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concoursec2013-12-28 01:42 pm
solarexalted) wrote in concoursec2013-12-28 01:42 pm
The First to Fall...
Characters: Sol Invictus. Deling City inhabitants.
Location: Deling City.
Rating: PG
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed.
Summary: Time Compression...
Above Deling City, an airship hung in the sky, the low chop of its rotors through the air and the whistle of wind filling the sky with noise. Beneath those, the faint flap of cloth as clothing flailed about in the breeze was practically inaudible, and the people standing on the Phoenix's deck had to shout to be heard.
"Four minutes, fifty seconds!" came the cry from a man knelt beside a curious device, not a technological one but a glass box rigged with various crystals and spun golden wire in intricate patterns. It had no display, but for its warden, it needed none.
"No sign of detection!" shouted a woman back from the side, where she kept a watch with binoculars.
A third voice spoke, this one at a completely normal volume and in a measured tone, that nevertheless seemed to be the only noise in the world when it reached the ears. "Then we wait."
The man called Ien, who Sol Invictus knew as the Radiant Glory, laid one hand on the airship's railing as he leaned over to watch. In his other hand, he held the daiklave known as Flames Wrought in Gold -- a weapon he had carried since his Exaltation, and put to use countless times in the service of the Unconquered Sun. Today it would again see use.
Gerard Green, his second-in-command, ran up to his side, the better to cling to the railing himself and catch his breath. Though the wind at this altitude constantly threatened to scoop up Gerard's voluminous robes and fling him overboard, the mage refused to change into more practical gear, claiming that the robes were better than any armor. Who knows, it might even have been true. "They will blame us, you know!" he bellowed practically in Ien's ear.
The Solar's lips twitched slightly. "Can you fault them for doing so? We will be taking advantage of the greatest catastrohpe this world has yet seen in its modern day, when up till now we have been preventing them. Why should they not believe we are its cause?"
Gerard shook his head, squinting against the pressure of the cutting wind. "It isn't too late. We can still help them instead of leaving them--"
He stopped, because Ien had held up a hand. "We need Deling City," he said, his voice a subtle shade darker. "We will never have it peacefully. And we need more than that. All in the service of returning home."
Gerard slicked back his hair, futilely; it blew up into a tangle the moment his hand left it. "Yes. Home."
Ien raised one arm, then dropped it. At that signal, the Phoenix banked sideways, veering away from Deling City and off to its true destination.
* * * * *
It began without warning.
No bang of pipe. No creak and crash of broken main. No rush of a wave smashing in from the shore. The only warning anyone in Deling City got was a flick of light like an afterimage and a faint sensation of vertigo, and then just like that, the city vanished beneath the icy glass waters of a cold, wide lake.
For perhaps a quarter of a minute, the world was utterly silent, the hustle and bustle of the city quite literally drowned out. The lake sat there, silent and placid, oddly beautiful despite its painful juxtaposition with a landscape that had never known so much water. The waters didn't remain calm for very long, though. A massive bubbling and frothing broke the surface as captured air, flotsam and jetsam, and human forms strove upwards from the now-buried city.
That noise was the cue. A flare went up from the outskirts of the city, and far across the broad plains of Galbadia, aboard their transports and tanks and weapons of war, the army of Sol Invictus surged forwards from their waiting positions, striking for the drowning heart of the country.
* * * * *
"Report."
"No transmissions. All broadcasts dead." The magitechnician swallowed heavily, setting the curious box back down. "It must have been... thorough."
"No time for sentiment." Ien snapped his fingers. Recognizing his cue, Gerard lifted a hand, inscribed several symbols in the air, and then leaned forward to speak clearly into a magical shimmer before him.
"Emergency! Emergency! Deling City underwater, repeat, Deling City underwater! Requesting immediate aid! Lingering Time Compression distortions make large-scale travel unsafe, do not mobilize Garden physically! Emergency!" Making a swift slicing motion with his hand, Gerard then trailed his fingers through the spell, setting his broadcast to transmit on eternal repeat to the facility below them: Galbadia Garden.
They didn't wait long, not at all as long as they had planned to. Within fifteen minutes, the grounds of Galbadia Garden had erupted into a flurry of activity, the cadets lining up and loading trucks and vans with resources. Ien watched this all impassively, and if he admired their military discipline, he showed it through nothing save perhaps his quiet contemplation.
"Short-range communication indicates they've verified the lake formation and are deploying everything but a skeleton crew to provide aid and resource," the technician said from behind him.
"May the Sun have mercy on their souls," Ien said heavily, as far below the airship, the waves of trucks began to roll out of Garden, "and may the gods guide them to a better life."
Taking that as his cue, the woman at the front returned to the helm, where with a nod to the helmsman, she pressed a great button to one side just as he pressed a similar one to the other.
The bay doors of the airship ground open, and from them fell the Solar Fury, its Essence-fueled warhead burning too brightly to look on with the naked eye.
Its brilliant explosion burned like a second sun for many minutes.
"Land," Ien said, roughly, when at last they could see again. "I want our flag flying over Garden in five minutes."
Solemnly, like death, the airship descended over the newly-blasted wasteland.
Location: Deling City.
Rating: PG
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed.
Summary: Time Compression...
Above Deling City, an airship hung in the sky, the low chop of its rotors through the air and the whistle of wind filling the sky with noise. Beneath those, the faint flap of cloth as clothing flailed about in the breeze was practically inaudible, and the people standing on the Phoenix's deck had to shout to be heard.
"Four minutes, fifty seconds!" came the cry from a man knelt beside a curious device, not a technological one but a glass box rigged with various crystals and spun golden wire in intricate patterns. It had no display, but for its warden, it needed none.
"No sign of detection!" shouted a woman back from the side, where she kept a watch with binoculars.
A third voice spoke, this one at a completely normal volume and in a measured tone, that nevertheless seemed to be the only noise in the world when it reached the ears. "Then we wait."
The man called Ien, who Sol Invictus knew as the Radiant Glory, laid one hand on the airship's railing as he leaned over to watch. In his other hand, he held the daiklave known as Flames Wrought in Gold -- a weapon he had carried since his Exaltation, and put to use countless times in the service of the Unconquered Sun. Today it would again see use.
Gerard Green, his second-in-command, ran up to his side, the better to cling to the railing himself and catch his breath. Though the wind at this altitude constantly threatened to scoop up Gerard's voluminous robes and fling him overboard, the mage refused to change into more practical gear, claiming that the robes were better than any armor. Who knows, it might even have been true. "They will blame us, you know!" he bellowed practically in Ien's ear.
The Solar's lips twitched slightly. "Can you fault them for doing so? We will be taking advantage of the greatest catastrohpe this world has yet seen in its modern day, when up till now we have been preventing them. Why should they not believe we are its cause?"
Gerard shook his head, squinting against the pressure of the cutting wind. "It isn't too late. We can still help them instead of leaving them--"
He stopped, because Ien had held up a hand. "We need Deling City," he said, his voice a subtle shade darker. "We will never have it peacefully. And we need more than that. All in the service of returning home."
Gerard slicked back his hair, futilely; it blew up into a tangle the moment his hand left it. "Yes. Home."
Ien raised one arm, then dropped it. At that signal, the Phoenix banked sideways, veering away from Deling City and off to its true destination.
* * * * *
It began without warning.
No bang of pipe. No creak and crash of broken main. No rush of a wave smashing in from the shore. The only warning anyone in Deling City got was a flick of light like an afterimage and a faint sensation of vertigo, and then just like that, the city vanished beneath the icy glass waters of a cold, wide lake.
For perhaps a quarter of a minute, the world was utterly silent, the hustle and bustle of the city quite literally drowned out. The lake sat there, silent and placid, oddly beautiful despite its painful juxtaposition with a landscape that had never known so much water. The waters didn't remain calm for very long, though. A massive bubbling and frothing broke the surface as captured air, flotsam and jetsam, and human forms strove upwards from the now-buried city.
That noise was the cue. A flare went up from the outskirts of the city, and far across the broad plains of Galbadia, aboard their transports and tanks and weapons of war, the army of Sol Invictus surged forwards from their waiting positions, striking for the drowning heart of the country.
* * * * *
"Report."
"No transmissions. All broadcasts dead." The magitechnician swallowed heavily, setting the curious box back down. "It must have been... thorough."
"No time for sentiment." Ien snapped his fingers. Recognizing his cue, Gerard lifted a hand, inscribed several symbols in the air, and then leaned forward to speak clearly into a magical shimmer before him.
"Emergency! Emergency! Deling City underwater, repeat, Deling City underwater! Requesting immediate aid! Lingering Time Compression distortions make large-scale travel unsafe, do not mobilize Garden physically! Emergency!" Making a swift slicing motion with his hand, Gerard then trailed his fingers through the spell, setting his broadcast to transmit on eternal repeat to the facility below them: Galbadia Garden.
They didn't wait long, not at all as long as they had planned to. Within fifteen minutes, the grounds of Galbadia Garden had erupted into a flurry of activity, the cadets lining up and loading trucks and vans with resources. Ien watched this all impassively, and if he admired their military discipline, he showed it through nothing save perhaps his quiet contemplation.
"Short-range communication indicates they've verified the lake formation and are deploying everything but a skeleton crew to provide aid and resource," the technician said from behind him.
"May the Sun have mercy on their souls," Ien said heavily, as far below the airship, the waves of trucks began to roll out of Garden, "and may the gods guide them to a better life."
Taking that as his cue, the woman at the front returned to the helm, where with a nod to the helmsman, she pressed a great button to one side just as he pressed a similar one to the other.
The bay doors of the airship ground open, and from them fell the Solar Fury, its Essence-fueled warhead burning too brightly to look on with the naked eye.
Its brilliant explosion burned like a second sun for many minutes.
"Land," Ien said, roughly, when at last they could see again. "I want our flag flying over Garden in five minutes."
Solemnly, like death, the airship descended over the newly-blasted wasteland.