"These ones have proper crystals in them," Robyn added, gesturing to the guns. "Ones without an elemental affinity, and not those weird black ones." She wanted to tell him all about how she made the guns and everything about the guns themselves, but she restrained herself. He would figure it all out in time, she was sure. She got up from the table when Bear nudged her shoulder, and headed upstairs towards Ridley's room. She didn't mind checking on his studies; he was still at a level where she knew how to help him if he was stuck on something.

"Hey, kiddo," she said as she opened the door. "How's the studying going?"

Grant recognized the girl, and smiled at her slightly.

"Thank you for telling me," he said to her. "I'll go there right away." He nodded to her, and turned in the direction of his mother's chambers. It wasn't unusual for her to be acting strangely, but he still wanted to check on her, especially if she was acting strangely enough that other people noticed the difference. When he reached her chambers, he knocked on the door. "Mother?"

"Huh, no element..?" He wondered about it for a while, then frowned. If they had no element now and the black ones were a different kind, then what was the difference..? What exactly were they? It had occurred to him to ask in the caverns when they were looking for their desired crystals, but the mage's there had no answers. Lost in thought, he hadn't even seen Robyn disappear, so when he looked about he found himself rather abandoned and for that moment the feeling seemed to extend as if the entire room where growing into a vast cavern.

He shook his head and looked towards the bowl of food. Strange thoughts.. Best to wash them down with something a little more real, the stew definitely did bring a better feeling about. Perhaps it was just nerves, they were on the verge of some kind of war.
He looked up quietly, his mind had glimpsed where Robyn had gone and passed the memory to him when it wasn't lagging behind, he wondered about what happened upstairs, but not a great deal did as Ridley looked up, grinning at Robyn, he held up the book he'd been given by the schoolhouse. It was mostly simple mathematics, times tables, divisions, adding and subtracting, he had a second book in which he was working out the answers but seemed to be having a little difficulty with a larger multiplication problem.

Naraya looked back towards the door as Grant knocked it, on doing so the doorway opened slowly, revealing the room. What had once been an unholy mess of a room was absolutely tidy and orderly again. While this wasn't entirely normal, she seemed to be standing in her magic circle in a daze, staring blankly at what seemed to be an empty book. But a mage knew that anything magic related could be deceiving,
She eventually turned to look at Grant, dropping the book and staring at Grant, or more.. through him. It was a state she entered whenever she was having visions, certain ones, no-one really understood what she would say or do, but in the past it had rung of omens, yet as she looked towards Grant she spoke rather sensibly.
"Did I ever tell you that fate is a viable magical concept, my son?" She asked, turning again and for a moment it looked as if a second image were following her movements, no, leading them, "It is measurable in immaterial substance just as magic before it is used. But to defy it there is always a sacrifice to be made.. The greater your defiance, the greater your sacrifice, payment that sometimes even Death himself collects.."

Robyn sat down next to Ridley and looked at the workbook. It took her a few moments to decipher the boy's handwriting, which seemed to be admittedly better than Robyn's had been at his age, but she was able to work her way through the problem and figure out where he had gone wrong with his mathematics.

"Alright, I see now..." she murmured. She picked up the pencil. It was simple math, things she did on her own all the time while tinkering in the workshop. "This has to go here, and this goes here..." She fixed a few numbers, and explained why certain numbers went where. "Sound a bit better now?"

The sudden neatness of the room surprised Grant, but he didn't let it shake him as he went into the room and slowly closed the door. He knew it was best to just let his mother's visions run their course before trying to figure out what exactly was going on. He wouldn't get anything even resembling a straight answer before then. Carefully, slowly, he made his way over to her.

"You've mentioned such things in the past," he said carefully. He pulled over the chair from her desk and sat down on it. He knew better than to disturb her while she was within the active circle. "Mother, what sacrifice must be made? And who must make it?" Those seemed to be the most relevant questions, and he might even be able to wrestle an answer from whatever her reply might be.

"It's the sacrifice that was made, and who made it," Naraya replied almost sternly as if she'd expected him to know, "Do try to keep up, now.." She added, her face getting a little solemn, "There was a young mother, brightest of her clan, who fell in love so dearly, with the one greatest man.. But for their son the star of death did light, so they parted, and so fate they did fight." She stated the old poem it was written in one of her books on matters of fate and destiny, but the source of it had never been apparent
"The boy," She began, "My boy.. My darling Grant.. I sacrificed a lot to keep you secret, to keep you safe," She seemed to crumple, sitting down on the ground and lowering her head, "Your father and I, we had to part.. Much as I didn't want to.. But we wanted you to live so much more," she seemed to chuckle almost sadly, "I miss him.."
The woman sniffled a little, running her sleeve under her nose,
"Defying fate means sacrificing much.. It's fluid, like water, it will compensate for changes in destiny, if it cannot take one thing, it will take another.. Or it will force a penance whether you realize it or not. It is fair, but it is unkind.."

She pulled herself to her feet as she looked aroudn the room quietly. Everything was in order, perfect and calm, but thens he gave Grant a sharp look,
"You dont have time to mull over these things, there's time for that later!" She barked, taking almost-menacing steps toward him and grasping his arm, "Varstradt will not be so easily dissuaded, but we will hurt it, severely, what will happen will happen, the coming battle is unavoidable and so is what will happen next. Your mission starts after this and I swear if you do not do as I tell you there will be hell to pay!" She half-shouted the end of it, but then her features softened, "For everyone.. No questions, Grant.. My dear son.. You have to find the one whose distant blood you share, whose destiny you can either claim, or give. Not your father but another, with the same right as you. The sword must be in her hands at the hour of chaos, the four souls that will defy fate and receive no penance must be united they must destroy the darkness of our time!"Realization washed over her face, along with a great deal of confusion, "No.. No.. She will find you..? No this is wrong, this is unusual, the balance has shifted, fate is.. Changing.. Fate.. It's compensating.."
The woman removed her grip from Grant, placing her hand on her head as though fighting off a pain in her mind,
"They're forcing it to change.. What was to happen many years from now is so much closer.. Even destiny can taste desperation and fear.." The woman wandered away from Grant, both hands on her temples,
"Go.. He forged it in fire and it has to find its place soon.. He forged it in fire and he waits.. For the time to be right.."

"Mother, I don't understand," Grant said, even as Naraya was pulling him to his feet. Almost immediately, their positions reversed and Grant had to hold on to his mother's arms to keep her from falling. "Who is this person you're talking about. What does she have to do with me? And what about my father? He hasn't ever been around, you said yourself it ended before I was even born." He followed her as she pushed away from him and wandered to the other side of the room, and he gently guided her over to her bed and made her sit down. "Mother, who is changing fate?"

Grant wasn't asking all of the questions because he didn't understand what Naraya was saying; on the contrary, she was speaking unusually clearly, and what she was saying was starting to frighten him a bit. He didn't need to ask about what sword, though. He knew there was only one person his mother knew who had the skill to forge a sword that might shape destiny itself, and he'd seen a beautiful new sword in Bear's forge a few times when he stopped in. It didn't take a genius to connect the two. Gently, he moved so that he was kneeling in front of Naraya, making her look at him.

"Mother," he said gently, "tell me what's going on. I need to understand, and you can't put it off any longer. I think you've run out of chances to tell me 'later.'""

Naraya allowed Grant to guide her to the bed, but as she sat down she stared up at Grant, reaching up and placing her hands on his face softly,
"I've always told you I love you.. My dear sweet Grant.. Your fathers Noble blood makes you the kind, sweet boy you are.." She sighed softly, an odd sort of contentment coming across her, "I've always been so proud of you, I'm sure he is too.. I dont have any more time left, Grant. I have to go now.. You know everything you need to, the rest will come to you when you need it.." She smiled and it was her last.
Her skin glowed, light spread across it, in veins of glorious energy, taking to her clothes as she brushed her hand past Grant's cheek one last time, still smiling.. And with a final bright flash, the woman known as Naraya vanished. A trail of light filtering out of the nearby window and out of sight. No trace left, but perhaps for that small warm feeling on Grant's cheek and the memories. that she would leave him, her favourite moments, every time he fell and she picked him up, every swell of pride in her heart as he proved himself, every hug, every hold.
And every moment that she had told him those same words;
I love you, my son.

Kazan looked up suddenly from an empty bowl, brow furrowing. Something didn't feel right. The man stod, feeling a strange desire, his eyes turned to the guns Robyn had crafted him and he grasped them tightly in his hands, spinning them quickly then stopping them. The man dashed towards the door, but found himself face-to-face with Bear, the lumbering man had a grave look on his face,
"They're here aren't they?" Kazan asked and the smith nodded, grabbing Kazan by the shoulder and pointing him to the suit of armour,
"Not time to explain lad, get it on."
"Woah-wha-..!" A nudge from bear urged him forward,
"No time lad, get it on! Robyn lass, get on down here an' help Kazan!" The tall man hollered upstairs before looking to Kazan, "We're settin' the gun up on the wall, aye?" He asked and Kazan nodded before Bear practically stampeded out of the house. He was going to carry the whole damn thing himself, Kazan had seen that kind of look in a good man's eyes before.
It was time to go to war and Varstradt was on the wrong side today..

"Noble blood?" Grant repeated, confused. "I don't understand..." There wasn't any sort of Lastdvellan nobility anywhere near the guild hall, not like he suspected his mother was talking about. He was stopped from asking any more questions when he saw the magic starting to take hold of Naraya. "Mother?" He scrambled for her hand, irrationally trying to hold on to her in some way, to keep her with him. "We still need you here! I still need you here! Mother!" He watched helplessly as she disappeared. He felt the gentle flow of memories, and the lingering warmth of Naraya's touch, but as much as he desperately wanted to believe otherwise, Grant knew she was gone. The memories were comforting, but bittersweet, and he took the time to absorb a few of them. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, shaking with suppressed sobs. At some point, he'd gone from kneeling on the floor to leaning against the bed. His mother was all he had, and now she was gone. It took him a while to pull himself together enough to stand again.

There was a canvas bag hanging near the door that he knew spell for a sub-space pocket on it. His mother had used it frequently when she needed to take more than a couple of things with her when she left the guild hall. Taking the bag, he went over to her table and started taking all of her research to put into the bag. He would sort through it later. Looking at the rest of the things on the desk, he hesitated. There was a small locket on a chain sitting next to a stub of a candle. He hadn't noticed Naraya wasn't wearing it earlier, although he knew it was important to her. She had told him more than once that aside from Grant himself, it was the only thing his father had ever given to her. Reaching out, Grant picked up the necklace and put it on. The chain was long enough to hide it under his shirt, and he wanted to make sure nothing happened to it. Then he went back to putting things into the bag. He didn't know for sure what else on the desk was important, but he had a fair idea.

Once he'd taken everything he thought would be useful, he cast one last look around the room and then left. He needed to tell the council what had happened, and then he was going to head back to town.

Robyn jumped a bit when Bear bellowed up the stairs, and scrambled to her feet. She didn't know what was going on, but it sounded serious. She hesitated for a moment, and then took Ridley's hand.

"Come on," she said. "I need you to stay where I can keep an eye on you." Once she'd pulled Ridely to his feet, she went downstairs. As soon as her feet hit the ground floor, she let go of the boy's hand.

"What's going on?" she asked as she darted over to Kazan. She could see him already trying to get the armor on, and went over to help. Her hands were shaking from the sudden surge of adrenaline, though, and kept slipping. "Open already," she snapped at one of the fastenings. It popped open obediently with a couple of copper-colored sparks.

"Relax Robyn, breath," Kazan tried to comfort her, the suit was a lot more complex than he was used to himself so really he could only guess how it all worked, yet it seemed to practically explain itself as it would unfold and allow him to pull it on, linking allt he pieces together one by one, the guns neatly holstered on the thighs. He flexed one of the arms, surprised at how easily he could move, it felt like a full solid piece of armor over his body yet it moved so naturally, Bear wasn't just some standard smith with a big hammer. That man had talent that others could only dream about,
"Varstradt likes to brag about being technologically advanced yet all the armorers in the empire couldn't have come up with something like this.." He stated, admiring the suit as he and Robyn fitted on the last pieces, though he stopped at the helmet, leaving it aside, "That will stifle me too much. I need to feel the air around my head." He explained, placing it on the work table, "The armor's more than enough. Robyn I kept my old ammo webbing satchels next to the couch at home, could you get them for me and fill up a couple of magazines? I'm going to go help Bear set up the Rozan." He instructed, not giving much time to think, "And make sure Ridley gets somewhere safe!" he added, looking back to her quickly before jogging his way out. The armor did feel a lot better than Varstradt combat armor, it protected more and it moved far more fluidly, he wasn't used to the weight but he could adapt, he was strong enough for that.
It didn't even take long for him to get up to the wall but there were townsfolk stopping and staring, watching the suited up Kazan. They'd never expected to see him actually geared up to fight a battle, those who seemed to think they knew him anyway.

Vastradt forces were appearing at the edge of the woods, and from what Kazan could tel, they really were rather disorganized, courtesy of himself and Grant no doubt. Some of the soldiers were desperately working to cut some trees down to give the tanks optimal access. They sounded really annoyed from this distance what with all the shouting and yelling. They were riled up.. And they were going to make even more mistakes..
Good.. Advantage; Lastdvell.

"Let me work the sudden rush of adrenaline out of my system," Robyn replied as she set the helmet aside. Moving around him in a vaguely vulture-like fashion, she looked over the closures and the seams one last time to make sure nothing was off or out of place. Then she glanced at the guns in the holsters. "Good, they fit properly. I didn't know if they would or not, I'd already finished them when Bear showed me the armor." She nodded when he asked her to go home and get the supplies. "I remember where they are. I'll meet you there." She knew there were a few hidey-holes in the town where Ridley would be safe, and she would take him to one of them, first. She hated leaving him with someone else, but she couldn't take him with her when she went up to the wall to help with the cannon. It would be too dangerous for him, and there was far too much of a risk of him getting hurt.

Going back into the other room, she took Ridley's hand again.

"Come on," she said. "We need to get you somewhere safe while I go and help Kazan and Papa Bear."

By this time, Grant was almost all the way to the town. Even from just outside the town lines, he could tell that something was happening, and he sped up his pace. If there was some way for him to help, he was going to help. He wasn't sure what use a green mage would be, but he'd offer what assistance he could. The bag with his mother's things was still over his shoulder, the opening woven shut with a hastily grown thorny rose. It might seem a bit too feminine and pretty to everyone else, but he'd made sure there were plenty of thorns there waiting to tear up the hands of anyone who tried to open the bag without his permission.

The guards didn't so much as wave to him as he went into the town. They knew him, and they had more pressing matters to attend to.

Bear had managed to haul the cannon up to the wall, finding a good position with lots of room before setting ti down. he knew it needed to be secured so he'd grabbed a few tools to nail it in place, making sure it had a solid footing, nothing fancy, but it certainly worked. The Varstradt forces could just about see what was going on and frankly some were panicking. They'd never seen a weapon like that. They'd never had an advance on a town so confused, things were quickly going south for them.

Ridley looked at Robyn with some confusion, perhaps a little worry on his face as he dropped his book and gripped Robyn's hand but he came to a stock still halt, holding Robyn back,
"But.. But Misha! She said she was going to play in the woods..!" He stated a little desperately, "If.. If they find her.." The boy's lip quivered as she stared up at Robyn pleadingly, but the truth was he knew it probably was too late.. With what little he knew of the world, he did know that the soldiers from the north were monsters.

Kazan looked about quietly, Bear and his friend were setting the weapon in place. Meanwhile he was trying to look for anything out of the ordinary. Varstradt had already turned a few people from the cause of protecting Lastdvell, greedy merchants trying to perpetuate their wealth with promises of greater riches while serving Varstradt. They were the worst ones, motivated by greed.. And like a sickness, such corruption could spread.. He didn't want to be watching his back while fighting what was ahead of him.
Cracks of gunfire from the north woods made Kazan ducked and he turned, looking in the direction of the soldiers. they were firing on his and Bears position, trying to slow the work, but they were covered well enough by the wall, although he still drew the guns, now was as good a time as any to give them a go as he aimed and fired back in their direction.
The guns fired with a silver ringing, it was almost beautiful to listen to, at least in Kazan's mind. They emitted a chilling sound with every shot, clear and distinct and singing across the plains between the wall and the woods. Theoretically, few men could actually handle two guns at once, but Kazan cleanly picked off several of the soldiers opening fire, forcing them into retreat, dragging their fallen comrades out of sight. A desperate attempt, but foolish.
"Done lad!" Bear yelled, getting out of sight with his friend.

Kazan nodded in his direction, quickly getting to the gun and gripping the handles, fingers sliding over the triggers, but not pulling them just yet, he needed just a little more time to assess the situation. He looked across the wall to his left and right. The same rebels he'd been hunting when he first came here were beginning to line the walls, guns at the ready. some staring dumbfounded at the massive weapon Kazan was handling, but it only made them more confident.
Bear meanwhile had gotten down off the wall and was making in the opposite direction, he wanted to check for Ridley and Robyn. He had an odd nagging feeling that something was going on that he wasn't aware of yet. He hated that because he'd spent a lot of time in this town and he knew most of what went on, he had contacts within the rebels, that's how he'd gotten them alerted to the situation coming from the north. He wasn't about to have Kazan be the only one fighting out there.
Even the town guard were preparing, ever since the recent attacks they'd been training hard and Bear had forged them spare swords and weapons for just such an occassion should the enemy breach the walls. Today they could prove they weren't just targets. Couple that with a few basic explosives in case of emergency and they were set to bring Varstradt the war they were trying to force on Lastdvell.

But in all this confusion.. what was it they were missing..? Were the mages coming? Of course, they were one of the main defenses of this town.. Then what? He couldn't help but feel uneasy..

Robyn stopped when Ridley tugged on her wrist. She looked from him, to the wall, and back, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, she came to a decision. It wasn't the best decision, but it was the only one she could live with.

"Once I get Kazan the things he needs, I'll go look for her," she said, kneeling down in front of the boy. "She's a smart girl, I'm sure she's found a place to hide. But I need to get you somewhere safe first." In reality, she didn't know whether or not Ridley's friend was even still alive, but she had to have faith. It was about the only thing left to do. "I'll do everything I can to find her, but you have to promise me you'll stay somewhere safe." She stood up and looked over at the wall when she heard the gunshots. She knew it was Kazan; she knew the sound of her own work in use. She tugged on Ridley's hand. "Come on."

Once she managed to get him somewhere safe (she couldn't leave him in the workshop, so she had him stay with one of her neighbors), she grabbed the things that Kazan had asked for and went back towards the wall.

Grant was already getting up onto the wall, making sure to stay out of the direct line of fire from the woods. A quick glance told him all he needed to know about what was going on, and he went over as close as he could to Kazan, so they would be able to hear one another.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, putting the bag down. "When did this start? Did anyone contact the Guild?"

"You're just in time for the fireworks," Kazan replied, looking over at Grant with a grin. Though there was, perhaps, something off about it. That slight change in look, as though some small part of him was enjoying the adrenaline and the thrill of combat. He couldn't deny that something that had been slumbering in him had woken up again with the coming of battle. A beast that lurked, waiting for the next big wave of excitement. Excitement that could only come from fighting, the taking of lives,
"And far as I know, none of your guild buddies are on the wall, I'd like to assume they're preparing to do something else, or they want to sit back and watch their investment at work."

Kazan's eyes returned to focusing on the troop movements in the trees. Not all of the formations realized what was up on the wall and were moving out into the open. He wanted to wait until they were at optimal firing range. They were distracted with getting the tanks through. The ones that were firing on their position weren't doing too well at this range, bullets were singing past Kazan through the air or even ricocheting off the armoured plating of the gun. The metals hell was just what they needed to protect the cannon, they couldn't damage it like this. They needed those tanks and they still needed to find the optimal firing solution for targeting him. The tanks were the main threat, no point showing them what the weapon could do until he could start taking the tanks down..

The glint of large hunks of metal could be seen on the fringes of the woods. but they didn't have the best positions they were hoping for, and he could see quite a few of the soldiers fruitlessly hacking at bushes, particularly the ones Grant had grown, his vision letting him spot the torn clothes of others. Those who had been injured were being tended to, quick patch-jobs.
The rebels on the wall were beginning to fire back, all manner of nose and gun-smoke filling the air. They seemed to be going for the soldiers that were lining up, but mostly these soldiers were standing the storm quite bravely, some firing back, others pulling out metal covers and stacking them into place, basic welding tools being used to set up these protective shields while they prepared to move forward.
It was a basic battle tactic they'd trained their soldiers to perform, bring shielding, rig it up in the field and push it forward to approach for better firing range, all while using the cover of the shields,
"Oh look at that, they brought shields.." Kazan mocked in an almost dark manner, sarcasm lacing his tone of voice, "I'll deal with those once I'm done with the tanks.. Just keep your head down Grant, actually you should get away from here, no offence but its my job now. See if you cant evacuate civilians from this area, keep people away from my back, never know who's gunning for the wrong side."

Grant shifted the bag over his shoulder so it was out of the way. He wasn't about to put it down, not until he was sure he could put it into a safe place. With one hand, he undid the button that held the mage kit on his belt closed. He had everything he might possibly need for his magic stashed away in his kit.

"I might be able to help you out up here," he said. He glanced around. "Where's Robyn?"

"Right here," Robyn said as she came up the stairs. She had a box in her arms of the things Kazan had asked for. "Ridley's safe, but I have to drop this off and go again."

"It's no safe to go anywhere," Grant pointed out. "I've been here five minutes and I know that."

"Ridley said his friend Misha was going to play in the woods," Robyn replied, setting the box down. "I promised him I would go and look for her. I need to go find her parents and see if she's with them, and if she isn't, then I'm going to go find her." She did her best not to look Kazan in the eye. She knew he would object, but she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Kazan stared at Robyn for a moment before ducking quickly when a bullet ricocheted past him, he looked at Grant as he got up then stared out at the forest where the soldiers were,
"Grant," Kazan looked over at the mage with a slight smile, "I didn't really count on you being here, you're not a part of my defence plans, go with Robyn," He nodded his head in her direction, "Stay out of trouble, both of you. If you find her, get her and get out fast, take the right side exit of the town and sneak around the side, and do NOT get caught or I'm coming in there after you!" Kazan looked towards the field again butt hen down to the box Robyn had brought.

No time like the present. He knelt by it, opening it up and pulling out the ammo webbing, basically attachable pockets in which he could store further ammo if he needed it. It didn't take him long to get it on before he stood up again, grasping the handles of the cannon once again.
They were almost in range.. Closer.. Just a little more.. His fingers gripped the triggers, forcing the barrels intot heir initial spin, they needed to reach maximum rotation and the faster they spun the higher the pitch of sound they emitted until they were at full tilt. Kazan was used to loud noises, so it didn't bother him too much, even if afterwards his hearing got a little sensitive, he supposed that was just the way it was. You get so used to noise that when silence comes along you can hear everything regardless.

Crosshairs fixed on the first target and he pushed the triggers in the whole way. Halfway for spin, all the way to let the bullets fly. And they did so. Tremors shook his arms, it made the very wall vibrate as a thunderous spray of lead showered on a tank that was getting a firing resolution. The metal didn't ping off the armour, instead filling the hull with a honeycomb of holes, the occasional bullet mushrooming and tumbling to the ground against the thicker sections, but regardless it came to a halt, escorting soldiers diving for cover, two caught by ricochet and flailing wildly before hitting the ground.

Kazan then aimed to the far right flank of the Varstradt forces and pulled to the right, slowly, carefully dancing a line of devastation along their front line of troops, ripping the shielding barricades apart, pelting them to death with shrapnel and bullet alike, tearing some men to pieces, their armour useless, their attempts to scatter even more so. The tank wasn't dead yet, but it was stalled for now, he needed to give them a taster of what they were up against, make them confident, then unleash the true fury of the cannon upon their damnable heads.

Robyn didn't answer him, she was already half-way back down the wall. Grant just nodded at Kazan and followed the mechanic.

"You don't need to follow me," Robyn said as she hurried through town. She wanted to check and see if Misha was at home before going out into the woods, and she wanted to check quickly.

"I'm keeping an eye on you," Grant replied. Robyn glanced back at him just enough to give him a flat look.

"I don't need to be kept an eye on," she protested.

"I didn't say you did," Grant replied. "I just said that I was." Robyn gave him another flat look, but turned her attention back to finding where Misha lived. It only took a few minutes to figure out that the little girl hadn't made it back home. As soon as Robyn figured this out, she turned and went straight back towards the woods. Grant just followed her, doing what he could to keep from distracting her.

He remembered enough of the woods that he was able to find one of the paths he'd previously covered. It was a path that led from the town to a small clearing, just big enough for a few fallen logs and some pretty plants to grow. If he knew anything about children, that's where the little girl would be. Grabbing Robyn's elbow, he pulled her in the direction of the path.

"I think I might know where she would have gone," he said as he moved some of the little plants out of their way. "There was a clearing of flowers not far from here, little girls like flowers, right?"

"It's better than not having an idea at all," Robyn said. She didn't know if Misha liked flowers or not, but it was a starting point, at least.

The atmosphere of the woods had become rather unpleasant. distant shouts from the soldiers as they fell about trying to fight back, the constant sound of gunfire rattled through the trees and the Rozan cannon itself could be heard clearly even at a distance. However it would also be a disappointment to learn that Misha was nowhere near any clearing of flowers. She was a bit of a tomboy and she wasn't about to be hanging around a field of flowers when a battle was going on.

At least she certainly wasn't there when Robyn and Grant reached it. But there was something else.. Something perhaps only Grant could sense, or even see. The closer they got, the darker the air seemed to become, a choking sensation, an aura of death. Something deeper within the woods was pulsating this evil energy, and it flowed from the source so freely that the trees were perishing, their life-force drained away, the flowers withering, dying.. The negative energies weren't just strong, they were beyond the norm of any mage. But the unknown possibilities of what it actually was would be lost for now..
And the forest was dying, with every step that this energy took towards that same field, like a shadow passing across the land from a cloud on high.

It was only after a few short moments that young Misha appeared at the edge of the woods, accompanied, oddly enough, by a strange man. If Grant could tell anything at this time.. The source of the negative energy was this creature.. this man, whom smiled quite calmly aside to his little companion, the girl rather clueless as to what she was standing beside. Perhaps it was a part of his dark charm, but after a moment he looked up in Robyn and Grant's direction, his face falling slightly.
Misha on the other hand saw Robyn and recognised her immediately,
"Heeey Robyn! Is Ridley okay?" She called before looking at the dark man and tugging at his sleeve, "That's Robyn, she's like my friends big sis or something, she's one of the people who's working so hard to defend the town, we'll be safe there!"
"Is that so..?" The man asked curiously, smirking at Robyn and Grant, "How interesting.."

The further into the woods they got, the more uneasy Grant became. He could feel all of the green around him dying, and he had no idea why or how to fix it. The sense of utter wrongness got stronger and stronger as they went, and Grant had to constantly fight the urge to go in the opposite direction. He had no idea what it was, but it was clearly a Very Bad Thing, and he didn't want anything to do with it. He was reluctant even to step on the ground that had been affected by whatever it was. He glanced at Robyn, but the mechanic didn't seem to notice anything was wrong. That told him that whatever it was, it was directed at 'natural' magic, or even more specifically, green magic. It had nothing to do with the technological side of things, or Robyn would have noticed by now.

When the man and the little girl came out of the trees in front of them, Grant stopped. He knew, without a doubt, that that man was the reason the plants were dying. He didn't know how, but he just knew it. He glanced over at Robyn.

"Is that her?" he asked. The mechanic nodded.

"Yeah, that's her," she replied. She wasn't sure why, but just looking at the man gave her chills. There was something fundamentally wrong about him. She didn't know what it was, but it was there. "Misha, sweetie, we need to get you home, your parents are worried about you," she called to the girl. "Ridley is worried about you, too. It's not safe to be wandering around out here today." The longer they stood there, the more uneasy Robyn became. She wanted to get the hell away from the strange man, but she had to get Misha, first.

"Little Misha," The man stated quite plainly, looking at the girl with that that same offset smile, the paleness of his flesh barely wrinkled under the look as he placed a hand on er head, "It is time for you to go." The man added, nudging her in the back then with the same hand, though she only looked back at him in a confused manner, stumbling a few steps in Grant and Robyn's direction as the benign figure stared blandly at Grant and Robyn,
"B-but.. why? Aren't you coming..?" The girl asked, but the man simply smiled,
"Of course. I came here to destroy the town and its people, after all." He replied, grinning a little. the pale white of his teeth seemed almost unnatural, but it was evenly matched by the paleness of the girl as she stepped back a few feet then ran for Robyn and Grant.

The man however slowly raised his left hand. Something was forming there, a dark energy, the same that had been draining the woods, gathering at his palm in delicate swirling swathes that balled up into a collective dark sphere and he was aiming it right for the small terrified girl that was retreating. However before he could do anything with it, the man froze, the woods were treated suddenly to an amazing white flash, this was followed quickly by the ground rumbling below their feet.
Kazan had unleashed the full potential of the cannon. no longer a stream of hot lead but a massive white sword of light energy seemed to shrike along the ground, converting the magic Kazan fed into it into the raw magical power he had intended. It sliced along the earth tearing through soldiers and cleaving the tanks in half, even more effectively than he had imagined, the great howl and hum of magic tore through each tank that emerged as though they were mere paper targets.

"How interesting.." The man stated calmly with a grin, the energy in his hand had dissipated and he disappeared into the shadows, giving Robyn one last glance before vanishing entirely, "The fun is just beginning.."

Robyn swore her heart skipped a beat when she heard the man say he was there to destroy the town. She wasn't sure how he planned on doing so, but she didn't care. She wasn't about to let anyone destroy her town, no matter what she had to do.

Grant took Misha's hand as the girl stumbled over to them. Quickly, he checked her over, making sure she wasn't hurt. She seemed okay, just scared, and he couldn't really blame her. The other man unnerved him, especially with the unnatural magic he'd been using. The plants around them were still dying, and Grant really wanted to get out of the woods, away from the atrophy.

"We need to go," he said to Robyn when the man disappeared into the shadows. Such things unnerved him even more, and he wanted to go back to the town to help. "We need to get Misha home, and then we should see what else we can do to protect the town."

"You go," Robyn said after a moment. "Take Misha, make sure she gets home safely. I need to see what I can do to protect the town. I won't see it destroyed by someone like that."

"Robyn, that's way too dangerous," Grant protested. "Come back to town with us, and then we can go and see what we can do."

"I don't think we have that kind of time," Robyn pointed out. "And we're wasting more of it standing here arguing."

Kazan looked down at the field for a moment, having stopped firing, the ends of the two spinning barrels were smoking hot so he needed to let it cool though his attention was focused on the soldiers on the field, a great deal of bodies lay scattered on the field, but a great many more were still standing, still holding up the barricades and welding them into place. The problem with those were that they were surprisingly thick armor too, comparable to the tanks. And there were still a lot of soldiers.
A major problem for any remaining tanks now was that they were pinned behind the front lines that had been utterly demolished by the sheer destructive power of the Rozan cannon, meaning that this fight had just gotten a whole lot harder for them. All the same it didn't stop them having another advantage of their own.. Kazan was waiting for them to try blind fire. they didn't really care about the citizens here, but something was obviously gumming up the works or stopping them somehow...

He looked along the wall at the resistance members, still firing wildly at the soldiers but a lot of them were cheering as if victory was at hand, some throwing positive looks to Kazan, their armored tech-knight in shining armor.
He chanced a small smile, looking back towards the town itself. There were people in the streets looking up at them, particularly those living on the same one as Robyn and Kazan, they were looking up at him. To them, he'd become some kind of savior.. It was amusingly ironic really, and they'd probably never know why..

However, all good things..
Kazan frowned as an odd darkness spread across the sky. great clouds seeming to rush overhead, the low rumble of thunder sending a rather ominous chill through his spine as he looked to the battlefield. The sound of gunfire had strangely eased off. The resistance members were looking to the sky as well, the soldiers down below still setting up their defenses, but there was something he didn't understand as much.. They weren't advancing..

His eyes tried to focus in the greater shade, the firelight between the trees where the tanks had exploded or burst into flames was illuminating certain groups and one in particular, several soldiers around a man.. He squinted a little, as though it may help, before his eyes widened, a lick of nearby flame flashing the mans pale face with light, red eyes shining like dark rubies,
"It can't be..!" He whispered to himself, leaving the controls of the cannon and moving to the wall itself, leaning forward to stare in his direction, "What is he doing here?!"


Meanwhile out int he forest, the sound of several armored footsteps could be heard, it was the sound of soldiers, their weapons being cocked with rigorous clicks and snaps,
"The Emperor said he spotted civilians in this area!" A commander yelled, his squad confirming with a single cry of Sir!
They were closing rapidly on Robyn's position and that of Grant and Misha, who was now desperately looking about in concern,
"Big sis! We have to get out of here!" She pleaded desperately, but this was picked up by the soldiers as one yelled that he could hear a child.

Robyn jumped and tensed when she heard the sounds of the weapons being readied. She hadn't noticed the soldiers getting closer to them, and mentally cursed. She should have been paying more attention. She moved a bit closer to Grant and Misha.

"I can't pull armor apart," she said quietly to Grant. "There's nothing really technical to it, there's nothing for me to grab on to." She gaze swept over the men filtering out of the trees around them. She started to gather her magic, to try to pull the weapons apart, but someone came up behind them and grabbed Misha. Robyn spun around and tried to grab the girl's hand, but she missed and stumbled. The only reason she didn't fall was because Grant managed to grab her arm in time.

Grant was also trying to gather his magic, in an effort to buy enough time to get away and back into town, but there was no plant life for him to use. The man from earlier had killed off enough of it that there was very little left for Grant to use, and even if he could latch onto it, there wasn't enough to make a difference. He would have grown some of the seeds he kept in his made kit, but even the soil it self felt drained. It wouldn't support anything he grew.'

Robyn reached out with her magic for the weapon that the man who held Misha carried. She could see all the parts in her mind, and did what she could to tear them all apart. She didn't care if she damaged any of the parts; so long as it distracted the soldier long enough for her to get Misha back.

The soldier watched as his weapon was torn apart, but he seemed almost unfazed, practically prepared for this occurrence, having heard the stories from retreating soldiers and this information being spread he quickly reached behind himself, grabbing a combat knife from a small sheath behind his hips as other soldiers began closing on the clearing, he even got the knife close to Misha's chin before a rather an odd whistling through the wind was heard, something hurtling through the air and clobbering the soldier clear in the side of the head with a slick crunch.

It could be seen, practically hanging in the air for a moment, what looked like a hammer, simple black handle, thick steel head and the sheer force of the hit suggested some-one with a very powerful arm had tossed it, the projectile thumping into the ground and laying prone as the soldier also collapsed. Even if he survived the damage to the side of his head there was likely cranial damage, probably enough to kill him or make him suffer for a long time..
As the other soldiers came into view, having seen their point man disposed of so quickly they started looking around in confusion for what had done it.

The rattling of a chain made them all turn on their heels, hearing the sharp whistle of something else coming through the woods. A heavy steel ball attached to a chain swinging out from the shade and smashing cleanly through another mans face before it was with drawn.
They fired blindly in the direction of the chains retreat but found themselves simply tearing apart dead trees and foliage. They didn't look behind themselves for the true origin. It was Bear, and the chain was firmly grasped in his hand, sliding along the ground with the heavy ball attached to the end. They followed its trail and turned in time to watch as the hefty man rushed out into the open arms extended and cleanly clobbering two more soldiers, their bodies flipping overhead like tossed pennies, hurtling up then straight down in an almost comical crunch for both counts as Bear continued forward, punching another so hard in the chest plate that the force cracked the armor and sent him tumbling off into the shade of the trees, another surprisingly swift move saw Bear turning and planting his left boot into the gut of another man before he pulled a rather ancient looking hammer, huge thing, from his back and slammed it down upon the bent-over man, pinning him against the ground and no doubt snapping his spine in a single brutal blow.

The burly man turned to the surviving, lone soldier, who fumbled with his weapon in sheer terror as the smith whirled the hammer around. There was a splatter of blood as the head practically disintegrated under the force of the blow but he tumbled away from sight, leaving only to ones imagination the actual result of the blow, though the mass of red that stained the old warhammer was quite clear as bear rested the weapon on his shoulder. It was clear to see after a moment that the ball and chain had been attached to the hammer itself by way of the end of its handle.

The smith then looked towards Robyn and Grant with a surprising amount of fury,
"What the bleedin' hell're you doin' out here?!" He yelled the question, though he clearly did not want an answer, "Robyn lass, I can't believe ye'd be so foolish to run on out here!" He added, then looking at Grant, "An you, lad! I'd think you more responsible than this, oi! Yer mother would've gone outta her mind if she knew ye'd be doin' somethin' this stupid! Now go on! Git! Back to the city the both of ya!" He pointed in the direction they'd come from but looked at Misha quickly, "Le'this serve as a lesson to you, lass! Don't go bloody wonderin' and don' be warmin up to no strangers you dun know!"
Misha looked rather terrified as she backed away to Grant and Robyn, shaking like a leaf but she hung her head,
"I-I'm sorry, Mr Bear, sir.." She whimpered, this was a lot for the confident child to deal with so it was no surprise she was so scared.

Robyn reached down and picked up Misha when the girl bumped into her legs. It would be easier and faster to just carry the girl back to town, rather than waiting for her to run. Robyn and Grant both had longer legs and could move faster than little Misha could. Still, Robyn hesitated for a moment. She desperately wanted to explain herself to Bear, but it was clearly not the right time.

"Let's go," she said softly to Misha, turning and hurrying in the direction of the town. "I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you by now."

Grant hurried right along with them, intent on keeping an eye on them both and making sure they got to town alright. That was his intention from the start, regardless of what Bear thought. Besides... Keeping an eye on Robyn seemed to be a job in and of itself, and would help him keep his mind off of exactly why his mother wouldn't be saying anything to him about his stupid ideas.

The two rushed off towards Misha's house to drop the girl off. Once that was accomplished, they would decide what to do from there. Grant wasn't entirely sure what else they could do, but he was fairly sure something would come up.

Bear shook his head as they left, he knew he'd have to talk with them later, but for now he had to cover their escape, any more soldiers to come would have heard the commotion, not to mention Bear's yelling, which meant he'd lost his advantage, though they really hadn't expected anyone like the old blacksmith to be there at all did they? He wasn't just acrafter of weapons, weapons were his craft, if he couldn't use what he made to demonstrate them at the very least he wouldn't make half as good a blacksmith. It was a matter of principle. Years of hard work had toughened him up, years of training him had honed him into a brutally powerful old warrior.
He checked his weapons once more and worked his way into the woods, he didn't stop to look up at the quickly darkening sky, nor to register that strange, ominous feeling even in these dead woods..

Kazan had been staring across the battlefield for a while before he finally snapped out of it, the Emporer was here, what on earth could posess the Emporer to come here of all times? Even as he returned tot he cannon he found himself having difficulty focusing, spraying shots across the battlefield in plumes of dirt and grass that rocketed into the air to fill the atmosphere with debris, smoke billowing out from the machine but he felt a very fearful chill run through his spine, more so as the darkness spread across the sky and far across the horizon, blotting out much of the sunlight.
And then the rolling thunder overhead.. With so much distraction he could barely pinpoint the soldiers any more, the bulky machine-cannon was just in the way now, but he felt a gripping at his heart, something that hurting him.. It raked at his nerves, terror, fear and even hatred burning through every sinew. And he wasn't even sure it was for the Emporer as he looked about at the resistance members still lining the wall.

He watched, in almost mild amusement, as one was shot in return by the Varstradt soldiers, his head snapping back as he pirouetted back, two more shots slamming into his back and sending him hurtling off the edge, soundless. Kazan didn't even register the sound of the body hitting the ground. He heard something very different.

Rise, my loyal soldiers.. Rise!
It was like a stone around his neck as he stumbled away from the cannon towards the back edge of the wall, he stared down at the drop, shifting focus once again when another man on the wall tried to go to his aid, missing just barely as Kazan's armored form stumbled that last inch off the edge, turning once before hitting the ground below. But he didn't fall flat-out, no, unlike a limp body, he landed upon his hands and knees, body writhing, an odd black haze spreading across his flesh, seeping from the armour like liquid.

In fact this transformation had affected more than Kazan alone as many of the soldiers on the field began to exhibit this same strange metamorphosis, even those whom had fallen, their corpses defying death itself and lifting themselves up onto their feet, twitching and jerking like an undead horde, ignoring the pelting of bullets that continued to rain down on to them until the resistance stopped altogether.
After a moment Kazan finally stood, a small crowd of foolishly curious people gathering to stare at the man that was once their own neighbour. What was once skin was now darkness, an empty black that sucked the onlooker in, his hair had turned raven black and two glowing embers sat in the place of his eyes, gleaming white teeth showed in a malevolent grin as the figure slowly stood again before it let out a long, mournful howl, signalling the utter madness that had consumed his form.

Awakened at last, the true power of Varstradt's monstrous army.

It didn't take Robyn long to drop Misha off back at home with her parents safely. She didn't stick around to listen to their thanks, though. She wanted to get back to the wall to see if there was anything she could do to help out. Grant was a few steps behind her as she went. He couldn't shake this all-encompassing feeling of foreboding, although he couldn't figure out why. There didn't seem to be any immediate cause of it, as he looked around the town, but he still couldn't shake the sheer dread he felt.

He almost ran into Robyn as the young woman skidded to a sudden stop with a gasp. She was staring at the wall, and he followed her gaze. He didn't see Kazan at all on the wall, which seemed a little strange... Robyn took off again, and Grant had to work to keep up with her. She darted up the stairs to the top of the wall, and Grant followed her even as the feeling of foreboding got worse as they got closer and closer.

"Kazan!" Robyn shrieked. She was leaning over the edge of the wall, looking down in horror. Grant forced himself to look down to see what was going on, even though he was practically nauseous with dread. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the familiar armor, and the pitch-black figure wearing it.

"What--?"

"Kazan, no!" Robyn tried to go back down the wall, but Grant caught her around the waist and held her back even as she struggled to get free.

"No, you can't go down there," he said as he locked his arms around her, pinning her own arms to her sides. "Robyn, stop!"

"Let me go!"

"I won't," Grant said firmly. "You'll be killed, and then what?" Robyn stopped struggling, and stared helplessly down at what was happening on the ground.