A few and a half months earlier
“Where are they?” Igneous said as he impatiently paced back and forth on the village street that led out of the outer village and into the the lands of Carridian. He wore armor specially fitted to him with his legs being covered with just a few plates woven together by mail. This insured he had enough mobility to run about and still remain quite agile and since it was made in the capital, this piece in particular had the emblem of flames etched into the center plate, whereas the armor itself contained small red accents all over to give the armor some extra flare as if it encapsulated a peace of fire.
“Patents Igneous, I'm sure they just got hung up in some sort of hunt,” calmly said Dramier as he sat patently down on a wooden crate that had been discarded in the middle of the street looking as if he was a sleep but really was anything but. He was an earth pony that had the standard equipment with two collapsible crossbows strung across his sides. They had wires going up to his head and were attached in various places to allow them to aim where he was looking and a one wire running up to both of his ears that were wrapped in leather and would allow him to fire with a swift flicking motion. He wore a chest piece and nothing else. It came with the crossbows as pushing the center plate in would allow them to spring up and deployed for use.
“We don't have time for hunts,” he said. “Theres greater things at stake right now. Curse my father for leaving me with such a burden. I’ve been slaving away for the past few months just to prepare for this.”
Dramier sighed and said, “Igneous you’ve done good.”
He scoffed, “Good won't be enough if it does not prevent war. War between a broken nation that he insisted stayed extinct in the public’s eyes. He’s a liar, he-he…”
“Igneous,” dramier said cutting him off before he could continue with his rant. “Now I didn’t know him for long but I could say that the choices he made was with the right intention. Even if it wasn’t the best decision to be had.”
“He nearly got us killed.”
“He saved you after nearly getting slane.”
“And then he ran off to slaughter just like I had.”
“He gave you the ember stone.”
“This,” he said as he lifted the red gem out of his bag that hung over his side. “What use is it if I lack the alchemy to wield it properly”
“Taff Igneous, Taff I say you stubborn boar,” Dramier said frustrated at his unwillingness to consider. “Forget Kohligain for all I care. You're the prince of Noriphmy and yet you still insist on being a Falconer. If all this is Kohligans fault then why are you still here. Go to the capital and inherit the throne. Why should maces father have to lead this nation?”
“He is fit for it. More so than I myself. I’m letting him lead this nation because he is doing a much better job that I can or ever will,” he said pointing to himself.
“This is because of Kara and Mace isn’t it?” Igneous silenced himself and turned away facing the forest that lay beyond the stone path of the village. “Igneous you need to get over your fear. Dettetcheny suffered the same but he didn’t let it overcome him. He still braved any mission as if it were his last.” As he finished there was the passing shadow of a pegasus that they both knew was Floritha returning. Dramier whispered, “Eyh here they come. Try not to mope about and carry on strong. For Noriphmy, your nation, if that’s the encouragement you're in need of.”
“That's my intention,” he said through his teeth.
The pegasus landed with her metal made forehooves loudly clicking on the ground. She came up next to Igneous and said, “there here Igneous. There just about to come around that corner.”
“Thanks Floritha,” he corrected himself
From further down the street rounded the corner three ponies one of each type wearing their classes armor and weapon sets. One unicorn Igneous remembered from working with her in a few hunts a couple years back and he greeted her saying, “Adridge.”
“Igneous,” she said with a friendly smile as she slowed to a stop. She was equipped with just one sword that lay slung across her back that was about the length of her body. It was curved and was one sided. The hilt however was longer than normal but at the end was one binding stone were as were the hilt met the blade there was another. This gave her much greater precision with her swings as she had two places to fucose her magic on while wielding it.
She wore armor that covered her chest and most of her body with dark plates that overlapped one another with pointed ends giving her extra mobility but like Igneous she had no helm. Even with the impressive protection of her armor she still wore a cape of black monster hide that was strapped to her side at one corner and draped across her back the furthest corner. She had said she received from a stranger when she was just a young filly. Light, tough and uncuttable it was the perfect light defence. However how it got skinned in the first place was any ponies guess.
She was younger than Igneous himself and smaller than any other pony there and led two stallions that Igneous hadn't recognised from before. “I see you're outfitted with a new team,” he said looking over the earth pony and pegasus.
“Yes well the two mares quit. I personally thought it was about time. They can be… such a, burden, to be polite,” she said as she remembered how those two would always hit on Igneous but to no avail as he continually ignored it as if they were never even there to begin with. If it wasn’t for him the two hunts they were attending might not have been accomplished and two farming villages might have been destroyed.
“I would like to be introduced to your new team but were a bit hasty at the moment?” he said.
“Well by all means if we're in a hurry then we should be making way rather than talking,” . “A whole month of travel through the lands of Carridian I've been told.”
“And as to what purpose?” the earth pony asked.
“I will brief you when we make camp tonight,” Igneous said as he turned his attention to the forest. “After that we're going continuously throughout most days and nights.”
“I heard were going to Istudious,” said the pegasus a little doubtfully. “As to what purpose do we have going to some berin extinct nation.”
“I’ll save it for the briefing,” he answered.
“Then let's start our journey shall we,” she motioned for her team to begin letting them run past along with Dramier, and Floritha who took to the skies with the other unnamed pegasus. But before Igneous could began she stopped him and whispered, “I heard what happened out there manny months ago. Did you really find the Hexer fortress?”
“We shouldn’t talk now,” he said removing her hoof from him. “We got business that's far more important than some extinct race of greater magic wielding ponies.”
“What is it then?” she asked.
Refusing to look at her as he slowly began making way. He quietly answered, “The possible invasion of Noriphmy.”