Sword and Snow

Emery was already tired, and nothing had happened yet. Not really, at least.

After seeing the enemy Cultivators begin to crest the horizon on approach, some of the nervousness seemed to dissipate. She had been worried about what was coming for days, but now that it was here and the enemy was just about at the gates, the anxiety was just gone and jittery anticipation was in its place.

Afterall, at this point there was nothing left but to just do it.

Even with the enemy in view of the walls now, it still took a fair bit of time for them to make their final approach. She had even let her connection to Avuri drop again because it would take so long for them to arrive. Guards and Cultivators that had been patrolling the city or getting last minute errands and tasks done had begun to show up in force on the wall. The turnout was more impressive than the small wandering groups earlier had suggested, and that made Emery feel better, even if they wouldn’t make nearly as much difference as her ‘friends’.

She kept to the side of the wall, out of the way, as much as possible. For now Emery was determined to keep as low a profile as possible. She didn’t want to stick out and risk anything happening that was unplanned for. She needed to be up here, front and center, as soon as the enemy was within a decent range for her performance. If something as inconsequential as bumping into someone caused a scene, everything could go up in flames.

So she leaned up against the wall of one of the guard stations on the battlements while looking out over what would eventually be the battlefield to keep an eye on the approaching force.

The intel that Ieji had relayed tipped them off that the enemy’s plan was to essentially scare them into surrendering without a fight through a show of force and superior numbers. How the Deposits’ leaders had gotten it in their heads that Flowing Dragon City was a weak target was still unknown to them, but it didn’t matter at the moment - they needed to fend off this attack before worrying about whatever nonsense may be happening in the Deposits.

As she watched the approaching army, it appeared as though they were already putting their plan into motion. They were still a ways out from reaching what would be some sort of engagement distance, but there were already Qi techniques lighting up the sky.

The group was throwing everything from huge jets of fire and ice to flying weapons and waves of dirt into the sky. Earth and metal techniques were clearly the most common, with flying weapons zipping around the air in complex patterns being the most common sight. Every so often, there would be a huge explosion of earth erupting to one side or the other of the massive marching group, likely caused by a group of Cultivators. Or at least one of their Heavenly Realm leaders.

The sight was impressive enough, and certainly meant to intimidate the defenders, not that it appeared to have any real effect on anyone that Emery could see. The Cultivators gathered nearby on the wall were pointing and enjoying the show far more than looking worried by it.

The mortal guards looked a bit more nervous, but even they knew what they were getting into by signing up to guard a city like this. Most were watching seriously, mentally preparing for the upcoming battle. They weren’t very likely to actually be deployed into the Cultivator portion of the battle anyway, and were more likely to be held back to deal with any potential siege engines, and they knew it.

Besides, no self respecting Cultivator would actively fight a mortal like that. It’d be so beyond dishonorable to strike a mortal with Cultivator strength that they’d likely be ostracized for it.

For now, Emery merely enjoyed the show while trying to keep a lid on her jitters. A fight was one thing, but whatever it was that she was about to do was a totally new experience for her. Nominally, at least. She planned on channeling the same sort of playfulness that went into playing with her kids when they wanted to play-fight. She was usually the bad guy that they all teamed up on, but today she got to be the singular hero. That should be fun.

And she kept telling herself that to keep calm. Right up until the enemy was within a reasonable distance for the whole fiasco to begin.

As the enemy began to form up into stricter lines, techniques still flying wildly, Emery stepped up the edge of the battlements. She slowly worked her way toward the center of the wall directly above the gate that the enemy was facing. She dipped and weaved between people with as little actual interaction as she could manage.

Emery did eventually make it to the center above the gate, still clad in her large cloak. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself as she felt the Cultivators near her on the wall begin to unleash their Qi to match the invaders. The air immediately became a chaotic mess of Qi of all kinds, even without actual techniques flying about.

As she let out her final deep breath, she reached out for Avuri. Even amongst the absolute chaos, finding Avuri’s mass of Qi was as easy as blinking. They were basically one in the same, after all. It was like grasping her own two hands right in front of her.

In the instant their Domains touched, they simply ceased to be separate. One singular Domain emerged, larger than both of their individual ones. Not that the coverage was particularly useful when there were so many Cultivators around - almost the entire space was taken up with Domains vying for control.

Many Domains were halted mere inches away from the Cultivator’s body. Most managed to stretch out to a meter or so, where they fluctuated against other nearby Domains. Only a few seemed to spread out to cover a larger area, filling in the gaps between the huge masses of people.

Emery and Avuri made an effort to not gather too much attention. The link of Domain between them was kept thin, while Emery’s body held the lion’s share of their power for the moment.

And then four figures drifted out of the enemy lines. They were similarly cloaked like Emery, but gave off powerful Domains, overwhelming everyone near them; they were clearly some of the enemy’s Heavenly Realm leaders. They moved forward as a unit to lead the enemy before three stopped, allowing one to take the final lead.

The leader gathered a large chunk of earth below their feet, and it slowly raised them into the air. Not too far, but far enough to clearly demand the attention of those around. A moment passed before they spun up a simple Qi technique that was commonly used to amplify one’s voice.

“I’m going to make this brief.”

The masculine voice boomed loudly over the city, likely able to be heard anywhere within it. “Given you have your walls defended and an army of your own formed, you already know why we’re here.”

The man spread his arms wide. “We would like to take your city. If you surrender now, peacefully, no harm will come to anyone. Open the gates, let us in, and respect your new leaders.”

He paused then. Whether it was to see if they would be welcomed immediately or just for effect was anyone’s guess. “If you don’t show some sign of surrender in the next hour, we will strike. Don’t be foolish. You are outnumbered and outclassed. Do not destroy your city to save face.”

There was another moment of silence before the man appeared to decide he had said enough. The dirt he floated on descended back to the ground and he turned to walk back to their army. He fell in line with his three fellows, and they strolled back into the formation, heralded by more and more techniques.

“Ask if I should just go ahead. Or do I wait for the hour?” Emery sent to Avuri.

“Just a moment.” Was the initial response. Emery shifted her weight from foot to foot as she stared out at the enemy’s army while waiting for Avuri to presumably check with Vyne, and whichever other Elders were still in the garrison.

“Eiry says to go for it. They’re all standing by. Vale says ‘break a leg’. I say break two.”

Emery responded with a sarcastic, “Thanks.”

She felt emotions akin to a warm hug pass through their link, as Avuri sent her silent support, followed by a less silent, “You’ve got this.”

Emery took a deep breath, and settled into the heroic persona she was planning to employ. She closed her eyes, focused, then ripped off her cloak in a big, showy flourish and immediately hopped up onto the battlements.

The Cultivators and guards around her all went silent, staring at her back. The enemy Cultivators slowly noticed her as well, a few dropping their techniques from the sky.

Emery gathered Qi to use a voice amplification technique, similar to the one that the Deposits’ leader had used. Now she just prayed that she wouldn’t say anything that would get her in trouble with the Elders.

“You said we have an hour, right?” She yelled over the din of the two opposing sides. “That’s great!” She laughed. “We’ve had time to observe your strength during your approach. Now you can take the time to observe ours!”

With that, she spread her arms wide in a grand display that secretly doubled as showing off her armor, and took a step off the battlements.

In the instant that her foot would fall past the height of the wall, her sword appeared beneath it. It was the same weapon that she had picked with Avuri, though recolored to match her armor more fully. The handle was crafted to look like it was carved from jade, though a slightly darker than normal variant to match the green scales she had received from Vyne. The handle and blade were both accented with smaller splashes of color to match the others as well, with the blade having been dyed predominantly black to match most of her armor.

She gracefully stepped onto the flat of the blade, and once both her feet were planted, she slowly rose up and out from the wall. “I see no reason to hide our strength when you show yours so proudly.” She declared, voice still carrying over the whole field.

“You have the honor of facing down Nyr on the battlefield!” She shouted, hoping that Vale wouldn’t miss her choice of name. “Now, come to me, my friends! Let us all take them on together!”

Cheers erupted behind her through the guards and Cultivators on the wall - which was entirely unexpected. She definitely didn’t know any of them, and certainly none of them knew ‘Nyr’, given that was the first time she ever said the name. But those cheers were very shortly drowned out by a booming, vicious roar emanating from the Peaks.

Everything immediately went dead silent in confusion. Emery could feel laughter coming from Avuri through their link as another, slightly different roar echoed out over the field.

“If you still choose to attack, make peace with yourselves, friends. You will not live to tell this tale.”

Her voice echoed in the relative stillness before it was shattered once again by a third roar. And then a fourth, fifth, and sixth. Each noticeably different from the last.

And then, finally, she could feel the dragons’ approach. They didn’t hide themselves whatsoever as they descended from the clouds. All six spiraled down in formation to land about as ‘gently’ as they could on the walls.

Guards and Cultivators alike moved out of the way for them quickly, trying to avoid any potential harm. And despite trying to be ‘gentle’, the massive dragon bodies still left huge gashes and cracks on the walls where they landed basically from their weight alone.

Emery was pretty sure they were fully capable of actually landing gently enough to cause no damage, but the spectacle would be worth more than the damage. And it certainly had the intended effect.

Emery watched from atop her sword as faces among the enemy went pale. A few turned and ran, but not as many as she would have hoped for. Most were too stunned and speechless to act, just staring blankly at the six different colored dragons that were now glaring down at them.

“We won’t strike first.” Emery declared, trying to sound heroic and virtuous, rather than haughty. “What happens here today is still up to you. You came baring your teeth. Now take a look at the teeth bared at you.”

Perfectly on cue, Eiry let out a massive roar that shook the walls of the city. And, in what Emery thought was an uncharacteristically childish move, decided to lean her massive body down toward the enemy army and snorted on them derisively, blowing out a plume of hot air.

Avuri must have been watching somehow, because Emery felt Avuri laugh through their link. “I think she’s a bit…vindictive.”