Scion - Rada Campaign - Guest Appearance 3-3
We've fought our way through the gates of Muspelheim, and we are approaching Kagatsuchi's lair, the over-industrialized power plant that sits deep within the bowels of Muspelheim's fortress city. But thanks to Storm's heroic self-sacrifice, things have gotten a little complicated…
We carefully approached the city, which was tucked neatly in the valley formed by thee immense volcanoes. The gates stretched across the entrance to the valley, sealing off any approach to the infernal power plant that lay within. Prometheus commanded the defenses from within a huge mechanical colossus that was armed with fearsome cannons and a spear as tall as the Washington Monument. The colossus was supported by about ten powerful giants. Two fire-breathing dragons circled overhead, surveying the roads that cut through the rocky, red-black terrain to the city. Carina, still masquerading as a firebird, guided our path with me posing as her fire giantess handler, and the others moved stealthily in our wake.
Before we began our attack, Storm rigged up a harness and strapped Helena to his back so that he could climb the colossus with her in tow, hoping to find a way into the machine to ruin its inner workings and face Prometheus. Meanwhile Jacob bolstered everyone's health to protect us in the fight to come, and I bolstered Jacob. Then we attacked, a small but formidable band of gods against an entire city. It's the stuff legends are made of!
Cesar charged forward and summoned his impressive siege armor. He leapt and dodged around the colossus, distracting its attention with biting taunts and devastating shots from his cannon-sized guns. I mean, seriously, he was criticizing the thing's masculinity, which apparently got to the engineers driving it, because the colossus thrust its titanic spear at him. Cesar was too fast for it, though, and easily avoided each strike.
Carina resumed her true form and fell upon one of the giants, stabbing deep into his back with her sword before leaping onto another, and then another. Every time one of the brutes took a swing at her, she was gone, elusive as shadow, and their movements slowed in her wake thanks to the tidal interference her presence caused. Sam was just as elusive as he flitted about, firing at the giants with his pistols as he covered his wife's back.
Jacob, who looked totally metal again thanks to his spike-covered armor, hefted his mighty hammer and charged one of the giants. A swing of his hammer crushed the giant's knee, and as the giant fell, Jacob finished it off before turning to face others. I could almost hear the guitar riffs following him across the battlefield, but maybe that was just in my head. (^_^)
I strode into the battle as a fire giantess, and at first the enemy thought reinforcements had arrived, until I changed back into my true form, wearing a mini-skirt, black spider-webbed t-shirt, and nice, stripey stockings. It felt good to be me again, and I said as much to the dragons as I struck a dramatic, action movie pose and made gun-fingers at the them even as they were swooping in to breathe fiery death upon me. They became entranced by my beauty and spent the rest of the battle gliding overhead, enchanted. At least until the others killed the hell out of them.
The colossus must not have like that much, though, because it began firing its cannons at Jacob and me. The cannons launched projectiles of exploding, semi-molten metal. When I saw the ball of burning death hurtling at me, I copied some of Carina's moves, and with a startled "Rowr!" leapt cat-like out of the way. I was still toasted a bit by the explosion, though, which blasted me to the ground. Jacob took a direct hit, but managed to weather it well, though he too was knocked off his feet. Not that it slowed him down for long… in an instant, he was up and wrecking face with his hammer. I suggested at that point that Jacob name his metal band "All Father." You know, 'cause he's the god of fatherhood and all. Jacob just said, "Not now Erika!" So I pouted at him.
In order to avoid more blasts from the cannon, I grew my vampire wings and launched myself into the air. Just over the gates of the city, I could see the armies of Muspelheim massing, preparing to sally forth and help defend their city from our attack. So I decided to stop them. I shifted my t-shirt into a sexy, midriff-bearing bustier top with fishnet sleeves, and then said, "It's time I unleashed the full force of my navel power!" as I unleashed my ultimate beauty. Cheesy line? (>_<) Yeah, I know. But it was funny, and the enemy army fell to their knees, enraptured 'cause I'm so gorgeous.
So, while we battled the guards outside the city, Storm and Helena slipped past the enemies and began climbing the colossus. Storm's mighty arms propelled them up its armored frame with ease, and soon they arrived at a large entry hatch. Storm tore it from its hinges and swung inside. Helena set about finding and disabling the machinery, while Storm made his way to the command center to find Prometheus.
I don't know exactly what transpired into the colossus, but I know that Storm spoke to Prometheus at length, trying to convince him to stop warring with the gods. After all, Prometheus wants to elevate humanity, and Storm, as the god of champions, wants essentially the same thing. In the end, though, the colossus shut down and then detonated with a blast that caused a chain reaction, destroying the city walls and a good portion of the enemy army. Storm and Helena made it out in time, though, and they rejoined us on the edges of the smoking crater that had been part of a city. As soon as I saw Storm, I could tell that a great burden weighed on his heart.
In order to free Prometheus, he had to accept Prometheus' curse, the one levied by Zeus. Storm is now bound in Muspelheim. He cannot leave, and each day, he is doomed to have his liver eaten by a foul carrion bird. He bears a thick metal armband as a sign of the curse; it's all that remains of the chains that once physically bound Prometheus.
Being bound to Soku-no-Kumi as I am, I understand more than most the burden of sacrifice. Storm did the heroic thing. He was willing to put his own welfare aside on behalf of another, all in the interest of helping the gods win this damnable war with the titans. So I was shocked when the rest of his band criticized his decision! Cesar called him a fool for taking on the burden for someone like Prometheus, who we could just as easily kill. And even Jacob, who I thought might be more understanding, yelled at Storm for making a bad choice. I know that their reactions were motivated by the unthinkable fear of losing their dear friend. But still…Storm was hurt.
So I made sure to let him know that at least I respected his decision. I understand it, and I think he did the right and noble thing. Selfless acts like that are one of the few things that sets us apart from the titans, and if we are going to win this war, we have to make hard choices and bitter sacrifices.
Nevertheless, none of us wanted to leave Storm in Muspelheim after we defeat Kagatsuchi. We discussed how we could free Storm later, perhaps by going to Zeus and convincing him to renounce the curse. Zeus is ridiculously stubborn, though, and there's no guarantee that he would relent even if his own son is the one suffering its effects. Then Sam came up with a wonderful idea! What if we convinced Kagatsuchi to accept the curse? Sure, he'd never do so under normal circumstances, but we ARE planning to kill him, right? What if the price for saving his life is the curse? If he doesn't accept the curse, then I won't use the Savior to restore him after we tear the divine spark from this chest, and he'll die. Sure, we were planning on saving him anyway in order to preserve the very nature of fire, but he doesn't know that. And I know how he thinks…he won't call our bluff.
So, now we're getting ready to invade Kagatsuchi's lair, the lava-filled power-plants deep within the remnants of the fortress city. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. At last, I have the chance to recover my mother's divine spark. She bore me for this very reason, sacrificing the last shreds of her life and joy so that I could reclaim what is rightly hers. And I won't fail her.
We carefully approached the city, which was tucked neatly in the valley formed by thee immense volcanoes. The gates stretched across the entrance to the valley, sealing off any approach to the infernal power plant that lay within. Prometheus commanded the defenses from within a huge mechanical colossus that was armed with fearsome cannons and a spear as tall as the Washington Monument. The colossus was supported by about ten powerful giants. Two fire-breathing dragons circled overhead, surveying the roads that cut through the rocky, red-black terrain to the city. Carina, still masquerading as a firebird, guided our path with me posing as her fire giantess handler, and the others moved stealthily in our wake.
Before we began our attack, Storm rigged up a harness and strapped Helena to his back so that he could climb the colossus with her in tow, hoping to find a way into the machine to ruin its inner workings and face Prometheus. Meanwhile Jacob bolstered everyone's health to protect us in the fight to come, and I bolstered Jacob. Then we attacked, a small but formidable band of gods against an entire city. It's the stuff legends are made of!
Cesar charged forward and summoned his impressive siege armor. He leapt and dodged around the colossus, distracting its attention with biting taunts and devastating shots from his cannon-sized guns. I mean, seriously, he was criticizing the thing's masculinity, which apparently got to the engineers driving it, because the colossus thrust its titanic spear at him. Cesar was too fast for it, though, and easily avoided each strike.
Carina resumed her true form and fell upon one of the giants, stabbing deep into his back with her sword before leaping onto another, and then another. Every time one of the brutes took a swing at her, she was gone, elusive as shadow, and their movements slowed in her wake thanks to the tidal interference her presence caused. Sam was just as elusive as he flitted about, firing at the giants with his pistols as he covered his wife's back.
Jacob, who looked totally metal again thanks to his spike-covered armor, hefted his mighty hammer and charged one of the giants. A swing of his hammer crushed the giant's knee, and as the giant fell, Jacob finished it off before turning to face others. I could almost hear the guitar riffs following him across the battlefield, but maybe that was just in my head. (^_^)
I strode into the battle as a fire giantess, and at first the enemy thought reinforcements had arrived, until I changed back into my true form, wearing a mini-skirt, black spider-webbed t-shirt, and nice, stripey stockings. It felt good to be me again, and I said as much to the dragons as I struck a dramatic, action movie pose and made gun-fingers at the them even as they were swooping in to breathe fiery death upon me. They became entranced by my beauty and spent the rest of the battle gliding overhead, enchanted. At least until the others killed the hell out of them.
The colossus must not have like that much, though, because it began firing its cannons at Jacob and me. The cannons launched projectiles of exploding, semi-molten metal. When I saw the ball of burning death hurtling at me, I copied some of Carina's moves, and with a startled "Rowr!" leapt cat-like out of the way. I was still toasted a bit by the explosion, though, which blasted me to the ground. Jacob took a direct hit, but managed to weather it well, though he too was knocked off his feet. Not that it slowed him down for long… in an instant, he was up and wrecking face with his hammer. I suggested at that point that Jacob name his metal band "All Father." You know, 'cause he's the god of fatherhood and all. Jacob just said, "Not now Erika!" So I pouted at him.
In order to avoid more blasts from the cannon, I grew my vampire wings and launched myself into the air. Just over the gates of the city, I could see the armies of Muspelheim massing, preparing to sally forth and help defend their city from our attack. So I decided to stop them. I shifted my t-shirt into a sexy, midriff-bearing bustier top with fishnet sleeves, and then said, "It's time I unleashed the full force of my navel power!" as I unleashed my ultimate beauty. Cheesy line? (>_<) Yeah, I know. But it was funny, and the enemy army fell to their knees, enraptured 'cause I'm so gorgeous.
So, while we battled the guards outside the city, Storm and Helena slipped past the enemies and began climbing the colossus. Storm's mighty arms propelled them up its armored frame with ease, and soon they arrived at a large entry hatch. Storm tore it from its hinges and swung inside. Helena set about finding and disabling the machinery, while Storm made his way to the command center to find Prometheus.
I don't know exactly what transpired into the colossus, but I know that Storm spoke to Prometheus at length, trying to convince him to stop warring with the gods. After all, Prometheus wants to elevate humanity, and Storm, as the god of champions, wants essentially the same thing. In the end, though, the colossus shut down and then detonated with a blast that caused a chain reaction, destroying the city walls and a good portion of the enemy army. Storm and Helena made it out in time, though, and they rejoined us on the edges of the smoking crater that had been part of a city. As soon as I saw Storm, I could tell that a great burden weighed on his heart.
In order to free Prometheus, he had to accept Prometheus' curse, the one levied by Zeus. Storm is now bound in Muspelheim. He cannot leave, and each day, he is doomed to have his liver eaten by a foul carrion bird. He bears a thick metal armband as a sign of the curse; it's all that remains of the chains that once physically bound Prometheus.
Being bound to Soku-no-Kumi as I am, I understand more than most the burden of sacrifice. Storm did the heroic thing. He was willing to put his own welfare aside on behalf of another, all in the interest of helping the gods win this damnable war with the titans. So I was shocked when the rest of his band criticized his decision! Cesar called him a fool for taking on the burden for someone like Prometheus, who we could just as easily kill. And even Jacob, who I thought might be more understanding, yelled at Storm for making a bad choice. I know that their reactions were motivated by the unthinkable fear of losing their dear friend. But still…Storm was hurt.
So I made sure to let him know that at least I respected his decision. I understand it, and I think he did the right and noble thing. Selfless acts like that are one of the few things that sets us apart from the titans, and if we are going to win this war, we have to make hard choices and bitter sacrifices.
Nevertheless, none of us wanted to leave Storm in Muspelheim after we defeat Kagatsuchi. We discussed how we could free Storm later, perhaps by going to Zeus and convincing him to renounce the curse. Zeus is ridiculously stubborn, though, and there's no guarantee that he would relent even if his own son is the one suffering its effects. Then Sam came up with a wonderful idea! What if we convinced Kagatsuchi to accept the curse? Sure, he'd never do so under normal circumstances, but we ARE planning to kill him, right? What if the price for saving his life is the curse? If he doesn't accept the curse, then I won't use the Savior to restore him after we tear the divine spark from this chest, and he'll die. Sure, we were planning on saving him anyway in order to preserve the very nature of fire, but he doesn't know that. And I know how he thinks…he won't call our bluff.
So, now we're getting ready to invade Kagatsuchi's lair, the lava-filled power-plants deep within the remnants of the fortress city. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. At last, I have the chance to recover my mother's divine spark. She bore me for this very reason, sacrificing the last shreds of her life and joy so that I could reclaim what is rightly hers. And I won't fail her.