Theatricality and deception are powerful agents.
You must become more than just a man
in the mind of your opponent

As the battle began to unfold, Cineviam found himself in a strange and unnerving position. He had arrived fashionably late – missing the terms of the challenge, the prayers, and the catcalls – so everything seemed to be moving in fast forward. He had never been a part of such a disorganized army; his father’s had been a well-oiled machine, right up until the end.

Usually the soot-stained stallion would be found leading one of the wings or working for glory in the vanguard but today he was in the rear, a place reserved for his conquering father. Except Yaseth would command on a hill, surrounded by his reserve as he watched the battle rage on below him, committing his spare forces where they were needed most. He certainly would not be alone, trying to glimpse the size of the enemy through the bodies in front of him. Bodies that he doubted would respond to his orders should he chose to spout any.

Cineviam wasn’t the experienced general, he was more like the vagabond man in the park (poker face donned), with a flutter of fingers as he took a Rook—ready to put you in checkmate. In this chessboard of mortal flesh and bone there was no distinction from King to Pawn or Rook to Bishop—there was only a wash of colours—the sides unclear once they’ve clashed upon the foggy checkerboard. Doesn’t mean that he can’t pretend, sit back here on his make-believe throne and bring reinforcement (himself) to a herd member in need while the true king led the troops into battle.

There was a battle cry but the real flurry of activity happened when Mauja summoned his ice spikes, right smack dab in the middle of the group surrounding the golden dragon. A wicked little grin blossomed over his features and after his ruby red eyes were drawn in a dozen different directions as chaos ensued. Many of his herdmates followed orders and attacked those listed by Mauja. Whether from lack of discipline, or they had their own personal vendetta’s to settle or they simply had their own plan like the cinder beast, the others chose different targets.

At the moment it looked like Korra needed his help the most. Both Vikram and Lace had decided to interfere between her and Aaron and Cineviam wasn’t about to watch with his leg cocked this time. He had taken no more than a couple steps in her direction when a great bellow signaled that MIRAGE was on the move. The scintillating scales and flurry of wings at the edge of his vision was enough to alert him that the golden dragon was headed in his direction. Ulrik and Lena were between them and they gave her brief pause but after MIRAGE swung her mace-like tail around, they were standing face-to-face approximately 50 feet away.

In the practiced eyes of the patchwork stallion, fifty feet is an eternity upon the measures of the melee. It would have been a fool’s errand to believe Cineviam would have remained immobile for her battering ram attack. He had learned from his spar with Faelene. Cineviam is in motion; swivaling on his hind, making half-moon paths in the dirt as he dodged left and right – again and again – seeking to confuse MIRAGE as she approached. When she was about a half a horse length away from him he finally committed to dodge to his left. His front end and barrel sprung clear but MIRAGE’s right shoulder connected with his right hip, forcing it skittering far to the left out of line with his body. It took him a couple seconds to recover, to swallow the pain, for his leg to take a full stride instead of a baby step.

Then he took a couple bounding strides and he is alongside MIRAGE. The golden scales looked as tough as armor; he doubted his horn would pierce her flesh. Facing away, he brought his backside closer to her right hind leg and kicked out both hind hooves with all the strength he could muster. His injured right trailed the left by a couple inches and lacked some of the sheer power. He hoped that despite MIRAGE’s dragon form, he could still jolt and potentially injure her joints.

The saying: an eye for an eye… well her hip for his hip.

Keeping dragonfire and the barb at the end of her tail in mind, he quickly twisted back around so he faced MIRAGE's ribs.