FE: Deminean Knights - Prologue: The Flames of War [IC]

[Commander]

Deminbriar (Sunrise)

Deep in the Southern parts of Annea lived a small town called Deminbriar. Not many were awake this early in the sleepy town, but a girl wearing a white robe could be seen rushing through the empty streets. In her hand, she held a folded piece of paper with a red seal encased on the front. She turned one way then another, until she arrived at her destination. In front of her was a small grim looking house with a blueish roof to fit the mood. She knocked on the door a couple of times then stood there waiting for a response.

“What the bloody hell do you want?” A half dressed man opened the door wearing only an orange shirt and some worn-out trousers. His hair was in a wild mess and the dark circles in his eyes gave away his mood rather quickly.

“I’m s-sorry to bother you at this hour.” The girl used her free hand to curl a strand of her black hair to ease her nerves. “It’s just that this…this soldier wanted me to give you this letter. He said it was important.” She held up the paper in her hand and quickly jumped back when he yanked it from her hand.

“What do the damn fools want from me this time?” The man slowly removed the seal and glanced over the contents inside. “How do they expect me to read this? It’s nothing more than complete scribbles.”

“Sir, I might be able to read it.” The girl was about to step back again, but the man stopped her and handed the paper back. “Let’s see…seems like they are a new batch of recruits being sent to you.”

“Great! Just when I get done with one set of maggots, they send me new ones. How bad is it?”

“Seems like most of them just need a quick examination before being sent off. There is one thing you might want to know: they’re already here.”

“Those damn politicians are trying to kill me. They can’t even give me one day. It’s already hard enough training these damn babies when I should be fighting alongside my men.” The man took a deep breath eventually calming his nerves. “Why don’t you make yourself useful for once and check attendance while I get ready? Make sure to drag archer boy on your way.” The man then slammed the door before the girl could even respond.

A little bit of time passed as the girl made her way outside of town. The fields were hilly and quite spacious. Shepherds were just getting up and tending to their flock, while farmers were busy with fieldwork. The girl eventually made her way to a flat area where a group of people were standing. They were a bit intimidating, but they seemed a bit friendlier compared to the other.

“May I have your attention please,” she said ever so softly. “Welcome to the Annean Army. We’re happy you’re lending us a hand in this conflict. Can each of you please say your name so that I can take attendance? It’d also be kind of nice to know a little bit about you too if that’s not a problem.”

[Felicity]

Karl was the first to speak up, not bothered by any attention he may get. "Hullo, I'm Karl Onerlous. I'm not so glad to say that I'm barely able to use a sword let alone any other weapon, but holy shit have you never seen a better dancer!" He said cheerily, spinning in place and bowing low with a care-free smile on his face How long will I keep this smile...?

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Call me Drake." said a tall woman closer to the back. She was taller than most of the other people there by far, and her blazing orange hair didn't make her stick out any less. "Unless you want to be calling me The Drake's Knuckle all the time, Drake is shorter. A did a few stints as a mercenary awhile back, part of the Red Lance company if you ever heard of them. So, I know my way around a weapon and a battlefield. Especially, since I was mostly hired as a freelancer for fighting forces then the more mundane Civilian Sector jobs." She said a bright smile beaming on her face. She then started to look around as if she was looking for somebody.

"YURI-KUN !!! Introduce yourself to the Nice Lady!" Drake yelled, swinging her arm around above her head to gets Yuri's attention. Drake could see him in the crowd now, and kept gesturing fro him to come up and introduce himself. He was a good kid, and she wanted the best for him.

[krim]

"Nemir." Said the man in black at the back of the crowd. "I've been called The Blackthorn, Stormblessed, Captain and a whole sledge of less....kind...names, but call me what you wish." Then, fingering the pommel of his sword and slowly stepping a little further away he said "I be the last pirate of my crew left alive, and I dont much like this "Mad King"." Normally he wouldn't be this careful to keep an escape route open, but he knew that many people were aware of his reputation, and even more were not the least bit fond of pirates.

[Aurorix]

As Yuri watched as Drake waved toward his direction, 'Ugh, not this again,' he thought to himself as an annoyed expression came about on his face, 'Why is it always like this with her?' He sighed and before he could speak up another man did before him. After he was done Yuri spoke up with a little bit of an annoyed tone, "I'm Yuir." Yuri then rested his sheathed blade on his shoulder which he was previously holding by a white ribbon tied near the end of the sheath where the swords hilt is sticking out. "That's about it, nothing much else to say." There was some things that could've been said, though nothing he wanted to disclose.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"See, that wasn't too hard!" Drake said ruffling Yuri's hair a bit.

She then said to him in more more hushed tone "You could hit that if you played your cards right." she said with a wink and the finger gun motion accompanying it. She shifted her giant great sword onto her shoulder.

Then she started yelling a bit. "Now the rest of you lot spit it out!!! We got things to do! Let's go, I want to hit things already!"

[Aurorix]

Yuri rolled his eyes at Drake's last comment, "Of course that's the first thing on your mind" He whispered back before she started yelling obnoxiously. 'Even if I wanted to, what girl would want a street rat as a boy friend.' He thought to himself as he peers off into the sky above with his left arm on his hip and the other holding his blade on his shoulder where it rested as it's white ribbons flowed in the light breeze.

[Felicity]

Karl was conflicted. He wanted to laugh at the obnoxious woman being far too loud and he also wanted her to stop. "Hey, Lady, D'you wanna just keep it on the hush, people can't intro when you're speaking over them" he said. He said it somewhat meekly though, so he didn't know if it came out as a request or a suggestion

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Well, then they have to talk louder. BUT, I DON'T HEAR ANYBODY TALKING STILL!!! YOU ALL SHY?!?!" Drake said yelling a bit more. She shifted around her sword a lot, clearly getting a bit impatient. This was just say your name, get it over with. How could the others assembled be taking this long? Drake just wanted to get down to business, she hadn't fought in awhile, a few years actually, since she left Red Lance Company. There was her training sessions with Yuri, but those weren't much in the way of fighting. It was mostly her teaching the kid how to fight, and what she already knew. She was sure it helped him, but she wanted to fight some real battles again. This small talk, wasn't for her. She wanted to bash in some skulls already. "Let's get this going already." she thought aloud. Didn't mean for that to slip out but it did. However... she could care less. They were taking forever, they might as well know.

[Guzam]

"Quit yer' whining...what was it. Drake? er else I'mma come o'er there and beat some sense into ya'." Said a gruff, tall man standing near the back of the group. "They call me Holland the Brutal. I'd prefer you call me Holland. Unless I'm about to chop off ye 'ead. Hahahaha." His laugh seemed to shake the ground. A great facade for a man with a tragic past. "I'm not really one for words, but if skulls need a bashin', I'll crush 'em where they stand." Holland's tone seemed more stern now. Quite the sudden mood swing from all that laughter earlier. It was easily noticable that Holland was only their for the killing of enemy soldiers.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Pyrrhon

[RubyHeart]

"L-Lucia Artemisia, here!" She yelled out awkwardly. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. My friends just call me Lu... and I... I am I blacksmith. I like rapiers, and most other kinds of swords... and I am happy to be here." She took a breath of relief, knowing that she could stop speaking. She then look a look around the crowed to see if she can find any familiar face, but found none.

[Guzam]

Holland shouted to Lucia, "What's wrong kid? Cat got your tongue? Wouldn't be surprised, you're like a lil' ant compared to me. And I love squashin' ants. Hahahahaha!" He tried to shake Lucia up. He didn't care about her self esteem. He never had self esteem issues. He knew what it felt like to be depressed however.

"Aye, listen kid. I'm just givin ya a hard time. I don't mean to hurt you. I mean to hurt my enemies. Don't let me get to ya'. After all, if I get to ya, the enemy might also. We don't want that happening do we?" Holland said, seeing a shaky reaction on Lucia's face. He realized it wouldn't be right of him to turn on his allies. That's what his allies before did to him. He couldn't bear to become his own enemy.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Pyrrhon

[RubyHeart]

Lucia hesitated to speak as she stared into Holland's eyes. "I-it's fine... I'm just not a very good speaker. I don't mind being tiny like an ant, but as long as I have these two legs of mine, and a sword in my hand, I won't let much else get the better of me. You're right, the enemies are the ones who should be hurt. The question is: who is the real enemy?" She finished speaking in a hesitant voice and smiled at the large man. "I hope to work well with you~" She looked down at the ground wondering if this really was the best thing to do.

[Aurorix]

Yuri yawned and sat down on the ground now having his sword leaning on the front of his chest, 'Man, everyone is either really loud or really quite in this group.' He thought as he heard everyone's introductions. 'I just hope everyone can get along well.' He sighed as he waited for things to be over with.

[Felicity]

Karl knew he'd have fun with the brute. "Y'know, I don't think anyone can claim to be small when there's a dwarf around you ya know. I don't even get up to five feet." Karl bounced around Holland poking him as he went. "Not that it matters, i'm one ant you can't catch" And with that, Karl skittered back with a little twirl, grinning all the while.

[Commander]

Exlink, Huk, and Pyyrhon

Eep! Kelsey froze in fear after hearing Holland's introduction. Even after months seeing the big strong axe fighters, the thought of them being able to crush her frail little body always got to her. Still she had a job to do. She looked at the list and matched all of those who listed their names, but noticed something odd. Ever so slowly, she made her way up to the young thief in the group.

"Excuse me, but I think there's been a mistake. I-I can't find your name on the list." She then quickly turned to the orange haired girl. Her voice began to squeak as she said, "Please don't hurt me."

[Komodojoe]

Komorrin, who had kept quiet until a couple of specific individuals had calmed themselves down, decided to walk over to the startled girl in an attempt to comfort her. "Relax. No one's gonna hurt you... Well, I know I won't, but I can't speak for the others. However, seeing as they're here of all places, they probably mean well." He said with a comforting smile. He started to look around, seeing everyone that he was going to work with. "Well then... it seems that I am probably going to be the center of attention for the next few minutes..." He thought to himself. "... I guess I might as well introduce myself before Drake and/or Holland decide to start yelling again..." He pushed his glasses closer to his face and began his introduction. "My name is Komorrin Lozos. I'm a mage from the Academy. If anyone runs into an enemy that's too tough to punch, come find me." He then takes out his Thunder tome. "I'm sure I can give them quite the shock... No pun intended." Though he spoke with confidence, it was rather hollow. Truth be told, he was a bit nervous since he was never in any kind of combat outside of the Academy's training regimen. He took a second look at his new teammates. "Well then... who's next?"

Edited February 11, 2015 by Komodojoe

[SilverJakler]

"I guess that would be me." said a young man in the back as he stood up to address the group.

"Name's Chaust Taybard. As you could probably tell from my weapon, I'm more of a "strike quick and hard" kind of fighter." said Chaust as he gestured to the slim, slightly curved sword sheathed at his left hip. Chaust was genuinely cheerful and excited to be paired with a group as diverse as this.

"Anyways, to keep a long story short, I like helping people, helping to defeat this "Mad King" guy would help a lot of people. So, that's why I'm here. Looking forward to fighting alongside you all." After he said his piece he sat back down on the ground.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"What would I hurt you for? It isn't your fault your superiors can't write a damn list!" Drake said laughing. "Yuri is with me though, I am actually surprised it is me on the list and not him, he signed up first. I kinda just decided to tag along. I guess my reputation precedes me." She said nervously scratching the back of her head. She haunched down a bit to actually be eye-level with Kelsey instead of looming over her. Probably was a bit scary to have someone like Drake looming over you when you didn't know them very well. Or, at least Drake thought it would be, she never really had anyone all that taller than her, as tall as her? Yes. At least a foot taller than her? Not so much.

"Just mark him down, he has more reason to be here than I do. I won't have you turning him away. He is a good kid, and he knows how to fight, I taught him. Besides, a Mercenary as well-known as me vouching for him has got to mean something right? Unless it doesn't, but that can't be the case." She said giving Kelsey a thumbs up. "So, mind helping me out?" She said beaming a mighty smile.

[Aurorix]

"She probably is confused since I didn't give my last name." Yuri spoke up casually, beginning to get up off the ground, "Even if it isn't on there you might as well write my name anyways. It's Yuri Lenn, and that's with two n's at the end. If you need spelling just ask." He was a bit surprised why he wasn't on the list, though it shouldn't be too hard to get him on it even so.

[Commander]

Exlink and Huk

"I-I I'm really sorry, but I can't. You were probably sent to the wrong place. I'll have to report this to Virgil though...oh dear. He's not going to be too happy about this." Kelsey stopped in sudden thought remembering she was supposed to bring Zach with her. She looked around only seeing the newly arrived recruits. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll make it here before... Kelsey could hear the yells of an angry man even though they were quite a long ways from the town. He's going to kill me.

"...er...sorry, I better get this done." She heard Komorrin and Chaust introduce themselves and matched their names to the ones on the list. "I think that's almost everybody. Uh...I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Kelsey Schecter and I kind of was a local priest in this little town until they recruited me for training seven months ago. Also, I...don't like fighting...and my limbs still intact." Kelsey slowly backed away from the group. All she wanted to do was hide under a table. Why did Virgil have to make her do this?

[Aurorix]

Yuri sighed, 'Looks like this won't be fun, though I can't have her be involved in this all alone.' He thought to himself. She didn't look confident with talking to anyone and he felt bad having her do this because of some mistake either he or someone else did. He waited for her to be done talking before he picked up the ribbons of his blade and spoke, "Kelsey was it, if you wouldn't mind I'd like to come with you about this 'not being on the list' thing with your superior, who's name I'm assuming is Virgil. Would that be alright with you?"

[krim]

Nemir was sure that Kelsey wasn't trying to make a joke, but he laughed anyways. "Ha. You don't like your limbs attached? I'm quite the opposite." Then the one boy with the sword spoke up. "Ay, that's a pretty good idea. I'd like to meet this Virgil myself."

[Guzam]

Holland had been in deep thought for a while, ignoring the voices around him. He was snapped out of it when Kelsey said her own name. "Kelsey... I'm gonna beat the 'ell outta the enemy. Even if I'm the only one fighting, I'll never back down. I'll keep fighting for my pride. For my army. For..." Holland stopped awkwardly mid-sentence. "I'm sorry 'bout that. My point is, I'mma beat the living daylights outta those Onishian. One way or another, they will fall before me." Holland spoke very seriously. He spoke with a certain thought in the back of his head the whole time. The same thought that had him entranced earlier still remained in the back of his head, gnawing at his brain like it was an oversized chew toy. He went back to his silence, ignoring Karl who was still poking and prodding him.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I'm going with you too Kelsey, Yuri-kun is with me, and I will make sure this is straightened out or I am not the Drake's Knuckle." She said with a grin.

"Which it so happens, I am, and that means I will be going with you!!!" Drake said pointing to herself. "So, lead the way Kelsey!!! We are going to have to defeat this faulty paperwork! I don't have a pen so hope you don't mind if I use my sword." Drake said beaming another smile on her face.