What Lies Above
Your mind made up, you follow "Minister of the South" Byron. Everyone here has such weird titles. You're a little curious about how Byron plans to destroy the city, and after hearing what they planned to do to you, you have a hard time feeling any remorse for what you are about to do.
Byron flies towards the centre of the city and you follow him. There are lots of winged guards about, but they let you pass after a glance. You think they're looking at your cloak. You soon come to a bay in the centre of the city. Growing right out of the water in the middle of the bay is a gigantic tree. Byron drops back and starts to talk to you, having to yell over the wind.
"That tree's roots hold together the whole cloud," he explains. "Every city has one. Kill the tree, and the city will fall. And I've found a way to do just that. The birds that we all fly are descended from Phoenixes. The blood is weak, but through years of careful breading I've been able to make it strong again. What we fly obviously aren't phoenixes, but they are close enough that they can breathe fire. However, unlike the fire that would allow a phoenix to be reborn, this fire destroys, like that of a dragon. I needed you because it would look suspicious if I flew towards the centre of the city with two birds. I figured if anyone was willing to help destroy this city it would be someone from your group."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Just fly towards the tree, the bird will do the rest. It's well trained. After that, you'll be free to fly home."
The two of you continue to fly towards the giant tree. Sure enough, when you get close, the two birds breathe fire that quickly consumes the tree. The heat from the flame makes your eyes water. You hear a low rumble below you, and you're sure that the city won't last much longer. Byron has flown off, and you decide to do the same.
You abandon the collapsing city behind you and start off for home. You start to think of what you can tell them. They'll surely hate you if they knew the truth about how many people you helped to kill. However, you're sure you did the right thing. Didn't you?
Byron flies towards the centre of the city and you follow him. There are lots of winged guards about, but they let you pass after a glance. You think they're looking at your cloak. You soon come to a bay in the centre of the city. Growing right out of the water in the middle of the bay is a gigantic tree. Byron drops back and starts to talk to you, having to yell over the wind.
"That tree's roots hold together the whole cloud," he explains. "Every city has one. Kill the tree, and the city will fall. And I've found a way to do just that. The birds that we all fly are descended from Phoenixes. The blood is weak, but through years of careful breading I've been able to make it strong again. What we fly obviously aren't phoenixes, but they are close enough that they can breathe fire. However, unlike the fire that would allow a phoenix to be reborn, this fire destroys, like that of a dragon. I needed you because it would look suspicious if I flew towards the centre of the city with two birds. I figured if anyone was willing to help destroy this city it would be someone from your group."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Just fly towards the tree, the bird will do the rest. It's well trained. After that, you'll be free to fly home."
The two of you continue to fly towards the giant tree. Sure enough, when you get close, the two birds breathe fire that quickly consumes the tree. The heat from the flame makes your eyes water. You hear a low rumble below you, and you're sure that the city won't last much longer. Byron has flown off, and you decide to do the same.
You abandon the collapsing city behind you and start off for home. You start to think of what you can tell them. They'll surely hate you if they knew the truth about how many people you helped to kill. However, you're sure you did the right thing. Didn't you?
