Andrew Amongst Arrivers
As I sat there watching the fog I was unable to truly think strait. It had worked after a fashion. I hadn't truly expected it to. As I had told Max, it was a hail mary play. And you never expect those to provide more then an "at least things aren't worse" result. In this case, I had figured that with an injured arm I wouldn't be much help preparing defenses. So a one in a trillion chance had sounded like a good shot. To be honest, I had thought the whole thing would either fizzle or blow up in my face.
To continue the football analogy, I had thrown the ball as far down field as I could in the vain hopes of getting a touchdown, but at least getting the ball further away from my end zone. In this case that was not disrupting preparations. I was sure others here knew more about creating fortifications and defending an area then I did. Actually making contact, that had been my vain hope. And yet it had happened. As thought returned to me I couldn't help but wonder just what I'd gotten myself into.
Forgive any implied insult Lord Yanon, I thought. In my land it is the earth mother Gaia who protects the natural world. And my research into other worlds shows it is usually a Mother who represents nature and it's duality of life and death, creation and destruction.
Aloud I said "Thank thee for thy gift Lord Yanon. Thank thee for thy guidance Lady Aramintha. With light of wisdom do I now prepare. In your honor, in service of Light and Nature's Balance shall I do battle. So mote it be."
With the contact gone, or at least the sensation of another gone I used the claw to slash through the oroborus of blood I'd made earlier. When doing so I was careful not to mar any of the lines or sigils I'd made beyond that figure eight. Everything I'd read about ritual magic had been quite clear about that. The circle must be properly broken or else catastrophe could occur. Only after I had cut through the figure eight did I leave the circle. Tentatively I tried to move my right arm.
If it truly was healed, which I suspected it to be I decided to use what time we had to practice. With unfinished bone sword in my right hand and ceremonial dagger in my right, I practiced like I usually do. with imaginary foes surrounding me. I had no true style. It was all self taught. My attacks were what felt natural. My defenses consisted mostly of dodging. What defending I did that was. I've never been much for defense.
Overwhelming offense, aye. Quick light strikes followed by power hits, aye. Being a whirlwind of punches, kicks, or slashes, most definitely. But even at a young age I wasn't too keen on defense. Rather my fighting style had long been to charge in hard and fast. When hit, I would soak it up. If knocked down I would get back up and come again even more brutally. That probably was related to the fact that as a child I was prone to berserk rages. And even now still struggled with my fiery temper at times.
Normally when practicing I go for slow precision. It's a form of exercise after all. Not to mention I often practiced in my apartment. Thus space was limited and there was the risk of damaging expensive electronics. Now however I practiced with my full strength and speed. I needed to know how the bone weapon was balanced and how it would affect combat. I usually dual wield using twin daggers after all. Swords I usually wielded two handed in practice, using a katana or hand and a half sword. If using a one handed blade such as a long sword or kukuri style machete I didn't use an off hand weapon usually. Thus I needed to figure out how I would fight this way.
Even so, I knew not when the attackers would arrive. So I only practiced for maybe ten to twenty minutes so I could rest and recover my strength. Going over what I had learned, I came to a few conclusions. As such I approached whomever was planning the defense.
"Got good news, bad news, and take however you want it news. The good news is that I've managed to contact Lord Yanon, the local local god of nature and his wife Lady Aramintha, who leads the local pantheon of Light. As such I've learned a bit more about this Count Irizyn. It's a minor spirit of mischief and malice apparently, nd even the gods of chaos want to kick such entities out of this world.
"The bad news is that even a minor spirit can be big trouble for us. Such things typically need either specific spells, general combat magic, or an enchanted weapon to deal with. And we have none of these things. And it's also likely to have supernatural creatures in it's army. This means that we may need anything ranging from weapons forged from specific materials to magic weapons to hurt them.
"Fortunately such forces also typically require special diets and aren't too keen on taking prisoners. So it's pretty safe to say we'll probably be dealing with orcs or something similar. Which means normal weapons will be just fine if that's what we're facing. And it's doubtful counts forces will be prepared for firearms like what we have. Or even tanks should they go after the armored division.
"Trolls are unlikely since it's a Calvary unit being sent. But if there are any, they'll be big, ugly, probably smell like rotting flesh, and possibly have greenish skin. If you do see a troll, remember that while they can be hurt by normal weapons they do regenerate quickly. As such fire is your friend when fighting a troll. Giants are even less likely for the same reason. You'll recognize a giant if you see one. And while they don't have any particular weaknesses, they are rather tough. I'd suggest aiming for their head with any high caliber weapons available.
"There is the slight chance they will be riding something like a dragon. In that case do not stand in close groups. That's just asking to be hit with a breath weapon. And make sure you aim for soft targets. Eyes, inside the mouth if you can, or even if you're a good enough shot into the nostrils. Dragon scales are tough. It's possible modern firearms can punch through them. The ability for a musket round to pierce full plate is why armor fell out of use until kevlar was invented after all. But I wouldn't risk that without an anti-material rifle or armor piercing rounds. Dragon scales can, and are used to create suits of armor far superior to ones made from steel. While I don't think we'll see anything like that, yet, I felt I should warn you.
"And speaking of magic, spellcasters are a real concern. If you see someone in the attacking forces who's wearing little to no armor, and possibly carrying a staff or rod... shoot them in the head. Do not give them a chance to speak or gesture. Otherwise you may be facing a fireball or lightning bolt. Or any number of other magics both damaging and mind affecting.
"As for the final bit of news... there's apparently a prophesy. No, I don't know what this prophesy is. And I'm not a particular fan of them. They tend to be self fulfilling and rarely good for the ones they involve after all. But considering a major goddess of Light contacted me because of it, this could be good for us. So, any questions or concerns?"
It occurred to me that I'd never thought my years of roleplaying would possibly make me an expert on things I'd actually be facing in real life. And to think, mom use to consider it a useless hobby.