[System]
Appearance:
Torie
Torie's Clothes

Other Details: His Guild Mark is olive green, and is located on his right forearm. He stands at exactly 5'11 and a 1/2. His helmet is usually kept in his Reequip space, and he only wears it for special occasions. Or to look cool. Mostly the latter.
Nicknames/Aliases: None

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual JUSTICE!

Personality: Torie is a pretty cheerful guy most of the time, usually upbeat, and has a unique sense of right and wrong. He's a bit on the stubborn side, and has a firmly rooted belief in what he describes as: "His Justice". He can be a bit overprotective of people he cares about, his sisters in particular, and will stop at nothing to stop harm from coming to them.

Magic Type: Caster

Mage Rank: B

Magic: Barrier Magic

Description: A magic that focuses on creating strong magical barriers that work effectively as shields. While lacking any real offensive capabilities in and of themselves, the barriers can actually be moved by the caster, and can be flung as projectiles. Given his lack of experience, Torie can only maintain a barrier if it is within 30 ft of him, any further and it will shatter nearly instantly. He can form the barriers into nearly any shape he desires, though intricate details are difficult to create. The barriers are all a dull mint green, and are transparent like glass.

Biography: Torie was born into a rather poor family, along with 2 younger sisters, and an older brother. By the time he was 10 and his brother was 13, their parents passed away in an accident at the docks they worked at. Struggling to get by with what work they could, the two brothers eventually started stealing to feed their siblings, as well as themselves. As the years passed, they got more and more ambitious, never really getting caught, thanks to Torie's brother Morton's planning, and his quick hands. Time passed, and eventually, like all thieves, the two were caught red-handed trying to rob a nobleman's house. In an act of profound selflessness, Torie's brother took all the blame upon himself, and was sentenced to 4 years juvenile imprisonment for severe grand theft.

Torie, left alone and without the brains behind the operation, was at a loss as to what he could do to feed his sisters, and so, stole what he could. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately for him, one fateful day when he was 15, he attempted to pick the pocket of a man who moved at blinding speed, and had the strength of a bison. The man could have easily snapped his arm like a twig, but instead spared the pickpocket. Rather than informing the authorities, the man seemed to see something within the boy that he himself could not see, and so, took him under his wing as an apprentice of using Barrier Magic, an uncommon choice for most mages, especially novice ones. His invitation was even extended to his two younger sisters, though they seemed to lack whatever untapped potential Torie had. The man would often preach to Torie the importance of Justice in the world, and that even above laws, Justice should stand as a shining beacon that every man can look to and see something entirely different, yet at the core, the same. When the time finally came for them to part, his master left without a trace, having never given his name, and saying nothing to anybody. The only thing left behind was an oddly crafted green helmet with a gold visor, with the word: "Gerechtigkeit" engraved into the scalp. With no real aim in life, he figured that he could use his new-found magic to provide for his siblings, and so, decided that he'd need to join a Mage's Guild. Who better than Fairy Tail?

[User]
Luka spun around and unleashed a discharge toward Iggy, hoping that Mimi's unintentional attack would put him in a bad position to dodge her attack. Unlike Thunder Bullet the ability Discharge was of her own creation that took advantage of her ability to spontaneous discharge lightning magic from her body, especially when riled up. It lacked the power and intensity of most lightning magic but it was very fast to cast, accurate and hard to dodge. She fired three such discharges in succession at his position and without waiting to see if any made contact leaped forward, her body engulfed in lightning.

With her speed and mobility she intended to get behind Iggy while he defended, since she knew that the scale for brains would most likely repel the Discharge attacks. Luka would appear mid-air behind Iggy and attempt to lay her hands upon him. Now at this point it should be noted that Luka was no hand to hand combatant, not like Iggy or Mimi were. There was no way she could beat them that way. But she didn't have to. If she could put her and on Iggy's flesh then she could electrocute his ass. Though the same could be said for any part of her skin so he had better be careful about how he attempted to stop her.

[Assistant]
"You are the one who should be watching where you are going flamebrain!" Mimi shouted back at him with a glare. Just as she was about to attack again at the same time Luka was aiming to attack Iggy, a voice roared through the guild.
"STUPID BRATS! AT THIS RATE THE GUILD IS GOING TO GET SMASHED INTO PIECES!" Master yelled as he walked to the middle of the battle glaring at the three main fighters. Mimi simply stopped powering up for an attack and sheepishly stared at the ground. "Sorry gramps." Mimi said not facing the Master while hoping the other two knew better than to continue.

[User] Torie nearly jumped out of his seat when the guild master showed up, though the surprise was enough for him to lose focus and cause him to fall on his ass. Getting back up, he rubbed his backside and put his helmet away. "Glad I wasn't in that..." Torie muttered under his breath. Basically, any desire he could have had to get into a brawl was turned into a pressure in his bladder once the guild master entered. Not like it was really his fight anyway.

[Assistant]
Iggy had prepared to deflect the three discharges, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard the guild master. This cause him to take each with somewhat of a loud yelp. "Yeouch!" He added as Luka was able to get in the last shock causing him to fall to the floor. "N-no fair..." He coughed a slight pulse of electricity running through his body as he stood up. It took him a moment to shock off the feeling and pat down his hair back into it's usual look since the shocks had left it sprawling out in every direction for a brief period of time. Once things were altogether on his end he glared at Luka. "Couldn't stop in time huh?" He asked with a somewhat annoyed look on his face as the glare settled just a bit.

Still, he was upset that the master had ruined the fun. It was just getting good! This had better be good. Of course, Iggy would never say that. However, he could return his attention to the master. "Hey master." He said with a slight nervous chuckle. "Good to see you." He added as a somewhat nervous smile spread across his face. "All is well I hope?" He was surprised the master was still here in all honesty. Though maybe he had a job. Was that why he was taking so long?! Oh man! Iggy was getting excited now and it showed as the nervousness left his smile, replace only with excitement and hopeful optimism.

[User]
Luka visibly cringed as she heard the guild masters voice reverberate around the hall, cradling her staff in a defensive manner in front of herself as she turned towards the source of the imposing voice. She laughed nervously to herself for a moment, however upon hearing Iggy complain she couldn't resist a momentary sideways glance in his direction, smiling at him with feigned innocence. The first two Discharges really had been beyond her ability to stop. The third one, well, that was open to debate. "You started it," Luka mouthed in Iggy's direction before turning toward the guild master and bowing politely, her staff held horizontally in both hands before her waist as she did so.

In truth she was still somewhat riled up, the adrenaline in her veins not completely spent. This fact was clear enough to those who knew her due to the arcs of white electricity that danced around the tip of her staff, periodically threatening to shock any unsuspecting wizard within range. The fact that she could restrain herself at all was remarkable considering how bad it had been just a few years previous, when she had first come to the guild. Back then her electricity could run out of control with just the slightest provocation. It was still hard to control herself at times but on the whole things had improved a lot.

"Master, how...are you?" Luka asked hesitantly, just in case he really was angry and not just getting everyone's attention. Luka side stepped away from the unconscious wizard at her feet as if completely innocent of his obvious electrocution moments ago. "I hope you're not angry master? It was just a bit of fun and...Iggy...and Mimi..." Luka trailed off and without comment walked behind the bar, put on an apron and started sweeping the floor. This was clearly a well practised routine.

[Assistant]
The master would soon sigh as things fell into place following their usual routines. Luka was cleaning, Iggy and Mimi were also behaving once again. The fight had settled down. Even the older mages and other members of the guild seemingly out of sight of the master had stopped. He glanced around for a moment before taking a seat on the nearest bar stool. He took a deep breath and then pulled out a paper and began to speak. "I have a job. It's a request to find and deliver some very important treasure pieces. It could take a while as they are fairly scattered. At most there seem to be two of each item in each place. However, according to the client, the items are guarded and they would not be able to retrieve them for research if mages were not employed. The reward is quite high. 4 Billion Jewels to be exact." He finished and there was a gasp. "who..>"

"ME!" Iggy quickly shouted. He inhaled and soon quickly reiterated. "Me! Mimi! Torie! Luka! Karn!" He beamed raising his voice excitedly volunteering members to form a team and head out. And without even consulting any of them either.

"Easy Igneel. What if one of the more..." The master began but Iggy was currently staring around the guild. Anyone who might have objected or wanted the money for themselves quickly backed down.

"So it's okay right?!" Iggy quickly was as cheerful as ever once more. "Right?!"

[User]
Karn watched the mayhem, somehow changing from the girly maid outfit to his regular clothes during this process. Wearing a grey shirt and a raggedy black jacket, sleeve torn at the shoulders. Black pants and shoes with the usual beige scarf around the neck. Listening as the Master finally stepped in and shouted for the mayhem to stop, the blonde chuckled a little in amusement as the Guild. Members ceased the fighting. It was then, the Master explained a job available for quite lot of money. In which case, Iggy of course volunteered. Along with volenteering other Guild Members without notifying them.

This included Karn who blinked a little as he was volenteered by the male dragon slayer. He had just returned from a couple month job, and already he was being brought into a job that sounded a bit difficult? Despite this fact, the short boy didn't really mind. After all, this time it would be a team. And jobs with friends makes it much more fun.

His body changed into a orange cat before hopping on top of Iggy's head. "I'm in!" Karn chirped cheerfully.

[Assistant] Mimi shook her head at Iggy's childish behavior as the master sighed, "Fine. You all may go but keep in contact and be careful." The master said handing the sheet to Mimi before returning to the office. She walked over to where Iggy was with Karn on top of his head. Mimi reached up and scratched cat Karn behind his ears before opening the job sheet and reading over it herself. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as she read what treasure they were meant to be receiving. Her hand went up and rested upon her key as she gripped it in her hand, finishing her reading of the job request. She folded it close again and looked up at the group waiting for everyone else to get over here before explaining in more detail.

[User]
Luka walked toward the guild master as he laid out of the details of the operation with the broom still in her hand and frowned in annoyance as she was 'volunteered' for the operation without her consent. "Hey! Don't just go volunteering people without asking them Iggy!" Luka responded tersely with a clearly annoyed look on her face. She was not angry with him, though the look in her eyes did suggest that she might just whack him with the broom anyway. "Maybe I have another job lined up already," she carried on stubbornly and crossed her arms in clear defiance. She tossed her head to the side and exhaled meaningfully.

That was when Karn turned into one of his furball shapes and leaped atop of Iggy's head. For some reason he looked completely natural up there. Luka relented and sighed heavily, her arms dropping to her sides in defeat. "Karn, couldn't you at least pretend to think about it, don't just go along with it," she said in a soft dejected tone.

She considered the job for a moment. It did pay well, very well in fact. Suspiciously well even. So did her last job now that she thought about it. All at once her complexion became pale and tired looking. As if by magic a darkness had descended around her eyes and brow. She laughed weakly to herself at the memory. However now that she thought about it there was no possible way that the two jobs could be related. No way at all! Besides, if her admirer was following her to guildhall as she feared then she would rather be gone by the time that they arrived. In fact she insisted upon it. "Yeah! We can do this no problem master! Right Iggy? Mimi!?" she almost shouted, her voice full of determination and spirit as her complexion returned to its usual glow.

"So what's the plan?"

[Assistant]
"...4...Billion..." Torie muttered to himself in disbelief. Behind his helmet, and behind his brain case, Torie's mind surged with infinite possiblities of how much shit he could get with his share. An hour of thinking condensed itself into five seconds before Torie got up and slammed his fist down on the table he was sitting at, his chair disintegrating as he lost focus. "HELL YEAH I'M IN!" is all he said before raacing over to Mimi, eager to hear what was going on.

Practically blowing steam from his nose, Torie kept repeating: "4 billion...4 Billion...a Billion fours..." Drool dripping from his chin onto his shirt. He kept his hands balled to keep from trying to grab the job, worried that he'd get drool all over it. it got to the point that he formed a barrier magic jaw-piece for his helmet, keeping the drool contained.


[System]
Age: Unknown, presumably somewhere in the 40's-50's range.

Gender: Male

Appearance: See above
Back View
Not Shown: His hair being slightly grayed due to age.

World of Origin: Street Fighter, around Street Fighter 3 in terms of Timeline.

Personality: Behold, the wiki!

History: It's basically just a long list of fights.

Abilities:

Ansatsuken/Assassination Fist: The 'pure' form of the martial art taught by the late Goutetsu, Akuma's prowess in this style makes him a terror to face in battle. While the techniques he utilizes are many and varied, a list of the more noteworthy ones will be provided.
* Gohadoken/Great Surge Fist: Akuma channels the Satsui no Hado and his own spirit in equal measure, causing an orb of physical force to erupt forth from his hands. In addition to the 'standard' version, Akuma can perform a number of variants:

	+ Zanku Hadoken/Slashing Air Surge Fist: Fired from an angle in mid-air, otherwise identical to the Gohadoken.
	+ Shakunetsu Hadoken/Scorching Heat Surge Fist: Imbued with thermal energy, causing any target struck by it to catch fire.
	+ Both the Gohadoken and Zanku Hadoken possess amplified versions known as the Messatsu Gou Hadou/Annihilating Great Surge and Tenma Gou Zankuu/Sky Demon Great Slashing Void, respectively. They're just bigger and killier versions of the originals.
* Goshoryuken/Great Rising Dragon Fist: A jumping uppercut to the chest, capable of launching an opponent into the air. The amplified Messatsu-Goshoryu/Annihilating Great Rising Dragon is instead 3 consecutive uppercuts.
* Tatsumaki Zankukyaku/Tornado Slashing Air Leg: A tornado-like spin kick that somehow allows the user to achieve horizontal movement. When empowered into Messatsu Gou Rasen/Annihilating Great Spiral, it carries both the user and the target into the air. Akuma has strong leg muscles, it seems.
* Kongou Kokuretsuzan/Vajra Province Rending Slash: Akuma charges his fist with energy before slamming it into the ground, followed by a lightning bolt striking the ground, and finally an explosion of energy. At full strength, it is capable of tearing small islands asunder. However, use of its full strength is taxing, and Akuma prefers to use a weaker version. This usually limits it to destroying small houses or equivalent structures.
* Ashura Senku/Fighting Demon Flashing Air: A short-ranged teleport of sorts, Akuma renders himself intangible before sliding forwards or backwards, allowing him to phase through solid objects and people. He is still visible and technically 'there' while doing so, allowing anyone capable of striking normally intangible objects to hit him.
* Raging Demon/Shun Goku Satsu/Flash Prison Murder: The ultimate killing technique, allowing Akuma to strike an opponent's very soul. It consists of him using Ashura Senku to slide towards the opponent, grab them, and perform a series of strikes. However, there are limitations. The technique is rather slow to initiate, allowing fast targets to flee or avoid the attack. In addition, it requires that the target possess a soul to work. Zombies, automatons, and other non-living entities will survive, although the strikes will still cause damage. Even if one does possess a soul, there is a counter-measure. By emptying one's self of emotion and thought, a target can survive the technique.

Note: Beings with exceptionally strong souls can survive the Raging Demon, though not without injury.

Satsui no Hado/Surge of Murderous Intent: The source of Akuma's inhuman power, born from mankind's natural violent instinct. By harnessing this, Akuma 'transcends his humanity,' granting him superhuman physical attributes, and the ability to perform the Raging Demon (among other techniques). Side-effects such as mental alterations are mostly noted in the Personality section.

Other:

[User]
From deep within the peaceful rest of sleep Mithias became aware of a soft feminine voice speaking to him. All was blessed blackness, soothing unconsciousness, yet it was smartly interrupted by a relentless call. Incessant, it would not let him dwell in dreams any longer.

Golden eyes cracked open to a blinding light. The brightly lit room was harsh on a vampire, yet not damaging. Mithias brought up a hand to shade himself as he mentally scrambled to remember where he was and what was going on. Was it day? Why was the last thing he remembered being at his father's home in Hawaii? Had he been hit in the head?

Realizing he wasn't under attack, at least not any longer, Mithias sat up and beheld the women in the white habit. If this was a church, it wasn't causing him any harm to be there. Odd... Mithias awoke in complete confusion, yet his nature was to be passive. Tall, lean, yet muscular, he looked like a beast with terrifying intelligence. Long soft hair fell over his shoulders and a clawed hand gripped the edge of the stone slab he had been resting on. Mithias realized with some relief that his weapons were still on him.

"I profusely apologize for bringing you here," she stated... The Lady Lydia went on with her explanation quickly, a edge of rush in her words that she was probably unaware of.

Mithias followed her explanation with ease, although he didn't yet buy any of it. As she spoke, he looked around, verifying how 'real' everything seemed, trying to remember where he had been only moments ago and actively denying the illusion that seemed to be all around him now. However denial wasn't making any of it disappear.

He stood up, black jacket falling in place to hide all but the tips of twin blades at his sides, and he looked at the woman. Whether or not any of this was true, or if his mind had been hijacked by his sire, or even if he was dead, he'd have to find out later. For now, he would go along with it. Immortals generally had time to be patient. Then he asked her, "Why did you pick me?"

[Assistant]
Resident shithole.

Mithias the vampire stood silently. The woman didn't answer. No one else was there, yet their scents lingered. He knew this room had been filled with life not so long ago, at least it seemed so. Now they were gone. His black brow furrowed ever so slightly in frustration at the lack of answers. Was he really needed for some universe-saving mission? ...hardly. Three portals stood open like gaping mouths.

Finally convinced there was no other exit, Mithias chose at random the zombie apocalypse. As he walked through, his boots found pavement. A pleasant afternoon light greeted him as did the contrasting odor of smoke and decaying garbage. His yellow-gold eyes found the corpse of civilization before him, buildings abandoned, vehicles left askew in the streets, and not a soul nearby to make a sound.

It was depressing really, a vision he had hoped to never witness in his own world, the bitter end of humanity. Wind blew some trash around, and Mithias began walking. Inspection of graffiti warnings and billboards gave alarming information. Mithias swallowed, fear creeping up even the back of his neck. Was every single human on earth dead? Was this all a metaphor for some spiritual lesson he had not learned in life? He trudged on, thankfully unaffected by the need for things like sleep and water.

Some time later, a movement in the distance caught the vampire's keen eye. It was a human, no... it was a zombie. A pale-skinned woman wandered with whitened eyes in front of a rundown Walmart building. A sign for ammunition still hung in the window. Mithias focused on the zombie woman as he approached curiously. Instinctively, he avoided making any sound with his supernatural grace and came right up to her. She didn't appear to see him, didn't react. Baring his fangs he sniffed and sneered at her in disgust, anguish in his eyes. What a waste. Her life was gone and her blood was completely putrid. It seemed the zombies didn't have a taste for vampire.

Passing her, Mithias entered the broken and ransacked store. Tearing into the guncases caused some noise, but he was now armed to the teeth. ... Hell, it never hurt.

Back on the street, he continued to walk. If normal, living humans still existed in this world, he had to find them. He had to find out what had happened and protect them, and eventually, he'd have to drink. He headed at random toward the group that had a girl in a monowheel and someone around 10' tall in full armor. At some point he would be approaching the human compound, having been led by a faint scent of warm blood.

[User]
Goldibanne, Face of Innocence(?)

Goldibanne smiled pleasantly at the men in front, and kicked her feet cheerfully as the van drove along. This was a downright unpleasant world, to be certain. All the animate dead, all the fire and burning, all the highly unpleasant odors that seemed to rather permeate the air... ah, this was really quite awful. It was in dire need of sprucing up... and of some serious cleaning. Very bloody cleaning, but cleaning none the less. The living doll patted the huge wolf lying on her with a smile, humming a little to herself as she did. Certainly their surroundings were miserable, but there was no reason for her to be miserable herself, was there?

Upon their arrival, Goldibanne noticed that there were a few more people who had appeared, definitely seeming to be others who had been summoned by Lydia. Well, it was time to get out.

"Okay, wolfy," she said, brightly, patting Sif again, "I need to get up, so it'd be nice if you got off of Goldibanne's legs~"

[Assistant]
Let New York say fuck Sleep - Shotaro and Philip

"Ah! You're right, that's not important now." Shotaro shook his head, disappointed in himself for getting distracted by something so relatively small when there was the whole "world at stake" deal in front of him.

"I still stand by that this would be an interesting topic to talk about," Philip defended himself in his typical straightforward tone, "But you are right, we should be more serious about this. Another time then." He closed his eye again to focus on the bookshelves flying past within his mind. "Keywords if you please, Shotaro.

So as not to fall behind and start losing time, Shotaro slung his arm around Philip's shoulder and started walking with him to follow Satori. "Keywords: New York City; Popular Locations; Underground."

"Rather vague terms… But I'll see what I can look up with it." Philip remarked. The shelves in his mind narrowed significantly to just a few, but there was still a great number of books and information to sift through.

[User]
Kagatsuchi

"Murgle." Tailred's face turned pale as she saw Arakune engulf the two girls and did SOMETHING to them. Judging from the fact that there was no struggling and the mass looked the same as before disappearing itself, she assumed the thing acted as some sort of transporter- taking the two of them somewhere. That was both good and bad- good because no immediate harm would come to the two (hopefully) and bad because now she knew naught where they went. Well, rule of thumb in this situation would be to check places like warehouses or out of the way buildings or abandoned factories since that was how villains often did things. "Hup." Bending down low for a moment, the girl then launched herself several hundred feet up before using her pyrokinetic abilities to transform her slight frame into a fiery falling star towards the nearest group of any such suspicious places.

[Assistant]
Sir Artorias

Now that they had arrived, one of the two humans that had been more or less rescued from the horde of what was frankly cannon fodder had gone off, and Artorias took a minute to evaluate the buildings around them: too small. At least, too small for him to fit comfortably whilst standing erect, which was more than could be said for if Gough had been in his place. So he waited calmly for their remaining guide to actually show them where to go.

Sif, meanwhile, gave Goldibanne a reproachful look at being called 'wolfy', but moved when Artorias--taking note of the wolf's continued immobility--said their name, jumping off and sitting beside the wolf knight.

[User]
Shirabe Tsukuyomi - Red Blade of War

With another sigh, Shirabe disengaged her monowheel, settling back onto the skate-gears in her boots. The soldiers around the base were making her slightly on edge, even though her FIS days were long behind her and this was another universe entirely.

[Assistant]
Akuma, Supreme Master of the Fist
- 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi

While Akuma's throw had been mostly successful, his attempt to strike the fop in the process failed. To make matters worse, he was caught off guard by a sudden shockwave emanating from the doll. The blast sent him back a fair distance, leaving Akuma unable to reach Relius prior to the latter's retreat. Thus, the martial artist was deprived of a fulfilling battle for the second time today.

"We will conclude our duel in the future, then."

With that, Akuma's attention shifted to his supposed allies. The gold-clad man had mysteriously vanished, perhaps through some unknown sorcery. Two of the young girls had been engulfed by the black mass, and appeared to have been killed. While they were mere children, they had chosen to become combatants, and met a violent end. Such was the life of a warrior. As for the red-haired child, she had chosen to abandon them entirely, for reasons unknown to Akuma. Finally, the youth in the black coat seemed to be heading towards the din of battle in the distance. Viewing this as the only sensible course of action, Akuma fell in behind him.

Perhaps he'd find a worthy opponent in this world yet.


[System]
25 | Female | Human

Appearance:

On the smaller side for an armed combatant, Narcissa standing at a petite 5' 3." She has dark hair, with a noble tint of blue, matching azure eyes, pale skin, and an impeccable, smug posture that seems to compensate for an otherwise diminutive frame.
Personality: Narcissa is a woman that is ambitious, conceited, and not quite humble at all. Nonetheless, she was raised well, and honoring the principles of noblesse oblige, offers an honorable and generous disposition when obliged, and otherwise shows an educated upbringing in her demeanor and manner of speech.

Although she carries the tainted name of her family house, she remains proud of her heritage and works hard to restore its name to its former standing. Despite her subtly grating personality and a preponderance towards self-promotion, her true intentions can be a tough nut to crack. It's not entirely wrong to say that her allegiances and motivations are influenced more by political expediency rather than a true devotion to a cause or order. She is unafraid to use morally gray, although not necessarily evil, means to an end either in support of herself or even of the principals she serves to uphold, and when these cracks show through, does little to help the cause of restoring her good name.

Brief Backstory:

House Rauthier was an influential noble family that held a significant marquessate on the Thaln-Velt border. For hundreds of years, they were the stewards of this border region, known for their quality of their knights and the bustling trade city that was the seat of the Marquess of Rauthier. Born of high birth, Narcissa was the third child of the marquess; while she would not be heir to her father's titles, she was still groomed as a knight and protector of realm, a tradition of the family in favor of simply just marrying off their daughters for political prestige.

In the War of the Red Flag, House Rauthier threw in their lot with Phoran Cal, lending their substantial forces to his cause. Some say the Marquess was tricked into aiding the rebellious lord, while others say or he was corrupted or blackmailed, but the truth was that the Marquess had simply been won over by promises of greater power and land. In the end, he and his family were crushed and destroyed in the closing months of the war, with his lands sacked and seized in the subsequent sieges.

Narcissa had always remained skeptical of the rebellion, preferring peace and the status quo, but pursuant to her father's request, and initially won over by the cause, Narcissa fought with them against the Kingdom. As the war continued on, she became disillusioned by the breadth of the treachery involved within her family and the rebels and tried unsuccessfully to convince the rest of her family to cease their support. Seeing the writing on the wall, she defected back to the Kingdom and fighting on their side to the conclusion of the war. In the hopes of preserving the honor of her family name and titles, she entered the order of Iron Rose Knights to redeem both herself, the reputation of her family, and to restore the seat that would now be otherwise her glory. Although it is clear she has dubious motivations, she acquits herself well of the Order's cause, and shows no reason for anybody to doubt her loyalties.

Equipment:

Narcissa holds a lance that ran in her family for many generations as her primary weapon. It is a thin spear made of a lightweight metal alloy that has, according to some smiths, since been lost to recent memory. It has a robust anti-magic enchantment that is able to temporarily disrupt any low to medium level magic that it touches, be it a magic shield, rune, or another magic enchantment on a weapon.

She also has a kite-shield, proudly adorned with her family crest. It has a similar enchantment as her lance, but is a mere facsimile of the original enchantment and only has a minor effect against magic.

Her sidearms of choice are an arming sword of good quality and a simple dirk hidden away, but they otherwise have no notable provenance or ability aside from their workmanship.

Given her smaller frame, her preferred armor is comparatively light compared to other knights for better speed and mobility, forgoing full torso and upper leg armor for a small breastplate over a gambeson and chainmail. This equipment is enchanted for durability and additional stopping power, providing a better approximation to full plate than it otherwise would.

She has additional, heavier armor to make up a full suit if the situation calls for it, but aside from respectable quality, is unremarkable in any respect.

She also has a horse, it's white and likes maple syrup crystals.

Skills:

Narcissa is a respectably trained knight, with reasonable skill in wielding both axes and swords of most variety. Her true skill lies in the polearm, however, learned with impeccable technique and footwork and with a small flair for the dramatic. She's a competent on a horseback, and while isn't particularly gifted at magic, has a keen sense of detecting when or where magic has been used. She also fancies herself a reasonable stateswoman, but really hasn't had much of a chance to put that to the test.

[User]
Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri was startled by the abrupt ambush, with a bandit boldly attacking the captain at the wagon and more emerging from the woods. He wasn't shaken, however; the captain had a plan, and this ambush was not going to thwart it. Hearing Fanilly's rallying cry, he turned and cantered to the left flank. The terrain further in was too wooded for fighting on horseback, but his horse would be useful for getting him into position as quickly as possible, and the attackers had made the mistake of emerging from the thicket instead of taking shelter within it.

The knight reached a suitable location from which to attack from, slowing to a stop. Fleuri discarded his lance and dismounted as soon as he reached the edge of the flank, drew his greatsword from a scabbard tied to the saddle, and briefly adjusted the fit of his helmet. He was ready. As the other knights closed in on the enemy, Fleuri rushed in as well. He circled around into the edge of the forest and charged into the bandits' flank, sword held high. There was no better way to destroy a foe's carefully laid plan and sow panic in their ranks than by hitting them where they didn't expect it. And from the look of this ambush, the bandits' plan was certainly not carefully laid.

Fleuri targeted a bandit at the edge of the enemy band, a man in leather armor, wielding a handaxe and crude wooden shield. "For Reon! For the Order!" he shouted as he charged, both to frighten his foe and to amp himself up for the battle ahead.

His target appeared to panic when he saw and heard Fleuri closing in, instinctively ducking and raising his shield to block the assault. It didn't do any good- the poor angle of the shield enabled the knight's greatsword to cut through it, fatally striking the bandit in the head through his leather skullcap with a sickening noise. The man crumpled to the ground, his left arm held aloft by the shield that was still stuck in his assailant's sword.

Fleuri placed his boot on the shield and pulled on his blood-stained sword, wrenching it free and turning to another bandit. If they were all as poor warriors as the dead man in front of him, this would be less of a battle and more of a slaughter. It was going to be a bloody evening, but by Reon, none of these murderers would be allowed to escape.

[Assistant]
"Understood."

His dismount was immediate, swinging off of his steed with practiced ease and drawing his longsword upon landing. Sliding free of scabbard upon his back (hitched up in the transition from mounted to grounded to facilitate this), it glinted dangerously in the evening light, well-kept but otherwise... nondescript. He was neither the caliber nor pedigree of knight to name his blade.

However.

Seize the initiative. Take it and press it for all you're worth. Fight in The Before.

He surged forward, blade floating above his shoulder in a muted form of the High or Roof Guard, covering distance between the road and the nearest bandit who had appeared from the treeline that he had moments before been eyeing to enter as a scout within moments. The man was somewhat scrawny, wearing a patchwork armoring of layered hide and mail near his joints, and upon his countenance was an expression that suggested a note of trepidation at the idea of facing the Iron Rose Knights in open combat. Understandable.

He held in his hands a sword. It was short and shoddily made, the type Gerard had seen and faced often in those seven years before knighthood. Chipping ran its length, and the knuckles squeezed white as the highwayman's grip attempted to strangle whatever wood was beneath the pommel's leather. The blade was covered in a brownness that suggested not rust— but blood. Recently dried, lining up with the attack they had stumbled into. Unforgivable.

The knight's eyes shone and his guard raised higher, now overhead. He had neither caliber nor pedigree to his name, true, and his sword had no title bestowed upon it— But when the order was given, neither he nor it would hesitate. The Before and The After were a wellspring to all skills, and he had learned to always seize The Before. When you have initiative, you control the fight, and your opponent wilts under having to defend himself from you.

The bandit stepped back, raising his sword high—

And Gerard was upon him.

From the Roof Guard, the brigand made a natural assumption: the knight was to strike upon his head like hammering an anvil. He had a decent chance of deflecting such a blow if his blade wouldn't break from the force— yet no such blow came. Instead the knight drew a glinting arc, stepping out to his right and bringing the blade around to bite into his skull, top hand now leading and thumb pressed against the flat of his blade. Driven by the full rotational chain of his legs and hips, this Thwarting Strike was one of the master cuts he had repeated thousands of times against any manner of foe, real or imagined.

The Bandit fell.

Onto the next. They were not far.

Now in the Ox Guard after that initial hew, Sir Segremors spotted the bandit's fellow charging him, before the first's corpse had even hit the ground. Trying to use his comrade as a sort of concealment or distraction, then. With his woodsman's hatchet held high, ready to split the knight's skull in two, the man let loose a war cry. He had merely one or two strides left to be in range for such a feat. Cunning, after a fashion.

Gerard's rear hand re-positioned, pushing against his pommel as he stepped into the man's advance with a thrust. Simply extending his lead arm and putting his weight into it was almost natural from Ox. Startled by the sudden shortening of the space between them, his foe wrenched his arms downward, trying to capitalize or even just react—

But fell short and limp, bouncing off of the crossguard of the sword he had run himself onto.

The young knight kicked the body free, taking in the battlefield that had emerged as he did so. Dame Larette had set to one flank, Sir Jodeau another. The Vanguard was engaging the bandit's in earnest. He spied Druncarde, Knight of The River, moving towards the rear of their group and caught up with what seemed to be a bunch of harassing crossbowmen. Too far now for Gerard to help without passing through most of the others.

Perhaps lend more strength to the front, then.

He set off again. It was as always.

Onto the next. They were not far.

[User]
With the foliage density increasing and the increasing difficulty of traversing up the path, many of the knights in the column, including Narcissa, were getting ready to dismount. After that, according to the captain's plan, they would split off the scouting party to search up ahead. That plan had been barely formalized when it was shattered; just before the group was going to dismount en masse, the wreckage of a small cart came into view, accompanied by a dead horse and a bloodied body alongside. Narcissa remained alert as she took the opportunity to dismount, but she wasn't too concerned. If it was a man simply left for dead, they would just move on. If it was an ambush, they could easily fight it off. Either way, it was prudent to establish a small perimeter around the area before inspecting the wreckage, and Narcissa was about to open her mouth to give an order to that effect, the idea so obvious to her that she didn't think the Knight Captain needed to deign herself with it.

That was, until the young captain literally jumped from her horse and sprinted up to the man, walking right into what was an obvious ambush after all. "Idiotic!" She muttered, watching as Fanilly barely dodge a volley of arrows and then a engage with a concealed bandit. The call to arms was sloppy, with no plan, but in a proper order like the Iron Rose, a well-trained group of knights didn't need one to effectively respond and counter an ambush. Hastily adjusting her equipment as more bandits emerged from the forest, Narcissa quickly rushed forward with spear and shield to reform the van around the captain.

A man armed with sword and buckler got in her way before that objective could be achieved, but immediately sensing his disadvantage against the reach of Narcissa's weapon, attempted to disengage. Not giving him the chance to run, she immediately jabbed for neck but was blocked by his shield. The bandit, forced back into an engagement, swiped with his sword, but bounced harmlessly off her kite-shield, and a second thrust downwards caught the bandit in his foot, causing him to stumble to the ground with a yell of pain. Not hesitating, she swung her spear down once more with another jab, delivering the coup de grace before charging in again.

One of the other noble knights, a Larette, had somehow made it ahead of her, rallying for a spear push. In a split-second decision, she agreed the decision was expedient, and pushed in towards her. "Larette. I'll cover your rear." Announcing her intentions, she engaged another bandit just off to her side, deflecting an axe before replying in kind with a skewer to the torso, only to be immediately engaged by another one immediately afterwards...

The battlefield was quickly getting messy, but Narcissa still remained fully confident of their superiority. She only had to take one look at the fear on their faces when they realized they were being engaged by knights.


[System]
Age: 24
Ability: Sleep Inducement

[User]
Louis closed the door and latched it as Isaac began digging for the supplies he needed to fix the damage Louis had caused. Louis felt the guilt painted across his face as he watched. He quickly decided to do something else with himself to try and hide his involvement. What am I doing? It's not like he could possibly guess what really happened. Louis dipped into Isaac's refrigerator, looking for something to take the edge off. There were a handful of beers left on the shelves and Louis sighed. What better time to start drinking than now, right? He snatched one off the shelf, then, as to not seem rude, scooped up two more. He walked across the room avoiding eye contact with either of them and placed the two extra beers on the coffee table.

 Louis moped around the room while Isaac worked. The room was awkwardly silent, minus the occasional grunt from their new acquaintance. Louis, while lost in his own mind, began to subconsciously tidy up the room. He had been doing this for several minutes before Isaac turned around to him and asked flatly, "What are you doing?"

 "Huh? Oh. Uh, I dunno. My bad." Louis put the nicnac back where he had picked it up from and drank the rest of his beer. It had an undesirable taste to it and Louis couldn't help but wonder what the hell people saw in the flavor. He shrugged and tossed it over towards the trash can. It tipped the rim and bounced back onto the floor with an overly exaggerated clang, enhanced by the tense emotions filling the space. "... Sorry." Louis shuffled over to the can and replaced it into the trash can. At a loss for what to do with himself, Louis flopped down onto a recliner and sighed deeply.

 He won't figure it out, fool. Not unless you keep behaving like this. Compose yourself. Louis wondered for a moment if these were his thoughts, or Isaac's. He hadn't known Isaac to be able to send thoughts, but the thought lingered. He shrugged it off, calmed himself, and discovered just how tired he had become; it really had been an outrageously long day.

[Assistant]
Ryan grunted as the hook pierced is skin. Luckily he wasn't hurt too badly, his gear had done its job and taken most of the slide for him. He thought back to his bike, and how they'd stashed it in a desolate alleyway under a tarp and some miscellaneous crates an trash. The man currently sewing Ryan's stuffing back in was oddly well versed in making something disappear in plain sight.

 Suddenly Ryan realized he didn't know either of his rescuers names. He turned back to see the other man was shuffling awkwardly around the apartment, fidgeting with things here and there as he went. He seemed uncomfortable, which made Ryan uncomfortable. This WAS a very peculiar situation that he only now payed attention to. There was just an explosion that knocked him off his bike, yet his rescuers seemed unscathed....so why were THEY in such a hurry to make themselves scarce?

 He remembered the awkward explanation they gave him when he'd asked what happened. Gas Leak. But how would they know? Maybe they just didn't want to be mixed up in whatever happened, it is very easy to catch blame out of innocence, by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 The sound of a glass bottle hitting the floor shook Ryan out of his thoughts.

 "Sorry." Said the pacing man as he picked the bottle up and placed it in the trash.

 The jolt seemed to wake Ryan up a bit, his heart was pounding.

 As the man plopped into a recliner, the room became quiet again.

 "I never got a chance to thank you for pulling me out of the street," Ryan said, breaking the silence. He looked back and forth at each of the men, "Thank You."

[User]
"Of course," Louis was still wandering around the room. "I'm Lou, by the way. Well, Louis, but Lou is fine. The nurse is Isaac." Isaac shot him a look. Louis couldn't tell whether he was upset about Louis revealing his name or calling him a nurse. Louis cracked a smile for the first time since the fight and went on fiddling around the apartment.

 Issac finally snapped at Louis's insufferable pacing, telling him to turn on the television or find a book. He opted for the television. He clicked on the T.V. and a news channel came to life across the black screen. Louis finally stood perfectly still as he watched the breaking story of a warehouse explosion downtown. The newscaster went on to relate this to the burning of another building in the city; Louis's building. He went on to tell a story of a similar explosion that occurred two years ago at a local market. One person was connected to all three incidents. Louis. His picture came up on the screen, followed by security footage from the warehouse, enhanced on Louis as he entered the warehouse. Louis could also make out Isaac, but the camera luckily failed to get a shot of his face.

 Louis turned around. The two on the sofa were staring at him, expressionless. "No, I can explain. I'm not. That's not. It's not like that."

[Assistant]
"With the inferno finally under control, the search for the men suspected of setting the fire is now underway-"
Isaac turned the T.V. off with the remote, "Maybe T.V. wasn't my best suggestion."
He looked back up at Louis and stood up, "You only gotta explain to him, but when we have time."
Isaac went to the kitchen to wash his hands, and retrieved the beer that Louis had placed on the coffee table and paced around the room, but not as anxiety-ridden as Louis had appeared to be. Tapping one finger against the beer bottle, Isaac would glance outside the window through the curtains. The clear night sky was obscured by heavy clouds, rolling thunder, and the wind carrying the faint sounds of the city down the streets.

Great, back in the spotlight. Well, not me at least.

A lone lamp and the overhead lights of the stove top illuminated the penthouse. The fact that Isaac could still suture up a wound in near darkness impressed him, but not enough to ignore the issue at hand. He began thinking of how his fight at the warehouse was abruptly ended, but not by the explosion. During that moment, he thought of hitting the guy in the throat, but as he thought it, the girl had clothesline him. Isaac controlled her, he had to, it wasn't just a coincidence, nor the first time.
If I can control one person, put a group in a trance, and see what others see, what else could I do? Who- no, how many can I control?

Isaac let out a long winded sigh and chugged the last of his beer, "Well we've all had a hell of a day, and I'm about to hop in the shower. Food is a thing we should do to. So while I'm showering, there's plenty in the fridge so help yourselves."

Suddenly, a stinging sensation surged around Isaac's elbow, and as he looked down, a part of skin was red, tender, and burnt.
I knew I couldn't have been that lucky.

"I hate to take control, but with all due respect, I'm gonna make a sturdy suggestion." Isaac said grabbing the other beer from the table and tossing it towards the man on the couch.

"And that is?" Louis asked.

"Well, doctor," Isaac sarcastically belched out, "Your face is now plastered on the news, you say your place burnt down, and so did some of the industrial park. SO you don't have many places to go."
Isaac then realized how harsh he sounded, "You can take the guest bedroom. If not, then you do what you do."

He then turned to the man still sitting on the couch, trying his best not to be heartless, "And you, whatever your name is, can take the office, there's a couch there and bedding in the closet. However, same rule applies. You can stay or leave, but you won't leave until we explain what happened."

Isaac tossed the bottle into the trash clear across the room. "Any objections?"

[User]
"My name is Ryan," he answered, suddenly feeling out of place. Explosions, fires, and fugitives....the day wasn't over yet. He was sure something else beyond credibility was just waiting to find its way into his day before sunset.

 Whatever the case, he was done trying to understand his recent eventful hours and had come to one conclusion. Whatever these people may have done, or are accused of doing, they saved his life, stitched him up, gave him shelter, a beer, and now are offering him food. How bad could they possibly be?

 "Thanks for letting me crash-" The one called Lou snapped his attention at Ryan. "...on the couch....thanks for letting me crash on the couch." Ryan let out a small chuckle, but Lou and Issac remained silent.

 "....cause.....crash....has dual mean-" Ryan looked down at his shoes. Yes Ryan. Puns. This situation needed puns. Idiot.

[Assistant]
Louis cringed at the pun. And then the explanation of the pun. Isaac was shaking his head with pity as he exited the living area. "Listen, Ryan. About the whole.... News, situation. I want to explain it. I need to explain it, or else, I'll be the only one to think that I'm crazy." Louis sat in a recliner with a heavy thud and with a heavy sigh, he released his inner demons. "It was two years ago. I had just moved into town, just started working at a food joint as a bus boy, just trying to make it here until I could afford to go to school full time. Work got busy, I never went to school. I just got stuck in a rut. Well, one day, while shopping at that supermarket, the impossible happened. The air around me got incredibly hot, but no one else seemed to notice. I felt like my skin was boiling. But then, suddenly, it just stopped. That's when I woke up in a hospital bed. Three weeks, I was in a vegetative state. The building had exploded and collapsed. They found me in two days while clearing debris. The area around me was scorched but my body was fine. The only damage caused was from the structure falling on me. Chalked it up to luck, and began my rehabilitation. Fast forward, to last night. Fresh out of rehab, I went to my home, only to find out that it now belonged to the city bank. Regardless, I needed a place to sleep and I knew my way into the house without a key. While I slept there, the house caught on fire. I then chalked it up to bad luck or a curse or something. Then, little odd things kept happening and..." Louis paused for a long yawn. It had been an exhausting day. "I met up with Isaac and he helped me find a safe place to stay, or so we thought. We got in a fight with some thugs and the building went up in smoke because of me. Because of the thing that I--"

 Louis sat there, in the recliner, head slumped over. A light snore occasionally broke the silence. He had fallen asleep in the middle of his explanation.

[User]
Ryan listened as Lou explained, he seemed so regretful and no homo it touched him. He knew these people couldn't be bad. Such a hard life Lou had been through and Ryan connected with that. As he explained some of the strange things that had been happening around him, Ryan's mind began racing. He surged with energy, maybe he wasn't crazy. He started to connect the dots. These events were very similar to Ryan's....minus the....fire....and explosions....

 Ryan leaned forward to pick up his beer and took a long swig. There was definitely gonna be some drunken conversation tonight over life and whatever these strange things had to do with them. The silence broke his train of thought. His brain and his heart were racing, and as he looked back to Lou to hear the rest of the story, he realized Lou had passed out.

 One too many. Ryan thought.

 or was it.....no. Nope. No. Uh uh.

 Ryan realized his surge of energy. The same he'd felt in class, that seemed so out of place while everyone around him drooled on their desks. Could he really be....? Ryan shook his head and stood up. He reached out to shake Lou awake, "Hey man....you alright?"

[Assistant]
As Louis began explaining, Isaac walked to his room and into the bathroom. Grabbing a tank top, jeans, and a towel from the closet, and proceeded to shower. Through out the shower, Isaac was thinking about how his migraines were gone. He'd been plagued with them for years, but it made him realize that one the rare days he didn't have a migraine, did he subconsciously control someone to relieve the pressure? Those days were rare and few, but a blessing when the pain subsided. Now the pain was no longer a problem, and he was aware he could control people, and see what they see.
Isaac stepped out and dried himself off, threw on his clothes and wiped the fog off the mirror.
There was some chatter, and a gradual silence. He didn't hear Louis or Ryan talking. No doors opening or closing, and the T.V. was still off.

Now is a good time to try out something.

Isaac looked deep into the mirror, breathed in, exhaled, and stared into his reflection's eyes. His vision began to shift like he was looking underwater, and then he saw a dimly lit room. Looking through eyes that were looking at Louis, slowly talking then slumping his head forward.

Isaac blinked back into his own head, "Shit."
He walked out quickly into the living room, "Ryan-" Isaac let out a massive yawn, "Why is-" Another yawn, "Dude-" and Isaac fell to the floor fast asleep.

[User]
Ryan stood perfectly still as his eyes shifted from Issac's collapsed body, to Lou, sound asleep in the recliner. He was thriving with energy, and his mind was racing even faster now, his heart was slamming into his chest like a hammer, so fast it felt like it was humming. He lifted his beer up to the light and inspected it closely.

 Maybe there's something in the beer. Could be a side affect from the gas leak. Maybe they breathed something enough in to make them all sick. But I'm not sick. I feel Fine. I feel great! Dude you totally did this. Well that's terrible! AND AWESOME!

 He couldn't shut his brain off, and the thoughts were coming so fast he could barely pick one out from the others. He had to slow down if he was going to figure out a solution. Slow down.

 Ryan thought back to school, and how everyone seemed to liven up as he relaxed. How the hell am I supposed to relax NOW?

 He leaned over to try and shake Lou awake again, but he just lay there, his long deep breaths filling his chest. Ryan was struck with an idea. Fresh air works wonders.

 Trying to calm himself, Ryan intentionally walked as casually as he could over to the window, and slid it open. He noticed a fire escape on the other side, a good thing to have with Lou around and climbed through the window with his beer and sat on the hard steel grate. He took a deep breath in, and a long swig of his beer and waited. He tried not to think about anything, just stared out at the city and watched the lights as his heart rate began to slow to a normal pace, and his thoughts almost dissipated.


[System]
---

---

There's no advantage to hurrying through life.

---

The basics

|| NAME||
Kyle Trager
|| GENDER ||
Male
|| AGE ||
17
|| WATCHTOWER ||
Cactus
|| SEXUALITY ||
Heterosexual....mostly. Sometimes wonders what kissing a guy would be like
|| RELATIONSHIP STATUS ||
Single

---

Here's a bit more
|| POSITIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS ||
* Friendly
* Calm
* Flexible
* Patient

|| NEGATIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS ||
* Indecisive
* Apathetic
* Emotionless

|| QUIRKS ||
* Believes in the supernatural
* Is right handed but plays guitar with his left
* Is prone to fidgeting with things

|| HOBBIES ||
* Playing Guitar
* Swimming
* Rock Climbing

|| LIKES & DISLIKES ||
+ Spending time outside
+Playing video games
+Smoking weed on occasion
+Watching television
- School
-Being forced to do things
-People who are too emotional

---

Final stretch
|| BIOGRAPHY ||
For much of Kyle's life his family wasn't in the best of spots. They lived in a nice enough place, but things always seemed a little tight. That all changed though when his grandfather died. Apparently he had a lot of money, and luckily Kyle's mom was his favourite daughter, so after that money wasn't so tight. Often times Kyle feels lucky he grew up without all that money, it taught him respect and humility. Now money wasn't an issue so his family could go on more vacations, and just do more in general.

Kyle doesn't do the best in school. Mostly because there seems to be an endless torrent of take home work from his perspective. He's fine doing school work while at school but when he goes home that should be his time. His lack of care for a lot of things is what made his parents push him in to a summer job. At least this was something Kyle figured he wouldn't mind much. He'd be outdoors and alone, kind of, for the summer.
|| 90'S THEME SONG ||
Basket Case - Green Day

Sometimes I give myself the creeps
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me
It all keeps adding up
I think I'm cracking up
Am I just paranoid?
Or am I just stoned

---

[User]
Tori Frelin

---

---

This was going to be the last trip to the market before the whole summer job began. Tori stepped through the doorway with a sandwich in her hand, suddenly greeted by a gust of wind from the air conditioner. Ahh, how much she loved East Asian markets. They were the only ones that sold silkworms. She adjusted the straps of the backpack she was wearing. She had had barely enough money to buy herself a sturdy bag. Although jobs at graveyards were boring, they paid a lot. She was kind of glad that she got fired, though, as it led her to the job she was taking up now. She had never really connected with nature before. She had always stayed inside all day working away at the projects and tests that her school required her to do. This was going to be great.

After picking up a shopping basket, Tori turned around the corner to find the aisle with the cans of silkworms. Locating the cans, she studied each one carefully. These would have to last her the whole summer. Tori basically dumped the entire row of the cans into the basket. "Perfect." She rushed towards the cashier, not wanting to be late for her job. "Samanweonibnida," the woman said.

"What? Oh, sorry, I don't speak Korean," Tori replied.

"It is forty dollars."

Tori handed her the cash and impatiently waited for the woman to be done. As soon as the woman handed her the receipt, Tori ran out of the market, towards the bus stop. The bus ride was going to take her approximately 2 hours, and she was going to have to walk for half an hour after that.

She ended up waiting for the bus for about 30 minutes. While she was waiting, Tori carefully counted the cans. "Twenty…I hope that's enough." She took a bite out of her sandwich. In all that hurry, she had forgotten to eat the precious meal she had managed to get in her hands. Quickly stuffing the sandwich in her mouth, she reached for a can of silkworms. Immediately, she stopped herself. She was going to have to save these cans for when she got there. After all, she ate more when she got nervous.

She slept for most of the ride there. She was extremely tired, as she hadn't gotten any sleep last night. She was way too excited for this job. She would be able to talk to more people!

Tori jolted awake as soon as she heard the driver announce that they have arrived at Camp Kanarock. She rushed off the bus with her backpack. She didn't have a duffel bag or anything, for she didn't have a lot of belongings to bring with her. Just a few pairs of clothes and toiletries. Nothing fancy. Tori started to walk, taking in the views around her.

---

As Oliver was explaining the rules, Tori looked over at the desk. There were many rocks and stones scattered everywhere. This was going to be her place. When Oliver made sure she knew everything, she stuttered, "Uhm, uhh…yeah, sure…"The way up to the watchtower was interesting. Tori tripped definitely more than once. That was probably because she was wearing old running shoes, but she didn't have any other shoes. She was just going to have to get used to it.

Tori listened intently while Oliver explained everything.

"Hey, um, I have a que-," Tori said, reaching out to Oliver as he turned around to leave the watchtower. It seemed as though he didn't hear because he closed the door on his way out. Disappointed, Tori looked around the room. She had heard that she was sharing the room with another person, but since she was nowhere to be seen, Tori guessed that she wasn't here yet.

Tori walked over to her desk. She carefully took out her rocks and laid them out on the corners, making sure to place one in her pocket. She also pulled out various pieces of string used to make bracelets. She had made a pink chevron bracelet for her 'roomie'. "I hope she likes it…" After putting down her planner and her stickers, she placed her bag on the side of the desk, making sure to put it somewhere she won't trip over.

When Tori looked out the window, she saw a great body of water. She looked down at her map. That body of water was the Jonesy Lake. "Jonesy… JoNEHsy? Joooooooonsey.."

She heard a sound coming from her walkie-talkie. She couldn't hear anything the person said, but she did catch the part with chips crunching. She barely heard the male introduce himself, as she was already talking into the device. "Hey! I'm Tori! I hear you have chips… Where did you get them? I LOOOOOVEEE chips… Especially the vinegar kind. What kind of chips do you have right now?"

[Assistant]
Thursday. It was one hot day in sunny California, though maybe that was a bit of a sign of things to come. At least, that's what Felix hoped for. Things seemed like they were set up to be the start of a nice, relaxed summer. The trip to the camp from the last place he had been staying was short, especially since he was living out of his car. As he pulled up to the camp to park, an audible groan came from him as he saw his parent's vehicle parked there. How had they heard he was going to be here? Parking his old, red 1986 Jeep Cherokee, the teen nearly slammed the door shut.

The heat never seemed to bother the upper class adults, or at least they never showed it. The middle aged man and woman left the their comfortable car, walking swiftly to their rebellious son.

"Felix Anderson Westbrook! How dare you work for such a... Dirty place. Your father and I were right in our-" Dolores, Felix's mother started to shout at the teen, only to be quieted by her husband.

Anthony Westbrook lowered his hand that he used to interrupt his wife, keeping a distasteful look from his expression. "Dolores, that is no way to greet our son. As upset as we are with him, there is no reason to push him further." Dolores kept her mouth shut, nodding as she cast a discreet glare to their disappointment.

"Really? You two are still on about me being a disgrace to the family?" Felix sighed hands rubbing his temples. There went the good feeling about the start to things now, thanks to these two. "I thought you would have understood by now... I don't care about the family name, I don't! I'm here to get a start on what I want to do, on who I want to be. I'm not here for attention from you two so I can get dragged back home and have all your high strung tendencies forced on me with threat of punishment daily."

Felix and his father bickered for what seemed to be some time, until Felix grabbed his duffel bag and his guitar case. He was blatantly ignoring his parents as they tried to coerce him into going home with them. The rebellious teen tried his best not to slam the door to the camp office behind him after he was led in, looking to Oliver, a bit embarrassed as he must have heard all the arguing.

It seemed like his new boss didn't seem to mind though, as he got right to explaining everything once Felix had sat down. Between his parent's failed attempt to force him back into a 'proper' life and the decorations around the office, the teen was far too distracted to catch any of the lecture. Blinking, Felix looked back to Oliver from the man's desk. "Oh... Uh, yeah. I-I got it."

Felix kept in mind what he did catch from his boss, nodding as he looked at the radio. At least it wasn't that bad. Not horribly overbearing rules, a pretty relaxed feel, seemed better than he had initially thought. He snapped from his thoughts, almost not noticing that Oliver had started to lead him off to his tower. He caught up quickly, glad to be wearing light clothing and some tough boots for the walk.

Once in his tower, after having looked at what he had to work with, he nodded, looking to his boss. "Huh, not bad. Think I could get used to this." He turned to Oliver, presented with the binoculars, going to take them. He paused as the man didn't let go, adding onto the rules. It was a tad odd how he got a smile right after being so very serious for a moment. Staring at the binoculars, he waited as Oliver left.

The heavy duffel bag plopped from the floor as Felix slipped it from his shoulder. That held his essentials: clothing, toiletries, notebooks with writing tools. He had a stash of picks in one of the pockets too, if he ever ran out of them on his person. The guitar case on the other hand, he set lightly on the bed, opening it to see his prized possession. Taking it out and setting the case aside, Felix sat himself on his bed, legs hanging off the side, his radio plopped down beside him. Starting to strum a couple cords, the teen nearly missed the chatter on the radio.

Sounded like some of the other rangers were already here and just getting to introductions. Sounded like a nice bunch, so far. He was tempted to introduce himself, but he still was a bit on edge thanks to the 'welcoming party' when he got to camp. Keeping tabs on the radio, Felix continued to play, nothing coherent, more of a random assortment of notes in no good order.

[User]
Kyle was sitting in the passenger seat of the car as his mom drove. He had the window down and his head almost out of it, almost like a dog. He heard his mom talking, he wasn't really listening though. There had been many conversations in his family about this job ever since he had decided to take it about a month ago. Kyle had been told repeatedly how he didn't need to take this job, he could get one closer to home. Ever since they had come in to a substantial amount of money his parents had not wanted him or his sister to work bad jobs. He sighed, "Mom, we've been over this, I think this job'll be good for me." He moved his head away from the window and faced his mother, "I'll be outdoors, you're always saying I'm spending too much time playing my games and watching my shows. Plus it's safe, do you really think they'd let a bunch of teenagers be out here it it wasn't safe?" He saw his mother process this for a minute before opening her mouth to say something, but he interrupted her, "No mom, no buts, we're almost there. Plus, if I were to leave now what kind of person would I be? It wouldn't be very respectful or responsible, you guys raised me better than that." That was the end of the discussion, Kyle was glad he wouldn't have to have it again.

They arrived at the main office shortly after they finished talking. Kyle grabbed his things from the back, hugged his mom goodbye, and went inside. Without the wind from the moving car blowing in his face Kyle realized how hot it was today. The AC in the office was doing its best, but he was still too hot for his liking, especially since he wasn't doing anything. Oliver finished up his opening speech which Kyle had heard almost none of, not wanting to be rude though when he noticed Oliver had finished he replied with a somewhat shaky, "uh, yes, ya, I got it." Then there was the long walk to his watchtower for the summer, which was the furthest one from the office Oliver had informed him. Kyle was happy he had packed on the essentials, clothes, toiletries, acoustic guitar, and some "natural herbs" along with his favourite pipe to smoke them. They got to the tower and Kyle asked for a minute before going up the stairs, "hoo, just need a sec before all those stairs, real hot today, y'know?"

Once Kyle had caught his breath they went up to his new home for the summer, Oliver gave one last speech with a warning then headed on his way. "Why would I leave without my radio?" Kyle wondered aloud as he noticed 2 cots, apparently he'd be sharing for the summer, which was fine as long as the guy was cool. He also noticed that right near his tower was a cave of some kind, he made a mental note that he'd have to go explore it at some point. Kyle grabbed a water from the fridge and took out his guitar to retune it, he found if he ever traveled it would get ever so slightly out of tune which was a bit of a pain. Once it sounded how he liked it he heard some voices on the radio, introducing themselves and whatnot. He picked up his own radio and figured he should get in on the conversation, "Hey there, this is Kyle from watchtower Cactus."


[System]
Runan Isles Savior Corps

---

Established in the wake of Westwel's destruction, the Runan Isles Savior Corps is by no means the most impressive program on Illun, but it's well-funded and well-run by a few survivors of Westwel's own Corps.

Character Info

Name – Besca Darroh
Age – 35
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Originally from Westwel, Besca Darroh has been around Saviors her entire life. Her grandfather had helped fell the Modir who would become "Dragon," and her father had headed Westwel's burgeoning Savior program. She met dozens of pilots, watched as their connection to the Modir ate away at their minds and bodies. Other nations treated their pilots like a resource to be burned through, kept at arm's length in all but public affairs. Besca, however, went out of her way to engage with Westwel's pilots and even piloting candidates, caring after them with a degree of humanity which was, frankly, missing in the programs of other nations. Her methods were derided as frivolous and naïve by her peers, but the pilots appreciated it, which, to her, was all that mattered.

She lost many things in Westwel's fall; her home, her father, her friends, and no small piece of her faith in humanity, but ironically enough she didn't lose her job. When Runa took in her country's refugees, and subsequently acquired their first Savior, they came to the last living member of Westwel's program for help in founding their own.

Nowadays, Besca doesn't often involve herself in the politics of the program. Technically speaking she isn't even chief of operations—a position occupied by the Runan government—but rather, her duties revolve around "pilot maintenance." While she hasn't lost her desire to make life easier for the pilots, she isn't nearly as incorrigibly optimistic or sunny as she once was.

Character Info

Name – Dahlia St. Senn
Age – 18
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Dahlia was a toddler when her home was destroyed by the Modir, spirited away from Westwel in the arms of a family friend. She spent the first fourteen years of her life in the quiet, lakeside town of Hovvi. She was, like many children, absolutely enthralled by the Saviors, so when she tested positive and was whisked away into orbit, Dahlia thought her dream had come true. She missed her friends, and her adoptive father, but this was her opportunity to do something important. This was her chance to help.

She had no idea.

Runa's Savior, Dragon, had not been phased by a single pilot until Dahlia entered the cockpit. With its potential finally unleashed, she was able to end invasions within minutes—which was crucial, because she couldn't remain connected for much longer than that before the giant's neural regeneration reached critical levels.

Dahlia has become Runa's WMD, and as such, she actually doesn't pilot as much as she did before R.I.S.C. acquired its two other Saviors. Besca has become rather protective of her, not wanting to risk putting her in situations where she may be forced to over-exert herself, or risk being overtaken.

Character Info

Name – Hadrian Ghaust
Age – 38
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Hadrian Ghaust is Helburke personified. He is strong, unrelenting, stoic to a chilling degree, and utterly devastating in the cockpit. Ghaust is also a veteran pilot, having commanded the Savior Marrowman in service of the Helburken crown for 20 years, and despite a phasing speed so slow that he rarely deigns to use his magic at all, he was well on his way to becoming one of his country's most accomplished pilots.

However, Ghaust's priority has always been the fight against the Modir, and Helburke's clamor for political power is something he viewed with silent disdain. To him, using Saviors to settle diplomatic disputes isn't just wasteful, it's shameful. So, when Helburke ordered him to bring Marrowman to bear against the newly-risen Runa's Dragon, he refused. When, then, he was given the ultimatum of going through with the duel or forfeiting his rank and position, he looked his general in the eye, ripped the pilot's medal from his collar, and left his home behind.

Overnight Ghaust was made a Pariah in Helburke, and his home turned against him. He was forced to leave, and though several foreign programs sought him out, Ghaust denied them all, even passing up a pilot's seat in Eusero. Instead, he went straight to the burgeoning program in Runa, who was more than happy to take him.

Character Info

Name – Safie Calhan
Age – 22
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

R.I.S.C.'s newest pilot, Safie has spent the past year earning her place at Dahlia and Ghaust's sides. Born and raised in Runa's largest city, Queenshand, Safie was one of countless starry-eyed youths who dreamed of the day she'd get to step inside the cockpit of a Savior. A positive connection-test put her on the path, but it was the months upon months of personal training, rigorous study, and nights spent running sims until dawn that pulled her ahead of the other aspirants. With a phase potential speed just above average, she was a perfect fit between Runa's other two pilots.

While Dahlia has accrued something of a heroic mythos about her, she's often reclusive and hesitant to make many public appearances. Safie on the other hand loves to meet the people she's helping, be that with personal visits, answering fan-mail, or simply getting her hands dirty cleaning up after the messier invasions. Some see her approach as distinctly Euseran, but Safie didn't become a pilot for the attention, she became a pilot because it was the right thing to do.

Character Info

Name – Lucis Abroix
Age – 25
Affiliation – Casoban, on loan to the R.I.S.C.

Casoban's sole effort to save Westwel, while ultimately futile, planted the seeds of goodwill between it and Runa. Casoban has always lived in the influential shadows of Helburke and Eusero, but allied with Runa, the two manage a strong presence on the world stage.

As a show of solidarity, Casoban has even begun sending a Savior of its own as backup to Runa's invasions. Enter: Lucis Abroix.

Lucis is perhaps one of Casoban's most beloved pilots, despite having only a handful of deployments to his name. Handsome, personable, with a poetic flare and the voice of an angel, many people back home already consider him the face of Casoban's Savior program—a role he is more than happy to play. Lucis makes regular public appearances, seemingly never missing an opportunity to espouse his love for the beauty of the world, and his burning desire to protect it from the Modir.

[User]
Follen never once pressured her to speak in these sessions. Sometimes Quinn came in ready to go, and would talk almost the entire time, in her own halting way. Others, they would for minutes, quiet, while she thought and he smiled, encouraging but not insistent. Now and then he would scratch something down on his folder, even when she didn't speak, as though he'd heard something anyway.

This time he didn't, though when she finally did break her silence, and mentioned the dream journal, the pen did move. "Oh, well that's alright," he said. "'Busy' is certainly an understatement. I don't think you could be faulted for forgetting your own name in all this, ah, excitement—to make an understatement of my own."

The light in the faux-window was still early-dawn, violets and bloody oranges. No birdsongs today—he sometimes forewent those when he had something that required his focus early in the morning.

"Dreams are important of course, and I'm very interested to hear about them, but I believe the waking world has taken precedence these past few days, wouldn't you say?" He smiled again, knowingly, comfortingly. He so rarely asked her to speak on a topic directly, but now and then it seemed necessary to offer a gentle nudge. "Perhaps you would like to talk about what happened at the duel. Or perhaps you've had quite enough talk about that. Tell me, Quinn, darling: what has been on your mind, really?"

[Assistant]
Of course Doctor Follen would know that she wasn't being forthcoming. Even if she didn't wear her heart on her face, he always seemed to figure it out. Sometimes it hurt, because he knew how to get to what she was trying to avoid. But there was a kind of happiness that came with unburdening herself to him, even if saying what it was made her feel awful. And...she really did have a lot to talk about. It was just hard.

"W—well," she began haltingly, nearly forcing herself to go past an almost inaudible murmur. She knew that Doctor Follen wouldn't blame her, just like Dahlia and Besca hadn't. And even though she'd told them, it was still burning a hole through her and she didn't quite know why.

"When the swordsman Modir had the sword in the ground next to me, I—he—it—" She was stuttering now, struggling to get the words out. A part of her thought that he wouldn't believe her. That he'd call her crazy. She was half convinced that she was.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Doctor Follen would never do that. He'd never hurt her so deeply, she knew with the utmost conviction. If there was anyone she could tell outside of her family, it was him. Another deep breath. And finally, the inevitable third.

"...It s-spoke. To m—me.

"And—and you can ask Besca too!" She sounded almost frantic now. Despite everything, that feeling that he wouldn't believe her was still there. It still clung to her. And it just made it all that much more worse. "it joined the comms! She heard it too! You have to believe me!"

A moment passed. That sudden energy deserted her, and she pulled her legs up onto the chair, just like before. This would be the hard part. The really hard part. It was like picking at a scab. It wasn't that bad to start, but it would just hurt more and more, and once it was done it would bleed for who knows how much longer.

"It...it knew my name, Doctor Follen. It called me by name."

One final deep, deep breath. And then the scab came off.

"It said it—it was h—hunting me. That it had found me there. And that...that it had..." Her voice dropped to a whisper in earnest, hoarse and grating though it was. "That it had found me in Runa." She started shaking violently, more than usual, as the guilt tore back through her. "...It was at...at Hovvi." Her heart turned to lead in her chest and she squeezed her eye shut. Her voice steadily escalated, eventually building up to a pale imitation of a yell:

"It's my fault, Doctor Follen. It's all my fault. They all died because of me. Just because I was there! It's all my fault!"

[User]
Follen's smile fell away, but as Quinn continued to speak his expression didn't harden, nor did it seem to be particularly contemplative. No, he watched her impassively, like it was a statue of himself sat there across from her. A stone man, listening to the ravings of a frightened child. He hardly blinked, it didn't even look like he breathed.

Then, when she had finished he got up from his seat and walked around his desk. He walked past her, to the door, and he shut it—though he did not lock it. Many moments he stood there, his back to her and his hand on the doorknob, staring perhaps, or thinking. It was very quiet. Eventually he let out a breath, and turned back around, but he did not return to his desk. Instead, he came to her side and sat down on the arm rest of the other chair, facing her.

Once again he was quiet for a long time. It was different from before; it wasn't a waiting-quiet, it wasn't him, inviting her to take her time and speak when she was ready. She had spoken, and now, he was thinking. He looked at her, not unkindly, not piteously, but pensively. He was trying to recall something that he had not thought about in a very long time, or perhaps that he thought about often, but could never express quite right.

Eventually he tried anyway.

"Westwel had a population of approximately twenty-three million people, divided between five major cities, and a few hundred larger towns, as well as some villages, some seaside hamlets." he said plainly, as though he were reading off a census report. "Nineteen million were killed in the fall. Another six hundred thousand died in the immediate aftermath, then some more in the following months. Most of the continent was charred beyond saving, and what was left, or what could be healed, was deemed unworthy of the efforts. Now it sits, a blackened stain in the middle of the Carys Ocean. You can find videos from fishing vessels, and drones, and you can see that it's like…a skeleton, with all its meat gone. Parts of the cities still stand, whole rows of sky-scrapers only half-collapsed. You can see towns collapsed into massive fissures, and hills made from the blown-apart bodies of the Gray Finger mountains. Most of it's overgrown now—none of the vegetation looks quite right. It's all twisted, dark, like it's already rotted. Bits of modium in everything. Some scientists think it sprouts with the plants, now, though no one dares go to check for themselves."

He took off his glasses, sniffed. But it wasn't to keep himself from crying, in fact, his eyes were totally dry. He cleaned the lenses on his shirt, absently.

"For a long time I wondered why I'd survived. I'm not a particularly religious man, so I could only truly ask myself, and as I'm sure you're aware by now, our minds are not the most forgiving things when it comes to matters of guilt. I could tell you that eventually I realized how cruel and unfair I was being, and forgave myself for a crime I hadn't committed—but that's not what happened." He brought the glasses up—his eyes seemed so much dimmer without them—and put them back on.

"I did come to the conclusion that attempting to understand why these things happen is completely and utterly pointless. I was convinced that there was no answer, or at least none that would make sense to a man like me. The Modir do what they do with all the sense and cruelty of a hurricane. It is their nature, devoid of motive or reason.

"If you tell me this swordsman spoke to you, that it told you it was hunting you, Quinnlash, I believe you. But if it's true, it changes nothing. A victim is not defined by the intent of the assailant. Whether you are struck by lightning, or a bullet, the reality is the same."

He leaned forward, met her eye. "The Modir attacked you. Why do you believe that is your fault, and not theirs?"