Rebirth Cycle Event 722: The Magma Beast

[Russel Kandor]

Russel nodded as their group landed on a plan. They would lie in wait, preparing an ambush for the creature should it surface while waiting for the other groups. He smiled slightly as Balder and Raynarde traded words and wits, talking of taverns and card games, but could find it in himself to engage. Something still felt...off about there being here. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had missed something, and his eyes couldn't leave the circling trails as their group continued to press forward.

Then, a bigger trail began to join the circle. The trail that he had missed. Before he could cry out a warning, a massive creature of rock and magma shuddered forth from the ground. It had no eyes to speak of, but its head still tracked their movement as it reared back and retched a catapult-sized ball of molten rock at their clustered location.

Instinct outweighed fear, and as the boulder crashed down Russel found himself repositioning with Raynarde and Balder; diving out of the way to avoid being crushed. The splintered rock and stone tore at his skin as he landed, leaving jagged gashed from where he landed. He had no time to think about the pain now, as when Brandon gave the rallying cry, he was with Balder and Raynarde, dagger at the ready, as they leapt into combat.

The smaller magma beast poured forth from the outcropping created by their larger kin, giving the soldier's plenty of targets to choose from. Russel kept at Balder's back as the creatures pushed against their platoon's line, imitating Raynarde's stabbing strategy with his daggers while Balder kept the creatures busy with his shield and flail. He found the three of them fell into an easy, violent rhythm. Balder's shield would rise to catch the gnashing teeth of a smaller magma beast, Russel would duck under the larger man's arm to strike at where his shield held the creature and Raynard would follow with her own rending stabs. They were a symphony of steel, each following their role to the execution of the creature in front of them. Should Russel's stab missed his mark, Balder's shield or flail fall to quick, or Raynarde break from the rhythm to early, each of them were there to cover any mistake.

They were making good progress, with what sounded like the other divisions of the Empire's might joining the battle. His eyes flitted to the far side of the field, where he saw lobs of arcane energy and mundane munitions fly through the air towards the Beast. No doubt a result of Lorogh's inventive thinking and the foreign scholar's powerful magics. Their display of might reminded the youth that he had more to offer than his blade and his agility.

"K-keep the n-next beast b-busy!" He shouted at his compatriots over the din of blades and beasts. "I n-need to t-try something!"

When the next beast crashed against Balder's shield or met Raynarde's sword, Russel would slip off from behind Balder's back. From their, he would rush the creature, and place his hand directly on its carapace. He would feel his Curse twist and writhe at the contact, and should the creatures be Spirits of any sort, his Curse of Loshava would tear at the Ephemera that made up such spiritual creatures. If the beast was not spiritual in nature, Russel would have exposed himself to an easy counter-attack for his experiment.

[Basilisk]

The Eternal Empire

The Imperial Codex

GROUP 1


The Imperial Infantry showed their training as the little beasts swarmed the group, as they engaged the strange creatures with little sign of faltering under the strange attackers. Their armor was able to protect them from the bites, but it pretty quickly became clear that they preferred to try and drag their prey into the magma. While the shields would keep them from burning up from the molten rock, it wouldn't protect them from being suffocated or crushed if a creature should manage to drag them under, nor would it save them if the creatures dragged them out of range.

The durability of the beasts quickly proved to be a problem, however, as they were hard enough that most slashes weren't get through at all. Chops were making a dent, but it was Reynarde and Balder who had the most effective results. Reynarde's sword was thinner than those used by the others, and that thin point and her stabbing quickly started to find chinks in the armor. This allowed her to quickly start dispatching the creatures as her blade found soft innards, rather than hard armor. Balder's effectiveness was also largely due to his choice in weapon, as his flail just crushed the armor of any beast he landed a solid blow on. Russel's lighter daggers, following the same strategy as Raynarde, were having their own effect as well, though the shorter blade length kept them from being as effective.

All in all, the trio were making decent work of the beasts, but Russel made an error, exposing himself as he tried to use his curse on the beasts. However, the beasts were purely animals, with no connection to the Spirits that were so affected by his curse. This resulted in his curse having no effect on the beast he touched, causing it to promptly take the opprotunity to grab his arm and start trying to pull him into the magma. To further complicate matters, a call from Sergeant Bradon indicated that there was about to be another magma ball, as the beast was making more retching sounds.

GROUP 2

More beasts swarmed the second group, with the soldiers moving to protect Captain Scraif. Mountain was still crushing worms, but there were a lot of them coming, perhaps in response to the big giant. All Group 2 could do anymore was hold out, and they would be no help to the other groups.

GROUP 3

Vairn had nodded when Victor said the little beasts were retreating, her eyes watching the trails they left behind. When he brought up tasking a ballista bolt with corrosion, she nodded at him and had one of the infantry bring him a bolt to work on. "Quite right, Private Lorogh. Better to test it now, as well, rather than when we're under an immediate time crunch." she said, her tone calm. When Victor Tasked the bolt with corrosion, the results were immediately apparent. The bolt was successfully carrying the effect, but that same effect was also slowly eating away at the bolt. Vairn, however, nodded. "Excellent. It will only hold for one shot, but that's all we need out of it. Load it into the first ballista, after it fires, check it for damages." she ordered, her voice calm.

Once the corrosive bolt was loaded and the beasts began swarming the defenses, however, there wasn't really much more time for experimentation. Victor's corrosive bolts were able to eat through the little beasts armor like an acid, making it much easier for the infantry to deal with them. Which was good, because swords weren't having too much effect, though they were currently able to keep the beasts from making it over the wall, much to Vairn's evident satisfaction. "We could them for a season or more, had we the food and water." she said, smiling slightly.

Meanwhile, Lorogh had the ballista firing on the main beast and while they were definetly hitting, most of them were just sticking in the armor, rather than fully penetrating it. The exception was the corrosive tasked bolt, which had started to eat through the Magma Beast's armor. However, this also attracted its attention, as the beast turned to face Group 3 and retched up a magma ball at it, crashing down on the wall and opening up a hole in their defenses. "Plug that hole. Standard catapult opening tactics, hold it until we can stop-gap wall made." she ordered, with several of the infantry moving to carry out the command, while some of the of the siege troops moving to hastily assemble what appeared to be a portable wall big enough to cover the hole, for all that it would definitely be weaker than the rest of the wall. "Now we just hope it's not smart enough to target the ballistas." she said, squinting at the beast as if to study it.

Map

Magma Beast

!	Message from: Basilisk
	Cad Revel has dropped out of the event. Next post will be on Thursday, the 5th. You can miss two rounds of posting, then you're out of the event. thank you all for you patience.

[Lorogh]

Lorogh was much more in his element here than he had been during the skirmishes in the Winter Reaches. There, he'd had to make do with frontline combat, slashing at humans and other mortals as if they were so much meat for butchery. He had no appetite for such fighting. But here, where the battle was against a beast, and at a distance where the entire battle was laid out before him, like a complex engineering blueprint, he was far comfortable. Even as the world burned, magma bolts barreled down on the walls, and corrosive missiles of mass destruction flew through the air, it was preferable to shedding blood, that of his own and anothers.

So as the magma ball fell upon the wall, carving a hole in it the side of a catapult strike, the siege engineers went about hastily constructing a stop-gap wall. They seemed to have a good hand on that, so Lorogh maintained his position at his ballista. He only barked a quick suggestion to the engineers, as the infantry cleared the hole and they moved the wall up against it. "Push some loose beams against it! Brace them against the cracks and gaps in the garrison floor. If you can find any beams nearby that will fit, that is!"

So saying, he was about ready to let loose another bolt. He called to Victor, and held up his latest ballista bolt that he was ready to load. "We can use some of your warlock magic, about now, Victor! We're going about to hit that bastard where it hurts!" Supposing Victor enchanted the bolt with corrosive energies, Lorogh would waste no time in loading it, and then taking aim with the ballista. He furrowed his brow, carefully gauging the distance and the arc that his prior bolt had followed. His aim would be better the second time, as it often was with ranged weaponry, and he was confident he could attack a more vital area. he targeted the area between its neck and upper torso, where he imagined it's heart would be near. If he could remove the armor from that portion of the Magma Beast, they could mop up the rest of the little ones in record time, and be home in time for dinner.

Lorogh took careful aim, gauging the distance now, and timing it so that the bolt didn't collide with any oncoming attacks from the Magma Beast. He didn't want to antagonise it too much, but if he could open up a vulnerability that the other groups could take advantage of, it was a risk worth taking.

He aimed with the ballista, and let it fly toward its mark, releasing the tension of the torsion springs and bowlimbs. The metal bolt flew through the air, arcing toward the Magma Beast. He didn't wait to see if it'd hit. He only went back to work, cranking his engine. In five seconds, he called for the second Ballista to fire, "Fire upon the part that is corroded! We'll whip that beast into shape and make it pay!"

[Victor Amielle]

There were, Victor realized, as he looked at the bolt that he had just enchanted, still new things for him to discover about his magic after all that time. He hadn’t been sure if it would work, but he had successfully tasked the bolt with corrosion. Of course, the bolt was slowly disintegrating at the same time, but that didn’t matter as it would be fired before long, before it would turn into a puddle of goo, or whatever corroded ballista bolts turned into. He gave Lorogh a “thumbs up”, smiling slightly in the process, before he focused his entire attention on the beasts that had begun to swarm their defenses.

There wasn’t a lot of time for him to think about the fact that things were going well so far, at least for his group. There definitely wasn’t any time for more arcane experiments. All that he could do was concentrate on firing at the creatures and hoping that his ether missiles would have some sort of effect. He had to admit, he enjoyed witnessing how they ate through their armor, like acid. When he heard Vairn’s satisfied comment, he inclined his head, although he didn’t look away from his targets, not even for one trill, as that might cause him to miss something.

He was in his element now. He enjoyed being in battle much more than dealing with matters of politics, or at least trying to!

Even the big beast’s armor was damaged when Lorogh fired the bolt that he had enchanted at it, although that also unfortunately attracted its attention. When it retched up a magma ball and caused a hole to open in their defenses, his heart momentarily skipped a beat, but it was not sufficient to break his calm, at least not yet. He had been in a fair number of fights, and he’d even been involved in the incident in the mage prison of Niflheim.

While some of the siege troops hastily moved to assemble a portable wall in order to cover the hole, Victor turned to Lorogh. When the cadouri held up his latest ballista bolt, he nodded curtly before he focused and proceeded to task it with corrosion, just like the last one. If Lorogh managed to hit a vital area, he thought as the cadouri loaded it, they might be able to take care of the Magma Beast and its smaller relatives and return to the city as victors before long, and without any major losses on their part, at that.

He didn’t wait to see what happened next though. There was still no time to take a break, or stop for more than a trill or two. While the others hopefully dealt with the big Magma Beast, he turned to fire another Ether Missile at the smaller creatures in order to hopefully keep them from breaking through and make it easier for people to disable them. Should the new wall that would likely be weaker than the rest of their defenses, or another section of their wall, be about to fall, he would attempt to bolster it instead though. He wanted to keep the battle from turning into one in close quarters, where they had to directly face the beasts. That would without a doubt be more challenging.

There was another problem that he might have to deal with soon though, he realized, as he glanced at their foes in order to hopefully see what they would do next. He needed to start being mindful of how he used his magic and watch out for signs of imminent overstepping. He didn’t mind the corruptions that occasionally came with overstepping – he had accepted that possibility when he had become a mage; if he were in pain, started to randomly bleed or mutate or couldn’t maintain his balance properly anymore, he’d be much less useful though. If worse came to worst, he’d still have his swords though.

[Russel Kandor]

Regret sank in faster than the lesser magma beast's maw. He could feel his flesh rend and tear as the creature began to pull on Russel's arm, with the rest of him following the yanking motion with staggered steps. The needle like teeth caught the thorny brambles of his curse roiling underneath his skin, and when the creature only flinched for a moment at the grasping plant rather than erupt into Ephermera, Russel knew he had well and truly miscalculated.

A shaking roar of pain erupted from the younger man's throat, building deep in his stomach before echoing outwards. His eyes blinked back tears as his skin was ribboned by the creature's constant yanking, so much so that he almost missed their intended destination. As his feet dug and dragged along the stony ground, the ever-present glow of the field of orange grew closer. The creature was dragging him further and further from his allies and the edge of the shield. Closer and closer, the unwilling Russel was inched towards the burning magma pool.

"H-help!" his voice shook as his eyes glowed from the approaching liquid flame. But the swarm of creatures did not cease with Russel being isolated, and from as far as he could tell Balder, Reynarde, and the rest of the infantry were busy holding the line and routing the incursion. Desperation set in swiftly, and with the hand that still clutched a dagger Russel took wild stabs at the creature which held him.

Scarlet lines mixed with the magma creatures' own blood as Russel twisted, pulled, and stabbed at the beast with increasing ferocity. He could feel teeth drag deeper into muscle with every wild pull of his arm against the beasts strength, but so far Russel had only succeeded in injuring himself further. He was a being built for stealth and speed, and he was getting nowhere in this contest of strength against the beast's natural abilities. Even as he yanked and pulled at his arm, Russel tried to twist his dagger deeper and deeper into the beast's hide. But his blade was too short, too narrow, to do any serious damage against the creature.

His whole world shuddered as he stabbed downward again. The rock underneath his feet thrummed with discontent, and for the briefest of moments Russel thought perhaps he had angered another Immortal with his attempts to free himself. Then came the call from Sergeant Brandon.

Another magma ball inbound, with Russel caught within the blast radius.

Steel slammed against stone as soldiers scrambled out from the the anticipated blast. With renewed ferocity, Russel stabbed at the beast again and again: willing the creature to die by the immensity of cuts. Close to the edge of the climate shield, Russel could feel the creature's body move with less and less intensity as it's blood mingled with Russel's own weeping wound. Alive, but barely, the beast slumped in exhaustion as Russel's adrenaline was finally able seize victory from its jaws. His dagger plunged deep between the plates of its hide, and the beast finally stopped moving.

Arm hanging limply at his side, Russel had no time to celebrate. The world shuddered again, and the youth could see the magma ball careen through the air like a catapult's payload. No time to think, no time run, and no other direction to go, Russel dove sideways out of the rapidly approaching artillery's way.

Searing heat hit him immediately as his torn skin burned from contact with the exposed stone. He had only one direction to dive. He had no time to find another route. He had made another miscalculation. A grave one.

Magma field and Magma Beast before him, Russel now found himself on the wrong side of the magic dome.

[Catalina]

Catalina

"Landlubbing ..." was the only word in the common tongue which Catalina spoke. The rest of the sentence was in Rakahi and it would be down to those who heard it and who did not speak the language to infer Raynarde's words and their meaning.

It would not be difficult to ascertain that she was not entirely happy.

She'd been stabbing at the creatures and she was pleased to realise that her elegant blade was sliding through armour, rather than bouncing off it. Things were going well and her movements were confident and without hesitation. But then, Russell decided that now was a good time to have a hug with a magma beast, or some such and so, she swore. A lot.

"What are you doing!?" she moved to try and help him, to stop him from whatever tomfoolery had got him there in the first place. "I said," Raynarde stabbed and stabbed as she moved, trying her best to make sure that she did not end up in the situation that Russell was in. "... that we should stay together!" It wasn't a difficult concept, after all. There was a part of her that knew and entirely understood that Russell was acting from pain and fear and panic, but there was another part of her which had no time for such nonsense - and the second part of her was much, much bigger.

Reaching out to grab him, Raynarde tried to catch hold of him and yank him back. She could see that he was heading towards the edge of the field. The Sergent called out that there was another magma ball and Raynarde looked, just for a brief second, at Balder. Then, she moved.

Slipping her medical bag off her shoulder, Raynarde considered that she had nearly not brought this, because it would be no use. Well, suddenly, she was very glad she did. The bag she wore had a long strap so that she could wear it across her chest and it hung low beneath the hilt of her sword. It did not do, after all, to have things get tangled up. So, she slipped it over her head and it slid down her arm. With a swift stroke she cut the strap and wrapped one end of it around her wrist. "Grab the other end!" She barked that order at Balder, but she didn't really care if it was him or someone else. She also didn't care if anyone grabbed it or stood on it. But it was long enough - hopefully - that she could do what she needed to do.

Raynarde moved forward, fast. She would stab at the creatures around her if she needed to do so - but now it was only if needed. Her plan here was to grab Russell and pull him back in to the area of protection, getting both of them out of the way of the incoming blob of fiery doom. If she could, Raynarde planned to do that without ever leaving the field of protection herself - if there was a need to put her arm outside it, she would only do that. And the now-trailing medical bag would be there to pull her back if needed, because things went wrong in an instant - as Russell could attest.

So, clutching the severed strap of a medical bag and stabbing only those creatures she needed to, Raynarde attempted to pull Russell back into the area and to get them both to safety.

It was a risky move - of that there was no doubt. And if it got to the point where it was obvious that she could not save him? That it was too late, or he was too far, or whatever?

Then she would save herself. Raynarde was brave, there was no doubt about it. But she wasn't an idiot and she saw no reason to die herself because this one was too stupid to realise that touching these creatures was a bloody bad idea. If that level of stupid got him dead, that was fine with her. She would attempt to rescue him, but she wouldn't go down with him.

equipment

Sword (swish swish)
clothing (mid-thigh leather boots, trousers, blouse, waistcoat)
Hat (worn at a jaunty angle)
Water - lots of water.
A hip flask with rum
A whistle
Crossbow (pistol crossbow thingie ma bob)
Medical bag (no idea what to do with it, but hey, just in case!)

[/style2]

[Balder]

Despite what had started as a solid defense and a well-organized plan from the Empire's forces, things seemed to fall apart quickly.

At first Balder's flail made short work of the small creatures, allowing him to hold his own against them as his shield kept them at bay to the best of his ability. It seemed that the same was true for Reynarde and the thin sword she was using, piercing small weak spots of the beasts armor and putting them down quicker than most of the soldiers were. In that regard they were already doing better than Balder had expected, concerned that the beasts might put up more of a fight than they currently were.

But as soon as Russel was grabbed things went downhill, Balder immediately turning his attention. While Russel was dragged outside the dome Balder contemplated how much he was willing to risk in this moment. Leaving a man behind went against everything he believed in, but he had to ensure they both got out safely. Killing himself trying to save someone from magma wasn't going to help anyone. Thankfully, Reynarde had an idea, one that made him glad he had picked the first group. As soon as she asked him to take the strap of the medical bag he reached out with the hand holding onto the flail, grabbing it as tight as he could beside his weapon.

Once he had a tight grip he planted his shield down, kneeling to steady his grip as best he could. With the help of his blessing of Raskalarn and any soldiers willing to help him, he hoped he had enough strength to grip down and help Reynarde save Russel. "Anyone else, help me hold on" he called out to any soldier that would listen, knowing he was not strong enough to hold two people alone. Should nobody help him he would have to pray Reynarde could pull Russel in quickly enough. If not, they would be in a worse situation than they already were. He'd grown fond of Russel already, and he wasn't going to let the man die without doing his best to prevent it.

So he prayed to Raskalarn as he held strong.

[Basilisk]

The Eternal Empire

The Imperial Codex

GROUP 1

The line of infantry was holding, and the trio were handling themselves well. Then Russel got grabbed by one of the little beasts and dragged towards the magma. Fortunately for him, Raynarde thought quick on her feet and started moving quickly to save him. Balder moved with her, and they had a plan to help him. The problem was the little beasts, who were clearly in no mood to let Balder and Raynarde a moment to help their injured companion. Before either of them could get overwhelmed, however, there was another command from Bradon. "Cover those two and move the shield out to cover Private Kandor!" he called, his voice showing not the slightest bit of hesitation.

At his command, several of the more heavily armored soldiers moved to keep Balder and Raynarde from getting swarmed by the worms, while the shield team moved so that the shield was covering Russel again. As they did, two of the soldiers moved to help Balder with the tie, just in case something went wrong, while another soldier moved to help Raynarde with Russel. The soldier that helped Raynarde was an Ithecal, one of the big Thiussum, and once the pair had him comfortably back inside the shield, the big Ithecal picked up the injured mage. "I'll get him to the medics." he said, carrying their injured comrade back towards the main part of the group.

There were no more attacks from the big beast at this point, but the little ones kept coming. The soldiers staying with Balder and Raynarde would stay with the pair until they were back with the rest of the troops, covering them as needed. Granted, their heavier swords, made more for war than fighting monsters, weren't as effective as their weapons, but they were quite clearly not content to just let them deal with it either, as their blades flashed out to attack the little worms.

GROUP 3

The siege group was doing well as well, but for the big beast facing them. Granted, they were making full use of those ballistae, so of course it was focused on them. The infantry got a temporary wall in place and braced it with beams from the supply boxes that looked rather like they were cut for that exact purpose, then got back to keeping the little beasts from swarming over the wall. Vairn nodded as Victor tasked another bolt with corrosion, then watched as Lorogh fired off the second bolt.

The bolt hit where the little otter was aiming and Vairn nodded at his call to the other ballista crews. The sergeant took a quick look at the remaining four ballista crews, then barked a series of commands that saw them all re-adjust their aims slightly. Then she looked back at the Magma Beast, which was making yet more retching sounds and narrowed her eyes as it turned slightly and raised its head.

"Ballista crew 1, move!" she ordered, her commands a sharp bark. The designated ballista crew, the one Lorogh was stationed at, had done the most damage to the Magma Beast with the help of the corrosive bolts. The Magma Beast had evidently figured that out and decided to take out the most annoying of its harassers by firing directly on it. A few moments after Vairn's command, another magma ball flew out of the air and landed directly on the ballista they had been using. "Well, we know it can recognize a threat." Vairn said, turning back to the beast. Lorogh's second bolt had clearly done its work, as there was now an open spot in the beasts armor. "Let's see if we can kill it before it takes out any more ballistas." she said, as the ballista crews kept up their firing line.

Map

Magma Beast

!	Message from: Basilisk
	Cad Revel has dropped out of the event. Next post will be on Thursday, the 12th. You can miss two rounds of posting, then you're out of the event. thank you all for you patience.

[Lorogh]

The ball of fire came over the wall very fast, but Lorogh had forewarning thanks to the quick tongue of his sergeant. The first thing any soldier learned was to follow orders from a superior without question. So that was what Lorogh did, jumping out of the way of the magma missile, and abandoning his ballista to its ravages.

Once it was behind him, he didn't have much time to consider how close he might have come to being a crispy critter. That is, assuming he managed to dodge it at all! But he heard the Sergeant reporting that its armor now had a gaping hole in it. Then they'd need their bolts to have durability, and would no longer need imbuement from Victor. With the remaining Ballistas still firing, Lorogh saluted the Sergeant and Victor, and headed off to the other machines that were firing.

He took it upon himself to aim each one as it fired this time, as his aim was getting better as they went along. "Keep cranking and allow me to fire when ready!" Lorogh shouted to them. He aimed most of these missiles for the bare patches in the Magma beast's armor. He took careful aim as before, adjusting for both the different vantage point as well as any movement from the great magma beast itself. He aimed, narrowing his eyes and tasting the wind with his tongue. Then, once they were done cranking the next ballista, he'd run over and take aim again and again, rotating through them.

He'd have that thing down in the lava by gum!

[Russel Kandor]

For a moment, the world was on fire.

Everything in Russel's gaze burned with an intensity he did not know was capable. The very air around him seemed to warp in response to the heat: waves and waves erupting off of magma. His skin started to sizzle and smoke as a burning wind cut through him. He could feel the grasping vines underneath his skin, the torture of his curse, curl inward and retreat at the threat of flame. Choking, poisonous air scorched his lungs, and Russel could feel the writhing limbs of Loshava wither and die as his blood began to boil.

For a moment, he was free. The curse, the thorns, the extension of Ashan's wrath, burrow backwards into the deepest part of himself, replaced by ash and by flame. It was excruciating. It was beautiful.

In a heartbeat, it was over.

He felt a slender, strong hand snap into his, wrenching him away from the smoking world around him. He saw her hard, angry eyes, and knew them to be Reynarde. A steady arm gripped around his middle, securing him inside the sphere, and he felt the solid stare of Balder wash over him at the same time as the cold graced his skin. Vaguely, somewhere in his mind, he clocked that they had saved his life. But that thought would come later, after pain and shame fled from him.

More hands passed over him as the infantry swarmed to defend the breached line, until he finally landed in the arms of an Ithecal. He could hear words exchanged between the Thissium and his group, but their words were like water in his ears; muddled and fluid as pain drummed louder and louder.

"S-sorry," he strained to speak, but forced his split lips to cooperate. He didn't hear their response, if they had any, before the Thissium rushed him to the medic. As they moved, the youth could see the full battlefield pass by them. Their entire detachment was engulfed in combat, fending off the growing swarm of worms which beat themselves bloody against a wall of shields and steel. Both sides holding, neither yielding, and no end sight. His flickering gaze drifted back to the massive creature whose presence brought the Army here in the first place.

He'd bet the family farm that there'd be no end until the beast was felled.

Medics were quick to rush over to him as he was laid down amidst the wounded. More words from more mouths streamed over his ears, and pain layered pain as his wound was cleaned and wrapped in the field. His vision faded and shuddered as agony crept up his arm. More words. More noise. More pain.

Most of all, more shame. He stepped out of line. He broke rank. Acted on impulse, without information, and yet again the world had punished him for it. He could barely see the medics operating on him, and only vaguely make out their muttered assessments of his injury. All while his fellows in arms fought on against waves of worms rising from burning magma. They bled for valor, and he burned for his mistake.

His vision began to clear, and the thrumming in his head began to dull. The medic had dressed his wound with something to dull the pain, and with it fast fading his senses were quicker to return to him.

"Russel!" the medic cried over the din of battle. "I need you to tell me if you can move your arm."

The youth's eyes drifted down to his wounded limb, tightly bound by field bandages. He could lift it well enough. He tried to tense his fingers. They wouldn't respond. Not so much as a twitch.

"N-no. N-not r-really."

"Alright, you'll need to stay with the wounded-"

"Strap a sh-shield to it." Russel's voice shook with a command he didn't know he had. He would not stay down when he could still move. He would not let others bleed on his behalf when he still had at least one arm good enough to hold a blade. The medic stared through him for a moment, shocked at the request and the urgency that was behind it.

"I can't in good faith-"

"Strap a sh-shield to it or b-by the Empress I will w-walk the f-field without it." His eyes were hard, daring. His tone dangerous. He meant every word.

The medic looked at him for only a moment, but Russel could feel their eyes weigh heavy on him. They were searching him for how much he would push on the request, and apparently what they found satisfied. They grabbed a shield from another fallen soldier, and strapped it tight against his arm. Russel thought his teeth might crack from how hard he bit down through the pain, but soon enough it dissipated and he felt the awkward weight of the shield against his arm. He stood with the medics help, bloody and battered, and went limping back into the field with the other Infantry: his dagger once again joining the symphony of steel which rang out against the worms.

There was a battle to be won, and Russel would not find himself hiding when he could help. Regardless of what his body screamed in protest, he was not yet broken enough to be tossed aside. He would prove that, no matter what it cost him.