A City Falls: Start

[voidtreckermods]

Preparation

Just after light on the seventh day of the month of Bassoon everyone’s SCA glows with the colour of the void before showing a message. A briefing for the mission to come.

Anyone who goes to investigate the dressing carriage will find all the cupboards and drawers open. They may need to battle through spider webs but soon will find an array of clothes. Trousers, skirts, dresses, shirts, robes, cloaks. Everything they will need and plenty of choice. All the clothes have accents of team colours in more muted hues than the normal bold hoodies they wear.

A few hours later there is an announcement over the speakers. "Arrival to Planet #25768 imminent. Prepare for exit from Void. Drop order: Purple, Orange, Red, Blue. All passengers are to wear their Safety Control Apparatus and are reminded that emergency evacuation protocol is three short taps."

The train shudders and jerks. It is time.

Purple

"Purple Team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Purple team to doors."

The train flies down through the air before coming to a stop between two rocky outcrops. The doors hiss open, it’s a bit of a jump down to the ground and anyone who looks back will find the train hard to see. Not invisible but definitely cloaked, shifting to blend in with the rock.

They can hear the sound of many footsteps and the high sound of young voices. It is easy to hear where they need to be.

As they move down the rocky slope they will see the main pass. A large group of children are walking. Spirits are high even if it is clear they are on their guard. Older teens are wearing weapons, swords, the odd axe, a few daggers. Nothing expertly crafted but they all wear them with ease. Slightly younger children carry the very young, toddlers and those too young to walk and keep pace.

There’s a sound from in front of the group. From around the corner a girl, about thirteen years old, runs towards them. Her braids bounce against her shoulders, her eyes are wide with fear and she waves her hands at the others. “Run! Run!”

A shadow looms behind her, a winged wolf, gaining speed towards her. Sat on the wolf is a spear wielding goblin.

From all around them a growling of many more wolves, in the hills, close and ready to pounce.

Orange

Once Purple Team are gone the train flies again. "Orange Team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Orange Team to doors."

The train seems to be still concealed as it hovers at the city walls. There’s a bit of a jump onto the walls but at least they are near one of the staircases down into the city.

Also luckily no one seems to have seen them appearing out of no where though that has more to do with the general chaos rather than anything else!

There is a lot of chaos! People evacuating, animals everywhere, people looking lost and bewildered. Get herding or helping and encourage people up that cliff path!

Red

The train flies onward. "Red team to doors. Drop in two minutes. Red team to doors."

The train makes a slightly bumpy landing on a rocky slope. Scrambling up the slope red team will see a group of fighters, perhaps eighty in total. There are some supplies to the side, not yet allotted. Some horses and weapons. All the fighters are currently focused on a tall woman who is on horseback, facing them from the front.

“… Say those that stand here, as few as we may be were the ones who end the goblin menace on our lands for good. For our children and our families. We fight!”

The end of what was clearly a rousing speech, the fighters cheer. They begin to move over the slope, towards the goblin camp below. If you are joining this battle the time is now!

Blue

The train flies low, skimming over the lake. "Blue Team to doors. Drop in one minute. Blue Team to doors."

Jumping down off the train they will land in the shallows of the lake. It’s not deep enough to go over their boots and now too far to wade to shore. The shore is rocky, loose rocks and pools of water to avoid. The tower stands before them. Three goblins, riding wolves perch on the walls high above them. The sky above crackles with lightning that is not at all natural.

The doorway to the tower is open, there are a lot of stairs to get up. The howls of the wolves fill the air as the wizards fight them off above. Time to climb!

Comments

[seawanderer]

Time in battle tends to do that. They're both well used to it, and to fighting beside each other. With each other as one. Maglor is an extension of Maedhros' arm, and a shield.

Even they need the occasional breather, though not until most of their foe is dead, and while Maglor doesn't let go of his sword, he does pause and clasp hands with his brother, grip firm.

"Most are dead," he reports. "I think few have managed to harm our comrades."

[castintoflames]

Maedhros depends on him in the same way that he depends on his heart to beat and his lungs to breathe. Yet that doesn't strike him as entirely fair considering he abandoned Maglor, so he reaches out for him; not taking him for granted.

"You are uninjured?" he pulls Maglor into his arms, kissing the top of his head.

[seawanderer]

No. Not fair.

He takes a quick breath when he feels the tug and swiftly lowers his blade, glad for the glove's help in making holding the sword far easier. He leans against his brother.

"I'm fine, Nelyo."

[castintoflames]

He will thank Tony later. The glove is durable, flexible and precisely what Maglor needs. But he can't focus on the glove right now; he just needs them to be alright.

"Nothing matters more to me." he releases him and lifts the sword again, ignoring how his palm bleeds against the hilt, "Are we done?"

[seawanderer]

The glove makes it easy to forget about, with how comfortable it is.

Maglor gives his brother a gentle squeeze before pulling away. He looks around, watching the other fighters dispatch the rest of the goblins immediately in the area. "For now at least. We should get your hand looked at." Because of course he noticed.

[castintoflames]

He deserves to forget about some of his pain. Maedhros would take all of it from him if he could, but that isn't possible yet.

The other fighters meet his approval and closes his bad eye so that they are not blighted by Morgoth's shadows in his field of vision.

"Mm it's fine." he heaves his sword over one shoulder and steps down from their small hill of goblin corpses.

[seawanderer]

He's right there to help his brother stay steady on his feet as they leave carnage behind.

"Let me fuss," he scolds. "Atto can take care of Curvo, but you are mine to look after."

[castintoflames]

Maedhros is surprised into a small blush by the insistence and he stays close to Maglor as they walk back.

"I want to see your hand too, then. We can take turns."

[seawanderer]

He's reward with a warm smile as Maglor pushes the bloodlust of battle down with a flick of his sword before sheathing it.

"I know," he answers lightly. Of course his brother would want to check for himself. "We will.

[castintoflames]

Sheathing the larger sword will be a bit difficult - and he wants to clean it before putting it away anyway. So he continues to carry it, a small, sweet smile touching his lips when he sees Maglor's expression.

"Soaking them might do us some good."

[seawanderer]

He'll clean his sword later.

"Mm. If there's time. We don't know how long reinforcements will take."

[castintoflames]

"We will make time." he gives him a sharp look and quickens his steps, "One of these worlds could make us ill."

[seawanderer]

He forces himself to take a breath instead of give voice to his impatience. He wants this done with already. Maglor matches the increase in pace, sticking close to Maedhros.

"Even staying on the train could," he counters with a glance.

[castintoflames]

"So let's see to the wounds that won't close frequently." he doesn't glance at him, his expression tight and stubborn, "You have one functional hand. I do not."

[seawanderer]

"I have two, with help," he answers. He'll be asking Tony if he could help his brother with regaining his right hand. "And you will not lose that hand, Nelyo." He won't allow it.

[castintoflames]

"Mm for now. We're not indestructible, Kano."

A fact he has had to come to grips with in the worst ways possible. He glances at his left hand where it grips his sword, lips pursed.

"I won't be good for anything then."

[seawanderer]

"I survived," Maglor points out, tone carefully neutral.

"We will get our wounds tended," he relents with the next breath. "And you will not lose your hand." And ends with a slight hiss of promise.

"You have never been useless, Nelyo."

[castintoflames]

"You are Fading." he murmurs, unwilling to speak the words too loudly. Nodding sharply, he enters the train and walks to the kitchen area, wiping his sword down before he sheathes it.

"I do like being able to feed myself...and to protect you." his brow furrows and he fills a bowl with water, rinsing off the blood on his hand.

[seawanderer]

"Yes." And his tone dips coolly. "Yet I am better here." Because he's not alone. Because he has family around him again.

Maglor follows suit in cleaning his sword before resheathing it, and breathes, struggling to push back the darkness of the battle. "You would find a way, but it will not be necessary. I won't allow it. No harm will come to you either, for I am your right hand and I will not fall."

But his hands, when he goes to clean them, are a little less than steady now that the sounds of flesh being sliced to pieces is behind them for a few hours.

[castintoflames]

"I will pinch you back into solidity." he growls and it is clear that he is pushing back the same sort of darkness that plagues his brother by his tone alone. Fighting is too easy and once the fever of battle touches them, they are prone to succumbing to it until they have no choice but to rest.

"Kano..."

For Maedhros, the sight of a brother in distress will always break through his hunger for battle. He dries off his hand and slips his arms around Maglor's waist, resting his chin on his shoulder.

"You are more to me than that."

[seawanderer]

"While you are here," he reminds, perhaps a bit more cruel than he needs to be. But it will always hurt, that Maedhros had given up and left him instead of stayed.

Maglor manages to clean and dry his hands before he finds himself enveloped in his brother's arms, glove stripped off to be cleaned with more care...later. It matters less than burrowing into his brother and breathing, trying to steady himself even as he clings to something solid, warm, alive.

"...You left me before. I won't let you be taken from me so easily now."

[castintoflames]

He is ready to enclose him in his arms completely, his cheek resting against Maglor's dark hair. The words hurt but he doesn't shy away from them. If their roles had been switched, he would have been angry and heart-broken too. He isn't sure he could have carried on like his brother had done.

"It's just a hand." he whispers, "I survived losing the right one, didn't I?"

Well most of him had anyway. The whole experience had changed him irrevocably.

[seawanderer]

Maglor tucks himself in a little closer to his brother, nose right up against Maedhros' neck where he can breath in the familiar smell. Cruel words won't keep him from clinging tight and desperate to not let go. He'd survived losing everyone else.

Maedhros' death had all but destroyed him.

"It's more than that," he insists, fingers twisting in the fabric of Maedhros' tunic. "I would rather never sing again than lose you again."

[castintoflames]

Maedhros will spend all the time it takes to piece him back together. He knew he was important to his brother before it all came to an end, but he hadn't a clue how important. Now he is beginning to see and he is reluctant to let Maglor go for even a few moments.

If he is holding him, he is safe.

"Shhh don't say that." he doesn't know if the Valar are listening, "You have lost enough because of me. If there is a way for me to return, let me bear the brunt of any punishment."

[seawanderer]

There are...a lot of pieces still that should be put back together. It's slow progress. Maglor could still stand to gain a few pounds. But there's a bit more substance to him these days than when he'd first arrived on the platform.

Lips twitch at the soothing hush and his breath eases. Some of the desperation, oddly, lessens. "Staying on the VoidTrecker with you would be enough for me." He has a lot more here than what was left to him on Middle-Earth.