View source for 2182/Down With The Vigil

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/05/07
|Location=Stone Vigil, Coerthas, Hydaelyn
|Synopsis=The Stone Vigil comes under attack by the Dravanians! It is up to everyone to come to the aid of the Ishgardians and protect the one last standing defense they may have!
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=191, 236, 481, 522, 530, 573, 595, 636, 714, 768
|Tinyplot=Dragon's Bane
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The howling winds came from the north to north west. The massive stone fortress of Stone Vigil stood tall on the mountain cliff's edge. Magitek cannons stood on her towers and defense harpoon and automatic weapons on her wall edges. Stone Vigil was the last defense to stand after the Calamity of Dalamud and Ishgard has protected her well.<br /><br />Knights of chainmail and scalemail walking her walls, ignoring the bitter cold wins. Fires burned down in the courtyards to provide warmth to those on break and within some men laughed, other men waited. A few of the Holy Order of Dragoons were here. Their armor all matching as they stayed vigilant at the highest points of the Vigil. Their purple armor with black mesh standing out compared to the much older knightly look of those around them. Flickers of blue could be seen in the carapace of the armor. Lances on their backside, held on by some unknown means and their faces covered over by a draconic like helm structure with curved sweeping features.<br /><br />These Dragoons were well known in these lands and they were the best defense Ishgard had against the Dravanian Horde.<br /><br />The strangest thing sitting here in one of the furthest courtyards was that of some hybrid of an airship between Eorzean and Garlean technology. The hull is made of steel, with a sleek body design, but an open deck with wood flooring and no room on her for a below deck. She has four wings, two at the front and two at the back, with a blue fabric material near the front and a larger one over the backside with the Garlond Ironwork's crest on the top of it.<br /><br />While snow and ice covers most of this airship, one can make out that some things have been jury-rigged together to make her fly, a mix mash of Eorzean steel and wood with left over Garlean cermet for the engine housing and steering controls.<br /><br />This airship is heavily guarded at all times, at least on such days like these it would be, but soon everything goes to utter complete seven hells...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The first warning came very clearly over the distance. Marching feet beat the ground in unison as armored warriors stated to make their way to the fortification, they were not hiding themselves as all. Rows and rows of them in perfect unison, all wearing the same armor. All wearing the armor of the Dravanian Knights-- or so some had started to call them. Within their ranks though were also grounded Dravanians, heavily armored with much like the armor the knights wear over their already hardened scales.<br /><br />Then among their own march line were walker machines, much like the Garlean Reapers, but slight modifications made to them with more coverage to protect the rider and a flicker of a field as snow flakes try to land down on their armored forms.<br /><br />The sight of the marching line gave the Ishgardians pause, before they realized what it was as one of the Dragoons quickly grabbed a hold of one of them by their shoulder pauldron, "What are you gawking at! Sound the alarm!"<br /><br />Even as the man ran and the defense weaponry came online, even the Dragoon could only stare at the marching line, "...only ground forces though... where is the..." His words were cut short as he hears a roar in the skies and then can only observe as a massive wyrm flies over head and stares upward at the circling sight. "...By the mother Fury... have mercy on us all."<br /><br />----------------<br /><br />By the time call goes out and all forces can move in, things are already a mess. Parts of the Fortress are on burning fire, combat can be heard inside the walls and dragons can be seen flying in and around the Fortress, a few even out while carrying out men and throwing them to the hard rocky ground below.<br /><br />Men line the ground to the Fortress, dead and lieing among the snow. All of them Ishgardian knights, and where the Dragon Knights may be, all that can be seen is a left of an impression, but soot of ash where that impression is and very few of those are to be found.<br /><br />An explosion goes off at one of the towers as massive blue fire ball ignites as the tower soon explodes afterwards, rubble goes flying everywhere. If they are to save this Stone Vigil, they will need to act fast and the first line of hope for this comes with a massive shadow and a low rumble that shakes the earth from the skies.<br /><br />Several dragons quickly leave the Stone Vigil and go straight up into the air to attack a massive Dreadnought that is several football fields long, as soon as the dragons go for it bullets can be seen lightning up the sky, along with the sound of heavy cannon fire and missiles the light the darkening sky from the smoke.<br /><br />Several airships then can be seen leaving from the side of the beast of a machine, as they quickly soar in and seem to come in only low enough to drop off several Garlean troops and Centurions. Among them is none other then Gaius Van Baelsar himself as his heavy booted armor impacts the snow. His hand reaches for the Gunblade upon his backside and draws it out, as his men take up firing defensive positions as the metal dropships take their leave to either join in the fray or go on standby.<br /><br />Orders were being given by the Centurions as they started to make their way in, but Gaius--- Gaius was taking his sweet time with a very calm, steady walk. That-- was never a good sign to see, because anyone knew Gaius Van Baelsar, that was a hint at a very perturbed and angrily calm Legatus.<br /><br /> (BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhDldATuFQ4 )<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:595|Admiral Merlwyb (595)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The Maelstrom is on the move, a roiling tide of men, machines, and mounts. The Storm Marshal leads the ground forces astride his own chocobo destrier, while a small group of Garlond Ironworks airships fly overhead. Though not nearly as an impressive sight as Gaius' Dreadnaught, they are coming from a different direction to pincer the Dravian horde between two fronts. <br /><br />It is on the prow of one of these small but nimble airships that the Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn stands, feet spread shoulder-width apart and arms crossed over her chest. A proud figure visibly unshaken by the carnage unfolding around Stone Vigil, though a deep scowl betrays what she truly thinks of the entire situation. <br /><br />She lifts a hand to her ear, tapping the brand-new linkshell within. "Hear me, soldiers of the Maelstrom. Though we have no love for the Garlean dogs, they are not our enemy this day. Securing Stone Vigil from the clutches of that Twelve-damned Primal Bahamut and his misbegotten brood is our priority. Union, Confederate, Eorzean, or Garlean -- today, we fight as one! 'Till the sea swallows all!" <br /><br />A rippling roar echoes from each throat of the Maelstrom forces below in acknowledgement as the Storm Marshal raises one hand. "Maelstrom --" His hand comes down. "CHARGE!" <br /><br />As the Lominsian army charges into battle below, the Admiral turns to look behind her, a grim half-smile on her face as her attention turns to the Union elites who have joined her on this mission. "We shall be landing in the thick of it." She pulls her two flintlocks from her hips, twirling the pistols between her fingers, as the airship suddenly dives towards the ground. "I pray we are in time." <br /><br />It does not take long for the airship to pull up just above the ground, the permanent ramp about a foot or two off of the ground. Those on-board can easily jump down from any of the airship's surfaces, even from the deck. The Admiral herself jumps off from the prow, flintlocks barking.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:191|Mako Mankanshoku (191)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES AGO<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Catapult Club President Kenada Soujiro!" A red-spiked geta sandal slams down in the Honnouji Academy courtyard. The owner of that foot, Mankanshoku Mako, thrusts her hand out in a dramatic point towards a cluster of One-Star uniformed students crowded around a piece of antique siege equipment, "In the name of the Honnouji Academy Fight Club, I-- Mankanshoku Mako-- challenge you to a fight for your standing!"<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I accept," comes a voice from beneath the girl. With a curious noise, she looks down at the star-shaped pad she finds herself standing on. It takes a moment for her to spot the eyes, and with a squawk her uniform's sleeves obscure herself while he talks: "Catapult Club President, Kenada Soujiro, accepts your challenge! But it's already too late for you--BEHOLD! My Two-Star Siege Weapon Specialized Goku Uniform!"<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"...Eh?"<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Beneath Mako, Soujiro arcs his back. The catapult arm releases and the pad the girl stands on snaps up, hurling her clear over the walls of Honnouji Academy.<br /> <br />RIGHT ABOUT NOW<br />COERTHAS CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, EORZEA<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Above the gathered army of the Dravinian Horde and beneath the incredible air battle between the ginormous Garlean Dreadnought and skyborne dragons, a tiny human shape tumbles through the air. Rolling head over heels, the figure slams into the side of one of the taller mountains hard enough to send cracks spiderwebbing through the glacier. With only the sound of a snore, the girl in the black coat peels off the side and drops, striking snow, and then rolls downhill. Snow accumulates around her into a ball, which barrels down amidst the Dravinian forces without any inclination of stopping up until it slams into a cliff face on the opposite side of the valley and bursts into drifts of snow, soldiers, and at least one dazed looking drake.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the middle of it all, Mankanshoku Mako suddenly sits bolt upright, scattering snow, "I'm awake! I'm awake! I'm..." pause. She glances down at herself, then up at the battle-filled sky, then ahead at the military formation she'd just barrelled through, then to the castle in the distance currently under siege, "...I'm in a war!?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:530|Garen (530)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The soldiers of Garlemand and the Ishgardians weren't alone in this engagement. Moving in like it's namesake, the 'Phantom' slips near the vigil and from it emerged Garen. He was keenly suited for extreme range engagements, but today was a little different then his normal operations. Today, he was taking part in a war. Of course, to the chiss's mind it merely meant more targets for his rifle. So, how does this factor into the scene? Well, to Garen, he figured the guys in more ornate armor were the captains and officers...and that made them target number one. "Cipher Nine on the field. Beginning sniper operations."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Twin fox ears twitch as Kirika stands tall the whole ride aboard Admiral Merlwyb's vessel. She's definitely a striking figure in her knightly armor and toting twin swords as well as a shield in hand. She's also borrowed a massive spear from the armory, which she is carrying right now in tandem with said shield.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While she has little time for chitchat, she does give a nod as Merlwyb takes the floor with her speech. Regardless of faction, an alliance is necessary for the moment to keep these dragons from burning all to ash. Funny, she remembers dragons being a fairy tale, but now they're alive and well, as well as either being ridden like horses, or outright attempting mass genocide.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Multiverse is an odd duck, the kitsune supposes, and once Merlwyb's ship reaches the ground, Kirika doesn't hesitate to leap into the fray, her spear held to impale the first poor bastard she gets in reach of as she hits the ground and books it, joining the melee before her with great fury and strength.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:636|Ryu (636)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ryu stares out at the sky and listens to the sounds of war once the airship pulls in. His golden eyes half-lid, seeming saddened that this had to happen, and so soon after it was predicted to be. Once the good Admiral turns to give everyone the go ahead, he nods to his allies, each in turn, and his muscles grow tense, his claws scrabbling at the deck. As the airship descends... well, he doesn't wait. He just starts sprinting and then leaps off the airship, sending the bright white dragon soaring through the air.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As soon as he slams into the ground, he rises without so much as blinking at the tingly pain running through his legs. His body uncoils and races toward the Stone Vigil on all fours. He tries not to get caught between the Ishgardians and the Dravanians until he can, at least, find one of the attacking dragons.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And try to pounce the dragon, delivering several swipes of claws that may spark against armor and, quite likely, tear through the armor like it's styrofoam. This is the first time he's actually used his dragon form against them and been coherent about it. The curious thing is that he picked a dragon that was about to through, say, one of the Dragoons to a certain death.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Because he plans on stabilizing the Dragoon with magic... and any other Dragoons that they see.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:573|Mihk Lihzeh (573)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk stands on the deployment deck of the Dreadnaught, waiting for the Juggernaut to be ready for deployment. Once it powers up, she hops aboard, anad salutes as the large stick-like flying mech floats out into the snow swept air. Tome in her free hand, the Arcanist channels Aether and blasts a smaller flying drake in the face as it tries to take a bite out of her. "Descend as rapidly as you are able. We must clear the aerial melee." she commands to the Pilot, gathering more Aether for a larger blast, dazzling a larger dragon and sending it spiralling off in a blind flail.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On touch down, the Arcanist adjusts her glasses and hops clear of the Juggernaut, saluting again before walking the back lines. "Allied forces. Bring your wounded to my location, and I shall administer treatment. We need every body capable of fighting on their feet to defeat this enemy." She pulls out a satchel of potions, poultices and tinctures, and looks around for the Conjurors and other healers to join them in the triage efforts.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The call goes out, and Auron answers. Fortunately the Admiral Merlwyb had also caught wind of this and was heading to the area as well. To be perfectly honest Auron didn't much care for being on ships, sea or air, considering he can neither swim nor fly. But this is an emergency. He's still staying away from the railings of the ship, though. Falling off would suck.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Auron stands wherever he can on the airship to not be too much in the way and still not have to get too close to the railings. He stays quiet as the Admiral speaks to her soldiers, and looks to her as she addresses them. A nod at her words of being in time. "So do I. We'll rout what forces we can."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To note, there's an addition to Auron's normal attire this time around. It looks like his usual coat, but it's plated on the shoulders, down the lapels, and along the bottom hem. On the back there's an emblem of a pair of spread wings.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sharp dive disturbs Auron's balance enough to make him stagger, but he manages not to fall over. No sea legs on this one, apparently. But he's ready when the ship pulls down so that they can jump off safely. There's a hesitation of a heartbeat, long enough for the spread wings emblem on Auron's coat to begin to glow, before he leaps from the deck of the ship.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He draws his sword as he leaps, aiming to land in a group of Dravanian soldiers. He is heavier than he looks, and that sword is heavy too! It also has at least one very sharp edge... an edge that he's aimed at the soldiers as he leaps down into the fray.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>On Mako's arrival she slams into a few of the smaller aerial fliers, knocking them to the ground with a screeching, bowling over a few ground wyverns, and causing a few men on the outside to leap out of the way. Whelp-- if the Dreadnought wasn't enough indication along with the sudden charge of the Storm, they are very aware that the responders have come.<br /><br />----------<br /><br />High on a mountain top with his arms crossed stands a dark robed figure, with dark purple runic lines over his body. The red mask hiding his facial features, as two other figures in similar like clothing come to stand at his side.<br /><br />Though when Mako shakes the mountain, they all three look down at her and only the 'leader' tilts his head faintly. Their gaze turns from her back to the war, before they go to step through a dark portal and vanish.<br /><br />---------<br /><br />Garen will see with his scope that the Dragon Knights all have the same armor and if it wasn't for the dark coloration of the Garleans, it may be even hard to tell them apart from /them/. The Dragon Knights seem to be wearing magitek armor that glows with soft blue in some locations, their faces hidden and the helm having a dragon like look to it.<br /><br />There is some among the ranks that have gold stripes along their arms or down the chest to the belt against the silver-blue cermet metal. He may even witness one man grabbing a hold of an Ishgardian soldier, lifting them off the ground with inhuman strength and then throwing him aside like a sack of potatoes.<br /><br />Kirika leaps into the fray right along with the Admiral. Her spear jamming down into one of the ground drakes with roars out as it bites into a section between the magitek cermet plates. The Dragon attempts to then ram her into a wall. The Admiral's bullets nail a few ground wyverns, nailing one right in the eye and causing the other to turn and hiss at her. The bullets also impact the armor of a few Dragon Knights who turn their own lances on her and open fire with sparks of blue; almost looked like plasma really.<br /><br />Ryu goes charging toward the Stone Vigil and slams down the main door, which Gaius can only watch as he continues to make his own approach, while his own men rush to different points. Once the white dragon pounces down on one of the other ground drakes, it roars out in return. Ryu's claws shred into its scaled hide, and leave nasty gashes across the cermet Magitek armor it wears. The sheer assault forces the ground drake away from the Dragoon.<br /><br />Once Ryu uses some of his magic to stabilized the armored Holy Knight, the Dragoon can only open his bleeding mouth slightly. "...a dragon...?" He says weakly. "...I..." Then he tries to speak to warn as the Drake gets back up, its mouth opening to breath down fire at them both, however a lance is thrown down like a harpoon into its neck, as another dragoon leaps down and slams the lance complete through as he lands on the butt of it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>That same dragoon flips back, before using a chain to yank the lance free and lands back on the ground with a flip. "Dragon." He says to Ryu. His voice crisp and clear, his pulls up his mask visor to look at the white dragon before. "Take care of my allies and I'll see that my lord of the house returns the favor in turn. Even if it be treachery talk," he says with a smirk. The man looks young, but he is also elezen. Those blue eyes almost glow and freckles over his face. Once he pulls back down the mask he then uses two chain grappling hooks to drive into two smaller wyvens, slamming them back into the ground. "Go!"<br /><br />Mihk is aided by the Garleans to defend a location for medical aid and she may see off in the distance several white reapers inbound. They hold the 3rd Legions banner, which means Polus has sent in some aid in order to assist. Running along side the reapers is a platoon of men in white magitek armor with fur like capes over their shoulders. Some with rifles actually in hand, others with gunblades.<br /><br />Auron leaps down into the fray and his blade knocks several of the Dragon Knights aside. It is only as he goes to swing around does one day stand against him. His own blade slams hard into another long sword user. While the eyes are hidden, the stare is there, before that Dragon Knight attempts to parry around Auron's sword and go in for a strike.<br /><br />Gaius does at last make it in as all hell breaks around him and mix of forces collide. His own gauntlet takes aim and starts to fire down several of the Knights before swiftly stepping about to jam the blade of the Herisbane up the underside of a Dravanian's jawline. "...Where is Nael?" Gaius sneers out, but with no answer porbably to be give, the Garlean Legatus fires the Hiersbane which the bullet tears easily straight through before tossing the Dravanian aside. "Secure the Magaitek cannons on the main wall! Disengage the Ceruleum! We need to hold down this courtyard!" The Legatus barks out as his own men, who quickly move to do so.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:636|Ryu (636)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Once the Dragoon is stabilized and expresses his confusion, Ryu looks confused as well, and looks over to the dragon he attacked right as a lance strikes it down. The Dragoon that did it speaks to him, and the white-scaled dragon first shows bright surprise in his eyes... and then a stern understanding of those words. He wasn't expecting someone to recognize his efforts so quickly, even if he somewhat misunderstands the situation.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I have never had loyalty to these beasts that call themselves Dragons," he tells the Dragoon with a cool fury. It's clear he doesn't approve of the Dravanians whatsoever, though the anger isn't exactly hatred. Once he has said that, he scoops up the stabilized Dragoon, and moves to find another and perform the same treatment. Once he has two or three of them, he'd move at a decent speed back to where Mihk is to set them down with a very slow and careful movement...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then run back in to continue his recovery operation.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:573|Mihk Lihzeh (573)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk looks around at the Maelstrom healers. They're far more efficient at this than she is, so instead, she turns to defense. Opening her tome, she places a red gemstone into the middle of the large two-page magic iconography. She pulls a quill from seemingly thin air, and begins to 'write' upon the page with glowing yellow ink. "Power of Earth, Heed my summons. Fill this gemstone with thy power, and by this contract be bound to my will. Provide unto me a bulwark, from within which none shall assail me." she reads aloud, picking the gemstone up, and tossing it forwards, where it resolves into a golden yellow fox-like creature. "Guard me!" she commands it, which makes it take up a defensive stance.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another page, and more Aether, Mihk channels power through the tome, and takes a breath, pouring Mana out into the spell. "PROTECTION!" she cries, possibly earning a glance or two from the Conjurors, as a segmented shield appears around the triage area, providing even a modest amount of cover so the wounded can be treated.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kirika doesn't take long to find an enemy to engage, her spear lancing into the side of a drake. A roar leaves the kitsune as she tries to stab at whatever may end up debilitating the beast. However, she is blindsided by the creature, knocked off her feet and slammed into the wall. Her armor keeps her intact, and she spits out a mouthful of blood while she glares at the beast.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ice envelops her body, and she draws Kinugiri in her hand as she charges the monster, teleporting as she reforms just above, and her blade slashes down upon the drake's hide with helmsplitting force.<br /><br /><br />THopefully this isn't an icedrake.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Auron seems like the heavy sword user-- slow and easily overtaken by a fast opponent. At least that's what it seems like. But that sword isn't being wielded like a zweihander. It's being wielded like a longsword. One-handed. The weapon's weight makes it perfect for Piercing through armor, so the falling strike with all of Auron's weight is likely to have hurt pretty badly.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But then one of the Dravanian horde ties up Auron's blade in a clinch, robbing him of momentum to make further strikes. And then the Dragon Knight swings at him. Auron is faster than he looks, though. And part of his training was learning how to take hits. The Katana is parried away, but Auron plants the blade of his sword into the ground. He transfers the momentum to his own body, turning to miss the strike aimed at him.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As he turns, he swings a heavy-booted foot at the helm of the Dragon Knight. This might take Auron's enemy off-guard, if he was expecting purely sword strikes from the former warrior-monk. At least, Auron hopes it will.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:191|Mako Mankanshoku (191)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jumping to her feet, Mako dusts snow off her uniform with both her hands and the large white gloves that emerge from her Uniform coat's spiked sleeves. With a huff, she looks down and around her feet at the dazed troops that were caught up in her blizzard of an entrance, then out towards the forces of Dravinians who have yet to enter the Stone Vigil. According to the guy who sounds like he's in charge, these people are the bad guys! So she should leave the soldiers in red coats alone.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Alright!" Mako raises her hands, smacking her fist into her palm. Her uniform's sleeves mimic the gesture, though when the white glove slams into its counterpart, it hurls a shockwave out from around Mako's feet.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"My name is Mankanshoku Mako! President of the Honnouji Academy Fight Club! Now that we've been properly introduced--!" Her feet dig in, forming a crater as Mako hurls herself forward and down to ground level. On impact, she creates another crator, hurling herself in amongst the soldiers. In one hand she's produced a bat, wrapped in tape and decorated with bent nails, swinging it in an arc that betrays the strength granted by her Two-Star uniform by sending out a wave of pressure.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:595|Admiral Merlwyb (595)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The airship returns to the skies as soon as the Union elites disemark, preventing it from becoming an easy target. While the Garlean airships are quite clearly attack craft, the small Malestrom ones act more akin to troop transports to assist in maintaining battle lines. One even assists in medical evacs. <br /><br />The Maelstrom healers stare at Mihk as she summons her Topaz Carbuncle right in their midst, their expressions varying stages of fearful. "An Arcanist...!" One whispers. <br /><br />"Oi! Pick yer jaws up off'a th' floor and keep yer minds on yer tasks!" A female Hellsguard Roegadyn barks, healer robes swirling around her ankles as the red-skinned Eorzean strides through. "Th' Admiral will have yer heads if ye lose yer focus now, skrags, an' that's AFTER I git through wit' ye!" The healers almost scurry back to their tasks and the Hellsguard moves on to assist Ryu with the Dragoons he has brought. <br /><br />Admiral Merlwyb does not stop firing, Death Penalty and Annihilator seeming to never require reloading as she weaves through the battlefield. A squad of Maelstrom soldiers joins her, which helps her progress. She follows the path of carnage the Garleans sliced, shooting any Dravian that attemps to retake the path. "Darnus seems to not be here," she comments to Gaius as she approaches, motioning for her Maelstrom soldiers to assist the Garleans. She pulls the hammer back on her flintlocks, checking the weapons for signs of wear or overuse. "Typical. Sending armies ahead while he plays chess with their lives from the rear."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:530|Garen (530)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Garen narrows his red eyes as he spots the man who tosses away the poor soldier and lets a bolt of hot energy fly at his head. His keen eyes also noticed the stripes down the arms of others. He makes a note mentally to keep an eye on them for clear shots. For the moment, he focused on the apparent super humanly powerful individual.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mihk tends to the needed and keeping all safe within the makeshift war. Ryu gets to play field retrieve, he'll find many knights of Ishgard are down, many dieing, and a a few Dragoons down. Though he has someone watching his back as that same Dragoon who addressed him earlier can be seen swinging from an old fallen pole with the grappling hook, before using the other to jam right into a dragon's wing above and actually use it as a means to pull himself up to the beast, before driving his lance right in, forcing the dragon to collide right into a wall and down onto the ground.<br /><br />Several other Dragoon can be seen jumping up to the wall before leaping to the other side to face on several Wyvern above on the top wall, their armor seeming to protect them from the dragon fire that breaths down on them.<br /><br />Kirika's lance slams down on the drake who assaulted her and claims the beats life. Though victory over one, she will find battle with others as several Dragon Knights open fire on her with their plasma shots, which explode on impact and probably scorch the area on impact.<br /><br />One of the Dragoons sounds from high above as she calls out to all. "This Court yard is almost secure! Stay lively, for the Fury is with us!"<br /><br />The Dragon Knight Auron was facing was indeed not planning a sudden kick to the helm, so it does stagger the knight and leaves him open for attacks. Though several heavy armored ground drakes are charging at Auron's flank and seeming to plan to bawl him over if he isn't quick enough. Mako joins into the fight and her deadly bludgeon weapon knocks some of the smaller drakes aside, but one of the Dragon Knights challenges her as he blocks one of her strikes with his lance. He breaks the lance away and then goes to spin the weapon around to try and trip up Mako.<br /><br />Though thanks to Garen's well timed shot, another who was going in for Mako gets impacted by the bullet, while the Cermet does it job, the high powered bullet bites right in and drops the Dragon Knight.<br /><br />A large wyrm can be seen flying over head once more, before seeming to swoop down into the next courtyard over, several dragoons give chase and the rider Ryu would know well... It is the one who has been taunting him since the start of it all in the Multiverse--- Nael's right hand man...<br /><br />Gaius continues to cut down the lines, ignoring the fact a large Wyrm went into the second courtyard, even as the Admiral joins his side, he only seems to give her vague acknowledgment that she is there as his boot slams down a door to head into an underground passage way. "Darnus has laid out the cards well, we do not know what his next move is, though we predicted this one almost to late... if not late enough."<br /><br />As several dragon knights come toward the Admiral and Gaius direction, the Legatus goes to meet them in full charge, jamming his blade against one, before boot kicking them ahead to meet the Admiral's own flintlocks and then punching another in the midsection before super charging his gauntlet to blast through the other, allowing them to drop to the ground. As they move on, the bodies behind them start to melt as the Magitek armor seems to burn them away and eventually, even itself.<br /><br />Many out in the main Courtyard may also witness this very thing happening to Dravanian and Knight alike that has fallen on the Dravanians side.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:530|Garen (530)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Garen grins as he spots the armored soldier falling to his shot, and quickly moves to another target. Of course, from his position, he spots Gaius and lets fly a few shots at any other dragon knights in his way. He then even has to gall to take aim and shoot for one of the flying wyvern's wings. "Fire I can at least swat down a few of these bothersome flies for you dragoons." He says to himself. He was in his element, being a nice and annoying thorn in the dravanian's side.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kirika sheathes her katana, ripping the lance free from the drake's carcass as she hears more Dragon Knights approaching. "So be it. FACE ME!" She roars, shield raised and lance pointed as she charges into stabbing range. The knights' shots are blocked by Kirika's shield, and she lunges towards one of them with her spear stabbing into the knight's gut.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fire envelops Kirika, and she sents a gout of flame towards the others.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:573|Mihk Lihzeh (573)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk pants a little for breath, the outlay of energy draining her for the moment. She pops the stopper on a blue mixture, and quafs it, which seems to put a spring back in her step.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The staring doesn't faze her, since she's used to it by now. Instead, she gathers Aether into her tome again, turning now to the Dragoons that were brought back. Green light manifests around her hand, as she kneels beside one, pouring the healing magic of her Physick spell into him to seal his wounds, and speed his recovery. "You will feel able to move soon, but please, rest for a few moments, and let your body regenerate before returning to the fray." she advises, before pressing a vial of red liquid into their hand. "Drink this before you return to the melee. It will buffer you further against the dragon's flame."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Moving on to another, she repeats the process, gathering Aether, pouring it into the Dragoon in a healing wave, and giving advice, while providing a vial of Fire Resistance.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:636|Ryu (636)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Each time Ryu receives assistance, he spares a look up to the agile Dragoon, acknowledging the effort taken to make sure the rescue efforts aren't interrupted by any of the angry Dravanians or their Dragon Knights. The white dragon largely avoids engaging in direct combat so long as he's ferrying the injured back from the fray and to the healers. First he'd grab the Dragoons, since they're the priority, and THEN he'd start moving the other injured back. Each trip he manages to scoop up three or four of them, his physical strength able to hold grown men in armor without too much hindrance.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All the while, he glances distractedly around for where the largest of the dragons are, seeking out the one that may be ridden by the current leader of this assault. Once he spots the very large wyrm, his eyes widen.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Once he spots his prey, he pursues. He leaps up the Stone Vigil and tries to traverse as quickly as possible with huge bounding leaps, trying to reach that dragon rider. He's found his target.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It takes Sanary long enough to find her way to the battle, having run into some trouble just trying to find the place. Strapped on time, energy, and stressing herself out just getting to the right place, the axe healer sounds almost elated as she spots some familiar faces in Gaius, Mihk, and even that crazy girl with the nail bat! <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Give me better directions next time!" The healer bellow out towards nobody in particular from inside her spiked green armor, taking aim at one of the Dragon Knights coming (relatively) closer to the healers. She steadies herself for a moment, then barrels straight at that Dragon Knight. "Hey, stupid!" Will he look or won't he? Either way, she's pumping energy into the Bolt shell loaded in her gunaxe before taking a powerful electricity-infused swing at the knight in front of her!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Never do what the enemy expects of you. It's a sound theory, as proven when the Dragon Knight is temporarily staggered by the kick to the face. Auron prepares to finish the staggered Dravanian off... but the Dravanian horde is not stupid. His missing right eye will have been a clear indicator that he can't see on that side. Aside from the scuffling on that direction -- and in what direction /isn't/ there the sounds of scuffling in? -- he has no warning before an impact!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Auron grunts in surprise, thrown back, but thanks to the Sentiment's Slicker, feels no actual pain. Yet. Likely will later. But now with several Dravanians seeking his head, he has to do more than just knock one out. Jumping to his feet again with a surprisingly quick movement for his apparent slowness, he raises his sword, then slashes downward with a kiai.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then suddenly a flurry of slashes fill the air before him, as if several people with swords had all swung them in that area at once. It's enough to catch several of the Dravanians coming after him, in fact, if they're not quick enough to get out of the way!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:191|Mako Mankanshoku (191)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the midst of her rampage Mako is brought to a halt by someone with both the wherewithal and the strength to stop her swings. The life-fiber reinforced bat slams into the knight's lance, prompting a little noise of surprise from the brunette wielding it. When he breaks away, Mako's thrown off balance, flailing her arms while on one leg, and it's a simple matter to knock her down with a swipe at her feet.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;While Mako picks herself up, she is not defenseless. Her uniform's left sleeve produces a huge white glove which swings around on the offending soldier with a fist the size of a small child. The other supports her as she stands, and once she's on her feet, pulls from the snow and forms a second meaty giant fist while the girl herself evaluates her position.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mankanshoku Mako is no strategist. But she can brawl with the best of them, especially in the only Goku uniform designed specifically to enhance brawling. One giant gloved hand reaches into her coat, pulling out a gold-colored anvil, which the girl slams down on the head of one of the larger ground-confined dragons. The other glove reaches, snatching the great reptile by its tail and yanking it off the ground, then swinging the armored mount in a wide arc around her while Mako herself keeps after the officer who had initially tripped her, still wielding her nailbat.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"What you're doing isn't very nice, you know! You should ask nicely--and if they say no, accept that answer and leave so you can still be friends! If you win at friendship than you win at life!" Not that the guys she's beating senseless would care what she has to say, Mako just doesn't shut up most of the time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:595|Admiral Merlwyb (595)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>An airship loaded full of Maelstrom forces lands in as soon as the skies clear for a moment, thanks to Garen's sniping cover-fire, which bolsters the joint Eorzean-Garlean presence even further. The battle for the Courtyard seems to be noticeably turning to the Elites' favor, no small part due to Auron and Mako's efforts. The bodies of fallen Malestrom soldiers whose lives cannot be saved in time disappear in a flash of light, though it is noticeably different that the Dragon Knight's disintegration. <br /><br />The medical area set up within the far side of the Courtyard is kept very busy, Carbuncle and Arcanist all but forgotten as the wounded and dying continue to pour in. All are equal for the moment, and Sanary's sudden appearance in defense helps keep the immediate area free of Dravanian incursion for the moment. <br /><br />While Gaius charges at the incoming enemies, the Admiral hangs back and opens fire at any opening she can find. The Dravanian Knight who Gaius almost shoves at her is shot right through the helm's eyelets with a Cereleum-laced bullet, and she steps over its disintegrating body as she follows Gaius underground. <br /><br />"Hmph. Well, if it's a card game he plays, we may yet be able to stack the deck in our favor." Her voice is low and quiet, minimizing any echo through the underground passage. "Now where does this rabbit hole go...?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:768|Cory (768)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAARRRRRRGH!!!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Something crimson, bright, and pumped up comes rocketing from the skies like a bolt of lightning! Whatever it is is loud and by the sound of it, probably female.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Like a pinball this newcomer bounces through the skies from dragon to dragon, delivering deep kicks and punches to scaled bellies certain to knock the wind out of even these mighty beasts.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But after deliering her final blow from the opening volley, the new warrior bounces off and enters a reverse spin somersault.. only to land atop the pinnacle of the castle's tower. There the crimson light fades, revealing Cory in her training attire - the turtle school gi - with both arms folded and a smug look.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"You guys started without me!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Garen continues to hold his position of support fire, as Kirika drives her lance into one of the Dragon Knights and blast flames at one of the Drakes which screams in pain-- including a bit of surprise. While one is being burned away, the other Drake comes charging in, only to be intercepted by a Dragoon.<br /><br />The Dragoon impales the Drake into the side, before yanking out his lace and then driving his fist right into the collarbone of the beast, before yanking his fist out. Those clawed fingers coated with fingers, before he looks over to Kirika. Giving her a gentle nod of his head, he goes to help her hold the spot as more Drakes try to come rushing in with roars and their heads down in a ramming run for the two.<br /><br />One of Garen's shot fired at one of the flies, causes it to roar in pain as it starts to descend to the ground below and its actually heading /right for/ Garen's position. Perhaps intentionally on its part.<br /><br />As Ryu drops off the next group, Mihk's magic does her job well, a few of them do try to move back quickly, but they only stumble back down. Though when Ryu does go back and starts to make his way for the Second Countyard, he would find his Dragoon shadow is not far behind, including with four others seeming to easily keep up with the Dragon no matter where he leaps or bounds too.<br /><br />Sanary enters the fray heading into the Count yard and swings he axe, to find it being metal by the gunlance they posses. The Dragon Knight tries to hold her back only to find a shot impacting into a weak point of his armor. The Third Legion was now moving in and coming in with a quick pace as they open fire with automatics and the Reapers spray down their own machine gun fire.<br /><br />Cory comes into the fray and knocks around a few Dravanians in the skies before coming to land on one of the towers. She may have one of the best seats in the house to second Court Yard which seems to be heavily overran and one massive Wyrm is laying down an ice breath over several of the defending forces there.<br /><br />Auron's own attack levels down several Dragon Knights, forcing several more to pull back to the second Courtyard beyond the tunnel heading that way. Mako's own insanities are also helping drive some of the Dravanian forces into the Second Courtyard where the Wyrm had seen go off too.<br /><br />One of the Ishgardians calls out as forces are seen moving into the tunnels heading for the second court yard. "We have secured the central Court Yard! Keep pushing them back! Run them to the ground to those heretics bleed along side the dragons they so adore! Run them down!! FOR THE FURY!!!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>As Gaius and the Admiral continue to move on the tunnel takes them directly under the second court yard which they can hear the battle above. Blood can be seen dropping down from the grates above. The people there were not holding well, but maybe that would soon change?<br /><br />Even a loud dragon roar could be heard above which shakes the old tunnel a bit. Gaius keeps his own voice down, "To the third Court Yard. There may be wounded there... and something I plan to reclaim." The Legatus says with all earnest. "Though I must ask," Gaius pauses as he hears foot step, then as one of the Dragon Knights comes around the corner, before the man can yell, the Legatus takes hold of the man's head and simply twists it. "...why did you follow me?" Then lets the man drop to his feet. "Would you not be more use to your own men?"<br /><br />Those heading into the second court yard would soon see what Cory is. The area is larger, structures on fire, and dead lay everywhere. The Dravanians almost have this area fully secured for themselves and as they dare to look in, the Wyrm roars loudly before his eyes narrow sharply. His icy blue scales shimmer in the fogged sun with blue stripes over his body. Those gold eyes such a contrast to his heavily armored scales and the magitek gear over his body. "Stone Vigil..." His words seethe behind his sharp clenched teeth. "Shall fall..."<br /><br />Others may see Magitek Reaper like machines here which open fire on all those not Dravanian, including heavy cannon fire that irrupts from them. Massive blue beams of energy also come raining down from above from the towers that been taken control of. People will have to act fast if they want to reclaim this area.<br /><br />Several Ishgardian knights that do try to rush in, are blasted back. Several Garleans caught in the beam blast suddenly catch on fire and just crash to the ground dead.<br /><br />This-- wont be easy at all.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:530|Garen (530)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Garen curses softly as he see's the 'fly' aiming to crash onto his position. So much for remaining in the backfield, he thought. So, he starts running. He tosses down a few long timer grenades for his new wyvern friend and uses a rather covertly equipped grappling hook to swing himself towards the towers. Any enemy on the ground below would be met with the rifle fire from the Imperial agent, but that wasn't all. Once he was near enough, he aimed to land and with the momentum, slam the nearest Dravanian in his path to the ground, followed by a blaster shot to the head. Then the agent pulls his trio of trump cards. A sword from the centurion, his blaster, and considerable training in close quaters combat of both martial and grappling.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:636|Ryu (636)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eventually Ryu finds himself perched and staring down into the bloodied courtyard, full of Dravanian magitek and the huge wyrm that bellows its certainty at those who are trying to stop this invasion. The white dragon doesn't care about the dragon quite as much as the person riding on its back, golden eyes locking on to the figure. He coils on his spot, trying to move before he gets blasted. He's a small target with a lot of agility, so he's got that going for him, but a blast sears one of his arms with a powerful growl out of him when he does jump.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ryu tries to land atop the very self-assured dragon and grab ahold with one of his claws for a moment to gain his balance. Once he has, he turns his attention to the dragon rider, and instead of a physical strike...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He tries to fill the air above the ice wyrm with the loud roar of holy dragon fire, the whole battlefield lightly to light up like a bomb had gone off. He's not sparing even an ounce of mercy, not to the objective of all of his visits to Coerthas and a direct subordinate to Nael.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Suddenly BACKUP COMES in the form of a friendly Dragoon warrior. Kirika is taken by surprise by this, but she isn't one to turn away help if lives are on the line. Nodding back, she slings her shield to grip her lance two-handed, leaping towards another of the knights with a thrusting strike to the sternum. ALl that fancy armor doesn't count for much if it'll make your chest all the more vulnerable.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Impressive form, we ought to compare techniques if we make it through this!" She comments to the dragoon, her lance sweeping out to clear out from breathing room. The tip of the spear may in fact be on fire right now, MAGIC fire no less, and KIrika makes a thrust towards one of the drakes, intending to hit it with a good stab to the throat.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Auron frees himself from the Dravanians enough to head into the second courtyard... and see the mess that's been made of things there. Towers he can't reach, Magitek creations too large for him to reach, and an ice wyrm. Just rushing in is not going to work, no. That much is made clear when the advance of several Ishgardians and Garleans are completely rebuffed. It looks like he's not going to be much help as he is.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But then... Auron gets an idea. Rather than simply rush in -- and likely get blasted to smithereens -- Auron attempts to flank the battle. He's trying to reach one of those Magitek things, to approach it from behind. Anything shooting at him would have to risk shooting the Magitek thing he's approaching. Which would play int his hands just as much as what he's trying to do anyway.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What exactly /is/ he doing? He's going to try to climb up one of the Magitek things and take out its pilot. He'll have his sword out to block blasts where he can, but if he can reach the Magitek thing, he'll have to put that away and start climbing.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sanary seems mildly confused as the lightning matrix in the axe activates, the edge of her weapon crackling with electricity while pressing it into the metal of the Dragon Knight's lance. Just as well, though, since the gunfire from the Third Legion seems to be quite a good job at finishing off the Knight. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Clearly, she's probably outgunned here in comparison to the others. Spotting Auron going around the side, however, does give the axe-fighter an idea... A terrible idea, but an idea nonetheless! <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Taking a moment to steel herself for what she's about to do, she does the complete opposite of the old man: She heads in a straight line for the Dravanians. She's not so stupid and suicidal that she'll just waltz into the line of fire, of course, and she does take cover. What she does do, however, is start firing lightning bolts from her gun axe from behind that cover, spraying shots out in the Dravanian's general direction. If someone's going to be sneaking around the back, then someone else has to play the role of the decoy!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:191|Mako Mankanshoku (191)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mako plants herself down, swinging the dragon in a wide circle around herself and then releasing it, transforming the Dragon Flail into a Dragon Cannonball directly into the Dravinian formation encroaching on the courtyard. Wrenching her sleeve-fist from the snow at her feet, Mako reaches into her coat and pulls out her knuckleduster, clamping the golden star fistguard in place on her right hand while twirling her bat in her left. The sleeves of her Uniform also spread out into an intimidating posture, fingers spread out, "Come on, come on! If I don't fight than it starts feeling really cold out here!"<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, Mako, maybe you should have worn pants to go with that longcoat. And also something with sleeves you actually put your arms in.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's that deep booming voice from further inside the castle and Mako turns her head with a "Huh?" Her head tilts. She doesn't know what Vigil means--but stone and falling, is whoever that is talking about this castle thing she's helping these wierd people guard? With a laugh, the girl backs through the courtyard entrance, returning her attention to the soldiers encroaching, "Whoops! Looks like I gotta beat and run!" Her sleeves extend, reaching up until the fingers can lace themselves into the portculis over the gate. With a grunt of effort, Mako wrenches it off its gearing and draws the steel portculis down hard enough to crack the stonework beneath it.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Disentangling her gloves from it, the Fight Club president whirls around and dashes off, leaving the troops she was fighting to contend with a sudden barrier while she dashes through the building's interior towards the third and largest courtyard, "Hold on, guys! Mako is on her way... to help!"<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And Gods help anything that gets in her way.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:595|Admiral Merlwyb (595)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Admiral Merlwyb snorts at Gaius' question. "I could ask you the same question, Legatus, and I imagine your reply is no different than mine." She steps over the fallen Knight as she continues to maintain her pace. "We have faith in the leadership capabilities of our officers to ensure victory even without our direct involvement. Besides," another Knight appears and she drives a gnarled dagger into his neck at the seam of helm and chest, "common enemy aside, I don't trust you." <br /><br />When the path to the second courtyard is opened, Storm Marshal Slafyrsyn barks, "Maelstrom, HOLD YOUR LINE!" This prevents the Maelstrom soldiers from getting caught in the initial blasts that took down the Ishgardian and Garlean vanguards, magic-users crafting shields to protect against subsequent volleys, but it won't hold. Ranged magics and archers try to do what they can to support the Elites that have gone into the Second Courtyard, but it has become a defensive tactic for the moment. <br /><br />The Storm Marshal turns goggled eyes towards the cannons that are providing such extreme covering fire. "Those..." He wheels his chocobo mount around, barking further orders as he gathers a group of Eorzeans and Garleans alike and sends them onto one of the Maelstrom's airships. The airship then takes to the sky, now substantially cleared thanks to Cory's arrival, and makes a beeline towards one of the cannons still occupied with shelling ground forces with the full intent to take it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:768|Cory (768)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reclaim the towers, huh? That's easy enough. Hopefully. With dragons roaring everywhere and weird cannon shots flying everywhere Cory has no choice but to brace herself and tank it. She's engulfed in explosions... but comes out looking just singed and winded instead of torn to bits. THAT's Saiyan-grade toughness alright!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Those weapons would turn the tide in a hurry. How about we work on that?!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She swoops for the nearest tower and will set about decking whoever's controlling those things into a wall!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Kirika claims one of the dragons on the way to the next Courtyard, with the Dragoon who aided her keeping up with her form, as he flips on the Dragon Knights with ease, before strike a hard fist to the center mass of the chest and then driving his spear in the weakened metal, side stepping a shot that goes by. "We might, m'lady." The Dragoon says to her, as he pulls his spear out.<br /><br />Though as they go to make their way in with everyone else, the Dragoon quickly with his speed move Kirika away from the sudden explosions and beams of energy, getting nailed in the leg in the process.<br /><br />Garen helps clear one way, which some knights and Garleans follow, trying to see what they can do about those towers, but several machine gun bullet shots start to come their way. One of the Ishgardian Knights gets nailed and goes right off the ledge falling behind the wall and off into a gully below.<br /><br />As Auron goes the sneaky way, Sanary plays distraction. Her lightning axe blasts out electrical energy, which discharges against a field of some kind on a few of the knights but nails some of the dragons which roar out in pain. This in turn causes one of them to go charging right at her!<br /><br />As for that Magitek Armor is a bit more secure then the Garleans, but accessible all the same as it unloads more ammunition at the groups trying to get in. However once Auron gets up there the operator is easily dispatched. Only problem is--- now using the machine! There is all types of levers, three foot pedals, and several different types of buttons on the steering wheel of the machine. There is even a dash board with glowing gauges and all types of information displayed.<br /><br />Mako would only find a few forces in her way, sadly, but those that do get in her way, do try to put up a fight. It wouldn't long till she is at the next courtyard everyone is trying to secure and if she isn't careful one of those high power beams from the tower attempts to nail her!<br /><br />Cory flies in and smashes the Dragon Knight into the wall. His body impacts hard, cracking the stone and he slides down slump on the ground. The weapon has what looks like a heavy cable running to a generator of some kind. Once she sits down a screen becomes visible that seem to float in the air, marking targets and showing distance of. Including even correctly lock for quicker aim.<br /><br />There was even a charge timer!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Ryu comes down and the Dragoons being lead by Sorel move in as well. They go to tackles some of the wyverns and Sorel slams his lance into part of the armor on the massive Wyrms neck. "You shall not be taking the Vigil this day, beast! I shall send you back to where the King of Wyrms now sleeps!"<br /><br />The massive Wyrm sneers at the Dragoon as those eyes narrow. "What do you know of our king or this war! Your blind to her own heresies to the Mother!" The dragon reaches with his claw wing to swipe at the Dragoon and then attempts to breath ice right on the agile warrior.<br /><br />As for Ryu lets out a roar as the Dragoon distracts the dragon, his pray is not so easily distracted, "Ah... the lost whelp has arrived." As the holy fire comes down the 'leader' of this band, turns and leaps out, throwing out a shield of some of energy which impacts with the holy fire. The blast does break the shield, but it gives enough time for the man to land down in a roll, before seeming to vanish.<br /><br />Only to then appear next to Ryu and striking out with his lance, "You should have join us! You should have listened to My Lord's request as you are fighting on the wrong side!"<br /><br />More wounded come in and Mihk seems to be overwhelmed, soon some of the Garleans own medics step in and one of them goes to pull Mihk aside. "Recover yourself and help the others within. They have moved to the second courtyard and may need aid within."<br /><br />As for Gaius and the Admiral they continue to make their way, before Gaius slams down another door on the top of the steps, only to turn and face the Heirsbane at the Admiral. "As you shouldn't Admiral. This is where our little truce ends. Return to /your/ men... or I shall open fire, because while I respect you Admiral..." His index finger moves to the trigger. "I shall not be denied this one thing... even as petty as it may be."<br /><br />It will be obvious to the Admiral why--- it is clear as day even here. The Airship...<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...The Enterprise...<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...Cid's Airship...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:573|Mihk Lihzeh (573)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk blinks at the Garleans. She pants a bit, then nods, giving a whistle to her Carbuncle. THe little gold fox scampers up, and the Arcanist heads inwards towards the front line. She leaves the Protect barrier in place for the main site, just in case any fliers or artillery try to nail them. She sets up 'shop' again, setting out potions on a table, and gathering Aether into her tome. "Carbuncle, Guard Me!" she says, then watches for the incoming Dragoons.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:636|Ryu (636)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ryu's eyes narrow behind the bright flash of his own fire when he hears the shield shatter behind his powerful attack. He can hardly keep up with the battle around him, the powerful chaos surging around him. He then witnesses the dragon rider land and-- disappear!? He snaps his head around to look for where the man went, in case it was pure speed. He leaps off the distracted wyrm to find solid ground for the coming battle. When the man comes right up next to him, and the spear stabs in for him, there's a moment where his pupils shrink, and blood sprays--<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He has accepted a stab, but he tried to make it for one of the shoulders so his organs don't get pierced. When the spear goes in, he lets out a powerful roar of pain, feeling his muscles and scales shred underneath the attack. But instead of seizing up, he fights the urge to pass out, shuddering. His tail lashes and both hands go to grab the lance to try and lift it up before it goes all the way through him.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"It's the Dravanians that are lost under you!!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He tries to pull the lance out of him in a vicious and painful moment, then yank it inward toward him and SLUG the dragon rider with his off hand, the one that's all burnt up. He moves with such a determination that it's clear this is more than just dragon resilience. He has a certainty he didn't have before. His anger is matched with a loud roar to match!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:530|Garen (530)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Garen curses as he sees and hears the machine gun roaring it's protest to their approach. But that does little to deter him. Rather, he rummages and grabs a grenade from his belt. He peeks his head up from some make-shift cover and makes a quick mental judgement on the range he needed. Once that was done, he let fly his retort to the angry machine gun...an explosive retort.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sanary notices the strange field protecting some of the knights while peeking out every now and then in between shots, but she doesn't let that stop her from trying to grab as much attention as she can! What does stop her is the dragon charging straight at her. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That's definitely a good reason to change her course of action. Backing out of cover slowly as the beast starts to pick up speed, the healer has... Some options. One is to just try and overpower it! Probably wouldn't work all that well. There's also the option dealing with it like one of the monster's from Ysabel's world. Maybe, but she probably doesn't have nearly that much time on her side. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The third option is to grab onto the thing, then hope for the best. Considering how the dragon's already nearly upon her by the time she comes up with this option, there's little choice for her but to latch onto the dragon! Wrapping her arms around it's neck tightly for dear life, Sanary fumbles with her gunaxe in that spikey, chunky armor of hers. She does eventually manage to get her arms wrapped around the creature's neck, then just starts wrenching it forcefully to try and throw the dragon off its feet!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Once the pilot's out of the machine, Auron makes to get into the machine himself. He isn't foolish enough ot just start pushing buttons and pedals and pulling levers. Instead he calls out on the radio to his allies for this conflict -- some of them are Garlean, anyway, and he assumes they'd know what to do. "I've managed to hijack one of the walkers. Pointers would be appreciated, I've never seen one of these before."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Legion's disbelieving tone on the radio when told the situation gets a smirk from Auron. But he gets at least enough of an explanation to use the thing for a brief period of time -- turn the wheel to aim and fire with a trigger on the wheel. It does take him a moment to find the trigger. But he's not completely unaware. Between his time in the Multiverse and his time in Dream Zanarkand, he has a better understanding of technology than the average Spiran in this situation.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He finds the trigger on the wheel, and starts aiming at the other Magitek walkers. In doing so he turns his head a little to the right, so his remaining eye faces forward and gives him a more complete field of view, instead of missing most of the view from the right side.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's aware he's a sitting duck, too. So between shots, he's trying some slight experimentation with the foot pedals. One has to make it walk forward, right? It would be odd to for the levers to control the movement of the Magitek walker unless it was designed to be used by something with four arms -- lever-controlled forward movement would require one's hands to not be on the aiming wheel, so a pilot couldn't shoot and aim at the same time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:595|Admiral Merlwyb (595)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>ABOVE: <br /><br />The airship flares at the top of the tower and dispenses the troops within, who make quick work of the Dravanian forces. The Garlean part of the team take direct command of the cannon, while the Maelstrom part use their vantage point to provide cover fire. It doesn't take long for the cannon to open fire on the Horde instead of the allied forces, being mindful of the Reaper under Auron's control. <br /><br />ELSEWHERE: The Admiral looks utterly unimpressed with the Heirsbane pointed at her face, yet she does not raise her flintlocks in response. Behind Gaius, she can see the familiar outline of the Enterprise frozen in layers of ice and snow, and her eyes narrow incrementally. Cid's prized airship, used by the Warriors of Light to stop Nael in an effort to halt the Calamity. Built on Lominsian soil as proof of Cid's wish to help Eorzea against the Garlean threat and others besides. <br /><br />It is a craft the Admiral had feared lost after the Calamity, and she is also unwilling to simply hand it over to a sworn enemy -- no matter personal ties. <br /><br />"We can fight over the Enterprise's ownership later, Legatus." She points over to the battlefield. "THAT is our priority here. Now we can stand here, bickering and fighting like children, or we can work together to return this ship to the skies and end this battle all the sooner." She locks eyes with the black lenses of Gaius' helm, staring him down to the soul with no fear in her silver eyes. "What say YOU, Gaius Van Baelsar?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kirika seems to find herself with a new friend, and truly they shall be the best of friends as they right the wrongs of the multiverse, nothing will stop them from defeating evil at a-OH SON OF A-<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Grunting, she finds the dragoon wounded, badly no less. Remembering what she heard about healers, she doesn't exactly waste time in doing what needs to be done. She picks up the dragoon bridal carry style, and the kitsune /books it/ towards where the healers are posted.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk will find herself with someone to take care of, and Kirika gently puts the Dragoon down onto an open cot. "Take care of him, please."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:768|Cory (768)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"OOOOH." Cory's no engineer or technican, but she HAS played a few video games. enough to intuit what she's looking at.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Trouble is, she can't really stay there and use it much.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So when she takes aim, it's skyward at the Dravanian troops. The beam lances out in a sweeping shot but by the time it's off... Cory's already off for the next tower!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"This is EASY!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:191|Mako Mankanshoku (191)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The first group of Dravinian and Dragon Knights that get in Mako's way are bowled through like bowling pins when the girl dashes right through their formation at top speed, her feet carving small divots in the stone floors of the Vigil. When she comes to a corner, Mako plants her feet and slides, digging a furrow and then kicking off in the new direction. In this corridor, too, a cluster of Knights and a dragon barring her path. Mako draws her right hand up, the star-shaped knuckleduster glimmering, and she jumps.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In midair, Mako thrusts her hand forward and down, smacking a large chunk of stonework out of the ceiling arch. It hits the floor like a spiked volleyball, bounces, and then the girl hits the ground behind it and gives the stone another solid hit, transforming it into a projectile.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Heedless of the section of ceiling collapsing behind her, Mako follows her own projectile through the formation and bursts out into the courtyard in a blast of dust and a few scattered Knights.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Made it!"<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then Mako is knocked right back into the hallway she'd come out of by a high powered energy cannon, trailing dust and motes of red light from damaged Life Fibers.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:573|Mihk Lihzeh (573)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk nods to the kitsune as she brings the Dragoon over. Once he's laid down, she pours her Physick spell into him to stabilize his wounds, then grabs three bottles from her stock. One is poured directly onto the wounds, likely to cause a hiss of pain as the elixier forcefully closes the wounds up, staunching blood flow and regenerating damaged flesh. She then applies a poultice and keeps it in place with a length of leather strapping.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Arcanist then gently lifts the Dragoon's head, putting a potion to his lips and very gently feeding it to him. "Stay with me, what's your name?" she asks, trying to keep him conscious and focussed. "Can you tell me your name?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Garen's grenades go off and a few Dravanian Reapers are taken out, exploding in a blue blast of flame. Sanary plays tackle the Dragon and tries to yank the beast off its feet. This is only partly successful as it actually rears up with a struggled roar. The in defiance goes to slam it body /backwards/!<br /><br />Auron gets the walker to take aim. The Machine guns operate in short burst and the gauges display the ammo count. As he pushes down on one pedal, it actually /does/ go forward, but what is the third for on the far left side and what about the one to the far right? However the speed is not quick and one of the other reapers moves by with far greater speed, as it turns itself almost like a tank and returns fire!<br /><br />Some observation of the levers be easy to tell hey are aid in speed control, but are locked, which may be what the left pedal is all about if you ever driven a car with a clutch. It probably takes a few months to get use to such machines and really--- the Garleans Reapers are a little more stream lined on the controls, but they don't have the higher protection that these do.<br /><br />Cory, the Garleans, and the Maelstrom get control of the towers and start to use those deadly weapons against the Dravanian Horde. This /quickly/ starts to change things, enough that a few Dravanians actually /retreat/. Others go for the towers to try and reclaim them back. Something Cory will have to deal with!<br /><br />Mako makes her appearance-- and then is knocked back. A small dragon-fly like dragon suddenly hovers above her, looking down at her form. It cants its head side to side, before it squeaks at her... a few times. Its kinda cut-- and tiny--- and probably not at /all/ threatening.<br /><br />The Dragoon is taken by the Kitsune and is a bit surprised when he is /carried/ bridal style. "What are you..." thankfully they are in battle-- or he'd never hear the end of it. When they get over to Mhik, she goes to help him and accepts the potion. He grits his teeth a bit, before he reaches of his lance. "My name... is not important... that wyrm... must be striked down... or injured enough to force it to flee..."<br /><br />The Dragoon forces his visor up to look at Kirika, "Help... Sorel. Use my lance and bring me some honor and justice this day?" He then goes to lay back down, before he looks to Mihk. "Thank you healer. You will be rewarded... I am sure of it." At least she is keeping him aware.<br /><br />Ryu pushes back against the lance and then slams his fist into the Dragon Knight leader. The man oufs and staggers back before he chuckles softly. Even as he watches the towers come to a lose. "You think this is over..." He says calmly. "It is /far/ from over. This... /THIS/ is only the start. Nael has grand plans, glorious plans, and it /will/ save /her/." He then takes aim with his wrists a blow glow wraps around his hands before he then blasts out a beam of energy right for Ryu-- well-- that was new!<br /><br />"This goes beyond the rise of our True Lord Bahamut! It goes to the future of Hydaelyn!"<br /><br />The Massive Wyrm by this point is busy with Sorel the Dragoon. However the massive cannons fire down on him and its screeches in pain, seering at the armor, before he turns and faces one of the towers to blast a massive ice breath toward it!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ELSEWHERE:<br />Gaius tilts his head faintly to the Admiral's words. His hand holding the Heirsbane steady, before there was a low rumble, then he pulls the Gunblade away. "Very well." He says with little emotion in his voice as he then goes to walk into the courtyard and toward the Airship. It is only the does he notice there /is/ wounded her, hiding behind the Enterprise.<br /><br />He can only come to a slow stop of a walk before he lowers his head faintly. "...this is what he would have wanted..." He then turns to look at the Admiral, his voice remaining almost emotionless but stern. "Admiral. Help me un-thaw her. Let us get these people out of here on her wings."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:573|Mihk Lihzeh (573)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk shakes her head, and pushes the Injured Dragoon back down. "You are not going anywhere on that leg." she states firmly. "Your fight is over for the time being. Rest, recover, or I will be forced to tie you down to the cot." she adds, adjusting her glasses a little. "At least you are not in shock, this is good." she looks over at the fight, able to see the giant Wyrm even from here. "I pray to the Twelve they are able to stop that thing..." she says, then proceeds to do just that.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:530|Garen (530)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Garen looks over, nodding as the reaper goes up in a big ball of blue fire. "This gets better and better...Maybe I should cash in that favor..." He muses to himself. Though from his position, he can see the wyrm. "How many times must we tell you to keep that mouth shut, fly? Your breath is bad." He says, firing a bolt of blaster fire at it's eye.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bad idea. Very bad idea. Although Sanary's got a good grip on the dragon as she tries to force it down, she can't really do much to cover her ears with both of her hands occupied. As a result, she's forced to just withstand the roar of the dragon! <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Which... Strangely enough, doesn't bother her as much as she had expected. No ear bleeding, not even feeling disoriented... Just what /doesn't/ this armor do? Help her pull the damn dragon to the ground, for one. The armor doesn't really help her stop the dragon from throwing itself backwards, either, although she does have the sense to at throw herself off the beast before it can squash her. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Still, this is just what she was hoping for, clearly! Gripping the gunaxe tightly once more, Sanary goes for the tried and true (if overly straightforward) strategy of charging at the prone dragon and swinging at its with all her might!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kirika is given a new lance. She is given orders and a direction towards that big bad wyrm in the distance. With a nod to the Dragoon, Kirika grips her new lance tight. "I will return this when I am done, you have my word." And then she takes off, using a nearby vehicle to ride if there is one available towards the beast. One of the Chocobos wrangled up will do the trick fine, and she takes off after taking a moment to get used to the birdlike beast.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her new mount will carry herself towards the wyrm, and her lance is held at the ready as she charges into battle, stabbing and trampling any bastard in the way between herself and the wyrm, the chocobo nimbly and quickly carrying her towards the massive beast, leaping so that Kirika can get a stab at the dragon's underbelly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:595|Admiral Merlwyb (595)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>BATTLEFIELD: <br /> The Storm Marshal exhales faintly as the tide of battle visibly turns with each report of the cannons. "Maelstrom!" He thunders as his hand raises. "CHARGE!" He spurs his destrier into a full gallop, taking the lead back into the thick of battle. He even drives bladed knuckles into the face of a Dravanian as he passes! <br /><br />ELSEWHERE: <br /> The Admiral's shoulders untense just a fraction as Gaius lowers Heirsbane and turns aside. Though she is more than willing to fight over the Enterprise, she would rather not do so here and now. There are more important matters to attend to, brought to the forefront with the discovery of wounded hiding in the Enterprise's shadow. <br /><br />The Admiral's long strides bring her to the injured, where she kneels on one knee to have a better look at them. "Aye, Legatus," she nods to Gaius before tapping her ear. It does not take long for a small support team to reach them -- Thauramurges, Conjurers, and Garlond Ironworks engineers. The Thauramurges immediately channel fire spells to unthaw the ice, the healers switch between tending to the injured or directing the newly-melted water elsewhere, and the engineeers carefully examine the hull as it is unthawed to check for airworthiness.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:636|Ryu (636)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ryu wonders why the man is laughing. When he starts going on about the plan, the dragon is listening intently, the words spoken to him making him squint through the pain at the dragon rider as he talks about reviving... 'Her'? He's gonna have to ask about that later, because it's a huge hint that this is probably WORSE than the Bahamut crisis, at least from his perspective. For now, he focuses on not dying.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which means he tries desperately not to get a hole blown in his chest by the huge blast of energy from the man's hands, diving out of the way but again getting clipped and scorched, and staggering when he lands, growling painfully. His tail lashes as he turns on the dragon rider and tries to pounce on him, lashing viciously with claws over and over, despite the bleeding, burnt injuries to his scales. He's just seeing red at this point, bound and determined to kill this guy with all of his might.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:768|Cory (768)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;the trouble with retaking the towers is that Cory can see everything happening on the ground. "HAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And every time a group of soldiers goes for the towers she pelts them from above with glowing balls of light hurled from her palms. Pure life force that detonates on impact with a force like a grenade!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What does come her way though, are projectiles. Arrows, crossbows, dragon breath, THAT's a problem. Somehow she manages to dodge plenty, zipping in-between them with the greatest ease.. but a few shots graze and one bolt slams into an arm hard enough to lodge itself an inch deep (it should've gone muh deeper) getting her to yell out once and leave one arm agonized into far less usability...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:191|Mako Mankanshoku (191)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mako rests where she landed after being shot, several yards back into the corridor, surrounded by the mouth of the hole in the wall she created by her impact. A chunk of stone breaks loose and clatters down beside her, while the girl simply lays there, assessing herself. That really hurt, even with her uniform! She makes a note (that she'll forget later, no doubt) not to get shot by that again.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Before Mako can move, though, a little drake starts flitting around over her. She blinks with a little "Oh?" noise. After a moment, her face brightens, "How cute!" She lifts her legs, then swings them down to counterweight her body sitting up, simply standing afterward and pushing chips of stone off her tattered uniform. A glance at the miniature dragon, "Stick with me, little guy, we're gonna save the day!"<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reaching up, Mako tugs down the brim of her hat, then tugs it to one side so that only one eye is visible, "We'll show 'em!"<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seconds later, the Fight Club president explodes back out into the courtyard at top speed, bat in hand and shouting at the tops of her lungs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Auron has to duck machine gun fire from another Magitek walker. The walker getting hit is a sign that Auron needs to get this beast moving. These things may be heavily armored, but he's pretty sure it's not armored heavily enough that sitting here like a knot on a log is going to be the best way of getting things done. But how?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then he notices the levers. They're locked, it seems. Then it dawns on him. As frightening as thought as it is, yes, Auron /has/ driven a car. Dream Zanarkand was too big to walk across, and he couldn't just dissolve into pyreflies and float /everywhere/. Tidus had Blitzball practice, and would surely have questioned if he'd ever seen it. Besides that, the kid whined about public transportation. So, a car it was. An old beat-up one. With a clutch.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Perhaps the middle one's the accelerator, the right is the brake and the left is the clutch? Auron turns the wheel towards the walker that has fired at him (if it's still up) and fires. Then he tries the pedal on the left, and nudges one of the levers that look like they might control speed. Not too much though. Only about an inch. Hopefully 'forwards' is 'faster'. Then makes with the accelerator again, hoping to get the thing moving faster this time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>ENTERPRISE:<br />Gaius steps aside as the Admirals teams move in. He shifts slightly, until an engineer does something that-- catches the ire of the Legatus. "Don't touch that, one wrong adjustment will destabilize the turn radius and effect her speed whilst turning." He then goes to take the tool, kneeling down and doing it himself. "Primitives..."<br /><br />It doesn't take long with Gaius help to get her back to flight worthy, though he does have to kick the Generator to get it started. He handles a few of the controls, before taking control of the yoke. "Everyone get on... hard to say how much fuel she has or how stable the Ceruleum us being frozen for so long."<br /><br />BATTLE:<br />Ryu charges and the Dragon Rider gets down low to the ground, the white dragon does slam into him and they both go sliding back. The claws cut into his armor and slash apart some of the Magitek cermet, but the man then reaches up and takes hold of Ryu's neck-- trying to apply pressure, trying to force him unconscious. "I have... one more surprise... for this place... before you can kill me... whelp. A favor to reply... for this days reckoning."<br /><br />The Dragon Rider was no fool. They were losing and while they may have greatly hurt Ishgard--- it was not how this was to go down. There would be someone to pay and he knows just /who/.<br /><br />Mako returns to the field of battle to join the others! ...with the little dragon trying to play keep up but eventually gets distracted by a mouse. Sanary takes down a dragon and Auron scores one Reaper--- only several more to go. Cory protects the towers with success and the Maelstrom along with Garleans continue to support with the new toys.<br /><br />Garen blasts the massive Wyrm in the eye which screeches in pain and its staggers a bit, before shaking his head. It is however Kirika comes charging in. The lance at ready and the Chocobo ever as fearless, as Ishgardian chocobos are trained to be so. They are the best of Hydaelyn after all and Ishgardian lands are their home origin.<br /><br />As Mihk prays, the Dragoon observes her and then lowers his own head. He may as well join her, even if a part of him wonders. Though as Mihk prays, the necklace she has starts to glow, and this gets the Dragoon's attention, "...what.... your necklace..?"<br /><br />Kirika makes the jump for the Wyrm's chest as it rises up on its hign legs to get ready to blast everyone in the area. The very weapon glows brightly as elemental energy suddenly surges in it and then the lance slams down into the chest of the massive Wyrm.<br /><br />It screeches in pain as the lance plummets deep in and soon ice starts to explode out from the wound, threatening to engulf the Wyrm. It screeches in pain as he staggers back and crushes several of the Dragon Knights under foot. It hisses and seethes, before scrapping at its chest to get the Lance out of its chest.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:530|Garen (530)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Garen watches and spies a new place to shoot for. He fires at the wyrm's hands each time it tries to pull the lance free, not about to let the creature do anything of the sort.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:573|Mihk Lihzeh (573)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk's ear flicks at the Dragoon's statement, and she looks down at the faint glow of the Water Spirit's gift. Her brow furrows a little, and she picks it up gingerly in her hands, cradling it before looking to the Dragoon. She looks as surprised as he does, though it might be difficult to notice, given the Miqo'te are often good at a deadpan even when under duress.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She continues to pray though, turning her attention back to the battle, pushing all of her willpower into gaining her allies the victory.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:636|Ryu (636)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As it turns out, trying to force a dragon unconscious with your bare hands is not an easy task. The scales around Ryu's throat are not particularly vulnerable to squeezing, especially when the neck muscles tense up under the grip and make it even harder. The scaly mythical beast lashes over and over with claws, but when it's clear he's not gonna get much more leverage than that, he sucks in one big breath all at once, and his chest expandes, and his eyes alight.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And he breathes his strongest lungful of dragon fire right there toward the dragon rider's face, again creating an explosive inferno of white fire around him and his target. Stone cracks and whines under the magical pressure and snow is not just melted, but utterly destroyed when the white fire slams into it, dispersing mist and dust all around the two prone creatures.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's trying pretty hard to prove the man wrong by killing him BEFORE the surprise is revealed. Actually, he's got so much tunnelvision right now that he's unlikely to notice anything else while his opponent still lives.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:191|Mako Mankanshoku (191)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Whoops!" Mako digs her feet in to brake herself, then jumps back. Removing her hat, she scoops down with it to sweep up the tiny dragon, "Don't wander off, you might get hurt!" The hat is then simply put back on with the dragonfly still inside and Mako returns her attention to the battle for the latest courtyard. Skimming her eyes from side to side, she sights the gun battery that had shot her before and lifts up her glimmering golden bat to point at the Dragon Knights occupying it like Babe Ruth calling a home run.<br /> <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With a shattering noise the bat splits apart into four sections, revealing a missile inside, which fires straight for the weapon emplacement. Not bothering to see what it does, Mako tosses the smoking handle and pulls a fresh bat out of her jacket, this one lacking the distinctive nails, and hurls herself literally into the nearest troop formation, "You guys should be more friendly!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:595|Admiral Merlwyb (595)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>ENTERPRISE: <br /> The Admiral just lifts a hand to quell any argument from the engineer whose job just got taken over by a Garlean. A keen, thoughtful look makes her eyes narrow for a few seconds as she watches Gaius work, a white-gloved hand rising to cup her chin and mouth. <br /><br />Once the ship is fully unthawed, she assists in moving the wounded on-board alongside the Maelstrom support team. "Ready when you are, Legatus," she calls over to Gaius as she ensures that she's the last to board. <br /><br />BATTLE: <br /> The attack continues, but the united front are quite clearly gaining back the second courtyard from the Dravanians. No mercy is given for those in retreat, the cannons unleashed on them while the Storm Marshal continues to lead the various Ishgardian, Maelstrom, 14th and 3rd Legions from the front.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Good, that's one Reaper down. Auron seems to have the hang of the basics of piloting the hijacked walker (unless otherwise noted) so this should be a bit easier. Not /easy/, mind... just /a bit easier/. Once he's got the 'go fast' and 'slow down' figured out, he should be a little better at actually avoiding getting hit when shot at. And at shooting at the other Reapers!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, nothing fancy. Showboating is how one gets careless. And right now he can't afford to showboat. He's still clumsy at changing speeds and turning, and cautious with the brakes, not wanting to stop too hard and fall over. The radio crackles to life with a status request. Turning to aim at another Reaper, he offers, "Auron here." He pulls the trigger to fire. "Handling the Reapers best as I can."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Finally. Panting lightly as she yanks the gunaxe out of the dragon's body, Sanary takes a moment to just watch the chaos unfolding in the battle. Weird flying things, dragons, way too many people running around in similar uniforms... It probably would have been easier to comprehend if she had figured out how to get here sooner, but that's in the past. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; All that's really left for her to do is either switch to healing duty or keep chopping big things up. Seeing as though there's still the latter floating about, though, that does make her choice much easier. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Even if it does involve going after something significantly bigger than she is. After taking a moment to load more Bolt shells into her gunaxe and adjusting her helmet, she makes her next target one of the Reapers heading towards Auron's walker and... <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ... Charges at it with the electrified gunaxe. There's certainly not much creativity in her next wide swing outside of aiming for the legs, but why fix what isn't broken?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, know Kirika is getting her Siegfried on. Her lance pierces the dragon's hide, and she adds onto the ice as she notices its wounds, intending to leave this monster a frozen husk at the end of this battle. Roaring in defiant fury, Kirika rips the lance free, then pierces into its chest once more, inflicting lightning and ice with her magic as she holds onto her Chocobo. "Steaty, steady!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eventually, she rips the lance free once more, before she leaps from the chocobo, sailing through the air as she plunges the lance straight into the dragon's head to finish this off. Her might is put into every inch of this blow, a devestating strike that would fell any beast she knows of, hopefully it's just as effective on dragons too.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The Wyrms claws hands are shot at and many of the Dravanians are actually retreating. They can be seen 'teleporting' out of the area, though not a great distance by some comm chatter with eyes on the skies, but they /are/ falling back.<br /><br />The combinations of attacks, explosions are enough to knock down a few, claim some others, and just leave them getting out of there. A few Dragoons who have gotten back on their feet even give chase! --- Cause Dragoons are crazy like that.<br /><br />Even as Mako sends off missiles, things explode and a few Dragon Knights go flying having to be snatched by the dragons in the skies before they impact the ground. The little Dragon "fly" sticks its head out and chirps!<br /><br />The Reapers also eventually pull back and even as Sanary's axe slams into it, it cuts a hydraulic line, which slows down the machine. She'll have to be quick as it rotates its body enough to actually try to open fire back at her. She would note that electrical current doesn't seem very effective against these things. Blame the ceramic metal mixture.<br /><br />Kirika drives the lance in several times, before at least leaping up and slamming the lance into the massive Wyrm' head. It screams in pain before roaring out, "FATHER MIDGAR---" However the words are cut out as the entire beast becomes a frozen statue before suddenly exploding. As it explodes, Mihk's necklace ceases to glow.<br /><br />The Dragoon can only watch in the distance and stare in awe-- while Sorel who has to take cover looks out from behind it then over to Kirika, "My dear lady--- you are impressive!"<br /><br />As for Ryu and the Dragon Rider, they are locked in battle and as Ryu gets ready to breath dragon fire on him, the man chuckles softly. "I plan to slay a war god as another world would say... I will see you there." Then uses the melted ice to slide himself away from Ryu's dragon breath before going off the edge of the Fortress--- into the mists before...<br /><br />ENTERPRISE:<br />Gaius gives a nod and gets the ship out of Stone Vigil just as the wyrm explodes. The airship rocks under the sheer wave pressure in the air, but the Garlean Commander keeps her steady with some quick work. "Looks like they did it..." He says idly. "...Hm. Probably will not be the end though..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There! Sanary's strike has targeted one Reaper Auron didn't see coming at him, due to having about half the normal field of vision. Fortunately her attack also brings his attention to it. And to her plight! He's in the middle of aiming at another Reaper, And he hears that the Dravanians are retreating, but he's not about to leave someone to be shot at. He turns the hijacked walker in the direction of the Reaper that Sanary targeted. If it's swiveled down, it just might have exposed some weak spots...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:714|Sanary Rondel (714)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Good start! Grinning confidently at the Reaper visibly slowing down, Sanary rushes for the underside of the machine with her arm raised to keep her head covered. She howls out in pain as some of the shots do hit the mark, hitting the gap in the armor near her elbow and rendering that arm fairly useless for the time being. Still, she does manage to take cover at its backside before too much more damage can be done, circling around it to keep it from aiming at her effectively. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now the tricky part is figuring out how to get out of this mess. There's not nearly enough time for her to switch her Bolt shells out for something else, and staying underneath the Reaper probably isn't the best idea considering their size difference. Then again... <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Between Auron's walker firing at the Reaper and her axe, there might just be enough power between them to take it down! And so, Sanary adjusts her hold on the gunaxe with her good arm and starts hacking away at the same leg from earlier, not even bothering to infuse the weapon with magic. Just 100% brute forcing it!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:595|Admiral Merlwyb (595)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Admiral Merlwyb crosses her arms over her chest as she nods, surveying the Dravanian retreat as she stands upon the deck. How strange... She turns her attention to the radio as the battle winds down below, trusting her Storm Marshal to continue leading the Maelstrom on recovery efforts. Things just are not adding up.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:636|Ryu (636)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The battle is over. Ryu pulls himself to a stand, rumbling to himself and growling at the pain of his wounds. He turns to stagger across the battle-torn courtyard... pausing here and there to rest hands on those Ishgardian soldiers that he can provide some healing magic, or at least lower the amount of people that'll die from their wounds.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By the time he gets to Mihk, he's exhausted, collapsing at her feet, just accepting whatever healing treatment that's given to him. He just needs some time to get his second breath.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This fight took a lot out of him.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:573|Mihk Lihzeh (573)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mihk secrets her necklace away again, now it's stopped glowing, and turns to watch the wounded approach. She adjusts her glasses, and opens her tome, while simultaneously dismissing her Carbuncle. Ryu gets a knowing look, and she kneels beside him. A hand rests upon his back, as magic flows from her palm into his body, coaxing his natural healing to work that little bit faster. She then sets an Ether beside his head for when he's conscious enough to drink it. Might not work as intended, but hopefully he can get some boost from it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone else receives much the same treatment, offers of potions and Ethers, as well as a dose of her Physick spell.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:522|Gaius Van Baelsar (522)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Sanary and Auron are able to bring down a Reaper. The rider topples out and makes a teleported run for it! It looks like day is won and while the Stone vigil is in bad shape, they were able to defend it away from the Dravanian Horde.<br /><br />Maybe this victory will help get the Houses to agree on something but even then, it will all come down to the High See himself....<br> <br>


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