Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Their world is not for us." Andrea said as she and Arion crossed through the brief gorge that led out of Lake Hylia, there was an iron wrought gate that blocked their path, but they both easily cleared it with little effort.
Though her words did not seem to alter her companion's mood as he resorted to silently treading at her side, his head slightly lowered.

Andrea averted her gaze as they turned to the east, searching for a place among the trees to make a camp.

As they found a place to take rest for the night only a short distance from the road that led to the lake Andrea began collecting branches from the ground that were strong enough and of the right form to construct more arrows from. After escaping the desert she would need to replenish those that she had used. She did not speak as she worked, carefully shearing away at the wood with a hunting knife until the edges had been stripped of bark and were smooth.
She paused briefly as she finished setting the fletching to the final one when a wind passed through, rustling the trees in the dark, and bringing with it the sharp scent of a storm.
Arion lifted his head from where he had lay down across from the fire Andrea had constructed and looked off into the dark, his eyes seeming to see more than his master's as he hurriedly stood.
Andrea did not question his behavior this time as she immediately doused the fire leaving them in darkness. She knew the feel of a predator when one cared to show itself, there was something descending upon the land that did not belong...

There was a flicker of movement in the dark and the hurried patter of horses moving in the dark. Andrea kept her bow raised as eight mounted hylians came tearing out of the dark, some clutching young children to their cloaked forms. There was a sign of bitter recognition as Andrea lowered her weapon, though Arion remained crouched at her feet with a low growl escaping his throat.

The riders bore an unneeded air of nobility; they wore long draping robes and had bows hanging from their backs. Andrea never thought she would see any of her people outside the village but here part of her clan stood, with panic written across their normally placid faces.
Just as they crested the hill, immediately following right behind them was a band of orcs mounted on large boar like creatures, their high pitched roars tearing through the once silent landscape.

"Lyriel get the children to the lake, we will turn them away if we can." One of the men shouted who Andrea recognized as Edward the elder son of the leading household. But before he and the six other men could turn to combat the quickly approaching beasts, Arion's lithe white form shot past them, heralded only by the flight of a arrow with fire burning along its length.
As the arrow drove into the narrow gap in armor at the neck the beastly rider was sent tumbling to the ground.

"Go with them Edward, dying vainly does not suit you..." Andrea stated flatly as she appeared next to him, her hand releasing another fiery arrow that impaled the orc rider that Arion had been contending with.

"You! exile!" he spat.

Andrea did not even offer a reply as she took aim as the final creature that was bearing down on them quickly.
"Here's and idea you pompous idiot, go and attend to the others, you are hardly needed here."
There was a subtle hiss as she released the arrow, though instead of taking down the orc she caught his steed in the chest, carefully aiming to slip through it's ribs to its heart. There was a resounding crash as the boar collided with the ground heavily, throwing it's rider in the process.

Before the orc could recover Arion had his front forepaws on his chest with his gaping maw near the creature's exposed throat.
The beast was cursing in some unknown language as Andrea approached with a gleaming long knife in her hand, the blade's twin still resting in its sheath as her belt.
"Pity, doesn’t speak common tongue, you're of no use to me now." she noted calmly as the horrid creature continued to utter venomous words in his garbled language.
But his words were quickly silenced as the blade came across his throat.

" What drove you to come here...why did you leave the village." She asked with her back still turned to Edward.

"There is no village anymore Andrea...."

~~~~~

The small group of hylians slowly made their way through the path that led to Lake Hylia, now the only refuge from the darkness that was over taking the world.
Andrea with Arion following at her side came up at the back of the ground as the lake finally came into view. Behind her she drug the lifeless corpse of one of the orcs that had been slain. If these beast were in the employ of who she suspected then it would no longer be safe to travel the open plains of Hyrule.
She sighted the gerudo that she had met in the desert just outside the lakeside laboratory as she allowed the orc carcass to collapse to the ground with a heavy thump.

"We have a serious problem...."

Andrea answered almost immediately, "There were three outside the gates, I dealt with them and concealed the bodies in case any more of their number came looking for those missing. But I have seen these creatures before and they only move in force...I can only assume that these were merely part of a scouting unit. More will come when they do not return." she said lowly.

"We must get these people out of here."

"If this place is to be held we will need to set defenses up to bar the enemy's path. The path to the lake is narrow, if we can hold them there it will not take many to hold off our attackers, no matter how great a force." Andrea commented as she knelt down to use an arrow to sketch the path that was the entrance to Lake Hylia. Going in subtle detail as to mark the fencing and gate work at the entrance, and marking the place where the path was narrowest, no more than five stretches wide.

"Even so we should make preparations incase there is a breech, as well as make it as difficult as possible for any attacking force to advance. That aside we have very little time." She said as she came to her feet.

Andrea stood and replaced the arrow in the quiver at her back before addressing them.
"Andrea Ilorea." she said with a brief nod.
."Considering that there is only one other man of gerudo decent, I presume you are Lord Ryomoku." She said with a slight gesture of respect.

(A Short While later.)

"Do you simply intend to just sit here while we engage the enemy, we could use some cover even if it involves only a few other bows at our command. “Protested Andrea as Edward continued to ignore her, while they worked to drive sharpened rows of stakes into the ground to bar enemy troop movement once they reached the corridor.
Arion could be seen in the distance, sitting calmly on a hill overlooking the Field like an unmoving stone sentinel, watching for any sign of attack.

"You would drive your own people into war, having only just escaped it...I can not do this. I will not risk open war when we are so sorely outnumbered" Edward replied.

"War is upon us, whether you would risk it or not."

As she said this there was a piercing howl that tore through the unnerving silence, and Arion's lithe form could be seen darting back towards the lake entrance. They had arrived.

In the distance along the ridge that slowly descended towards the narrow passage that let to the lake a line of the hideous orc riders could be seen. At first only a couple were sighted at the hill's summit but quickly more could be seen, appearing in tens and twenties until hundreds were now visible.

Andrea stood with her bow nocked and ready from where she now stood on the top of a stone pillar that supported the iron work that made up the small gated entrance to Lake Hylia.

The enemy hoard seemed hesitant upon seeing no more than three standing in their path. But immediately laughter could be heard coming from the largest beast that seemed to be their captain. Quickly many others followed suit.

"Perhaps they need an invitation..." Andrea muttered as she leveled her bow at the creatures, the arrow immediately being covered with frost as it made contact with the weapon.
There was a slight hiss upon releasing the projectile; the arrow being caught high in the wind before dropping down to suddenly silence the orc leader's lieutenant. Catching the smaller beast in the throat, from where lines of ice turned its body a dark hue as its very blood froze in its veins. As it collapsed to the ground the entire beastly force became silent for a moment before their bone chilling roars filled the air.