[center][h3]Cyclone and Lugubrious[/h3]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/OazNv9k.png[/img]
[color=00BFFF][b]Storm's King; The First Gale; The Embodiment of Change
Level 3 God of Change (Air)[/b]
1.5 Might & 1 Free Point[/color]
&
[b][color=0072bc]Vizier Ventus, Majordomo to Zephyrion[/color][/b]
Level 1 Hero

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The two divine beings, Ventus and Zephyrion, continued to stare at the holy wisp before them. Ventus' eyes had curiosity tempered with a small hint of confusion and fear of the unknown, whereas Zephyrion's gaze was unblinking and implacable as he tried to discern the nature of this...thing. Quickly his piercing sight recognized it as a creation of Niciel.

After several long moments of the holy wisp hovering without response to the questioning of the two before it, Zephyrion grew restless. [b][color=Gold]"Come, my Vizier, and pay that thing no heed: it wishes no harm unto us. I would have you come with me..."[/color][/b]

The vortex that was Zephyrion suddenly trailed off just as his words had done, whisking to another one of the citadel's countless balconies for a different vantage point of the world down below. After a short but breathless flight Vizier Ventus had caught up with his master.

[b][color=Gold]"Look, my friend, at my dominion far down beneath the skies. That great swathe of gleaming sand is but only a lifeless waste, but it was made by my hand nonetheless, and so too was that sparkling sea to its south...all of this must be managed, and I shall require your assistance! We shall go for a closer look!"[/color][/b]

At first Ventus was confused, having expected his master and maker to have suddenly leapt off that balcony and flew downwards as soon as the thought crossed his mind to go closer. Instead, Zephyrion rested with a strange still and quiet as if he were concentrating hard on something. It only took a moment for Ventus to realize with horror what the god was doing: through some unseen magic, he had sent the entire Celestial Citadel and the mountain that it rested upon crashing down to the ground! With each second the vast world down below grew larger and closer while their descent grew fatser and more turbulent, but as suddenly as it had started to fall the palace came to a gentle halt much closer to the ground than before. That vast patch of shining sand was now more sharply defined, and a quick eye would discern the indivdual dunes as the breath of a million tiny flickers moved the winds and brushed the dunes back and forth.

[b][color=Gold]"See the many dunes below, your smaller brothers, and...Slough?"[/color][/b]

The vizier saw nothing, but evidently Zephyrion had sensed something as he stared far into the distance. Upon closer inspection Ventus could spot a tiny, seemingly unremarkable figure bounding through the sands with another odd figure at its heels, almost as if it was a guardian.

[b][color=Gold]"Yes! Yes! My sister the life goddess has traveled to my lands! You must make her stop and gift my dominion here with her blessing; go now Ventus, for I am afraid that my presence might scare her! Do not disappoint!"[/color][/b]

With a mighty shove of wind, the bewildered Vizier found himself flung from the heights of the citadel and sent flying towards this 'Slough'.

Whereas the essence of the desert between the Gilt Savannah and Jvan's Fractal Sea never progressed beyond bleak despair, this Firewind Desert exuded a different aura entirely.  To Slough, this feeling was palpable.  Though blind in the ways of the universe and deaf to the station of divinity, she could nevertheless sense certain things in her own primitive way, and to her it appeared as if this hot, arid land had a caretaker.  The idea of providence, more instinctual than conceptual, filled her with a wild enthusiasm, sending the Rottenbone at a chipper pace across the dunes with her tireless custodian on her heels. A sudden rise in the intensity of air currents did little to dissuade her earnestness, though it did send flecks of rot flying to spatter and evaporate messily on the sand.

An especially odd scent on the wind caused her to halt, regarding each empty horizon in turn with a point of her skinless snout.  Esau smelled it as well, and wasted no time leaping in front of Slough to defend her from harm, no matter how inexorable the adversary.

Now close enough to inspect this flighty life goddess and her guardian, one of the many questions swirling through the Vizier's confused mind was answered: he had been sent alone on this first task because surely Zephyrion's presence would have been enough to terrify this poor creature. Its guardian was aggravated and the goddess disturbed by the simple aura of his presence, so Zephyrion's wild vortex and scathing radiance would no doubt send this duo fleeing.

The Vizier turned back to look hesitantly to his master, only to see the Celestial Citadel rising once more out of sight until the clouds that carried its weight blended in with the rest of the serene sky and it would have been impossible to ever know of the palace above. Despite the vast distance, Ventus could still [i]feel[/i] his master's piercing gaze as he no doubt look on anxiously.

After a brief hesitation, the djinni manifested [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f3/14/34/f314341768fe3e78fd4d137b4aae842b.jpg]himself[/url] a fair distance back from Esau and Slough. There was a pregnant pause during which the djinni could only stare with trepidation, but then he slowly moved to approach Slough, hovering what he thought was a safe distance above the lion-creature's reach.

The appearance of Zephyrion's underling confirmed what his odor on the desert breeze had hinted at: though living, the Vizier was no creation of Slough's.  Like the White Giant, and the Ashling, and fulvous Maize, his heart beat to a vastly different tune.  Making a slight whining noise, Slough stepped back.  No amount of constant pain would make her forget the special agony that the last unnatural life form to get this close inflicted upon her.  Esau felt her discomfort acutely, and a threatening growl escaped his fanged maw.  Inside the Vizier's body, his blood stirred ever so slightly.

Ventus daintily drifted forward, the light breeze twisting to conform to his movement and sighing in a sweet song. Lightly he breathed out, and the vapor that he exhaled become a light, misty breeze that would drift down to Esau and Slough and offer much needed respite from the scorching desert's dry and mummifying air. Lightly he circled around the duo for some time, and as he did so a cool breeze continued to whisper nature's song and cool the two creatures. The Vizier found himself drifting slightly closer down to the two as time went on. Meanwhile, Zephyrion found himself wondering what his seemingly incompetent and childish Vizier was doing down there, petulantly flying in circles. An air of impatience began to whip around through the stratosphere above while the First Gale grew restless.

A refreshing wind lessened the discomfort of the two creatures' somewhat, but Slough did not banish her fear, nor did Esau relax his guard.  He continuously shifted as Ventus circled, constantly interposing himself between Slough and the elemental.  After a few minutes of this, however, he began to grow visible bored.  However menacing his visage and contemptible his scent, the Vizier had not attacked yet.  It did not appeal to the Custodian's mind to keep expending energy when no assault came.  He stopped moving, though no less dangerous for it, given the magic contained in his majestic voice.  Slough, meanwhile, followed the Vizier with her skull if not her eyes, anxious but increasingly curious.

[i][color=Gold]"What game do you play, Vizier?"[/color][/i] A familar voice resonated from within Ventus' mind, the demanding question dripping with both anxiousness and frustration.

Ventus thought for a moment; he had only known his maker for a short time, but already he thought that the impulsive god might actually be willing to help if only he could see the plan. [color=0072bc]"Your majesty, try as I might the beast's guardian is wary of my presence; I seek to gain their trust,"[/color] Ventus uttered softly, his light words carried all the way up to the citadel above by the elemental's mastery over air.

[i][color=Gold]"Ah, but why did you not simply say so? My frivilous friend, you shall meet no success in such endeavors if all you do is fly in circles! You must play with Slough! Here, I shall help!"[/color][/i] Zephyrion replied, and then there was ominous silence with laughter the god's only answer when Ventus of course asked to know what sort of help he was receiving.

Of course, the Vizier did not have to wait long. A great wind suddenly swept across the burning landscape, and carried by a truly terrifying gust were the massive figures of three ashlings. The hateful beings writhed and roared as they were cast about like mere playthings but Zephyrion's terrifying wind, but even high up in the sky and far in the distance their coming would surely be recognizable to Esau and Slough.

[i][color=Gold]"These lonely creatures were nearby, so perhaps they can help you play some sort of game!"[/color][/i] the childish god now said, seemingly oblivious to the consequences of what he might be doing.

A dreadfully familiar presence commanded the attention of both deer and manticore.  Far above, Ashlings danced in a tumultuous spiral, and the sight provoked an immediate response.  Slough turned tail and galloped in the opposite direction, while Esau backed up as fast he could, keeping his eyes forward and his voice tuned to rip the enemies apart from the inside out when they got close enough to hear.

Overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of what his master seemingly failed to recognize as [i]monsters[/i] and by Slough's sudden retreat, Ventus was torn. A very human instinct told him to flee, but like Esau he instead moved to protect Slough. It would not due to have what he already sensed to be a precious and cherished being brought to harm. Suddenly and keenly aware of his great powers now that the need had suddenly arised for them to be put in use, the djinni hovered high above the ground and intercepted one of the soaring ashlings.

Latching onto its crystalized carapace, he now say the thing was even more horrible than it had appeared for afar. A claw raked across the djinni's upper body and a terrible, rending sensation burned through Vizier as his body was gouged. Some strange, misting fluid seeped from his wound before quickly vaporizing into smoke. Angered at the beast, Ventus found himself summoning a surge of energy without even thinking. The blast travelled through his hands into the ashling's body and the monster convulsed even more crazily for only a moment before its innards were simply incinerated.

Zephyrion had seen fit to comment in Ventus' mind, [i][color=Gold]"You'd rather parade your powers to Slough and make a spectacle, then? Such an immature and arrogant display of power rings shallow, my young friend, and you might learn a most valuable  lesson of humility from I! Still, no love for those creatures stirs through my heart and so I allow you to do as you will...Oh, but you might care to turn around; the other one seems angered!"[/color][/i]

Looking to back to see another ashling dangerously close, the elemental channeled that same power towards the foe before it too could draw close enough to do harm. The energy shot through the air in the form of cackling lightning, and this time there was so much power that it simply blasted the ashling apart. The third and final one was farther away, and so with considerably less desperation the Vizier transformed into a raw storm akin to that form that his master often took. The cyclone whipped across the desert until it could overtake the soaring ashling and hurl the foul thing on a trajectory that would smash it into a thousand shards in some distant land to the horizon, unless Esau's roar obliterated it first.

The cyclone slowed, clamed, and shrunk, and soon the djinni was back in his previous form. Gingerly he drifted back to Slough, wondering if protecting her would have done anything more to gain her trust. He also found himself wondering about the supposed wisdom of his most hypocritical and childish master...the god spoke of humility, and from only the brief time that they had already spent together Ventus found himself already thinking of the First Gale as something akin to a bloated cloud of unpredictability and power, forced to gracelessly tumble the ground beneath the crushing weight of his own hubris and frequent rodomontades.

In fact, the Vizier would be hard-pressed to drift back toward Slough in a gingerly manner, as she did not cease running.  With the Ashlings visibly taken care of, Esau had run to join her, easily catching up to the rickety ghoul with powerful leaps.  The lack of danger caught up with Slough less quickly, but after some time she did begin to slow down.  Having been turned around by the encounter with Ventus, she found herself not closer to the Fractal Sea, but farther from it.  Heaving from the exertion, the Rottenbone stood still.  Sand kicked up from her hasty flight permeated her skin and beneath it, irritating her abominably.  

Giving a small cry, she squeezed sand-laden rot from her body in a sort of purification, but the rot itself did not merely run off like water from a duck.  It exploded outward, and in midair contorted and twisted into new shapes.  Before the slime could even touch the ground, it had given way to a flock of [url=http://orig04.deviantart.net/f837/f/2013/156/a/3/spectral_finchsmall_by_abiogenisis-d67ziip.jpg]little black birds[/url] that whirled around her.  Not even a minute passed, however, before the birds' bodies began to shed a luminous dust that billowed closely around them, making them almost invisible beneath the sunlight.  Around Slough, the air appeared distorted, but the birds themselves could not be seen.  Some rot did touch the ground, however, and from it rose tiny clusters of briar.  

Nothing else would be forthcoming, however.  The briars seemed dead already, and the Desert Ghosts would soon die from lack of food and water.  If more life were to exist in Zephyrion's land, the Rottenbone would need help.

Matching Slough's hurried pace was easy enough for the flying djinni. He did not soar so fast as to catch her or appear to be in some sort of vicious pursuit, and eventually when she stopped he had the opportunity to catch up and once again find himself up close to the goddess. It was then with some awe that he witnessed her power of creation.

Suddenly aware of her agitated underbelly, the Vizier decided to offer her what gift he could. Sensing a hundred tiny wind elementals spiriting about unseen in the general vicinity, the djinni lord reached out to all of them. [color=0072bc]"Winds,"[/color] he intoned, [color=0072bc]"obey my command!"[/color] Unknowing uttering those same words that his maker did when he had created this very desert, the elemental lord's magic drew the immediate attention of those lesser spiryts, the tiny flickers flocking to Ventus like a swarm of invisible gnats. Wordlessly he willed the tiny beings to capture every tiny bit of moisture that was in this parched land's air and sands, for there was always a tiny amount brought inland by the most tireless of sea breezes.

With the combined effort of so many tiny magical beings, a fair amount was soon gathered up into a cloud, and Ventus commanded it to rain down in a nearby low-lying basin. A tiny oasis formed here, if only temporarily. With a cool breath of wind Ventus tried to gently encourage Esau and Slough towards the nourishing watrers of that small pool. The reprieve offered by that cool water was his gift.

The very smell of water drew Slough like a moth.  Both she and her guardian sensed the presence of wind elementals, but they did not fear ones so small and insignificant.  The strange pair made tracks for the basin, one on shaky, emaciated legs and the other patiently a few steps ahead.  When at last the oasis lay before her, Slough bent her neck to submerge her head in it, allowing the water to flow down her open gullet.  In doing so, however, her runoff turned the oasis a murky black--but only for a moment.  The odorous ink filtered toward the edges of the pool, and where it met mud some plants began to glow.  Slowly, various cactus and ferns poked up through the mire in a rich green ring around the water.  So eagerly did Slough imbibe the waters that the agony of drowning came as a surprise.  Yanking her head out of the pool, she uttered ghastly choking sounds, until a mass of blackened water spewed from beneath her skull.

It splashed on the sand, and the next instant, everything went blindingly black.  Energy coursed through the desert for about a mile around, turning from midnight ebony to verdant green to brilliant white before gradually dissipating, no less harrowing and soulfelt than coming within an inch of death.  When the light did wane, the area had changed.

The oasis had expanded greatly, turning into a lush swamp.  All sorts of bizarre plantlife filled it, from enormous, bulbous flowers to incredible cactuses.  Most strange, however, were the pods.  Huge, dome-shaped membranes of lustrous orange covered giant pits with walls lined in plantlife, and as Slough and Esau watched, most of them ruptured to give forth their captives.  Enormous [url=http://img15.deviantart.net/44ec/i/2015/168/f/e/slitherwing_by_ammonite_amy-d8xq2bs.jpg]birds[/url], deformed and voracious, lofted into the air.  Huge [url=http://img13.deviantart.net/03eb/i/2010/077/0/7/cloud_grazer_by_davesrightmind.jpg]monsters[/url] floated upward on gaseous balloons.  Highly adapted [url=http://orig10.deviantart.net/ca7b/f/2010/222/e/d/cloud_ray_by_benwootten.jpg]fish[/url] flapped skyward to glide among the clouds or just above the heads of enormous, grotesque [url=http://img.aegen.nl/ZEN/Giant%20Scorpion.jpg]scorpions[/url].  Other, smaller things appeared, many of them rather unremarkable, but some more intriguing than any other beast yet.  Like the Desert Ghosts, [url=http://pre13.deviantart.net/43f8/th/pre/f/2010/306/9/d/owl_draft_i_by_chimerapathogen-d320wqg.jpg]Onyx Phantoms[/url] disappeared during the day, only emerging to hunt for cactus fruit at night like grim specters; they were no ordinary lifeforms.  A touch of Zephyrion's power lay within them, siphoned from the land he created, to culminate in most holy beasts.

Plantlife would never spread across Firewind Desert, though the flying and scuttling creatures might.  Instead it would remain concentrated in this gorgeous Resort, which for now until the end of the world would be a site of pilgrimage for all living things to call the wasteland their home.

Slough, exhausted but unpunished, carefully lay down.  With the institution of a haven for life in this unforgiving land, she seemed less tormented.  After snarling at a scorpion that drew a little too close for his master's liking, Esau carefully sat nearby.

Muted by his own heyday, Ventus merely observed from above while the progenitors of a thousand creatures were made before his eyes and that tiny pool grew into a vast, swamp-like oasis. At last he was able to draw his eyes away from the Resort below and to the Paradise above that was the Celestial Citadel; Zephyrion and the entire castle had been following the whole time. With Slough resting forthwith, he had the spare time to briefly return to his home above and meet with his master once again.

Zephyrion had been milling about from window to window, stopping at each and every one to gleefully examine the changes to his dominion below and monitor the progress of his Vizier and Slough. [b][color=Gold]"Ah, you have returned, though I hope out of a desire to bask in my presence rather than by some misguided intent to proclaim your task done! No, more remains to be done, but come hither and harken close..."[/color][/b]

A gust of wind swept both Zephyrion and Ventus through the drafty halls until the were at the other side, looking away from the Resort below. [b][color=Gold]"Gaze yonder, and see alow that great river that cuts through the land! But let your vision not stop short at its rapids, gaze further yon and you can just make out the peaks of those mountains wrought by my brother Teknall, the same who helped build this palace."[/color][/b] With some surprise Ventus heard that this palatial castle had not even been built by his maker, though it was hardly surprising; Zephyrion's shroud of supposed grandeur and mysticism grew dimmer by the hour. In any case, the Vizier was intrigued by the prospect of another god; he wondered if Teknall be so different from Zephyrion as Slough was.

Zephyrion meanwhile continued, [b][color=Gold]"Betwixt the source of that mighty river and those mountains are highlands beautiful in their rugged splendor, and I bid you take Slough to the river valley and upstream to those bluffs. Bring life there, and every last corner of my land will be made complete and more perfect."[/color][/b]

The various ruminations that Ventus had been mulling over in his mind while he pretended to listen to his master were then cut short, the god once again sending him back to the ripe lands below.

[hider=Summary]
[list]
[*]Zephyrion and Vizier Ventus gawk at Niciel's Holy Wisp for a while and then leave it since it seems to be doing no harm.
[*]Zephyrion shows the lands that he made (the Firewind Desert and Shimmering Sea) to Ventus, and then sensed Slough passing through.
[*]Zephyrion, aware of Slough's powers after having seeing the Deepwood, wants her to bring life to his lands.
[*]Because Zephyrion is afraid that he would scare Slough too much, he throws Ventus off the Celestial Citadel and tells him to go handle Slough.
[*]Much to Zephyrion's chagrin, Ventus spends a long time getting Slough's and Esau's trust but finally seems to manage it.
[*]Ventus uses his power over the elementals to make a small oasis to offer Slough respite, and Slough's power transforms the tiny pool of water into the Firewind Resort, a huge swamp-like oasis.
[*]Slough creates all sorts of lifeforms, some constrained to the vicinity of the Firewind Resort and others free to roam the vast desert.
[/list]
[/hider][hider=Rottenbone Slough, Desert Beauty]
1 MP used to make Firewind Resort
1 MP remains
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