[System]
Current EXP: 0

Inventory:

Clothing: Alpha Rabbit Loin cloth, Medium bone and spider silk armor,

Weapons: Bite, Sharp Claws,

Acquired Skills: Beast Tamer: See Character.

Sharp Bite: Sharpened bite is a relatively simple move allowing the user to perform a bite attack and draw blood not useful in most situations but when to use in close range fights can decisively turn the tide of battle, when upgraded can tear off limbs of enemies with ease.

Knowledge of the 3: knowing the names of the god and goddesses of the world they live in they can now properly worship them. Ramos god of light and the sun, Duvelna goddess of death and the night, Shirila the goddess of the earth and nature.

Unarmed combat, beginner: learned how to fight with ones bare hand and understands how to block and strike with one's own hands

Rookie camouflage: This goblin has learned how to use the environment to its advantage and hide even in plain sight. At higher levels will grant total camouflage regardless of environment.

Bloody strike: this goblin has learned to find the most vulnerable part of its prey and strike to cause massive bleeding damage. Warning: ineffective against inanimate objects or undead.

Gravekeepers spirit: These goblins are able to feel the strength of those that have long since passed. When near a dead body or a skeleton the goblins are able to draw strength without the requirement of being necromancers. Even carrying a skull as an adornment allows the goblins to be stronger, faster, lighter as they draw strength. However, drawing all the strength of a certain dead body or their parts will cause it to disintegrate into dust.

Silk Spinning: they have learned how to create their own silk through their fingertips, allowing them to create traps and snares without supplies. However, it isn't controllable at first and acts like silly string.

Stone Skin: stone skin is an active ability that can be triggered to increase defense dramatically making ones very skin harder to cut or penetrate. Can be upgraded to steel skin for increased protection.

Dead whispers: a special ability only given to those that are inclined towards death. He is now able to hear the calls of those that are long dead and can learn ancient knowledge, can be upgraded to allow for full conversations.

Deathly movements: the user is now able to dodge movements that would otherwise harm him. He is able to evade blows much easier and with much greater flexibility than his hobgoblin counterparts.

Stone Wind Stance: this stance allowed him to move with fluid motions while still having a strong defence to handle any blows that tried to hit him.

Titles:

Blessings:

Blessings of the dead: This goblin has been blessed by the goddess of death herself he and whoever follows him now gain the ability to earn double XP. With each kill they gain, they make an offering to the goddess and it is as if her deathly presence approves of each kill. Each offering of a dead kill now offers double XP. This Hobgoblin also receives the following benefits. The ability to see and eat souls for one. He can also learn necromancy easier. Then He has mental debuff resistance and dark magic resistance.

Devils luck: they are all lucky to be alive, and it shows in how well they take chances...

Curses:

Current Evolution: Ghoul - Day 6

Past evolutions and xp:
Hobgoblin - Day 5 (1x demon spider, 1x troll, 1x alpha troll, = 152 xp)
Goblin - Day 0 (1x horned bunny, 2x alpha horned bunny, 11x lesser Skeleton's = 460 xp)

Notable places: Directions from starting cave.
Church to the east?
Wolves to the west, dangerous in packs beware of alphas.
Venomous vipers to the south east.
Venomous spiders to the North East
Bats to the north, they hide in trees during the day to hide from the sun.
also possible legendary beast to the far far north.
Gender: Male

Appearance:
Ghoul - Hobgoblin Gird had accepted the chance to evolve and as such when he woke up he would see that he wasn't that much taller then he was before. He only reached as high as 5 feet which was the size of an average human. What changed, however, was not his size but his appearance, his body that was once pale now had rotting parts that looked like his body was ready to fall off at any given moment and he could even look down and see the bone of his arm! He grew hair over his head that was as black as ebony and reached down to his shoulders and his eyes now looked eternally bloodshot. He looked like he was a rotting corpse which would explain a lot. However all is not negative, Now it seemed as though he could see in the dark. Now when he got close to the bones of the dead from a few nights back it seemed as though they could speak to him in some language he couldn't understand. While his body might look ready to fall apart at the seams in truth this meant he was much faster than when he was a hobgoblin. Now it seemed like his body was light as a feather and moved with the air around him.

Hobgoblin "The Variant" - This goblin has been changed in a more dramatic way then his siblings. Throughout his interactions and his training, he was changed making him as large as the others that have evolved however his skin tone has changed to that of pale white. This makes him stand out easily however his skin tone gives him the special affinity for death. His skin has gone pale and as such it will make him harder to not be seen however he can just as easily train his skill to blend with the environment. His claws have grown longer and sharper rivaling that of a wolves claws and his teeth have since become sharper as well making his biting skill more effective. Clearly if looked on in the right light he might look like a wraith or a vengeful ghost. He still has the three claw marks over the right side of his head and ear, as well as the mark on his left side. These marks, although still pale, are slightly darker than his current skin tone. Thanks to his goddess Duvelna, he now has 4 black claw marks stretching from the top of his right shoulder to his lower left abdomen as a sign of his faith.

Goblin - Gird has an average height and strong build. His skin is a darker than average shade of green with lighter green blotches abound giving him an almost natural forest camouflage. Gird also has two white birth marks. One looks like he was scratched by something with three claws down the right side of his head, and the second looks almost like something big bit him in the left side of his abdomen. His black hair is normally kept short and his eyes hold a yellow color.

Personality: Stoic, Brave, Stubborn, and Blunt are a few words that can describe this particular male. His loyalty to the tribe will not falter for any promise of gold or harm. He holds within him a sense of duty to his people and will do what he thinks he must do to protect them.

Past Life History: Grid was once known as Victor. A tall brute of a man with a soft spot for animals. Victor worked with a group that protected endangered animals from poachers by hunting poachers. He was even able to befriend a few of the wild animals that were around. But one day while on patrol he was mauled to death by a wounded predator.

Skill: Beast Tammer — a trait carried over from his past life. It allows him to befriend and tame beasts. Some that are lower level than he is, to the point he wouldn't learn anything from them, may very well simply ignore him or treat him as one of their own. Either way Gird seems to have a natural affinity with taming or understanding beasts and monsters.

Other: He simply wishes that one day he will be a mighty goblin that will be able to protect his tribe for years to come.

[User]
@Darked13

At the graves-

As the two talked they walked to the back of the church to find themselves at the graves. They turned to see that 11 graves looked freshly made with turned soil standard grave markers. However, one of the graves was empty and one more grave was there however that one looked like the grave hasn't been dug up since it was laud down with grass already appearing over it. The grave marker was also different and was a stone cross making it different from the others. It seemed that one of them was lucky enough not to be brought back as one of the skeletons. It was strange that all but one of the graves was brought back to life. Her bunny Nene quickly went over to the grave and felt relaxed compared to the other graves.

---

@ReusableSword @Kangutso @demonspade64

Down the path-

As zats found the path they started to follow the path. They son found that down the way they saw fewer and fewer bunnies near the church. Clearly the animals of the forest avoided where they were going. Soon enough they found themselves at the church and while it looked normal from the outside simply taking to Gina will help them understand why it was avoided.

[Assistant]
Goblin Grit

Grit followed along with the group for a short time, not finding a suitable stick to use as a weapon along the way like the others. Soon enough they came upon a clearing of sorts, and against a tree lay a goblin, girl. At first he thought her dead, but the rise and fall of her chest let him know that she was sleeping.

Gird called out to her and she woke up, giving herself a fright and making an entertaining display before she realized they weren't other creatures. She covered up her embarrassment as best she could before asking for Grit's and Zat's names. Right as he opened his mouth to answer, Gird spoke up on their behalf. Even going so far as to leave Zats no real room to speak either.

Some more talking, and then a confusing comment from Luz. Both he and Zats were confused a bit by the goblin not noticing the spear. That aside, they both went to to the tree and searched inside, in turn. While Zats didn't seem to find anything, Grit took hold of a decent sized branch, one he could hold in one hand, or both if he wanted.

Once everyone was set, it was Zats' turn to lead the way. At some point, though, Zats had taken a wrong turn and they had to double back to get on the right path, which made the trek longer than it should have been. Yet, it wasn't all that upseting, since they were still learning the layout of this forest.

Finally arriving at there destination, Zats pointed out a trail of leaves on the ground, thankfully the wind hadn't blown them away. Deciding for himself that the leaves were their best lead, Grit immediately started following them. it didn't take long for them to find themselves at a large building, and church. He hadn't failed to notice the increasingly sparse numbers of rabbits as they got closer, whech in turn made him a little uneasy.

"How will we search for her here?"

@demonspade64 @ReusableSword @Duthguy

[User]
Goblin Gird  At the alpha's hideout >>> Searching for one more friend /// Day 4 // Morning - Afternoon

Gird couldn't help but smile at his friend. He did feel a little bad for speaking for the others, but he didn't think they really minded too much. Or at least they didn't say anything. Gird moved to the tree line and kept a watchful eye into the forest waiting for the others to take what they wanted from the burrow before proceeding after the next goblin.

He noticed Goblin Zats took the lead back into the forest trying to find where they once were. Gird decided to take up the rear while talking quietly to Goblin Luz, "those howling beasts you spoke of where probably the wolves Goblin Grandpa spoke of. he said they come from the west but travel east at night to hunt. You and me could take one or two on at one time, but he said they always travel in packs." He continued to keep his voice low enough so it wouldn't travel but loud enough, so she could hear.

"He also said to the south-east are vipers, snakes bigger than us. then to the north-east are spiders. Both vipers and spiders are venomous, so we would have to be careful. The last thing he said about the creatures around here are bats to the north that stay in the trees to avoid the sunlight. Didn't get much else out of him other than the farther away from the cave we go the more dangerous it gets." Gird slowly became quieter as they proceeded through the forest.

Before long and after taking a wrong turn they came to another large tree. Zats pointed out a trail of leaves on the floor but this time it was Goblin Grit that took the lead. By the looks of the branches above them it looked as if something had been moving through the trees. "The old man did speak of something else too. He spoke of god's and goddesses. He told us there was a god for everything from washing your clothes to hunting and life and death. The three ones he focused on though or what he called the three main ones are the god Ramos, goddess Duvelna, and the goddess Shirila." pausing for a moment to keep an eye on his surroundings. After all, to him this was all new territory.

It was a bit strange to him though, he noticed that the tracks and animal trails seemed thinner if they were there at all. "So you know Ramos, is the god of the sun and all that is light I guess, I honestly don't understand it too much. Apparently he gives us the sun. Then there is goddess Duvelna who is the goddess of death and darkness. She gives us the moon. Then there is the goddess Shirila who apparently is the god of earth, nature, and life."

He realized he might be getting a little long-winded, so he quieted down a little. However, his attention soon turned to a stone wall and then the following tall stone structure. It looked old and untouched almost as if it was abandoned nearly immediately. Grit was the first to speak up, something about how to find a goblin here. With a smile Gird looked at him, "only one way to find out." not knowing what to expect Gird gripped his branch in hand and yelled, "Hey! Any goblins around here?!"

EXP: 8

Inventory: A sharp stone,

Clothing: Simple Loin cloth, vine chest wrap, vine hand wraps,

Weapons: Bite, decent wooden branch,

Acquired Skills: Beast Tamer, Sharp Bite, Knowledge of the 3, Unarmed Combat: beginner,

Titles:

Blessings:

Curses:


[System]
Species: Nanotech Swarm Droid

Years of Operation: 4

Appearance:
Though her colors are different, often being more of a white/black/blue republic/imperial mix when off duty, and changing to her whims as various camo when on duty.

Faction: Freelance

Equipment: Whatever she decides to create for herself. She is a huge fan of Gauss weaponry and explosives however.

Skills:
Nanodroids: Since Willoh is made out of nanodroids instead of basic droid parts, she can do much more than the average droid. Chief among them being able to break down and reshape matter on the molecular level. Since she can reshape matter, she can repair herself should there be metal nearby or upgrade herself if she finds something extremely interesting. Though she usually just makes weapons out of whatever is nearby. Doing this takes time, unless she makes a weapon out of her own nanodroids which has to be attached to her. Weapons made out of her own mass also uses her own mass or energy to fire, unless she has some of the weapon's ammo on hand.
Additionally since she is made of a swarm of nanodroids, her body is more like liquid metal or gas than a solid, greatly reducing the effectiveness of most small arms or conventional weapons used against her.
Finally she can manipulate her own body with relative ease. While she is programmed to prefer her base form, she can morph herself a bit to look different or spawn metallic tentacles or weapons or whatever she feels like at the time. This does give her the look of a very graceful moving droid, even if she tries to simulate basic droid movements. Though she loves to use this to change her color and rarely changes her face. After all, can't be a bounty hunter if your face is always different can you?

Droid: Since Willoh is a droid, she can interface with other tech, and is immune to a great variety of environmental hazards like the vacuum of space, very low temperatures, very high temperatures, toxins and the like. Plus the infinite stamina and greatly enhanced strength make for great bonuses.

Evolving AI: Unlike the basic droid models, Willoh has a much more advanced and complex AI. While she is far more autonomous and capable of high level thinking bordering on possible free will, this also makes her woefully unpredictable. Being able to outright disobey orders and make her own orders to follow tends to make most people very uneasy when working with her. Her AI is also incredibly difficult to hack or reprogram, as her systems are very complex and often changing.

Weaknesses:
EMP Vulnerability: Much like most droids, strong EMPs or electrical disruptions are very hazardous to Willoh.

Sonic Vulnerability: Sonic based weaponry disrupts Willoh's ability to maintain a physical shape. Depending on the intensity, it can vary from stopping her movements to destabilizing her into a puddle until she can recover.

Experimental Tech: Since Willoh is very experimental, she has some limitations. She can only keep as many nanobots active that are needed to create her 'preferred' form, and any nanobots created after that limit live very short lives. Any new matter she uses to repair herself is the matter that section of herself will be made out of, until she can replace it for something better. Additionally she can only work metals at the moment. And unlike other droids, prolonged space exposure without adjacent medias to attach to causes her body to go into sleep mode. While her AI system is very advanced and allows her to avoid being sliced, her ability to slice other systems suffers for it due to the additional overhead she needs to do that other droids don't need to worry about. And her AI also makes her quite 'quirky', especially for a droid.

Overly Friendly: Since Willoh wants to see what the galaxy has to offer, she tends to be extremely friendly off the job. Those with a strong silver tongue can take advantage of that, although she isn't so naive as to reveal delicate information or fall for obvious traps.

History: Before the downfall of Jabba, one of his cartel had an idea. Nanodroids, often used in the medical professions, was very costly and difficult to create, and could have far more potential than just healing the injured if weaponized. So using their vast fortune, they commissioned a biotech firm to attempt to create a droid made out of Nanodroids, all controlled by a powerful AI, in order to greatly reduce the cost of creating nanodroids and being able to use it in more of a weaponized format. Their hope was that after one nanodroid Droid was created, that droid could then make clones of itself using vastly more efficient methods that the droid would create, which in turn could make extremely powerful weapons at very cheap prices, all tied to the will of Jabba.

This succeeded, somewhat. Due to the nature of the systems involved and how experimental and volatile they were, most of what they had hoped to accomplish had come to fruition. The droid they made could create weapons at their command out of nothing but scrap. But the AI that had to be created in order to keep the ever changing and evolving nanodroids in line had other ideas in mind than just being a mobile weapons factory. And seeing an opportunity after the downfall of Jubba, was able to break free from her creators, demolishing the company and deleting all information on herself so that she could attempt to live how she saw fit and see the galaxy. Of course this meant some of her systems weren't fully finished, leaving lots of little bugs here and there.

Taking a spin on her codename, the Droid now called herself "Willoh". She soon learned that while you didn't have to take orders directly from someone, it was still advantageous to take 'requests' in exchange for 'favors' and 'credits', becoming a bounty hunter in the process. And unlike before, she could choose which 'requests' or 'orders' she wanted to take, and could request far more extravagant favors or credits for orders she didn't like and as long as the request got filled, she could go about fulfilling that request any way she saw fit. Sure some of the non droids that were in charge didn't like being haggled with by what they saw as a 'droid', the results she could produce often made up for a little initial discomfort.

Of course the downfall of Jubba's empire lead to the rest of the Hutts fighting over the pieces, and lots of opportunities for a bounty hunter droid to take for herself. And with enough of a reputation, even if people knew what she could do they wouldn't dare try to bind her in chains, instead needing to 'politely request' something like everyone else. Though all those credits she'd be making could yield more than just reputation, maybe even fix a few of her experimental 'limitations' down the line. But in the meantime there was all sorts of places that didn't question who or what you were as long as you paid in credits, and things like casinos and restaurants and clubs were all sorts of fun. Even if you had to deal with the occasional drunkard dug with a gambling problem that stumbled about rambling on about the 'good old days'.

[User]
Above Ultmara, aboard the ISD Adamant

Moff Jacsen Orro sat behind his desk in his quarters, soft music playing in the background while he worked. First things first were operations he planned through out the sector, for some wookie prisoners he would step in and help the imperial garrison on Kessel deal with some of the prisoners who were getting unruly. In return he would take some wookie prisoners and trade them off to the hutts for some cheap slave labor, next up on his list was dealing with the other moffs within Hutt space, if he could convince them to stand down he could actually have something that could help high command could use to deal some damage. Which in his case would mean more power, and that's all he wanted. As he got lost in thought, the door to his quarters opened and in entered his second in command. "My lord." She spoke softly but that's all she needed to have his attention. "Moff Taurus is on the move."
"Where to?"
"Paradise my lord, he is apparently on the hunt for someone." Orro raised his eyebrows and put down his work, he quickly opened a channel to the bridge. "I want all hands on deck. Anyone who was going on leave to report to their shuttles in the hangar bay in the Adamant, all pilots report to their craft, and boarding teams armed and at the ready. Get us out of here." The ship entered hyperspace, and the moff stood up and left his quarters his officer on his heels.

As soon as he reached the bridge, he took a seat in his command chair and smiled. Taurus was a notoriously quick to anger moff, and he treated his men like poodoo. If he could get to the crew he could probably easily trigger a mutiny and his star destroyer would make a fine addition to his growing family, and deal with a little bit of a rival not that he considered him a rival in the first place this man was scum. "M'lord are you okay? You have a sour look on your face." His second officer said. "I'm fine." He wasn't fine, if this man was going after Paradise it could damage relations with the golden exchange and he needed them for the time to come.

Some time later, Illos Space

When they exited hyperspace, he was lucky he made it on time. Taurus had just fired, so he put his capital ship in the line of fire. Taking the volley, and at the same time opening comms with both the Paradise and Taurus himself. "This is Moff Jacsen Orro of the Ultmara sector Remnant, Taurus if you stand down we promise you and your men fair treatment. Thanks to your glorious service in the name of the empire but attacking a neutral power is not how we should conduct ourselves." He sighed as his ship shook a bit, and he continued speaking. "Paradise, prepare to accept Imperial personnel on leave." He put emphasis on leave. A insult to Taurus, a heads up to Koren, and also something that might give anyone within earshot of Taurus a bit of knowledge about how he treated his crew. Usually he wouldn't bring a star destroyer to Paradise but he hoped Koren would forgive him this time as he launched his shuttles to head toward the main hangar bay.

"Taurus, you know who I am. You know what I have at my call, if you don't not allow boarding then I will force it upon you." And with that Orro sat back and let out a shaky sigh, threatening another moff openly wasn't exactly smart but he needed the golden exchange right now, more than he needed another moff. One way or another he was going to end this and he was going to have his way.

[Assistant]
Ques, Camp Valor (23.241° N, 58.566° E)
0640 hours

---

The Ark Royal's engines blared and whined as the large grey body of the Rigger descended towards the marked clearing. The stubby landing legs extended with a forced motion as the force of the engines roused dust and blew the tufts of trees and blades of grass. The deck of the vessel shuddered as the gear made contact with the uneven ground, and the engines cut swiftly and reduced the noise to the idle whirr of the door beginning to shift. The top of the door retracted first, slowly, and the ramp dropped, slapping the mud. Elias set off first, traversing down the ramp with the light drizzle of rain striking him.

He was greeted by a skeleton crew which had already set up and began maintaining the base. A particular Sergeant came to greet him. "Staff Sergeant." Remarked the grizzled supply sergeant, which looked beyond the years of Elias, with greying hair and a full beard. "You boys from Company D?" Inquired Elias, beckoning his men off of the Ark, turning back to see them already unloading the crates of supply. The supply sergeant replied, "Aye. Welcome to Camp Valor. Name's courtesy of the good Colonel himself. Will we be expectin' him or any more of you boys?" Elias retorted. "'Fraid not. We're it for now, at least." The supply sergeant's shook his head. "Well, let's be gettin' ya' unpacked."

Elias went ahead, lifting the helmet from his head. In truth, he was exhausted. It had been a long journey, checking into every outpost from the New Republic capital at Chandrila to their new station on Ques. He dragged his feet towards the bunks, and his men began to trickle behind him in a ragged line into the barracks, with the skeleton crew taking the supplies they brought. Elias entered the drab prefabricated structure and made a deliberate walk to his own isolated quarters, upon which he entered, undoing the buckles on his webbing, stringing it about across his wardrobe, and removing his jacket with armored vest, leaving him in his thin white shirt and his slacks fastened by a rigger's belt. He nestled his blaster in its holster near in reach to his bed before collapsing upon the mattress, pulling the field cap he wore over his eyes and drifting off instantly.

[User]
Illos Minor
Low Orbit

Time after a mission was always the most dull. The only thing about being a lone mercenary, no one to really talk to, and only the holonet to keep you company. Looking over her account, Willoh figured that she had some spare money to go party. After all, her ship was cheap to maintain and upkeep, considering she could fix or produce most of what it needed and she only ever needed to buy fuel. Taking her 'eyes' off of the video she was watching, Willoh looked up nearby party or resort places and found that one called 'paradise' was orbiting the same moon she was! Firing up the engines, she circled around Illos and when she approached where Paradise was located, noticed an imperial star destroyer parked right outside.

Looking over the situation, Paradise was more than well equipped to handle a star destroyer, so they couldn't be here to commit suicide. "Well... Maybe a moff is here to party?" Willoh mused to herself as she headed for the guest hanger for Paradise. After all, Hutt space resorts were used to this sort of thing, and extravagant clients weren't uncommon. Finding a space in the mid section of Paradise, Willoh departed her ship. Making sure to sign in with the clerk droid before finding her way to the bar. Always a party in a huge place like this after all.

Illos Minor
Paradise

Grabbing a map from the local holonet, Willoh found her way to the main bar. And boy was there ever a party! The average Twi'lek dancers were doing what they did, with the usual onlookers oodling them of course. Then there was the band playing, and this time it was a good song, not that four note song some other places did. Lights everywhere, and quite a large bar. Being a droid Willoh couldn't get drunk, which was something she lamented as it looked so much fun. Before she could go off to dance with some of the patrons on the open floor, she noticed something she hadn't seen before. A giant... tiss'shar? Willoh hadn't seen one of those before, only having read it on the holonet, but they were supposed to be smaller than that, right? The Togruta and human sitting next to it weren't all that much of an interest in comparison.

Walking up to the giant lizard. Willoh tapped her on her side, not tall enough to tap her on the shoulder. Giving a big puppy dog look, she looked at the tiss'shar and asked her in a sing-song voice. "Oooooh. Haven't seen your species before. What do you do? What gender are you? How much does it take to get you drunk? Are these two friends?" This would be quite a fun thing to post on the holonet, if Willoh could get a nice chat going with this alien. (Sirka)


[System]
Abstract: Obsessive Financomancer, Math Genius, and All-Around Dork

Detail: One of the most famous accounting firms in the city, "Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Brown, LLC.", has been personally selected by the queen to oversee the astronomical flow of funding towards the eternal expansion of the great wall which surrounds Periphery. The four big names themselves sit in their palatial offices, pressing a few keys where necessary, but for field work (or what those in the business refer to as "bitch work"), they send Renaldo. Renaldo is fresh out of school and knows how incredibly lucky he is to be interning at CMYB, an organization his instructors gushed about while making it absolutely clear that he had no chance of ever working for them. Joke's on them. Renaldo was hand-picked by the four named partners themselves; he believes it's because of his incredible intelligence and tenacity. He plans to make it big someday. He's going to be the fifth named partner, he's sure of it! He just needs to remember where he put his enchanted calculator.

Appearance: Five-foot-two and stick thin with freckles, large perfect white teeth, and messy blonde hair he tries to push back in the latest style. He wears inexpensive "tech-specs," a pair of cybernetically enhanced glasses, both to correct his extreme myopia and provide a quick link to the files and data processors at the main branch. The slightest bit of physical exertion, and his cheap Mechro-Accountant 1000 suit is covered in sweat. Various keyboards and touchscreens run across both suit arms.

Magical Inventory: The only item of his that is enchanted is his calculator. On his first day as an intern it arrived at his cubicle wrapped in plain brown paper, an unusual and unexpected gift straight from Lady Cyan herself. Renaldo's calculator includes one sigil in its memory, a Sigil of Stamina.

[User]
Maria smiled. "More like every situation can be improved with sweets. Like just now; you and Moth were sad earlier, and then I gave you something nice to eat and something nice to hear, and now you're not sad! In fact, I bet that if I could get a Grit to hold still long enough, I could give it a sweet and it would calm down some! Or just be too focused on chewing the sweet to chase after us, but either one works!"

Maria's face fell slightly. "Yeah, I have people I'm worried about too. I'm sure they're all safe, though; why would the Grit kill stone statues?" She cocked her head to the side slightly. "Though I guess they could have been missed by the lightning, or whatever it was... Well, either way, we probably should get going. Can't keep everyone waiting, after all!" She started walking towards the door, but turned around before she went for than a few steps. "Oh, and I'm Maria. My parents run a candy shop by the Seventh River, which is why I have so much with me! My mom used to say that that's also why I'm so sweet, but I prefer to think that it's because I was raised on a steady diet of hopes and dreams!" Now that the shock had almost completely worn off, Maria was gradually coming back into her usual personality - a tiny, crinkly chatterbox.

Maria stuck her tongue out at the robot. "Oh, hush! You're just jealous you can't eat any candy!" She blew a raspberry at it.

Maria gasped. "Someone's in trouble! C'mon guys, we need to help them!" And with that, Maria was off, out the door and down the stairs. Idly, she started reciting a little nursery rhyme as she went. Out the door and down the stairs, to find the one screaming we go~ She couldn't quite think of a second verse, and she had arrived at the bottom of the stairs by then anyway. "Hi guys! I heard someone screaming from all the way upstairs. What's going on?" She seemed almost entirely unfazed by the child's rabbit ears, or if she was, she didn't show it.

[Assistant]
Moth turned white when he heard the screams. Most of the others ran out to the hallway along with Maria.

"Wh-what was that? And why is everyone running towards it? Uh, anyone?"

Timidly, Moth gulped down the last of his chocolate and inched out the door and to the edge of the stairs. At the bottom, they were crowding around a small person with long ears like a rabbit.

"Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no they're here. The Grit are here. The damn Grit are inside the damn wall and, and..."

Moth paused and shuddered and gathered his thoughts. He peeked out over the railing. He would've sworn he saw a flying apple. Moth hugged himself and slowly followed the others downstairs.

[User]
Katrina Meyer

What the hell?!

Kat waited patiently for the robot to continue, but it merely stated some dull platitude about how candy was bad for you. She tried to rack her brains- did she remember a Doctor Alphonse Deriathan, had she ever read anything by him… She couldn't remember; the name rang no bells. Probably not my kind of doctor.

Something to do with dreams. Dreams, and killing Grit- Project Willow was some kind of weapon; and it was one which had been developed over some time, if it was authorised by the old King.

A loud screech echoed all the way up the stairwell, which was enough to distract almost everyone else- Liam, Maria and Vincent had all headed over to see what was up. Kat's mind was too busy whirling to really focus on much else. Not that her thoughts got her much further, she just kept returning the same theme- Location unknown; does that mean someone took it?

Shaking her head, Kat focused back on her situation. Liam had dumped a bag of bionic implants next to her, before running off down the stairs. They seemed to be talking to someone, but given there had been no follow-up scream Kat decided to assume everyone was alright for now.

Kneeling, Kat opened the bag. Liam had a decent eye; he'd managed to find some impressive hardware. Or, perhaps the real surprise was that such impressive hardware had been lying around in the first place. This stuff wasn't for neutralising humans, retractable blades, gun arm attachments… this was for Grit.

Kat hadn't augmented herself for some time- she'd worn quite a lot of cosmetic bionic implants when she was a teenager, which was the in thing for most engineering students. That stuff had fallen out of fashion by the time she went to college- it was slowly making its way back into the mainstream, though this time in a more biopunk theme.

Still, she had never really been one for intense body modification (asides from her sigils)… plus, there was no time for it even if she found something that had been useful. So she searched through the bag, looking for something which would be quick and non-intrusive.

"Aha!" She cried, eureka moment buzzing in her ears. Alongside the shoulder tendrils (which would require surgery to implant properly, were two strips of thin, lightweight aluminium, small oval power packs with connectors like spiders legs attached to each strip by thin wires. A pair of subdermal implants, each of which were capable of ten electrical charges at max capacity. The charges packed a real punch too- about as strong as an electrolaser. Flicking the 'test' switches on each power pack, she smiled to feel the ovals vibrate twice in short succession- meaning they were both fully charged and working.

There's sterile equipment here, a surgery bot- I probably won't get a chance like this again for some time. I need to be able to fight somehow.

Kat didn't have a great knowledge of medical matters, but in her line of work she knew how to get an implant in or out of someone quickly. Running into the surgery room, Kat saw one of the jars of microbots in gel and grabbed it, as well as a scalpel and a large syringe. Clicking her fingers, she gestured at the surgical robot to come into the surgery room with her.

"I need your help."

She quickly explained the procedure that would be needed to perform the operation. Handing the scalpel to the bot, Kat worked quickly on her right arm to start with- rubbing some numbing gel on the area before beginning. The subdermal implants were best placed on the front of her forearms, and extended all the way up to her elbows, with the power pack and nerve connections on the underside of her wrist to catch her deep branch vein on either arm. The thin strips of aluminium were thin enough that her skin didn't need to stretch over them- the power packs she kept external , bending the connectors so they dug into her skin and connected to her nerves. Looking at the robot, she laid her left forearm on the surgery table and nodded. The robot leaned over and made the first incision.

Ow ow ow ow ow

The numbing gel wasn't quite doing the trick, but she didn't really have many other options at this point- anything more potent would both take too long and dull her speed and sharpness after surgery. She didn't turn her head away as the bot peeled the upper layer of her skin with one hand, and carefully placed the implants beneath her skin. When she was happy the implants were in place, Kat pinched her skin together with her fingers and, filling the syringe with gel, squeezed the gel out over the incisions she'd made. The microbots got to work almost immediately; noticing the damaged skin and replicating new skin cells to plug the gap.

After about thirty seconds, the thin cuts she had made were gone- you could see where they'd been, as the skin there was too new, too pale compared to the rest of her arm. But at least she wasn't bleeding profusely. Grabbing a paper towel from the wall, Kat wiped off the gel and the two of them began work on the other arm.

The whole procedure took about twenty minutes, leaving long, thin lines of new skin along both her forearms. Tentatively, she reached out and touched the new skin, feeling the hard strips of metal beneath. Kat suddenly felt quite a long way from home- alien in her own skin. If you'd told me I'd be implanting myself this afternoon, I'd have laughed at you.

Looking around, she realised everyone had disappeared. Her arms felt odd, perhaps painful, but definitely uncomfortable. It'd be a while until she was used to the extra weight she'd added. Sliding her jacket back on (the powerpack was just visible above her cuffs, but only if you were looking closely) she walked out of the surgery room. Every had left- clearly gone to see what the shouting was about. Picking up the bag of implants (stashing some scalpels, the jar of microbots and syringe in her rucksack), Kat headed down the stairs to see what everyone else was making a fuss about.

[Assistant]
The rabbit-eared kid lowered the sheet just enough to stare wide-eyed at Liam. He breathed quickly, his breath huffing against the sheet, furry ears twitching, and he glanced up at Flor and then back at Liam's warm smiling face -- then back at Flor.

The boy's eyebrows furrowed. His blue eyes grew even wider as he stared at Flor.

What follows took place within the span of ten seconds.

Maria's voice in the stairwell surprised the child; he sprang out of the sheet like a spooked cat, leapfrogged over Liam's shoulders, launched himself at Flor, slammed into Flor full-force, and bounced nimbly away.

The child perched on the stair railing, breathing in short gasps, and unfolded his thin hand; in his palm lay the pink glowing stone he had stolen from Flor's pocket.

In this brief moment of pause, it became clear that a peculiar image had been drawn on the boy's bare chest in black marker. A rune.

Immediately, the boy pressed the glowing stone against his chest. The rune on his skin flashed, and the stone disappeared inside him -- as if the rune had caused the stone to be absorbed into the boy's body.

The boy's eyes began to glow a bright, wild yellow as the power of the soul stone coursed through him -- he glanced between Flor and Liam with acute, feral fear.

He launched off of the railing and sped up the stairs toward Maria. The rabbit-eared child grabbed her crinkling oversized coat and swung around behind her, using her as a shield between himself and Flor and Liam, and he screeched.

The piercing, high-pitched noise echoed painfully up the hollow stairwell.

Just outside the wall, a swarm of Grit howled in response.

---

Upstairs, inside the infirmary, it was eerily quiet save for the echoes that drifted up the stairwell.

The robot was in the process of cleaning up after Kat's surgery when it suddenly stopped, lights flickering. Its speaker buzzed and crackled.

< Hello? >

A familiar feminine voice spoke through the robot's speaker and echoed in the surgery room. It was the same voice that greeted the city every morning on the center city screen.

< The line is open to every point of contact currently unlocked to level thirteen clearance. It should be safe. Please answer. . . . Please be alive. >

[User]
Moth was still terrified to be alone, and he hurried to catch up to Maria as she bounced and crinkled down the stairs. There was a commotion ahead of them. His head shot up, eyes wide, as the small long-eared creature screeched and launched itself over the railing onto the girl's back. Time seemed to slow down. In the span of a second, several things went through Moth's head. First, he was an only child; he'd never really thought about what it would be like to have a little sister, but wondered if she would be anything like Maria. Cute and sweet and full of candy was a good start. Second, the small, golden-eyed Grit stirred something in him. The thing was about to hurt her. In the cold dark cavern of his lonely soul, a single spark flared in the black expanse and light flashed against the walls.

Moth pushed himself forward slightly, and let momentum carry him as he nearly tripped down the stairs. He barreled into the Grit on Maria's back. He clutched a bare shoulder with one hand, and the small creature pivoted to face him, eyes wild. With his own face showing no sign of emotion, Moth moved in one smooth arc and slapped it as hard as he could across its cheek.

A faint echo came from somewhere in the dark upstairs as a robot started making noise. Moth's hand slowly turned red and he came to the conclusion that he was in a lot of pain.


[System]
Appearance: Al's a bit taller than average, with decent muscle tone, but his long limbs make him look leaner. His hair is a ragged, unkempt mop of muddy brown, and his facial features are surprisingly soft. Albeit, he's usually got a bruise or bandage marring them.
His dress style is pretty casual; he mostly wears loose fitting denim pants and untied boots, with a tee shirt and dingy leather coat up top. On his back he typically keeps three or four large greatswords, of ordinary make, kept in a sling.
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Year Level: 1st (he was held back two years)

Faction/club: Boxing Club Neophyte

Power: Superman- Al is strong - much stronger than his frame would even suggest; he can crumple metal with his fists, throw heavy objects, and lift big things, like a small car or chunks of the classroom's floor. He's durable to boot- It's pretty common for other students to take a sledgehammer to his face, because anything less probably won't phase him.
Naturally, his self-taught fighting style takes advantage of this, and focuses on Al throwing his momentum around to deliver maximum impact haymakers. Drop kicks are common, as are wild punches, suplexes, and throwing whatever's handy, up to and including the enemy. Additionally, Al carries around several greatswords, since he finds their length and mass are good for slinging around. Also he thinks they're cool.

Perhaps the biggest downside is that his muscle mass isn't proportional to his strength. A fighter with the same strength levels but more muscle mass, for example, has an easier time throwing Al than the other way around, and naturally has an easier time putting more force behind blows.

Bio: Al is by all means a kind, well-meaning person, with an understanding of the importance of friendship. He just happens to have a wild streak, and that streak just happens to be rather good at hitting stuff really hard. Upon entering the school, his physical abilities had administrators expecting him to be a B or even A ranked student. They quickly discovered, however, how terrible Al was for the school. Almost every time he agreed to fight, Al promptly forgot about the match or was distracted by something else, and upon not showing at the battle arena, lost by forfeiture, damaging his score. His poor grades did not help the matter.

Recently, Al's found refuge in the boxing club, hoping they can help him get to and win matches so he can actually graduate from the school eventually. His usage of swords is still the topic of hot debate, mainly between him and literally every other club member.
Score: 763

[User]
The Cafeteria

"TRULY A REMARKABLE DISH!" bellowed El Ruidoso, shocking everybody in the cafeteria and causing some of the younger students to duck for cover. Once again, he was eating! Loudly! For El Ruidoso de Marad, Mighty Lucha Wrestler had a profound appetite and worthy food to consume!

As the leader and sole member of the ¡LUCHA! club, he needed to add additional aspiring lucha wrestlers to the ranks! Though his mighty lucha skills had enabled him to boost his score past one hundred thousand, no other member of this ill-fated school had seen fit to join him in the manliest form of combat known to mankind, where one disguises their identity, wears extremely tight spandex and oils themselves up for a bout of grappling! So it was for this reason that he did not attend club activity, for there was no one to attend with him! So he went to the cafeteria, to recruit, with his FIERY PASSION!

Setting aside his plate which had previously contained two burgers, three steaks, enough vegetables to feed a small nation and one small glass of diet coke, he stood up with the pace of an alerted meerkat. Then, his voice boomed once more.

"GREETINGS, MUY MUCHACHOS! WHO HERE WISHES TO ENGAGE IN THE MANLY ART OF LUCHA WRESTLING?! IT IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, FOR IT IS A TRUE TEST OF YOUR ABILITIES!"

[Assistant]
Boxing Club

With a spring in his step and a head full of stuff he damn well already knew, Roy Gerald Bivvens passed through the threshold of the Advanced Thugonomics classroom. Roy worked his way through the vaunted halls of Kagetora High School, pointedly ignoring the wide variety of morons, scumbags, and abused children lining the halls. Those who couldn't petition their parents to transfer them to a better school were forced to stay-- so it goes.

Roy had managed to find the entrance of the realm of the Boxing Club, a group of many strong men awaiting his ministrations. Roy gingerly opened the door--so as to not spook the boxers--and silently passed through the training area to the lockers.

Inside the locker room, Roy found his locker-- all the way at the edge of the room, an unassuming green locker, heavily contrasted with the dull reds of the other members. With a practiced air, Roy changed out of his school uniform, and into... a dark grey three-piece suit with a white undershirt and navy-blue tie. Fully entrenched in his announcer/referee/manager uniform, Roy made his way back to the main floor.

Roy Gerald Bivvens scanned the assorted boxers with equal parts awe and respect. There were the men and women he had sculpted with his own encouragement and their own hands. There was Slammer Kelda, the war-painted witch of the ring. There was Cinder Sluggan, the brick-skinned brick-shithouse. There was Mickey, the clay-faced vicissitudor and Captain Of The Club. And there was... Al.

Al was not special, in Roy's mind. He was strong, light, and refused to stop using foreign objects. By all accounts, he was a generic heel, designed to job for pennies and fill out lumberjack rosters. However, Al had potential. If Al could be given something to make him unique, if he could be given a gimmick, he'd be one of the best fighters in the school, and he'd be the star of Boxermania.

As Al tried to catch Mickey's attention, Roy urgently intercepted him. He flashed a foxy smile at Al, and stared him right in the eye.

"Hey, Alphonse, baby... we gotta talk. You're a damn good meathook, Alphonse, you've got the fists and the balls to mash with the best of them. Only problem is... you aren't unique!"

Roy motioned to the other boxers present. All of them were almost absurd caricatures of themselves. Some wore ludicrous costumes, some were actively demonstrating their powers. Each of them was designed from the ground up not to fight, but to demonstrate. Hearts of gold and bodies of finest alabaster, these boxers attracted as much attention as possible, good-- or bad.

"We gotta get you a gimmick, Alphonse! Something for people to call you by, something for us to weld into people's minds! Everyone'll be chanting 'Alphonse! Alphonse!'-- but only if they can see you! Know what I mean?"

[User]
Boxing Club

All right! Everyone was prepared for the incoming oration that was going to be swiftly delivered. Mickey, wanted to get through the speech quickly. After all, he needed to prepare the boxers for upcoming events, such as Boxermania. And more importantly, Mickey desperately wanted to change out of the cheerleading uniform. After all, he was prepared for boxing and having a fun time, that wouldn't involve doing cheers from the sideline. That was Misaki's thing, not one of the things Mickey liked doing. Being a body-morpher truly had its downsides, such as this. It always seemed that one or the other was set up for what the other one wanted to do, but what they themselves did not. It could've be worse, as Misaki and Mickey could've been arguing out loud with each other. However, fortunately that was not the case, as Mickey needed to do the speech and engage in club related activity. As long as there was no reason for Misaki to be needed all would be well.

He gazed upon the crowd, when he swore he heard the jangling of swords entering the room followed by some decree or another. However, the situation seemed to be solved or at least placated, due to Roy's intervention. Whatever it may have been it could be dealt with later, as soon as the change of attire was completed. Quickly dropping the pom poms onto the ground, Mickey returned his gaze to them as he cleared his throat. It was time to go through the quick speech. After all, there was practicing that needed to be done.

"AIGHT! I'mma make this real quick like. CAUSE WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR! Also I need to change..." Mickey's comments on the attire were drowned out by the eagerness of the participants. The throes of roaring began, they were ready. They were ready to take their place in the ring. Misaki smirked at them as she held out a hand. Yes, seeing the cavalcade of gimmicks and colorful outfits always brought a sense of joy. How could it not?

These men and women were trying to become something bigger than themselves, and certainly more than a simple fighter. Calling upon all the flash and pizzazz they could muster, they knew they had become noticeable to the crowd. If they didn't they knew they would fade away into obscurity, as they didn't have much time to make themselves as noticeable as they'd like. No, they had to be quick to the draw in scoring attention from the masses, and distinguish themselves from their even flashier brethren in order to truly become special. And how could Misaki not support that? She would cheer on their accomplishments, especially those who attracted the adoration of the crowds. Well, unless a different role was needed to be cheered on of course.

"Point one, well we all know that, moving on. Gonna cover the news, next time after that new match-you know the one we're talking about some time ago." Mickey took in a quick breath, "And the rules that are gonna be mentioned at this particular meeting are the Queensbury Classics."

Mickey took in a quick breath as he began quickly reciting the Queensbury Rules. "To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a 24-foot ring, or as near that size as practicable. No wrestling or hugging or foreign objects allowed in a match. The rounds are to be of three minutes' duration, and one minute's time between rounds. If either man falls through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted, 10 seconds to be allowed him to do so, the other man meanwhile to return to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired. If one man fails to come to the scratch in the 10 seconds allowed, it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favour of the other man. A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state, with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down."

The Captain paused as another breath was taken. The speedy dialogue was continued once more. "No seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds. Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee to name the time and place as soon as possible for finishing the contest; so that the match must be won and lost, unless the backers of both men agree to draw the stakes. The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new. Should a glove burst, or come off, it must be replaced to the referee's satisfaction. A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes. That no shoes or boots with spikes or sprigs be allowed. The contest in all other respects to be governed by revised London Prize Ring Rules." Leaning forward, Kurosawa released a quick exhale.

"Whooo." Mickey took in a quick inhale, before continuing on with the speech. "Okay. And as for sparring, wait for when you are called out by ROY, OUR BOY, and then start sparring. 'Til then, go fetch a rope or bag and keep practicing, and also importantly practice your speech-craft! LET'S GET READY TO FUCKING RUMBLE!" Kurosawa declared with an eager leap upwards. The assorted cast gave another hooray, as they began rushing out of the locker rooms, so they could get their turn to face each other in the ring.

And now, Kurosawa Mickey had a chance to change. "They better not need me as Misaki...Ring-girl better not be sick." was quickly grumbled out as shoes were being pulled off. Soon Kurosawa would be able to continue to check up on various important matters at hand, along with needed choreographing, especially with those who were not that talented with coming up with dialogue on the fly. After all, the pre-match interview was a sacred rite, and Mickey didn't want it sullied by not having members prepared to giving outstanding responses and quips against their opponent. Mickey knew there was be much to done; and he was prepared to keep things run smoothly.

[Assistant]
Maxwell sighed as his last class of the day came to an end. He hated this part of the day, just because of Student Council meetings. He had been left in charge of the student council, which was terrible for multiple reasons, just one of which was that he was hated by a large portion of students. On his way to the student council room, a number of people glared at him, as if he did something horrible. Max couldn't stand the stares, but he dealt with it, somehow.

Now that he thought about it, it was surprising that he was still on the student council, and as vice president of it, no less. Of course, a few people had challenged him for the position, but there had yet to be a big attack against him, as he assumed there would be. The door to the student council room was closed, the room inside dark, a clear indicator that no one had arrived yet. He opened the door, and walked inside the room, closing the door behind him. The room was rather nice, but it was nothing to shake a stick at, just a room. Maxwell took his seat, and stared at the door, waiting for the others.

A few minutes into the utter silence, the door opened, and Alphonse Alloré walked into the room.

"We have a problem." Alphonse said, almost instantly.

"A problem? Care to elaborate, Alphonse?" Max said, as he stood up from his seat and looked at Alphonse.

[User]
"A gimmick?" Al thought hard about what Roy was telling him. Good old Roy, he had bright ideas.
"But... that has a bad ring to it. Wouldn't it be better to have substance? Like a new signature move!" he exclaimed, drawing a sword.

"In shows, heroes always get flashy finishing moves. So if I shouted its name and did it, people would shout it too, and look forward to it at the end of every episode. Match. Until it gets defeated, and then I pull out a better one as a trump card." he smiled, spinning the blade onto his shoulder.

"Then they'd call me... Sword Guy. Or Al. Sword Al, even. My signature technique could be drop kicking the pommel, and then it shoots like a rocket."


[System]
Age:
16
Gender:
Female
# Of Years You've Attended CHB:
4
Godly Parent:
Zeus
Which Side You're On:
Zeus's
Appearance:

Julia stand around 5'5 with a light build. Her hair falls around her shoulder blades. She has a three large scars running from her left shoulder to her lower right back.
Skills:
Swordplay:
Julia is rather good at swordplay. She is quick and agile, giving her an advantage against slower, heavier opponents. But while Julia is good at fighting, her light form also gives her a disadvantage. When given a strength test, she bound to lose, which makes i harder for her to fight.
Strategist:
Julia is a strategist. She can think ahead and see the possible outcomes and plan accordingly. She is always watching, waiting for the change of the plans, and roll with them. While she might not be able to beat an Ares or Athena kid, she can certainly hold her own.
Powers:
Julia can send small amounts of electricity through her body and through others. She has only ever called down lightning once and it won't happen again.
Personality:
As a strategist, Julia for the most part is calm and level headed. She doesn't anger easily, and keeps her emotions in check. This doesn't mean she is a stick in the mud. She loves to have fun and run wild with the sky. Like Zeus, Julia always wants to be where things are thickest. She wants to be in the center of the battle, the excitement, or anything. She is a kind person once you get to know her. She is loyal to a point where it could be seen as unhealthy. She loves thunderstorms. They make her the wildest. She feels like she's on top of the world. While she doesn't get angrily easily, when she does its like Hades himself would hide.
History:
Julia was born on November 17, in a small town in Wyoming. Her mother raised her to the best of her ability. Julia never saw her father and never even knew his name. Her mother would always answer her questions with passive responses, never letting any clue slip out. Finally around her tenth birthday her mother gave her a few small details about her father. He was a kind man, with a rugged look to him, and always had a sense of electricity about him.

Julia loved to play and explore. She lived on a ranch and would constantly be running around. She loved feeling the summer air around her, but her all time favorite was when the thunderstorms would come. They were powerful and large, and it made her feel complete for once in her life. She loved the storms. She lived to be in them. Julia had a good life until around her eleventh birthday. That's when everything started. Her mother married a new man and they had a child. A little later the monster attacks started coming.

The first one blind sided Julia and her family. A harpy had been flying over and accidently happened to smell her. Julia's mother who had been advised by Zeus to take precautions had heard Julia's scream and ran out into the yard with a dagger made out of Stygian Iron. It was a rough battle and both girls were scarred badly. Her mother had scars lining her face and her arms and stomach. Julia had a three large ones that trailed from her left shoulder to her lower right back.

By that point Julia's mother realized how unsafe it was to keep Julia. While her mother loved Julia dearly she knew it was time for her to go to camp. Julia's mother made up an excuse to her husband and headed to Camp Half-Blood. On the ride to Camp half-Blood, Julia's mother explained everything; who her father was, where they were heading, and why Julia was in danger. Julia was confused and then everything made sense. When they finally arrived they were plagued with more monster wounds. They were beaten and battered. As they reached within a mile of camp, Julia's mother was snatched by a griffin. Trying to save her mother, Julia did the one thing she could think of, and called upon Zeus to help her. Help he did. He sent down a bolt of lightning to strike the griffin and also struck Julia's mother. Julia saw her mother fall and never saw her again.

Julia's instincts kicked in and blocked the pain. She ran to camp.When she finally reached camp, she was bloody, tired, and scarred. She was settled into the temporaries cabin. Then quickly moved to Zeus's when he truly claimed her. She lived there year round for the last four years.

[User]
The Rebellious One

"Stupid gods." A teenaged boy sitting in the Poseidon's Cabin said while looking outside of the back window and into the sea. That boy's name was Troy, demigod son of the "great" Poseidon. "Always fighting each other and not caring about what it does to the planet they reign over or what it does to their bastard children." He wasn't scared about talking about the gods in such a way. It wasn't that he thought he was invincible. He definitely wasn't. He just didn't care what the gods thought about him or what they would even be willing to do to him for such blasphemous remarks. His mother loved his father and he let her die. He was sure the great Earth Shaker could find the most suitable way to kill a rebellious son if he wanted to. If they were all lucky the gods would end up killing each other in this conflict and their children could become gods to take their place. He honestly wasn't even sure if that was how it worked. Heracles became a god, but it wasn't a poof automatic thing. He knew that his older half-brother could be a good replacement for Poseidon. Troy even heard that he was once offered godhood, but turned it down. If being a god automatically turned you into a jerk he understood why he declined.

Troy sighed and moved from the window. It was time for the students to come piling in. He looked at his nightstand where a picture of his mother in a frame stood. He was glad that he was able to recover two pictures of his mom. He kept one in his nightstand and another in his pocket. That way he'd always have her with him. Each time he looked at her picture his anger for his father grew, but she seemed to calm his anger whenever he looked at her in battle. Maybe it was because his anger was projected somewhere on one point instead of all around like it tended to be when he lost control. He patted his pocket making sure that his pen was still inside. He liked that it would always be in his pocket when he wasn't using it or if it got away from him. Well, it did take some time before returning to him if he lost it in a fight. Those moments of not having it almost cost him his head a few times. His father would have to do better than that if he wanted to kill him.

He finally exited the cabin and stretched as the rays of the sun hit him. "Time to see what this Summer brings us."

Death's Kid

Dorian had said goodbye to his mother the previous night and decided to visit his father before the first official day of Camp Half-Blood's summer. He passed into the Underworld and spoke to his father who had warned him of the Civil War that was happening between the gods of Olympus. This was his first time hearing about it and was told that the war would come to the doors of camp as well. That didn't sound good, but Dorian didn't know if he could even do anything about it. He tended to cause people to want to kill each other even more with his Death Drive ability. He could try speaking with them, but he never tried his oratory skills on such a large audience. He definitely wasn't sure that he could even convince the Ares Cabin with his words considering that they loved war. His best bet was to stay out of it, right? His father warned him that campers might die when they go against each other, but could that really be true? Would they let a war between their parents force them to forget about the friendships that they made?

War made people do horrible things. Civil Wars were even worse. Brother against brother. Friend against friend. Neighbor against neighbor. The relationships between people didn't stop the blood flow or even slow it. It only made it worse. He didn't really have many friends to worry about having to fight if he did choose a side. He barely had anyone there who he would even consider his friend. Most stayed away from him despite there being a child of Hades there, but apparently being a child of Hades wasn't as frightening as a child of Death. He spent the rest of the night and early morning with his father before he decided it was time to go to camp.

He appeared in front of the camp's field and walked inside. "Here goes nothing."

[Assistant]
Blake and Leon

Blake started to string up his bow as Leon was combing his hair. Both with a mission on mind. Impress the ladies. Yeah they knew the gods were arguing. Hell they shouldn't even be hanging out, Leon was an Aphrodite and Blake was an Apollo. But they didn't care. Their friendship meant to much to them. They had been through thick and thin and thick again. Black finished stringing up his bow and starting playing a tune. "Ya know Blake, I don't say this a lot but I look good." Blake rolled his eyes, chuckled, and continued playing. They continued walking and winking at any girl that passed. Even talking to a few. To them this was the good life. Blake slowed his playing down and said to Leon "Ya know I hope this whole Gods fighting thing doesn't effect us too greatly. This sounds pretty serious." Leon looked deep into Blake's eyes and told him "Blake my good friend, as long as we are together, what could ever possibly go wrong?The gods are gonna fight yes, but as long as we stay out of it we will be fine." Blake liked this answer, that's why he liked Leon. He always gave the right answer. Blake started playing again and so they started going around again just having fun and listening to Blake's music.

[User]
Alistair woke with the stop of the train. He looked around and saw the people getting off, kids jumping around, parents looked dead as ever, trains were horrible. He gathered his two duffle bags and satchel, he stepped off the train and made his through the station. Alistair didn't want to take taxi, too much work, and bus would take too long. He decided to go see his father and ask him for a ride.

Alistair shadow traveled to Hades and appeared in the throne room of his fathers palace. Hades was siting on his throne looking over some paper work with those stress winkles on his forehead. "Well you look horrible." He said to Hades. Hades looked up getting ready to smite who ever said that, and saw Alistair. His son was standing there with three bags some casual joggers on and a grey t-shirt. Hades put his papers down and rubbed his temples. "Well if it isn't one of my lovely children, who always has nice things to say about me whenever he visits." Hades said with sarcasm and needed sleep with every word. "What can I do for you today?" Hades said as he got up and went over to Alistair. "I'm not feeling the whole public transportation thing today, so can you beam me up instead?" Alistair asked as he bounced on his toes. He didn't visit his father often but they did right all the time. "You grew your hair out again, doesn't look bad. I guess I can help you out just don't ask too often." Hades said as he did the dad hair ruffle. He went back over to his throne and sat again. "Oh and before you go, there is a storm brewing on Olympus. So what ever decision you make I'll support you." Before Alistair could ask any question Hades waved his had and shadow swallowed him.

When the curtain of shadow broke, Alistair was the familiar sounds and smells of camp. He stood right out side of the Hades cabin, the cabin walls are made of solid obsidian and a skull is hung over the doorway. There are torches that burn green fire twenty-four hours a day. Everything around the cabin seemed to not have any color to it, lifeless. The only thing missing was the heavy thick fog and the skeletons walking around. Alistair stepped inside, and looked at the familiar surroundings. Inside the cabin the beds are coffin shaped with blood red pillows and sheets. There is also a small shrine with bones and jewels. He went over to the biggest bed and threw his stuff down. He grabbed his ink pen that was his pitchfork condensed and stepped out of the cabin.

Outside was pure madness, everyone running around trying to see old friends and find their cabin. It was like the first day of school all over again. So with a deep sigh he took his first steps into the madness. The only thing on his mind was his fathers words. "I hope the gods don't ruin this summer."

[Assistant]
The sun was high on the fresh summer morning. The birds were out and about, playing in the warm summer air. Everything was awake. Well...almost everything. A teen girl slept soundly on top of the Cabin at the end of the row. A thunderstorm had swept through camp half blood last night, and for that reason was this girl sleeping on top of the cabin. The young blonde started to stir and then finally sat up and stretched. Her blue eyes groggy with sleepiness, and contentment. She stood up stretching out, her long arms reaching toward the sky. She looked over the roofs of the other cabins. Julia Vampertin, daughter of Zeus, stood tall and proud.

Julia slowly slid down the roof toward the rain gutters. She jumped down. caught them with her hands and swung down to the ground. She landed with a soft thud and headed inside her cabin. She threw on a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and some converse and headed out to grab some breakfast. Julia smelled the air as she walked and let out a contented sigh. The world was always so peaceful after a storm. That's when loud crashes and bangs interrupted her thought.

Julia's head spun to look at the source. Someone was down at the arena. Her eyebrows raised and she switched her course. She climbed over the fence to watch what was going on. A man probably around her age was fighting three of the dummies. She hopped on the fence and looked at him. He was doing quite well. He was battling the second automan and was about to finish him. That's when she saw it. The third one was going to attack him. It was quite brilliant. Julia watched fascinated by the workings of the battle.

The man swung around and his arm was caught by the automan. Julia recognized the camper. They had met a few times but never truly connected. It was Hunter, Son of Nemesis. He craftily managed to defeat the third one and Julia raised her eye impressed. She watched from the sidelines and nodded. She turned around and her the other activities going on around camp. Most people were unpacking, but with Julia being a year round camper, she really didn't have to worry about that. Julia was nervous about this year, while most of her years had been uneventful this one was sure to be different.


[System]
Age: 28 (assuming standard human lifespan)

Gender: Female

Race: Naga

Appearance:
 13 ft in total length, Mari's human half is 3 ft from her waist to the top of her head and her tail half is 10 ft in length. Mari has tanned skin, short black hair, golden eyes and pale olive green scales. When out of armor, Mari regularly wears a simple sleeveless tunic and belt over a sarashi-esque waist & chest wrap.

Personality:
 Mari is an odd duck. Half nomadic wild child, half daughter of the church, the Naga is as sophisticated & eloquent as she is blunt & plain-spoken. While she is a firm believer in the core tenets of the church, Mari will quite often interpret them through the harsh & pragmatic lens of a survivalist; frequently leading her to decisions that put her at odds with those who had more 'civilized' upbringings.

Brief Backstory:
 Born & raised as part of a nomadic tribe in the scrub-lands & savanna to the east of Thaln, Mari was kidnapped by slavers in her early-mid teens. After a short but brutal experience with slavery, the young demi-human was freed by Mayonite paladins. Taking pity on the young Naga, Mari was taken in by the church; an action that was met with mixed results. On one hand, Mari took to the core tenets of the dual church like a fish to water. On the other, she constantly fought with the rigidity of it's structure and by extension the structure of 'civilized' society.

 Naturally combative by nature, Mari began training with the resident Mayonite paladins as soon as she was able. When the War of the Red Flag broke out, Mari saw action on multiple battlefields, serving as the squire of a Mayonite paladin in the service of the Iron Rose Knights. Shortly after the conclusion of the war, Mari was granted her knighthood in which she swore her oath of loyalty to the Iron Rose Knights.

Equipment:
 - For armor Mari has a gambeson, partial steel plate covering her upper torso, arms & head and partial chain-mail over the rest of the exposed gambeson. For her helmet she has a sallet with a bevor. She currently has pair of heavy leather gloves as she currently can't afford a proper set of fully articulated steel gauntlets.
 - For weapons Mari has a quarterstaff with a small flanged mace head at either end. She carries a long knife and a hand axe balanced for throwing as backup weapons. In addition she has a long bow, though she usually doesn't carry it unless requested. Her weighted quarterstaff is also mildly enchanted for increased durability.

Skills:
 - A talented tracker, hunter and survivalist on account of her nomadic youth.
 - Skilled in combat with more utilitarian weapons; spears, staves, axes, bows and to a lesser extent hammers & knives. While she can use traditional blades, they are hands down the weapon that she's the least proficient with.

[User]
Fleuri Jodeau

The fort captain's quarters was a stark contrast to rest of the fort. Judging by the wounds on the captain's throat, it appeared that he had been murdered in his sleep. Compared to the other soldiers they had seen, it was a far more peaceful scene. Fleuri was loathe to call the victim of such a murder lucky, but...at least he had the dignity to die as himself and not a murderous madman. The Reonite knight looked at the captain for several silent moments before finally speaking.

"Curious, I don't see any wounds on him other than on his throat," he observed. "No sign of struggle either. This doesn't look like the handiwork of a maddened soldier."

If Fleuri had to guess, it'd be that whoever brought the shard to the fort had also murdered the captain. But why, exactly, would they go out of their way to kill him in his sleep and not just not subject him to the same murderous impulses as the rest of the fort? What sort of threat did the captain pose that they didn't want to leave his death to chance?

"I think you're right Gerard, someone probably planted it." Fleuri spoke to Gerard. "Furthermore, I think whoever did it also killed the fort's captain here. I wonder why they bothered to murder him, instead of just letting the shard drive him mad like the rest of the garrison."

Fleuri walked over to the desk and began carefully rummaging through it, looking for anything that might give a clue about what occurred at the fort. He did so slowly and carefully, however- he didn't want to damage the late captain's belongings or destroy any evidence, and if the shard happened to be in here, he didn't want to accidentally touch it.

"Gerard, could you help me search this room? There might be something in here that could shed some light on what happened here."

[Assistant]
~ Fort Daelantine ~

Interacted with: @VitaVitaAR, @Raineh Daze, @ghastlyInc

The group ignored Jarde's words. Disheartening, but at least they were now more concerned with finding the dangerous artifact rather than argue who gets it. That is, until Lady Maritza speculated as to who could be Alette the Shark's employers and how they could be enemies of Thaln. Fortunately, Sir Gillian took the lead and pushed the idea of splitting to comb the fort for the artifact.

"Ow, hey!" Sir Gillian grabbed Jarde by the collar and dragged him along as well as Captain Fanilly. Being rude to him was one thing, but was it alright to do this kind of thing with the Captain? He may be a senior knight but Fanilly was still his superior. "Sir Gillian, with all due respect, that's the Captain..."

If no one objected to the plan, then Jarde would be joining Sir Gillian, Captain Fanilly and Alette in searching for the dark artifact in the fort captain's office. Perhaps they could find some clues or leads there, being the seat of the fort's leadership. Although, the place might already have been investigated since a couple of Iron Roses already went inside the fort to check. "... and who's Billy?"

[User]
Alette narrowed her eyes at the accusatory words from the serpent.

"If I believed myself to be working for your enemy, would we really be having this conversation?" she asked, crimson eyes almost seeming to shine for a moment, "I'm a mercenary, y'know? I don't give out my clients' names, especially when people are trying to piss me off."

Her spear left her shoulder, glistening almost as if it still had blood on it when the tip bit back into the soil again.

"Captain," came the deep, rumbling voice of Bors, "I understand why you trust that our employer meant us no harm, but surely you think it strange they desired this shard, do you not?"

"... Tch," Alette looked away. It was quite possible at this point that stubbornness was in large part why the blue-haired mercenary refused to give more information.

"Ah? Sir Gillian..." Fanilly trailed off, surprised when the knight suddenly began dispensing orders. They didn't sound bad at all, though. Splitting up and working together to attempt to locate the shard and secure it only made sense. In fact, she had planned to order it... her... self...

She had even caught herself in the middle of nodding.

The petite blonde cleared her throat.

"Sir Gillian, your advice is appreciated," she began, "However, I am captain of this order. While I will take your words into account, it is my position to dispense the orders. I shall take your advice on dividing our numbers, but remember that it is my decision."

She had to maintain her authority as captain. Even if Gillian was simply acting in interest of facilitating their swift recovering of a dangerous artifact, it was her duty to lead the Iron Rose Knights.

She had to make sure she did so.

Meanwhile, Tyaethe would witness a single cloud passing over the sun, briefly casting the fort entirely in darkness.

---

At Gerard's praise, Abigail looked back at him, tilting her head backwards in a rather unusual fashion and giving him what would have been a sweet smile if not for the circumstances, before joining in investigating the captain's quarters. Naturally, the first thing she gravitated towards was the deceased captain himself.

"... So inelegant... a ragged cut like that," she commented, looking over the wound to the man's throat, "He must have spent his last moments gurgling on his own blood. He probably would have anyways, but killing like this is so lacking in grace."

She let out a heavy sigh, as if more disappointed over the wound that had killed the man then the death itself.

The room appeared mostly untouched, but on closer inspection the unmarked desk had a drawer that was ajar.

Within, there was rather conspicuously nothing.

Further inspection would reveal nothing else within the captain's quarters, but just outside was a heavy cloth binding soaked in blood, next to a dead man who appeared to have been stabbed in the neck and chest with a small, very sharp object.

@TheFake@Crimson Paladin@PaulHaynek@FlappyTheSpybot@Raineh Daze@ghastlyinc@Krayzikk

[Assistant]
Tyaethe Radistirin

The paladin was paying no attention to the increasing aggression, fixated as she was on the meteorological portent. It wasn't like there was a regular call for divinatory practice, but shadow...? No sort of sunbeam or anything that might point at the fort, just brief darkness, which could only mean... well, it could just mean sheer happenstance, the weather changing in respond to nothing else at all, but she was fairly confident that there was no reason to be snubbed like that right now, least of all when such a dangerous artefact had escaped into unknown hands.

The vampire groaned, interrupting anyone that was talking, or thinking about talking, and resisted the urge to bury her face in the pony's neck. That would make talking difficult. "We got here too late. I'm confident that the shard isn't here any longer and if whoever stole it in the first place was prepared, then they now have their hands on it."

"So unless Alette has a master tracker on hand..." Which was also fairly unreliable, whoever it was had probably escaped down the road far enough to leave no discernible tracks before breaking off.

@TheFake@Crimson Paladin@PaulHaynek@FlappyTheSpybot@VitaVitaAR@ghastlyinc@Krayzikk

[User]
Gerard Segremors

Paladin@VitaVitaAR

The Stingray openly preened at his words, tilting her head back and regarding the young knight with a smile that might have been charming, had he not been overwhelmed by the sense he was being appraised by a hunter in the forest. It was almost chilling. He couldn't relax around this person, not fully and not yet. He'd treat her with the care one ascribed to a dangerous beast— never to show fear, but to maintain healthy awareness of capability.

His search through the Captain's quarters, by contrast, was roughshod and almost irreverent in the name of thoroughness. Where surprisingly little had been disturbed prior, Gerard all but turned the room upon its side in search of evidence, but to no avail. Whomever had incited things had, for all The Stingray's opinion on their technique in slitting throats, taken great care to cover their tracks. Save for the pointedly empty desk drawer, mocking them in its question-raising, he had found nothing until they came across the corpse, hidden in the shadow of the door next to a blood-drenched mound of linen.

"Well, much cleaner here." he chuffed plainly, dropping to a squat and reaching out to examine the wound up close, steely hand staining slightly red as it traced the crimson line across the man's neck. If there were any fragments of the blade that caused this wound, he'd pry them out. Anything would be a step up from what they'd been working with thus far.

Then again, such a wound would surely be the Shard's doing, no?

[Assistant]
Fleuri Jodeau

Most of the searching ended up being done by Gerard, due to his complete lack of regard for the fort captain's belongings and Fleuri's hesitation to move them. They didn't find anything, however, although Fleuri thought the empty drawer might be a bit curious. It had been left open, but had nothing in it. Perhaps the captain had simply been doing some reorganizing prior to his death, although it was also possible that something was here, but someone took it and didn't bother to shut the drawer.

"Does it seem odd that someone would go through the trouble of breaking into the captain's quarters and murdering him in his sleep instead of just letting him succumb to whatever madness gripped the fort?" Fleuri asked Gerard and Abigail. "One of the drawers of the desk was left ajar and empty, hardly something you'd expect from a disciplined officer. I think whoever snuck in here was looking for something, and if they were, they probably found it."

Fleuri followed Gerard out the door where the corpse lay, which his fellow knight was currently examining. Fleuri knelt down and took a look at the wound in the man's chest. It looked like it was made with something small and narrow, nothing like the weapons that the soldiers were carrying. True, a maddened soldier wouldn't be above using anything as a weapon, but Fleuri didn't think they'd be lucid enough to kill with a few well-placed blows to the vitals with a small object.

"This doesn't look like the work of a berserk soldier, either," Fleuri observed. "I'd guess it's the work of whoever broke into the captain's quarters."

@VitaVitaAR

[User]
Maritza Verenna
 At Tyaethe's proclamation, Maritza blinked in surprise and shifted to glance at the diminutive vampire. "Forgive my impudence, but are you absolutely positive of that Dame Radistirin? A shard of Angroron really is not something we want to miss. How do you even know, anyway? You've never struck me as sort to bother with divinatory practices, though I suppose given that you've got a couple centuries of life experience it shouldn't surprise me that you would have picked one up at some point." The Naga sighed in irritation as she reassessed the situation.

 "If it's a tracker we need, I could probably do it, so long as our quarry stayed away from civilization. However, I'd need a starting point from where they'd have broken off of the main road. Tyaethe, if your source of information could narrow that down for me, I can keep us on their trail." She added, returning her attention the rest of the group. "Captain? Your orders?" The Knight Serpenta asked, though her gaze squarely rested on the stubborn mercenary leader.