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Titan Breaker	Many are the routes that wind and twist their way through the depths of the diverse and random mess that is The Hundred Kingdoms. From hamlet to hamlet, to town to town, across river, through forest, plains and occasionally rocky mountainous terrains with massive cliffs and jutting mesas that cast deep shadows into the canyons the rough hewn roads find themselves twisting their way through. One such road has a slight problem. A landslide, whether by natural occurance, supernatural mischief or mortal foolishness, has sent a wall of boulders and dirt piling upon the road twice as high as a Guild Wagon is tall, effectively blocking the path from all but the most daring climbers willing to attempt to scale the cliffs on either side or climb the roadblock themselves. Needless to say, a bottle neck has occured with mortal caravanners and travellers having taken to set tehir goods down and rest while they consider the predicament...and also stay clear of another traveller who looms nearby. Indeed the group seems to be split up between these mortals and ..well..one other individual. Some distance back from them, lounged atop a massive boulder, looms a ridiculously gargantuan man. By ridiculous he is indeed a titan of height and physical dimensions. A great tattred coat of black and red hangs over his monstrous body, sleeves ripped off and exposing gargantuan arms thicker around then shipping barrels. As he lifts his arms up, hauling up a keg sized container of drink with one arm, his pectorals bunch up and relax with audible creaking sound as his sinew grinds together and realxes with audible force like the moving of landslides. Next to him is an enormous iron ball, perhaps the size of an ox or larger, with a massive anchor chain hewn roughly into it and welded brutishly by some great force. There are certainly biazarre gigantic beings in Creation but there's something unusually grainy, textured and dense about this one..and the crowd gives him a wide berth as he boredly and lazily drinks and watches their hagglings with a bored look on a bearded face shadowed by a wide brim hat.
Amilar Ereyo	Said titan may be the first among the people gathered here to notice something approaching in the distance further down the road, racing along with immense speed. At first, it looks like a natural phenomenon, a spiral of strong winds rotating around the calm center, like a small tornado. As it draws closer, one can clearly spot a figure sitting (or rather levitating? Riding?) cross-legged on top of the dust-devil. At this point, several of the bickering, bored mortals have started noticing it too. A portion of the crowd gathers to the side of the road, mumbling among themselves, warily following the small twister's path. Others hastily retreat into their wagons, fearful of the thing's fast approach. It's not nearly tall enough to lift its rider over the landslide, though. Thankfully, the dust-devil slows down considerably well before it reaches the obstruction... or the mess of wagons stuck at this dead end. As it stops, just hovering a few feet above the dirt, the rider deftly jumps off, safely landing on both feet, and takes a few moments to assess the situation - including the giant person sitting apart from everyone else - before she adresses the crowd. She doesn't sound particularly perturbed by the happenstance, mostly bewildered and a bit worried: "What happened here? Is everyone okay?"
Titan Breaker	Well now, this does look bad potentially, now doesn't it. Superhumanly huge man, landslide and blocked road, frightened, annoyed, bothered and otherwise frustrated mortals huddled together away from him. But the arrival of the wind rider draws their attention and some relief passes over their faces as they look to her, some even bowing in respect...and the hopes they can foist whatever is troubling them upon her. "Many greetings, great one." expounds an older looking man near a wagon with assorted crates and goods. "We are fine. None were here. We came across this disaster well after it had settled. We were taking this route in avoidance banditry and thieves but it seems we've been corralled into a trap after all.." He looks past her, suspicion in his gaze as another fellow remarks, "Look at that brute! It's clear he's got something to do with us. Waiting for his partners to arrive and fall on us, I wager!" Some distance back, the immense man has indeed seen the arrival of the newcomer and his gaze settles on her from a far off as he lifts his heavy drinking keg up to his mouth and then seals his lips around the spout to engorge himself on more alcohol. He still doesn't move but to glance at him reveals that he is indeed watching now with more intent and interest then beore.
Amilar Ereyo	Now the woman cocks her head and returns the big man's stare. With the distance between them, both can't really hope to catch intricacies in the other's body language, let alone their expression. Still, the shift in the sorceress' posture is hard to miss: She draws herself up a bit, straightens her back, and fully turns to face the titan. To the mortal beside her, she replies: "Let's not jump to conclusions, shall we? I'll go talk to him. If this is indeed supposed to be a setup for a robbery, I will make sure that he won't be able to follow through." She makes an effort to appear confident, unflinching... although there's a slight quiver in her voice. Would the man even be able to pick it up? Who knows. Before he can make an attempt to stop her, the dragon starts walking, approaching the drinking titan's seat with brisk steps. Her dust-devil stays behind on the road, but having seen the speed at which the thing can move, it would probably come to her side at a moment's notice, should she need it. As soon as Ereyo is within shouting distance, she calls out: "Greetings! Do you have a moment to talk, or are you too busy admiring the scenery?"
Titan Breaker	The light rebuke of the mans eagerness to place blame causes him to shrink back respectfully in acknowledgement of her words and wisdom. He still seems troubled but there's little he can say to counter the fact that he was indeed jumping to conclusions. There is a rustle of restlessness in the group until she then makes it clear on her intention to intervene on their behalf. The quiver in her voice is indeed lost on them as the murmuring of the multitude lifts up in gratitude and they blessedly focus on that as well. As far as they are concerned, the matter is now addressed. As to the behemoth... He removes the keg from his lips with a loud *POP* sound and then sloshes it around in a massive hand as Ereyo draws near. From a distance, he indeed caught the slight posture change and in response...he did nothing, simply contiued sitting there though his eyes did narrow in some thought and idle curiousity. Now that she's drawing near to him, he lowres the keg and more and more until it sets solidly upon the stone, besides him, with his massive hand resting atop it. He inclines his head slightly, eyeing her as she continues her approach and then when she speaks out to him he lifts his head up, eyes squinting...and says nothing at first. The wind whistles, rustling dust across the road as he just stares at her with a hooded gaze. In fact, the wait is such that it may even draw to question if he speaks the langauge -- until he finally lifts his free hand and casually gestures for her to come closer with a nod of his head accompanying the movement of his immense arm.
Amilar Ereyo	The air stirring around her is a telltale sign of the Dragon-Blooded's nervousness as she pauses to observe the brute's reaction. More than that, she makes certain to watch for any sign of deceit - are his intentions really peaceful, or is he trying to lure her in closer to grab and crush her in his massive muscular arms like a tiny twig? Ereyo narrows her eyes for a bit, but her expression soon returns to neutral upon seeing no such intent in his gestures. Finally, Ereyo walks up to him. She doesn't intrude into his personal space, of course. In fact, she chooses to stand a few steps away, still alert to any suspicious movement on his part. Cautious, but not fearful. "These people believe you are responsible for that massive road block. You probably know or at least suspect that, or else you wouldn't sit apart from them." She talks in short, fast bursts, as if her tongue is struggling to catch up with her mind, caught in a race it cannot possibly hope to win. "Won't you not at least try to help? Strong as you are, I bet you could carry one of those wagons around the obstruction."
Titan Breaker	She is indeed straight to the point, and as she suspected, he does not seem surprised at her revelation concerning the beliefs of those obstructed by the landslide. His expressio remains neutral..unsurprised..and he holds her in his gaze for a long breath after she finishes speaking. His epxression is unmoved but within his eyes there is perhaps a ponderousness and heaviness, as his thoughts move and work at a pace far slower and more measured then her own seem to be. A stark contrast to her mannerisms at the moment to be certain. When he finally speaks, his voice is a heavy rumbling bass that vibrates out into the area as he asks, simply, "Lookshy?" Completely ignoring her own question and not addressing the true purpose for which she came to him. Instead his gaze moves over her uniform and settles upon her rank with a look of clear recognition and understanding of what and whom may be addressing him. There is a subtle change there as he speaks. His body straightens slightly, the move a subconscious one as if affording her additional consideration....if only just. a little. Finally, he does add, "Help them?" a second question that his rumbling voice poses, hanging in the air and then finally he says simply, "They did not ask."
Amilar Ereyo	There is a visible urge to shrink under his gaze and the booming voice, which Ereyo resists... well, mostly. Her right hand twitches in the general direction of the slender daiklave dangling from her left hip. The wind buffets her hair as she regards the giant. Through some fortune or miracle, the thick black strands always seem to avoid obstructing her vision. Into the silence that follows after he has finished speaking his rumbling words, Ereyo says with an air of authority: "Lookshy indeed. Wai tan-junai Amilar Ereyo. I've been taught to lend a helping hand to those in need." After a small pause in which she furrows her brow in thought, she adds, clearly agitated: "You're just... watching, then? Waiting until someone finally gets over themselves and musters the courage to ask?" Now her arms jump into motion, gesturing in the general direction of the gathered travelers. "How can you be so callous?"
Titan Breaker	As she gets more riled up, the colossal man remains neutral though there's a hint of his shadowed eyes narrowing a touch under her words. Just a hint. Silence follows, once again, after she finsihes. Nothing but the sound of her winds and the winds of Creation itself swirling about between the two individuals as their brewing ideological clash simmers. Then he speaks again. "Volken." he offers, granting her his name. "...The Titan Breaker." he adds, speaking his sobriquet and then further explaining, without being asked to as if he's used to simply having to, "...I fought in Thorns. Broke the pet of a Deathknight." he reaches a free hand up and brings it up against his obscenely e meaty pectorals, slapping them to produce a heavy rumbling muted thud and then rolling the muscle in a hulkish fiberous display of sinew, "So Titan Breaker." It's an explanation that..probably could use more context. He then takes the same arm and drags it around to lift his hand and point a finger as thick as a gnarled tree branch at in the direction of the landslide. "They didn't ask." he repeats patiently. "They...were afraid. I came near, they did not want me near. " He makes an absent gesture for the rock around him, "So...I sit here. Until I'm ready to leave." His gnarled hand lowers to reset upon the massive keg of drink and he starts to make to lift it again, but then pauses and sets it down while turning his gaze back on her, expression still stoney with his lips pursed slightly. "Are -you- asking?"
Amilar Ereyo	The mere mention of Thorns is enough to make Ereyo's eyes go wide in shock. While she listens to Titan Breaker's brief explaination, a complex progression of expressions marches across her face in a whirlwind of conflicting feelings. She makes no attempt at hiding any of them. There's certainly a shadow of doubt, quickly overriden by bewilderment, and then something like admiration, followed by a flash of fear, intermingled with curiosity. At the end, her face settles into compassionate regret. "I... have questions", the Dragon finally says in responds. "But not right now. Now there are angry, frightened people piling up over at that landslide. They had no right in treating you like this, if you approached them without the intent to harm. I believe you." Ereyo takes a tentative step forward and cranes her neck to lock her gaze with the giant's (if she can find his eyes beneath the brim of his hat, that is). "Yes, I am asking you to help. You won't have to do it for nothing, either. There's a guest house not much farther down the road. If you help clear the road, I'll invite you to as much food and ale as you can drink, and I'll pay. Do we have a deal?"
Titan Breaker	As she begins speaking, the behemoth of a strongman seems to be listening but his expression remains unmoved, at least what of it she can see considering the heavy shadows. His mouth and jaw at the least remain pursed up slightly, crinkling towards his nose, all at once stoney, neutral and dismissive. Lacking in emotional empathy for the situation and just explaining what is because..it is what it is. He does grant her the respect of not bothering to take another drink and instead just keeping the full weight of his darkened gaze upon her and then he moves slightly, flickering his eyes in the direction of the landslide once more and then back to her again. Then she offers that reward and the giant grows more still. It's, perhaps, difficult to say if he would have made a move to assist on his own accord, without that added incentive ..but now his attention is fully siezed and stirring of restlessness begins to rise up within him, made evident by his free hand starting to drum his fingers against his massive titanic muscled leg. He gievs out a low rumbling breath, nostrils flaring like a bulls as he breathes out and ponders the offer. THen he finally moves, turning slightly to slide off of the large boulder he was on and draping his long legs towards the ground. When he impacts, the earth seems to rumble as he crouches to support the weight of his impact and then he stands up and up and up, looming high overhead and squaring his shoulders - seeming to grow larger by the second as if posture was hiding his true dimensions. He's at -least- the size of a famed Exigent in Great Forks she has met. Maybe larger. Hard to say without getting the two to compare bicep size.. He wordlessly sweeps past her, leaving great iron ball and chain and drinking kegger behind him by the boulder and starts making his way towards the gathered crowd who all begin immediately recoiling and looking in her direction in growing panic.
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo must have anticipated the mortal's reaction and prepared to face it, because when she sees Volken rising from his sitting spot, she starts moving, too. Nimble and small as the Air Aspect may be, her artifical leg isn't exactly built for speed. The frequency of its whirring and hissing increases considerably as she breaks into a jog - not quite running, to avoid giving the impression of... charging at the frightened crowd, let alone running away from the aptly-named Titan Breaker. Her only goal is to beat him to the location of the obstruction, which doesn't seem that difficult. On approach, she slows down and lifts up her arms chest-high, palms facing outward in a placating gesture. "Everyone, remain calm." At least, she herself sounds the part. As an officer in the Legion, she seems to have at least some experience in dealing with crowds. "Your fears are unfounded. This man will put his considerable might to help clear the road. If you want to be able to continue your journey, you should not risk offending him." A hopeful smile spreads across her face while she pauses for a bid to regard the faces before her. When Ereyo speaks again, her voice carries across the wagons like a whipping gale. "Anyone who has a shovel or similar tools with them and is able to use them, equip yourselves. If you have spares, hand them to others." She begins rolling up her sleeves. "This isn't going to be easy, but we can do it - together." Her smile brightens. "Consider yourselves conscripted for this task."
Titan Breaker	He's not exactly hurried and so she easily beats him there and her thinking was wise as the approach of the giant was contiuing to raise the hackles of the mortals. Not many are armed but some were reaching, limbs shaking, for what little they could lay hands on in order to defend themselves. But then she arrives and then she speaks. Their attention is pulled away from the goliath and settles upon her as authority begins to lace itself upon her words and the combo of her confidence with what she says begins to placate them once again. Still, Titan Breakers inexorable approach is not without an aura of intimidation as the very presence of the man begins warring with her words and they are slow to move as she finishes her explanation and orders. But it only takes one to get the proverbial ball rolling. "You heard her. Do you want to be stuck here forever? Waiting for the -actual- bandits to show up?" Speaks the merchant who was, ironically, the one that had accused Titan Breaker before Ereyo had intervened. "We've got some tools. Let's--" "Stand. Aside." rumbles Titan Breaker, suddenly there in the space of time that it took them to focus on her. His movements never slow either, the juggernaut expecting them to simply move or be moved by his passing. The merchants pale, gripping hold of the shovels they were starting to gather and they begin backing up and clearing a path for him as he moves past them like a passing freighter ship towards the collapsed rubble and broken terrain, slowly beginning to step up towards it and then he comes to a stop and begins looking it over, vast back to the group now and arms resting against his huge lats at a slight angle due to his dimensions. He says nothing but continues swiveling his head from one side to the other as if taking a full measure of the disaster. "R'right. We're ready, great one." stammers the first mercant back to Ereyo. "I think.."
Amilar Ereyo	Titan Breaker's rough manners startle Ereyo as well, if for entirely different reasons than the people around her. She feels control of the situation slipping from her grasp, but there's no helping it: Officer she may be, public speaker she is not. When the giant begins examining the obstacle, she finally sees an opportunity to help calm the people down again. Turning toward the merchant, she gives a firm nod. "Stand ready, but give him some space." Her eyes shift towards the colossal back before she adds, in a more subdued voice: "He has agreed to help you. Let him show what he can do." She sounds very curious herself. Even her eyes lighten up a bit, with dark violet shifting towards a brighter, more vivid hue. Ereyo herself procures a foldable shovel from her backpack... and a spare one, which she hands over to the next best shovelless person. Silence settles over the crowd, only disturbed by the occasional murmur and whisper. They watch and wait for the Titan Breaker to... break the landslide.
Titan Breaker	The giant remains unmoved and silent, Still studying the landscape and, notably, not lifting a hand to help the merchants as fumble about at first - but then at Ereyo's suggestion they stop and begi wisely backing off. As to Volken - he mgiht as well be attempting to become part of the landscape itself for the lack of movement he's undertaking. Needless to say, some confusion starts to settle in on those present.. Until the behemoth lifts his arms up from his sides. His muscles seem to inflate, engorging with blood as they are worked to life. Sinew swelling and body enlarging like a herd of yeddim suddenly fighting for room under his skin and pressing out against his garments like bas relief. pushing out from a marble wall. Indeed his very garments start tearing as the giant's sinew exaggerates larger and larger, largely visible from the back as he's facing away from them, his back turning into a full on mountain range of hills and valleys that begin pulling his jacket apart as he widens and widens and pulls his arms back. There is indeed a loud audible creaking sound, his very physique producing sound as it grinds against itself... And then he plunges both of his arms foward, bringing his palms together and driving his hands fingers first, instead to the towering walls of stone and debris. A horrendous splintering sound occurs and the entire area shakes violently as an earthquake rolls forth, sundering the ground and dislodging more boulders violently. The people panic, the horses panic. The earth panics, but the stoic goliath simply pushes forward and forward, splintering the landscape around him and then beginning to rip and rend as he leans into the feat and crushes forward. On the other side of the landslide the landscape begins to alter and shift as the giant begins literally ripping a crevace open and forcing the debris ahead of him, plowing a path through the landslide by literally parting the earth.
Amilar Ereyo	Even the Lookshyan sorcerer-engineer, who witnessed functional, if mothballed skyships take to the air, and was trained not to panic outright at the sight of a rare warstrider or when confronted with sorcerous might and the devastating power of First Age siege weapons, pales at that display. It's hard to determine what exactly causes more distress in her: The giant's anatomy reorganizing itself, the overt display of supernatural might from a single, albeit enormous human being, who seems to be able to tear open Creation's belly if he only put his mind to it... or the actual result of this feat. After a few precious wasted seconds, Ereyo manages to reassert control over her body and frantically starts looking for anyone who might have ventured too close to the giant, which would place them in danger of being caught in the shockwave. There's not much she can do to calm down the horses, but at least her dust-devil still hovers close by. She hops onto it and dashes towards the impact side, bracing her artificial leg at the small twister's bace to dangle her upper body periously to the side. In this manner, she attempts to grab at least a handful of people who are too close to the fissure, one by one, to carry them to safer ground.
Titan Breaker	Her efforts prove well timed and put to good use. There were indeed some who had wandered too close with the intiial intention of starting to help but then pausing to watch the display of the giants vast body as it flexed and prepared itself. They are yanked clear before falling stones pummel them or the ground opens up beneath them. The rest are back far enough but there are some falls and bruises as they attempt to calm the horses or keep their wares stable. As to Volken... The gargantua vanishes into the rising debris cloud as he presses onward. The earth continues to shake violently, with explosions of boulders and debris pluming upward and launching skywards but -away- from the waiting caravanners and Amilar. but still the earth continues to shake, sunder and split for seconds that drag into minutes and minutes that seem like hours for all the noise and monstrous power on display. But then it finally all comes to a stop and there is long silence as if the behemoth buried himself alive or is otherwise long gone. Until the rumble of the steps and the literal vibration of the earth from the pressure of his hulkish approach begins to increase. He eventually can be seen, a shadowed smokey shape at first and then the whole of his body now, emerging into view and drawing near towards the wide eyed and stunned silent group of mortals. His hat is removed at last, and he uses it to dust away pebbles and bits of rubble off of his freakishly swollen physique but his expression remains as before. Stoic and set into a mild frown even if he's not actually frowning. She can at least see his eyes more clearly now, revealing careworn lines beneath the squinted grey orbs, and reddish brown hair atop his head, closely cropped and shaved along the sides of his skull. The look is only brief as the bearded behemoth replaces his hat but continues his approach directly towards Ereyo until he comes to a stop infront of her. He looks long at her and then steps aside and looks to the merchants and silently lifts an arm up and then gestures for the path swith a sweeping gesture like a maitre d, directing people through a door.