Quest Breaks Over, Time to Get Serious. (Sira, Tia)

[Phoenix]

Timestamp: 1st of Spring, 512 AV Where: Wind Reach, Right before the Djed Storm Who: Sira and Tiaue'a Do you feel it? It don't like it at all. What is it? What do you mean, 'what is it'?! It's what we're here for! All of the Wind Eagles fell silent at that. Though they usually kept up a constant stream of chatter amongst themselves, the echoing quiet that accompanied this revelation left the Eagles anxious. The Wind Eagles, as one, realizing the severity of what they were feeling, the single purpose of their being ricocheting around the empty caverns of their minds as the silence held them. Here and there around Wind Reach, various Endal's felt the shift in their Eagle, a subtle change that was easily missed unless one was lucky enough to be paying attention at that exact moment. Concerned, the Endal would try to communicate with their other half and would find the familiar mind-link between them blocked. Though the Eagles knew that their purpose was to protect the City, it had been decades since the threat had been thought of as relevant. Though the knowledge of what they were here for was passed down through the generations, many of the fledglings hardly knew what was going on. As the silence permeated further and the raptors waited on bated breath for something to happen, the little voices of their avian brethren pierced the protective walls that usually kept them out. Flee flee flee flee flee flee The word was trilled over and over, repeated in the many voices of the smaller birds that inhabited the city. As a higher species, the Wind Eagles found the constant chatter of the smaller birds extremely irritating, never mind that conversing with them was so far below their station that the Wind Eagles felt no guilt when the littler birds were blocked out. Sensing that it was only a matter of time, those eagles in their Aeries repositioned at the mouth; the face of the mountain was littered with the Eagles, still as the stone around them, perched on the ledges that faced towards the volcanic peak of Mt Skyinarta Then, two things happened at once. The birds erupted into a storm of feathers, their tiny bodies blocking out the sun as a massive cloud of birds swooped away from the mountain, and... He Comes! A Voice, one unknown to the Wind Eagles that drowned out the cacophony of "flee's", echoed through their minds as one. The effect was immediate. All throughout Wind Reach, the Wind Eagles ignored their Endal; those that had taken to begging verbally since the mind-link was blocked, sensing danger and unable to figure out what, were ignored and left behind as the Eagle flew to join it's brothers. Others hadn't noticed a thing and were completely taken by surprise when their companion either veered off flight course despite commands, left the aerie, or knocked their riders down in their haste. As one, they flew towards the volcano.

[Tiaue'a]

The day had been as any other in her eyes, dek moving like ants through Wind Reach’s tunnels and high tops. High in the air, circling over head and perched on the crater walls, the eagles too pursued their day-to-day minutiae. Syna held her domain at the time, and Zultrav’s whim blew over the mountains. The Avora crafted their glass and tapestries, Endal still flew on high among the eagles, and even the Yasi were busy at their bendi. The Chiet of Wind Reach were also as clueless as the rest, save for the Wind Eagles. It was necessary to mention again, and over once more, and times after, as to the stillness of the world – their world that was. Still as the relics they were worshiped as, the birds of the colony were as stone along the walls. As for those on wing, their usual energy was stifled as well, and were only kept in air by the heated air rising from below. The Audience of the colony stood across from each other, each a magnificence guardian of this gift of Caiyha’s. The debate as to what was happening had been flourishing. The chaos of the conversation, thoughts spreading like waking fire, swept across the Audience as it came to a roar. Then all was silent. Tiaue`a, long since only filled with content in consideration of the recent atmosphere, had been minding her own person, and merely stood a listener as the elders among the eagles spoke their wise pieces. As the Inarta below kept on in their relative mundane actions, the Audience became mute and deaf. The comparative silence of the present moment in relation to the uproar that had echoed across Wind Reach but a moment ago was suffocating. Not even Ti`ue, in all her keenness for the hunt, had fully realized the change in the wind. It had been silent too long, and though she was reluctant to ask, her sense of unease gave her reason. She spoke to the Audience, even among the elders of her own “caste.” What are we to do then? She repeated herself again and turned to her left-side peer for encouragement. She knew she was not alone in this; they had not prepared for this moment, but knew of it. How does one prepare for such an event as this, whatever this might be? She turned herself fully, and squawked her plea once more to her fellow eagle who only addressed her then. She perceived no answer, no image or sensation entered her mind, no concepts or ‘words’ responded to her question. Something was terribly wrong… Tiaue`a cry echoed again as her feathered began to rise, goose bumps. The entire Audience stiffened and shifted at this startling discovery. Semele’s stone walls did nothing to block the piercing caws and cries of the lesser species as they fled, oh how they fled for faraway lands and with such speed. Ti`ue felt the urge to grind her Inartan teeth at this noise. The immense tension that lingered over the Audience of eagles within the Colony was important. They were waiting, listening, attempting to divert their fullest attentions for that decisive order to come over them and drive them to their cause and purpose in being here. The smaller birds and their coos changed from irritated cries to a tumult instantaneously. It was coming, and chaos was starting to crawl across the entire region of Kalea, while Wind Reach’s vanguard was left in utter disarray. Ti`ue felt the urge to join the many others that now flocked toward the mountain face. The space below her was plenty to leap. She raised her shoulders high and cupped the air to lift herself upward. She dropped, and beating her wings rose and then flew for the gathering. She felt heavier, weighed down by the same silence that now pressured her thinking mind. Wind Reach had known only of peace in its isolation. None dared to combat the terrain, let alone the fierce dwellers of the northern Mount Skynarta. The air she breathed in felt dense. Volcanic soot might as well have been in the mix of it, but not the same type of ash that burned from the Tomb of the Fallen. That ash was light and almost soothing to watch float through the air - relieving to breath in knowing the dead have gone with peace. When she reached the face of the mountain facing Skynarta the stillness permeated even the outer world. That same din of cries echoed in the lowlands and canopy alike as the smaller birds wept in their own confusion. Ti`ue, driven to this nervousness, began to pick at her feathers. Anything loose that would weigh her down or cause that attention leeching itch was removed at once. She performed with an unnerving efficiency in an effort to both sooth and prepare herself. Syna’s grace was wiped from the city of Wind Reach in one swift movement. Tiaue`a held the name echoed in the wind far off. Was it Sylir who spoke to them? Thought was blotted out by the order. A bird of her prime, Ti`ue launched herself from the cliff side for Mount Skynarta. Her own velocity challenged that of her cry’s. She did her best to reach the lead of the formation and help break the wind with the rest of her brothers and sisters. Some of her greatest peers lead the front of the ‘V’, which now began to take on a radial component, a sort of bolt point. She rolled her back as she started to climb and tried to force her way to higher altitudes. It was better for the dive, she noted. Well in flight, she kept her wings beating, but turned back to see Wind Reach. It was safe. They were not too late. She noticed familiar feathers amongst herself and the others at the vanguard of the Audience. Perhaps it was better to address them as the Colony. Wind Reach existed where they did, and would only survive this cataclysm if they did. She had time to think. It was impossible. No one had slipped through, nothing penetrated their walls. No enemy of Wind Reach dared step foot within the surrounding valleys, let alone within its greatest prison. Ti`ue pondered the dedication of the Azneth that had managed to complete this impossible task. He must be courageous, and with friends. How is it possible that Ivak’s champion had treaded the slopes of Kalea unheard of? What sort of company does a champion of the Fire Lord keep? She could only wonder how proud he was, now so close to victory, in having come so far, so close, to fulfilling his sole purpose of freeing the World Destroyer. She amused herself with the thought of what he a fool he was to walk the burning path to his doom as the Wind Eagles now came for his bowels. How had they been beaten by a fool…? Perhaps they were not too late, in truth; perhaps there was still hope. Ti`ue cried for them to fly faster. They were all pushing themselves and joined in the vigor. Their purpose for this world had come full circle. Stragglers from Wind Reach were joining them. The adrenaline would keep them through the flight and whatever fight was coming; else they would lie amongst the ashes of the Fallen.

[Sira]

Sira hadn't failed to notice the strange feeling that fell over all the Wind Eagles, then sense that something was coming, that something was about to happen. It wasn't a feeling she liked. It was a feeling that frightened her, yet at the same time her own powerful sense of duty compelled her not to be afraid. Sira had been in danger before, had been in many battles actually defending Wind Reach, neigh the world. From wizards and their kelvic slaves in the forest to monsters high above the atmosphere of the planet, Sira was no stranger to danger. But this feeling.. it was almost a sense of completion, if she thought about it, but this feeling was the most frightening of all of them. Do you feel it? It don't like it at all. What is it? What do you mean, 'what is it'?! It's what we're here for! Sira heard the words, heard the conversations. She knew what she was there for.. knew what all the eagles were there for. Her mind drifted back to that day, long ago, when she had met the strange man Ulric and the odd little creature that only Sira could see, the Gasvik. She recalled their conversation, that a follower of Ivak was in Wind Reach. Sira had been unable to locate the Azenth, but she had done her duty and reported it to the Valintar. After that Sira had heard nothing more.. but she could help wondering, did this have something to do with it? Was this really happening? Was it the day the eagles had been waiting for for five hundred years? The day they had been dreading? He Comes! Sira didn't know the voice, though it could have been any eagle. She doubted that was the source, however. Still, it confirmed her suspicions. As one the eagles began to react, Sira was among them.. but before that... --------------------- Sira, Aidara and Natalie were having a good day. They were down in the valley by the river, teaching their daughter to fish. Although if one watched, they might have actually thought the two women were practicing falconry, though a very strange version of falconry. "No, no! Not like that! Am I going to have to show you?" Up over the river a tiny little falcon dove down at the water, or rather the shore right next to the water. Though Aidara probably couldn't see it, their child was aiming at a small frog sitting next to the shore, but something about her dive alerted the frog and it hopped into the water before she was able to snatch it up. Sira just shook her head and laughed. "You silly girl. Come down here and take a break..." Natalie did come down, shifting and giving Sira a hug before turning to Aidara and hugging her as well. While the healer began to play with their child, Sira just stood there, seeming rather distracted. She was in fact listening to the chatter of the Wind Eagles. Suddenly she turned to her daughter and Aidara, her expression serious. "We need to go. Now." Sira barely gave her time to put on her saddle, rushing the healer yet being aboslutely still while she did it, making it perhaps the easiest and fastest saddling Aidara had ever done. Natalie shifted and followed behind as the pair took off, and Sira made a beeline for the closest entrance to the city. All around she could hear the little birds shouting. "Flee, flee, flee!" She failed to realize that Natalie's voice was among them. Sira landed in the courtyard of the sky mentally shouting, Take Natalie and go! Sira was already turning away before Addy could protest, before she could tell Sira that their daughter was not there. Addy was swept away by the crowd, driven by another Wind Eagle, and forced inside the mountain. She cried out across their bond to the kelvic but was met by an impenetrable wall. He Comes! -------------- Sira's wings pumped furiously as she struggled to join with the other eagles. This was her reason for being. This was the reason for all of them, to prevent what was about to happen. Sira joined up with the "V" flying into formation right behind Tiaue'a. She and the other wind eagle didn't have the best relationship, you might even call them rivals though Sira didn't understand why Tiaue'a hated her so, but in this instance she didn't care. All of them would work together to prevent what was about to happen. It wouldn't happen, it couldn't happen. Otherwise what was the point?

[Phoenix]

To the average observer, it would seem as if the Wind Eagles all launched themselves haphazardly into the sky, wings beating different tandems as huge feathered bodies were propelled towards the volcano; the obvious destination of the Wind Eagles was the only thing that seemed coordinated. Behind the confusion and dozens of pairs of beating wings, the silence traveled along with the Protectors. Commands from the eldest of the Eagles came in sharp, clear, and short mental flashes. Pictures conveyed where they were headed while the intense feeling of dread mingled with purpose kept even the most disobedient Eagle in line. Sira and Tia would arrive at the vent together, altering their course to be one of the first few that headed straight up into the air. Below them, their fellows condensed into a feathered cyclone that looked both foolish and deadly all at once. They had their commands. Everyone knew what they had to do. Keep him in.... at all costs Wind Eagles didn't flaunt any overwhelming amount of magical abilities. They could communicate without words and with their Endal companions but that seemed to be the extent of it. Many of the younger Eagles hesitated, unsure of exactly what they were supposed to be doing, but the oldest were the ones that remembered. One eyed and grizzled, Than was the Grandfather Eagle. Every hatchling heard stories of his younger years, laughing at his foolishness and heroics from another age, though no one was quiet sure how old he was. Than was the Eagle who issued the crisp commands, carefully guiding the rest of them. This is what they were made for, he knew, and a few gentle nudges would wake what slumbered within. At first, they did nothing but hover and twist up into the air, reaching the peak of the cyclone before tucking into a dive that brought them back to the bottom. The actual formation that the Wind Eagles took was of no consequence, but the constant movement and teamwork came naturally, the eagles positioning amongst each other like a well oiled machine. There was a whisper in their minds, a cool touch of power that was utterly alien and familiar all at the same time; it came from the same place in which the Wind Eagles drew the power to communicate, from the very depths of their minds. It was a pool of power that lay shrouded and untouched, to be tapped in only a situation such as this. Than started it all, dipping into that dark lake in his mind, drawing from it until his very blood hummed with power. An almost negaglable flick of his mind and a huge brick wall slammed into each and every one of the Wind Eagles minds. It was all consuming and even though it was purely within their heads, the Eagles couldn't see anything else, even with their eyes. A few startled caws were scattered among their number, one or two of the smaller birds dropping a few dozen feet in the air before they harnessed their shock and beat their way back into position. It wasn't long until the rest of them caught on, each Eagle adding their own detail to the wall that hovered around them all. Some added more stone, thickening the wall. Others added vines that climbed and climbed, reaching for the unseen edges, thorns bigger than even the largest Eagle protruding from the foliage. Alone, Than's wall would have done nothing to contain Him. Together, the Wind Eagles could rebuild the prison that had been shattered. Tapping into a power that they all knew without knowing had always been there, their telepathic abilities only the tip of the iceberg, the Wind Eagles could save Wind Reach. OOCDon't worry, more personalized stuff will start happening. There is a lot that needs to be explained out first.

[Tiaue'a]

The column of Vs began to stack together, and soon it seemed as if a constant stream flowing forward with that ideal ripple tearing through it. Ti`ue was at the front, and well aware of her companions. She didn’t admit it, but it was a good feeling that Sira was there too. In one part, she had someone else to take a shot if she felt so desperate, but truthfully it was because of Sira’s reputation as a fighter. If things became worse, Wind Reach’s finest was among them, and that was fact. As the cyclone came together, Ti`ue took notice to Than’s lead and orders. She started her own climb toward the top as the eerie feeling of a growing itch crept into her mind. She began to strafe to the right and lean on her left wing. The wind beneath her was blowing her up and out, but she pitched herself to slide back in on an angle. The beating of her wings seemed to alternate with the chaotic flurry of her bothers’ and sisters’. Each joint stroke became the beat of a drum on the air. She began to climb the column with all her might. At the top she saw Than dive back out toward the bottom as the full twisted appearance of the eagles was understood and followed by all. It was a nice way to keep the momentum, as well as keeping the Colony in one spot. Ti`ue took a moment at the top as her speed neared a stop before her dive. This heat, even over the vents, was something unusual. The core of Mizahar may as well have been pushing all its raw energy outward; the strength and intensity of the temperature was something that made them sweat under their feathers, even in the breeze. Something was going on below them, but she wasn’t sure just what. The purpose of the geas was a given, but nothing had possibly penetrated the prison. It was impossible, wasn’t it?! She rose to a halt, and began to feel herself fall. She gave the air another savage beat and a half before she turned backward and dove along the exterior of the pillar of wings. She kept her control and balance the while down, or else she’d find herself diving to her death and taking a fellow eagle with her. The world she saw was strange: she flew toward the ground with a sky full of cycling feathers, and the open air below her… The end of the pillar was approaching, so she spread her wings more and began with small beats before bringing herself to a stop and back into the formation. Then that itching returned with a sharp ring through her head, and the world was blocked out. Than’s tapping into their power was a success. Ti`ue’s mind was blank, much like the gray wall before her. She stopped flying a moment before realizing what it was. She was prepared for this, or at least aware of what was going on, and continued her flight. The pillar itself was something they were comfortable with, and so she could keep her focus on the wall, and just fly. It consumed all she saw and knew, that wall. It expanded infinitely outward, and even seemed to curve with as slight a degree as the world did curve. As she flew upward and saw it turning, she began to see it curve and become a dome under the sky, but over the vent. The incredible size of the dome was too awkward to comfortably hold any mortal meeting. And below she saw it break through the earth and continue lower, and lower… Her wall, this part she assumed to be just a part of a whole that still filled all she knew, began to grow and morph. The grain of the stone became course and as dark as obsidian. The chains used by Isur, with their barbs on each link, spanned across the entire entity to no end. She saw the chains on the outside, yet saw them somehow. The wall, though this dark stone, did begin to hum in her mind. It hummed with an energy identical to that which resonated from the mind of all the eagles. Still, somehow, in all its incomprehensible size, the wall seemed lacking. She tried to patch the dark spots with slates of stone that overlapped and covered the holes or cracks. They seemed to ooze with the boiling blood of the world. The chains began to glow and seemingly absorb the energy around them. That was the prison’s ability, was it not, to absorb all of Ivak’s divine djed, no matter how much he lashed out, and to strengthen itself or contain the raw energies? She wanted to imagine the written language of the Inarta to become inscribed on the wall and glow as well, powerful rune words that would bind Ivak to his prison for all eternity. It was to a prison not even the divine could penetrate. Not even a prison, or cell, anything that would suggest escape. It was mean to be the impenetrable bubble no one would get their claws on. The chains, varied in size, sharpness, and energy, began to alternate. Even the smallest chains added in to cover up spots were of no use. She needed to work faster, to build off of others’. In Ti`ue’s mind, the eagles became the very wall of stone. Their bodies merged with it and danced and flew through its structure. it was almost fluid. At the top of this dome shape she even imaged Sanikas – or at least as she envisioned the first Wind Eagle – spanning her wings all around them, her razor-like gaze cutting through the earth and staring Ivak into submission. She was not cruel nor angered, but respectfully sorrowful for the god’s condition. Though his fate was no as cold as other gods who had been slain outright, and his actions during the Valterrian were almost justifiable, Sanikas looked upon him with a sheer understanding that it was just necessary. The crowd of eagles around her blended with the wall, even her own form, as swirls against and within Sanikas’s wings.

[Sira]

As were most of the eagles, Sira too was caught off guard by the sudden brick wall in her mind. Her startled wings did miss a beat or two before she recovered, but Sira had had some experience beyond the norm when it came to her telepathic powers. The brick wall was confusing at first, but as other eagles began to pick up on what they were supposed to do Sira began to understand. She had done this once before, though on a much smaller scale. Sira's mind raced back to that day on the beach, so early in her relationship with Aidara. Sai, Addy's twin, had been there as well. The two were bound together by a powerful force, one Sira still did not fully understand, but that bond was dangerous. Sai had nearly been lost to them that day, trapped behind a wall in Aidara's mind. Sira was able to pass through that wall, being a wind eagle, only to discover that it was in fact a wall built by another eagle, Catabasis. Together, the two eagles released Sairque and rebuilt the wall, stronger and safer than before. This brick wall before her, it was just like the wall she helped build for the twins. It was different in function, different in form, but the building blocks were the same. Sira felt the power deep within her, something she'd never known was there before, and she understood what had to be done with it. While some of the eagles hesitated, unsure of how they were supposed to help, Sira poured it all out. In her mind holes in her portion of the wall were filled with bricks and mortar. In her mind thorns grew over the wall to cut any that tried to climb it. Sharpened wires crested the top of the wall, a defense beyond the thorns. The source was not unlimited. When she built the wall for Aidara and Sairque she had unknowingly tapped into the power, but it had been so miniscule it barely phased her in comparison to what she was now doing. All of her telepathic energy went into the act of building the wall that was meant to contain a god. Sira depleted the telepathic reserves she never knew she had, and kept on pushing. She wasn't the only one, either, but she didn't notice the other eagles. All that mattered was her duty, keeping Him contained. In the realm of the purely physical her body continued to fly, though perhaps not as gracefully as before. Sira was growing tired from the telepathic exertion, just as she had on the beach, but this was much worse than before. Would she even be able to fly when the pool of energy in her mind finally ran dry? Sira didn't know, didn't care. This was what she was born for. This would save Wind Reach, it would save Aidara, and Natalie, and even Sai. It would save the world. Sira would give until she had nothing left to give, if that's what it took.

[Phoenix]

It seemed as if all of Wind Reach waited, breath caught in it's collective throat, for the final shoe to drop. To those trapped in the bowels of the city, sequestered in their rooms or crushed between the press of bodies and locked away by the Wind Eagles, the air practically sang with power. Those Endal whose Eagles floated above them while they were trapped below felt an abrupt severing in their minds; all their birds telepathic powers were bent, strained to the max in their efforts. None could be spared maintaining the link to their human counterpart. The wall grew before all the Eagles eyes, each little addition making the prison that much stronger. Some of the younger birds added flowers, while others added sharp rocks. Beautiful or vicious, everything helped. Though the danger gathered the Wind Eagles as one, the fierce protectors began to bleed into one another's awareness; it became hard to tell what was an original thought and what was of the collective. None had the energy to speak, but all felt the raging emotions of their brethren. It was an assuring, strong kind of silence. Until the first Eagle dropped from the sky. Older than most and with scruffy, chocolate colored feathers, it had been a long time since she had used her powers. Unbonded and happy that way, able to still bring in enough food to the city that no one protested, the elderly eagle had found the limit of her powers faster than the others. Creaky from disuse, when the telepathic pool that all the Eagles had dried up, the old gal started pulling from her own energy as she threw literally everything she had at the protection. In the end, her wings just stopped working. Her heart stopped beating before she hit the rocks below. That seemed to be the catalyst. Distracted or shaken by the fall of one of their own, some of the Eagles unintentionally pulled away from their work. It was momentary, but damaging nonetheless. Tiny cracks began to appear in places, whole bricks exploding and leaving holes in others. Efforts were redoubled, but the eagles were starting to tire. They could feel a presence on the other side of their wall, something that was insistently pushing against their attempts, their minds. It was uncomfortable to say the least. It wasn't a good sign. He's stronger than we could have ever imagined.. Than's voice rang wearily through their minds, causing some Eagles to squawk in defiance. Still, they poured everything they had into maintaining and repairing the wall. There was a reprieve in the resistance and it no longer felt as if they were trying to keep the weight of the world from crushing them. With the resistance gone, the powers that were flung at the wall smacked firmly against it, making the whole thing shake. The air practically vibrated with the force of the telepathic power surrounding the animals. Some drew back, easing their minds forward rather than flinging carelessly. And then the world exploded in a blinding light, filling the Eagles Everything with the sensation of burning. At first, nothing happened in the actual world; the attack was purely mental. Unable to see anything other than what seemed to be a sun in front of their eyes, it was no shock when the Wind Eagles tried to pull back from the wall, the source of the intense pain. But they couldn't. As if stuck in quicksand, all resistances only drew the Eagles deeper into the suction that was now their prison. Having put all of themselves into this barrier, it was now being used against them. The silence fell again, ringing loudly in the blinded birds minds as they were inexorably pulled further and further in. It was when the silence almost hurt that everything seemed to happen at once. With one great shove, all the power that was domed over the vent was sent back in a tidal wave, washing over the Eagles in one great splash. This was the explosion that sent them all rocketing backwards, thrown bodily out of the air by their own powers used against them. As their bodies ripped through the sky, a complete severance of their powers only crippled them further. He was free. And, as one, the Eagles knew they had failed. Sira and Tia both tumbled from the sky side by side, flung completely over the city towards the complete opposite side of the mountain. OOCI know, I know. I ended in a shitty place. This is tough! I had to stop myself or I would have kept going, but the effect that all this has on the wind eagles mentality and their powers is very important. Since I have you guys, I don't have to write it all out ^_^ That's your job. Stop before you fall from the sky, don't mention any effects other than what I've described. It'll become more specific now, and you'll find out what happens individually next!

[Tiaue'a]

Had the sky darkened, or was that merely her mind? Were they all so hell-bend on their intentions that the world really grew blackening around them, and only the power of their minds dared shine? The fire in the ash cloud, slowly being smothered, that was them. Tiaue`a didn’t give attention to the outside. Wind Reach, the priority, wasn’t her goal. It was this prison. The beautiful images of Sanikas and the eagles in flight on her part in the wall’s making were losing its luster. The chains were becoming something more malevolent in appearance and thickened. The wall itself was becoming rougher, some terrible gradient that would rend flesh that rubbed against it. The stone forms of the avian images curled and swarmed thicker in her mind, becoming a cloud in their own right, much like the pillar of eagles that were now draining themselves into this project. Sealed inside their bosoms was the prisoner. Flowers and thorns alike ran under and over the wings as the walls merged. The wall was crumbling on the side. She saw it just on the side of her vision. There was some crack in the stone that was leaking dust. The energy behind it tried to pump outward, but had a bit to get through first. Another hole, close to her field of focus appeared. She let a chain run through it and pass back up toward the infinite dome. Ti`ue was focused on her task, as always; now wasn’t the time were distractions could penetrate her attention. The foliage seemed to be wilting a bit, and she looked for what pest was at the roots. The eagle was falling below her, as if in slow motion, and the world began to freeze up outside the barrier. Wings thundered like a dulling drum in her ears. Her heart was racing. Ti`ue screeched and returned to the wall now angered by this loss. She didn’t know the old one, not even a name, but knew that she...she died with reason. She died fulfilling her purpose, dutifully and with grace, among her colony. Oh Caiyha…what have you in store for us yet? Ti`ue pleaded to the Goddess in her mind, now hollow of much emotion or deep processing. The exhaustion she was experiencing narrowed her vision more, and the darkness around her was growing further. She vision narrowed, the colors were dulled, sensations faded… The thumping of the wings and her own heart grew softer, fading…fading…fading…fading… The word repeated in her mind over and over again. Each time it grew louder, and louder, and louder, and louder! With each repetition of the rhythmic beat, each growing pulsation of energy, Tiaue`a felt the onset of pain become something fully realized. Louder, stabbing in her wings, louder, the numbness of her breast, and louder, with the thumping in her head, some migraine from Krysus. The pain, endurable but tiring, picked away at her spirit from the other side, and she let loose her own energy into the prison. The darkening world around her seemed to swirl overhead in some double vision. The sky was clear and empty beyond the pillar of eagles, but still she saw some infinite vortex growing over the city… She felt Than’s thoughts, but only some echo in the back of her mind; there was plenty of metaphoric space to bounce off of. Each beat pulsed at the highest intensity from behind the barrier that it could and then stopped. It was working! They had done it! Ti`ue was filled with undying relief. They need only seal it off permanently now, and find the perpetrator responsible. His head would be cleaved in two and his body shredded in the beaks and talons of the eagles’. The throbbing in her whole body would be in need of attention after that. Ti`ue let the remains of her reserve power surge forth over the wall, plastering the surface in thorns and chains and such. Oh if only mortal and divine could see this image and feel the sense of impossible doom that the ominous wall suggested…this could have not happened. Oh, by the divines what an incredible relief it was that they had finally – Her body trembled from the sensation. Her skin way being peeled off of her and leaving her naked to this consuming flame. She felt it, as if her spirit had been blasted back from her body and then was slowly drawn back toward the epicenter. She couldn’t breathe. Ti`ue felt her pupils dilate as her intense gaze fastened on the vent. She saw it moment by moment. The wall completely collapsed inward and the pent up energy ripped through the earth. She ground just budged a bit before the rock crackled and fire poured forth. A wave of dust and light debris marked where the sound barrier was broken. The force hit like the wall of death they had constructed to contain Ivak. It pushed her well over the city and onward until it broke against the mountain side. The moment she remembered seeing the vent, wall, and eagles disappeared in an instant, and then she saw the sky and ground flipped upside down.

[Sira]

Sira could feel herself struggling to keep herself in the sky, her mind now calling on her physical reserves to fuel the energy she was pouring into the barrier. When she felt the first eagle drop from the sky she wavered, her eyes focusing on the world around her for an instant. She saw other eagles wobbling in the air, some fell, and others just bairly maintained their flight. She was weak herself, but she knew she couldn't stop. Sira pushed back, her eyes clouding over with visions of the wall they were building. More thorns raced around it as Sira doubled her efforts. She was young and determined, she still had so much more she could give. And then it seemed that He had been stopped. The force that was working against them vanished, and Sira was one of the foolish who let off on her efforts. Not completely, of course, the wall wasn't finished. But she didn't put so much of her own life into anymore, and that was her mistake. The world lit up, and Sira went blind, and though she fought against the light she could not escape it. All was silent around her, as if the world had gone still. Sira couldn't see the other eagles, she couldn't feel them. She hear the beating of their wings, or sense the minds of any of the people back in Wind Reach. Not Aidara, not Natalie, not Tiaue'a who she knew to be only a few yards away. Nothing. It was as if she was alone, blind and deaf and alone, and it hurt. And then it all came rushing back. Not just her sight, not just her hearing, but all the power she and all the other eagles had poured into the wall. It all came back in a massive explosion of power, sending Sira and everyone else tumbling through the sky. Sira was so stunned she lost complete control and was hurtled through the air, flipping and spinning as she began to fall. There were other eagles around her, Tiaue'a to her left.. or was it right, Sira couldn't tell from all the spinning. Somewhere in her head she knew she needed to straighten out, she knew she needed to get her wings beating, and she knew if she didn't she would hit the ground and that would be the end of her.

[Phoenix]

Ivak was free. Chaos. Even as Eagles tumbled end over end through the air, some unable to tell which way was up and which was down, there was still a silence. Not around them, for the air was practically humming with energy and the crashing of stone against stone, the screams and caws of pain and surprise. No, the silence was within once more. Since the Wind Eagles attempted to rebuild the God's prison with their own magic, when the cage of power had been pushed away and torn apart, ripped violently away from it's source: The Eagles. The silence was the absence of power that they all felt, as one. The community mind was silent now, with no way to contact each other telepathically. Those with Endal counterparts lost all connection with their human, able to understand words but unable to reply. A tragedy that no one expected. As if things couldn't get any worse, the most horrifying changes were happening to the eagles themselves, not their powers. Those closest to the vent when it exploded, those hit first by the fierce wild djed started to mutate. One Eagle's wing shrunk, flapping completely uselessly on the right side as it was the size of a wing belonging to a much smaller bird; unable to keep himself airborn, this poor Eagle tumbled to the lava that waited below. Other mutations could be seen: Stunted or elongated beaks, double heads, missing legs or feet, though only a half a dozen or so were immediately fatal. Colors sprang into feathers, vibrant and loud, swirls and splashes of red, blue, green, yellow, purple, pink... on and on, as if someone were painting these Wind Eagles like a sunset. A few birds sported weird feather patterns; mohawks, bald spots, wing feathers growing to ridiculous lengths. It was hard to name each and every little change, but it was safe to say that not a single Wind Eagle would come away unscathed. As for Tia and Sira, they were not an acception. Blown the furthest from the explosion, the pair were now somewhere over the forest that surrounded the base of the mountain; it was safe to say they didn't properly regain wing until well out of view of their city. Sira had turned a dark blue color, the natural highlights of her golden feathers also sporting lighter blues and even some greens. Against the sky, she would have blended had it not been for the clouds that rolled in. Upon shifting form, she would find that he skin remained the same dark blues. Though it would be a delayed reaction, as the wild Djed flows away from the volcano and finally reaches where the women have landed, Sira will be forced out of her Eagle form and into human, unable to change back. The Transformation is not complete, however, and instead of hair, long, dark feathers cover her head. They mimic the looks of hair, but it's not quite the same. Tia did not escape the wild magic's notice either, and the power that Ivak released seemed to decide that it was time for the Kelvic woman to reveal her secret. Closer to the blast than Sira, Tia was forced out of her Wind Eagle form sooner and way before they landed. As the pair tumbled across the sky together, Tia began to shift. Since the woman had held so desperately to her avian form, unwilling to share with anyone her true Kelvic nature, the transformation was very painful, almost as if the djed had to rip the eagle form off of her, or that her body had forgotten exactly how the changes between her real and human form were done. Because she was so unwilling to change, parts of Tia too stayed bird: With a human head and torso, Tia was left with overlarge wings and scaled legs that ended in talons. Her bones were purely human, making flying very difficult in this new, heavy, ungainly form. Good thing Sira was there to help! Luckily for both women, these changes were only temporary, though they didn't know that. Only time would tell what permanent damage had been caused. OOCSorry this post isn't as pretty as most. I wanted to get the information to you straight and clear. Now that you two are both out of the center of the storm, feel free to take as many posts as you need or that feels right and have fun with it. There is more to come!