Divided We Stand

It is a beautiful and sunny day in this, the fair land of Arwindysh. The sun shines gloriously upon your countenances, and gleams off of your armor. the armies behind shift restlessly, waiting for orders, as you all look at the target of your invasion. A gleaming black tower sits on the skyline, almost sucking the light and life from the air around it. You all feel an unearthly cold around you, though the sun is still out. It's been a long journey to this day, ever since you were torn from your Aspects, leaving you with the barest semblance of your once mighty powers. But even in your current forms, you can sense what goes on at the peak of this tower. A mortal, by the name of Lord Malthazar, has stumbled upon your Aspects, and used them to subjugate large portions of this realm. You all involuntarily shudder at the prospect of this being perverting your Aspects. But you fought back, clawing your ways to power, and planning to take your Aspects back, by force, if necessary. You're all shaken from your reminiscence by the deep and bold voice of your most trusted lieutenant, Sir Leowyn.
"Commanders, your troops are waiting for orders. But if I may offer a suggestion, some words of courage may be appropriate, to rouse their spirits. What we go to fight is rather beyond the scope of mere men. "

Knowing that the others would be more capable than himself at rallying the troops, Ar)h(bet looks toward the tower, calculating or scrying or whatever we figured out he does to know what's going on over there.

Ar)h(bet glances at the tower, his eyes drinking in the sight of the intimidating tower striking an imposing silhouette. His mind whirls through the facts, and he reviews the situation at hand.

Your Side
So, you've spent the past few months building an army a couple hundred strong. You've done your best to tailor their strengths to Malthazar's weaknesses, which I'll detail in a bit here. They all have mid level armor, nothing too fancy, capable of withstanding one, maybe two sword hits. Their sword are long and sharp, preparing for the heavy air offense you expect to encounter. You have a small, and I mean maybe 5, brigade of mages, mortals who are skilled in shaping the primal energies in this realm, and they, too, have been trained for precise, quick shots.

You Guys
So, I'll leave some of this to your imagination, but I did want to point out that you all have high tier armor, made of some of this realm's strongest materials, and stronger versions of your armies' weaponry. As for Deronak, he has a large, finely crafted hammer, which glows at all times, even in the brightest day. ((Hum, pick an elemental effect for this thing.)) It's crafted as a part of his innate Aspects, so it's of the strongest material in this world.

Malthazar's Side
Malthazar has invested heavily in anti-ground style resistance, so expect griffons, nagas, all the like. They all seem to have a heavy reliance on melee, as Malthazar is very full of himself and his reputation as the highest mage in the land. Inside the tower, however, expect LOTS of booby traps. Luckily, the towers, as you have learned, seem to have some sort of quick transportation to the top, though you don't know specifics.

Malthazar Himself
Known as the highest warmage in the land, Lord Malthazar was the world's fiercest defender of good, but in his efforts, something cracked. He chose to subjugate the world, doubting the capacity of anyone to rule themselves. He's stolen the smallest parts of each of your Aspects, and twisted them into his own horrific visage. You know that he lies at the top of his tower, waiting to crush any and all who manage to get to him. And you know that you can get your Aspects back.

((For the sake of time and common sense, assume you all have this basic knowledge.))

Ierosa Lele turns to look out upon the armies, opening her heart and mind to know what they are thinking and feeling, knowing such knowledge would be key for Seliles to have a speech with the most desired effect.

D20:

Ierosa opens her mind, and a flood of emotions pour into it. She sorts through, and the general consensus is that the soldiers are trained, and ready, and even eager, but the sight of the tower has, in essence, reminded them of their own mortality. More than anything, right now they need the encouragement that comes from a strong and steadfast leader, firm in their convictions.

Seliles thanks Ierosa and walks up a small hill atop of which the troops can see him/her in his/her silvery armor of metal magically interwoven with plants. His/her green cape, with a symbol of four trees growing up, left, right, and downwards with their roots intertwined with each other and a gravestone in the center, flaps in the breeze as s/he takes off his/her silvered helmet made from the skull of a wyvern and holds it under his/her left arm.

As ever, while his/her face just seems remarkably average, and the voice sounds familiar, but not remarkable in any way, there seems to be something in the way they are spoken that draws the listener in and feels them with an absolute certainty that what s/he says is unquestionably true. In this voice s/he says loudly and clearly, "Today we take the final steps in our great journey. Each of you have grown and proved yourselves time and time again. Perhaps we do not wish to walk this path, but it must be, and each of you here today know in your hearts that you must, for you are those who can. I know there is some fear in you for what is to come, for tried and true though you are, it is the way of battle that not all may return from it. But do not let that fear overcome you, for you fight for your nations, your homes, your families, your very freedom! And before you stand beasts. Yes, daunting to look at of course, but inside they are simple beasts all the same. You are men, you can grasp that knot of fear you feel and churn it into a grim, fierce resolve and you shall thrust it forth at these beasts and like all beasts they know nothing aside from hunger and fear and you will shake them with it to their very bones! For when you do, they shall know that you are more than them, for you can face fear and beat it back! And so too shall be their fate! And without these beasts he hides behind, Malthazar cannot stand before you as you are now! In his arrogance he has forged in you the tool of his own destruction. So ready yourselves, for we go forth to walk the path and beat back fear and bring Malthazar toppling down!" While speaking s/he made wide sweeping and thrusting gestures and at the end s/he made a clenched fist in his/her clawlike gauntlets and thrust his/her fist into the air, with the expectation of the troops doing the same.

Then s/he dons the helmet once more, turns about, cape slapping in the wind hard enough to make a sharp crack, and marches down the hill to rejoin the others.

Spoiler:

As he/she thrusts his/her clawed fist in the air, the troops follow suit, and give a fierce cry of exuberation, their eyes wild and excited. Ierosa feels nary a trace of doubt and fear in these men's minds.

Ierosa turns back to look at the tower, closing herself back up to save energy and concentration for other things. Her armor plays softly with light and dark in the sunlight, almost as if it were a wisp of smoke or a curtain of ribbons. Her many-hued hair flows long from underneath her helmet, blowing in a wind that nobody else can feel, and long enough to reach her ankles. Coming from the front of her helmet are two strands of hair that seem to be acting like ordinary hair, making her rainbow hair look even odder that it would have been. Her face, though hidden by the helmet, is known by all who have seen it to be one of gentle beauty and kindness. Good thing she has her helmet on right now, as she gazes toward the domain of the man holding a piece of her Aspects, of her very being.

Seliles walks over to Arhbet and asks, "Can you tell where Malthazar is and what he's up to?"

As Seliles approaches, Ar(h)bet stands to meet shim with a courteous nod. He's mildly attractive, with a line of small horns running up and over the middle of his shaved bald head. His leathery armor is supplemented by several plates of metal, allowing for the range of motion necessary for his bow while still providing fairly strong protection from slashing claws and snapping beaks. A dull blue cape drifts lazily behind him, almost unsure of what the breeze intends it to do. A triangular sigil is inscribed on it, with 2 lines of staggered lengths lending it the appearance of a broken arrowhead. A clawed hammer is strapped to his left leg, ready for a quick blow to a griffin's joints should one survive past his arrows, and his long bow is held tightly in his right hand.
"A truly rousing speech, sister. I shall tell you what I can, although I fear my vision has clouded with our proximity to him and his...perversions." With that, he turns and stares coldly at the imposing tower, trying to specifically seek out the dark 'wizard' within.

Meta:

Ar(h)bet searches, but finds... a wall, a wall seemingly composed of... Aspects. even more specifically, Malthazar's latent power from his thievery of the Aspects is completely blocking any attempts to detect him or his plans. He is, in essence, the wild card in this scenario.

Ar(h)bet growls lightly, his light smile forming into a snarl before he says lowly, "I cannot see him. He has...built a wall from our stolen bricks. I do not like this, brother. It sickens me, and I worry he may have intentions that we cannot trace."

Meta:

It's pretty much a wall surrounding the interior of the tower, now. All you have to go on is your hard-won intel.

Seliles nods and turns to Deronak and says, "I trust you two will be able to hold off the beasts without us?" and then turns to Ierosa and says, "Could you get us around to the other side of the tower unnoticed?"

"I think so, though I may need more than just my own ability for the both of us. I will be able to cover the both of us, though you will need to put your own effort into it." Ierosa says, keeping her eyes hatefully on the tower.

Deronak nods, his heavy, scarlet armor making it a little hard to spot, but the noise of the helmet, designed to somewhat resemble a dragon with metal fins on the back of the head just below the horns, grinding against the shoulder pads is certainly easy to hear. His chest piece has engraved on it a certain symbol, a thick, three legged triangular symbol with two small, filled in triangles next to its sides. A silhouette of a Gryphon's head overlaying it all. The joints of the armor, especially the gauntlet's knuckles, have small spikes scattered about them, adding to his imposing form. He wears a simple, dark blue cape to compliment his armor, the same symbol painted on it in a starry visage.

Judging from his helmet, he probably has decently thick, sharp horns under his helmet, but judging by the way they seem to curl to compliment the visage of his helmet they can't be much use for goring. He has a thick, scaled, red tail that hangs out of his armor, though judging by the thickness this isn't much of a weakness. He speaks in a deeper tone, though it's one that seems to be rather pleased with the situation, as if he viewed the battle ahead as a fun game. "Yes, I could slay these beasts all day with this sort of drive. Should be a good battle, I just hope they don't go down too fast." He chuckles, looking out towards the tower and the soon-to-be battlefield.

Symbol:

"Good." Seliles replies and then changes shape into that of a small lizard and crawls up onto Ierosa's left shoulder.

Ierosa looks at Seliles on her shoulder. "That works too, I guess." With that, her brilliantly flowing hair suddenly settles on a single color, that of the ground upon which their feet are set, and is no longer even touched by the breeze in the air. "Ready when you are, Deronak, Ar(h)bet."

Ar(h)bet nods in affirmation, before walking up the hill to address the army. He takes care to take a slightly lower position than Seliles had taken earlier, and addresses the troops.
"I am not taken to words as my sister is, so I will not make the attempt." He sweeps an arm toward the tower. "The location of the tower has made a grand scale plan needless, and as such we will advance to it in a standard formation. Mages are to try and reserve their strength for the interior of the tower, though you will defend yourselves and your kin if it is needed. Once inside the tower, tactics will be given at the lieutenants' and commanders' discretion based on what is inside. It is time to end this." Without waiting for a response, he goes to join his regiment or gets on a scorpion-horse or whatever he would normally do for battle.

Deronak shrugs and charges towards the tower. "Well? What are we waiting for?! TO BATTLE!"

As soon as the armies charge, Ierosa starts making her way, sneakily, to the tower, going around back of it.

D20:

The battalion nods, and swords and wands are raised high in the air as a fierce battle cry raises from the soldiers like a wave. They charge. Then the tower seems to come alive, dark, feathery shapes pouring from every open window and door, running at you all, and the battle is upon you.
((I mean that literally, everyone who isn't Ramsus or Copper make a roll))
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Ierosa and Seliles use the distraction of the fight to sneak around to the backside of the tower. They see a smooth ebony wall, and a buckled iron door.

Ar(h)bet knocks an arrow, but is having a difficult time finding the perfect target.

Meta:

Seliles hops off of Ierosa's shoulder and transforms into a large bird (like somewhat bigger than an eagle). She says to Ierosa, "Sister, give me an end of your rope."

Deronak tries his best to beat them back, swinging his hammer this way and that.

Roll: