Rise from the Ashes // Guild Event

I must admit it, Colonel, you're quite a master when it comes to battle strategies.

The solemn, feminine voice filled the silent night, causing nearby animals to flee in fear. Between the tall trees stood two figures, barely noticeable in the absolute darkness, their figure indicating that one of them, was, indeed, a female, and the other one; a male. Both standing perfectly still, barely moving an inch, their arms crossed over their chest, both figures kept their eyes on the sinister, tall building standing tall at at least 50 meters from them. Surrounded by silence and death as always, the Savage Skull Guild Hall was a spectacular view. In both the good, and the bad way. Always so sinister, silent, with the unmistakeable air of death and desperation around it, the Savage Skull Guildhall was quite a masterpiece as a piece of architecture... Or it had been in its first years. Now it seemed far too old on the outside, like the castle of the bad guy from those medieval fairy tales everyone adored. The sinister look only contributed to the overall sense of dread coming from the building that pushed away unwanted visitors; but those two stood tall, fearless before the fortress of the enemy.

If you took a closer look at the two characters sitting on the hill, observing the Savage Skull fortress from afar, the details about them would soon come into view of whoever was interested in them. The female figure, or well, the woman, was short and slim, not muscular at all. Her hair was blonde, nearly platinum, skin pale, her eyes electric blue. One could easily confuse the poor girl with a teenager, one of those sloppy girls that spent hours painting her nails and talking about guys. But, once you saw the armor she wore, and the emblem of Brigadier General, there was no doubt at all, that this girl was unlike the others. The man next to her, however, was the stereotypical warrior, a killing machine. Tall, muscular, with a face covered in scars from battles, a sword in his hand, this guy was exactly the type of man we'd all imagine when we were kids and heard the mention of a Knight. It was funny, though, how the petite creature next to him, that seemed nowhere near a Knight, was his supperior, and he, the walking definition of a Knight, was simple Colonel. However, in one thing, they were similar. The expressions on their faces showed nothing more than repulsion and hate at the sight of the fortress of the enemy, seriousness erasing all emotion from their faces, except for the aforementioned ones. Those two were, without doubt, not to be laughed at.

Thank Shikamaru, Ma'am. He got all the information we needed. I'm genuinely surprised, though, that the Savage Skull leader did not notice that there was a rat in her guild all along, since the very second she got on the throne. I guess the rumors are right, the guild may be falling apart, at last. Hence why, we must act.

A small smile spread on the female's lips. To find something funny in your rival's unstability , you had to be rather twisted, although in war everything was permitted and forgiven. Yet... The Brigadier General was not the type of woman that would laugh at her rival's unstable situation. In fact, she enjoyed a battle more, when her enemies were at their best. After all, a fall hurts more if it is from high above. It would hurt someone to become nothing when he had everything, to become a mere pesant when he was the king of the world. Easy prey were no fun. I'd rather not underestimate Savage Skull, Colonel. Through the years, we have withnessed what they are capable of. Albeit they have had some crucial defeats, Savage Skull has proven to the Magic Council that when it comes to battle, they are Masters of the art of War. And their leader, the blondie... She's young. But not naïve. You've heard the stories. She's an artificial human, Colonel. A being supperior to a normal human. Do they have weak spots? We don't know. They are almost divine, that we know. And she, despite the fact that she is young, has proven that she is worthy many many times.

The Colonel could barely believe that the Brigadier General thought that a brat like Janneline Ariel could possibly defend her guild. She was clumsy, and she had been taught to be a Knight, not a Queen. Those who were taught to exceed in the battlefield often were useless in office matters, like leading a Guild. What he didn't think of, though, was that a person should not be judged by his or her education or appearance. Many thought that Harrigan would be useless on the battlefield too. He was the perfect Guild Master, he knew how to lead a guild to the perfection, and therefore nobody believed it when he caused massive bloodbaths on the battlefield. Same went for Janna. And for every Savage Skull member. Because even the members in the Guild, that appeared innocent lambs, could be the most ferocious wolves to ever exist. Never, ever should one go against a Guild full of people, that had been taught by life that if you want to survive or get what you want, you need to kill. To be merciless. People who had lost their soul, their mercy, their consciousness, way down the road. Ma'am, she's been taught to exceed in the Battlefield, not in the office. If she wasn't a master in hiding her emotions and problems, it'd be perfectly obvious that she is uncapable of leading a Guild like Savage Skull. She's more than confused now, as she went on from being a Miss Nobody to a Guild Master. We must take advantage of this confusion before she becomes the new Harrigan, and learnes how to lead the Guild. I fear that then, we may as well be doomed. Every time that Savage Skull has had a decent leader, disasters have happened through Fiore. A beastly leader combined with the insane firepower of the Savage Skull members is quite scary.

That's the problem, Colonel. She is a Knight. She knows how to hold her own on the battlefield. You know, it's funny. It's easy to learn how to lead a Guild. I admit you must have a knack for it, but as long as you learn the basics you're fine. For the most part. But... Not everyone can learn to hold his own on the battlefield. You see, a Sovereign who has been taught to deal with the political questions of his lands will not charge in battle and protect his men. Those are the cowardly kings. But... A sovereign that has spent his, or in this case, her life learning how to be a warrior, and exceed at that, will not doubt in charging in to protect her men. And there's where our problem starts. And this is why we must neutralize her first. The Colonel had no words to respond to the mini monologue that the Brigadier General had just given. With a sigh, he placed his hand on the sword, glancing behind him as if to check if someone was behind his back, trying to stab him. Call it force of habit, being on the field for too much time made you way too cautious. Although that often was what saved your poor life. The Brigadier General didn't trigger too much in noticing the impatience of the Colonel, and a small smile spread on her lips. The Colonel could be a master in battle strategy, but... He enjoyed the battle itself more. Similar to the Brigadier General. Oh well. There was nothing comparable to the thrill of the battle. Absolutely nothing.

So, why wait anymore.

A small signal, the raise of a blade, caused a tremenduous sound to resonate through the woods, scaring all wild animals that had been walking around patiently. The ever-lasting silence around Savage Skull was for once interrupted, as hundreds of Rune Knights headed towards the grand Guild Hall, willing to burn the place down once and for all. Meanwhile, the Brigadier General allowed the Colonel to follow his troops and she remained on the hill, watching the scene from afar. She wouldn't stay away for too much. She just wanted the little blondie and her pets to appear, so she could get in action.

Savage Skull wasn't a guild of dim-wits, so, as soon as the troops began marching forth towards the majestic, yet dismal fortress which served as the home of the psychopaths and sociopaths that dared oppose the idiology of the Magic Council, and desired to take over Fiore and impose their tyrany. It was time to end the war Savage Skull had declared the day they were born. End the violence with more violence. Obviously, the members of the guild would be imprisoned; the lower-ranked ones would be closed in jail and forced to spit out all of the secrets of their guild; the important ones, the aces, would be condemned to spend their lives in either a Fiorean jail, revealing all the conspirations between the dark guilds, since the more important members tended to know what was going on between the guilds. Lower ranked ones were useless in that matter, but the aces? They knew what was up, unless the Guild Master had trouble trusting people. Oh... And the Guild master. The little blonde bitch that led Savage Skull currently, was going to be executed publicly.

Watching the scene develop beneath her, the Brigadier General crossed her arms over her chest, as she watched the army divide in many groups, all of which were going to attack a certain side of the fortress, following a certain objective. Hundreds of soldiers formed the first group, which was heading right towards the entrance of the Savage Skull Guildhall, willing to attack their members and distract them from the other groups. Another group was going to surround the fortress and attempt to bring it down, reducing the defenses of the Savages significantly, leaving them without their home. And yet another group of hundreds of Rune Knights was going to enter the fortress through every possible entrance, and attempt to gather everything important; scrolls filled with Savage Skull's history, artifacts, books, pictures, anything of value was to be gathered.

The plan was perfect.

The Savages were, quite indeed, opposing themselves to the invasion. The Colonel had not thought otherwise. The absence of their guildmaster was quite evident, so that made him wonder where was she, but, at any rate, it didn't matter right now. They'd capture her sooner or later, she'd come out of her hideout to protect her soldiers in battle. And that'd be her greatest error. For now, the Colonel would have to sedate his bloodlust with the petty psychopaths that resided in the fortress before him. Mere seconds upon the troops' invasion, the members of the guild began reacting in different ways to the attack, some with surprise, others calmly, yet all of them rose and prepared for battle without hesitation. As the members slowly began pouring out all their defenses on the arena, a dark smile spreading on his lips. Hand placed on the handle of his sword, the Colonel observed his opponents with a certain air of supperiority around him, his grip tightening around the handle of the sword.

It appears that the Savage Skull members are slower than I thought. Come on, even an old lady would have reacted faster than you lot! Are those the greatest villains of our time? No wonder good always prevails! The colonel was consciously mocking them. He wanted to enrage them. Make them lose their mind and go insane... Although most of them already were. Then, glancing back towards the man that he was in charge of, the simple sight of a hundred men behind him was enough to encourage him to pronounce the following words:

For Fiore, to Battle!

And that was when all hell was unleashed.