[center][h3]The Calling[/h3]
[color=0072bc][b]Vizier Ventus, Majordomo to Zephyrion[/b]
Level 7 Hero
50 Khookies[/color][/center]

Invisible for the most part, the lords of nature reigned. Over wooded heath and forest dell, from the lands of autumn to those of spring, from the top of the forlorn crags to the bottom of the briny seas, their hands flowed across all things and their whispers softly reverberated.

They fought one another at nigh every chance.

Yet within that cauldron of roiling turmoil there was a pattern, a higher order; though such a thing was beyond the comprehension of any save divines, and even then, the vision of some was lacking. The balance of that order was threatened by forces that had manipulated against their purpose. Though they were admittedly small and weak now, if given the chance they would grow stronger and spread like vines. They were a pool of dark oil tainting a serene pond, a spoke on the wheel that was broken, and a blight upon the tree of nature. They were the storm djinn, and though it brought him no pleasure, Vizier Ventus would see them undone.

When the battle at the mortals' village had seen its completion and his oath to Teknall fulfilled, the Vizier had at once signaled the return of his companion lords and their hosts. They receded into the distance as a storm much like the one that had heralded their arrival, albeit a great mass of stormclouds that was slightly smaller for their few casualties during the fight with the corrupted angels. The Vizier spared no time to mourn their lost, look unto the mortals that they had undoubtedly saved, or even talk with Teknall once more.

It was not hard to find the corrupted storm djinn; by Vestec's will, they had amassed together as one great host. Such was far from unheard of among elementals, but to create such a violent and uncontrolled storm when the season was not ripe, and to swarm and devour all djinn in their warpath was unnatural. Their path was easy to follow, then; Ventus need only follow the trail of destruction that their horrific storm had left in its wake. The lands were bleak and dead in more ways than one, for with the death of all the local djinn it would be many years before new ones would rise to bring back the forces of nature. Until such time, things so simple as wind were but a faint memory to the land.

When Ventus and his following at last found their quarry, it was over the sea. A ragged few djinni lords of the ocean's breeze had been chased down and corralled together like animals, and surrounded by assailants, they were trapped. Like cats toying with mice, the storm djinn protracted the torture and slowly devoured their victims' essence.

It came to an abrupt halt when Ventus and his cohort raced through the skies, carrying a great storm upon that clashed with that of their foes. The two great winds crashed into one another and were for a moment stilled as if pressed against solid mountains. Then, they both broke at once, and swirled together into one great tempest beyond the control of any. Havoc ensued, and windjinn fought windjinn.

Lightning cackled and boomed, and the cacophony of thunder was augmented by the boom of supersonic blasts of wind. 

[center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c7/92/ca/c792ca0b4dca79929a87fd1bb6839d32.jpg[/img]
[i]The wilds cowered before the terrifying display o'er the sea.[/i]
[/center]

There would be no rest until the storm djinn were unmade; their culling was his calling, and so Ventus fought on through zeal and sheer force of will. The storm djinn were engorged by the power of all their victims and driven by unquenchable thirst for more power, so the arbiters of order might have failed were it not for the how the Vizier fought with the fury of a hurricane and led through inspiration.

But he did fight valiantly, without restraint, and with unflinching nerve. 

Many others fought with valor as well, chief among them those few djinn that had been imprisoned within the tempest and tortured by the storm djinn. When the Zephyrean Skyguard seized the attention of their captors, those lords had struck. Though they were weakened by that point, they used the last of their strength to fight in defiance of those that had brought this fate unto them, and many a storm djinn was felled by their work. Only one of those lords survived until the battle's end, and his name was Cyclonis.

[b]"This battle brings me an honorable end, my redemption for a cowardly surrender...with the last of my strength, I thank and bless you strangers,"[/b] Cyclonis had whispered at the end.

Ventus looked upon him, and surely enough, saw that Cyclonis spoke truth. The lord's essence had been half-consumed by the storm djinn before, and after the exertion of that battle there was not enough to sustain him. Cyclonis' end was indeed nigh, but it could be averted easily enough by one with as much strength as the Vizier...

Ventus drew closer. [color=0072bc][b]"With greater fervor you fought until the end; what be your style?"[/b][/color]

Some derision welled up within Cyclonis at first, for he would rather have spent his last moments in deep contemplation than idle conversation. But then he witnessed and recognized the one that had inquired such question to him, and lit up, [b]"Ah, Great Vizier, Majordomo to our Master, be that ye? Blessed am I to witness your grace in these final moments!"[/b]

He went on to answer Ventus in good spirit, even as his strength waned with each passing word, [b]"In life, 'twas Lord Cyclonis, a mere vassal to a higher djinni, yet a proud master of a northeast-going wind all the same. Now, I am fated to be styled no more than a dying echo upon the wind. But such is our role!"[/b] 

[b][color=0072bc]"No; by the hands of us, the Zephyrean Skywatch, your life was spared, and now it is not yours to surrender so easily. Rise and be made anew, and then join our ranks,"[/color][/b] the Vizier spoke, and with each word there poured forth some of the Vizier's fathomless power, and his great essence fell upon the fading djinn and restored him. Just like that, it was done, and one overjoyed lord was given a second chance.

In any case, a rising dawn over the sea brought victory. The roiling furor eventually dissipated, and of that battleground in the sky there remained nothing. Not even a sign remained of those countless djinn that had met their end within that storm, and a solemn air hung over the place as the battered and fatigued remnants of Ventus' host looked on to their leader.

[color=0072bc][b]"Rejoice, for it is we who grasped tighter onto victory and life, and us who pulled took those things from our foe. Doubtless, this will not be the only sacred task charged unto the Zephyrean Skywatch, and so it falls to me to ensure that the order is ever vigilant and prepared; that would be easiest achieved if the order were never to dissolve! 

Where the rest of our host (noble though they were!) fell, ye remained strong and worthy, and so I offer to each of you a gift that no djinn have ever been given save I; if you would have it, I give you the chance to rise above your station. Exist no longer as mere shepherds of nature, but rather as her arbitrators and as direct servants to our Master and Maker. 

Why command a simple wind or bring rain for a few centuries, when you could exist forever in such a glorious role as this?"[/b][/color]

Whisper and murmur was stirred among many of those djinn assembled before Ventus, whereas others contemplated in silence. The greater part remained before the Vizier (and Cyclonis among them!) yet there were a few lords that turned and left right then, their legions of lesser djinn following faithfully. Ventus paid them no heed; he knew well how compelling it was for a djinn to do as they always did; his kind, ironically enough given their birth and purpose, were not so receptive to Change.

Nonetheless, he took those that remained and together they made for the Celestial Citadel. All windjinn knew of the place, but fewer had been within its halls, and fewer still had dared face their Master and Maker directly. The Vizier paraded them all through its vacuous halls and finally brought them before Zephyrion.

[color=0072bc][b]"Your Magnificence, esteemed Master, before you is the host I assembled. The Zephyrean Skyguard they are called, and these are the ones that upheld your and Teknall's will by defeating the beings corrupted by Vestec's magic and restoring balance and order to nature. They are valiant all; truly, no others and greater,"[/b][/color] Ventus announced. The mention of Teknall's  will and not Zephyrion's was not lost upon the Skylords, who listened in silence.

Zephyrion had a manner of shifting form and mannerism wildly and rapidly, whilst still exuding a contradictory aura of indifference. [b][color=Gold]"They have done just as was commanded, though by mere virtue of failing I see not why they hath earned showers of such praise. Nonetheless, [i]you[/i] have done well. Since I have no doubt that it would please your fancy if I were to honor this retinue, I shall keep them. They may function as the protectors of this place, until such time as they are needed for another task of great magnitude,"[/color][/b] the god answered back.

With a mixed array of emotion, the Skyguard took queue and filed out of the chamber to take posts at various points around the citadel; driven by duty, those djinn began their new task at once. Ventus took Zephyrion's answer as a slight.

[color=0072bc][b]"You would dismiss the greatest of your faithful so?"[/b][/color]

Before Zephyrion had been calm, but Ventus' derision triggered Zephyrion's own ire. [color=Gold][b]"Do not forget, my most loyal Vizier, that 'twas not I who tasked you or they with all that was done. You have fulfilled the machinations of my brother Teknall, and as I watched your work below, I noted that he did not so much as return to offer his thanks. Therein lies your problem; whilst I am lenient and do not forbid you deal with my brethren, know too that they are neither so kind nor as glorious as I and your work is likely to be thankless and without purpose. But to do as they say and demand from me what gratitude or reward that Teknall withheld will yield you nothing but my scorn!

Now begone, lest my anger rise like the tides below."[/b][/color]



[hider=Khookie Usage]
50 khookies to begin
+10 khookies for this post (12,000+ characters)

-47 khookies to level from 7 to 10.

13 khookies remain
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[hider=Summary]
***NOTE: This takes place immediately following Vestec's Horde of Chaos and the events surrounding the recent collab titled 'The Tempest'. All of this post is preceded by the Realta invasion and even Zephyrion's banishment.

The Zephyrean Skywatch (the Holy Order of wind elementals previously formed by Ventus) fulfill the second part of their oath to Teknall by finally defeating the storm djinn corrupted by Vestec.

The storm djinn have trapped and are in the process of devouring a few elemental lords when Ventus and his order attack; the trapped lords rise up and fight with the Zephyrean Skywatch, but only one named Cyclonis survives. He is in a weakened and dying state yet pleased by the taste of victory; Ventus, however, uses his powers to spare Cyclonis and inducts him into the Order, for the Order saved his life and it is only fitting that he gives it back in turn.

To the rest of those that had been in the Zephyrean Skywatch and survived both the battle with the corrupted angels at Gerrik's village and the battle against the storm djinn, Ventus offers them a permanent (and greater) role as the highest ranking enforcers of nature's order and direct servants of the gods.

In triumph, the surviving members of the Zephyrean Skywatch go to the Celestial Citadel and Vizier Ventus presents them to Zephyrion, who is but only mildly pleased. Having nothing to offer as a second grand mission, they are relegated to the status of Zephyrion's personal guard and serve an uneventful role as mere custodians of the Celestial Citadel, waiting until such time comes as their strength is needed for a greater purpose and they once again can be given a sacred charge. Ventus is disappointed with how his promises of glory to those that remained in his order are turning out to be false, and this drives a wedge between him and Zephyrion.

***The Zephyrean Skyguard have remained in the Celestial Citadel all this time, even after Zephyrion banishment, and now (as of the current point in the timeline) answer only to Vizier Ventus. As seen by Cyclonis' role in the Luna collabs, the Zephyrean Skyguard are currently enforcing Ventus' (and to a larger extent, the windjinn's) authority over the 'lesser' elements of fire, earth, and water.[/hider]