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Sionnach (closed)

"I'm sure he'll have all kinds of plans that involve me with my feet on the ground." Fiona said with a long sigh.
 
"Then look to Jani," Schaller advised. "She's reckless on her own, but she's a good strategist. And she's far enough removed from Inverness not to be overprotective because of your title."
 
"Do you think I'm foolish in all of this?" Fiona asked, seeking an honest opinion from the dragon that had already seen her through so much. "I know there are those that think I'm foolish to have hope, but I mean fighting while I'm pregnant. Sam would want me hidden away, protected as much as he could until the kit is here. I'm not that kind of leader."
 
"A proper warrior queen does not laze around and hide during a war for any reason," Schaller assured her. "I've known a few warrior queens... not a one of them backed down for anything until they were dead."
 
“If you would allow Sadah to take Rikke to the other dragons for protection, we can focus on the task at hand. I know you might not be comfortable with that. The only other place I can think to take her is Ireland where she can be protected by Khelt Aleister personally.” Fiona offered, knowing that the dragon’s main concern was for his daughter. “She might be the last of the elder dragons out there. She deserves to be protected.”
 
"I won't take Sadah from her Rider after he's just returned. I'll have Gaiann look after her," he glanced at his hatchling. "He's felt useless lately, not being able to fight, and the tribal healers think he may be permanently injured. Taking care of a little fledgling ought to occupy him... Rikke enjoys him anyway."
 
“Then we will plan for her evacuation and Gaiann will care for her.” Fiona agreed, so incredibly weary of everything that was happening around her.
 
Schaller looked down at her once more, and gave her a gentle nudge. "Rest while you can, little Fox. We will make our plans tomorrow. We have at least that much time."
 
Fiona simply curled up under the dragon’s protection and found it easy to sleep. She was exhausted and it didn’t take much for her to drift away.
 
Schaller only shifted Fiona once into the crook of his arm to keep her warm, eventually falling asleep himself. No one would come looking for her there, knowing she was with him, unless there was an emergency.
 
The next morning Fiona awoke with a renewed purpose. She left Schaller and Rikke sleeping as she went back to the keep and gathered her most trusted riders, leaving Sam to tend to his own business that morning. As they sat around a table in the keep, Fiona fixed each of them with a stare that lingered a bit before it went to the next person.

"This is your last chance to run. You have always had a choice, but now, the choice is gone." Fiona said bluntly.
 
Before Fiona sat a wide array of Riders from all corners of the known world and beyond, some grizzled veterans like Ezra, and some barely a week out of crash-course training. Many had quit or failed in training, allowed to keep their partners but not allowed to ride in battle for lack of ability, courage, or discipline. Plenty who had made it through, the greenhorns as Sam called them, had fled when they realized the gravity of war. Plenty of defected Imperial and mercenary Riders had gone as well to seek work or safe havens elsewhere. What remained before Fiona were some who'd been there from the beginning, many who were unfamiliar or new, but all together they were a rag-tag bunch of independent Riders who'd made it through and managed to unite and work as a team. They were the finest not just the North, but the world had to offer.

When no one made to leave, Jani was the first to speak, casual and confident as ever. "I don't know about anybody else, but practically every Rider and Dragon not waving an Imperial flag around like an idiot has a price on their head. And I stand a better chance of keeping mine if I stick around."
 
"None bigger than mine. He wants to keep me alive to torture me. I'll never give him the pleasure, but I will let you all know right now that I won't back down from this fight. Until I have to stop to have this child, I won't stop. And when I do have it, I will be right back out there the first chance that I get." Fiona promised all of them, wanting them to know that their leader wasn't going to stop with the odds stacked against them.
 
"We're with ya, Cap'n," one of her Irish Riders assured her confidently. "We 'ave t'make a stand here before tha' Imperial brat splits th'North in half. An' it's an awful pretty place t'die if need be."
 
"One of the most beautiful in the world." Fiona said, acknowledging that they were up against incredibly odds. "However, I'm not letting this go without a fight or a plan."
 
"With fire at our command, we have to cripple their siege engines and dragon weapons," Costa, normally so silent, spoke up. "And to reduce risk, we need to hit them while they're in transit or setting up. Once they have those ballistae in place, dragons will have to fly incredibly high, beyond fire breath range, or be grounded."
 
“Those that have the fire to do so will be put on advanced missions. Those that do not will stay behind to work elsewhere. I want all the were in the village and the town evacuated. No one will be left behind.” Fiona said, knowing that if Barbarossa were to reach them, the were that lived in safety would be greatly threatened.
 
"Milady," one of the newest proven Riders spoke up. "While I'm sure there's space for the werefolk here, we also have to think about food supplies. When Barbarossa gets close, we won't be able to reach fields and hunt anymore. The Rangers and hunters from the villages may be best used hunting in between patrols, so that we can preserve meat in case of a siege. Barbarossa may well starve us out."
 
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“He May try but unlike him, we are use to lean times. We will wait him out as long as we can.” Fiona commented, letting out a soft sigh. “And we work as hard as possible to plan and make sure we won’t be caught in a rough spot.”
 
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Among the group, Shana spoke up, her left arm in a sling after it was broken and dislocated behind her shield when a dragon took a swipe at her. "We should delegate some of the faster fliers to supply lines. They won't be able to bring in much at once from our outside allies, but they'll be quick enough to lower their chances of being shot down in transit or be caught by most of the Imperial dragons."

"We should also be preparing our own weapons to fight off the dragons," Danica spoke gravely. "As much as we hate what Barbarossa has created, we need those weapons to defend our own."
 
“And traps for those that try and land. Invah can teach you how to make them.” Fiona said as each of the riders started offer their own opinions. “We will celebrate the solstice today and then begin getting supplies and routes put together in the morning. I’ll be damned if he ruins this celebration for everyone.”
 
The meeting went on a while longer, everyone offering ideas of how to use the limited resources efficiently. Eventually they dispersed, but Ezra remained behind to approach Fiona. They had barely seen one another since he'd returned, one of them always busy and Ezra being a night owl. He'd been working with Dmitri and Xenia in particular, getting the young Riders ready as the three major trainers. Owen had joined in as well when possible.

"Fiona," Ezra spoke quietly as he approached her, plenty of new scars and short-shorn hair to show for his time in captivity. "I have an idea for you... But it needs to stay quiet."
 
“In my private rooms then.” Fiona said, leading Ezra out of the meeting room and towards her own private apartments where Kell’s agents would keep secrets said behind the walls. She encouraged Ezra to take a seat in Sam’s usual spot before she sank into her own and listened to him intently.
 
Ezra sat down across from her, his left leg slightly stiff from an injury that was slow to heal since his time behind enemy lines. "I reported everything I could to Sam when we returned... But I've been thinking on something I learned... Something we might be able to use." Ezra met Fiona's gaze. "You might not like it, though... It'd be giving Barbarossa a taste of his own medicine. There are only four things Barbarossa cares about in this world- control, land, and his mistress and a newborn illegitimate child. He's meant to marry some Austrian princess soon, the daughter of one of the kings who serve him. But I saw in person that he doesn't give a damn about her. At the mere mention of his mistress, though, he was entirely distracted, and he was willing to punish his own best men for daring to address her without proper respect. I believe she's a commoner, a former maid in Barbarossa's palace in Germany. Now Barbarossa calls her a Baroness and I believe he intends for their son to become a proper noble, though he can never be Prince of Germany... Barbarossa would stop in his tracks if they went missing. I don't want to hurt them, but they may be what we need to force an end to their fight, or at least a reprieve."
 
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