Civil War (M/M)

[Calypso now known as Lali]

Okay. I can't keep away from this any longer. Too tempted.

Right. This is in a medieval fantasy world, though there's less of the fantasy in this part. My idea is this:

There is currently a war going on. (Isn't there always, in medieval fantasy? Ehem.) A large city is under seige. The city is built for defence, and will probably hold out for a year or more as long as nothing drastic happens to change things. It is home to a College for the training of mages - this College is corrupt and weakened by years of greed and depravity. It had got to the point where potential mages were turned away unless they could pay ridiculously expensive fees.

This corruption eventually, of course, led to rebellion and civil war. The mages of the City are powerless against those in the army, and likewise in return, making this a traditional battle of brute force and steel rather than magic, which in turn makes the seige all the more likely to last.

Many of the soldiers fighting for the City are mercenaries, as well as trained fighters and untrained commoners. Those on the rebellion's side are generally those who believe in their cause, and so the difference in promised pay (for those who survive to the end) is noticeable, though not staggering.

In the initial battle (which has literally just finished, as in in the last few minutes or so) the city sent out cavalry troops to try and buy enough time for the last few desperate country folk to flee inside the walls. They managed that, but the gates were closed and the cavalry massacred. However, the army advancing on the city is mostly infantry, and they also took heavy losses. They are currently retreating beyond catapult range to set up camp and prepare themselves for a long, drawn out campaign.


Now that's the general overview, here are the specifics:

Retreating, one of the rebellion's soldiers sees another man struggling to drag himself away from a pile of corpses. The man is wounded - a few deep cuts, bruises, grazes. A broken leg.

Naturally, the soldier assumes he's one of theirs, and rushes to help him. But he's from the City.


That's as much as I'll say specifically, because I don't want to force you to follow anything else too closely. But there we go. I'm happy playing either, so I'll leave it up to you to choose who - rebellion or city soldier?

Anyone interested?

[Lali]

"Fall back out of catapult range, they're finished!"

Attori Delan had already realised that by the time the order was shouted. He sheathed his sword on the second attempt, the blade slippery with blood and his hands shaking too much to make a good job of the movement.

Gods, he hated close combat. Everything was so damned personal. You saw the faces of the men you killed, and exactly what happened when the sword you held went through flesh and bone. You heard the screams of the dying, and the mad howls of the living - worst of all, the laughter of the ones who enjoyed this.

That was why he was an archer. He stayed back further, did his part, and the guilt was lessened somehow by not having seen the terror in his enemies' eyes. Call him a coward if you wanted, but that wasn't quite it. He stayed back less for physical safety than for mental security. Warfare sickened him, and if he had to do this day after day, it would destroy him.

He'd already killed three men today. No, four. He shuddered, but looked around the battlefield. There were bodies all over the place. It looked like they'd taken as bad a beating as they'd dealt out. The survivors were retreating now, the wounded being helped or carried while the battle-hungry rapidly checked through the nearest corpses to be sure they were dead.

Attori turned away, and started walking, following the movement back towards their chosen campsite. He was near the back of the forces, delayed by his thoughts.

That was when he saw the other man. It was the movement that made him turn his head - that sharp stretching out that could only be made by the living. A hand clutching at the empty ground, struggling to pull himself away from others who were certainly dead. No-one else seemed to notice him, trying to crawl with one arm bleeding, one leg useless, and the other leg caught under the corpses. Blood was running down the side of his face as he raised his head and stared at the backs of the retreating forces.

Attori was by his side before he could think about it, pulling his leg free and hauling him to his feet, supporting him with an arm around his waist and urging him to move, the catapults would be firing soon! He hurried the wounded man along after the rest of the army, ignoring his hair falling into his eyes and disregarding his own cuts and grazes.

He wondered briefly what he'd looked like to the other man, knowing that he was built too slightly to look like a soldier, wearing archer's gear rather than armour - brown as his hair and eyes - and incongruously covered with someone else's blood. But the thought passed quickly, replaced by worry about getting them back to camp. Would the hospital tents be set up by now? Probably not enough to deal with all the wounded he could see ahead of them.

With a grunt of effort - his comrade was heavy, after all - he tried to speed up a little, then said hoarsely, "Sorry if this hurts. Have to get back to camp."


OOC: There, an IC intro. ^_^ Anyone willing to play the poor wounded city soldier?

[Mac]

OOC:|| I'd be happy to play the city soldier role, but I'll wait another day or two to see if Alec gets back.

[Lali]

OOC Yokeydokey. ^_^ Glad to know someone's interested. Heehee.

[Mac]

He was about to give in to his fate; the rebel forces were the only ones gathering their living and injured for it seemed the City had shut out its elite horsemen. As the adrenaline continued to pumped through his veins he pulled himself from underneath the pile of dead. He was almost free, but what then? Only to be struck down by an arrow, or worse squashed by a catapulted rock.

As his fingers dug into the dirt he realized how lucky he was to be alive. He was Brenan Giori, a once trainer of horses for jousts and knights but now just another dying soul. Or was he dying? It seemed someone was helping him, lifting him from his massacared friends. He was blinded by pain so gladly accepted the help. The savior spoke, but Brenan heard only a garble of accents through the pounding of his gracious heart.

[Lali]

OOC Sorry this took so long. I'm sure you know by now that I tend to do that... Anywho, I have a semi-legitimate excuse for not having been online long enough at a time to post anything. Exams. Joy.



IC The lack of response from the wounded man concerned Attori, but he was in too much of a hurry to get them off the battlefield to worry about much more than moving as fast as he could while half-carrying someone else. They were already well behind the rest of the rebellion's troops, though the camp should be near enough that they wouldn't fall back too far.

He remembered hearing somewhere that the ropemages, healers and so on and so on had stayed back to set up camp, expecting the army to face no great opposition that would require their full force. Hopefully the hospital tents would be up and ready.

Drawing nearer, he helped the wounded soldier through the thin line of trees that marked the edge of the plain in front of the City, and heralded the start of more fertile ground. The camp wasn't much further - a forest of tents stretched out across the grassland, curving around the treeline and the denser forest behind. It was a flurry of activity as well, and half of the tents were leaning crazily, evidently abandoned halfway through being put up in order to deal with the sudden return of the battered army.

Attori hesitated as they reached the edge of the camp, unsure which way to turn, or where to go. After a moment of deliberation, he moved onwards, helping his companion move. They were a bit further in among the tents when Attori spotted someone he knew.

"Ashan!" he called, and the other stopped, blue eyes registering first annoyance, then recognition, then confusion as Attori and the man he'd saved limped closer.

"Who's your friend?" he asked, but Attori cut him off, saying quickly, "Doesn't matter - he's hurt. Where are the healers?"

Ashan winced. "They've run their magic dry," he said ruefully. "They haven't even got space for everyone in the tents they're using - Taari took a blow to the head, and he's back in our tent. I had to patch him up myself. Your friend'll fare better the quicker he's treated, and you'll be able to do that faster yourself. Who are you sharing a tent with?"

"Corron," Attori managed to reply, still trying to work out what was going on, and Ashan threw yet another spanner in the works by saying, "Corron's dead."

"Shit," Attori muttered, and Ashan moved to Brenan's other side, taking some of his weight as he told his friend, "I'll help you get him to your tent and sort everything out for the moment, but then I've got to get back to Taari."

At that Attori stopped again, and asked hurriedly, "My tent? What about his?" He looked at Brenan, and asked, somewhat desperately, remembering that the man hadn't responded before, "Who are you sharing with?"

[Mac]

Tents . . . trees . . . Where am I? With a frown the cavalier searched the camp for a familiar face. His dark eyes darted back and forth among soldiers and wounded they passed. Thoughts blurred his mind and the once proud face became drawn and haggard. He was barely aware that his savior was having trouble pulling his muscular bulk around, but since one arm hung limp at his side and one leg felt broken, not to mention the other wounds he bore . . . Brenan felt he could easily justify his selfishness.

He wasn't aware that another had joined his savior until the question was directed towards him did he finally realize he was alone behind enemy lines. He was dumbstruck for a moment before answer “Hallon” in a hoarse voice.

[Mac]

Brenan lay helpless with the body of his horse lying across his abdomen. Nothing felt broken, yet, but he could already feel his life waning away. The sound of battle raged on, no longer around him but off to the side somewhere. The cavalier made a hopeless prayer that someone would come by to help him.

Suddenly a heavy-set rebel stood over him, and bent over to rip off the Brenan's helm Fear gripped the horseman's gut as he watched the man with horror.
“Hallon,” the voice whispered with rage. “Remember him as you scre-“

The cavalier almost had to feel sorry for the man for he was trying to avenge Hallon's death but only joined him with out vengeance in the end. Though the man did leave Brenan with a limp arm, there are no rules when it came to war.

[Lali]

OOC Urgh. Sorry for shortness and lateness.



IC "Hallon," Attori repeated hollowly. "I don't know him."

"I did," said Ashan, and his use of the past tense was enough to let Attori know what had happened. "Come on," he continued softly. "We're wasting time. The tent next to me and Taari is free, and it's just over here. Have that one."

So saying, he guided Attori and Brenan through one row of tents, and helped them to one in particular, where he stopped outside and let go of Brenan.

"Get him in and comfortable," he told Attori, "and make a start on patching him up with whatever stuff you've got. I'll get to the healers and fetch you a splint for that leg." He gestured quickly at Brenan's wound, then added, "And I'll get whatever else I can, as well. You might need it."

With that he was gone, leaving Attori to push aside the canvas door of the tent and somehow get his new comrade inside.

[Mac]

OOC://
It's perfectly alright. Just as long as we can update at least once a month is fine with me. Sorry, this one's a bit on the truant side. (Don't big words just make you feel smarter? ;D)

His bluff had worked, for now at least, but how long would it be before someone connected the dots? A day? Two days? Perhaps if he played his part right he would never have to go back to the rat infested city; the rebels didn't know how well they had it. The entire city stunk; a mixture of waste, rotten food, sickness, and death. A slight shudder passed through him as he remembered the terrified gazes of the peasants that had not made the rush into the rush into the city's haven with the rest the cavalry had been rescue.

[Mac]

Pushing historical thoughts and memories aside, the horseman examined the situation his savior was left with. Brenan, I his presently slumped state still stood a good head higher that the tent poles so he knew he would never be able to hobble in without taking done the shelter with him. “Let me just crawl in first.” The sudden suggestion surprised even the speaker but he knelt to the ground anyways ignoring the pain that jolted up his leg. Putting his good arm forward into the tent he looked back to Attori before starting what he knew would be a painful crawl. “It'll will the easiest way.”

Without waiting for a response, he shifted his weight- alternating good hand than good knee until he was able to roll onto the two-sleeper palette. Grimacing he began to unlace his boots with one hand while his limbed throbbed with pain. All he really wanted was a good night's rest, and then he could sort everything out tomorrow.

[Lali]

Relieved that his charge was at least conscious and thinking straight, Attori followed him into the cramped space of the tent, sitting by the opposite wall, in the living space left by the sleeping palette. There wasn't much space, admitted, but it was enough, and his pack and his longbow had already been put in the tent, laid along the wall.

He busied himself seperating the two sets of blankets, and fetching a few basic things he'd need from his pack - such as a roll of bandage he'd managed to appropriate over the last couple of weeks. But that only took a few moments, and he knew Ashan would be a few minutes at least. He should start helping the wounded man.

Noticing the trouble Brenan was having, able to use only one arm while he tried to remove his boots, Attori shuffled over and knelt by him, saying, "Here, I'll help," and taking over the task for him. While he did so, he made some attempt to take his charge's mind off the pain he must be feeling.

"I don't even know your name," he started, glancing briefly up at the other, with a small smile. "So I'm betting you don't know mine. I'm Attori Delan."

[Mac]

"Brenan." He spoke simply while swinging his legs o to the pallet. Am I afraid of who I am? Or is it because I'm afraid they will find out. The sound of his pulsing haert filled his ears, stirring his thoughts in a vat of darkness. His breathig faltered as he placed a hand to a pain in his chest, a throbbing ache.

"I . . . " He turned to his rescuer, "I am Brenan Firdinad." His brain shut down as he felt himself intake sharply while waiting for a reply.

((So sorry this is short. I'm trying to think of a 5 paragraph topic for AP english- grr. People want me to mow the lawn . . . uck! It's 97 degrees F outside!!))

[Lali]

OOC Don't worry about it. ^_^ A post is a post, and it means I feel less guilty if I do a short post. Eheh. Hope you didn't melt out there!



IC "I would say I'm pleased to meet you," Attori said wryly, "but the circumstances could be improved, as I'm sure you agree."

Not just their own, either. The rebel army hadn't been as well prepared for today as it should. Their losses had been more than necessary, and the state of the healers was appalling, if they were already drained of magic. But Attori currently had other things to deal with - rather than worry about the whole army, he had himself and his new comrade to think of.

He put Brenan's boots by the door of the tent, and went back to his pack while he was there, pulling out his water flask and a clean cloth. Carefully, he dampened the cloth, and moved back to Brenan, asking, "What hurts worst?"

[Mac]

"I think the gash on my shoulder should be tended to first. It is the only one I know of that might need stitching . . ." He trailed off trying to use his nerves to search his body for and more damage worse that the gash. Brenan could tell his leg was hurt, but not a serious break so it wouldn't have to be amputated, thankfully.

"My leg might have a slim break, it should be easy to bind it and leave it be for - er- maybe four seven days before I can go back into action or at least do my part for the Rebels." Most of his medical knowledge was through horses, but through training them one does break afew bones now and again. Thankfully he knew what he needed, and that way a smart ass didn't have to meddle around with experimenting new remedies.

[Lali]

OOC Hi Mac. How was Ireland?


IC “Alright,” Attori nodded, saying, “Ashan will be back with everything in a few minutes. Here, I’ll…”

He reached out to Brenan’s shoulder, to move aside the cloth of his shirt and check the gash, wincing a little at the sight. He used the cloth to dab away some of the blood and dirt, and said, "It shouldn't be too bad. We can bind it up for now to stop it bleeding, and get it properly checked out by the healers as soon as they've recovered. And if your leg's not too bad then a splint should do, right? You seem to know what you're doing."

He paused to smile at Brenan, then reached for the roll of bandage, dabbed away the rest of the fresh blood from the gash - which started bleeding again - and put one end of the bandage there, saying, "Hold this in place for me?"


OOC And now, dear Mac, you have the opportunity to shoot/stab/disembowel me as you please for taking more than two months to reply. More than three months since my last post.