Alitia: Hellfire and Blizzard

V: Unbalanced

The walk out of the castle took bitterly long, but Aithne did not let the distortion of her mind hold her back. Elcynder and Isleif flanked her on either side, and Markos trailed behind them, fighting to keep pace with the rest of his family. Aithne would have preferred it if he had stayed in the castle, but she already knew he wasn't going to listen to her if she told him to not come and fight. Markos was recovering from the years of possession he had spent under Dolores and Anansi's grip, but he couldn't seem to sit still long enough to actually let his wounds heal. Aithne couldn't help but sympathize even though she wished she could have kept him safe for a little while longer... Not that any of them would be safe for long if Pyre had its way with them. 

Aithne couldn't quite tell if she was expecting to see Brynn on the other side of the battlefield or not. Either outcome would have been bad. Aithne didn't know if she would be ready to face her in combat... Though she doubted any of them would ever truly be ready to fight Brynn. Aithne had heard legends of the queen of Pyre's skill on the battlefield, and she didn't want to face it any sooner than she needed to. She would do what she had to in order to defend Etruna, and Aithne would never dare to regret what she needed to do, but she still feared what she would see at the end of this path. 

Aithne came to a stop not far from the castle, her eyes locked on the horizon. She could see the army of Pyre marching ever closer, but there didn't seem to be any one leader responsible for the charge. In other words, there was a chance that Brynn wasn't there. Perhaps Aithne was letting her hopes get too high by relying on that as the truth, but she was willing to take it. 

"I suppose our mystery queen has chosen to hold back for the time being," Isleif hummed under his breath. He was scanning the enemy forces for any signs of Brynn too, but each time, his eyes came up short. "Maybe she's waiting for a better time to show herself... Like if her army isn't able to claim the planet in one fell swoop today."

"We can take advantage of that," Elcynder pointed out. "As long as she's not here, we can find a way to win this battle. I wouldn't let her win even if she was here, but if she's gone, then we'll have a much easier time of it." She summoned a small fireball to her hand, and Isleif did the same with a churning orb of ice. 

"Please be careful," Markos pleaded, his voice tripping over itself with each word. "I don't want anything to happen to any of you. Our family has been through more than enough, and... I don't think I would be able to stand it if I lost any of you."

"There's nothing for you to worry about," Elcynder assured him with a smile, but Aithne could tell by the darkness in her daughter's eyes that she didn't believe it. They were all terrified, and no amount of quiet reassurances could quite save them from what was coming for them next. At least they were doing all they could to face it. Surely that had to count for something... Even if it wouldn't save them from the wrath of Pyre in the end. 

"Etruna!" 

A sharp voice echoed from the other side of the battlefield, and Aithne looked up to see a man had stepped away from the rest of the crowd. She cast him a frown but said nothing. The man was doing his best to seem bold, but Aithne could tell by the way he spoke that he lacked the natural experience on the battlefield that other soldiers touted. Brynn truly thought she could send out her weakest, cockiest soldiers and still win the battle. Aithne was impressed by her overconfidence if nothing else, but she wasn't going to admit it as long as it could come back to ruin her. 

"We come in the name of the queen of Pyre!" the man went on. "You have one chance to surrender before we attack! You will not like to meet us in combat! I would ask that you back down now!" Around him, all of the mages lining the army flared small orbs of fire, but none of them released the attack just yet. The threat was palpable but pathetic coming from someone who so clearly had no idea what they were doing on the battlefield.