The World Trembles as War Begins

Introductions
Samarra sighs heavy as her squadron enters the courtyard of a chaotic city square. Breathing was heavy as they had made their way through waves of soldiers, fighting valiantly to make their way so close to the capital of Aeternum. The four mages halt as suddenly as if their feet were bound by ropes. Dust swirls in the late afternoon air as if they were standing in some dusty library with old books being pulled from high shelves. Samarra bends down to tug at a piece of stuffed fabric, a sight that sends her heart plummeting into the earth. She can see through the dirt the stitched in smile and pink circles for cheeks of what was a small stuffed doll that had gotten left behind in what she imagined was a family's chaotic journey for safety as the sirens of war ring throughout their ears. To see the doll in such a state turns her stomach as she thinks of the little child who must be weeping tears of fear for the loss of her one companion through this troubling time. It was this thought alone that made Samarra despise the ways of war and despise the man who brought them to this point. Without thinking Samarra strokes the hair of the doll that no doubt was once perfect and strong. It feels like a dog's hair when caked with mud, and her fingers come away covered in grime. Samarra hugs it tight to her chest before she clenches her jaw and shoves the small doll into the inner pocket of her vest.

Turning to her team she speaks calmly but calculated, "There is no doubt that civilians could still be hiding in these quarters, so we must be careful and not fire any attacks without caution. If I calculated correctly we should be approaching the city's headquarters soon and so we must be prepared for strong forces that will be guarding it. Is everyone doing ok?"

Izar's eyes fell upon the city streets filled with debris of all kinds. Clothes left abandoned, rubble from buildings caught in the crossfire, and bodies of the fallen. He was no stranger to war, not in the least, but war had changed a lot since his youth and urban warfare was far different than desert, every corner having the possibility of hiding enemies lying in wait or innocent civilians simply hiding as they await help. Hesitation meant death in the war he was used to but now hesitation was a necessity, a necessity that could cost someone their lives. His ears twitch as Samarra's voice brings him back to reality, "I'm surviving, I'll feel a lot better once this is all over with though," Izar said before biting down on a small mint leaf. His normally vibrant purple hair was stained nearly black with dirt and dust though he had no idea how long this might last as the sky was covered with thick, dark clouds that seemed to promise rain. However, this could simply be the smoke rising from the buildings around them coming together to block out the sun.

Nova's heart felt heavy seeing yet another war uprooting people's lives, but she knew it was to protect the masses overall, especially those of her country. Her once shining with armor was covered in a layer of brown with the glorious light blues now dulled to a cool gray and various patches of blood had accumulated themselves on the blades now sheathed at her waist though she had tried to use the flats as much as possible. It had been awhile since she had participated in a war of this scale and the memories it would probably burn into the lids of her eyes was not a pleasant thought, however she knew she would recover and so would these people. "I'm holding up here, though I agree I'd much rather this end soon. I'll be ready to switch to defense if necessary either for this team or the case of a stray civilian."

Swords clashed, spells exploded in the background as the sounds of war rang through the air, each sound making the soldiers on edge and on full alert. While battles raged throughout the city of Orilla, the city closest to Aeternum's capital city, and was under the charge of the Nine Elementals who was closest to the continents king, Kiryk Lochlann. There was one sound however that could be heard over the sounds of battle — the sound of thunder and lightning. To those paying attention to the sky could see that that the darkened sky was concentrating over a specific area before releasing a tremendous bolt of lightning down upon a specified location before moving to another and repeating the process several times over, each strike of lightning releasing a near deafening ringing sound that reverberated throughout the city streets, drowning out the previous sounds of battle. When the ringing finally subsided the city was oddly quite, all of the previous sounds of battle were no longer there.

In the city square the troops that were there looked around to the sky, each one breathing a sigh of relief. One of the soldiers spoke, "Hey capt'n, you know what that sound means right?"

The one addresses, a soldier clad in heavy armor adorned with gold strikes through it responded, "The generals coming..." directing his gaze upon the wizards who had invaded the city, "you guys are finished." No sooner had the soldier finished his sentence had the sky above the square darkened and a flash of blinding light erupted upon the scene, followed by the cracking of electricity and a deafening boom of thunder that rang throughout the square. As the light faded and the sight of those present returned were now turned to a man standing in the same spot the two soldiers had once stood in, having moved for the new visitor.

The soldier who had been addresses as the squadron captain approached the new man, his long golden hair swaying lightly in the putrid breeze that blew through the city square. Blue eyes that burned with quite, and currently contained rage, never left the four mages not of the continent as the blond mans serious expression never changed as he spoke, addressing the armored soldier that was now standing in front and to the side of him with his hand raised in a salute. "What's the current status?" The blond man tone was laced with both concern and anger, an odd combination.

"All of the residents have been evacuated from this sector. We were able to get them out before any major fighting broke out. There have been no reported civilian casualties as of yet. Our soldiers have also only received minor injuries; they seem to be avoiding killing our forces as they simply incapacitate them." The soldier reported. "What are your orders general?"

"Good. As for your orders, you are to rendezvous with the other squadron captains and regroup. From there you are all to splinter off and make your way through the city and eliminate the remaining forces. I've take out several of the opposition’s main forces but was unable to deal with the ones hiding. I rushed over here as they seem to be the strongest group." The blond man calmly said. "Now leave me be and get going."

"Yes sir." Doing and about face the soldier made his way to the remaining troops, "You heard the general, let’s get going while he handles it." The captain barked to his subordinates.

Never letting his attention change from the four wizards before him his gaze intensified, "I'm Kiryk Lochlann of Aeternum's Nine Elementals. I will make this as succinct as possible; I'd like to know who you are, why you're here, what you want exactly, and a reason why I shouldn't just kill you on the spot?" Kiryk's tone was sharp, razor sharp, and held within it a seriousness and conviction, enough so as to send a chill up the spines of those before him, and that told all that heard it that he meant what he had said; he would kill them on the spot if he needed.

Pristine white shoes, white jacket and vest along with a black shirt and a red tie, all unscathed and unsullied by the previous battle, though at the cost of a decent amount of magic. Her Ushanka fur hat had been lost among the masses for long now, Carwen locked her gaze to the Elemental before her, though his eyes shifted from mage to mage. Carwen stood unfazed by his words, for she was accustomed to such words, not from others, but rather that she had spoken them herself once. While mishaps out of line, Carwen could not stop herself as she stepped forward. "I am Carwen Khapree of the Guild Koma Inu, and these are my comrades. each of them can introduce themselves if they wish and if you'll be patient enough to listen. Why are we here, you ask? Well it is quite simple, isn't it and it goes hand in hand with out desires. We are here to protect Ishgar, and your own kingdom to boot should you have the common sense to hear us out." Carwen spoke calmly. She was not of the most diplomatic mind, but she hoped that her own experience with people like these could be of sufficient aid. "And why you shouldn't kill us here and now? Quite simple. Do that, and you will have killed all of your chances of peace with Ishgar."

Samarra stepped out beside Carwen, interested in the arrival of this new mage who had called himself one of the Nine Elementals. From the words she had heard Kiryk was "the Lightning King, Chief of Staff" and someone Samarra was interested in seeing. She was curious as to the versatility he had come up with for the common element they share, though the circumstances in which they were forced to meet was highly unfavorable. His harsh tone and lack of refined delicacy reminded her of the King in which interrupted their country's peace to declare what has now become a blood bath. With a hardened expression from all she has seen throughout the course of the day, Samarra speaks up loudly, "My name is Samarra Inari, Master of the guild Koma Inu and one of the leaders of the Toveri Alliance Force. We have come here in order to bring an end to your callous King's greed for power through the means of mass genocide; and have come to your land after your King has starved our continent and threatened war on our own soil should we refuse him."

Samarra's face shows no waver in the presence of the demanding Elemental, her drive to protect her comrades and the people of Ishgar standing firm. "I must disagree with Carwen however, as your King has already destroyed your country's chance at peace with Ishgar when he put a blockade on us and declared war himself; though as what I am assuming is his most trusted adviser, you knew that right?" Her eyes never left his figure as she taunted, her sense tuned into any change in ethernano levels coming form this Lightning King. "There is no reason I can give you to prevent you from attempting to kill us, for you have already lost your free will and have succumbed to being a mere puppet for the King to control. So my words will fall on the deaf ears of a pawn who has already received his orders..." She hisses out, her words filled with venom at the sight of a mage who willing serves such a heinous man as Kladenets. "But know this, Koma Inu will never go down without a fight!"

Izar stood a few feet behind the two women as we watched them speak to the man who had appeared before them. He spit out the leaf he had been chewing on, waiting for Samarra to finish before he spoke up. "Izar Tasya. I'm here because I was asked to be but we're here collectively because your king killed one thousand citizens in Fiore before declaring war on us, we kinda want justice for that ya know?" Izar said with a hardy laugh despite the situation. His laughter soon subsided and he cleared his throat before kneeling down to grab a chunk of rubble from the ground, holding it up to his eyes. "As for why you shouldn't fight us, it's quite simple. I think there has been enough senseless violence and meaningless death for one day, wouldn't you agree? You don't have to answer that, I know our opinion doesn't matter. As Lady Inari said, you have your orders. You're nothing but a puppet, you hold the scissors in your hands but yet you refuse to cut the strings for reasons only you could ever possibly hope to understand. That being said, if you do somehow kill us I ask that you take my advice to heart. Kill that king of yours while you still can, there's an old saying about how fools with too much power driven into corners having a tendency to take everyone else down with them. I can't remember the exact quote at the moment but surely you understand what I'm trying to say."