Dreadlords Break against the Waves

[Houri]

​

"Can't you stop it fucking raining?!"

A wave as tall as the ship's central mast crashed over the deck sending sailors sprawling and a few unlucky souls completely overboard. Houri barely managed to keep her hold on the railing she had been standing against but as the ship righted itself she managed to get her feet back under her, though her boots slipped a few times on the water-slick wooden boards. She pushed her hair out of her face and opened her mouth to reply to the quartermaster who had been yelling at her to stop the bloody storm since it first began, but he was no longer there. She leaned over the railing and peered into the churning sea below but grimaced when she spied his hat already rushing out with the tide.

IT IS GOOD. HE SHOULD NOT BE YELLING AT US!

Houri sighed and wiped a hand across her eyes in an attempt to remove some of the stinging salt, but soaked as she was it did very little good.

IF HE HAD CONTINUED I WOULD HAVE KILLED HIM MYSELF!

"Just focus on the storm," she muttered and stumbled her way on towards the steps up to the top deck. The Captain stood at the wheel grim faced and white knuckled but he spared a glance for the initiate as she slipped up and down the stairs before finally making it to his side. Even shoulder to shoulder they had to shout over the noise of thunder and roaring waves.

"Still no luck lass?" Unlike the Quartermaster the Captain had seemed to understand that when Houri had said she couldn't stop it, not when somebody else was already controlling it, she had meant it. However, that just made it even more upsetting when disappointment flashed across his face when she shook her head in answer to his question. "Never mind, I've sailed through worse," he shot her a grim grin. "Not far to go anyway, up ahead. Look!" Through the foam and spray a few odd flickering lights could now be seen quite clearly and if she squinted she could make out the difference of the castle's grey walls with the bleak storm-churned sky. Fort Dramur loomed out of the waves like one of the many jagged pillars of stone that surrounded it. Every now and then a ball of fire was fired from within and hurled across the sky in a great arc towards the enemy ships floating not far away. That was why they were here.

Word had come that morning that a large force of foreign ships had engaged Fort Dramur with magics the likes of which the Guardsmen had only seen in Dreadlords before. They were holding - would hold - but they needed reinforcements. With the large portion of the Anirian Navy on the furthest shores of their territory, the Academy had been closer and able and willing to give aid. There was a mix of Dreadlord, Guard and Initiate alike aboard. As many as they could cram into the relatively small merchants boat. A large warship would have been sighted and instantly set upon, the Proctors had reasoned, a smaller ship would be able to slip through the hazardous rock formations and dock at one of the secret cove entrances.

"Look, they must have seen us," the Captain pointed to a small flame where water met rock. From their position they could only just make it out, but the enemy ships would have no idea.

Clever.

Houri nodded in agreement.

"Prepare to dock!" shouted the Captain and the deck was suddenly swarming with his crew as they tried to prepare the ship for their turbulent docking.

 

[Oraya Urahil]

"Captain, if I may?" Oraya's voice was calm but sure, even as she reached over and firmly took the wheel from his meaty grasp. Her voice somehow still loud enough above the storm and crashing waves. Even as she braced herself on the opposite side of the Captain that Houri stood. No one had recognized her yet, so that was good.

But this was her ship.

And her crew were among those below.

She'd be damned if she continued to let someone else handle the vessel but herself. Her pale blonde hair was tied back and fell beneath a tri-cornered hat. She had on sailor's gear and boots. While admittedly a little concerned about being recognized among all the Anirian rabble aboard, it would take a keen eye to do so.

She wasn't a noble today; she was Privateer Raya.

With movements conveying skill and practice, she spun the wheel sharply to port.

"Jethro! Lines if you will!" Her first mate was already moving with the rigging lads.

"Brace yourselves!!" A polite call to the rest on board even as one side of the deck got swamped by a second rogue wave.

 

[Kassandra]

It had been five months since Kassandra had joined the Anirian Guard after returning home.

Things had gone surprisingly well since then.

Though awkward at first, her training had gone well since it's first few speed bumps. The people around her had been starting to see her as less the Princess of Vel Anir and more a fellow Guardsmen. She had even begun to grasp the use of a sword, albeit one a bit smaller than most others used.

It had all been going well.

Then her parents had interfered. Determining that Kassandra was not suited to being stationed on the frontier and she was best served placed in the middle of nowhere. Away from danger and anything that might come crawling, the King and Queen had assumed that Fort Dramur would be an easy place for Kassandra to serve her year term.

An assumption that had now proven preposterously incorrect.

"KIZZ!" A voice called, and Kassandra snapped her head. Focusing on the sergeant who'd called her name. Lips thinning almost instantly as she saw the splash of blood on his face. "Yern's been hit. The medics swamped, can you do anything?"

Teeth sank into her lower lip, fingers gripping the bandage she'd been holding a bit more tightly. "I'll do my best!"

She called, hoping that reinforcements would be arriving soon.

 

[Houri]

I am never getting on a boat again.

The voices inside her mind agreed wordlessly as Houri dragged herself to her feet once more. The latest wave had nearly capsized the whole vessel and may well have succeeded if Orya hadn't righted it so quickly. Still, men had gone overboard and it was too dark and far too rough for them to attempt any sort of rescue. Their voices were soon swallowed by the storm or the sea and they vanished down to Davy Jones' Locker. Those that remained helped one another up and a few were lashing themselves to the mast.

"I don't think you should-!" but the warning was too late. A crack of lightning hit the mast of the ship and with a sickening groan it began to fall. Thrown off balance the ship nearly crashed into the side of the castle and the falling mast tangled itself up amongst the rocks. The bodies of those who had been tied to it still smoked despite the rain. Houri grimaced.

"Well don't just stand there!" Came a voice from up high. She had to shield her eyes from the rain and squint to make him out but a guard stood on steps carved into the rocks in an oiled cloak pulled up over his head. "Welcome to Fort Dramur; now get ye arses up here and out of this blasted rain."

 

[Oraya Urahil]

Those bodies had been mostly Anirian soldiers and not her crew. They were not used to riding the rough sees with nothing but their boots and balls as balance. Oraya would've thought with all the magical dreadlords on board they could've done something useful.

But no. Her beautiful ship was all but destroyed.

Even with the rough landing, Jethro was quick to hop upon the slick dock and tie off what was left of the ship. Her second-in-command was there to help. "You HEARD HIM. EVERYONE OFF MY SHIP. NOW!" Oraya called out with an ease of practicing authority over others.

That Luana girl looked like she was about to be sick. Was this one of the many her Leander Urahil said had a crush on him? It made sense, given the Urahil's gifted physiques.

"Don't worry, ship travel is not always like this," she leaned in briefly to Houri, attention quickly turning away as Jethro called, "Cap Raya, ship's secured," looking as soaked as the rest of them. Oraya waited until all living bodies were off her ship before stepping onto the winding and slick stoned steps of the docks. Head tilted upward as another arc of lightning flashed across the sky, lighting up the outline of the fort's turrets high above them.

 

[Silas Artesto]

Ships. It was always ships. No matter how clear he made it to the Proctors, no matter how many times he asked, or pleaded with the Academy, it always ended with ships. The floating wooden deathtraps seemed to haunt his life, always showing up just as he was having a good week. Every time he got sent on a fucking mission it had to be on a goddamned motherfucking sh--

A sudden lurch of the vessel that Silas Artesto had hidden himself away in the bowels of sent him flying into the wall of the hold. The situation at Fort Dramur was serious-- he understood this, and that's the only reason he let himself be dragged onto the ship, but he'd also made it known he wasn't coming above deck until they'd hit ground. The Initiate had a terrible fear of the ocean, one that an excursion with Lumen and Aelita had not aided him with in any way.

Even below deck, he'd been curled tightly into a ball, the storm battering the boat causing its innards to be nearly as nauseating as withstanding the waves crashing above. Still, even Silas' misery was broken when his head cracked against the wood hull with a thud, quickly followed by the voice of a woman up above, demanding everybody disembark.

Shit, didn't have to tell him twice.

A few minutes later and Silas was on his hands and knees on the dock, a coat draped over him and his head tipped over the side as he struggled not to empty the contents of his stomach into the salty blue beneath. The fighting hadn't even started in earnest and already he was covered in sweat and weak in the knees. Managed to roll onto his backside and then lift himself back to his feet, a hand pressed to his forehead as he watched Houri descend onto the dock through the thick sheets of rain.

"I swear to god Houri, when we're done I'm walking home."

 

[Kassandra]

As the reinforcements arrived, they would find the situation more than a little dire.

The walk through the bowels of Fort Dramur was much like any other Anirian Fortress. Drab, sparsely decorated, and well built. The view wasn't much either, no windows, but a few arrow slits which had been carefully interspersed for the defenders.

It was once they passed through the lower inner-gates and out of the tunnels that they would take in the grim sights.

Men and women both stood, sat, and laid around the hallways as the reinforcements ascended. All of them were clearly wounded in some way, either bandaged for horrid gashes or protected by gauze from fetid and rotting wounds. Some had massive burns, while others were missing limbs.

It was a grim sight, more expected from a hospital than a fort.

The battle had already been an exceptionally difficult one, and that much was openly on display as they continued.

"Hey! Hey!" Kassandra called out to the men and women walking by, her uniform covered in blood, hair matted and clumped together. Even those who knew her would struggle to recognize her with the visage she now wore, speckles of crimson decorating even her face. "I need someone to help!"

She demanded. "Now, come hold this!"

Kassandra was a private, she had no authority to order anyone around, and yet as attention drew to her it would be obvious why she carried the urgency in her voice. Beneath her joined hands was a guardswoman, her stomach had been slashed open and blood still poured from her wounds.

 

[Houri]

Houri blinked at Silas as he echoed the words that had just been running through her own mind and, unable to help herself, began to laugh. A laugh of pure relief. Relief that they had managed to get themselves back onto land and relief she was not the only one who had decided the sea was not their friend. She helped him up the steps the rest of the way as they followed the lantern bearer into the fort proper. Water dripped off of her and all their steps seemed to squelch as they were led through the corridors.

Signs of battle followed them. Weapons left against walls for soldiers to grab as they ran up to the battlements; bloody handprints on walls; and soldiers groaning in hallways as they waited to be seen by medics. Houri grimaced. The Anirians might not have yet lost the Fort but they were close to it. What was causing this storm? Even now she probed it to search for some sign of weakness but she got the impression that even its maker had given up holding onto the reins now.

"They have mages, powerful ones too," Houri murmured quietly enough for only Silas' ears. "Can you feel it?" the tang in the air, the simmering energy. She barely offered the Princess a glance as she called for aid and the lantern bearer continued on. Her talents lay not in healing so there was little point in offering.

"We need to find out how many there are," she continued instead to Silas as they walked on.

 

[Oraya Urahil]

It was Oraya who took a knee in the dirty-bloody and grim floor to hover next to the one who called out for help. A private if the rankings were to be believed on the woman's uniform.

"Cap'n," Jethro opened his mouth about to protest.

Pale blue eyes didn't spare her first mate a glance as her attention focused on the injured woman before her and Kassandra. And while Oraya was no healer, she did know basic first aid. "Would you like to stitch her up or shall I?" The older Urahil couldn't help but notice that the guardswoman had eerily similar facial features that reminded her of Odessa. The thought of her baby sister ever being in a position like this made her stomach churn.

 

[Silas Artesto]

Silas couldn't hold back the grimace as Houri helped him keep his feet steady through the macabre scenes within the fort. These guys were losing, and losing badly. Which, okay, that's usually what you brought in Dreadlords for, but they didn't even know what they were up against.

"Mm.. felt them for a while now. Don't think you'd need to though, with a storm like that." He muttered back to Houri, turning his head away from the particularly grisly sight in Kaassandra's hands, his eyes rolling into the back of his head for a second before he recovered. Normally it wouldn't have bugged him, but coupled with the seasickness... "Ngh... It's just not normal for it to last that long. And the rain has a certain flavor to it. Kinda like yours."

He'd been around Houri once or twice when she'd let a little thundercloud skip in their time together at the Academy. Maybe it was just him, but he swore he could taste the magic in whatever she conjured up.

Pulling away from Houri's support, Silas took a deep breath and straightened his back. The unease in his stomach was starting to subside, slowly. "Thanks Houri. I owe you one." He sighed, and then took stock around them. She was right: They needed to get some idea of what they were fighting before they could formulate any plan of attack.

"Gonna pop my head outside again, take a quick sprint around the fort, and get the lay of things." He decided. turning to look at a cracked section of the wall, with a pile of medical supplies collected in front of it, he nods and points. "Think I can go through that wall without breaking it..."

 

[Kassandra]

"I can sow, Captain." Kassandra said quickly her eyes darting towards the insignia on Oraya's jacket. Though the situation had been full of panic, she still had to respect the rank. That was a lesson often beaten into Private at bootcamp.

A media, which she supposed was what she was now, could call and even order a superior around when the situation called for it...but one had to be careful.

Motioning for the woman that had approached her to simply apply pressure.

Having another set of hands made all the difference, and quickly enough Kassandra managed to sow up the wound. Her fingers covered in blood, wiping away some of the crimson every now and again until finally the managed to staunch the flow.

As she finished, Kizzie reached into a small satchel at her side. She took out what appeared to be a piece of small sea-glass, though thousands of intricate lines ran throughout it, and then gently placed it between the injured soldiers lips.

The woman looked up at her, fear in her eyes, but she opened her mouth. "Thanks, Kiz."

She croaked, before slowly closing her eyes. Kassandra only smiling in answer as she stroked the woman's hair with her still bloody hand, taking a look at Oraya a second later.

"Thank you, Captain." The Princess said. "I apologize for my...briskness. Things are quite busy."

Kassandra said, not standing at attention but instead moving to the next patient.

 

[Houri]

The man who had greeted them on the steps stomped back having realised his group was missing a few key members. He clamped a hand down on Silas' shoulder before he took another step, then set his other hand quite firmly on Houri's shoulder too, apparently sensing she had been about to bolt too.

"None of you are goin' anywhere. Boss wants to see you all - you too Kezz. Matilda, Gregor," the two other Dreadlords rose to their feet. Houri thought she recognised Matilda from when she had attended the Academy before her accident - an older student back then which meant she must have been a fully fledged Dreadlord when the revolution struck. Gregor she did not recognise but from the way he swayed she dismissed him as a potential threat almost instantly.

"Come on now," the lantern bearer huffed once more and led them on to the Common Room.

Before the war had come to the Fort no doubt the Common Room had been the place where the people stationed here would have relaxed and joked with one another. Now it had been turned into a mix of war room and feeding station. Hollow-eyed guards quickly went through the motions of eating before rushing back out into the rain whilst in the other half of the hall commanders poured over maps and argued. Much to Houri's dismay they were steered towards the latter.

"Ah, there you all are!" a silver haired man straightened from where he had been stooped over the map. His eyes were a slate grey that seemed even darker due to the smudges beneath. "Did we lose many on the crossing?"

 

[Oraya Urahil]

Oraya held the wound closed as the one named Kiz stitched. Kezz? "You have quite the steady hands," she complimented the young girl quietly as she finished up. A sharp eye taking into account the strange seaglass that was placed between the patient's lips. Perhaps a bit of magic to help with pain? Lady Oraya wondered silently.

A silent huff at the girl's apology. "No need," she waved it off as she stood, not bothering to wipe the blood from her hands. From the looks of the wounded around them, it made no sense to wipe now. She turned to Jethro even as the Kiz went to the next one injured. "Go back to the ship and unload any extra medical supplies we have. Help here and then come find me when you're done."

"Aye-aye Cap'n," Jethro nodded once and began back-tracking. At the call, she began following the lantern bearer.

"Did we lose many on the crossing?"

"Only those without sea-bound legs already. But yes," she added a bit more solemnly. "About a dozen or so. I'm Captain Raya and it was my ship with the help of mages on board that got everyone here. Sir."

 

[Silas Artesto]

Silas kept his mouth shut when orders came in to stay put, but he kept the thin patch of wall in mind. He'd gotten the hang of vibrating at a frequency that let him phase through really weak or thin barriers, but the chance to bust the trick out on the field hadn't really come up yet. Every time he had a solid idea, whoever was in charge had him sit his ass down and do nothing instead, it seemed.

Gods this job could be infuriating.

As the lot of them were ushered into the Common Room, Artesto stayed close to Houri while he took stock of the men and women that were still standing and in fighting shape. It wasn't looking good. Peering up at the stone-faced man who'd been poring over a large map, Silas couldn't help but wonder if he was the first one who'd been in charge here, or if he was a replacement for a commanding figure that had already been taken out.

This was no place for him. This room was for bickering, and Silas much preferred to let his actions speak for him. Instead, he was going to be expected to follow the orders of some old man who almost certainly had no real grasp of Horui's or his own capabilities.

"Wasting time..." He muttered under his breath. "It's too late to be talking now..."

 

[Kassandra]

Kassandra offered a brief nod of thanks to the woman's complement, and a smile to her dismissal of her apology.

After that things happened quickly.

A command was given, and her fingers twitched with the instinct to disobey. Her lips pressed to a thin line, but she offered no words. Instead she reached into her belt pouch, pulling out dozens of glass slivers, each with strangely rounded edges.

Kizzie walked them over to one of the nearby nurses, leaning over and whispering something in her ear. The girl nodded eagerly, taking the slivers as the Princess turned and quickly followed on the heels of the others. Before long she too was in the hall, standing just behind Houri and Silas.

Her gaze flickered down as Silas muttered, a frown drawing on her lips.

She understood the youths impatience, but once again found herself biting her tongue.

Things had not been easy here, and since the attack began there hadn't been much to do but sit. A few times there had been attacks to repel, but the nature of sieges were slow...methodical. Most of the injured came from magics hurled at the fortress walls.

Magics very much like those the Dreadlords would use themselves. It was a curious thing, and one that had illicited many late night conversations. Kassandra had joined the medical staff, using both what she had been taught in the Guard, at Althhaven, and her developing magics.

Not that it had made much of an impact.

The siege had been brutal, there was no denying it, and still all they could really do was wait.

 

[Houri]

Houri hummed in agreement to Silas' words.

The Commander cursed and glanced back down to the map he had been pooling over before they had come in. Genuine grief seemed to flicker across his face for a brief moment and then it was gone, replaced with grim determination.

"Thank you, Captain. For getting everyone else here safely and I am sorry to hear about your ship. I'm afraid those we have here are needed for the fight... when we can spare one, we can get you back to the city," he ran a hand through his silvery locks, a nervous habit by the state of his tresses. Houri couldn't help but think the old ways were better when it came to situations like this. If he could simply cut off his feelings he might be able to focus better on the battle at hand.

"As you've probably seen, the enemy has their own mages. The ships that come back from fighting tell us they're linked in pairs by some silver bracelets. One seems to give the commands and the other obeys. Killing one takes them both out, so that has been where we have concentrated our efforts. But these mages..." he huffed a laugh. "Well it's like fighting you lot, Dreadlords," his grim face told them all just how funny he really thought it was.

"Nobody can identify the flags they're sailing under and their language is nothing I've ever heard before. And their armour..." he shook his head. Houri tilted her head to the side. Someone... new.

"Interesting," Houri murmured low for Silas to hear and though she didn't smile the excitement danced in her eyes. New meant a challenge. The Commander continued.

"I need you lot to take over from my men in the attacks on these mages. We have limited anti mage devices, so we'll fight fire with fire now you're here. Get some rest and report back at dawn. Kezz - I want you in charge," his eyes flickered to the Dreadlords. Houri noted some of the others had tensed in irritation. "Fill them in on the rest and find them rooms. Be ready to sail with first light."

He turned back to the map.