Grand Theft Motor [Private Job | Skylar/Altarias]

Far above the exhaust-choked streets of Motor City, a thunderstorm of prodigious size growled and grumbled, dropping sheets of rain and flickering with lightning of various colors. By and large, the residents of Motor City stayed in their homes, only venturing out into the unnatural storm under the cover of umbrellas or heavy raincoats when absolutely necessary. The storm was deemed unnatural for one simple reason - it never moved, and hadn't for almost three days, ever since it had rolled into the skies above the engineering city and settled there like a ponderous stone rolling into place. The storm was, of course, due to the presence of one Skylar Silverwind, the Last Stormcaller, called the Lord of Storms by some who knew of him and his unprecedented control of tempests.

Skylar had blown in with the storm, flying upon its winds as he usually did to cross great distances in short amounts of time. He hadn't intended to stay, only to eat and rest as he continued upon his nomadic journey. But on that first night, he'd seen something that had persuaded him to stay, at least a while longer. As the winds had borne him down to the city, sweeping him along the streets that had emptied of pedestrians as the storm blew in and sent them scuttling indoors to keep themselves dry, he'd caught a glimpse of a small knot of men in hooded black cloaks huddled around the figure of a young woman, her face white and drawn with fear. By the time he'd slowed himself, expending the prodigious momentum afforded him by the stormwinds, and turned back around, the figures were gone, vanished into one of the massive warehouses or garages that formed the bulk of Motor City's outskirts.

Now, two nights later, after careful investigation, Skylar perched atop one of said garages that had been abandoned for several months - up until a small group of dark wizards calling themselves 'the Circle' had moved in, co-opting it as a temporary hideout. The investigation hadn't been terribly difficult, as the so-called Circle were not terribly careful. They moved in small groups of four or five, always in those same black hooded cloaks, terrifying local shopkeepers and business owners but never stealing anything of real value. Several more times, they had accosted citizens of the city, cornering them in dark alleys cluttered with garbage and detritus, but seemed reticent to do anything more than intimidate them. Their whispers amongst themselves, carried to Skylar's ears by the winds, had at last revealed their master plan: They were going to steal some cars. But not just any cars - the famous magic cars of Motor City.

Skylar sighed to himself as the Circle emerged from their hideout in their strength - all twelve of them - and set about with their plan to bust into one of the many car factories of the city and make off with at least six cars. The Stormcaller had barely understood their motivation when he'd first heard it. He had little use for cars when the storms he could call could convey him far faster than any land-based vehicle. He never had to adhere to roads, which invariably curved around obstacles such as mountains and lakes. He could simply fly over them. Even better, once the storm had been formed, only a minor amount of magic was required to keep it moving in the proper direction, even less if he maneuvered it through the complex network of trade winds in the upper sky rather than simply bulled through them. Weather phenomena had their own momentum, and once a storm was set in motion it generally needed only small nudges here and there to keep it on its path. Magic vehicles were getting more and more efficient, but they could not move without draining a constant amount of magic power from the driver, and that amount was almost always higher than what Skylar's method of travel required. Still, he could - after several minutes of rumination - understand that such vehicles were desirable to people who couldn't simply call a storm into being and ride it as he could. Which is to say everyone but him.

The black-cloaked members of the Circle hurried through the streets, hoods up to protect themselves from the rain and the prying eyes of whatever citizens happened to be about, while Skylar trailed them from above and behind, winds conveying him from rooftop to rooftop. It was child's play to keep up with them when he could cut corners that they had to walk around. Finally, after a few minutes, the group stopped in front of one of the large factories, just in front of a massive rolling metal door that closed it off from the outside. The dark wizards conferred for a moment, and then one of them stepped forward and pitched a burst of fire at the door, clearly intending to blast through it. A minor effort of will and a flick of his wrist was enough for Skylar to call forth a swelling of wind and rain that simply swallowed the fire, extinguishing it like a candle. The mage that had tossed the fire looked at their hand in confusion for a moment before throwing an even larger fireball, to similar results. They stepped back and conferred with their peers for a few more moments before another wizard stepped forward and summoned a bolt of lightning to strike the door. Feeling the crackling hum of electricity building as the wizard performed their spell, Skylar grinned and chuckled to himself. It was too easy. The moment the lightning left the wizard's hands, Skylar simply redirected it up into the clouds, which swallowed it with barely a mutter of thunder.

The group huddled together for another conference, clearly at a loss from the abject failure of their magic, while Skylar breezed over to the roof of the factory, anticipating what was going to happen next. And just as he'd predicted, a different mage stepped out of the huddle and marched towards the door, rolling the sleeves of his cloak up as he went. Skylar had seen him in action the day before, and just as happened then, silver light began to grow around his fists, a moderate effort of kinetomancy that would, theoretically, be sufficient to open a hole in the door. The Stormcaller lifted a hand towards the sky, and the clouds responded with a bolt of silver-white lightning that crashed to the ground just in front of the striding wizard, the explosive shockwave of superheated air sending him flying backwards, landing in a skid that carried him across the rain-slick concrete to halt at the feet of his mystified compatriots. Skylar stood on the roof and lifted his arms to the clouds, his head tipping back to feel the wind and the rain on his face as he closed his eyes and reached out to the storm. Lightning began to fall like rain around the group of dark wizards, keeping them pinned in. The lightning mage tried their best to halt the electrical assault, but the power of the Stormcaller simply overrode theirs, leaving them batting at the smoldering cuffs of their cloak. Even before Skylar had obtained the Lacrima that was his father's legacy, storms had been his domain. Only one wizard he'd ever met had been able to contain his power, and she was long, long gone. The so-called Circle were helpless to stop him.

Skylar kept the dark wizards of the Circle penned in their cage of lightning, each bolt shattering the concrete beneath their feet, for several minutes, until the winds whispered of another person approaching at a run. The Stormcaller lowered his face from the heavens, watching as a female clad in some kind of black uniform raced towards the cage, getting right up next to it and speaking to the members of the Circle. He tilted his head curiously, preparing to expand the cage to pen her in as well if it looked like she was about to free the dark wizards. Instead, she punched one of them in the face, causing him to blink in surprise before he finally recognized the uniform as belonging to the Rune Knights. Smirking a little, he called to the storm above and ceased its fury, the lightning vanishing with a rumble. Before the dark wizards could move, however, the rain that pounded the earth around them shifted, forming into sinuous tendrils that slid around each member of the Circle like vast tentacles before suddenly freezing in place, transmuting into ice that held them as surely as chains, wrapping them from head to toe.

Skylar himself stepped off of the rooftop he'd been perching on, the winds wrapping around him and carrying him silently down to the ground halfway between the factory door and the imprisoned wizards. He covered the last few meters by foot and in total silence, the sounds of the storm covering his approach. He walked up behind the Rune Knight woman and stood for a moment to observe her, then reached up and tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, miss. You're a Rune Knight, yes? Are you arresting these people?" he said. His normal speaking voice shouldn't have been audible over the drumming of the rain, the howling of the wind, and the growling of thunder, but somehow it came through with perfect clarity, as if the winds themselves were carrying it directly to her ear.

Skylar tilted his head as the girl replied to him. So, she was a Slayer as well? That was interesting. She didn't have the bearing of a Slayer, and certainly hadn't displayed any such magic in her apprehension and assault of the Circle members. That suggested there was more to her Slayer magic than most he'd seen. Still, he found it unlikely that it could match the power granted him by the thing lurking in his chest, stirring restlessly as it always did when a storm was overhead.

The Stormcaller raised an eyebrow as the girl started muttering to herself, then suddenly turned on her heel and took off into the city. He shook his head and sighed a little, then leapt into the air and let the wind carry him after her, disdaining even the pretense of jumping from roof to roof. Since he had no idea where she was going, he had to restrain himself to following her, flying just a few feet behind her and off her left shoulder, until she came to a sudden halt in front of a large warehouse. He hovered up above the level of the roofs for a moment, surveying the location and the situation. He saw a few people, likely wizards, standing around chatting while a medium-sized boat powered through the storm-tossed waters towards the nearby dock.

Lowering himself back down to the girl's level, he spoke softly, his voice once again carrying unnaturally to her ear. "If you can handle these goons, I'll deal with their ship. Should be a breeze in this storm." he said. Once again, he had to keep himself from simply flying off and making good on his word. He had no idea what this girl was capable of, and he didn't want to leave her behind to fight alone against these wizards if she couldn't handle herself in a fight. He had a feeling she could, however, if only because of the uniform she wore. The Rune Knights tended not to accept wizards into the ranks of their Combat Corps if they couldn't handle a fight. And besides, she claimed to be a Slayer, a claim that was backed up by the buzzing of power that he could sense within her. Less than his own, of course, but likely still enough to deal with the mages of... What did she call them? RAGE, or something else stupid.

"Yes ma'am, I had been tracking them for a couple of days. They intended to steal the cars in that factory, but I was able to stop them." he replied with a nod, then looked back out towards the ship. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." Without waiting for a response, Skylar launched himself into the sky, heading out over the bay. He stopped some two hundred feet in the air, bobbing in place a bit as he folded his arms and observed the ship. It appeared to be a fishing trawler of some sort, likely stolen or bought used, with all sorts of cranes and derricks, including one large crane arm that was likely intended to be used to lift the stolen car off of the dock. The ship appeared to have a decently-sized cargo hold accessed by the rolling doors set horizontally in the deck amidships.

All in all, he mused, it would be exceptionally easy for him to capsize the wallowing trawler. His storm spread far out into the bay, turning what was normally a calm, placid sea into a raging beast, the winds kicking up waves the size of houses with white caps that burst into spray. The trawler was already beleaguered by the wind and waves, barely able to keep moving forward. A careful nudge could send a rogue wave in from just the right angle to tip the boat over. A well-placed lightning bolt could cave in the hull, leaving it to slowly take on water until it sank. The same could be said for a particularly large chunk of ice placed in just the right spot. Traversing the sea during a storm was always dangerous business, but when the storm responded to the will of a wizard, it was tantamount to suicide. But... He had a feeling the lady Knight would be displeased with outright murder. She probably wanted to question the crew, or something.

Sighing softly to himself and shaking his head, Skylar stretched his arms forward and reached out, not to the storm above but to the sea below. Stormcaller Magic was not designed for this, but it should be workable. The ancient magic granted the user control over the elements that formed a storm, not specifically storms themselves. It worked best when calling forth or controlling a storm, but it could still be used in... Unconventional ways. Skylar closed his eyes and poured himself into his magic, focusing to a greater degree than he usually did. To the Lord of Storms, manipulating the wind and rain was so simple, he could do it without even thinking. This would require more of an effort. Much more.

At his urging, the sea stirred into a greater frenzy, tossing the ship about like a leaf in the wind, before suddenly stilling to an almost peaceful surface. Far out into the bay, some few miles away from the ship, a wave rose and gave the lie to the sudden placid conditions, rushing towards the shore with the speed of a racing horse. As it approached it continued to grow until it beggared the imagination, towering over the ship and even the tallest smokestacks of the city behind him. Far below, cries arose from the boat as one of the crew caught sight of the massive wave, and after a few moments of frantic activity on the deck the boat began to turn, as if to get out of the way. But it was far too late. The wave caught the ship up in its grip and hurtled towards the marina like a giant's hand sweeping towards the city. The surge continued to pick up speed as it approached the shore, carrying the ship up to the peak as it went.

Once it reached a few hundred feet out, Skylar swept his arms upwards with a grunt of effort, and the wind responded. A titanic gale hurtled across the city, just barely clipping the tops of the highest smokestacks and towers, then dipping down as it rushed out over the bay. The hurricane-force wind smashed into the wave and reduced it to mist and spray, save for the very peak which continued to carry the ship towards the docks. The Lord of Storms rolled his wrists out in a circular motion and the gale twisted around itself, forming into a waterspout that bore the ship at its very crown, racing into the marina.

Howling with the effort, Skylar grabbed the waterspout with his will and guided it past the moored ships so that it barely rocked them, stopping it just in front of the wharf. His magic whipped the winds to a greater frenzy, causing the miniature cyclone to grow even further and bow towards the warehouses that lined the edge of the city. The waterspout curled in on itself unnaturally, slowly and carefully placing the beleaguered ship gently down on top of the warehouse that the Circle - or RAGE, or whatever they were called - had appropriated. It started to tip over as its curved keel began to bear its weight, but walls of ice formed from the rain all around the boat and propped it up. As an afterthought, Skylar increased the size of the walls, forcing the boat further into the air to prevent the crew from jumping off. Without sustaining injury, at least.

His task accomplished for the moment, Skylar opened his eyes and flew down to where he'd left the Rune Knight girl, hovering a few feet off the ground as he surveyed the results of the combat. As he'd expected, the girl had dealt with the dark wizards handily, though as he turned to face her he spotted blood all down her chin and throat. "Hmm... Perhaps I should have stayed and given you some assistance."