Plot 007: A Shield of the People

It all happened too fast...

The king’s short speech ceased, pitfighters paraded around the arena, and then BAM! an explosion blasted part of the Crucible’s walls. The explosion rocked the entire coliseum and sounds of joy soon turned into fear-filled screaming and panic. Before she could react, the floor where Maude had been standing by the king crumbled underneath her hooves. It sent her tumbling down into a pile of rubble, narrowly missing a few others who had gone flying with the explosion as well. She did not scream though, instead she barked out an order. "GET EVERYONE TO SAFETY!"

It was absolute chaos. There were pitfighters and vindicators running rampant. Maude nearly thought that she was going to have a heart attack at the sight that met her eyes.

The vindicators were nasty pests. No matter how much bug spray you put on them, they just wouldn’t die. They had been successful enough to even get into Valore and storm the Crucible, and Maude knew right away that there were some chevaliers she would certainly need to question once the vindicators were captured - or better yet - killed. If the chevaliers were successful in stopping the attack, then none of those nasty pests would see it out of Valore alive.

But nevermind that for now. She needed to focus on the situation at hoof.

Maude quickly gauged what was around her. A bunch of commoners and a scrawny squire. Immediately, she cast up a force field to protect those that were close enough to her for it. She would need to get them all out in a safe and timely manner - and she would need back up, a simple squire would be of no use to her against the horde of vindicators and freed pitfighters. If they were going to get this back under control, then they would all need to act fast.



“Come with me!” the commander shouted to the group around her, her voice nearly drowned out by the might battle roars of the vindicators and pitfighters around them.

At first it was dark. Quiet. Then it all came rushing back.

Alarik's ears rang. The blast had knocked him off his feet and into the arena below. Somehow he managed to hit his head on the way down. He opened his eyes, scowling as the light shone into them. Soon the stallion realized what had happened. His vision blurry as the dust started to clear but he could see the dark shapes of the chaos around him. He sat up quickly and saw the small gash on his head, right threw his eyebrow.

“Well that’s gonna scar” he said harshly under his breath.

A strong female voice barked out and a force field soon formed around the few horses that had fell with Alarik. Glancing up at her, he saw that she was of high stature, probably Chevalier.

Alarik looked around the ground. Something glinted in the sand of the crucible. He kicked up the sand and found a pit fighters sword.
He sighed a little “Well it’s better than nothing” Picking it up in his mouth and joined along side the boisterous mare that had call for their safety and protection. He glanced at her and nodded. Quickly looking around the Pit he saw the destruction she had fallen into. Alarik hated the crucible with every bit of his body. But he put on a brave face for the few fellow merchants who had made him tag along. He knew no one could know his secret about it. But yet again he didn't want the Pit to be gone like this. For what he knew there could be horses stuck under the rubble. Or worse. DEAD. He stood waiting his orders.

Everything was happening too quickly as the Crucible erupted with activity. Asalah wasn't certain of what was going on as she glanced nervously at her sister, a quiet nicker of concern escaping her mouth as the sound of cracking rocks caught her ears. Quiet suddenly, the short and stout draft horse found herself falling amongst the rubble alongside other commoners that had managed to snag such nice spots.

Oh for the love of the Gods, why did I let Airita and Evalynn drag me out into this mess? The young mare found herself wondering as she hit the ground with jarring impact. Stars exploded in her vision for a moment as the metallic taste of blood washed over her mouth for a moment. She was certain she had bit her tongue when she fell, the impact causing her entire body to ache. She was certain she was covered in dust and was probably bleeding from various places, but that didn't matter. Slowly, she rose her head, concern for her sisters immediately taking precedence over every other occurrence around her. "Airita!" She called out, turning her head to see if she could find her sister. Luckily, it seemed Airita had landed only a short distance to her right.

Relief and fear washed over Asalah simultaneously as she realized that she and her sister had both managed to find themselves in the middle of battle. At least Evalynn was up above with the higher echelon of Aodh society. They would be able to get out of this mess without a problem, though she was certain the eldest of the three horses would worry herself sick if neither of them returned from this celebration. Determined to ensure that the others were okay, Asalah made her way over to her sister, stopping only as a horse called over the screaming horses and fighting.

"Come with me!"

Asalah's ears flicked back, hooves stomping the ground as she glanced about once more. "Airita, are you okay?" She asked, turning back to her sister for a moment. "We need to get going over towards the other horses... Maybe we can get out of this mess!" She turned expectantly towards the other horse, waiting for her sister to respond.

With all of them gathered and ready, it was time to go. “Follow me if you wish to keep your lives!” the commander shouted.

There were horses fighting all around them. There was no doubt in her mind that getting these commoners out to safety would be difficult. They had very little time to spare, and Maude had little concern if anyone was alright, so long as they could move. “Stay close,” she warned, casting a glance back to the group. “This force field will only last for so long. We mustn't remain idle!” With her group in tow, Maude forged on.

From the corner of her eye, Maude spotted a vindicator charging right for her. Her force field was immediately dropped as she put her concern on stopping the attacker. Their bodies collided, Maude’s heavy frame sent the vindicator to the ground, and she quickly moved to ensure that this one would not be getting up again. One of her dinner plate hooves came down hard on the vindicator’s neck. There was an audible snap. That should do it, she thought to herself.

“To the slave quarters! Quickly!” The commander charged towards the nearest exit she could see, barreling a path through the fighting bodies. She could only hope the group would follow.

- - - - - 

WC: 216 || Post 2 

Rik began to think about his friends, What had become of them. He glanced back again to the areas where he remembered his friends were last. Though there was no sign of Shiya or Einar or any of his Merchant buddies he had come with. He began trotting close behind the group as they moved for the exit, watching his feet for fallen debris.



Alarik stopped in his tracks when Maude dropped her force-field and began charging for the vindicator. He took a step back as he noticed other vindicators heading for the group. His somewhat regular breathing came on heavier. The group suddenly split up with some going forwards and other staying in their place. Alarik felt a bump behind him, quickly turning round he was face to face with one of the vindicators. The Piebald Stallion that now stood in front of Alarik gave a devilish smile and proceeded to walk forward. In response Al walked backwards until he couldn’t back up any more. If he didn’t act fast he would be dead for sure.



The chestnut stallion closed his eyes tight and swung the sword with a mighty force. There was a few seconds before he opened his eyes again. The piebald unicorn standing in front of him had a shocked look on his face. Then Alarik realized looking at the blade, now covered in blood. Alarik heard him gasping for air and watched as he coughed up blood, then fall to the floor. The blade had passed through his throat, slicing major arteries. Al’s breathing heightened even more. Never had he hurt another horse let alone kill them. He stood in shock dropping the lightweight sword into the now pooling blood below his hooves. He just stood there.Unable to move, glaring at the limp stallion in front of him. It wasn’t long before another would come for him. But it was like he was glue into place, a statue waiting for the unicorn to stand back up. Here quickly spat out a few words.

"I hope the gods aren't watching this"

I was pushed along by Valentine, my shoulder throbbing in pain. We were rushing after the large silver maned mare when the shield we were in suddenly went down. The enemy bombarded us, attacking multiple people in the absence of the shield. Valentine vanished for a second, the smell of burnt hair and blood all around me. Then he was back, leading me again. I could see now without having the urge to pass out but I was still wobbly on my legs and my head still hurt. We were heading towards some sort of door in the side of the arena, the silver maned mare pushing to it through the throng of violence and death.

I glanced around as I was herded towards the door, hoping to see a glance of Einar. There were fighters everywhere, the attackers, chevilars, even the pit slaves were fighting, though some were fighting among themselves. My slave seemed to be holding her own though. No sparky short Fjord to be found though. I sighed in relief as I was jostled away, glad to know that he wasn't down here in the hell that used to be the arena.

I just hope he is okay...

[Word count: 203]
[Post: 2]

Whether they choose to follow or not, Maude was not sure if she entirely cared. It was their lives, after all, and if they wanted to be stupid and die, then so be it. Vindicators took notice to those escaping, of course, which meant that their window of escape was short. “GO! GET TO THE SLAVE QUARTERS!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “May Igancio guide them to safety...,” the commander prayed under her breath before she charged into the slave quarters. She knocked aside two vindicators who had dared to block her path.

The slave quarters were just as full of chaos as the arena was. It seemed quite a few other Aodhians had gotten the idea about the slave quarters. Unfortunately, the slave quarters were even more jammed pack than the arena had been. And in many ways, it seemed more dangerous than the arena due to the tight conditions. “STAY CLOSE!” She barked to those that had followed. Panicked citizens shoved and tried to wiggle past, desperate to escape. She allowed them to move past, shouting at the to get out as quickly as they could. Maude then tried to raise another force field, but her casting was interrupted as a cold spell hit her right in the neck. It caused her to stumble a little, ice chilling her to the bone. “Magic spells,” she cursed. “Watch out for the spells! They do not know if you are friend or foe!” Her warning was drowned out by the sounds of fighting.

The commander forged on, shoving past the frenzied bodies as she tried to clear a path for those who followed her.


(WC: 277 | Post 3) 

Everything was chaos. Airita pressed herself closer to Asalah, but kept following the mare... Maude. Yeah. ... Maybe.

Her eyes had been wider than ever, and she felt as terrified, or more, as during her trip with her sisters from Talori to Aodh. The mare heard Asalah's warning, but in what felt like seconds after, a vindictator charged towards them. Instinct and fear for her sister's life - the audible snap of the neck of some poor soul Maude had reaped didn't help calm her down at all - took over, and Airita stepped in front of her, slamming her full weight on the attacker. Thankfully, it was a smaller, leaner horse, who lost their balance and fell. Without thinking, Airita stood on her back legs, sense being knocked into her seconds before her hooves collided with the vindictator. It had been enough time to keep her from crushing their skull, but a yelp of pain came from the horse whose leg she had just broken.

It felt unreal, the thought that she had nearly killed someone. Sure, she'd been trough a lot at a very young age, but that happened with such frequency during their trip that Airita had gotten used to it. This... It had been quick, explosive, and chaotic. It terrified her.

The Mare Who She Thought Was Maude's voice echoed on her head, eventually bringing Airita fully back to her senses. She turned away from the bleeding horse to Asalah, pushing her towards the slave quarters without a word. Her hooves were trembling with fear, though. Things inside were even worse than before, and Airita immediately felt claustrophobic. Maybe-Maude suddenly shouted somethig she didn't quite catch... Spells? What about spel-

Airita yelped and buckled isntinctively as her hip suddenly exploded in pain. It was quite familiar - Evalynn had burned her several times when she was young - but Airita really disliked fire and that only fueled her terror. The mare kept trying to make the pain go away, moving farther and farther away from where she stood, unsure if her attacker was already gone or was chasing her - were they a vindictator? Or just a scared citizen? - but didn't stop to look. When she calmed down enough, Airita noticed something very important.. Where was her sister? She couldn't see her in the mass of horses.

"ASALAH!" She called, now threatening to cry. Airita knew she had to be strong but her brain was almost short-circuiting. She had fallen inside an arena, had no idea if Evalynn was okay or even /alive/, and now Asalah was gone too. It was just too much.

Theseus pushed foreword though the mess of horses, making sure to keep Maude insight. Just as he was about to check to see if the rest of the group was doing fine he was thrown sideways by what he thought was either a boulder or a body. In complete shock theo was unable to register any kind of reaction that could help him and was only able to this 'mother fu-'. He sailed through the air then slid on his side into a wall. Gasping trying to regain his breath Theseus tried to pull himself up but then yelped as he felt a horrible pain travel up his left leg. He refused to look down at the possible mess on his leg, that would be admitting there's a problem.

The chaos was beyond extreme and in this compacted space nothing good was bound to happen. His ears roared as he heard whistles, screams, snapping of bones, and the ripping of flesh. He forced his beaten body up and limped over to the group as fast as he could with out tripping or getting pulled into a fight. His sides heaved with every breath and his light green eyes darted dangerously around the room. He barred his teeth and snapped at a horse coming close to him that he could only assume was an enemy. Then lamely hurried over to Valentine, the only horse he could make out at the moment that he knew was on his side.

'The only way we can get out of this mess is if Ignacio himself comes down and ends it.' He thought.

Word Count: 270 \ Post 3

"We're going to fight." I said, glancing at Valentine. He looked a little sick when I said it, but I didn't hear his reply because I was then suddenly bombarded by a large mare, towering over myself. She reared up, screaming some mumbo jumbo about freeing the slaves or something or other. But I didn't have to worry about what she said, as I was occupied with trying to avoid her massive red stained hooves. Don't even think about it, don't even mention the word, I thought, ducking under them, actually managing to run underneath her large frame. I appeared on the other side of her, watching as her bulk faltered as she slammed into the ground. I glanced around her, spotting the small band of horses we had stashed in the stall. 

Suddenly, the mare was crashing into me, sending me skidding into another pair of fighters, one of their hooves glancing off of my ribs. Pained bloomed throughout my side, but I ignored it as I saw the large mare thundering after me. I got up, dashing back towards Valentine and the others, barely missing the mare's snap at my neck as she skidded into the afore mentioned pair. All three crashed to the ground, the sound of hooves hitting stone and flesh filling the air behind me.

"Well, that was interesting." I said to Valentine, now standing next to him like before. "You want to have a go?"

[Word count: 243]
[Post: 4]
[OOC: lol I imagine that she doesn't even care that she almost died. <3 Adrenaline and such.]

Theseus finally made it to Valentine and Lilly. Hearing the other stallion ask if he was ok Theo shouted back over the noise "I'm fine." He lied. The air around him cackled from the electricity he was sending off from pure adrenaline that ran through his body. He could barley notice the fact he bleeding the only thing his mind was telling him was to move on to survive. His pale green eyes scanned per the horses looking for the rest of the group and Maude's large body. But the chaos was to much. He kept forward just barley getting out of the way of a horse that fell over. It's throat held a gaping hole where blood poured from soaking it's pure white coat. "We have to get out." He said more to himself as he looked over the chaos.

He turned to look at the older horses, 'I'm a damn Chevalir. I should know what to do.' He swore at himself, but he was also still a kid. "I think we need to get through to the back." He shouted over the other sounds.

Word Count: 186 | Post: 4

The sound of her sister crying out caused Asalah to turn back, quickly fighting through the crowd of horses to pull her sister with her. Fear for her sister and herself flowed through her veins, and she bit back a cry for help as other horses battled around her. Cascade, give me guidance to help me save my sister. The younger mare thought desperately, unable to find her way through the masses. Then, she saw Airita fight back another attacker. She bit back a scream and rushed forward, helping her sister until they both followed Maude through the crowds.

They both followed the others into the slaves quarters, Asalah occasionally fighting off attackers and helping her sister through the mess. She was not going to lose her or the rest of the group if she could help it, though fear was surging through her as she realized that there was no turning back now. Quickly, with Maude and the others far ahead, she felt lost and concerned, not knowing what to do or say. There was so much going on! Spells, attackers, the constant yelling of other horses, it was almost too much for her little heart to handle. Then she heard another cry above her. A shudder shivered through her as the words sunk in.

The crucible was crumbling!? It was unheard of! She glanced behind her, only to realize that the two horses had pretty much been the last to get into the quarters. Quickly, the young mare turned back. "We need to get out of here." She said out loud, though she wasn't sure anybody could hear her. Who in the area was her friend? Her foe? It was hard to tell at this point. Frantic, she tried to find Maude, only to notice that the other horses (whose names she had already forgotten) were further ahead. Afraid she would get left behind, she raced forward, hooves pounding against the ground as she tried to return to the group. She couldn't let her sister or herself get left behind.