You were about to yell orders to the footmen, but everything fell apart before you even had a word in edgewise.
The footmen broke lines and scattered, drawing the elementals in every direction in their zeal to destroy the unholy magic tainting them. There was no coherence except for the soldiers' keeping the elementals from attacking the more vulnerable troops.
Looking over, you saw the Tidesages weaving spells to try and force the elementals to disperse. Lucius was doing something similar, but appeared to be meeting with far more success. The elemental he was focusing on was struggling and seemed unable to move.
"We're with you, miss." You hadn't noticed, but the six riflemen had joined you at the rear line. You looked back at the battle, looking for any way to turn this in your favor more than in simple numbers.
"Can you tell which ones aren't being focused on by our footmen?" You looked back in time to see them nod. "Then bring them down first. Take every shot you can, and whittle down their numbers."
"We'll do our best, miss. What do you intend to do?"
"I'll let the Almighty guide me, as always." The lack of confusion in the woman's eyes gave you the impression that she was among those who had been at the Bulwark with you. With a nod and a salute, the rifles moved to their task, and you were left to yours. Drawing your sword, your hands now hidden in plated leather, you ran to join the battle.
Behind you, the crack of rifle fire was followed by the sight of blasted water before you, the elementals recoiling as they were struck. One saw you, and prepared to swing a fist that, despite being liquid, could surely strike with the force of a boulder, before it was hit by something from the side.
One of the footmen, Anos, you thought, had thrown a stone and broken its momentum. He immediately returned to the battle, and you managed to catch the creature off-balance. One strike cut off an arm, and a second split its body from its root. Both only hampered it temporarily, but it seemed to become smaller as it regrew the missing body parts. Maybe while it was in this 'plane' it had to use itself as a reservoir for its self-repairs? You put the thought aside as you smashed it with the flat of your blade, scattering it and leaving a foul taste in the air.
Another glance around the battlefield told you that the elementals were disoriented, in pain, or both. They were scattered and disorganized, and they didn't seem to have any plan in mind beyond 'smash everything that moves.' Scanning the field, you found another one of them that seemed weakened, close to several others. If you understood the spell you had learned right, it could sometimes have effects beyond its main target. That seemed like an ideal opportunity.
Channeling the Light briefly, you threw your right hand forward, and you saw a golden aura gather around your target. It grew and became blinding, until it simply burst.
A blast of force nearly knocked you off of your feet, the soldiers around you crying out in shock. There was the sound of glass in your ears, and crystals knocking together in a great symphony. After what seemed an eternity, the light dimmed and the noise faded. As you looked around the field, you saw that all four of the elementals that had been in the vicinity of the blast were gone, without a trace.
Even more surprising was the grove itself. The grass was greener, and the ground seemed to have recovered from the blighting of the land, however little had risen this high.
Looking back to the combatants, the elementals were almost all disoriented and retreating, and your soldiers were cheering and shouting. You thought you heard your name among the battle cries, but you discounted it as a strange fantasy of the mind. Only one footman, who you gathered was Anos, seemed disoriented by the Light. He was rubbing his eye blearily, as though he had been blinded.
That proved a mistake as you were forced to watch an elemental twice the size of the others rise from the stream and slam a fist into his breastplate. He was sent flying, and the number of cracking noises that he gave off as he landed didn't give you much faith that he had survived.
The rifles seemed to take the new foe somewhat well, and you soon heard their guns firing again from behind some of the sparse trees. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be as much success. The footmen, for their part, were gathering into a group, shields raised to guard against the heavy blows and magical bolts of the elementals. There were only six of the small ones left, but the new, larger one presented a new problem.
What was more, you couldn't imagine why the spell had reacted as violently as it had. You hadn't seen anything like that during your practice, that was certain.
"Jeanne!" Phillipus was running over, followed by a very irritated Lucius. "We've got something!"
"We might have something, damn Tidesage bastard! Get it right and don't give wrong ideas!" Lucius sounded strained. You'd probably want to have a talk with him about profanity later, but that time wasn't now.
"And what might that be?" You surveyed the spring as you spoke, becoming increasingly frustrated as little changed.
"We can't summon anything here, but we might be able to turn what's already present! Lucius almost had control of his target before he banished it, so we might be able to turn these things against the bigger one!" It was promising, but was it practical?
"Or, you know, we could just keep doing what we're doing… Maybe hope for another blast like that last one… Damn." Lucius was looking at the spring. "That's not normal. That isn't normal at all."
"So…" Phillipus seemed Inured to whatever Lucius was theorizing. "What's the plan now?"
[] Create a battle plan for Jeanne (Write in, may include elements of other votes)
[] Focus on attacking (Specify tactic)
-[] The larger Elemental
-[] The smaller Elementals
[] Focus on healing.
[] Focus of defending.
-[] The Rifles
-[] The Tidesages
[] Direct the soldiers (Write in orders)
-[] Try to dominate the Elementals
-[] Focus on banishing the Elementals
Battle Status: High
Scarlet Crusade: 1 Jeanne, 1 Hydromancer, 3 Tidesages, 6 Rifles, 13 Footmen (3 Wounded)
Darrow Elementals: 1 Fel-touched Darrow Patriarch, 6 Fel-touched Elementals (Disoriented)
