Sionnach (closed)

"Now... I think it's time we saddle up an' get ready. Look after yer fellow Riders, especially when this fog burns off an' people below can see us. Soldiers on th'ground will be lookin' out for you too, they know t'aid fallen dragons an' Riders if possible. I want it t'be made clear tha' I don' want any unnecessary risks. We have too few people fer daring plans an' heroics. If you know you'll crash, try t'land safely, in th'water if you have to, and make yer way t'the Dover shore. An' tell your partners t'do th'same if they're separated from you. We want t'keep as many of you as possible, because this won' be the last battle."

Sam straightened a bit then. "Whatever happens, Lords an' Ladies, London must hold. I know tha's far away from here, but keep it in th'forefront o'your minds. Th'English Throne remains intact at all costs, th'same goes fer every other Northern throne on our side. Hold th'line, even if you have t'burn it t'do so. You're our best hope o'keeping th'English shore. Is everyone clear?"

At a number of nods and no spoken issues, Sam nodded back. "Then take t'the cliffs an' get ready t'fly. Ezra will be leading th'charge when he sees th'warships. When he takes off, you all do. I'll be joinin' you every so often in between directing th'land forces. The ships are all being directed by General Ulfric Moor. An' you all are with Fiona primarily. If you need t'send a report across th'ranks, bring it t'her an' she'll know who it goes to. Be safe, work together, an' look after your partners first. Dismissed."

With that, the Riders headed for their dragons, some looking deadly serious and stoic, others looking excited for battle, and a couple looking nervous. But these were all highly-trained warriors that had proven in the past that they would not freeze, and they would only flee to save their partners, which Sam had long ago encouraged. He didn't want to lose any of the pairs, and they all knew to retreat to Inverness if they had to flee.

Fiona stood there next to her husband as she watched them all go to their dragons, saddling up for the fight that would begin very soon. "It's hard to think that they might not all be here by the end of this. They're giving us something that we will never be able to repay."

She looked over at Sam and reached out to touch his cheek gently. She tried her hardest to not let their love for one another show when things needed a serious outlook, but the thought that they were heading into battle made her do it. She would never forgive herself if something happened to either of them without a proper goodbye.

"I won't say the words because I think it's bad luck." Fiona said softly. "But I love you, Samuel. Remember that."

Sam turned to Fiona as she spoke, his hard gaze softening. For a moment, he didn't care who saw them as he wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her like it might just be their last chance. "An' I love you," he murmured as their lips parted. There was so much more he wanted to tell her, but for that moment, he had no other words. All he could do, as bugles sounded across the Channel for the Imperial ships to start moving, was kiss Fiona one last time and draw back to Gaiann waiting nearby with Invah. The dragons had had a similar moment but now looked as ready as they'd ever be.

Fiona climbed easily into the saddle and tightened her helmet, taking the reigns and letting out a long sigh. She had no thought to dying that day. She knew some would, but it was expected in war. However, she hoped that the casualties wouldn't be too great on their side.

"Alright, Invah. Let's do this." She said, giving her dragon the room to take off and get them safely into the sky.

Invah's huge wings rocketed them into the sky as the mist began to thin, burning off in the morning sun. As Invah climbed, holes in the mist and transparency in places became apparent. Soon, the dragons would have no fog cover from arrows or ballistae if they flew too low long enough to be targeted. The Northern Riders had spread out save a couple specifically-tasked groups, but there would always be someone within sight of someone else in the case of crashes or fallen Riders. Their task was simple- stop the ships from reaching Dover's shores, and stop the Imperial Riders from burning the Northern navies holding that shore.

Gaiann rose into the sky not far from Invah, but hung back so Sam could direct his forces from a good vantage point. He had long since told Fiona that he was essentially placing her as a Major General of their airborne forces. She only answered to him, and she had the ability to change the orders of the Riders to fit their situation. So, now he left the sky almost entirely in her hands while he used his own Rider status as a tactical advantage to survey the field and react to enemy tactics without needing spy or scout reports.

Once she was at a high enough vantage point to look down through the thinning fog, Fiona assessed her options. One of the tasks was snapping the main sails on the large German ships, rendering them helpless beyond rowing. It would take time and effort to repair them and by the time Barbarossa got more ships to the channel, it would give Sam time to push across the channel to take Calais back once more.

"Burn the sail or snap the mast, Invah." Fiona called as she gave her dragon the lead to dive sharply.

Settled down low in her saddle, Fiona braced herself for the sudden decent, the rest of her group doing the same. They came out of the mist quick enough that the ship was unprepared for the dragon that swooped down so close to them. The sound of explosive splintering soon filled the air as the first mast ripped in two under Invah's firm grip. The sounds of others following her lead soon filled the air around them before Fiona pulled up to signal her to take to the air once again.

The impact with the mast was violent, but by the time it reached Fiona after Invah braced and took the impact herself, it was like a large bump in a wagon ride. The mast was not only snapped, but the impact had translated somewhat into the rest of the ship, causing damage on every deck down to the bottom where the mainmast ran through. When Fiona pulled up, Invah purposely shredded the sails of the smaller masts on either side of the main, and as she took off again, she opened her great jaws to let loose a burst of flame that purposely, narrowly missed the ship just to cause a little more terror in the crew and make them more likely to surrender when confronted by Northern ships.

Taking back to the sky, Invah banked to turn back and survey the waters, seeing many other dragons following her example and scuttling the ships, some more liberal with fire than others. Ezra's dragon had flown past their targeted ship, setting the sails on fire and raking a claw across the deck to send a dozen men flying off, before diving back in to entirely tear off the front mast. Dani's dragon had landed on their ship and with one tail whip, broken two masts and swept a dozen crewmen overboard with some railing and debris, and purposely rocked the ship violently with their takeoff to jar everything belowdecks. While most of the dragons managed to simply neutralize the ships, a few were outright sunk, and a couple had fires break out from a burning sails or fallen lanterns and oil. One even outright exploded as fire caught in the ship's magazine where the black powder for cannons was stored.

Invah glided in a circle before descending on another ship, but this time, arrows came flying to meet her. They were ineffective against Invah's hardened scales, but Invah was forced to pull up so that she wouldn't expose Fiona to danger. After all, the arrows were meant for Riders, not dragons. Instead, Invah let loose a gout of fire into the sails, though some caught on the deck and the archers were forced to forget Fiona and fight the fires.

"Don't pull back again." Fiona muttered through gritted teeth as Invah pulled up in order to protect her from the fall of arrows from the ship.

She encouraged Invah to climb, taking back to the air to get a better vantage of the ships beneath them. Coming back to the sky, Fiona could see another dragon on the coast, watching and waiting. She didn't like the look of the calculation that seemed to be going on, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike.

Giving Invah the signal to descend, she decided to take on the matter herself.

Invah dove at her command, wanting to reach the other dragon before he got much height. Part of Ezra's instruction to the other Riders about fighting over water was the strategic value of keeping an enemy low and potentially forcing them into the water, where they'd have a difficult time taking off again.

The other dragon, jet black with an exotic crest and four horns, bolted into the sky upon seeing Invah dive, and the Rider drew out a crossbow, training on Fiona.

Fiona was quick to bring up her shield, blocking herself from any immediate danger that the crossbow posed. It was hard to get a good look at the other rider as they whipped around, Invah seemingly dancing in the sky with the other dragon. She didn't dare look over the tip of the shield lest she catch a bolt to the head.

One bolt narrowly missed Fiona's leg, planting deeply into the saddle. The black dragon shot upward and then dropped, claws outstretched to grab Fiona. Invah rolled in an instant, cuffing the dragon's claws away with a snarl, and hurling a burst of blue flame up at his belly where the saddle belts were. The black dragon zipped away just as quickly, flame only skimming his wingtips and tail but leaving no damage.

Fiona felt the rush of air as the claws of the dragon narrowly missed snatching her from the saddle. As Invah rolled and unleashed the blue dragon fire, Fiona caught a short glimpse of the other rider dressed all in black armor. Switching to her long pole, Fiona spurred Invah to follow. If she couldn't burn the leather strap, she would cut it.

"Faster!" Fiona called out over the roar of the wind, pushing Invah to her limits in order to keep up and keep on top of the battle.

Invah shot skyward, banking as she saw the other Rider reloading. She briefly exposed Fiona to give her an angle either on the Rider or the saddle, but she was also lining up to outright grab the other dragon and rip his saddle off.

"Platz!" They could hear the other Rider roar, and the black dragon suddenly folded his wings and dropped out of the sky, diving into the water with a thunderous splash and disappearing, Rider and all. Invah pulled up and stared down in shock, having never seen such a maneuver.

Fiona was sitting in shock as she saw the dragon suddenly dive, the water enveloping both the rider and the opposing dragon. She had never seen anyone do that before, or at least do it and survive.

"What have they done?" Fiona asked, sitting in the saddle and staring at the surface of the water for the longest moment.

Before Invah could answer, the huge dark shape of the dragon came exploding from under the water, Rider still in tow. A bolt glanced off Invah's crest near her eye just before the black dragon slammed into her at full speed. Invah knew how to take the blow so to reduce the jarring on Fiona, but it was still a rattling hit that made Invah drop a good twenty feet before recovering and shooting into the sky again.

"Your bow!" Invah called over the wind, knowing now that getting close was dangerous, and this male dragon was a veteran fighter like herself, but more streamlined and faster.

Fiona clung to Invah's reigns as the other dragon crashed violently into them. As Invah pulled away to put space between them, Fiona pulled her cross bow and turned it to train on the other rider. As soon as Fiona saw her opening, she took it, firing off a bolt and hitting the other rider at the junction of their armor at their shoulder. It wouldn't be enough to kill them, but she hoped it would be enough to incapacitate.

"Back around and flank them. Push them towards the land!" Fiona ordered as she tugged on the reigns to get Invah to maneuver back towards Calais and out over the vast wooded areas.

She had the hope that this dragon might not be so prepared for a fight on land. It seemed he was comfortable with the water.

As the bolt struck the Rider's right shoulder, the stranger hunched forward, any cry of pain lost in the rush of wind. Invah performed a somersault and roll to get behind the black dragon, forcing him to dip down and soar on toward the shore once more. Suddenly the Rider produced something from his harness, and threw it as hard as his non-dominant arm allowed. With a loud crackle of black powder lit by fuse, the small orb burst and flung a yellow smoke which drifted slowly down in a long ribbon.

From just within the Calais wood line, two more dragons- one red and one green, burst into flight with Riders in Imperial uniforms unlike the black-clad mercenary, and Invah quickly tucked and turned away, knowing more than one without backup could be suicide.

Shock was clear when the other two dragons burst from the wooded tree line at the signal. They seemed to be as sophisticated as any of the other riders that she had personally trained. Fiona sat down low on Invah's saddle as she tucked and turned, hurrying away from the battle without backup.

They were back over the water, trying to outrun three dragons now. Fiona could see other fellow riders coming to her defense, but they wouldn't make it in time. There was no way that they could with the winds the way they were. Instead, Fiona encouraged Invah to rise and fall as many times as she could, giving them less of a chance of caging them in.

Invah, being a stockier and more muscular crossbreed of mountain and water dragon, knew she couldn't hope to outrun these slender dragons closing in, the black Rider in the lead. But thankfully, the Northern Riders had their own form of signal. Invah dipped her head in flight, letting out three controlled bursts of flame below her so not to singe Fiona. In the distance, Ezra and Dani broke off from the other Riders and came heading their way, seeling the three shapes behind him. Dani's male dragon was the faster of the two, and she simply charged directly into the Imperial Riders, taking advantage of their high speed chase to make them unable to slow and alter course in time. Her own dragon pulled back the instant before they struck the green, raising all four sets of claws for the green to impale himself on like knives.

"That's my boy!" Dani could be heard calling over the wind as the green dragon tried to push off, but Dani's partner held him and they dropped several hundred feet. Dani pulled up just in time for the green to smash into the water's surface back-first, but her own partner skimmed the sea to wash the blood from his claws before rising to see if he'd managed to remove or kill the Rider in the high drop. At such a height, landing in water was like hitting stone at top speed.

Ezra engaged the red dragon in this time, the two breaking away from Fiona to begin circling one another. Ezra drew his bow, taking two shots at the other Rider. The first hit a shield and the second an arm before the red pulled up sharply, somersaulted to feint rising, and dove. Ezra's dragon had been preparing for an attack from above, and so was left open from below when the red smashed into her belly and sunk his teeth in around the saddle straps.

In the saddle, Ezra had only seconds to unhook his harness and grab his dragon's mane before the saddle was ripped off along with a large chunk of flesh from the left side of her lower chest. Roaring in pain, the dragon kicked the red away and turned to flee, trying not to jar her clinging Rider even as the red pursued.

All of this left Fiona still with the black dragon, who swiftly caught up and tried to slash at her own saddle. One strap was damaged but held even as a shallow gasp was left in Invah's hip. She decided not to turn away, but to turn and slam into the black, cuffing at his head to reveal the Rider to Fiona for further attack.

To combat the damaged saddle, Fiona unhooked herself from the device, only using her legs to keep her seated. If she came clean out of the saddle, she had a better chance at being caught if she weren't attached to it.

As Invah and the other dragon fought, Fiona saw her opportunity to strike. Reaching for the crossbow again, she got off a shot at the other rider's head, the force of the bolt knocking them backwards. She quickly reloaded and struck again, this time the bolt burying deeply in the rider's left thigh.

"Submit or I will end this!" Fiona called above the wind, ready to give another blow if necessary.

The dark Rider clutched their thigh, ripping off the damaged helm to reveal it had collapsed the noseguard and broken their nose. At her call, they hesitated a moment before giving their reins a tug and shouting in German to their dragon. The dragon's wings fully unfurled to slow him, and he began to hover, holding position. The black Rider raised an arm to salute across his chest, a sign of confirmation, and he put his weapons away into his saddle, seeing the green dragon felled and Dani swiftly pursuing the red to save Ezra. Invah circled the black dragon, and the Rider stood on his saddle, unhooked from the safety loops but still holding on to a handle. Ezra had previously told Fiona that Riders who surrendered would often allow themselves to be picked off their dragon's back, and the dragon would either follow and land peacefully, or be set loose if it was likely that the Rider was going to be killed.

"End this and land, Invah." Fiona gave the order as her dragon circled around the now surrendering rider. "I need to stand on solid ground for a while."

Invah turned toward the Rider and snatched them off their saddle, and turned back toward the Dover shore. In the distance, the red dragon suddenly fell out of the sky and crashed into the ocean, and Dani's dragon flew victorious toward Ezra's dragon to pick him up and take him safely to get a new saddle.

Landing on the white cliffs, Invah pinned the black Rider to the ground under one hand, while their dragon landed nearby and folded his wings, sitting down to await judgement.

Up close, Fiona could now see the dark Rider was a woman, her armor indicative of Chinese elements with beautiful acid etching and designs. She had beautiful pale skin and dark almond-shaped eyes, and long black hair tied in a tight bun. Her beauty was marred by a now-broken nose, but she still had an air of grace about her as Invah let her sit up as Fiona drew near. The woman sat back on her knees, snapping the ends of the bolts buried in her shoulder and thigh to get them out of the way.

"Wie geht's?" The black dragon asked his Rider gently from a distance. He seemed to be German himself.

"Schlecht, libeling..." She sighed, looking up to face Fiona. She studied Fiona for a moment before asking, "You Northerners speak English, yes?"

"All of us, yes." Fiona commented about the language she spoke. "I'm Fiona Blackstone of Scotland. I do not feel the need to order someone's death in any of this, but I will if I cannot gain your submission. Barbarossa will kill you all sooner or later, once your usefulness has run out. It might happen quickly or you might be lucky and still have a few months before that occurs."

"You hardly need to remind me what that demon intends for us when this is over," she sighed, looking to her partner who seemed so concerned for her. "We were going to flee during this battle, make it look like we were killed in action... But I guess this isn't such a bad alternative... You Northerners don't have a reputation for executing compliant captives."