The snow fluttered peacefully over the city, ironic for the current settling of excitement that buzzed through the air. Across the other side of the gate, someone was shouting encouragements to the Slumdwellers, yet outside the Slums, in the army of guardsmen and women, there was not much speech for long moments, simply people muttering to their own men and occasionally giving their armour a nervous readjustment- at least that was what the young Vigilant captain was doing.
Juliette gazed about with an expression of excitement and anxiety- she didn't plan to chicken out of the small civil war that was about to occur, but that didn't mean she wasn't nervous. The troop of guards split to either side of the walk following the shout of 'clear the way', Juliette moving towards the right, where she was separated from the two other captains of her charter for the time being by other fighters. She twisted about, the shield strapped her arm dropping a bit to give herself a short rest and as she glanced around, eventually looked behind her to see a Violet guardswoman. The Wodenstaff lady paused before whispering out, "Good luck," to the other woman, offering her a smile- she didn't wish to cause any offense today, not at this moment.
The Violet glanced at her before nodding and returning the sentiment as Juliette turned back to face the front.
"Glory to the Empire!" Shouted someone among the armour and shields of Regalia's charters. It didn't take more than a moment for others to be throwing their fists into the air with similar calls of loyalty and glory and pride.
Then the cannon went off, the boom rattling Juliette's teeth and then the grating noise of the gate protesting, shrieking from the cannon. The girl's ears rang a moment, but the cannon continued to fire and the faces of the guards become a bit more grim. It was in these few moments before the gate fell with the sound of screaming Slumdwellers and metal, that Juliette felt the first real stab of fear cross through her.
Mages, psychos, heretics. Any number of disgusting and vile and bloodthirsty folks were past that gate. But before she could scare herself anymore, the cannon fire was over.
The gate screamed.
The Kade commanded.
And they were crashing forward with the shout of colliding steel.
The moment they went into battle, Juliette felt herself want to flee backwards. This was nothing like the stories of your heart racing from excitement and your sword flying strong- no. Valbrand, one of the other Vigilant Captains present and Juliette's close friend kept to her side as they originally drove forward into the dust of the battle. That was until he murmured he was going a different way and the Northener vanished from her side, leaving her among strangers. It was then she felt her heart threatening to fail altogether from fear and so instead of sticking to the heart of the battle, she shoved herself out of it and fled after the small group of guardsmen heading down a staircase into the ground.
As the ground pulled over their heads, Juliette let out a shaky gasp of air which was luckily lost in the shouts of the Slum's folk standing aside a corridor below them, swords drawn. The pair staring at the group didn't seem to be professionals, much less a huge threat- the racing of the Wodenstaff's heart slowly calming a bit.
As the Imperial Guards that had joined her group demanded the criminals' lay down their weapons, Juliette turned her attention away a moment and caught sight of a pair of eyes watching her from the opposite hall of the underground. The girl paused before peeling away from the ground, moving towards the figure- which revealed to be an Elven woman who retreated into the shadows from her, eyes wide with fear much like what Juliette had felt only moments ago. She hesitated a moment before unclipping the shackles at her side and stepping forward towards the other woman.
"Wrists," she stated simply, clasping the shackles in her left hand.
"Wrists?" The Nelfin asked in a hushed voice, eyes ever wider. Juliette only nodded and repeated the word once more before the woman lifted her hands out towards her, no fight present. The Vigilant quickly clicked the shackles over her wrists, sliding her foot back as if to turn as she moved to grasp the chain between the braces of the shackles-
Before her fingers even brushed the metal of the chain though, she was being thrown forward by a sudden weight on her back- fingers scratching at her armour. Juliette flung herself around, shield crashing into the head of her attacker which sent the disfigured woman staggering back a step. Juliette marched a step forward towards her attacker with her shield held in front of her and sword unsheathing with her left hand- the poor Nelfin woman cowering backwards. The guardswoman jabbed the sword forward towards the disfigured creature of a woman who only crept backwards from her.
Juliette paced forward again, ready to send a damaging hit towards the villain before she was cut off by a piercing scream.
The scream came from the woman's mouth- who stood no farther than a foot from Juliette. The long and haunting screech seemed to dig needles of ice into Juliette's skin as she shudder from the sound. It was then an excruciating stab seemed to come from her ears as they popped, but she was stuck in place, stunned by the sound.
The Tresmisae- what Juliette had finally realized the woman was seconds before the scream of a demon hit her- lashed her hand out to bash Juliette's sword away. It fell to the stone floor with a clatter and seconds later was scooped up by the Sanguine. The beautifully made longsword shone in the dim corridor light and then it was gone with the Sanguine, leaving Juliette to stand there in confusion.
Moments passed and the Wodenstaff finally seemed to come to her sense, shaking the daze off slowly. Something trickled from Juliette's ear and she lifted her hand to touch her ear- drawing her fingers back in front of her eyes to see crimson blood staining the fingers of her glove, to her horror. The woman grabbed onto the shackles weakly of the also injured-appearing Nelfin she'd shackled before the attack after stumbling towards her and then dragging her along lightly as Juliette threatened to collapse as she pulled them both back to the surface. The battle still raged though its end was appearing, but in silence; only a dull ringing surrounding Juliette as she dragged them both forward towards the now empty circle just before the gates. It was here that Juliette sank to the ground to sit, staring forward with a stunned expression that was paler than a ghost.
Suddenly, Valbrand reappeared before her with a man in tow by shackles. His mouth moved and he threw down the man's shackles towards Juliette before vanishing off again before she could croak anything.
"Help." She forced from her lips in d'Ithanie, trying to shout but the words only came as a murmur. The Nelfin besides her glanced over and frowned, whispering something in return but Juliette only felt her breath gently against her cheek as she spoke, no sound came forth. Juliette eventually forced herself to her feet, pulling the shackle chain of Valbrand's prisoner over her arm and she shuffled from the Slums after others leaving, her steps uneven.
The city passed in silence and by the moment she'd found Valbrand again, her most trusted friend asides Elizabeth whose presence was lacking, tears were escaping down her cheeks. The girl clung to the Northerner's arm and he simply glanced down at her. She didn't hear the words of comfort her friend whispered to her.
No, all she heard was that haunting scream that had brought blood from her ears. All she heard was a distance ring.
That was all she heard despite the shouts and screams and whispers surrounding her.
Juliette gazed about with an expression of excitement and anxiety- she didn't plan to chicken out of the small civil war that was about to occur, but that didn't mean she wasn't nervous. The troop of guards split to either side of the walk following the shout of 'clear the way', Juliette moving towards the right, where she was separated from the two other captains of her charter for the time being by other fighters. She twisted about, the shield strapped her arm dropping a bit to give herself a short rest and as she glanced around, eventually looked behind her to see a Violet guardswoman. The Wodenstaff lady paused before whispering out, "Good luck," to the other woman, offering her a smile- she didn't wish to cause any offense today, not at this moment.
The Violet glanced at her before nodding and returning the sentiment as Juliette turned back to face the front.
"Glory to the Empire!" Shouted someone among the armour and shields of Regalia's charters. It didn't take more than a moment for others to be throwing their fists into the air with similar calls of loyalty and glory and pride.
Then the cannon went off, the boom rattling Juliette's teeth and then the grating noise of the gate protesting, shrieking from the cannon. The girl's ears rang a moment, but the cannon continued to fire and the faces of the guards become a bit more grim. It was in these few moments before the gate fell with the sound of screaming Slumdwellers and metal, that Juliette felt the first real stab of fear cross through her.
Mages, psychos, heretics. Any number of disgusting and vile and bloodthirsty folks were past that gate. But before she could scare herself anymore, the cannon fire was over.
The gate screamed.
The Kade commanded.
And they were crashing forward with the shout of colliding steel.
The moment they went into battle, Juliette felt herself want to flee backwards. This was nothing like the stories of your heart racing from excitement and your sword flying strong- no. Valbrand, one of the other Vigilant Captains present and Juliette's close friend kept to her side as they originally drove forward into the dust of the battle. That was until he murmured he was going a different way and the Northener vanished from her side, leaving her among strangers. It was then she felt her heart threatening to fail altogether from fear and so instead of sticking to the heart of the battle, she shoved herself out of it and fled after the small group of guardsmen heading down a staircase into the ground.
As the ground pulled over their heads, Juliette let out a shaky gasp of air which was luckily lost in the shouts of the Slum's folk standing aside a corridor below them, swords drawn. The pair staring at the group didn't seem to be professionals, much less a huge threat- the racing of the Wodenstaff's heart slowly calming a bit.
As the Imperial Guards that had joined her group demanded the criminals' lay down their weapons, Juliette turned her attention away a moment and caught sight of a pair of eyes watching her from the opposite hall of the underground. The girl paused before peeling away from the ground, moving towards the figure- which revealed to be an Elven woman who retreated into the shadows from her, eyes wide with fear much like what Juliette had felt only moments ago. She hesitated a moment before unclipping the shackles at her side and stepping forward towards the other woman.
"Wrists," she stated simply, clasping the shackles in her left hand.
"Wrists?" The Nelfin asked in a hushed voice, eyes ever wider. Juliette only nodded and repeated the word once more before the woman lifted her hands out towards her, no fight present. The Vigilant quickly clicked the shackles over her wrists, sliding her foot back as if to turn as she moved to grasp the chain between the braces of the shackles-
Before her fingers even brushed the metal of the chain though, she was being thrown forward by a sudden weight on her back- fingers scratching at her armour. Juliette flung herself around, shield crashing into the head of her attacker which sent the disfigured woman staggering back a step. Juliette marched a step forward towards her attacker with her shield held in front of her and sword unsheathing with her left hand- the poor Nelfin woman cowering backwards. The guardswoman jabbed the sword forward towards the disfigured creature of a woman who only crept backwards from her.
Juliette paced forward again, ready to send a damaging hit towards the villain before she was cut off by a piercing scream.
The scream came from the woman's mouth- who stood no farther than a foot from Juliette. The long and haunting screech seemed to dig needles of ice into Juliette's skin as she shudder from the sound. It was then an excruciating stab seemed to come from her ears as they popped, but she was stuck in place, stunned by the sound.
The Tresmisae- what Juliette had finally realized the woman was seconds before the scream of a demon hit her- lashed her hand out to bash Juliette's sword away. It fell to the stone floor with a clatter and seconds later was scooped up by the Sanguine. The beautifully made longsword shone in the dim corridor light and then it was gone with the Sanguine, leaving Juliette to stand there in confusion.
Moments passed and the Wodenstaff finally seemed to come to her sense, shaking the daze off slowly. Something trickled from Juliette's ear and she lifted her hand to touch her ear- drawing her fingers back in front of her eyes to see crimson blood staining the fingers of her glove, to her horror. The woman grabbed onto the shackles weakly of the also injured-appearing Nelfin she'd shackled before the attack after stumbling towards her and then dragging her along lightly as Juliette threatened to collapse as she pulled them both back to the surface. The battle still raged though its end was appearing, but in silence; only a dull ringing surrounding Juliette as she dragged them both forward towards the now empty circle just before the gates. It was here that Juliette sank to the ground to sit, staring forward with a stunned expression that was paler than a ghost.
Suddenly, Valbrand reappeared before her with a man in tow by shackles. His mouth moved and he threw down the man's shackles towards Juliette before vanishing off again before she could croak anything.
"Help." She forced from her lips in d'Ithanie, trying to shout but the words only came as a murmur. The Nelfin besides her glanced over and frowned, whispering something in return but Juliette only felt her breath gently against her cheek as she spoke, no sound came forth. Juliette eventually forced herself to her feet, pulling the shackle chain of Valbrand's prisoner over her arm and she shuffled from the Slums after others leaving, her steps uneven.
The city passed in silence and by the moment she'd found Valbrand again, her most trusted friend asides Elizabeth whose presence was lacking, tears were escaping down her cheeks. The girl clung to the Northerner's arm and he simply glanced down at her. She didn't hear the words of comfort her friend whispered to her.
No, all she heard was that haunting scream that had brought blood from her ears. All she heard was a distance ring.
That was all she heard despite the shouts and screams and whispers surrounding her.
