RuneScape Forum Archive | Draconic Interactions (3)

Basileus257

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Heinrich managed to escape the initial massacres and set up a command post in a house within a part of the city that was still under Imperial control. From there, he sent out runners with a simple message: do whatever you can to defend your positions, but pay attention to the radios in case something changed and they became usable again. What little strategy he could implement was focused around holding out until reinforcements arrived. With the phones and radios out, someone was bound to investigate the sudden silence from the city. Once the Imperium realized what was happening, tens of thousands of men would pour into the city. He was sure of it.

The outside world reacted with confusion when Glaruindem went silent. Nobody could figure out why an entire city had suddenly gone silent. Some sort of EMP device was the most popular theory, but it was also just that: a theory. The Imperium responded in the only way that logically made any sense. When it became clear that this was not some minor glitch in the system, they sent a squadron of aircraft into the mountains near Glaruindem to investigate the disturbance and hopefully make contact with the garrison in the city.

“He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.”

¯ Aristotle

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Marthe Troly-Curtin

24-Jun-2015 00:59:54

Basileus257

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Elmsbourg was perhaps the only part of Neuva that wasn't interested in Glaruindem. They had enough problems as it was. The city, now a part of the Imperium, was still reeling from the invasion. Most of the population was still in shock from what had happened. They spent their days trying not to aggravate the new government. Some sunk to the low of turning in their non-human neighbors. If they were in hiding, they would show the authorities where they were located.

Michael had spent the time following the invasion attempting to establish his power base. Being the first Count of Elmsbourg had thrown a number of responsibilities onto his shoulders, and he found that he had little in the way of free time as he did his best to distribute the burden of running a city among those he trusted. Only on the fourth day was he able to get a few hours to himself. He spent this free time in the last place he thought he would: the Draconic Penitentiary. Despite his best efforts, his thoughts had kept coming back to Ventrus. He had read the report on Ventrus numerous times over the past few days. The dragon simply fascinated him. If he was totally obedient, as the report had said, then he represented a new era in relations between humanity and dragonkind. It would be foolish to exterminate the dragons within the city if they could be tamed as Ventrus had.

The prison proved to be a loud and chaotic place. The majority of the previous inhabitants had been killed in the early days of the invasion. Only Ventrus had been spared. In the place of the dead prisoners, the cells were filled with captured dragons that the Imperium had not gotten around to executing yet. They were not happy with being imprisoned, and made their displeasure known to Michael as he passed by them on the way to the area reserved for prisoners in solitary confinement. Upon seeing Ventrus, Michael had to smile. "Do you know who I am?" He asked, after taking in the pathetic sight in front of him.

“He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.”

¯ Aristotle

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Marthe Troly-Curtin

24-Jun-2015 01:45:38

Basileus257

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Matt was tired, which was not surprising. The past few days had been eventful, to say the least. First the Wyvern, then the terrible snowstorm, and finally the encounter with the scientists. Though they had been friendly enough, Matt was still on edge. Were they Imperial scientists, they would likely report their presence. If there were any aircraft near their locations, he knew they would be scrambled to shoot them down. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case, and the group was able to continue south.

He checked his cellphone, to see if they were close enough to get a signal. The scientists had been kind enough to let him charge his phone while they waited for Forlirn and Frilarth to return. As expected, they were still too far from the civilized world, and his phone showed no signal. "Still nothing..." He muttered. More time passed. He looked around the passing mountains for something to catch his attention, but the barren mountains offered nothing of interest. ~I shouldn't complain. At least it is warmer down here.~ He thought as he focused his gaze back towards the front. A few minutes later, he noticed a strange, mountain-like object in front of him. He squinted, to try and make it out better. It wasn't a mountain. "I think... I think I see Soul." He said before looking back at Forlirn. "Forlirn, how long do you think we should stay at the Soulbound? Caelidorus and I want to do our own thing, of course, but I think I speak for both of us when I say that we can wait if it is going to take too long."

“He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.”

¯ Aristotle

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Marthe Troly-Curtin

24-Jun-2015 02:09:03

NarBloodwolf

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Despite the poor weather and circumstances on the journey south, Rhen found a small bit of enjoyment out of it. While being stalked by the giant wyvern Rhen took the opportunity to make a few sketches and take a few notes on the creature with his frozen fingers. The snowstorm hit Rhen the hardest as it kept him from getting what sunlight he could to keep up his energy. During the days in the storm he had to consume a good portion of the dwindling supplies to stay alive.Rhen had feared the worst for the group and himself up until they had ran into the scientists. Getting well needed supplies was welcome and took a burden off Rhen's mind.

As the group now traveled in the warmer but still cold portions of the mountains, Rhen poured over what notes he had taken thus far in his journey. He had learned so much yet, for Rhen there was so much more out there. Having grown bored of looking over his own sketches and writings, Rhen attempted to strike up conversation with Umbra.

''Umbra, you said you originally commanded the Seekers yes? If I may ask, what was the primary goal of the Seekers during your time as their leader? Did they seek out new knowledge or do other things?'' asked Rhen, curious to know more about the Seekers before they had been corrupted so to speak.

24-Jun-2015 05:47:28

Darlantan

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Peter folded his hands, sighing again as the sounds of battle erupted once more. It had been the right thing to fight back; the Imperialists would slaughter the majority of the populace otherwise, considering most citizens were nonhuman and no sole race held the majority position in Glaruindem. But had he done it properly? Much of the nonhuman population had been slowly hidden in the under-city in the days leading to the invasion, perhaps most of it... but so many had still been left unprotected from the invasion to keep the allied soldiers lying in wait hidden from the Imperialists. Too many... but it was a necessary evil; every casualty would be one less defender in the war which would inevitably follow. Without any means of watching or communicating with the troop commanders, he could do nothing but wait for the ******** knock of a defender or the bashing of the Imperialists breaking in to signal victory or loss. The rapid initial attack would hopefully decimate their forces... after that surprise was over, he'd hope the sheer number of defenders could overwhelm the rest... and the portal tactics developed by the Tempests to be too outlandish for the Imperialists to adapt to in time. And if all of that succeeded, he'd hope the perimeter they established beyond city limits would intercept any messengers. If it all worked... then just maybe the city would stand a chance in the near future.
Gathering an army had been surprisingly easy; the many nonhumans on this side of the great mountain range were quick to bolster the city's forces to an army fit for mid-sized nation. The Imperium would not stop; they were well aware an Imperialist Glaruindem would be the start of a new age of attacks. But the centuries-old alliance with the Tempest Empire was what made defense feasible. Due to the wording of the Constitution of Glaruindem, the full city was part of the alliance, not just the Elunian half. But now... the waiting game once more.

25-Jun-2015 13:08:06

Darlantan

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The sheer number of troops spilling into Glaruindem was bewildering. Several thousand might have been considered an overestimation of any defending force the non-militaristic city could muster, but they continued rushing from concealment well past ten thousand, eventually reaching tens of thousands, men and women of all known humanoid races accompanied by several hundred Tempests filling the streets and occupying buildings around areas where the resisting Imperial forces had grouped. No artillery could be stored for quick use in the undercity; the Tempests took that role via a prototype weapon affixed to their jaws. Looking rather absurd, it vaguely resembled an oversized, extra long gun muzzle with chains of anti-tank bullets hanging to a side. Seeing the odd devices in action would be less laughable; utilizing the lightning breath of the dragons as the force to accelerate the bullets, they were essentially primitive railguns. While not as accurate as typical artillery, their shots possessed the force to clean through a tank.
There seemed to be little hope of defeating the previously-hidden force without reinforcements; their numbers rivalled that of the invading force before any casualties were inflicted and could have concievable prevented the capture of the city. The defending soldiers were merciless, having no desire to leave a single invader alive. While most soldiers were not residents of Glaruindem, they all held the mindset of defending their homeland and the majority were quite familiar with the city they fought within. The Imperium sought their genocide and they would not cower and accept it.
The Tempests simply did not care for the lives of Imperial soldiers. The deceitful assault led the Tempests to declare the Imperium a dishonorable enemy. By the Tempest code of honor, this meant any force of the Imperium could be fought by any methods needed and not a man would be spared.

25-Jun-2015 14:06:45

Darlantan

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Argentus let out a satisfied snort. While the defense of a city not under the rule of dragons felt beneath him, honor demanded it and with Caelidorus absent to lead the Claw of the Blade he'd allow no other to head the defense of Glaruindem. The filth of the Imperium acted exactly as he said they would: momentary chaos followed by forming defensive siege-condition pockets, just as any highly trained, competent military would do. Pathetic. A juvenille could have predicted that; if these humans really were the Neuvian equivalent to the Tempest Empire, how did they gain such power with such predictable tactics?
Portals had only been opened in the countryside and the undercity; with his brethren now guarding the edge of the city and the lack of cover beyond the city ensuring the countryside should be secured, no word of the use of portals in this battle should reach the remaining forces in the city. The remaining troops in Elune were ready for the next phase and reports from Tempests soaring outside of the city (as well as from soldiers within the combat zones) made it clear where the Imperials had bunkered down provided some force had not hidden among the recaptured areas despite the extensive sweeps for any soldiers preparing an ambush attack. That would rely on the non-dragons, but they at least appeared to be competent soldiers.
After recieving a multitude of reports stating the Imperials had indeed been forced into 'stronghold positions' to defend, Argentus gave the order. Simultaneously, multiple portals would open roughly around the central positions of each area marked to be held by Imperial forces, soldiers accompanied by small groups of Tempests rushing through and immediately opening fire.
If this failed to rout the enemy, then perhaps Argentus would be impressed.

25-Jun-2015 15:23:43

Darlantan

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The surrounding mountains were well known to be hell to cross and the Tempests were determined to add to that reputation. The dragons had formed a heavy garrison throughout the rocky peaks, stretching a substantial distance beyond the small pocket Glaruindem was built in and filled with a tremendously more Tempests than were aiding in the assault to recapture Glaruindem. All were painted to camoflauge their scales, the soldiers similarly camoflauged. A virtual wall of artillery had been set up throughout the mountains, primarily anti-aircraft. All of it had been similarly camoflauged; the plan was evidently to secure Glaruindem from reinforcements by preventing air support from approaching with heavy, decently well-hidden artillery.
The sight of approaching aircraft in the distance was expected. As planned, the mountain garrison prepped the weapons to lock on to the aircraft and cease all movement to maximize the effectiveness of their camoflauge as they waited. It would not be until the squadron passed into the foothills when they unloaded into the aircraft, a distance they believed would be close enough in range of the artillery to guarantee the quick and complete destruction of the squadron.

25-Jun-2015 15:55:40

Darlantan

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The isolation cell where Ventrus was held appeared to be the highest security cell within the poorly maintained prison, thick steel walls of the cell block muffling every sound beyond it completely. It was deathly quiet inside, the opened doors of the few cells within indicating Ventrus was the only prisoner in the cell block. Quite ironically cells here had probably been the safest place in the city for dragons during the initial hours of the invasion; designed to hold the fiercest of dragons, the place looked like it could survive several direct missile hits without a collapse.
The locked cell possessed only a small viewing hatch for eying the cell or speaking to the prisoner. It was a spacious cell (built with large dragons in mind), quite dirty and adorned with only a small metal bowl of similarly dirty water. Ventrus laid on the hard steel flooring the cell, motionlessly resting on his side. Thick shackles adorned his legs, a steel muzzle clamping his jaws shut and a heavy, chained collar preventing him from reaching the front half of the cell. Even his wings were secured, a tight harness of chains holding them in place. The dragon looked quite pathetic, more of his body covered in fresh bandages than blue scales. Despite appearing clean and new, blood soaking through the bandages forming shapes of claw slashes and bite marks.
The dragon did not raise his head, only moving his gaze toward the viewing hatch, azure eyes blank of everything save a trace of weariness. "I do not recognize your voice," the dragon answered simply, voice flat of all emotion. His words were highly muffled; he could not open his jaws any farther than needed to lap up water.

25-Jun-2015 16:21:48

Darlantan

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Caelidorus nodded his head slightly, his sharper gaze following Matt's. "Yes... that is fur, not roses. I wonder if she employs an illusion to disguise herself as roses rather a furry mountain."
"I would think it best we keep our stay with the Soulbound short. Two days at most, three if something pressing requires it," Forlirn replied. "My fear for the safety of the one we search for has been growing during the journey back here. I'm uncertain what we could do if he were to be killed."

Umbra had decided to take the form of a dragon roughly the size of a lizard shortly after exiting the ruins. Although his body was ethereal and any object which touched it would simply pass through, he appeared quite solid. The ancient generally remained in close proximity to Rhen, unable to pass far from his soul gem.
"I commanded them in the sense I commanded all of my children," the ancient replied absently. "They were originally a large religous sect which attended me often and closely. Like all shadow dragons they heavily sought after knowledge and self-improvement; unlike the rest, their focus was solely on seeking out knowledge rather than using it, hence their namesake. They often conferred with Nihil... and were the first to fall to him when he set his plans in motion. Now the name refers to all of my children lost to the Abyss, but it came to refer to them because the Seekers were the first to fall."

25-Jun-2015 16:47:22

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Draconic Interactions (3)