You all ride hard for the rest of the day, countryside passing behind you. As the sun finally sets and it becomes too difficult to see, you all halt and set up camp. Despite the days travel, you don't see anything different about the area you're camping in versus where you just left. Your night is uneventful and quiet, with no troubling dreams for anyone.
The next morning Ryland has you up before dawn, already packing his gear and getting ready to mount up. He can still feel that pull, tugging him northwest.
Let's see what happens. The Wheel weaves what it will jasper says, mounting his horse and galloping in the direction Ryland indicates.
Jasmine is getting a bit nervous at the delay but wants her band to stay together.
Let us give it one more day. If nothing by then, perhaps we should head towards Cairhien.
Jed agrees with Jasmine, but pulls her aside a little later. "If after one more day we don't find what Ryland is looking for, we may want to consider moving on to Cairhien without him. We can agree on a place to meet up, of course." Jed doesn't want to split up, but he doesn't want to delay much more either. He will miss riding with his new, close friends.
Ryland sets out with the rest of you in tow, seemingly unconcerned with who does or does not decide to follow him. Pushing hard as before you cover a lot of ground yet by day's end there is still no sign of what has your companion so agitated. The night is quiet as you all catch some sleep.
The following day Ryland is up early and ready to go. Jasmine and Jed ready themselves to break off towards Cairhien but after a brief discussion they decide it might be best if they give their companion one more day. Setting off again the group rides northwest, always following Ryland's ground eating pace.
This cycle continues for four more days, each day Jasmine or Jed or someone else making the decision to break off towards Cairhien and yet the following morning some other reason comes up for them to stay. Maybe some of it was a desire to remain with those you trust in these troubled times but as the days wore on even this seemed to become a thin reason. Like you were all starting to feel this energy building, like you too could sense what Ryland moved towards.
Early on the fifth day you crest a small rise and pull your horses to a sudden stop. Stretching before you was an endless vista of gently rolling terrain like you had been riding through for the last week, tinder-dry brown grasses broken by the occasional hillock or small tree cluster. What hauls you up short is the massive battle taking place around a large hill less than a quarter of a mile away.
Tens of thousands of Aiel surround a ring of covered wagons, several of which are ablaze, near several stone wells and leafless trees atop the hill. Mounted men on horseback help hold off the mass of warriors as mounted women, clearly Aes Sedai, send immense balls of fire arcing into the enemy lines as Warders and other soldiers keep the Aiel at bay. You can see as well women in long skirts moving amongst the Aiel and balls of fire streaking from them to ignite within the ring of wagons. Lightning falls amongst both groups, causing the ground to erupt in bursts of light.
The scene is almost too much to take in and yet there is more. Not more than a few hundred yards from where you sit, you can see a third army racing towards the conflict, the banners of the Dragon Reborn fluttering over their ranks. Alongside those you also see the Eagle of Manetheren and the unknown wolf-headed banner. On the left and right flanks you see red-armored cavalry and plainly dressed archers while at the center ride Cairhienin lancers and thousands of Aiel formed into an immense wedge driving directly towards the ring of wagons and the back of the Aiel horde.
Jasper immediately embraces Saidan.
Hmmmm...I am thinking now would be a good time to link Jasper says, moving alongside Alathea and holding out his hand.
Jed looks to Jasmine with concern clearly written on his face. They have spent enough time together for her to know exactly what he would do. Jed would come to the aid of the Dragon Reborn if he were on his own, but he will follow Jasmine no matter what she decides.
Ryland looks out over tha battle field and turns to the others and draws his sword. "We are here. "
Fiallain snarls and there is no mistaking the vehemence in her voice as she veils herself."These are Shaido dogs. Treacherous to the core and they betrayed the Car'a'Carn. I know not why they attack Aes Sedai, but they are Shaido and that is enough for me. I see Wise Ones in the other group and colors signifying your dragon as well. I shall join them. Perhaps we shall break the Shaido's back this day at long last!
Alathea looks blankly from the battle before her to Jasper's outstretched hand, and then back. Light! What could cause Aes Sedai to take part in such a battle? This is madness!
Even without Faillain's denunciation of these Shaido, Alathea realizes that without help, the Aes Sedai will not survive the battle. But what difference can I make? I can fight alongside the Aes Sedai, but I will be just one more woman against a sea of Aiel! But she cannot just stand here and watch. With a doubtful look, she asks Jasper, "What do you intend to do?"
Alathea looks blankly from the battle before her to Jasper's outstretched hand, and then back. Light! What could cause Aes Sedai to take part in such a battle? This is madness!
Even without Faillain's denunciation of these Shaido, Alathea realizes that without help, the Aes Sedai will not survive the battle. But what difference can I make? I can fight alongside the Aes Sedai, but I will be just one more woman against a sea of Aiel! But she cannot just stand here and watch. With a doubtful look, she asks Jasper, "What do you intend to do?"
Jasper turns to her, and in a voice devoid of emotion, says simply Kill
Alathea clasps her hands behind her back and takes a cautious step away from Jasper. Without taking her eyes from him, she edges towards Fiallain. "I must help the Aes Sedai," she says quietly, unsure if she's speaking to Fiallain or to herself.
and i want to help the Dragon. We link, we survive. We don't, we die. Jasper says simply.
He takes a step forward, holding his hand out again to alathea, and offering the other to Jasmine.
Fiallain glances briefly over her shoulder at Alathea as she mumbles. The aiel woman is largely unaware of her companions or the drama unfolding between Jasper and Alathea. Her own attention is arrested by the scene unfolding below and with determining the best way to join her sisters without being taken for an enemy. Distractedly she exclaims back. "Then come and kill the Shaido!" With that, she lopes forward, spears in hand and singing:
Wash the spears while the sun climbs high.
Wash the spears while the sun falls low.
Wash the spears, Who fears to die?
Wash the spears, No one I know!
Alathea backs away from Fiallain at the other woman's bloodthirsty words. Am I the only one horrified at what happens here? But she realizes that this is a battle and that, horrified or no, fighting and killing might be the only option. Squeezing her eyes shut, she reaches for Jasper's hand and embraces the Source.
At Fias words Ryland nods his head and nudges his horse forward following the Aeil towards the battle.
Feeling the surge of power from Alathea's link, Jasper turns to Litheene and Jasmine. Ladies? Shall we make those enemies regret going against the Lord Dragon?Extending his free hand out to them, he steps forward, almost dragging Alathea behind him, feeling her reluctance to go forward into battle.
Jasmine looks at the pitched battle, a sense of grim purpose building within her. Looking at Jasper she says My talents in battle are not inconsiderable on my own Jasper. Though your power would increase we who are linked to you would be less than useless in that. We do not even have swords with which to protect ourselves. We stay together, fight as a team but we will be more effective separately.
Looking over at Jed she says with a wry grin Well my Gaidin, let's see if we can go get ourselves into a bit of trouble. With that she kicks her horse forward towards the melee.
Always she questions, always she denies. Jasper thinks angrily to himself, rage and anger flowing through his body. Looking at Alathea, he says And i suppose you too do not wish to link anymore, since an aes sedai has denied an Asha'man the privilege he was granting her?
He drops his hand, ending the link before she can say anything. enough of this. There is burning that needs to be done
Litheene looks at shock at the battle, destructive weaves of the power raging about, killing from both sides.
We ... we can't use the power as a weapon, unless to save our fellow sister. We need to get closer, in weaving range of the wagons. The Aes Sedai in the center could have warded the others away, if not for the Shaido wise ones. One of the things Damana learn is - in battle, concentrate on disabling the enemy channelers. Jasper, if you are willing to kill, ward off the Warriors. I'll try my best to protect my sisters, by stopping the wise ones from channeling.
Litheene breathes deeply, takes a hold of the angreal, and embraces the source.
Jed nods at Jasmine's words as if she knew what he was going to say before she said it. As she spurs her horse ahead, Jed quickly rides to catch up with her. While on the run, he yells across to her, "We must stay close by our companions." He then pulls ahead of her and directs his horse toward Ryland and Fiallain, to fight alongside his friends. Jed pulls out his sword as he rides.
The decision made, you all put heels to horses and charge across the grassy plain towards the mass of Shaido. Your path brings you close to the outskirts of the Dragon's forces, who simply give you grim nods when they see you before charging forward to impact against the wall of Aiel.
You're only a few yards away when suddenly the grass around you erupts with hundreds of wolves, all shapes and sizes, tan colored all the way to deepest black. The wolves bound forward into the Shaido, teeth ripping as they begin tearing into the Aiel around them. Your shock is only momentary as you're suddenly plunging into the Shaido as well.
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Each of you thought you knew what combat was, that you knew violence and killing but this is like nothing you've ever experienced. It was only moments after entering the melee that you quickly found yourselves separated, the press of bodies pushing you in various directions across the battlefield. It has felt like hours already but you know it's only been mere minutes since you committed yourselves to this battle.
Jasmine and Jed were side by side, sitting atop their horses and laying waste to those around them. Jed's steel eyed gaze fell on Shaido and his sword quickly followed suit. Jasmine was a Green sister in full glory, flames streaking from her hands to engulf the Aiel around her.
Jasper had an almost manic glee in his eye as he moved through the chaos, fires burning around him. This was what he had trained for, this was his purpose.
Alathea could only gape in continued horror as she defended herself from attack after attack. Weaves of Air knocked assailants aside as she struggled to keep the Aiel from overwhelming her. She had managed to avoid killing any of them yet but she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to hold back without risking her own life.
Litheene struggled to maintain her focus amongst the death around her. The carnage and violence of battle was causing her damane training to rush back and it was all she could do to resist the callings of Shari as she kept the Aiel back as best she could while maintaining her own sense of self.
Ryland tore into flesh around him with reckless determination, his horse long ago cut out from under him. Bodies fell to his sword and he could feel his face drawing back in a feral snarl as the blood continued to spray around him.
Fiallain felt herself slide back into her familiar role, fighting amongst her clan and sept mates against the honor-less Shaido. But there was a small part of her that knew it would never be truly the same as the spear in her hand was but one weapon she now had available to turn on the Shaido.
Combat notes/rules:
1) Everyone but Jed and Jasmine are separated due to the chaos of the combat. Jed and Jasmine are only able to stay together because of the Warder bond allowing them to pinpoint each other.
2) To simplify things, PC's all are top of Init order, then the mob of Shaido go. Because you're all separate, it doesn't really matter who goes when between the group of you. Once all PC's have posted (or enough time has passed to move things on) I will then post the Shaido round info.
3) Combat will not be standard based on the RPG, I want this to feel more fluid. Instead of rolling thousands of attack rolls against you and clogging things down, each PC will simply suffer 1 hit (and corresponding damage roll) from a Shaido on the enemy's turn. I will also roll percentile for this, with a 5% chance that it is a crit (and thus extra damage). This represents that no matter how good you are or high level, you will be hit by sheer luck given the number of enemies.
4) Related to the being hit comment of #3, every PC is considered to be in melee constantly starting at the beginning of your Round 1 turn. So for the channelers with weaves or anyone wanting to make a ranged attack, you will need to take this into account via Concentration checks, etc. Characters may skip their turn (or think of it as spending a full round action) to "clear a space around themselves", which will allow them to be out of melee for their next turn's actions. In this same vein, you will always have a target within either melee or short range of you, at your discretion. It is a sea of enemies!
5) I don't want anyone to think that this will boil down to a series of dice rolls and that's it. Depending on what you do on your turn, it will directly impact the overall flow of combat and the ultimate outcome at the end. Even if all you're doing is swinging a sword, this will still impact the game depending on how you swing it. Get creative with your posts and ideas and it will further reflect at the end of this.
6) Related to #5, when I post the round updates, make sure to read them thoroughly as I may or may not throw specific challenges or ideas at specific people. While I'm trying to simplify things with this, I also don't want this to be boring either so I might spice it up now and then.
Howling with glee as he rides up on the Aiel, Jasper holds out his hand and a simple shaft of pure fire shows in his hand.
Litheene's eyes jump around her, trying to focus on her goal, fighting off the fear of being surrounded by countless foes. ... and this Shari, is the weave to use when fighting marathdamane .. The voice of her trainer, the first who guided her on channeling, echoes through her head. And she remembered the weave.
Catching a glimpse of a strong glow of Saidar nearby, Litheene pin points a Shaido wise one, channeling not far from her, the strongest one she can see, before throwing off the weave.
Litheene ties off the weave quickly as it is laid, turning back to the fight.
Blood flows down Rylands face as he pushes his way through the melle. A sound escapes the Boarderlander simular to the growl of the wolves around him, his eyes darting over the threats in front of him as the last peice of his humanity still clinging to logical thought looking for an enemy channeler. That part of his mind knows that he can slay a hundred of these Aiel warrior and still not have the same impact as slaying one of these wisewomen. The time spent watching his companions cast thier weaves has tought him something of great value in this situation, press the attack on a channeler and not give them an inch, and maybe you can kill one before they freeze the air around you then set you on fire.
Ryland catches a glimpse of a long brown skirt beyond the Aiel in front of him. His teeth flash as he throws himself at the Aiel between himself and his prey, his sword swinging in a deadly arc towards the neck of a Shaido warrior as he yells his anger and determination at his target, ending in the sound of a howel.
Power Attack: -3 to hit
Damage:
Jasmine retreats into her calm shell, a flower floating in the calm eye of a hurricane of blood and death. Her horse dancing away from stabbing spears and hamstringing knives, Jasmine works harmoniously with Jed. Anticipating each others actions and intentions a shell of bodies weaves itself around them. Jasmine decides she needs to start working at expanding her area of influence but needs time to work. She weaves a warding against people around herself and Jed to gain that time.
Alathea scowls at Jasper's rude dismissal, but says nothing. If I must kill today, I would have rather done so by lending my power to another than doing it myself. Immediately after the thought, she's struck by the absurdity of it. Light! To feel more comfortable surrendering myself to a madman than to defend myself? What has happened to me?
Staring in horror at the battle before her, Alathea does not know what to do. Jasper claims that these madmen fight for the Dragon Reborn, and Fiallain says that these Shaido are the enemy. Ryland is here because of these wolves, although I do not understand why. Which is the right side? But despite her uncertainty, there is one group that she trusts in even if she's uncertain of their reason for involvement. The Aes Sedai must be protected, yes? I must have faith in them! With her dueling knife in hand, she opens herself to the One Power and sets off towards the besieged Sisters.
Fiallain dances among the combatants, her lithe form easily lost as she darts and weaves among the press of cadin'sor clad bodies writhing in the field. Her speartip is wet with blood, though she sports a few slashes here and there herself. Seeing a large Shaido man bearing down on one of her fellow maidens, she silently launches herself at him.
As he is closing in on the ring, Jasper spots a large wall of mounted horsemen charging into the line. He is suddenly reminded of a day of training at the tower
No matter how strong you are, how quick you are with the power, a single blow can drop you if you don't see it coming
Smiling at that hard lesson learned, Jasper angles his charge to fall in behind the wall of calvary as the drive deep into the shaido.
let them clear a path for me. he thinks as he begins to smash into those Aiel that survived the charge.
Spotting a small group, Jasper channels, howling BURN. A fireball suddenly erupts from within this group, flames caressing their bodies, turning them into fire statues.
Jed has only one thought in his mind during the carnage of battle. Nothing else matters. He thinks nothing of cutting down the Aiel who attack him, nothing of the blood on his sword, and nothing of lightning and fire raining around him. He has but one purpose. Protect Jasmine!
Jasmine and Jed work together as if they have been doing this all their life. As Jasmine weaves, invisible to Jed's eyes, he puts himself between her and the nearest Shaido to attack. It is a constant game, where he must shift his feet to dodge a weapon in such a way that it does not come close to injuring Jasmine.
Almost subconsciously, Jed notices that Aiel further from Jasmine and Jed are suddenly no longer advancing. He takes this opportunity to try and clear out the area nearby, to give Jasmine the break she needs to concentrate.
Jed sees two Shaido coming for Jasmine, their spearheads glinting in the sunlight as they seek to eliminate an Aes Sedai threat. But they have to get through the heavily armored Gaidin first. Jed steps directly in front of the Shaido, his sword flashing. The first Shaido is slashed across the shoulder as he attempts to duck his blow. The gash is deep. Without pausing to see if the Aiel falls to ground unconscious, Jed pulls his sword back and thrusts it deep into the other Shaido's stomach. Only seconds have passed, and more Aiel press in.
Aiel spears slash and weaves errupt around you as the fighting continues on. Blood sprays in different directions as the battle rages.
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Round 2 Battle Update
Ryland gouges a deep wound into one of the skirted Aiel women. Snarling at you, she grips you in iron bands of Air and you can feel your ribs begin to crack. As you hang there, a large brown wolf leaps at the woman, teeth sinking into her arm. Suddenly you're released as a gout of flame burns the wolf, the stink of roasting hair filling the air.
Jasper moves through the carnage, flames pouring into the people around him. As he raises his hand to launch another fireball, he can feel a razor sharp presence slice through his weave before it has a chance to form. Head on a swivel, he spots a Wise One staring at him in horror. Suddenly he can feel her attempting to throw a Shield over his connection to saidin but he manages to shrug it off before advancing towards her.
The carnage spreads around the rest of you, people dying left and right. And there appears to be no end in sight.
As Jed pulls his now bloody sword out of the Aiel's stomach, his peripheral vision alerts him to a spear thrust at Jasmine. He is too late to block the attack, and while he is focused on that Aiel, another thrusts a spear his way. Time slows down, and Jed twists his shoulder, trying to maneuver out of the way, but his armor slows him down and spear grazes his neck. The wound isn't deep, but it stings.
Jed swings his sword in a wide arc and connects with the Shaido's chest, causing the Aiel to fall backwards, clutching himself in pain and falling unconscious. Jed turns his attention back towards the man who attacked and injured Jasmine. His face contorts rage and he screams a guttural yell at the Shaido, who despite his Aiel heritage, freezes in place in fear. Jed uses this opportunity to end the man's life with a powerful blow to the neck.
Feeling the sharp twang from his weave being cut, Jasper locks his gaze onto the wise one for a brief moment. Thoughts of destroying the woman flicker across the Void, but do not stick. better targets await farther ahead the thought flows in and around his mind, taking hold.
Looking past the woman, Jasper spies an Aiel with a spear through its midsection, its own spear slipping from its grasp. A simple weave of air catches the spear and sends it at the back of the wise one.
With the minor inconvenience distracted, Jasper urges his horse further into the milling bodies, flailing his fire club about, deflecting spears away from him and his horse.
[ooc]