Pass to Arnhem [Eastern Border/Post here first]

"I don't know what that means, but if there's a greater purpose to your endeavor, I suppose I can respect that. Human lives are such delicate things. Every individual life is fleeting. One cannot appreciate humanity's true value without seeing the greater whole, without seeing them as a larger organism. Therefore most humans, and indeed many sentient beings, possess the will to sacrifice themselves for others... and for the greater good..."

He projected a mental image of his comrades, and of Jun, in his mind. "But do not forget, the same is true of your comrades. Not just yourself. If you put your life in danger, this young one may do everything in her power to protect it. She is already willing to put her life in your hands just for a chance to fight a titan. Her behavior is reckless. Your own willingness to sacrifice yourself does not put you above your comrades. If they are willing to die to save you, then are you not endangering them by treating your life with such disregard?"

As this entire conversation took place in the landscape of their minds, he continued to move forward. He would look back and watch with amusement Jun absorb light energy with her breath.

"I trust a dragon could make them flee... Unless you doubt yourself?" He told the dragon, paused, and then spoke again in a much more surprised voice, "Son of a bitch...We need to fly higher in order to avoid that blast.."

He'd then speak to the rest, "Everyone get in front of this dragon and fly as high as you can and as quick as you can! We've got seconds before that hits us."

"Dragon, don't look back, just go watch them. I'll cover your back, just flap you wings."

Zaltos would release the back of the dragon with his hand and turned around to face the blast. He'd lean towards the blast, but both feet kept placed. He'd take take in a deep breathe through the nostrils and release it from his mouth. With that, Zaltos lifted his shield in front of him and braced his left arm with his right arm. With his right leg in the lead and his shield braced by two arms, he stood in a position that allowed the full extent of his strength in his pose.

His shield would begin to glow a red color. A transparent flame erupted around the shield and his body. His armor would would begin to emit a red pulse in various spots. He was preparing his defense to cover the dragon and his comrades from the blast using his magic and his shields capabilities. He was planning on creating a tear in it that would go around them.

"As long as I can bend this blasts energy around us, we should be fine... We're a pretty fair distance away and we're at a high altitude that the blast. Just don't look back, just keep going up and forward. At this moment, they are the sheep, you are the Shepard. Do not let them stray from your wingspan, it'll be rather shitty if you did." He communicated into the dragons mind, trying to make sure how important it was to not look back and such.

Jun, for her part, obeyed. She continued to gather light energy. One might see a faint aura of wings appearing around her.

Jun might look down and notice a tiny little cleric below them. The man must have had insane luck. He appeared behind the one tree that managed to survive the Bruce Willis movie they were now living. If he had appeared literally anywhere else, he'd probably be knee deep in jagged rocks and/or lava.

"You know, I miss Jarkoopi, Kepesk Altiui."

Quote: "Bal'Agrund let out another horrid guttural sound, fire escaping the mountain that made up its jaw."

Oh look, the giant column of flames and lava that everyone is ignoring that just shot out of its mouth. But no, let's all pay attention to the return of a second rate dragon that isn't even here yet and a poor cleric with the luck of the Aerish. Ugh, humans.

Asaph craned his head back, but then decided to just turn around.

"Zii do iiz, vudeym hin paal!!"

The dragon opened its great maw. The air turned brisk as Asaph's first mighty spell was unleashed. A powerful blast of icy wind erupted from its mouth. Such was the volume and speed of the air that the edges of Asaph's mouth actually turned hot with the friction. But as the air left, it became as cold as liquid nitrogen. The jet could have gone a mile or two if its job wasn't to counter the hot mass that no one seemed to remember had erupted from its mouth after the air blast. It would bore through the flames and create a massive amount of thick, noxious clouds that would further serve to blind and suffocate the creature.

This is so cool! She thought to herself. I really, really wish Jarkoopi, Kepesk Altiui was here to join the fray!

Jun's body was now saturated with light energy. Even her eyes were glowing white.

Huh, I wonder... Jun remembered she had given a scroll to Jarkoopi allowing him to summon her in an emergency. She wondered if there was a way to bring him here. Jarkoopi was a skilled mage in his own right. If there was just a way to signal to him that she was in danger, maybe he could use the scroll she gave him to reverse summon himself here.

One of the components of that scroll was her own blood...

Ugh... goddammit.

Jun once again pulled out her macuahuitl and drew, this time, a very tiny sliver of blood. Now that her body was saturated with light magic, she could easily heal her own injury. Maybe there was a way to signal Jarkoopi that way.

She sent a pulse of light and psionic energy into her own blood, healing the injury, while also focusing on teleporting to Jarkoopi's scroll. It would be totally impossible at this distance, but maybe he'd get the signal...

It was a long shot. Would Jarkoopi get the signal? And would his mastery of magic allow him to use the scroll to reach her?

Trodor chose to listen to Zaltos. It irked him slightly not to do thing his own way, but he was trying to make accommodation for Zaltos, if not for anyone else. Folding his wings he dove, angling his body in Zaltos's direction.

Friz'lor, Imperator et Carnifex, glided high above the mountains. Amongst the cold, bleak summits, the supergiant dragon felt at home. Three simple sentences resounded through his mind like the ominous war chants of death.  Imperator et Carnifex Frizlorum. Ad regnum per victoriam. Ad astra per mortem.

The language in which Friz'lor thought was a young one, at least to him, but he found that it contained more of the concepts and governmental ideals that he possessed long before mankind invented them. The newer languages meant nothing to him. They were ugly and dull, and belonged to civilizations which held none of the glory that his language's inventor held. Sometimes, in his six-year dreams, Friz'lor still spoke the proto-languages, the predecessors of the modern tongue. They often confused him and spoke much of the supernatural, the ancient spirits and gods who long were dead.
But none of these mattered to Friz'lor. He was too occupied with his title: Imperator et Carnifex Frizlorum Rex.