"It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be."
They gathered on the bridge leading towards the Bastion's gate. The Vigilants, the Violets. Hearsay flooded their ears; chaos was brewing. The dragon had returned, and it had come with more a vengeance than it had the last. Ania was prepared to lead her men, to protect the innocent from the hellfire that the scaled beast blew from its lungs. It was a single beast; one with wings and claws, but one mortal and one that could bleed. It could be defeated.
Valbrand and Valentius ushered them all to form readied lines--the Vigilant Shield on one side of the bridge, the few Violets present on the other. Ania gazed around, furrowing her eyebrows while she noticed so few of the latter guardsmen. Wasn't this an emergency? Even the present Violet couldn't help but voice a similar thought. Regardless, as more eventually arrived, some complaining they had no reason to be there, Ania assured that everyone had their purpose.
Voices arose in horror from her right. She turned her head, spotting the strange, magical woman. Her hair was as dark as night, her eyes a demeaning hue of blue and purple. She stood serenely before the mass of guards, and with an usher of her hand and the use of her words, the scene collapsed like a stone shattering a mirror.
"Seize the disloyal. Make them kneel."
Valentius turned sharply, facing Ania with a determination she only often saw when they faced criminals--together. He went to snatch at her with Rikkira's command, but Ania was no submissive, weak woman.
"What the f*ck?!" Ania cursed in Als-Tunge. She punched his face, causing him to recoil. Aldrick, who had stood behind her, now looped his arms under hers. An attempt to subdue her. She would have none of it. With her helm on, she sent the back of her head back to collide with his. It was enough to get out of his grip.
A shield throttled its way to her face. She sputtered, then went to punch Valentius again. Valbrand was closing in, his shield and weapon visible--visibly ready. Ania wasn't going to quit. Though Valentius knocked her down, she pulled him down with her. Even as he dragged her to the dragon woman, she struck him. Over and over and over. It wasn't enough to deter her once loyal second in command.
Damn him.
Ania threw curses at those who were once her men, even when she was tossed to the ground. Valentius's boot pressed into her back, Valbrand clutched at one of her arms. She was face-to-face with the mystical dragon woman, who gazed indifferently over Ania; this dragon woman, who was able to place a label on Ania, recognized arguably the one thing that mattered the most. It spurred Ania into near-rage. She spat curses and words up to the woman even while stuck in place.
Annabel was brought forwards, landing beside Ania in a forced kneel. The dragon woman forced Ania's head to turn, to watch as one of her finest guards was also placed under the control of someone so vile. The dragon woman's fingernails dug into Ania's chin, urging for her to continue looking up to the dangerous magic user.
"I will not be making you submit today. No, no. I intend for you to suffer. I will go after your rulers, your leaders, and then I will come for your family, your children. And I will keep doing so until you break. You will break."
Her footfall was continuous, plowing the snow while she made for home. The sounds of her Bastion falling to the hands of the slaves beneath the dragon's claws, so easily snatched into her grasp, continued behind her. The Safeguards, Jared Kade--none of them could stop this woman. She knew that they knew that. Those who arrived didn't matter. That witch threatened her family, her children. Ania snarled as she ran, even as the snow sent chills along her body, practically froze her feet as she made for the carriages. Those who submitted themselves were weak. They'd meet their end. And the dragon witch? She'd be killed by Ania's hands if she so much as got near her children. That she swore. Whether owl or silverwolf, Ania Santorski, now Howlester, would not be bested so easily.
@BillyTheScroofy @MonMarty @Deadfoe51 @Jouster @NoRezForYou @DockedRelic @Ringo0310
