[1x1] Into the Wilds (Drackana&Zae)

[Zul'Zae'ju'Jin]

Renius Quintus Marcellus was having a better day of it. His head pounded inside the confines of his helmet as he staggered to his feet with the help of his Optio under the shields of his remaining cohort. Britons were on all sides yelling their war cries as they bashed into the legionaries struggled to maintain the shield. His Optio nodded before shouting at the legionaries to hold the line. Shaking his head free of the din inside his head, he gripped his customary sword and snapped to. "Come on, you bastards! Is this what Rome has to give?" he shouted at his men and got into the thick of it. His men reacted accordingly despite the fact that the Britons presently outnumbered them, giving their all else it meant their blood.

He glanced around the ranks which were soon dwindling, the shield line reforming as was standard. He nodded, at least his men were following their training and not giving into their blood lust. Blood lust killed more men than the enemy alone if not checked. He didn't like their odds and knew the chances of him surviving this night were slim but they had to make a stand of it. At least until the Second and Eighth could reach them and change the odds of the battle's favour.

The Centurion snorted in derision as he thrust his blade into the armpit of the man before him that had threatened to rob him of his second in command. Renius continued to shout encouragement in the fullest knowledge that all they had was the adrenaline they were fighting with and the training of a Roman legionary. "Stay together! Stay as one, ladies!" he shouted in the midst of sword and blood. They were steadily giving ground, slowly but sure. Renius spat on the ground, where the hell was the Second and Eighth and cursed his ill luck as he chanced a look behind him; eye scanning for movement but still lay nothing. To the field aside more cohorts were equally struggling to maintain the shield line.

"Kaeso!" he cried in warning but it came too late as the Briton's sword swerved and tore out his Optio's throat in a violent spray of arterial blood. Renius roared in anger and thrust the point of his sword into an unprotected side of the Briton's chest as his Optio blinked and fell forwards, his helmet rolling off from his head as he landed. Renius and his men were down to a handful and it was clear no reinforcements were coming to his aid. The few that remained surrounded their Centurion in the same clear understanding they wouldn't be going back to the barracks.

"Let's not disappoint your Optio lads!" he cried and they answered the call, downing a few more of the Britons. He had to hand it to them, they didn't disappoint in giving their all in a fight as he danced with the blue painted bastards. He went to put another down before another tackled into him to the ground. The three legionaries left were surrounded and disappeared in cries of pain.

Renius knew he would soon join them as he fell, the heavy weight pinning him down. Grunting, he smashed the pommel of his sword into the man's face and then realised his shield had been wrenched free. He smashed the pommel again and again before the weight stilled. He grimaced against the stink of the lime-washed hair absently aware the Briton's blood spooled and dripped onto his armour, tunic and skin. He glanced and had been about to rise but saw the Britons left standing that had massacred his cohort hadn't seen that he was still alive.

He remained beneath the dead Briton fearing they would spot him, fingers flexing around the hilt of his sword. He had been about to roll the Briton off of him but before he could worry about the effects of the lime-wash's effect on his chainmail, his world was suddenly encased in a sudden hot white light. He cried out and the world spun around him before it blackened out completely. It seemed to last an age before the spinning stopped and he slammed into something hard face first. He groaned and blinked his eyes open. Renius squinted against the dark and frowned. What on Jupiter's stone had just happened? Where there hell was he?

Shaking his head, he stood and fixed his helmet straight, the front now a little dented. He breathed heavily and moved to one side as he explored his strange surroundings only to bump into something with a slight thunk from his armour. The Centurion spun, brandishing his weapon. The adrenaline that had overridden his pain and tiredness was ebbing, only remaining due to the lack of knowing where he was. This was not the field and marshland of the Briton's homeland he'd lost his men on moments before. Ferns dominated the earth in a vast lush blanket of greens with giant redwoods stabbing up from the ground in their bid to reach the best light.

"This has got to be one crazy dream," he muttered as Renius stared out at the alien landscape around him with no recognition of where he was or where this could be. This looked like nothing he had ever seen before. He looked all around him and made a couple of steps before a roaring sound made him freeze to the spot. In all his time in Britannia, Germania and Rome, he had never heard anything like it. He faced the direction he thought it came from but he had no clue, his sword held out at the ready but the tip of the sword quivered in its position.

@Drackana Darastrix

 

[Drackana Darastrix]

Rauch was currently swimming though the rainbow tinted waters of the Rainbow Sea at a rather leisurely pace. Rauch had recently used quite a bit of his personal magic stores when taking the form of one of the great Braldergons. Rauch had only been in the waters for only 10 minutes when he noticed that the Rainbow Sea seemed to be quite active today. Quite a few portals had opened up today and many of the normal monsters of the Rainbow Sea seemed to be hiding out in their dens and caves. Rauch had been originally hesitant to go into the ocean today but his critical lack of magic forced him to do so, as otherwise Rauch's caretaker KanTenTae would eventually have to drag his core into the sea anyway.

Rauch let out a small sigh, small bubbles lifting from his mask vents. Regaining the full amount of magic he would need would take quite a bit of time and Rauch figured he would probably be in the ocean of of this day cycle. This would not be the case though as a small pull within the water suddenly turned into a horrible pull as a portal had formed within the water itself and had made a rather large whirlpool. Rauch had been careless with his thoughts and was now being actively dragged toward the portal thanks to the massive and raging whirlpool.

Rauch let out a howl of frustration as he was unceremoniously dropped into the massive rainbow portal. As Rauch fell, he noticed that he was falling but was quick to hit the ground, jarring his body and causing a massive crash. Dirt, ferns, rocks and earth were tossed into the air as Rauch's body hit it with a rather great amount of force. After a few moments the Rainbow portal disappeared and Rauch was left to recover in the dirt. Rauch groaned in pain and lifted himself out of the crater he had made upon impact. He looked himself over and checked his core, noticing his magic was only about half full and his body and core seemed only minutely damaged from the impact.

Rauch looked around and noticed that this place seemed quite similar to his forest home, though the lack of bright colors was the first thing he noticed. This world was far more dull and seemed to contain mostly greens and browns in this area. A sudden and unknown roar rattled through the air and Rauch was now on edge. He shifted the colors of his form, matching much of the surrounding areas colors as best as possible, much like a chameleon. Rauch lowered himself to the ground and began looking around, wondering where in the world the Rainbow Portal had dropped him in...

 

[Zul'Zae'ju'Jin]

Renius' stood stock still caught in an unfamiliar state of indecision. Should he run and hope to find the Legion or stay and hope that whatever caused that roar would move on? There was nothing he could draw from his time in the Roman army or Centurionate that could put answer to the origin of the roar. He frowned, the redwoods made him feel trapped, as if they were closing in around him. He was alone in a fern-filled landscape with no one to back him up should he come across any hostiles. He didn't even know if there were others like himself here. This was a part of the country he had never seen before. He slowly lowered his gladius as he stared around the forest. Everything else was deathly silent. As if whatever did live in this forest didn't want to attract the source of the sound's attention. He flinched as it roared its majesty again and reaffirmed the grip around the hilt of his sword. Whatever it was sounded rather big and he didn't know how big or even what it could belong to. He had seen many beasts in his time but it had sounded like nothing of the tigers or lions in the arena.

No. It sounded as if it was much bigger than a lion or a tiger and he was not too ashamed to admit to himself that this whole situation he was suddenly finding himself was incredibly unnerving. A Centurion without his century was unheard of. He had to get back to his... he scowled as he recalled the fight shortly before his world had changed. His men were gone and he was the last man. He sighed heavily and rubbed his face. He had to find somewhere where he could find a piece of landmark, find something that was familiar that could point him in the right direction. The Legion to which he belonged had to be around here somewhere but last time her recalled, the sounds of battle and shouting men were rife. Had the battle ended? If so, that was one less thing he could use as a point of reference.

"Gods piss on me," he muttered sourly as he thought about which direction he should go. All four points of the compass seemed to be as good as direction as each other. In the end he chose via process of elimination and strode north. He kept his sword out before ready to respond to attack. The natives were fond of guerilla style tactics and forests helped that strategy immensely. Blocks of close knit trees were no use to a Roman legion on the move. Not without considerable danger. Slowly sounds of the forest picked up again. Odd sounding chirps and clicks broke the silence in a scurry of activity. He frowned, he could swear the chirps and clicks were as conversation. He shook his head and focused ahead. He had to find his Legion. He was a dead man without the safety that a Roman legion provided.

He made slow but steady progress as he headed north, unknowingly walking towards another being in the forest. He paused several times when something let off a loud blow of what sounded like a muted trumpet. The sound was off for it to be Roman and once he fixed on where it came from, he decided to walk parallel with it just to be sure it wasn't the horns of the locals Britons.