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As the second day dawned upon the mountainous structure of Mt. Eldahverr, the Phoenix rose its head from within its rocky nest to greet the sudden warmth that saturated its rocky beak. The great beast issued a loud creaking yawn as its wings flapped slowly in the howling winds above. Today was the day when it would be ordered by Master Sartr to return back to Muspelheim and upon its command, it would make the long journey back across the vast ocean of Galbar to return home.
Nothing unusual had happened upon his stay on the volcano. He hadn’t seen a god of any kind investigate the erection of what they might call a blemish upon their holy land nor any other hostile creatures approach. Yet it didn’t move anywhere away from the mountain. In fact, the Phoenix was so devoted to its mission that it didn’t take the time to descend from his roost and feed on any life below. Not that there wasn’t much life around there to begin with.
And now it’s already beginning to feel the strain of hunger lash around within its molten belly.
No doubt that it’ll have to find a place upon its travels to satiate its ever growing hunger pains. And it better be soon… for the more it stayed put, the more anxious it became. For one may never know who might stop by his residence next - friendly or not.
A breeze from inland caught up with it from behind, sweeping over it with a whistle. It carried the usual smells - soil, lichen, damp stone. And…
Another waft overtook it, dispersing the distant traces. It was heavy and vile, laden with stenches that jarred with the bare rocky land around it. The reek of iron, alcohol and purulent flesh struck it like the shadow of some foul approaching hulk.
And, indeed, something was approaching. A dark, mountainous blot had appeared on the horizon, and was unmistakably drawing near. Even from afar, it was clear it was immense, perhaps almost as great as Eldahverr itself. The flames burning near its summit gave it an uncanny resemblance to a volcano, if a much more malodorous one.
One waft of such a vile toxic substance was enough to put the Phoenix on high alert. Something definitely wasn’t right here. It rose its head to try and better examine where the scent was coming from. Its nose would then lead it to the other side of the flaming pit and onto the north side of the volcano. And there in the distance, an ominous figure covered in black and as tall as the volcano itself was approaching. No doubt that this was another one of the resident gods wanting to check in on what foreign object had appeared on their home turf. It didn’t take long for the alarm bells start blaring through the creature’s head, stimulating an intense feeling of fight or flight.
However, already having disappointed his Master once already, the terror-bird wasn’t willing to back down from its high ground. No matter how big or tought the opponent may be, it was determined to protect Mt. Eldahverr from all threats that dared to challenge them. The creature extended its massive wings into the air, releasing an intense wave of dry heat and issued a booming screech in defiance to the god’s coming.
"HEED!" the Phoenix boomed defiantly, "YOU TRESPASS UPON THE GROUNDS OF MASTER SARTR! IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR FACE PROSECUTION!"
The gigantic shape did not seem to stop or even slow, growing in size by the moment. Already faint rumbles were heard as immane steps struck down upon the ground in the distance.
A louder sound overtook the colossal impacts, grinding and rumbling like a brewing thunderstorm. It took but a few more strides from the colossus for the peals of roaring laughter to become deafening.
”Sartr?” The voice of the god - who else could it be? - was powerful enough to dislodge pebbles from the earth and send them rolling. ”I think I remember him. Didn’t the water itself refuse to fall on him when I tried to make it? Hah!”
The iron enormity finally came to a halt. Though still quite distant, its four burning eyes were more than high enough to gaze at the Phoenix directly.
”What makes this land his, now? I don’t recall him making it, for sure. And doesn’t he recognise Narzhak, grandest and mightiest of his brothers? Or-” One of Narzhak’s eyes narrowed as its gaze swept over the fiery creature. ”Am I even speaking to him? What’s this new habit of sending flying gnats around everyone has taken up?”
Turns out the hulk of flesh had a name too. Narzhak. The Phoenix had no clue to who he was, but Sartr would’ve immediately recognized him if he were here. And from the sounds of it, they appear to be bitter rivals. But alas, he was not with the Phoenix. The avatar was alone. And what’s worse, its contact with its master hadn’t seemed to have gotten through for the past day - as if it was completely cut off from all contact. So when the God stopped to realize who he was talking too, the terror-bird had no chance but to assert its dominance to the best it could.
"YOU SPEAK TO HIS AVATAR OF FIRE!" the Phoenix boomed as he continued flapping his wings towards him, "I - THE PHOENIX - ALONG WITH MY MASTER, HAVE TAKEN RESIDENCY OF THIS VOLCANO WE HAVE SO ERECTED FROM THE DEPTHS OF THIS BARREN WASTELAND! AND YOU ARE TRESPASSING WITHIN ITS GROUNDS! STATE YOUR BUSINESS OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!"
A low rumbling rose from the god’s invisible throat. ”Avatar? That’s like a-” with motions small for one of such size, but sufficient to grind a mountaintop to dust, he rubbed two of his fingers together with a painfully grating sound, ”lieutenant? Good thought there. I didn’t know that loudmouth had it in him to figure out something like this. Still, your insolence is more annoying than that is impressive.”
Narzhak snapped his fingers out of their scraping, and the ground about his feet fractured, blossoming with towering, cruelly sharp pillars of iron.
”You’d better learn fast, underling, that I go wherever I please whenever I do. This place is in dire need of something to make it less dull, and if you can’t do any better than a smoking hill, get out of my sight. It’s time for a true god to do some work here.”
The Phoenix glared at the intruder’s stubbornness, gritting its beaked teeth, as his metal frameworked grinded towards Mt. Eldahverr. It appeared it would have to fight this god after all. With another mighty caw, the winged beast rose its wings and took flight as it glided down the mountain. As it did so, the volcano began to spew out lava from its dome, with the ash-smoke getting more thick as the eruption commenced.
It wasn’t going to let this intruder take over its property - even if it meant death.
The Phoenix flew over the barren wasteland, spreading its fire and heat upon the lands where they all burned underneath the winged terror. Once in range, it commenced to fire upon the beast with its superheated fiery mouth beam as it aimed for the god’s torso. If connected upon impact, it would surely explode due to its highly volatile nature.
And, with a target as sizeable as that, explode it did. Narzhak growled as he raised a forearm to shield himself from the glare, inching back under the first impact. Streams of molten metal dripped down his armoured bulk from where the scorching blast had struck it. They swiftly froze and were absorbed into the iron surface, adding to the number of its odd ridges and scars.
”If Sartr didn’t give you a brain to know better than this, he won’t be getting the rest of you back either!” He reached towards the ground with his free hand, and iron came surging from it in unnatural upward cascades, coalescing in a tangle of blades and spines large enough to crush a forest. With a surprisingly agile motion despite his mass, the god hurled the makeshift weapon at his winged adversary, immediately grasping for a second metallic surge as soon as it left his grip.
Using the skies to it advantage, the Phoenix was quick to dodge the incoming metallic mass - but only by barely as it nearly scrapped its inner wing. Despite the god’s massive size, he definitely didn’t slouch when engaging in combat. It has to be careful with him, unless it strived to be hit with a powerful wallop in the face. Taking quick notice of the massive gap in between the initial throws, the winged pterosaur took the chance to dive-bomb towards the distracted iron god. Once again it fired its beams in multiple spurts, with several heading attempting to hit his head.
The monstrosity of iron that passed for Narzhak’s head shook as if to chase away something buzzing around it, his angered rumbling rising and fading like the crash and ebb of subterranean waves. Molten craters pitted the blank visor where the blasts struck it, each large enough to sink a town in its churning depths. And yet the colossus only seemed to be growing more furious.
Another jagged mass gathered in his hand, and again he flung it at the Phoenix. This time, the assembly of cutting shards shattered in midair halfway towards its target, dispersing into a hailstorm of spinning razor-sharp scraps and edged fragments. Even as they flew, the god reached down with both arms, digging his claws into the ground. Stone groaned and creaked as he began to lift a piece of soil as large as a small island, tearing it out of the earth as though it were little more than a handful of pebbles.
Sharp bursts of pain sheared themselves into the flying beast’s rocky wings, breaking off chunks of skin as molten ichor dripped from the inflicted wounds. The Phoenix cawed in annoyance as it made a mid-air roll to rid itself of these pesky metal splinters before breaking off his descent and flew over him - dropping molten substance upon Narzhak. Still, it couldn’t help that while its beams were effective to an extent, they wouldn’t be enough to take down - let alone in scaring off - the iron titan of war. It was time to get more acquainted with its foe - up close and personal.
Once again, the Phoenix turned its trajectory at the Iron Giant’s backside, while witnessing him rip a huge island-sized chunk of soil from the ground with minimal effort. Things were already heating up way too quickly for the terror-bird’s liking. It had to make the god drop his load prematurely or be squashed under a million tons of solid rock. Rather than launching a beam, it began to rush towards Narzhak as if about to collide with him. However at the last possible second, the Phoenix rapidly flew his wings back to slow his acceleration and clapped its wings in a devastating sonic boom at point-blank range. The sheer power of that sudden change of energy launched the beast back enough to quickly regain its balance and momentum.
The upward sweep of the god’s arms as he prepared to hurl his load at his opponent stopped abruptly with a flinch. Narzhak’s entire bulk trudged half a gigantic step forward, before beginning to turn about. His hands abruptly tore away from the mass they were holding, sending chunks of rock and earth raining for miles around him. The ground itself trembled as the greatest part of the weight fell back at the titan’s feet, several hills springing into being over that single moment. Clouds of dust and debris rose to blot out the sight of the struggle along with the volcano’s acrid smoke.
Mere instants later, the earth quaked again as those feet stomped down in quick sequence. Heavy beyond measure Narzhak might have been, and deceptively ponderous when he walked at leisure, but he was not sluggish. As the Phoenix righted itself in the air, an immense clawed hand came grasping for it past the veil of drifting detritus. The iron of its skin flowed and reshaped itself as it moved, fingers stretching out into vast blades that stretched its reach twofold. Fast on the momentum he had gained from swivelling about, the god lunged forward with all his body, threads of iron weaving themselves between his lengthening fingers in a net that closed in towards his winged foe.
The net launched towards the Phoenix’s head, successfully and miraculously ensnaring the creatures head in an iron cage. "GAGH! GET OFF ME YOU ROTTEN FILTH!" the Phoenix screeched desperately as it attempted to shake it off, firing multiple beams wildly like a bird in a spider’s web. This was the entire Arae situation all over again, only concentrated on its massive head rather than his entire body. Forced to land, the Phoenix tugged at its opponent’s hand before attempting to use all of its strength to launch itself into the air and free itself from his grasp.
”Hrhah-ah!” Narzhak’s good humour appeared to be fast to rebound from irritation. His growling laugh churned once more from within his throat, despite his prey’s fiery struggles melting parts of his now webbed hand to slag. Wherever a link was broken, new metallic cords sprouted to replace it. ”See your place now, pest?”
With a mighty pull, he brought his forearm to bear over the Phoenix’s trapped head, its weight rising like an iron wall in the way of its attempts to break lose. For a moment it rose, forced up by the creature’s efforts; he pushed down stronger, almost leaning upon it with half a shoulder.
”It wouldn’t surprise me by now if your master really was careless enough to leave your skull empty. But I like to be certain of things.” The web tightened as the gargantuan hand began to close on its quarry. ”Let’s find out.”
He squeezed.
And the harder he squeezed, the more the agony befell the fallen Phoenix as his screeches of aggression turned into wails of torment With its neck badly sprained and its head within a cold tight embrace, the flying beast found itself at the Iron Giant’s mercy. Its vision was fading, its mind going numb, and its screeches turning ever softer per passing second.
"M-Maaaaaaasterrrr..." the Phoenix whispered weakly as its world was closing in, "I’ve… failllllled you… my embers... shall scatter throughout the world… never… to be seen… again..."
Expecting its imminent demise, the Phoenix attempted to let go of his struggle and have fate guide the beast towards oblivion. Surely Master Sartr would be disappointed in his first avatar. Surely he’d let him die. But as the dam was about to let in the flood of darkness, a bright flicker of flame suddenly popped within its sub-conscious.
”NO.” a deep resenting voice echoed.
Then, another flicker revealed alongside it, which revealed two fiery eyes that pierced into the collapsing void.
”NO!”
Then the flame exploded to encapsulate the Phoenix’s mind, clearing its vision of the darkness and replacing it with a red-hot glow. The terror-bird eyes were glowing a furious orange as its body was given new life! Its head lifted unnaturally to face it’s cruel adversary, as it gave off an ominous garbled rumble through its molten esaphogus.
”YOU WILL TREMBLE AGAINST MY MIGHT!” the voice of Sartr roared as he now took control of the Phoenix’s rattled body.
Then the mighty pterosaur began to levitate off the ground, slowly ascending into the sky with the iron cage still attached. Yet as the blazing heat that extruded from its body began to rapidly rise, the metal structure would begin to feel its effects, costing it to melt off the Phoenix’s head. Still the beast rose, higher and higher, until it stopped suddenly above Narzhak. And then…
”SCRAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!”
A violent explosion raptured throughout the Phoenix’s body as raw fire completely encapsulated the mighty beast, while throwing a shockwave of ungodly heat in every direction. The ground below was utterly scorched by the blazing heat, the soil crystalizing into a rough rocky substance. The rocks began to violently melt all around, quickly reforming into minuscule pieces of sand, as the shockwave spreaded for hundreds of miles. Every flat surface ranging as far west towards the looming Cauldron, to the northern peaks of the Qiangshan Mountains, the World Scar, and bowling itself within the eastern mountains, was turned into fine sand for miles on end. Even the temperature of the affected locations began to raise unnaturally into a dry and hot environment.
The entire sector had been turned into a blazing desert - born from the rage of a god.
And, in the midst of it, a single towering figure stood bemusedly gazing at its hand.
”You little...” Narzhak snarled, none too pleased with the experience. Most of the metallic skin on his appendage had, despite its thickness, liquefied and dripped away, exposing the nauseous fleshy pulp beneath. Its gnarled fingers were charred in stripes, slivers and scraps sloughing from them or outright crumbling to ash and joining the sand at his feet.
Four incandescent glares rose to meet the rekindled Phoenix. ”Your gizzard being fuller than your head only tells me what I’ll need to tear out first.” A foot rose, like a hammer poised to strike, and fell.
This time, the ground did not simply shake. Spasms wracked it like the grip of a fever, the earth moaning and screaming in agony at the violence the wrathful god wrought upon it. Fissures spread to all sides from his foot, the sands immediately swallowing them, only to expose new gaps as they flowed. Echoes of the shock propelled mounds and dunes upwards, birthing uneven slopes and treacherous chasms. And, even as it squirmed under Narzhak’s fury, the earth answered.
All throughout the newly formed waste, the surface of the ground was broken by vicious clutches of iron rising to pierce the sand and sky. Dagger-like pillars, razor-edged spirals, spiked pyramids of the shining metal stood at once like a legion of awakened corpses clawing their way out of shallow graves. Some shards were spat out by the soil, arcing through the air and burrowing back like wounding blades as they landed.
Narzhak’s burned hand grasped one of the metallic formations that had burst out the closest to him, and it flowed around the clutches like a stream. The exposed fingers were covered in armour once again, then another layer, then another. In a heartbeat, the god’s right forearm had become a thick maul, large enough to level mountaintops with a sweep. Lacerating thorns dotted its surface, and its tip extended into a fearsome barb.
”Come now,” the Iron Giant rumbled, the taunt resurfacing in his voice, ”I’m curious to see what’s inside the rest of you.”
The Phoenix’s head snapped down at the rival god as Sartr’s gaze stiffened. However the fire god would not speak or mutter a single syllable - not even to mention the accessories that he had given towards this sandy hell. Instead, his gaze shifted below the giant’s feet and from it, the ground below began to intensify. Combined with the reflective glow of the sun, the sand began to grow hotter - hot enough to turn the ground into solid shards of glass. The surrounding area in fact had begun erecting tiny participles of sharp piercing glass, one which Sartr had proceeded to lift into the air with a massive gust of wind.
The sand behind Sartr began to lift themselves high into the air - the several million participles coming together to erect a massive wall of floating sand and deadly particles. Tiny glimmers of needle-shaped glass bits could be seen dazzling within the chaos brewing within the newly erected sandstorm as the terror-bird flapped its wings to send this massive barrage straight towards Narzhak. It engulfed the two gods in a blinding storm, one so thick that the sun was nearly covered by this suffocating substance.
And that’s when the Phoenix rushed towards the blinded iron god, sinking its talons deep into its opponent’s armor and flesh like a hot knife through butter, as it attempted to lift their god off the ground with great force. And with a mighty heave, they attempted to launch him far back into the blazing sands and towards one of the giant iron structures ahead.
Taken by surprise by his adversary’s unexpected strength, the colossus staggered a step backwards, carving through the gleaming monolith. His left hand rose to sweep the fiery bird away, even as his new weapon’s tremendous size was turned against itself, the cumbersome scourge too unwieldy to swing in such close quarters.
Yet, forced back against the metallic formation, Narzhak found himself in his element. Iron flowed from the spire and around his body, shooting forth from his chest in a circle of immense spears. As the hastily conjured darts thrust at the Phoenix, the god stepped backwards once more, black ichor from open gashes spraying in his wake. He spared no words for it, but, finding room for a strike, swung his maul-hand against the avatar.
The spears found their mark by burrowing right through the Phoenix’s wings, each spurting out shots of molten essence from their wounds, however the flying beast didn’t seem to take much note of their presence. In fact, the longer they were lodged in, the heat began to quickly melt the iron spears into a dark-silver liquid and rendered them efficiently harmless. Sartr’s laugh could be heard echoing from the Phoenix’s beak as it watched the iron god throw his essence around.
”FOOL!” the fire god boomed haughtily, ”YOUR WORTHLESS METAL HAS NO EFFECT AGAINST THE RAW POWER OF THE FIRE GOD’S BURNING ESSENCE! LEAVE THIS AREA OR I SHALL GLADLY MELT YOUR IRON AND FLESH ALTOGETHER!”
Of course, Narzhak didn’t seem to take the message as he swung his blunt mawl towards the Phoenix. This time however, the fire beast was able to dodge it with ease as it countered with another blast of a white-hot beam straight into the god’s face.
The flames in the giant’s eyes sputtered in the approximation of a wince. He shook his head as if to disperse a daze, all while lifting another piece of metal from the shattered obelisk. The iron stretched and flattened in a wide disk, forming the simulacrum of a vast shield fastened to the god’s left forearm. As his glare blazed up again amid the dripping helm, the spiked maul was brought to bear again - then stopped as he seemed to consider the Phoenix’s words for the first time.
”Fire god? So it’s actually you.” The makeshift bulward was held up to fend off any more interrupting blasts. ”If I’d known I just had to beat your puppet enough for you to finally answer, I’d have done it faster. Have you really gone from making an upcry about existing to shouting over heaps of stones?” He gestured, rather dismissively, at the smouldering Eldahverr.
The volcano continued to spew its unhealthy dose of molten magma and suffocating ash across the desert, with miniature thunderstorms crackling inside the hellish inferno. At the rate it was bellowing, it could cover the surrounding area for miles on end if left unchecked. Yet Sartr didn’t matter what destruction and misery he caused - for he was already pissed enough at the iron god as is.
”AND HOW LOW HAVE YOU DARED GO TO CHALLENGE MY FLAME, METAL GIANT?” the God roared questioningly as he bursted another beam of hot fire towards his adversary, ”YOU’D HAVE BEEN MORE THE WISER TO STAY FAR AWAY FROM MY BEAUTIFUL INFERNO! BUT NOW YOU WILL BURN AS YOU FIND YOUR METAL SKIN MELTING BACK INTO THE GROUND OF WHICH YOU’VE CAME!”
Still the heat around them continued to rise, already high enough to make the air quiver. More and more clouds of sand, glass, and ash, rose to choke the sky. Had anyone but a divine been nearby, they would have been hard-pressed to breathe. Myriads of sharp particles hovered around like minuscule unseen blades, all mercilessly scraping and scratching anything they lighted upon.
”There is no high or low in war, you should know,” Narzhak retorted, holding up his shield to absorb the brunt of Sartr’s incandescent assault. ”And if you hadn’t boiled your own brains, you’d remember I don’t come from the ground, or at least have a better eye for beauty.” He seemed to be about to continue his jeering, but stopped short, casting a glance around himself.
”But look at this.” Around them, the boundless desert glistened like a sea with waves of steel and glass. Beyond the choking emanations of the struggle, the landscape was unearthly, fearsome, oddly striking and pitiless at once. ”Despite your lacking taste, we’ve made quite a piece of work here. I’ll say,” he turned his gaze back towards the Phoenix, ”You know that overgrown kite of yours wouldn’t melt my finger if it blew for years, I could be here swinging at it all day, and there’s plenty still left for me to do elsewhere. I call for a truce until we can have a battle proper worthy of gods like us. Face to face, army to army. Deal?”
The Flaming God was still no-less disappointed that Narzhak refused to yield in defeat, however he would be lying if he didn’t find his rival’s idea enticing. Warriors of heat and fire battling out against warriors of iron - he could see it all take place within the expanse of his chaotic mind. And he sees himself guiding an army - one so vast and ruthless that it would engulf the world of Galbar into cinders. Just to see the Iron god at last tremble against him and a sea of vicious warriors was something he couldn’t bare to pass up. Sartr cocked his avatar’s head towards him before a molten grin rippled across the avian’s beak.
”SO BE IT!” Sartr replied smugly with a deadly dosage of excitement, ”GO FORTH AND CREATE YOUR LITTLE IRON FIGURINES. UNTIL THEN I WILL FORGE THE LARGEST ARMY THAT THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN - ONE THAT WILL DETERMINE WHO REALLY IS THE STRONGEST OF THEM ALL AND ENGULF GALBAR IN A SEA OF MOLTEN DESOLATION! HEED MY WARNING BROTHER, FOR I WILL NOT GO EASY ON YOUR PITIFUL SOUL ONCE THAT DAY COMES-FORTH!”
”I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Narzhak rumbled in amusement, evidently pleased with himself. ”Don’t make me wait too long, or that day might catch you unawares when it comes. Until then...”
The god shook his hands, casting off the conjured weapons in a shower of fragments great and small. Then, with a movement that looked as though a mountain had been suddenly sliced from its foundation, he swung about and was off, trudging heavily among the iron monuments. In a few minutes, he was once more but a large dim blot on the horizon.
With the Iron Giant finally departing from the sector, the furious sandstorm began to slowly die down. In addition, Mt. Eldahverr’s eruption was also ceasing as the thick smoke and ash became less prevalent, and the lava beginning to harden into obsidian. Feeling satisfied by the outcome, Sartr proceeded to evacuate his control from his avatar’s body, allowing the terror-bird to finally regain himself. The Phoenix crashed onto the sandy surface and began to pant profusely and regain its strength.
The battle had finally concluded - leaving the environment around the two gods as a barren desert wasteland with iron structures dotting across the field.
Once comfortable, the giant avian slowly got to its feet as it could feel his dark-crimson body aching in miserable pain.
"I’m… sorry, Master Sartr.", the creature cackled raspily towards the fire god, "Without your help… I would’ve most certainly perished. But I still… accept any punishment given to me."
”SURELY YOU REQUIRE MORE TRAINING EXPERIENCE, PHOENIX.” Sartr responded in a stern yet understanding tone, ”WHEN WORD COMES OUT OF OUR CONQUEST OF THIS WORLD, THE REST OF THE GODS SHALL COME FOR US.”
The Phoenix nodded understandingly as he observed the sands around them.
”BUT I SHALL SPARE MY WRATH UPON YOU TODAY,” the flame god explained mercifully, ”NARHZAK’S PRESENCE WAS UNEXPECTED - AND YOU ONLY NEED TRAINING. BUT FAIL ME INCOMPETENTLY AGAIN, AND I’LL INDEED GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO CRY ABOUT. UNDERSTAND?”
A weak sigh of relief rushed from the avian’s jagged beak.
"Yes Master… I understand..." the Phoenix nodded.
”GOOD” Sartr replied satisfactory, ”NOW RETURN TO MUSPELL AT ONCE. WE MUST CONTINUE TO FORGE PLANS FOR THE EVENTS AHEAD.”
"It shall be done." the terror-bird responded as it began to spread its wings and take off.
Once airborne, it proceeded to leave Mt. Eldahverr and the scorching desert behind. From the fire and iron of the two violent gods, they had both unintentionally helped in the creation of this vast and harsh ecosystem. With rolling dunes and deep cravasses these lands would henceforth be called...
The Plains of Sandravii.
