The borders of Caladan loomed near the desolate sands of Scilla when Miaran heard Luther's chilling call for war once more. This was the blood-soaked ground where the Executioner had savagely spilled the lifeblood of the Witch, where she had cruelly plucked an eye from Morrigan, only to have her own gaze taken in return, a cruel twist of fate that still echoed in her soul. With a raw determination coursing through her veins, Miaran sent forth her own call, her voice rising above the waves of her territory, reaching out with fervor for @Haakon and @Avril, and inviting anyone brave enough to stand with their High Queen and their allies against the tide of War.

Even as her injuries throbbed and mended, the pain became a mere whisper in her mind, a reminder of her strength as she traversed the short distance from Caladan to Scilla. She caught sight of @Velasco, and with a fierce spark igniting within her, she approached him, deliberately brushing her shoulder against his, an act laced with camaraderie and urgency. "Mon homme, the red is our enemy. We shall stand with the Ecrosians. Let us seize their enemies heads and hearts," she murmured, her voice a fierce whisper that curled around his ear like a passionate flame.

But then, as if the very air had turned venomous, Morrigan arrived, tainting the atmosphere with wickedness, and a low hiss escaped Miaran’s lips as the stench of Witchcraft flooded the territory like a dark storm. Yet, before the Executioner's wrath could lay claim to more flesh, another force barreled into the Witch, disrupting her vile intentions. With a primal instinct igniting her spirit, Miaran licked her lips, her heart racing, transforming pain into fuel as she sought out an opponent. She pinned her ears back, her tail lashing with fury, and bared her fangs, ready to unleash chaos in defense of her people, her heart pounding with the wild rhythm of battle.

coded by flea + background credit

War. It is just the one which ravaged through his village – the memories of which suppressed by his own mind. Such memories which fight daily to free themselves. Lamb follows his King with uncertainty, yet he knows their expedition is one of grave importance. The Sigrún had escaped, and she was now a threat. To Amaryllis, to the world ( Or so he had been told ). He stands meekly as blood begins its spillage across the lands. His eyes gaze coldly over the battlefield, and he emerges from his shadows to stand amongst the crowd...Something is wrong. No. She is fleeing. Luther told them to keep them caged. Lamb roars at the sight, and screams: NO! His body rushes forwards, and his jaws part with an foreign sense of ferocity. He is overcome by a feeling he had not had in many years – pure bloodlust. It rises deep from within like a forgotten secret told by hushed lips, and the tears are soon to follow. Tears, from a muzzled soul. He lunges towards the red lioness with extended talons, and attempts to body her and try to sink his claws into her left flank – his jaws parted to aim for her scruff. His body awaits the sensation of warm blood with a childlike eagerness. She will not escape. Not on his watch. ( +1 Luck from Anya ) @Lamb vs. @Zahra For @Zahra's Freedom Round 0 1 2 3 Hits: Rolling 6d20: 3 + 18 + 8 + 2 + 14 + 6 Dodges: Rolling 5d20: 11 + 16 + 9 + 13 + 4 Luck: Rolling 6d20: 1 + 18 + 9 + 8 + 4 + 19

art + code by spu

+10 (Double EXP) Observe a fight (Alexander vs. Temero) (1/2)
+10 (Double EXP) Observe a fight (Zahra vs. ???) (1/2)
+20 (Double EXP) Cast a curse or blessing on a character/group (1/2)
+20 (Double EXP) Participate in a raid or war (actively fighting, healing, or helping others) (0/2?)

Things had been entirely too quiet for the Hollow, he thought. It had only been a matter of time before that changed, and Alexander's call on the wind was a sign that just that had happened. Mother watch over us. Guide us in this battle, and protect our allies, he murmured as he approached, looking down at everything that was going on. Alexander was already in the thick of it, in a tag team bout against a younger male, and there was a woman who smelled of the Mire demanding her freedom. He might have approached to aid her, but he didn't know her and since @Juliette was there, he was more occupied with approaching on her free side, sandwiching her between her family and himself so that she was protected. He certainly wouldn't be surprised if someone was foolish enough to make a move regardless, but he had the bulk to back up his silent guarding so he almost welcomed it.

art by era, code by corvus

How long has he been dead? Whatever the man might have expected from the afterlife was far from what was received. It was... indescribable, to say the least. Nothing in life could prepare him for this, especially not how the living world manages to tug one's soul back to physicality. No one had summoned him in Amaryllis yet, so this was a completely new experience to feel the call of the living. Even stranger was the fact that this call didn't come from his own blood, but @Morrigan was still a voice he wouldn't dare ignore.

Before he knew it, Dero found himself simply materializing in a strange land. The beach was present on all sides. Even if the Hodari had never actually made his way to the Lagoon before, it could not be mistaken for any other territory. Chaos was already erupting around him as lions fought and yelled at each other from different sides of what was most likely a brewing war. The setting, however, looked more like it was poised for a party. In any regard, the obsidian Guardian found the source of his appearance, spotting the monochromatic queen just as another lion seemed to be charging right at her. "Morrigan!" the dark man's voice boomed. "Watch out!" He could only hope it was enough alert to see Peregrine's assault coming. What a coward to charge the unsuspecting, and the injured at that. Dero didn't know what he could do here to help his former queen and her allies, so for now, the Guardian hung back, fully visible to the living souls around him, just waiting for some idea of how to help.

No matter her contempt at being fettered to the Mire, under the rule of a man whose grip felt so squeezing she could scarcely breathe, Ahyarë could not deny the excitement of war. She knew too few people and too little of the politics outside of Aeistrios' folly to understand what was happening. But she knew a battle summons, and knew when it was a command so severe that not attending was simply not an option Luther would allow.

Do we have to? she hears @Anniston say.

From the depths of the small, undisturbed den she rises to her feet, and settles beside her sister with a pointed frown.

We could run, she suggests with an unexpected level of seriousness, peering at her from the corner of her eye.

But she knows they can't. So she follows the Gentry to war.

---

Battle is already well underway by the time they arrive. The cacophony of war and overwhelming stench of blood does not rankle her. But there are already war more lions than she expects, and each carrying the scents of vastly different prides, alliances and bonds built over generations now being put to the test.

Her mouth purses, and she presses herself closer to Anniston—out of instinct or nerves or something else, she can't tell. But her heart is suddenly leaping in her throat, and she tells herself that this surge of adrenaline is just her wanting to fight.

She scans the battlefield, steeling herself for just a moment longer.

---

Ahyarë is open to fights!
+20 (x2) Participate in a raid or war (0/2)

There is almost a flicker of familiarity in her eyes that he reaches after, but the icy stare he's met with makes him metaphorically snatch his hand away. “You're right, I don't. But a command and a warning are two different things.” Colsun sighs, wishing there was an ounce of his childhood friend left there to save. There isn't, he can see that now. “So be it, Anya.” The lion shifts away from her, poised to leave her to her misery, when he pauses. And then he swings back to her, tiptoeing closer and lowering his voice in words meant only for her: “it took me a long time to get over the fact you weren't coming back, way back when. I thought I was over you. But seeing you at the challenge and now seeing you here? It made me realize not only did you come back, but you forgot about me. I never forgot about you. I never got over you. I loved you then and I love you now – and now that I've finally told you that, hopefully that'll change.” Colsun shrugs, glancing at the chaos he is duty bound to join. “Anyway, good luck, Anya. You'll need it.” He doesn't wish her luck. He wishes her what she deserves: to feel as forgettable and small as she has made him feel.

colsun is exiting the conversation unless stopped, will join fights next post!

ART BY SPU, CODE BY DEE, MODIFIED BY GUNNER

( OOC: Cathán is open to all fights )

This time. He does not run. He does not hide. The nagging fear within him screams and shouts, but he cannot listen to it. No...Not after...

He shudders at the remembrance of days spent in hiding – the heat of pure shame. The boy follows the Brook in with a slightly hidden diffidence, and he scans the horizon for his pride-mates. “Fuck,” is all he can muster.

His legs lock solidly in place, and he cannot run.

Fuck.

No room now to excuse his guilty conscience ( although Melusina's warning still rings heavy in his mind )

No time now to play soft.

Scorpius

 

One call after another goes up, again and again, and Scorpius cannot ignore it. He ensures the cubs stay inside the den, safe in the protection of the gorge, and that @Reverie will either come or stay with them to keep them safe - either way. There will be someone left behind to supervise them.

He arrives to a near-war already well underway -

A familiar red pelt, stark against the sand. Zahra. The girl he’d grown up with in the Oasis, now an adult and trying to flee the clutches of the Mire.

Scorpius attempts to take the big white Mire lion by surprise, trying to come up on his back end and tackle him from there. Claws attempt to grapple around his sides, and open jaws try to dig into the top of his back, over the spine, and bite down hard.

He is not here to play nicely.

(Scorpius’s sub-master ranger perk: Working in a group is second nature - +1 luck to allies when in a multi-lion fight)

@Zahra & Scorpius vs @Lamb
For Zahra's freedom
Round 1
Hits:

Rolling 10d20: 13 + 11 + 7 + 16 + 17 + 12 + 15 + 9 + 19 + 10

Dodges:

Rolling 3d20: 14 + 15 + 3

Luck:

Rolling 5d20: 4 + 20 + 19 + 14 + 12

artwork • coding

She'd known something was coming. @Miaran had told her to prepare. But she could not have predicted the sheer scale of it, and the way she could barely hear her own thoughts above the spine-curling dissonance of war.

How fitting that this was a wedding. Such affairs were far more fun bathed in the fray of soured politics.

She approaches swiftly behind her queen, trained eyes quickly surveying the battlefield. She is just small and unassuming enough to not make much of a presence, despite the commanding air Miaran and Haakon both seem to wear, a presence that demands attention and awe. But for Avril, who is far more interested in witnessing the dark underbelly of war, her unobtrusive demeanor is far more valuable.

She memorizes faces, pride scents; who is fighting who, if she can catch wind of the cursing they yowl into the wind. One thing rises above in certainty, however: This is far more than just politics. These are grudges that run dark and deep, as if carved into their very bones.

Avril takes her place beside her aunt, her doe-brown gaze watching for any possible opponent.

---

Avril is open to fights!
+20 (x2) Witness an event worthy of making history (1/2)
+20 (x2) Participate in a raid or war (0/2)
+20 (x2) Learn something about pride relations (1/2)

"Stay here." Thella paused from their training and eyed the young woman, listening as Alexander's call echoed throughout their tunnels. The Hollows had not rallied in combat in her time there, so this was certainly important if he was inserting them this time. She whipped around, leaving @Clove behind, and followed the familiar path out of the Hollow and through the labyrinth toward the Lagoon. She'd never visited the beach pride before; what better time than during a request for help.

She fell in beside @Angelo, keeping watch as fights cropped up all over. Alexander was already in the thick of it and she spotted Dmitri and Juliette together as well. Good. The last thing we need is for any of us to be caught alone.

art by moogle, code by lars