[center][url=http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=BmM6T7bFvCA][b]Château de D'Aubigne Interior Hallway - Noble's Quarter[/b][/url][/center]

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Lucius opened his mouth to speak and only managed to blink before screams rang out from behind and ultimately forcing a decision to immediately drop to the floor. His eyes darted as he scrambled to discern the commotion before ultimately resting upon a small assembly of fellow Valanian fighters armed with an assortment of firearms and blades. The men and women unloaded a devastating volley upon approaching Sarifen shield wall before retreating back towards the staircase and a quick glance towards the wounded, dead, and dying was all the Prince required to assess the unfolding situation.  The gunpowder smoke clouds had begun to cloud the vicinity while the screams and cries for help filled the air. 

Once again, Lucius glanced towards Ona, Dae, and the survivors gathered along the stairwell and across the expansive, grand staircase room before diverting his eyes towards the hallway where thick fighting had exploded into absolute chaos. Pools of blood slickened against the walls and marble grounds as stray bodies littered the floors. His heart began to sink as a sudden and dishearteningly explicable realization struck his senses. They were completely and utterly trapped and there seemed no way out from this nearly inescapable. Following a moment of silence, the Prince's gaze rested upon the seasoned retainer before placing a hand along the man's shoulder.

“Balthazar,” he firmly answered, “Your resolve is unquestioned, however, if you aren't already aware, we are [i]completely[/i] surrounded. Escaping into hordes of angry Sarifen men at arms or hails of Sarifen arrow and shot is [i]not[/i] how I envision ending our evening!”

It was upon that moment that a violent creaking sound errupted from above and before the Prince could speak any further, his eyes darted above as the roof and wooden beams collapsed upon the staircase, crushing most Ivalian, Sarifens, and Valanian survivors residing upon the debris strewn stairways. His eyes widened as more beams and planks collapsed into crumbling heap and in a instinctual, split second decision wrapped his arms around the seasoned, Delacroix royal guardian and heaved the man backwards just as the sharpened debris came crashing upon their location. The manuever just barely managed to rip the two to safety, but not before the Prince suffered the worst of the brunt of the debris as wooden planks, marble, stone, and glass poured over his body.

Groaning, Lucius  raised an arm and grew increasingly slow to rise before glancing towards the massive wall of debris that had caved in towards the staircase where the others awaited. It did not take long before he realized that they were trapped and completely separated from the others and through coughs and sputters, the Prince just managed to duck again as the Château shook again, spraying dust, marble, and wooden splinters over their heads. Some paces ahead, the Nezam Warriors held, however, their lines had begun to buckle as the sheer weight of the Paighan soldiers smashed against them with such unrelenting ferocity that small gaps had begun to form. The trailing Zhayedan and Azads drove a wedge through the new opened holes to exploit the exposed flanks situated near several isolated Nezams where casualties slowly began to mount.  

“If we are to clear a path, we will do so with every card in our sleeve,” he cried through gritted teeth, “Follow my lead, give no quarter, and if we must fight alongside the Nezams, so be it!”

Steel glinted as he immediately drew his sword and retrieved a stray buckler from ground before preparing to rush into the thicket to intercept the oncoming shock troopers. Lucius dove into a crouched roll to parry a swing before dispatching the Paighan through the throat. Before blood even hit the ground, the Prince had already sent the doomed conscript crashing towards a pack of retainers before bashing another conscript in the face. The blow sent the man careening backwards, freeing a wounded Nezam a critical window to dispatch his foes and plug a gaping hole within his comrades' buckling line.

A horn sounded and suddenly the conscripts retreated behind a solid shield wall formed by heavily armored retainers and their household Azad commanders. The shield wall quickly advanced in unison before smashing into the Nezam line with such ferocity that many Nezams lost their footing. Heavy casualties began to mount as the outnumbered Nezams, armed with only their curved swords, large bucklers, and emptied snaphaunce rifled muskets fought tooth and nail against a well disciplined tide of steel and deadly butchery that only granted momentary survival against mortal odds.

Lucius struggled immensely against the wall of shields and lethal retainers that began to cut down the weary Nezams and any that stood in their way. There would be nothing that stood between the shield walls and the surviving banquet guests and as Nezam warriors began to fall, the inevitable reality that they would all be massacred within Voltas had begun to set into stone. His lungs burned and his arms ached. More fallen comrades, more dishonor brought against innocents, and repeated injustices committed against bystanders that impeded various ruthless and power mongers.

Frowning, Lucius rose and returned to his fighting stance only Vectisian Legionaries exhibited amidst the steady and controlled advance of the heavily armored Azads with shields locked and a ferocious chant that filled the air. Fighting grew thick as more Nezams were knocked to their feet, however even as they fell, the Nezams stood forth and fought to the death without giving an inch of ground. Without heavy, steel-plated armor, munitions, shields, or numbers, even the best training and iron willed resolve could only momentarily stem the tide before the pushing power of several dozen disciplined Azads and their steel-wrapped, Zhayedan retainers brought about the inevitable. 

The Prince gathered his wits, stepped into an opening within the Nezam lines, and repositioned, shield first even as his body ached and screamed for respite from almost every conceivable way, shape, and form. He would not fall and allow the Sarifens to take him alive even as exhaustion and pain ached across Lucius' entire body. There was little he could do as he attempted to hold his own alongside the Nezamnis given his back neared the wall and without knowing how Dae or the others fared, he knew that his fate lay in a narrowing display of strength of arms. Through sweeping squints, his eyes strayed to a man he had long thought dead and in the din of battle, he watched as Balthazar advanced into the thick of battle. Men he had sworn to murder whenever the opportunities presented themselves fought alongside him to stem the advancing Sarifen shock troops.  

To this end, the instincts he had gained through years of running from Emperor Bahramesh's Sipahis and surviving Vectis' brutal Legionary training resurfaced to bring an understanding that most professional soldiers and fighting men implemented during extremely volatile, life-or-death engagements. The struggle would not end until either he or his enemies fell and all around, the Nezamni line slowly began to wither under the impenetrable, Sarifen shield wall. The plate armored Azads and their veteran Zhayedans were relentless as they claimed more and more Nezams to their furious assault.  

Lucius' attempts to stem the opening pockets along his flanks only delayed the inevitable as he furiously lunged into his collapsing perimeter to pierce numerous exposed Zhayedan shield carriers that advanced past his flanks. His sword thrusts and stiff striking techniques happened more times than he could count and before he could even blink, he too fell as something struck his face. In a flash, stars exploded across his vision as several grim-faced, shield carrying Azads closed in all sides. Gasping, his throat burned and his head spun, yet his sword drove skywards and into the chin of an oncoming Zhayedan before more shields crashed against his body ...

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...except they did not. Mostly.

Balthazar stood his ground as a heavy shield slammed into his raised hands, pushing his feet backwards against the debris from the cannon fire. With gritted teeth, he pushed back against this lone soldier, even as the others fought around him. The soldier tried to fight against the push, but his unwavering strength did not yield, making the man fall off balance as Balthazar stepped forward. With sword in hand and his other free, he grabbed one side of the offender's shield and yanked it aside, stepping forward as he shoved his blade into the soft spot of his armor. 

The soldier grunted and screamed as the once-knight twisted the heavy blade within his gut and withdrew the sword, his free hand grabbing onto the shield as the now lifeless soldier slumped to the ground. He yanked it from the dead man's arm and stood firm, even as the Azads readied for another push. The soldiers poured in from the sides, forcing Balthazar back to protect the Prince. With shield raised he blocked an oncoming blow and sliced the neck of the one responsible, and with another stroke he parried a swing and bashed a soldier's face with his shield. Weary but determined to keep the Prince alive, he stood his ground, shield up and sword raised and ready.

"[i][b]Balthazar[/b][/i]," Lucius wheezed, through heavily labored gasps. Utterly fatigued and out of breath, the Valanian royal heir stumbled and desperately clambered to his feet to support the grizzled Delacroix retainer in battle, "Seems my ancestors have sent you to watch over me ... if only for a moment ... [i]and I intend to make good on their generosity![/i]" 

"Sentiments shared, my lord, sentiments shared. I'm sure your father is watching over you even as we fight."

Balthazar lent a hand to the Prince, lifting him up bodily so they stood side by side. There was a fire in the young man that was yet unquenched, one of bravery and fortitude even in the darkest of hours. Thus was the heart and soul of the Delacroix family. It inspired those around them, as he had witnessed when King Lothair was on the throne.Balthazar stopped a downward chop with his shield and impaled the offender on the tip of his scmitar, before withdrawing the blade as the corpse fell aside. He gave an aside glance to Lucius as he readied his sword again. He was determined to keep this man alive, now that he'd finally found him.

"Come, my liege. Let us power through these [i]rabble[/i] and get you to safety!" Curses erupted to their left as a Nezamnissary warrior brutally dispatched an advancing shield carrying Zhayedan, gutted another in the heart, and slammed yet another household retainer to the ground before his face caved into a swift blow to a spiked hammer and dozens of sword stabs. Stepping forward, the Prince moved to extend his flank only to find the hammer carrying soldier swing in a powerful display of force that nearly smashed the Prince upon the wall had his sword not whistled down into a wide cleaving arc upon the Sarifen's bicept. As blood gushed out  and slicked across the floors, another Zhayedan took his place to patch the line.

Through a magnanimous roar, the Prince doggedly dodged a Zhayedan's forward thrust and parried before lunching forwards into a counter thrust to pierce the assaulting Azad's neck. Through a heavy grunt, the Prince winced as his ribs ached and his lungs burned for air. Even as blood trails gushed out of the aristocrat's throat, Lucius wasted no time in readjusting his shield, stepping forward to plug the gap whilst anchoring alongside his determined companion's side. 

This compounded further into a two pronged maneuver where his hands seized an incoming Zhayedan's long beard before reeling the soldier forward into Balthazar's awaiting blade. Severe casualties began to mount amongst the thinning Nezamnissary and soon the two found themselves surrounded and backs against the walls with no other direction for retreat. Thrust after counter-thrust occurred in the savage struggle of arms in a display that would put most soldiers to shame. 

As one, Prince and Retainer fought side by side against a slow moving tide of moving, glinting steel while the walls sprayed saw dust and debris over their heads. They were in this until the end when the pushing power, fresh soldiers, and wall of steel overwhelmed their position. It was only a matter of time before they would all fall to the sword as did all who opposed Sarifen authority. Shouting, Lucius barely managed to reposition his shield in time to block the soldier's fresh push. His will remained unquestioned, however his muscles could no longer muster the energy to confront the Sarifen battalion's immense pushing power.The end was near and in a moment that very well could have been his last, offered his companion a weary, respectful nod.

"I'm sorry, Balthazar, however, I'm afraid we've met our end!" the Prince cried as he moved desparately to stave off multiple Zhayedans' sword swings, "Remember me when we reach to the Halls above. [b][i]Vive la Valaniaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!![/i][/b]"