Forum Wars - Civil War

Prologue​

Today, the world ended.

What was it that had brought Xanatos Reaver and his band of loyal warriors to the summit of this hill? Had it truly been a conflict between two former friends? A little disagreement? Had that truly pushed two warriors, once renowned and revered in Arkan, to a war which had torn the lands asunder? It seemed so long ago that human and Demi God had traversed the barrier between worlds, with the intent of bringing down a madman. A madman who he just so happened to be related to.

Xanatos thought back to the other times. He was already walking on the nostalgic road, and he had no intention of turning back now. Not that he could if he wanted to. His thoughts drifted to battles and meals shared together. Words of friendship and of encouragement whispered at dark hours. Memories he now had to banish forever.

He had been hesitant. Too hesitant in prior encounters. And yet, so had his foe. Xanatos and Aidan had crossed sword dozens of times since the first, and no matter who would prove to be the victor that very day, neither would deliver the final stroke. Today, that would have to change. The one who would leave this field alive would be the one who could do the impossible.

“Sir.”

Xanatos turned. Jayce was approaching him, striding across the ground with hands in his pockets. His 9mm hung loosely at his side, and his gaze was directed to the army assembling below them. Aidan’s forces would attack within mere minutes.

“What do you need, Jayce?” Xanatos asked, noting the divisions of infantry below. What was Aidan planning?

“I am most pleased to report,” Jayce began with a grimace on his face, “that our forces have fully assembled. The full might of the Order of the Hammer stands behind you, ready to crush the Sarn insurgency once and for all.”

“Something troubles me,” Xanatos continued as if his son hadn’t spoken, “Aidan’s no fool, yet it seems as if he’ll charge straight up the hill to meet us. He’d be cut down before his blades could scratch one man.”

“He has a plan father; you understand that better than anyone. I’ve clashed with him only once before, yet he proved to me the kind of low cunning and intelligence these humans’ posses.”

Ah, that was the reminder he needed. The last push Xanatos needed to crush Aidan’s skull underneath his hammer. He’d near-enough lost his heir to that traitor. The very lineage of the Demi Gods were threatened, and if Xanatos didn’t put an end to Sarn’s armies on this day, all would be lost.

“That he does Jayce,” Xanatos nodded, “but by the time the dawn rises, Sarn will be crushed and Aidan will forever be remembered as an example of what happens when you dare to oppose the Demi Gods of old.”

He sensed that Jayce had departed to see to his own troops, leaving Xanatos to stare upon the virgin field one final time, soon to be sewed with entrails and limbs.

He couldn’t lie. The thought of this climatic battle excited him more than it should have.

***
​

Aidan Samarost dismounted his horse and walked up the small hill that overlooked his army. In the distance beyond, he could see the army of Xanatos Reaver and his Order of the Hammer arrayed upon the tallest hill in the region. They positioned themselves well. He couldn’t advance any further into their territory without fighting this army. Any movement around it would be doomed to fail. So they had to take this fight, despite the inferior positioning. He had to hand it to his old friend, he put him in a bad spot. Aidan was not worried however. Sarn’s soldiers were the best and Alpha Company’s flanking manoeuvre should hit around midway through the battle, meaning that they’d neatly be able to crush their force between hammer and anvil. The irony of that was not lost on him. Alpha looked down at his force and smiled. They stood there, rapt in their attention.

“This men, is the deciding battle! Here and now, Xanatos has faced us with all of his forces upon that hill thinking it shall be his saviour, but he is wrong! For we are sons of Sarn! Steel are our bodies! Fire is our blood! We shall end this war here! We shall plant the bloodied flag of Sarn at the crest of that hill and watch the Demi-Gods’ reign burn! For honour, for our right to survive and for those who have died-“

Aidan’s mind went back to the times before. For just a second, before the closing lines of the speech, his face became wistful as he remembered when things were different. When he and Xan fought side by side to save the world. Those were the best of times. He almost regretted what had happened, asked himself if there truly was no other way, but stopped. He remembered how this war started. Once Xan refused his offering of peace, there was no going back. There was no room for regret now.

His eyes narrowed. Alpha reached for his sword, Hope, and drew it, raising it high into the air. He channelled energy into it, the blade setting alight.

“- Let the bloodstained sun of victory shine!” The surge of pride he felt as his army echoed those final words overrode any regret. Today, there would be justice. Today he would claim the revenge he had long been waiting for. He quenched Hope’s fire then sheathed it and stepped down. Sherridan was waiting for him.

“Sentinel sent word. Alpha Company is en route. My Rangers are assisting the archers and crossbowmen with their ranges. Our volleys will drive them down the hill.” Sherridan reported.

“Just as planned. I knew I could count on you and your men, old friend.” Aidan said. “And the new firearm corps?”

“Planted within the ranks of standard infantry, just as directed. Weapons will be used once then discarded in favour of melee combat with the rest of the men. Weapons will be collected after the battle.” Sherridan answered.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t figure out how Vasily’s people got those things to reload so fast in time. No matter. What we have now will suffice. Actually, what’s the ratio?”

“Two standard infantry to one shock troop.” Aidan stopped and put his hand on Sherridan’s shoulder.

“Truly, I cannot thank you enough. I couldn’t have done this without you, or Sentinel.” Aidan spoke.

“Nor the others Aidan.” He reminded. Alpha nodded.

“Of course.” He released his grasp on the Ranger’s shoulder and looked out at the battlefield. “This will be a bloody day. I have high hopes though. If we win- No. When we win here today, everything that has happened will be vindicated. Finally, she can rest in peace.”

“Aye.” Sherridan agreed. They stood there for a while, watching and waiting for the armies of Sarn to finish their preparations. Just as they did, the Order of the Hammer began to mobilise and prepare their weapons. The first testing shots arced over the distance and fell short of their lines. Aidan beckoned for his horse and mounted up quickly.

“Let us begin.” He said grimly, drawing Hope once more. Sherridan watched him ride for the front lines, as he always did. Once Alpha was there, the Ranger joined his men. There was a shout and they began to return fire with deadly aim, the estimations of the Rangers proving on target and effective.

The final battle had begun.

I

​

150 years later...

"Sir, we're coming up on Sky Tower. Ten minutes to arriving at the drop zone."

"Very good Captain, please leave me to my meditations."

"Sir."

The silver and blue clad soldier fled the room, and Jayce redirected his attention back through the window. The Valiant's glass windows granted a truly spectacular view of true Arkan. A desecrate wasteland. Trees torn from their roots. Lakes of bones. If the windows could be opened, he was certain ash and blood will fill his senses.

"If only you could see it now dad," Jayce whispered under his breath, "you'd be so proud of those humans you love."

War had not been kind to the realm. Ever since that fateful day a hundred and fifty years ago, where Xanatos Reaver had struck down Aidan Samarost and shattered the blade Hope with a great swing of his hammer, one might have expected things to come to a swift and brutal end. Instead, it only inspired others and rallied hundreds more to their cause.

The Shards of Hope they'd dubbed themselves... a fitting name. A movement against the Demi Gods themselves. Aidan hadn't truly died, instead living on in the hearts of those who served him. The Order of the Hammer, still licking their wounds after the last battle, hadn't been prepared. They lost one battle. Then two. Then the defeats began outweighing the victories. Where there had been two-dozen Demi Gods serving the realm, there was now no more than six still walking among the living.

Something had to change. The Shards couldn't be allowed to challenge the authority of the Demi Gods any longer. The upcoming battle was about to change that.

Pushing a button on his chair, a red light blinked, informing him his voice was about to be transmitted across the vessel.

"Attention, soldiers of the Order of the Hammer, this is Commander Reaver speaking."

"In a few minutes, we shall be arriving at the landing site. Our mission today is to assault the stronghold Sky Tower, currently under control of the Shards of Hope. This particular location is home to a state of the art weapon: an anti-air cannon. This weapon has already been used against several of our airships, destroying much needed supplies and killing dozens of our troops."

"This ends today. The Valiant will land a league or so away from Sky Tower. Our ground forces will launch an assault on the structure and engage the enemy troops. Meanwhile, I shall lead a specialist team inside the tower. We'll take control of the weapon and kill or capture any of the people inside."

"All specialist forces, meet me on the bridge."

 

Throda Bronzebeard's PoV:

Throda fidgeted awkwardly, not used to the unnatural feeling of air travel. "A dwarf's feet belong on earth," he muttered to himself. Taking a swig of his ale, Throda checked over his equipment. Hammer polished, shield straight, armour about as comfortable as plate could be. His quarters were starkly furnished, as suited a military ship. The dwarven juggernaut was quite excited to represent his race. Relations with the Order were conflicted. Throda's father kept pushing for a full alliance between the two but some dwarf clans had become rooted in the dwarves greatest flaw, greed. Greed births laziness, and lazy dwarves forget the blood lust inside them. Throda Bronzebeard was not lazy. His thirst was barely sated by the Unity Wars, speaking of thirst... Throda gulped down the strong dwarven ale, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His other hand tediouosly played with the hilt of his hammer. The last time a dwarf hammer saw a human skull was 150 years ago, when Throda's father journeyed from the mighty Ironforge. That same, unsatable lust for adventure filled Throda now. "Blasted human engineers, just stick to the ground, not of this airship mumbo-jumbo." Dwarves were not made for long trips in closed spaces. Throda stood up, about to leave his cramped room, when Jayce's voice filled the intercom. A broad grin stretched the juggernaut's face. He lept towards the door controls, fumbling around with the intricate single button which activated the door. Growling in frustration, Throda drew his hammer. A mighty swing dislodged the entire control from the wall. A robotic voice attempted to sooth the dwarf, "Error, please wait for assitance."
"Assistance my muscular, dwarven-"
Whatever bodypart Throda was refrencing will never be known, for with a mighty swing Throda smashed the door in. Kicking down the remains, he exited the room and headed to the bridge, ignoring the looks he recieved. "Damn human engineers."

 

It was dark. As he stood upon the lonely hill in the centre of endless pitch black ground, he felt cold. That ground was solid, and yet it was as dark as the void. As he looked further into the distance, it spiralled upwards towards the sky which glowed with a bright silver, lit by a pure white moon. Just as the darkness rose up, the silver light spiralled down, meeting the tendrils of dark and entwining in captivating pillars that contrasted with themselves. When they met, sometimes they entwined perfectly, Sometimes they stopped where they met and others simply shattered into a fine mist where they once stood. He looked from side to side, turned around and it was the same view, all the way around that hill he stood upon, the same view stretched into the horizon. The land was flat, save for this hill. This hill was the highest thing around. As he stood upon the crest of the hill, he felt two presences behind him. Kalak sighed and turned to the pair, knowing that he would be met with the twin faces of Vasher. Black stood directly in front of him, his red eyes glowing balefully in the strange dark of the shadow world. He was hypnotized by the gaze and he heard a mechanical voice speaking to him.
"This ends today. The Valiant will land a league or so away from Sky Tower. Our ground forces will laucnh an assault on the structure and engage the enemy troops. Meanwhile.." As the voice continued to speak, the ground lurched. The pillars shattered. The pitch black floor faded into a steel one and the white sky slowly turned into a ceiling and a light. The two figures disappeared into shadowy wisps and he was back. He became aware that he was knelt on the floor, resting on his knees. His eyes were open. He was in his room. "All specialist forces, meet me on the bridge." Kalak paused before moving, still awaking from the familiar dream. He got to one knee, then stood himself up as a strange smashing noise began. He looked to the upper body armour that lay on his bed. He had been meditating shirtless, he remembered. He took a look down. The red glow around his blood vessels and the blackening had not got better. He armoured himself and picked up Duskfall from its resting place. He strode out of his room to the bridge. As he walked, he encountered the familiar figure of Throda on his way as well. The Demi-God did not fail to notice the mess of the door. That would be the smashing. He smiled wryly.
"Subtle as ever, Master Dwarf." Kalak remarked, walking alongside the shorter man. "I see your war on the engineering staff continues."
​

[DOUBLEPOST=1451510051][/DOUBLEPOST]

The Huntress of Sarn stood in the command centre at Sky Tower where the officers present were hard at work poring over consoles for equipment or reports from other fronts of the war. The battle was widespread, and each report of a victory brought a small smile to her lips. She was after all, Aidan's descendent, It was her job to be pleased when hearing reports of their victory. In any case, she couldn't add anything more. Jaden was the strategist and he would be issuing out more orders over time. For now, she just looked at the reports she received, bored, waiting for His prediction to come true. Jaden was amazing. He could predict the strategy of the Order of the Hammer and he believed that there was an attack in bound soon. They had been waiting here for a couple of days now, and still nothing. He had said that if nothing happened after a week, then it would be too long for The Valiant to remain out of combat and the battle lines would have shifted such that Sky Tower was not a priority target. She was inclined to agree. There were an assorted group of Shards present, all of them good soldiers from what she knew. Time would tell. There hadn't been anything to prove their worth to her personally yet. She could put her trust in her Cousin's choices of troops.

That did nothing to assuage the boredom though.

Carissa sat down at a chair in the room, waiting for something to happen. After a minute, It happened. The sensor alarms blared. Something was coming. She leaped out of her chair to her feet and rushed to the equipment monitoring station.
"What is happening?" She demanded, pushing the officer at the station aside. He looked up, a sharp retort on his lips that was quelled at the realisation of to whom he was speaking.
"A craft was detected around a league away. It's large. I think it's The Valiant." She grinned and walked away towards the intercom station. She was going to have fun with this.
"Jaden was right, as always." Carissa muttered to herself. She approached the microphone and turned it on. "All Shards of Hope, prepare to engage! The Valiant has been detected a league East from here! The Order is on it's way. Get ready to spill some blood people!" With that, the Huntress left the command centre and headed to the barracks where she would invariably find some of the troops, as well as where she had left some things behind. She entered her room and opened her locker, retrieving her crossbow, her bolts and her twin knives. She strapped them all on and walked out.
"Did you all hear the announcement? Jaden's predictions were spot on. We're to defend this tower at all costs. If we don't manage to hold Sky Tower, then they'll have free reign to intervene in this area." Carissa explained. "This, we cannot allow. If any of them get inside, then warn us. Reach a comm panel and make sure you inform us of what is happening. Without communication, we won't be able to defend the base effectively. Make your final preparations and get into a defensive position. We will hold against this scum!" ​

 

▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂Earlier▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂



"This is a bad idea, I'm telling you!" The girl in front of him pouted as he was getting ready to leave.

The boy was hurriedly writing in a journal:

"The spitting image of all of the Empress' before her, as if she were the reincarnation of the Lost Princess who was possessed and had hand in the land being destroyed more then 150 years ago, and her brother, the nearly bastardized outcast stood staying their final goodbyes. Though she was nearly 2 years older, he towered over her."

"Pay attention to me and stop writing down everything I say! You know I can see it, like, in my head."

"Born with the power of the foretellers, his sister had more powers this land loved then anyone would have dreamed of, saving none at all for him."

"You don't know the first THING about what's out there. " The girl talked animatedly as Onamakritos packed up for his long trip. "You're basically going to a whole other planet! There's so much to explore here, just stay home." She pulled on him arm. "I should have never told you about The Visions, I doubt you would have ever heard of that girl."

"Onamakritos packed up his bag as his sister bickered in his ear, asking if he was listening to her while she babbled."

"That girl out there is our family, though we're removed quite a bit by time and blood." Onamakritos told his sister, with a cold, stoic look on his face. "You know from the first day I was born I never belonged here. I'm going to go do something people even if they aren't ours to take care of, instead of relax like royalty."

"But you ARE royalty! It's not like Aidan whateversauce is your long lost father! Who cares about finding out about our Great-Great-Grandfather, especially when he's dead! Our Great-Great-Grandmother wrote all of her adventures down in a book, we know everything already! We also know that he was a total jerk to her! Why would you ever want to associate yourself with him, you know what he did." She complained. She pressed her fingers to her forehead in pain as she yelled at him.

"He shrugged, not wanting to give too much of himself away to his sister."

Onamakritos shrugged. "I'll be back."

"And if you aren't? Do you want me to come looking for you?" Her voice turned suddenly serious and concerned.

"If I don't come back, just forget me. Forget you ever had a brother."

"It wouldn't be hard for his father, but he knew the closeness of him and his sister."

"Onamakritos!" She gasped. "You're my favorite older brother in the entire world don't say that. You're coming back and that's final. By order of the Princess." This made him crack a small smile. He ran his hands through his hair.

"Weeeell, if it's by order of the Princess." He picked his older sister up and teased her as if they were in grade school. He swung her around before putting her down. They looked at each other sadly and they embraced.

"Father couldn't be back in time..." Her voice trialed off. He shook his head, as if to say it didn't matter. "I know you told me not to tell them but I-"

"That was a mistake. You should go, Calxiyn." The man said, before turning around and walking away, unknowingly quoting his Great-Great-Grandfather.


▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂Shards of Hope▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂


Onamakritos truly had no clue what he had gotten himself into. He took a look around as he wrote in his journal:

"Against all odds The Hero had made it to Sky Tower, but like he had been for this whole trip, he had no clue. They had let him in as he was part of the faction, but he had no idea what he was meant to do. That was until there was a message on the PA system. He felt a hunger for battle come back up into his throat"

Onamakritos then stopped writing as a figure approached. He looked at this girl: Could that be Carissa? He then began writing her instructions into his journal.

"He wasn't used to addressing someone higher status, but he decided he wouldn't get bitter over it."

He got up after he finished writing. "Yes, Captain." He saluted her if anything just to get a better look at her. His resting face was cold looking already, but he tried to put on an act of being even more stone-cold, as he was trying to hide his confusion.


[♥]]] [♦]]] [♣]]] [♠]]]Now: The Order of The Hammer[[[♠] [[[♣] [[[♦] [[[♥]

Theodosia, who was alongside Commander Reaver at all times as The Aides de Camp, stood beside him as he waited for the specialist team. She handed him a list of everyone that would be joining them today as well as their specialization. "Reporting for duty, Commander." She then started talking to those that were assembling there, her voice clipped and intense. "You men all are lining up to put Commander Reaver on a pedestal, writing letters to relatives and embellishing in his elegance and eloquence but, the truth is in your face as we see what our team has been reduced to. We are outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, and outplanned. Any hope of success of fleeting, unless we take a stand with the stamina these Demi-Gods have granted us and stop and rob them of their advantages: Do we all understand?"

"I'll turn it over to you, Commander."

 

A desolate wasteland surrounded Sky Tower. Bones and old trees were strewn across the rough dirty dunes. Here and there could be seen old relics from battles of the past. Presently a dusty head stuck itself up from behind a boulder. Its wild eyes darted back and forth and the creature scuttled out towards an old sword, presumably left behind from some battle or another. The figure lowered its goggled and examined the blade carefully "...Shards of Hope made... probably around 20 years old... possibly worth..." the figure wiped dust off the nicked edge "...eh, not much" but he chucked it into his sack of items anyway. This area was highly contested land between the Order of the Hammer and the Shards of Hope, and battlefields were always rather profitable. The figure continued to scurry along the wilderness, moving with surprising speed. Suddenly the figure stopped as they noticed something. The ground was getting darker. A looming shadow was being cast upon the dirty desert from high above. The figure looked up in surprise and saw the Valiant towering overhead. "...I wonder what it's got on it?" The figure moved excitedly further towards the battlefield, the Shards of Hope would be far too busy with the airship to notice the scrawny figure bounding across the dunes "...if that thing crashes... I'll be rich... well, richer..." the figure muttered to himself.

They said war had left Arkan ravaged and brought doom to all.

On the contrary, war had brought great profit to Ransak Frisk.

 

"Chief Gunner, we've sighted a target below. Looks like some scavenger. Permission to fire?"

"Permission granted."

"HEY!"



Jayce Reaver had his fingers on his trusty 9mm.

"You two quit staring at the wasteland and keep your eyes open for the Shards of Hope."

"But sir, we've spotted something d-"

"I don't care if you've spotted some rat running across the wasteland. Keep your weapons trained on the tower!"

The two glanced at one another, and reluctantly allowed the scavenger to continue living. Meanwhile, Jayce was being subjected to a truly inspiring speech by Theodosia.

"Any hope of success will be fleeting..."

"Thank you Theodosia, I think we get it," Jayce waved his hand, as two new arrivals showed up on scene, "Throda, Kalak, nice to see you both. I presume the loud banging noise we heard was your fault?"

 

They had entered the bridge and Jayce spoke. Whatever choice words the stout dwarf would undoubtedly have for him for the commentary would have to wait until after they were done. He was as usual, in his black coat with his hair hanging over his eyes in that slightly depressing way. Not that he was any different. His white hair hung over his eyes as well. In truth, there was one difference. Kalak had something to hide. Behind the white hair covering them, a pair of faintly glowing red eyes stared out at the world. It seemed that Theodosia was speaking as well, although she happened to be interrupted by Jayce as well. Perhaps it was another speech. She was fond of those. So eloquent. So irritating. He glanced at their leader. His uncle.
"Pleasure to see you too kid." Kalak spoke, remarking on the strangely young appearance of the Demi God. Even though Kalak was younger, he had aged more than Jayce. Vasher probably hadn't helped with that. He attributed some of the ageing to the stress that the spirit was placing on his body. "Throda was struggling with a door. I've never seen anything quite like it. You'll want a clean up crew over there. It's a mess." He nodded at Theodosia.
"Aide de camp." He said curtly, before glancing back at their leader. "So, we're raiding a Shards emplacement? It looks like quite the beast. What are the rules? Capture, or destroy?" The answer would very much affect the tactics he would be using. And whether he would let Black or White out to play, if either. ​

 

​

Kala sat on a small dune...hill..whatever. She rubbed the dirt out of her eyes, leaving a smear across her cheek, and tilted her head up towards the sky. It had been twelve, maybe thirteen hours since she had last eaten. And she was hungry. Maybe thirsty was a little more accurate to the dry feeling in her throat and the empty pit in her stomach, but again; words. Words didn't really matter when you had no one to say them to. And right now, the air wasn't really the best conversation partner.

Standing up and stretching, though there was no need to, she flipped over some sort of metal shiny....let's call it a thing, and slid down the small hill, jumping off to land neatly on her feet. Satisfied with having saved herself two minutes of extra work, she started walking towards the large shadow looming in the distance. It looked like an airship. Did she care? Not too much. She hadn't seen another person in quite a while. And if she did, it wouldn't go well. Nah, she just wanted to get in some shade. Maybe find some plants, a bird if she was lucky, and then....then she would try to find a gopher. Gophers were really good.

 

Oh wondrous. More damage to repair to his precious ship. They'd only just managed to stop one maddened crew member from drawing on the walls. Now they had a door to fix? A great start to their mission.

"Clean up crew, go deal with Throda's mess," Jayce sent the message over the intercom, hoping they'd understand what he actually meant. As much as he liked the dwarf, he had an addiction to hitting. Arguably his most useful and most annoying trait.

"So, we're raiding a Shards emplacement? It looks like quite the beast. What are the rules? Capture, or destroy?"

The young Demi God was broken out of his mood by his nephew. He gazed briefly at his white haired ally. One of the last of his family, save for his father and some other Demi God. It was good to have someone trustworthy at his side for the coming battle.

"We're going in there with the intention of capturing Sky Tower," Jayce replied, "however, failing that, destroying the weapon will net us the same result. We just need our airships to rendezvous with us. Just do whatever you deem necessary to gain us a much needed victory."

 

Throda Bronzebeard's PoV:

Throda turned towards the tall figure beside him, chuckling a bit, "Sublety is for tall, darkly robed magicians. My hammer can easily solve all the problems in this flying tin can." Throda entered the bridge, his short legs straining to take the lead. If a dwarf could look bashful, well, they can't and Throda wasn't. "That was a lesson these humans needed to learn. Don't ask me what the lessson was either, they need to figure that out themselves." Throd scratched his beard, "There's bound to be better ways than that..." Throda shrugged, that's the last time he'd be staying in their for awhile anyways. "I'd prefer if you called it 'Throda's lesson,'" the dwarf grinned as he waved on the clean-up crew. Returning to the matter at hand, Throda fiddled with his hammer, barely hearing the plan, "Sound's great! When do we begin?"

 

"Are you freaking kidding me right now?" Aspen let out an annoyed sigh as let another arrow sped past her makeshift target, two feet to the right. That was her third miss in a row. "Seriously, it's only thirty yards. Most people can hit this with their eyes shut." Yanking a bow from her back, Aspen squinted her eyes and cocked her head slightly sideways. The light breeze russled her golden blonde hair, tucked back up into a ponytail with her bangs out framing her face. Focus. Focus. The cold breeze tickled her neck and arms and Aspen let out a small breath. The wind is blowing right, that's why my arrows are going right. So, aim left. She aimed left. The arrow was smooth as her nimble fingers danced along it, nocking it into correct position. A pause. A breath. Twang. A satisfied smile planted itself on Aspen's face as the arrow lodged into the center of the target she carved on the tree. "It's about damn time." In was in that moment that Aspen noticed the shadow that had filled the sky above her. An airship. Aspen glanced at her surroundings. She was in the clearing of a small forest. There was a large tower about 60 yards from where she was standing, a few scattered openings in the forest between her and the large building. It wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on here. It was that stupid war between the Demi-gods and the Demi-god haters. Aspen had never really cared enough about it to get involved. Why fight a war about power when the power doesn't even effect you directly? Better to watch from a distance. On any other given day, Aspen would have collected her arrows and headed back home, but today she felt curious. She stashed her arrows in her pack and moved into a clearing, watching the ship maneuver through the sky.

 

A thousand miles above the events taking place, a battered old spacecraft - a freighter, to be precise - came out of hyperspace into an orbit around [whatever planet Arkan is on]. In the cockpit, Vincent Kilmister observed the world below him. This was a far-flung, backwater sector of the galaxy, but this world was different - it was the human homeworld. His mother's species. The Armstrong was running low on supplies and he figured that, since he looked like a full-blood human, he probably had a good chance of trading with them. The only thing was, Vincent had only ever met a few other humans on his travels - most of these humans down below, in realms such as Arkan, had no experience with space travel. This meant they probably wouldn't accept standard currency, but that was fine, since he had plenty of resources in the cargo hold which he could barter with. His scanning computer had already identified a settlement - some sort of tower. He began piloting the ship on a descent trajectory, entering the atmosphere. He could soon see the tower in the distance ahead of him.

 

At Sky Tower, one of the soldiers was currently eyeing up Carissa's fine a**. So distracted was he by that wonderful beast of a woman, that he leaned on the console and accidentally hit the firing button. The AA canon was immediately fired skywards.

"Oops," the soldier stepped away from the console, "ah well. I'm sure it won't hit anything important."

 

Ransak Frisk

The figure stopped. He felt as though he had very briefly been in great danger and barely escaped it. The figure stood up straight and looked around the landscape. "...who's that?..." He muttered to himself as he saw a figure in the distance with a bow and arrows. Lowering his goggles over his eyes he zoomed in. There was a young woman also paying attention to the airship. He wondered why anyone else would be standing around a battlefield and began to scuttle towards them. "Hey" Ransak called out as he approached. His eyes darted up and down the woman, almost as if scanning her "...22 year old female..." Ran muttered under his breath. He nodded at the target with the arrow in the middle "Nice shot. What are you doing here?" Ransak spoke disinterestedly in short sharp statements as he scurried around, he didn't seem to stay still for a single moment "There's going to be battle, you know" Ransak looked back towards the Airship "Don't really want to be here. Until it's over" he turned back to the woman and grinned excitedly "But. If you want my advice. There'll be a lot of valuable stuff laying around after"

Timothy Chesterton

Deep within Sky Tower, a forgotten basement, an abandoned area that had remained uninhabited for centuries. Cobwebs and dust were all that filled this room, with the exception of a monolithic figure standing by the far wall. This Statuesque creature lay immobile in the darkness, oblivious the events above. Suddenly two piercing blue lights lit up the room as the creature's eyes opened. A slow whirring sound could be heard as the figure started up and a slight blue glow emanated from within it. With the room plunge into light it could be seen that the being was metallic, and seemed to wearing a waistcoat and bow tie. The whirring suddenly built to a climax and quietened down again as the mechanical being activated. Slowly it moved its featureless head from side to side, those glowing blue eyes shining light onto the rubble around the room. It stepped forwards, as it moved dust shifted off and shiny chrome metal could be seen beneath. "Function 22, activated" The robot stated in an unusually posh British accent, it delved into its own memory banks and recalled what its master had told it with his dying breath. "Designation: Timothy Chesterton. Mission: Find new master"

 

​

Kala squeaked and dropped to the ground, hands over her head as the the sound of a very very very big gun echoed through the air. That hurt. Looking up, she realized the tower wasn't really a tower, but the origin of the very very very big gun sound, making it the very very very big gun. "Well damn." She swore, staring up with wide eyes. That could do some damage. Slowly getting up and brushing off her knees, she hesitated. It might be smarter to get away from the gun tower, rather then towards it. But a niggling voice in the back of her mind went on and on about gophers, and shade, and the fact that the laser couldn't possibly be pointed at someone as insignificant as her.

So onward she went, until she reached the cold...stone? wall. Kind of an interesting material, this stuff. She pressed her hand to it, marveling at how cold it felt, despite the sun. She looked left, and then right. There were no doors, but...Gopher! Kala turned, and like so many fox before her, pounced on the helpless mammal, pressing its soft fur to her lips.

Moments later the tiny animal was dead, and she was more satisfied then she had been in days. Stroking the gopher before putting it gently on the ground, she sighed, and turned back to the wall. Time to put her newfound stolen energy to use. Because that's what she did, really. Stole the energy of others in order to keep living.

Daddy had a name for that kind of thing. Parasite. The old nickname still ran fresh through her mind, echoing in the recesses of her subconscious as she found a handhold, and pulled herself up. Looked like a window up there. It would take some time, but she could reach it.

It didn't occur to her to circle the tower for an entrance.

 

"Fine. Taking it works better for me anyway. We might be able to find the son of a ***** who killed mum." His mouth was a hard line as he spoke. There was a harsh frown on his face and he felt Black stirring with his anger. That was another issue with the twin faces of Vasher. They tended to get excited whenever the emotions that best fit them were triggered. Kalak's superhuman senses detected Jayce's not so secret admirer lurking in the chamber. He decided not to call out to her, knowing her temperament very well. She was Jayce's hunting hound. She was disturbing in many ways. She was ferocious, but loyal. Blindly loyal. That was the problem. Their Black Rose would impale herself upon those two swords if she was ordered. He didn't know how his Uncle could stand being around her with her intensity. Still, he was happy to work with her. It was probably a blessing that she was here, given what they were going to be dealing with. After all, Sky Tower was no joke. "Any other orders? Specific objectives?" As he spoke, he subtly nodded towards where Rose was standing in the room. Jayce likely had already noticed, but in case he was distracted he'd let him know.




Of course. Aster. She had almost forgotten about him. Aster Surananayan. There were some who knew him as 'His Royal Pain in the Arse'. She was one of them. Pompous, arrogant and completely self-assured without any capacity for thought. He was the very personification of male confidence. And he had that annoying nickname. Nobody called her that, nobody except Jaden and he was family. He was special. He was their leader, the one who would see Aidan's dream through to the end.
"I've warned you before Aster, you're not to call me that. Or would you prefer me to call you Ass? It would be a fitting name for you wouldn't it?" She replied icily. "And the fact that you have a sibling leaves me with a particular sense of dread, that there is another person as infuriating as you alive." She turned away from him and looked the the man who had addressed him as Captain. She nodded at him and looked back at the overconfident man.
"But we agree on this - It'll be good to kill a few Hammers." ​

 

Throda Bronzebeard's PoV:

Thorda idly walked around the bridge, slowly swinging his hands back and forth in a bored way. He left his unanswered question to linger in the air. He eyed the bridge's occupants, glancing over them before landing his gaze on Theodosia. That was her name correct? Throda assumed so, he stroked his beard, trying to remember who exactly she was. The best he came up with was "Pen Girl." Throda finally headed for the exit, "Let me know when we've landed. I'll be... I'll... uh. I'll be around." With a mischevious wink, the dwarf exited the bridge. "Thank Moradin this one doesn't have those rediculous buttons." Throda passed by the cleaning crew who was puzzling over a broken door. "How did this happen?"
Throda drew his hammer and casually twirled it, chuckling quietly, "Give it a doorhandle this time."
The startled crew turned around but Throda was already gone, walking down the hall, throwing his hammer up and down. As he perused the ship, he noticed an odd corridor. Throda continued down this hall, whistling to himself. "Far over the..." He trailed off as the hallway grew into a massive room, with a weird glowing construct in the middle of it. Over the pillar-like object read: "Highly Important Reactor Core." The dwarf was entirely alone in this room. He inspected the object, feeling the power flowing from it. The hammer-expert hurled his weapon as far up as the large room allowed, before catching it behind his back, the hammer narrowly missing the object which powered the entire aircraft. "Hmmm. You'd suppose they'd have at least one person here. Ah well." Throda exited the room, resuming his song and the hypnotic twirling of his hammer.

 

Staring up at the ship, Aspen let her mind wander. I wonder what it's like to fly in one of those. Mom always told me they were giant metal death traps that were constantly prone to technical issues that resulted in giant craters and epic fireballs. I'm pretty sure she just had a fear of heights. How could anyone be afraid of being up there? Up in the sky, looking down on Earth, I bet everything woukd just feel so small. God, Jasper would love that. She sighed, curling her lips inward slightly and closing her eyes for a moment.

"Hey."

The breath that Aspen didn't realize she was holding in escaped through her lips quickly as she turned to face the source of the sound. It was a man. He seemed to mutter something to himself and as Aspen opened her mouth to talk, he began again. He didn't look like much of a threat physically and Aspen figured if he was trying to rob her or something he would have done it already, so she let him keep talking. He seemed like a decent guy. A little scattered, but decent. "I was just getting in some target practice. I didn't know there was going to be a battle here." She shrugged. "Heck, maybe I'll get in on it and get some real combat experience." The corner of her lips curled up slightly. "Valuable stuff? Well, I mean, I guess if you consider scrap metal and roasted human flesh valuable then go for it." She decided against hooking her bow around her back, just in case this guy tried to try anything sly. He looked a little bit like the human version of a weasel, or at least maybe a little like a big human rat. Anyway, she was pretty sure she could take him down with one punch if that's what it came to.

 

Ransak Frisk

With a bemused expression Ransak looked at the woman "You look but you do not see" he stated cryptically, lowering his goggles and zooming in on the ship he pointed "See, markings. It's the Order of the Hammer. Which means Demigods. Which means..." he grinned at the woman "...treasure. Valuable stuff" While his goggles were zoomed in Ran quickly scanned the rest of the scene... "...there's a woman climbing the tower..." he muttered to himself. Ignoring it Ran took off his goggles again extended his hand towards the woman with the bow "Ransak. Ransak Frisk. You can call me Ran. If you help me get stuff from the aftermath of this, we can split the rewards. Sound good?"