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Post by nokose on Apr 21, 2008 2:07:55 GMT -5
The moment of awe had passed for Nokoseuhbholke. A tinge of envy hinted by his brow at the men who threateningly held the massive chunk of ice before the Fire Navy. Their waterbending holding the enormous projectile steadily in mid-air.
Even the wounded that most of his men were bringing aboard his ship, carting them over towards the healers gathered at the ships cabin, became quiet and motionless as statues. It was if as the warriors were waiting for everyone to breath again, exhale at least, before continuing. Or simply, they wanted the sailors of the Fire Navy a chance to utter any final prayers.
Nokose said none of his own Caring nothing for the men of the Fire Naiton. Doubtless such a massive weapon would miss. Vicious and grim, a harsh smile overcame the look upon his face. And not even he could hear his voice in the cheers and ululations that erupted when as the Fire Navy ships were harpooned, sending the entire fleet of them into disarray.
"I believe this means a lot less of our own will need a healer," wanting the others to get back to work.
"Good, that means more time with me," one of the injured warriors replied.
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Post by dian on Apr 22, 2008 2:34:00 GMT -5
It was not aimed at him. He knew that. They were not lined up with the iceberg, a chunk of wall erected against them in fact, that now floated in midair. But that did not remove the fear that had overcame Dian. Scarred motionless; a bird believing that if it stood still long enough the predator would not see it.
Moments later Dian was staring at the command bridge's ceiling. Groaningly titling his head he spotted his second-in-command who had tackled him before they crash, protecting him. Now he lay against the wall with his head at an unnatural angle. Turning again he watch the helmsman pick himself from off the steering, clutching his abdomen and likely thankfull he wasn't impaled upon it. Picked off the floor himself, Dian searched for recollection as he came to terms with the situation; the surreal calamity that befell his fleet the moment the Northern Water Tribe launched the iceberg, cleaving into a frigate's tower like an axe into wood. Now they were down by three more warships, including the one his own command vessel had careened into during the ensuing chaos, fatally puncturing the side of its hull.
Dian's command ship bucked and pulled, worsening the other ship's punctured hull as it gave. Tearing free, the command ship chugged backwards from the Northern Water Tribe's fleet. While the other vessel was left to sink a second flag arose above the command ship's crows nest. Unfurling under the red and black colors of the Fire Nation was a two-tone green flag, a dark green circle inscribed in the flag's center with a square hole in its middle. As Dian's ship began pulling it self from the battlefield the remaining five warships began to signal to one another in a like manner with the same flag belonging to the identity of the Earth Kingdom. Part insult towards their mortal enemies and part attempt at saving face when confronted with defeat..
Again from the crow's nest of Dian's ship came a flare. One final signal directed towards Mao. The Fire Navy may have been falling back, once again, but Mao was to continue with his mission and with any luck--rendezvous with the remnants further out at sea.
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Post by saghani on Apr 22, 2008 9:18:43 GMT -5
Saghani watched with grim satisfaction as the Fire Nation fleet was thrown into chaos. He saw flags being waved and flares shooting up. They were in panic, retreat. It was over at last. A tiny smile formed on his face, and for a moment he just stood there, watching with satisfaction. However, he was soon brought back to reality by the shouting of one of the men manning the catapult on his iceberg.
“Uh, sir? The thingamajig is kinda stuck,” he heard, turning towards the voice. “You know the one that moves the arm?”
“The crank?” Saghani questioned, making his way down to the machine and inspecting it.
He got an affirmative from the man and from looking at the machine itself. Something had lodged itself in one of the gears. Quickly, Saghani made to remove it, eager to get the contraption firing again, but was soon distracted by several shouts. He looked upward just in time to see a bomb from one of the balloons slam into the side of the iceberg.
The iceberg immediately began to break apart, and Saghani found himself jolted forward. The right hand that had been working on the catapult was pushed further into it, and as the machine buckled from the impact, the gears turned about and trapped his hand in between them. Letting out a cry of surprise and pain, Saghani tried to remove it as the catapult tilted, falling off the collapsing iceberg. It was no use. His hand wasn’t moving, and the only thing Saghani could do was take a deep breath as he and the machine fell into the ocean. As the machine slowly fell downwards, Saghani tugged on his right arm in desperation, but again to no avail. Despite his situation, he managed to keep his wits. If he spent much more time on his hand, he’d drown, and it was crushed anyway. The only way he was surviving was if he abandoned it entirely.
Awkwardly, Saghani unsheathed his sword with his left hand, raised it above his head, and swung it down at his right wrist. Bubbles escaped his tightly clenched mouth as he held in a gasp of pain, and red began to trail upwards through the water like smoke but he was not done yet. Again he raised the sword, and again he brought it down, and this time he cut himself free. His head dizzy from the pain, blood loss and shortage of air, he kicked as hard as he could, desperately propelling himself upward through the water. His lungs felt as though they were on fire. Any moment now they would give out. He kicked harder still, flying upwards towards the light and the sounds of battle.
With a haggard gasp, he broke to surface, greedily gulping in the precious oxygen around him. He flailed in the water, desperately looking on for something to hold onto. He found a chunk of the iceberg that he’d been on floating nearby. He feebly kicked towards it, and instinctively reached towards it with his right arm, but only succeeding in bloodying the chunk of ice. Thinking fast, he stabbed into it with his sword, and then used all his remaining strength to pull himself on top of it with one hand. Then, he simply laid still, quivering from the cold and holding the bloody stump on his right wrist tightly to his chest in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. As he fought to maintain consciousness, he gazed around him. The row of icebergs was behind him, and the medical ships in front of him. He tried to kick towards the ships, but found it impossible. He was absolutely spent. It took all he had left just to hold on to this chunk of ice and stay conscious.
“Not yet,” he murmured. “I can’t…not yet…”
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Post by nati on Apr 22, 2008 10:31:33 GMT -5
In a small wave of quiet, all the injured they dared to carry were being taken care of, and Nati another dared to climbed the stairs, and hoping to have a last look of the battle, so she could tell her family, she saw that the Fire Nation had been pushed back. Suddenly feeling like a huge weight had been swept off her shoulders, she let her cry join in with the men’s, she held onto the older healer next to her, embracing her, and whispering.
“We’ve won!” Tears felt imminent, her brother was going to be safe another day, and her family. They had pulled through. And then her azure eyes beheld a horror, one of the icebergs gave a loud shrudder, and fell into pieces with a loud explosion. A chill swept through her body.
Nati gripped onto the older healer, standing still for a few minutes to absorb the storm of feelings running through her body. She stared out the waters, dreading the number of men lost in the sinking of the ice-berg. The older healer left down the stairs to tell of the news, they had won. Her head buzzed with information, random scraps of old gossip re-surfacing like some the men’s bodies. Her heart skipped a beat, she watched a man burst from the waters, the colour of red bleeding into the chunk of ice. One was alive.
She must have uttered a sound, or told someone a man was there, but Nati could not remember saying a single word. The man was quickly picked up by some waterbenders, and knowing from her own experience of the day before, the man would not survive in the freezing waters.
“Quickly! Get him down stairs.” Nati urshered to men to carry the barely conscious man down. “Oh spirits…his hand…” She muttered, keeping pace with the men carrying Saghani, the blood was everywhere, and soon it would be over her too. Biting back any bile, and setting quick order to other healers –there was no time to let someone take over, Nati was already working at stopping the bloody flow before Saghani was set down on a cot.
“He’s been in the water! Cut away his clothes and get him covered.” She instructed, tying a tourniquet about his wrist and then held his arm up to slow the blood flow. “Hold his arm up.”
Nati reached to find as much padding and banaes as possible, and then wrapped a good amount of it around his bleeding stump to stop the flow more. All they could do for the moment would be to stop the bleeding, then a master healer would have to decide what to do, if to remove more or leave it.
Nati bent a large amount of water into her hands, and quickly encased his bandage clad arm in ice. And it was over. Nati stared at her hands, covered in blood, and the front of her robe smeared with it. She released a great breath, cleaned her hands in water which turned an unsavoury pink like whale blubber. It took her a moment in the dimmes of the lights to see that it was the commanding officer over Chamir, the one who had talked down to him only a day or so before.
She reached out to touch his neck gently, feeling for the tinest hint of life. She felt a flicker of life, and knew this man would live. Letting her mind close and become automatic, she set about preventing any onsets of hypothermia with chi-blocking. After that, in a way a lover might caress their partner, she gentle brushed any hair away from his face, pressing her hand over his forehead, to simply let the man know she was there, and he was safe.
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Post by aden on Apr 22, 2008 23:14:49 GMT -5
The trenuchet crew got off another decent shot before it became apparent that the Fire Nation fleet had had enough of this battle. Flares and flags rose up from the tower of what was presumably the commander's ship, and every vessel that wasn't dead in the water was immediately turning tail to flee. Aden watched the ships as they made their best attempts to retreat, a great sense of accomplishment swelling in his chest. And yet, even though it was obvious that the Fire Nation had lost, the battle was not yet over.
With a glance down the line of icebergs, orders were relayed to pursue and immobilize the remainder of the fleet. Lighter craft, stocker wih benders, led the charge and shot past the path of the ships to erect a hasty barrier of ice to block their escape.
"Let's not let them have all the fun!" came the shout of one of the other men in Aden's iceberg platform, and the young waterbender found himself inclined to agree.
"Hold on," he called back, immediately beginning to propel the iceberg toward the nearest cruiser.
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Within minutes, a thick barrier of ice closed off nearly the entire mouth of the bay outside Shai city's wall. The waterbender boats had circled back around, easily outmaneuvering the massive ships with their unparalleled speed. Fire Nation soldiers were throwing everything they had at the Water Tribe defenders, but there were simply too many waterbenders. They flooded the decks, lobbing veritable rivers of water up over the rails to wash the sailors aside like insects. They focused particularly on the largest ship, and before long it was lifted out of the water on spires of ice.
Aden and several other trebuchet platforms had made their way close to the action, flanking the Fire Nation ships to prevent them from slipping around the ice wall. Aside from managing to launch a few more projectiles with the trebuchet, and Aden hurling a handful of javelin-sized icicles at the deck, they were really only serving the purpose of keeping the ships from running away.
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Post by saghani on Apr 25, 2008 9:27:16 GMT -5
It took all the focus Saghani had to remain conscious and cling to his sword and the little chunk of ice as it was propelled forward by the benders. His mind, clouded and weary, could think of little else. He heard voices and saw movement through half open eyes as he was pulled on board, but he couldn’t make sense of it. All Saghani could be aware of for sure was that he was moving as they carried him and set him down. He clung to his sword the whole way, until it was finally pried from his fingers, he feebly tried to grasp it his fingertips brushing against the raven feathers before it disappeared. With that gone, he turned what willpower he had left to staying conscious, but felt unable to even keep his eyes open anymore.
For a while, there was nothing, but suddenly he started to feel a warmth slowly spreading throughout his body. He’d never been healed with waterbending before, so he could not recognize it, but as it spread, shards of awareness began to return. He felt a hand on his forehead, and his eyes opened half way. Slowly, his eyes regained a bit of their sharpness and things came into focus more as they turned upwards, tracing from the hand on his forehead up to the body that possessed it. It was a woman; a healer. He was on a healing ship. He blinked once and opened his mouth to speak, but at first only exhaled. After taking a moment to gather himself, he opened his mouth, but this time spoke.
“The battle…” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “Have I missed the end?”
It was a somewhat odd question to ask, in a sense. Many soldiers in his situation might ask whether their side had won, but Saghani had no doubts of the Water Tribe’s victory. He simply had simply wanted to see it with his own eyes.
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Post by tsumao on Apr 28, 2008 21:33:53 GMT -5
Mao was filled with defeat as he saw the red flare that came out of the sky from the flagship, they had been bombing the wall, trying to destroy the offensive that the water tribe had set up. He was angry, and red in the face. How could they lose to these savages?
The same weapons that had defeated the war balloons before were being pushed toward the balloons, to get in range to take them out. With the signaling of the flare, Mao knew that their would be no help from the warships. He looked down, at the large crimson bomb that was at his feet, it was so enormous it took up most of he balloon and made it sink slightly below the other balloons. The black insignia of the fire nation decaled the explosive, a symbol that they were proud to carry even at this grim hour.
Sweat rolled down Mao's forehead, and almost immediately began freezing from the cold. A nervousness came over him, and the thoughts filling his head were those of a mad mans. His air force was damned, all the dreams of flight would be crushed by the fire lord's anger at this humiliating defeat. Everyone that survived the defeat would be disgraced and probably retired, and that was a reality Mao could not accept.
"Take only the fuel you need to get back to the flagship, and give me the rest of your fuel." Mao loudly demanded to all that were under his supervision. "We are going out with a bang!" Mao said with a maniacal laughter following. He pointed his finger at the icy top of the palace.
The other flag ships began tossing flasks of fuel over into Mao's basket, all of the men looking to Mao as a man who had lost his mind. Soon after they began heading away from Mao's lone balloon. Mao began adding the extra fuel to the burning fire created by the shivering fire bender that had the misfortune of being Mao's pilot.
The balloon began floating higher than any balloon had ever been, Mao looked down at the palace with a scope...
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Post by dian on Apr 29, 2008 2:58:44 GMT -5
Can a man even press his own skull?
Dian wanted to know if it was possible but rather not experiment upon himself. However the tearing, metallic scream that echoed inside the command bridge made him want to try such an experiment. The Northern Water Tribe had attempted to halt his command vessel, their waterbenders momentarily succeeding in lifting the vesself out of the water atop spires of ice, but did so while it was still moving.
Rather than come to an abrupt halt the ship, the vessel continued moving in its reverse direction. The hull skipped and skidded and scraped across the small ice plateau raised underneath it until finding its way back into the water. There was no telling how those on deck, or even below, were fairing the rough ride as Dian and most of the bridge picked themselves off the floor. All there was needed from any of the ships still left in this battle was to retreat. Hastily as possible.
Dian firmly believed that there would be no certainity of safety or surrender from the Northern Water Tribe once Mao had completed his mission. For him, maybe others, there came a fear of savage reprisal from their enemies. A murderous rage proceeded by arctic waves more terrifying than any maelstorm the open seas could provide,
As pyrrhic victory as this grim situation was becoming, Dian was managing to place a smile upon his features. The remnants of his fighting force scrambling to fight their way out of the harbor. The sole surviving transport barge, that served as launchpad for the warballoons, and it paltry escort of speed-boat patrollers had safely fled the vicinity. Sailing across the sky above him, Dian could barely make out silhouttes of warballoons--what still remained of the Fire Nation's first air fleet. And further ahead was Shai City--the palace...
He pointed out to his crew. Continued directing towards the matter, wanting them to acknowledge this fact while they scrambled and yelled about an incoming object. The palace was struck. The palace was burning. The palace was falling. Surely that alone was worth it, Dian had said outloud while someone wrapped their arms around his shoulders and tried to tackle him to the floor as something came closer, wobbling through the air. The jian fell out of his hands and his knees slammed onto the floor. The bridge's window exploded inward. The contents of a leather sac bursted forth.
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Post by aden on Apr 30, 2008 14:08:54 GMT -5
Several of the ships that had been blocked from retreat had begun raising white flags and ceasing their fire as the relentless Water Tribe defenders assailed them with water and ice. Eventually, no more fire was being thrown from the ironclad fleet, and the Water Tribe officers out on the sea quickly came together in conference. After a swift exchange, three warchiefs and a half-dozen benders were elevated up to the deck of the largest frigate among the remainder of the Fire Nation fleet on a column of ice.
The Water Tribe warriors hopped onto steel-plated deck, where over a hundred Fire Nation soldiers were waiting. They seemed tense and ready to attack, but the knowledge that harming these emissaries would result in certain death kept them in chack. Warchief Hissun, among the three superior officers who had boarded the ship, strode forward in order to bring the focus onto himself.
"Who is your commanding officer?" he asked loudly, scanning the deck. Soldiers glanced around, and after a few moments some of them started to give way to a man approaching from the bridge. The man was older and wearing significantly more decorative armor, and he seemed to make the walk with such disdain... Definitely the signs of a Fire nation commander.
"I am in charge here," the man said, trying to maintain some form of pride through the humiliating process of surrender.
"You will order your man to stand down and surrender or by the spirits we will send this entire invasion force to the bottom of the ocean," Hissun replied, wasting no time in delivering the terms. The opposing commander sneered, but before a response could be had, there was a sound of an immense explosion from far away. Every head on deck swiveled around to view the fireball that had erupted over the great palace. The maginificent structure shook and crumbled from the heat and force of the blast, sending debris raining down over the city. Hissun's eyes widened and for a moment he was in complete and utter shock.
"Well," the Fire Nation officer said, looking at the scene with a grim sense of satisfaction on his face, "At least it wasn't a total loss." The words barely left his mouth, however, before a tendril of water suddenly reached out and snaked its way around the man's waist. The officer barely had time to shout something unintelligible before he was picked up and hurled through the air and over the side of the ship. He fell about five stories to the ocean below, landing with a painful splash.
Hissun glanced at the man next to him, a fellow warchief who had not taken the loss of the palace very well. His face still showed a frightening amount of rage, but Hissun merely gave the man an understanding nod and did not chastise him for his actions. Meanwhile, the Fire nation soldiers standing around them seemed to be a mix of horror and outrage.
"Who is next in command?" Hissun asked, once more addressing the Fire nation soldiers. After several moments' hesitation, another well-dressed officer stepped forward.
"I am... And this fleet hereby submits," he said, dropping to one knee and bowing his head. Hissun watched with growing satisfaction as men all around the deck followed suit and began dropping to the ground as a sign of surrender. A few soldiers on deck picked up signal lights to relay the orders to the other ships, and within a few minutes the remaining ships had lowered their arms and allowed Water Tribe officers to board.
The battle, it seemed, was finally over. All that remained was to determine the fate of the enemy soldiers.
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Post by nati on May 1, 2008 16:11:14 GMT -5
The man suddenly woke up, and Nati pulled her hand away feeling like she’d invaded his personal space. The man then had the force of will to force his lips to move. The words were barely formed on his lips, and Nati had to learn forward so ensure she heard him. Her azure eyes crinkled in worry.
“The battle…Have I missed the end?”
“I…I don’t know.” Nati found herself admitting, she hadn’t been watching much of the battle, she’d been down here most of the time since it’d started, she’d seen only a small glimpse that had assured victory. “I, maybe…everything’s moved so fast…I’m sorry.” Nati had to admit the truth, she couldn’t embellish any details, despite her earlier wishes of seeing the end for herself, like the demure woman she was, she felt better not knowing how many had died or been swallowed up by the ocean spirit.
“You’d better get some rest, I’ll stop as much pain as I can.” Nati said quietly, patting the cover around his neck to make sure he’d stay warm. Nati kept watch over Saghani during the short trip to the back of the harbour, where hopefully her home was still in tack, and she could get a good night’s rest.
–Nati has left this thread-
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Post by saghani on May 1, 2008 20:29:56 GMT -5
Saghani listened silently to the woman’s answer. So, perhaps it was not too late to see the end of the battle? He had to see it, or at least that was what his muddled brain was telling him right now, for it no longer had the energy to think anything through. He told his body to get up and see it, but it did not seem to want to comply. The most he got was a small twitch from his left leg and the clenching of his fingers…his remaining ones anyway.
It was odd to only feel a blotch of pain where his right hand should have been. Fortunately, it was fading…wait…everything was fading. The lights, the sounds of the healers, it was all slowly being replaced with nothing. He tried to fight it, for no reason but instinct, really, but it was no use. His eyes fluttered for a couple of moments, closed, and then his head rolled slightly to the side as he finally lost consciousness.
[Saghani has left the thread]
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Post by aden on May 3, 2008 10:16:17 GMT -5
From down below, Aden could only watch as the final minutes of the battle unfolded. The destruction of the great palace was an enfuriating loss, especially since the Fire nation must have already known they were defeated, but compared to the greater victory that had been won Aden managed to hold his anger in check. When at last the white flags were unanimously raised over the Fire Nation ships, a blast from a war horn sounded by one of the Water Tribe vessels and the victory was official.
Cheers went up all around, and even from the city where several more horn blasts relayed the message, Aden was sure he could hear the cheers of more warriors and citizens. At that point, a tremendous sense of pride washed over the young waterbender and he suddenly felt the need to sit down.
The fast few days, indeed, the last two months, had been a sort of baptism into war for Aden. During the last few weeks he had been in multiple battles and taken his share of enemy lives, and now he had to think to remember exactly why he was so driven thusfar. The very fact that the reason didn't immediately return to him said spoke volumes, and after a second or two when the memory of his dead friend came to mind, Aden had a strange shift in mood.
From the thrill of victory a moment ago, he was now thinking about all the men who were no longer alive to to share this success. All the men, soldiers, civilians, and even enemies who had died over the course of the fight. The sudden flux of thoughts brought a sour taste to his mouth, and even as men around him continued their celebration, Aden merely sat quietly until he was ordered to move the iceberg back toward the wall.
Aden has left the thread.
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The Fire Nation ships left behind were salvaged by the Water Tribes for parts as well as potential reverse engineering. The crew of said ships were largely released at sea using whatever life-boats and flotation devices could be found. Those that weren't lucky enough to secure a spot on a boat, and who didn't want to face the other option of being executed or imprisoned, were slapped onto a platform of ice to be hauled by the other boats.
It was almost suicide to send so many small craft out onto the open ocean, especially with such limited supplies of food and water... But if they were lucky then perhaps they would come across the ships of their fleet that managed to make it to safety. Several members of the war council were not so keen on the idea of taking the chance that the entire naval force would simply return against them... But when storm clouds were visible on the horizon, they figured at least half would perish at sea.
The night after the battle's final conclusion, a collective funeral service was held for the fallen warriors of the tribe. The dead were honored for their sacrifice, and then the spirits were praised for the victory.
Reconstruction began the next day, first and foremost on the great palace at the city's core. Even those who had suffered heavy losses during the siege could look up at the steadily rising structure that was to be a bigger, grander palace than before, and take hope that things would eventually return to normal.
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