Sugar Dance

Fae are gifted story tellers, and so I shall shut up and let them speak.

"Kill the Hydran lords and we will have succeeded in what armies fifteen times our number and thirty times our mass have failed to accomplish. For the glory of the realm and Lianhan Shee, charge!" -- Faeslayer Commander, Sticks Pixie

When you think of sugar plum fairies, do images and sounds of tranquil, rain splashed forests and pinpricks of flittering light come to mind? Or do you, like many traumatized Hydran defenders, suffer debilitating flashbacks filled with tiny elfin faces contorted with rage and hatred? Gossamer wings caked with gore and the entrails of the soldiers next to you? Hordes of lithe limbs stabbing barbed daggers repeatedly into your liege lord?

In a war where hundreds of behemoths crash against one another for months at a time, this is the tale of twenty flitting illuminations that gave their lives for the chance to assassinate a group of kings.

The original group of fae, mere snotlings then, began with this original mission in mind, but in completely foreign territory. Landing between Stomperland and Lady Harlequin's realm, they were to infiltrate their way south and find any remaining Hydran lords in that part of the sphere. Their first obstacle was that they did not realize how crowded the area was. A representative from each of the major alliances noted their arrival, with the exceptions of Genesis and Hydra. Within a tourney, however, Hydra learned of the raiding party and sallied forth to engage. Unprepared, outclassed, and caught against the Stompers' southern border, the group used its speed, marching east as fast as possible to avoid being surrounded. Sacrificing many in rear guard actions. A couple even risked the known wrath of the Stompers by flitting quickly across the line and back in a turn when no other options were available. Either the Stompers turned a blind eye to this offense, or were engaged elsewhere to realize how some of these sprites got from point a to b on any given turn.

Having marched half way along the Stomper southern border, word was received from the Opalescent realm that the Hydran lords, Dai Shan and Paranoid Schizophrenics had been spotted due east a few turns prior. A new plan was quickly developed. They would meet up with experienced Pookas-Pookas from the recently concluded Frazzle front. The plan was to meet at the SE corner of the Stompers' territory, the Pookas-Pookas marching south and our intrepid fairies from the west. Mere turns later Terrier Pride ruined this plan by pinning down the heavier force of Pookas-Pookas and calling in Dai Shan reinforcements.

Only a newer sprite made it to the weary group of snotlings. Without heavy support, they called upon the Stompers, who appeared to be building up in the area. Trying to entice them into aiding, they were giving the nearby coordinates of the Hydran lords and the promise of as much scouting support as the band could provide. They, however, were there for their own hall hunt, that of Semprini, and had no time for frolicking with notoriously fickle fae.

Building up numbers, the nimble sprites and numerous snotlings kept running east, finding defenses light and the defenders unconcerned by the occasional sighting of such small and insignificant creatures. Sliding south, the fae ran across a pair of bloated, shield less Eldar breeders. The monsters tried healing faster than being pinpricked, then tried to run, and finally tried birthing prematurely, all to no avail.

Much experience was provided and the fae believed themselves to be only three days of frantic running from the over confident Hydran Lords. It was finally decided that both breeders and fighters would make the charge together. With the hope that the more targets present, that some would successfully overrun the sparse defenders and plunge their barbs into the flesh of the royalty. A couple scouts were sent forth and the remainder lined up out of sight from the first line of defenders. It was at this point that they renamed themselves sugarplums and employing a bit of cunning, numbered themselves errantly, so as to appear to be a 1/3 more numerous a force than what they really were.

Charging for all they were worth, the first two turns of the run went exceedingly well. The lead element actually laid eyes on Lord Dai Shan and Lord Keewaydin. Eight poisoned barbs were available and all were targeted at the Keewaydin noble. Meanwhile, the majority of the troops continued to rush into firing range, most without a scratch on them yet. One unfortunate fairy did appear to suffer from a mere scratch only to nearly vaporize seconds later mysteriously.

As the barbs drew closer, time seemed to stand still. Nay, time seemed to repeat itself, like an anime where the weapon arc is traced again, and again, and again.

Lord Keewaydin escaped with only his beard trimmed. A single spawning chamber was hit, not enough to effect the ranking tables, but a loss in tech advancement nonetheless. As we all know, "chicks dig scars" and we're sure Keewaydin will be siring more offspring in the near future. Meanwhile, nearly all the offending fae were cut down, leaving those whom advanced to take their shots. This time Lord Dai Shan was targeted, although a few badly injured ones decided to fire at the sight of Lord Paranoid Schizophrenics, who was previously hidden in the crowd. Over a dozen barbs flew, but all were deflected by coats of arms and overturned tables. Less than a handful of sugar plums were left alive now and with cries of defiance they loosed their final volley upon Lord Dai Shan. Rumors persist that Lord Dai Shan suffered a mild concussion as he head butted the last of the fae assassins to death.

In the end, the forces of Sticks Pixie while not accomplishing their mission, still performed valiantly in the line of duty and hopefully gave the Hydran lords an eventful week, if nothing else.

Glory to the sugar plums I recon, causing three hall to flee...Or at least panic.

They deserve their marker WITHIN the enemy territory. Deep within, at the very heart. This reporter would just like to again state, Hydra's halls were targetted by a tiny force, haaaa haaa haa. Ulp.