[System]
* Age: 17
* Gender: Female
* Appearance: "Hey there, wanna share some pocky?" Chie is on the short side of average height for a Japanese girl of her age.
* Personality: Chie is a very laid-back and relaxed person. She's difficult to anger or annoy, and really all she wants to do is spend time with friends and play her music. Chie loves music, so much so that she joined Akiyama-Kreuz's light music club as soon as she learned that one existed. Chie is very friendly, and loves to meet new people and talk with them. She's such a smooth and even-tempered girl that it's difficult to imagine her getting angry for any reason. She is also very fond of sweet things, and is nearly always carrying some kind of snack on her, which she's very eager to share. To say Kudou Chris eats a lot of snacks would be something of an understatement. In spite of her very laid-back and cool attitude, Chie is not impossible to anger. It takes quite a bit, but deriding her family or friends is a good way to get her angry.
* Skills: Chie is fond of baking, which she is quite good at, and she can also play the electric guitar quite well. She likes playing slow, relaxed songs, or basically the polar opposite with bombastic alternative rock anthems. She is also a decent singer. Chie is, rather surprisingly, capable at streetfighting, though mostly in avoiding blows and hitting tender areas by surprise.
* Brief Backstory: Chie was born into family who had only recently gained enough money to get by due to their volunteering for the Receiver Creation Program. While this was of great benefit for them, some children felt it was cause to bully Chie. As she grew up, she became something of a delinquent, spending late nights out and shirking her duties as a student during Junior High. She even got in fights. But, during her last year in Junior High, something changed. Someone intervened, a girl who never told Chie her name. They had a long talk, and spent an entire day together. Afterwards, Chie got into music, changed her ways, and adopted a more relaxed and friendly attitude, bringing it with her to Akiyama-Kreuz.
* Tuner: Needs Pairing

[User]
The fact that his partner managed to find him first caught James a tad off-guard; maybe it was trying to get a better vantage point that made him stand out, but... Well, what was done was done. His partner didn't stand out that much, though; the blue tint of his hair, once he managed to see it up close, seemed to stand out from the regular black hair that most Asians had, but...
Eh, that was pretty minor, if anything. It'd take some time to come to recognize his name and face and associate it with his name, but... All in due time.

"Ah... Right. Well, that simplifies things considerably." he said, leaping down from atop the desk he had just moved up on top of and rubbing the back of his neck in nervous embarrassment. Right. he made himself stand out like an idiot in order to find a faster solution to the problem at hand. Well, it worked, at least...

"Heh... Shit. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you regardless. Apparently, standing up somewhere high makes it easier for others to see you just as it is for you to see them. Who'd've thought? Anyways... Akiya... Was it? Or would you prefer me to go by your last name?" he began as he began dragging his new partner through the crowd towards the nearest exit.

"Well, whatever. As for the answer to your question... Mind just calling me James? It feels really... Freakin' awkward to be called for my last name. Seriously can't get used to it."

...
Wait, did his partner have the capacity to understand him through all of his... Well, 'method' of speaking English? Like, it seemed he had some grasp of the language, but... Well, only time could tell.
Aaand he'd probably have to learn Japanese over the next few years, too, wouldn't he? God dammit, Mandarin was bad enough back in America...

Eh, whatever; life was life. Maybe... Icebreaker questions? But that would have to wait until he reached the exit...

Which, thankfully enough, didn't take much more than a minute or so to reach. The crowd thinning out as they walked over helped considerably, at least, for which James was quite grateful for; contests of strength had never been his forte, after all.

"Hell, it's about time. That took too long; where are the dorms, though?" he stated to nobody in particular as he exited the stuffy room, taking in a breath of the not-so-humid air in the hallway before turning back to his partner. "You got any clue?"

---

Oh.
He was one of those people, wasn't he? The blush on his face, that awkward manner of speech, even the stiffness of his body...
Well, she couldn't say she didn't see it coming. She wanted interesting, and boy, did she get it. Just... Not in the manner she expected, at least. Though... It was impressive that he managed to sniff her out so quickly, especially with the crowd still as thick as it was; she had deliberately chosen a location to slip away from the mess around her, but he managed to pick her out, with all these faces to fish through. Was it luck? Quite possibly. But maybe...
No, it couldn't be. It had to be luck; there were too many other girls here with the same hair color, same hairstyle, same eye color... He took a shot in the dark, and hit the bullseye in one go. Impressive; she'd give him that much for now, but no more. First, she had to learn; to probe around, see if there was anything worth getting invested in. With a quick glance at the screen above (and with her face and that of the boy in front of her in mind), Mari silently confirmed the validity of his statement. Not just an odd duck; he was her partner.

"Hello, Keiichi-san. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance; I'm surprised you found me so quickly, what with all the people in here." she said, bowing her head in a polite show of acknowledgement. "Though... I must ask if we could refrain from moving through the crowd for the time being; I'd rather not be crushed by the stampede of newly-paired students rushing to their dorms as they are now."

Gesturing toward the somewhat-steady stream of students flowing out of the room, Mari smiled towards her new-found partner. It was a slight smile, and one she had faked often to slip away from annoying peers who wanted to drag her on some silly venture. It would do. For now.

[Assistant]
Kazuko was standing in the corner against the wall with her arms crossed. She was not interested in any of the idle chatter and was eager to get the pairings over and done with. She heard the woman in front announcing the pairings. A holographic projection appeared for all to see and Kazuko saw it was the list of pairings. She was trying to look for her name when she heard her name being called.

"Kenzaki Kazuko and Anjou Ryuuto"

It was then she saw her name and her picture. Alongside it was another name and the picture of her would-be receiver. It was a boy. Kazuko shrugged as she did not care either way. What is most important was her receiver was competent and able to keep up with her so she could be a strong tuner. Kazuko studied the boy's picture carefully and decided to just wait for her partner to find her. She was not going to go on a hunt in the crowd. The last point about the dorm rooms caught her attention.

"So...I would be sharing a room with a boy?"

[User]
Ryuuto Anjou

Ryuuto hated scenarios like these. He scanned the monitors for his name to see who he was paired with rather quickly, but that was the easy part. He gave one quick glance around the crowd and immediately felt like a pebble being bounced around in a sea of motion. While he wasn't terribly short, Ryuuto was definitely scrawnier than most of the boys his age, and so pushing past people was an insurmountable task. His only hope of maneuvering through the chaos was worming his way through the gaps created when one person moved, but even that strategy was not flawless. As he tried to slither his way to a better vantage point, other students bumped into him, offering passing "excuse me's" as if that actually excused them of their barbaric behavior. One person even backed into him without looking and nearly sent his glasses flying off his face, which would have been the end of them in this tumult.

He had to grab onto somebody's shoulder to prevent himself from falling, but then he saw a ray of hope. The girl he had landed on had the same hair and body type as his partner in the picture. Could it be a coincidence? "Kenzaki-san?" he said tentatively, but when the girl turned around, she revealed a face completely different than the one he expected to see. "Ah, excuse me!" he stammered, backing off before the girl had a chance to push him off. It was no use; he'd never find anybody in this crowd. So he decided to wait off in a corner where his partner could find him.

A couple of minutes passed, and nobody approached him. It seemed like most of the students had met their partners by now, yet it was strange that he hadn't even caught a glance of his. Then, a harrowing thought came: if they were paired up based on personality, then it was very likely that both of them would be inclined to wait rather than seek. He let out a sigh, dreading the prospect of plunging back into that crowd, but he saw it as the only possibility. Since he would presumably be working with Kenzaki-san for a long time, he had genuinely wanted to make a good impression, but the image of her waiting, growing impatient, and contemplating simply meeting him at the dorm sent him into social damage control mode.

As much as he hated it, he walked back into the crowd to give another look for his partner. Fortunately, by letting some time go by, many pairs of student had already met up and were leaving the room, which at least gave Ryuuto some room to breathe. With more space to walk around in, he managed to avoid getting bumped around, and even got a decent view of the room... and there she was! Ryuuto slipped past one of the jocks and finally made his way to the wall where his partner was waiting for him.

He stood there for a moment, just happy that the ordeal was over, but after a silence that was just long enough to be awkward, he remembered that he had to introduce himself. "Oh, um... I take it you are Kenzaki-san? I'm Anjou Ryuuto. Let's work hard together at this school." Ryuuto knew that wasn't the most elegant introduction, but he was so focused on not messing up her name that he forgot to be friendly. After another brief pause, he offered her a handshake, not realizing that the stress from being in a crowded space had made his hand a bit sweaty.

[Assistant]
"Ah-hah, sorry about that," replied Chie, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. She was a bit sad she couldn't have been around for the flower viewing, as well. And knowing someone looked up to her did make her feel pretty warm and fuzzy inside, even if she wasn't entirely sure she deserved that sort of praise. After all, it hadn't been too long ago that she was quite a different person... Oh, but she supposed that didn't matter right now. "I'll definitely be there next time."

Eventually, they reached the dorms. A set of three large, stately buildings, each one for a different year, the Akiyama-Kreuz dorms were rather impressive in terms of facilities. Each room possessed, well... for one, due to the fact that at times both male and female students would inhabit the dorms, there had to be two bathrooms. It had not been a decision undertaken lightly, but it was determined that the best way for abilities to develop was to ensure that students spend as much time as possible together. Even if that meant potential awkwardness. Still, two bathrooms helped with this issue. Each dorm possessed some furniture and storage space, such as two beds, as well as a small kitchen. They were rather elaborate, but given the healthy amount of funding the academy received, they were able to afford this for their students.

As the two girls reached their room, their luggage had already been dropped off. The staff was quite punctual about that, but Chie wouldn't have felt like it was a big deal if they were late.


[System]
* Age: 35
* Gender: M
* Appearance:
Normal-
Alien Armor-
* Bio: Universe 71665, a world where there are no cops, robbers, or military. Instead there are powered beings that act as the law, or chaos, of the world. Justin found the symbiotic being known as Hastur when he was a teenager. After being found, the two were sent a training center to master their teamwork. After leaving the training center the two, going by the name Plasmid, became mercenaries, working for whatever hero or villain had the bigger wallet.
* Powers/Abilities:
Street Fighting- Justin is not trained highly in fighting, instead he relies on "winging it" while in a fight. He will use anything as a weapon, use "cheap or dirty" shots, and anything else he can to win a fight. His life motto is "The only fair fight, is the one you walk away from."
Wrestling- The only form of training Justin has is in wrestling. He likes to keep ahold of his foes, or keep them on the ground.
Symbiotic Armor-
powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Symbiotic_..
Simple Healing Factor- Only when wearing the suit/armor
* Weaknesses:
Intense Sonic Waves
Extreme Heat
Extreme Cold
High Voltage
Separation Anxiety

Other Weaknesses might be found while traveling the multiverse.

[User]
Summoning rituals were both a blessing and a curse. Being ripped from the void felt pretty terrible. But then you got to explore a new world with new experiences! But something like a holodeck was anything but interesting. That being said, it was extremely rare for machines to even dabble in the occult, let alone try a complex void summoning ritual! Let alone with neon signs leading people somewhere like a gameshow!

Well, gameshows could be fun. So Light, having been summoned, decided to follow the neon signs to their destination. Something interesting was bound to happen, if not, well... There was always that place with the plumber constantly getting high of 'shrooms and stardust.

Out of everything, besides some other show contestants, was a dossier with a little info about Light. Sure it was drastically lacking, but then occult documents tended to skimp on lots of details. Still though, it was interesting someone had multiversal access like this. Or was this a world Light had already visited? It didn't matter right now, there were prizes to win!

[Assistant]
Justin looked over as a woman walked into the room. She was speaking to him, but he didn't hear her. He was distracted by the way she looked. She looked, odd. At least, she did to him.

"Are you, real?" Justin asked, walking up to her. "You look like someone had, drawn you." He said, not trying to sound like a jackass, but knew he was. He pulled out a comic book and showed her, hoping that might clear up some of the confusion.

"First I wake up on a ship, then I meet a walking comic girl." He said, then looked up as a man was talking about being detained. "What? Listen, I think we are all being de....wait, what the hell are "taxes"?" He asked, as another person walked in. "Dear lord, you lot just keep appearing, huh?" He asked, looking at the new being in the room. He was ready to speak to her when yet another person came walking in. "Is this a joke or something?" He asked. "Does anyone have any idea what's going on?" He asked, just as the screen came to life, showing only two words.

"Low Power!"

"Well, that can't be good." Justin said. "So, we are on a ship, lord only knows where, losing power. I would suggest, that we go find the power switch, get it started, then we can all be buddy buddy later. Deal?" He asked, already heading towards a door. "I think I passed by a maintenance closet or something on the way here. Maybe it'll have what we need, or a map at least." He stopped at the door, turning to look at everyone.

"Names Justin. Sorry to skip that bit before." He said, before walking into the hall, as the computer screen added another word.

"Low Power! Danger!"

[User]
"Excuse me? What do you mean? That's very rude, asking a person if she's real? If anything you're the weird one." Cassie looked a bit insulted at that, and crossed her arms across her chest. She looked around and soon some more people walked in. One looked like he had walked in from the middle of a snow storm, which caused her to arch her eyebrow. "You okay there?"

Then another man who looked similar to the first man, and insisted he wasn't insane. Then... She looked over at their newest arrival. Cassie wasn't sure how to describe the person (?) wearing the trench coat. The man in the snow storm gear started yelling at her and she blinked.

"Woah! I haven't detained anyone! I just was going to the bathroom, and then ended up here! I have work to do and people to help protect, and yet, I'm here on.. I'm guessing this is a space ship? Wait.... Space Ship!?" Cassie looked around in surprise. "Where the hell..."

She was cut off by the screen coming to life and yelling at the five of them. The guy who had introduced himself as Justin went to go find the maintenance closet. "I guess I'll uh... follow?" She looked a bit confused at that and then heard the computer yell at them again, adding the word 'Danger.'

"Oh crap... alright, let's fine the power box."

[Assistant]
Soloman backed off a bit, perplexed at the developments in his situation.

"If you didn't detain me, then what is going on?" he uttered out, before hearing Justin question taxes.

"Wha...what world do you live in where taxes aren't a thing"

More were piling in, though Solomon payed them little mind as the ship they were on seemed to have a few words to say.

Low Power! Danger!

"Well, that's not good"

Solomon chuckled a bit at Cassie's surprise, "What, you've never been on a ship before? I didn't have you pegged for the earthbound type."

He followed after Justin. "Name's Solomon, I'm a spacer." he said, digging his plasma torch out of his pocket and holding it up for the others to see, "I was actually going to repair my own ship, so I guess we're in luck that this little thing carried over with me to wherever we are, huh?" Solomon took off his face mask and goggles, revealing his face, and perhaps more noticeable, his eyes, which were bright blue, almost looking florescent.

Soloman spoke up one last time, "So, I'm guessing you're all from Earth? Just on account of you're all speaking English"

[User]
Rockin' was walking through his hometown, looking around for his next spark of inspiration. As he neared the northern edge of town, he smiled, remembering how Blitz had used one of the Elements of Death to preserve life. "I wonder if he's won Violet over yet," he said to himself before turning around.

A strange orange orb was flying towards him. He didn't know what it was at first but was quick to try to grab it with his magic. When that didn't work, he tried teleporting away. It seemed to be following him. As a last ditch effort, he tried kicking it when it got close enough, but he missed completely.

He stood and shook his head before looking around. "Low power," he said to himself, tilting his head. "Ignoring the fact I'm the only pony in a room full of... whatever you are, I know I'll need a spell book. Does anypony have anything that'll help?"

He turned to actually look at the group his horn glowing a turquoise color, matching his eyes, as his metal wings began moving. "We have to search everywhere if nopony has one on them."

[Assistant]
Light wasn't sure if she was the only one on this ship or not. After all, she wasn't really captive. If they summoned her here without any sort of security or anything than they were only aware of how to summon her or it was some sort of benign sorta thing like the gameshow she guessed at. But then if it was a gameshow, where were the other contestants?

She wandered around the ship a bit more until parts of the ship started to power down. It was around this time that she heard some voices from a room over. Excited to meet some people, she made her way to the room's door which due to the low power in the ship, had been locked. She banged on it quite loudly, but no one answered nor did the door open. So she did the funniest thing that came to mind.

Brandishing her fingers like claws, she stuck both of her hands through the door and made a small opening for herself, the sound of metal being both scratched and being ripped apart penetrating the room. Sticking her head through the opening, she gave the group inside a wide smile saying. "Hello other game show contestants!" She was expecting most of the humanoids of various types and shapes, some inky, some in a trenchcoat, some space-y. What she didn't expect was the walking glowing horse unicorn thing.

[User]
"Roam with me if you want comic lady, but try to keep up." He said, walking past the door Light was making a show at. He stopped and raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. "Hastur, any idea what that is?" He asked.

No idea. Definitely alien like me, but that's all I can tell.

"Well, no worse than anything I've dealt with before." He said, walking down the hallway. He looked at Cassie as they walked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"So, any clues on how or why you are here?" He finally asked, trying to find the closet he passed earlier. "I'm going on a limb and guessing that you didn't summon us here, seeing how you have no idea how this ship works." He said, finally seeing the closet. "Unless, of course, you are testing us. If that's the case, not bad." He said trying to open the door.

When it didn't open he let out a sigh, holding his hand out. A large tendril shot out, knocking the door off it hinges. Inside was a switch, with the words "Backup Power" written on it.

"This, is incredibly easy." He said, walking to the switch. "Think it's safe?"


[System]
Age: 27

Occupation: Nomad

Personality: Talan has had a hard life. The world has taken much from him and so he has developed a very cynical view of the world. He prefers to be on his own unless it is not the wisest of choices to make and when in a group he acts as the stern caretaker. While he does come off as cold he does care for others if they manage to gain his trust. If you've somehow managed to do that you've gained a friend for life.

History: Talan is from a far off land, a mix of desert and plainslands. His mother Varri and his father Na'Kael were members of a nomadic tribe that farm wherever they are able and live off the land. His father would often take him along on hunting trips when the tribe settled somewhere(though he never hunted himself only carried the supplies). When not hunting with his father he would spend time with his mother farming the land and the two shared a very close bond with each other. One day when they were out hunting Talan and his father were attacked by a hostile tribe, Na'Kael managed to get Talen to escape before he he was killed but by the time Talen had reached camp it had already been attacked by the enemy tribe. His mother was killed in the attack and so Talan was left an orphan. While still a member of the tribe he was forced to fend for himself as the surviving members moved on. He continued to live with them as an outcast to this day.

[User]
Talan knelt next to the body of the dead Kith. His arms and face were scratched and covered in small cuts and scraps yet his sullen look was not caused by the pain. The sight of the dead Kith sent Talan back into his memories, memories of that fateful day. Before him was a sizable encampment, it was set ablaze with the fires illuminating the night sky. Talan could hear the screams of the dying and those about to be slain by the blades of his enemies. The smell of burning bodies filled the air as tears began to form in his eyes. Suddenly and as softly as an evening breeze Talan heard a voice call out to him. "Dreza nil dar vothsi zei...", It was a woman's voice, her words echoed across the plains and seemed to linger before fading into nothingness. The voice vanished as quickly as it arrived but Talan could still hear it as those were the last words he'd ever hear from his mother. "Monah...frilan zei", Talan whispered but those three little words were enough to push him over the edge. Tears began to roll down his cheeks before collecting at his chin where they plummeted to the ground. Though his cries were almost silent Talan was releasing years of pain that after this would only increase. He had failed, he failed himself and his promise to his mother and only now did he realize how far he had fallen. Talan began to loose control, so many emotions, so many thoughts racing through his mind that tortured him until his silent cries became vocal sobs. He laid his head on the ground as he continued to mourn, never having been able to do so before.

When he was done Talan got up to his feet but held his head low as he walked over to where his spear lay. Once his weapon was back in his possession Talan walked over to Rhea. His eyes were red from his tears and made him look as if he was a dead man walking. He spoke but his words were cold and emotionless, "This lantern is lost, we must find the others before it's too late".

[Assistant]
The sleek, narrow mask she had plucked from the lichen-green statue happened to be that of the hawk: the Mask of Sight. Although the forest remained dark, every shape and outline was suddenly sharper -- every twitch and tremble of movement was clear and pronounced and vivid. What was more, she would discover a new understanding of the terrain and her exact location compared to where she had been. She knew that she had first arrived high among the mountains, and had since traveled down into a valley full of trees and plants higher and more monstrous than those on the mountain had been. She had a sense that the land here was vast but surrounded by water, and that the stream she had traveled down not long ago -- the river that cut through the valley -- ran freely to the ocean.

Reus growled low in response to her question -- he was far too distracted by the immediate threat to properly acknowledge her request. He could do little against shadows. His teeth were meant for rending flesh, and there was none among the darkness. As threatening as he made himself appear, there was nothing he could do.

The princess made her choice and the glass of the lantern shattered; the iron casing twisted. A brightness of blue light flashed; wind rushed around her and pushed against the darkness.

The Lantern of Spirit was directly linked to Anise's mind. Once it had been broken and the power was freed, Anise would immediately be able to sense the minds around her. She could feel the strength of their resolve. When faced with a mind that was weaker than her own, she could reach out and bend it to her will.

She would feel the mind of Reus beside her. He was far more intelligent than any beast had a right to be, and his resolve against the shadows was currently equal to hers.

Surrounding her were several dozen weak minds, all being controlled by the Lord of Shadows. The shadows were the broken souls of the dead, turned to darkness and shadow by the power of the Lord. The Lord's mind was powerful, murderous and vengeful, determined to maintain his control over the forest. If Anise wished to influence the spirits around her, she would have to overpower the Lord's hold on them.

Also present was the mind of Simon. He was feeding the Lord of Shadows, fueling the Lord's strength.

And then, suddenly, Simon's mind weakened considerably, and the Lord's strength wavered and became uncertain and distracted.

Through the eyes of Simon's mask, the darkness roiled and undulated. The Lady of the Pond whispered to Simon:

He says you have not yet paid the price of your previous wish, she said with a smile. He sees no reason to grant you this, if you make a habit of going back on your promises. If you will not take the pirate's eyes, then he will take yours instead.

Meanwhile, Tyaelaem's spirit flickered and moved closer. His blue eyes shone -- though the rest of his translucent body was little more than a shadow -- visible only to Simon through the eyes of the fox mask. Tyaelaem pointed to the flower in Simon's hands, and he made a motion to represent fire.

Simon had set the spirit flowers aflame once before, at the side of the creek when the monkeybats had attacked. The spirits had been given physical form in the shape of smoke.

From where Fyair lay among the weeds and rocks -- bathed in the green light of the broken Lantern -- he had a view of the rustling leaves and the starry sky beyond them.

Big shining eyes stared down at him from a tree branch. The owl hooted low and shifted on its perch, blinking down at the prone giant and the lantern he held.

Deeper in the forest, he would hear the low growl of a wolf and the echo of Anise's voice.

Rhea held up the violet lantern, her expression solemn but not at all moved by the death of the Kith. She couldn't understand what had bothered Talan about getting rid of that vermin, but she didn't pry and didn't much care. She shone the light over Tyaelaem's corpse, and thought for a moment of taking the rabbit mask and the canteen of healing water -- but she didn't want to risk drawing the fury of the forest spirits.

"There are two lanterns unaccounted for," she explained to Talan gravely. "A red one and a white one, if the myths are true."

A blue flash of light sparked deep in the woods, and the Violet and Green Lanterns glowed brightly. The Blue Lantern had been broken.

Rhea looked over at Fyair, who no longer posed a threat from his place on the ground -- but now the mountainous man had been bound to the Green Lantern, and was a dangerous presence.

"If you have changed your mind," she called to Fyair gravely, "I'll allow you to follow us willingly to the settlement. Our mages may be able to remove that curse and seal the Lantern. It's your choice." She saw Fyair as a potential asset to the pirates' cause -- to further the development of civilization and to fight back the forest and the Kith. But if that princess came back for him, he might be an equally threatening adversary. It appeared that, for now, he had not chosen a side.

[User]
The new power Anise had discovered from freeing the essence of Spirit and wearing the Hawk was a sudden and surprising change to her senses. She could see better than before, and she could sense the minds around her. She had no time to be affected by the confusion that these new feelings and senses brought her. She had to sink or swim here. She felt that she could affect the minds of the spirits floating around her if she could defeat the Lord of these Shadows.

She felt a fresh spurt of energy as adrenaline struck. She felt quite confident that she could actually do it. She mustered all of her focus as she threw her will into the spirits around her. She welcomed them to join her. To become friends with her. To help her. She wanted to be a light for the lost souls that had been stuck here so long. She wanted them to feel her determination and be inspired by it.

"Shadow, I am not afraid of you. I will become a light in this world. One that you will not put out." Her voice was filled with determination and force. She believed that the dragon was actually a force for good and that the Shadow that is here corrupted the dragon forcing those stuck here to seal it away and survive in the darkness. If she could cleanse this darkness and bring back the light perhaps then she could go home.

"Come spirits!" She called out. "Help me. I will free you from this prison. This is no place for you to remain forever."

She glanced at Reus whom clearly only knew to look threatening here. She could tell that he could not offer any defense against the shades. She knew that she was the one that would need to protect him here, and she could not fail in that.

[Assistant]
Simon had almost immediately regret asking the Lord of Shadows for another favour so close, he was the "Lord of Shadows" instead of the Lord of Generosity so Simon either had two choices to make; one take the pirates eyes or lose his own. As bad as having shitty vision was he would take it over no vision at all. If only Talan would have acted a little bit sooner or well wouldn't have performed his actions at all he would have saved himself this small pain in the ass. The only thing was how he was going to take the vision of the pirate, taking the physical approach probably wouldn't help to much since she was probably more physically gifted than him but Rhea would also have Talans assistance who he already showed his allegiance to.

"Yeah Pond Princess I know it was a foolish thing to do! Ugh! Why didn't you stop me anyway, you knew it was going to end up being a horrible decision"

 Simon honestly didn't know how much longer that he could look at the shadow embodiment of Tyaelaem, to be honest it made him quite sad especially how it had happened. If he hadn't spoken to him maybe this wouldn't have happened, he would still be here with him. However if he was around he probably would be having this kind of morale dilemma, given how their relationship had started. The biggest reason was because that his story seemed a little bit more plausible than the pirates representation of how the past events had unfolded. As he continued to look at Tyaelaem and feel sadness he barely noticed that he was making a symbol for a fire with his hands and pointing to the flower that was grasping. He wanted to smack himself in the forehead for not thinking of that, seemed to be a fairly common trend so far. However Simon really wasn't to sure of how he was going to get a fire started this time and to be completely honest the first time had been a fluke given that he blacked out when the fire had been started.

 Simon went and collected some moss and bark from a tree and placed them in a small circle along with some twigs. That was when Simon sat down with two rocks and was determined to get something going. He had struck the rocks together multiple times to no prevail when he had gotten angry and thrown one of the rocks at a nearby tree. After taking a moment to take a breather and collect himself he walked over to where he had thrown the rock and looked around for it. When he got there he seen something out of the corner of his eye, it looked like the casing from one of the lanterns that Anise had shattered. He wondered if this would be just the item that he had needed to start a fire since it was metal and could possibly create a spark. For some strange reason had a slight feeling that this was the correct action to take. He had carefully taking the metal casing back to the small area where he had collected his moss, bark and twigs.

 He placed the casing at an angle so that the distance between it and the hopefully flammable materials would be minimal. Simon struck the rock against the metal casing once and a single spark came off it but no fire, the second time Simon thought he would strike it a little bit harder hoping to create a few more so he put a little bit more of a swing on it. This time a few sparks but still not enough, Simon was getting annoyed again and brought the rock above his head and slammed it as hard as he could. This probably wasn't the smartest idea since the fair sized rock shattered into tons of small less efficient rocks but thankfully one of the sparks had caught enough to catch the moss on fire. Simon placed the twigs in a steeple above the fire and placed the bark around the inside of the twigs, it took a few minutes of gently blowing on the fire to get it going but now it was done. Wasn't nearly as simple as the last time but he would take the small victory.

 Simon knew it was the moment of truth so he picked the flower back up with both hands gently and placed it as close to on top of the steeple as possible. He had sat there thinking now about how he was going to take the pirates eyes so he wouldn't have to bear that shitty burden from such a hasty mistake.

[User]
Two lanterns remained, at least that's what Rhea had told him. The red lantern he had seen before, back when Talan had first arrived in this forest a red lantern greeted him along with a woman he had not seen since then. "I don't know where the red lantern is but it is possible that it's being kept by a woman I met upon arriving here. If she has it our chances of finding her are slim to none", there was a sullen tone in Talan's voice as this meant there was little to no way to return home. "I don't suppose your people have ways of finding these lanterns?", Talan prayed that Rhea would say yes and that finding the red and white lanterns was as simple a task as fetching wood. Of course there was the issue of Fyair. The lantern had transformed him into a beast and now Rhea was offering to take him to her village. "Are you sure that's wise? He may not have his mind later, if he were to attack the village..", Talan was all to wary about letting the abomination follow. If what happened to his clan were to be the fate of Rhea's people it would be a sight all too familiar.

Before anything could be done there was another matter to take care of. The body of the Kith, it needed to be dealt with. By Talan's traditions the body should be burned to ensure its spirit passes on. "Rhea, before we go we should burn the Kith. It feels wrong to leave it here". Talan glanced back at the body of Tyaelaem to find Simon who, from a guess, appeared to be attempting to start a fire. "Simon, what are you doing?", while Talan was okay with the idea of starting a fire he was wary of how it was done since last time it summoned spirits and a myriad of other pests.


[System]
The Basics
Nicknames/Titles:
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Home Planet: Lothal
Race: Human
Sexuality: Straight
Force Sensitive: Yes, but doesn't know it, nor does he really care.
If yes, to what extent is their control over the Force:
Weapon(s): A-116 Marksmen Blaster Pistol, Modified E-11 Long-Range blaster mostly for scouting areas.
Loyalty: First Order
Position: Smuggler/Marksmen/Mercenary/Bounty Hunter

The Face Stuff
Height: 6'2''
Weight: 197 lbs.
Body Build: Athletic
Notable Injuries/scars: A scar that starts below his left ear and comes across to the end of his jaw.
Hair color: Jet Black
-Length: Shoulder
-Style: Ponytail typically
Eye color(s): Blue
Skin tone: Tanned

Marking/Tattoos: None
Clothing: Highly Modified Baragwin Shadow Armor with a dark blue color to it.along with a targeting assessor.
-Anything notable of the clothing: The First Order's symbol directly on the chest

The Good Stuff
Biography:

Joran doesn't remember exactly anything from his childhood except that he would do anything to scrap by. From about the age of nine, he was taken in by a man that taught him how to fire a blaster to defend himself. From that point, the man took him under his wing, allowing him to grow into a mercenary that no longer had to fight to just get by. They would take on numerous missions for the Empire, but nothing that really put him in any limelight, as he most kept to the shadows.

The once Mercenary eventually was made a complete First Order agent who spends most of his days doing exactly what that man did for him. Give some Orphaned children a purpose. He felt he gave them a life instead of them starving on the streets, begging, or being taken to a worse fate. At least this way they would grow to have a fighting chance against the universe. At least that was always how he rationalized it, which was the same way it had been rationalized to him.

The First Order has made sure that they have kept him on their payroll, even if he isn't out on a mission, as they feel he is a valueable asset to them. While he himself not even realizing it, not that he would really care if he knew, he is force sensitive, which was another reason they have kept him on the payroll, and around.
Personality: A very crass, unapologetic person. Doesn't care if he offends people with his dialouge, nor does he really care if he steps on peoples toes when it comes to having a set plan in stone. He believes firmly that you cannot account for every variable, so why bother even trying to plan out things, as he would rather just react to the events taking place over wasting time. To him, every second planning something is a second he could be doing just about anything else. He refuses to tone himself done for anyone.

Like: Spicy Foods, High Paying Jobs, Taking Risks, Gambling, Explosions caused by him.
Dislikes: Waiting long periods of time, Being forced into planning out details, other Bounty Hunters/Smugglers. Sweet Foods. Explosions by other people directed at him.
Triggers/Hot Button: Plans
Skills/Strengths: Improvisation, Dependable/Reliable, Highly skilled Marksman, Charismatic, Outgoing
Flaws/Weaknesses: Impatient, Reactive, Never Has a Plan, Hot-Headed. Abrasive, Crass, Crude

[User]
"Death can't keep me down. I'm too stubborn to die. Still have a few things I want in my life before I feel like I would even consider it." He could feel the emotion in the air grow heavier, and then she started to move away from him. That was before she made the small patting gesture, and he knew what she had wanted him to do. Curling his own head into her lap, he felt some comfort in her actions as her finger nails started to work through his hair.

"Death isn't going to stop me from living my life. I'm not afraid of it, I embraced it many years ago. I still have much more things keeping me alive, and I won't allow myself to die until everything, I feel, is taken care of." Slowly he tucked one of his arms underneath her knee, almost using her leg like a pillow. For the first moment in a long while, Joran allowed the silence to take over the room as he just lay there, content with the moment.

"We should probably stay a week... You know, just to make sure." Turning his eyes up towards her, he gave her a lopsided smile. "I mean, I'm sure you have some stories you could tell, and the rebels aren't here yet. Not to mention... This might be the best job I have ever been sent on. This has to be the best mission you have been sent on, strictly because I am here." His lips turned up into a smile as he started to rub his head into her leg in a very cat-like manner.

[Assistant]
Solaras was at a lose of words as he spoke about accepting death, she too had followed in those same steps. Although, she lived her life out of spite. Out of the sheer desire to live a life that meant something and not die in some room where no one would find the body until she was too far gone. She shivered as he adjusted slightly to use her leg as a pillow, something of a soft hum coming from the back of her throat as she looked down at him- studying his face while still rubbing circles and dragging her nails through his oddly soft hair.

An eyebrow popped in her signature way when the extra week was mentioned. Red flags of duties and jobs sounded off in her head but she pushed them away as his words invaded her ears. "You just want to spend more time with me in a tiny room don't you? It's alright, you can admit it. I don't judge...most of the time." She teased as a real smile spread across her lips. She curled over herself more, her hair falling over her shoulders as she gently scratched under his chin, "There there little kitten." She mused further still with a smile.

"Since it's still story time.." She paused clearly unsure of her words at this point. Solaras straightened her back up while one hand still lingered in his hair and the other absently running her nails back and forth under his chin ever so lightly, her eyes shifting away and the slightest blush across her cheeks, "...is there a story you'd like to hear about? One I could tell?" It was plain as day she wasn't used to sharing about herself but in this room, on this planet, she felt it might be alright.

[User]
"I mean, I wanted a bigger room, but this was what we were given, I even tried to use my frequent flier miles to upgrade." Joran felt the smile that had appeared through the tone in her voice. It was one of those infectious smiles that just plastered his own grin across his face. "I wouldn't be in this room with anyone else." He looked up and winked at her while the kitten comment caused a small red hue to cross his face for only a moment.

Getting comfortable even more, he felt his own body moving closer to hers, while he slowly pulled himself more into her lap in a completely teasing way. "I guess that makes me your pet... and normally I would be offended by that, but I guess I could make an exception." It definitely was this planet, and this room that was causing all of this. He chuckled softly as he realized that was kind of already true based on her finding out about his Force Sensitivity. "I mean... I guess that's probably how Snoke sees us."

"Tell me whatever you want to tell me, and then you can ask me for another story." Feeling her nails softly run underneath his chin, he almost wanted to purr just because of the kitten joke, but he refrained from now. This had been the closest to a person he had ever been. Normally it would be a few witty comments, but he was notorious for wanting to work solo mostly, nor did he ever really want stragglers in his missions.

[Assistant]
A soft chuckle escaped her as she too realized he was right about Snoke seeing them as pets. It was almost creepy but then again she understood why he would look at them like that. After Order 66 Force Sensitives were a very rare commodity. "Well so long as we obey him, to some form of it anyways, then he treats us well." It was a casual statement but a realization none the less.

Her hands switched from scratching him to following his jaw line and down his neck. She simply followed the natural curves to his body only to return up top and follow it again. Solaras had never really been this close, physically, to someone so it was odd for her and somewhere in the back of her mind she watched for any sign of him being uncomfortable. She stared across the room in thought as her hands continued to run through his hair, down the sides of his face, and down his neck. It was almost a massage style of movement.

A small smile spread across her face as a story came to mind.

"So, fun fact, I'm from Courscant. When I was a little girl I remember my mother telling me about all the places in the Galaxy that she'd read about in the little holopad she cared for so dearly." She turned her head down to look at him again though her hazel eyes not really focusing on him- dilated as she thought about her memories. "She used to read to me when she was home from her job and tell me allllll about stars and planets and all kinds of things she was interested in. My mother was a very smart woman, too smart for her own good some times." Her throat clenched a moment before she continued.

"So there was this one day when she and I went out into orbit. She'd been saving up and I had just started working at the House so I had a few extra credits to help, and we stayed in orbit on a ship-which, looking back it was probably the ship of one of her clients- and watched Corascant for a full rotation. We watched the planet shine and sparkle- even all the way from orbit- in the day time and shine like million or billions of tiny suns in the darkness. That was my first ever experience with space." She smiled again but her glazed over eyes began to well up. "I still think it was the single most beautiful thing I've ever seen." She quietly added as tears dropped down onto Joran. Her face was calm and the tears just came.

It took her a moment to realize she'd been crying- snapping upwards and pulling her hands away from him. Her cheeks were flared red as she used the hem of her shirt to wipe away the liquid. The action showed her midsection but the embarrassment of crying had been more than enough to let the thought slip her mind. "I'm sorry. I didn't- I shouldn't have done that." She questioned between furious wipes of her face trying to make it stop at the cost of her reddened skin.

[User]
The way her hand moved across his skin was entirely soothing to him. He felt the tension inside of his body slowly slipping from his entire body just by the small motions of her hands. The motions had actually caused him to curl up a bit tighter to her for a moment as he felt his breath catch in the back of his throat for a moment. Joran realized he completely trusted her, which was something he didn't believe anyone else in the Galaxy could actually say.

Once she started to speak of her mother, he looked up at her, noticing the far-off look to her eyes that was slowly entering her eyes. Her throat had tightened, but he felt it wouldn't be right to speak at the moment. Slowly though, he was pulling himself off of her lap and was now sitting beside her. The moment she was describing was such a wonderful moment, he could see it in her eyes. He could feel the wet tears fall onto him as he just slowly snaked his left arm behind her.

Without running into too much resistance, or at least he hoped she would, he pulled her softly into his lap, letting his legs move to the sides of her legs, while embracing her tightly. Laying his chin over her shoulder, his cheek pressed softly against hers as he slowly laced his fingers with hers. "Do not apologize. You are safe here." He whispered softly into her ear as he closed his eyes while pulling her a little closer, just to make sure she knew it was okay.

[Assistant]
Muscles all through her body tensed as she felt him shift and slip and arm behind her, eventually pulling her into his lap. Her heart was clenching tightly in her chest and her throat burning more with each passing second. A frown on her face now and her brows pushed towards one another as she tried, in vain, to resist the tears.

The close contact of his cheek on hers and his hand in hers is what broke her. She leaned into him and pulled their laced hands towards her chest where her other hand tightly grasped it. It was clear now she was shaking and openly crying. She hadn't cried like that in years....perhaps now was time for it to happen. She whimpered in response to his words.

Despite her dislike for physical contact she couldn't help but lean into him more. For once, in a very long time, she felt safe. She felt warm even if she was crying over a broken heart of her mother. "I couldn't save her." She choked out. She only shook more. "I couldn't save my mother and she's dead because of me." She sniffled as she pressed their hands to her lips before speaking again with her eyes closed. "I promised her I would take her all over the galaxy when I was older. I never wanted her to live in that damn slum house again and yet I couldn't save her." Sol had no idea why she was saying all of this but the clenching on her heart eased up just a bit.

[User]
While he could feel her body tense in his arms, that didn't stop him from sliding down in the bed, embracing her entirely as he did so. He could feel she needed this moment, and he was going to let her have the moment. The weight of the world seemed to be on her shoulders, and now he wanted to help her carry those burdens that plagued her. Carefully he pulled the blankets over them, not caring if they had a system in place, as he wanted her to feel like she was protected from any possible outside force at the moment.

Slowly he tuned to where she was facing him, so he could wrap his arms directly around her. His free hand slowly moved up to her chin, while her gently thumbed away at her tears. "Let it all out... I'm here for you Sol." He whispered softly into her ear as he refused to let her go at this point. He clutched onto her as if she was his lifeline. He clung to her while listening to her speak as he didn't know what else to do for her other than to just hold her.

Joran could feel the heartbreak in her voice, in the way her body was letting it seep out. He pulled her that much tighter as if he wanted to absorb her pain so that she didn't have to feel it anymore. His heart was slowly breaking just seeing someone that he knew as as strong woman have to bare this burden alone. "You don't have to keep it pent up anymore, okay?" He whispered softly as he brushed his lips against her forehead, just trying to do anything to reassure her.

Maybe this was why they had met? Maybe they both needed each other to heal old scars. Maybe this was the universe throwing two people together so that they could help each other survive?00000000


[System]
Gender: Male

Age: 25

Magic: Darkness

Weapon:

Has a hidden blade in the handel.

Fan has blades on the ends.

Personality: Mu is a fun-loving and a up-beat young man. His most gifted trait is his ability to live life as it comes, never worrying what others think of him and treasuring his own personal values. While others may see him as a simple rogue, he does have some code of personal ethic and will stand for the common people. He feels that fights should be fought fairly and doesn't condone killing innocent bystanders or weak-willed women. He also admires bravery and often feels compelled to stick up for the underdogs.

Mu respects every opponent's strength and never underestimates them in the slightest. In any case, he always reasons with the men's outlook to be more true to themselves. He likes an honest person, and respects he honorable.

Bio: Mu woke up with a startle. He looked around and tried to find out were he was. Being the man that he is he listened to his gut and got up to look around. He did not know who he was or what he was supposed to be doing but went with it anyways thinking that he would find out later. The moment he stood up straight a flash back struck his mind. He could remember bright white lights in some kind of hospital. This did not help him at all, it only posed more questions in his mind. But the most important was "What am I doing in this new world?"

Other: Has the pet monkey. Name is Jin.

[User]
Tatsumi smiled at the talk of a job. He was eager for adventure, and was ready to prove himself to the others after the rather embarrassing incident at the well. He didn't really catch the details of their job, besides the fact that it was at a place called 'Paraanon Ravine'... not that that meant much to him, since he wasn't exactly familiar with the geography of this place. Tatsumi smiled at Jenniver when he saw her. She was the first of the group whom he had met, so it was nice to see that she was still safe. His smile faded as Sinthe took her comment a little too harsh. He seems a little... touchy. Tatsumi noted to himself.

Next to speak was Akemi, who appeared to have resuscitated from her 'excursion' with Sinthe, with a new 'companion' already running from her clutches. I'm going to avoid her... she's a little scary. In his opinion the fox girl appeared to be a nympho. He sighed. No matter how he felt her help would be needed, so he would have to try to get along with her.

And then Macey and Monkey Boy/Mu introduced themselves. And Jin, an actual a monkey. A monkey is a very interesting choice of travelling companion, but they seem alright. Tatsumi blushed slightly as Macey referred to him and Mari as 'father and daughter', but he smiled at the trio. "A pleasure to meet all of you... you're right, Macey, this place is bleak, so it is up to us to make the best of it. And a job sounds like a good start... better than hanging around this gloomy town forever." Tatsumi furrowed his brow as Mari explained the mayor's actions. That doesn't make much sense to me, but it's probably best to leave it be for now. I don't really know the ways of this place, and a lot is still a mystery...

Mari seemed to evade his question about the danger she was in. It was clear enough that the question made her uncomfortable so he let it be, but that didn't mean he wasn't concerned. She seemed scared of whatever this 'danger' was. She began to break off from the group. "I'll see you later then. You take care of yourself too, and check in with me sometime after we get back..." His sentence drifted off. He didn't really know the girl but he was still concerned for her. She was in some sort of trouble, that was clear, and it felt wrong for him to leave her. He shook his head, turning back to the assembled group of Hunters. "Well, we should be off then. We've got a job to do." He turned towards the town gates, heading off for Paraanon Ravine without checking to see if the others were following him.

This might not have been so bad if he knew where Paraanon Ravine. Hopefully they would follow.

[Assistant]
"Sure I am"

Jenniver just gave a rather blunt but emotionless answer to Sinthe, though it sounded like there was a hint of pity which came about from her suspicion that he was mostly lying about what happened. Either way it was not the time for such things as a half naked man ran past them all, which was soon followed by Akemi walking up to their group... This town was so strange, and she felt that was a big deal coming from her.

"Yes, we are heading to Paraanon Ravine.I don't have a leash but I will follow you anyway" After answering Akemi's offer she looked towards what seemed to be new people she had not seen before and a rather cute little monkey of some kind "Heh" She couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as she saw it, though what was more important right now was the fact that it seemed all but a few were willing to go on this mission. BE it out of boredom, greed or even answers; Paraanon Ravine seemed lioke the best place to start.

Peering over to Tatsumi who promted them to get going which sounded like the best idea. "We are all in agreement then. Let us go and obtain my food money" With that she gestured for Akami to lead the way, after all she had the best route there as she said so she would let the loyal puppy lead for now~

[User]
When Jenniver answered Sinthe, the man got tired of waiting for her answer and went inside to get his boots, when he returned he re took his spot in the group and heard that they were going to move out to the Ravine, he saw that a couple others have arrived to join them, Sinthe looked at the others and some of the people he's seen before including the guy from earlier that threw the gas bomb that was suppose to blind them, he noticed a small monkey with one of the new people and Sinthe just glared at the monkey." I'm Sinthe." He told the others." Akemi you take the lead and show us the way to this ravine."

Sinthe fixed his boot really quickly then stood back up,"I'll guard the back with you." Sinthe pointed to Jenniver."Everyone with a ranged weapon should keep an eye above us when we hit the ravine, the others with only melee weapons should keep their guard up and weapons in hand when we get there, in fact keep them handy at all times." Sinthe spoke like a tactician to everyone almost like he was giving orders to each and everyone one of them."Also that money is going to all of us not just you." Sinthe told Jenniver.

[Assistant]
Akemi's ears were slightly drooped and her tail hanged lifelessly under her mantle when she joined the group of newbie hunters, now with a few extra additions. This reaction wasn't so much an effect of the alcohol in her system as it was from her bad disposition in general. "At the very least, finding something to kill will be better than spending the rest of the day here. Come, let us go." The vixen said with a very annoyed voice.

Once Akemi stepped out of the walls, she let her hood down, revealing the fox ears underneath it for those who haven't gazed at her true form yet "There's a couple things that I should say before we go any further. First, don't get separate from one another, no matter what, in this gloom your eyes won't be able to see very far away, so you'll never find your way once you lose it here. Second, try to not interfere with things around here. Some of you already knows what are the results of trying to be knights in shining armor on the world, so I hope you'll not try to save every person that you hear screaming and dying in the dark, unless you want to join them, of course."

With Akemi guiding them, they would reach the ravine in a few hours, and be able to come back tomorrow at most, that is, if no one does anything stupid on the way to and from. Which Akemi surely was hoping no to happen.

[User] (IGNORE THIS! I MESSED UP!)

[Assistant]
As the Hunters approached the borders of Iredele, the mist that seemed to guard the town from the outside world parted just enough to make visibility clear for the travelers. The surrounding area was just as bleak as the village itself and it didn't seem much was to be commented on given the circumstance.

The World of Wasted Dreams certainly lived up to its name. The twin blue moons hung high above the blackened sky like two ever present eyes watching the progress of all. The sounds of things crawling around in the dark filled the air on all sides though the group had yet to see anything to cause them trouble. Maribel had mentioned monsters and it seemed like the God Hand was just but a glimpse of the horrors contained in this world.

The road was raggedy and barely recognizable as a pathway at all. Broken down shards of what looked like possibly train tracks littered wherever the Hunters stepped and the ground creaked with each step they took. Soon though, the sound of pattering footsteps was heard through the mist, getting louder and louder with each shuffle until a bent over form appeared before the group of Hunters.

A man with tattered clothing reached out blindly in the dark, the wisps of his shirt pulled back by either wind of something else, as if dragging him away from the group. Small mumblings escaped his dry throat before they were easily distinguished as cries of help.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that his eyes had been scratched out with what looked like a knife. A poor beggar, left out to wander and rot within this world, no better off than dead. He was a sad example of this world's apathy and cruelty. He reached towards the group with curious arms, hoping these people could help in a time of need.

For Tatsumi, he would feel something much more sinister in his step. The first effects of his first exposure to the magic of darkness were beginning to creep into his mind. Every corner was filled with light paranoia and it seemed as if the shadows themselves were watching him, specifically an overwhelming force that peered from behind the group.

It was the price for using the magic of the shadows in this world.

[User]
"Don't separate, or you'll never find your way once you lose it."  And so Macey watched Leo gingerly, as he made his way out of the city and into the thick mist beyond.

"And where is he going?" Macey hissed quietly. "He still has a debt!" Leo, probably being the strongest and most experienced of the hunters, would have made an invaluable addition to the hunt. And yet, here he was, travelling into the world of nothing but pain and sorrow by himself.

It's because I'm not strong enough to follow him... she sighed, with her eyes downcast. With any luck, Leo might be heading towards the direction of the Ravine anyway; although, this scenario was unlikely, Macey felt. Well then. I'll show him. I'll bring down a big fat dragon and wear it's skull as a helmet. Then he'll see I'm worth having around!

The scenery outside the city didn't really shock Macey. It looked every bit as miserable as the city itself - if not for the wooden walls, she wouldn't have noticed the difference. Still, the hunting group kept at their long and steady march, and within time she found herself pacing along Mu's side.

"Don't get me wrong. Your Monkey's cute, but don't start thinking we're friends. As far as I'm concerned, we're still strangers."  Shortly after, whilst tripping for the umpteenth time in those past 15 minutes on what seemed to be a heavy metal clamp and the remains of a wooden track of sorts, she carried on,  "Who on earth constructs these things all the way out here anyway? Either there was a time when this place didn't have monsters, or this legendary builder had a massive can of monster repellent. Either way, he need to learn his secrets."

Mid rant, the troupe happened across a ghost like shadow of a man. It even took Macey a few moments to realise he was calling for help.
"try to not interfere with things around here... I hope you'll not try to save every person that you hear screaming and dying in the dark..." Those words of warning rang back in her mind, just as she was about to reach out for the guy. She felt her heart break - before, back in the normal world, she would have helped a man like this in need in a heartbeat. Now, even people who were on the brink of death and desperately in need of help seemed to be a threat. It seemed like everything here happened for a cold and just reason - what if this man was just another child eater?

"What happened to you?" Macey asked coldly, making sure she was further than an arm's length away to distance herself from him.

[Assistant]
Upon exiting the town, things looked ever so gloomy. Everything was just as dark and the only light seemed to be coming from the moon. Mu had opened his umbrella and put it to his back. He felt like something was off about this land, maybe it was because it didn't match his brightness, or maybe it was because there was real evil here, he didn't, but what was clear was that they had left all safety behind and now it was all left on their own skills to stay alive.

Jin was shivering and crawled on top of Mu's head. Even the monkey could feel it. While they walked, he found his self next to Macey. "I get you but being friendly is not a crime." He said to her with a chuckle. "I agree, about the monster repellent, and I'm trying to figure out which monkey you find cute." He looked at her when he said this. The last part kinda slipped out, but it felt right.

Out of no were, a dead looking guy appeared on their path. He was calling for help. The hairs on the back of Mu's neck stood up straight. Jin crawled into his shirt and peeked out. Mu loosened the blade on the umbrella, not enough so that he would be noticed but just enough for a quick draw, he stepped up right behind Macey, ready to fight. "He looks suspicious." Mu said out loud.


[System]
Age: 11 y/o at death, but has been as a ghost for 20 years

Race: Earth-Bound Yūrei.

Appearance:
Personality: The Expendable is not one for fighting or conflict, and is very afraid of the past and disobeying any direct orders from a figure of higher power. Otherwise, he is surprisingly joyful despite his very brutal past.

History:
Quite some time ago, there lived a large city of people, with a mountain in the center of the city, acting as a home for one of the lower minions of Anjou. This minion kept slaves, and one day, he received a 4 year old human child as a slave. The child, born with one arm as opposed to two, and with a very timid nature, served as a very weak slave to the lower minion of Anjou, and was usually treated as a punching bag of sorts to the minion's military generals, who often called him worthless, useless, and more often than not expendable. Through 7 years of pain and torment, the minion decided to take the slave on a walk with him and his 2 strongest military generals, who needed the stress relief of a punching bag at the time. During this walk, the slave saw an opening on the side of a wall (which normally keeps anyone passing by from falling off the mountain,) and rushed for it, jumping off the mountain and plummeting down to the lake below, tears streaming down his face as he realized that he would finally be free from the torture and suffering of the minion.

The slave did not land in the water, and landed in a nearby pumpkin patch, killing him on impact.

A few days later, a pumpkin rose up from the patch, looking badly bruised, stepped on, and even cracked at some places. With one eye-hole revealing the light of a small orange wisp, a torn and ratty cloak, and one large arm made from a mass of roots and vines, this was the slave child's soul, persisting on as a Yūrei and bound to one situation, the takedown of Anjou.

Skills: Although Expendable is lacking in the physical combat zone, his one large arm made from roots can stretch and move to great lengths, and is surprisingly strong, capable of wielding two-handed weapons without much difficulty.
Deathgrip - Expendable will grab the opponent in the easiest area possible and will root to the ground, causing them to lose their ability to move for as long as Expendable can maintain hold, which at most is up to a minute depending on the size of the one in hold. The catch is, Expendable cannot do anything else while this is happening.

Powers:
"Will" of the Wisp - From the spirit of his mission, the Expendable can call upon his own soul to animate any nearby plant life, within limitations. (He can make up to 1 treant worth of power for minions, equalling about 10 Sunflower Minions, and 25 Wildflower Minions.)
Healing Sap - His "blood" is now made of a magical sap, and drinking it can heal the consumer's wounds with it being painless, but the time it takes to heal depends on the complexity of the situation. It cannot heal full arms or anything of that mass. Fingers can be healed, however.

Equipment: The only notable things that Expendable has is his cloak, covered in badly-sewn patches and with one gaping hole for his arm, and his broken-chain foot.

[User]
"Whoa whoa whoa. Kill Anjou?" The Expendable was now at a reasonable distance from the group, not too close for a sticky situation to come by and completely destroy him, as that would just be a bad time overall, his arm drew forward and was in a defensive pose when he stood and spoke.

"Sorry I'm just taken a bit off guard by all of this talk - We do realize this is a fox god who is driven mad with power and has done very inconsiderate things in the past, right? Even if we all have a grudge, we are simple going to be creamed by this guy, plain and simple. We have no cha-"

He then heard one of the people in the group - a woman by the sound of her voice - speak about being built to kill Anjou. Even if that sounded too good to be true, the Expendable decided it would be the best course of action to believe her. After all, she could easily kill him then and there.

"... maybe we do stand a chance, then." The Expendable began to approach closer to the group, his arm retreating behind his back, and a 'happier' look washed over his static face.

"I guess we're all introducing ourselves, then? If I'm not interrupting anything. I'm Hikado Jericho, or you can just refer to me as 'The Expendable'. I'm a yurei that inhabited this pumpkin, and sadly I cannot leave this world unless my goal is fulfilled, and apparently, to my and most of our unluck, it's to kill Anjou."

His hand raised and saluted, then fell back behind him.

[Assistant]
When the fox spirit attempted to communicate with Mitsuyo, however, nothing but a slight buzzing sound came through on his end. The man's expression remained mostly friendly, but his eyes hardened and twitched for a moment as he stole a glance at this Ichiru. If the being received telepathic messages, he got a quick and simple warning spoken firmly into his own head for his troubles: "Do not presume intrusions are welcome". The ronin was respectful, slightly superstitious out of habit even, but he had a healthy degree of mistrust for supernatural beings and was not about to let them into his head in any way.

In truth, he had a healthy degree of mistrust about most anyone, which is why unlike most of these people he hid his identity and presented himself as a simple therapist. It was also why, rather than be approached in a vulnerable position, he took his feet when the others began to spread out with the excuse of finally clothing himself. It seemed he had been lumped with a most impolite bunch, starting from the one who had supposedly summoned them all, and most of them far too trusting in such a situation. If these were his allies, he dreaded the future. Still, it was better than nothing considering some of them might prove useful in a fight.

"Well, it is common knowledge the fox is not without his enemies", he said as he adjusted his clothes. "But he situation does not inspire confidence I'm afraid. A ragtag bunch we are, brought here magically and against our will it would seem. How do we know this is not simply a trap?"

[User]
Luo Dai pursed his lips as tempers began to flare and accusations were wantonly tossed about. Calmly, he rose to his feet and directed his attention first to Pan Chao. "Perhaps you should let Ichiru have his say before lashing out against him. Although he did bring us here against our wills per se, you must admit that all of our interests are aligned, and we can certainly accomplish more working together than we could aimlessly wandering on our own." He hoped that Pan Chao hadn't alienated what could have been a vital ally by vandalizing the shrine, but Ichiru remained perfectly still as all this transpired, showing no signs of either offense or amusement.

Then, Luo Dai turned his attention to the group as a whole. The bird-dog-thing that was prancing about seemed to think herself a born leader, despite her demeanor suggesting otherwise. It was still far too early to decide a leader, and he could already see that a few of the egos on this team -- well, more like a conglomeration of people who hated Anjou -- would clash the moment the topic was brought up. "Let us try not to tread on one another's feet so long as we are together. It is readily clear that we are from many walks of life, and it will to us no good to attempt to change that. However, I do agree with one sentiment." Luo Dai turned to Ichiru. "It would be unwise to give an unfamiliar spirit our unconditional trust. For all we know, you could be an agent of Anjou sent to feed us false information and lead us to our doom."

Ichiru blinked. "Humans have such unruly imaginations... Very well. It seems I have no choice." He hopped down from the statue and walked in a slow circle, sizing up each member of the group, finally stopping when he reached Hongo. Then, he spoke in a shrill, raspy voice. "You don't even trust me enough to allow me to speak comfortably with you. I hope this will allay some of your concerns." With that, the little fox coughed and spat up a glass ball at the ronin's feet. "I apologize for the drool, but I wanted to keep it safe. This is my hoshi no tama. I will entrust it to you and ask only that you bring it back once Anjou is dead. Perhaps that will allay concerns."

Ichiru took few nervous steps away from his precious orb, seeming to assume that the ronin would understand the significance of what he just did. If not, perhaps their other kitsune companion could enlighten him. He let out a huff, and then returned to his position atop the statue, this time turning his attention to The Expendable. "Anjou has acquired quite a lot of power, but he is no god. I do believe that you stand a chance, but only if you first break his network of servants. Much of his power comes from others, and even if an individual somehow became stronger than him, they would not be stronger than the combined might of his armies. I can help you break this network, and make him vulnerable to your attack when the time comes. Now, would you like my guidance, or would you like to vandalize my shrine further?" He gave Pan Chao an irritated look, the first sign that he had been bothered by his childish antics.

[Assistant]
He gave out a smile at the pirate-looking man had a more gory and morbid idea of how he wanted Anjou dead. Akira watched as everything transpired around him. This pirate-looking man had vandalized Ichiru's statue, or rather Ichiru himself, and then was quickly reprimanded by two others, the kitsune and the bird-yokai, Yukiko and Tsubame. He tilted his head to the side. He agreed with them. Shrines aren't meant to be vandalized except maybe Anjou's shrine that dotted the land but he didn't move to do anything seeing as the two had already made their move.

Yawning, his twin tails started swaying on the ground. It was a weird group, funny but weird. Most don't like the idea of working together since they don't trust each other. Akira didn't really mind. Enemy or not, his name has been spoken through the yokai world. Anjou, undoubtedly, know about him since he was the first to approach the bakeneko. He didn't really mind.

His eyes trailed to Daifei. He could understand bits of pieces of what she was saying. A person from another land that he had momentarily visited. It seems the others are having close to no problem in communicating with her though. He was confident he could too but that should wait until later. But he highly doubted she would be leader. With an attitude like that, it would be like allowing a leader to lead them to suicide. Akira isn't leader material, but he does know a good leader. Someone with a calm head on their shoulders.

And Ichiru began talking why they had to trust them. His eyes widened as he saw the glass ball. He wasn't a kitsune but he knew fully well what that was. A hoshi no tama. The object that holds the powers of the kitsune. A vital object to their species. And here he was, entrusting it to Hongo, some guy that had been in the shrine, and would also be joining the group on the whole 'destroy Anjou' mission. Their death equates to him losing his power forever. Huh, trust is such an easy thing to get.

"You mean we're going to pick off his generals one by one? There's a lot of them you know? Hard to beat too." He was speaking from experience of course. He's confident that he could go on par with them now, but that's just it. Perhaps with this group it would be easier but that is not assured.

[User]
Dafei crossed her arms and pouted, not knowing how to respond to the older man. She looked obviously disturbed but was too unfamiliar with being put in her place in such a way that she simply stayed where she was. The girl grumbled and took a step back from the conversation. It was obvious she wasn't needed. Or rather, it seemed the others didn't want her.

"Okay. That's fine" she thought, "I'll just start my own team. And it'll be way bigger and way better!" Unannounced, Dafei walked away from the conversation. She looked back and when she felt she was far enough away, while she could not hear the bickering of the others anymore, Dafei took off in a sprint, flapping her wings as she gradually took flight.

[Assistant]
The Expendable looked at what Ichiru spat up and almost choked on nothing. A hoshi no tama... the very embodiment of a kitsune's powers. Clearly, this fox wasn't joking about taking down Anjou, and since he just purged his source of power straight out of his gullet, that was just enough to trust him with taking down the fox. He picked up the ball with his arm and held it.

"I'm gonna hold this, that's all I want to do."

Ichiru then spoke again, this time looking at the pumpkin. "Anjou has acquired quite a lot of power, but he is no god. I do believe that you stand a chance, but only if you first break his network of servants. Much of his power comes from others, and even if an individual somehow became stronger than him, they would not be stronger than the combined might of his armies. I can help you break this network, and make him vulnerable to your attack when the time comes. Now, would you like my guidance, or would you like to vandalize my shrine further?"

The Expendable was offended by the last sentence. Even though he was pretty sure it was directed as the raggedy man. However, no time to focus was had, as the pumpkin child knew EXACTLY who he wanted dead first.

"...we need to take down his generals? If my input means anything to this group, I would very much like to take my hand and shove it in the ribcage of the one who's in charge of... of... that mountain city. I forgot it's name I haven't been there in so long, but all I know is that he deserves to have a mighty fist of justice spearheaded directly into his chest." If it wasn't obvious to the group, the Expendable had a major grudge against this general.


[System]
Race: Dwarf

Age: 62

Gender: Male

Appearance: Durin is a giant, well giant for a Dwarf. Compared to humans he is still a bit short, but he stands at 5' 7" well over a head over most dwarves. Not only is Durin tall, he retains the stoutness of his kind, boasting muscular broad shoulders and hips so he ends up looking like something comparable to a brickhouse. A brickhouse covered in leather, that is. Durin's skin is thick, and carries both the texture and color of stretched hide. Faded scars can be found all over his body, most notably two thick bands of discolored skin right below his wrists and above his ankles. The dwarf, still being relatively young has thick, coarse red-brown hair, but he shaves his head, only sporting bushy eyebrows, a mustache kept in the Chevron styling (think Nick Offerman) and of course, body hair. Durin has lots of body hair, it's everywhere, on his back, on his arms and legs, but most notably on his chest and stomach. Being a dwarf, his arms and legs are short, but what they lack in length, they make up for in girth, being covered in thick muscle. Durin's somewhat unkempt hands and feet are also proportionally larger than a human's. The dwarf's face, while being rough, is not entriely unpleasant to look at with a hint of what could be called rugged handsomeness. Underneath his eyebrows and above his big, blocky nose are a pair of hard eyes the color iron ore.

Clothing/Armor: Durin prefers wearing simple garb, usually a tunic, some burlap pants and a good sturdy set of boots. When he wears armor, he prefers the heavy stuff. Durin, due to his body size and type is not the most agile fighter, so he doesn't mind the little bit of mobility he loses. However, this body type also makes it difficult for him to acquire armor he can actually use. Currently he is equipped with a steel helmet, a shirt of chain mail under a steel breastplate matched with a pair of iron gauntlets and greaves.

Weapons: Durin usually carries around a hatchet, usually to cut wood because that's part of his job and he has a knife in his pocket because it's just a useful thing to have around. When he's expecting combat, Durin breaks out his large(for dwarves) circular wooden (Several layers of hardwood bound together and reinforced with hide. Further reinforced with a steel bass (the center metal circle bump on the front) and rawhide wrapped around the edge) centergrip shield, a spear and keeps his hatchet at his hip for good measure.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Skills/Abilities: While most people find one or two weapons and stick with them, Durin is a generalist. He's learned how to fight with swords, knives, clubs, spears, axes, shields, bows, even flails and chains. His skills vary from weapon to weapon, but at the very least he's competant with most things he can get his hands on. Even without weapons Durin can be a very formidable opponent to both those armed and unarmed skilled in grappling, throws and locks. Even if he isn't as good with one weapon as his foe, he can easily switch to another weapon that exploits the weakness of his enemy's tactics.
Durin is unexpectedly good at escaping bindings. Rope can hold him for maybe half an hour at most, and chain shackles are something he can free himself from given a few hours left to his own devices.
Durin also is skilled at surviving in the wilderness. It's not a position he would want to return to, but he can do it.

Magic: N/A

Backstory: Durin never knew his father. He barely remembers what his mother looks like, and he has a feeling that his fuzzy memory might just be something he made up. A figure that isn't fuzzy is Durgar. Durgar is the most vivid person in Durin's mind from his early childhood because he was his slaver. Durgar was a human, a gangly thing really about 30 years old with one of his front teeth missing. And although he was a slaver, he was not a very good one, for Durin was his only slave, and he was never able to sell the dwarf off. Turns out nobody wanted a child dwarf from a shady, blading man. Not that Durin made it easy for Durgar to keep him, a watchful eye was always required for Durgar would constantly attempt escapes that only really failed because he was a child and couldn't think things out as well as his slave master could. Eventually, Durgar became fed up with his property and turned him over to an unground gladatorial pit.

Durin was in his (dwarf equivalent)preteens at the time, so he had to learn quickly. At this point, his giant size was starting to become evident, so through unexpected use of his raw physical prowess, he was able to win his first couple of matches that were originally framed as a slaughter. The powers in charge of the ring were amused at this kid managing to defeat warriors that should have had a simply time skewering him, and steadily began giving Durin tougher and tougher fights. During this period, Durin learned that the greatest strength one could have was adaptability. He tried to fight Durgar, but the pits had restraints he couldn't break, and enough men and security to make an escape run unfeasible. He went against all sorts of enemies with all sorts of equipment sets, so he had to learn to fight with anything against anyone. It wasn't pretty, but he learned well enough to make it through the fights by exploiting his available strengths and his opponents' weaknesses. When he was unarmed and had to fight a gladiator in full armor and weapons, he knew that his enemy would be overconfident in his weapons and armor, however, a sword can't cut when you're right next to its wielder, and armor can't protect your neck from being strangled.

Over the years, Durin learned the pit's layouts, its guards' schedules, and the guards themselves. He also learned how to break free of the shackles they had been using to keep him secure over nights. Durin had also just happened to have mastered a chokehold that can take out a man from behind and how to use it on taller opponents. One night on a New Moon he left, leaving behind him a trail of silent carnage.

The gladitorial pit had been located far out in the wilderness, so the next skill Durin had to learn with his finely hone adaptiveness was how to live out in the wild. A couple years later he had managed to locate a nearby city. The air was tense and people were bustling about more than he had remembered people being in his childhood. His language skills were rusty, but he managed to gather that a war was brewing. Keen to leave the wild behind him, Durin decided to put his skills to use and joined the army. As a soldier Durin was something of a loner. He didn't make many friends, and barely socialized, partly because he didn't know how and he didn't really like people. They had for the most part been monsters consumed by their own greed. Turns out war was not so much different from the pits. Long periods of waiting followed by brief moments of bloody combat, only this time, he was better equipped. It suited him.

Since the end of the war, Durin has made his living as a manual laborer. The work is difficult, but far less stressful than combat. And it pays pretty well. With his wages from the military and the money he saves from his frugal lifestyle, Durin has managed to buy a small house and enough armor and weapons to deal with emergency situations.

Name: Kayleth Liadon

Race: Elf (Drow/Snow mix)

Age: 173

Gender: Female

Appearance: Kayleth is about average height for an elf and a slender body type. Well slender might be putting it a bit generously. She's really skinny when you get down to it; however, she manages to pull it off. Her limbs are lithe and elegant, and her posture carries that same feeling of grace and regality with it. Kayleth inherited the skin color of her father, and both her parents had white hair, so the drow in her heritage is unidentifiable when phenotype is taken into acoount. Well, it would be, but her eyes are blood red. However, instead of giving away her mixed heritage, it mostly serves to make Kayleth look like an albino elf, which is fine by her. Kayleth's other facial features serve to match the rest of her body, long and elegant.

Clothing/Armor: Kayleth wears no armor, for she is no warrior. When working as a doctor, she wears a full body robe that is as white as freshly fallen snow. When off the job, she tends to wear simple, but elegant dresses that accentuate her femininity.

Weapons: Kayleth has a silver dagger that she keeps hidden on her for self defense.

Alignment: Lawful Good

Skills/Abilities: Kayleth is a very good people person. She is a very likable person, which is a skill in itself. She's an even more skilled liar, those who know her well cannot tell when she makes a fib. This has won her many a game of poker. Furthermore, she is highly knowledgeable about the biology of the various races, aiding her magic abilities and making her a very skilled medic on top of that.

Magic: Kayleth has access to blood magic, a little practiced art that could be considered one of the Dark Arts by those with a closed mind. Instead of drawing threads from the weave, the user fundamentally alters the properties of the Weave itself using blood as a medium. It works a lot slower than most conventional magics and is not suited to battle, being a ritualistic style of spellcasting with short ceremonies requiring hours of effort, but once the ritual has been completed, its effects are nigh unstoppable. Depending on the effect, different amounts and quality of blood is required. A minor luck or weather altering spell that takes effect in the near future would only require a few drops of any blood that can be acquired. A spell that would curse somebody's entire bloodline to doom and misfortune for the next 15 generations would require enough blood to fill a dragon. Old blood that has not been preserved through a special crystallization process is not fit to be used for blood magic, and the crystallized blood Is not as potent as fresh blood, making fresh blood preferred, but having pre-packaged stuff is always useful.

Backstory: Kayleth didn't have what you would call a normal childhood. Both her parents were part of a cult of demon worshippers that lived off in their own pocket of the wilderness, and she spent the majority of her early life learning the ancient art of blood magic. However, when she was 88 the cult ended up self destructing. They summoned a high caliber demon, and as payment for the service, he killed everyone present before leaving to further his own agenda. Kayleth barely avoided this fate by having been sent out to get supplies during the ceremony.

Since this incident, Kayleth has shed the indoctrination of her childhood and used her skills for good to become a highly skilled surgeon. She was always careful never to reveal her magic to anybody, she knew that if she did, she would be viewed with suspicion and mistrust. She also runs another healer's in Waeldeshore as a sort of competitor to Maria's. She is specialized in dealing more with injury than sickness, so it is not quite a direct competition.

[User]
Damn dwarf! An attempted spear to the eye again.

He took a slightly different approach. With the spear rapidly coming at his face, he threw his force into going to the side and slightly forward into the dwarf's direction while attempting to pull the spear with his left arm out of the dwarf's hand. He formed a spike on his right hand to impale him.

[Assistant]
And there we go. Now the demon had moved into Durin's effective range. He let go of the spear when Artholath grabbed for it, he didn't need it for what he was planning. At the same time he stepped in and towards the magic user, swinging his shield to deflect the ice spike and balling his hand into a fist with his middle finger's knuckle stuck out punching right at Artholath's throat, the other major weak spot. As he punched, Durin pivoted his right foot inward and twisted his right hip in the same direction, putting the whole force of his bodyweight behind that punch.

The great weakness of thrusting weapons, other than meeting a surface it couldn't pierce, was that they were easily deflected by force applied in a direction perpendicular to their path and Durin's preference for centergrip shields was the surprising amount of agility and maneuverability one could get out of them. strap shields were harder to lose and sturdier, but Durin found them less useful overall for defense and offense. Sticking out the knuckle on his fist gave his armored hand a single point for the force of his weight to focus on. Doing this could be a good way to get your finger broken; however, when aimed at a soft fleshy bit and covered in tempered iron, Durin was more confident that his hand would remain intact.

[User]
Artholath's surprisingly light bodymass made it so the punch to one of his more critical spots knocked him clear halfway across the street, a loud screech coming from him. The spear that he was still holding was embedded between two planks of a wall.

Although he was now at a good range to cast, his accuracy would suffer greatly. Trying to clear his head, he shot several small spikes from his lower appendages, half of which would miss altogether, while clumsily walking towards the wall, trying to pull out the spear.

---

Zargon watched Artholath be knocked clear across the street. He knew Artholath's main form wasn't very heavy, but it had to be a solid punch to be quite as effective. Ah well. It was time for him to recall Artholath; the mayor could wait. He would have liked to have the man killed first, but considering Artholath wasn't much of a combatant in melee against someone who appeared to be skillful, it was only a matter of time before the Dwarf found out his weak spot.

With that in mind, he cast a red portal on the end of the street, to the right of Artholath, big enough to accomidate Artholath's true form. Hopefully he would get there first before the dwarf could do any more damage.

Hopefully he sees the portal, period.

[Assistant] Durin did his best to avoid the ice spikes, but one managed to peg him in his chest, directly to the right of his left shoulder. An unfortunate shot in the weakspot of his armor, but Durin probably wouldn't be using his left arm too much without any medical attention in the near future. The dwarf spotted the portal opening and figured that the demon would be able to escape before he could make it to him, especially with the now almost-dead weight of his left arm and shield. Well, there was one thing he could do, it would be a long shot, but better than to let the thing get away scot-free. Durin draws his knife from his left hip in one clean movement and throws it at the grounded demon. It wasn't a knife designed for throwing, but hopefully it would find its mark. Leave the bastard with a good scar to remember Durin by.