Post by Variel on Jun 13, 2007 18:02:37 GMT -5
Snow drifted silently down from Yuki’s leaden sky, and Variel’s breath plumed from her slightly-parted lips as she listened for movement below her. The crisp, muted air carried no sound from the interior of the fortress’ temple, but she knew he was there. Glancing around one last time for patrols of the mute, mindless priestesses, she noiselessly dropped from the tiled sloped roof of the temple to the stone-paved yard below.
A slight breeze rustled through the frost-encrusted branches of nearby ornamental trees as Variel pressed her back to the wood and stone wall of the temple. Scanning the area for sentries, she slipped out of her long outer coat and dropped it to the ground. Confident that she had penetrated the Construct’s inner fortress without detection, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply to focus her mind.
It was now or never.
Variel strode through the high entryway and entered the vaulted pavilion of the temple, her heeled boots clicking loudly against the lacquered wooden floor. Tengu stood motionless in the middle of the enormous empty space, simultaneously the altar, high priest, and deity of the Archive. His glossy visage was frozen into a demonic Noh mask, his enormous snowy wings folded around his armored shoulders in a posture of vigilance and repose. Variel stopped and bowed her head slightly.
“Human,” the resonant, other-wordly voice thundered from everywhere at once, as if the temple itself was speaking, “you dare to infiltrate our sanctuary?”
Variel lifted her expressionless face to him. She knew that speaking to the ancient program would be pointless, so she slid a pair of sai from their hip sheaths, spinning them around her fingers and pulling her arms into a graceful ready pose.
His omnipresent voice surged into the roaring scream of a monstrous bird of prey as Tengu’s massive wings snapped open to their full span, unleashing a rush of frigid air that Variel leaned into to retain her balance. His precarious tengu-geta sandals cracked like splitting trees against the floor as he advanced, his shoulders lowered as snow-flecked air swirled around him. Variel leapt forward, sending two spinning sais singing through the temple towards the colossal demon . . .
A slight breeze rustled through the frost-encrusted branches of nearby ornamental trees as Variel pressed her back to the wood and stone wall of the temple. Scanning the area for sentries, she slipped out of her long outer coat and dropped it to the ground. Confident that she had penetrated the Construct’s inner fortress without detection, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply to focus her mind.
It was now or never.
Variel strode through the high entryway and entered the vaulted pavilion of the temple, her heeled boots clicking loudly against the lacquered wooden floor. Tengu stood motionless in the middle of the enormous empty space, simultaneously the altar, high priest, and deity of the Archive. His glossy visage was frozen into a demonic Noh mask, his enormous snowy wings folded around his armored shoulders in a posture of vigilance and repose. Variel stopped and bowed her head slightly.
“Human,” the resonant, other-wordly voice thundered from everywhere at once, as if the temple itself was speaking, “you dare to infiltrate our sanctuary?”
Variel lifted her expressionless face to him. She knew that speaking to the ancient program would be pointless, so she slid a pair of sai from their hip sheaths, spinning them around her fingers and pulling her arms into a graceful ready pose.
His omnipresent voice surged into the roaring scream of a monstrous bird of prey as Tengu’s massive wings snapped open to their full span, unleashing a rush of frigid air that Variel leaned into to retain her balance. His precarious tengu-geta sandals cracked like splitting trees against the floor as he advanced, his shoulders lowered as snow-flecked air swirled around him. Variel leapt forward, sending two spinning sais singing through the temple towards the colossal demon . . .
