It's another beautiful day for Sasha, hunter extraordinaire. She walks through the pleasant meadow back to the Sanctuary without a kill, a rare occasion indeed.
The Sanctuary is a place of safety for women and children away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
It sits on one of the main thoroughfares, a place of respite for the weary traveler. Madeline operates a small roadside shop while Marybeth waits for Sasha to bring her something to cook.
Natalia busies herself cleaning while Jordyn works on a new security wall. Annabelle, the master of the outfit, watches everyone move to and fro.
Henrietta washes dishes in the creek while Garrett rushes to help her.
Catherine catches a fish as the nearby blacksmith, Andrus, enjoys the cool morning in the distance.
A weary traveler makes his way to the Sanctuary.
The calm morning is broken by the trudging of heavy feet. "Ahhh," Rowan sighs, before he turns around.
"To arms, men!" he cries out, "Loot and pillage anything you can find!"
"Not so fast!" called Artor, "your days of violence end today!"
"All that stands between these peaceful women and are ancient foe is us!" he says over the battle cries of his men.
"I suppose we are undermanned here," a man says.
"SIKE!" Stevyn calls out from his dragon.
"Death to the enemy!"
"Stevyn! Friend!" Artor's voice carries across the field, "Together we will make quick work of this Aethannian foe!"
"Oh, Artor," Stevyn said softly, "Haven't you heard? The world is rebuilt and old alliances crumble to dust. Liossa is the punching bag of the world no more!"
The women arm themselves, sharp blades clanging to life.
"Excuse me," Xenophon interjects, "you are forgetting someone."
The Greks march into view, "Secure this foothold, men," Xenophon says slowly, "We must hold this ground for the rest of the army."
The battle begins
Sasha looses an arrow, barely parried by an Aethannian shield.
The other women form up, unsure who is their enemy.
The Aethannian's waste no time, sprinting into action.
Sasha is skewered, the first casualty of the battle.
The blacksmith arms himself with one of his creations.
The Vasli split up, moving to support the sisters of the Sanctuary on both fronts.
Stevyn dives, spear bloodied on the closest foe.
Response fire from the crossbows wounds his beast as it climbs back into the sky.
Meanwhile, the spears advance, a javelin readied to throw.
Both men fail to kill their targets.
The crossbows, however, bring down Madeline.
This greatly upsets Marybeth.
Grek spears and bows march towards the fight.
The battle has begun in earnest.
The woman close with the Liossans with fury.
Jordyn's hammers bring down a spearman.
Marybeth gouges a crossbowman to death.
The bridge is covered by Catherine and Henrietta.
The traveler wasn't fast enough.
Bloody axes shake from clenched fists and insults hurtle into the air.
They make their way onto the bridge.
Rowan gazes into the teeth of the advancing Greks, thinking he has an opening.
They charge, but the Greks are disciplined.
Right before the fatal moment, well placed arrows bring down Xenophon.
The Greks miss badly and the lines collide. Grek armor holds strong.
Crossbow bolts miss as infantry advances toward the line of women and Liossans.
"Fear not! We are here to rescue you from many perils!" Artor says to Catherine.
"Take your sword somewhere else!" she says in defiance, "We can protect our own!"
Stevyn brings his spear down again, cutting a man to pieces.
He lands, dragon's teeth opening with fury. The fire from his throat fails to expel.
Annabelle dies to a grisly spear wound as the last crossbow retreats, his bolt sailing wide.
The Greks make space and bring their long spears down into place.
Two men fall to the dust.
The archers spin into place but their arrows miss their marks.
Andrus strikes from behind, killing an archer.
So the battle continues.
Marybeth strikes with two blades but the bowman miraculously parries her with his crossbow.
Hammers and a broom swing into action, claiming his life with bloody bristles.
The women wait for nothing, throwing themselves into a fight.
The man dies, tossed from the bridge by a fish.
As Andrus engages the second archer in futility as Rowan and his last axe safely disengage and sprint to their allies.
The archers follow close behind after missed shots.
Vasli crossbows miss the dragon.
The infantry gangs up on the dragon, swords ringing in the air.
It screams and dies, tossing Stevyn from his back.
Marybeth successfully counters her way to revenge.
"You're late," Jordyn says simply.
Stevyn prepares to make his stand, spear broken into a sword.
Andrus and the archers continue their stalemate.
The spears march forward, slow and steady.
The battle wages on, blood soaking into the grass.
Henrietta and Catherine breathe their last amidst furious axes.
The other women move toward the bridge, now lost to the enemy.
The Aethannians hold it in strength, led by Rowan and his loud voice.
The women hold their position, strengthened by soldiers.
Stevyn's stand has begun.
His armor holds and his blade bites deep.
His shield stops bolts singing with malevolence and his sword searches for blood.
He reaches the bowmen with haste.
He kills the first and readies himself for the second.
The archers fall to the Andrus' spear.
The battle rages on, men dead and dying.
Stevyn slays another man.
He's engaged by two, backpedaling with shield high.
He falls, wounded deep and weapons lost. "Do it..." he croaks.
Artor stands above him, heavy sword balanced in his hand.
And so Stevyn dies. "Godspeed, dragon rider," Artor whispers.
The three sides square off, daring the others to move first.
"Give them nothing!" Rowan calls, "Let them come to us!"
The battle nears its conclusion.
An archer struggles to hold his bow, sweat and fear taking their toll.
He falters and the arrow flies true, Natalia's life bleeding onto the earth.
The outside closes in with a roar.
Jordyn tackles a man off the bridge, hammers flying with fury.
As Jordyn kills her foe, an Aethannian slays his target. Madeline and another soldier fill the breach.
The Aethannians have no answer for the long Grek spears and the rear guard dies together.
Pulling out their swords, two Greks advance onto the bridge.
Artor climbs his way onto the bridge, bloody sword aloft and deadly.
Rowan rams Artor to push him off his bridge.
Artor pulls Rowan with him and they tumble down together, weapons and shields falling away.
They hastily retrieve their weapons. "You and me!" Rowan cries.
The Aethannians are cleared from the bridge and the two sides size one another up.
Andres has no answer for the long spears.
Artor signals his men away and readies himself for the fight to come.
They fly around one another, axe and spear locked in a deadly dance.
But Rowan gets the last word, his axe biting deep and bringing Artor down.
He tries to flee his enemy, hell bent on revenge, but his sprint comes up short.
He makes his move.
Rowan's last stand ends, the last Aethannian on the field.
The stalemate lengthens as the field grows quiet. "We have an offer for you..." the Grek says.
The Greks watch their side of the creek with thick armor and long spears. Drums beat in the distance as men and material march to the new front. The Greks have their foothold for their invasion.
Marybeth consoles Jordyn as Garrett stands idly. Their are the last of their Sanctuary.
A Vasli swordsman looks back to his officer, now the highest ranking man alive. "What will we do now?" he asks.
The officer doesn't know.
And so the battle ends with an uneasy truce between a new invasion force and a vastly undermanned guard.
