NOTHING BESIDE REMAINS — ( permission given by orion for this to take place + continuation of the plans made in this thread + the setting up traps )

Peace. It was not as simple as most believed that it was. Most believed that peace could be achieved by simply talking things out, or agreeing to keep a good distance between each other. At one time, Aurum had even believed this to be true. However, as time had gone by, he had learned the truth. Peace could only be achieved when no one was suffering, and no one was forced to live under the iron fist of another. And, occasionally, that meant having to fight. Having to fight for one's rights to live, and to thrive. Tanglewood had been fighting for those rights far too often these days, but that didn't mean Aurum was about to give up. Deep down inside, the lion knew that he couldn't give up. Tanglewood was his home and his everything, and he'd lay down his life defending it, no matter how the odds were stacked against them. And, at the moment, the odds were truly stacked against them. The entire group was severely outnumbered, and their leader was missing, but Aurum wasn't about to have them just lay down and show their bellies. Vigenere had trusted him as an advisor during his leadership, and he intended to keep them moving forward, even with Vig gone. They had a plan, and it was time to put that plan into action.

It hadn't exactly been easy to set things up. Elsweyr, Sophiea, and others had to sneak out in order to set up the traps around the graveyard, and they had to make sure everyone was informed of what the plan was. However, everyone now knew what their roles were, and they couldn't afford to wait any longer to do this. If they did, there was a chance that others would fall in the same way. So, with determination in his heart and a stubborn sense of right within his mind, Aurum waited until the sun was gone from the sky. That was the best time to fight – when they knew the terrain, against opponents who didn't know the land as well as them, and didn't know what waited for them there. As soon as the last slivers of light were reported back from the outside, the lion knew that it was time. His binds were loose, as were many others, and there was a vulnerable guard ever so close. The next moment was a flash of movement and death, as Aurum's jaws clamped down on the neck of the guarding NPC, dragging him to the ground and bloodying the floor beneath them. His binds were ripped, and he rushed towards the entrance of the bunker, wings open and both teeth and claws bared.

As soon as others began to break from their loosened binds and charged forward, Aurum rose his muzzle to the sky, yelling out as loudly as his lungs could manage, "TANGLEWOOD, THIS IS YOUR CALL TO ACTION! IF YOU'RE TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND, PINNED DOWN, AND TREATED AS CATTLE, THEN IT IS TIME TO RISE UP! AND ATTACK!" He found himself grinning as soon as his call was met with the crowd's roars and hollers of approval. They needed to be as loud as possible, so that they would have as much attention on them as possible as well – enough that Atticus could escape freely and get to the others. With this in mind, he threw his wings open, leading the crowd of Tanglers towards the graveyard that they would be making their battlefield. There were plenty of traps hidden around, as well as lots of uneven swampland that was perfect for throwing the Coalition members off of their feet. Hopefully, it would be the perfect stage for them to hold a front, until eventually The Typhoon or The Pitt could come to assist them. Or at least, they had to hope that it would be, seeing as they didn't have much of a chance otherwise – not that Aurum would ever admit that.

As soon as his paws met the soft earth of the graveyard, he was relieved to see a crowd of Tanglewood NPCs following him, as well as several familiar faces. Not only that, but he could hear the shouts of the Coalition in the background as well. Gritting his teeth, he gave one last glanced around before he pulled his wings in close, his body shifting and popping as he grew, and grew. He grew until he was ten feet tall, his wyrm form's many eyes staring out in various directions, watching for the oncoming attackers. He towered above most of the graveyard, and that was a good thing. His iridescent scales were like a beacon, drawing in the Coalition members like moths to a flame, while Atticus hopefully slipped through the cracks. No longer able to say anything particularly eloquent – due to the rows and rows of teeth within his maw, the wyrm simply roared, "COME. FIGHT." In the back of his mind, the former proxy found himself simply praying. Praying that this would be the last stand they needed, and that this plan would work out as they hoped it would.

If it didn't... well, Aurum couldn't think of that right now. For now, he just needed to focus on the fight ahead of them. — OF THE MAN WHO WAS BORN AND DIED A KING.

They had worked tirelessly and diligently to place these traps all over what was to become the battleground. The wild cat just hoped that it would be enough to allow for Atticus to get out, that this diversion wouldn't all be for nothing. But most importantly she hoped that no one here was going to lose their life during this sudden revolt against their captives. That was the last thing that they needed right now. The last thing that any of them needed right now. She could feel the tension in the air, one that was such a familiar feeling to her and reminded her of where she had come from. Her war torn home that was often met with many pillaging and many sacrifices. Would someone become a necessary sacrifice? Her steps were quiet and careful as she approached the scene after bindings had been ripped and torn away. She was one that had been on the outside, one Ernst had done as requested if her. She held her head up high even as she kept to the shadows of the swampland that she waited to ambush anyone that was from that Coalition, a name she soon wouldn't be forgetting.

Her face was covered as it normally was by the crocodile skull that she wore but underneath were stains of war paint. Dark red, white, and black streaking across her fur in jagged patterns. Her muzzle was sharply closed as she watched Atticus, remembering the venom that had surges through her body and paralyzed her. A mistake she would not let happen again. She would be faster, she would hit harder and she would kill them. Her tail twitched back and forth as the call to rise to action was suddenly roared out and she felt a surge of morale but her eyed widened when she saw what he did. His body changed in front of her eyes and though she remembered him saying that he had a different body she hadn't expected it to be like this. It was not everyday she saw someone change bodies like this. A powerful wyrm surging forth and she wondered if she could make her flames happen again. If it was her at all. Regardless she turned her head back to the enemy and as soon as an enemy was close she narrowed her gaze.

The war cry that left her throat was vicious as she launched herself at them. Her weight carried forward as she wrapped a paw around their throat, throwing them to the ground and with a sudden movement the canine found himself stabbed through with a dagger made of bone, kicking and screaming before running off after she jerked it from his body. The blood covered weapon glimmered in the darkness from the stars above and she was hungry, waiting within the murky depths.

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— Reggan

NOTHING BESIDE REMAINS — Laughter. Amusement. Rancorous laughter bubbled forth from the wyrm as soon as Argus charged at him, and his words were vicious, although short, "WEAK. PITIFUL. DIE." The dragon's bite connected, but the angel stayed upright, far too steady on the large base that his curled form represented. More laughter left the wyrm, and the frill of spines around Aurum's neck puffed outwards, aiming to stab into [member=218]ARGUS[/member]'s face and flesh. The wyrm seemed deeply unaffected by Argus's efforts, which was a good thing. He knew that, after this battle, he would be exhausted from using this form, but for now, he felt good. He felt firm, and he felt incredible. Argus's attempt to infiltrate similarly did very little. After all, how was one supposed to infect the mind of a beast that was without thought? The wyrm's mind was already a mess of static before the dragon's attempt, and it remained that same way afterwards. Even as blood began to pour forth from the neck wound, Aurum just continued to laugh, swinging his club of a spined tail towards Argus's side, trying to slam into the dragon's side and cause him a huge amount of pain.

There was a huge difference, between Argus and Aurum. The dragon was fighting to consume. He wanted to bend and to break things to his will, in a way that went against everything Tanglewood stood for. Meanwhile, even in his current furious state, Aurum was fighting for Tanglewood. He was fighting for the place that had been his home for ages, and he was fighting for everyone there that he considered to be his family. His love for Tanglewood would always win out over Argus's need for power, and that was what drove the wyrm forward, his eyes narrowing into dangerous and rage filled slits. The eyes that lingered all over his body were focused on the dragon, with the five main ones on his head narrowed in bloodlust. With a vicious roar, the wyrm slammed forward, attempting to latch his lamprey-like mouth onto Argus, wherever he could reach. If he was successful, he would keep his vice-ike grip for some time, aiming to rip the other's scales and flesh to pieces with the rows upon rows of teeth that made up his maw. If he was successful, he would seem almost delighted as he went to town, clearly glad to be causing such pain and destruction when it came to Argus – why wouldn't he be, considering the bastard had come in to threaten his home?

Whether this revolt worked or not – although Aurum really hoped that it would – the former proxy would still get some sense of satisfaction. Satisfaction from causing members of the Coalition pain. They deserved it, after all the pain that they had already put Tanglewood through with their ill-fated takeover. Frankly, Aurum couldn't wait to see them fall, with hopefully every single one of them dead and bleeding by the end of it all. With the Pitt, the angel had least felt a little bit of sympathy for them, since he knew that every one of their members wasn't shit. With the Coalition? They were all just bastards, and he didn't feel a single second of guilt about watching people like Elsweyr dig into them.

— OF THE MAN WHO WAS BORN AND DIED A KING.