[Mkguild] Of Fire And Water

[coal train]

My MUSE had implied to me that this was going to be la part of Flying Lessons, but i recently started reading through it and discovered that each chapter could easily be a story in itself. 

so heres the "short story" of the Elements "Of Fire And Water". 

as always criticisms and suggestions are greatly appreciated, any changes found to be necesarry will be made before it is posted in the archives.

Of Fire And Water

A Memoir of Kiska Gryfin 

By Coal Train

(c) 2008 Coal Train    



                
            July 706 Cristos Reckoning
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    The morning was crystal clear and warm, as is to be expected in the month of July. The sun was just cresting the mountains to the east when Quickpaw and I woke to greet the world. Wings quivered in the joy of another day as they stretched. Claws and talons screeched while scratching another set of gouges into the stone floor.

    
    -"Good morning Kiska."-


    -"Good morning Quickpaw."- I send with a yawn. -"I don't know about you,"- but of course I did, -"but I feel like a nice long flight today."-


    -"Of course, I think we should go north-northeast today. Take a look at the northern slopes of the barrier range."-


    -"Do a little reconnaissance while were at it?"- I smirk with my eyes, as the beak tends to be less expressive these days. In the two months since my first flight, we had taken to aiding in sending messages between patrols and those in the command structure, as well as aiding in finding the enemy. Generally though we try not to get involved on the ground. 


    -"Sure, why not."- She sends, as if it were an afterthought.


    Together we trot up the stairs to the roof of the tower. Saroth is out basking in the sun over on his own tower. We send our greetings, and he looks to us with lazy eyes, then he waves a wing while replying. He had joined us in flight a few times, showing us some of the secret places around the valley. But today he seemed content to soak up the sun for now. It had been raining for a few days, and unseasonably cold, so we couldn't blame him, though we idly wondered why the weather mage didn't change it to more seasonable fare. Something about a ripple effect making things worse later on.


    Quickpaw took off in her usual way while I took one of those 'flying leaps' that Saroth is so fond of. I had quickly discovered that this was a far more exhilarating way to start a day, much to Quickpaw's consternation.


    At the last moment before a rather painful lading I spread my wings and banked up hard, I could feel the taller blades of grass scraping my legs as I started to ascend again. -"Perfect timing."-

    
    -"One of these days your timing wont be so good you know."- Quickpaw is quick to admonish me as we take up a formation heading in our chosen direction, but her concern is tempered with good humor.


    -"Yes dear, I'll be careful."- I respond with mock exasperation. We both break out with laughter. 


    We level off at about a mile in the air. Well out of range of all but the most powerful magic. We bank to the east as we fly over the giant's dike. The homes of Glen Avery were barely visible to us through the natural canopy of the forest. Our vision, being that of our avian varieties, is very, very good. And so even at this height we can see details of the forest quite clearly. A trail here, a small heard of deer grazing in a little clearing. The occasional group of Lutins scattered about. The locations of these groups and general direction of travel is observed and noted in our memories. We even spotted a few giants, though that isn't very difficult. 


    The winds were light, so we didn't have to adjust our flight much until we got a little closer to the mountains. Between taking mental notes on Lutin activity we chatted about various things. Eventually the discussion turned to the Elements.


    -"So how does a Gryfin find their Element anyway?"- I ask.


    -"Well, I don't know much about others, but as for me, it was just there when I needed it. Like it was always there, just waiting for the right time to come out."- Kiska thinks about this for a few miles. 


    -"Then its something you are born with, but that you have to learn to use?"-


    -"Perhaps, but if that is so, than it lies dormant in all Gryfin until they mature. Then it can be a rather dangerous time, as it is wild and untamed. Control and moderation comes with experience and practice. This is why I have been reluctant to practice the arts of my Water near others. I cannot completely control it yet."-


    -"I wonder what my Element is."- I ruminated to myself. 


    -"We will find out with time, then we will have to learn to control it."- She reassures me. I contemplate this for a while.


    There are four general elements. Air, Water, Fire, and Earth. Quickpaw had the Element of Water. She could instantly create rainstorms without clouds, ice in the heat of summer, and steam in the frozen tundra. The Ethereal Magic allows her to gather all the moisture in the air around her and condense it into the form she desires.


    Gryfin who have the Elements of Air, and Earth are more limited in their abilities as it tends to be a mere physical manipulation of the Element in question. But one could create massive windstorms and hurricanes within moments. The other is more creative, being frequently used to sculpt the environment to create caves, massive buildings of stone, and dirt, or create animated golems that can do the bidding of its creator as long as that Gryfin is concentrating on its control. Morningstar had the element of Earth and so created the cave in which I had found them.


    Fire is also more limited than Water, as one cannot control the temperature of the element to anywhere near the same degree. It IS heat. And so to use the element heat must be drawn from the environment to power the manipulations. Excepting of course pre-existing fire. This can be moved or fed much more easily. It is not uncommon to temporarily have a ten-degree drop in temperature to start a good size fire. It stands to reason then, that a Fire Gryfin is limited primarily by its own tolerance for cold and that of those around them. But this fire will burn for a time even with absolutely no fuel.


    When any two Gryfin work together, their combined Elements can be far more powerful than their sum. Earth could pulverize rocks and cause massive rockslides. Air could cause a tornado. Either one is very dangerous in its own way. But combine the two, and you have a solid wall of razor sharp stone chips sucking up the enemy en-masse. So it is that Quickpaw and I have no clue how Nasoj was able to defeat Quickpaws clan. By all rights it should not have been possible.


    We had turned back towards the keep around midday shortly after making a meal out of a hapless young caribou that had been injured somehow. It was now nearly evening, and we were but a few miles from the keep when we noticed two things in the forest below. 


    One was a patrol, a standard compliment consisting of about six Keepers on varying types. The other was a group of woodsmen. Loggers from the looks of it, cutting firewood no doubt for the winter to come.


    Neither of these was an item of any particular interest to us, but for the group of Lutins who were quietly approaching the woodsmen. It doesn't take a genius, especially by Gryfin terms. One plus one equals two, and those woodsmen were about to be attacked. 


    As one Quickpaw and I both banked hard and went into a nosedive. Our wings folded into our sides sticking out only a few feet to act as guiding rudders only. Gravity was the only thing motivating our motion for a while as we swiftly plummeted to the ground.


    -"You get the patrol, I will warn the woodsmen and help however I can."- I sent to Quickpaw.


    -"Don't get yourself hurt Kiska, I shall be by your side as swiftly as possible."-


    With these words she veers off towards the patrol, leaving me to deal with the woodsmen. With less than my usual grace, that is to say with none at all, I landed in the clearing created by a few trees that had been felled.


    Word had spread about us throughout Metamor and its surrounding kingdoms, we hadn't exactly been hiding, but that did little to abate the shock of first contact, and indeed the faces around me showed much of this shock. 


    -"Lutins are surrounding you right now, you must prepare for battle."- I mentally shouted, hoping that at least one among them could hear my thoughts. 


    "Lutins?!" It was a beaver that had heard. I had to look twice, what strange coloration; I had never seen anything before that sported a Plaid pelt. The mere mention of the word aloud got all those around us moving though. Ruminating on odd color schemes would have to wait. 


    It was not a moment too soon either, as just then a large group of the little brutes swarmed out of the woods. 

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    With a warning cry and far more grace than her mate, Quickpaw landed on the trail near the patrol. Immediately there were swords drawn and arrows knocked, but when the Gryfin was identified by sight the patrol members relaxed.


    -"Quickly, you must come. Some woodsmen are being attacked by Lutins right now. Can any of you hear me?"- The last is something of an afterthought. She was so used to speaking to Kiska alone, that she sometimes forgot that not all humans are open to her speech.


    "Yes." Came the reply from both a female mink and a rabbit of some kind whose left ear seems to have been cut in some battle not too long ago, his right ear was adorned with several rings. "Where are they?" The rabbit continues.


    -"Less than a thousand paces to the southeast. I will fly directly there, just follow me. I can take one of you with me."-


    The rabbit looks to the ferret morph, apparently the leader. "One of the logging teams is being attacked by Lutins. She wishes one of us to accompany her, and the rest to follow as swiftly as possible; they need all the immediate support they can get. I volunteer, as I can understand her."- He says.


    The ferret looks at the rabbit, "You have speed and even with that new form you are very good with that sword Cathal, just don't get yourself killed. The keep needs people like you alive." With this statement the rabbit bows gracefully to the jackal and with surprising ease leaps onto the Gryfins back.


    -"This will not be gentle,"- she sends to him, -"hang on TIGHT."- And with this she begins to run full speed down the trail and then leaps into the canopy, jumping off a few branches on the way she leaps well into the air through the canopy above before spreading her wings. 

_________________________________________________________________

    The battle was pitched, high speed, and furious. With a screech, I gutted one Lutin with my right tarsus. I had already taken a few slashes to my flanks, but quickly learned to use my hind paws more effectively. This way I sent the little brutes flying through the air, crushing them against stone, and trees alike. 


    I watched as one of the Woodsmen, a feline of some sort, took a fatal slash to his chest. It was then that it all changed. I felt a burning within myself. A rage that almost could not be quenched. There seemed to be dozens of the Lutins still, despite the deaths of a score already. And they all seemed to be concentrating on me.


    In rage and frustration I swung a wing in an effort to swat a group of five or six Lutins who were trying to attack from my left side. And they all burst into flames. I was momentarily stunned at this development, but a war-scream from behind me brought me back. 


    I swung around and raised a tarsus to swing at the Lutin though it was still some distance away. There were another dozen or so behind him and I knew I could not fight them all. I still swiped at the brute as soon as he was in range. Not only did I open his throat with my talons, but also an area encompassing the arch of my swing some thirty paces away burst into flames.


    The lutins who had been behind the one whose throat I had just slit were now in a panic. Torn between attacking me and escaping the flames, they were easy targets. I concentrated on the middle Lutin, the one giving orders, and spread my wings wide. I could feel the air around me cooling noticeably, and the pure power of the orb now forming before me. 

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    The ride was definitely not gentle. Quickpaw spared little comfort for her passenger as she flew with all haste in the direction of the woodsmen. She easily covered the five miles or so in only a few minutes, the patrol having been lost in the forest below rather quickly. 


    Then suddenly, with a start a large section of the forest in the area below was aflame. The flames started in one area, then swiftly moved with unnatural speed along an arch describing a sliver upon the land. Quickpaw quickly banked up lest the heat plume send her reeling. With a glance below she witnessed her mate at work. Evidently he had discovered his Element in much the way she had. But in a much grander fashion.


    He had to be extending massive amounts of energy though, as without the discipline of practice, he wasn't manipulating what he had to work with. He was creating flame with abandon. Manipulations of this particular Element are very taxing. And take something from its host in the process. If Kiska over-exerts himself, he could kill himself without even knowing it.


    Presently quickpaw watches with alarm as Kiska started to form an orb. this isn't the most potent use of elemental energy, but it is very taxing, in his already weakened state, it may prove too much for him. Quickly through their link she sent a tendril of her own energy to him, and felt an immediate drain as the orb coalesced and was sent to its destination. 


    The shock of so much energy nearly toppled her from the air. But she managed to stay afloat as the orb exploded and engulfed an area easily thirty paces square. The fires of his previous efforts were already spreading. And the lutins were now running in a blind panic. 


    -"My apologies Cathal, we did not know this was going to happen. I hope I did not rattle you too much."- She sent to her rider. The rabbit replied with a stutter of unrecognizable words, and was clamped around her barrel like a vice. 


    She sighed as she concentrated on the moisture around her, a heavy shower of rain flowing from just beneath her wings as she circled over the flames before landing near Kiska.

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    I watched with detached fascination, as I cried out and flung both wings forward. I felt an infusion of energy from Quickpaw as the orb of pure fire flew to the Lutin of my attentions and engulfed not only him, but also all of his companions, and an area of some twenty paces around in a flame hot enough to melt the cheap swords of the brutes. 


    Physically exhausted, my wings drooped to the ground at my sides as I sat on my haunches. The sounds of inhuman tortured screams were nothing but a background as the remaining Lutins fled with all possible haste.


    Just then a strange rain came, dousing the forest with a downpour. The flames quickly extinguished, the rains stopped as suddenly as they started. Quickpaw landed before me. Her passenger, a rabbit morph quickly dismounted. He was unsteady, with a look of almost terror deep in his eyes. But outwardly, he was well composed and appeared ready for battle.


    "That, that was quite impressive Ma-master Gryfin." He says with a slight studder. 


    The sound of swords clashing could be heard in the forest and the rabbit quickly departed to join his comrades. Apparently they were cleaning up the last of the stragglers.


    -"I think we know what your Element is now Kiska. That was quite the pyrotechnic display, you must be exhausted."- It was plain to all that I was indeed quite exhausted, though I was getting more strength from Quickpaw through our link. It would be an hour before I could risk flying again. With a worried look about her, Quickpaw stayed by my side.


    With time the patrol cleaned up the last Lutins, I was thanked repeatedly and profusely. Then the patrol and woodsmen departed before it started to get too dark, one body wrapped carefully in a stretcher. They had an hours walk to the keep and wanted to be there before sunset. Finally it was just Quickpaw and I. I suspected there would be much drinking tonight, not all of it in victory.


    -"You feel up to flying?"- She inquires.


    -"Yes, it is not that far, I should be able to make it now."-  


    Together, we leapt into the air and flew directly to our tower. I landed with about the same grace as I did with the woodsmen, but Quickpaw was the vary image of beauty, and poetry in motion. We silently entered our room and went to our nest. Then without ceremony or much preamble, we both slept.
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