Chapter Five: The Incursion

The marten turned slowly at the sound of his name being called. "Val?" he stated in surprise, shocked to see his sister waving to him, as she pulled up in a coach. He remembered sending her an invitation, but with all her missions and duties as a Da Ji Inari, he didn't actually think she'd be able to make time to attend the celebration.

"Dear Originator," Donovan called out, his eyes widening and his smile broadening, as he ran up to the side of the coach. "Valorisa, is that you!? By Balan's way, I didn't think you'd make it! Dells, you look great! And...Is that a new hairstyle?"

Val simply nodded. "Having my hair loose, it was always getting caught on branches and such," she replied. "I didn't want to cut it short, so the next best option was to tie it back. You like?" She smiled, and tossed her braid a little to show off, a display Donovan chuckled in amusement at.

"I love," he replied energetically. "But, what are you doing here so early? Did I forget to specify the time on the invitation? The ceremonies...the celebration...people are still getting ready. It doesn't start for a few hours yet. Is...Is there a reason you're here so early?"

Valorisa nodded.

"There is..." she stated, a stern look falling upon countenance. "But not here. I need a place I can talk to you in private. As well as where medical attention can be provided. It's not for me. It's for...someone else in here."

"Someone...else?" Donovan leaned his head in through the window of the carriage and gasped, as he saw Severus lying there with his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. His face marked with a deathly pallor, as he panted unevenly while trying to stay conscious. A sight which left Donovan in shock, as he turned to Valorisa and murmured, "Dear gods...what...what by the powers of the three happened. How..."

"How did he end up like this?"

Valorisa shrugged. "I don't know the full details, dear brother." she assured. "I only know what Severus told me, after I encountered him wandering across the road. Something about Dylan, and a voyage she took Severus and the crew of the Hoarfrost's Halberd on. I didn't get much, aside from that. Oh, except that the island which Dylan took them to, was Ourobouros Island."

"Ourobouros?"

Valorisa nodded. "You remember the stories as well, then?"

Donovan nodded. "Too well," he murmured. "I was younger than you at the time, but I remember Mother used to tell stories of the ancient wars which occurred between the ermines of Ourobouros Island who had turned to revering some dark entity, and between our people the martens. They who revered the Originator. The great hart of light and creation, known as Balan, here on the Mintaran mainland."

"That's right." Valorisa affirmed. "And according to Severus, Dylan went there to recover an ancient artifact from that time. Something to do with a master plan she's been constructing for the past five years." "What?"

Severus grunted as he managed to sit upright. "It's...true lad," he grunted, in between ragged breaths. "She used some kind of ancient summoning magic to try and have me killed, when I told her I wanted nothing to do with it. That's how I ended up in the shape I'm in. Had I not remembered that I'd stolen a teleport crystal from her cabin, I'd still be trapped on the shores of that island. Surrounded on all sides by fog too thick to even see through, and by snakes who had been ensorcelled to think about nothing more, than to attack me until I was either dead by venom, or properly devoured."

"Until you were..."

Donovan clenched his fists. His body quaked in anger and disgust, at the levels to which Dylan Frostwood was willing to stoop just to get what she wanted. He wanted to ask more questions, such as what Severus thought her endgame might be. He wanted to know what the wolf believed the reason was for all this. And why, of course, Dylan had gone to the trouble to orchestrate a scheme that required five years of planning and preparation. That was what bothered Donovan the most. To think that while he had spent that same time exploring Mintara. That while, he'd been trying to build up relations between the various nations; she'd been working just as hard, at some scheme which could destroy everything he worked for.

The marten gritted his teeth. As he opened his mouth to ask his questions, he was stopped short by the sound of a massive explosion which came from near the western gate of the city.

"Go!" he called to the driver without a second's hesitation. "Get them to the keep! Now!" he hollered, motioning the driver on, as he then turned to the direction of the explosion. A determined look becoming noticeable in his eyes, as some instinct buried deep within warned the marten that this explosion was somehow connected to the warnings about Dylan which had been given to him moments earlier.

It was a given, Donovan knew, that he was likely going to be running into danger. That more than likely, this was all some trap to draw him out. A trap he felt he had no choice but to take the bait from, as the only other option would be to watch his people suffer, if he stood by and did nothing.

Donovan growled.

"Incarcera take you, Dylan," he snarled, unable to see his people be put in the line of fire like this. All because that blasted ermine wanted to draw him out. All because he was the one she wanted, and she was willing, he knew, to put those he cared about and wanted to protect, in the line of fire for no fault on their part, just to get him to show up.

Well, it worked.

Donovan skidded, as he turned from Rose Avenue onto West Gate Road. The main road which one took, when coming and going through the western gates of the city. He saw, as he arrived at the gates, that there already was a massive battle in progress. Sergeant Major Sinclair, a red-wing blackbird whom Donovan had recruited from the city of Eotiquetzal, was shouting orders to her subordinates as she led the defense.

"Get those civilians out of here!" she hollered to several junior guards who did not have as much fighting experience, and who therefore were better suited for the job of escorting the civilians away from the skirmish than actually engaging the enemy. These soldiers, as they took off with the civilians, then allowed for Sinclair to focus her attention back on the battle, as she smashed her shield in the face of an Anaton Covenant cultist who was coming at her with a hatchet. She, after knocking him back, then knocked back another with her shield. An attack which was swiftly followed by a third strike, as she finally hit a final cultist over the head with her mace.

The bird let out a call, as she defeated these three enemies, in three concise blows. "Keep pushing!" she called out, rallying her subordinates who were still fighting as hard as they could to hold on to the western gate, and to keep it from falling into enemy hands.

"They're just a bunch of muck-drinking cultists!" cried Sinclair, as she fought to catch her breath. "Shore off those breaches, and knock off those ramparts! I don't want to see weapons sheathed until they're running for the hills!" the blackbird exclaimed as she panted from exhaustion. She, after having issued this order, then turned and stood at attention as she caught glimpse of Donovan.

"M-Milord!" the blackbird exclaimed as she saluted the marten. "I...I did not expect you to make an appearance. This...This is an honor, sir. It is admittedly unexpected, but still. I must admit, that for you to be here...it will be a welcome boost of morale for my fellow guards. As you can see sir..." the blackbird declared, as she abruptly pulled Donovan close. "...It has been chaos, ever since that initial explosion!" The blackbird bashed another cultist with her shield as they tried to strike the marten from behind.

"We're still trying to address what caused the initial explosion," Sergeant Major Sinclair stated calmly, as she released Donovan from her protection. "Preliminary examinations thus far, are saying that it looks like the result of some kind of alchemical explosion. That or some kind of very powerful corrosive magic. A conclusion which makes no sense whatsoever, since these city walls are triple reinforced. I mean, do you realize the power you would need to melt through something like that? It wouldn't be something like you have today. It would have to be something along the lines of..."

"Ancient magic..." Donovan murmured, as he clenched his fists once more. That foreboding feeling, again rising from the pit of his stomach.

"Gods," he growled. "Sinclair, I need you to take me to the site of the initial breach."

"Huh?"

"I said, I need to go to the site of the explosion!" Donovan exclaimed, a sharp determination in his voice. "Th-There's something there, I need to see..." he murmured. "I pray, what I'm looking for is not there, but I need to examine for it just in case. Will...will you escort me, so that I can safely examine the site of the breach? It'll only take a few minutes I promise."

"You...promise, milord?"

Donovan nodded. "Five, ten minutes, tops," he exclaimed. "It's very important that I do this. I have reason to believe, that I know who is behind this. But...I need to get to site of the initial breach to be sure. Understood?"

The blackbird nodded solemnly. "Brookebridger, Jacosta!" She hollered to two junior guards. "With me. We're doing an escort job. Your liege lord wants to inspect the sight of the initial breach. You're going to help me get him there safely, understood?"

The two corporals saluted their superior. "Understood, sir," they each replied as they joined up behind Sergeant Major Sinclair and Donovan. This group of four, which altogether, then forged their way along the outskirts of the sea of clashing blades. Axes smacking against shields. Swords putting notches in swords...It was a sight Donovan never thought he'd have to behold, as he'd worked so hard to not only build up this city as a beacon for peace and for cooperative tranquility but to also spread that notion throughout his parish and throughout all of Mintara as well. A goal, he had thought was well on its way to being achieved; before finding out about Dylan Frostwood. How this whole time she'd been working on a plan of her own. A diabolical scheme of which Donovan did not know all the details. But he suspected that this first assault was only the first stage. A reason why he'd wanted to see the breach in the first place. So that he might confirm his suspicions, that this wasn't just some random attack but was indeed, the work of Dylan carving the way for her troops to invade.

A sigh came from the marten as they neared the site of the initial breach. "This is it?" he asked, nodding to a great gap in the walls. Smoke and dust still rising from around it. Sergeant Major Sinclair's response, a simple nod and a quiet, "Yes my milord," as she and the two corporals continued to lead Donovan closer to the site of the original incursion. "We drove most of the enemy away from this site first, before breaches in other parts of the city started happening, and we had to divert our focus elsewhere. But yes, milord. This is where it started."

"Interesting."

Donovan slowly approached the wall and traced his fingers along the edges. "It hasn't been blown out by conventional means..." he stated. "I can tell you that. Look at the spray pattern of the debris. I don't know any alchemical agent that can create a blast in that controlled of a fashion. I admit, there are some, such as the admixtures I've seen which use a recipe involving Thordrake root and Titan's palm lily, which come close, and which make a powerful controlled explosive. Still, it would never produce destruction on this scale. Nor would the resulting damage cause the caustic erosion on the walls edges."

Donovan pointed to an ugly, raised effect, around the edge of the breach. "You see that?" he stated to the corporals and to the sergeant major. "That my friends, means that corrosion magic was in effect here. Someone literally melted away the stone, like venom would, to nerve muscle and tissue, in an organic body."

"You say that, as if you expected it."

Donovan turned to Sergeant Major Sinclair. "I somewhat did, Sergeant Major!" he hollered back. "In fact, this unfortunately confirms my suspicions of who's behind this, as there's only one race in Mintara who ever openly embraced corrosion magic, due to the deity that it has always been connected to."

"Oh?"

"Yes." Donovan turned sharply. "Which means, you can come out Dylan!" he hollered in a challenging voice. "Or do we have to keep playing games with you, before you finally reveal yourself and your intentions?"

A slow round of applause followed. "Oh, no." A voice from atop the wall called out, as Donovan looked up to see the ermine slipping from what looked like a mist of shadow into a more solid, familiar form. "No," continued the ermine, her figure, still clad in that same hat and coat she'd been wearing throughout this entire ordeal. "I won't make you play more games. I think it's time I owed you a face-to-face, so to speak, Donovan. Especially, after you did such a marvelous job deducing that I was the mastermind behind this little operation, just by examining a hole in a wall. Bravo, my dear. Bravo, indeed. I would give you more compliments, if it wasn't so essential that I dispose of you instead."

"Dispose of me? What...Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?"

"What...?"

Dylan laughed. "Oh, my dear." she murmured. "How naive and self-centered. Yes, you would think this is about you, wouldn't you? The arrogance of youth. Heh. Always thinking they are the center of everything. That if I strike at the center of what you have worked so hard to build and what is important to you, then it must be about you, correct? No, my darling," Dylan exclaimed dryly, as she examined her nails as if they were suddenly quite fascinating. "This is not about you. You simply are a stumbling block. A nuisance, whose goals happen to stand counter intuitive to mine. The classical translation of nemesis, if you will. Even if you never intended to be that. That is what you are, both in philosophy and in goal."

"But...why?" Donovan asked, his tone now sounding more determined to find the reason for this, than confused. "Why, what is it about wanting to unify all races under one equal banner, that is so wrong? What is it about that, which you take such offense to?"

"What is it about that...!?"

Dylan's eyes widened. "Everything!" she snarled. "I find everything about that to be reprehensible! These races whom you would call equals...their kind were only beginning to find their way in this world, when we weasels had already begun to master the great arts of literature, science, mathematics, philosophy, politics, and so many others that it would take forever just to name them all."

"So what's your point!?"

"My point dear Donovan...is I intend to show you what happens when like-minded individuals gather together to return to the old ways. Those who either have been overlooked, or who have been deemed as fanatical by more progressive groups...either way, I have found strength in numbers, Donovan. I have found those who are like-minded to my cause. More than you could imagine. And when the call goes out, we will rise up against your dream. We will shatter it like glass, and in its place...oh, in its place will rise the vision that I believe should've risen all along. A new, glorious, interpretation of Musteladonia. Better than it once was. Better than it ever could've been before. A vision...which only weasel minds could dare to produce."

"Only...you're insane!" Donovan exclaimed as he tried to charge toward Dylan, before she gracefully lashed out one arm on which was worn a Talon of Omnos.

"Milord!" Sergeant Major Sinclair exclaimed trying to rush to Donovan's aid, as an oblique burst of caustic magic was shot from the gauntlet. The blackbird, just in time, managed to get her shield over herself and her lord. The bolt that was fired, then melted some of the shield as it bounced up and off the wall. Some stone which was hit came loose and rained down on Sinclair's shield. The strong blackbird through it all, managed to endure until she was sure that everything was safe.

"My lord?" she stated. "I think we're clear. You can go ahead and move now."

"My lord?"

"My liege!?"

Sergeant Major Sinclair turned with alarm as Donovan did not respond. She realized that apparently while he had not been hit by the magic bolt or by any of the falling debris, her collision with him, in trying to protect, must have unintentionally knocked him out.

"Dear gods..." she murmured, as she looked up to Dylan, who smirked, waved innocently, and then walked off. Her form again dissipating into some kind of a shadowy mist which quickly evaporated.

"Grrr..." The bird snarled with a quiet hiss. That ermine...Sinclair didn't have a good feeling about her, nor about that 'empire of weasel superiority,' she mentioned. She knew such a plan had to be stopped. She knew, it's what her lord, Donovan, would want her to do. To protect the city and the people's well-being. No matter the cost.

The blackbird shook her head as she assessed the situation. "First though," she murmured, "I need to get my lord to a safe place, where he can receive medical attention. After that...I'm going to need backup, if I'm ever going to secure this city. Lots and lots...of backup."