"I know we should be prepared for something to attack us, but, it still feels odd to build our fortifications this way." I remark quietly to Bsess as we observe the regular troops go about cleaning up our mess. It was a while off, but they had begun turning the abandoned lines of the enemy into something we could use. But the trenches they had dug were an issue, so we were focused on filling them up.
And, with some uncertainty, I had to sit back and watch as the bodies of our foe were used to fill them. Orders had been sent out to not be spiteful about it, so we could avoid Waionr's wrath. But this was a dangerous line we were teetering on the edge of. Thankfully, some effort was made to bury them formally, even if it was a hurried along matter.
"It's an unstable pile of debris, it would be movable if they put the effort in."
"And if they did that, it would explode right at us." I point out.
"We are keeping an eye on the other side, Wing-Tip, they won't have the opportunity to do anything of the sort."
"We have yet to even grasp what they are capable of." I remind her as I briefly look over to one of their guns which we had commandeered. It was a strange machine, one that felt so alien. Seemingly, it was a simple weapon, it had the shape of any other cannon we might've had. But there were so many things about it that struck me as odd.
We could feed it power ourselves or load it with these small, tightly-sealed barrels. Their barrels could be shortened or lengthened at a whim, though I did not know why. I just knew I did not want to ever be on the end of them. I had seen what they could do but everyone else was so calm around them.
"Hm, that's odd, a rider is coming at us oddly fast." Bsess commented as she turned towards the fortress.
"If he is riding with that kind of urgency, we should head down to meet him." I say before Bsess plants her arm against my chest. Blocking me off from any attempt to move ahead.
"The fortress shields are being turned on."
"W-Why!? There's nothing coming..." I started to question before I started to feel out the world around me. A great power was on its way. But it wasn't just the magic it was pumping out that caught our attention. A mighty declaration called out from beyond the mountains.
"Back to the fortress, now!" Bsess told me as I started to go pale. I knew that sound... The same sound that drowned my senses all the way back then... An airship...
An airship!
"No! They're coming to us." I tell her as I grab her and pull her down. Ignoring her initial anger just as everyone appeared. Everyone had been brought... The entire wing was called for battle.
"You two, with us, now!" Uala snapped the moment she passed by. Though, as the others did not stop, we could infer that our plan would be discussed in transit.
"I hope you've left nothing behind." I tell Bsess as I put on my helmet and pick up my sword. Before flying, however, I leapt off of the fortifications and briefly sprinted. Only launching into the air once a safe distance had been reached. Yet, I quickly landed again when I saw how the others had assembled on a mountain peak just ahead of our barricade.
"Everyone is accounted for, Wing-Head Allyoceer." Uala informs her just as me and Bsess walk up to them.
"I am sure you all just heard it if you did not feel it, but an enemy airship is on the direct approach. We must intercept it before it can present its broadsides before the fortress!" Allyoceer explained. And I agreed with her, we could not let those guns get near our fortress. They would erase it from existence if they so much as got within a fingers-reach!
Yet...
"Our blades cannot pierce their armour! Their weapons would wipe us out!" I let out fearfully as I remembered my past experience with them.
"Stow the uncertainty!" Uala snapped as she forced her foot down at me.
"THIS IS NOT UNCERTAINTY! I HAVE FACED THEM BEFORE! WE CANNOT WIN THIS!" I scream up at her as my fear gets the best of me.
"You face them before and have no confidence that we can win!?" she says accusingly as she hops down to confront me at my level. And within a single burst, I found myself forced up against the mountain with a blade placed right against my chest.
"Wh-What're you doing!?" I demanded to know.
"It's pretty clear that you are a... COWARD!" Uala built up to as the tip of her blade scraped at my armour.
"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" Allyoceer roared as she shoved Uala away and then me when I aggressively moved to my feet.
"Wing-Head, listen to me... We cannot win this!" I tell her as that same image repeated in my head again and again. Of how my blade harmlessly bounced off of the armour all that time ago. I went at it with all I had and I did nothing to it!
"There is nowhere for us to go, Wing-Tip Vapooliar! We either fight and win or fight and die!" she told me with an aggressive poke before she backed up and went to the top of the mountain.
"I'm not a coward, I will not run... But you have to realise, the armour is too thick, the weapons are too strong!" I try to explain to her as she steels herself before the distant sight that I hid against.
"All of you, join me up here, gaze at the enemy." Allyoceer told us calmly as she removed her helmet. She was scared as well but she stood up there regardless. Slowly, others began to join her, but I stayed in the shadow of the mountain.
"Vapooliar, take my hand." Dannatili urged me after she went up onto the peak. At first, I did not respond, but, eventually, I moved my hand forward and took hers. Yet I did not move until she pulled me up with the help of the others.
"I want you all to look out at what we face, the terror that has seen our nation collapse at a horrifying rate. Lines we have held for so long, cities we defended for near-eternity. They fell because of things like this. They have established a new tradition for us, one of retreat and destitiution. But, with your help, I would like to see an end to this. I know we will put an end to this. So, Imdvarce, Ammimpaurst, Staguiffmani! VALKINVAR! JOIN ME SO WE MIGHT PUSH THIS THING BACK AND SAVE OUR HOME! WORRY NOT IF YOU FALL! FOR YOU WILL PASS ON OUR WOES TO OUR LORD WAIONR! NOW JOIN ME VALKINVAR! JOIN ME!"
And with that, she launched off towards the enemy with her blade pointed ahead. Everyone joined her with steeled hearts and determined glares. But as they went, I found myself left behind. Terror dominated me...
"You are not alone, Vapooliar, not anymore." Lavauroas told me quietly before he intentionally destroyed the mountain peak under me.
"FLY WITH US WING-TIP!" Uala of all people roared back at me as I suddenly fell with the collapsing mountain top.
"Y-Yes..." I answered as I called on my magic and let it explode out of me. The rubble that once enveloped me was blown away and I soared off to join my brother and sisters. I had much to make up for and this would be where I would start!
"If you have any knowledge you'd like to pass, now is the time Vapooliar!" Allyoceer demanded from me as I went into my place at the edge of our wing.
"Whatever you do, avoid those guns! They erase everything!"
"No magic can do that!" Uala argued. And I could understand the scepticism even now. The power these weapons had was incomprehensible!
"No, she is right! Vapooliar is right! I have felt it! These guns wipe out everything! Do not test yourselves against them! We cannot and must not intercept them! Leave it to me if we must!" Dannatili told them as she built up some magic preemptively.
"Just tell me what to smash down and I'll make you an opening!" Lavauroas boasted as he broke formation to collect some stone from the nearby mountains.
"BREAK FORMATION! IT'S FIRING!" Allyoceer shouted out to us as a tremendous power build-up suddenly occurred.
"This isn't the guns... I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS!" I tell them as I guide my part of the wing on a sharp veer to the right.
"WIND MAGIC, BUT DON'T GET COCKY!" Dannatili clarified for us as we seemingly found ourselves staring directly at the eyes of this machine.
"WATCH YOURSELVES!" Allyoceer screamed out to us before the howl of these weapons drowned out all noise.
"What th-" I let out before I was suddenly caught in a powerful vortex that flung and threw me about. And it was only made more dangerous with all these swords flying about near us.
"NOW! ESCAPE NOW!" Dannatili roared as she briefly blasted the vortexes away. And in that moment, I shot up towards her. Snatching her up before I carried on into the sky.
"We need to get closer..." I point out as their tornado-like shape became apparent from the outside. All that power was focused for a good distance before it suddenly burst out.
"All the easier with how they are still advancing..." Dannatili commented before the titanic machine groaned under its own weight.
"It's presenting a broadside... EVERYONE! WATCH YOURSELVES!" I realised before I screamed as loud as I could so all could hear. Did they just try to disorient us so they could catch us in a mass of fire!?
"BREAK FORMATION! LOOSE YOURSELF FROM THE WING!" Allyoceer cried as our vision lit up with bluish-purple light.
"We need to move quickly, those shots are coming in at us at a converging angle!" Dannatili told me.
"We pull back, then, let them come." I tell her.
"We need to push to the airship!"
"Trust me!" I urge her as I think again and again about what we could do.
"COWARDS!" Uala presumes as she moves to intercept. But with a quick, downward slash, I stop her charge!
"Pull back and let the rounds meet us! Let them wipe themselves out so we can advance in between the volleys!" I explain to her as I send her off to gather her side of things.
"Meet back at me, both all of you!" Dannatili tells us as I dive down to grab Cetrepe, Bsess and Osses. Two of them had already got themselves back up, but one of them had it worse. They were thrown against a mountain and were dangerously isolated.
"WING-TIP!" she cried in relief as I stopped right before her to snatch up her hand. And the moment our hands locked together, I sent us back the way I came until she let go once she gathered her strength.
"We're meeting up here! Move!" I tell her as the strange warbling of the enemy artillery drowned out all other noises.
"Get ready... NOW!" Dannatili called out as she sent her own magic out to meet them head-on. And in a tremendous arcane fireball, our vision suddenly became dominated by a single mass. It vanished as quickly as it came. But the results were unsettling.
The sudden vacuum they had created pulled us all in and the sky ignited with our power. We had to get out of here! And we went about it quickly. Going ahead in three lines headed by me and the other two officers.
"Get to that hull and cling to it!" Allyoceer ordered just as we met back up. With a nod, I then split away with my three sisters. I did my best to guide them through the repeated volleys and the stress grew. Thankfully, however, we all slammed right onto the hull of the airship.
We arrived as one and now we had to fight as one!
"You're right, we can't get past this armour..." Cetrepe commented as she pulled her sword away from the unharmed armour.
"Now what? Those guns will wipe us out if we face them!" Osses said.
"We find weaker armour, head up, onto the deck!" I urge them as I glance upwards. Briefly leaping on top of one of the cannons before I launched skyward. And with my blade at the ready, I dashed down the moment the first enemy entered my sights.
"SKY-MARINES, ENGAGE THE ENEMY!" an officer roared as the army that met me on the deck of the airship opened fire. But despite their bravery and efforts, their tight formations and restricted movement was a perfect opportunity for me. And I launched ahead with my blade before me. Knocking a few off at the end of my dash before I noticed the guns were still firing on our end.
"What're you doing... Don't linger out there..." I commented under my breath as I saw my sister's circle the skies around the airship. However, it gave me an idea when I caught on to how the guns lit up before they released their shot. And I had plenty of ways to interrupt their projectiles all around me!
So with a sudden grip that snapped the neck of the nearest soldier. I brought them up and over, slamming them downwards straight towards a glowing barrel. At first, it seemed like it would miss, but their foot caught the orb just as it left the barrel. And the explosion tore through the hole!
This was our moment! I had torn open a path for us to take! We had a way inside of the airship! And I intended to exploit that!
"No..." I found myself saying, though. One peek had all but dashed my hopes of a chance to get inside the airship. The armour had been gouged open, yes, but it was too thick... I couldn't even see how much further it was going, but the gun had been silenced as well!
All I had done was ineffectively scarred the mighty warship...
"Wing-Tip, there are too many up there!" Bsess told me as she joined me with the other two in this glorified crater I had made.
"The others haven't had any luck either, it seems." Cetrepe commented as she peeked out towards the other guns.
"We need to regroup with the others, reconsider our strategy." I mutter before I catch sight of a new problem. Smaller airships were rapidly leaving the larger one and making a break for the sky!
"What're they doing!?"
"Whatever it is, they're headed for the fortress!" I point out as I watch their trajectory. They were amassing large amounts of wind magic at their rears!