Steel and Blood[Read Only]

by Fury Thu Jul 13, 2017 4:52 pm

Winter had passed but its icy shackles were still strung all across the land. With hardened soil came little growth but stubborn stalks of tall grass stuck out like painted spears. Though the yellow of the sun spread like a blanket the ghastly breath still stunted every foot and soul. Yet, the warmer times, they were the best to raid. Dimmed laughter could be heard, leather boots crunching snow, steel clanking at the sides. Empty streams made perfect trenches as raiders navigated through foreign lands. The first of them cheered as they could smell the salty ocean air. Soon the company of a dozen laughing raiders reached an opening in the beach. The laughter was cut short as their eyes caught the glinter of polished steel.

Each of their eyes narrowed in disbelief at the last minute challenge. Before them were 40 soldiers all clad in scaled armor. They stood in ranks contrast to the loose formation the raiders held. Home was so close, just on their long boats and they could have sailed away with all their golden and steel goods. Then again, what was a raid without some bloodshed. The raiders shrugged, dropping their stolen goods and arming themselves with rounded shields and sharpened steel.

"ARCHERS!" shouted a man on horseback. Quickly a row of of long bowman came forth, knotting their arrows and drawing it to full length. The raiders reacted with little effort. Without saying a word all gathered together, overlapping their massive wooden shields on top of each other. The wall held, the hail of arrows landed with sharp thuds. The raiders laughed, peering through tiny gaps in the shield wall. They began to grin feeling their blood begin to stir.

"INFANTRY MOVE UP!" the horseman shouted once again. They ran without unison wildly charging in their columns. They screamed and bellowed their leather shoes kicking up white sand as they ran. Within a few breaths the soldiers threw themselves against the wall. Their shields rang and chipped with heavy blows but the raiders held close formation. However even under the disarray of a hundred blows, each brother and sister protected the kinder next to them.

"Hold! Kinder! Hold!" Their leader bellowed as they began to be pushed back bit by bit under the pressure of the armoured soldiers. Then when they could be pushed no more the signal was given. In a well versed movement, the Raiders pushed back together. The collective force pushed the soldiers back, making them topple over their own row of soldiers.

"UP! ONTO THE OVERTURNED KEEL!" A bearded man bellowed a war cry. Now it was the raiders turns. Over the painted war shields came a fury of axe blows, smashing through helm and skull alike.

"CLAMBER! WITH A HEART OF STEEL!" With each verse the Raiders pushed back step by step. Each time the soldiers were easily pushed back. Axes hooked around necks, pulling soldiers forcefully into the shield wall. Their faces would break on the wall and their skulls cracked by hardened steel.

"COLD! IS THE OCEAN'S SPRAY!" The soldiers began to panic, their strength already depleted from their mindless charge. They quickly found themselves at the mercy of a unit moving as one. Fear filled the very bottom of their hearts.

" - AND YOUR DEATH IS ON ITS WAY!" Ever so often the shield wall would make a small opening. The soldiers who had been pushing back would find themselves with no resistance. Their bodies would fly through into the raider ranks and be quickly hacked down to a corpse.

"WITH LOVERS! YOU'VE HAD YOUR WAY!" The soldiers were in full panic, screaming as axes and swords found throat and guts. Their ranks began to break and soldiers were openly tucking tail and running away.

"- AND EACH! MUST DIE SOME DAY! FINISH THEM!!" The raiders broke formation off the wall, running in frenzied glee as they hacked stragglers. The soldiers had no where to go. To face the Raiders the cold ocean was on their backs. To run meant being exposed to Raiders.

by Fury Sat Jul 15, 2017 6:15 pm

The man on horseback looked in horror. He thought his numbers would make quick work of the heathens but bit by bit all he saw was the collection of his own men piling up. "FIRE AT WILL!" The arrows seemed like toothpicks on stone the archers like their captain began to doubt their victory. He gripped the reigns tightly his head darting from 1 end of column to another. He could see no weak point the shield wall was an impregnable fortress. If he could maybe tell them to move around. No, they'd take advantage of the split and the men would be cut down further. He swore under his breath, how would he explain this one sided defeat to his king? The men could be easily replaced but the gold that went into their training and equipment.

The man tried to yell his orders out but they were drown by the war cries. It terrified him, each chorus like a hammer to his heart. His breathing became heavy and his body tense. His mount felt the mounting fear, snorting as the animal began to doubt its own safety. Is his hesitation, his men broke. The remaining infantry turned tail and his archers began to throw away their bows and get ready to run. No! "HOLD!! HOLD!!"

-------

The soldiers were running away but their panic was their ultimate demise. They tripped and toppled over dead comrades. These were quickly dealt with, a quick smash with an axe head and their screams would turn to inaudible gargling of blood. The raiders broke their formation now spreading out to kill stragglers. The raiders were without a doubt killing machines. There was no distinction between men and woman from where they were from. If you were strong, you had power. One particular woman was amoung this party. Hair curled gently and blazed red, and blue eyes with a hint of crazy. She was one of the first to break ranks on the given order.

With a scream she stepped forward. Blocking a blow with her shield and then directly translating it to a bash. The side of the shield would smack her opponent in the chest, causing him to lose breath. With a glee she sunk her blade through the gap in his armour. A quick kick to pull the blade out and she was already on her next opponent. This one was stuck between running and fighting. She abused his hesitation, hacking his knee with her blade. She'd give him a bash with her shield before moving on. He was done for. She moved up once again not being want to be outdone by for fellows.

by Fury Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:46 pm

Delight fashioned bright blue in her eyes. A lieutenant among the soldiers ranks. He still had fight in him, an anger she could feel burning on her face. She laughed at him, finding joy in having touched what he called home. In his hands a war axe, much like what some of her companions used. She tilted her head to the side, her tongue playing on the edges of her soft lips. She felt it the rush, of someone she could possibly engage in mortal combat. He was different, visible scars as he removed his helm. She might not live through it, she felt her skin tighten from excitement and she could feel the soft fabric of her furs on her body. The girl shivered with joy as a bolt of warmth shot through her.

The man roared taking a strong foot before hammering down. She took a timed step back, raising her great wooden shield. She let slip a shout her eyes mad with glee. If she had not timed it right her arm would have broken from the blow. Instead the bottom half of the her shield had disappeared, snapped off clean. Such strength, it flushed her. Tossing the shield aside she weighed her options, what did she need to do win. The man seemed to be angered that he had to face a woman, a stupid child who smiled in the face of battle. She didn't even know the weight of what was going on. He took another strong foot, swinging his great axe like a sling.

Copying his steps, each time the heavy axe head wolfed past her she dodged. She watched not his axe, but him. Looking for shifts of his body language. If she remembered his reach then she could easily dodge. His body shifted heavier on his lower half. She stopped her movement. She moved forward, just lifting her leg as she dodged a lower axe swing. With this she moved forward, her sword gunning for his throat.

The older man's eyes widened, tilting his head to the side as the steel blade narrowly missed his throat. He moved back quickly, trying to gain the range advantage. He used his free arm to prevent the sword from slicing him as he retreated, a move that rewarded him a gash on his arm. Perhaps he saw this wrong. He looked at her, really looked at her. She embraced what was going on, like she had lived to see a hundred more like this. What were these people.

The girl slashed downwards, cutting deep into his arm as he retreated. No fun, his anger was quickly fading. He'd fight differently now, she held her board sword with two hands holding it high above her head. She took half steps closing in the gap as she landed two diagonal blows, once from the left and once from the right.

The man was pressured now, holding his axe with two hands like a bar. He blocked the strikes, amazed by the weight she put behind it. By holding it and striking it low, the weight of the sword made up for her strength. She'd come low to high, making him over step backwards. This was not good he was being pushed back too far. With a grunt he raised his axe above his head, stopping another high guard strike from the girl

With her blow cut short, she felt the ring in her hands. She slid one step back as the man swung at her head again. She ducked underneath it. Strength for long weapons came in the stance and in turn the footing. She pressured him once more, taking the outside of his dominant arm and striking at his gut. He blocked the blow with the wood of his axe and swore as he realized what she was doing. The beach! Cold water swished into his boots and dread over took him. He couldn't move fast enough, he swung his axe wildly trying to kill her. She grabbed his axe blow with her hand. With his feet gathered close his blows wouldn't do more than a bruise. Aela smiled, burying her steel deep through his throat. The older man bit down, holding his coughs back, trying to draw breath. He was done.

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Steel and Blood[Read Only]

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