Alexis jumped as someone came up to her and grabbed her shoulder, a Sol soldier with piercing red eyes. The woman frowned at her before speaking, telling Alexis that she was in the wrong place before beginning to drag her across the battlefield. The two wove their way through the ranks and to the edge of the jungle, where a path lit by fireflies led them deeper into the dark trees. [color=696969][i]Okay, yeah this makes more sense.[/i][/color] Alexis thought to herself as she walked the path through the jungle, the fireflies a welcome guide. She followed the Sol woman all the way down the path and then to the spot where most of the archers were, waiting patiently in the trees for a clear shot at their enemy. She nodded at the woman who'd brought her there as she was told to 'climb a tree and make herself useful', wanting to laugh at herself for not realizing before that standing in the middle of the battlefield with just a bow and arrows was a really dumb idea, especially in a large battle like this. 

The woman said one last thing to her before starting to leave. "We have a mental communication line that will let you know what is happening next or why something is happening. [i]Just try not to flood it with your own thoughts[/i]." Alexis blinked at the woman as she switched so easily from speaking to thinking to her, and watched as she turned away to go back down the path to the battlefield. The voices of the other soldiers in the link began to resonate in the back of Alexis' mind as she was allowed to join in on the group's conversation.
 
[i]"The flames are eating away at the barrier... When it does remain in formation..."[/i]
[i]"Archers fire at will. But do not disclose your location."[/i]
[i]"WH-WHERE DID THAT DRAGON COME FROM!!!!????"[/i]
[i]"Watch your backs, there's word of something nasty afoot..."[/i]
[i]"You mean besides that giant fucking ba-"[/i]
[i]"Zakiel? ZAKIEL!!??"[/i]

The soldiers' voices seemed to jumble together as people spoke at the same time, and every once in a while there was a break in the flow of thoughts as everyone was silent for a split second. As Alexis stood there, just listening to it all for a moment, she realized that she could understand everything that was happening without even trying. Even when people thought at once she could pick out the individual conversations and follow each of them easily at the same time. After just a minute of being a part of this mass connection, Alexis could picture exactly what was happening across the entire battlefield in her mind. 

[color=696969][i]"This is amazing!"[/i][/color] She thought as she began to be able to pick out the individual voices all speaking and relaying information at once. She heard more than a few people shush her, while others made small remarks on the fact that 'she must be new'. She cursed herself out loud so as not to mistakenly share her thoughts with the entire battlefield again, and two archers near her laughed. She looked over at them, not sure what to say as they began gesturing for her to come over to where they were standing between two trees, watching the battlefield.

"Don't worry about it kid, you'll get used to the 'inner voice' thing eventually. You can still think, just try not to think [u]to[/u] anyone." The first man, a Sol wearing a bright blue-painted metal helmet, said to her. The other, a Seraphim with dark green wings echoed the sentiment. 

"If you listen for a little bit, you'll notice no one can really control their thoughts all that well." A loud crash not too far away caused the three of them to jump, and Blue had his bow up in an instant, scanning the area around them for what or who had caused the noise. A small group of cultists had made their way around to where they thought all the archers were, though the second they were out of the underbrush, they were shot down by every Archer that saw them. Green shook her head as she gestured to their fallen bodies. 

"That's the third group to do this. Soon they'll all know where we are, no matter how careful we are about not giving ourselves away with our shots at the battlefield." Green's voice was echoed by her mental one as she relayed the thought down the line, murmurs of agreement following it as she continued, speaking just to Alexis out loud now. "Better get to high ground while you can girl, that's the best way to get the drop on these guys." Alexis nodded and Blue and Green both went back to watching the field, occasionally taking a shot at an open target. 

Putting her bow over her shoulder, she grabbed on to the lowest branch of one of the trees that were a little farther back from the edge of the battlefield. After a bit of effort -and almost losing her grip twice- she got to the very top of the tree, the hearty jungle wood easily supporting her weight even at that height. Though, that wasn't too surprising, she wasn't that heavy anyway. From her new perch she could easily see pretty much the whole battlefield, the Sunfire tree in the distance marking the far side of the fight. She watched as the Elites made their charge over the burning barrier of thorns and cut through the sea of cultists as if they were nothing, and listened as people reported what was going on and asked about what to do next. 

As the battle went on Alexis took what shots she could, keeping in mind the warning not to give away her position to the enemy as she did so. 

[hr]
It was hard not to just sit and watch everything as it happened. From her spot in the tree, Alexis really was pretty far removed from the battle itself, though she still kept notching arrows and taking what shots she could. She'd run out of arrows a few times now, though it wasn't much of a big deal because a simple thought saying so would lead someone down on the ground below to throw up another stack of them to her. That was one of the best things about this, she thought. She didn't have to give up her vantage point and potentially get killed just to go gather up her arrows when she ran out. 

As she let yet another arrow fly, an alarm rang through her head. Something was happening, something that scared a lot of people at once. She closed her eyes as she tried to make sense of the sudden uproar, waiting for someone to think clearly enough to tell the rest what had caused it. 

[i]"God, how could that..?"
"He's dead. just.. gone."
"DID ANYONE SEE THAT COMING!?"
"No, we didn't sense-"
"I'm gonna puke"
"The Aion just [u]fell from the sky[/u] and NO ONE knows how?"
"We need to-"
"How can we-"
"He's just-"
"[b]SILENCE!![/b]"[/i]

One man's voice cut through the chatter as it all seemed to be spiraling further and further out of control. There was silence for a full five seconds before the man spoke again. [i]"Someone on the ground, by the body. How does it look like he died?"[/i] 

The response was immediate, another man's voice speaking up to describe how the Seraphim was mutilated: his neck twisted multiple times and his body otherwise horribly disfigured. An image followed the words through the link and- Alexis had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from throwing up. There was another moment of chaos across the link, before someone who sounded relatively calm still cut through the babble to ask about the 'next new development on the field'. 

Alexis opened her eyes and looked to the spot the calmer voice had pointed out, watching as a large man seemed to fall into the fray and then begin to fight the Vrondi Elite at the front of the battle. [i]"We have no idea who this guy is, but we need to take him down quickly. He can't be read, which means he's got a barrier up."[/i] The man had already killed two of the Elite, and more were rushing him now. It wasn't looking very good for any of the Elites yet. 

She watched as more people joined the fight against this strange man, a couple who she recognized -Soron and the Seraphim sister he'd fought earlier- and a small seraphim she didn't recognise at all. Listening to the chatter on the link, it seemed no one else knew her either- though as she fought the cultists with an array of impressive spells, a sort of unanimous agreement went through the group that it didn't exactly matter who she was so long as she was helping them.

[hr]
Meanwhile, somewhere on the field not far from where Alexis had been towards the start of all this, a person stood behind a group of soldiers. 

This person was clad in a white cloak with the hood drawn so that it hid all of their features from sight. The only recognizable thing on them was the symbol of the Taxis faction, embroidered onto the back of their concealing garb. They walked easily through the battlefield, ignored by most of those fighting on the behalf of Sunfire and staying away from any of the cultists by simply walking behind the front lines. All the soldiers simply thought they were a medic or other kind of healer, and while they [i]were[/i] being monitored by the large network of Sol mind-readers who were constantly looking for threats and other harmful intent on the field, this person didn't set off any alarms. They were calm, though their focus nowhere near the battle around them. 

As they looked around them, they noticed someone missing. [i][color=#FF0000]"[/color][color=#FF2400]N[/color][color=#FF4800]o[/color][color=#FF6D00]w[/color] [color=#FFB600]w[/color][color=#FFDA00]h[/color][color=#FFFF00]e[/color][color=#DAFF00]r[/color][color=#B6FF00]e[/color] [color=#6DFF00]t[/color][color=#48FF00]h[/color][color=#24FF00]e[/color] [color=#00FF24]h[/color][color=#00FF48]e[/color][color=#00FF6D]l[/color][color=#00FF91]l[/color] [color=#00FFDA]c[/color][color=#00FEFF]o[/color][color=#00DAFF]u[/color][color=#00B6FF]l[/color][color=#0091FF]d[/color] [color=#0048FF]s[/color][color=#0024FF]h[/color][color=#0000FF]e[/color] [color=#4800FF]h[/color][color=#6D00FF]a[/color][color=#9100FF]v[/color][color=#B600FF]e[/color] [color=#FF00FE]g[/color][color=#FF00DA]o[/color][color=#FF00B6]n[/color][color=#FF0091]e[/color][color=#FF006D]?[/color][color=#FF0048]![/color][color=#FF0024]"[/color][/i] Someone nearby glanced at them, the soldier approaching after a moment.

"Looking for someone specific?" He asked, obviously one of the ones who was tuned into the thoughts of those around him.

The cloaked figure sighed. [color=#FF0000]"[/color][color=#FF1D00]Y[/color][color=#FF3A00]e[/color][color=#FF5800]a[/color][color=#FF7500]h[/color][color=#FF9300].[/color] [color=#FFCD00]S[/color][color=#FFEB00]h[/color][color=#F5FF00]e[/color][color=#D7FF00]'[/color][color=#BAFF00]s[/color] [color=#7FFF00]a[/color][color=#62FF00]n[/color] [color=#27FF00]a[/color][color=#09FF00]r[/color][color=#00FF13]c[/color][color=#00FF31]h[/color][color=#00FF4E]e[/color][color=#00FF6B]r[/color][color=#00FF89].[/color] [color=#00FFC4]A[/color] [color=#00FEFF]S[/color][color=#00E1FF]o[/color][color=#00C4FF]l[/color] [color=#0089FF]g[/color][color=#006BFF]i[/color][color=#004EFF]r[/color][color=#0031FF]l[/color] [color=#0900FF]a[/color][color=#2700FF]b[/color][color=#4400FF]o[/color][color=#6200FF]u[/color][color=#7F00FF]t[/color] [color=#BA00FF]t[/color][color=#D700FF]h[/color][color=#F500FF]i[/color][color=#FF00EB]s[/color] [color=#FF00B0]t[/color][color=#FF0093]a[/color][color=#FF0075]l[/color][color=#FF0058]l[/color][color=#FF003A]?[/color][color=#FF001D]"[/color] They held up their hand to a spot about as high as their shoulder before the soldier shook his head at them.

"Haven't seen her, sorry. But the archers are all down a path that way if you wanna try and go look for her." The man pointed off towards the jungle, and the cloaked figure's gaze followed the motion. "She a friend of yours?" When the person didn't answer he continued anyway. "I know it can be hard in situations like this, but try not to worry too much about a specific person, ok? I'm sure she's fine."

[color=#FF0000]"[/color][color=#FF2400]O[/color][color=#FF4800]h[/color][color=#FF6D00],[/color] [color=#FFB600]I[/color][color=#FFDA00]'[/color][color=#FFFF00]m[/color] [color=#B6FF00]n[/color][color=#91FF00]o[/color][color=#6DFF00]t[/color] [color=#24FF00]w[/color][color=#00FF00]o[/color][color=#00FF24]r[/color][color=#00FF48]r[/color][color=#00FF6D]i[/color][color=#00FF91]e[/color][color=#00FFB6]d[/color] [color=#00FEFF]a[/color][color=#00DAFF]b[/color][color=#00B6FF]o[/color][color=#0091FF]u[/color][color=#006DFF]t[/color] [color=#0024FF]h[/color][color=#0000FF]e[/color][color=#2400FF]r[/color] [color=#6D00FF]t[/color][color=#9100FF]h[/color][color=#B600FF]a[/color][color=#DA00FF]t[/color] [color=#FF00DA]m[/color][color=#FF00B6]u[/color][color=#FF0091]c[/color][color=#FF006D]h[/color][color=#FF0048].[/color][color=#FF0024]"[/color] The soldier raised a brow at them as they began to walk away towards the trees. [color=#FF0000]"[/color][color=#FF1E00]I[/color] [color=#FF5B00]j[/color][color=#FF7A00]u[/color][color=#FF9900]s[/color][color=#FFB700]t[/color] [color=#FFF400]p[/color][color=#EAFF00]r[/color][color=#CBFF00]e[/color][color=#ADFF00]f[/color][color=#8EFF00]e[/color][color=#70FF00]r[/color] [color=#32FF00]t[/color][color=#14FF00]o[/color] [color=#00FF28]k[/color][color=#00FF47]n[/color][color=#00FF66]o[/color][color=#00FF84]w[/color] [color=#00FFC1]w[/color][color=#00FFE0]h[/color][color=#00FEFF]e[/color][color=#00E0FF]r[/color][color=#00C1FF]e[/color] [color=#0084FF]s[/color][color=#0065FF]h[/color][color=#0047FF]e[/color] [color=#000AFF]i[/color][color=#1400FF]s[/color] [color=#5100FF]a[/color][color=#7000FF]t[/color] [color=#AD00FF]a[/color][color=#CC00FF]l[/color][color=#EA00FF]l[/color] [color=#FF00D6]t[/color][color=#FF00B7]i[/color][color=#FF0098]m[/color][color=#FF007A]e[/color][color=#FF005B]s[/color][color=#FF003D].[/color][color=#FF001E]"[/color]

[hr]
[color=696969][i]"Hey, of all the enemies on the field, who can't we read?"[/i][/color] Alexis asked the question tentatively, not sure if anyone would actually answer her. After a moment though, someone did. 

[i]"The un-readables are: the new guy who's killing all the Elites, the basilisk, the old guy that set the thorn barrier on fire with those blue flames earlier, and some other guy with the old guy- I thought he was naked earlier though?"

"Dude, why would someone be naked on the battlefield?"
"Better question: why wouldn't they?"
"Well if you have scales or tough hide maybe-"
"Guys, can we stay on topic please?"
"Karol! Watch your 6!"[/i]

Alexis shook her head and started focusing back on the fight again. She found the other two people who'd been listed, they were standing not too far from the Basilisk's head, between it and the man currently fighting the Elites. Maybe she couldn't really tell from this far away, but it looked to her almost like one of them, the younger one, was glowing. She shook her head after a moment and the glow seemed to go away, but she decided that it had probably just been a trick of the moonlight in the first place anyway. She watched him and his companion for a little while before sending a thought down the line:

[color=696969][i]"Archers. Has anyone tried to shoot the old guy and his friend? The un-readable guys? Or the Basilisk?"[/i][/color]

[i]"OK, don't even think of shooting the Basilisk. You'll just piss it off."
"Agreed. I don't think anyone's tried the other two yet though."
"Are they even in range?"
"For some of us they are."
"I wouldn't. The one gives off a strange kinda vibe."[/i]

Alexis watched for a few more seconds before notching an arrow and beginning to take aim. [color=696969][i]"I'm gonna shoot the younger one."[/i][/color]

[i]"Well I hope you hit him then."
"God's sake.. don't do it!"
"Make sure that he can't figure out where you are."
"Maybe you should move?"
"Nah, take the shot."
"We don't know what either of them are capable of yet. I would make sure you can get away in time if he does figure out where you are."[/i]

Well, she couldn't exactly bail from the top of a tree, and she could hear a few of the people below laugh as she said so. She pulled back on the bowstring and took a breath, letting it out as the arrow flew straight at the man.