(Archive) Peony (Godspawn of Brigh)

## History

Created in the heart of the Citadel of Resplendent Clockwork by the goddess of invention, Peony was made as one part of a set of three siblings. They were not made for any purpose, only made for the sake of creating something, as their mother tended to do.

The first of the triplets was Kunal, a wholly organic human molded from the earth of Axis. He had jet black hair, and a coppery, shiny sheen to his skin. He had a knack for taking things apart and figuring out how they worked, sometimes even remembering to put them back together.

Sage was an advanced automaton, crafted from a meteorite drawn from the Diaspora, the core of which forming the center of their chest. They had a silver carapace, with many colored lights gleaming in the gaps between the plates. They were very introspective, tending to deliberate for minutes at a time before making a decision. They did have a prideful streak though, taking great strides to keep their form in peak condition for presentation, and anything else that might come.

Finally, there was Peony, the youngest of the three. A small fairy, created from a simple clockwork flower that was forged by the first Clockmother. She bore metallic wings and had a constant ticking noise about her emanating from her chest. She was highly impulsive, though tended to act with the best of intentions, even if the results of this did not end well. She seemed to bear an odd ability that let her use any object as if it had been created by a master, even if it was just a pan from a dollhouse.

All three siblings were a tight knit group, raised personally by their mother. Kunal grew much faster than a human logically should have, reaching adulthood at the tender age of 4. Peony had always hoped that she would grow as Kunal had, but it was not to be. Sage took up letting the small fairy sit on his shoulder and direct him to where she wanted to go, both fulfilling her desire to be larger than she was, and allowing the construct to keep an eye on her impulsive behavior.

Their education was top-notch. Everything mechanical and magical was taught to the three by Brigh. Peony took quickly to her studies, learning all she could about the ins and outs of the plane of Axis, how magic could be attached to the creations of the master crafters of the world, and how the mortals below interacted with one another.Sage simply nodded and absorbed what they were taught, not questioning of clarifying what they learned. After all, their mother wouldn't teach them anything that wasn't necessary, right? Though Kunal lagged behind in his studies, simply trying to learn what he could with his limited ability to take things apart, rather than listening to Brigh's teachings.

Kunal soon grew frustrated with the day-in, day-out learning that he endured, and grew sick of Peony's constant chatter and sudden ideas. He resented Sage for enabling her, somehow construing that the two of them were considered greater than him by Brigh due to their constructed nature. He began taking long trips from the Citadel into the darker parts of Axis, seeking something that would bring him up above his two siblings.

While their brother was away, Peony and Sage continued their studies, developing their talents. The two discovered that Peony could channel her abilities through Sage. Allowing him to use a simple table leg, broken in some of Peony's previous antics, as if it were a mace that was made by one of their mother's followers. Peony was highly exited by this discovery, wondering if Kunal's deconstruction talents could also be channeled through Sage. The clockwork titan was nonplussed. They simply viewed it as a curiosity and nothing more.

While his siblings were discovering what they could do together, Kunal descended into madness. He had somehow discovered a way to deconstruct a portion of the planar barrier between Axis and the lower planes, allowing him access to the knowledge held there. He had found a guide that aided him in his quest for his domination over his peers. A titanic flaming dragon, that called himself Kahad. A creature that seemed quite interested in his destructive tendencies. He taught the young man to expand his power by simply eschewing the understanding that his natural gift allowed him. Kahad encouraged Kunal to believe that destruction was one of the most exquisite feelings that one could gain. Kunal embraced these teachings, discovering great power in his abilities. After saying farewell to Kahad, he ascended once more to Axis.

His arrival was not what he wished it to be though, as he tore through the planar barrier once more, it buckled under his newfound abilities, shattering under him, the hole larger than anything he had ever been able to fix. The armies of hell poured through the makeshift gate, invading the domain of true law. Brigh mobilized her forces, attempting to push the invasion back until the other gods could help her with this invasion at her doorstep. Kunal fell to his knees at seeing what he had caused, knowing this could not be forgiven, he simply allowed himself to fall in line with the invading forces, embracing his actions.

Three days into the siege, Sage finally decided to join the battle. He had been holding his tiny sister back from it, afraid she would be hurt. She had acquired some gloves that would have allowed her to fight more effectively, and was eager to try them out. She finally convinced Sage that the fighting would come to them eventually, so the two waded out into the fray, armed with nothing but a shield, a pair of gloves, and the table leg.

Eventually, the triplets met once again, in the middle of the field of battle. Though, Kunal had been changed by the lower planes. Gone was the metallic skin, gone was the raven hair. In their place was skin as black as obsidion, and hair white as snow. He was clutching the chest of one of the golem warriors, causing the metal plating on it to bolt and screech as it flew apart at his touch. In response, Sage did something that he rarely did, he listened to Peony instantly when she yelled to jump their eldest brother. Without hesitation, the automaton laid into their brother, smashing their shield into his face before following up with an uppercut with their makeshift club.

In response, Kunal reached out, clutching Sage's chest core, shattering it in his hand. The deliberating construct seemed to stop for a moment, as if thinking one last time, before faltering and falling to the side, unmoving. Kunal turned to block an attack from an inevitable. At the same time, Peony, who had somehow slipped her brother's notice, attempted to pull Sage back to their feet, but they did not respond. In a flash of rage and anguish, the fairy channeled her power into the fallen construct, causing it to rise, with Peony taking the place of the shattered core. She screamed once more, jabbing the table leg into Kunal's back. The onyx human gasped for air, before falling to one knee once more, coughing up blood.

As he kneeled on the ground, with his sister raising Sage's shield arm to bring it down upon his neck, he whispered the name of his guide once more. An infernal laugh rang out across the battlefield, as Kahad flew through the rift his student had made. He swooped over Kunal, clutching him in a single claw and flying off with him before Peony could deal the final blow. The dragon pulled the army back through the rift, which had begun to close thanks to the work of the denizens of Axis, laughing the entire time.

In the aftermath of the battle, most of the fallen constructs were fixed, though Sage was left, lying on the repair table. The remains of their core had not been found in the wreckage of the battle. their body still functioned, but their mind was not there. Peony was distraught, being the only one of the three left in the Citadel. After a period of mourning, she resolved that she would find Kunal, and pray that the core had still been in his hand as he was swept away. She asked Brigh if she could leave for this quest, and her mother responded that eventually, everything has to leave the control of it's creator if it was to be of use. She opened a gate to the planet of Krixil for her daughter to pass through, wishing her luck, and telling her to find a way to a place called the Reach.

After arriving on Krixil, she discovered that her education had make her well-suited to this planet's society. She was able to help with the reconstruction of clockwork servants, and her tiny fingers allowed her to work on the smaller workings of the more advanced machines on the planet. She got a job at a machineshop on the outskirts on one of the larger Krixillian cities. Sadly, eventually the shop was stood up by a man and his clockwork servant, demanding that all the goods be loaded onto his ship, or else the fairy would be all over the wall. Her employer sighed, and began loading the crates onto the robber's vehicle. Peony, locked in the workshop, grabbed her tools. She picked the lock, grabbed her wrench, and was about to attack the robber from behind, when a portal opened up above him. The light of Axis emenated from the portal, as a familiar construct dropped from it. Sage's immobile body crushed the would-be thief. Peony just stared at their retooled frame, seeing an opening on their back, she ducked into it, finding the construct had been rebuilt into something she could pilot. She took down the clockwork servant quickly, smashing it's optics with a lamp.

She stopped one the pair was subdued, looking around the chamber she was in. A small shard of Sage's core stuck out of the ceiling of the chamber, and a note on the new window from her mother stated it was time. The Reach had been found, and she must go there quickly. Sage's body had been sent to her because the denizens of the planet would tear her apart if she went alone.

The fairy sent a thankful prayer up to her mother, before packing up and preparing to depart for the next Bifrost to the mysterious world of the Reach.

## Appearance

Peony is an average sized fairy, with long brown hair that reaches down to her mid-back. It tends to move wherever it wants, regardless of wind conditions; writhing and coiling in any direction, though generally hanging down before swooping upwards. Her part is the only section of hair that seems to stay in place consistently. Her pointed ears get tangled in her hair more often than she would like to admit, but the dangling earrings she wears do not help with that.

Her gold eyes could be seen under a monocle of Krixillian design. They seem flecked with green and blue, but are primarily metallic yellow. The monocle seems to be of an odd construction that covers more of her face than it strictly needs to. Upon close observation, one could tell it is lined with copper, and has a blue tint to the glass within.

Her body seems to be slight, with a little curve to it. She keeps herself cloaked in a backless green and brown dress that covers most of her organic parts, which do not include her back. Her entire upper back seems to be made from dull copper plating, which loops into the edges of her wings, which are primarily made from a translucent blue membrane, with a spiderweb of black veins spread throughout. Her arms are the only organic part of her aside from her head that is uncovered, only a few belts occupying her biceps.

The skirt of her dress splits down the middle, revealing her leather chaps that cling to her legs tightly. They are also covered in an array of belts that carry her tools, positively tiny screwdrivers, a couple wrenches, and some paperclips for working on tiny clockwork mechanisms. These are broken off by her knee-high brown boots. Their lacing criss-crosses over the front of each, leading up to a kneepad on each leg.

## Personality

Peony tends not to think her actions through most of the time. She tries to be the best she can, but is handicapped by her own inability to analyze her choices, and brute forcing everything. She tends to be very cocky, assuming whatever she has chosen is the right path until proven wrong by the results.

## Friends

Sage: Her sibling that is there with her in body, but not really in spirit, at all times. They always tried to keep her happy, and out of trouble. Generally these things were mutually exclusive, but they gave it their best effort. She feels responsible for what happened to them, and hopes she can get them back to normal one day.

## Enemies

Kunal: Her older brother that destroyed Sage's core, and led an invasion from hell into their own home. His thirst for power led him to a place that their mother would not have approved of, even if they weren't made with a specific purpose, they still owed it to her to not be wholly focused on destruction.

## Aspirations

Her goals are currently threefold. First priority is to find the parts of Sage's core, Second is to find her brother Kunal, and either talk him down, or more likely punch him in the face. Finally, she is a denizen of this world now. She has a duty to protect it's citizens and fight those who would harm them.