[b][center][h3][color=orange] Lein [/color][/h3][/center][/b]
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[b][color=orange]Location:[/color][/b] Bandit Camp, Forward Position
[b][color=orange]Interactions:[/color][/b] Serenity [@ERode] Lucas [@Saiyan] Renar [@Psyker Landshark] Griffon [@Raineh Daze]
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Lein spared no time with the opportunity opened by the other knights, arrows cleaving paths through the rain of blood and fire. Had it not been in the middle of the battle, he would have permitted himself a moment of grim awe at the display of magic before him. Perhaps he would have thrown out a joke or so, shooting a jealous look at the enchanted crystalline bow and pitying himself at the mundanity of his own bow, had it not been for the shriek of fear that rang out from the cage before him, the ripping of sheared metal, and the flurry of claw and plume that heralded the beast to emerge from the cage. It would be more than easy to give it its name - but the silhouette needed no name to command attention from all those who saw it.

What was a man to react to the emergence of this towering beast, whose wings were stitched against the banners of so many claims to regality? Would it be a reaction of sheer instinct, the undeniable impulse that racked the cores of a prey facing a predator? Would it be awe at the macabre magnificence, violence infused with wild pride? Perhaps it would be sane to be riddled by both, as many that surrounded Lein already were, watching half-entranced as the beast swooped down and with a twist of its beak, tore a man's neck clean from the body.

But not quite for Lein, who had paid his fair share of flesh to let his guile speak louder than his instincts. Even as the griffon let out its piercing cry, electricity coursed through Lein's nerves, overriding all that would set him running and setting his mind alight. He ducked and flattened himself against the ground as the griffon sent waves of ember and ash crashing around him, eyes darting sharply at his surroundings as his prosthetic hand caught the heat flying across his face. Breath in. Out. Griffon. Serenity. Two knights, still alive. Four bandits, dead or disarmed. More beyond that, stunned. 

As soon as he felt the wind die down across his ears, the Hundi ranger sprang from the ground and ripped free the iron bolts that had been fitted across his band-quiver, digging his heels against the perforated ground and fluidly kicking up the dirt before him. As soon as he was out of the range of the griffon's swipes, Lein flicked another arrow into his bow and unloaded it against the shoulder joints of a nearby bandit rushing towards them. Griffon against Serenity - they needn't any more distractions. 

Flanking them, Lein tracked the two knights rushing towards them, themselves flanked by yet more bandits that had by now shaken off their own shock and were converging on their location. One white haired knight in particular was still looked dazed, face flushed with both confusion and determination. Lein furrowed his brow. What was this one doing? Wasn't this the same knight who rushed headlong into the ambush? Mania - ignorance - arrogance - or - Lein's ears picked up the clinking of chains, and there was no need for further explanation.

Lein breathed sharp and deep, tasting the bitter air through his teeth as he strode in an arc around the beast, flanking it directly opposite to the white knight's trajectory. A flaring orange at the corner of his eyes confirmed what he had been looking for - fire. Lein threw the bolts into the flickering hearth, the steel crackling as it met the heat inside. Lein loaded the last into his bow, locking the metal firmly betwixt his thumb ring and bowstring. The bowstring cracked its approval, limbs steadying its sway as Lein's eyes guided the glinting arrowhead down the battlefield against his mark. The most painful, the most crucial part of the beast. With one explosive exhale, Lein let the bow roar an acceptance of the beast's challenge, an iron dart poised to pierce the griffon's wings joints.