Siege part 2

Dry mountain air gently flowed through Cyphers hair while he rode on the back of Clementines horse. After taking his mask, he engaged a deep breath as if savouring the fresh sensation in his lungs. Coincidentally, this sent an idea into his head ,'Should I gather some herbs and apply it to the mask?'

The bird mask, while its main goal was intimidation, had other uses. The first was obviously the filter that allowed it to function as a gas mask, however there was another - that is the black lenses being able to reduce the impact of flashes of light that would otherwise harm his eyes. In other words he wished to make his gear counter possible Dreamweaver abilities that he could come across, starting with his mask and maybe his other clothes once he had the resources and knowledge to do so.

Regardless, the horse eventually slowed to a halt Infront of the formation, earning both of them stares from everyone in the army, or more specifically earning Clementine stares. Not many people had seen her in her helmet, and regular mortal humans viewed her more as an angel or goddess than anything.

As the horse hooves dug into the earth and grinded to a halt, Cypher noticed a few white robed figures standing at the vanguard of the formation Infront of him. Three Caliber one deacons stood waiting for him and upon arrival, one broke three from the group to greet Cypher with a smile," Deacon Ren? It's a pleasure to be working with you."

The Dreamweaver extended his hand to which Cypher quickly reciprocated with a firm grip and narrowed eyes," The pleasure is mine brother. Though, I assume you and your team know what we're getting into?"

The weavers smile faltered for a moment under Cyphers words. He had guessed Cyphers Hidden meaning - Your most likely going to die of you follow me.

The weaver lifted the corners of his mouth with melancholy before giving a firm nod ," General Ivon has already debriefed us on the dangers. Rest assured, we are prepared to escort you until completion or death."

"Good," Cyphers head absentmindedly moved up and down, nodding. After spending a small amount of time shaking the hands of the other two Weavers he'd be fighting with, Cypher simply waited. Nothing more could be done after all - at least not until the enemy soldiers moved out from the Castle. With his dagger rotating between his fingers and a crow picking at the ash ground looking for any signs of life below, Cypher patiently stood in silence.

Ofcourse, Clementine who had moved slightly ahead of the army, was also waiting.

Beneath her mask, the world pulsed with vivid lines and rainbow like colours cascading together in a beautiful painting. The otherwise white and black colouring of the deadlands had completely faded away. Each breeze and particle in the air shimmered in her vision despite the metal covering her eyes.

This impressive display of a rank fours optical prowess wasn't used much by other Dreamweavers of her level. Despite the upside of being able to see vibrations and even possibly predict an opponents move based on these small shifts and ripples in the colours - it simply wasn't worth it. Not only would it be difficult to fight in the midst of the overstimulation the colours provided, it also had a small weakness to high frequency sound.

While the colours in her sight shifted beautifully, she suddenly raised her head and staired towards the castle. The army who waited with intense focus noticed her movements aswell and watched the castle gates up ahead.

Silence stretched for a few moments before the peace was interrupted by the screaching of metal grinding against metal. The looming castle came alive with renewed vigour as archers mounted the walls along with the occasional weaver that could shoot ranged teqniques.

really

Metal screeching continued, soon revealed to be the chains that lay attached to the bridge above the spiked moat around the castle. Like a death rattle, the chain rotated while the bridge slowly descended onto the ash ground and connecting the castle to the land adjacent to it. With a thud, the chains stopped, having finished lowering the bridge.

The entrance gate to the castle now fully exposed, it's thick wooden frame slid across the floo. It must have easily weighed above 900 Kilogrammes, however as the double doors parted, only one man had been used to open them.

With the gate hitting the entrances outer walls, the full majesty of the man was revealed. His slender frame standing at over six foot nine made him a giant compared to anyone but the saint. His presence shared the likeness of a hunter, a killer and a leader all at the same time. The bridge groaned as he made his first steps onto the bridge, his red robe defying all sense of logic and completely ignoring all logic and staying perfectly stagnant despite the breeze.

Slowly, he grasped both sides of his red hood, revealing a face so free from imperfections that one would feel it was unnatural and discomforting. With long black hair that flowed like a river behind him and pale porcelain white skin, he moved forward with a air of indifference. His sharp gaze scanned the land Infront of him with inhuman speed until stopping on the saint.

Behind him, soldiers in full silver armour that gleamed orange under the moonlight followed behind him, marching in perfect unison. Mixed in with them, black robed men and woman moved, their temperament holding arragonce typical of a Dreamweaver. Despite this arrogance, they seemed hyperfocused and prepared.

The Kingdoms army marched forward after their leader until stepping off the bridge onto solid land and fanning out into a formation mirroring that of the Empires soldiers who silently waited.

The clanging of metal echoed through the land until halting, leaving an uncomfortable quiet in the land while the two armies gripped their weapons firmly and staired at someone in the opposing army as if setting a target early. The creeping tension rose and rose while threatening to reach a breaking point at any moment. For some time the world stood still, frozen in indecision.

In this silence, Clementine dismounted her horse, causing it to sprint away for it's life back to the camp. Now on foot, the saint shouted across the field, addressing the red robed man leading the kingdoms army

,"Archdemon Mamon! Your Disgusting cult has sent you to die!"

Behind her, the army's spirits lifted temporarily as they cheered.If Clementine was like deceptively stunning killer to the Kingdoms men, then to the Empires troops she was a shining beacon of defiance and power.

The archdemon licked his lips in a serpentine manner that tarnished his beautiful image before he responded with wide frantic eyes that sharply contrasted with his previous cold demeanor ," Your wrong Saint! I came willingly to personally offer your head to the supreme Lord Releigh!"

Seemingly mirroring their leaders attitude, the army behind Mamon unsheaved their blades with bloodthirsty glee.

The air around both armies thickened, figuratively and literally. The sheer aura of two rank 4s clashing sent ripples through the bones of those present while reality churned to maintain the rules of the world.

Behind Clementine, the weavers escorting Cypher felt sweat forming on their skin from the pressure, and standing near them, the regular human soldiers exhaled rapidly to cool themselves.

In fights like this, it was always a massive casualty event. The only saving grace is that the two would be focused on eachover and not the mortals or lower ranked Dreamweavers beneath them.