The Iron Assassin

What See Thy Land

So far, so good.

The next thing he knew, he was choking up seawater on a sandy beach. His lungs burned from the salt water, the sand caked itself between his talons, mouth, and links in his armor.

"F-fuck." He spat, spitting the sand out of his mouth as he gasped for air, punching his metel covered chest, trying to create a reaction as his chest vibrated against himself, easing the pain away.

He sighed in relief as he layed back down, covered in sand and water as he groaned. His whole body ached. Every muscle in his body tensed and relaxed as he recovered from that bolt of lightning that hit him.

"Moons be damned." He sighed, looking up at the clear blue sky, not a trace of a storm in sight.

Riplash layed there for several minutes, watching the occasional sea bird fly by before he got enough strength to stand again. Groaning as he shakily got to his feet, but something felt off. He couldn't quiet put his claw on it. His mind felt....lighter? Less pressured? What?

This was...new. It was like the queen wasn't even there. Like...she disappeared! He was free! Free of her influence! He felt free. Truly free. Well...as free as you can get.

A small smile pierced his lips, taking a big breath of the dry sea air. This air was dry, not humid like a beach with trees. But with a....

He sharply looked around, seeing a small bluff of rocks leading inland, quickly climbing the rocks to the top, each time her we higher, a sense of wonder filled his soul.

Heat. Heat was the first thing that met him. The heat of the desert. Traveling beyond the horizon, was nothing but dunes. An ocean of sand that drifted with the winds.

"Interesting." Was all he could say. This was definitely Phyrria. The desert back home had many oil pits, black pools that dotted the whole desert. This was different. Instead of pale white sand, this sand was gold with pink hues, who knows what suprises were here.

"Okay, first order of business." He announced to no one in particular. Gliding back down to where he first woke, taking inventory of what he had verses what he lost. Which wasn't much. Just a couple of smoke bombs, a vial of poison, a throwing knife and a small container of dried meats.

"Okay-" He stopped, looking at his canteen. A crack in the bottom was leaking water onto the sand below.

"Shit shit shit shit!" He snarled, trying to seal the crack with anything he had, ending up using some of the cloth from the wrap in the long knife his mother gave him, watching as it absorbed some of the water and held the rest in.

"Okay, not good." He grunted. Strapping it to his armor before looking around. Nothing but sand, sea, and rocks for miles in either direction.

"Well, let's hope there isn't to much for to long." He sighed, flexing his talons in the sand before looking out at the ocean. I cam decide now, he thought. But...he still had to find his target. But now...it wasn't required, he wanted to know why the queen wanted him.

"Oh what the hell." He spoke to himself, deciding to go left on the shore, stepping down the sandy way as he flexed his wings. Right now, he wanted to walk.

It has been several hours now and still nothing. No signs of life, other than a few seaguls he ate, no signs of a building, just him. It felt nice, no one here to judge him, no one here to try and one-up him. Hell, no one to give him orders. That was one thing he loved about going on missions, time to himself.

When he came out of his train of thought, the sun was on the horizon now, dipping down into the ocean as darkness began to grow. Casting bright ornage, pink, blues and yellows into the sky as it darkened.