GEAR OF THE STORM

Weapon Name: Gear of the Storm (also written in all caps as "GEAR OF THE STORM")

Forged for the sake of airborne battle, these dual set of weapons were proven to be highly unstable and dangerous. Their inventors tested it multiple times, trying to tame the thunderous power of the skies. However, it resulted in great casualties that killed even its creators. Forbidden from being used in war or in any situation, no matter how dire it is, the two weapons were separated from each other, and locked away in high security cryptic chambers charged with cyberkinetic energy. Should they fall into the wrong hands, these two weapons can bring down the heavens themselves.

Left Hand - Stormbreaker's Arm

It was originally a prosthetic for certain Drifters called "Bolt Runners". The title of "Bolt Runner" is bestowed upon those who can surf the clouds and winds, but also "ride the lightning" as many air-dwelling species say. Usually preserved for the right-handed, it can make one ambidextrous, as long as the gauntlet is kept on. However, its capabilities exceeded the expectations, with its functions capable of protruding electric gloves, claws, and channeling the skies' energy. the arm blade contains lethal poison formed by high humidity and exposure to lightning strikes. One can mistaken it for "fulgurite", but the Drifters had possession of "Thunder Crystals" - born from a lightning strike upon a crystal formation.

It was kept hidden inside the sky crypts, behind a maximum-security gate that only its creator can open.

Right Hand - Heaven's Glaive

This weapon is an enigma. Its main appearance takes the form of a glaive, but it functions as many weapons. It can be thrown like a spear of a javelin, it can be swung like a katana or a naginata, and its mysterious properties allow it to be used as a spellcasting weapon - like a mage's staff. Interestingly, there is a strange essence of energy that binds the blades together, as if like a nunchaku. If one separates the lower blade from the glaive, it can be used as a dagger, while the long blade can be a lance.

Pretty cool, right? But because of its multitasking nature, the weapon was exposed to several lightning strikes to amplify the strange binding energy. It resulted in channeling unstable Sky Energy, and it is rumored that its ability to channel lightning is the cause of the inventors' deaths. It has been buried underground, amidst a museum of forbidden relics, never to be exposed to the sky again.

-----

Impressed by Stella's skills to harness the Cloudweaver Brush, Lara Kai sets off alone to retrieve her race's lost weapons. She tracked down the Heaven's Glaive first, since it was located underground. However, it was last seen during a black market auction, where shady practices and shadier investors bid for the most forbidden of relics known to the universe. The Heaven's Glaive was backstage, but there was too much security involved. To bypass, Lara Kai rewired the speakers to play what people called the "never-ending lullaby", which puts those in its radius to a long slumber. The longer it was played, the longer it will take for the listener to wake up.

She swiftly stole the glaive from the black market, but it never ends without a little unnecessary brawling from the market customers - thieves, villains, and shady scoundrels from all over the galaxy. The glaive's power was unstable, which caused severe casualties to the black market, but Lara Kai seems to be... alive from its usage. She shrugs to herself, uncertain of why many got disintegrated while she was still breathing. With the glaive in her possession, she flew to the skies to seek its lost partner - the Stormbreaker's Arm.

Lara Kai was familiar with its usage. It was supposed to be a prosthetic for right-handed Drifters, including those who lost their left forearm. Because of her corrupted left arm, she wonders if harnessing it will allow her to channel her unstable powers more precisely and accurately. According to new data, the Stormbreaker's Arm was now sealed inside a temple guarded by lightning barriers, where no one can get in or out of the place. But since Lara is pure unstable energy, she was "non-existent" to the atoms of the barrier, phasing through successfully without setting off whatever alarms were in place.

But the security gate was harder to decode. It took Lara five phasings to evade the patrolling guards, and a little thievery to look for the true key to unlock the gate. Eventually, she was able to bypass it, finding herself in a cyberkinetic chamber. However, simply taking out this prosthetic arm would set off a blaring alarm. She inserts her corrupted left arm into it, before screaming in pain from the surging unstable energy it contains. The alarm sets off, but Lara Kai felt more refreshed from such a painful power surge.

The temple's guards rushed to capture the intruder. But Lara Kai used the Stormbreaker's Arm to blast them all to sky dust. She laughed at the destruction she caused, before leaving the gate. For one last experimentation, Lara used the arm to absorb the lightning barrier, energizing her unstable element even more. It felt refreshing, but the damage has been done.

Soon, as the Final Drifter and the Dayosa, Lara Kai will be the first to collect what is rightfully hers. If Stella and Käreitär can wield Drifter weapons, then perhaps she must show them how a TRUE Drifter wields them.

~~~~~

Another harder challenge for me to suffer, oof.

I now have to do dual weaponry, which means drawing 2 weapons in one character. Lara Kai having a Sky Weapon would justify her unstable element, since the only way I can get to Lightning is to do one Sky-based gear. Another speedrun piece, but I had to use Lara Kai's character illustration for base reference (and guide) to the Stormbreaker's Arm.