[M] Battle of Kasai Palace
It was a land on fire. In the distance flames raged and roared with thick clouds of smoke forming in the dark skies above the Burning Islands. Mersus had invaded and laid siege to the island itself, burning a scar deep across the land. Villages and towns were turned to ash before the mighty force, though their initial push had driven the Shogun's forces back they now made a proud stand at the palace of Kasai. The Shogun's seat of power. They were fighting not to the last but for survival. But a cold wind came from the South, an ominous sign to those who knew what was coming.
On a ship blockading the bay patrolled a lone soldier working the graveyard shift. At sea things had been quiet. With the Deathborne landing to the West it appeared they'd all but miss the battle along the Southern shores. A heavy fog had set in making vision as poor as can be. It was so cold the guard's torch almost flickered out. Amid his shivers he spotted a looming shadow, he ran for the alarm to warn the invasion had hit the South. But he stopped just short, as he saw the elegant designs and flags. Across the blockade the atakebune drifted and moved making way for the White Tiger of Nan's forces.
Through the fog the palace of Kasai was visible as a great shadow. It was not incredibly tall, and was built in multiple layers with tilted roofs at each level. The inner tower at first appeared rather weak until the steel framework came into view. Fires were lit all along the widely built walls and likely those were layered too. From what Arael had gathered from Hidega castles and the likes of the Burning Islands were designed to have many courtyards which were configured like mazes to confuse attackers.
What Arael could see though was the smoke of cannons and guns followed by their thunder rolling down the beaches. When they landed the Wight King had already started his assault along the Western reaches. From here his position appeared to be a bit weak with a funnel to the front gates creating a killing field for the Burning Islanders. Without proper assistance his battle would be a losing one while the defenders simply turtled behind their walls with their guns and cannons.
Along the Southern pass to the palace was a well trod and wide road that soldiers were in use of in small groups. They appeared to be patrols and so far the undead were treated as members of the Five Kingdoms. They had a clear path to the palace of Kasai with towers along the way that had large lit signal fires. Zyrael was left in command of the navy and would assault the Burning Island's ships when the ruse had fallen, this was also done so his unnatural cold would not give them away.
Something unexpected did happen to muddy the plans. From atop the palace came a great fireball in the direction of Arael's forces. At first they were prepared to scatter until they spotted something, someone, within the flames. It was the Shogun, Hokarimitsuji. She was flying towards their forces no doubt to meet with the Tiger of Kai. It seemed like in the blink of an eye she landed with a crash damaging the ground in a circle around her. There was a burning heat to her that sizzled the air around her as she marched towards Arael and removed her mask revealing the burned and scarred demonic face beneath. Her weapons were still sheathed at the moment, and she still was missing an arm.
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