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RIFT: Air Colossus

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Death can come in a million ways on the Plane of Air, but I was not prepared for the sheer terror that I would encounter. As I climbed the ridge on what was probably the largest of the floating islands, I was forced to shield my eyes from the dust and debris that was thrown about by the gale; but as I stood on the crest, the winds suddenly died. For a moment all was silent as I surveyed the valley. It was almost entirely concealed by fog and cloud; anything could be down there.

The quiet was unnerving: there were no shrieking harpies, no bellows of dragons, and no howling winds. It was almost like they knew that whatever was concealed in this valley was far beyond their power, even the wind was frozen in fear. I, being more foolish than brave, thought that if I had survived this plane thus far, I could overcome whatever lay below. I pressed on into the fog.

It was not as thick as I had imagined. I could see for a few yards in any direction, though the dull grey of the smooth stone blended easily with the fog, making it hard to distinguish between ground and sky. The tree-like outcroppings of black stone that dotted the area were never quite vertical, making me slightly dizzy as I tried to orient myself and make my way to the center of the valley. What I found most disconcerting was the silence, it seemed deafening at that moment.

That is when I truly understood the meaning of “deafening.” I only heard the thunder that broke the silence for an instant before my ears were numb and overwhelmed, the rest of the rumble I felt more than heard. It knocked me to the ground and rattled my bones until I thought they would shatter from the sheer power of the sound. Though the massive wave of thunder probably only lasted about a minute, it felt hours in that agony. As the rumble faded, I found myself unable to regain my balance. I was bleeding from my ears and my nose, and my innards churned like debris in a powerful tornado. It took a few moments of rest, as well as some retching and vomiting to recover myself.

As I stood, I felt the ground shake beneath me. I knew there should have been the sound of shattering stone to accompany the feeling, but I heard nothing but the monotone squeal of shattered eardrums. Turning to face this new threat, I saw a massive dragon's foot. Each of the four claws was longer than a man is tall, and the ankle was invisible, hidden above in the fog. I wondered what kind of massive monstrosity I had stumbled upon.

That's when the winds began to howl to life again. I scrambled for a nearby stone, and tucked myself under an outcropping. I had wandered this plane for many weeks, and I had never encountered winds with such force. I hid my face and clung to the stone for dear life. The earth shook, and the world felt like it was tumbling, but still I could hear nothing. The winds remained at their ferocious speed, but the ground began to settle. Through my eyelids I could see that the world was much brighter than it was a moment ago. I hazarded to glance out, but not to release my grip on the stone.

The outcropping I was clinging to, along with a chunk of earth the size of a small castle had been ripped from the ground and was now flying away from the island. The fog was gone, easily dispersed by the gale. I pressed my belly against the now soaring earth and began to look for the great dragon whose foot I had seen before. When I found the foot, I was shocked. It was not attached to a dragon, but a woman. A massive, beautiful woman, with the feet and horns of a dragon and four great, powerful but yet delicate looking wings. The chunk of stone that I was riding was one of several that hovered around her as she flew. I watched in amazement as I orbited. Her face came into view; it was stunningly beautiful, with long dark hair framing her soft features. Her eyes glowed the blue-white of lightning. I was enthralled by her beauty and horrified by her sheer power.

The lightning-eyes settled on me, and the stone I rode hovered close to her face. I stood eye to eye with her, though each of her eyes was larger than my entire body. Her calm steady breath was like hurricane force winds to an insignificant mortal like myself. I wondered for a moment if this great being was under the control of Crucia, but the eyes belied an intelligence. They had a brightness beyond their glow that showed that this was a being of great, untameable will. I doubted that even Crucia could conquer a will like this.

My hearing had not returned, so I was unsure if my voice was loud enough to hear, but I spoke anyway. “Great Colossus of the Air, are you of the Storm Legion? Does the Broodmother control your will?”

She backed away from the stone enough for me to see her entire upper body. A humourless smile crept across her lips. Her voice shook my bones, but alas I could not hear. I deciphered her words from reading her lips.

“Foolish mortal. My mind can not be broken by anyone.” Her next words made my blood freeze in my veins.

“I serve the Broodmother as is convenient for me.”


This took hours to complete, 77 to be exact. I don't usually paint backgrounds but for something I don't do often I think it looks fairly good.

I'm happy with how it turned out overall, hope you enjoy
Image size
3600x2829px 5.77 MB
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