Battle Atop the Cliffs (Alye/Mission)

The clouds overhead seethed in anger. Rolling in on each other in a fit of power. The lightning flashed in Alye's bright blue eyes. As much as she enjoyed this raptorius storm, it wasn't going to help ease anyone's mind. The white-haired woman stared down at the pigs below and her face twisted in disgust just a tad. "Wasteful...", she murmured before she tilted her head to the side and her eyes adopted a bright white hue. She looked up at the clouds and they seemed to freeze. The broiling stopped and within moments the dark clouds began to break - letting moonlight spill over the cliffs. Alye blinked and her eyes were normal again. What bothered Alye the most was that the weather hadn't been normal. She knew from experience that when two powerful forces were about to clash, the weather went to hell. That meant there was something down there that was quite strong.

The white-haired woman pulled her cloak around her a bit more. Her Amari Fans sat on her waist while her Aegian Staff was strapped to her back. Her manicured fingers reached up and ran along her Boreas Necklace. She'd never had a need to be fully armored like this. It was a bit disconcerting, but Ardere told her that she should bring her entire arsenal. She looked over at her new Guildmaster and was a bit impressed. He surely did cut a imposing figure in his full armor. She just hoped that he would be alright. When the wind ruffled his hair, she pursed her lips. He was so much more different than Zeno. But then again...

No one was like Zeno.

After she realized that she was staring a bit long and looked away. A lot of things were different now... Alye focused when she heard Ardere begin to speak. "Alright Alye. Let's see if we can talk to their leaders first. If that fails, tomorrow they won't be the only ones at war." She nodded curtly. She was tasked with taking one of the bandit clans' leaders aside and either convincing him to stop this clusterfuck of a war from happening or putting him out of commision. The only thing that worried her was that bandits weren't known for being routinely trustworthy. They also didn't listen very well either. They would have to tread lightly. Ardere looked back at her. "If you can't convince them to stop their assault, meet me back here. If I'm not back before sunrise, take them out. I'll do the same for you." The fire in his eyes was intense. Alye didn't know if this mission was her test or rite of passage to Ardere, but it was her rite of passage for him. She needed to know that she could trust him and the same went for her.

"Understood...be safe."

With that, Alye disappeared as the winds shifted out over the cliffs once more.

The Buzzard camp was larger than Alye had thought. It spread out for what looked like at least half an acre of land. The Windrider herself was steeped high in the clouds above so she didn't have to worry about anyone spotting her. Far below, she monitored Ardere's progress. The whole sword bit honestly seemed a bit...flashy, but she had to admit that it had looked a bit cool. She hoped his blade would be alright. Then again, he probably knew more swords than she did. As Ardere disappeared into the masses of life forces that made up the opposing bandit camp, she let her senses slip away from him. She had to trust him... If he really needed help, he would ask for it. She had to believe in his abilities and that he would be okay. The white-haired woman focused her attention below her as she let out a deep breath.

Time to focus.

How was she going to get in? That was her first objective. Her blue eyes scanned the camp itself. You could tell a lot about a person by the house they keep. The fences around the perimeter of the camp looked sturdy enough but when the wind hit them, something peculiar happened. Instead of being redirected back outwards, some of it slipped through. Alye made a swirling motion with her left index finger. A great wind flushed through the plains in that moment and it was then that Alye disappeared. She caught the tumbling winds and became one with them, embracing the nature around her. She rode the air cells downwards at blinding speed. She followed the winds that were aimed for the wall. As she grew closer and closer, the woman took hold of her magic and reined herself in. Alye touched the wall and stepped back onto the ground gently, barely making a sound. She exhaled slowly. Pressing her back up against the dark metal, she made her way slowly along the perimeter. She kept her eyes on the ground, watching the shadows in front of her. The moonlight overhead was so bright that it only made the shadows it cast that much darker. The Windrider was using that as her advantage. She kept creeping along until she came to a break in the fence. It was a straight vertical line. It wasnt jagged, which meant it wasn't a cut. This was intentional. But why build a fence that had spaces in it? Her question was answered when she noticed the plated hinges at the top of the wall. Hinges meant that they swung if loosened. These fences were prefabricated for movement. That means the owner could just pick them, fold them and move out. It was smart. And thrifty. The only money you'd waste would be on maintaining the fence. And you wouldn't have to worry about your defences every time you set up on some place new. She was dealing with someone with at least a modicum of intelligence. It was a good thing if she could get them to see reason. It was a bad thing if she was going to be fighting her way out of there.

Alye leaned forward a bit and stared through the crack. She could made out two large tents right in front of her but she had to pull back when two men walked past. They were saying something, but she couldn't make it out. She was going to use this spot to get into the camp, but she needed to be sure that there wasn't anyone around the opening that might see her. The white-haired woman pursed her lips as she took a deep breath. Her cheeks puffed out a bit as she gathered air in her lungs and mouth. She called upon her magic and lowered the temperature in her mouth a bit. Not by a crazy amount, but something a little chillier than the current temperature. Alye leaned forward and brought her lips to the break in the metal. She parted her lips and blew the cold air out slowly. She watched as she misty cold air wafted outwards and spread forth. All was silent for a full minute. The white-haired woman took it as her chance and grabbed onto the air around her body with her magic and tugged. Her skin rippled for a moment before she disappeared entirely into swirling winds. She easily slipped through the crack and into the bandit camp. She wafted herself into a space behind a large stack of boxes and reformed her ample form. Alye smiled a bit.

She was in.

A manicured hand stuck out and pulled several boxes together silently. These pallets had to be at least five feet tall each so when Alye stacked them, they made a suitable barrier. She stood up and took a deep breath. She was in but now she needed to figure out where the bandit leader was. She could most certainly try and look in the biggest tent, but what if the bandit leader wasn't there? What if he or she was out amongst his men? The white-haired woman smiled mischievously. That actually gave Alye an idea.

Alye gathered magic in her body and took a deep breath. She felt the carbon dioxide stirring in her chest and wretched control of it. Her head rolled around a bit as she held her breath as long as she could, pooling the carbon. When the woman opened her eyes again, they were glowing a faint white hue. She leaned down a bit - more towards the ground - and let out her breath in a slow mist. Using magical manipulation, Alye latched the carbon dioxide in her breath onto the surrounding air and forced it to multiply. Pumping more magic into the mist, Alye bid it spread through the camp and keep assimilating with the air. The woman stood and smirked. The plan was like so: Carbon dioxide is invisible. Inhaling large amounts for an extended period of time induces unconsciousness in most people. Alye wanted to have the camp succumb to the tainted air and decide to go to bed for the night. While they were all getting tired, Alye would make her move!

The Windrider was true to her namesake one more as she grabbed hold of the air with her magic and pulled herself into the air currents. As she traversed the winds, she made sure to mask her presence the best she could as she also mimicked the air's natural patterns. You never knew how clever someone was. They might recognize the unnatural shifting and get suspicious. She didn't have the time nor the patience for an error right now.

Alye searched the camp at her own pace for just under an hour. She spent that time not only searching for the leader of the bandit clan, but gauging their defences and spreading her toxic winds forth. Doing it slowly was the key. If the drowsiness happened too fast then the bandits or their leader might notice something was wrong. In the terms of the enemy's strength, Alye was actually a bit worried. Their numbers had entered the thousands mark and was growing quickly. They all weren't weaklings either. She could recognize elemental magic powers all around her, varying in power. They needed to be careful. If this didn't go well, the impending war would be catastrophic...

This was becoming tiresome. Alye - who was still traversing the winds - had scoured almost every inch of this place and she still hadn't found anyone resembling the bandit leader. This was becoming a waste of time. Time she, nor Fiore, had. The Windrider sighed gently. At least her trap seemed to be working. The higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the air was beginning to get to everyone. Some of the bandits were heading to their quarters to sleep while others were just collapsing against walls or each other. If it was any time to go find the bandit leader, now was as good as any.

The white-haired woman turned towards the largest structure in the camp and bid her wind form to rise with the air. As a breeze washed over the camp towards the north, Alye's form twisted to meet it. While she rode the currents over the camp, she could only marvel and appreciate the craftsmanship of the prefabrication before her. She could see now why this group was one of the top bandit clans in Fiore. It took real ingenuity to design an entire camp that could be folded up and moved out in a moments notice. It also reminded her that she needed to be careful and stay vigilant. Clearly their leader was very intelligent. If Alye wasn't on top of her game then she could get spotted. Their chances for a peaceful resolution to this conflict would be ill to none at that point.

A few minutes later and Alye was hovering silently in the sky like a sentinel as her white locks billowed in the wake of the air. Her striking blue eyes were staring down at what she figured to be the bandit leader's tent. The guards posted out front looked very formidable indeed and a quick scan of the entire structure showed that the only other entrance has another pair of burly guards. The thing that perplexed Alye the most however, was that calling the place a tent wasn't exactly the right word. It was made entirely of metal and was in the form of a high rising pentagon. Several of the Wizards in this clan must use some kind of metal manipulation magic for them to be able to transport all of this in a timely manor. It gave the Windrider an idea though.

A tent billows in the breeze, constantly flushing fresh air into the space. A building requires ventilation to give its occupants a constant supply of oxygen. Which meant that the people inside would surely be asleep from the amount of carbon dioxide she had pumped into the air. The white-haired woman looked up at the moon and told it a silent prayer. She hoped this worked...

Time became... irrelevant.
Her eyes closed and her head fell back as she breathed deeply, gathering magic and air around her ethereal body. Her senses blossomed outwards - feeling the air cells around her like old friends. A small blessed her lips as she sorted through the majestic winds to identify a stronger gust that was just about to waft around the camp. With just a bit of tweaking, the air would be moving in the direction she needed it to.

When the time came, the white-haired wizard tilted her whole body back now. Her hair whipped around flawlessly as her gentle smile only glowed in the stark moonlight. She trusted the winds, the sky, the heavens. They hadn't let her down yet and she could only trust them. Alye's body began to plummet at an angle with the winds. They subtly pushed her towards her target. Her smile melded away as her body did. Focus. She couldn't mess this up.

In the camp below, the groggy haze over everyone was whisked away with these suddenly powerful winds, but the stupor of sleep was strong. No one noticeably batted an eyelash as the air whisked by them. No one could travel on the winds. Flight was one thing, but becoming the wind itself? Now that's just preposterous.

If only they knew...

An air vent on the left side of the building rattled a bit at the gust of wind, causing a guard to glance at it. His friend yawned and waved it off. "Loose bolt." The man stared for a moment longer before nodding and dismissing it. The air duct spread out into a simple ventilation system. It would be nothing for the woman to search the entire building that way, but then if someone was still awake, then they'd notice the distinct sound of wind in their vents and notice something was wrong. No, this was where Alye would continue her search on foot.

She reformed in what seemed to be a storage room. As she called off the last bits of magic, she looked around on alert. She would prefer subtly, but if something went wrong then she was totally prepared to blow the top off this place.

The Windrider took light steps as she moved between the pallets and crates. She sensed I magic in this room but that didn't mean there weren't actual technological countermeasure either. Thankfully, one weakness of technology was that it required electricity. And Alye was electricity's mistress as well.
She made it to the door. She was just about to reach for the handle when she noticed the faint hum coming from the door itself. Alye blinked and a moment later, her eyes were incandescently white and her vision had shifted to its energy form. While this most certainly wasn't some kind of X-Ray vision, Alye could still see the energy patterns emanating from it. The electrical conduit in the door shined brightest while its pathways glowed faintly into something on the other side of the door.

Alye cursed lightly.

A keypad.