Only the weak use their eyes... [open]

[Oberon]

The young man lost the shiny swagger of youth and turned vicious. Oberon smiled. Good, he'd hit a nerve. He had hoped, however, that his goading would lead the man to slip, to become sloppier and more forceful. He hadn't expected him to keep his focus so well. Their dance became almost desperate, and more than one more glancing blow hit Oberon's side, deepening the wound.

And yet, rather than cry out in protest, as the Unseelie coming to his aid did, Oberon laughed. "Good! Good! Embrace that indignation, turn it to your advantage. Prove yourself." He pushed the boy on, driving their battle towards the woods--toward his support. Another Warrior Fae ran to join the fray with a large axe, and the young guard evaded his blow neatly. He couldn't, however, evade Oberon's final slash across his side, creating a wound to match his own.

Satisfied, he stepped back, pressing a hand to his side to evaluate the wound. The pain of the pressure told him it was time to gracefully step back. After all, the goal today had been more awareness than a simple victory. Not even this place was safe.

He glanced over the shoulder of his assistant, smiling again at the young guard. "The problem, boy… no matter how well you fight? You're on the losing side."

And with that, he turned and ran.

[EXIT OBERON]

His lackey, though, put himself between the guard and the woods, practically growling like the guard dog he was as he raised his axe again.

[Dunstan DeGraff]

Dunstan hated him. He knew it in his bones, he would hate this man just like he did all the other mystics. The reason why his sister and sister-in-law were gone from the world. His taunts certainly pushed him on. Made him forget that the man had slashed his side and that some other mystic had come to his master's aid. He was doing his job, ensuring that the mystics were removed. This man would die. By his blade, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday. Dunstan DeGraff swore by it.

Dunstan was breathing heavily, ignoring the pain suddenly spreading across his side, and the wet stickiness he felt seeping into his guard uniform. He still had one eye close as the blood trickled down from his brown and he glared his distaste at the man. Adjusting his hold on his knives, while he took a moment to catch his breath.

He shouldn't have, the leader was leaving, and he tried to give chase. Not wanting him to get away, but his bath was intersected, and Dunstan roared his anger and frustration. Angry at himself for letting him get away, he attacked the lackey without a second thought. His movements now slowed by his injuries, but the adrenaline kept him going. He dodged out the axe's swing and brought his own blades up. In the next few moments he was pulling his swords out of his attacker, and he found himself alone. The Mystics that had accompanied the chatty cathy were gone, having fled with him, and Dunstan scowled. Wiping his blades before he turned to take in the rest of the party. Things were still a mess, and there were people running too and fro, nobles trying to get away, mystics fleeing and causing trouble. One, big, giant, cluster fuck. He sheathed his swords at the small of his back and then reached up to his brow. Wincing slightly, wiping the blood from his eye, the best he could.

He placed a hand on his injured side and gasped, pulling a shaky hand away to see it coated in blood. "Well fuck," He whispered. Mom wasn't going to like this... He began to move forward, stumbling a bit as he did so. Ignoring the queasy feeling he was starting to feel, and the bit of light headedness. Knowing he couldn't stop yet. He heard a shout in the distance that sounded an awful lot like his name, but he couldn't be sure. He kept his bad eye close and started to move towards the party, trying to see how helpful he could be. Trying to ignore the fact that the leader had gotten away from him.

[Rowan DeGraff]

The screaming sound was enough to shock Rowan, though thankfully, he and his brother and Rosemary were far enough away to dodge most of the intensity of it. Though still, he had to cover his ears to muffle the sound. Once the sound subsided, he glanced back towards the clearing, seeing how all hell was seemingly beginning to break loose.

He heard Cian instruct Rosemary to run for the castle, and as she was ushered towards him, he nodded to Cian and helped direct the woman further away from the battle and onto the safe path just as a couple of guards were leading another group of nobles that way.

"I'm goin' in!" He quickly turned to find Cian moving into the battle and he cursed under his breath. He turned to Rosemary and placed a hand on her shoulder, nodding to her. “Go with them. You’ll be alright.” He urged her forward towards the group before he turned back and ran back towards the chaos to go after Cian. It was then that he heard his brother shouting Dunstan’s name. He halted just before he crept into the shadows of the tree line, instantly becoming camouflaged. Bright green eyes darted around the area, quickly finding his youngest brother attempting to fight the Unseelie leader. He growled under his breath and ran through the shadows as quietly as possible.

He felt the strong gust of wind and it was enough to even cause his massive frame to stumble and fall out of the shadows. Just in time for him to knock into one of the Unseelie, causing the man to fall to the ground. He was quick to get back up, drawing his sword to fight Rowan. The man was about half his size and Rowan gave him an amused grin. Though, he knew better than to underestimate a mystic, so he tilted his head as if telling the man to have a go at him.

The Unseelie laughed and raised his sword as if preparing to fight him, but before the man charged forward, the blade was suddenly engulfed in flames. Rowan blinked a bit in surprise before he withdrew his own sword and charged towards the man.

Despite his strength, the heat and the sparking of the flames made it tough to gauge the man’s actions. Each time his own sword clashed against the flaming blade, it caused more of the embers to fall on him- his arms, his face, burning him each time, causing him to slow down and struggle in the fight. But he didn’t give up. His younger brother needed help and he couldn’t let this mystic take him down.

The Unseelie struck at Rowan just as he was raising his own sword to catch his blade, but he had been a little too slow to dodge, and the flat end of the man’s sword came crashing down against Rowan’s shoulder. He let out a loud yell before he charged forward into the man, knocking him down hard and against a tree, instantly causing the sword’s flames to die out. Rowan leapt back into the shadows, disappearing and leaving the Mystic confused and scrambling to find where he had gone. Before he could do anything else, Rowan had lifted the man by his throat and squeezed it tightly as he pinned him up against the tree. To anyone else witnessing, it would look as if the man were being held up, hanging from something in the tree, struggling. Then, he crashed down to the ground and was gasping for air, his hands at his throat, until his upper body was lifted up and bent backward, his throat slit before he was dropped again.

Rowan picked up the sword that had once been engulfed in flames and ran forward, leaving the man to bleed to death.

But he had been too late to save Dunstan from his own wounds. The Unseelie leader was nowhere to be found and his younger brother was seemingly struggling. He noticed the blood on his face and his side and knew he was in danger of bleeding out, so he rushed forward, and moved behind Dunstan just in time to catch him before he fell from his wounds. “It’s alright, brother. You’ll be alright.” He placed his arms under Dunstan’s armpits and carefully moved him back into the woods away from the battle, laying him down on the ground before Rowan dropped to his knees beside him and looked him over. Once he found the wound at his side, he leaned down to put pressure on it. Green eyes glanced around to see if anyone was around to help, but everyone was busy fighting off the Unseelie. As he should have been, too.

“Dammit, Dunny. What the hell were you thinking?” His gruff voice was stern with him, as it typically was.

He didn’t know how he was going to get Dunstan out without causing him to bleed out more, then he suddenly remembered the sword he had just gotten ahold of. He winced slightly before reaching for it and looking it over quickly, trying to remember how the Unseelie man had ignited it. He held it in front of him and ran his other hand against the blade, instantly causing it to light up. Green eyes shifted down at Dunstan and he frowned before finding a stick nearby and placing it into his brother’s mouth. “Bite down hard… This is going to hurt. I’m sorry.”

And before Dunstan could protest, Rowan lowered the sword and held it against the wound, instantly cauterizing it, his other hand placing firmly against his chest to hold him down.

[Dunstan DeGraff]

With each step, Dunstan was finding it harder to move. His side was flaring with pain, and he could feel the wet stickiness of the wound. Not wanting to think that the Unseelie had cut him deeper than he'd originally thought. He was starting to feel dizzy and a ringing had started in his ears. The distant screams and shouts were all muffled, and he thought he'd trip as the ground was suddenly rushing up to greet him. He winced, but before he could fall, hands had grabbed him by his arms pits. He was being laid down, and he heard what he thought was Rowan's voice.

His head moved towards the sound, his dark eyes landing on his brother as a weak smile suddenly spread across his face. "Rowan! Did you see me?" He asked, in child-like awe, wanting his big brother's approval. His voice was weaker than he'd wanted. That wasn't good. Why was Rowan scowling at him? What was going on? Other than letting the leader get away, Dunstan had thought he'd done rather well. The adrenaline was wearing off, however, and he was going into shock. Rowan's stern voice caused him to frown. "My job." He said like it was an easy answer. You couldn't tell him if Rowan and Cian had been in his shoes they wouldn't have done the same as him. Well, guess what? He'd fought the leader and lived to tell the tale. Or, He hoped he was going to live.

He'd live, right? It'd be real uncool if he didn't after all that. He couldn't see what Rowan was doing, too busy staring up at the sky, as his body began to tremble. He felt cold, did Rowan set him in a snowbank? How rude... Black spots were beginning to fill his vision, "Ro-, I-I don't feel so good." He found himself panting. Rowan was there again, and he suddenly felt the heat, his dark eyes looked up at his brother for a moment. A look of wonder on his face when Rowan was shoving something in his mouth. "Wha-tha for?" He said around the stick when suddenly there was blinding, searing white pain where his injury on his side was.

Dunstan's blood-curdling scream filled the air, and he thrashed weakly under Rowans hand. His hands clawed at his brother's wrist. Trying to get out from under him. His eyes were squeezed shut, a lone tear rolled out of the corner of his eye as he breathed heavily, gritting his teeth hard on the stick while he cried out. The pain was too much. Dunstan's resistance quickly faded as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he soon lost consciousness.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The guards had been moving with the King, but it seemed the man was more impatient today than normal. They had cleaned a safe space, but there was little they could do except follow their leader.

Sebastian could see the fight with the Unseelie leader not going so well. It was less about the DeGraff losing(he was putting up a good fight) and more about where that scenario would end. The captain could only envision the mystic leader wanting to slip away the moment something went wrong. Still, there were others to worry about, namely the masked mystic in front of him wiping Gallahger's blood from his blade.

The captain growled and leveled his own at the man (whom he could only assume was a mystic, better safe than sorry), closing the space between them and swinging his blade powerfully, using his speed, but also his strength to overpower the man.

[Cassiopeia]

"How good of you to join the party, Captain!" Magnus taunted, even through gritted teeth as he brought his blade up barely in time to deflect what could have been a devastating blow. The captain had knocked him back a step. The mystic sneered and countered, making a jab for the captain's side. "Not too busy playing Allarick's lapdog today?"

Perhaps the dog reference might be a bit heavy-handed, but he doubted it was enough for the captain to make the connection, and even if he did, he'd never be able to prove it. One lone commoner against the weight of his family? It would crumble before it even had time to start a rumor.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

The captain didn't consider himself an idiot. Far from it. He was, self admittedly(to himself, not to most others), not very good with word play or subtly of speech or the like. Ballads and epics all made sense but poetry tended to take him much longer to grasp. He wasn't much for words even when conversation was the point so in a fight sich as this, it was all rather far from his mind. It therefore went without saying that the man did not, in fact, catch the reference.

He did, however, catch a few clues as to who he was fighting, though most of it would come together after the fact.

1) Someone who knew him. Yes, he had captain bars but to know he was with the King often enough suggested at least some understanding of not just the guards, but him.
2) A noble. From the language structure, the lack of swearing, and
3) the fact he was a narcissist. Common, in the commoner's mind, of many men of high status, especially from how he was taunting and making a show. Still, no reason to suspect the mystic didn't know how to use the weapon.
4) Someone who had no respect for the King, given the use of the man's common name over a title and that he was
5) in league with the...organized rogue mystics and likely one himself
6) who possessed no direct combat magic from the use of mundane weaponry.

Sebastian did not reply with words. The time for that had long passed. He was not nearly as fast as the other man, and while he side stepped slightly, he also pulled his own sword back to allow the jab to glance off. He attacked again, the tip of his sword seeking the mystic's throat as he stepped into the man's space in an attempt to trip up his footwork. This was no time to respect right of way or chivalry, after all.

[Cassiopeia]

Magnus hissed and stepped back as the guard's blade brushed past his neck, too close for comfort. His haughty demeanor was being quickly replaced with a black rage that practically radiated from him. He gritted his teeth and pressed forward in a new flurry of attacks. If the captain didn't want to chat, so be it. All it would take was one cut, even a small one, for Magnus to put his gramarye to work. All he needed was one hit...

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Even Sebastian, with his infamous bluntness and difficulty reading people, could tell the flashy nobleman was more than miffed at his lack of banter and higher skill. He easily blocked most of the man's attacks, but he was fast, perhaps driven by the newfound focusing of his pride into his blade skills and not his mouth.

He turned away the man's blade or managed to avoid it, but just as his own sword came close a few times, so did the mystic's. He blocked one glancing blow with his bracer and the bounce from the sword nicked his arm. Not that Bastian noticed.

The captain pressed the offensive again with grim cold defiance of the man's burning passion.

[Cian DeGraff]

No matter how quickly he moved, the Mystic managed to keep him back with that power of his- the wind so strong that it was nearly lifting him off of his feet. Cian began to panic, concerned with Dunstan as he appeared to be locking blades with another, and he feared the worst. It was difficult to concentrate on his own opponent as well as Dunny's, and he knew he had to deal with this Mystic first.

His arm was a bit sore from the arrow's graze minutes earlier, but Cian flipped that knife around to hold it by its blade. Just as the Unseelie had to pause and take a breath, seeing as how his magic was slowly draining him with such constant use, the Warden used the strength in his arm to violently toss the knife through the air. It struck the Mystic in the shoulder, stunning him, and that was when Cian charged.

The attack gave him enough time to reach the other man, who was pulling out the bloodied blade with a grimace, prepared to wield it against the DeGraff. But Cian didn't stop, he didn't slow down- grappling the man's arm as the blade was brought around, set to impale. Gloved digits tightened around the man's wrist as he ducked beneath the Unseelie's arm, yanking and causing his opponent to stab himself.

And that's when he heard the scream.

Attention drifted to find Rowan had made it to Dunstan's side, but something had happened. Cian desperately wanted to go to them, but his older brother would have it handled, he would get Dunny out of this mess safely. He had to concentrate on getting everyone else out.

Drawing in a staggered breath, he noticed the Captain was handling his own battle, so he turned his gaze to find King Allarick with his entourage of guards making their way towards the princess. There were enough men surrounding them that they should be safe, but they had to get out of there. Unsheathing his own sword, he spotted Aoife Lee Frye after she'd ushered a few ladies out of the fray before he was moving to her side. "Get over to the king. We're getting out of here." Cian began to notice the Unseelie were less in number. They were either dead or had begun to retreat, so this was their chance to get everyone to safety.

There were few nobles still about, and the Warden was sure to guide any he came across to follow him until he was joining the group surrounding the royals. "Alright, let's move!" Cian had no idea if there was another of higher rank amongst them, but no one else was giving the order. Then, so be it.

With urgency, the guards began to escort the king, his daughter, and whatever nobles they could out of the clearing towards the castle.

[exit Cian]

[Aoife Lee Frye]

Even with a sword in her hand and a scowl on her lips- Aoife didn’t look like too much of a threat in her nice dress and carefully applied makeup. Perhaps that was why she seemed to go unnoticed by the Unseelie, why they seemed to ignore her as she ushered other noble ladies to the forest’s edge and to the promise of safety. The mystic didn’t pause to think about it, to consider her luck, grey eyes looked into the trees- searching for Rosemary and hoping she was long gone.

By the time her gaze found Cian again, he was beside her- telling her to get to the king- and Aoife didn’t question him. Rosemary had been her only loyalty in this fight. And now she was being directed to protect the man who would order her execution in a heartbeat if he so much as suspected the gramarye that ran through her veins. It didn’t matter, she had served the crown in the past and her family still served it now- keep your friends close, and enemies closer- so the mystic followed the warden back into the fray.

[Rowan DeGraff]

It pained Rowan to see his youngest brother injured and in pain. What was worse, was that he was the one inflicting more pain on him. Even though it would help him, he hated that he had to be the one to do it. Outwardly, however, Rowan showed no sign of panic or any other emotion aside from his usual calm and steady manner. He showed no sign that his brother’s screaming bothered him, or that his thrashing and clawing affected him. It was life or death here and Rowan needed to do it to save his life.

When Dunstan passed out, his lips twitched in the slightest of a frown and he quickly finished up, ensuring the wound was closed off enough for him to survive the trip to the infirmary. He fastened the sword to his back before he crouched down again and carefully lifted his brother up cradling him in his arms. No time was wasted then as Rowan quickly, yet carefully carried Dustan out of the woods.

[Exit Rowan & Dunstan]