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Thor darted off to be at Marcus's side. He would trot up and sit before Marcus and giving him that same puppy smile he had since he was a pup. He would use a paw to kind of boop Marcus in the leg. He sat wagging his tail as he looked at Marcus as if he were the only thing in the world. Even with his ferocious-looking armor, the warhound radiated lobe especially for Marcus as well as Prince Veliai and Prince Gorogoth.



Gorogoth gave Allaryon a smile "indeed. This is the first battle father and Uncle Kazarian allowed Veliai and me to go to without them."

Thierry silver armor shone as it was buffed brightly as all Rilynathian soldiers had, except Veliai and Gorogoth wore the Royal Tabard. Blue with the Rilynatian Royal Sigil on the front. The 700 soldiers with them wore only black tabards with golden trim over the silver armor.

Veliai, the more gentle of the brothers seemed to have an aire about him: he was ready for battle ready to use all the training King Zaknayrr, Marcus, Kazarian, and Seznich had given them. Truly, he was ready to test his mettle.


Make no mistake, King Zaknayrr and Seznich will get to see their years of training at work. King Zaknayrr, Kazarian, Marcus, and Seznich had taught the boys everything they know, but those four have yet to teach them everything those elite warriors know.


He remembered the Grelthic Raid where savages and evil or s had rampages across Caebryn, and they heard the tales of their father and their three uncles in a full rage, mowing down the savages, their swords had turned to deadly fans showing that they were still in charge.

Allaryon. They loved her as their favorite aunt. A quick remisence had the boys remembering the Del-Hidori apple candies she had made for them.



Both boys would, seemingly in unison, wrap their arms around her.



Over near Marcus, Thor had scooted closer to him and rested his massive head against Marcus's thigh. He had always done this, even after battles where orc blood and bone fragments still matted in the warhound's fur. Marcus was Thor's whole world. Marcus, along with Veliai, Gorogoth, and the orphans that Thor found were everything to him.

Thor would then turn and face Marcus standing alert and growling lowly followed by him dropping into a play bow. He used his front paws to stamp at Marcus as his tail wagged. Play. He sensed Marcus's tension and his best idea to de-stress him was to try and engage Marcus in a brief play session.

Thor still stared at Marcus. Inside the heart of the warhound, he started growing more and more excited. Whatever his master had in mind, Thor was ready to go along with it.

The more impassioned Marcus got, Thor seemed to whine and jump a little in response.

All it took was for Marcus to say "Caerbryn Will Burn" to make Thor howl.


He gave a deep, guttural howl which seemed to be the spark of morale that both forces under Marcus's command.. Both armies would respond with howls of their own.

Rilynathian forces also gave their battle cry:

"Theah Ducass! Theah elistus!" which meant "Unto courage! Unto victory!"

The aire in the camp shifted from the crushing uncertainty, to the atmosphere that this group was now ready to storm and conquer Hell itself just to raise flags of victory.

---

Seznich listened to Marcus relaying tactics without looking at him. He did not show any expression, but judging by the way he leaned forward in his saddle and scanned the horizon, he was indeed eager for the battle to come. In battle, he knew exactly who and what he was. There was no confusing doublespeak, no strange etiquette and uncomfortable pleasantry. He did not have the passions of the Wolf--he was as cold and calculating as his mount. Talk of tunnels finally had him turn his head to Marcus, and nod. He had known it was a possibility, and if Ferrus had indeed made it happen, Seznich was all too ready to take advantage of it.

But ahead, the way was blocked. Seznich frowned and urged Tögataar forward after Marcus towards the camp. The Knives were not expected here, and he did not like when things happened that he didn't expect, but he hid his skepticism far, far better than Marcus. The Wolf's show of petulant fury made the half-drow's face twist into an expression of irritation: lips drawn in a grimace, brow furrowed. He himself was silent during the deliverance of the news, and though he, too, had his reservations, he did not express them as violently as Marcus. Once again he was filled with the bitter, oily sensation of dislike, and perhaps even disappointment that Marcus had reacted in such a way.

"Goro, Veliai," he said to the boys as he watched the wolf angrily retreat to his tent. "In war as well as life, things will not always go your way. It is important to keep your head. Remain calm and show nothing." Marcus roared from inside his tent, and Seznich grimaced as if smelling something vile. Allaryon's soft remark about "men" made him snort--a laugh, perhaps. Whether she meant males or humans it mattered little--it worked for both. Only then did he dismount and approach her himself. "Dame Allaryon," he replied curtly, and begrudgingly permitted the kisses to his pitted cheeks. "One pebble in the road will not tip the battle-wagon, no matter what Marcus thinks. If there is another force between us and Caerbryn, we will dispatch it, and then we will being ourselves to bear against the city itself."

Now it was his turn to size up Odo, squinting in suspicion. Allaryon would not have made this decision lightly, but the idea of their passage being blocked by the living dead still seemed far fetched ... and convenient. If this was a Ruisian human proclaiming the dead walked, and not an orc, Seznich would be far less likely to listen.

"Tell me of the dead that walk, orc." He spoke no threat, thought the cold in his voice was biting nonetheless.

((WIP))

The march of the wolvenborn caused the very earth to shake. Odo felt it but a short time before anyone else did. Bodenkh was not so attentive, but as the half-orc turned to "look" in the direction of their approach, he could not help but also turn his attention toward the woodland horizon. Their footsteps felt as rhythmic clashes of thunder once they drew closer, and consequently dampened the blind hermit's ability to detect other things around him. Then came a new voice; the bold, if somewhat harsh voice of Marcus. The hermit listened to the discussion between Allaryon and the newcomer; as it went on, with the stranger showing his desire for bloodshed, Odo felt a pit in his stomach. It was evident from the spymistress's response that she did not expect this to happen either, but nonetheless the captain of the garrison clenched his teeth with rage.

Bodenkh waved his hand sharply, fixing the new soldiers with a scowl. "What's this, then? Is this lot of marauders to pass through as well?" Regardless of the new legion's intentions, the tensions between the two factions rose. A host of eyes peered down upon the gathering, as dozens of armed and armored men prepared for what might just become a bloodbath.

Odo, on the other hand, felt his attention being drawn elsewhere; he was perhaps too slow to properly respond to the general's condescending quips. Subsequently he felt relief when the man started to storm away, though he could tell that the troubles with that one would not end anytime soon. He pushed his worry away, for the moment, to address one of the strangest of the newcomers. An entity that seemed to have a thousand legs, accompanied by a large, oddly shaped head and an accent unlike any he'd heard before. Or perhaps he was on something with a thousand legs, and the "head" was simply his body...? It was hard, even with the gift from the spymatron, for the hermit to tell.

Regardless of what this being was, it addressed him quite directly, and seemed to give his word more credit than the general did. He felt it only appropriate to respond, then. "...They can be beasts or men. I do not know how many... but at least some are human. Ruisian, I assume... though I could be wrong. They walk the mountain woods, seeking the smell of blood... fresh meat." He turned his head away, a gesture intended to indicate thought. "...But the animals, you cannot trust them to be clean, not at a glance anyway." As he uttered those last words he felt a twinge of regret. How could he have been so foolish, to trust in the quality of that ornery deer? "They want to bite you. I don't think it matters what they are... if they're infected, they will bite. You'll get sick. Or you might from bad meat, but... I think it was the bite."

As the half orc spoke those last few words, he froze. Without thinking anything of it, he had let slip that he, or at least someone, was bitten by that... creature he encountered earlier. What was to say that these soldiers would not simply slay him, if not for sounding mad, then for posing a potential hazard against their foreign kind? Not that the Ruisians would treat him any more fairly...

Gorogoth heeded Seznich's words with a nod before he cast his gaze back to the makeshift map before an idea seemed to strike the twins at the same time. They had both set to work setting up a few lines of their earchers and a way that would open easily for Invictus to smash through a few lines which would open up for a quick charge.


Veliai pulled Seznich over to the makeshift map and he pointed to a specific spot. It was where he wanted to be along with the archers, and he pointed to another area where Gorogoth would lead his charge with Rilynathian forces in order to wear down both defenses and morale. It resembled an old formation that King Zaknayrr had invented, except the intent was entirely different; instead of entire destruction, it was to completely decimate morale of the enemy.

Allaryon caught Veliai's eye which made the prince grow bashful and he would hurry to the other side of Seznich and made it a point to avoid extended eye contact.