OOC: Three months after the battle for Rauru

IC: The sky was shaded black by the countless Kargarocks and other flying beasts there. The ground practically shook under the weight of the marching army of the damned. The path up the mountain had been thin and narrow, but now the armies of darkness were in ranks, and covered the Ruto Highlands in the hundreds. At the head of the army was something that could only be described as abominable; a creature that only slightly resembled human, but with too many insectoid charactaristics to be sure. This was Uka, one of the seven Generals. At his side was a misshapen sword, bekutorukuukan. Behind him marched seven didongos, each one held a darknut warrior. Behind those, each darknut had a hundred men in ranks, armed with the deadliest swords the dark army could find.

Goria, Lizalfos, Moblins, Lynel, Gibdo, Octorocks, a DoomKnocker, Ball & Chain Troopers, and plenty other creatures could be seen in the hoards.

Only one thing stood between them and Ruto Town; the Hylian army, armed with the best armor and weapons, standing in line, waiting for their enemy. At their head was Kasei, the Rebel Flame. He wore a chainmail under a thing coating of leather, and leather pants. In his right hand was his scythe, his left hand was above his head.

"It's time for battle."

Time for all hell to break loose.

OOC: Three months, that is an oddly long number considering it is a war. I sure hope that both the Hylian and Dark forces have thought of good strategies in such time.

IC: Another man could be distinguished in the enemies ranks. He was somewhere behind Uka, but he wasn't with any of the Darknut's militant wings. He was ridding on a creature that appeared to be a skeletal horse... that could breath fire. The man was Vilk. His command rested behind him. With him were also other members of the fused syndicate composing of Cell Sky, the Blackwind Organization and the like. The officers Dark Angel, Legion, and Anti-Orpheous were with him. They roughly seventy-five men in arms, well trained and well equipped.

Then, somewhere else on the side of darkness, there was another small wing. This was a group led by the women called Raven Ailwell, the commander of Lord Cerberus's forces. With only a merely thirty-something amount of troops, some members of the Dark might think that she would be of little help. However, every last one of her men could single-handily take on ten basic Hylian Knights in combat and walk away victorious. There were also two elite soldiers with her, who were over three times as skilled as her regular troops. She was even more skilled than her elite soldiers, and she was the only mounted soldier they had. She rested upon a large four legged beast, topping the power and size of a Dodongo. There was no doubt that that it had more in it's arsenal then razor sharp teeth and deadly, poisonous claws.

In the sky, there was a large beast, similar to the one seen by the Papara shores many months ago, a skeletal behemoth-like beast. One of Cerberus's best handiwork's (shame I had to give that one away).

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However, the Hylian Forces had great warriors in their ranks as well. Thealter may still be missing from their ranks, for he still hadn't gotten better in three months, but they do have several other highly trained soldiers.

Thaix wasn't in their presence, as he had to defend the fort from a different assault launched by a different group. This could have been a diversion launched by the syndicates to keep him and his crew from joining the battle.

Michael couldn't make it either, as he now had a lead about the Great Fairy of Chaos. Valentine was also sent on an investigative mission, kept hush-hush under Orpheous's commands.

However, in the ranks of the Hylian forces stood Orpheous, Simon, Silna (in the shape of a large armored bear), Remos, Bou, Gavin, and Snowflake. Phil was still stationed at the castle showed anything go wrong there. Many other PFH's workers joined their commander in battle though. Commander Leon too stood in the Hylian ranks, with a team of roughly sixty-something militia men, most of which were gathered from Ruto Town.

Then, the commands were given for the battle to begin...

A vague figure watched the clash of the two armies up the towering cliffs. Surprised by the number of forces both armies had. But he feared the dark army the most...the flying beast blocking the daylight.. the tense atmosphere... for him it felt more like a dream.
"My...my this is very interesting."
"Yes it is...Are you certain you don't want to join the powers of the dark, Azador?" A voice echoed through his head.
"Not in a life time, Jormungand." The mage answered the voice.
"You have betrayed your friends before remember? The Hakiems still need to repay your debt...Can you imagine what you could gain by joining the darkness?"
Azador sighed. "Frankly I don't care...Never cared about money or wealth...only power..the power to defeat 'him'. I defy such a greedy darkness!" Said mage seriously agitated.
"Your wish is my command, Azador…. I'm just happy you decided to show up today"
"I would never want to miss the fireworks...hahaha!"
The figure watched at the two armies for a single time, but quickly jumped down to join the fight.

OOC: Sorry I couldn't post for ages... AP testing, SAT's, etc, etc.

IC: Xeon shaded his eyes with his bony hand, even though he had no reason for it; the sky was blackened by the horde of flying beasts. He scratched his ear slowly, his eyes squinted. Tapping his fingernail against his glass vial around his neck, he drawled sarcastically,

"Well, this looks pretty."

He had joined the battle in hopes of finding entertainment - he had found that, and more. Seeing the army of darkness, he had a fleeting emotion of fear. He lingered at the back, and it was only his tall height that allowed him to see the brief motion of Kasei's hand slicing the air. Xeon folded his arms, awaiting the soulless bodies to fall.

In the meanwhile, he kept himself amused by polishing the glass vial dangling around his chest.

"Dis ain't the besht lookin' sitcheeashun..." The drunken cleric observed fearfully, the massive wave of foes bearing down on the Hylian forces. He hung near the back; he was, after all, a cleric. He began to fidget with his numerous coats as he anticipated the coming storm, wondering what the outcome of this fight would be. Breathing deeply, he began to charge his staff with blue energy, ready to erect a shield at a moment's notice. Near the front of the army, Junter stood silently, letting his prey come to him. He had survived Rauru, and he was sure that this clash would be much the same.

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Yassen, Lerick, and Urn ran at the left flank this time. Their stealth abilities would be mostly useless in such an open battlefield, this they knew. However, they had no choice. They had to fight, and they would fight. Orders were orders. Lerick had his blade drawn and held before him as he charged, the same cool expression on the hard face. Yassen looked slightly less smug after his last mishap, and there were several fresh scars and scabs from his previous encounter with a certain Gerudo. The back of his robe was frayed, and his expression was more serious than it had previously been. Urns eyes seemed hollow--what he had observed in Rauru had changed him. His comrades, their bodies decimated and warped beyond recognition. He was ready for revenge.

"What a pleasant day for a bloodbath." Uka said, giving the all-go signal, and lifting his sword. Instantly, the entire army of darkness swarmed forward, bearing teeth and claw and blade. All for the obvious porpose of destroying Ruto. Among the army there were particular individuals, hand-picked by the generals to . . . remove obstacles. Rimnos, Gyakoran, Kyorest, and others were hidden within the ranks of the damned.

On the other side of the warfield, Kasei's hand fell down, signaling his army to begin the attack. Throughough the front ranks, archers were firing at will simultaniously, their arrows were aiming for the enemies that were drawing closer. Both Kairos and Denkou were within the ranks, behind Kasei, and were ready to fight.

The Rebel Flame readied his scythe, and looked at the nearest enemies. He smiled, with only the words "Let's get this over with." Comming out of his lips. He charged forward at an incredible speed. As he met the first ranks, his scythe was already tearing through his opponents one by one. Denkou was right behind him, electrocuting moblins and other creatures. Soon, Hylian knights joined the fray. Within moments, the rocky surface had been painted a bright crimson.

Uka swung his weapon, and the heads of soldiers, both enemy and freind, were sent flying. He did not care who won this, his objective was much simpler; he needed to paint a crest of blood onto this mountain.

Ooc: when were you on, xeon??? so much for studying in ur room, I guess..?

In case you guys don't know who Okikas is, please see me profile ^^

IC: Sakiko put a hand to her sweating forehead, her gray eyes becoming dazed an unfocused. Zapheta squeezed her arm, nibbling at her lips as she stared at the bloody fray in front of her. The bard knew that the mage was making a transition between the light and dark; in other words, Okikas was taking over.

Zeze still had a hold of Sakiko's arm as she swung her giant sword at a moblin's head. Sakiko's eyes began to roll in her sockets, her silver hair sizzling with smoke. The bard looked away, creeped out by the transition. The mage gave a shrill scream, as her eyes came back to focus - except this time, her irises were gleaming with crimson red.

"Whoa."

Zeze backed away, staring as Okikas stood grinning maliciously. The demon ignored the bard completely and slashed through the army, a swirling black energy engulfing her whole form. Zapheta raised her eyebrows, and yelled,

"You're on!"

With that, she jumped into the bloodbath, her sword raised high.

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Aiden was frightened, she was stuck in the middle of a large army. Her heart was beating rapidly, causing her head to hurt with the loud THUMP THUMP, she could feel throughout her body, but at least she was alive. Trying to offend no one she pushed and squeezed her way to the frontlines, maybe not the smartest thing.. She could see the other army now, the Hylians, her friends. Her bright green eyes were wide with fear, how had she gotten herself into this again? Oh right... She had gotten lost again..

It was dark and something seemed quite wrong. She had fallen asleep in a odd cave, but was now awake and not sure exactly why. It was clearly not yet morning, but she felt alive. Stirring she gathered her flute and brushed the leaves from her hair. Her breath hung in the air, it was nearly freezing outside. That's when she heard it, muttering.. it was a plan.. her eyes got wide and in shock she let out a gasp. Right after she knew she was caught, the talking stopped. Closing her eyes she stayed stock still, hoping the shadow would hide her. Now she was thankful she couldn't work out how to start a fire before she fell asleep.

Next thing she knew she was bound, gagged, and sore all over. She was in an army encampment and no one seemed to be paying her any mind. Blinking she winced, there was a large gash on her forehead, no wonder she couldn't remember what had happened. Her hands were wet and slick, her arm ached painfully, both hands tied behind her back in an uncomfortable position. Wiggling her hands the slicker of the two slid free, but it caused her a lot of pain. For a moment it sunk to her side, but soon she was able to move it in front of her face, the hand was covered in blood, a cut on her forearm being the source. No wonder it was wet and slick, her own blood had been the reason she was able to slide free.

During her struggle someone had spotted her. A group had circled her still stuck figure, then a bold one approached. Grabbing her hair he yanked her head back, causing her to scream in pain, although with the gag hardly a sound was heard. The crowd erupted in laughter at her expense, she saw a dagger rise, closing her eyes she prepared for her own death. Her neck was an open target and so was her long curly hair. In instinct her one free hand reached and snagged the man's at the wrist, but she was weak, he easily tossed her hand away. The hilt came down and hit her in the temple..

The world was dark, or was she blind? Parting her lips she winced, they were dry and sore..- wait, no gag! With a defeated grin she attempted to touch her face only to find she was bound still. Coming to further she realized she was not blind but blind folded. A voice reached her in the darkness, cold and harsh, "Awake are we little spy?"

Spy? She wasn't a spy, what was going on?! In the following few days she was beat, starved, and just ill treated, but not let to slip back into unconcious. The voice changed from day to day or hour to hour, maybe week to week, she wasn't sure of time anymore. Always the intent was the same, get the information the 'spy,' as Aiden was known as, had. Finally they must have figured out she was truly innocent and stopped questioning, and while the beatings were less and not as bad, she was still ill treated. Sometimes they forgot to feed her, and she was still treated like scum, but she never let them use her as some of the men wished. She even refused to sing for them, even when they handed her her flute she refused to play. On those days she was beat like a punching bag.

Now they told her she was bait, to bring the others in and to be a sacrifice. If she didn't fight for them she would die and they would kill all the others in her name, and if she tried to run away they would kill her then hunt down her family and kill them as well.

Even now she had a bruise on her cheek, her hair was matted with blood, her body was horribly malnourished, and she had half healed wounds all along her body. Watching the other army she wished she could run to them, but before she would ever make it she would be shot in the back. Did any of them see her? The one that didn't belong? Did any recognize her?

Burlo's staff shot back and forth, his arm pointing it towards every large group of enemies he could find. He erected shields before large mobs of enemies, blocking their projectiles and slowing their forces so a few of the horde would trickle through while the rest had to remaneuver. Of course, these shields didn't last long--they were but two second pulses. He still wasn't fully rejuvenated from his last battle, and if it weren't for Zaris...well, he would be dead.

Junter slowed his running, letting much of the army rush before him. He saw no need in a suicide charge--the ones in front were always doomed, no matter how strong they were. The sheer numbers were sure to drag them down regardless of their ability and skill. No, he would let the cannon fodder take on the cannon fodder; he himself would focus on the cannons.

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Yassen found himself slamming headfirst into a transparent object, stumbling backwards from the Cleric's blue barrier in surprise. Lerick, who was slower and had more time to prepare, simply leaned to one side and spun once, his blade coming around and slamming into the barrier with all the strength he had. It shattered easily--not that it would have lasted much longer anyways. He began his dash towards the enemy lines again, his eyes roving for any familiar faces. Urn, bringing up the rear in the trio, grabbed Yassen by the shoulder and yanked him up, his other hand reaching into his pocket for a vial. Bringing it to his lips, he bit out the cork. Spitting it aside, he downed half of the blue liquid before passing it to Yassen, who finished the rest on the run. Dropping the glass container, the two took off with a new speed, overtaking Lerick easily and lowering their bodies as they prepared to strike. They weren't taking any chances this time around.

The battle had only started minuets ago, and already the corpses of the dead seemed to litter the mountainside. Such a sad world we live in. Is it really too hard to strive for peace? These were the thoughts of a certain Kairos as he erected barriers around the hylian tents nearer to Ruto town. He and the men being tended to here were simply spectators to the violence that the others were subjected to.

Over in the battlefield, it seemed that Uka had finally crossed blades with Kasei. The two generals were in a violent struggle, with each of them trying their best to avoid the other's abnormal weapon. Whenever Kasei swung his scythe, Uka would duck or dodge and in turn swing wildly with Bekutorukuukan, which in turn caused Kasei to dodge, and the process starts over, with both combatants too skilled to lose ground to the other.

Denkou wasn't having the same trouble. Quite the contrary, he was simply weaving in and out of the first few enemies he encountered and was moving closer and closer into the center of the dark army. It was here that he saw something that caught his eye; Aiden, a girl he recognized from some time ago. She looked injured, but also looked like she was on the wrong side. "Aiden!" The Lightning Thief cried out as he moved towards her, slicing up enemies. He did not get very close, however, before a figure moved in front of him and parried his slice with a stab to the shoulder. Rimnos the dark Rito glared down at him. "Oh. Looks like our trap worked after all." He jeered, readying himself to slice again. He was stopped, however, by thr presence of three arrows in his gut, courtesy of a Hylian archer. The rito screamed in agony, before Denkou rose up and thrust his hand into Rimnos, and let of a 1000 volt discharge, killing the potential general instantly. Bleeding, Denkou turned back to Aiden. "Aiden! Come on! You have to get out of this!" The man screamed, offering a hand.

In an area much closer to Sakiko, one of the Darknuts seemed to have spotted Zeze and Zapheta, and recognized women only as an easy target. He raised his own giant blade to block Zapheta's, effectively halting her progress. Looks like she has a good challenge to deal with, now.

Kyorest rushed forward through the ranks of the damned towards Yessen, Lerick and Urn. "You three!" The Great Darknut shouted, motioning at them. "There seems to be quite a few troublesome shield casters on the enemies side. Can I trust you to kill them?" He asked, before impaling an oncomming soldier with his own spear.

Aiden was lost in the battle, almost getting trampled as the charge was issued. With a whimper she had dodged any possible injuries. The gurad in charge of well.. guarding her had been killed and she was able to get back her dagger, flute, and other items kept from her. Dagger now in hand she felt better, but still felt very weak and out of place. A man ahead of her was caught in some trouble, but quickly got out of it. He called her name and held out a hand, for a moment she just stared.. she was dirty and gross, yet he recognized her?

She didn't even know who he was, but he did come from her side... All the same she shook her head at his offer. There was no way she could leave, they would hunt her down and all those with her. Sliding her dagger back into a cover on her hip she swallowed hard, "I can't." Taking a step back she nearly tripped on a corpse, with a squeak she trembled, abnormally skittish. The damage they had done to her was not just physical but mental as well. Not even a smile was on her face at this point, just a worried look.

OOC: I am super bored.

Watching the man she shook her head and then looked away. That's when her gaze fell on Kasei.. her eyes grew wide and she shivered. He needed help, or at the very least a distraction...

OOC: Sorry it took so long. Also, I noticed something, is there a reason the majority of creatures in the hoards are of 2D game origins. I don't have a problem with it, but just wondering if there was a reason.

IC: As the battle began to unfold, Orpheous summoned (note: not word-manced, this is a clue of where a certain other topic is in the overall timeline of HA2) a handful of over sized, bipedal jackals from Anubis's army to assist him in battle. Roughly twenty Anubian warriors rushed into the fray, each several times stronger and swifter than the average Hylian Knight. They also were more resistant to attacks than the knights, and thus, they had a higher kill per death ratio. However, they were small in number, and thus, they couldn't even make a dent before they would probably be wiped out.

The PFH workers, on the other hand, were nowhere near as radical. Orpheous had told them that he would make sure none of them died in combat. Of course, he couldn't verify this, but he would take all precautionary measures. They too were small in number.

The militia men were probably the most radical of all, seeing as how they are composed of a bunch of patriotic nationalists who would rather die than see Hyrule fall to evil intentions and rulers. What made them even more extreme was the fact that in Rauru, most of them had families. However, Ruto Town is filled with ruffians. On man strapped extremely powerful explosives to his back and chest, explosives that probably had more destructive power than a powder keg, and charged into an enemy rank where no friendly soldiers were nearby. The bomb detonated as soon as he made it far enough in to do some real damage. Leon, who didn't know about this, was furious that one of his men went suicide bomber, thinking that it had been the wrong choice. However, he realized there was nothing that could be done about his choices now. He charged in with his troops into the enemy lines to reach the Grand Darknut, and the few soldiers that would probably be left surrounding him.

Silna, who had changed forward in her bear form, was soon to tired out to compose it. After all, she did rip through handfuls of warriors while trying to make it in. As soon as she shifted into a human, she was back in conflict, taking on several of Lord Cerberus's soldiers, as Raven watched, interested at the Silna's talent and strength. She sent in one of her elites, to see how well she could truly hold her own.

Simon and Orpheous were also rushing through enemies, slaying as they went along. Dark Angel and Legion soon stopped them, taking on the two. Remos, Bou, Gavin, and Snowflake, who had also joined the fight, were doing nicely. Vilk had been given specific instructions to make sure that Bou couldn't join in the next stage of the war, and he intended to carry them out. Immediately, he isolated the warrior, and pursued combat, keeping others at bay with telepathically wielded weapons. Bou countered by using telepathic weapons of his own to make sure that soldiers of the dark couldn't come and aid this master of combat. And the series of fights that Orpheous and company would have to undergo had just began...

OOC: Will actually cover more about these fights in next post, so don't think that I'm just going to say so-and-so fought so-and-so. I will actually go into detail as too what happens with the fights. Hopefully, someone's characters other than my own will take on my unoccupied characters. And, to Kasei, I do eventually want the Grand Darknut that Leon and his troops are trying to kill to engage Leon in combat, just to give you a hint.

"Well will you look at that," Luna murmured. From the top of a cliff she surveyed the battlefield streached out below. "Not a bad view. What do you think Kumori?"
The fairy flitted up to her shoulder, his wings making a rhythmic humming sound in her ear. He hovered at eye level, weaving back and forth as he looked at the spectacle several thousand feet below. "I don't know... It's just another battle. Sure, it's larger than most, but it's still the same thing."
".......Well?"
"Well what?"
"Don't you just want to join?"
Kumori turned and saw the mischevious glint in Luna's eyes, the look she always got before dashing headfirst into trouble. Her will to interfere was very strong, and the fairy knew better then anyone else what that ment. "There's nothing in it for us, otherwise I'd love to join in too." He paused before adding, "Battles are fun," and mustering up an evil smile.
"Well I can't just sit here and watch. That side's Hyrule, right?" Luna asked.
"Yeah..... but-"
"Hyrule's been pretty good to us, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah, but-"
"But nothing, I'm going down there and joining in the fray." And with that Luna flew down the mountain, running as fast as her legs would carry her.
"Luna.....?" Kumori called after her. When he didn't get a response he whispered softly, "Just don't get hurt."

OOC: I guess this is all i'll get, huh?

IC: Denkou looked at Aiden with disbelief on his face. Angry at the possibility of her being a traitor, he barely noticed the surrounding foes until one of them made a slice for him.

His hand was covering their mouth, and they died a very . . . violent death. The Lightning Thief ignored this, and continued onward to Aiden. "Hey! YOU! Ya wanna die out here, huh? Damn woman!" He screamed at her, releasing lightning bolts left and right. He got next to her, and decided not to wait for a response; he picked her up onto his shoulder, and prepared to jump for it, ignoring her possible protests.

Author!Kasei Edit: Back to Kasei, who was begining to lose ground against his insectoid opponent. The Rebel Flame was noticing that more and more were joining the fray, from both sides. He had actually thought about this battle, very thouroughly. Why would the dark armies attack Ruto and New Peaktop? There's no tactical advantage to either of them, it's not like they could secure the passage south through here, anyway. His thoughts were interrupted, being forced to dodge away from Uka's weapon.

"Damn bug." The Shiekah said, as he quickly prepared for another round with the dark general, ready now to use more . . . deadly spells.

As for the PFH, the fight was going smoother than they could have hoped. Although the Anubis warriors were rather quickly stopped by a rampaging pack of Dodongos, they had mannaged to open up a path for Leon to what he was obviously searching for; a Grand Darknut, which rose it's blade to attack the Militia leader. As for Remos and Snowflake, unfortunately, a rather . . . large ball and chain trooper had appeared, along side of it's giant mace.

As Luna entered the fray, it was obvious that she was being treated like, well, a girl. Knights got in front of her almost as soon as she arrived to defend her.

OOC: To answer your slanderous question, Orph, I happen to like the 2D games.