Iara - Warden

“I can help!” The young vayron chirped, eager to join the war. 

“No,” Iara growled, “Stay here.”

“Oh let her come,” Aysu huffed, frustrated this disagreement was slowing their departure, “It might teach her a thing or two.”

Iara glared at Aysu.

“See, Aysu agrees!” The feathered wings of the young vayron spread excitedly. 

“That hardly means anything, if Vega agrees that would help your case, but she won’t,” Iara countered. 

The young vayron’s wings fell to the ground in an awkward heap on either side of her. She kicked the snow in an attempt to garner some sympathy, but it didn’t work. Iara shook her head and ushered the little one to the protected areas of the village. Iara told the young vayron that when she was older she could join the war party, but now wasn’t the time. The young seraph couldn’t accept the answer. However, she let Iara believe all would be fine, she would wait with the others. 

“We’ll come back safely,” Iara promised before she turned to join the troops. 

Aysu waited, impatiently, while Iara and Vega made their way back to her. The dark vayron looked around at the soldiers and war vayrons armoured ready to head out. She growled to herself while she waited for her friends, always grumpy about something.

“Alright, that should be everything,” Vega said as she stepped next to Aysu. She briefly looked around and then said, “Where’s Iara?”

“Nessari wanted to come, so she’s dealing with that,” Aysu growled. 

Vega laughed, “She’s eager.” 

“Who is?” Iara asked when she got within earshot. 

“Ness,” Vega answered. 

“Too much for her age,” Iara groaned. 

Aysu ignored her two friends as they spoke about Nessari and her excitement to fight. Aysu signaled for the troops to ready up and head out. In an organized fashion, the soldiers and vayrons shouted and then walked out of the village in formation. 

Unbeknownst to the three older vayrons, Nessari had managed to sneak her way into one of the carriages. She tucked her body behind some boxes and under a tarp. Her wings folded tightly around her as she waited for the bumpy ride to finish. 

Iara watched the sides of the road they took. She scanned the tree lines and mountain ridges as they moved through different territories of Roenden. She was thankful that there wasn’t any wind, and the sun was covered with a thin layer of clouds so the sun wasn’t beating down on them. The troops walked on, focused, with their battle camp in mind. 

Nearly an hour later, the troops arrived at their battle camp, however, it wasn’t a peaceful arrival. They were backup support and they took too long. The enemy was pillaging the camp and fighting with any soldiers left defending the area. Aysu and Vega immediately took to their roles shouting commands and directing reoseans. 

Iara ran to give her support. She fought next to other reoseans and for a moment it seemed like they were making headway. Iara rotated to cover another area of camp, it was near the carriages they arrived with. 

Iara was fighting systematically around the section she was guarding. It wasn’t until she heard a scream, that her focus shattered. She turned and witnessed Nessari being dragged out of the carriage by one of her wings. 

“Iara!” Nessari screamed, “Helped me!”

With Iara’s focus completely on Nessari, she didn’t see the knight charging her. The sword slashed at her body, and she roared. Iara turned on the knight and made quick work of them before she quickly turned to find Nessari. 

“Ness!” Iara shouted. 

“Over here!” Nessari choked out from the jaws of an enemy reosean. 

Iara didn’t waste any time, she charged the enemy and knocked them to the snowy ground. Nessari was released and she rolled a few feet away until she was under a thick evergreen tree. Iara’s focus was primarily on the enemy reosean, but she briefly made note of where Nessari ended up. 

The enemy was thrown off, but they regained their momentum quickly. When they stood up in the snow, Iara slammed them with her armoured head. The force threw the enemy further away and gave Iara a chance to evaluate Nessari. 

“Why?” Iara urged, “Why did you follow us?”

Iara looked under the tree to see the damage done to Nessari. She had several bite marks on her neck and one of her larger wings looked damaged, too damaged to try to get her to fly away. 

“I… I wanted to help,” Nessari gave Iara huge puppy eyes. 

Iara glanced over her shoulder to check the enemy’s whereabouts and found they hadn’t quite stood up yet. 

Iara sighed, “Ness, I understand, but you're too young.”

“I have magic!” Nessari tried another angle. 

“That only works some-” Iara was cut off by Nessari’s gasp. 

Iara whipped around in time to catch the enemy leaping at her. She growled and reached for their closest leg. Iara closed her jaw around the enemy’s front paw and redirected their path away from Nessari. The enemy landed in a thick pile of snow and Iara followed after. She used her weight to pound the enemy reosean deeper into the snow. 

“Iara!” Nessari yelled in a panic. 

Iara looked over her shoulder to see more enemies approach. She used her front legs to hit her current opponent one last time before changing targets. Iara stood between Nessari and two more reoseans. 

No words were spoken as the two charged Iara. Iara was no stranger to an unfair fight, but it was a struggle to continue fighting them while also keeping them away from Nessari’s position. The setup only gave Iara so many choices, but she tried to make it work. With a giant kick with her hind legs, Iara aimed for the head of one enemy. It was a glancing blow, but enough to temporarily stun them while Iara focused on the other. 

Iara noticed the armour of her opponents wasn’t as thick or well made as hers. In some places, it looked like they were covered in thin leather and Iara noted that weakness. She swiped out with one armoured paw to land a heavy hit on the side of her opponent, slicing through their leather armour. 

The enemy wasn’t fazed, they collected their balance and released a flurry of strikes trying to find a weak point in Iara’s armour. Iara took the hits, knowing they won’t be able to break through. It wasn’t until some magic was used that Iara began to worry. One magically infused hit later and Iara’s shoulder plate began to crack. 

Her opponent smirked, while Iara growled. She wasn’t handling this enemy quickly enough because, with a quick glance to her left, she could see the other was coming to their senses. Iara didn’t want to use her magic, it tired her out too quickly to be useful. Except, she couldn’t see a way to protect Nessari without using it. Iara huffed her frustration and centered herself as she prepared to use her magic. She knew one strike would work if it were timed well enough. 

The pair of enemies stood together, they smirked at each other and then Iara thought they had her. Iara didn’t let her expression reveal anything of her plan as she waited for them to strike in unison. She didn’t have to wait long before the pair leaped at her. 

Iara felt the static electricity course over her fur. Anyone could have seen her hair standing on end if she hadn't been wearing her armor. She let the electricity collect around her as she waited for the pair of enemies to fly through the air. When they were close enough, Iara released her stored magic at them. The blast was a success. The pair of opponents roared as they fell to the ground unconscious. 

Nessari screamed shortly after because Iara also fell to the ground, exhausted. However, the battle was a success, these were the last of the enemies. 

“Ness!” Vega roared, “What are you doing here?!”

Nessari flinched and ducked under the tree again, feeling ashamed. 

“Ness,” Vega released a deep breath and asked, “Are you okay?” 

Aysu rolled her eyes but didn’t say much as she looked over Iara. 

“Is Iara okay?” Nessari whispered as she peeked out from the tree.

“She’ll be fine,” Aysu replied. 

“Let’s get you home,” Vega said. 

[1405]