Cyclone — Roleplayer Guild

Of Wondrous Heights and Despondent Depths

Part Two

Storm's King; The First Gale; The Embodiment of Change
Level 3 God of Change (Air)
39 Might 5 Free Points

Vizier Ventus, Majordomo to Zephyrion
Level 7 Hero
21 Khookies

King Akthanos
Priest-King of the Firewind, Lord of Vetros, Sovereign of the Vetruvian Kingdom, Zephyrion's Prophet
Fifth Ruler of the Primurid Dynasty

What are we without the light?

Trees in the shade, doomed to die. Moths wandering a night without a glimmer or moonlight, sure to be lost in the darkness.

There was the echo of his own footsteps, the cool kiss of the musty air, and the erratic frenzy of his own breathing. These were the king's only companions in the dark, though as time wore on and he stumbled blindly on through the depths, more things came: the deathly grasp of fear, the gnawing pangs of hunger, and thirst...thirst, the enemy of those beneath the sun, ironically came to haunt Akthanos even in the blackest of tunnels beneath the earth.

Was this where his end would be? Alone in the clutches of darkness, where his remains might never be found in a thousand years to come? The Priest-King brushed his old hands against the course sandstone of the tunnel wall beside him, and then he stopped to at last sit down. Though his body be imprisoned in the catacombs, his mind was free, and so it strayed away to happier places...

He remembered the sound of his long-passed wife's laughter. The smiling faces of two sons flashed by his eyes...there was Heru, the King's eldest son and his pride and joy, marching back to Vetros in triumph even now. Heru would be a strong and just king, and in time, perhaps a wise one too.

There was also Y'Qar. Ah, Y'Qar...the boy had always fostered fire in his heart and the wind in his feet. Some short while ago, perhaps five years past (for time went by quickly for such ancient and wisened men!) the young and quarrelsome prince had gotten into another fight with Heru and Akthanos, as rebellious sons were wont to do with their fathers and elder brothers, though afterwards he had stormed off and never returned. Other fathers might have wept and eventually come to accept their son as being dead, but not Akthanos. He felt his younger son's breath upon the wind still, and knew that Y'Qar yet lived. He could only hope that it was now wanderlust and now anger that kept his son away; to die here and now, having never made amends, would wound the King's spirit like little else could...

With something of a start, Akthanos awoke from what had been a short and restless slumber. He blinked many times, yet there was still darkness. His bones ached, and he felt the rough sandstone of the tunnel walls. Then he remembered where he was, though by now he was past the point of despair.

There was no use in denying the wind or the sun or death. All there was left for the Lord of Vetros was to hold his head eye and walk on with dignity, towards destiny.

So walk on he did, and walk on he would until he at last collapsed, came to an end, or found the light once more. The tunnels narrowed and the air grew every thicker and more oppressive to breathe, or perhaps the King's exhaustion simply grew.

It mattered not.

He stumbled onwards, the exertion sapping his strength with each passing moment, and the he nearly collapsed. It was a peculiar draft that stopped his tumble down, and then that strange eddy of golden wind glowed brighter than any torch and blinded his eyes in its brilliance. Like a mother it carassed and nudged him, and then like a python it wrapped around his form and utterly enveloped him. He was rejuvenated.

The golden wind uncoiled itself from him and lazily drifted down the tunnels while the King hurried in pursuit with newfound strength and fervor. The wind came to rest at the end of the tunnel, and this time no corridors branched off. This was truly the end of the catacombs, and there was naught but a simple and unassuming altar carved into the wall. It was nothing before the splendor and magnificence of what was in the Temple above, and yet Akthanos could sense this altar's and its importance. Though he did not know, that slab of stone was the first altar to Zephyrion that had been wrought by mortal hands, and it had always been at the foot of that unassuming spot that the Primus had gone to speak with his God in person. Woe unto Vetros, for the first prophet had never told his successors!

In any case, Akthanos knelt down before the slab of stone, and then that golden eddy of wind that had shown him the final stretch of the Path (and that had also extinguished his torch earlier, though the King had not realized!) twisted and writhed in the air to form a small vortex. The twister kicked up the thick layer of dust that had accumulated upon the altar, and then Zephyrion's glorious voice came.

The words of a God resonated not from the altar or the golden wind, but from within Akthanos himself, for his blood had but a drop of Primus' and that was all it took to have a most sacred link with the Embodiment of Change.

"You come at last, my Prophet. I have watched you since your very birth, Akthanos, and your Kingdom since its. You should have spoken with me sooner. There was much that I could have done."

And there Akthanos was bewildered! He did not utter words, for indeed he could not right then, but rather had a thousand thoughts flash through his mind. Zephyrion saw them all.

"You expected me to be the first one to speak? Thought that I would seek you out?" Zephyrion spoke with indignation and anger creeping into his voice, though now he chose to put aside his own pride. Were Akthanos not his Prophet the First Gale would have surely showed his ire, but it would not do to destroy his own champion upon Galbar.

[color=Gold][b]"A Prophet's role is to listen, of course; if I had a Great Decree to make to mortalkind, I would indeed reach out to your mind. But it is also a Prophet and a King's role to speak out! If you are without direction or require my aid, it is you who must pray to me. It is not my place to descend unto Galbar and guide your every step; I must watch over the course of Nature and keep careful vigil upon the Forces of Change.

Mortal men act and think of their own accord. It is your role to use such gifts and thrive on by merit of your own strength and wisdom; a tree must be able to stand on its own. No god will care for a weak or complacent people that do nothing for themselves, just as no god will support a tree that cannot stand. It defies the Way of things.

So by now you will know why I shall not simply will away the problems that plague your rule. These plights of mortals are not brought about by I, but equally they are not stopped by I. They are challenges and tests meant to try mortals and not their gods. Such is the Way."[/color][/b]

Akthanos deeply contemplated those revelations. For some time, there was only silence.

"Yes, I am still here. I am ever here; my presence can be felt in every flicker of fire, every breath of wind, every drop of blood, every brine-crusted rock upon the seashores..."

"Then this humble servant has but one more request for thee, Great One," Akthanos spoke out now, "and that is thee lend to me the strength to finish what should have been done afore. Thou were right in saying that I waited too long; alas, I grow weak and close to death. All that I can ask for is the power to save Vetros before I die, that my sons will not be tried by the fruits of my failure and found wanting, and that in death I can join thee in the sky as a spirit devoid of lament or regret."

Zephyrion, for once, was taken aback and silent as he weighed that request. No god could ever be pristine in thought and decisive in every choice. Finally, he acquiesced. But he would do more than simply lend his power to Akthanos. He would entrust mortalkind with more power than any of his brethren ever had, and see what would come of such responsibility...

The air itself trembled in the tunnels as a surge of divine energy swept into the altar. The golden vortex that had hovered above now seeped into the stone slab and infested it with the power of Change.

In a terrifying display, thenaltar shuddered and then simultaneously cracked, burned, vaporized, glowed, and flashed a thousand different colors. With ease Zephyrion has chiseled the mundane stone into an artifact, but that was not the end. Now, he summoned forth more power than ever he had needed before, and he channeled it all into that one object. Thing thing radiated magic and divine power like the sun did light.

Before Akthanosnthere formed a great scepter, its crown resembling the detailed head of a great bird that was born to rule, the long shaft and handle encrusted with gems and serving as the pillar upon which all was supported, and then the bottom curving to become the tail of a snake. It reprrsented the grim necessities that power brought.

"Let this scepter mark you as King of men and the Firewind. It is your Law and your power, and it is a great deal of power indeed. You will find that I have entrusted you with much; far more than ever I gave to Primus. Mere locusts and barbarians will crumble before your gaze, for this scepter gives you dominion over the Firewind and Nature itself, and Djinn will respect its authority.

That vessel of my Might exudes such brilliance that it might attract the longing gaze of others. Beware, for demigods or even gods might seek to steal it, but cower not before them. With its power and my favor, few can challenge you."

Akthanos offered a thousand thanks, yet they fell upon deaf ears for his god had already left.

==--``~~~~``--==

Zephyrion rested on atop the spire of his palace, though now the glow of his eyes was soft and he did not look doen upon Galbar. Instead, he found himself looking inward and meditating.

"You play a most unusual, and dare I say dangerous game, Lord Zephyrion!"

"You disrupt my thought and banish my solitude to offer such worthless insight?"

With similar irritation in his voice, the Djinni Lord answered, "Curiosity demanded it. It seems most unlike you to grant such...absurd power to a mortal that didn't even ask! Do you see the implications of this? Do you even care?"

"Change needn't follow any precedent or expectation; it does as it will. And I am not just Storm's King but also the Embodiment of Change, if you had forgotten."

"Remember that it was this same insufferable hubris and irrationality that drove your prized Lifprasil away, O Great Master! It will leave you alone and friendless, and if anything does, will bring your doom and downfall!"

At that, Zephyrion guffawed and thunder shook the sky. "O insolent Vizier, where to begin? Change cannot be stopped and I do not know if I even could; if the unthinkable came true and I were to fall, I think I would be simply be reborn anew as Fire or Stone or Sea. As in for now, the wind blows on.

As in for Lifprasil!"

Once again Zephyrion's voice was tinged with laughter, a most welcome change from the monotone fury that he had possessed to the exclusion of all else as of late.

The Fractal Ocarina that had been Lifprasil's parting gift to Zephyrion drifted from its purchase in some lonesome windowsill and sat suspended in the air before Zephyrion as he mused at it for the first time in many years. After a few moments, he hurled the wretched thing to Vizier Ventus who scrambled to catch it.

"Yes, that failed charge was an embarrassment to me. Still, whilst he learned nothing from my tutelage I observed much through my interactions with him. While he scurried down below and tries to carve out some realm, I meditated at these heights and grew wiser for it.

I see now with clarity that none are wise enough tonsimply take my words as truth on faith alone; they must see proof. Similarly, I now understand that I must play a more active role in the affairs of the mortals and lesser beings, and yet I must also be less direct. I must strive to not tell them so much as show them; they learn best, serve best, and strive to be the best when they must make due with their own strength. In doing all of that, they follow the Way and my glory is reflected even brighter in their own.

These principles define how I must interact with the Vetruvians and how I must interact even with you. So go, return to intervene directly with the mortals once again if ever you see fit. I implore you to see if it gives them any lasting benefit. In time you will see for yourself the truth in my words."

And there Ventus was taken aback; it was rare that his Master spoke in a manner that sounded compelling or wise once you pierced the veil of his overpowering confidence in each snd every word. Here, Ventus might have been persuaded in earnest.

"Very well. I shall defer to your wisdom on thid in earnest, and wait to see if my observations lend credence to this new philosophy of yours," Ventus spoke with renewed respect.

Zephyrion's answer was something of a snort. He truly seemed indifferent.

"But you did not answer me: why did you entrust the Vetruvian king with such power? Is it not...absurd that a mere mortal bear more power than the Djinn, perhaps more than even I or the various demigods?"

"I have no grand reason to offer you," he admitted. "If mortals show that they are not meant to rule, I will take back what gifts I have bestowed upon them. Stripped bare once more, they would be as nothing. But perhaps they shall do great things with this. We shall see.

Ventus shook his head. He could not help the feeling that in creating the King's Law his Master had disrupted the balance of things far too much, and all for the sake of little more than amusement.

-Akthanos reflects on his situation and thinks of his children etc. while he stumbles on in the dark to what he suspects will be his death
-Zephyrion's subtle prodding leads King Akthanos to a light, which in turn shows the way to special altar at the very end of the tunnels
-The two speak.
-Zephyrion eventually makes the King's Law, a scepter that bestows incredible powers to its wielder
-The King's Law is given to Akthanos
-Zephyrion meditates in the uppermost spire of the Celestial Citadel
-Ventus again interrutps and there is more characterization

-10 Might from Zephyrion to create the King's Law, the most powerful artifact created by a god yet.

Another small batch of khookies.

@Vec for this post
Spelling and Grammar: 10/10
Writing Quality: 8/10 (I particularly liked the beginning! Good imagery all around)
Story Line Advancement: 7/10 (Similar to your other post Ull is just sitting in his own world, but this post did at least establish what he had been doing and make a hero and such, so I'll give you credit for advancing the story by a fair bit)
Character Development: 8/10 (I saw a very good amount of development for Ull'yang's personality in this post, but as far as Luna went, we only saw that brief snippet after she became a hero. Still, you did give us a taste for what she'll be like.)
Independence: 6/10
Total: 39/50; 78%; 8 Khookies for Luna

@BBeast for this post
Spelling and Grammar: 10/10
Writing Quality: 8/10 (Always been a big fan of your writing, all the way back to reading about Detuiron's shenanigans all those years ago! Keep it up! And kudos to Kangutso as well in that post; it's good to see Kyre finally doing his war-god stuff.)
Story Line Advancement: 9/10 (Moving steadily towards the battle; I'm looking forward to it.)
Character Development: 7/10 (Interesting to see Gerrik in the presence of another strange guy whom he suspects of being a god, training once more)
Independence: 8/10 
Total: 42/50; 84%; 8 Khookies for Gerrik

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