[center][h3]Part Two: Rouis of Perrence[/h3][/center][hr]

Perhaps the assassins had underestimated King Rouis and his retinue. Perhaps the students and guards defending him were just that strong and resourceful but, whatever the case, they seemed to have turned the tides against those who wold assassinate the King of the Perrench.

Rouis himself was plowing through sellswords like a battering ram, Fleur-de-lis cloak fluttering behind him, long, wavy hair whipping each time he changed direction, but he was handful for his own side too: the king's eagerness in battle forced them to throw themselves to his defense, desperately blocking bullets with defensive magic. Penny Pellegrin, the printer's daughter with the missing leg, was a revelation in particular: disintegrating projectiles in midair, spreading flames, and tossing bodies around like ragdolls. She was not the only one: Carmillia Carbonneau, a hesitant fighter at best, displayed a different skillset, marshaling the students among the honour guard, sending one to stop the carriage and commanding another - Madeleine Marchand - to light the trees on fire. What dividends the act paid! The forest was ablaze and enemies were pouring out of it, coughing and staggering. How shortsighted of them to hide in a place so flammable. Zenos Lascand and Giroux employed their master-level Chemical magics to render these threats unconscious for later questioning. Muttering about the folly of war, the former bustled about the battlefield patching the wounded up, including his own nephew.

It had become a mop-up action, the attempt on Rouis' life thwarted through brave and decisive action. The king thrust his sword into the air. "Vive la Perrence!" He shouted, towering above a handful of bound and gagged captives. "Vive la peuple Perrencais!" A cheer rose up around the clearing, and he returned his sword to its sheath with a flourish. "I promise you this, my people and our loyal friends: Perrence will repay your efforts. We will not go gently as our enemies wish us to. Why, even now, as Doge l'Anguilla believes that he has our nation in his nefarious trap, it is he who has fallen into ours. That is a matter for a day soon to come," he amended. He cleared his throat. "For the time being, I wish to recognize the bravery and ingenuity of those who have won [i]this [/i]day." His eyes beamed with pride, taking in his fellow Perrenchmen and Perrenchwomen. "Miss Carmille Carbonneau," he announced, "though a mere girl of seventeen, your level head, cunning, and command of others has not gone unnoticed and shall not go unrewarded. Please step forward..."

Yet, not so very far away, there was still some deadly intrigue left to play out. For her part, the Tan Keoulean, Seung Eun-Ji, had swept the perimeter clean, making sport of most of her targets. One had his head cleaved open with a knife, Another's had been smashed to a pulp. It was a clean, precise sort of brutality, but utterly brutal nonetheless. When she'd gone in for her most recent attack, however, Eun-Ji's target - a nondescript-looking magusjaeger - had simply disappeared as if he had not existed in the first place. This, she knew, was a powerful enemy. She had not even sensed more than basic illusory magic out of him - the sort commonly employed by those of his skillset for camouflage. The ability to make oneself invisible and project an illusion, all while masking the true extent of one's magic... that was academy-level skill. She was not far from the main struggle. She could likely retreat, but would it be wise to let such an adversary escape? Did he even [i]want[/i] to escape? Was it worth risking her life against someone of this caliber, for some foreign king? Eun-Ji reached out with her magic senses and, all around her in the forest were the little spots glowing with energy that denoted the presence of living things. They were not as clear as they could've been, however. The fire drowned many of them out, its thermal and chemical energy radiating across the area, making it difficult to detect those who wished to remain undetected. To be fair... that was something that she, herself, could use.

Meanwhile, for his part, Flavius continued to monitor the battlefield from his treetop perch. Stealth had always come naturally to him and he considered himself rather a master of it. The fact that he had not detected Eun-Ji's hidden opponent beforehand was alarming. This guy was [i]good[/i]. He reached out with his senses, looking for all of the usual tricks, but was having trouble -

"The next time you see her," said a voice, and Flavius was immediate in his evasive action. "Tell your lady that she is on the wrong side." The speaker perched almost... delicately atop a nearby branch, no more than a handful of yards distant, hands clasped behind his back. A featureless white mask covered his face, but Flavius could sense amusement in his voice, maybe even a smile. The depth of the skill gulf between them was immediately evident. The youth was plenty good enough to know when he was profoundly outmatched, though that did not happen often. "Also," said the white-masked man, his voice a rich Revidian roll, "you may want to watch your footing." As he spoke, the branch beneath Flavius disappeared as if it had never even existed, as did the speaker. Not even a trace.
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