Post by Skylla on Apr 16, 2011 16:55:41 GMT -5
Though the mass of people pushing and shoving had thinned drastically, the battle had not ended, it had merely spread out. Faerie fought in cover of darkness the woods offered, a place where the concentration of the dark creatures seemed to be significantly greater. Others stood their ground, choosing to take up arms on the Imbolc Festival grounds. The faerie that had chosen to stay put seemed to fare much better against their opponents than those who had made off into the woods.
The groups that had followed Sygon and Tadhg to the bonfire found that the opponents that pressed them were significantly weaker. Alecto and Tadhg dispatching numerous creatures before Jun had arrived, by which time the beasts seemed less apt to pursue battle with the trio.
Sygon’s group also put a dent in the enemy’s forces. Adele and Marcus, though garlangers, stood their ground on the battle field in a most respectable fashion, something more akin to a sidhe than to a lesser fae. The heroics of the garlangers had bought Sygon enough time to rescue Eithne, the pixie’s injuries no longer as threatening as they initially were. Though Eithne was weak she would not fall to a trance.
Soon both groups were faced with a lull in the battle as the creatures no longer flocked to the bonfire, but to the center of the festival where Queen Annette and her party stood. The disagreement between Haley and Annette seemed unimportant as a dozen or so creatures moved in on them. The Red Queen wheeled; turning her attention back the battle at hand and with her magic began to dice her opponents apart.
Lucia, Haley, Ishbel, Murdoch and Nymeth all followed suit but soon even their might combined with the power of the Seelie monarch could not withstand the hoards that descended upon them. Marat and Ayaena managed to come upon the group but soon found themselves surrounded by the attackers as well. The entire group found itself in the midst of a skirmish where they were gravely outnumbered and their survival seemed bleak. Annette suffered a wound to her abdomen and Haley a wound to her thigh. Murdoch was thrown to the floor and would have been trampled had it not been for the beasts turning their attention to Lucia who seemed to delight in leaving the creatures alive as she inflicted horrific wounds upon them.
As more and more beasts came the likelihood of the group surviving lessened. Then a horn sounded above the chaotic roar of battle.
A high pitched shriek followed the horn’s blast and two creatures dove like eagles from the sky into the group of shadow creatures, their razor sharp blades forcing their opponents backwards into a large creature that appeared to be nothing more than a mass of greenish blue tentacles. The tentacle monster constricted the dark beings and crushed their bones in its grip. Several other strange creatures emerged from the woods, battling in favor of the faerie. Not long after two more warriors emerged, but these men were more recognizable: two faerie, a nightflyer and a sidhe, King Segwyn and King Cel.
Cel’s scythe made quick work of many creatures but Segwyn’s skill was much more noticeable. Two short swords wielded with deadly precision herded the attackers like sheep, and a warrior’s roar, so loud and so furious that it seemed to frighten all of his opponents. Eventually the group of attackers had thinned to a point of near extermination, Cel and Segwyn’s party having forced them towards the fire where Tadhg, Alecto, Jun, Sygon, Marcus and Adele entered the fray.
Finally the long drawn out battle had ended. Segwyn looked to Tadhg and then to the fire, ”Smart move. Shades aren’t fond of fire.” And then his gaze shifted to Alecto, who he smiled weakly and nodded to her. Segwyn then moved to tend to his own people, the warrior creatures he had arrived with.
Cel regarded the scene with heaving chest and a wide look in his eyes. His eyes settled on Annette who stared back at him, she too breathed heavily. It had been the first time since the war of the courts that a battle of this scale had erupted in Alanor, and it was evident neither side had been prepared for it. Before any words were exchanged the Sluagh King and his people spread out, taking to the perimeter to make sure the creatures had retreated. They were gone…for now.
”Darklings, return to the caverns.” Though he addressed the court his gaze lingered on Annette. He turned moving to assess the damage done to the wounded and helping to usher his members back to their domicile.
Annette pulled her gaze away from Cel and looked around at the faerie that had assisted her. ”Let us take this as a lesson, and hope that our next encounter with these creatures will end in a victory that is not so narrow. For now, return to your homes and comfort your loved ones.” She followed Cel, as a conversation with her rival monarch was in order.
OOC: Feel free to finish up anything. IC and OOC news will be following shortly. I’ll be moving this board to the archives a week from today, so be sure to tie up any loose ends or discuss them OOCly.