[centre][h1][color=silver]Erasmi Andora[/color][/h1]
[@Raylah][/centre]

[color=gray]It had been a couple of hours since his talk with Aziza and so the first of her victims for the night was almost certainly dead by now. The girl, although she had many qualities, was especially skilled in the art of death. He had many such subordinates who practised the craft but none were nearly as good as her; that was why she was here, in the centre of it all. The best was required for such a delicate situation.

The palace of Exodus was not unfamiliar to him, the years of blossoming trade between the two kingdoms having required his presence at the royal home several times in the past but its extravagant wealth was still something that both amused and disgusted him. Primfira had its own luxuries and displays of wealth but they were somewhat more refined, still holding some practicality whereas here it seemed as though things were pretty and expensive for that sake alone. It served a purpose, he supposed, but there was too much waste and it frustrated him that such a people were still the most affluent and powerful despite it all.

The hue and cry soon went up, guards pounding the halls toward the disturbance. Erasmi followed, curious, until he was standing on the steps of the palace entrance and even from such a distance he could hear the terrified screams and clamour of a city on the verge of total panic. All this, from just one monster? The Freyjan people had clearly become soft, to be unable to deal with one such intruder. Still, there were plenty of his own people out there, in the city, and he would not sit by why the Exodus soldiers consistently failed to deal with the threat.

He gestured for his guards to follow and loped off into the darkness, the men at his back knowing not to argue with their monarch despite the danger; he had come through much over the years and survived his fair share of battles so they followed him without question. They passed fleeing citizens who parted when they saw the small group of heavily armed soldiers, spearheaded by the tall and fearsome king whose piercing eyes struck through their own aimless fear. The cries of terror and pain became louder as they neared and Erasmi guided the troupe based on those sounds until they stood at the head of a street, corpses littered in near every direction in various states of evisceration.

With surprise he saw a giant Earthican warrior's corpse on the ground, sprawled in the ungainly form of shock defeat on the floor, terror still raw in his glazed eyes. As they neared the king could see that the beast was large, even for its kind, but the amateur response of the Exodus guards were the cause of so much death; they tried to engage it where the monster's claws and teeth could reach them and so died in their dozens. What buffoonery these people possessed!

[color=silver]"Spread out, use bows and javelins. Retreat if it gets close, pull the living back here."[/color] His commands were short and understood immediately, his guards encircling the beast from behind the wall of Exodus fodder, pelting it from a safe range while others pulled those who could still be saved back toward the king who formed their rally point. Erasmi had no interest in healing them himself, he was above such a task, but it served a purpose to be seen as in command.

To his surprise a Freyjan woman he recognised from the palace was brought to him, in a state of deep shock although uninjured despite the gore which had splattered her dress. Without armour or weaponry she was lucky to have survived at all and it appeared she utterly unaccustomed to this level of violence, from the withdrawn look in her eyes.

[color=silver]"You are Princess Thyrri, correct? A healer in training, if I recall. There are wounded here who need your help."[/color] He swept away from her, not having the time to coddle a civilian on the battlefield, even if they were a royal one. [color=silver]"Don't get close to it, stay back and wear it down!"[/color] He roared at one of the greener soldiers in his guard who had edged forwards, spear held halfway down the haft as if he had hoped to kill it with a surprise blow. The man sheepishly retreated, fending the bear off from a distance with the length of his spear.

Despite their attempts, however, the bear did not seem willing to slow down from its injuries any time soon. Erasmi had no desire to lose any of his men to the beast and so he stayed at a safe distance, calling out orders as he paced back and forth, observing the slow flow of battle and ensuring they kept out of its path. Someone more courageous and selfless would need to deal the killing blow although it would almost certainly result in their own death as well.
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