Bloody Battle

The Great gates that once shielded the Uld cracked open, to release a flood of shadows who dipped into each side of the village, hiding in the forest to the east and vanishing behind the ruined building to the west.

Tyrg and the Berserkers followed Aetri on Horseback, Kara stayed back with the Archers yelling at them to properly handle their curved bows, each of their arrows wrapped with small bales of hay.

Aetri lent in sinisterly, whispering to a curious Tyrg "Leave no foe here breathing. No prisoners, the Skjal ends today." His voice confirmed the matter as fact, and Tyrg merely slid back unto his horse calling back his men and allowing Aetri, Black Crow and Aunt Lee to forge on.

Water flooded the black sky which was lashed with flashing thunderbolts, the hard march of three echoed amongst the burning buildings, the crackling of the flames, sizzling, seemed to deeply disturb Aetri.

He could feel the ripping inferno, the way it would bite into the flesh, scorch the veins, peel the skin... "Boy." Lee spat, striking at his saddle with her sheath.

Reality slid back in, and He looked at her with cautious eyes "There's too much." He grunted.

Lee knew he was right, the flames were so intense and so high that she could feel the warmth on her cheek, the way Butcher stirred from the heat with ferocity, He was long accustomed to the cold of the barn.

"I know, come here. Butcher, Ya!" She kicked at the huge beast who grunted and shifted closer to Aetri who hung in a Hypnotic trance of terror.

She grasped his arms and it shook him to life again "Look at me." Her fingers grasped at his Gauntlets, and He saw the beast behind her eyes. "What is the first Law of the Iron Code?" She growled.

That wasn't what he was expecting to hear, but He didn't have to think about that one "The Word of the Mentor is absolute."

"That's right, and as Your Mentor, I command you to stay away from that Beast's flames... I will not see you in blotches." She spoke a little more softly.

Aetri was focused by her words, they had pulled his attention away from the flames and He loved her for it. "Thank You." He muttered.

Lee nodded and lent back, Galloping onward to scout ahead in silence, they were nearing the Village centre, where they had planned to make parley.

He hung back, allowing Mystery to stroll before the battle, Black-Crow cantered onward on her tall stallion to meet by his side.

"If I die, I want you to finish this and take care of Lee." He spoke candidly.

Black-Crow's silver mask had an insidious gleam in the night and in the firelight "Understood." She whispered. Although.... she lingered "I will not allow you to die." She added. There was definitely something off about tonight "I do not want us to be left here alone without you-"

"Are you a Vatan or not?" He cut in, before shaking his head and rubbing his eyes "I'm sorry... I've been terrible to you recently, I can't return home without you."

That... did something to the Dark Easterling, she rose up in posture riding straight and tall, reaching up to unfurl her hood and unclip her mask.

Her short black hair fell down past her ears, her cold eyes looking on with a silent fury. She looked unlike anything He'd ever seen, so strangely and terrifyingly beautiful...

Crow drew her curved black sword, it's perfectly sharpened edge gleaming like silver streak of death "We will finish quickly and get you home." That was all she said before she galloped onward.

Aetri merely huffed into a smile "What would I do without my girls, huh?" He whispered to Mystery who grunted in her canter "Yes, Yes, very well. Let's get on with, girlie. HYAH!" Kicking at the powerful warhorse's sides, Mystery dashed into a bolting dash, galloping through the burning ruins over the hill top towards the slope leading to the River.

Lee and Crow had stopped to look down at the town centre, Aetri between them, where below a small garrison of 200-250 men, all armed in plate of black and white, flying the dragonbone Banner.

But it was not the men of swords and axe that bothered the trio, it was what hellish creature now stomped and cawed as a familiar man lashed it in a saddle that shielded him from its spewing flame.

Aetri felt horror and rage creep up the sides of his neck, His grip tightened and his eyes widened. It still haunted him, that night... all the screams, all the roaring flames, He could not rip this fear and anger away.

Something stirred inside him as He looked into the Ignix, it's burning black feathers, it's scaly rear scales, it's black beak.

Lee and Crow grimaced as Aetri merely urged Mystery on, moving toward the group with a fearless darkness on his face.

_"Dragons do not fear, Dragons do not stop, Dragon do not falter, Dragons never die." _He whispered to his mind, reminding himself of his fathers words.

The Knights almost immediately caught him, calling to their fellows to warn of Aetri's arrival, a dark light clad figure on a black angry Mare. The Ignix roared at the sight of him, it's caw shaking the trees and sending embers flying from the burning houses, but the man in the saddle lashed it's side... where the two vents in it's feathered neck resided, puffing with the black smoke of a hideous flame.

Aetri control his fear, and marched into the group who parted, their hateful eyes staring through their black ashen helms. A deep itch of demoralisation seeped into Aetri as He neared the Ignix, it had soulless black eyes, as all lesser Dragons did... it was no more than an animal but... He could feel a deep resonation within them, almost as if, the Beast was whispering to him.

PENDRAL... PENDRAL TRAITOR.

He shook it away, and gazed at the man who stood far taller than he in the Ignixs' high saddle. "Sir Baldwin of Black Alley." Aetri greeted in a clear tone, his face covered by scarf and hood, although the long brown and golden locks from his mane lay free on his shoulders under the ponytail.

Baldwin, his Cloak and helm adorned with two black feathered wings, emblazoned with the Skeletal dragon, an Imperial Inquisitor with a full garrison and a fire Drake... Aetri always did focus at times like these, He saw every movement, every plan, every exit, He could do this.

"Aetri the no-one, of nowhere, the outsider himself, oh how I've heard a lot about you from our Skjal friends down at the River. Lovely to finally make proper acquaintance." Baldwin's visor was up, and Aetri could see the shit-eating grin on his face.

But Aetri did not falter "The Dragon Riders are long dead. The First Unified Realm of Britannia fell because of dragons in the first aeon... You are going to destroy us all."

Baldwin chuckled "You seem to know a lot for a nobody, You seem all too familiar with Dragonlore also, a very rare subject of study, resolved for perhaps, dragonslayers?"

Aetri knew this was all wrong, how twisted this all was, too much had been destroyed already, "Everything is starting, can't you see it? We struggled endlessly and resorted to stupidity, all of this bullshit has happened before, but you don't get it, do you? Stop this, stop all of this foolishness, enough has been put to rest, End this now, or I will not restrain myself."

His words of careful warning struck a fierce dread within Sir Baldwin and he shook it off as soon as he could as if He hadn't heard it.

"We have found you, and we will complete our task, in the name of our Dread Queen." One of the Briton Knights heckled.

Sir Baldwin lashed the Ignix as it shimmered eagerly, and pulled down his visor with a dark frown "Breathing or not, You will return with us to the Capital." Baldwin hissed.

The Stripped scarf creased as Aetri's eye darkened, He reached down and drew his sword, the blade flashing free with incredible speed. The Ignix shambled back and the Knights drew their blades, held up their battle hammers and axes.

Aetri raised his sword "STEP ONE!!!?" He roared, his voice echoing through the burning village and mingling with the crackling thunder.

Like a shadowed mist a wave of Uld warriors, covered in black war paint and armed nearly only with their weapons, they crashed into both the east and west sides of the Briton Garrison, tearing into the troupe like roaring razors, screaming and laughing the night away as they called in response "SURRENDER!!!!"

And so the bloody battle began.