Akta & Meng II: The Fury Of Akta
in the forgotten realms, a land that stretched as far as the material plane allowed it, there emerged three heroes that were destined from a young age to be the saviors of the forgotten realms. the first of these three heroes was Akta, a Tiefling Sorcerer known for her mastery over fire and shadow. she wielded a quarterstaff and had magic powerful enough to obliterate entire armies. the second was Feathers, a Human Fighter known for his sharp senses and skill with the halbert. he had strong feelings toward Akta, and had never left her side since they met battling an evil wind spirit. the third was meng mei, a sneaky human rogue who had the uncanny ability to exploit his enemies' weaknesses. he wielded a mighty shadow rapier that could pierce the toughest of armor. three months ago, the heroes had saved the port city of luskan from an air genasi. now, the city was at peace. they had each gotten five gems each worth five hundred platinum pieces. so, in total, they had each gotten twenty-five thousand gold pieces. but, alas, someone stole an enchanted skull carving made from a green gem known as necrotic emerald. Akta, Feathers, and Meng decided to investigate. they searched and searched. but, alas, they found nothing. as they were heading home, a suspicion dawned on Akta. she recalled the last time something with necrotic power had gone missing. it was a foot-long wand-staff topped with a green necrotic emerald encased in a skull. she said, "what if Galestorm's behind this? last time, he tried to steal something made from necrotic emerald, too." Feathers got a look on his face. "hmm. you might be right. I have a suspicion. I bet he's trying to collect necrotic emerald from all over the forgotten realms. if he is, he's probably trying to raise a lot of dead." a dreadful thought dawned on Feathers. "or an army of dead." suddenly, the winds howled. they blew so much, a tree toppled onto the road. "whoa!" said Feathers. the winds started to form a human-sized tornado. "oh, no. please no." said Meng, bracing himself against the wind. the winds formed an Air Genasi – but it wasn't Galestorm. it was a warrior. the warrior was dressed in roman-style armour, with a metal skirt. where his tornado lower body should be, he instead had well-muscled legs ending in feet clad in sandals. he held a spear and shield. "so this is Akta. I pictured you as a mighty warrior capable of sending her enemies to the lower planes." the warrior sneered "I never pictured you as this. Akta snarled. "you don't know me. no one knows me." "what?" said meng, clearly sensing her fury. Akta shot him a glare. meng backed off. "how pitiful you've become. I destroyed your former home. the ruins are around here somewhere." said the warrior. Akta let loose a piercing, infernal scream that any human wouldn't dream of making. waves of infernal energy rolled off her. when meng was hit with one of these waves, he almost lost consciousness. Akta's energy blazed for a moment, then exploded.
Akta drew her quarterstaff and, with a mighty spring, concentrated all her magic into the tip of her staff and fried the air genasi to cinders. then she ran away, afraid that Feathers would assume that her infernal heritage had left its mark. "wait!" Feathers called after her. Akta reached the end of the road, and disappeared from sight.
a few hours later, Feathers found her in the forest. she was completely still. Feathers approached her carefully, as one does when approaching a fiery tiefling sorceress. he got next to her without being char-broiled, which he considered a major success. "are you okay?" he said. she didn't respond. "what you did on that bridge there, blowing up the air spirit like that..." he shook his head and smiled. "I don't think any other sorcerer could have just smoldered their enemies to bits. that must've took a lot out of you. let's get you home." he got up. she didn't. he got a worried look on his face. "are you okay?" he said. she didn't respond. they sat there in silence. finally, she said, "what the air genasi said, about him destroying my home. that was true." Feathers knelt down next to her. suddenly, Akta grabbed his wrist, and Feathers was sucked into a memory. he was looking at the scene from an elevated position. Akta was twelve years old, stumbling along while her dad, Akmenos, was mumbling to himself about something being impossible. they were leaving. when they were halfway down the road, an incredibly strong wind blew, knocking down her house and blowing away her past life. then, Feathers was dropped back into the present like a sack of potatoes. "Akta, I-I'm so sorry." she looked up at him, her obsidian eyes piercing through his heart. "at least now you know more about my childhood. let's go back to meng." when they reached meng, Feathers relayed what he had seen in Akta's memories. when he was done, meng walked over to Akta. before Feathers could shout watch out, she can blast her enemies to bits with infernal fire!, meng wrapped his arms around his tiefling friend. "I am so sorry that happened to you." Akta, who was not used to human rogues showing her endearment – or anyone, for that matter – eventually melted into his embrace. after spending several minutes not moving, meng looked up. Akta stepped back, trying to regain her composure. "that felt good. I haven't hugged anyone since I was twelve." Feathers' jaw dropped so much that he was sure he had disconnected it. meng chose that particular moment to faint. Akta surveyed the damage. "wow. I guess my story really is tragic." after searing meng's pants so much that he screamed once he woke up, Akta said, "well, one thing's for certain: we have to defeat Galestorm." "we will. but for now, let's rest up." said Feathers. they then went to bed, not so they could feel good, but so that they could take on new challenges every day.