Ember Legacy, Volume 1

Chapter 7: Keep It Together

Western Kingdom of Vale

"Dragons are among the most ancient spirits. Their origins are not known, but they significantly predate the rise of man. [This author advises the reader never to ask a dragon about the early days of humanity, as they tend to remark that we were much more entertaining as a species before we climbed down from the trees.]"

~ Amy Rae Durreson, Reawakening

"That," Ruby declared solemnly, "is a shitload of Orcs."

Nora snickered to herself softly, especially at the indulgent sigh from her boyfriend Ren. The Cleric wasn't all that much of a stickler when it came to profanity, which was likely a good thing or he'd have had a conniption by now with her as a companion, but he would make sure to gently reprimand a person if Oum's name was ever taken in vain.

Of course, that just made the orange-haired warrior become all the more creative with her curses.

The brunette leader of their little expedition wasn't wrong, though. The ruined manor ahead of them did indeed seem to be literally teeming with dozens of the bestial humanoids, so far as they could make out in the late afternoon light.

"Do we want to wait until the next morning to attack them?" Jeanne wondered out loud.

"Nope," Nora interjected cheerfully. "Too much of a chance the buggers find us. They like to send out patrols."

"Right," Ruby agreed with a nod. "And Orcs can see in the dark better than Humans, though less so than Elves. Or half-Elves, for that matter," she added with a nod towards Ren.

At the almost inaudible snort from the white-haired Elven mage, Nora turned slightly to regard the woman. Weiss didn't give any indication that she'd reacted, which made her frown slightly.

She's been doing a lot of that… wonder what's up that elegant butt of hers, anyways?

Or maybe she just needs to have something else up her butt to get her to relax?

Nora chortled to herself quietly, as always keeping her rather raunchy humor to herself. She'd learned from experience that not many appreciated it, and she would rather get to know her companions a little better before inflicting such honors upon them.

"So," Ruby began, standing up from where she had been crouched alongside the others on the ridge. "Will the horses be okay back here, just tied up like that?"

"I can stay behind to mind them," the blonde squire spoke with with only a small trace of reluctance.

Ruby shook her head adamantly before Pyrrha could open her mouth. "No, I'd rather us all be in on this. Shitload of Orcs, remember?" She frowned slightly then and turned to the redheaded Knight. "Er… if that's okay, Pyrrha?"

"I was going to recommend the same," the tall armored warrior replied with a smile. "Jeanne is quite capable, especially when working in tandem with myself."

Nora absently noted the faint blush that spread across the blue-eyed blonde's cheeks, and added it to the list of curiosities she'd been assembling in her head since she and Ren had joined with this 'fellowship'.

Hyperactive she might be, but alongside that existed keen observation skills that had kept the two of them alive so far in this dangerous world.

The orange-haired hammer-wielder shook her head. Not the time for that, in any case. She finally had the chance to show her worth to her new friends. Oh, and crack a few skulls in the process. Double win!

"So what's the plan?" Nora asked eagerly, bouncing on her toes and causing the patches of chain on her motley pink-dyed armor to jingle slightly.

Ruby glanced around at the group, her silver eyes glittering thoughtfully. "Nora and I take the center assault, work our way up to the main entrance. It's an angle from here, so Pyrrha and Jeanne, you support our left flank towards the manor itself. Ren and Weiss will stay on your heels, so protect them as well."

"I do not need protection," the white-haired Elf stated firmly and without any trace of hubris.

Ruby smirked slightly. "Just… humor me, okay? Stick by Ren's side, please."

The Elven mage frowned at that but then nodded, glancing away with a pensive look on her face.

The six of them assembled in a line at the base of the ridge. Ren took a quick moment to utter a blessing, his hands glowing a soft white. As usual after being on the receiving end of her lover's benedictions, Nora felt as if every nerve ending was tingling in anticipation. The sounds of the forest were clearer, the colors and smells of her companions sharper. The orange-haired woman hefted her hammer eagerly.

"By the way, Weiss," she murmured over her shoulder, smirking widely. "Anything happens to my boyfriend and you're paste on the end of Magnhild."

"Nora," the raven-haired Cleric sighed. "Please don't threaten our companions."

"I don't threaten, Renny. I make promises."

Weiss scoffed lightly. "Oh for Oum's sake, I don't need to listen to this…"

"Language, please," Ren chided gently. "And also please do excuse her, she gets… excitable before a fight."

"Hmph." The Elven mage crossed her arms and stared at the group's leader. "Well, Ruby, do we finally get to see what this weapon of yours is?"

"Oh, I suppose so, yeah," the brunette grinned. She pulled out from behind her back an oddly-shaped lump of what looked to be dark metal, piquing Nora's curiosity.

And then Ruby brought the object to her lips and whispered something too quiet to be overheard. If Weiss' frown was any indication, she couldn't pick up on it either.

Without further warning, the metal snapped outwards and into a long, black pole with a crescent blade on the end of it.

A war scythe.

But what was most remarkable about the rarely-seen exotic weapon was the flames that licked along the blade, subtle but most definitely there. Even in the dim light filtering through the trees overhead, Nora could tell they were a red so dark that they looked black.

"That… is so cool…" Nora murmured dreamily.

"Everyone, meet my sweetheart," Ruby stated proudly, twirling the massive weapon in one hand as if it weighed nothing. "Crescent Rose."

"And you made that?" Weiss finally squeaked out incredulously.

"Eh," the brunette shrugged modestly. "It's a talent of mine. Now, shall we?"

"Oh, please," Nora giggled, now even more excited for the battle to come. "Let's."

With that they were off, moving steadily ahead. Nora and Ruby strode side-by-side but a respectable distance from each other to provide room to swing their oversized weapons, while the other four kept off to the left but still within eyesight.

Surprisingly, it took almost a full minute before they came across the first sentry.

The green-skinned, bestial Orc rose to his full height as he saw Nora approach him. Like many of his kind, he wore armor even more mismatched than hers was, decorated with hides and pelts, some of which the orange-haired warrior was sure would be humanoid. He hefted a large, double-bladed battle axe in his hands as his lips pulled back from his pointed teeth in a snarl, while the black, beady eyes bore into her with an intelligent malice that many had underestimated with his race.

"Intru-"

His bellow was cut short by the head of Nora's hammer as it made contact with his face, even though he stood a good full two heads taller than her. As she completed the sideways swing, it carried with it half of the Orc's skull, leaving a bloody visceral mess behind.

Nora grinned widely as she hefted her warhammer high atop the Orc's corpse. Over the sound of the body thudding to the ground, she let out a fierce cry of her own.

"Come and get some, bitches!"

"I like that," Ruby giggled, striding forward to meet the first wave of Orcs. "I vote we let Nora come up with our war cries."

"Seconded!" Pyrrha laughed cheerfully from where she and Jeanne stood firm to receive their end of the onslaught.

"If you are all quite finished…" Weiss stepped to the side from behind Jeanne, rapier grasped firmly on her left, and flicked her other hand up into the air. A sudden gust of wind tore through the trees from behind then, cold and crisp like that of the mountains in the far north. With another hand motion, she slashed downwards, and countless razor-sharp crystalline projectiles hurtled into the advancing Orcs, slicing through them as if they were nothing but wheat in a field.

"Nice job, Weiss!" Ruby cheered. She glanced aside at Nora, her silver eyes darkening into a smoky grey. "Let's take advantage, huh?"

"I'm with you!" Nora exclaimed, sprinting forward at the lightly-armored girl's side.

When Nora had first examined their new leader, she was curious as to what manner of warrior she might be. Not a spell caster, to be sure, as she didn't give off the right vibe. Some type of rogue was her other thought, explaining the lack of any real substantial armor, but now that she'd seen Ruby's weapon of choice, she was even more perplexed as to how she expected to survive on a battlefield.

Until she saw her fight.

The brunette, close enough in height to Nora herself if an inch or two taller, moved through the snarling, bellowing mass of Orcs as if she were dancing. Not a single blade or club touched her as she twirled and spun with an almost ethereal grace that the orange-haired girl had never seen before.

As Nora brought her warhammer down on the helmet of one of the Orcs facing her, causing blood and brain matter to splatter out in all directions from under the battered headpiece, she spared a quick glance at her combat partner. Ruby leaped effortlessly over a vicious two-handed sword swing, bringing her scythe around to neatly sever the Orc's head from his shoulders. She completed the spin before landing in a crouch, eviscerating another pair that had tried to move in behind her.

The brunette was grinning widely as she surged back to her feet, sprinting forward to impale her darkly-flaming blade into the chest of an Orc wielding a hammer almost the size of Magnhild. She used the momentum to spin the now-corpse around, sheltering behind it while several arrows thudded into the back of the body. With a quick yank on the haft of her weapon, Ruby twirled it around her torso, opening up gruesome wounds on another trio of Orcs. The enchanted blade swept aside armor and shields as if they were silk, and even shattered a broadsword that had been used to try and parry the inevitable blow.

Nora had a matching grin on her face as she gleefully spun her hammer in a tight circle, deflecting a pair of swords that had darted in from either side. She rewarded the owners of the blades with a crushed kneecap on the left and a shattered sternum on the right. As she spun in place, she brought her weapon down on the head of the wounded Orc, crushing it deep into the ground.

Without any immediate enemies, Nora spared a concerned glance to see how the others were doing.

Pyrrha and Jeanne stood practically shoulder-to-shoulder as they handedly dealt with the onrush of Orc warriors. Nora let out a quiet whistle of appreciation as she saw the two work in tandem, often blocking strikes aimed at the other with their shields, or striking out at an opponent left off-balanced by another block. Sometimes they would wordlessly slash at an opponent both high and low, cutting their legs out from under them while severing their carotid arteries.

While the Knight and her squire were a bastion of redoubt, Weiss was like an elemental whirlwind. She darted in and out from either side of the pair, slicing with her rapier or sending out icy spears to impale an Orc against a tree or the ground. One unfortunate club-wielding Orc tried to approach her from the side opposite of her weapon, but the alabaster-haired Elf simply side-stepped the attempted attack and brought her hand up to slap against his chest.

Within the blink of an eye he was immolated, the flames licking up from within his very body and turning him to ash before he could even scream.

Nora gave a small shudder as she trailed behind the destructive trail left by Ruby. She'd always been wary of Mages due to their phenomenal power potential, but this Elven woman was something else entirely. Able to deal out certain death with blade or magic.

Just glad she's on our side...

After another few steps Nora broke out from the treeline to spy the ruined manor. The walls had held up fairly well, though from this close up she could tell there was no way they would withstand a determined attack. Most of the windows were blown out, and the main doors lay rotting on the ground. She could easily make out the angry shouts and roars of reinforcements coming from inside.

Ruby appeared by her side as if by teleportation. "Alright there, Nora?" the brunette asked cheerfully.

"Just gettin' warmed up!" she answered with an eager grin.

Nodding, Ruby turned to face the other four as they approached. "Okay, we've got a few stragglers from an outdoor camp on the other side coming around and then these bastards inside. How about… Nora, Jeanne, and Weiss go deal with the outside Orcs while the rest of us handle the ones here."

Nora eyed her doubtfully, uncertain about leaving Ren behind, but the others seemed willing enough to go along with the cursory plan, even Pyrrha and Jeanne.

Shrugging to herself, she supposed the Knight and the scythe-wielder could bottle up the entrance well enough and keep her lover safe.

The three women jogged off around the corner of the building, Jeanne rattling with every step, though to her credit she didn't seem overly winded. Unlike the white-haired Mage.

"How… far?" the Elf panted out.

"Looks like just around the next corner," Jeanne stated, pointing with her sword as several Orcs came sprinting in their direction from where she'd indicated.

"You good, Weiss?" Nora asked with some concern. The skirted woman looked to be more worn out than she'd noticed when they started out.

"Fine, I'll be fine," Weiss replied breathlessly. "Just… using up a lot of Aura. Can you handle the first wave, let me catch my breath?"

"You got it!" Nora replied cheerfully, while Jeanne just gave her a quick nod. The pair of armored girls slowed their approach so as not to leave the recovering Mage too far behind, and met the rush of Orcs after another heartbeat.

Jeanne crouched and slammed her shield into the first Orc who held a spear in an overhand grip. With a snarl, the blonde thrust her sword into the stunned creature's belly, twisting her shield around to let him drop to the side. Meanwhile, Nora met the sword strike aimed at her head with her hammer in a clash of steel that sent her opponent's weapon flying. Her return swing caught the Orc in his stomach, lifting him off of his feet and backwards towards her new combat partner.

"Jeanne!" she called out.

Wordlessly, the blonde set her feet and leaned in with her shield, knocking the airborne Orc onto his back to be dispatched with a swift thrust into his neck.

The pair ignored the pained gurgles as the Orc choked to death on his own blood, wading forward once more. Another Orc dropped, clutching at the intestines that threatened to spill out from his abdomen after a vicious slash from Jeanne, while two more were felled in rapid succession as Nora crushed the head downwards of one, splattering her with gore, while the other one's head was actually knocked clean off his shoulders.

"Ha!" Nora crowed excitedly. "Didja see that? Didja?"

"Trying not to," Jeanne muttered, looking faintly greenish in her face.

Nora giggled lightly as she flung her hammer out to the side, cleaning off the majority of the clumps of skin, hair, blood, and other unidentifiable bodily matter. "Please don't tell me you're a lightweight."

"Look, I just- Fuck!"

Nora twisted to the side at the uncharacteristic curse from the normally level-headed apprentice warrior, just in time to avoid a charge by one of the larger and more ornate of the Orcs they'd encountered so far. She swung her hammer around to catch him in the back, but he skipped to the side and lashed out with his greatsword, causing Nora to jump back as well.

Jeanne had quickly recovered at that point and scrambled to her feet from where she'd been bowled over by the initial attack. The two of them stood by each other's side, eyeing the armored Orc chieftan warily.

"Is that the head Orc here?" the blonde asked quietly.

"It's a good bet," Nora agreed levelly. "Weiss?"

"Here," a light voice sounded from her other side. "Ready to take him."

"You rutting curs," the Orc snarled in badly-mangled Common language. "You think you take me? I show you-"

Whatever it was the brash chieftain was willing to show the three women was cut off as he imploded. Messily, and drenching the three of them in visceral gore.

Nora's eyes followed the head of the tree-sized club that was embedded into the ground where the chieftain once stood, up the haft, and to the enormous hand that held it. Said hand was attached to a grey-skinned Ogre, looming twice as tall as any Orc.

"Well, son of a kitten," Nora remarked mildly, stunned by the recent turn of events.

Jeanne made a horrible noise in her throat that sounded as if she were about to rid herself of several internal organs. The blonde staggered off to the side and retched behind a tree.

The orange-haired woman glanced aside at Weiss who was staring at the hideously ugly Ogre, open-mouthed and seemingly unaware of the new crimson color decorating her pristine white and light-blue outfit.

"How did that just sneak up on us?" Nora demanded irritably.

Weiss gave herself a shake and looked over at her, a frown gracing her normally elegant face that at that moment still had blood and gore dripping from it. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how did you not see him? You have Elven eyes!" Nora pointed at her own turquoise orbs incredulously. "Elven! Eyes!"

"Look, I don't know what sort of racist stereotypes you subscribe to…" the white-haired Mage scoffed.

"Hey!" Jeanne barked out, walking back up and spitting to the side with a grimace. "Can we not argue right now?" The blonde pointed up at the towering Ogre, who was in the process of taking a lumbering step towards them. Her sapphire-blue eyes were wide and slightly panic-stricken. "Let's worry about the giant Ogre who just made Orc mash!"

Weiss glanced down at herself, scowling at the mess over her outfit before delivering a withering glare that seemed to encompass Nora, Jeanne, and the Ogre as well. "I'll handle him," she stated firmly.

"Um, Weiss, I meant all of us…" Jeanne protested weakly, but the Elf was already striding forward, rapier held in her left hand and to the side while her other arm was stretched out towards the Ogre, fingers spread.

Before she could finish her incantation, however, the monster lunged forward with surprising agility and grasped her right forearm with a meaty paw.

"Balls," Weiss muttered, almost causing Nora to bark out a laugh.

Her humor was quickly wiped as the Ogre lifted the hapless Mage up and squeezed. The white-haired woman let out an anguished shriek of pain as blood and tissue splattered Jeanne and Nora below, adding to the gore already coating the pair.

With a contemptuous grunt, the Ogre casually flung the Elf behind him. Her screams were cut off as she slammed into a tree and sagged to the ground.

"Next!" the Ogre bellowed, hefting his bloody club to his shoulder.

"Oum's sodding balls," Jeanne moaned, clutching her sword and shield determinedly.

"Language!" Ren called out as he, Ruby, and Pyrrha raced up.

"Ren!" Nora called out in relief. "Weiss, she's-"

"I saw," he replied tersely, not pausing in his sprint. He continued on towards where Weiss had fallen while the other two skidded to a halt.

"Jeanne!" the brunette barked out. "Go with Ren! Pyrrha, give me a shield boost! Nora, hit him low!"

"Got it," Nora grinned anticipatorily.

Pyrrha took a step forward and crouched, her shield held over her head as Nora surged past her. She skipped to the side, avoiding the Ogre's massive club as it slammed into the ground where she'd just been, and swung her hammer in a wide circle.

The monster's knee was smashed inward, buckling his leg at an unnatural angle.

He let out a roar of pain and dropped down on his good knee, but Ruby was already soaring overhead from where she'd sprung off of Pyrrha's shield.

"Hello, beastie!" the brunette called out gleefully. Her scythe, trailing flames black as dried blood, arced in and embedded directly into one eye, straight through the Ogre's brain.

Ruby rode the body downwards as it collapsed onto its back, yanking out her blade before hopping nimbly onto the ground.

Without further conversation, the three of them raced over towards where Ren crouched next to Weiss. The white-haired Mage was sitting up, though she was looking around dazedly.

"How bad is it?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"I don't really want to look," Weiss replied with an eerie sort of calm.

They all peered over towards her right arm as she slowly lifted it up. It was now horribly mangled with a serious compound fracture in the middle of the forearm. In fact, the bottom half of her arm was only hanging on by a few strands of sinew and tissue.

The reactions were as varied as they themselves were. Jeanne made a gagging sound but managed not to throw up this time, while even Pyrrha looked a bit green at the sight. Ruby simply sighed and shook her head slightly.

As for Nora, she just looked on with interest.

"Wow, that's the worst arm wound I've ever seen," she murmured appreciatively.

Weiss looked around at the others, her pale blue eyes clouded. "Am I in shock?"

"Um, yes," Ren replied patiently. "You are. Please stop dangling it around."

The raven-haired Cleric placed a firm hand on her shoulder, pressing her back down onto the ground as his other hand hovered over the gruesome remains of her arm.

"This will hurt a little bit."

Weiss nodded wanly, clearly not really registering anything going on. Ren moved his other hand over to join the first and closed his eyes, inhaling a deep breath. On the exhale, he began to murmur, imploring Oum to aid his comrade.

His hands began to glow white as the healing Aura surged through him and into Weiss. Faster than Nora's eye could track, muscle and sinew began to reknit themselves, bone snapped back into place, and flesh mended.

Weiss let out a loud shriek once more. "Son of an Orc!"

As Ren finished his work, Weiss lay there with her eyes screwed shut, whimpering piteously. Before too long, though, the Cleric sat back on his heels and let out an exhausted breath.

"It's done," he stated softly.

The white-haired Mage cracked an eye open warily. "Ow?" she murmured weakly.

Ren chuckled as he stood up, brushing his white pants off. "You'll need to rest and recover, I drew heavily upon your Aura as well."

"I can tell," Weiss breathed. "Er… thank you."

"Of course," Ren smiled.

The orange-haired warrior grabbed Ren in a tight one-armed hug. "That's my boyfriend," she stated proudly.

"Nora, you are covered in… What exactly are you covered in?"

"Oh, you know," she grinned unabashedly. "A little bit of Orc, a little bit of Weiss, maybe a little Ogre too."

"Alright then," Ruby interjected, looking around at the group. "Seems we cleared the area now. Pyrrha, Jeanne, can you two please stay with Weiss while she recovers? Ren, Nora, and myself will go into the manor. Should be back soon."

Pyrrha nodded in acceptance as Jeanne bent over to help Weiss into a more comfortable position against the tree. "We'll keep her safe."

"I know you will," the brunette replied with a wink. "Whelp, let's go guys, we got a library to find!"

As the three of them made their way around the side of the manor, Nora still dripping with various liquids, Ruby glanced aside at Ren curiously.

"That was some pretty powerful healing magic," she stated softly.

Ren nodded calmly. "It was. Oum has favored me this day, and certainly seems to favor the path we are set upon."

"I see. Easy as that, then?" Ruby kept her gaze on the raven-haired man, her silver eyes inquisitive. "Just… Oum's favor?"

"Somewhat. A great deal also depends on my own will, my determination, and my Aura."

"And also because he's just that awesome," Nora snickered.

Ren shot her a warm but amused look as they entered into the main hall of the manor, stepping over more than a few hacked and bloody Orc corpses.

The three of them made their way upstairs and along a hallway filled with doors that had been ripped off their hinges. They poked their heads inside each room, continuing on until Ruby let out a quiet, triumphant shout.

"Found it! And looks like we got here in time, they haven't started using the books as fuel for their fires yet!"

"Praise Oum," Ren murmured. "That would have been an abrupt ending to your quest, would it not?"

"I'll say," Ruby chuckled as she walked about the room, staring at the dusty shelves lined with books of all sorts. There were some bound by leather, others cloth, and more than a few scrolls. A few had been dumped onto the floor, but for the most part the Orcs had avoided the room due to lack of interest.

"Now, if I were a book on Dragons, where would I be…" the brunette murmured, running a finger along a shelf.

"Is this a particularly rare tome?" Ren asked, while Nora stood guard at the door. She'd never bothered to learn how to read, that's what she had Ren for.

And besides, she always loved it when he read stories to her. She could listen to the handsome half-Elf all day long, the quiet and sonorous voice that could lull her into a state of blissful calm.

She was shaken from her reverie by Ruby's absent-minded answer.

"It is, yes. The only copy left, actually."

"And you mentioned it was regarding Dragons?"

"Yep, ancient ones, in fact…" Ruby pursed her lips as she shifted over to another shelf. "And I need an answer about one in particular… Or rather, the name of a certain Dragon's Mate… Aha!"

She grinned widely as she pulled out a medium-sized tome bound in black leather. It was engraved with intricate designs around the entire cover, but from where Nora stood she couldn't make out the details

Ruby flipped the book open carefully, sliding a finger along as she skimmed a few pages. "Yes… Yep, this is it!"

"May I?" Ren asked, motioning towards the tome as Ruby flipped it shut.

The brunette's face stilled, her silver eyes clouding over into a dark grey very briefly before regaining their shine once more. "Er… don't take this the wrong way, Ren… but I'd rather you didn't."

Ren regarded the group leader curiously, but shrugged his shoulders in acceptance. "Very well."

With a grateful smile, Ruby slipped the book into her knapsack. "Okay, then, let's go gather up the others and head back to Vale!"

"Ohhh, haven't been to Vale in ages," Nora said excitedly as she skipped alongside the others.

"Please, Nora," Ren implored quietly. "Can we try not to get kicked out this time?"

"I make no promises, Renny!"

Ruby snickered softly, shaking her head as they exited the building. "Yeah, this group is gonna be all sorts of fun…"

A/N: Yay, chapter update! So, the sequence regarding the Ogre is a direct homage to one of the best comics around, Rat Queens. Major props to the creators, Wiebe and Upchurch. If you haven't picked up any copies, I highly recommend them.

Now, I want to take a quick second to address a review from shop g. I would have answered you in a PM but you left the review as a guest. (Please do create an account so that I can properly answer you next time!) Yes, all Yang has to go off of is a 'presence'. Note, however, that there's a theme going on regarding eyes, and Ruby had certainly left enough of a trail with just that alone. Add to that, Yang's ability to sense the approach of Em and Merc, and you might have a better idea of how this might work. Yes Yang's going to make use of Blake's skills, as what she's been doing for the past 12 years hasn't been working, as she admits. Almost like she's really not used to interacting with the world, hmm?

So, not really trying to hide what Ruby and Yang might be from the readers, many of you have already picked up on it. But the other characters remain blissfully unaware.

In other news, I've done some polishing to the outline for this story. As it stands now, we'll split it into 4 volumes (all within the same story, though), with roughly 10 chapters apiece. The volumes are really just story arcs, and signal the milestones within the story. Does that make sense?

Right then, much appreciation for the reads, favorites, and follows! Hugs to my Betas for this story, KellyConnely and PandaAnimeLover, and much love for all of those who have left me a review! I always love to hear what you think, good or ill, so please do let me know how it's going! FoxyFoxation, AntonSlavik020, Commando2341, shop g, ExKage, Arcredemption, and InfernoLeo9, many thanks!

Stay shiny!