Keep up, Scum! [Open/Ki'sha]

The guard was even more tense than ever.

Scortia's condition seemed to be worsening, her paranoia becoming more intense with every passing day. But she remained cooped up in her palace, and wouldn't dare to allow anyone to see her in her current mental state. And thus, to blind her citizens and make them think she was still the goddess they claimed she to be, she buffed up the patrols, increasing the traffic at the borders even more. Of course, some questioned this, but the large majority seemed more or less fine.

After all, the Ki'sha were bred to be warriors. To fight. It was in their very culture. Their culture seemed to center around survival of the fittest, after all. There was no room for weaklings, or sympathizers. Only the strongest survived, and only the strongest of the strongest would be allowed to rule. And this was what made the Ki'sha so feared.

Recently, there had been rumors of dragons approaching near the southern border. What separated this from normal rogues was that they seemed to be gathered in small groups, clans almost. This was worrying, and made little sense. The only other tribe on Verula were the Stormcallers, and they were "peaceloving mudlickers", as the Ki'sha liked to call them.

And so today, several tribesmen had been gathered together, in preparation for an organized scouting of the tribe, with extra soldiers than usual. Scortia would sit at her post, waiting for her citizens to arrive. The soldiers would be preparing at the courtyard.

The increase in traffic and patrols were a bit annoying, but it wasn't his place to question it, so Ayato would just go along with whatever the Kuz'a wanted to do; he was sure that she had her own reasons - which he soon found out, when the rumours reached his ears, whisperings of clans of dragons gathering near the borders on the Southern side, followed by an announcement: There would be a scouting that day, something he was used to.

Ayato came a few minutes early, reporting to the courtyard and waiting for his orders there. It was filled with dragons of different heights, most of them taller than he was (something he hated; he was often teased about it, not outright, but hinted); their faces were unfamiliar, but all set in a similar stony expression, one that even he wore. Expressions of either jealousy or annoyance flashed across their faces whenever Ayato made eye contact, and he made sure to give them a taunting smirk, quickly replaced by his usual stoicness. It would do him no good to seem too playful in front of the Kuz'a.

Speaking of which, where was she?

The call to action was rather peculiar. Adder had been loyally serving his role as Ugaan with the utmost skill and persistence he could acquire, and yet these stranger rogues were starting to come into the territory and terrorize civilians. They were stupid to think they could get away with such a thing, coming into Ki'shan land and acting like they owned the place. It made Adder sick.

But Adder was also confused about something. He was confused about how, exactly, the rogues presence was detected, but yet dealt with. Normally, when Ki'sha border guards picked up intruders, they were dealt with, even killed, immediately, not reported back to the Kuz'a. Perhaps a fei had relayed the message? Whatever the reason, it made Adder's blood boil, his claws dig into the ground, ready to defend his tribe.

He arrived at the courtyard, glancing around. It didn't appear as if Scortia was there yet. Adder glanced around, and spotted Ayato, a superior officer of his. It wasn't surprising to see him here. He would, no doubt, be leading the attack. Adder only knew of Ayato because he was an Aliugaan, but other than that the two had never actually met formally.

Once he found a nice place to sit, Adder then waited for Scortia, preparing for her orders.

The crowd that appeared before Scortia was roughly ten warriors, including her Aliugaan Ayato and the warrior Adder. Dragons bustled about, some of them whispering among themselves, but almost all conversation halted when Scortia walked into the courtyard, her head held high. Her eyes would seem to scan each and every soldier there, like daggers prepared to strike out and kill. Despite her size, most knew to fear her prowess. Not many had seen it in action, but being told that your leader was a gift from the gods, especially when told at a young age, was usually enough.

After looking over everyone, she turned her attention towards the general group, and would make her way over to the front, so that she may give the orders. She spoke in Ki'shin, the language that all the Ki'shan knew, and was much more common than any Ki'shan knowing universal. "Attention warriors! As you know, reports from the outer river village of Nuat'uk have told us that a group of rogue dragons have made it through our grasp and have started attacking our Luiaans. As to what border patrol is responsible for this breath, we haven't a clue yet, but they will be punished appropriately. Your job is to go out there and exterminate the rogues at all costs. Do I make myself clear?" she said, her voice full of authority.

Once the dragons were prepared, Scortia's attention turned to Ayato, and she beckoned him forward, "Ayato, you will be in charge of this squadron. Understood? I expect you to bring back my soldiers in one piece." she asked, eyeing him with only the tiniest whiff of respect.

Movement at the edges of his vision caught his attention, and he slid his eyes towards the source, dark blue eyes narrowing in recognition when he noticed that a male had arrived - an Ugaan whose name Ayato hadn't really bothered to remember, and his attention refocused on the courtyard, not showing any signs of acknowledgement, acting as if Adder wasn't there at all. Such was his nature. Underlings he ignored unless he took a particular liking to them, and even then he usually spared them nothing but a brief glance; superiors he greeted but made sure to keep his distance.

Ayato watched as more and more dragons (mostly Ugaans) appeared, and his gaze briefly turned to them, counting their numbers, returning their expressionless stares - bordering on rude - with a slight lift of his eye ridge, but did not really comment, though a warning flashed in his eyes. Then he returned to his waiting, wings clasped tight to his sides and basking in the warmth of the orb of blinding light that hung in the sky. It made him feel slightly drowsy, but nothing on his face or stance indicated so. There was no room for weaknesses. Show one, and they'd be noticed and taken down for future use by the rest.

And there she was. The Kuz'a made her way over to the assembled group, her hazel stare commanding and confident, and she had a presence that was hard to notice, despite her smaller size. He bowed his head, meeting her gaze briefly (not too long, lest it seem impertinent) before dropping it to the ground. Stepping forward when Scortia beckoned, he said, "Yes, Your Majesty,"; and to his squadron he commanded them to ready themselves for flight to the Nuat'uk village. "We will be leaving now, Your Majesty. They will come back in one piece, of course." With that, he would spread his wings and launch himself into flight, his 'squadron' following him in eerie silence. Even their wingbeats were just rustles.

He wondered what awaited them.

((From this point onward I will be posting on Adder only, until Scortia is needed again. That means Ayato will post after I post o3o))

Adder listened to the Kuz'a with respect and admiration. She was a strong, powerful presence. If it weren't for the strict caste system that was laid down on on the Ki'sha hierarchy. Sure, there was the Safyz'a, which was probably the highest rank you could receive without having noble blood. However, even that usually required someone to at least be distantly related to the Kuz'a. If you didn't have a noble past tied in with the rulers, most notably the Linfae family, then you likely wouldn't be receiving a high rank in your life time, with the highest any normal dragon could achieve being Aliugaan.

"Yes, my Kuz'a!" he shouted in unison with the others, bowing deeply in respect towards her, before raising once again. Truly a terrifying power to rule under. Their tribe was blessed with the might of a god to protect them.

And thus, after Scortia's speech, she would talk to the Aliugaan leading. After that, he would watch as his supposed commander took off into the air. Quickly after him the other dragons followed, all various types of draconiform, all various shades of grey, brown, gold, yellow, and green. Adder joined the flight, his eyes every so often wandering around him, scanning his surroundings. Keeping himself alert.

They would fly for several miles. After a long trek of flying, they would begin to spot the river village in the distance.

Ayato could hear the faith and pride ringing in the voices that called out around him, that barked a response to the Kuz'a's orders. He did not shout along with the others; his eyes, which had turned to observe his squadroon, met Scortia's formidable gaze again, and he once more gave her a dip of his head before unfurling his blue wings and throwing himself into the air with a sort of reckless grace, his assigned squadron fanning out behind him, lifting into the air row after row, most of them trained personally by him. The sky was filled with soft hums of beating wings, stirring the air as they locked into flight and began speeding towards their destination, bright blue at their head, leading them.

They adopted the arrow-like formation that birds in migration, cutting swiftly through the sky. The hot air streamed past his face, under his wings, lifting the soft membranes up; he could feel a slight ticklish sensation, and recalled with annoyance how sensitive his wings were. The sun was blazing bright, a white orb in the sky, an eye watching over them all. The eye of a god, a religious Ki'Shan would say. They flew for a while - after all, the village was located near the borders. At long last they spotted the outer river village of Nuat'uk, undicated by the little huts that sprang up, and the river that gushed by, spitting up water into the air in its rough tumble over the rocks that lay beneath it.

Exterminate at all costs.

They were hovering in the air when they spotted the band of rogues laughing and toeing the borders.

Adder followed the band of dragons with an uninterested expression on his face. Ruthless savages, he thought. Daring to come into Ki'shan borders? They'd be slaughtered, he thought without a doubt in his mind. The Ki'sha were known well all throughout Verula. They were one of the oldest tribes, just a few centuries younger than the Xoya. Even the youngest, most innocent Verulan rogue knew of the Ki'sha's infamy. Rogues only ever dared to cross the borders if there was a drought, a famine, or were some kind of suicidal, boastful, young male who thought they could take on a whole tribe. None of these attempts ever granted success.

They flew for a while, and when they finally spotted the river valley, Adder's eyes immediately began to scan the ground for any signs of aggressive activity. They continued to fly, which Adder thought was a bit strange. Wouldn't it make sense to ask the villagers where they had seen the rogues run off to? But it seemed they didn't have to, as they soon spotted the rogues in plain sight. Gosh, they must be even more stupid than he had realized. Not only had they attacked a Ki'sha village, but now they were just standing about in clear view of everybody? Pathetic.

Adder began to fly down with the group, ready to engage in combat. There was something peculiar about the rogues. They seemed to all be just standing around, motionless. But he didn't regard this as anything specific. Were probably just brain dead, or something. Mongrels....

Suddenly, one of the rogues let out a blood curdling scream. Soon, all the rogues had joined in. A few Ki'shan soldiers paused, unnerved by the sound. The braver veterans almost acted like they didn't regard the noise.

Then, with a strange unison, the band of rogues all charged at once, screaming the same way the first had. A black goo seemed to be dripped from their mouths, and their eyes were shot, distant, almost as if they weren't really there....

Ayato had hovered in the air, debating whether it was worth the risk to go down and ask the villagers if they'd seen the rogues; what if they had already slaughtered the villagers and took their place, and were just waiting for Ayato and his squadron to come down? Sure, their group was small - but Ayato wanted to return to Scortia with a squadron that was as... uninjured as possible. But he didn't need to - they were just right there, like sitting ducks waiting to be shot.

Idiots. They weren't trying to be subtle about crossing into Ki'Shan territory; instead, they were moving in the open - no, not moving. Standing, like they were waiting to be spotted, to be attacked. Or... Was it a trap? It was possible. Ayato hadn't had much experience as compared to the other Aliugaans, but he didn't fall into traps that easily - or so he liked to think. He wasn't stupid... Well, duh, he wasn't.

Ayato was about to give the command to attack when a shrill cry made itself heard, ringing through the air and shuddering along their bones, their bodies. It was eerie, starting off as lone, then being joined in by other voices. Were they trying to scare them? The question popped out of Ayato's mind the moment they charged, some of them already lifting into the air, moving as one. Strange, he'd never seen such a synchronised band of rogues, but he wasn't here to gape. He charged forward, the dagger he wielded whipping and slicing through the necks of the rogues, who seemed to, oddly, lack life.

The rogues were, however, untrained, panic seeming to roil over their hazy eyes as his blade met flesh. Ayato's tail surged forward, beating back a male, who crashed into another, and both fell to the ground, tangled and flapping desperately. His tail he couldn't really use - he needed it for balance. Ayato screeched to a halt in front of another rogue, his lower body swinging forward, curling towards his chest then kicking out, his paws hitting the rogue's body with a solid thud, and he charged forward with his blade aimed to kill.

Ayato received some burns here and there from fires erupting from throats, certain parts of his body frosted over by ice. No one could really use their magic, though; both groups were packed in too tightly to do so. To use magic would likely injure your own ally. So with claws, teeth or blades, they fought.

A lot of the rogues seemed to attack mindlessly, without reason, without logic, and without a strategy. It was almost as if they seemed to simply hurl themselves at the enemy, tearing into them relentlessly and without thought. A few of the rogues, before the initial attack, seemed to pause, and simply stand there, their bodies convulsing violently, yet remaining upright. A black sludge would begin to drip out of their mouths, and their eyes rolled into the back of their heads. They let out slight whimpering noises, yet refused to move, almost as if paralyzed.

The dragons that did move, definitely moved. Two rogues hurled themselves at an unsuspecting Ki’shan soldier. Even though they attacked without reason, their fighting was vicious, feral, and they didn’t even seem like they tried to restrain themselves. The two rogues would claw into the Ki’shan aggressively, somehow managing to break through his armor, and get in a lucky hit. He screamed, violently throwing his head back, as several other rogues seemed to target him, sending them speeding towards the ground in a cluttered mess.

Adder had never seen anything like this. But he wasn’t about to let the unusualness of the situation deter him from their mission. One rogue threw itself at him, screaming. Adder managed to maneuver to the side, raking his claws across the defiant rogue’s throat. He flew back a few feet, expected the creature to succumb to blood loss.

But to Adder’s surprise, the rogue tried to lunge at him again, black ooze sputtering from its mouth. Unfortunately for the crazed rogue, it drove itself right into Adder’s spear, hissing and fizzing as it did so. Something curious, happened, though. As Adder was about to retrieve his spear from the creature’s body, it’s eyes seemed to flash with fear, as opposed to that almost mindless gaze it had held just moments ago.

Adder didn’t pay this behavior too much though, as he yanked his spear from the dragon, sending it collapsing towards the ground. He glanced around, analyzing the situation.

It seemed the Ki’sha had the upperhand- obviously. But he was still rather surprised by how ruthlessly these rogues fought...