Saheeli - Bird up

Saheeli had been automaton dueling with the renegades all through the night. It hadn't helped.

She had come directly to the Fair's main arena—the location for judging during the day, quicksmithing duels by night—after leaving Rashmi's inquirium. Luckily there were plenty of inventors eager to test their creations, because she couldn't wait another moment to sink her automaton's claws into something that she could shatter.

Since her first match, she had pounded through no less than two dozen metallic creations. Many of the remains were still being cleared out of the arena. Now as the sun was rising, she was controlling one of her favorite designs, a streamlined bird, which was set to face off against a brutish green automaton. In her opinion, the towering invention on the other side of the arena looked a bit like one of the giants that occasionally migrated through the city. All the more reason to crush it.

***

A Time for Innovation