Disclaimer: I don't own destiny (which belongs to bungie) or The Elder Scrolls (which belongs to Bethesda). Nor do I own the design for the dragonoid form (that belongs to High-Rez, from their game Smite) I only own those that are my Original Characters. Inigo as a character belongs to Smartbluecat.
Her mind had mostly settled and taken in the information provided to her by Herald. Much still confused her of course, but she figured she'd take it one step at a time like she usually did. They had been making good time towards their destination. Herald had tucked himself into what she could best describe as a compartment adjacent to the soul, that provides a feeling almost akin to having a cat press into your side. Except that the feeling was variable in where it appeared. Right now he seemed to be resting against her right shoulder blade.
During their journey she had been focused more on processing information, and studying/experimenting (read: toying/playing) with her newly obtained Light. It was certainly volatile, though not in the same way that destruction magic is built to be. It seemed eager, like a puppy being introduced to new friends. It would come oftentimes to fast to her call. One of the times she had accidentally coated herself in lightning when she was simply trying to channel it into an orb in her hand. Like a lightning bolt spell. The result of that was her having crashed straight into a small cliff, burying herself under several tons of rock. She had had to explode to free herself, knew that the master level fire destruction spell would come in handy at some point! Apparently coating herself in lighting made her much more durable and much faster. At least when the source was this Light.
On another note, feeling out the Light gave her a couple incites. Things like it wasn't being generated by her or Herald. It was being channeled to her, stored in a place that seemed to almost overlap with her magicka pool, and was being kept regulated by Herald's efforts. It also seemed… intrinsic. Like her Thu'um, or the previously mentioned magicka pool. Except it felt intrinsic to more than just her, she could feel the Light in the environment all around her now that she had felt the pure Light within her. It was comforting, like a mother's embrace in a way. But also exhilarating, like she had just gulped down a stamina potion. The Light was healing the lactic acid buildup in her muscles passively, like she was constantly using a restoration spell (and she was very good at restoration spells). Combining the two was interesting, though she hadn't actually been able to test out the effects yet. If it did good things then she would have to teach Herald how to channel the magicka within her. Being able to focus on the chaos of combat while Herald used her spells, even if only the restoration spells, would be an amazing advantage.
If the Light is a divine force from the Traveler, then perhaps it is paracausal like Father's time? Like Nocturnal's shadows? Ruling cause and effect instead of being ruled by it? Perhaps her divinity combined with her mortal station could? Hmm, experiments for another time, when she had a greater grasp of the Light.
The trees were still passing steadily by as the sharp whiff of something unmistakable passed her nose. An acrid stench on the horizon that meant one of two things. Either the village has cause to celebrate, or they are under attack. We were still a ways off, but that stench of smoke caused her to speed up noticeably. This resulted in Herald being alerted, as Akira had moved at a steady pace for the entirety of the journey (the only difference being the lightning incident). By now they had learned to communicate basic feelings over their bond, and Heralds curiosity was met with an influx of caution and worry. Though Herald did note the lack of fear.
"What's wrong Akira? I am not picking up anything dangerous. Just a slightly raised amount of carbon in the air."
"Herald, that is smoke on the horizon! In the direction of the village we were supposed to be going to. I thought you said there wasn't really any danger, that Humanity was peaceful with itself." A slight note of accusation, but mostly tempered with confusion.
"Smoke? Wait, I'm not picking up anything. There should be radio signals! Need to find you a weapon… need to find you a weapon…" Herald almost seemed as if he was starting to panic.
"You said a while back that you could store stuff as 'data'? Can you manipulate and change things while stored?"
"Yes, at least at a basic level. Nothing major like making a gatling gun from random junk."
"Can you turn that iron I found during the incident into a sword?" She could use her fists, but she was always better with a blade in hand and destruction in the other.
"I… maybe. Give me a moment, I'll see what I can do. I'll either tell you no, or you'll have a blade in your hands by the time you reach the village."
And so the rest of the trip passed by in a blur of color and pre-action nerves. If Herald couldn't put a blade in her hands, she didn't know if she had the power to stand up to whatever the enemy is. She could use magic yes, but she would have to try and pass it off as powers correlating to the Light. Maybe Incinerate or Thunderbolt would have the best chances, they disintegrated their targets just like the fire and lighting forms of the Light did. It would leave behind a pile of ash, but maybe the wind would deal with that problem. At the very least it is something that she can fall back on in a pinch.
She needed a plan. As much as Serana and Inigo liked to joke around that she always charged headfirst without thinking, (okay sometimes they were right) she usually had some sort of plan. 'Okay think Akira, what do you have?' Unknown village layout, unknown enemy weaponry, unknown enemy powers, no idea what is going on, and a maybe on an iron blade. That, certainly wasn't looking very favorable.
'Wait, Serana and Inigo!' she can summon them if need be, she wishes she could be discrete with atronachs but they would just be to strange. Her friends are currently in a sort of hibernation within her own plane of oblivion, they will come if she calls. Hopefully. But… she shouldn't do that. Serana fights as a mage and Inigo is equipped with armor and weapons that are made of a material that doesn't exist anymore. So, bad idea. Wouldn't be able to explain them, especially if what Serana is got out. She chose to stay a vampire because Akira was immortal, to keep her company for all of time. When she died, Akira was able to claim her by fighting against Molag Bal for the rights. Inigo surprised Akira even more than Serana, she was fully prepared for him to go to Llesw'er or Sovengarde. she was even prepared to personally escort his soul. But he instead turned to her and told her that he wanted to continue serving by her side, so she claimed his soul and gave it a special place in her plane of Oblivion.
'Focus Akira' pre-battle banter is fine, but she was starting to distract herself with memories. Paarthurnax was right, melancholy is certainly an easy trap for a dov' to fall into. She was approaching the village now, and it definitely wasn't a celebratory fire. Though she supposed it could have been an accidental flame that simply got out of control. And yet, the buildings that were aflame all looked to be generally in the same stage of burning down. If the flame were spreading naturally from a source fire, then the buildings closer to the center of the blaze would be much more desecrated than those near the edge. Somebody was torching the place down, setting fire to the houses they passed. Under that logic, she should simply have to follow the trail of destruction to find the culprit. The fires were still fresh, they should still be around.
Just before Akira entered the village, a blade of iron formed from nothingness in her hand. Almost like summoning a bound weapon. Which was also the reason she actually managed to catch it. Days of practicing bound weapon conjuration under Phinis Gestor paying off in her hand automatically griping onto the weapon that formed in her palm. Glancing at it showed it to be a basic blade, not even a cross-guard or leather grip at the handle. No designs placed upon it like you would see from proud smiths. It looked like an amateur apprentice's first completed blade. But she could feel its sturdiness, no faults in its make, no deviations in the metal. Perfectly symmetrical. It would work for her needs, and wouldn't falter under this trial by fire.
She entered the village from the east, the sun setting in the west. The culprit likely entered the village from the north from what Akira could tell. The flames carving their path to her right. 'There you are' Akira thought to herself as she saw a new tongue of flame spring up spontaneously within the center of town. Whoever was doing this better have a damn good reason, or they would fall to her blade today.
Reaching the center of town wasn't difficult. The village seemed to have been built with the cardinal directions in mind. A main path branching from the center in each direction. However this also allowed her and her enemy to see each other long before they came face to face. He was large, the size of the larger Nords of her time. Wearing armor of steel formed into large plates that covered key places like the chest, shoulders, and stomach. Gauntlets covered his forearms, and boots covered his shins. A helmet hid his head, was that glass all along the front of it? Shaded glass at the very least, could be a weak point to exploit. What his armor didn't cover was clothed in the same type of (if more decorated and colorful) mesh that clothed her. Slashing wouldn't get much done, but she could probably pierce the mesh with a well aimed stab.
Seeing her coming he seemed to register her as a non-factor, even with the blade in her hand.
"You appear to be a newly-risen. Sad that this is likely the first civilization you have encountered, but at the very least I can be your mentor. Teach you what it means to be a god among men, maybe you might be able to become one of the Lords in time. This village exists under my protection, and they failed to pay the cost of such. I am simply showing them the incorrectness of their choices."
Akira slowed to a stop mere meters away from the man.
"You would burn a village and kill its citizens for something as minor as an unpaid toll? That is your reasoning for the bodies that lay at your feet? Someone like you who holds enough power to destroy this village on your lonesome, and you wield said power like a greedy child throwing around his weight. Maybe I don't know how this world works, but if this is the norm then I'll just have to change it. Starting with you!"
With that Akira shot forward, her physiology making her both far faster and far stronger than a normal human. And yet the man was able to react fast enough to block her strike with his gauntlet. He pulled out a contraption from a holster at his waist and it was only her instincts and raw speed that allowed her to dodge the projectile that came from the tube placed at the center. The weapon was small, fitting within the man's clenched fist and was only a little longer than his hand. Colored a primarily black styled with red highlights combination, the front end was a lot bulkier than the handle and back end.
Closing back in Akira was determined not to allow him to get a reload off, when her instincts roared at her to dodge yet again. Another projectile thundered from the weapon, barely dodged. Closing again she was ready for the projectile this time and slid around it without trouble. Surprised at her agility, he failed to bock her blade and its tip slammed into his side. Right into the weakened mesh and straight through it. However she didn't expect to meet a wall of resistance as blade met a barrier of Light instead of flesh. The unexpected resistance was enough to cause her to stumble, and that was this engagement's undoing. Her only warning was the sharp tang of ozone passing by her nose one moment, then a blinding flash and she was sent careening through the air into the side of one of the buildings.
As much as that hurt, Akira supposed that she should be thankful that keeping a sheen of magicka over her body had long become second nature. It had stopped the worst of the damage. The lightning infused into his punch had been nullified, but the punch itself hadn't. And the punch was devastating indeed. Her Light and restoration magic were currently dealing with several broken ribs, a couple ruptured organs, and what would have become a large bruise if not for said forces working on it. Luckily she was back on her feet after but a couple of seconds, her powerful and skilled restoration magic proving exactly why she had trained it extensively. Aided further by her Light and natural regeneration, and she was combat ready in but a few moments.
This seemed to shock the man who had inflicted said damage.
"What!? How? That punch should have disintegrated you, or at least have put you down if your Light was capable of stopping that. I felt your body fold under my might."
If he thought she would actually answer that, than he definitely wasn't truly trained. Relying on instinct and being physically and magically superior to those around him. Closing once more while he stood open mouthed, he wasn't fast enough for his instincts to matter and her blade slammed through the mesh armor yet again. But this time she was ready for his barrier of Light and dodged his follow up attack, repeating this four more times. He shot at her twice more and threw another punch, but now that she was ready for them they failed to hit her twisting form. On the fourth strike she felt the barrier of Light shatter.
He lit up with lightning, centered on his fists but covering the entirety of his body. Slamming his fists like hammers into the ground, lightning spread like a torrent across the ground. Reaching about five meters in all directions. Yet her barrier of magicka held long enough for the torrent to end, her blade having found a bloody sheath in his neck.
He collapsed, dead. His spine severed by the iron blade. His own ghost rose up from the corpse, and Herald appeared next to her.
"Akira! His Ghost is reviving him, be careful!"
Reviving him? Ah right, undying warriors of the Light. She was prepared to fight him until he gave up, but looking around her she noticed the civilians having taken the distraction she provided to start fighting the fires. Brave souls. This made her realize that for every moment she was stuck fighting this brute, was another moment the fires raged.
Another moment somebody could die underneath the flames.
Another building collapsing under the weakened supports.
Another person lost to the destruction this brute had caused.
And so, she resolved herself to do something she hated. She pushed away the brute's Ghost, stood over his body, and called on knowledge and capability inherited from Alduin.
She devoured his soul.