*In the western part of Brister territory it was night time and a settlement was being overrun by Eclipses in the form of werefoxes. Citizens of the settlement had either fled or been caught by the Eclipses and now the settlement was theirs. In a short distance away from the settlement a Blue knight of Brister who was a white fox with light blue hair, blue eyes, and wearing a blue winter coat and pants was observing the settlement through her binoculars. She puts them down and picks up her radio*
(Fox demihuman): This is Eye on Hill. Confirmed visual on the Eclipses. Yeti and Snowman, what is your position?
(Blue knight): This is Yeti we’re in position and ready to move.
(Blue knight): Snowman here. In position as well.
(Fox demihuman): Captain, they’re in position. On your command.
(Blue knight captain): Excellent. Begin the operation.
*The fox demihuman nods*
(Fox demihuman): Begin the operation in 3. . .2. . .1
*Once the countdown ended a moose demihuman emerged from the ground carrying a bazooka and fired it at a group of thirteen Eclipses. Six of the Eclipses were destroyed in the blast while the remaining seven went flying in multiple directions. Ten more knights emerged from the group and all of them were demihumans wearing blue winter combat gear. They carried various weapons from guns to swords to axes to spears. They began assaulting the Eclipses in coordinated attacks to kill them and secure the area. While the Yeti team was securing the east side of the settlement, on the far west side the Snowman team was beginning their assault as well from the sky. The Snowman team was composed of demihumans with wings and there was a total of fifteen of them. The one leading the assault was a crow demihuman with purple eyes and black short spikey hair. He had twin pistols and was firing dark magic bullets at the Eclipses to kill them. The other demihumans also had firearms and were shooting the Eclipses down as well. Once they landed on the ground they continued to fire and eliminate any Eclipses they saw to secure the area*
(Moose demihuman): This is Yeti, are you with us Snowman?
(Crow demihuman): Snowman has secured west side. Advancing toward the central plaza.
(Moose demihuman): Roger that. Yeti will meet you there to provide back up. Let’s move!
*Both teams of knights continue to fight their way to central plaza eliminating any of the Eclipses that cross their path. Team Snowman managed to reach the plaza first and found the nest of the Eclipse being guarded by a slightly bigger buffer werefox. The werefox let out a war cry which hatched the eggs of the Eclipses giving birth to more werefoxes. Team Snowman began to fight back shooting and killing the Eclipses but soon found themselves surrounded and outnumbered. Team Yeti showed up in time to provide support and get them out of this jam*
(Moose demihuman): I thought for sure you would have had this situation handled by now.
*The Moose demihuman fired off his bazooka*
(Crow demihuman): Hey, I’m a knight not a miracle worker.
*The crow took down an Eclipse that was about to pounce on him and the moose demihuman by shooting it five times*
(Crow demihuman): I don’t know about you but I wanna end this as soon as possible. Call her in? You know she’s inching to go.
(Moose demihuman): Yeah, I suppose so. This is Yeti, Eye on the Hill. Release Snow Bunny.
***
*On the hill where the fox demihuman was scouting the settlement*
(Fox demihuman): Copy that. Snow Bunny is on the move. Repeat Snow Bunny is on the move.
*The captain of the knights leaps up from their seat and slides down the hill. When the captain reaches the bottom of the hill they begin to run and make it to the settlement within seconds. Once in the settlement they quickly run to the central plaza. Once the central plaza is within sight purple magic particles gather around their feet and turn into purple flames. The captain leaps into the air and does a 450 spin before coming down and delivering a burning axe kick on an Eclipse to kill it and make it disappear. The impact from the attack left a crater in the ground as the captain removed their hood to reveal a rabbit demihuman that was female. She had black hair that was cut short with black rabbit ears perked up. Her eyes were purple and she was dark-skinned. She wore the blue winter combat uniform like the other knights*
(Rabbit demihuman): Sorry for the wait. Inferno Moon Ember Blaise has arrived.
*Ember strikes a pose while giving a wink and throwing up a sideways piece sigh by her face. She was facing the other knights and turned her back to the Eclipse. Five of them were closing in on her from behind*
(Moose demihuman): Behind you, captain.
*With her left foot lighting up with purple flames, Ember spun around lifting up her left foot unleashing a crescent moon flame kick that burnt the five Eclipses alive*
(Ember): Thanks Dominik. Can I assume that buff guy is the leader?
(Dominik): Yes ma’am.
(Ember): Alright. I got the situation.
(Crow demihuman): Shall we provide you assistance, captain?
(Ember): Nah, I got this, Jermaine. You and Dominik take out the little ones. Clear me a path.
(Jermaine and Dominik): Roger!
*Dominik fired his bazooka up in the air where it released a mini-missile that split into four pieces. When the four pieces fell to the ground they released an explosion of electric magic that destroyed some of the Eclipses and sent others flying. Those that went flying were either shot down with Jermaine’s team or sliced up by Dominik’s team. Both teams continued to fight against the Eclipses while providing support to each other. Meanwhile, Ember charged toward the bigger werefox using her flame kicks to eliminate any Eclipses that got in her way. When she finally made it to the bigger werefox she leapt in the air attempting a dropkick but the werefox dodged the attack. Ember landed on her feet and ran toward the Eclipse who dodged her high kick. Ember followed this up with a low sweeping kick but werefox backstepped to dodge the attack. Not letting up, Ember did a handstand and began to spin around and around delivering flame kicks to the werefox who blocked the kicks with his arms to minimize the damage. However, Ember’s intense flames were burning its arms. Having enough, the werefox grabbed Ember’s legs and tossed her upwards in the air, but Ember quickly recovered by turning her body 180 degrees to the right. This allowed Ember to land on her feet while facing away from the werefox. She quickly turned to face the werefox and jumped up to deliver an enziguri to the right side of its head. This attack dazed the werefox who staggered backwards and fell to one knee. Ember saw her opportunity and ran toward the werefox to deliver a flaming curb stomp crashing the werefox’s head into the ground and creating a small crater in the process*
(Ember): Damn, you’re persistent. That usually finishes them off.
*The werefox used its strength to push Ember’s foot off its head and rose to its feet. The Eclipse stared at Ember with anger and swiped at her with its claws but she blocked the attacks with her arms. Thankfully, the fiber within Ember’s winter uniform was imbued with magic and protected her from the attacks. However, the Eclipse managed to break her guard and delivered a high kick to her jaw. The kick lifted her off the ground and the werefox spun around to hit her with its tail. The attack sent Ember flying backward through the battlefield. As Ember looked backward she saw herself about to crash into one of her knights. The knight she was about to crash into was a female sheep demihuman with blue eyes, long purple hair, and horns in her hair. She had on the same uniform as Ember and was swinging around a large round metal shield that was bashing the Eclipses*
(Ember): Gwen! Assistance!
*Hearing her captain’s words and as if on instinct, the sheep demihuman turned around and planted her feet into the ground while holding out her shield. Ember managed to spin herself around where her feet were facing the shield. Ember’s feet collided with the shield absorbing the impact and pushing back the demihuman slightly*
(Ember): Thanks for the break, Gwen.
(Gwen): No problem, captain. Aim for the stomach?
(Ember): Got it! Thanks for the advice.
*Using the shield as a jumping-off point, Ember jumped forward back toward the werefox and spun around to make her feet face it. The werefox is caught off guard by this and even more so when Ember’s feet make contact with the werefox’s stomach and chest. Ember begins to deliver multiple flame kicks to the body of the werefox burning it before she drops to the ground on her back. She quickly kips herself up just as the werefox was recovering from the kicks. Seeing her chance, Ember smiled and did a front cartwheel with flames on her feet. Her cartwheel kick sliced the werefox in half right down the middle and created a full circle of purple flames in the process*
(Ember): Full Moon Inferno.
*The body of the werefox began to dissolve and disappear. Everyone else was finishing up the remainder of the Eclipses. Some of them seemed to have sensed their leader’s defeat and had given up mentally. One Eclipse began to run away from the settlement and out into the snow hoping to escape but was quickly shot down by the fox demihuman watching from the hill. Everyone cheered at their victory*
(Ember): Very good! The settlement is ours. But we can’t rest yet. Search the area for eggs. Destroy any you find.
(Knights): Yes captain!
*The knights broke off into teams and began searching the area for eggs and destroying them. Meanwhile, Ember, Dominik, and Jermaine went inside the building that the werefox Ember fought seemed to be protecting. They went inside and discovered some red incense in a black pan being burnt over a blue flame. The burnt incense released a colorless smoke into the air that was odorless*
(Dominik): Red Eclipse. Just like the other locations.
*Jermaine quickly went to put out the flame and dispose of the incense.
(Ember): Seven locations along our border and each one had incense. Is anybody else seeing a connection?
(Dominik): And something tells me these locations weren’t targeted on accident. They were set up specifically to keep us distracted. Whoever did this used this distraction to sneak into Brister’s borders.
(Jermaine): But who and where did they get the incense from?
(Ember): Hmm~, there’s only one place in this region where the flower for the incense grows.
*Ember leaves the building and is quickly followed by Dominik and Jermaine*
(Jermaine): Captain? Is everything alright?
(Ember): I’m heading out and leaving you two in charge of sweeping this area.
(Dominik): What about you?
(Ember): I’m heading out to do some investigating. When you’re finished come and find me.
(Dominik): And where is it that you want us to find you?
*Ember takes out some goggles from her pockets, puts them on, gets into a running position*
(Ember): Zegkirche. Don’t keep me waiting.
*Setting her feet aflame, Ember takes off running at a fast speed from the settlement and heading further up north to reach Zegkirche. As she leaves, Dominik lets out a sigh*
(Dominik): She’s always on the move and leaving us in charge of the hard stuff. What would she do without us?
(Jermaine): Well, let’s get a move on. Getting there won’t be easy and I’m sure we’ll never hear the end of it if we’re late.
Author’s Notes: Hello folks. Hope you enjoyed this chapter of Shadow Eye. We meet the final member of the Court of Fire, The Inferno Moon, Ember Blaise. Ember is an obvious shoutout to Mirko from MHA. Easily one of my favorite characters from the series. Similar to Mirko, she’s a battle maniac who loves fighting and the thrills it brings. She’s brash, strong, impulsive, speaks her mind, and is stubborn. However, while Mirko is a lone fighter, Ember is in charge of her own unit and fights with them. What new danger is on the horizon and how does it tie in with the others? Tune in next week to find out. Thanks for reading and I’ll see next time on Project Nitsuj.