers were among the fleet, with over 1000 of those soldiers being mages from the Circle, the rest being made up of soldiers from the military of Qortic before the Magi took over.[/DASH]


The Alliance forces awaken at 5 AM to the sound of wardrums being played inside of each barracks. Final briefing was scheduled for 6 AM, giving everyone 1 hour to shower, eat, or whatever they needed to do beforehand. Once the time came and all of the officers were gathered into the briefing room, the commander took his position at the front of the auditorium-like room. He was a tall man, wearing standard military fatigues, with short brown hair. He spoke in a very authoritative voice.

"Ladies and gentleman, the time has come. Today, we make our first stand against the Magi. If we win this battle, it could very well lead to a quick end to the war. If we can prevent the Magi from expanding outward here, then we may be able to begin launching our own assaults on their home territory. So i cannot emphasize enough how important this mission is."

A holoprojector in front of the commander began displaying images according to the mission tactics.

"As you all know, the Sky Fleet has assembled here at the base, and will be our primary defensive force in this battle. These ships are state-of-the-art vessels capable of waging war from the skys. As far as we know, the Magi doesn't have anything like these ships, which gives us a tactical advantage over them. We can rain down cannon fire on them and drop troops directly to whatever part of the island we need them. If all goes according to plan, this advantage should prove invaluable to this mission. But remember, nothing ever goes according to plan. We have have the advantage, but don't let they get your heads. We don't know exactly what they're bringing to the table, so be ready for the worst possible scenario. Our mission is to fly to Ki'ar, and drive the Magi forces back by any means necessary. We MUST hold Ki'ar! I know that not all of you are native to Niros... But even if you're not, just remember that if we don't succeed, then it could be your home that gets hit next. Load up, and move out. And give em hell!"

The soldiers gave a cheer, and exited the room. Soldiers all over the base were suiting up, getting their gear, and loading onto the airships. Before long, the fleet began taking off. Over 100 warships and roughly 10,000 soldiers made their were making their way through the open skys towards Ki'ar.



At 6 AM, the Purgers were woken up by the sound of someone pounding on their doors and yelling for them to get up. The officers had already woken up by then and were about to start the final briefing downstairs in one of the backrooms of the hideout. It was a rather small gather, but professional. The leader of the that particular force was conducting the briefing for the other officers, using a casual and relaxed tone. He was the same person who had set off the fireworks signal the night before.

"Alright, here's the plan. We only have a force of 100 here, which I'm sure you all can imagine is hardly a force to be reckoned with compared to what the Alliance and the Magi will have. But that's why we've devised this plan. As many of you saw this morning, the last of the new Sky Fleet of the Alliance arrived earlier. Those ships are unlike anything we've seen before, and are a great technological advancement over the makeshift airships that we have been able to construct. With that in mind, it has been decided that our goal on this mission will be to hijack as many of those ships as we can in the middle of chaos created by the battle at Ki'ar. We will use our zepplins and other airships to fly out after the Sky Fleet has taken off and moved into battle. By the time we are even noticed, we should hopefully be close enough to the fleet that it will be to late for them to react, as they should already be in the middle of battle with the Magi. We may not have numbers, but we have the element of surprise, which can be just as useful. We will not be targetting any of the larger ships, as that would just be suicide... Though i realize that the entire mission might sound like suicide. At any rate, we will be targetting their smaller frigate and cruiser vessels. Once we have the ships, we can reverse engineer them and create our own sky fleet, perhaps even better than what they have. Each squad can take their own ship to the fight and I'll leave it up to you officers to decide which ships to you want to take. Once you manage to take over one of their ships, you need to immediately turn it around and fly it to our main HQ located in Tarrowdell. It's probly about a days worth of travel time with one of those ships. Each soldier will be equipped with a jump-jet pack to help jump from ship to ship. Whatever other equipment you bring is up to you and the rest of the soldiers. We still have a bit of time until we head out. Need to give the Alliance time to get ahead of us so we can sneak up on them. Now, dismissed."

The officers left the room and went to meet with the rest of their squad members to relay the battle plans and go over personal tactics. it would be a few hours still before they take off, but time was ticking away. Soon they would be attempting to sneak up on the largest and most technologically advanced fleet in the world, and then steal some of those highly advanced ships.
 
As the sun reached it's first rays, a modest and humble pink, acting almost afraid of touching anyone's eyes and waking them, unlike the confident rays of yellow that would soon rise with them. But the pink rays had nothing to fear, for alarms were blaring, and the Magi soldiers had risen. Thana soon took out armor, more lightweight and good for quick moving, and donned it after she had already dressed herself in robes. Her katana was carefully placed in it's sheath, a belt of enchanted throwing knives quickly attached around her waist, two pouches hanging from them. Thana pulled her hair into a ponytail, and held her helm under her arm, wishing to enjoy fresh air against her face while she still could.

Announcements were quickly made, and she clapped and cheered with the rest of the soldiers and Magi. But, unlike the others, one phrase hung upon her mind. 'And continue the fight deeper into the island until every last Alliance soldier and citizen has been eliminated.' Somehow this disturbed her slightly. To kill innocent civilians? It was immoral, and simply wrong. Still, she knew she could not protest, and knew that prisoners were not an option, so she merely nodded to herself, accepting the fact.

Following automatically with the other soldiers, she soon boarded her intended ship, sailing out, headed to war… It was yet another disturbing thought.
 
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