HOME | DD

Description
A blue fireball was shooting through the air above Leicia's seemingly endless forests, leaving a long flame trail behind it. It was 2 on his way to investigate a strange phenomenon the weather satellite had detected. The cyborg's gaze scrolled over the treetops where last chunks of slush were sliding down to the ground, although just the same morning a heavy blanket of multiple feet of snow had covered the entire scenery.
>Be careful out there,> Nicole's message came through into 2's monitor - a wrist device that lacks the part it is named after.
"I intend to", he replied and kept heading towards the source of the scorching wind that had completely halted Leicia's bleak winter. One would think a large volcano had erupted, yet somehow the epicenter of the heat was moving. Luckily high temperatures were a non-issue for 2 thanks to his build and abilities.

The winds kept intensifying as the cyborg approached the area where the heatwave seemed to be coming from. Something seemed to be moving ahead. A giant bird? No, a dragon? 2 was no expert on Leicia's titans - gargantuan animal-like beings that passively roam the planet - but just on its size alone the creature ahead could easily be one of those. With every beat of its massive wings there was a blast of hot wind, so source of the heat was now discovered.
   2 gathered some height and speed to get above the giant. He started sharing footage from his monitor with Nicole back home.
"It's a winged snake."
>I haven't seen one like that before>, Nicole admitted.
"I'll check a bit closer."
   He dove in to keep up with the fast-moving titan. It seemed that the serpent didn't carry its weight on its wings alone, and instead its long body was swirling behind it effortlessly like a ribbon despite its size. Its green and blue scales were shimmering as it moved. The animal was absolutely gigantic. As were all the titans really.
   In effort to get a better recording of the creature, the cyborg flew down onto its level. 2 tried to get close enough to have a good view without getting knocked down by a wing or tail. At that moment he entered the field of view for the serpent. The slit pupil on its giant red eye turned towards the fiery being, and soon after the entire head followed. Quickly slowing down caused the snake's long body to do a graceful twirl in the air as it adjusted to having turned entirely to face the little cyborg.
>It's not a titan! They are passive!> Nicole's hasty comment came through.
"Well what the hell is it then..?" 2 wondered out loud and felt very small under the gaze of this giant unknown being.

The snake raised its head, its bright red eyes locked onto 2, who started to question if it had been a mistake to get this close. He got his answer soon enough as the serpent spread its massive wings and created an unexpectedly powerful gust of wind that nearly knocked 2 off of his position. The sky darkened, thick clouds appeared out of nowhere and as the snake - or whatever this being was - curled itself into a threatening coil it opened its mouth, revealing two sets of long, curved teeth.
>GET OUT OF THERE!>
   At that moment the beast launched its maw towards the cyborg, who had to dodge the attack against the storm wind. He barely made it out of the way, nearly getting hit by the snake's horn and giant wing right after it. It was indeed time to get the hell out of there. 2 beamed to the opposite direction, his flaming aura bursting in a blue fireball around him. He was sure he made it out of the snake's reach when the end of its massive scaly tail swooped in from his upper left with such speed he had no time to react. The tail slammed the cyborg's small body with enough force to send it crashing to the ground in an uncontrollable spin. 2 hit the forest canopy, slammed against a tree trunk and ricocheted against the ground, launching chunks of dirt and moss in the wake of the impact.
>Are you okay?!>
   To Nicole's relief the cyborg didn't take long to get back on his feet. He shook dirt off of himself and glanced up at the sky, meeting the intense gaze of the winged beast staring right back at him.
"Shit."
   He would not be able to beat the creature in speed, and up in the sky those strange powers it possessed gave it an advantage, so 2 dashed into the woods. The trees would block the snake's view and the cyborg could hide his temperature trail easily, so he had hopes of shaking off his pursuer there. Whenever he heard the hum of giant wings, he switched directions. Yet somehow the serpent was ever right behind him.
   After a bit it seemed like the being had given up the chase after all as it had become less audible. 2 turned to look. The serpent had ascended higher in the sky, but its eyes were still firmly locked at the cyborg. It opened its mouth wide and a distinct bright glow started forming in between its jaws.
   There was nowhere to hide. 2 took a defensive stance and expanded his aura to shield him from whatever was coming.
   The warm glow in front of the snake's jaws quickly intensified until it turned into a storm of flames that fired down at the cyborg. As the fire blast hit the ground, it spread along its surface in a searing inferno and scorched, melted and evaporated everything in its path. 2 was specifically built to sustain extreme temperatures and managed to keep himself intact, but once the attack subsided, aside from him and the small piece of ground under his feet the entire scenery was turned into a field of embers and ash. Within several hundred meters there was nothing but scorched, blistering remains of a forest and partially melted rocks and cliffs that glowed faintly red from the intense heat.
   2 was speechless. What kind of being was this? What was capable of something like this??
"What are you?!" he shouted out of frustration and didn't expect any reaction from his animalistic adversary. But it squinted. Its scaley mouth twisted into what could charitably be called a grin. It understood what he had said?
A low, amused voice appeared.

>Fascinating. A curator that does not remember me?>

  It spoke!
"I'm not a curator!" the cyborg corrected.
>But of course not>, the serpent said and stretched its wings wide, raising its head into a noble upright pose. The dark clouds above the being flickered with lightning. After the loud cracking rumble of thunder the serpent continued:
>And my name is not Verno.>
   That meant nothing to 2. He certainly was not a curator, and not many would know he wields the aura of one. But arguing semantics was clearly out of the question right now.
"What do you want?" he repeated his earlier question.
   The serpent's amused expression vanished and it slowly leaned forward. The corners of its mouth formed a serious look and it gave 2 a bad feeling. A portal might be the only way out of there, if only he got a little bit of time to make one. The cyborg felt the ground move under his feet. He was ready to take off when the land he stood on started rising upwards, forcing him to balance on it to avoid getting knocked down. The large chunk of earth rose quickly until it stopped mid-air in front of the serpent that called itself Verno.
   2 met the intense, judging stare of those bright red eyes.
>What belongs to me.>
   He had to get out of there. Now.
   The serpent was not prepared for the cyborg's quick movement. He hastily drew an oval in front of him and a portal opened. The snake's eyes widened and it dashed in for an attack, but 2 had already slipped through the portal that vanished behind him.

The cyborg landed on his elbows somewhere on the other side of Leicia. The snow practically vanished from around him and the vegetation started curling in on itself, which alerted 2 to tone down his aura.
   Finally he could take a breather.
>2! Is everything alright?> Nicole's restless voice came through the device on the cyborg's arm.
"Yeah. I'm coming back."
>Come quick, you need to see this.>
   Judging by tone alone, it didn't sound like good news.

Continues in: www.deviantart.com/skudde-ocs/…

~

1.10.2023

I could have posted this one a good 3 weeks ago, but my intense hyperfixation on making guides for Paleo Pines had me sidetracked for the majority of last month. I think I'm in the clear now though, having been able to finish the banner artwork and all.

As I mentioned in the description for this piece www.deviantart.com/skudde-ocs/… , Verno's sudden appearance didn't go quite as peacefully as I had originally intended. I hadn't taken into account his history with the curators and overall taste for the dramatic. ...which makes me concerned about what will happen next.

Description
A blue fireball was shooting through the air above Leicia's seemingly endless forests, leaving a long flame trail behind it. It was 2 on his way to investigate a strange phenomenon the weather satellite had detected. The cyborg's gaze scrolled over the treetops where last chunks of slush were sliding down to the ground, although just the same morning a heavy blanket of multiple feet of snow had covered the entire scenery.
>Be careful out there,> Nicole's message came through into 2's monitor - a wrist device that lacks the part it is named after.
"I intend to", he replied and kept heading towards the source of the scorching wind that had completely halted Leicia's bleak winter. One would think a large volcano had erupted, yet somehow the epicenter of the heat was moving. Luckily high temperatures were a non-issue for 2 thanks to his build and abilities.

The winds kept intensifying as the cyborg approached the area where the heatwave seemed to be coming from. Something seemed to be moving ahead. A giant bird? No, a dragon? 2 was no expert on Leicia's titans - gargantuan animal-like beings that passively roam the planet - but just on its size alone the creature ahead could easily be one of those. With every beat of its massive wings there was a blast of hot wind, so source of the heat was now discovered.
   2 gathered some height and speed to get above the giant. He started sharing footage from his monitor with Nicole back home.
"It's a winged snake."
>I haven't seen one like that before>, Nicole admitted.
"I'll check a bit closer."
   He dove in to keep up with the fast-moving titan. It seemed that the serpent didn't carry its weight on its wings alone, and instead its long body was swirling behind it effortlessly like a ribbon despite its size. Its green and blue scales were shimmering as it moved. The animal was absolutely gigantic. As were all the titans really.
   In effort to get a better recording of the creature, the cyborg flew down onto its level. 2 tried to get close enough to have a good view without getting knocked down by a wing or tail. At that moment he entered the field of view for the serpent. The slit pupil on its giant red eye turned towards the fiery being, and soon after the entire head followed. Quickly slowing down caused the snake's long body to do a graceful twirl in the air as it adjusted to having turned entirely to face the little cyborg.
>It's not a titan! They are passive!> Nicole's hasty comment came through.
"Well what the hell is it then..?" 2 wondered out loud and felt very small under the gaze of this giant unknown being.

The snake raised its head, its bright red eyes locked onto 2, who started to question if it had been a mistake to get this close. He got his answer soon enough as the serpent spread its massive wings and created an unexpectedly powerful gust of wind that nearly knocked 2 off of his position. The sky darkened, thick clouds appeared out of nowhere and as the snake - or whatever this being was - curled itself into a threatening coil it opened its mouth, revealing two sets of long, curved teeth.
>GET OUT OF THERE!>
   At that moment the beast launched its maw towards the cyborg, who had to dodge the attack against the storm wind. He barely made it out of the way, nearly getting hit by the snake's horn and giant wing right after it. It was indeed time to get the hell out of there. 2 beamed to the opposite direction, his flaming aura bursting in a blue fireball around him. He was sure he made it out of the snake's reach when the end of its massive scaly tail swooped in from his upper left with such speed he had no time to react. The tail slammed the cyborg's small body with enough force to send it crashing to the ground in an uncontrollable spin. 2 hit the forest canopy, slammed against a tree trunk and ricocheted against the ground, launching chunks of dirt and moss in the wake of the impact.
>Are you okay?!>
   To Nicole's relief the cyborg didn't take long to get back on his feet. He shook dirt off of himself and glanced up at the sky, meeting the intense gaze of the winged beast staring right back at him.
"Shit."
   He would not be able to beat the creature in speed, and up in the sky those strange powers it possessed gave it an advantage, so 2 dashed into the woods. The trees would block the snake's view and the cyborg could hide his temperature trail easily, so he had hopes of shaking off his pursuer there. Whenever he heard the hum of giant wings, he switched directions. Yet somehow the serpent was ever right behind him.
   After a bit it seemed like the being had given up the chase after all as it had become less audible. 2 turned to look. The serpent had ascended higher in the sky, but its eyes were still firmly locked at the cyborg. It opened its mouth wide and a distinct bright glow started forming in between its jaws.
   There was nowhere to hide. 2 took a defensive stance and expanded his aura to shield him from whatever was coming.
   The warm glow in front of the snake's jaws quickly intensified until it turned into a storm of flames that fired down at the cyborg. As the fire blast hit the ground, it spread along its surface in a searing inferno and scorched, melted and evaporated everything in its path. 2 was specifically built to sustain extreme temperatures and managed to keep himself intact, but once the attack subsided, aside from him and the small piece of ground under his feet the entire scenery was turned into a field of embers and ash. Within several hundred meters there was nothing but scorched, blistering remains of a forest and partially melted rocks and cliffs that glowed faintly red from the intense heat.
   2 was speechless. What kind of being was this? What was capable of something like this??
"What are you?!" he shouted out of frustration and didn't expect any reaction from his animalistic adversary. But it squinted. Its scaley mouth twisted into what could charitably be called a grin. It understood what he had said?
A low, amused voice appeared.

>Fascinating. A curator that does not remember me?>

  It spoke!
"I'm not a curator!" the cyborg corrected.
>But of course not>, the serpent said and stretched its wings wide, raising its head into a noble upright pose. The dark clouds above the being flickered with lightning. After the loud cracking rumble of thunder the serpent continued:
>And my name is not Verno.>
   That meant nothing to 2. He certainly was not a curator, and not many would know he wields the aura of one. But arguing semantics was clearly out of the question right now.
"What do you want?" he repeated his earlier question.
   The serpent's amused expression vanished and it slowly leaned forward. The corners of its mouth formed a serious look and it gave 2 a bad feeling. A portal might be the only way out of there, if only he got a little bit of time to make one. The cyborg felt the ground move under his feet. He was ready to take off when the land he stood on started rising upwards, forcing him to balance on it to avoid getting knocked down. The large chunk of earth rose quickly until it stopped mid-air in front of the serpent that called itself Verno.
   2 met the intense, judging stare of those bright red eyes.
>What belongs to me.>
   He had to get out of there. Now.
   The serpent was not prepared for the cyborg's quick movement. He hastily drew an oval in front of him and a portal opened. The snake's eyes widened and it dashed in for an attack, but 2 had already slipped through the portal that vanished behind him.

The cyborg landed on his elbows somewhere on the other side of Leicia. The snow practically vanished from around him and the vegetation started curling in on itself, which alerted 2 to tone down his aura.
   Finally he could take a breather.
>2! Is everything alright?> Nicole's restless voice came through the device on the cyborg's arm.
"Yeah. I'm coming back."
>Come quick, you need to see this.>
   Judging by tone alone, it didn't sound like good news.

Continues in: www.deviantart.com/skudde-ocs/…

~

1.10.2023

I could have posted this one a good 3 weeks ago, but my intense hyperfixation on making guides for Paleo Pines had me sidetracked for the majority of last month. I think I'm in the clear now though, having been able to finish the banner artwork and all.

As I mentioned in the description for this piece www.deviantart.com/skudde-ocs/… , Verno's sudden appearance didn't go quite as peacefully as I had originally intended. I hadn't taken into account his history with the curators and overall taste for the dramatic. ...which makes me concerned about what will happen next.