Phoenixes Part I: Dark Morning

[Athios von Krauss]

We have been traveling for about two hours. I had long since put away my instrument. The trail seemed a lot shorter from the map.
A drop lands on my head. I look to the sky, and the rain begins to fall. First, in small spurts, but steadily increasing to torrents, massive sheets of water, wind, and lightning and thunder.
"This isn't right. Hey, we need to find shelter now!" I tell my companions.
Although I follow the paths of the elements, this seemed completely wrong.
We dart for a large tree along the path, its base hollowed out by some unknown force. Fortunately, it was large enough to fit the girls and myself.
"I sensed no change in the weather when we left Isha'mon. Somthing's in the mist here."
There is no actual mist, but it is my culture to use elemental phrases.
As the storm wears on into the night, I light a fire using some flint and a bundle of collected dry wood taken from the hollow tree. The fire burns small, for harder detection and less threat to our haven.
We cook up a makeshift dinner of meat, bread, and water (from where else?).
I am about to settle back for sleep, an attempt to wait the storm out.
A thunk is heard from the tree. I startle for a second, but settle back, assuming a small creature.
But a second and third thunk alert us fully.
My hand reaches for the handle of my fullblade, and I creep out of the hollow. I find three daggers buried in the trunk of the tree, higher than my head. I reach for them, when a fourth rips by my hand, slicing a small scale. I turn around, drawing my blade, and set my eyes on an abomination.
It seemed like a draconian, but it was metal completely. Unusual was the first thought. It was covered in the skin and guts of the dead. Horrifying was the second thought. I call to Ki and Kiri to ready for battle.
This just got a lot harder than a simple trip...  

[OokamiShiroi]

"I know!" I yell over the thunder and rain, I had set myself up higher in the tree once i had eaten and now find that that was a good choice. A small funnel of hard air kept my gear and I from getting wet, but for a fight that wasn'g good enough. This weather is extremely disadvantageous to my style of fighting. The rain and the mist slow down and deflect my arrows. I use one of my mid power breezes, dance it through the rain to take inventory of our foe. No good opening huh? I though to myself as the breeze made it's way back. The only good this rain is doing is keeping the stench down from those entrails. I pull my bow to full draw, keeping the odd metal draconian clear in my sights.  

[Inarath]

Ki jumped at the sound of the thunder. I hate thunder. I hate it, I hate it, I HATE it. It hurts my ears and I wish it would go away. Ki was in the tree with Kiri. She looked at the metal person. He was disgusting. Ki sent Nira to go around the back of the creature and look for a gap in his armor.  

[Athios von Krauss]

I closely survey the metal draconian, searching for some way to hit the thing. Close by, Ki and Kiri are surveying the battle from the tree. I notice Nira out of the corner of my eye, quietly (like it was needed) going around the monstrosity.
I ready myself into a fighting stance, with my fullblade extended behind me, ready to swing overhead for a crushing blow.
3...2...1...go...
I rush forward, and with a grunt, heave my blade over my head.
The metal creature shields itself with its arms over its head, but I stop, and in the blink of an eye, I switch to a sideways swing, and catch the creature off guard. Blade connects with metal, and a loud clang is heard. I pull back, and the creature's eyes glow white-hot. It turns towards me and a long spear slides from its arm.
It slowly advances towards me. I twist the light around me to bend over the creature's face, blinding it for a second.
I rush to the tree and climb up the first branch I can reach.
"Anything you girls can do?" I call to the other two.  

[OokamiShiroi]

"Has anyone tried talking to it?" I call down to him, but then realized the stupidity of my statement in lee of the skins and guts draped and dragging upon the ground in which the creature walked.
"Well, I can give it a try." I aim carefully, adjusting to the creature's movement, and shoot, concentrating as hard with my power as I can. Pulling the air away from the tip of the arrow I create a vacuum exponentially increasing it's speed. With a bang much like a gunshot the rain seems to stop for a moment from the sheer force of the sonic boom it made.
"s**t." The arrow had pierced the creature's left shoulder up to the fletching. The combination of rain, guts, and a well designed breastplate had glanced it to the shoulder, the only way you knew it had first hit the breastplate was a fist sized dent and track leading from where the heart would be over to where the armor had a space for movement of the arm and shoulder.  

[Inarath]

"Oh, nice one." Ki said. But now it's my turn. I think I'll try to hit where the arrow went in. The shadows started to bend and shift around Ki, like they were trying to come closer to her. They darkened and stretched toward her, then started to cover her, turning her clothes and fur black. When Ki was completely covered in shadows, it looked like she melted into the tree. Then, suddenly Ki popped up right next to the metal creature. She shoved the arrow deeper into it's arm, stabbed him where the hole was, then quickly melted into the ground, and was back in the tree.  

[Athios von Krauss]

With that arrow lodged in, it can't move its arm...
"Great teamwork, girls. Now, let me try that again." I say, and snarl at the creature, who blankly stares at me.
Using the water avaliable, I pour it over my fullblade, creating a layer of water. I rush forward again, conjuring another blindfold of light.
As the creature becomes blind, I stab my blade forward into the chest of the creature. Another clang is heard, and the light wears off.
The creature grabs the blade with its good arm, unaware of the water coating.
"Hmh, perfect."
I energize the water on my blade, turing it into an aquatic drill. Sparks fly from the creature's chest and hand due to the sheer energy used to move liquid at that speed.
I pull away once more, and drop to my knees, exhausted from using so much energy. The creature also staggers back, a gaping hole in its chest. Inside, I see unusual objects, wheels and metal rods, and a hissing noise.
I look towards the tree where the girls are.
"Ki, Kiri, finish it now!"  

[OokamiShiroi]

I jump down from the tree, to stand between the machine and the wearied Athios, kicking up a wind to both slow my fall and to pick up bits of dust and small rocks not drenched by the rain.
With a sweeping motion of my hand I direct the pebble laden twister into the mechanics of the pseudo-draconic, jamming into the gears.  

[Inarath]

Ki waits for a second, listening to Nira. There's a weak point at the bottom back of the metal skull where the metal plates connect. Ki pops up right behind the creature, and stabs it's weak point with both her knives, severing many of the wires and damaging some of the gears.  

[Athios von Krauss]

The machine's head twitches and spasms, and then its body is coated in a wave of electricity and static.
Its once red eyes grow dull and black, and it lands face-first on the ground. A splash of mud and debris coats all of our legs.
The rain grows gradual, a miniscule shower.
I get up and flex my arms and wings.
The rain was killer, I'm glad I didn't try to fly.
I walk over to the machine and crouch next to it.
"Nice teamwork. Let's remember how to kill these things just in case."
I lift its head up and try to discern what this thing is and where it came from. Suddenly, I realize what metal coating it has and fall back on my rear, astonished.
"That...Th...That's subterrium! It's supposed to only exist in abyssal conditions, and even then, around the Valqus Coast! How is this possible?"
I had once dealt with a captain's sword made of subterrium. It could cut through granite.  

[OokamiShiroi]

I place a gentle hand on Athio's shoulder, "A great and extremely wealthy engineer, one would have to be, to create such a thing. Ki, any idea of what this could be, do you have? I have none." I open wide wings to shelter us at least slightly from the rain, having used too much energy to keep a solid wind covering.  

[Inarath]

Ki tries to wipe off the mud and fails. "I've never seen anything like that before, but whoever made it doesn't know much about armor. Armor is only as strong as it's weak point, and to put a weak point in such an undefendable place is basically a waste of high quality metal. Plus, the armor is made out of sword metal, used for cutting, not defending. The person that made this must be rich and gifted at making these monstrosities, but doesn't have a lot of combat experience. On the positive side, Athi can use this metal to make a new sword, or strengthen the one he has now."Ki smiled as Nira came closer. "Thanks for the help, Nira."  

[Athios von Krauss]

"Agreed. We need to find someone who has the power to make these things, possibly mass-produce them." I say. "But for now, I think, sleep is needed."
The rain slows to a thin mist as the night wears on. After hours of clouds, the rain stops and the stars shine through. I leave Ki and Kiri in the comfort of the hollow and take flight, landing on the top of the tree. I sit in the crook fo a branch, looking at the stars.
There is a little bit of water sitting on the leaves around me, so I take what I can and make a water sphere.
I spend a little time morphing the water into shapes, memorable people, heroes, and relics from draconian history. I stop concentrating on the water and let it move as it will. It makes the shape of a person, a familiar face, one I can't place, and yet it calms me. I close my eyes and try to remember what I can't.  

[OokamiShiroi]

After sitting in that cramped hollow I can stand it no longer. Careful not to disturb Ki I leave the tree to find another place to sleep. These tall forests make me feel homesick. I long for the tall rock spires, twisting canyons, and endless plains of my hearth-clan. Finally I find what I was looking for. With strong fingers and toes -I took my soft-soled shoes off when I left the hollow- I climb the prominence of rock that jutted up from the forest floor. It's shape was that so the rain did not pool atop it and it's base was wide enough under the soil that it created a clearing of sorts. I enjoyed the pure effort of the climb, not even thinking of using my wings. Wings were for cliff diving and letting yourself be carried by the wind, not this. It only took me a minute or so to get to the top. I stretched across the top of the boulder, letting the caress of the wind and the soft song of the stars lull me to sleep.  

[Inarath]

Ki gets up, and climbs another tree. The ground was unfamiliar to her and she has always felt exposed on the ground, especially while sleeping. She settles in where the branches disconnect from the trunk, and goes to sleep.