[System]
"When you are a spy you are nothing else. You may wear the mask of another, but it is only a mask."
Nickname/Alias: N/A

Age: 15 / April 2nd, 20XX

Gender: Male

Home Country:

Appearance:
Devin stands at about 1.75 meters tall with brown hair and matching brown eyes. With his active lifestyle he remains well toned despite a horrid diet. He burns his energy with rugby, cricket, and gymnastics. With his athletics and thrill seeking hobbies Devin has a few scars that would make a war hero jealous. Sadly very few have interesting stories other than 'I tried to do X and ended up doing Y'.
Personal Information
Personality:
ESTP - Devin lives in the moment and is a very hands on learner. He has a pattern of dangerous behavior to himself due to being a somewhat relentless thrill seeker. He learns best from people who reach out as equals rather than superiors. If he is approached with a problem he jumps in to solve it rather than discuss it and potential solutions.

Devin is socially active with little in the way of insecurities meeting new people. He is goofy at times, but always polite. He has a a bad habit of of talking down to people when he gets upset or angry at them. Something he inherited from his dad. It isn't so much that he is talking down, but thinks talking slow will make the person understand they need to listen.
Bio:
Devin is the oldest son of Jason and Lisa Coal. Born in Vancouver, BC his family moved to Toronto when his mother got a promotion. As both of his parents are federal employees he got used to the public servant family lifestyle. This meant more often than not he was the one cooking for his twin little brother and sister. He also was the first and still only child of the family to get "the talk" regarding his parents real jobs.

At the age of 12 his parents missed dinner and breakfast one day. This absence made him worry more than normal as there had been no correspondence. Instead three large men arrived the next afternoon and told Devin he needed to come with them. They made it feel like he didn't have a choice when they flashed the same badge his dad had. Thirty minutes later he was at an unmarked hospital with more security than vaccines. At the end of the hallway was his mother getting prepped for surgery with a bullet still lodged in her stomach.

Devin confirmed that afternoon that his father was indeed in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Emergency Response Team. His parents never hid the fact that his dad was a cop, but they did hide the fact that he was one a member of the elite Emergency Response Team. It explained why he would sometimes be gone on 'work trips' or emergency calls into the office, but that wasn't the reason Devin's mom caught a bullet. That was for a reason all her own.

Instead of being a simple pencil pusher in the Canadian bureaucracy machine Devin learned that she was a team leader within Communications Security Establishment (CSE). Her unit specialized in counter intelligence operations which meant she hunted spies and this past mission got switched on them. Instead of hunting a mole it was hunting them and once they knew their cover was blown they escaped, but not before leaving a .45 resignation letter in Lisa Coal.

While Lisa healed from her wound the family healed as well. At first Devin felt somewhat hurt that his parents hadn't shared all these amazing things about their life, but as he grew up and talked with them more he came to understand why they compartmentalized their professional life from their home life. Then on his 14th birthday they both approached him with a small leaflet with the letters S.P.I.G.A. and a one year plan to get him ready for what they were about to drop in his lap. Mich of what he needed to know he already had learned, but now the difficulty and relentlessness of the training was partnered with very clear instructions, goals, and requirements.

It was his mothers idea to send him to S.P.I.G.A. with the hopes he would start to pursue a life of espionage rather than a soldier like his father. It had actually surprised him to hear her talk about it as she had said she originally wanted their children to live outside a life of lies and violence. Recently it had started to cause a division between Devin's parents. Each of them wanted what is best for him; however the problem was they had different ideas of what that meant. So when she decided the school was the right move he gladly agreed.

Jason believed the brotherhood and community you find in the military was the right fit while Lisa, on the other hand, believed it was only putting your life in the hands of someone who valued the bottom line rather than lives. She had seen far to many die because they were a fighter rather than in intelligence. Little did anyone know Devin's mother was not without her own goals as well as her countries.
Spy Information

Talents:
* Gymnastics
* Teamwork
* Teaching
* Sailing
* Expert Marksman
* Rescue Diver (Unofficial)
* Basic Explosive Familiarity
* Mountaineering

Gadgetry:
* Flip Phone (Called Stone A.G.E.)
* Hidden Blades
* Sig Sauer P226 Pistol (Gift from mom)
* Colt Canada C8SFW (Gift from parents)
* Remington Defense CSR (Gift from dad)
* His mothers favorite pen.
* His fathers diving watch.
* Standard Laptop (Encrypted)

Other Items:
* Messenger Bag with hidden storage and lining.
* His mothers favorite pen.
* His fathers diving watch.
* Copy of Lonely Planet Canada
* Several formal suits
* The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
* The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
* Collection of Sunday Crosswords from New York Times

Other Information
* Fluent in both English and French. He also speaks a small amount of Korean.
* The youngest in his troop to earn Eagle in his Boy Scout Troop at 14.
* While he practices shooting with his dad he enjoys code puzzles with his mom.
* Due to his mothers abilities and personality Devin is attracted to strong woman.
* His favorite candy is the H.I. Rowntree & Company concoction Smarties.
* Devin is a patriot who believes in his country and its ability to do good.
* For a hobby his dad and him would assist in training canine unit dogs.
* As a game Devin tries to guess how many countries his parents have visited.
* His fascination with his mothers work has made Devin read true spy stories.
* The only thing he truly respects about James Bond is his fashion sense.

[User]
Flame

Randy stops humming terribly and stands at attention. "I'm Randy Reynolds ahem" He says. "Nice to meet you." He holds out his hand so that the latina he doesn't know the name yet can shake it.

[Assistant]
"Oh", Sunny laughed shyly in reply to Kat. "Sorry 'bout that. This is really my first time talking to a group pf people that's close to my age, so I'm not really that much of an expert. I just thought that since this is a spy academy, we'll be at competition with each other to get to the very top but it's very nice to know we'll all be friends here!", she smiled sweetly.

She sat back next to Shiro, alittle bit closer than before to show her being comfortable around him, then replied to Chris. "I'm really sorry to sound like I'm bragging, but based on the test I took at Pottermore, I'm already considered a Gryffindor. Actually, I'm personally more of a demigod than a wizard." The Lakambini has a library full of books ranging from Spying 101 to cookery to architecture to young adult fiction novels. Sunny's relieved she has read of couple of books so she can relate to whatever her peers are talking about.

She then turned to the other newcomers Randy, Dominique (hearing her French accent just reignited her interest in learning French) and Nikki. "Hey y'all! Pleasure to meet you! Uh Dominique, can I ask you something if you don't mind?", she said to the nice French lady. "Do french fries, french toast, and the french kiss really come from France?", she asked honestly. It might seem like a silly question but she's really just curious. Right now she's focused on getting to know her classmates better. She knows it's going to be one heck of a year for all of them so she's enjoying moments like this that they can spend time and relax together.

It wasn't until Sunny moved closer to Shiro that she had noticed the sword next to him. "Holy crud", she thought as her eyes widen a bit in surprise and horror. "Why haven't I notice it before?". She backed up a little bit from Shiro. One would think that a person who's been handling needles her entire life wouldn't be afraid of any real blades at all, but she believes that a real, honest-to-goodness sword is best admired from afar, precisely 30 feet away from her.

[User]
AJ stood still near the entrance to the main building for a moment. She was looking over the landscape, a large rutsack hanging from her shoulders and wheeled luggage in tow. After a group of students walked past her, presumably heading to their dorm rooms, she did the same. AJ simply followed some of them as they made their way to the Whitley building. She was somewhat dreading going inside, having to introduce herself to a bunch of strangers she'd never seen before in the form of small talk. "So where are you from? Oh, wow, really? What's it like over there?!" Definitely not her thing.

With an low sigh, the young girl pushed the door open to come into view of the large living space with a handful of students already sitting around. AJ immediately noticed the steps leading up to the second floor, and she made her way over as she smiled at some of the students who were looking at her as she walked past. Once at the foot of the stairs, AJ pushed down the handle of her luggage and with some effort, picked it up from the side. It was somewhat heavy, but she could manage. The young girl ascended the steps somewhat awkwardly, having no solid leverage with the weight she was carrying upstairs. A few moments passed before AJ finally got to the very last step. She put her luggage down before exhaling, looking around as she spotted her room being the second down on the right. She walked towards it and opened the door, deciding immediately that it was best if she just left her stuff there to go back downstairs, so that's what she did.

The young girl then made her way to the first floor, taking better notice of the other students. She sat down on the love seat and rested her chin on her hand, wondering if someone was going to come around and give them some more information.

[Assistant]
The yacht was a thing of beauty in most eyes, but in Devin's it was a true masterpiece. While he would have preferred a sailboat he was a fan of anything that got him on the water and this Spanish registered vessel would do nicely. During the trip from the main island Devin had walked around the ship admiring its ins and outs. When it set out he found some of the crew and watch them.

The rest of the trip was easy enough. Devin had found a place to relax. His nerves were getting the better of him as he saw the island. He hadn't really talked to anyone on the boat due to giving off an air of interest of the ship which was true so he didn't mind. He watched as they docked and then went and grabbed his bags. Some of his things had been sent ahead, but thankfully he made the right decision to wear his leather jacket as a brisk gust of wind common in England.

Following the directions given to the other freshman he entered the massive and aged walls of the castle as security motioned for everyone to follow. Looking around Devin gave his classmates a look over. He saw student armed, but it seemed none of them were twitchy with them. Others had phones or tablets. It was less intimidating than he would have imagined as nearly everything else fit any public school scene. There were people excited to see each other and others bemoaning the coming onslaught of school work that was ahead of them.

During the introduction a few things made Devin raise an eyebrow. After mentioning that some students hadn't survived Devin muttered "That wasn't in the brochure". What came after was some classic words of wisdom handed down to students throughout the ages. After the headmaster finished his lecture and guiding words everyone was directed to their living spaces. Along the way he heard some students talking to one of the security personal positioned at the exit. He made an announcement of where incoming students and so Devin followed.

Arriving at his building he almost knocked and then gave a mental chuckle. Opening the door he walked in to the welcoming arms of an expansive room seemingly fit for a king. While walking in he gave a loud whistle. "Nice..." he mused while walking into the living room area with couches and 7 other people engaged in small talk and introductions. Not one to linger any more than needed he walked into the room and introduced himself as they all turned and looked at who had whistled and walked in.

"Whitley Building right?" Devin asked politely. "I didn't know the school had such a sense of humor with names. Didn't exactly come through in the opening remarks..." He said while looking around at both the furniture and the company. Sitting in the room was the collection of people he had heard chatting. He didn't have names to faces but he figured introductions could happen soon enough. "Name's Devin Coal everyone. Nice to meet you."

(Devin's inner thoughts as he scanned the room and got a first impression of everyone in the room)

47 - Asian, most likely Japanese considering his fashion sense with the sword. It helped being from one of the largest and diverse Asian populations outside the continent. The suit was straight from the Hollywood red carpet too.

- The red head was hard to miss considering how striking her hair was. Add the massive tattoo and the boot camp Lara Croft look she had going she read as someone ready and the school was already going to slow for her. Devin wasn't smitten but he definitely did a double take when he first saw her on the boat and was happy to see her in the room.

- Normally they say you can tell a lot about a man from his shoes... What does that mean when a man isn't wearing shoes? Still considering there was only one pair by the door he could assume the guy didn't lose them.

Flame - Tough to say where she is from. Perfectly pleasant enough for a roommate and classmate.

- The denim jacket was stylish and he liked the look she had it paired with. Her blonde hair gave her a sort of Scandinavian beauty a lot of north Americans see in beauty magazines but the obvious travel fatigue was written on her face.

Tracers - Good Lord! Where did they grow you? This guy towered over Devin by several inches. I guess he was going to have to get used to not being one of the taller in the bunch like he was back home.

- Cute. Considering every woman in this school was likely capable of killing someone thirty different ways Devin figured she wasn't any exception so a simple happy smile would be about as far as I should go.

- Energetic to say the least. She seemed to beam at him as he introduced himself and was one of the more enthusiastic in the group from the short time he had been there. Some might roll their eyes at it, but Devin saw it more as an impressive feat considering where they all were.

Once Devin had introduced himself and shook or nodded to everyone he looked around for his things. "I am guessing stuff we had delivered was brought to our room or maybe do we have to go pick it up somewhere?"


[System]
Age: 20s
Gender: Female
DNA:  Project Manticore. Panthera onca.

Personality: A serious, calculated, stone cold woman, Seven was one of several survivors, primarily experimented and bred by Chimera to be the ultimate hunter. Being bred as such, and being confined in a facility since she was born, Seven is detached to any type of normal living. She never had a real family, nor a real childhood even. If not training, which mostly consisted of weapons handling and agility based exercises, she is mostly left alone in her cell and rarely had any type of contact with other kids like her. Chimera is very meticulous of their healthy subjects, and because of Seven showing great potential, she was monitored twice as strict as the other kids.

 The only thing she is taught to do all her life is to hunt. And undoubtedly, she is very good at it but only in exchange of her own freedom, that is why she may come of as ignorant of the conventional, everyday things and doings of life outside. Though whenever she does go outside, she is carefully briefed, having no problems in following rules and protocols ordained by the organisation and the outside world.

Appearance: Seven stands a good 5 feet and 10 inches tall, quite physically fit due to her training, her jet black hair reaches up to her waist, contrasting her pallid complexion. Her dark sullen eyes would show little to no emotion, and if it ever does, it's surprisingly enough to brighten the room. She has facial piercings, one on the septum and one on the lower lip.

 As for her outfit, she wears typical street clothes to blend in, consisting mostly of dark tones such as leather jackets, dull colored coats over shirts/tank tops (perfect for hiding small hand held weapons.), a pair of fitted grey jeans and leather boots. She also wears leather bracelets, choker necklaces earnings for accessories.

Other: How did she ever get the name Seven, you ask. A typical story really, she was one of the seventh subjects in a batch of new born children to be experimented on by Project Manticore, and one of the very few that time who survived the process.

 Despite her dark and sullen demeanour, Seven is quite naive and childlike. She is easily amused of the simplest things in life. Such as flowers, movies, nature and simple books. Due to the fact that she lived all her life differently, it was her way of wanting to keep up with the life she missed.

History:

 Seven was born to a street junkie and Chimera that time, under the guise of a charity org had 'helped' her to provide proper care for the child she was carrying. Sadly her mother 'died' of complications due to childbirth, and Chimera took the chance of adopting the baby to be experimented on under Project Manticore. Thankfully, Seven had survived through the cruel process, and by childhood she grew up shy, reserved and anti social. At times they would let her interact with the other kids, and is mostly locked up in her cell if she wasn't being trained or brainwashed.

 When she grew up, she became a capable lapdog for the Chimera, doing various dirty jobs for them either retrieving runaways, doing courier jobs or eliminating whistleblowers. Either way this showed her loyalty to the organisation clearly, but as much as she was willing to take a bullet for them, Seven is taking slight interest of a different life outside. This doesn't mean her devotion is slowly being strayed, it's just that the thought of being 'normal' seemed nice to her.

[User]
Rook flew upwards with as much strength as he could muster, trying to close the distance quickly. This is not what we need right now..., he thought to himself. This whole situation was falling apart, everyone wanted to do something else. His priority now was to make sure Mal didn't fly off to the city by herself, as that could end horribly in many ways. They needed to work together, to co-ordinate. Finally, he flew up close to Mal, and paused, hovering.

"Mal...wait up..." He said in between deep breaths. "I know you want to go to the city-I do, too-but you can't run off alone. If you're going, then I'm going." He looked at her, folding his arms. He meant it- if she was going to run off to the city, he couldn't sit there as she put herself into a dangerous situation. Everyone here needed each other safe and alive, simple as that.

[Assistant]
---

---

This course of action was lame, and not at all what Dizzy had in mind. He wanted more space, a moment to breathe without the Flock's issues weighing him down. He grumbled, stomach growling, and flapped his wings in irritation. Human cities were made of glass anyway right? They'd be seen either way! He sighed and rolled his eyes as he internally argued the merits of listening to Flick and ignoring him. The city would probably be interesting, but he'd rather explore it on a full stomach. Then again, splitting up would mean the others would be annoyed and maybe even leave him behind. He wouldn't put it past them either...

He eyed Crash speculatively. He could always go with plan B and take a chunk out of Crash if thing's got dicey.

Ooooooor he could go with plan A and go hunting like he wanted. "Maybe we can catch something on the way?" He wondered aloud, stroking his non-existent beard thoughtfully. If so then Flick could shove it while he made a fire and cooked it. Or just cook Flick.

He snickered, amused gaze sliding from Crash to Flick, and he tilted his head. Fine, he thought, but if I starve you're donating a pint to my stomach.

Then he grimaced as he realized his half baked plan to find a river to wash his wings in was never going to come to pass. "Ugh," he scoffed, "whatever, let's just be quick." Food was more active during the day anyway, if the city turned out to be a bore or a death trap then he'd go hunting later and the rest could go and suck on their glass towers or whatever it was they were doing.

What did they need from the city again? And how big was it? It wouldn't take long to look through right?

He mumbled something unintelligibly annoyed under his breath and leaped into the air, catching himself with a flutter of his wings before mulishly deciding not to wait for the rest to join him, vaguely aligning to follow the direction Mal and Rook had gone.

---

[User]
---

---

 "Like I care if I get seen, I'm not afraid of any those Chimera goons, let 'em try and take me back, I'll show 'em how much I learned in training."  Crash muttered, mostly to himself, but in response to Flick's warning. As much as he wanted food and to hunt, if Rook and Dizzy weren't staying then he would follow the others. Technically he had wanted to explore the city anyway but being told not to hunt first, not getting his way, made him want to rebel against the idea. He didn't want to be alone or left behind though, if he stayed by himself he might not find the others again, and then he'd be all alone. He spent more than enough time alone in his cage and he hated it. Everything in the outside world was new and unfamiliar and to have face it all alone was scary, not that Crash would ever admit that to anyone.

Crash's wings flapped, lifting him up towards Mal, Rook, and now Dizzy as well. He took off as fast as his wings would allow in an attempt to show off. He was annoyed about following Flick's orders and that they were all now doing what Mal wanted. He soared past Mal and let out a dramatic raspy screech, the cry of a hawk, before circling around them and sticking closer to the group. Spending your entire eighteen years in a cage learning to be soldier did not teach a lot of emotional maturity.

 "Hey Flick you coming or what, we don't have all day." Crash teased.  "Dizzy you can have whatever rabbit's you can catch, as long as you catch 'em before me." He added laughing a bit. His mood quickly shifted back to more relaxed state. It wasn't like he could stay mad at his flockmates for too long, they needed each other after all. He reminded himself that the city would be an interesting adventure, someplace new, something he'd never seen. Now he was excited to explore, he wondered what kind of food there was in the city. It seemed like sooner or later his thoughts always went back to food.

[Assistant]
Mal reached out to Rook midflight, ruffling his hair while still moving in a startling feat of coordination that she knew already she'd be unable to replicate ever again. "Thanks, Rook. Means a lot." She rolled her eyes. "'Course, if you hadn't decided that goin' hunting was a good idea, maybe Crash wouldn't'a gone off on me, but eh. Baby steps, I guess."

Speak of the winged young man, Mal's ears rang unpleasantly as Crash blew past her, screaming like a hawk. She narrowed her eyes, but didn't rise to the bait at first, instead giving two heavy beats of her wings and doing her best to draw level with him as he circled round, at which point she whapped him on the head with a downstroke of her heavy wing. Just on the edge feathers; not enough to really hurt, but enough to rebuke the older boy. Despite that, she couldn't help but grin a little bit. It was a shaky grin, to be sure; she hadn't used it too much before the past day and a half or so. But still, it was definitely there. And despite her belligerency, Mal wasn't above an apology

"Sorry about hijackin' your hunting, Crash. I'm just nervous, is all. I bet we'll stand out even with our wings tucked, so I'm just trying to get stuff done as fast as we can so we can maybe find somewhere to hide."

"And also," she added, almost as an afterthought, "I'm really sick of rabbit."

After the apology, she continued her broad, gliding circles, steadily catching thermals and climbing higher into the air until the trees were like toothpicks below her. Maybe a thousand, two thousand feet up. Her wings gleamed dully in the bright light of the sun, and in the distance, she could see the city. Her breath caught in her throat. It was...

"Huge," she breathed, finishing her own thought. There was no other way to describe it. She looked down at the Flock below her, calling to them with an uncharacteristically excited voice. "Hey, you can see the city from up here!"

With her acute vision, she could see that Flick was still on the ground, but Dizzy had taken off, quickly moving through the air towards those that she'd left behind her. She frowned. She was worried about Flick; after he'd come back from a 'live testing experiment,' as the scientists had put it—or, well, war, as Flick had put it—he'd been closed up and brooding. Sure, they'd butted heads before (at least when they had the opportunity to be anywhere near each other), but Mal had appreciated the competition. Now he was just...she paused for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what the word she was looking for was and failing.

Doing her best to put the thought out of her mind, she continued circling, this time scanning the horizon. She'd seen the helicopters at Chimera's facility going out every time they thought something had gone wrong. Now they had gone wrong, and it was only a matter of time.

[User]
The fluorescent lights flickered open in the dark and quiet hallway, with nothing but the sharp sound of a lone footstep echoing. Once the metal doors of a single cell opened, it revealed not a prison but a rather dainty room. Complete with a single bed, a desk and a bookshelf, a single potted plant and a door for a bathroom. Inhabiting the room was a woman, ashen pale, dark haired , she looked up from her book, her eyes were blank and dead. The visitor, a middle aged man in a twenty grand suit motioned to her, and from just that she understood what she had to do, like a flick of a button. She closed her book and gave him her full attention.

The man reached her a dossier, five of them then scanned the contents of each. "Five of our subjects managed to escape the facility two nights ago" The woman stood silent. "Their recovery is our priority, unharmed if necessary." he simply said, and walked away. Seven is quite familiar of the procedure. When somebody tries to escape usually they don't go far enough until they are recaptured once again. Usually by her. How would this one be any different she thought. Promptly, she prepares herself for another hunt ahead.

---

It had been raining for days. Seven despised the rain. And the city looked very despondent ,at the very least, with the clouds covering the sun's bright rays. That evening she walked amongst the city crowd, umbrellas perched above them blanketing in shades of black and grey and only she stood out amongst them, her head only covered by the hood of her dark jacket. During her briefing she was told that blending in is a strict requirement first and foremost. And she made sure that was carefully followed.

Should've brought an umbrella she thought, as the drizzle became heavier, she crossed the busy road, bags of groceries lugging in both arms. Seven had grown fond of the city in her many times she was stationed there. It was a far cry from the first time she set foot on it's busy streets, anxiety and paranoia used to plague her. Although she can live quite freely on her own accord, the fact that she's still property of Chimera had limited her much of her freedom, she was unable to stray away from a certain location and was constantly under surveillance. But so far this hasn't bothered her, having what little freedom she had away from the facility she was imprisoned was enough for her.

Seven steered towards the alley, and went inside a small establisment door next to a Chinese diner. Taking the narrow stairs up to her door she fished out the keys on her pockets, unlocking a door to her small apartment. The inside is cozy, there was a couch that also provided as her bed, a huge shelf of books was at the corner, and a few pots of plants that bloomed with flowers showed that it was diligently taken care of. The pale woman put away all her groceries, whilst the sound of late night shows, terrible one liners and laugh tracks subtly played on the tv.

Unlidding a bottle of light vodka, which she poured in a glass mug, Seven took another study at the dossiers. Sitting on the sofa, familiarising their faces, their scent, from what she was provided with. They all looked like a couple of years younger than she is. That is, as far as she can tell of her own age. Almost three days had already past since they escaped, nobody had reported their entrance to the city yet, so they couldn't have gotten far from the facility. But once they do, she should be ready. It's of utmost priority.

Wandering off from her own thought, the woman gazed out of her bay window, mug clutching in both hands. The rain had slowly receded as the sun glinted over the urban horizon.


[System]
Physical Form: The darkwraiths are beings that were once humans, but were twisted to depravity through the temptation of a dark serpent. These beings feast on the souls of their victims, and also on their very humanity. The darkwraiths have a drug-like addiction to humanity and in feasting on it, they drain the sanity from their victims to retain their own. Their skeletal appearance is actually a suit of armor granted to them by the serpent. Beneath it, the a healthy darkwraith looks very much human, but a starved one will have their nature revealed with wrinkled, rotting flesh. Kor stands at about six feet. Beneath his helmet, his face his stern and gaunt, with unkempt black hair and dark brown eyes. He has a muscular build derived from years of hunting down his prey.

Abilities: The Dark Hand- This is the magic weapon granted to all darkwraiths by the serpent. It is a manifestation of the darkness in their souls, and in its idle form appears to be an ethereal orb of blackness with streaks of red squirming about its wielder's hand. The Dark Hand can warp into both a sword and a shield with a complete physical manifestation. Due to the ethereal nature of the Dark Hand, it cannot be broken, but at the same time it will often yield to sturdy materials.

Lifedrain- The most feared of the darkwraith's abilities. The user channels his hunger into his Dark Hand and lunges at a victim. Upon contact, he drains the victim of his humanity. This does no physical damage to the target, but destroys its sanity, turning it into a soul-starved creature that will attack friend and foe alike. This ability does not work on those that are already corrupted or depraved, but on those that are valiant and righteous.

Abysswalker- In this world, there exist magics, indeed entire planes, forged from darkness itself. The darkwraiths are one of the few beings that thrive in such darkness. They are immune to the effects of darkness-based magic and can freely navigate through any realms made of darkness.

Red Eye Orb- A blood-red orb with a menacing eye carved into it. This orb seeks out the pure of heart, and once a target is located the orb will begin to pulsate. Once the target has been located, no amount of walls or barricades can stop a Darkwraith. They can use the Red Eye Orb to transport them to the general vicinity of the target. This comes with great risk, though. The orb does not reveal who the target is or what defenses are established, and it will only bring them withing 100 feet of the target. The darkwraith may be stepping into his own doom.

The Dark Sword- The melee weapon of choice for darkwraiths. The Dark Sword is a straight sword with a thick, wide, blade. The additional mass makes it good for staggering heavily armored foes. Though heavy, Kor can wield this blade masterfully, preferring to unleash a flurry of quick strikes rather than large single strikes.

Ring of the Evil Eye- Legend has it the this ring contains the spirit of a terrible monster that assaulted the lands long ago. Now, the power of this beast's cruelty is channeled into the bearer. With every slain foe, some of the wearer's energy is restored, and light wounds begin to heal.

Personality: In a word, voracious. Where others look at a battle and see terror and carnage, glory and honor, Kor sees a king's feast. These peaceful times have left Kor anxious and irritable from his hunger, but once his appetite becomes satiated he becomes as morbidly jovial as the next minion of darkness celebrating his victory.

Wants/Needs: Kor is driven by a relentless hunger for souls and humanity, but also takes pleasure in the dark. However, Kor is also reasonably intelligent, so any tools that would assist him in his hunt would be seen as an ample reward.

Backstory: Kor was once human, but that is all he remembers of his days before he was a darkwraith. For one reason or another, Kor found himself at the bottom of a pitch-black chasm, unmarked on any maps. He was terrified a first, but then he heard the voice of the serpent. It was a soothing voice, an infallible voice: "You were born from the Dark, why do you fear it?" Kor's pulse slowed and he sat upright. That's right, it was only darkness, there was no reason to be afraid. "Ah, you are not like the others who tremble at the Dark! Come, let me give you this gift, and you can be the savior to usher in a new age!" Naturally, the years of hiding in the shadows merely to sustain his own existence was grueling for Kor. However, when he heard of the new dungeon keeper, the prospect of open combat was appealing, plus he liked the new age that the dungeon keeper wanted to usher in.

[User]
Twich was neither brave nor a warrior and he was fairly okay with this fact; The standard warrior response to a fortified enemy position was to charge it head first and hope enough people survived the arrows and the rocks to take it. Cowards made better tacticians on account of their desire to not die.

While this operation didn't actually require that much in the way of creative thinking due to the vast range of skills that the champions of the Dungeon Keeper and the fact that they were up against people armed with little more then pitchforks who didn't know they were coming, wholesale slaughter was something of a wasted opportunity.

Looking over what he could see of the target objective before the order from the Dungeon Keeper arrived, Twich quickly formulated a plan while taking into account that he didn't know the skill sets of those around him and the likely hood that they would listen to any plan he had to suggest. When the kill order came, the kobold let out a quick, sharp whistle in order to draw attention to himself before he started to explain himself quickly. "Three teams; Execute, Secure and Contain. Team Execute needs to head to the Church and the Manor; Priests and Nobles are the traditional leaders and rallying points of communities like this and they need to be dealt with quickly. Break or kill them at your leisure. Team Secure needs to secure the blacksmith, both granaries and at least one barn right off the bat. Team Contain needs to ensure that no one escapes and that the farmers don't rally around a sub-leader. Pick whatever team best suits your abilities and try to keep collateral damage as low as possible; We want to be able to loot the place when all is said and done and we could always use more prisoners. Go!"

Twich would wait until the bulk of the champions had broken off to do their thing before heading towards his own objective; To secure one of the granaries. Not the most grand of jobs but if they wanted to eat someone needed to do it.

[Assistant]
That Which Consumes Peace gazes at the other evil-doers, a rag-tag but dangerous bunch.
 "Full of potential.", the demon mutters to himself, a small grin playing on his lips.
He peers over to a kobold that is seemingly giving orders.
"Well that's no good. ", is his comment on the sight.

That looks over to his shoulder, glancing at the small fairy sitting with her feet dangling.
"Can I do sumthin' for ya boss?"", is her cheerful response.
"Go. Join the other warriors. Help and feed off of the murder."
"Okay boss!"
He watches as She Who Bathes In Blood flies off towards the village carrying an axe twice as big as her. The demon fairy will feed off and give power to the fellow evil-doers as they killed.

Now, it's his turn. That Which Consumes Peace teleports to the field where the farmers have yet to realize the assault that is incoming. The demon grins to himself as his invisible form examines the farmers.
He activates his aura, along with whispering in the minds of each and every one of them. Soon, they are mindlessly attacking and killing each other over petty arguments. After the farmers are nothing but bodies with pitchforks and hoes sticking out of them, That gives a small laugh.
 "That was absolutely delicious."
He considered burning the crops, but decided against it. It may cause more chaos, but it would draw early opposition against him for burning supplies that the dungeon could use. He would have to wait for the right moment to maximize his chaos potential.

[User]
Overhearing the kobold's order as they began their mission, Ekusha derived a plan of her own.

She broke away from the group and released herself from her corporeal form. The village was insignificant, but Ekusha had no doubt everybody would be going all-out to prove their significance. In that case...

Ekusha began probing the minds of the local leadership: the local lord, priests, artists, etc. She eventually came across a clergyman sweeping the premises. He had been at the church before dawn to prepare for ritual, and all he wanted was to go home and rest. He had devoted his entire youth to religious service under the priest, but he often faltered in thought, blaming the priest for his severe shy-ness and his longing for romantic companionship. Kill him.

The youngest son of the local lord played with the children of the aristocracy out in a field adjacent to the city square. Often, he was picked on for being small, especially by his own brothers. He couldn't help it, though; he was the only one in this group who had not yet reached adolescence. In their games of tag, he would be tackled and held down. The others would often laugh at the expense of this child, yet he would continually attempt to save face and play on. Now, he was it. The older kids surrounded him, taunting him to run after them. Of course, his little legs would never be able to catch up. But, in the midst of a gust of wind and a small pick-up at the square, he came up with another plan. After untucking the slingshot from the back of his trousers, the child loaded it with several shards of broken glass. In a flick-of-the-wrist, they flew through the air, chasing his tormentors.

Her plans would have had a more severe effect given more time, but it would all be in vain since the little village would be leveled by the monsters she would have to fight alongside. Ugh, she thought, disgusted that what she considered her art-form would be overshadowed by barbaric slaughter.

[Assistant]
Umbra stood still as the others gathered near the entrance of the village. It was still evening, and the sun still shined brightly in the sky preventing him from taking a physical form. The others most likely planned on attacking the village head on, burning anything and anyone that got in their way, some possibly even taking the less fortunate prisoners. Umbra though had set his eyes on what he considered the real target or at the very least his only real target. A distant manor with likely rich and wealthy inhabitants who could cause a problem if they are left alone, even if they chose to run away they may alert nearby villages.

As soon as the Master had alerted his army to begin the assault, those around him quickly began to make their moves. The Kobold did his best to formulate a strategy of attack, others seemed to walk past him only focusing on the amount of destruction they can cause. Umbra quickly traveled to the manor ignoring those around him and traveling at high speeds.

Finally arriving at the large manor he was relieved by the lack of light within. The size making it difficult to fully rely on windows and natural lighting, but it wasn't until he moved into the library that he noticed an older Gentleman sitting calmly reading a fairly lengthy book next to a small candle. He seemed to be the lord of the house, blissfully ignorant of what is going on. A mistake the man will never live long enough to regret.

[User]
Kor glared at the unsuspecting village with the voracity of a rabid wolverine. How long had it been since such a feast presented itself to him? No longer would he have to skulk in the shadows, desperately grabbing a quick meal and fleeing before he alerted the guard. No, now he would be able to languish in the joys of feeding. He had an entire army on his side to plunge the town into chaos, the perfect environment for a Darkwraith to hunt. Kor felt his red eye orb pulsating like a second heartbeat, and he salivated in anticipation. Surprise, numbers, and raw power were on his side; a red orb invasion would be perfectly safe. Then, his new master gave the order.

As the science dude was giving orders, Kor was already clenching the orb in his hand and a red aura swirled about him. He wondered where in the village he would show up. Would it be by an innocent maiden, a virtuous nobleman, children at play? The Darkwraith sunk into a pit of blackness that appeared beneath him, and within a few seconds emerged from the ground at the location his red eye orb had whisked him away to. He looked around for a moment to get his bearings, and saw the doors of a small temple about twenty feet ahead of him. Jackpot!

The villagers who saw him appear began shouting something about a demon as he marched towards the temple doors, but he paid them no mind. Let them shout about a demon while they could; they would all have bigger problems to worry about momentarily. With a swift kick, he blasted open the doors and saw his prey: an old man kneeling down in prayer, unaware that it was his own faith that had brought this fiend upon him. Kor gave the man no chance to escape, or even to call upon the gods for protection; he dashed at the priest, cutting down an innocent churchgoer in his frenzy, tangible darkness writhing about in his left hand. Then, that darkness began to glow bright red. Kor picked the priest up by his bald head with his dark hand and finally felt the nourishment surging into his body. Holy men were always so replete with humanity, but now this man's pool of faith was sucked as dry as a blistering, cracked, lake bed.

It was enough to appease Kor's hunger for now. No longer was he caught up in the fervor of the hunt, and his perception of the situation was now clear, his thoughts rational. He released the shell of a priest and watched with amusement first as he trembled on the ground, and then shrieked like a madman, charging around the temple looking for anything with a pulse to attack. The few people in the temple were not armed and were unprepared to take on this abomination, so the fled the building, crying for help. Kor simply whistled a jolly tune, grabbed one of the small candles that were scattered about, and let its flame dance along the curtains of the temple windows. This would only benefit the Dungeon Keeper's campaign. Kor's actions would distract the village's defenses from focusing on the invading force. Plus, what would it do to the town's morale to see their holy building go up in flames before any other?


[System]
Gender:Male

Age: 23

Appearance:

Rank: Lance Corporal

Class: Shocktrooper

Weapons and Equipment: Maj-X M1, Shocktrooper armor, A grenade, a watch.

Personality: Aaron is the kind of guy you want at your back. Brave,Loyal, Smart, and strong. But he is also very impulsive, and very likely to run in shouting LEEEEERRRRROOOOOYYYY JEEEEEENNNNNNNKIIIIIINNNNNS! (or some such battle cry.) with guns blazing, and grabbing attention, and getting his allies killed.

Bio: Born to a Noble Family in the Federation, Aaron always was raised with money, Until the day his father was murdered, and he was forced to run to Gallia. He moved to the South, and took a job as an iron miner. He became a Hard worker. One day, he was digging for a new mine, and found Ragnite. He was made rich again, but when the imperials came, He was conscripted, and volunteered to be a shocktrooper, and the rest is current.

RP Sample: Aaron finished digging the hole. His hands were bloody and chapped, and Aaron almost had heat stroke.
"Sir, you may want to check this out!" He shouted to his boss.
"What is it?" His boss replied in his gruff voice.
"I found something, and I don't know what it is!" Aaron replied cautiously
"Finish digging and we'll see what it is!" His boss replied. Aaron nodded and grabbed his shovel. And that's when the rain started.
"Crap." Aaron said.

My favorite Team member of Squad 7 is Salinas. He's so awesome! He's my vanguard.

[User]
Aaron vomited. He was one of the last survivors of Squad 9. Everybody else was either wounded badly, or dead. Aaron vomited because the smell of death was so thick where he lay. He had also taken quite a bit of damage to his armor. He stared at the Shocktrooper who had been killed next to him. Aaron decided to trade armor with him. He took off all of the armor, and traded it with the fallen soldier. The armor wasn't badly damaged because the soldier had been shot in the head. Aaron stood up. He heard some shots ring out, so he climbed over the ruined wall, and dropped prone. "This is the last time I volunteer to sweep for mines!" He said under his breath

 He remembered they lost their tank because he hadn't bothered to look for anti-tank mines. Then the freaking ambush had to happen. He just wanted to go back to the Federation, back to his home, except he couldn't because his family was murdered, and he would be too if he returned. That was when he heard gunfire again. Aaron crawled into a ruined building.

"Hello? Is anyone still alive?" Aaron shouted. He knew he wouldn't get a reply. Most people were dead or dying. "Can anyone hear me?" Aaron laughed. He might get a few replies from Imperials, and he would be either killed or taken as Prisoner of War, but no Gallians were alive enough to respond.

[Assistant]
The gunfire had grown distant now, bar the occasional crack of a sniper's rifle. Harald had been lucky, shepherding his charges through the warzone his home had become without crossing paths with the Imperial Army. A good thing too, since he was down to only twelve rounds for his revolver and honestly doubted its effectiveness against the thick steel armour of Imperial regulars. He didn't even try to use the rifle he had procured from the armoury, not in this tight urban environment, although that was about to change. The three of them eventually reached the outskirts of the town, breaking out into the patchwork of hedgerows and arable land that made up Gallia's southern plains. Visibility was tight and even a seasoned soldier could easily get lost in the maze of identical fields, but locals like Harald knew the place like the backs of their hands. Reaching the rendezvous site would be easy. As the three of them settled into a ditch to catch their breath, Harald's wireless crackled to life once more. Expecting Varrot's voice on the other end, the speaker's thick Imperial accent chilled his blood a little, before the Sergeant reminded himself that both his Captain and Corporal were both Imperial expatriates. 'Sergeant Harald, yes? This is Captain Meulemann, hereafter designated as Company Command. I am commandeering your men for the time being and will meet you at the predetermined position once my objective has been achieved. Be a good chap and borrow some transport, will you? Company Command out.' Before the Sergeant even had a chance to confirm, the connection was severed. He hadn't been privy to any information about their commanding officer bar what could be gleaned from the brief introduction that morning, but knew better than to ask questions. Harald turned to his two subordinates with a sardonic grin. '... Well kids, you heard the man. Let's nick us some wheels.' The most logical place for the Imperials to park their transports would be the nearby agricultural exchange; they would try there first.

Elsewhere in the city, Meulemann handed the wireless back to Varrot with an affirmative nod. The three of them had discovered the location of an Imperial command post, marked on the map of one of the snipers that had plagued them. In all likelihood the commanding officer of the attacking force would be there, along with his general staff. With two snipers and a keen-eyed scout, they were in an ideal position to eliminate the officer and deal a crippling blow to the Empire's command structure in this region. The three of them set out toward the command post, unaware that two other members of Squad 4 were already enroute to the same objective...

[User]
Brenna stood there in a bit of a shock. This girl was hysterical. She just glad that the girl had taken out the only enemy soldier in the building. And when the girl fainted, Brenna enjoyed the silence for a minute before walking over, moving her away from any obstacles that might cause harm to the girl when Brenna shakes her awake. Then, with a firm grip in the collar, she shook the girl awake, and not releasing till she was able to hold herself up.

Once she had regained her senses, Brenna motioned her head in the direction of a back door. Then opened the door and checked the alley it lead to. Confirming that it was clear with a nod, then moved into it. Lilly following now doubt. And after some time of maneuvering through the alley, Brenna came to a sudden halt, stopping Lilly if she needed to. "We're close. A lot of sound nearby." she said in a whisper, not wanting to give their position away. Their foot steps would go unheard, with all of the soldiers that were moving around, but their voices wouldn't.

[Assistant]
Aaron stood up. He started dashing, his footsteps started echoing on the cobblestones. He closed his eyes and just ran forward. That's when he heard the *Ping* of a bullet hitting his armor. Aaron ducked his head and kept running. He finally decided to turn around. He had an imperial scout on his tail. Aaron pulled the rack of his gun backwards. He could hear the imperial laughing under his helmet. Aaron closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. He heard the bullets make contact with the Imperial, and he heard a cry of shock from him. This was Aaron's first kill. he heard the man mutter. Aaron ran over to him.

"Oh my God, Oh my God, what the hell have I done?" Aaron muttered under his breath. He pulled some Ragnaid from his pack. "It will be ok, I'm sorry, it was self defense!"

"It's ok, you did what you had to." He heard the imperial say. Aaron took off his helmet. The Imperial was no more than 20, No more than a boy. Aaron couldn't let this kid die!

"Please, tell my Fiancee I love her!"

Aaron nodded. "tell her yourself, you're gonna pull through." Aaron watched the boy smile. " Let's hope we can both make it through this war."

The Imperial stood up. "Me too, by the way, what's your name? My names Nikolai."

"Aaron, and I hope I meet you again, Nikolai." Aaron shouted to the soldier. Nikolai smiled, put on his helmet and walked off.

Aaron turned around him to see a Gallian tank and three Gallian troops headed for him, a sight for sore eyes.

[User]
Lilly's brief relief from the horror and terror of war was suddenly cut short when she was shaken awake and pulled to her feet by Brenna. Her legs still jittering from her start, she needed to be held up by her for a moment before she managed to regain her footing. "T-thank you..." Her antisocial companion only replied by nodding her head towards the back door and heading out of the house, leaving Lilly to creep through the alleys behind her.

It took a while from all the sneaking and hiding, but eventually they made it to the edge of the imperial staging base. Brenna came to a stop at the edge of the alley, forcibly stopped Lilly by pushing at her, before stating that they were close. Lilly nodded and crouched, laying her rifle on the ground and peering around the corner. It quickly became apparent that 'staging base' was far too generous of a term for the encampment they had stumbled upon. There were two tanks being refueled from their externally carried canisters, but aside from that, there were only a few munitions crates and barrels lying around. It certainly looked like this 'base' was only temporary, set up quickly as a safe area to refuel the tanks and resupply critical ammunition, but not much else. Fortunately that meant that aside from a dozen or so engineers milling about, there were very few proper soldiers in the base. Reporting this to Brenna, Lilly picked up her rifle and, in a shaky voice, said "I-I couldn't see the o-officer. I need t-to get closer."

Not waiting for a reply, she crept as quickly as she dared to from the alley to a burnt out civilian car parked along the main road. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice her, and her new position gave her much better view. Timidly poking her head around the side of the car, she searched again for the commander. This time she was not disappointed. Walking out of a house, came a tall and imposing man dressed in rusty red armor. He was flanked by two soldiers armed with rifles, and he quickly walked over to one of the barrels, unfurled a map onto it, and started to point out positions, locations, etc. on it as he briefed the two scouts he was no doubt about to dispatch.

Lilly dropped to the ground behind the car when one of the tanks being refueled started up and drove down the street past her, heading towards the front line. After the coast was clear again, she looked back up at the officer and noticed something she hadn't before. On the barrel that the three were crowding around was written a warning symbol and the name of it's contents: Ragnoline. Despite her terrified state, even Lilly understood what an opportunity this was. She hurriedly scrambled back to Brenna and reported this to her. Ragnoline was highly explosive.

[Assistant] Paul was exhausted. The ringing of Rounds as they impacted on the stone and wood of the store made Paul flinch. Slowly he moved away from the window as more and more rounds poured through the window. "Mom...Dad..." he leaned against a wall as he waited for the Imperials to get close enough for him to unload on them. "Watch over me..." he muttered as a grenade came flying in only to land at Paul's feet. "Damn!" He muttered as he scrambled for it. After Paul grabbed the grenade he tossed it outside the window. The moment the grenade passed the window it exploded. Two of the soldiers outside screamed, either as result of the flash of the deadly hail of shrapnel that the explosion created. The blast back knocked Paul onto his back. As he got up he heard a sound that was different then the sounds of shooting, it was the sound Tracks. A sense of despair came over Paul. " I am alone,I am out numbered, I am running low on ammo,I don't think I will make it out of this... He thought as he realized that the only shooting was concentrated on his position, and he could no longer hear the sounds of return fire. As he thought Paul moved to the opposite wall where there was a strong wooden counter made from solid oak. After Paul moved behind the counter and trained his weapon at the window. Thankfully the Door was blocked by rubble so no imperials could get through. " wont stop a tanks...but maybe I can take a few of the grunts out there with me before they get me... As Paul waited a sad smile crossed his face. He had known his squad mates for only a short time, but he was proud to have fought with them. Paul had known a few since they were from the same town, many of the familiar ones he had gone to high school with. To Paul it was like losing a piece of his very soul, each death destroyed a memory of what he was fighting for.

[User]
Aaron stood there until the tank reached him. A scout pointed a rifle at him.
"You are under arrest by order of the Gallian Crown for aiding an enemy." A bearded soldier with a buzzcut smoking a cigar said.

"By Valkyria! Now you're saying Humanitarian aid is aiding the enemy?" Aaron retorted "That is the biggest bunch of Bullcrap I've ever heard!"

"What you've done there done is assisted an enemy! That man there was an Impy!" A soldier who was losing some of his teeth said.

"The army really sent the lowest of the low soldiers. Soldiers who had volunteered for the army, but could still be considered 'Militia Rabble' by the higher soldiers." Aaron thought. "Do you think I don't know he wasn't an Imperial! I just felt remorse after my first hit! didn't you guys after yours?"

"well, er, we never actually done gotten to kill anybody yet." The soldier who was losing his teeth said. "We just joined."

" Oh God, so, you guys can't say this stuff!" Aaron shouted so it echoed off of the buildings. "If you could hear the rabble coming out of your mouths!" Aaron drew his pistol. "Don't think I wouldn't use this! Talk to soldiers who have killed! They would all say they wished they hadn't killed!"

"Look boy, I don't care. Were taking you into custody!" The Bearded soldier put a hand on Aaron's wrist. Just then an explosion happened. Aaron's ears rang, and A bright light flashed. The men groaned, and Aaron began to run back down the street. When his vision cleared up, Aaron looked behind him to see Nikolai and a Tank Lancer up on a hill. Aaron ran until he stopped in front of a house.


[System]
Born: 17th of July, 1906
Age: 24

Position: Formally valet and infantryman, now a dock laborer in London.
Bio: Roger was born and bred in Cambridge. He was seven when the Great War started (lasted for 7 years). His father served an infantryman in the earlier part of the war and was killed off. His mother still lives London and works as a seamstress where she remarried. At the age of 12, Roger was able to get a position working for the slightly eccentric scientist, Doctor Edwin Brown. He served as a valet, assistant, and overall help around the house until the age of 18 where he enlisted as an infantryman. When the Doctor died mysteriously, Roger resigned from the army and moved back to London to watch over the Doctor's daughter.
Characteristics: Roger is loyal, kind, firm. He's not one to rush in quickly but when he makes a decision he is all in. He's quiet but not overly so. He prefers the company of a few good friends to a room full of acquaintances.
Born: 1909
Age: 21

Position: Tinkerer/Reckoner (create instructions for analytical engines). Basically mechanic. Doesn't invent but is pretty good fixing and breaking down things.
Bio: Jewish-Danish descent, not much is known about Estella's past except the small star of David necklace signifying her heritage. She is handy with gadgets and could take most anything apart and put it back together again. She's great with puzzles and has a quick mind. She is artistic and likes to draw various machines related to her work or imagination.
Though not much of a fighter, she's not one to be pushed around. Many a man was surprised at how quick she can draw a weapon with a few finding out just how accurate her aim was.
Characteristics: Friendly. One would never know by looking at her what pain was in her past. She is smart, kind, a bit laid back, but also is a bit of a smart-aleck.

Antagonists
Pronounced: Clow-ss
Age: 26

Position: Formally captain in the Austrian Air Fleet, now assigned to find the orb of mysticism.
Bio: Son of a noble Austrian line, Claus has an outstanding service record. He served on an Austrian Airship before being re-assigned to find the orb of mysticism.
Characteristics: Has yet to be revealed...
Real Name Unknown

Age: unknown

Unknown Loyalties
Age: 24

Position: WIP
Bio: WIP
Characteristics: Has yet to be revealed...

Other

Position: Tinkerer
Bio: Owns a little small junk shop in the London Airfield (docks).

[User]
Roger glanced over at Bea. "I'm sure it gets a bit frustrating," he said. No doubt she felt a bit confined in by Ms. Mortimer. The woman was could be a bit difficult. And that was with him not living under the same roof as her. Bea had to deal with a lot more than he did, and it probably didn't help she was the land lady.

They walked toward the docks. Airships of all shapes and sizes were parked, taking off, or landing. It was a hubbub of activity, despite the late afternoon hour. "You'll probably like the Captain." Roger spoke up as they entered the airfield. "He's a bit of a quieter individual - kind of like me." He gave her a smile. "Though probably more so. Does got a wonderlust though. American. He's got a small crew - his daughter and an older man who is their mechanic. Nice ship. A bit old but comfortable. I haven't ridden in it but I've been in it." He wanted to give her an idea of the vessel and crew before they got there.

They rounded the bend and Roger smiled seeing the airship. Good. He was still here. Roger had been a bit afraid that he had already gone. He lifted a hand in greeting at a passing acquaintance as they came up to the ship. A thin wiry man stood at the entrance glancing at a watch and looking annoyed. His eyes narrowed on them. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to see, Captain Axford." Roger looked at the man curious. "Are you here to see him as well?"

The man smirked. "I'm the mechanic." He puffed out his chest. "Best there is out there."

~ ~ ~
Seeing as she still needed to wait for her order - not to mention Rebeca was undoubtedly here for her and looked like she wanted to talk here, Estella sat on the bar stool. Well - partially. She angled herself to still watch the tavern as well as face the barkeeper if needed. She watched the local color. She wasn't too concerned about being bothered. Ever since she had improved the bartender's drink dispenser he had been a lot more friendly and had made it known that she wasn't to be bothered. Not that it would have mattered. Though not a fighter, she did grow up with four brothers and had learned a few things since being on her own that helped. She had too. Being a female tinkerer in a predominantly male industry had its challenges.

The bartender brought Rebeca her drink and then turned and set Estella's done. She smiled, having not even had to tell him what she wanted. She did come her a bit. "Thank you Erick."

He nodded. "Brewed just the way you like it."

She smiled and picked up the mug of tea. She looked at Rebeca curious as to why the girl had come here. "Did Rufus send you here?" She asked.

[Assistant]
She'd been on a few airships in her life. Only a few though. So the sight of all of them moored up was awe inspiring. She walked with her eyes focused on the ships, trusting that Roger would make sure that she didn't walk into anyone. Thankfully she made it there without any incident and stood looking at the Valkyrie. She was an old ship. But she was well loved, that was obvious.

When Roger spoke with the other man, she brought her attention over to him at last, looking confused. "I'm sure," Bea replied, not sounding it. People who self boasted of being the best rarely ever were. "Is the captain here, now though?"

The man crossed his arms over his chest, looking behind him for a moment. "He is," he said simply, not stopping them from going aboard, but not being overly welcoming either.

《》《》

Rebeca murmured her thanks for her drink, taking a sip from it before replying. "Sorta," she shrugged. "He said I could find you here and I decided to come down. A drink sounded good after all." She pulled a little cigarette case out of a pocket on her skirt, pulling a cigarette out of it and laying it open on the bar top with a gesture to Estella that she could have one if she wished.

She didn't light it up right away, but instead held it in her fingers as she looked at the other woman. "That thing you said was a problem, was one. This afternoon. And the fool had the audacity to blame you. Said you must have done something to it because you couldn't have known otherwise."

[User]
The man was very helpful. However, Roger did not come back with a snappy reply. He smiled politely. "Can you get him?" He asked. Though the mechanic didn't seem to mind that they boarded, still, a ship was like a house. You didn't just walk on without permission. Many ship captains didn't like just anyone on their vessel wondering around and though Roger knew he'd probably fine - as he knew the man - he still didn't want to overstep his place.

The mechanic looked at him like he was an idiot. "I'm waiting for a," he paused glancing at Bea before saying what probably was going to be a curse word due to the pause and the rephrasing. "I'm waiting for a part. Should have been here by now." He said, clearly not wanting to be bothered by them. "Just go in. The ol' man is no doubt on the bridge or something."

Roger raised an eyebrow at the insult. No doubt if William would have heard that he would have not been pleased. What ever happened to that older mechanic. That nice man? He was a bit nicer and would have either gotten the captain or escorted them to him. Roger glanced toward the door. "And Rebeca?" He asked.

"She's the one I'm waiting for." The mechanic pulled out a cigar and lit it up. He crossed his arms and sighed. "Where is she?" He muttered annoyed. He really wanted to get this stupid part fixed so he could head out. She no doubt got lost but he wasn't going to go find her.
~ ~ ~
Estella declined the offer with a slight shake of her head and a smile. She listened to Rebeca. If she was given a nickel for every time she had been blamed for something that wasn't her fault, she'd be rich...well not really but still have quiet a few nickels. She tilted her head slightly at what to her seemed like an interesting statement. Was their an implied question behind it? She took a drink and decided not to answer it. She gave no defense, no reasoning as to why or how she knew. Instead she glanced over.

"Was anyone hurt?" She asked. There was slight concern. She didn't think so. Rebeca looked fine but you never knew. It all depended on how high they got before the Helacoptz went out. She didn't think it would have gotten that high but you never knew. She hoped no one got hurt. As it was, she was wondering if she should have voiced her concern to the captain. Immediately, she dismissed it. She had reported it to the mechanic. Though, she could have gone over his head, it hadn't been her call to do so. There were times you did but times you didn't.

Thankfully no one was hurt. For that Estella was grateful. She looked back at her drink. She was slightly curious as to why Rebeca had come looking for her. From the earlier statement, she didn't think the woman blamed her for the accident. Was she here because she figured Estella paid for the part? Oh she hoped not. She didn't want a big scene from it. But she couldn't think of why else she'd be here. So she waited. She could be patient and she wasn't going to come out and rudely ask.

[Assistant]
Beatrix sighed and rolled her eyes at him some. "Well, thank you for that, " she said, sounding not very thankful at all. She doubted that he would show them on if they asked, and Roger had said that he was friend with the captain so she saw no point in not just going on board and finding the man himself.

So she swept past him, gesturing Roger after her as she went. It took her a moment before she could orientate herself, but she struck out with confidence down a hallway and was right in choosing as she brought them right to the bridge like the mechanic had said the captain was likely to be found.

And sure enough, Will was there in his chair, sitting sideways in it with his long legs over the arm. He was reading over the newspaper, glasses perched on his nose when he looked up at the sound of feet in the bridge. He blinked in a moment of surprise before he folded up the paper and swung his legs back over to stand up. "Well well, long time no see," he said, extending a work roughed hand to Roger with a grin spread wide on his face. "What brings you and this fine lady to my humble ship?"

《》《》

Rebeca smiled at her some. "No," she said in answer to her question about anyone being hurt. "Nothing damaged aside from the ship some, and someone's pride a little." She sipped at her drink a bit more before she went on. "I was hoping you might be so inclined to come back with me to the Valkyrie. Might be in née of your help. Even if just to carry parts back with me." Though it was obvious that Rebeca was after much more than just the errand running.

[User]
The mechanic was not at all helpful. Roger missed the old one. This one he didn't trust. He had seen a couple 'discrete' glances toward Bea that the man shot. It seemed strange that William would hire this man but then again, one did what they needed to do. The old mechanic probably retired and finding a replacement isn't as always as everyone thought.

Following Bea into the ship, Roger followed. Considering she never had been on this ship before, she seemed to know where she was going. Entering the bridge he smiled at the Captain and shook the worn hand. "Passage. We're looking at traveling to Glasglow probably next week." Remembering his manners, he introduced Bea to the Captain. "William, this is Miss Beatrix Brown. A good friend of mine and daughter of the professor I used to work for. Bea, this is Captain William Axford. We met last summer." He didn't elaborate how they met or that it entailed security detail for some valuable cargo.

With the formal introductions out of the way and the pleasantries taken care off, Roger went back to the business at hand. "We're seeing if we can find passage to Glasglow and then back here to London probably mid-next week. I thought I saw your ship and was wondering if you were headed that way."

~ ~ ~
That was a relief. Pride was something that could be hurt and in her opinion was better than actual injury. But then again, from her brief encounter with the man, she doubted the mechanic would agree with her. But it wasn't her place to judge. In a way, she could possibly see his point. You get some girl come in and say something that doesn't make any sense. Then it happens and he gets the blame. Not that she was going to provide any pity. Though not an airship mechanic, if someone genuinely gave her a warning, she might look into it - even if she didn't believe them.

Anyway, she set her drink down and looked at Rebeca. "Sure, I can bring the parts back." She didn't mind delivering parts or heading back to the ship. She doubted though that the mechanic would want her poking around the ship. Not to mention she wasn't sure about that as well. It wasn't her place - she'd help if asked but at the same time, as her mother used to say, "gayst deyn eygn gesheft" - mind your own business. "Did Rufus get all the parts you needed?" She asked.

Her surprise was evident when Rebeca mentioned there was only one part. "Only one?" She blinked surprised. Had the schmuck even looked at the rest of the engine or had he just looked at the one part? She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but with an airship starting to take off only to crash back down again - there had to be more than one part needed. She hoped for their sakes that he didn't just assume it was the one. It would just make things worse and delay them more.


[System]
Age: 17
Parent: Ursula
Appearance: Approximately 5' 9" with dark, nearly shoulder length hair and lightly tan skin, though it seems to be gaining an oddly purple tinge to it as of late. While he does appear to be a dark-colored octopus from the waist down for the most part, he has been using magic learned from his mother to give him legs to walk on land more easily.
Bio: TBR

Name: Moka Chi
Age: 16
Parent: Princess Kaguya (The Tale of Princess Kaguya/Princess Moonlight)
Appearance:
Bio: When she was younger, her mother would often speak of a lover she had been forced to leave behind on Earth when the royal family finally accepted her back. Though these stories always inspired sorrow for her mother's loss, she eventually built up her own fantasies from them until she felt the need to visit Earth and make some of those fantasies come true. Sadly, her waits in the bamboo groves have proven fruitless as of yet, and the rest of her time seeing the world for what it is has left her scared and sorrowful. Still, she clings to the hope of her ultimate dream: To find the one true happy ending at any cost!

[User]
Moka looked up from her search at the sound of another voice nearby, looking a bit nervous for a moment before her gaze fell on the pastel-haired girl approaching. She observed the girl carefully, taking note of the cat ears she sported. How curious...she wasn't sure whether to take it as a sign to be careful or merely a point of similarity. "Ah...yes, it is pretty interesting, isn't it? I'm not sure what to think at all."

Having already decided that she would need to take more time to empty her pockets before she would ever find her map again, she let out a small sigh and gave a sheepish smile to her new companion. "Or even how to find it, for that matter."

[Assistant]
NOVA
watching as the girl try to empty her pockets looking for something "are you looking for something?" asking the girl.

[User]
The brunette shrugged in reply to the other girl. "I thought I had my map, but...it looks like I'll have to ask around for where to go after all. I'm not sure if I can get another one before the next class starts. I can ask another teacher, maybe, but I'd have to find one first. And that kind of sounds like it would require finding a classroom where one happens to be at the moment...maybe I'll just wait until after class. I can probably find my way back to the office at some point."

"But right now, I just want to try my best to avoid being late. Somehow."

[Assistant]
NOVA
shrugging "that bites, asking is good" smirking, tossing her PC phone up and down over and over again.

[User] "Mm." The rabbit-eared girl nodded. It truly was unfortunate, but class wouldn't wait. As she tried to come up with a new plan, she absentmindedly watched her companion play with her device for a few seconds before the idea finally clicked. "A-ahn...you wouldn't happen to know the way to the next class by any chance would you? Could we be going to the same place?"

[Assistant]
NOVA
"do you mean Character Development? then yes." nodding, turning on the device to get the directions for the class. "Oh, it would seem we are closer then we thought" mumbling to herself, before turning towards the rabbit-eared girl and noticing her ears for the first time. "your a rabbit?" asking.

----------
MEL
"Character Development? what kind of class has that name?" thinking to herself, wondering what the other classes would be like and their name for that matter. while thinking to herself, she noticed the girl who talked back in the gym.

[User] "Tae a seat children. We needed to get started." mother goose called. "Whether you know it r not all your parents are famous in someway. Many of them have had their story or a version of it told to others.either as a lesson or an inspiration. In this class you will learn who to became the type of person people tell stories about. First you have to decide what kind of character you want to be."

[Assistant]
"N-no...Yes...It's...difficult to explain, really. My mother gave me these, I guess. She didn't have them, exactly, but..." Absentmindedly pulling on one as she walked, she tried her hardest to come up with a reasonable answer. She wasn't entirely sure why they had been given to her, honestly. She had theories, but not much more than that. She sometimes wished she didn't have them, however. They made her feel more like a target so far away from her home...

"Is that the class up ahead? We should hurry, it sounds like they're starting."

---

Olivan had found the classroom easily enough, picking a seat near the wall and just waiting for the teacher to begin. Luckily, that didn't seem to take too long, though exactly how it started was...strange.

And he knew. They weren't kidding when they called him kinda...that.

"Heh. That's rather naive. Does everyone here really think that they just choose how to be seen? That they really just decide ther own character like that?" The dark-haired boy shook his head a little as he continued to mumble to himself under his breath. "History doesn't care how you see you. History only cares how the ones left in power see you. Oneself is only a construct of ones own mind, and everyone sees everyone else as their own constructs. No matter what, people don't just view you the way you intend for them to. It's a matter only for the self."

[User]
NOVA
"they arn't that bad, or being a Cat with Ears is bad?" stating, as I showed her my ears, taking a random seat in class.

[Assistant]
"N-no, it's not that. There's nothing wrong with having ears like that." The brunette sat down in another nearby chair as she hurriedly tried to keep the situation from turning awkward due to that sort of misinterpretation. She didn't want her new companion to think that she was against people having animal traits or anything like that; that would be rude. She just...she couldn't handle having her own, she supposed. It was embarrassing however she looked at it.

Attempting not to let the unfortunate turn of conversation bother her too much, she turned toward the front to listen to the teacher. Whatever they were saying, it really did sound like this might be a writing class. Should I have a notebook out or something?

[User] eyeing the girl a little bit after that sentence. "if you say so" saying, as she watch the girl start paying attention to class, then her. telling Nova that she didn't want to talk anymore with her.

[Assistant] Katherin took her seat at the front of the class. She looked around. She wondered what everyone else thought of the class. Her mother had been a part of other people's stories. A small but important part. She didn't want to have a small part in someone else's story. She wanted to have a story of her own.

[User]
Still unsure about what was going on, Moka eventually did pull out a notebook to record the lesson. As she did her best to make some sense of the current topic, she couldn't help but glance about the room a bit more. What did the other students think about this so far?

After a few moments, she leaned over to the nearest student and tried to speak in a hushed whisper, not particularly wishing to get in trouble for talking in class. "Um...I'm sorry, but what exactly are we supposed to be doing?"

[Assistant] "I will give you a scene. Some from stories you've heard. Some that you might not have heard before. You will tell me and the class how you would react if you found yourself in the situation. For example let's say one day you are storing on a tall wall for whatever reason and something causes you to fall off. You have Atleast two broken bones probably more. What do you do?"mother goose asked.

[User]
MEL
"that's an easy one, in the first place, i wouldn't get hurt, i would turn into my other form and then fly back to the wall, seat here, and watch the others fall. that's if there are other around me. for fun, make them fall off." i said the last part to myself, smirking and laughing.

[Assistant] Olivan's expression changed to one of exaggerated confusion as he raised his head from its resting place: Propped up on his hand. "Why are we all Humpty Dumpty? And is it really a good idea to bring up that scandal here?"  The male shook his head with a slightly sarcastic grin. "At any rate, I hope nobody's going to wait around for the horses and men to fix them up, since they're clearly so capable."

[User] Katherin rolled her eyes. Clearly this girl wanted to be the class clown and a villain. She sighed. No one was going to take this seriously. Not that she blamed them. How many people would fall off a wall? "And what if you couldn't change into your other form? What if you were stuck as a human and found yourself splatted on the ground. Maybe then you would see what all that laughing at others gets you."

[Assistant]
Moka wasn't really sure how to answer the question. What exactly would she be doing up there in the first place? Probably just luck, she figured, but perhaps it didn't matter anyway.

"Ah...if my bones are broken...oh, which ones...? That could change everything, I might not be able to do anything if... No, wait! Did anyone fall off with me? If I can still move, I should do something about that."

[User]
MEL
Looking at the girl who said that. "then it wouldn't be me, now would it" Mel said, not caring if she didn't answer the question right.

[Assistant]
"Actually there are tons of ways to cause you to lose your powers. So it could be you. If you don't want to pass the simplest class maybe you should leave so the rest of us can learn." Katherin told her
----

"Those are good queations to ask. You reactions and choices would be affected by those things. Let's say that you were alone for some reason. You are far from help. One leg is definitely broken and the other isn't looking that good. " mother goose answered.

[User]
"Well, that's a pain. Not that breaking one leg would exactly stop me, but it would hurt. Only an idiot wouldn't admit to that." Olivan released a small puff of breath as he thought of an answer. Just because he thought that the class was a waste of time, didn't mean that he could exactly afford to fail out already. He had to at least participate a little to keep his standing until he could do something he liked better. "Well, if we assume that we can't get out of whatever events led to us breaking our bones, and therefore have to work with that no matter what, let's get more information. Can we use powers while on the ground? After the fact of having been injured, I mean? If so, then I imagine some would find it a simple matter to get to safety. For the rest, it's time for more crafty means."

"...Of course, I imagine that we have to remain in a human form for this hypothetical activity. Because that's already a big enough loophole for some, I'm sure you've guessed."

[Assistant] "You can not use your powers. You are limited to whatever you can do without the powers. The idea is to make you think outside of your usual reaction. You know what you are capable with your powers but what can you do without them? Who will you be if you didn't have them?" Mother goose answered.

[User]
Easy trap. Amazing that it worked, but no less deserving of the small sense of pride welling up inside, he thought.

"Well, for one thing..." The bright-eyed teen smirked slightly again at the question. "...I'd be a lot less boney."

"Keeping all that in mind, then, I guess I'd just have to limp off to the water again to recover. Really not that big a deal, but I guess it could be annoying. More bruising than anything, though, I'd expect, but who knows? I think that I'm strong and pliable enough to survive."

[Assistant] "You have no powers remember. So limping to the water wouldn't help you. You are hurt alone and far from help. You cant do anything to heal yourself and you have no medical supplied." Mother Goose told them.

[User]
"If you're expecting me to say that I'll lie down and die, then I'm afraid that I'll have to severely disappoint you, Miss." The boy's eyes flashed for a second, the absurdity of the situation starting to irritate him. Nevertheless, it wouldn't pay to raise one's voice to a teacher, nor would losing one's cool in front of an entire classroom, so he kept his voice calm and even. Not quiet, however; he made his statement clear enough for every student in the room to hear.

"As I said, I have fewer bones to break without any powers in effect, and therefore can likely limp wherever I would like to stay and recover naturally unless the conditions are changed. While I agree that the water might actually not be the best idea for its own reasons, I wouldn't need anything special to hide in a more familiar setting with my natural, powerless talents. The only detriment to the plan that I could see is the possibility of there being no water, as the exact location of this wall was never mentioned."

"Not all of us are human, Mother Goose. You see us with our powers here, not without them, so how would you know who I am alone? Those without power shouldn't be underestimated; we don't all rely solely on our literal or metaphorical fairy godmothers, believe it or not."

[Assistant]
MEL

"it seems like home to me" Mel said, looking at the others.

[User]
Moka sat in silence for a bit, considering all the possible ways to answer. No powers, no help, no supplies... Was there anything she could do? "Herbs...maybe if there were herbs...where exactly is this wall?" Even as she mumbled to herself about possibilities, she still had the sinking feeling at the back of her mind that maybe there was nothing that she could do. With her legs broken, her best defense was, too. Anything that wanted to pick her off could do so in a heartbeat. She couldn't fight them off, and there wouldn't be anyone to rely on, either.

Here, she felt too much as little more than prey. It had been a miracle that she had survived this long, anyway...maybe there wasn't a way out. "It would have been nice if it had at least been a more fulfilling end...someone else probably could really use what remains, at the very least...I'd rather have donated it to someone who really deserved it, at least."