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(((It's finally here! Shocking, I know. Muses are fickle bitches. Anyways, Zato, story, and etc are Copywritten myself. Enjoy the story.)))

"Are you sure about this, Ragna? You never know what a dragon might do, let alone your obsession with female dragons. Why you think they make better protectors for you, I shall never understand. Your mother and I truly thought you picked females to defile them, but you have no interest in sex what-so-ever." The king, a man in his late thirties, said as he sat upon his thrown with a large chalice in his hand.

His attire fit any king. Robes of the finest silks and cloth from the furthest reaches of his kingdom, dyed a bright blue with a golden trim, boldly stating his kingdoms colors to all who sought an audience with him and his queen, who wore similar robes but far more "befitting" a lady. Long skirt with a proper blouse and a silken net in her to keep it in a nice, proper, bun.

However, their clothing were the furthest things on their mind right now. They were more concerned about their prince, Ragna Freehaven. He had taken a heavy interest in their newest "prize". The black scaled dragoness who, at the moment, was in the Sakura Courtyard training with a spear from one of their lance-men. In all honestly, it was the first time ANY kingdom had gotten a black to join their cause, willingly or otherwise. Greens, reds, blues, oranges, all others would join in an instant. However, all black dragons seemed to keep as far away from everything else as they could, even the ones in the Da'Karian kingdom.

"Father, they make better guards because females of all animal races are known to gain far more strength then their male counter-parts. It is true that this fact typically holds true only for them protecting their young, however, I have tested it and proven it. If they get close enough to me they gain that same burst of strength and, as you two know, they are capable of killing a band of trolls in un-armed combat." Ragna said in a matter-of-fact voice as his attention stayed upon the training black.

His sky-blue eyes followed her every movement. Every thrust, every spin, every parry she did. She had only been training for the past week but in that time she had bested their best soldiers and even their General. Granted, she did have a few loses under her belt, but the speed at which she learned, adapted, and perfected her skills was unbelievable. However, unlike his parents, he knew the truth about this one dragon. She was the all mighty Sin Dragon, yet, not only that she seemed to be beating the demon that would have normally taken control of her body by now. Not to mention, unlike the others, she took to the human-like form quickly whereas the others who had to re-learn even the simplest of actions, such as walking.

"I feel you and me, my newest Protector, are destined to face many a foe and win. Not to mention, something tells me, you are going play a vital role in my take over...my parents are not...suited to the position of King and Queen....but their time is coming to an end." He thought to himself as he watched Zato sit upon a tree trunk, leather training clothes sticking to her hide with how much sweat was escaping through her scales.

=====

Zato reclined back with a loud sigh and laid the spear she had been practicing with in front of her. Out of all the weapons she had tried thus far, it was the only one that felt right. Her trainer, Hollow, had told her; "A Warrior must find a weapon, or in rare cases weapons that find you, that feel natural in their hands. If they do not, they are destined to die a dishonorable death."

Her eyes roamed over the weapon, as simple as simple could be. A standard, well "Freehaven", standard nine foot long hilt with a foot and a half of blade. The only difference this one had compared to the hundreds of others littered around the various Barracks and Store-rooms was this one had a black blade and "fluff" instead of silver and red. It was due to a servant dropping the weapon into a batch of dye a few days prior, a batch of Drakonis' dye for his robes, so its color soaked in and settled quickly before it could be cleaned. Its hilt had always been black, so one could not easily tell that part had been dyed as well.

Still, she liked the look of it, why she took it from the Lance-man. Even then he was happy to rid himself of the "ugly" weapon. So, as far as anyone in the kingdom was concerned, this spear was now hers. Now she only needed her armor and shield. Both of which were being custom made, as one would expect, but it was taking the black smith ages to finish. However, she got the feeling her "Prince" had some hand in the matter, since now and then he would return from the town with the smell of sulfur clinging to him.

"Oh you lazy black! Get off your scaled ass and get back to training! We wont win the coming war with you sitting about looking pretty!" A soft, but none-the-less, loud voice rang out from somewhere to her side, with each S having a strange accent to it.

Zato did not even need to turn her head to know exactly who had yelled at her and in her head, she began a countdown. Three...two...one....and then a gush of wind as she leaned back and a wooden, blunt-headed, arrow went whizzing past her maw. Three...two...one, she then rolled over her back and jumped as two more went sailing past her. Her wings snapped open and she gave a strong flap to send herself into the air as another arrow went through her legs. With a spin, and tucking her wings in, she dropped into a crouched landing with her head held down as she felt one last arrow zip over her back, grazing her leather outfit.

"Almost got it, lot better this time. You are still too fast for me to get a proper hit in." You could hear the defeat in her voice, yet, one could also hear a tinge of something else...

In a flash, Zato spun and with the back side of her wing, smacking away yet another training arrow.

"Awwww.....thought I had you with that one." Now, she held only defeat in her voice, nothing more, nothing less. Which was a good thing, she had been doing enough today to continue to dodge arrow left and right.

"Veon Silkscale...when will you learn you can not hit me with training arrows? Their paths are too predictable, their design creaky, specially since I know how YOU are, which only makes them MORE predictable." She stated with a bit of a giggle as she dusted herself off.

"Ah Zato, one day I will get you, just you wait. I'll put an arrow in that pretty little chest of yours." The naga-woman said as she slithered up to Zato and tapped a claw between the dragoness' breasts.

Both of them went silent as the sound of loud, clanking, armor drew their attention towards the source. A giant of a man, easily eight foot tall with the physique of a god, walked towards them with a heavy dual-bladed axe clutched in his right arm, both sets of heads covered in blood as well as well as most of his golden plate armor. His helmet, a "barbarian" full helmet had a few dents in it and the two horns on it were broken off.

"Veon...Zato, it is good to see you both." He stated in a shallow, gruff, voice. Anyone could instantly hone in on the slight fatigue he had as he spoke, but it was vastly covered by sheer...joy his killing had most likely brought about.

"And you too, Sir Freehaven." Both of them spoke out in unison and crossed their arms over their chest, both hands clutched into fist, and bowed their heads.

He WAS a Freehaven but not royalty, by choice. He was the eldest son, still in his early twenties, but he had chosen from a young age he wanted nothing to do with royalty, or leading a kingdom, nothing of the sort. He wished for battle and nothing more. Granted, he was still welcomed by his parents with open arms and held just like Royalty, albeit his younger brother Ragna was the heir to the throne.

"Zato...I see you favor pole-arms now, that is quite a change from your sword and shield last time I returned from battle." He said as he allowed himself to sit upon another tree stump not too far from the one Zato sat on.

Zato lowered down and clutched the spear, lifting it from the floor with the tip pointed towards Eric, whom returned the gesture by tapping the axe-head nearest to her to the spears head.

"Aye, you are somewhat to blame once I seen that weapon of yours. It feels...right in my hands. However, unlike you, I only need a blade on one side. Not to mention the last time you were here I was barely being introduced to the military life, some five days ago." She spoke as she set the spears butt on the floor and allowed the rest to lay upon her shoulder.

"That is true, it has been a bit of time since I last seen you." A silence fell upon them for a moment before he suddenly began laughing. A deep, resonating, laugh that caused both Zato and Veon to look at each other in confusion. "Please, please forgive me. I just find it so odd you are still in that ancient leather armor. Have you yet to receive your armor?"

"And my shield." She spoke plainly while giving a sigh. "I can not properly train until I receive them, but, the blacksmith keeps me-"

"Zato!" All three fell silent as they looked to the source of the sudden yell, a skinny young man in plain clothes, running towards them with the speed of a raptor.

"Yes, messenger?" She said as she looked upon his shoes, heavily coated in runes, his source of speed.

" Sir Rogers commanded me to send word to you. The smithy has sent your armor and it has arrived, along with your shield. Both are in the armory, upon your earliest convenience, Sir Rogers wishes you to go to him." He said while taking long, ragged, breaths.

It surely had to be his last message for the runes only sapped your energy at the very end, since all the runes that were on his cow-hide shoes were rather...ill made.

"Thank you, I shall go to him immediately." The messenger gave a nod and was off once more, though this time, with a walk instead of raptor-run.

However, Zato stopped him before he got more then two steps and lowered down onto a knee. She eyed the shoes for a moment before reaching back into a little pouch on the side of her breast-piece, leather armor having goddess knows how many pockets, and pulled out a small pouch of "Rune Dust". Drakonis had given it to her a few days ago so she could practice her arts and she was about to test them.

"Hold still for a moment, boy..." She said flatly as she dipped a claw into the dust and began to draw along his shoe.

As she did a soft, but noticeable, blue aura formed around her arm as she continued to draw. If one did not know better it would look like her arm was aflame with blue fire, but all there knew, and none moved but only watched. They watched as her claw deftly moved along the cow-skin, never once snagging or stopping as she reconnected and drew new runes. With how her hand moved, one would believe she was a master rune-crafter, but as far as everyone knew, she barely knew more then an apprentice, novice even.

"There....now they shouldn't have the sudden drain of energy at the end of the day and you should be able to jump about my height. Whomever did this needs to learn not to cross the lines and not to over-line the paths, and it would help if they knew how much magic to put into them. And if it matters, those should last a lifetime. So you have no need to re-scribe them everyday." She said as she checked over her work, making a few minor adjustments before dusting her claw off on the ground. A spark forming as she did so no one could use the left over dust.

"T-thank you miss, I never expected runes such as this to be used, I am only a lowly messenger." He stammered about, already feeling the effects.

"A messenger is by far the most important soul in the army. If not for the messenger, orders would never properly reach the soldiers. Now...I am sure your mother wonders where you are, return home." She said as she stood and tucked the powder away, watching as the runes on his shoes flashed and bolted off into the distance, jumping over a few soldiers as he did.

=====

"Ah, Zato. There you are." Said a stout man with a mighty, blond, beard.

Even someone from the deepest, darkest, corners of the world knew a Dwarf when they saw one. Short, wide, built like a rock, and could turn a rock into a mighty weapon. This dwarf was known as Zenzo Longbeard, a plain name but one he enjoyed. He never did tell anyone his proper, given, name.

He was, as his name showed, plain. A blond beard that went past his waist with his hair tied and woven into a long ponytail, longer then his beard. As for the rest of him, he was pretty much an iconic dwarf. Strong, wide, short, and brave. Even more so when he had a few pints, if not a barrel or two himself.

"Sir Rogers was summoned off to the barracks for a mission, he left me to give you your armor, shield, and spear." That was yet another thing about him. He did not hold the Dwarven tongue, he spoke much like a human.

"Excuse me? Spear? I thought the prince only commissioned you for a set of armor and shield. When was the spear ordered?" She asked as she took a few steps forward, towering over the four foot man.

"Hmm...two...no wait, three, days ago. It was added and I had only a day to forge it, fastest work yet, and to send it to the Elves for the enchanting. It was an odd request, that's for sure." The dwarf turned to his side and fetched four keys.

"Now here...they are in your room. Sir Rogers only wanted you here to...well, a yeti's hairy ass, I don't know WHY he didn't just send the sodding messenger with these damn things. Here." He couldn't help but laugh as he handed the key's over.

In a flash, Zato fetched the keys and left. It WAS odd that Sir Rogers would have her go all the way to the smithy, on the other side of the castle from the Sakura Yard, for four keys. Yet, upon that thought, why four keys? Spear, one key. Armor, all packed onto a stand and thrown into a crate, one key. Shield, one key. Goddess above, all three things could have fit into one crate, no?

=====

Zato shut the old, rotting, wooden door of the common area behind her and turned to continue on when she collided into something hard and metallic, a loud clanking sounding out as she did.

"By the Godde-" She rubbed her snout as she turned her head and looked upon the armored form of Sir Hollow, who instantly made her shift into a salute.

"Not needed. You do not sleep here anymore. Room by Ragnas, Golden key is for the door. Go there, now." Hollow said with a somewhat enraged look in his eye.

However, it did not matter to her. She simply saluted and turned back out into the hallway. This time, however, she stood as the door shut behind her. Before her stood three men, from their scents, in golden armor. Now the armor itself was not made from gold, one could easily see that, but it was honestly the last thing on her mind at the moment. These men smelled of blood, but had none what-so-ever upon their armor. As for their faces, she could not tell, due to them having their visors down.

"Miss...Zato, I presume?" The lead man said as he took a step forward, a somewhat gruff sounding voice with a hint of boredom.

"Yes, may I help you...?" She trailed off as she turned to her side a bit, claws flexing as her wings opened a bit.

"No need to attack us. We are simply here to escort you upon Prince Ragna's orders. This way, please." He backed up and turned, arm outstretched, and she took a few more sniffs. Escorts that smelt of blood?

=====

"Ah! Zato! Just the person I wished to see!" Ragna said in an eerily happy tone as he shut the door to her new room.

"As you now know Hollows old is now your own."

Now she knew why he was so upset earlier. Master-In-Arms stuck in the Servants quarters, otherwise known as the commons.

"And, since I can see you sniffing now and then, why they smell of blood is no secret. They just returned from hunting brigands in the North Fields, I sent them right to you upon their return." He said as he waved a hand to dismiss them.

She bowed now, wings lowered, and simply grunted.

"I did not need an escort, nor shall I ever." She said as she raised back up, irritation hinting upon every word.

"Aye my friend, it was my Fathers request. It was more for the others then yourself. Anyways, I am simply here to ensure you got to your room and present you these." She watched as one of his hands vanished into a pouch on his side.

From it he produced a key-ring with four rings upon it.

"The Black key is to your room. The Bronze key is for the Armory, should you ever feel the need to poke about inside it. Silver key is to the gate into the Sakura Courtyard. Golden key is to my room, should you ever wish to visit." She took the keys and nodded, saluting once more as he returned the gesture.

"Now I must be off. My parents wish to bore me with more rules for when I assume the position of King. Good day to you, my friend." He said before vanishing down the hall.

A sigh instantly left her maw once he turned the corner towards the Royal Throne Room. More and more she was beginning to regret the decision to help these humans. It wasn't bad here, by any means, but it did feel odd. Then again, she did have something to do to take up her days now, instead of lounging around an empty, tiny, cave while staring at a book with next to no prey for food.

"Goddess help my sanity should I have to return to that wretched cave." She said as she grabbed her rooms key and pushed it into the gold plated lock.

Just from the door alone one could tell this room was meant for Royalty, if not in the least some form of...what was the human word for it? Official, regardless, she was more concerned about what her new room looked like. So, with a swift push, she walked into her room and froze.

Before her was a room painted and designed much like herself. Pitch black walls with Arcane blue flames every few feet, room easily the same if not slightly smaller then Ragnas own room, and blue tapestries over the two windows, both depicting a dragon breathing flame. A...cliche image but a fitting one none-the-less. The room itself was empty, save for four things. A rather luxurious bed, easily befitting a queen. An armor "dummy" wearing her armor, and it alone held her attention for far longer then it should have.

She moved towards it and just stared slack-jawed at it. It was a full suit of plate armor, helmet to boots, and most importantly the helmet was a full, closed, helmet. It was as black as the void with a design of a Sakura storm on it, with the Freehaven flag shaped into the left breast, bright blue dye making it stand out and easy to notice. Her hands raised to the lovingly crafted helmet and lifted it up and she almost instantly regretted that decision. As it raised off the fake head it was perched upon, the bottom half of the snout-piece dropped, almost like it had broken, but it stopped. It was on a specially made and crafted joint that allowed it to open and close.

A giggle left her as she thought of such a minute detail being taken into account during the creation of this armor. However, it was glorious armor, and she almost felt like she should not even use it. Metal woven together and hammered, worked, and forged perfectly together. Joints lined with line mail and thin layers of metal to allow easy, but some what hindered, motion but it also gave her that much more protection. Though, as she looked back to the helmet, she noticed something she had missed. Now, most helmets had two eye-holes, as she liked to call them. This didn't have two, but one long one, eye-to-eye, probably no wider then the width of a Long-sword scabbard.

"Rather odd..." She mused to herself as she put the helmet back into place and gazed over to the shield.

A Tower shield, if she remembered the measurements, it was...by the goddess she couldn't remember those cursed things. It would be like carrying around a Dwarf, is what she remembered a Guardsman saying. It, like the armor, was black with a Cherry Blossom storm on the front and a Freehaven emblem on it. The back was a simple blue. It was easy to see that Ragna had made sure to have her items colored like herself.

"Let me guess...the spear is the same." The last thing she noticed before turning her head to look to the spear was a notch on the side of the shield. Clearly for the spear to rest when in a defensive line, which was unlikely to be used in the coming battle since the Generals wished for an "All out offensive".

As her eyes settled on the spear, she nearly fainted. She had taken an honest affinity to spears upon coming to the human kingdom and this was as close to perfect as you could get. It was far from one of the cut and throw Spearmen weapons and it was clearly custom made.

The head had the tell-tale straight pointed blade but it also held four other blades, shaped in almost an X shape right at the bottom of the main blade. The blades themselves were blue while the wooden shaft was black, as she knew it would be. Though, aside from the odd blade and the coloring, something caught her eye. Another notch on the bottom of the main blade. It looked like it could possibly hold, or mount, something but nothing was in there. She ran a claw through the space and hmm'd to herself.

"A gem...maybe? Diamond...ruby...pearl, perhaps? What is Ragna thinking..." She mused quietly to herself as her eyes shifted to the butt of the shaft. It held one of those odd pointed metal stubs to held in close-quarters and for a counter-balance, and from the weight, it worked perfectly. Probably could pierce a trolls skin as well.

"Though I wonder how he expects me to my armor on...." She mused once more as she placed the spear back down, top resting on a little hook in the wall.

Before her mind got too far off, a thought crossed it. Her leggings and boots? She turned her head and looked to them, almost taken aback once more. The smith had actually taken the time to forge them to fit upon her feral-like legs and feet. So many joints along them to allow her to freely move her legs in battle, thank the goddess above.

She moved over to the bed and plopped down into it. Sure there was a closet to look into, a chest next to the armor stand, and a few other little things placed about to give the room some life, but at the moment she was more concerned with sleep. Though, it seemed even that would have to wait as a loud knocking made itself known on her door.

"Come in." She stated flatly.

She heard the door open and a body slither in, clearly Veon, and mumbled to the roof as she waited for the naga to say something.

"WAR! We are going to way tomorrow! I've been placed as your guard, right-hand, whatever you would call it! I can't believe we are already going to war!" She said in-between frantic gasps of breaths.

"Oh calm down. The Freehaven army numbers in the hundreds of thousands, we have siege-engines, innumerable weapons on hand, and mages up the tailhole. Why are you so worried?" She said as she sat up onto her rear, looking to her...friend.

"I'm not worried! I'm excited! I can't wait for battle! We nagas love battle!" Both laughed to that now.

"Alright alright...it's growing late, and you know how I like my sleep. I shall see you in the morning, Good night Veon." She said in a soft tone as her friend repeated the statement.

=====

"Ack! Watch you are doing!" Zato snapped as the armor pinched her wing membrane and instantly dropped her onto her knees.

"Sorry! I can't snap this back panel into place for some reason! It keeps snipping your wings!" Veon stated in a hurry as she held the back piece of Zatos armor away.

It had been giving them a pain going into place cause no matter what they did it would catch her wing membrane and instantly cause her weakness to come into play. Body going limp and her dropping like a stone, but nothing seemed to work.

"Just...just push the damn thing on and snap it into place...QUICKLY!" Zato said as she gritted her fangs and Veon nodded.

In a flash, she did it. Pushed the piece of metal between Zatos wings, snapped it into place, and backed away. Just as she moved back, Zato screamed at the top of her lungs and convulsed, clutching at her chest before runes lit up on the piece they had just snapped on. Metal clinking and clanking into life, piecing itself over her wings, and as it did the pinching on her membrane went away.

"Z...Zato? Are...are you alright?" Veon said, tentatively slithering forward and looking to her.

"Y..yes. I shall sink my metal boot into Ragnas ass for this pain though! That hurt!" She said as her body slowly began to feel life again.

"Protection for my wings...or not....that hurt..." She muttered as she stood on shaking legs, looking to herself in the mirror.

The image was astounding. Perfectly protected, save for the lack of a helmet since she hadn't put it on yet. The same runes had came to lit once they had put the leggings on and her tail had been covered in the same manner, spikes on top and bottom of each plate, with a dual-sided sickle blade at the end with a spear like tip in the middle. It almost made her laugh as she raised her hands up and looked at the claw-like tips on each digit. Even her boots had points and even spikes on the heel!

"Miss Zato? Miss Veon? The King requests you join them. The Army is ready to move out." Zato heard the soft voice at the door and simply said OK.

"Come Veon...we have Olandian blood to shed." Zato said with a wicked smile before snapping her helmet into place, armor perfectly fitted to both her body and to each other, helmet settling right into the chest piece.

She grabbed her spear, slid her shield onto her left arm, and they were off. Zato in the lead with Veon a head behind her, her naga-tail trailing behind them, covered in armor plates with soft leather undersides. She was meant for an Archer role so hopefully that armor would never get tested, naga armor never looked that...protective.

===== Five Days of Marching Later....=====

"Oh by the goddess above! That was more of a challenge then I could have ever thought!" Zato yelled to the wind as they, Veon and herself, finished setting up a covering for the horse-stall.

The higher cast of the army, Royal blood to higher-held warriors, had set up their main post in this ancient outpost, that hadn't been used much over the last hundred or so years. The rest of the army had been stuck setting up their tents in the trailing valley and on the hills to the east and west. To the North laid nothing but empty plains, probably why the Olandian forces were marching here, this area held the least areas for ambush runs.

"I see you two finally finished. That's good, the storm is nearly upon us." Ragna said as he marched up behind them, both of them turning and saluting him as he did.

Zato couldn't help but look to the sky as she relaxed from the salute. It was true, just as they entered the valley, this storm had began to move in upon them. Why they had to set up the tent-covering for the Royal Horses. Granted, it seemed useless since from the smoke on the horizon, the Olandian forces had been here for some time. Surely enough, they would be seeing the smoke from the fires the forces had set up as well. That only meant battle was approaching either tonight or early in the morning. No matter, this storm would still be there, and the horses would still get drenched, just like everyone and everything else.

"Aye, my liege. Just finished as you left the barracks." She said, the hinges and the plates of her helmet moving perfectly to open her maw as she continued to test it. Least her armor was made to her expectations.

"Good. Don't bother removing your armor. The scouts report the Olandians are preparing for battle." He stated in an unusual tone. Joy? Zato couldn't place it.

"As you command, my liege." Veon said and Zato nodded.

"Good! You girls will be marching beside me. The egg-mates will be on the left side, nearer my father. You two will upon my right side. Veon, you will be using your abilities to pick off all the captains you can find, take them out and their units will lose order and balance. Remember, Olandian captains wear feathers on the RIGHT side of their helmets. Left side are nothing more then flag bearers. Zato, you will be guarding my flank and back. Understood?"

Both simply saluted.

"Good! Now, go get in formation, I will join you shortly. My father requests we go over the battle plans once more before we ride with the army." He said in his normal bored tone when it came to strategies. He always seemed like one to just attack without a plan.

=====

"Z-Zato....I...I'm scared...." Veon said, her maw quivering uncontrollably as she looked out upon the rain drenched field. A carpet of continually falling rain making it just a tad bit difficult to see what she was scared of.

On the other hand, Zato could see them clearly. She was focused on each and every soldier in plain silver plate, some in chain-mail, others in light leather, some with heavily enchanted armor, and a lot with what could simply be described as scrap. That is what scared HER. They easily outnumbered the Freehaven armor, almost three to one. So many soldiers, it was nothing but a sea of men and women, all clutching their various weapons, ready to send them into any who stood before them. She did not think she would be scared, but here she was, her wings held low and her focused.

A good thrust, a good swing, and she could take down three, maybe more. Yet, twenty could easily replace those and be upon her in moments. Yet, even though her stomach was in knots, her wings held low, her body trembling as the rain pummeled her armor and those of her fellow soldiers, something felt...right. Was this...purpose? Was this what she was looking for? War? Was War her purpose? Was fighting what she looked for since she left her home, and even before that when she left her birth place?

"Soldiers!" Her attention snapped to and she looked over to Veon.

"Don't worry...just as I will to Ragna, I will protect you. Keep your mind calm, and your body strong. You will live through this." She placed her arm upon her shoulder as Veon nodded, snapped her helmet back on, and smiled over to Zato.

"Soldiers! We fight the Olandians today! A nation of countless fools! They seek nothing but the glory of taking kingdom after kingdom! Frelais, Juklai, Evershine! Three kingdoms! Three kingdoms have fallen to them already! We will not be the fourth!" The king roared to his men as he road in front of the ranks.

"Freehaven has been a place of happiness! Of Peace! Of Honor! Since my ancestor and the army of man fought back the Da'Karian Army!"

Zatos head jerked up and her slits went near invisible with how tightly they shrank upon hearing those words. Nothing more but tiny slivers of blue and green. She shook her head and dropped to a knee and began muttering something in Da'Karian dialect, something that caused those nearest her to turn to her and look on. She stayed like that until the king had finished his speech, signaled by a grunted roar from the troops. That is when she actually felt the need to raise back up, ignoring the clearly baffled look upon her friends face.

Now, it felt like time froze. She looked out upon the Olandian lines and seen that the archers were moving up. Within seconds the order rang out and everyone dropped with their shields held over them. Zato being the only odd one as she opened her wings and bent over. The king, Ragna, Veon, and the general all moving in under them just as the first arrows struck down upon them. Ragna had told her, as they marched, the back plate Veon and herself had such trouble putting on was made much like a shield, and that she would be safe doing this. Surely enough, she was, she could feel the arrow-heads smacking against the steel and simply bouncing off as they rained down much like the torrent of water around them. A recruit would say the rain of arrows lasted hours, but after ten or so more seconds, it stopped.

"TO BATTLE!" The king roared out as he erupted from beneath Zatos wing and got back onto his horse, just as Ragna and the general did as well.

To Be Continued...