TheOmphalosArdenWarSB: Aura/Brieanne/Ederyn: The Omphalos-Arden War(Continued from A Meeting of the Faiellans and Roaming Shadow) "Why him specifically and where was Prince Julian taken?" Carl and Noys turn their heads at a word from the Rangers. The latter storms over with long strides, Noys hurrying to catch up. In the meantime, Ederyn and the Weir arrive. from their business to join the scene as well. "He is considered a primary target to be neutralized for a successful siege of the Kingdom of Amber of course." Tersa replies. "He does command the second largest land force Amber has on hand..." She then stops speaking, looking at the arrival of someone behind everyone. Aura looks vaguely amused. "And you think a couple of land forces that reside in Amber is all they have?" She continues staring at the mage expectantly. "Our doctrine is to neuter any superiority military forces, since shorn of your reality bending powers, our esoteric abilities are superior to yours." the Mage replies. Ederyn gives the magically-held prisoner a sardonic glance. Aura allows herself a look of supreme amusement as she glances at the mages she had cut down and then back at the one trapped under glass. Passing through the prism, Brieanne was silent, focused to the point of exclusion. Her gaze slashed left across the scene, taking in the faces, the uniforms, the charred remains of her home. Her head swiveled, gaze sharp and measuring as she surveyed everything to her right. Her father should be here. There was no where else, in this moment, that he belonged. The wrongness of that pounded at her temples and she turned all her concentration to locating him. There is no sign for Brieanne of Julian, but his name is upon the wind, as Noys, Carl, and some strangers stand around a clear hemisphere with someone, an Omphalos mage, trapped inside. "Brieanne!" Noys turns around at the ball of action that was his cousin. "Julian's daughter" Noys explains to Aura and Ederyn. Noys then looks at Tersa. "You may *want* to stay in that hemisphere, now." Aura glances behind her briefly but the scene doesn't concern her at the moment. "Tersa is *mine*. They have no say in how I deal with her." "Legally, you're right, of course, but you're going to get an argument about that." Noys replies. Aura waves a hand dismissively. Behind Brieanne, a trump gate is forming, casting its rainbow light across a swath of the clearing. A moment later, Carl is striding across the clearing toward Brieanne at a run. "You're all right!" he cries aloud to her, in an uncharacteristic burst of emotion, seemingly ready to scoop her up in his arms as he reaches her. "They've got Father." "Where is he?" Aura repeats her query to her prisoner. "And what condition is he likely to be in?" "Killing the lord of Arden would be counterproductive." she replies. "He will have already been brought home to Capital. Beyond the reach of your Pattern." "You've never met Princess Fiona" Nick counters with a snicker. "Or her son, or her new favorite pupil." Aura scoffs and studies her nails. In quiet counterpoint, Ederyn says to Noys, "I found a third door - in Rebma, I think." He pauses for an instant, half an eye on the new-to-him Trump activity, then adds carefully, "Noys, are you sure these are the same destroyers of worlds that you spoke of before?" "Positive." Noys says to Ederyn. "Capital was the name of their world-spanning city, according to Triton, Brandeigh and the others who made a sortie there.Why do you ask?" "This action," he says, gesturing at the clearing. "There is all this forest for hiding in, but they put their Door here, where it will be seen. They set fires, which will be seen. So, we come and stop them. It is clumsy. Stupid." Another thought occurs to him at this point: "*If* this is all of their attack. Perhaps it is to distract, as well as to take one of our leaders." "If they've attacked Rebma." Noys adds in a more concerned tone to Ederyn. "They may not have the forces to deal with the invasion like we did." "Ah!" Ederyn says, momentarily distracted. "The Door in the hills is gone." "Lorius" Noys says. "Good." "Not for long." Brieanne allowed Carl a brief hug, but she was restless, all the energy and emotions barely held in check. She didn't have a focal point so she paced in a zig zag, her attention ricoheting from the burnt house, to the door and then around the clearing. There was no mistaking her fury, and her expression when she locked gazes with the Omphalos mage was murderous, but the mage would die soon enough. "Lorius" Noys says, her vision going a little unfocused. She steps back from Ederyn as a rainbow light starts to shine.She produces the red haired son of Fiona next to her. Simultaneously, the rainbow light behind Brieanne turns out to produce two men, horses, and hounds. The latter lope toward Brieanne. "That's Hadrian. I don't know the pale skinned man." Noys says to Ederyn and Aura and Lorius. "I know who Glacier boy is." Lorius grins. "If I didn't think it unlikely, I'd say the other fellow was some sort of fae. One of the Sidhe Lunae, maybe." "It's Galen Miriamson" Noys corrects herself. "A Moonrider of Ghenesh." "You were really going to pretend you didn't know him because he's a Moonrider?" Lorius says. "Maybe Asteria could pull that ploy off, Noys. Keep practicing, though." Lorius then jerks his head to Aura and indicates Tersa "I see you got yourself a pet." "Shall we see about this Door, now?" he adds to Aura. “Yes,” Aura nods. “It is actually rather impressive. Pity we won’t have time for an indepth study. But I do see it needs to go.” It seemed to be a crystallizing moment [for Brieanne] "Carl... you need your sword. Get those ready." She gestured to handful of Rangers. "Chreale." She indicated one of the Rangers, tilting her head to summon him to her as she took the quiver from her back and withdrew two very specific arrows to hand her fellow archer. "If you see someone who looks like a mage, who isn't one of us, shoot them. If she moves, shoot her too." She indicated the prisoner. "Troem, hammer ready, if they've chained father, you only have time to smash and run." Brieanne was all but barking orders, her voice tight, each command tailored to be understood explicitly by men she had known her whole life. Men she had already fought beside. "Noys." Her voice cut through conversations, and when her cousin turned, Brieanne held her bow out to indicate that she should take it, and then placed it on the ground, unwilling to wait even the moments it would take for Noys to reach her. Noys motions for Ederyn to follow her. She reaches to pick up the bow. He tags along, wondering what will happen next, the Weir pacing with him. "Brieanne, what are you doing?" Noys says. One of the Rangers glares at Noys, Carl is standing right next to Brieanne. "She needs to concentrate." he says sharply. She blew out a breath, briefly closed her eyes with a worried, pained expression, and then she was silent, chin near her chest as she focused on someone very far away. She did not open her eyes when Hadrian, Galen and the hounds arrived. She made no effort to explain herself. All of her concentration was on the task at hand. The rent in time and space that opens is a trump gate, and it isn't. A rent, like a trump except in shades of crimson and red, almost opens within Brieanne itself. What lies through is not visible but that doesn't stop Carl. He rushes through the rift blind, the two Rangers following behind him. Brieanne starts collapsing and the rift wavers, but Hadrian is at Brieanne in an instant and props her up. (Continued in The Omphalos Arden War Aura and The Omphalos Arden War Ederyn) |
