[System]
Age: 5 (in chronological age) 25 (In human years)

Description: Fairly tall and strong as goblins go, standing around 3 feet 4 inches tall, with a head of dark green hair on top of his head, complimenting his medium-green skin. He weights about 35 pounds and is fairly muscular. His skin is already somewhat scarred on his chest, the result of injuries on the hunt. He has emerald-green eyes and is reasonably handsome, but nothing spectacular.

Like most goblin males, he is only clad in a loincloth. His only garment is made of deer hide and keeps him modest on both sides. He wields a long stone hunting knife along with a spear, but he has only a handful of possessions otherwise. Like most goblins, he barters with what he hunts, gathers, farms, or catches, and he's been thinking about getting an iron weapon in the not too distant future.

Background: Born to a modest litter of only four siblings, Cyrus was the eldest child by a few minutes, ahead of his younger brother and two younger sisters. As with all males in his tribe, he grew up without knowing or caring who his father is, although he suspected that each of his siblings had a different father from him, given how different they looked. Encouraged by his mother to go into farming, Cyrus lost patience for the quiet life of a wheat grower and has been a hunter for years now. Although he is good at hunting, he yearns for more glory than tracking and killing animals can provide, and yearns to go on a raid. His actual experience with warfare is limited, having only been involved in a single one-on-one skirmish with a rival tribesman in which neither party suffered more than light wounds which were easily healed by the tribe's shaman.

Abilities: Although he is a rather mundane goblin, Cyrus is a reasonably skilled hunter and tracker, able to find his way around the woods, climb trees, identify animal tracks, and has a good arm for a knife or sword. As with nearly his entire tribe, Cyrus is illiterate. His skill in hand-to-hand combat is decent in terms of the strength of his blows, but it is crude and not particularly coordinated.

Property: Apart from his hut, Cyrus owns a stone knife, his loincloth, a wooden spear with a stone tip, and he usually has some food in his hut for eating at any given time. He also owns a pile of straw as his bed and a blanket in case it gets cold. Cyrus is considering the purchase of an iron sword, but he needs to save up a little bit more in assets before he can afford it, given that an iron sword is nearly the most expensive item the goblins of his tribe can produce.

[User]
Cyrus heeded her words. It sounded just like what the previous shaman would have said. "Certainly. I shall do just that. Thanks for the guidance." He paused for a moment. She looked like she fit the description of "the hungry." In spite of the fact that the shaman could basically take as much food as she pleased from the tribe's stores, this fact was either unknown to her or she didn't exploit it. Cyrus sat down near the sacred flame and began to cut the rabbit up into pieces, following her advice.

"Shaman... Jig, please, take this leg. You need it more than I do. As for the skull-" he tossed it into the sacred flames, which immediately burned the skull to ashes. Heads had a sacred meaning to goblins, as they were believed to be the conduits for the soul, even past one's death. Tribes at war would sometimes cut the heads off of the dead of their enemies and stick them onto spikes, and would return the heads of dead warriors at the end of a conflict to signify the return of peace. Of course, skulls could be used for darker purposes, such as necromancy, but that wasn't something this tribe was known to engage in. Tossing a skull into a tribe's sacred fire was seen as offering the most powerful part of the creature, and it also gave up the most useful part of a creature for magical purposes. As such, it was seen as a true sacrifice, as the animal's skull could be used as a focus for magic in a way which no other body part could.

Cyrus bowed and took his leave, heading to his hut with the remainder of the rabbit. He set the meat down on the floor, to give it to the appropriate parties later, after eating his fill of it, which he did so. After a brief yet bloody skinning, he gathered up several pelts from his previous hunts and made his way out of the hut. Gathering all of these was about to pay off. Although the goblin system of barter wasn't precise, he knew the approximate value of what he wanted, and these pelts were likely more than enough for it.

Cyrus heard and smelled the blacksmith's hut long before he saw it. Much like the sacred flame, this was also a place of fire, and held a less significant but still important role in goblin culture. Smiths were seen as sacred in their own way, taming the seemingly supernatural power of fire to bend the otherwise inflexible metal to their will. At least, most smiths were seen as sacred. This one, on the other hand...

"Clelk! I have the pelts! I can give you half now if you start on the sword!" They had discussed making him an iron sword a long while ago, something which was certainly a rare and coveted weapon among goblinkind. Knowing Clelk, this wouldn't be as simple as dropping off some animal hides or furs and walking away with a sword, even if Clelk had one ready, which was doubtful. Plus, he knew that Clelk, for all his valuable skills, never made anything easy.

[Assistant]
Clelk managed to get a few swings into his work when the same warrior from before ran up to him, calling out to Clelk. Clelk immediately stopped, not wanting to risk a distraction and breaking the bar, which would result in another hour or so of work reforging. It took a solid 5 seconds before Clelk managed to recognize this warrior - they had talked at length about making an Iron sword and Clelk spitballed some costs in order to get the goblin to leave him alone. He didn't expect Cyrus to actually collect all of the pelts since that took a level of self-discipline that most goblins lacked.

"Clelk! I have the pelts! I can give you half now if you start on the sword!"

Clelk set down his hammer and quickly jogged towards the approaching warrior, gently rubbing his meaty hands on the soft fur of the pelts. Even with half of them, Clelk would make up most of what his pot cost him, and the other half would put him well on his way to purchasing some other human knick-knack.

"My, if it isn't Cyrus! Glad to see that you are eager to begin our little agreement... By the way, did you know a sword is one of the most metal-intensive things I can forge?"

Even if the pelts were enough to cover his expenses for a while, Clelk knew that his services were valuable. Why settle for less when he could maximize his profits on what is, admittedly, a bigger project?

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to replenish my stores easily, especially considering how far the human village is, and how heavy Iron can be... I mean, I'm no powerful warrior after all!"

Clelk didn't expect Cyrus to trade for metal with the humans, and the thought that Cyrus could find the ore himself was laughable. Clelk had no idea where to find Iron since the village had no real supply or mine to draw from. No, instead this was an attempt at something that would only benefit Clelk, rather than the tribe as a whole.

"It might ease my consciousness using so much Iron if you could do something for me - would probably motivate me to work a lot faster too... If you ever find anything that looks human-made or some shiny rocks, I'd really appreciate you showing me before anyone else. And bringing some dry wood to me every now and then would be nice."

Clelk honestly thought he could have gone for more, but considering too high of a price might cause the warrior to ask his old master for the sword, Clelk chose to settle for less. The goblin was getting much older, and while he still worked the forge, his new apprentices were the ones doing the heavy lifting of the metals. Adding onto the old man's workload, even if unintentionally, would really be something that Clelk would regret.

Besides, even if he only managed to convince the warrior to gather wood for him, that was a major chore taken care of - leaving plenty of time to laze about, or even work on something if he felt like it.

[User]
"Yes, I suppose it is. But that's what you do, isn't it? Isn't that all you do? Work with metal?" Cyrus sighed internally, hoping that this wasn't going to be an attempt to squeeze even more out of him. The time it took for him to hunt all of these animals was far greater than the time it would take to forge the sword, and for goblins, the time spent making something was the main way its value was determined. This should have been obvious, given their lack of currency and their shorter lifespans relative to humans.

"I can get you some dry wood and if I find anything shiny or human-made in the woods, I'll give it to you, but there's no guarantees for those last two. We had a deal and I expect you to stick to it. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy getting all of those pelts. I had to track, kill, and skin those animals, not to mention drag their corpses around. I'll check in again to see how the sword is doing, but I expect you will work on it for the agreed-on price. Speaking of which-" Cyrus dropped half of the pelts at Clelk's feet.

"-that's half of it now. You'll get the other half when I have my sword. I'll be back later tonight with some dry wood from the forest, and if I can get any of that other stuff, I'll give it to you. Now, as there anything else?"

[Assistant]
Clelk did his best to restrain his smirk. He was fairly confident that Cyrus would be willing to bend to his requests since they were fairly minor all things considered. For all either of them knew, Cyrus may never encounter a single ore or human artifact on his own - really the pelts were more than enough alone to make the deal worthwhile.

"Don't worry Cyrus, I'm not expecting you to find either of those things - I'm just taking precautions just in case you do. All I really expect is a little wood and the pelts."

Clelk wasn't going to push his luck when it came to the rest of the pelts - there was no way that Cyrus would betray him since Clelk was one of only two blacksmiths in the whole village. Besides, the reward would actually give Clelk the motivation to finish the sword in a timely matter, rather than procrastinate on it and focus on something else. Clelk paused as Cyrus was about to leave, asking the fatter goblin if anything else was necessary for the deal.

"Oh, only a little agreement I was thinking of - you can reject it if you want, it won't impact the deal we have on the sword in any way."

Clelk grabbed his hammer and placed the cool iron bar onto his anvil, preparing to start heating it for hammering.

"I may be willing to sharpen your blades on-demand - free of charge, of course. In exchange, I only ask that you come to me for anything related to blacksmithing. Leave my old master to himself, unless I give you permission."

Clelk readjusted his apron and was already beginning to heat the iron bar in the furnace. In the end, this second deal was really not a big deal - it was mostly offered so Clelk could pay back the goblin who allowed Clelk to live his current lifestyle. He wouldn't go so far as yo risk his deal with Cyrus solely to give his old master a smaller workload.

"Your choice, of course - be sure that the wood you bring back is as dry as possible, I plan to use it for kindling."

[User]
"I can handle sharpening myself, don't worry" Cyrus assured him. "Plus, I already said I'd get you some dried wood soon. That's already more than we originally bargained for. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." He knew that Clelk would have to follow through one way or another. Stiffing a customer wasn't just bad business, it could and would disgrace him. As there was a second blacksmith in the village, he could very well end up having his tools taken from him on the chief's orders and risk losing his job, or even be banished. Deals among the goblins weren't enforced by contracts or anything written, but one's word was binding.

"Oh, and don't worry. I'll be sure to visit our village's other smith if I need anything else. I wouldn't want to give you too much work to do, Clelk. You're far too busy as it is. In fact, I feel guilty giving you this nearly-impossible task. I couldn't possibly ask anything of you again." Cyrus chuckled, his voice dripping with sarcasm at that last part. "Anyway, I'll be heading out to get that wood. You'll get the other half of the pelts when I get the sword and make sure it's in good condition. Thanks again for making it."


[System]
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Appearance:

Stands tall at about 6'2. Is well-muscled and broad of shoulder.

Personality:
Focused and keen, Renar is a man who knows what he wants and how to acquire it. And if he can't acquire it yet, he'll find a way. From his days as a child, he'd possessed a chip on his shoulder about his status as a bastard, ever seeking to prove himself and win glory. So long as one doesn't throw his natural born origins in his face, Renar is unbothered, but anyone who attempts to degrade him by insulting his birth status wins themselves a grudge. His primary goal is to win enough prestige in order to rise above his bastard status, either becoming legitimized and taking his father's name or being allowed to start his own noble house.

Renar is more cunning than he is chivalrous, willing to take actions that nobler knights would balk at. After all, he's already a bastard. He'd only be living down to what was expected of him. So why not abuse that to his advantage? In his mind, a knight is a trained killer first and foremost, and any pretensions to honor and chivalry are coping mechanisms to convince oneself of their cause. Still, even he has his limits, and he would not stand for harming children or one's spouse or paramour.

Despite his craftiness, Renar can't help himself when it comes to personal challenges. Whether it be a formal duel or a single combat in the midst of battle, he is easily goaded into one-on-one battles, eagerly wishing to prove himself over another.

Brief Backstory:
Born as a bastard of the House of Brias to his lord father and a commoner mother, Renar was nonetheless allowed to reside within his family's castle and be raised alongside his trueborn siblings. The Brias family had martial origins, originally being a knightly house before winning lands and glory a century ago. Nonetheless, they were still only a minor house, and even a bastard could be of use to them. By the time Renar was capable of walking and talking, his eldest half-brother was already a grown man. Nonetheless, another son could always win more prestige for the family, despite his bastard status. He would never bear the family name, but he could certainly create his own dynasty.

Renar was raised much the same as his half-siblings were, given a formal education as well as training at arms. He had a fair head for numbers and proved himself adequate in matters of administration, but Renar's talents skewed far more towards the training yard. Castle Brias's master-of-arms was noted to have remarked that of all of Lord Brias's sons, the bastard was by far the most skilled in the knightly arts.

Once he'd completed his squiring and his training, Renar took to the battlefield in the hopes of earning his knighthood. A bastard had no place on the tourney circuit, and so real combat was his only chance to prove himself worthy. While it only took a few skirmishes for his trueborn brothers to be knighted, Renar served under a banneret for a number of years before finally seizing his opportunity during a defense against an orcish raid into Thaln. After a brutal battle, Renar slew the orcs' warchief in single combat, claiming the raid leader's mantle as a trophy and distinguishing himself in the process, earning both a knighthood and a recruitment into the Iron Rose Knights.

Equipment:
Renar's armor is rugged and well-worn, but solid and dependable. His set of full plate appears to be a hodgepodge of whatever pieces he determined both fit him well and provided the best protection. He bears a cavalry lance for use on horseback, but prefers using a poleaxe on foot. His sidearms consist of an arming sword and a dagger, both sheathed on his belt. Renar wears a fur-lined mantle into battle, it once belonging to an orcish raid leader he'd slain in single combat and kept as a trophy. His steed is a simple brown charger.

Skills:
Renar is skilled and well-rounded in the knightly arts. Despite the fact that he rides well enough and would likely place a decent ranking in a joust, he prefers fighting on foot as an infantryman and is a far better infantry fighter than he is a cavalryman. He has been trained in most martial weapons, and can fight well enough with a sword. However, his true ability lies in fighting with polearms and quarterstaves, enjoying the reach and versatility a pole weapon affords him.

However, Renar is a terrible shot with a bow and has zero ability for magic. He attempts to compensate for these shortcomings with sheer physical might, exercising and training constantly in order to improve his strength and agility.

Off the battlefield, Renar has a surprising head for numbers and accounting for a knight, being rather adept at financial administration.

[User]
Fanilly wasn't certain how to respond, for a moment. While she had failed to ask the correct questions, another of the knights had. By this point, a certain picture of their operations was becoming clear. It was not the bandits as a whole who were capable of slaughtering the King's Men, but rather their leader. What kind of man was Bandit King Jeremiah?

"... I... failed in my interrogation, but the other knights have taken up that purpose in my stead," she admitted, finally, her eyes drifting away from the artificer slightly, and towards Dame Forina.

"Ah, their supplies... indeed, if they have taken anything that we may perhaps return to the rightful owners. Additionally, we must free their prisoners."

The hostages held the highest priority in Fanilly's mind, though the bandits would likely have to be dealt with before it was safe to free them.

The first action she undertook, after a few moments, was to order several of her knights more suited to covert movements to handle the sentries. At least, after they managed to extract the locations from the prisoners. Indeed, after a short time, it seemed that her knights were universally successful, the sentries silenced.

Now, Fanilly could set her plan in motion.

She took a deep breath before turning to face the knights.

"The bandit camp is not far ahead," she began, "The prisoners have told us so, as have the reports of the king's men."

She placed a hand on the hilt of her blade.

"So we must act quickly. While we do not have the numbers to completely encircle their camp, I feel a simultaneous strike from four directions will ultimately be our path to victory," she continued, "We will be splitting into four groups, to take up positions around their camp and move inward. I shall lead the first, who will take position ahead of their camp."

She turned to regard Tyaethe.

"Paladin Tyaethe, you shall lead the second, to take position to their left."

She turned to regard her knights. Admittedly, she needed to consider her options somewhat more clearly, but there wasn't time to try and analyze her knights' capabilities. "Sir Gerard, you shall lead the third, and take position to the camp's right."

Fanilly glanced between her next choices had hesitated. She had to admit she did not have someone immediately in mind to lead the fourth group. The first choice had come to her easily, but the next... She wanted to place faith in the all of her knights.

"... Dame Aria, you will lead the fourth, which will advance from behind," she said, finally, after some hesitation. But the lady knight had clear combat prowess, and seemed to be as good a choice as any to lead one of the four groups intended to encircle the camp, "We will move in on my signal. Shields in front, to defend the others from arrows. I'll give you time in order to get into position, but as we are in a forest it will be difficult to signal to one another in a way that will not alert the bandits."

@Raineh Daze@Asuras@jdh97@Dystopya@Psyker Landshark@Click This@OwO@Animal@TheFake@ERode@Crimson Paladin@ghastlyinc@PaulHaynek

[Assistant]
"A dragon..." He looked thoughtful. "I've never seen one but krakens have been spotted offshore from my homeland. Perhaps another challenge you can aspire to."

Indrau looked down at the bodies and then thought back to the ambush. "It was too easy. Simple bandits like this should never have caused enough trouble to have been called top our attention. The army should have taken them easily."

He drew his blade as the Captain gave her orders and turned away. "They seem well armed as well, but they likely pillaged their equipment from real soldiers. I'll join your group for the assault."

[User]
Tyaethe Radistirin

The look that Tyaethe gave Indrau was several notches below disappointed, verging on frustrated. Here was a veteran knight, with a perfect comparison... so be it; this wouldn't be the first time that the modern order felt comparatively useless. Tyaethe turned away, shaking her head, stepping off to the left of the assembled knights.

"Protect," she said, seemingly to pause completely in position for just a moment, then with no more than a slight breeze... no longer a small child, but instead a knight in shining armour, emblazoned with Mayon's rose.

"Is anyone else volunteering to follow me?" Tyaethe asked, preparing to gesture for enough people not volunteering to come along.

[Assistant]
Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri briefly assessed the different groups. Fanilly would be leading from the front. Tyaethe the First and Youngest would be leading from the left. Sir Gerard, the Reonite former mercenary, was leading the right flank. Dame Aria, a veteran knight of the Larette family, was leading the rear flank. Fleuri had alrady interacted with and assessed Gerald, but he had not thought too much about the other two yet.

Paladin Tyaethe needed no further introduction, as her reputation preceded her. If the stories were true, she could probably handle the entire left flank by herself. He wondered if Tyaethe knew or remembered his ancestor Armand Jodeau, a renowned knight in his own time. Perhaps he could ask her about it later, once this bandit business was concluded. Assuming, of course, Fleuri had the nerve to approach and ask her- even as small of stature as she was out of her armor, she was quite intimidating.

The second flank leader, Dame Aria, was somewhat known to Fleuri. She was a decorated veteran of Cal's rebellion and a member of the Larette family. They were a powerful noble family, distinguished by their red hair and great stature. In the past, they were bitter rivals of the Jodeau, back when Fleuri's family was relevant. The mutual disdain didn't end when Jodeau relinquished its land and ceased to be a threat to Larette, as doing so only demonstrated how deeply contrasting the two familes' ideals were. It was unclear whether Aria adhered to Larette's ruthlessly pragmatic ideals, but what was clear was that she was a valorous warrior whose loyalty to the kingdom was not in question.

"I volunteer to fight on the rear flank," Fleuri announced to the captain. He wanted to see how the rival family- and their martial tradition- had fared over the years. She'll probably hate him, but why would a Jodeau ever care for a Larette's opinion?

---

[User]
Gillian

There was a small pause as Tyaethe asked for volunteers, which was...well. Business as usual honestly. Say what you could about the vampire's honorable position, it didn't really detract from the fact that most folk weren't half as fond of her (comparatively) suicidal tactics. And while this (thankfully, by the look of calm on a few knights face) wasn't her plan, the knee-jerk reaction to avoid the undead knight's retinue was as strong as ever.

Gillian sauntered over to the vampire's side, knowing full well that his presence would do little to actually EASE any nervousness of potential volunteers. Their numbers would be filled regardless. And frankly, he'd more respect for the Vampire than the little girl playing at captain or Aria. The latter of which seemed eager to part his neck from his body for whatever reason, if her body language was anything to go by.

"As charismatic a leader as always Lady Radistirin." he huffed, taking a position at her right. He rolled his shoulders, metal cracking and clinking as artificial joints moved about. There was nothing really relaxing about the act, he couldn't feel if his shoulders were stiff anymore. But the motion was mentally relaxing if nothing else. "Where do you want me?" He asked simply. While he'd be more than happy to spear head the charge, it wouldn't do for the two knights to get in each others way. And setting his senior knight on fire accidentally due to was not exactly something he wanted to have to apologize for.

Daze

[Assistant]
~ The Forest ~

Interacted with: @HereComesTheSnow, @VitaVitaAR

Jarde, still with a smile, heaved a sigh and placed a hand on Gerard's shoulder. "Thanks for ruining the joke, Sir Segremors."

------

Captain Fanilly, as the next course of action, ordered for the sentries around the bandit camp to be dispatched. Needing the more stealthy knights, Jarde was of course part of that party and he and the others made quick work of the bandit watchmen. The bandit camp was now vulnerable to a surprise attack from the Iron Rose Knights.

The next plan was a four-pronged strike on the bandit camp coming from four directions. The element of surprise and the illusion of a surround would definitely catch the bandits' off guard and disorient them enough for the Iron Rose Knights to easily defeat them all. Fanilly had selected herself and three others to lead the multi-directional attack and left the rest of the knights free to choose which direction they would join.

Jarde thought for a moment which leader he would join. Tyaethe and Aria already had followers while he had already hung out with Gerard a bit, so Fanilly it was. Of course, for Jarde the choice was not wholly a calculated one. There were feelings there, even if he did not know it.

"I'll be coming with you, Captain. I may not be a frontline fighter but I'll do my best."

[User]
Hm. Was the Knight-Captain allowing them to choose which group they were joining? Well, the battle plan was a good one, at least. In theory, anyways. Depending on how strong this King Jeremiah was, there were any number of ways the strategy could go awry in practice. Still, the point of failure there would be on the knights themselves. If the line broke, Renar had his reservations about Captain Fanilly's capabilities of holding them together.

In the meantime, he'd had his choice of temporary squadron to join. In all honesty, Renar doubted it mattered. They'd no way of knowing which flank Jeremiah would assault himself, and that would likely be the unit most in trouble. Considering that three people each had picked a separate squad so far, he supposed he ought to join the fourth, just to even things out.

Renar hefted his poleaxe over his shoulder, lazily strolling over towards Gerard and falling in line slightly behind the man.

"Well, I may as well even out our current distribution. If you'll have me, Sir Gerard." He nodded towards his fellow knight. "At your ready."


[System]
"Do I know you? No, I don't think so, But do you want to play anyways? No? Waaah? You'll make a little girl cry...That's too bad...I am Viola Rifei, pleasure to make your acquaintance. Care for some tea? Ah, don't mind the floating teacups. My friends are just oh so delighted to have a new playmate~"
Age:
17

Gender:
female

"Despite my appearance, I am not a child and would appreciate it if you did treat me as one...unless you plan on spoiling me. Then go ahead, hehe~"

Appearance:
Standing at four foot seven and usually sporting a slightly mischievous, somewhat knowing seeming smirk, Viola is definitely not what one would call physically impressive. Slender, and lacking any sort of definite muscle. Sometimes, she is mistaken for a child because of her appearance. Her skin is free of any blemishes and markings of any kind. Her eyes are a dark grey color and sports black colored hair that falls well past her shoulders.

Clothing wise, she is a fan of rather complicated and somewhat eccentric and expensive dresses, preferring darker colors such as black, purple, and dark blue. Her current dress is a black dress, with white accents and red bows that falls to her waist where it meets a pair of black stockings and dress shoes. Why she chose to wear those instead of something more suiting is anyone guess. Some assume she's simply the child of a wealthy family and takes very good care of herself and is quite the pampered little brat, and doesn't know any better. She comments she simply likes the style.

Year:
2nd

Rank:
Novice

Room No.:
Room 80-C

Personality:
Viola...definitely does not behave the way her appearance might suggest. At first impression, she'd come off as incredibly formal and polite. Talk with her just a short bit though, and you'll find a self-centered, cynical, mischievous, somewhat playfully aggressive and slightly vain person who has a rather large seeming ego. However, this is just her attempting to be 'cute' or 'cheeky'. Truthfully, she doesn't take her own words to heart, and would never consider herself better than anyone.

After that, she is fairly friendly and likes meeting people and being around people, and also simply likes watching them for...entertainment purposes. She is a bit of an instigator, and likes causing a bit of mischief around campus for her own giggles, often aided by a friend or two. Another thing to note, would be an insatiable curiosity about anything and everything. Magic, history, technology...everything. While her physical skills are lacking, her academic studies and focus on such things likely make her one of the smarter persons in the school.

Unfortunately, her overly friendly, 'cute' and otherwise cheeky demeanor is a well worn mask. Make no mistake, it is her true personality, but its a rather misleading one. In general, she is a pragmatist and a rather cynical realist. She doens't like those with lofty ideals, preferring more practical applications. When it comes down to it though, she doesn't like picking sides in anything and generally will go with whatever those around her do if she's not the one leading the play - it will be amusing to see the result anyways. All she wants, after all, is a good show.

Magic Discipline:
Spirit Contractor

Simply put, Viola is quite in tune with the spiritual forces of the world. Creatures that initially have no corporeal form, or possibly those creatures such as Naiads, Dryads, or Nymphs, she can usually communicate with on some level. This can offer her quite a bit of versatility when it comes to combat and skills, as each spirit offers her a differing set of abilities, usually. Most usually, she may 'Contract' a spirit, as in give it a physical form and have it become a permanent partner until she decides to terminate that contract gaining them as a permanent 'familiar' of sorts. She can in fact, summon certain spirits and form a contract as such but she finds it a little annoying since it's a rather impersonal process though she will use it if its something she definitely wants.

Some things to keep in mind though, is that summoning spirits usually takes quite a while, depending on the skill of the summoner and the rank of the spirit. It is also a one time deal, the duration of their help only usually lasting for a brief moment in time, lasting typically anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes. This can have quite the downside in a direct conflict, since she would require protection of some sort to be able to summon one. The power of the spirit varies, but typically they can be quite devastating against most foes. They may manifest themselves as a separate entity, or merely lend a fraction of their power to Viola for her to command themselves. Another spirit summoner could possibly force the spirit back to wherever it came as well, should they be skilled enough. She could summon more than one in such a fashion, but it would require each spirit to be much less powerful in strength.

Contracting a spirit is entirely different, however. It requires the contractor to make a deal with the spirit directly for whatever reason. Upon completion of the contract, the spirit begins living 'with' the mage, typically they start sharing a body, and their power is easily summoned by the mage. Typically, a mark of some sort will appear on the users flesh in the form of a symbol representing them - though it is usually only active when the spirits power is invoked. The contents of the contract can be anything the spirit or mage desire. This offers quite an advantage over simply summoning one for a duration of time as a quick help at the offer of the users mana.

However, there are a few downsides to this. Most notable, is that the more contracts she has, the more strain it would be to perform a temporary summoning ritual. As well, as a novice she could potentially only have a single contract at the same time, and use the spirits help to summon similarly aligned elementals of weaker rank. Of course, the more skilled she becomes with managing the spirits as well as her own powers she could learn to handle more spirits. As well - using more than one contract at a time is somewhat difficult to do for a Novice. While she can switch between two spirits with some ease as long as they are relatively in sync and nothing is distracting, controlling more than a single spirit at once is currently beyond her.

To contract one, it varies from spirit to spirit. It could be as simple as a binding, verbal agreement, or as bad as a seal signed in blood. She of course, must uphold her end of the bargain to whatever the spirit or summoned entity requires no matter how odd or arduous. As such, she practices negotiating and speaking with a number of spirits.

Currently, as a simple Novice she is capable enough. Summoning a spirit typically requires quite a bit of time, though and she would need to be quite careful when contracting a stronger one, and she currently doesn't have one. It is more difficult to forcibly send back a contracted spirit, as by law of the contract they are forbidden from leaving until they terminate the contract.

Equipment:
Carries a journal on her, where she keeps up with various spells, rituals, and names of potentially interesting spirits she learned from her master.

Biography:
Viola's life has been rather...mundane, if one counts being raised by a Mage who made it quite clear she wasn't her parent as mundane. That's not to say Livia wasn't a loving guardian figure, but she was incredibly strict and made sure Viola knew the meaning of the word 'Study' and 'Academics'. In fact, the two got along surprisingly well, with Viola's natural curiosity and propensity for things of the academic nature, save for the both of theirs rather...mischievous natures.

When she was ten, she started learning the practical applications of magic, starting with simply 'seeing' the spirits. When she was twelve, she started learning how to communicate with them, which was made difficult by the fact that each spirit sometimes had a different way to communicate. A different dialect, language, or sometimes they didn't communicate at all, depending on their origins. When fourteen, she summoned her first spirit under Livia's supervision.

That was about the extent of their relationship. Livia told her should should pursue her own studies after that. Viola of course, decided to take her up on that offer and has been studying at B.U.M. for the past year or so.

Master:
Livia Fiore. A User of spirit herself, who insisted upon being called 'Mistress' when she was apprenticing under her. She taught her the basics and saw her through her first summoning, but after that Viola was on her own. Livia, and likewise Viola, are large believers in independent study and after making sure she knew everything in theory, she let Viola go and study on her own. Livia herself, is a bit of a recluse who rarely leaves her manor and prefers the company of her spirits and books.

It's unlikely she will take another, unless the benefit would be too great for her to say no too.

If [Viola] was forced to sacrifice something important in order to move forward, it would be: Anything is fair game, it would just depend on if the sacrifice was worth it. Nothing is too valuable to lose, if what would be gained was of perceived equal value. Otherwise, she wouldn't take the deal.

If no one else would step up to the plate and this was an important matter, she'd step up to the plate without hesitation though.

If [Viola] was offered to have a single wish fulfilled, it would be: Simply put, Immortality and beauty. She would give up everything for the chance for it. A simple, age-old want that quite a few men have had in the past. What? She's a vain little thing.

Various Poltergeists:
Harmless things, really nothing more than a nuisance, but they seem to follow Viola around quite a bit after she made friends with a few of them after frequent trips to the graveyard. They mostly do her house chores and spook visitors to her dorm. Don't expect anything in her room to be where you left it. Do note she hasn't really contracted them. They just follow her around like lost puppies.

[User]
The portal spell felt weird to Phagora, like she was going to fall forever. When she saw the intricate teleportation glyph, she was suitably impressed. The time and attention to craft it...

She was snapped out of her reverie by the headmaster's arrival, and the conjuring of an entire train. "Okay, that's cool." She found herself a seat on the train, waiting to see who would join her.

[Assistant]
Luna E. Prior

Luna had given Viola a smirk as they left the room, peering one last time towards it. She happily greeted both Lee and Xinhua with a smile. And before she could even conjure another thought, Lee came to embrace the girl, the tone of her voice giving her away. Luna could not help but return the embrace along with a small giggle at the question, knowing perfectly well what Lee wanted to see.

"Starting early this year, are we, Lee?"  Luna grinned at Lee, offering a smile towards Xinhua afterwards. Luna had grown rather fond of Lee's joyful nature, seeing, as it always was uplifting. The girl seemed to find happiness in everything it appeared, an almost inhumane joy. Lee lived in the moment, and did not seem to ponder much on the future and past, much contracting to Luna. She herself was obsessed with it, both of the subjects. And not to forget the graceful nature of the magic Lee practiced. Hauntingly stunning, Luna had always thought, and yet, whenever Lee would ask to see, or even hear the result of one of Luna's experiments, she had refused. The thought made Luna quickly wrinkle her nose in disapproval of herself. She had barely ever told Karen or Viola about any of it. The reason for it, Luna had trouble realizing herself. And to that she concluded;

"Perhaps after the ceremony."  Luna said towards Lee, fully realizing how much a 'perhaps' meant from her. Surely, there could not be too much harm in sharing a thing or two with Lee. Hopefully.

"And just as Viola said, I believe we all should get a move on, no? Be an awful bad first impression to be late on the first day."  Especially embarrassing for a Chronomancer. Gesturing the others along, Luna took the first steps down the hall, towards the general direction of the Communal Mess Hall. Though it was her sixth year, Luna never got tired of the opening ceremony. Such a cozy and grand event, she had always thought. Meeting new students, eating splendid food, and the excitement for the beginning of the year.

That thought having passed; awaiting lectures with Eleanor McKinly was a sensation of rather mixed feelings. Eleanor was incredibly talented and had immense knowledge on Chronomancy, but it wouldn't be unusual for her to hand Luna towers of books for homework, always stating that "Time shouldn't be a problem for a chronomancer, don't you agree?" But Luna admired her in every aspect. A few students passed the group, being in an awful rush towards the Communal Mess Hall. Luna looked over her shoulder towards the others, interrupting any small-talk they might've had.

"Anything you lot are looking forward to this year? Lectures, meals, newly arrived boys?"  Luna snickered towards Viola at that last one, having found a small pleasure in teasing her with the subject the last few months. Still, the question might have been relevant to some of them. Luna adjusted her spiral braid, being rather thankful the poltergeists had listened to Viola and not ruined anything – Luna was so fussy when it came to her hair.

@Rune_Alchemist @Leoven

[User]
For the most part, Viola stuck close to Lee and Luna as they walked, only sparing Xinhua small smile. Might as well tolerate her presence for now, at least. She wanted to talk to Lee in a much more...intimate setting later, anyways. Making bad with her roommate would be a pretty bad idea and possible hinder her attempts to make nice with Lee herself...hmm...perhaps it'd be possible to make nice with Xinhua? Despite her not being impressed with her, she'd be a very useful 'friend' to have regardless.

"Anything you lot are looking forward to this year? Lectures, meals, newly arrived boys?"

Viola turned her head towards Luna, she was likely just teasing her. She wasn't particularly interested in such matters, plus, if she wanted a boyfriend she'd just ask a one Mr. Allen Strauss out. He was fairly talented, and quite...well, attractive as far as men went. That said, she was more inclined to...be interested in those of the same sex.

"Boys?" Viola pouted slightly, moving a few steps closer to Luna. Well, two could play at this game just a bit. "Luna." She looked up at the taller girl as they walked, pouting and puffing out her cheeks slightly. "Why would I want a boyfriend? I already have big sis Luna. I wouldn't fall for the silly tricks of boys~" This was all completely bullshit of course, she didn't care one way or another if Luna had a significant other. That just made them easier to play with, but she wasn't about to not just mess with her just a bit...of course, on the off chance she didn't get flustered by this, she always had more up her vast arsenal of rapier wit. "So...you better not leave me either~"

She had adjusted her body to be leaning into Luna's side, with her arms wrapped around her in a hug. With her back to the others, she gave Luna a small smirk, before looking up at her in a somewhat expectant manner.


[System]
Alias: Formerly Midorenger of Color Sentai Nirenger, currently goes by Kamen Rider Spark

Appearance:

A re-purposed version of his Midorenger suit. The armor has been lined with a specialized coating designed to conduct electricity better without sacrificing speed or structural integrity. The blue muffler was just a remnant of the old "Buddy" Scarf system the Nirengers had, where two team members of different colors could perform a unique combination move together. His was with the Blue Nirenger, Aorenger

Kaiki stands at roughly 5'9", with a fairly lean build due to his cybernetics being designed mostly for speed and ease of movement. His hair is usually extremely unkempt and spiky, due to the electricity coursing through his skin and helmet when in Gear. His skin is a bit on the pale side, due to how often he actually spends most of his days practically living in his suit.

Age: 27

Personality: Kaiki is a person that could be best described as very extreme. His emotions are very liable to get the best of him, and he's so stubborn that trying to talk to him is like trying to talk to a brick wall. He however, does have an absolutely unshakable concept of morality that he won't betray, and will often go to the extreme to try and eliminate evil. His hands are figuratively stained red with how many monsters and murderer's heads he's caved in with them. While he puts on an intense air of confidence, he's actually genuinely terrified of losing other people to the same beasts that killed his team, and as such would throw himself into the fray without hesitation, and fight tooth and nail to the death if he needed to save someone innocent.

He's too reckless for his own good, often literally using his belt to the point of physical exhaustion and fatigue. His intelligence isn't so grand either, with most of his plans boiling down to: Punch it until it is a finely spread paste. When he's not pissed about monsters and evil however, Kaiki often finds himself unable to say no to someone in need, even if it'd make him late for something important, or if its something stupid. Like a cat in a tree. Consequently, he fucking hates cats.

Biography: Much of Kaiki's early life was idyllic to say the least. Sentai blood runs in the family, what with his father being the previous head of the team he'd later join; Color Sentai: Nirenger. His older brother would become the Akarenger, with the position of Midorenger being filled by him soon after. Part of the government sponsored Seven Man team, life was exhilarating for Kaiki, as not only did he get to save the city he lived in on a regular basis, as a team the Nirengers were unstoppable. For roughly four years, victory was assured for the well known "Super Team" of cyborg enhanced humans who had become a commercial success. By the time he was 20, life was exceptionally good, what with the team having gained fame international, even inspiring another Sentai team on the other end of the globe.

Four years ago today would be the final battle of the Nirengers with a powerful monster by the name of Buckethead. It wasn't a traditional final battle either...in the sense that the entire team was beaten beyond either to the point of crippling debilitation even with modern cybernetic enhancements, or just...outright killed. Alarmingly enough, only Kaiki and the Purple Murarenger Chiaki Takamaki survived the attack, albeit suffering tremendous damage physically and emotionally at seeing their teammates slaughtered. The most alarming part to Kaiki however were the words that Buckethead said before leaving them battered and broken; "Now you have borne witness, and have become despair itself." Later that day, Buckethead would mysteriously take its own life after being confronted by several different teams of both magical girls and Rangers, impaling himself on his harpoon. What was a relief for everyone else was nothing more than another low blow to Kaiki, as he realized that now, he'd never be able to avenge his brother, or his friends.

Left without any sense of dramatic tension left behind it, or any real purpose, Buckethead's death drove both him and Chiaki into a deep wrought depression, one that was so deep that the Nirengers were out of commission entirely forever. No attempts to resurrect the team were successful, as this was one of the largest total team wipes to date in recent years, and the name Nirengers itself became ill-spoken. With nothing ahead of his life but physical rehabilitation and psychological evaluations, Kaiki was nearly ready to forfeit his life entirely to being nothing more than a civilian, until he received an enigmatic visitor in his hospital room...

Some strange quack of a scientist proclaiming that he had the necessary technology to get Kaiki functioning as a hero, albeit better than ever. The procedure detailed involved transplanting some form of battery into his heart to supercharge his body, in what could only be described as someone who didn't know how science worked explaining their science fair project. Initially Kaiki rejected him, however the man came back and showed off a functioning prototype, bringing a dead rat back to life, before it quickly gnawed the bars of its cage open and escaped. That aside, Kaiki's motivation was renewed at the prospect of becoming a hero again, this time devoted to exterminating evil wholeheartedly with newfound strength and power...however, the good doctor never specified the cost of the treatment. Only saying that he owed him a favor in return. One painful operation later and a day or so of resting, Kaiki was now an incredibly powerful cyborg, taking on the mantle of Kamen Rider Spark, and dying his old suit and recustomizing his belt to be white. Even if it wasn't a rainbow, he still wanted to carry all his friend's colors with him, and two years ago rejoined the crime fighting scene as Spark.

Powers: Lightning Embodiment: With a powerful electricity generator in his heart, Kamen Rider Spark is capable of outputting and withstanding obscene amounts of electricity, to the point where his heart is pretty much a perpetual power source for him. Of course, most of that power is kept on lockdown until he transforms into his actual Rider form to prevent him from sneezing and frying a room full of grocery store shoppers. While he hasn't exactly pushed himself enough to run out of power for his heart, he has reached a max of 20 million volts at 0.2 Ampules, lethal to a normal human which thankfully he is shielded from with his body enhancements fit to accomodate his heart. How high he can actually go is unknown, but it is likely that his heart would either stop at max or...explode. He doesn't know which.

Enhanced Endurance and Strength is also a byproduct of his nature as a cyborg.

Finishers: Special moves typically used to end a fight at the climax. So far, he has:
Rider Flashkick: A high speed corkscrew kick delivered out of a jump, typically resulting in a massive surge of electricity before the opponent is caught in an explosion.
Rider Rolling Thunder: An electrically charged series of punches launched from a rolling motion, with Kaiki's upper body weaving in a figure eight pattern as he dodges any potential blows. VERY flashy, and not very practical, but most finishers aren't anyhow.

Power Origin: Cybernetic Enhancements and a Super-Battery-Dynamo in his heart.

Other: Started to develop feelings for Chiaki around a year after resuming duty, and visits her every other day in the hospital.
Dislikes spicy foods, prefers salty foods.
He sleeps with his finger in an electrical socket to charge up over night.
Theme

[User]
Who

---

Hanako was enjoying herself as she rained destruction down onto the small creatures below.. Suddenly she felt her rocket tilt backward slightly as a Kamen Rider grabbed onto it's tail fin. She stumbled slightly before regaining her balance relatively quickly. The girl looked down at the 'Hero' with an expression of disdain. She now understood why Master Izumi hated these guys so much. Never minding their own business. "What the fuck are you doing?! Fuck off or I'll kill you!" She growled, jumping off her rocket and onto a newly summoned one. The missile that the Kamen Rider had been holding onto suddenly ran out of gas, it's engine spluttering as it plummeted onto the street below. Upon hitting the ground, the ballistic would create a much larger crater compared to the one's Hanako was currently making.

---

As she made her way to the city center, it became apparent that a large monster was being formed by the blobs. It wasn't long before a massive horror of a beast started to destroy the buildings around it. Such a beast would enjoy a greeting in the form of Thermobaric explosives. Hanako grinned wildly as two 30-barrel multi-rocket launchers materialized. "Preevyet~" she laughed as the missiles began to fire out in succession. As the rockets exploded upon impacting the beast boar, the explosions became more akin to massive fireballs as the incendiary fuel set alight, burning the monster.

[Assistant]
@Suku

Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb. Plummeting back down to the Earth while holding onto an active missile was definitely not something Katsuo had been planning to deal with that day, but sometimes things just didn't go as planned. To make matters worse, the thing was large, much bigger than any of the other explosive projectiles that the strange and destructive girl had been launching at the city. He was no expert, but it was pretty common sense that the bigger the bomb, the bigger the yield. Still gripping onto the tail fin, the hero began brainstorming ideas to get rid of it.

"Alright, Katsuo. Time to give yourself the biggest pep talk you've ever given yourself," the boy mumbled to himself as he repositioned himself in the air. Spinning in a circle, Midori Kamen gritted his teeth while gaining momentum to toss the missile out of the city. Doing so would probably piss off its creator, but he didn't really care how she felt. "No one else is here to help. You're the only one who stands in the way of this thing taking out who knows how many buildings. If there's anyone still here, their lives are still in danger and even if they aren't their homes and beloved belongings are still at risk. I can do it... I can do it... I can do it... I can do it! I CAN DO IT!"

With that final shout, the hero used all of his strength to throw the missile in the direction of the ocean. Only for the city's skyline to block its path. As soon as he let go of the tail fin, the explosive impacted with the top of a nearby skyscraper, blowing away the uppermost floors and sending Katsuo flying. When he finally landed it would be after skidding across the city streets, kicking up most of the road with him, and stopping right in front of an enraged, motorcycle-riding magical girl.

[User]
That...was one big monster. To say that Kaiki was scared would be lying, but concern was certainly creeping into his mind. How would he defeat this? How much damage would it cause to the area? How would he keep civilians safe from it? And the answer to all those questions was balled up at his side, arcing with electricity.

He was gonna punch it. A lot.

As the ugly beast started to move its legs, Kaiki saw an opportunity and quickly bolted to action, jumping onto the beast's leg and starting to climb his way up, clinging to it with a mixture of augmented strength and static clinging. As if he was scaling a master of climbing, Kaiki was making his way higher and higher, until he reached near the beast's shoulder, or where its shoulders would be below its neck. Now, he was no monster biologist or anything, but given that it had a head, that must mean it had a neck. And a neck connected to a spine. And a spine connected to a brain of some sort. And so, Kaiki would navigate his way to the back of the beast's neck, one hand holding on while the other pushed in the crank on his bolt, a surge of electricity moving from it up his torso and into his arms. "SPARK UP! 10, 100, 1000, 100,000,000!" his belt shouted, the element of surprise entirely thrown out the window for theatrics. Thanks professor.

Regardless, Kaiki dug his feet into the shoulders of the monster as best he could, before his hands began to pummel at its neck, hitting where it was hardest as he tried to LITERALLY fry the bastard's brain with full-amped punches. "RIDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER..." he started as he wound one arm back, before noticing the massive beast's arm moving to swat him off. The Rider thought quickly though, and promptly jumped onto the monster's wrist in order to dodge its attack. Running along the length of the arm, Kaiki kept one fist winding up behind him, ducking and weaving to avoid various tendrils and hands from the monster's writhing form that was now on full alert against the white soldier of justice. However, all at once Kaiki would find himself being taken for a ride on the beast's other arm, gripping onto it as his right fist crackled with electricity, hands forming and grasping at him, trying to pull him into it and suffocate or crush him...or absorb him. Who knew really with these freaks.

Having no intention of dying, and quite pissed at how much his ribs hurt, Kaiki broke himself free from the grasp of the hands by shocking them, carrying himself over to about halfway across the tenticular arm before hands grabbed at his feet. "...Screw it, here's fine. ROLLIIIIING..." he said as his head, left arm, and torso were grabbed, starting to be pulled in. "THUNDER!" Kaiki bellowed, slamming his hand not only against, but through the black fleshy mass of the beast's arm, sending himself and the entire length of the pained collective's arm, using the remaining energy from Rolling Thunder to bash some heads in on the way done before falling with a calamitous thud. Literally having fallen onto his back from a normally fatal height, Kaiki was definitely going to feel that in the morning. Rising from his concrete crater, the Kamen Rider grimaced under his helmet at the beast, and the mob forming behind it of its children.

"...Wish you were here, NiTaka." he muttered to himself, remembering his formerly omnipresent Mechanical vehicle. Heck, he missed the entire Nirengers right now, but he needed something BIG to take that thing out.


[System]
* Age: 24
* Appearance: Her practically universal attire. Aside from that, Ryuuko is unusually tall for a Japanese woman, and the kimono only somewhat succeeds in hiding her surprisingly ample curves. What cannot be seen is the clearly defined muscles the girl has--nor the sprawling tattoo that prohibits her from going many places in Japan less dressed.
* Personality: Superficially, Ryuuko appears to be a polite and congenial girl, mild in attitudes to a fault and a prime example of what every Japanese lady should aspire to be, by tradition. It isn't a fully manufactured façade; she places a high importance on her duty to her family and the skills demanded of a former head. It simply happens that one cannot be the future head of a yakuza family without some of that civility and good nature being a deliberate manufacture. Indeed, although she finds killing to be a matter of last resort, this is hardly from some moral consideration--all things considered, deaths attract suspicion and waste a potentially valuable resource.
This affected attitude is more than just a social convention, it's a method for suppressing strong desires to act at the other end of the spectrum--violent, brash, and hedonistic. Though she denies the impulses and refuses to act on them, she still takes pleasure in fights and keeps a very tight reign on her temper. Maybe it would be easier to simply express herself, but that would cause a loss of face even before the trouble itself started up.
Her likes and dislikes are simple: she dislikes shoes, hates roller-coasters and Toshiko's driving, and likes both sake and traditional styling in copious amounts. Outside of this and practising her skills, Ryuuko finds that little catches her interest and tends to be blatantly apathetic to it.
* Abilities: Ryuuko's first and foremost skill is her swordsmanship. Without this, her offerings to Fu Sonzai no Gensō would be completely non-existent. She has the ability to win tournaments with ease, if she would restrict herself to using the correct forms, but finds them to be completely wasteful. Where other children had friends or hobbies, Ryuuko had training with the blade and for her future role. Predominantly accomplished fighting with the single long blade, she is also versed with a shorter sword, a dagger, paired blades, and iaijutsu. Rounding out the skill set--at her mother's insistence she hone all the skills of a samurai--she's also got basic competence with the spear and bow.
Magically, she is a novice relying on Toshiko's training. Though an affinity for Void is an interesting, albeit highly negative, one with which to work, her presence at the agency is more for her own magical education than to provide her services--she has no need of the job. Her sole magical ability is the very most basic reinforcement.
Her physique, impressive as it is, doesn't come from the same sort of diligent training most would have to put into it. Though her denial of the impulses that come with her heritage prevents her from benefiting in most manners, being a hanyou still causes her to retain a far better figure in most regards with only her normal practice.
She also has a driving license.
* Equipment: Unless she wishes to owe her father special favours and call in her family's resources, Ryuuko has a simple tanto hidden in her obi and an heirloom sword. Forged by youkai, her father passed it down early as it does not suit his fighting style, and the blade is near impervious to any form of damage. It goes by the name of Yama-no-Hone-no-Tsurugi, which hints somewhat at what might have gone into manufacturing it...
* Brief Backstory: On one side of her family, she claims descent from the original Miura, and through them back to the Taira and Minamoto, and from there all the way back to imperial lines. On her mother's side she claims descent from... well, her mother claims to be the Shuten-Dōji but there's no way of verifying that. This is simply the most pronounced the family's mixed involvement in mundane and supernatural affairs, making her the first heir in the family with such direct involvement in both sides, though all have been raised in the knowledge that a supernatural world exists. However, she doesn't depart from tradition to not train the heir in magic or the supernatural until their basic education has completed--sufficient to run a major operation which works in the criminal underground on both sides of the border.
Being the heir to a yakuza clan with such a traditional background has its advantages, even though it harmed her ability to make friends or the like. With private tutors and no distractions, she graduated from the top of her class and entered into Todai, studying classical Japanese literature and learning how to manage business affairs in her own time. It was upon graduation that it was considered time for her to embrace her magical heritage, with her father seeking out someone willing to train one with such a materialistic and unsavoury background in exchange for money or--in this case--her services to the agency.
This delay in training is implemented for practical reasons, as any family head of theirs will need a wide set of skills to thrive in the difficult environment, but also from a belief that their affinity will show through stronger and manifest efficiently if left alone to adulthood. With Ryuuko's apathy to that beyond her narrow interests, it might be accurate indeed.

[User]
"Aoyama-san?" Tomoko asked, tilting her head slightly to the side as Ryuuko made her explanation, eyeing the maid. All of that made... far too much sense to her, and explained the white dust in the library if it had come from the wall, and just why the barrier had broken when the thieves had never actually entered the library. As for the maid, Tomoko was well aware of the maid's usage of trick nails for weaponry, traps and various other purposes. But if she didn't remember...

Tomoko reached towards the awkwardly-shifting maid, brushing her bangs back. There was the black rune, seemingly written in ink. For a few moments she stared, then narrowed her eyes.

"This rune is designed to suppress and eventually destroy specific memories," she commented, "Which means that the thief must have..."

She paused for a moment, while the maid fretted over the fact that her mind had been messed with.

"... But you said the thief was an onmyouji? Runecraft is a mage's work."

[Assistant]
Ryuuko paused, not having considered that. To her limited knowledge, the arts seemed more or less the same: you drew specific symbols, imbued them with mana, and that had some effect. But from Tomoko's answer, it seemed that there was more of a separation than she had assumed? In that case, perhaps here assumption that the same person was behind both was misinformed... had someone been trying to surreptitiously sabotage the theft? Or maybe they had been wrong and there wasn't an onmyouji at all?

"Though the evidence found at the site was undoubtedly a fragment of ofuda, I cannot say for certain whether it was indeed a traditional design or whether some foreign rune was imprinted upon it," the purple-haired girl admitted, "Or it might be that a second magic user was at work here, though the thief's injury and your maid's lost memories hide whose side they were really on."

[User]
"There's no way of knowing..." Tomoko replied with a sigh, trailing off... before she looked at her maid's forehead again. "Unless we can break the spell. I'm afraid I can't help due to my role in reestablishing this barrier, but if I'm not mistaken you could destroy it, possibly, by overloading the rune with mana to break it."

"Er... wh-what would you be doing to my head exactly?" asked the maid, nervously, taking a step back. It appeared that she really didn't like hearing that they would be shooting mana into her forehead.

"It's not a complicated process," Tomoko responded. This seemed to do little to soothe her maid's concern.

[Assistant]
"A rune has been placed on your forehead and I am going to remove it," the apprentice mage stated, not waiting for the maid's consent. For all she knew, the girl would be obliged to try and stop her because of whatever else the rune was doing. One hand blurred into position under black hair and the other got ready to stop anything that she might choose to do.

Maybe a more experienced magic user could have done this with no mental preparation or elaborate symbolism. Ryuuko had no such shortcuts available and split the simple operation into two parts: first establish a link with the target. Her fingers formed the physical bridge and from there made a path for the mystical. Then visualise a void within the rune, drawing down mana through the link, consuming all until the fragile symbol would be unable to take any more and the gaping emptiness would devour it as well.

The inefficiency of such an operation was clear; a spiky corona of darkness--coloured mana--engulfed her hand and the top of the girl's head, but she was sure that some of it was going into its destination and--hopefully--would remove the rune to continue their investigation.

[User]
For a few moments, nothing seemed to happen... and then the maid shut her eyes tightly and clapped her hands on her head.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow headaaaaache..." she whined, trembling with effort to stay on her feet. However, once the process was complete, the rune itself seemed to have grown... hazy. Moments later, it flaked away entirely from the black-haired maid's skin... and she fell to her knees, wincing. Obviously, the experience of having something pulled out of her mind had caused some level of discomfort. Still, she didn't seem as if she was in actual danger... yet, and the rune had been removed.

[Assistant] "Do you remember what happened last night? It seems that someone barefoot must have trod upon one of your nails," Ryuuko stated, not wanting to waste time waiting for the maid to get around to it herself. Her magic might have been successful for now but there was no guarantee that it would stay this way: she wanted to get the information out of the trap-laying black-haired girl and then let her go and try to recover from what had happened.

[User]
For a few moments, the black-haired girl rubbed at her temples and winced, not finding the strength to do anything other then try and sooth the throbbing ache in her skull. However, as those moments passed, it seemed like the pain must have been lessening, and slowly she opened her eyes... and then they widened as memories came flooding to her.

"Blonde hair! One was little and she had blonde hair!" she cried, waving her hands in the air, "She looked kind of like... like a doll! She was like... a little doll? Not literally but she looked really fragile! She only had socks on too and she stepped on my nail when she was coming in and then I jumped out to stop them! But then the bigger one, she had black hair, and she got really mad and hit me in the face!"

[Assistant] "Do you have any more details?" she said. This was a small step forwards--there had been two thieves, one having left the bloodstain behind and presumably removed the stained sock (or used it as a bandage?), for certain. There was little useful new information, though. Their second intruder was able to hit you in the face and disable somehow, possibly through force or through the rune that she had just removed, "For instance, were they known to your group or your employers? Did they have other distinguishing features?"

[User]
"Ummm.... I don't think we know them at all..." the maid looked thoughtful for a few moments, before glancing at Tomoko. The older woman shook her head, seeming just as surprised at the appearance of the two thieves as the maid was. Indeed, things seemed like they were really rather confusing in this circumstance, as far as the Daidouji household was concerned. There wasn't any recognition from either the family members or the maid. At least, not Tomoko and this specific maid.

"Er... Oh, I think the blonde one had... blue eyes?" she said, "I can't remember what color the black-haired ones' eyes were... even though she hit me in the face..."

The maid seemed rather sour about that last part.

[Assistant]
It seemed that neither of the mansion's residents had any idea who the invaders could be--a pity, since Ryuuko had no more idea herself and pink eyes were more unusual than indicative of any further abilities. The most that could be achieved with this information was to possibly ask after anyone of a matching description fleeing the mansion the previous night.

"I shall go inform Ando-shishou of further discoveries. It would be beneficial if you could search the mansion for anybody matching those descriptions, as the thieves may not have left yet," the purple-haired girl stated, bowing perfunctorily and walking back towards the entrance. Provided that she didn't get lost, it should be easy to find the vase-storing room and her teacher within short order.

[User] While the vase-storing room was easy enough to return to, it seemed as if something had perhaps gone amiss. Neither Toshiko nor the daughter of the Daidouji family remained there. Just where had they gone, and what were they doing?

[Assistant]
As if tracing her steps once wasn't enough, both her employer and their current guide had gone elsewhere in the mansion without warning. With a sigh, Ryuuko began to look around the room once again, this time for any trace of runework--on the case, nearby it, or even on the walls and ceiling. Though with the Daidouji's own brand of magic being western, it wouldn't be out of place at all... and Yuuno wasn't around to explain whether that should be there or not.

When she was done, if they hadn't already returned, the purple-haired girl rose up and turned to leave the room again. If she could find a maid, which shouldn't be hard at all, they ought to know where the hell the other two had gotten to... or anywhere that Yuuno might like to hang around, at least.

[User]
Eventually, the maid directed Ryuuko to the dining hall, where she had seen both Toshiko and Yuuno heading to. She hadn't disturbed them, as it was likely they were busy with something relating to the case. Regardless of just what it was, Toshiko had seemed in quite a hurry. Perhaps there had been some sort of revelation regarding the case?

Either way, it was clear where they were.

Upon arriving there, Ryuuko would see Toshiko and Yuuno seated beside one another. Toshiko seemed rather pleased with herself, so there must have been some kind of development.

[Assistant]
It was definitely strange that the pair of them had relocated into the dining hall but, given that her own sources of information had stemmed from accosting an unfortunate maid in the hallways, Ryuuko wasn't one to judge. She announced her arrival into the room and bowed perfunctorily--it was somewhat annoying to have found no more information on further examination of the room.

"Ando-san, Yuuno-chan, I have been able to learn more information about our thief. Firstly, calling them a thief is inaccurate, there were two partners in this crime. Secondly, we are dealing with both a western mage and an onmyouji."


[System]
Appearance: Emerald is a light-green-skinned Gem that is only about 4 feet tall. He wears a plain dark green tunic that doesn't have any decorations or faction-identifiers (Like the star for the Gems or the Diamonds for the Homeworld Gems so far revealed in the series.) This is because his development was cut off and he was awoken without aesthetic completion. Has glowing circular light green eyes that emit beams of light similar to a very bright green flashlight beam.

Gem: Emerald

Gem Location: Right below where the neck meets the torso.

Emotional Strength: Rather determined.
Emotional Weakness: Sadness/Depression.

Power: Can turn into a statue made out of grayish rock with green shiny speckles. It looks like however he does the second before he became a statue. Is incredibly durable and might make for a decent weapon in Amber's case. The statue CAN be broken, but it is many times tougher than rock. It is similar to retreating into a gem in the case that it can be used for healing, but it is likely to exhaust Emerald if used frequently. When Emerald comes out of the statue, gradual chunks fall off of the statue until it reveals him.

Advanced Armor: See the above, but moldable into armor shapes and, instead of having to dismantle it, he has to keep it into it's formed shape. Emerald currently can't do this.

Terrakinesis: Can control his special rock that is statue is made of. This is set aside from the others because he can make things out of it. VERY VERY LIMITED. Not practical in any battle situation whatsoever, better for making long-term structures or just very tiny things.

Weapon: Curved saber with a pommel that can switch between a full hand-guard or just a handle. It is the color of healthy grass, the handle/guard being the same color.

Weapon Power: None

Other: Uses male pronouns. Was grown in Earth's Kindergarten (the big one) but not influenced by anything, due to the site being abandoned before he was "finished". Also, likes repairing or tuning/tinkering with things as a frequent hobby.

Can't handle being insulted, even as a joke, and tends to start crying. A lot. The reason could be potentially blamed on the possible side effects of making a gem that isn't finished. Also, he doesn't really know what anything is. This isn't a deformity, he just hasn't been outside of his hole in the Kindergarten.

Door:

Normal Emerald^

Warning: teh falwining b much very importnents
On the states: Normally, these are triggered by these emotions being present, and these states hold onto them as well as reflecting the emotion. More than one is possible at a time, in which case the personality and appearance are a mix of both, but ones that directly conflict are not possible.

Happy: Appears to have lighter clothing, with a faint glow. This state is one of perpetual optimism.

Holding a Grudge (For lack of a better word): Has a yellow stripe on his left arm for each person he is holding a grudge against. This often combines with:

Paranoia: Emerald's eyes emit a blinding yellow beam of light, which at it's dimmest is still very bright. Very jumpy, scared of things that aren't there, very suspicious of anyone he doesn't trust.

Sadness/fear:Emerald turns a dark turquoise, with his clothing turning dark green. A bit depressed. Easily frightened.

Anger:Emerald turns dark green, and his teeth are sharpened. Highly unstable and vicious, even towards friends. Thankfully, this state is also extremely unlikely to occur, and if it does appear it usually doesn't last.

[User] Spinel could stay like this for maybe two more minutes. She waited to see Amber's reaction before making her decision. She was starting to become marginally more interested in what Bloodstone had to say, but not quite enough to show herself. A warp pad? Huh. I guess there's a lot I don't know about our technology. Spinel was still ignorant about a lot of things, apparently. Time would tell whether or not she'd be able to ask Bloodstone about any of it.

[Assistant]
"I think I'll stay here." Charles replied to Aquamarine. "I'm not fit for slaying monsters like that eye-beast, and if there are any more around, I should continue doing what I can for the town." He might have been athletic and fit, but he was not capable of fighting monsters. Even if he did, he himself had too much on the line. He had a family, he had a town, and he wasn't going to take chances every single time more and more dangerous monsters appeared to fight the gems.

"I'll do what I can and call the chief of police once I know that they town is safe again." He said to them, beginning to pick up a few things and try his best to make it just a little better.

--------------

That sounded strange to her. Why wouldn't he help the people that obviously needed it? Was it because they were out of his town or area, or because they weren't gems? Sodalite only had more and more questions as Bloodstone continued to speak. The prospect of a warp pad seemed interesting though. She didn't know what such device could do, but she had to keep focused on what he was telling the group of four, or three as Sodalite didn't know where Spinel was at the moment.

If it was his job to watch the planet, then why wouldn't he help? It didn't make sense. "Why won't you help them?" She asked him, her mind slowly coming to a realization which hadn't taken full effect yet.

"What about the Redeye?"

[User]
"Hogwash."

A while ago, Aquamarine had told Evenkite that she was only as small as she felt. And right now, she definitely didn't feel small.

With her frown now replaced with a grin, the little gem jumped off from her perch, apparently unfazed by the fact that she jumping from a height over three times her own. A little more than halfway down the jump, her eyes began to glow and her descend slowed, her jump becoming little more than a gentle float down. It wasn't quite the lift she had been able to pull off on that rock a week ago, but considering she hadn't been able to pull it off since and considering she didn't even know if it was something she could preform on herself, she was more than happy. Maybe a bit shocked. But she only revealed the former feeling as she walked up towards Bloodstone, running a hand through her still messy hair, picking out a dried leaf, and crunching it to bits in her hand before tossing the fragments to the side as she did so.

"I'm very curious as to what you have to say, Bloodstone, sir, but I doubt your words greatly. It is not wise to lie to those you wish to gain trust from, and it is downright idiotic to continue to lie right after your lies are seen through. Whatever makes you think that I wouldn't catch your lies a second time around? Your stalker's  reaction tells me a lot more about you than your flimsy words do. And besides your more blatant lies, things aren't adding up. If you really were in charge of keeping an eye on Kindergaten, then you haven't been doing a very good job at it. Otherwise I wouldn't have been stuck in this mess. I'd be there instead, and I'd love to still be there, but that's not exactly an option anymore. And if you don't care for humans, then why do other gems? What's your reasoning, and what's theirs?"

By now, Evenkite was only a few steps away from being toe-to-toe with Bloodstone, her arms crossed over her chest and her head tilted slightly to the side, her eyebrows raised. She let out a small snicker before continuing.

"In all honesty though, I am curious to know what you have to say, but you better cut the crap if you expect me to stick around and listen. I appreciate that you're telling us anything at all,"

Unlike some other questionable gems.

"But if you're going to continue to insult my intelligence by expecting me to buy your words, then forget it. They might not leave, but I certainly will."

[Assistant] "Look, everything I have said after coming clean the first time has been true, the human is simply upset that I insulted his sword-play. We kind of made nice after our... encounter. As to my capabilities to bring back the KinderGardens, well, your here aren't you? I wasn't sure when any new gems would awaken until it happened, so I set out to find you as soon as you awoke. The reason that I don't help humans is because I was sent here for one job and that job is you, what happens to the humans is none of my concern as for why others choose to help is a question you should be asking someone else," Blood started to become angry at the imp's disrespect, "And you had better learn who you are talking to before you make a Big MISTAKE!!" At this Bloodstone summoned his weapon and slammed it down beside Eve, so close that it cut off some strands of hair. Blood fixed himself and un-summoned his weapon, "I apologize, my anger sometimes gets the better of me, it being my powered emotion and all. Look, if you want more answers, I'll provide them." Bloodstone noticed figures walking this way, "But at a later point, I'm not one for large crowds and there seems to be more people arriving, so I shall be on my way." At this Bloodstone dashed off, not leaving the others any chance to ask more questions.

[User] Spinel became visible again and walked back to the group. "Well that was... a whole lot of nothing, really. But now that this Bloodstone is gone I guess we can return to our work, such as it as." Spinel only sounded partially interested in the words she was saying. "Unless this guy is going to turn into a gem too." she said half sarcastically. "But uh, on the more serious side of things, should we attempt to help you, sword man?"

[Assistant] Aquamarine nodded to the Mayor's statement to stay behind and his reasons were completely valid but now she needed to find the others. They could be anywhere at this moment which would mean taking a little while to find them but at least no real danger seemed to be a foot which she was grateful for. They all needed to sit down and talk everything over now that they had everyone up and around, instead of waiting on anyone to reform. They had a place that they could call a home for now and they could all choose to move somewhere else if that place didn't work out. She lead the others around, looking of the group of gems when she spotted them and rushed in there direction. She thought she saw them talking to someone and by the time she arrived, she noticed they were speaking to a human. "I'm glad I found you all. It seems the Mayor evacuated everyone rather quickly so we don't have much to help out with at the present moment. He did say that there was a temple nearby that we could could check out to live in if we choose. We were also able to find Johnny!" Aqua stated, updating them on the important matters. The look on all of the gems faces had her excitement drop and one of nervous confusion before going more of a serious calm."Have I missed something?"

[User] "Kindergarten... wait that place we woke up at? Amber asked half to himself after Bloodstone brought up the description of what his job was, which apparently had something to do with him and the rest of the Gems. Before he could continue with his line of thought Eve jumped from her spot in his hand and started to confront Bloodstone on what she believed were flaws in his story, some of which seemed to be questionable to Amber once they were pointed out. He listened to Bloodstone's reaction to them, which Amber was accepting up to the point he summoned some sort of weapon that he quickly slammed down next to Eve. "Bloody Hell is the matter with yo'?!" Amber exclaimed, he instinctively grabbed Eve away from Bloodstone and placed her back in his palm. But Bloodstone had seemingly already took off before he could answer Amber's oh so thought out question. It wasn't long after that Aquamarine appeared and asked if she missed something. "Uh Yeah! Some bloody eejit tried to take the lass here head off 'er shoulders!"

[Assistant] "What I think Amber means," Spinel began, temporarily removing her focus from Reggie, "is that an individual who identified himself as Bloodstone, although he originally appeared as a human, approached us and told us some things. He offered us what he must have assumed we'd consider important information, and claimed that he was only here for our benefit. He stated that he was essentially responsible for our existence, and that there was something called a warp pad in the woods somewhere. He also said that he was a commanding officer of some sort." Spinel put a hand on her chin as she tried to think of anything else that might be important to say. "He also claimed that his human attacked him. He seemd to be trying very hard to make himself seem trustworthy, which he was doing reasonably well at until Evenkite said some things that made him upset. Now he's gone"

[User]
Aquamarine's dark eyes turned into an icy glare as her eyes slid to the human, looking him over to see weapons and assuming that he was the one responsible for almost harming Eve. She stepped forward about to draw her weapon, very much ready to question the said human in a not so nice manner when Spinel spoke up causing her to stop dead in her tracks. She eyes widened, her body feeling almost frozen as different emotions shot threw her as once and thoughts a jumbled mess that she had barely heard all that Spinel said."Did you just say Bloodstone?" Aquamarine spoke softly, not even being able hide all of the fear in her voice as pulled her arms around her mid section. She dreaded Spinel confirming it since she knew it had been said and went directly to Eve."Are you alright? Did he harm you in anyway?! Aqua exclaimed, looking her over carefully as a mother would a child since panic was rising. They needed to talk about everything right now and start training very soon if they were going up against Bloodstone. She hadn't expected it to be him out of all the Home World gems. She didn't think a Commander would be the one watching over the Kindergarten but someone lower. After she was sure Evenkite was alright, she spoke up seriously,"I need to explain everything to you now. Everyone is reformed and none of us are missing. I will answer all your question and tell you everything I know."

Aqua moved over to sit down, glancing at Reggie for a second,"You are either very lucky or very skilled to have fought with Bloodstone. If you are hurt then I would be happy to heal you. Everyone else please have a seat."

[Assistant] Emerald found himself running after Aquamarine, not really knowing what was going on. When they met up with the other Gems he just sort of stared for a while, all this time muttering things like "What's happening?", "How much did I miss?", and "I want to go back to sleep." Emerald took a few moments to compose himself, and asked Aquamarine the one big thing that was going on in his head: "What the heck is going on?"