Sionnach (closed)

“As long as you don’t double cross us, we can offer you a certain level of protection.” Fiona offered as the other rider seemed defeated by what had happened. “For an exchange of information, of course. I want to know what Barbarossa has in store for other riders and this war.”

"I'm not in much of a position to say no, now am I?" She slowly rose and her dragon came close, letting her take hold of one of his horns to lean on. "I have only one request... Barbarossa cannot know we live. I'd rather aid you and then leave quietly... Or hide til this is all over. I'll tell you all I know if you can at least protect Reiner." She looked up to her partner then, proving that they had a very close relationship beyond just comrades, as most mercenary Riders did with their dragons.

“He Can go to a place where we are protecting those dragons that do not wish to be involved. However, you could not go with him. If you are willing to be separated, we can offer you separate protections.” Fiona offered, knowing that was a difficult position for a rider and a dragon to be in.

"No," the black dragon answered before his Rider could. "We stay together." The Rider gave his head a shove, chiding him in German at his stubbornness.

"He's always had a death wish." The Rider looked to Fiona then. "I suppose I have no options, then. I'll tell you what I know... But it isn't much. The Imperial Riders are the ones with real information."

“How many mercenaries does he have?” Fiona asked, arms crossed over her chest plate. “And more importantly, how many callers does he have?”

"Mercenary Riders number around fifty, half of them greenhorns. As for Callers... Two that I'm aware of, but one is a Greek Wolf, a slave I believe. The other is an Austrian, newly knighted for his service. I don't know his full name, but I've heard him called 'Zaufberg."

"The Wolf was named Charles by Barbarossa, but his real name is unknown," Reiner added quietly.

Fiona took in that information for a moment before she turned and unlaced the blue scarf that Sam had given her before the battle that morning. "Take this to the nearest camp and give it to the commanding officer. Tell him who I am and tell him that you require medical attention. They will take care of you from there. We will make sure that Barbarossa doesn't find out that you and your dragon still live. However, let it be known that if you double cross me, I will make sure that neither of you survive."

"I'm not foolish enough to even try." She sighed and offered out a gloved hand to shake. "Xiang Cao Ren, of Chengdu, Sichuan, China. And this is Reiner Auzer, of Baden, Germany. If you're Fiona Blackstone... then this must be Lady Invah Kyre. Most of us Riders were told to capture you alive and down Lady Kyre permanently... Though I doubt any of the mercenaries care seeing as there's no reward for it. The Imperial Riders are the ones who will try to take prisoners."

She picked up her ruined helmet, examining it as she added, "Be on the lookout for a white dragon with a black mane. Zaufberg is riding him."

"Why would Barbarossa care about taking me alive?" Fiona asked with a frown, believing that the madman very well likely would have wanted her dead above all things.

"He didn't share his motivations with the mercenaries. I imagine he's interested in your being a Caller, and he knows you'd be a powerful bargaining chip seeing as you are family or friend to every major Northern leader, and a leader of the Northern Riders. I think he has other intentions as well, but I don't know."

"Well, we will have to make sure that he never has the chance to show me what his intentions are." Fiona said as she moved towards Invah to climb back into the saddle. "Once you are taken care of, come and find me in the camp. We can talk more about where the both of you will go."

"We'll ask how to be of use," Ren assured her before adding, "... Thank you. The Imperials made you all out to be fools... But mercy is far from foolish." She climbed up on Reiner's back and he began making his way toward the camp, the blue bandana clearly visible on Ren's arm. There was no real way to contain a dragon, so they were acting entirely just on their word of honor.

Fiona watched the dragon and rider go before she turned to look up at Invah. "I'm not foolish enough to let them take you down or to take me alive. However, I think from here on out, we need to be a bit more cautious in battle. Not that we'll stop, of course, but more aware of whom is riding and where they are at all times."

"I admit I wasn't ready to face tactics like hers. I've never seen a dragon like that," Invah murmured, watching Reiner go. "He's not any race I know of. But from what we've learned, the Imperial dragons aren't as intelligent. It's the mercenaries that are much more dangerous. We have no idea their ages or experiences, while the Imperial dragons are all fairly young and untrained."

Invah looked down to Fiona and hugged her gently to her chest. "Hopefully Ezra will be back out soon with a new saddle as well."

Fiona hugged her dragon back, letting her eyes close for a moment as she soaked it all in. She knew they were in dangerous times but she would do everything in her power to make sure that Incah was taken care of.

“Let’s get that gash on your leg taken care of and check the damaged strap on my saddle.” She said as she pulled back.

"It's a scratch, but alright," Invah knelt for Fiona to climb on, making her way toward the nearest scout outpost. All of the forward camps had extra saddles and supplies for the Riders, and at least one able leather worker in each to make repairs as it was known that Riders fighting one another aimed primarily for the saddles to separate partners and make them easier to take down.

Once they got to the camp, Fiona entrusted her saddle to the leather worker, before turning her attentions to Incan. Even a scratch needed to be tended to so it didn’t turn into something more serious. She did her duty as a rider and cleaned the wound, decided it didn’t need any other further attention outside of a thick salve that would protect her tender skin.

Invah stood still for Fiona despite the stinging salve, and it only took the leather worker some fifteen minutes to replace the saddle strap entirely and refit it to Invah's size. Once he was done, he checked Fiona's harness and the hook points on the saddle and gave her the all-clear to fly again.

"I have half a mind to send you off to be with Rory." Fiona murmured as she got herself situated in the saddle again, buckling in her harness as Invah got ready for flight again. "To make sure that nothing happens to you and Gaiann, but I know that you would never listen to me."

"I'd simply find another Rider if you tried that, little one, and come back to you when you got some sense in your head. I often find the best way to protect what I love is to use everything I have at my disposal, including my loved ones who are able to contribute. Otherwise you're limiting your own defenses."

She stood tall and flexed her wings, but before she took off, she asked, "Are you alright, after all those maneuvers? You didn't pass out at all or get nauseous?"

"I feel fine." Fiona answered truthfully. "Maybe a little weary of this fight, but nothing out of the ordinary. Riding is in my blood, Invah. Even if my grandfather and father didn't do it regularly, it feels right to be up here in the sky."

From atop of her dragon, Fiona felt invincible. Something in her soul calmed when she was drifting on her dragon, surveying everything that was before her. It was something that she shared with Sam, even if she knew that he was still secretly terrified.

"That's what Riders of old would call the 'Dragon Blood,'" Invah chuckled softly. "They would say you've been around dragons and flown enough that you've become one of us, in love with the sky." She turned back out toward the cliffs and the sea, trotting away from the camp before fully unfolding her wings. Leaping from the cliff, her wings caught the wind and she shot out over the water at a medium speed, giving herself and Fiona the chance to survey the sea first. The fog had finally burnt off, revealing the true number of dragons and the navies below that were now clashing out in the center. On the Norman side, it seemed a score and and a few dragons were out, most locked into battle with Fiona's Riders. As Invah rose higher, they saw in the distance as a Northern Rider fell from their dragon. From a distance, Fiona could tell it was one of the Mongolian Riders, and they weren't trying to right themself as they fell, either unconscious or dead even as their dragon dove after them only to be struck from the side by an Imperial and knocked off-course. The Mongolian Rider fell into the water before anyone could catch them, spelling their doom in an instant. The dragon's roar of agony echoed across the water, and they turned back to smash into the Imperial, ripping at anything their claws could reach.

Already in the water was a badly-injured Imperial dragon, one dead, and human corpses, either deckhands from ships, or dead and dying Riders. Already it was a bloodbath. While the Northern Riders were doing fairly well, the same could not be said of the navy as Imperial fire ships crashed into the largest warships, and cannons obliterated the small, even though it seemed the battle had only just begun.

Surveying the carnage from above, Fiona knew what her next task would be. They needed to give the ships some cover in order to get away from the larger vessels. Giving Invah her reigns, she bade the dragon to dive towards the tiny ship in trouble, intent on tearing apart sails and making the other ships back off or limp back to port.

Invah raced through the now-clear sky to descend over a small collection of Northern ships trying to fend off larger Imperial vessels, and an incoming fire ship. Invah aimed for the fire ship first, adding her own flames in a gout of blue to destroy the sails and knock it entirely off course. She circled back round and landed with extreme force in the stern of the largest ship, making the bow rise out of the water, and flinging deckhands from their stations, inflicting bruises, broken bones, and even death for an unlucky few. From her brief perch, Invah reached out her long neck and bit into the mainmast, pulling till it snapped, and then she spat fire in all directions to catch the sails of surrounding ships. Cheers of relief and victory arose from the Northern vessels, but Invah didn't wait to enjoy it. She sprung from the ship just before a salvo of cannon fire hit her, and instead it became friendly fire between the Imperials.

A roar sounded from overhead and Invah suddenly rolled to one side as she saw Dani's dragon falling out of the sky. Invah reacted on instinct as she saw the smaller figure free-falling off to the side, catching the fallen Rider that was surely Dani in her hands.

Fiona held tightly as Invah smoothly moved to catch Dani who was falling from the sky. The sounds her dragon was making made it clear that something terrible had happened and Fiona gave Invah all of the control in the situation. They needed to get Dani to solid land again and then check on the other dragon. Hopefully it wasn't too late for either of them.