OOC: I think its time to end this battle.
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~ Birth City Deningrad ~
The combined assault of the Dragoon's had proven too much for the last line of defense. One of the cannons fell, then another, and then the rest. Diego's fissure swallowed up the last cannon, as well as those who had manned it, sending them plummeting into the inner layers of the city.
The human army rushed into the gap in the defenses, ready to finish the fight. As the word spread, the Wyverns and Rocs of the air calvary took to the skies once again, dominating the skies, and taking out any of the Winglies who tried to flee by air.
The human forces breached the doors of the Crystal Tower, breaking through the inner guard like a swarm of ants over a few locusts. Within minutes, the flotation chamber had been taken, and even as the human forces fought their way towards the throne room at the top of the tower, the device was destroyed.
And the Birth City Deningrad fell from the sky.
The last residual magics of the device kept the city from leaving a crater. It fell slowly, finally impacting the ground in what seemed to be slow motion. The fringes of the city crumbled off, leaving a ruined city center laying in shambles in the middle of the forest. The city center lay mostly intact, and the Crystal Tower itself still stood proudly, its ice-blue form shining brightly in the afternoon light, seemingly at odds with the death and devastation that lay at its feet.
At last, the battle was won. Humanity and the other "lesser races" had proven that they could take what the Winglies held so dear as a monument to their authority and tear it from the sky.
The Birth City Deningrad was no longer a Wingly city. Now, the Crystal Tower belonged to the forces of Gloriano.
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~ Deningrad ~
- Crystal Tower - Main Hall -
Commander Porter walked into the main hall of the Crystal Tower as if it were his own. Which, for the moment, might be true. Jonah walked with him, the black-haired man still walking with a limp from a leg injury during the battle, as did several other high-ranking soldiers and commanders, as well as the Dragoons. The so called "champions of humanity".
The fame of the Dragoons before the battle was little more than support and hopeful thinking. But now that they had practically earned this victory over the Winglies, the Dragoons were full fledged heroes. Champions. They had been thanked and congratulated and all manner of things by the solders ever since the city fell.
Even now though, parts of the battle raged on. Nilah and her squads were still patrolling the ruins of the city and what had survived of the inner tunnels for surviving Winglies. However, that was merely clean-up. The battle had been won, and Porter knew that the death toll would have been much greater for their side if it hadn't been for the Dragoons. He still wasn't sure how Diaz had discovered that power, but he was certainly glad that he had. If the Winglies had found it first, their rebellion would never work.
The main hall of the Crystal Tower was magnificent. The name was a bit misleading actually. The main hall actually took up most of the inside of the tower. Only side rooms and the throne room at the top were unseen from the bottom. Otherwise, the chamber continued upward, at a slant, the magnificent staircase working its way all the way up to the top. The stairs were perfectly angled to match the slant of the tower itself, meaning it was essentially a minor zig-zag climb to the top, very nearly a straight staircase broken only by platforms that linked to the various side rooms of the tower.
The solders had already cleared out the bodies, and even now, preparations were being made to set up a dining hall here at the base of the tower. Porter had promised his soldiers that they would dine in the Crystal Tower tonight, and he was a man of his word.
However, there was still one more thing that needed to be taken care of.
Porter watched as a few soldiers escorted the last prisoner down the stairs. With a shove, they pushed the Wingly to his knees in front of the human commander. Azraesis, former ruler of Deningrad, stared up at his conqueror.
"We found him locked up in the throne room. He was begging for his life." one of the soldiers said.
Porter regarded the old Wingly with nothing but disdain. "Your city was responsible for the deaths of thousands of infants of your own race, not to mention the treatment of the other races that went on here, and you have the nerve to beg for your life? You don't even deserve to be called a Wingly. You are nothing more than a monster."
"Says the lower race that invaded my city." Azraesis said weakly, a bit of blood dripping from his mouth as he spoke.
Porter struck him, tossing him to the ground. "Who is the lesser race here? You killed your own infants for nothing more than an ideal. You enslaved the other races and treated them like beasts. We fight for our right to live, our right to freedom. What do you fight for besides your own selfish desires?"
He turned to the soldiers. "Take him away. Get what information you can out of him and then arrange a public execution."
The soldiers saluted. "Yes sir." Azraesis did not even try to struggle as they dragged him away.
Porter turned then to the Dragoons. "You all have my thanks. Before today you weren't even soldiers of the army, and now, everyone under my command looks up to you. You did good out there today, probably saved a lot of lives. And because of you, we have our first real victory over the Winglies. For that, you have my thanks."
"Please, rest up tonight. The preparations for dinner should be completed shortly. I've already got a report on its way back to Diaz. We'll have our orders by morning." Porter turned to attend to more business before turning back to the Dragoons. "And heck, you can go beat up that old Wingly a bit if you want. I don't really care what happens to him at this point."