Feathers of the Phoenix [Private]

[Ambrosios]

The energetic ringing of his alarm clock woke Ambrosios from his restless sleep. The griffon spent a solid four seconds starting at the device before reaching out to switch it off, taking a heavy breath in and out of his nostrils as he sat up. Morning. Again.

The griffon stood up out of bed, stretching for a moment before making his way to the wash area to start his morning routine. Looking back at him in the mirror this morning was Ambrosios, as was expected. This was no different than had been the case for the last many mornings, and it would have been ridiculous to expect otherwise.

The arm had come along nicely. Very nicely in fact. He wasn't sure he would have believed a few weeks earlier that such a thing could be done, but here was the living proof. A new left arm, mirrored identically from his right one. Perfectly natural in every way, indiscernible that it hadn't been with him his entire life. Amazing.

The griffon left his room and took a left down the corridor, setting out in the direction of the airship repair bay. That's where his duties were: repairing zeppelins. If the last several days were anything to go by, this day would be nothing out of the ordinary. It seemed most days now were fairly normal, especially since the dragon had left. In all honesty he had been neutral about her departure. And her arrival. Her mannerisms, expectations; everything. The whole thing had been a very neutral affair.

[Red Charge]

As Ambrosios reported in for his morning duties, he was intercepted by two of the higher ranking members of his squadron. Though he usually went on missions involving digging up corpses to transfer to the crematorium, their team was one usually sent in to places rumored to be haunted, or where undead have been sighted. They explained that they were to escort him to Ceana, his commander's office.

Ceana was his commander since the moment he first REALLY joined the Tempest Triad, also the one who made sure his artificial appendage was now replaced with a new talon. She was equal measure beautiful, intelligent and deadly. At least, it was an assumption he and his fellows made, considering her high rank. Not to mention, she was one of Tempest's favorites, that was not something to take lightly, ever.

When he entered her office, he found the cream colored griffoness leaning back against her table, waiting. Though she was usually very strict, she seemed much more relaxed then her usual self. Ambrosios couldn't help but stare a little, but a nudge from one of the other griffons brought him back to focus.

"Ambrosios," Ceana said with a smile, "I remember you when you just first arrived, you were weak, scared, incomplete..." She said, her eyes trailing towards his new arm. "Though you have not been seeing much of me I have been keeping an eye on you, as I do on all of my griffons. You have grown into a warrior, strong, fearless... complete..." She raised her eyebrows suggestively as she said that.

"In the battle over Canterlot, you manned your station with one arm as well as any other with two. I have discussed this with Tempest herself and she agrees, it is time you outgrew the shovel and the empty graveyard. You are now a part of my personal team and I am proud to give you the rank of Airbird First Class." She pulled from her crimson scarf a small patch of a pair of wings, removing a protective layer on the bottom and gluing it to his armor. "You make me proud."

His stern griffon compatriots congratulated him heartily, giving him a powerful pat on the back.

"Aegius and Aristide will be your new team and I, of course, will still be your officer." She smiled a little, "You must have realized by now, that all of the griffons under my command bear names starting with the letter A. The Triad is big and who knows better than you how the clans love to name their offsprings after their ancestors. With each commander having a letter to induct their reborn griffons in, it makes it easy for our superiors to keep track of us and ... keep us individual, unique."

"Another reason I called you in here, is because we are facing an operation of unrivaled importance. This, of course, is something that you can be most useful in... have you ever heard of... The Baroness?"

[Ambrosios]

But today, Ambrosios found himself removed from his expected route to the airship repair bay. Instead he was led to the office of his commanding officer: Ceana. Interactions with her had been few and far between. His most stalwart memory of her still traced back to the beginning, when his new life had begun and his place in the organization had become official. One never forgets.

The sight of her demeanor, leaning back in her chair, was unexpected. And distracting. It took a nudge from one of his fellows to snap him back to full attention, back to the focus of a soldier ready to receive orders. The griffon listened carefully to her words as she spoke, reading their importance. He managed to only let out a blink at the emphasis she put on her description of him.

Hearing from her, though, that he had been promoted... ugh, what a terrible word for the situation, -that he had been advanced to Ceana's own personal team. Having these wings placed upon his armor, this was something to be proud and excited about. The congratulations of his fellow griffons seemed to agree with this opinion.

Ceana's next inquiry, however, was perhaps the most peculiar thing that had happened to him in a decent while. Aside from giving a dragon a tour of the furnace room. "This is the story of the griffoness who bathed herself in unicorn blood, on a quest to gain the power of magicks and secret of immortal life. I have heard of it." How this tale could tie into something of importance to the Triad had Ambrosios curious, and interested.

[Red Charge]

"Good," Ceana said, moving back behind her desk and sitting down, "Because it's real." She leaned forwards in her chair, "And we have learned from a reliable source that her tower in the Everfree Forest is active. But the only way to get into that tower and whatever is guarded there, is to take the key. The only one who had a key, was the baroness herself."

Aegius and Aristide stood fully attentive now, paying heed to Ceana's every word. "It took a while, but we found where her ruined estate was, where her ritual hall is said to be. Legend has it she's still alive in there. This is a win for us either way, either we kill a powerful undead, obtain many magical artifacts, potions and knowledge, or both. Problem is, it's in Kingdom turf. Not far off from where the sixth fleet is. I don't need to tell you why we don't want to mess around with any Firebats. So Tempest is sending in a small team and she's entrusting this important task... to us." Ceana seemed very proud of that, a mission of this significance to have been trusted to her would be an honor.

"Since the member of my team before you died, if you hadn't joined us... well, this honor would probably be given to any of the other commanders, but as I said before, Tempest is very pleased with your performance. So I guess I should be grateful," She smiled at him slyly. "We're to ship out immediately. Aristide will take you to the armory to get your new gear. Meet us in the zeppelin bay.

[Ambrosios]

Ambrosios nodded in understanding, having listened attentively to everything that Ceana had just explained to him. It did indeed sound like a win-win for the organization, and he could only feel glad that Tempest's impressions of him had helped secure the job for Ceana and her team; his team.

This mission was something the soldier could anticipate. It was his real first chance to work with Ceana's team, and the first opportunity he had to contribute more to the organization than typical low-level grunt work. This was the beginnings of something he could really feel proud of. Not that he wasn't proud of his previous contributions, but now things were on a whole new level.

Ambrosios silently waited for Aristide to lead the way to the armory, excited thoughts now nestling a place in his consciousnesses.

[Red Charge]

Aristide took him quickly to the armory, where the griffon in place quickly dispensed Ambrosios' new equipment, including, finally, a weapon. He recieved a fine saber, a telescopic tech bow, (one that he could draw in mid air, if need be) and some armor additions for his arms and legs, to provide better protection. It wasn't much, but it was a wide difference from having nothing.

"The mission specific equipment should already be loaded on our zeppelin, it'll get us as close as possible and we'll have to cover the rest of the distance on our own." Aristide explained, helping Ambrosios attach the new armor pieces and saber scabbard to his person. Once he was pleased that Ambrosios was comfortable, he began leading him towards the loading bay.

[Ambrosios]

Ambrosios took a look over his new equipment, very please with what he would be receiving. The saber, the bow; these were now weapons specifically meant for him, tools he would learn to master. The additional armor was welcomed as well.

"Thank you," the griffon spoke as Aristide helped him with his equipment. The newer member of Ceana's team followed his fellow down towards the loading bay, bothering to ask a single question. "Is the Sixth Fleet near this location out of coincidence? As far as we know, are we the only ones with a vested interest in the baroness' ritual hall?"

[Red Charge]

"Hard to say, they haven't even touched down near the ruins. They could just be stopping there on their way or, maybe even looking for us, ironically." The veteran griffon said, "I suppose we'll know more when we get there."

As the two entered the zeppelin bay they found Ceana and Aegius loading up one small frigate. The zeppelin itself wasn't much to look at. Had only several rooms and was operated by a skeleton crew, aside from Ceana's team. Its size meant it would be hard to spot, but if anything went wrong, it would not be able to outrun any of the larger ships with its small number of engines, they'd have to abandon it.

"Be prepared to make the return journey on wing." Ceana said, loading a crate of rations on the ship by herself, "We will meet the zep at one of two rendezvous points, if it's not at both, we'll have to make the journey back ourselves in the Wild Blue."

[Ambrosios]

A small zeppelin had been what Ambrosios was expecting, and a small zeppelin was what he had gotten. The greater odds of going unnoticed clearly outweighed a chance at a speedy getaway, but it also meant the team would be on its own if the ship was compromised. At least they had the advantage of the sixth fleet not expecting them. Or at least one could hope.

Ambrosios nodded after Ceana's explanation, his eyes drifting for half a second to the ship itself. One could hope that everything would run perfectly, but relying only on such an idea was suicidal.

[Red Charge]

Not long after they boarded the ship took off, they were to remain in their quarters for the journey, as the zep was small enough that they'd get in the way of the crew if they wandered above or below decks. Ceana, of course, had her own room, while Ambrosios, Aristide and Aegius had to share a small, rather crowded room.

"Is this going to be your first time facing undead, Ambrosios?" Asked Aegius, going over his arrow quiver, visually inspecting them for any imperfections. Aristide in the meanwhile was whetting his saber in what limited space he had, both seemed perfectly well adjusted and used to the small space.

[Ambrosios]

Onboard the zeppelin, Ambrosios soon found himself in shared quarters with Aegius and Aristide. Cramped quarters, not that particularly meant anything. "Officially, yes." The griffon was holding his bow, trying to get a feel for the thing. The weight, the tautness of its string, how the grip felt. It'd be with him for a long time to come, and now was perhaps the best time to get acquainted.

"Unofficially? There's been experience with one: what used to be a griffon. But that was fleeing, not fighting. And that wasn't Ambrosios." The soldier plucked at the bowstring, watching its vibrations carefully. "So it's been minimal."

[Red Charge]

Aristide and Aegius looked at each other, "Well, I don't think you'll have any problems." Aegius said confidently, "If Ceana and Tempest believe in you, I have no doubt you're up for it. Just, keep in mind, the first time you encounter the Aura of Dread, that's something unique to undead from the Necropolis, the first time is always harrowing. If we encounter undead there, there might be a chance the Necrolord got to them first, so it's something to keep an eye for."

"I remember your first time, Aegius." Aristide said, "You gave yourself a black eye pulling on your bowstring so hard."

Aegius laughed, "Lucky for me that's the only thing I got."

[Ambrosios]

Ambrosios held his tongue in the side of his beak, idly switching it to the other side as he pondered what Aegius had said. "There was dread involved. In all honesty I do think it had been one of the Necrolord's." Ambrosios could distinctly remember the horrible feeling Hawthorne had felt during his encounter with the undead form of Aeolus' corpse. Surely all undead didn't exude such a terrible sensation.

"What are the differences," the soldier asked, looking between Aristide and Aegius, "Between a regular undead and one the Necrlord has gotten ahold of? You mentioned the Aura of Dread. What else?"

[Red Charge]

"Necropolis undead are generally stronger. They hold the power of the Necrolord and... well, that seems to be limitless. There's no way to really kill a Necropolis undead other than straight up making it useless enough for the Necrolord to let go of it. I'll give you an example, a normal undead, you chop off its head and it'll die, right? Well, excepting the more powerful ones. But Necropolis undead, even the lowliest skeletons don't work like that. They'll keep fighting until you rip off every single limb they have. Not until they are one hundred percent incapacitated. I've seen a skeleton hopping on one leg trying to impale me with its spine." Aristide explained, "The regular ones don't do that."

"The Necropolis has, besides the standard undead what it calls Death Chargers. The more powerful of those become Dread Knights. There are non necropolis Death Chargers too and they become Death Knights. The main difference is the Aura of Dread. A Death Knight can be equally and sometimes more dangerous than a Dread Knight." Aegius expanded.

"That's how it goes for any species, really. Except Dragons. They're their own thing. But we never encountered dragons. Yet."

[Ambrosios]

"Powerful death chargers become Dread Knights," Ambrosios repeated. "Unless they're not from the Necropolis. In which case they become Death Knights..." The linguistics was having Ambrosios somewhat confused. Or maybe it was just the way Aegius had said it. Either way, he didn't think a perfect understanding of the various labels would be urgently critical.

"How common are Necropolis undead versus the regular kind, among the ones you've encountered? And how often does one find any undead when they aren't looking for them? These aren't the sort of things that civilians seem to be very aware of. Or concerned with."