[System]
Age
23

Species
Human

Eye color
Gray

Hair color
Black

Height
5' 6"

Weight
123 lbs

Personality
Shae Sigurd is a Sith apprentice that looks to the dark side of the force as a way to greater preserve the galaxy. She is not entirely evil as many would think, and she would still prefer to save a life when necessary rather than take one. Shae feels that the Jedi Order has too many restraints on the Force, and they can't do their duty as effectively as they like to believe. While Shae isn't exactly evil, the dark side of the force does offer some perks to make life easier. The young Sith will intimidate and use her powers for her own gain. She doesn't like the Jedi, and if confronted by one, will fight if there is no other way out. That being said, Shae has much to learn about the dark side, and with her Sith master, there is no telling what his dark teachings might do to sway her mind toward evil.

Bio
Shae was born on Alderaan into a rich family that treated her like a dynasty princess. She was raised to be respectful and caring. When Shae was five years old, she was discovered to be force sensitive, and it wasn't long before a Jedi emissary found his way to her family's doorstep, offering Shae a life among the Jedi. The young Shae always looked up to the Jedi, and it a fantasy of hers to one day be among their proud ranks. When her parents gave Shae their blessing, she left with the Jedi master and took up a life of discipline.

When Shae reached the temple on Coruscant, she was greeted and tested by the council, proving that was indeed force sensitive. She was admitted to training. Shae showed promise as a youngling Jedi, she surpassed her peers in the art of the lightsaber and in her studies. She was proud of her ability. The master training her and her class, worried that Shae's abundant pride might lead her down a path that he believed she wasn't meant for.

During her teenage years, Shae was going through the normal phases but the masters were used to rebellious teens. She wasn't an issue, far from being a problem child, and for the most part was very respectful and pleasant company to be around. But she still carried her pride with her. It was in her teenage years that she started seeing the Jedi Order as limited. They couldn't love or find companionship. They couldn't tap into their potential to defend the galaxy better. And even if their own life hang in the balance, they always had to try and spare their aggressor's life. It didn't make sense, and whens he brought it up to her master, he knew Shae was treading on thin ice. He explained and tried to steer her clear of her questions, but she kept asking them.

By seventeen, Shae was starting to push the limits of her Order. She had secretly been seeing a Jedi boy and was starting to seed doubts in him too as she talked about the Order's boundaries. One night, the boy was missing, and Shae was accused of sending him off. As a punishment, Shae was also expelled from the Order. But she had learned all she needed to learn from them, and slowly she began her descent into the dark side.

Shae began by forging herself two new lightsabers and honing parts of the force that the Order didn't want her to learn.

Shae wandered the galaxy up to this point, now age twenty three. Not long ago, she was found by another Sith and shown that she was still weak and had plenty to learn. Eager to best herself, Shae accepted his tutelage, and began her long journey into the dark corners of the Force.

Equipment
- Two red lightsabers, the hilts can be joined to form a double bladed saber
- A blaster pistol for when Shae doesn't want to announce herself to be a Sith
- A small pendant given from her family before she left for the Jedi Temple as a child

[User]
Karnus had remained in his position, leaning back against the ships wall with his arms folded and eyes closed, his face passive as he observed the short battle through the Force, slowly opening them and looking over at the girl when she returned to him, observing her face for a moment.

"You should be wary of giving orders to those more powerful than you, young one. You call yourself Sith but you are nothing of the sort. A dark Jedi perhaps, but compared to a true Sith you are but a worm crawling in the dirt. Do you even know our code? Do you understand it? I know for fact they do not teach such a thing in the Jedi temple. To be Sith you must be trained by Sith, as I was, and my master before me. Our line stretches back to the first Sith Empire. You have potential, enough that I could train you, but do not dare to call yourself Sith when you have not earned it."

[Assistant]
Shae turned her light sabers off and gritted her teeth at him, "And you know nothing of me. Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The force shall free me." Shae recited the code, "The jedi order doesn't teach it, but I am resourceful and know more than what the order lets on. Peace and life is my passion, attained through greater power than what the Jedi Order offers."

Shae paused, taking a breath and looking back toward the airlock she had attacked from, "I'm more than a worm, but I do indeed have much to learn. If you're willing to offer those teachings, then I'm not one to turn you down. But..." she steps up close to him, "Don't ever look down on me."

Shae turned and headed for the ship's cockpit. She wasn't going to fly the thing, she hadn't the slightest clue. When she reached it, she pulled out a small device from one of the many datajacks in the cockpit. Shae presented the device to him, "I took this from the order when I left. It contains information for the council's eyes only, information on the Sith that I have learned from."

[User] He followed her to the cockpit, taking the device from her when she presented it and raising an eyebrow. "Resourceful, dangerous, headstrong... You exhibit many qualities important for a Sith. But you have failed two of the most important. As counter-intuitive as it might seem a Sith must be patient, do not blindly enter a fight, you must know the possible outcomes. Second, leave no witnesses and do not reveal yourself unless absolutely necessary. The Jedi believe we are extinct, and if they learned of our existence they would hunt us down, and no matter how powerful we are, we are not yet ready for the final battle. If you truly wish to be Sith, take this first lesson to heart, I have no use for an Apprentice who cannot keep our order hidden." After finishing his speech he tucked the datacron into his robes, turning away from her. "Now come, I have a mission here on Tatooine, a holocron belonging to an ancient Sith Lord. If you prove yourself during this mission I will take you on officially as my Apprentice."

[Assistant]
Shae nodded when he listed her qualities but didn't do much when he started listing her short comings. Her anger had gotten the best of her when she saw what those thugs had done to the one she had saved earlier. "Whatever you say..." is all Shae mumbled, her eyes staring off so not to show the reluctance in her eyes.

When the sith mentioned a holocron, Shae's attention was captured. She looked at him, her gaze more steely than just seconds ago. "Our goals are somewhat aligned then. I came to Tatooine to hunt down oppressors, you came here for a holocron. I heard mention of a Hutt getting his hands on one, it might be the one you're seeking." Shae crossed her arms, "So. I kill a Hutt, you get your holocron and an apprentice. You don't need to serve me this task, I'm asking to do it."

[User]
"If a hutt has managed to get its slimy hands on that holocron it will certainly make this simple. If nothing else, any ancient Holocron will contain knowledge useful to us. But remember what I told you, our nature must remain hidden. This Hutt and its allies must have no idea who we truly are, or our true intentions. Which means no lightsabers, no obvious use of The Force. We will not rush blindly in, either. I am curious as to what you can come up with for a plan, you have exhibited combat prowess and intelligence, but there is far more to a Sith. I will await you in my ship, it's the Mandal Hypernautics luxury yacht, in hanger 15."

After finishing his sentence he turned away, raising his hood and tossing her a small access card labeled 15, not waiting for any sort of response as he exited out of one of the ships recently acquired holes and disappearing into the dim light of the spaceport, following the passageway lined with various hangars until he reached his own, the hangar doors marked with a large 15. He casually slid a second access card through the slot, the large bay doors opening up to reveal a sleek ship, large enough to hold quite a few people if necessary, and coming across as a typical noblemans luxury yacht, all shining silver and more windows than seemed necessary. Of course, many of those panels hid extensive military modifications, including a pair of powerful laser cannon turrets, missile bays, and a cloaking device, among many others.

Before long he had climbed into the well-lit ship, pressing a small button panel to darken the meeting room, which he had modified to be used as a meditation chamber, sitting down in the large chair and closing his eyes, letting his mind into the force.

[Assistant]
Shae listened to what the Sith had to say, she was being given an assignment. While Shae was a mercenary in these parts, there was something in his tone that suggested it wasn't just a job. "I want to ask why you don't show me -your- combat prowess, but in knowing what you are, I'll withhold my curiosity."

Shae bit her lip and left the room, "The Hutt's hideout it is..."
__________

Shae's mercenary work on Tatooine had paid off, she knew long ago how to find this Hutt, but she never bothered to cross his path. If Shae took down a crime boss, that would mean less jobs for her and it'd force her to move elsewhere for more work. The Hutt provided both the thugs she was stopping and the jobs to do, it was a sort of mutual love/hate relationship. Nevertheless, Shae had stopped many of his operations on Tatooine and she wasn't very well liked by the large slug, she couldn't just walk through the front door.

Subtly was key here, she'd find another way. Shae kept her black cloak on, with her blaster pistol in plain view and her lightsabers hidden in the sleeves of the flowing article of clothing. Her hood was up but even if her face wasn't visible, the crooks and thugs knew who she was. To these people, Shae wasn't the 'jedi' that had brought down their colleague's band of misfits, she was the merc that took the most dangerous jobs and stopped the most dangerous people. The two door guards stood nervously in silence as Shae stood across the street, they knew she was up to something, but they weren't about to ask her.

Then, she just turned and walked off. As she did, she had waved her hand slightly and the two guards forgot Shae was ever there and continued their conversation that never happened before.

Shae stepped out of eye shot from the door guards and stepped into an alleyway. She knew the layout to the Hutt's hideout, it went underground nine stories with a comprehensive ventilation system in place. Fortunately, the vents were large enough to fit a smaller woman like Shae. She approached a grate she had marked with a small scrape months ago and used the force to unscrew it from its place. She jumped in and then used the force again to seal the vent as if she was never there.

"Holocron, here I come..." she mumbled quietly and started crawling through the vents.

[User]
Karnus remained in his meditation chamber for awhile, energizing himself through the Living Force while also pondering the possibilities of this woman as his apprentice. She knew the Code, but he doubted she truly understood it. She would need guiding and shaping to become a proper Sith, he knew this, but he suspected she would not take kindly to being directly ordered around. If she succeeded in the simple trial he had posed for her, he would take her to Yavin IV, to the ancient ruins of the Massassi temples and Exar Kun's relics. Then her training would begin.

But until then he had time to kill, with her on a mission to retrieve the holocron and he had a datacron to look through. He plugged the device into the ships holoviewer, taking a few casual looks at what the Jedi knew about the Sith Order. As he expected the datacron listed the Sith as extinct as of the Battle of Ruusan, where the Brotherhood had been destroyed, and unknown to the Galaxy, Bane's Order had been born. Other than this they had tidbits of information at best, the Sith Code, certain Sith force techniques that they thought they could adapt into proper Light Side powers, and other such things. None of the information was new to Karnus, it had been passed down to him by his teacher, Sith History was one thing that no Sith Master could fail to train their Apprentice in, but it did tell him exactly how much the Jedi Council knew, and that was far more useful than the knowledge itself.

[Assistant]
The was tight but not enough that it constricted Shae. She crawled through the system for a while, moving slowly so not to make much noise. The intended exit was from the boiler room in the lower level of the hideout. When she got to the vent grate, she looked out and saw a man and a woman, a twi'lek and a human getting real close. Shae waved her hand, "You two want to sleep." she whispered.

The couple stopped their kissing and groping to just lay down and pass out. She couldn't help but chuckle at how comical it looked. Using the force, Shae unscrewed the grate from the vent and slid out, landing quietly and replacing the vent. She looked around to make sure nobody else was in the room, she was clear. Shae sat down into a meditative position and closed her eyes, using the force to scout ahead through the underground complex. She would locate the holocron first before forming a plan and making her move.


[System]
Username: Banana
Race/Species: Human Lycanthrope (Bania)

Gender: Male

Age: 73

Career/Class: Priest of Maestus / Noble

Weapons/Magic:
* A trident, stained at the tip with tiny specks of blood, and of elven-craftsmanship.
* A shield, outfitted with razor-sharp spikes at the crest, perfect for bashing.
* Knowledgable in healing magic, and is an expert at it.

Physical Description:
An old, but muscular man, with a long white beard coming from his face and accenting his wisdom, and a scar coming down from his green eyes, obtained when he was an adventurer back in his golden years. He stands slightly taller than most other men, and he has broader shoulders as well. Ursaren walks with a slight limp, and often uses his trident as a sort of walking-staff when he's not fighting.

Armor:
A set of sky-blue priest robes cover his body, which visibly show signs of mending by someone who is not a tailor. Over the robes, a steel chest piece is equipped, complete with a set of bracers and greaves to accompany it.

Equipment/Other:
A hood covers his face, casting a shadow over his eyes, helping the whole "wise old man" vibe get across to others. He is good with brewing potions and elixirs, even to the point where he made liquid medicine taste decently. He does have a dark secret though, as previously mentioned in his race.
Under a full moon, Ursaren goes through a transformation into a werebear, which he has been afflicted with for a good 44 years. At the current understanding and state Ursaren is at, he is able to become a werebear at will (obtained about 2 years ago, so not much experience with it however) and still be able to speak as one, albeit it's rather basic language. He loses the limp as a werebear, and is a force to be reckoned with when fought alone.

Mental Description/Personality:
Ursaren is a wise, jolly, and rather devious elder. More often than not, he will be glad to share his knowledge over a subject if asked for advice, even going further and giving advice over more things. He believes everyone is good at heart, and is able to change their ways in the name of common good and justice. The downside to his ideals is that he's too trusting of strangers, and can let his judgement lead to his downfall. He also has a habit of getting off topic when he's giving advice, even spiraling into "how when life gives you lemons, make orangeade from magic!"

Goals:
Nobody but Ursaren knows why he's going to the Southlands, and honestly, he'd rather keep it a secret. He may just go for the hell of it, or he may go for more fame. Either way, he'll enjoy the trip and he'll help pass time with stories around a campfire.

Background/History:
* Born into a middle-class Praelior family of merchants and doctors, specializing in medicine and elixirs instead of magic when it came to healing.
* Became the healer for a group of stocky adventurers at the younger age of 23, eventually becoming the party's main defense and last word of what to do in a situation.
* Learned how to cast very basic healing at the age of 24 (He could brew insane potions prior to that.)
* Started using a trident-shield combo at 27, inspired by the adventuring leader's prowess in the skill. Trident was obtained as his share of the loot, and a personal gift from the party leader.
* Cursed by some sort of witch-doctor at 29, leading to him becoming a werebear for the rest of his days. This led to him leaving the party a few months later in fear that he'd hurt them.
* From the ages of 29 to 41, he lived in a small village where he honed his transformations and began following Maestus as a priest.
* At the age of 41, he left the village to go live in Bania and spread the influence of Maestus, while also gaining recognition as a mage and pursuing more studies.
* At the age of 60, a noble in Bania grew very ill and hired Ursaren as a healer/caretaker, eventually growing to the point where the two were best friends.
* The ill noble died when Ursaren hit the age of 71, and left what he owned in Bania to the old priest, and encouraged Ursaren to enjoy life and continue being the fun old man he was.

[User]
The sun was an enjoyable sight for it was the clear indication that they had left this largely unexplored subterranean mixture of dwarfish and dark elven infestation behind for good. The Skayleigh spent a lot of time on looking downwards, waiting for his eyes to do what any dwarven eye would have done long ago and adjust. The moment pain ceased to be the reward for looking into the distance, An-Hasst raised his senses and inspected the environment himself. A village. Inhabitans ? Humans. Or should one say... daredevils ?

While he had never participated much in the struggle on the Kaelic Isles himself, he still could recognize how terribly wrong the order of construction appeared to have gone here. Wouldn't have it been a much better idea to try and get a decent defensive ring completed first before upgrading improvised shelters to nice little houses ? Without a wall they'd have to try and shoot their bows from inside the houses and await any enemy there after he had broken through the gate. Or simply get slaughtered outside by virtually any projectile on any arbitrary trajectory. An-Hasst silently hoped that those people at least knew that there was this massive cave entrance nearby ?

He noticed how their most recent addition opted to seek cover behind him -- and in fact he started to support this move. The woman was horribly exposed and who knew how badly her reputation in this village was biased by either previous confrontation on the personal level or general vilification of her race. Her getting held up, probably caught and possibly even be killed would only help to give their own cause a boost downwards. So he started to move more slowly and barely enough to make his stance and position not appear odd. Sometimes being the largest member of the group could be quite advantageous. If only there was be more he could do to make her drow-ish appearance just vanish for a brief, decisive moment. The old 'we have captured this individual and would like to perform our investigations' trick wouldn't work on such short notice, would it ? At least he decided not to dare and try it single-handedly. If she'd decide to pull it off, he'd assist her though.

Maybe though this wouldn't even be necessary: Maybe Settionne would succed in wrapping this guard into so much of his disgusting verbal slime that the poor fellow would simply slither along the ground of arguments no matter what part of his mind or body he'd deploy to try and gain a foothold ? Time would tell in a few moments, and so long he'd have to try and move this rog captain's halberd into a less prominent position. What if they'd recognize what kind of species it originated from ? And last but not least there was the not so enjoyable brain wave that those humans likely were refugess from any of the northern battlegrounds. This included the one his own kind was involved in. So... maybe someone would step into the breach and boldly claim that both he and Aeryn were captives ?

Events didn't fail to quickly pass the Skayleigh's mental position. A man in shiny armor and with a damn precious looking sword appeared, even though he obviously had the bad habit of letting its tip rest in the dirt where sand and stones could make it lose its edge very rapidly. He noticed the drow, probably a glitch in An-Hasst's footwork that had exposed her legs, but nothing dangerous happened. At least so far... crossbows were still aimed at them. Not having to conceal anyone anymore, he decided to step forward. The bridge's floorboards protested precariously beneath his feet, something that made him wonder if those spikes had also been placed in the ditch beneath them.

He felt a little flaw in the arguments exchanged so far. What was money worth in a place as remote and cut off from any trade like this ? "If it would assist in the matter we maybe could also offer our workforce for the time we'd stay here. I could imagine that your ongoing construction effort could need it."

@Gardevoiran@Mortarion@Fetzen@Stormflyx@BCTheEntity

[Assistant]
"Are ye suggesting we would deal with the likes of Dorcha?" Geradin asked dangerously, glaring balefully at the townsfolk that had come to see them at the edge of town. Alice's suggestion of using the Dwarf's honor as insurance did strike a cord in the guardsmen's memories. Even men who had never seen a Dwarf in their life knew they had a long standing disdain for Elves, and a particular hatred for their Dark kin. More so than the other races, at least. "The lass speaks true. Me honor remains, and yer tae trust ir. Do ye doubt?"

"We're no friends of Dark Elves." Beren said at the fore, crossing his arms and gesturing toward's Aeryn with his chin. "But neither is she. The Dark Elves we killed were going to kill her. We helped her so she would help us, and she's under our protection for now." The warrior said. One of the village guards gestured toward Beren, and whispered to his comrade. Only Nicademus and the Elves would be able to hear it.

"He looks like a savage."

Calanon's brow lowered in disdain at the slur. He considered Beren a friend, and at that moment, the Wood Elf came to realize just why the monk felt sympathetic to Aeryn. His eyes flicked to Beren, standing tall and strong, with a different perspective.

He was half blood as well.

Beren continued with. "I don't think we'd mind helping out with fixing the defenses, either." His manner had changed from strong to friendly, a smile on his face. He gave the others behind him a wink. Truth be told, the Warrior Monk would love to help out. Calanon couldn't help but give a small smile at that, and stroke Brogach's mane as he did so.

Argon was perhaps the most menacing member of the group, standing head and shoulders over everyone save An-Hasst. And he looked far more monstrous and bestial. Though at this moment, he also seemed to be the most congenial member of the group past Settione, simply waiting in the back, his forest-green scales glinting in the sun, and his white teeth that could pierce chainmail firmly shut within his mouth.

[User]
Ursaren sat idly by as he watched the group converse with the newly-arrived knight, a slight smile on his face and his weapons sheathed. He listened to the speaking of Nicademus and the reasoning of his group. The argument to help fix the defenses of the town was quite a good idea in Ursaren's mind, and it'd no doubt help get the group into the town without much argument. That being said with the arrival of the newest member of the plucky party, Aeryn, it was less of a possibility to get inside without any caution by the townsfolk.

At first, Ursaren had nothing to say. The old man could tell stories and stories for days, but he wasn't experienced with getting people into towns. He'd imagine that the other people he had joined could get them in without his need, but that wasn't exactly going to plan. Finally, the old man spoke to the men keeping the party from going in, seeing that his word might actually help.

"If the word of an old man means anything, I'd be more than happy to repair the walls of your fine town. In addition," Ursaren continued, stepping forward with a gesture of compliance. "I'd imagine that you men must have some people in need of medicinal aid, what with this being such a dangerous part of the world to be in. I would be ecstatic to be someone who can help heal those that need it. I know quite the fair bit of magic and alchemy, and my friends can vouch for me here."

The old man put his arms to his sides as he stared at Nicademus, not showing any aggression or any hostility. "We all simply need a place to stay for a few days. We've been traveling for the better part of a few days, and it's been quite some time since I've personally seen a bed, though I can't say much for these folks."


[System]
Appearance
Serenity is a slightly short young woman. Her hair is long and changes color frequently, sometimes natural colors, sometimes not. Her eyes are a vivid green. Her manner of dress varies, but it's usually something comfortable.

Race
Human

Gender
Female

Age
25

Personality
A very relaxed, leisurely person. She likes to live in a certain way, and she isn't about to let laws stop her. Then again, the law does protect one from certain things... Which is why she has a habit of arming herself.

 Reputation
Serenity has risen from a junkyard junk flipper to a premiere ship architect, renowned on the black market for luxury craft that can hold their own, defensively. Smugglers and rich folks love her ships, but they aren't cheap, either. Not for rich people, anyway.

History
Born to a poor family in the city, Caroline Staphos had too much going on in her mind and too little resources to do with it. She was always trying to scrounge some money together to fund an experiment or a prototype. Eventually, she was recognized by a local company as some young talent, and she was able to save up some money.
 Eventually, after a few years, the relationship with her employer soured. She didn't feel they appreciated her enough, or payed her enough, and they wouldn't cough up the dough. So she left, and took her prototype with her, along with the plans. They didn't like that. She found herself on the run, age 16.
 One short adventure later and she'd lost the cops, but was kinda wanted in federal space, a bounty in her head from the rather large company she'd been working for. She called on her connections to make a few purchases and took a year or two trading under the alias Serenity, and after making enough money running bulk trade runs off sometimes dubious sketchitude, she set up shop by an old ship graveyard. She built herself a station and started work on recycling the graveyard, using drones and automated systems to cut and weld while she designed. She sold her ships to smugglers, mostly. It was easy, to her, to design a ship to suit their particular needs. Some hidden cargo space here, a bit of thick plating there, and that usually did the trick around these parts. As she went, she expanded, first building a commerce dock to offer traders a place to stop, rest, and repair. Even rearm, if you didn't mind the age of the missiles. Some opened shops on her station. As her reputation grew, she started Serene Designs, primarily a ship architectural company that would dabbled in whatever Serenity deemed suitable. As more money came in, she found herself with the resources to do much more with her little corner of space. She remodeled, buying parts instead of salvaging them, and found herself enjoying some of the more indulgent luxuries available to her from her particular location.

She's been attempting to maintain a neutrality between herself and her neighboring powers. The Federation on one side, and a small regency that has refused to yield power.

Gear

 Serendipity
Length: 3.7km
Width: 2.1km
Height: 1.0km
Armaments: Medium-range Laser Lancers
Flak Point Defense
Long-Range Railgun Artillery Array
Serene Designs Laser Defense System
Serenity's station, serving as her home and business headquarters. It has a bustling commercial dock that she's worked hard to build up with luxury design. The construction and repair zones are almost always busy with something. The station itself is heavily armed with a great array of beam turrets and flak cannons. There's also a set of long-range railguns mounted at several points, intended to cover all angles.
The station is largely automated, with drones constantly floating about, slaved up to the station AI that Serenity programmed and continuously works on. She's gone through several prototype brains before settling on her final design. The AI manages the station functions according to Serenity's wishes, and uses the blueprints that she makes to fill orders and keep the station running and updated.

Serene One
The first ship she could fly around in that wouldn't get her arrested. A large cargo ship fitted with construction drones, just what she'd need to run salvage and repair for money and begin building her new home.

Armament: Flak Point Defense
Broadside laser cannons

Serene Ocean
Serenity's private frigate. Armed for offense as well as defense, it is kept at the cutting edge of Serenity's research. The design is sleek and elegant, white curves following down to graceful edges. The interior is luxurious, with wooden walkways down softly white hallways. A hologram system is installed to project a number of decorations, she usually has it set to "aquarium".
Length: 427m
Width: 249m
Height: 164m
Armament:
Spinal-mount Railgun
Flak Point-Defense
Serene Designs Laser Defense System

Serene Designs Defensive Systems
Serenity has developed a unique form of energy defense. Instead of breaking shielding over the ship to discharge energy, she has managed to design a system that shapes the shields. In conjunction with another system, similar to a shield system, energy is built up in the shield and then released without ever lowering shields or making a hole in them.

Armory
Serenity puts most of her weapons on her defense drones, but she does maintain a small armory to arm herself in. She's got a personal shield pack, an energy pistol and a laser rifle.

 Tool Kit
Serenity usually carries a few essential tools with her. A little plasma box cutter, a multi tool, some custom tools of her own. Rechargeable battery arc welder… she feels naked without her tools.

[User]
Xavier crushed another can of energy drink. The crumpled can was bank shot from the wall and into the trash bin whereupon landing Xavier would crack open another one. The fruity scent of the spicy, mango-lime drink filled the air around him. He would sip it slowly as he stood around thinking what to do. Formalis, that was the boonies-ass planet he was heading to. It was rather unfortunate for him, that after already being in a remote sector, that he ended up wrecking his ship on a field of spacejunk flotsam.

Xavier had already preformed maintenance on his blade, cleaned his clothes, and outside of some reorganization and cleaning of his ship he had no intention of doing, he had nothing else to do. He'd exit his ship and pass the airlock into the merchant ship it was attached to. Dressed in sweatpants, sandals, and a faded graphic tee, he wander around. From the corner of his eyes he'd spot one the crewmates that picked up on the distress beacon. "Thanks for picking me up man. I already sent some credits as thanks."

"No problem. You're awfully far from most places, but once we land you should be able to get your repairs done and be back to civilization." The crewmember replied.

Xavier wandered around some more and sat by a window. A large blue and white ball stood amidst the stars and darkness. So this was the planet they were heading to. He'd just sit back and wait for the ship to enter orbit. Minutes would pass and then the ship would rumble as they entered the planet's atmosphere. He'd get ready to go back and change clothing once they landed.

[Assistant]
Frost checked her gun's mag near the door as Vorra's ship touched down, her emotionless face told nothing of her instinct to stick to an in-and-out plan. This was unknown territory, even for a neutral planet. "If the crew's still kicking, leave 'em. They're feds anyway, no skin off our backs if they freeze to death while we're here. If we run into somethin' sentient like a human or a Spryzen, keep 'em at a distance- don't shoot unless they're reachin' for a gun. Varzyrin, you're packing the most heat out of all of us, so you're best watching our backs. Rest of us'll set to scrapping things. If it's breathin' leave it. If it's shooting us, light it up." That was the plan. Reactionary self defense only. Frost's tone was clear and concise, she was clearly used to leading operations like this before. As the door opened up to fill the ship with cold, dry mist, Frost took a step out onto the fresh-fallen snow. The dead mass of ships in front of them.

"Alright, let's get grabbing." And so they did.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ridge...

Dozens of footprints added together more and more, a mass of furs and bodies trudging together towards the noises they heard further away. Skala. Scavengers, to be precise. Word began to circulate that something fell from the sky a good few moons ago, yet to be touched. The Skala making their way past the mountains were nomads, hunters who didn't take to civilization that few ever take to. They were not carrying guns, they had spears, and bows made from nature in anyway they could manage, animal sinew and bone, trees, whatever one could scavenge and work with on Formalis, one did. It would still be a while before the two groups of individuals met face to face. They were too far away in the snow and hills to be seen by their lookout, much less the rest of them. Skala were in great many numbers on this planet, but they had a tendency to cling together in groups, so they were difficult to come across. The noise of an intact spacecraft landing on their planet, which was otherwise dead silent, only perked their ears more than the prospect of unclaimed scavenging.

[User]
Vazyrin nodded and immediately made his way across the snow, sinking in deep with his immense weight. It barely seemed to dissuade him as he casually sunk his claws digits into the body of his rifle, causing a wet ripping sound that teetered on the edge of completely bisecting the weapon. That's what wone might think if not for the fact that his carbine began to extend with pale, newborn biomass manifesting in the space between its elongating barrel and slimming body while its stock began to mold as if being forced into the shape of some sort of x-shaped cup-like mass, bracing against his shoulder.

"Get going and stay on the coms. Ping me every five or so minutes. If your coms go down and an emergency happens, make noise and light."

With that, the huge creature advanced and settled on some of the elevated ground, partially shoved upwards from the cratering brought about the crashed vessels. His powerful claws stretched out from underneath his raised gun, shovelling away dirt and snow as he began to burrow into ground, soon partially concealed as he shovelled snow onto the rest of his body with smaller rear legs with brush-like claw-digits.

Soon, he looked little more like a rock formation himself, keeping a close eye on the vast plains. Subtly, a group of six or so flat-bodied creatures crept out from the snowy pile. Two skittered off to the crashed ships, climbing atop for a better vantage point and the remaining four split off to form a perimeter around the area.

"I've set up my surveillance. I'll let you know if I detect anything unusual."

[Assistant]
"Vortex will take care of arrangements. The merchant will be waiting for you in the spaceport, but you can probably just rendezvous on departure." The elevator door opened and quickly and she let Ascot board with her before taking the elevator to the hangar bay, beneath her workshop. Vortex should have already had the mech ready to go. "If you want to purchase supplies, I suppose Vortex could also load your supplies for you. She'll figure it out."

The elevator opened to reveal the hangar, and there it was, the Ashbringer. "Alright, kid. I think that merchant is ready to leave when you are. Be careful out there." She'd stay by the elevator, letting the kid walk to his mech and waiting until he got in before she'd get back in the elevator. She needed to review Vortex's report and get to work on her designs.

~~~

The coming week was enough time for her to finish designing an upgrade to one of her builders. Nothing major, just some performance optimizations. She'd started construction on the new residential section, and had plans to convert the existing one into dedicated food productions once work on the new one was complete and everyone moved over. That'd also put her personal quarters behind tighter security, something she wasn't opposed to.

For the moment, she was taking a break from things. A nice stroll through the park in residential was what the mind needed. For all the trees, though, there wasn't any wildlife... She missed the sound of birds and forest critters. Maybe she'd have to arrange for some. Would they live happily here, though? If she wanted to bring animals here, they should be able to live well. Sounded like she'd have to balance an ecosystem, and that sounded like a nightmare.


[System]
So, tell us a bit about yourself!
"Oh. Um, well, I'm 23. I was born on April 8th, 1992. In Portland. Single mother, runaway father, no brothers or sisters. I went to NYU to pursue my dreams of becoming an artist, which was by an economical standpoint a horrible mistake because I am seriously deep in college debt at this point. But I learned a lot, y'know. I improved, and now I'm really good at what I do, so there's that. I was hired by the company because someone saw a billboard I did art for and called me up."

Oh, my. Growing up with just your mother must have been hard, huh? It usually is. Did your friends understand?
"Wow, that was rude. No, my mother was a really nice woman. She was kind, she was sweet, she took care of me. She made sure I always had food, and a bed to sleep in, and clothes. And she was funny, and she was the nicest woman I ever knew. As for friends, I don't see why they would even care. I had friends in school, and the I had friends in college, and now I'm just like most young adults and I don't have any friends, just people I talk to."

I'm so sorry, I didnt mean to upset you.
"Oh--wha--no. No, that's fine. Touchy subject, thats all."

Are you sure?
"Yeah, it's cool, it's fine. Next question?"

Well, how did you discover that you wanted to be an artist?
"Well, I grew up in Portland. There's like, fifty art galleries right by my house. My neighbor was an artist, too. He would have me do poses for him sometimes when I was little, and he would take my picture and paint it. And I thought it was so fucking cool how someone could take reality and just... recreate it on the page. And I really wanted to do that."

But clearly your work is no longer inspired by that man who lived next door. You dont draw people. Who inspires you.
"Mark Rothko, mainly. His works have such... emotion. Such depth. And Jackson Pollock. They were truly tortured souls, and they were able to just... perfectly, I mean perfectly express their inner demons on canvas. And then they moved past that and they expressed joy and sadness and life. Thats what I try to do with my art."

Very interesting. Do you have any other interests?
"Not really. I write a bit, sometimes, but very rarely."

Oh, do you think you're any good? Can we expect to see a popular novel by Wallace Conlee any time soon?
"Oh god, no, my writing is abysmal."

Well, that's sad to hear.
"Nah, it's okay. The writing world doesn't need another novelist. They have their hands full."

And how do you feel about love?
"Jesus, that came out of left field. Uh, I don't know. Love is... I dont know. I dont think you're supposed to know until you truly feel it. So... yeah, do with that what you will. Was that the last question?"

[User]
Wallace's face dropped for a moment at the mention of 'sketching cartooney faces.' He glared at the back of Mr. Clark's head as he exited the room, only barely noticing that Bethany had crossed to the couch. He was thinking of perhaps going up to Ryan and berating him. Or punching him in the back of the head. Or--

"Hey."

A voice rang out, breaking his concentration. He tuned to face Bethany, only now being able to completely notice her. Her hand was extended to him, a warm, welcoming smile on her face. She looked nice, well put together, clean, that type of person. He looked over himself in his minds eye, tracing back to this morning, hoping he looked at least a little bit presentable.

Head: Slightly unkempt hair on my head, pushed up. A bit of scruff on my face. Didn't have time to shave this morning.

Torso: A blue and gray cardigan with a useless collar that's at least two sizes too big for me and a plain white shirt. No stains, so that's a plus, I guess.

Lower: Brown khaki skinny jeans. Boots. Normal.

Fuck, I should have prepared for this. I look stupid. Shit. Damn. Shit. Okay, whatever. IT's too late now. Just greet her. Shake. Go.

He extended his hand, taking hers in his and giving it a shake. He smiled back at her.

"Likewise." he said, hiding the clear annoyance he was showing not three seconds ago. "Nice to finally meet you, too."

[Assistant]
"Nice to finally meet you, too."

She averted her eyes at that and nervously flicked her braid back behind a shoulder as she laughed. It was quick and tense- because she had made a stranger wait for her and she wondered if this bothered him. Even though punctuality wasn't exactly her forte it was still a growing demand in her life. In fact she had been trying recently to work on that by setting alarms and such. She was such a heavy sleeper though..

"Yeah- Sorry about that. I had a few things back at home to take care of." Which was a boldface lie. The girl had no idea why she had to give an excuse anyway, she was already late and nothing could change that. She stepped around the table and sat down in front of a contract. She took up a pen and twiddled it between her fingers. Although she was sure Clark would summarize the document page by page she was so nervous that she scanned the first page in vain. Picking out words that popped out at her: agent, clientele, Alphafind, disclaimer, creative process-

Bethany glanced up at Wallace then- the weight of it all settling in only just now. She'd be tied to him by these contracts for months. They'd have to come up with ideas together and agree on them- but what if they were stark opposites? What if working with this guy only brought more stress into her life? She dropped the pen down on the contract once more and leaned back in her chair, she looked up at him expectantly,

"Interview time. Whats your star sign? Do you like cats or dogs? Are you a spaghetti and meatball person or are you all about ravioli?"

Her smile was small, but the corners of her eyes were pinched in a mischievous way, tinged with child-like curiosity.

[User]
Wallace immediately regretted his word choice when he saw her reactions to it. She had suddenly become bashful, nervous, and full of excuses. He was trying his hardest to lighten the mood with a joke or something, but he messed up pretty badly, judging by the outcome. When she turned away, he hit the side of his head a few times with his palm, nervous now, too, and a little angry with himself. He really didn't want to mess this up. Partly because he was bound to her through a contract, and partly because he wanted to actually be able to talk to someone new.

He tried to think of something, anything else to say to her, but he just couldn't seem to make anything come out. Lucky for him, she started asking questions. Lots of questions. Wow, they were coming fast. He stood there, a deer-in-headlights look plastered on his face. He wasn't particularly a good person to interview. Not that he was bad at it, he just didn't really think he was all that interesting. But, he tried to answer to the best of his abilities.

"Ah! Um, Aries! Cats! Spa--no, Ravioli!"

He fired out his answers in quick succession, and now found himself standing in the middle of the room stiffly, a dumb smile on his face. He stepped forwards after a small moment and sat down in the chair across the table from her, looking over at her as he folded his arms in front of himself.

"Did I pass the test?" he asked, his dumb smile changing to a more genuine one.

[Assistant]
Her smile broadened at his hurried manner in replying to her questions. She settled in to her chair, growing slightly more comfortable.

"Hah I'm not testing you- but we're total opposites." She said as she picked up the pen again and played with it, flipping it through her fingers. Her gaze fell on her hand as she concentrated on the hand trick,

"I'm a Scorpio- which is a water sign. Aries is fire, I think. And I'm more of a dog person- I grew up with a hound/lab mix. And I don't like ravioli."

She shrugged,

"But no big deal."

The pen flipped out of her hand and fell to the floor. She huffed before stooping over to look under the table for it. After a moment she snatched the pen up again and she shot back up to look at him.

"So, Wallace, any questions for me?"

Bethany wondered if putting him on the spot was exactly the best way to form a business relationship. Agh but she hated these awkward introductions and testing-the-waters banter that everyone went through when they first meet new people. What do you do? Where did you go to school? Where did you grow up? Oh how is it there? What do you do for fun? Blah blah blah. It bored her to tears. She wanted someone to have an original conversation with her.

She looked expectantly at him. Who's more original than an artist? She thought. Okay, yeah, maybe asking zodiac signs wasn't the most original thing but at least its out there. Her thoughts swam and sounded conflicted.

[User]
Wallace thought for a moment, his face dropping in concentration, flicking through questions in his mind, trying to pick out the best one. He didn't want to make small talk. He didn't want to ask about the weather, or what her favorite television show was, or if she liked ice cream. He wanted to get to the heart of the matters at hand. He wanted to find out what made Ryan and the rest of Alphafind want them to work together. And, like that, he got it. He found the question he wanted to ask.

He leaned in a bit, his elbows resting on the table. His eyes met hers, and he asked her.

"What inspires you?" He said, smiling a bit. "I mean, what really gets inside your head, finds the core, rips it out, and throws it down on paper for everyone to see? Like--like, for me, at first, I was just inspired by the idea of creation. Like, I thought the idea of... of creating something new, something nobody has ever seen before in the history of the world was absolutely amazing. And I try to do that--I try to think of that Idea every single time I begin tow work and I just try to...create."

He was smiling widely now, unable to contain the excitement that had been building up inside of him. He loved talking about it, he truly did.

[Assistant]
She was taken aback by his sudden excited talk and, of course, the loaded question. He wasted no time, she thought.

"What inspires me?" She echoed, just to stall for time. Bethany tapped on her lower lip as she rested her elbows on the table and looked up toward the ceiling. She sat like this in a pensive silence for a moment before she dropped her gray eyes to look over at him once more.

"Well- I guess a lot of things inspire me. I like to be outside- in the world- and experience as much as I can. Like- I'll walk down the street and if I see anything interesting I'll add meaning to it. People and faces become music notes. Anything that catches my eye, really, can turn into a note. And then i'll collage it all together. How I feel determines a lot, too."

She felt like her explanation was a little too vague but she couldn't find the words to clarify for him.

"But making something unique-" she said, turning the conversation back on him, "thats great. Sucks that you're stuck designing cereal boxes." She said with a smile to show she meant no harm.

"Then again- jingles aren't exactly what I imagined doing here either." She glanced down at the contract and grimaced for a moment. Her braid had fallen off her shoulder and on to it, she quickly flicked her hair away.

"You should show me some of your stuff sometime." She said, "And i'll show you mine."

Just then the door opened and Ryan Clarke stepped in. He settled the coffee's down before them and sat on the opposite end of the table, his own copy of the contract before him. He glanced quickly between them,

"Well then. Hope you've gotten to know each other a bit- but lets get down to business, shall we?"

Beth nodded, turning her attention down to her braid again, playing with it and inspecting it out of boredom. Seeing this her agent set his mouth in a fine line before looking over at Wallace,

"I've a meeting in about half an hour- so I'll just be summarizing page by page. Feel free to take it home but your decisions must be made before tomorrow morning at 9 am." He said measuredly, looking between them every now and then.

(Want him to talk about the contract or do you just want to skip this part?)

[User]
(Sure, I dont see why we can't have him talk about it!)

Wallace leaned back in his chair, sighing a little as Mr. Clark started speaking. It wasnt that he necessarily hated his agent--even though he was about 76% sure his agent hated him-- so to speak. It was just, y'know, he was incredibly annoying, and sort of a dick. He needed to calm down and have some tea with honey or something, because he never seemed to stop. But Wallace didn't see him changing any time soon.

Wallace looked over to Bethany, who seemed to be paying attention. He thought about what she said, about how people and faces and stuff become music notes. And about how she draws inspiration from everything around her. It reminded him of how he could close his eyes and construct worlds of art, inspired by the word around him. He thought that it was really cool that her process of creation was similar to his. She seemed cool.

Did he seem cool?

Wallace froze for a moment, his face frozen in a state of 'i need to go over everything I just did with this person to make sure I didn't fuck up'. Did she think he was nice? Did she think he was neat? Interesting? That was something that mattered. Did she think she could work with him? He hoped he didn't come off as an idiot, that would be bad. He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous tick he had. A thousand questions were suddenly racing through his head, and he had zero answers.

Stop, shut the fuck up, don't be stupid. Listen to your stupid agent.

And with that, Wallace snapped back to attention, focusing on Mr. Clark instead.


[System]
Age: 22

Allegiance: Imperium

History:
For as long as she could remember, Lorelai had always wanted to be just like her idol and become a knight of the Imperium. She had been born to a modest family that had lived happily under the Imperium's rule for generations amidst the dreamy countryside. Whereas most girls played with dolls, Lorelai spent hers with local garrison polishing armor and helping prepare there meals after many years of pestering them to let her help. It was a certainty in her mind that she would be another soldier of the Imperium, protecting the peace and prosperity of others just like the Crimson Knight.
Lorelai had seen Asgard once in her child, on her families yearly visit to the capital for the festivities celebrating the Great Beast's demise. A crimson beacon that shone brighter than the fireworks bursting along the night's sky, the image of Asgard burning itself into her mind as the ideal she would strive for as a knight of the Imperium. An obsession was born, but for such a just cause who could call it wrong?
True to her word she joined the Imperial army, and while not one of the true knights like Yggdrasil or Asgard, she had earned a less-than-kind nickname that she took in stride, the Abyssal Knight. Among the rank and file she was known for demonstrating a willingness to go to extreme measures to maintain the peace regardless of being ordered to or not. Her moniker, once derisive, was uttered in respect following an incident whereupon a patrol she was accompanying had been assailed by a raging beast. The patrol had fled in the face of certain death, but Lorelai hadn't. Word spread of a monster that would certainly ravage the land, and it was thought that none could stand against it alone.
Lorelai stood against the beast. She laid it low and tamed the beast, christening it Durgan, and brought it into the service of the Imperium. Riding atop her new partner she was terrifying sight, bringing peace wherever she went by leaving dissidents in pieces. Just like her idol.

Personality:
Lorelai is a zealous devotee to the Imperium and it's perseverance. To the citizenry and the loyal she is warm and genial, but to the brigand and rebel she is a merciless terror. In the face of her idol she may as well be a blushing school girl, and will do anything in her power to meet her standards as Lorelai perceives them. She possesses an unshakeable will in the face of adversity, though is weak against the admonishment of her superiors.
Lorelai firmly believes that everything she does is for the good of the Imperium, and that what is good for the Imperium is good for all. Doubt never enters her mind on the righteous of their cause, and every day the Imperium can stand tall is another with which Lorelai is happy with her life.

Tome:
In it's sealed form Lorelai's tome is ebon in color with a scarlet inlay for decoration. Released, and it becomes an Imperial standard whose pole is as unbreakable as her iron will. The purpose of this flag is that it allows Lorelai to channel earth shattering bursts of concussive force, primarily through three mediums.
First, Lorelai channels the force through her body, usually done to increase the force behind her limbs or released outwards to repel something within arms reach. Second, an object Lorelai is in contact with is propelled under tremendous force, typically used to propel rocks, arrows, or whatever Lorelai can get her hands on and make them deadly projectiles. Third, the force is directed into and released via another party, such as releasing the force through the hind legs of a steed she is riding to propel them forward. This requires continuous physical contact and concentration to perform with harming the channeled party.

Other:
Lorelai is never seen far from her mount, Durgan. In combat, while her tome is her primary weapon she also carries a common place sword that is easily lost or broken, so Durgan carries of quiver of swords on his side for easy replacement.

[User]
Chen Chideta

Chen glared at the leader and then sighed. "I gave you a chance." Wooden spikes suddenly burst from the ground, impaling multiple Fae, leaving them hanging from the tips of the spikes. He heard Mikoto warn him about watching his back and he nodded. A rookie mistake he didn't plan on making often. Chen took a few deep breaths and he focused on the environment around him.

He pointed to the leader with his sword and smiled. Then he began. Chen rushed towards the leader, decapitating a few Fae who tried to get in his way and actually slicing one arrow in half as it rushed towards his throat. As he reached the halfway mark towards the leader, he sprung his earlier trap. He used the vines from earlier and they suddenly wrapped themselves around the leaders legs, trying to topple him.
@TheWindel

[Assistant]
Lorelai

The Abyssal Knight sat in wide eyed amazement at being privy to so many astonishing and intimate secrets of Eleanor's. She was well aware this was directed towards Fei, being Eleanor's progeny and heir, and that Lorelai was only the help here. Invisible and unnoticed, hearing everything yet never speaking what rings through the hallowed halls they serve. This was fine for the Abyssal Knight, better to be present and invisible then never there at all.

While she would keep everything heard in the strictest of confidence, and Imperator only knew that she was beyond reproach in preserving Imperial interests, it didn't mean that Lorelai wouldn't be acting in the interest of Lady Eleanor and thus the Imperium at large. Lady Eleanor had expressed an interest in reconnecting with her sibling, and while Fai and Jessi may come across her on their travels, Lorelai would use her Imperial connections and scour any reports for a thief bearing a resemblance to Eleanor as well as the name 'Sol'.

A knocking at the door drew the attention of Lady Eleanor who promptly asked her handmaiden to dismiss them so she could continue her convalescence. A small smile formed on her face at being called 'dear' so casually. "Of course, Lady Eleanor. I will ensure the garrison does not disturb your leave. By your leave, milady."

Lorelai stood and bowed deeply to her idol before doing similar for Fai and Jessi, then taking her leave to address the knock at the chateau door. Two maids flanked the doorway, swords at their hips on Lorelai's insistence. Lax security was not something she would tolerate, even if she had to train the entire staff into a fighting force worthy of the Imperial Army. That they shared her respect for Lady Eleanor only made training the Crimson Militia all the more fulfilling.

Nodding in satisfaction at their poise and dedication, Lorelai continued onwards and opened the entranceway to find the other Imperial Agent. Luckily for the both of them she couldn't have heard his initial proclamation of allegiance or Lorelai may have been testy. "If you are from the garrison I must report that Lady Eleanor is on leave and will not be acting in an official capacity at this time. Otherwise please state your business and I will attempt to accommodate you to the best of my ability."

[User]
Axon took his peace waiting as patiently as he could so as not to aggravate the situation. After all Asgard was a Guardian and given what he had to say, who he worked for, and what-not. Pacing slightly and shifting his weight from one leg to the other, passing time before he heard a sound at the door. Turning around to see it opening to reveal a woman in dark armor.

Before he could get a word out she spoke up speaking of Garrisons and leave. Though once she finished he chimed back up in a cheery tone, "Oh hello there miss. I am well aware that Lady Asgard is resting and all that but I really do need to speak with her. I must admit it does involve the Garrison, but not in the way you might think... I wish I could say more but this is really just for her ears. I swear I don't mean to bring her back into work or even harass her. It's about my boss, Yggdrasil." He finishes, trying to avoid telling the new woman about exactly why he's there so as to help keep everything hush hush about what he had to say. All trying to save face of the parties involved, though it may have painted him in a sour light especially considering he flashed his badge of office, showing that without a doubt he served Yggdrasil and had rank himself.

"I know this must seem really bad, but I assure you what I don't mean to cause trouble here." He finished taking his hands to show her his hand hands. It was also at this point he showed that he actually carried no weapons. There was no sword at his hip, no bow on his back, nothing that could be used to assault another. Even his tome seemed to be missing, though he did have a over-the-shoulder bag most traveler's have for rations and traveling supplies.

All in all his appearance wasn't one of aggression and more of blind and absolute aloofness. As for the guise of a spy he already is one being his position and state with Yggdrasil, but to literally walk up and confess to being a spy he is either the worst spy alive or the most cocky spy alive. Though judging by his attitude he either doesn't care or really jsut wants to talk.

[Assistant]
It didn't take long for Alex to be joined by others, and eventually the twins as well. Thus far nothing had happened, and the creature had not done anything or moved at all. It seemed they were at something on an impasse, especially so long as they had no idea what that thing could do besides the mimicry that had brought them to it in the first place.

"Nope, not really," he admitted to the twins as they arrived, asking if there was a plan to deal with that thing. He was working on some ideas, but they were far from certain at the moment. They had to get across to that temple, sooner or later. He just wasn't the sort of person who did exploration all that often. He was much more comfortable with simple robbery, where there would be plans and all.

Fortunately he didn't have to propose an idea, as the twins did so themselves. "If you think you can handle it then I don't see why not," he admitted with a conciliatory shrug. There was no reason to refuse a first chance at getting at that temple, for good or for ill. For the moment he prepared to go, ready to head across and get to that temple. There wasn't much else to do at the moment, so he wouldn't waste time idling about.

One way or another, he was going to get there. Hopefully it would be worth the trouble.

[User]
Měihóu Niángniang????

"Mm? Didn't expect there to be a line." An older gentleman comes round the corner as the discussion continues, walking up to the chateau. "Don't mind me, I'll wait. My errand's no serious request." He sits on one the railings of the ramp walkway, one foot up resting on it, leaning against one of the pillars. Pulling out a little tobacco, he stuffs his pipe a bit more full, and seems to devote his attention to it.

If anyone devoted attention to the old man, they'd find that despite his age, he seemed to be in hell of a shape. His short sleeved garment, showed off plenty of arm, and if the muscles there were any indication, he was in shape to put most fresh soldiers to shame. Near the base of his back was a pair of rosy wood tonfa stuffed a little unceremoniously into a sash. And finally, they'd find that the man paid attention back, if stared at.

[Assistant]
Lorelai listened to the visiting Imperial spy in dutiful silence, giving him the courtesy as a comrade in arms to say his piece in full before rendering judgement. A surge of anger masked behind the narrowing of her eyes arose at the sight of Axon's badge of office. Ironically, if Axon had arrived not ten minutes earlier Lorelai would have clapped him on the back and welcomed the man heartily, but in the light of recent plots that bore relation to his superior there could be no freely given trust here.

"Lady Eleanor has asked not to be disturbed in an official capacity, but on account of your credentials and the urgency of your business I'll make an exception. However you will not be afforded a private meeting with her, as my orders are to remain at her side until told otherwise by Lady Eleanor or the Imperator herself. Lady Eleanor is also among trusted company that will likely not be departing from her side in this matter." Lorelai turned and opened the chateau's main entrance once more and gesturing for Axon to follow as she returned to the dining hall with company in toe.

She had found it worth noting that he had arrived unarmed, but a self professed spy who would openly reveal himself was either capable enough to work without concealment or was hiding the metaphorical dagger in plain sight. Regardless of his intentions, Lorelai knew she had to bring him to Eleanor from the affiliation he bore Yggdrasil alone. It wasn't proof by any means that Axon was involved in Eleanor's capture, or even that he was aware of this to begin with, but he was worth hearing out.

And if he is indeed duplicitous and a coconspirator in her violation, then he will find himself in the company of four Imperials who will offer no mercy. Letting visions of the grim fate that will befall all traitors to the Imperator fuel her, the Abyssal Knight pushed the dining hall door open and ushered Axon inside before slamming it closed in his wake. "Forgive me for disturbing your meal, but I took the liberty of presuming that an envoy from Yggdrasil would be of interest to you, Lady Eleanor. Perhaps offering some insight into matters that concern the present company."


[System]
Age: 48

Race: Human

Appearance:

Personality: Allanon is a pensive man having lived a life seeing the darker side of humanity he carries many of his decisions with a lot of weight. He is decisive and discerning. He appreciates the small joys in life whenever he can afford to. He very much likes to reminisce over his childhood as it was a simple time where his decisions had little impact over others lives. His word means everything to him.

Allanon grew up as a member of the wealthy Valentis family. He was the fourth son and grew up with less responsibility than his older brothers as they were the ones to take over the administrative work of their company. Early on he took a deep interest in swordsmanship and learned as much as he could from various tutors and mercenaries.

The day Allanon became an adult was supposed to be a celebrated day, however, his father and oldest brother had entirely unexpected plans. Debts were being called by the Calabris family, and instead of money they wanted Allanon. Apparently, his martial skills had caught the attention of their family head: Varic Calabris. If the Calabris family desired, the Valentis family could be completely wiped out by them, and Allanon knew this. This was the first time that he felt the burden of responsibility, although at the time he only felt trapped and betrayed.

Taken away from his life of freedom, he was brought to the household of the Calabris family and presented to Varic himself. Varic explained how he was seeking talented individuals to make an elite team to work exclusively for his family. Allanon would be one of seven, but first a six month intensive training session was required of all of them to test their potential. Allanon reluctantly agreed as he knew he had no real choice, and before long he had to forget his reluctance to survive the training.

He built a good relationship with each member of the team as they were sent on black ops missions for the Calabris family. Some were stealth retrieval while others were bloody executions. Each of them knew the price of failure. One member of the team: Marissa Faye was the beacon of light in their team. In spite of the often awful tasks they were sent to do, she kept their morale up. Allanon admired her for her attitude and as time passed they fell in love and eventually married. Instead of rings they had a matching pair of longswords made as a symbol of how they met.

At 40 came the worst betrayal. Considering them too old to be effective, Allanon's team was executed by the Calabris family. At least they attempted to. A full platoon of mercenaries was hired to eliminate what had come to be known as the Ironblades. All government officials had been paid off to view them as criminals, and bounties were placed on each of their heads. The initial assault was defeated, but at the cost of two members of the Ironblades including Marissa. Her dying wish was for Allanon to do his best to create as much light as he could in this world, and he promised he would.

The Ironblades agreed to split up and go into hiding while making contact once a year to keep tabs. Over the next eight years two of the five remaining Ironblades were caught and slain. Allanon was the only one to remain in Portea the whole time. He started working as a vigilante and consultant for those in need in exchange for nothing.

Equipment:
Matched Longswords: While his sword style is a single sword style he has kept Marissa's golden blade with him as a reminder of his promise to her. They are enchanted so that so long as they are in close proximity to each other they will maintain and repair themselves.

Throwing Daggers: He has ten of these on a bandolier ready to throw as needed.

Abilities:
Valentis Sword Style: A balanced single-sword style created by Allanon over his lifetime. It is renowned as one of the best sword styles in the world for many-on-one combat.

Stealth and Disguise: Many of Allanon's operations required the use of stealth and disguise, and while it was not his primary role he learned many things from the now deceased Ironblade that was responsible for disguise.

Extra notes:

[User]
Temple

 "Krogan was the first and only Cheiftan to bring the Varuk tribes together in peace. His strength was unmatched, they say he was a giant of a man, dwarfing even the largest Varuk. When he passed they made a temple for him to rest in." Valia recalled, becoming more relaxed with the group around her.

 "Ah, no fair, you're a local!" Sahale started with a smile. "But yes, that's the one. Well, then do you also know the tales of the Oracle and the Vanishing Kingdom? The, uh, treasures of the world perhaps? Yes, no, maybe? And how about the return of Gruskan Empire, eh? That one is a bit more fresh though, so if not I would completely understand. I mean, a whole town was just wiped off the map but it was only, what two weeks ago?" He let that stay in the air for a moment before he continued, his tone a bit lower than before. "I figure news might not officially reach here for another few days," he sighed and shook his head, "You see.... I have done a bit of reading....and I'd wager.... some things are more connected than you would think. And when you notice a client getting quite involved in old fairy tales, you wonder about them yourself."

 "Dammit, I probably said to much now," Sahale reached up and scratched the back of his neck, and when he dropped his arm down, it was a slight of hand, but a trained eye would see a knife dart away from his dropping hand, a little to late to stop as it buried itself in the forehead of one of the guards that rushed in to asses what was happening to Valia earlier. He instantly slumped to the floor. The second guard yelled out in surprise, but it wasn't long before he was bleeding from his side and back, falling over and landing on his comrade. In a smooth movement, Sahale had went from feigning scratching his neck, to drawing and throwing a blade that was hidden in his collar, while his hand was low he had drawn a katar, which he used to slice across the man's side while he casually side stepped around the shocked man and then punched quickly into his upper spine between the shoulder blades, with accurate precision to cut the spinal chord, making the man lose control of his legs instantly, the cut to his side reached the shirtless man's kidney, he would be dead before long... The movement was casual, almost as if Sahale didn't even do it, but was just brushing by them until the final strike. It seemed unnaturally fluid, like it was as easy as breathing.

 Valia shrieked out in terror which alerted some of the others in the temple, but Sahale held up a finger to his lips as he walked on to the opposite side of the dead men from the rest of the grou, "Shhhh, none to worry, these aren't the reputable guard sort you think they are. Here..." He squatted down and pick pocketed both of the men. From their corpses they each had a small stone with a carving in it....bearing the Calabris symbol. He tossed one of them to Allanon and the other to Kistal. Allanon may recognize them as tokens given to mercenary hires that were not directly associated with the Calabris family. "Interesting isn't it? That first one was quite intent on our discussion, and if you give a hard look at their features, they don't quite match those of Varuk who stay here. Travelers, maybe, but guards? Nah... Alright then, go let the chief know you are joining the volunteer force, I'll be there after running an errand. Hopefully, you will start connecting the dots, but do make sure you don't blab it everywhere. Never know if there are more of these guys milling about," he finished, lightly kicking the corpses.

[Assistant]
Kistal listened to the man's words carefully, committing the intonation and general pattern to memory as well as the information. His manner of speech seemed he was being genuine, but Kistal wanted to know what exactly happened should he need it. After the grim display, he caught the stone and narrowed his eyes at the marking. "Yes, I will let him know. I have something to attend to first." He left swiftly, disappearing back into the temple. He sought out the Red Saints and hailed them.

Meanwhile, Chihiro watched from the dispersing crowd, seeing the odd group. The woman that shrieked was familiar to her, so if she trusted the group, Chihiro felt no need to defend her. However, they were specifically listening to the chief and outfitted for battle, so she assumed they were volunteering. As such, she walked over to them and raised a hand to grab their attention. "Ah, more volunteers. It seems we will be working together to rid the world of this stain. I am Inquisitor Chihiro Aozaki. You may shorten it to Chihiro or Inquisitor Aozaki as desired. If you have any information to help me understand the situation, I am all ears."

[User]
Allanon had noticed the onlooking guards much like Sahale, however, he had no choice but to admit his solution would have been much less smooth. Killing in such a rehearsed fashion was clear sign of a skilled assassin. Probably the best that he had ever met aside from his old team in their prime. Allanon was no stranger to dealing with opponents strong in techniques of feinting, however, one as skilled as Sahale would be a great challenge to overcome if he were an active opponent.

He caught the token and glowered at it. "Well... this just a lot bigger than a simple rescue." His tone made it clear he did not like the implications of this mission.

Allanon felt like he hardly got any information from Sahale. Certainly not enough to warrant a payment of any kind. However, he already agreed to the conditions set by the man, and he would not be one to go back on his word. Sure, he was given a lot of random information, vague words, and veiled threats, but essentially this all boiled down to go to the volunteer force. Entirely worthless. He would have likely joined or at the very least followed the voluntary force. Whatever he learned from there he would have dealt with as appropriate. At the very least the assassin could have given an exact location, after all he probably knew.

As Sahale and the beastman went to deal with their errands, Allanon turned to Valia. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Who do you trust that can keep you safe? I'll escort you to them. I'll be joining the volunteer expedition afterwards."

Allanon turned to face Chihiro as she introduced herself. He scanned her cautiously. Inquisitor was not a human title he was familiar with, however, he knew of a few humans that have earned an honorable title among beastman tribes. "Greetings, Chihiro, I am Allanon. I do indeed intend to join the volunteer troop as soon as Madame Valia is somewhere safe. Calabris spies and assassins could be anywhere, and until their operation is dealt with she is still at risk. Money is all they care about, so as soon as their ventures here become too costly they should leave."

He would not tell much else considering how little he truly knew about their operation here.


[System]
Age: 22
Birthday: May 1st
Magic: Negation. Angel has the ability to block all physical magic directed his way in an attack, whatever type or element. He can choose to reflect this energy back as though the attack bounced off a rubber field, or launch the same type of attack back once at an opponent. He can only stack one of these stored powers at a time.
Magic Level: A-B
History: Angel was born to a single father deep in the Boundary Forest, far to the north of Fiore. The reasons for his societal exile died with his father when Angel was seven, but he had been taught enough rudimentary skills about survival to fend off the monsters that infested his home that he wasn't torn apart within weeks or anything. Rather, as he grew, he honed his skill in hunting and cooking until he proved self-sufficient enough to turn the weeks of survival into months, then the months into years.

By the age of sixteen, however, Angel had left the Boundary Forest in search of who he and his father truly were. Having never required currency or merchants for anything in his life, he found the journey into civilization difficult, and to support himself he began cutting a swath through Veronica and south down the peninsula, staying a couple months to cook at inns and small restaurants for a couple months. As his purse grew, so too did his culinary repertoire - and, eventually, his traveling party, as his meals impressed one Kaia Iona. The girl became his traveling companion and sous chef as they traveled south into Fiore, where they currently are residing.
Personality: Ferrara is sunny and cheerful, but you wouldn't know it from his tone of voice. He speaks with an odd combination of earnest, confusion, and painstaking politeness coming from having spent the first two-thirds of his life removed from even village society. Idioms and snide remarks often fly over his head at terminal velocity, and he proves almost incapable of being insulted. Instead, his frustration and negative emotion often channels itself into a fierce determination to do right by people, and intense loyalty to his friends.
Guild and guild mark location: None yet
Team Members: Cyare Staunton
Three Strengths:
1. Cooking
2. Grooming
3. Pep talks
Three Weaknesses:
1. Metropolitan areas
2. Sarcasm
3. Alcohol
Greatest Love: A warm meal with friends
Motivation: Engineering a way to end world hunger
Appearance:

Additional Details: He's my trap queen watch him hit the bandooooo~

[User]
Lux Harken

The look of embarrassment changed to one of relief. He held out one hand to the bathrobed knight and spoke. The relief on his face working its way into his voice.

"Thank you. I was starting to worry that we would have to tighten our belts on the way out of here."

Jason just might actually fade away if that happened.

"By the way, my name is Lux Harken. Do you mind if I ask yours?"

[Assistant]
Penny

Penny knew she had the guild's support, but how could she explain she was going to kill someone, at their request, because she was the only one that could? It wasn't something she relised, nor was it something she wanted the whole guild to know. As Ariel's personality changed, Penny blinked at the touchiness she was displaying. "Have you ever killed someone, Ariel?" Penny said after a few moments, looking to Ariel, "Because I have, and I don't want to do so again"

Jessie

"Well, you know that Sheldon has his own ways of knowing things. Well, it was an interesting match, that's for sure" Jessie said happily, munching enthusastically. "Certainly we have seen some...fabolous skill the last few days! certainly wouldn't want too be on the wrong side of these guilds!"

Dragon Fang vs Riders Blade part one

The first battle of the day was inspiring, and the crowd was eager for another battle, as Games master sheldon played them up, the names flickered across the board. Finally, Sheldon called out Its going to be HUnter and Ammy of Dragon Fang vs Sigurd and Delsin of Riders Blade! Step right up, and get ready to RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

Hunter and Ammy stepped onto the field and moved towards the center, Ammy's twin scythes folded shut and hanging from her hips while Hunter had a small storm of jade around him, purely for the entertainment of the crowd however. Ammy was impassive as usually, her face blank except for a semi-bored expression. Hunter, on the other hand, was excited by the prospect of a good fight, especially after doing nothing but watching for most of the time. When the reached it, they waited for the other team to arrive.

"Alright you two, be careful. And don't take your anger out on them for what happened to Jackie, that's Phoenix Wing's fault." Fraquar said to his two guild members before they silently nodded and took off. Though neither Delsin or Siegard personally knew Jackie, they knew she was considered a friend by their Master, Lucus, and Pyrrha. That was enough for them.

They entered the field and stood opposite of their opponents, Delsin calm and relaxed with a smile on his face while Siegard was serious, studying the two mages in front of him. He had a very bad feeling about this.

Ammy and Hunter regarded their opponents they were regarded in turn. Without a word, it began, Hunter rushing forward as a this sheet of jade encasing his body. "Jade Dragon's Steel Fist!" His right fist became encased in even more jade as he brought it down towards Delsin, though Ammy was close behind, choosing to move on Siegard as her twin scythes flipped open.

"Death's Twin Coils." However, instead of an attack being launched, something about Ammy's charge changed and rather than go for a straight on slash, she slid between Siegard's legs and hooked his ankles, letting her momentum do the job for her. As he went down, she rose up and descended, her aim putting the Death Magic user's landing square in his back if he didn't move. Regardless of if the move landed, she followed it up with a spinning slash and the back-flipped away, slashing with bot scythes and sending a wave of black energy towards Siegard. If he didn't move, it would impact and leave him extremely tired.

Meanwhile, Hunter would follow up his Steel Fist with a Tail Swipe, the sweep aiming to trip the bounty hunter and the kick aimed to knock him either up into the air or towards the wall. Even if it missed, he followed it up with a roar, the particle sized jade soaring towards Delsin.

As for Delsin, he's gonna had to channel his inner Train.))

Ammy successfully tripped Siegard, however, he quickly rolled out of the way and kept rolling until he was out of reach of her weapons. He then quickly got to his feet and drew his sword.
"Slippery little girl aren't you." He said, drawing his sword but making no move to attack Ammy. He had a feeling that studying this one would be a good idea before striking.

"No... no... Oh hell no!" Delsin said as he dodged each of Hunter's attacks, just barely getting out of the way of the Jade Dragon's breathe attack. Drawing his gun, he quickly loaded several bullets into it and waited. It seemed his opponent had a brute force, straightforward style of battling. He could deal with that. The Jade scales and dragon abilities. Not so much.

Hunter grinned and held an arm out straight. "Jade Dragon's Blade." The arm turned into a green stone sword blade that extends at high speeds towards Delsin. Even if he dodged, Hunter would swing the blade to follow his opponent, though eventually he retracts the blade and rushes forwards again. However, halfway across the distance, he launches himself forwards and starts spinning. "Jade Dragon's Drill Horn!" The attack would impact Delsin's chest if he didn't move.

Ammy remained focused on her own opponent, circling him before spinning the pair before combining them at the base of their hilts. "Mists of Styx." After she spoke, the arena becomes enshrouded in a thick mist, obscuring the sight of both Delsin and Siegard, although an area quickly clears around Hunter and Delsin to allow the pair to continue their fight. With the mists now up, Ammy began a flurry of guerilla attacks, testing her opponents guard and reflexs. However, the longer Siegard stood in the mist, the less he felt like fighting. This presisted for roughly thirty seconds before the mists cleared and the swordsman found himself facing a dual bladed scythe glowing purple from both sides. "Reaping Whirlwind." The blades briefly created a purple tornado around Ammy before launching it towards the swordsman, who would still be feeling semi-lethargic.

Delsin's reflexes were impressive, dodging the blade at the last second as it extended towards him and ducking under it again as his opponent swung it towards him. He glanced over at his teammate and saw Siegard was moving slower then usual after being surrounded by that odd black mist. Without a second thought, he fired his gun, the bullet going around Hunter and hitting Siegard, switching Delsin with the swordsman and giving the bounty hunter just enough time to avoid the purple tornado.

Once he was safe from that attack, Delsin unloaded and loaded his gun again before firing at the girl's feet, the bullet releasing a blinding flash of light. Delsin closed his eyes before the flash, sparing him before he fired another bullet that, should it hit Ammy, would wrap her in chains, binding her arms to her side. He was hoping he could avoid hurting the girl, as hurting women was something he tried to avoid.

Siegard slowly got to his feet and faced Hunter, raising his sword in time to block the drill, though the attack still sent him flying into the wall. He slowly got up and dusted himself off before looking at his new opponent.
"You two have impressive magic. A dragon of a semi-precious stone and a girl who uses dark energy to sap her opponent's energy to slow them down and make finishing them off easier. Still, I think things will be more interesting now." He said

Hunter grunted in annoyance. "Damn it, now I owe Ammy half the pay of my next job." Still, despite the change, Hunter closed the distance once more, launching a flurry of Steel Fists to test his opponent's reaction speed. Following that, he pulled his arm back with his fingers straight, forming a spear arm. "Jade Dragon's Spear Strike!" He slammed his arm forward towards Siegard's chest and backflipped away from the resulting impact and slammed his palms palms to the ground. "Jade Dragon's Rising Spikes!" Several long and sharp tipped spikes rose around and under Sieghard that would hurt him if he didn't move.

Meanwhile, Ammy moved with the flow of everything, already moving back and away from the gunslinging Delsin as he fired the flash bang shot. Fortunately, she didn't need her eyes to hear the next shot and she rolled to the left, the chains flying through the space she'd previously occupied. "Reach of the Reaper." Vanishing in a puff of purple smoke, she reappears behind Delsin. "Form of the Reaper." The scythe wielding mage was enveloped purple energy, reappearing in the visage of the Reaper himself. Spinning her scythe again, she swings down towards Delsin. Even if she missed, a purple wave of energy went out a short distance and she stayed on top of the bounty hunter.

"You're fault for making the bet to begin with, whatever it was." Siegard said before he proceeded to block Hunter's blows, his blocks becoming faster as the effects of Ammy's mist wore off. When Hunter went to stab him, Siegard's blade glowed and Hunter would find his arm-blade stopped and himself unable to move as he originally planned as Siegard caught the attack with his now gauntleted fists. "Seems I've caught a dragon by it's claws."

[User]
Cyare Staunton

Sinatra @HereComesTheSnow @Caasicam

"Cyare Staunton." The tall woman shifted her sheathed sword (not like she could buckle it around a robe) to her left hand, shaking Lux's hand firmly with her right. Cyare frowned internally, just a little, at the mention of tightening belts but she didn't let it show. She withdrew her hand a moment later and returned her sword to it, adding, after a thought, to her introduction. Added with reluctance and in a much softer tone, however. "The Pawn."

"This is Angel and Kaia."

[Assistant]
Trinity Stratos
Trinity had retreated to her room with Karn, petting him and studying him as she pondered a solution. She set the orange tabby on the bed and pet him sweetly before she drew the blinds and took a breath. She set a small pile of fire arrows on the bed for him to chew on before she sat next to him, rubbing her chin as she pondered to herself. "To capture sound..." She lay back on the bed with her arms behind her head, thinking. "Hmmm."

It had been a relief that her name hadn't been called for the fights yet. Meant she had a bit of time to think of something.

[User] Robin was sitting for a while waiting for the two of them to return from the back room they went in to try on dresses. When they had returned Jasmine was wearing quite a lovely dress and Robin stood clapping softly. "Hmm yes it is quite a wonderful dress indeed. I like it a lot, thank you so much for your help." He then let his gaze trail down in a saddened motion. "However as I said earlier I'm a bit tight on money...so to get to the bottom line, how much is this gonna cost us?" Robin then let his gaze trail back up to meet the owners eyes.

[Assistant]
Angel Ferrara - ROILING EMPATHY NOISES

"Angel Ferrara," the pretty boy extrapolated, holding out a hand to shake with a wide, polite smile. Now that there was no enmity between them regarding the job, thanks to Cyare, there shouldn't be any problems between them! "Kaia Iona's my teammate. It'll be good to work with all of you guys."

After he had shaken with Lux, and then with his teammate - is he okay? He looks frumpy - Angel stood back and shoved his hands in his pockets. His attention was back on Staunton. She had clearly forced out the last two words of her own introduction, and grown visibly sadder as she did so. Any idiot could see it, but especially an idiot like Angel - who had spent eighteen years perceiving the slightest changes in a creature in order to survive, and four more observing them on behalf of a blind girl.

He knew sadness. And, as Kaia could tell you, was possessed with the insatiable, earnest urge to smother it where he saw it. But that was Kaia. Cyare was a way more unknown variable. What did unknown variables like...hot tubs, magic...

"Why don't I make everyone breakfast before we head out?"

Eureka!