Raider Assault - Air Division

[get_off_my_lawn]

Who: Taryn, Arturia, Nero, Lleld, Katina, Kusuha, Temeraire, bird beastmen npcs, British npc riders and a possible appearance from Viridi
What: Pre-battle and during battle fights against firedrakes, their mounts, and their camp. The plan is here.
When: June 15th our time - early morning (pre-battle) and actual battle
Where: Raider Camp in the West
Warnings: All the things that come with action movies; blood, violence, cursing, etc



[The battle itself will be run in two parts after the initial assault, when the two groups separate. The raiders will use hit and run skirmish tactics once they can properly react, moving in wings of three. We'll successfully capture 25 drakes, and the combined air/ground forces take out approximately 100 men and 100 drakes. Remember there's a nasty shrapnel ceiling launched from the ground forces to keep the drakes from flying too high.]

Comments

Pre-Battle

[get_off_my_lawn]

As the sun crested the horizon of the air assault camp - stationed in a different location from the ground forces - Taryn readied herself for battle. Garou did things differently than beastmen, who did things differently than humans. It was going to be interesting inducting the British forces, the British leader, into her traditions. Battle was a spiritual thing to her as much as it was a physical thing. She was modi, which meant battle was what she was born for.

The werewolf bathed and let her fur dry in the rising sun. Then she took the war paints she rarely used to draw runes of courage, strength, protection and destruction on her fur, including hagalaz on her face, over her right eye. Her mane-like hair was allowed to flow free instead of restrained in a single band and bracers and others bits of armor added to her form.

Picking Mitternacht up, she overlooked the camp, the two dragons - one small, one large - and the other forces as they readied themselves. The beastmen were already preparing a spiritual drink full of nutrition and magic to calm pre-battle jitters and center the mind. The werewolf cut an impressive figure as she hooked the crystalline hammer onto her back and called out.

"Pendragon! Sturmschwert! It is time to seek Fortune's favor! Let us ready for glory and prepare to sate our thirst with the blood of fire."

[Thread battle prep here, Taryn will do a prebattle ritual, but will also have other threads in here.]

[ex_cashcow493]

It would be polite to answer when one summoned you, so Arturia wasted little time in leaving the confinement of her "quarters" of the camp in vestments unlike any other seen before. Well, that wouldn't necessarily be true. Garments worn in battles she thought would be challenging. When she wore the armor of a flower, she would be seen as a beautiful lily on the field. The lily that protected Britain and rejuvenated the spirits of those around her. A lily held so much meaning. Hope, faith, purity, renewal, promise, passion, cleaning, remembrance; these were all things that Arturia Pendragon promised the good people of Britain.

This battle held different meaning though. She had to wear the vestments of a king to remind those who served under her that they were not alone. Their king had joined them and would ride with them into battle. Together, they would ride out in victory!

For this she wore vestments of blue, the color of royalty in their kingdom and the color she associated with primarily. Silver armor fastened around her chest, her legs, and her hands glistened as though they were freshly shined. Her hair didn't flow free as it often did, instead it would be fashioned into a bun with a braid wrapped tightly around it. Instead of the fluffy ribbons of color she wore, there would be a single thin ribbon that fastened the braid in blade. Here she looked more like a knight than a girl who had been given the throne by birthright.

With her sword strapped against her back, she approached the woman with a thick cloak over the side of her body. After all, royalty still had to be presented as such. This would be no exception.

[get_off_my_lawn]

The armor and difference was noted by Taryn. It was also appreciated, as she, too, was different in this kind of battle than in others. The weight of that armor wasn't going to be a problem, though she did hope Arturia would shed the cloak once it was time to take flight. Cloaks always got in the way during battle.

"Impressive armor, Arturia," she said once the woman drew close. She took a moment to circle her, to get a good look. And then she paused behind Arturia for a moment with a "hmm" before finishing the full circle.

"...when did you take a mate?"

[ex_cashcow493]

Instinctively Arturia's body would freeze in place at such a question. The relationship she held with Irisviel would remain a secret for many more months in her eyes, yet this woman already wagered a guess judging by how she held herself? A stoic gaze could only go so far.

Lying had always been beneath her and unlike the woman, so there would be no other option but to confess should it come to that. There remained hope that maybe, just maybe, she misunderstood her.

"I apologize, but it seems I misheard you."

[fortheworldtosee]

"You have quite the way with words, my friend. I have mentioned this before, but it certainly deserves to be noted."

The voice of the exiled Emperor is coming from behind Taryn. Despite the praise, she sounds sounds unusually unimpressed, and when the wolf turns to greet Nero, she'll find out why.

Instead of her normal bright, revealing clothing, Nero is dressed shoulder to toe in armor. Nothing heavy of course; it's a practical set, made so it won't inhibit an agile fighter. But it was a complete set, covering up every bit of the Roman that she so loved to show off.

The woman herself, unsurprisingly, does not seem very happy.

[get_off_my_lawn]

Taryn stared for a long moment when her eyes took in Nero. Or, more importantly, what Nero was wearing. Emblazoned with Britain's crest, it seemed...

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Taryn had to laugh.

[fortheworldtosee]

Nero growls, a sound that could certainly impress some of the surrounding beastmen, and stops her foot. She's practically fuming.

"Just what is so funny?!"

[grandtheftmecha]

Even this late in the preparations, Katina's still going over her weapons - because, yes, she has brought everything with her. A light lance, a hand ax, a buckler, three swords of different size and style. She could make up her mind on having a small pistol at her side, but what weapon would be best suited for aerial combat? A short blade for dismounting the rider, or a lance for when she's mounted? Or both. Would the weight be a problem, even in light armor?

"Shit, I almost wish I wasn't good with so many weapons."

[get_off_my_lawn]

"I suggest asking the weapons which is right," Taryn said as she walked passed where Katina was. "They'll tell you."

[grandtheftmecha]

"What if they don't agree?" They're Katina's weapons after all. Even if she knew how to 'ask the weapons' what gives them any reason not to just tell her to use them?

Initial Assault

[get_off_my_lawn]

With the Vanguard crashing into the main body of the camp on the ground and the shrapnel ceiling keeping the drakes from flying too high, the sky was set for their approach.

"Make sure to be well ahead of Termeraire," Taryn said to Lleld as she flew the wolf and the British queen quickly toward them. Carefully, Taryn moved up until she was crouching on the top of the dragon's head. She felt a little bad doing that, but if she wasn't as far forward as she could get, her howl might disrupt Lleld too.

"Arturia, I suggest you shield your ears as best you can..."

And then, drawing in a deep, deep breath, Taryn stirred up her rage, the primal anger her kind had that Gaia instilled in them. She then howled, so loud and powerful that it may as well have been the land itself screaming for battle. A shockwave rushed forth, hitting a great deal of the drakes in the air before them.

With confused cries from both lizard and rider, the sky rained firedrakes, dropping about half of what was before them down to the ground unable to fly. Into the jaws of the beastmen waiting for them.

The howl then cut off, leaving Taryn holding onto Lleld's horn ridges while she panted to catch her breath. Scream of Gaia always took a lot of her energy. She needed a moment to recover before asking Gaia to lend them a hand.

[lady_mayhem]

Easily said, easily done, and the smaller red dragon darted further ahead of the larger of the two. From the lower altitude, she could feel the heat rising from the fires of war beneath them, creating thermals which filled her wings and made soaring that much easier to do; even more easily than they had practiced in the short amount of time before the assault.

It was a relief, really. The extra weight was somewhat awkward and unwieldy - at least to Lleld, who was used to far more agility than she could call upon here. It also helped so she could concentrate on keeping her neck level as the big werewolf climbed along it, the sinuous muscles and veins bulging with effort. They'd practiced this, too. It hadn't been so difficult; the worst part was...

... Well, the fact she couldn't cover her ears so well when the scream was unleashed, and it did leave her slightly dazed.

But Lleld was prepared. She was ready, she had practiced, and it faded quickly. She couldn't say she enjoyed watching all those men and beasts fall, couldn't enjoy killing, but they had to protect their homeland, and she would do so dutifully.

She flew through the throngs of drakes; those falling, those angrily snarling and turning toward pursuit, keeping her profile slim and her wings ready to retract, all on her way toward the big red dragon in the middle.

[ex_cashcow493]

Arturia couldn't do much to be prepared other than to cover her ears with hands clad in metal. The vibrations resonated between the flesh of her ears and the gauntlets she wore, but the young Pendragon woman didn't waiver in the slightest. Doing so would be a weakness to those around them and Arturia could never be seen as such.

Once she had been sure that the cry was over, she lowered her arms only to grip at the scales underneath her form. It had been a gentle hold, the girl unconsciously aware of what was best for a beast like her, but a firm one nonetheless.

"Do you think the field needs to be cleared a bit more?" Her voice would be loud enough to be heard over the cries around them.

[get_off_my_lawn]

The werewolf backed off of Lleld's head, down her neck, to where her weight was better distributed and she felt more stable.

"Yes... but I have something up my sleeve." She pulls a tarot cards out, The Chariot, and hands it to Arturia. "Use this in a few moments. Nature needs to make a statement before we are ready to descend upon our enemies in full."

Raising one large paw up into the air, Taryn closed her eyes and sought out her connection to Viridi, to her spiritual mother. Then her eyes opened, blazing with righteous rage.

"GAIA! THESE RAIDERS SCORCH YOUR SKIN, BURN YOUR CHILDREN, DESTROY YOUR ESSENCE WITH THEIR PRESENCE. I, TARYN SHADOW-WALKER, BESEECH YOU TO GIVE THEM A TASTE OF THE RAGE THEY ARE DO.

WE ARE YOUR BLADES, YOUR CLAWS, YOUR FANGS, YOUR WARRIORS! GRANT US YOUR BLESSING AND TAKE THE ADVANTAGE OF THE WINDS FROM THESE RAIDERS!"

[ooc: Incoming deity~]

Temeraire and his crew

[get_off_my_lawn]

[The boarding party does their thing hear. Capture 25 drakes!]

[not_the_ship]

Temeraire tried to keep his pace steady; though he could bound up ahead in front of the red dragon's nose in a trice (at least he thought so) he held position...for the most part.

But with the prospect of battle so close he had but to reach his claws out to reach it, his discipline wavered at times. He would burst forwards with a rush of speed, only to fall back again to a safer distance when his head caught back up with his instinct. He couldn't help it, or certainly thought he couldn't; there were opponents in front of him, in just a few dozen wingbeats' reach. Small opponents, to be sure, but his adrenaline was up enough to ignore that fact.

When Taryn's Howl went out the dragon seemed to twitch, the call seeming to reverberate through his armor and his harness. But as startled as he was, Temeraire soon recovered; shaking his head back and forth and giving his own roar. Even with the edge of the divine wind in it, Temeraire's wasn't nearly as impressive. But he gathered himself, scooped his wings forwards like great oars and raised his claws just before impact with the first ranks of drakes.

He brought his armored chest to bear most of the impacts, leaving the soldiers in the belly rigging and on his back free to act.

((OOC: Feel free to make separate subthreads for boarding! Temeraire will be making several passes if he can.))

[xiao_lan_long]

"Um, keep calm, Temeraire..."

Kusuha is even more nervous than usual going into battle, having never done so strapped to the back of a young dragon. She could take comfort in the fact that she was in her Grungust armor, which should in theory protect her from any accidental falls as well as enemy attacks - although the reassurances of 'you'll be high up enough all the extra weight won't make you hit the ground any faster' had done the opposite of reassure her.

As the dragon surges forward to attack, Kusuha focuses her mind as hard as she can - partly to get ready to make a magical attack with the Grungust, but mostly to avoid losing her breakfast. Opening her eyes, she focuses on one of the raiders - but not his drake. With a shout, she focuses her mana through the Grungust, turning her normal white magic into a beam of magical energy that lances out toward the enemy, her armor functioning like a magical turret attached to an enormous living airship.

[not_the_ship]

The impact Temeraire was expecting...never materialized. The much smaller drakes seemed to eel away before his talons could strike, the ranks dividing in the center and darting to both sides. Arrows bounced off of his armor in places, but struck home in others--punching holes into his wings and between the armored joints of armor on his side. None were mrtal or even serious, but they were all red-hot and painful pinpricks.

The dragon roared again in frustration, even as he whipped his long tail to the side--altering his course, but also smacking one of the unlucky drakes backwards to where he could seize it in his teeth. The unfortunate creature shrieked as the much larger dragon dragged it backwards in the air by its tail and hind leg. The instant it was close enough, several soldiers lunged from the belly rigging onto the drake's back. Temeraire released the creature to its fate, and charged onwards to the next. He would have doubled back on himself like a snake, to engage the tail end of that formation--but he had to keep himself steady. A firing platform.

The beam of light tearing out from his back reminded him just why he had to fight the temptation. The magic seemed to startle the drakes with its brightness; even Temeraire had to squint his own for a moment. But the sound of startled squalling was enough to guide him on its own, and his forearms and talons spread wide as if in an embrace to seize the next drake.

[grandtheftmecha]

There's no way Katina's fighting from anywhere but the back of their ally, preferably ahead of everyone else, spear in hand as her eyes dart around to everything that moves. There are, if anything, almost too many targets to worry about, and she wants to try and pick the strongest next to the leader himself. Not only does that get a strong opponent out of the way of her allies, but it should hopefully mean a superior mount for herself.

"Make sure you take care of yourself... I only need one good shot at this!"

[not_the_ship]

There was one drake that stood out eventually; one that seemed fixed on leading Temeraire on a merry chase through the ranks. His head was a bit too far gone to adrenaline to really notice the arrows and flames that raked his sides; slivers, annoyances...that would soon build up.

When the drake darted to the right, the dragon lashed to follow it like a snake, closing the distance sharply until the drake crashed into his chest broadside instead of making a proper pass.

[fortheworldtosee]

Nero had been itching to move the moment the battle started, but she knew her role. She may be brash and impulsive sometimes, but she new how to follow battle orders. So she waited.

It was frustrating, because waiting meant she stayed out of the action for quite a while, outside of deflecting arrows or other such attacks from enemies. She had no ranged weapons, and the other soldiers were doing a fantastic job keeping the drakes and their riders at bay, so that really left Nero with nothing to do.

Until now! With the rest of the boarding party gone, it was finally Nero's turn. And boy did she look eager, even as she continued to fend off the occasional attack.

"Now, Temeraire! Find me the strongest, most capable drake you can spot! One that can match my abilities as closely as possible!"

[not_the_ship]

The dragon lifted his head as his sides swelled out, like a drum ready to play. The roaring force of the divine wind tore out of his jaws, but this time directed at the air above another arrowhead-shaped flight of drakes before they could climb too far over his head, rather than directly at them. The force disrupted and distorted the air visibly, punching a ragged hole in the shrapnel cloud before it was rapidly filled in by another burst. Temeraire snorted, and took note, in some corner of his mind; bad idea. Aim down.

But the roar also disrupted the rank, breaking it up from a smoothly disciplined maneuver to shrieking, backwinging drakes wheeling this way and that. The one flying highest in the formation toppled from the sky completely, blood streaming from its nostrils. Still others lost their riders, but one of the most notice was the drake that crashed down on Temeraire's back, missing Nero but causing the big dragon to nearly buckle in surprise.

Even as big as he was, if most of the boarding soldiers hadn't already been deployed, they would have been crushed. The drake had landed on its belly, aft of Temeraire's shoulders and signal flags and where Nero was sitting. The creature still possessed a rider, but was too busy scrabbling at Temeraire's armor trying to regain traction to breathe any fire.

Pendragon Tossing

[get_off_my_lawn]

[Taking on the leader.]

[lady_mayhem]

It never failed to amuse Lleld the sorts of things people didn't expect her to be capable of. Her flight had been frantic and swift, at times jerky and not unlike a rollercoaster - she'd apologize later to her two passengers if they found themselves seasick. But it had worked, even loaded down with several hundred extra pounds of weight, the dragon had sneaked and snaked, dived and shot her way through the throng of drakes toward the leader. She hadn't even had to attack many of them, instead leading them through wild chases that, on more than one occasion, led to two or more of the drakes simply... running right into each other.

Lady Mayhem lived up to her name; she may not have been much of a warrior, but there was definitely chaos and confusion left in the wake of her flight.

Until, finally, they'd come to the leader, and here, Lleld had banked into one hell of an awkward turn, pulling in her outside wing to end up right next to the drake, approaching from behind to avoid any nasty claw or teeth strikes.

Time for the boarding party.

[imperial_mods]

Without warning an enormous gout of flame shot from the sky like a divine bolt of lightning, streaking toward Lleld.