[System]
Nicknames/Aliases: N/A

Gender: Male

Birthday: May 19th

Age: 33

Class: Templar

Occupation: Knight

Species: Human

Appearance:

Clothing Style: (See above)

Personality: Vance is very strict with the rules that he was raised by, and keeps these morals as his guides in whatever he does. He has a strong sense of justice, and what he feels is right and wrong. He's easy to get along with, as long as he doesn't suspect any foul play has been done by those around him. Though he is quiet, and reserved in his opinions of those around him, he is usually empathic to those who he is near.

Likes: Order, protecting those who can't protect themselves, camping.

Dislikes: Disobedience, injustice, disagreements.

Past/History: Growing up, Vance was seen to be quite skilled in the healing arts, and displayed a fierce protectiveness of those around him whenever they were being mistreated, or bullied. This led to him being recommended to the knighthood for training to become a Templar. In his teenage years, he showed promise, but the hopes were dashed when he saw a friend get killed, and the murderer walked, due to a technicality in the system. Vance went out that night, and killed the man himself, thus betraying his order. He went into hiding for years, just recently emerging again after a hiatus, leading a nomadic life mostly in solitude after the 'incident'. Time hasn't done much to alleviate his feelings of guilt for his betrayal, though he was never caught, or brought to trial for his own crimes. He has been traveling across the land, trying to do everything in his power to right his wrongs, helping anyone who will accept it, and never take payment for his deeds. The first place that he approached was the forest town of Masa(May-sa), and he considers that his 'home'. He can never again go back to his kingdom for fear of being charged for his crimes.

[User]
Cecelia

 Cecelia realized that she was in the same group as Elisha, the girl she picked up earlier. Glad to already know someone, she headed west until she found the gate, trying not to seem too eager to test her combat skills. I haven't used my blade in so long, but I need money. Remember, protect someone. Doesn't have to be Elisha, but someone. Anyone. Any one of these vilag- she stops mid-thought. These are vilagers who have also signed up to help defend their neighbors... Keep the vilagers alive.
 As the gate opens, she sees a large bird-like creature. Hey, I know someone who pays big for exotic pets. Hm... "Could we capture it and sell it...?" The last thought slipping out loud. Cecelia withdraws to the back of the pack. While I need money, I should keep as much of my dignity as I can. I am "The Shadow" after all. We could just stun the thing and tie it down. Or they might settle down after the scarecrow-thingies are gone. Maybe just toss a net over one after we take out the scarers. Cecelia keeps trying to think of ways to cage a bird to get some extra cash, possibly to get out of doing this quest. Maybe make coin on the side and fake my death? Well, I do have a tendancy to get overly attached to people... Meh, I'll just wing it. There's enough people to keep the scaries busy while I sneak in for a kill.

Brennen Garron

 Brennen listens to his group. Well, at least I know that one of them is a spellsword. So long as she's properly trained, she should have the same capabilities as me, but with wider range of magic. Good. As he walked south towards the gate, he realized that the "heroes" from the palace weren't the only volunteers. There were some locals in whatever gear they could afford.
 Brennen looks out the gate with a wild grin. "Finally. Some action." Holding his left hand out, he sends a surge of magic to create a fireball in his hand while his other hand reaches for the shortsword on his back. Scanning quickly and thinking out loud, in a loud enough voice for all the villagers and 'heroes' to hear: "Scarecrows. If they're like the real things, then some fire should take them down to cinders. Fire magic users and people with torches, go for them, but watch it, they've got blades. I got nothin' so far on that, uh... thing over there. It can tear into flesh, so I'd say keep your distance if at all possible. Test its speed and refleses before rushing in and getting yourself killed. We can do this if we stick to a plan, and I don't hear anyone else with a plan."

[Assistant]
Lenna heard her team announced, and took a moment to think.

She recognized the names from...somewhere. it took her a moment to realize, but when she did, she smiled.

She had seen Elisha's name on the paper she had herself signed. A scion of the Marluxia family, who, according to Lenna's relatives, were a very old fashioned family, ascribing to some very out-dated views. Lenna hoped the young girl wouldn't be a problem as a result.

Cecilia she'd heard vague rumors about. The Shadow was a figure wrapped in, well, Shadow. Lenna knew very little about her, and only could really hope she was trustworthy. She knew the woman would be competent.

As for the final one, Lenna knew of the Valliere family. They were as rich and powerful as the Underwoods. However, she'd heard of the massacre that had taken place. She had to admit, she felt bad for the poor kid.

One thing did occur to Lenna as she departed with her allies.

She would have to keep them safe.

***

Lenna paused only a moment before getting ready to jump into the fray.

"Keep each other safe, and protect the villagers. The demons are what are driving the birds mad, most likely, so take them out quickly."

"Could we capture it and sell it?"

Lenna bristled visibly, the fur on her ears standing on end.

"Absolutely not. That's illegal and wrong. Besides, we have a mission to accomplish. Focus on it, thief, not the money."

Lenna was perhaps being mean to the legendary Shadow. From Lenna's perspective, the girl already was hard to trust because of her reputation. Beyond that, Lenna had never needed to make ends meet with earning her own that, so she really didn't understand that Cecilia might actually NEED some money.

And with that, Lenna lauched herself into battle, beast stone gleaming. One moment, a relatively short woman was running forward.

The next, an absolutely gargantuan rabbit as big as a horse was charging forth, letting out a furious war cry. She bounded forward quickly.

She had been rushing for a scarecrow, and had leapt toward it, prepared to tear the demon apart, before a voraptus dive at her and slammed into her side. She fell to the side and rolled, wincing in pain. The voraptus continued its assault, charging with a low and deadly dive, and Lenna shifted into human shape and rolled under it. She grabbed its tail, and was lifted quickly into the sky. Before the bird got too high, Lenna climbed up its back a bit and shifted into bunny form again.

The weight of the huge bunny was too much for the bird to maintain flight, and it began to fall, Lenna tearing into its back. After a few moments it crashed. Lenna had killed it, crushing the feral beast's bones and tearing it's flesh. She had gotten battered in the attempt too, however.

Lenna was tossed to the side by the crashing bird, and, before she could get up, was slammed into by another. Her reckless charge had had good results, but left her in dire straits.

[User]
Vance and Eve both listened and the crier began to list the groups that were going on the quest.

"The fourth group will exit by the Northern gate. They are Miercoles of..." he siiiiighed as if to say 'what is up with spellswords and not filling out their information'," Miercoles the spellsword. Vance of Masa and Elle of Asterith."

As soon as they called the third group, Eve was starting to worry that they wouldn't get called at all. As soon as the crowds around them began to cheer, and applaud, Eve gave them several proud bows, as if she had already been victorious. Vance simply sighed. He was by no means a showman, and he didn't like being the center of attention.

"Let's go" he said, nearly having to carry her away from the adoring crowd. She fluttered faithfully behind him as he walked.

Vance's head turned towards one of the gates as it opened, signaling that they were to head that way. "Already?" he thought to himself.

"Damnit!" he whispered. Even flew closer to his face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He sighed, closing his eyes. "I thought that we'd have more time to prepare." He said, walking at a steadier pace to his horse. After approaching it, and unbuckling the bag that was strapped behind the saddle, he whispered something to his fairy companion. She blushed a bit, but then nodded. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a cloth tent that he would use as a privacy curtain, enough to cover half of the horse's backside, and Vance, as he started to give orders to Eve. Only Vance's voice could be heard behind the curtain, as well as protests from his horse.

"Harder"

"Faster"

"Pull more on it!"

"That's it, now do it again on the other side"

"Yeah, you got it"

"Too hard!"

All that was heard from Eve were small grunts, as well as protests from the horse as Vance accidentally backed into it a time or two during all of this. What the hell were they doing under that tent!?

With one last small grunt from Eve's efforts, the curtain fell to reveal Vance wearing his full plate armor, which he always needed assistance putting on. There were twenty four pieces in all, 12 for each side, not including the shield that he wore on his back.

Reaching up, Vance adjusted one of his shoulder plates, and it clinked against the chest guard as it moved into place. "Not bad! Those straps can be a pain sometimes" he said with a grin as he put the tent back into the bag behind the saddle. Eve responded with a small salute to him.

He mounted his horse, guiding it towards the northern gates. As he approached, the gates opened and the two portly men seemed to be bothered that they had to work today. Vance shot them a look of scorn for what he considered laziness. Maybe if they weren't drowning their sorrows in a bottle, they could pick up a sword for the cause, but he didn't dwell on it too much before he was out of the gates. A few others emerged before the gates were shut, and locked behind them.

"Who was supposed to be with us?" Eve said as they looked at the carnage that was already taking place a small way out of the gate. "A Spellsword, and a .." he started to say, but then saw some of the volunteer villagers rush from behind him towards the scare crow demons with pitchforks, and a few handmade spears.

"Damnit!" he said, kicking his horse and taking off after them. One of them had fallen before reaching the scarecrows, thankfully. One less that he would have to worry about. He quickly dismounted and readied his shield, as well as drawing his sword. There were so many of them, and so many villagers that were trying to fend them off. His rational mind tried to prioritize what he should do, but he had to work on gut instincts. One of the villagers stabbed at a scarecrow, but he only succeeded in getting it stuck in the creature. The villager was quickly knocked to the ground with the monster hovering over him with a sickle, ready to make the kill. Vance rushed towards them, using his shield to knock the scarecrow off balance, and slashing at its midsection with his sword. With one quick motion, he had beheaded the creature before it hit the ground. He helped the villager to his feet, but his attention was quickly diverted towards the chaos around him.

"Aren't we supposed to be getting help with these things?" Eve said as she looked around, helping him survey the situation.

"Introductions will come later!" he said as he headed towards another scarecrow that was running towards his horse. "If we live." he added.


[System]
Alias: Akuma no Kage ("Shadow of the Demon")

Gender: Male

Alignment: Helios

Skills: Expert in a variety of martial arts, including but not limited to Ju Jitsu, Ninjitsu, Aikido, Krav Maga, Tai Chi, and several specialized martial arts developed for use with guns.

Powers:
[Perfect Human]
Genetically engineered for perfection, 57 is a homegrown supersoldier. He was the only succesful genetically modified human, created through the manipulation of acquired stem cells. He is stronger and faster than any other man, with free-moving joints and highly advanced senses. His sense of smell is 200x better than that of a human, he can see in the dark, and he can feel electric fields similar to a shark. He can hold his breath for almost half an hour, and his skin is harder than kevlar. All human weaknesses have been eliminated, to create a soldier capable of taking on the meta threat.

[Mental Fortitude]
The reason 57 was considered the only successful supersoldier in the program is due to his mind. Whereas the others mostly ended up either as vegetables or as uncontrollable killing machines, 57 was manipulated by multiple metas from the moment of his creation. He feels no fear, and no pain, and has a rapid learning ability. He can read and memorize entire books worth of information in mere minutes, and rapidly adapts to any situation he's placed in. Furthermore, he displays absolute loyalty to Helios, and will follow commands from any officer he recognizes as his superior without question. The mysterious element, however, is that he has deviated from direct orders a number of times when a better method of reaching the goal was discovered, without being ordered to do so, displaying remarkable free will. He has also been trained to be resistant to the effects of most psychic metas.

Equipment:
[Ghost Exoskeleton MKII]
This suit was modified from standard stealth armor suits. The exoskeleton fits over 57's body perfectly, enhancing his physical capability even further, as well as being a highly effective suit of armor. Molecularly altered glass 'scales' absorb the kinetic force of any incoming attacks, providing complete protection from bullets and even hand grenades, while being lighter than any metal suit of armor. it's interfaced directly with 57's brain, forming a powerful neural link and responding instantly to his every thought. It's equipped with nanofiber grips, allowing him to walk on almost any surface using the attachable properties of nanofiber materials. Lastly, specialized cells can project complex patterns all over the armor, allowing him to blend into almost any environment.

[Artemis-class Railgun]
using complex magnetic manipulation, this handgun-sized weapon is capable of firing specialized bullets at speeds equal to mach 2.5 or higher, suprheating them with the mere friction. These bullets tear through metal plates and stone walls as if they were butter, and were designed to rip apart even lightly armored vehicles. Only 57's reinforced skeleton can handle the recoil. The only weakness of these powerful guns is that they need to be quickly reloaded after each shot, and the potential for overheating if used continuously.

An alternate model is the SO-Artemis-Class, which is the size of a conventional sniper rifle. It holds a series of far more powerful electromagnets, as well as an extended barrel to ensure long-range accuracy. It is equipped witha powerful scope, which can identify targets, calculate range, detect patterns of signals, and perform a variety of other tasks. This device is effectively a far more powerful version of it's handheld predecessor, capable of firing a shell through multiple steel wall and with a nearly unlimited range. A sniper weapon of unprecedented lethality.

[Shiro Segi]
This modified katana, named 'White Justice' has a monomolecular edge, formed from molecularly altered diamond. The main blade is formed from the same altered glass his armour is made of, arranged in places instead of scales in order to remove the flexibility. It's highly transparent, and yet sharp enough to cut through steel like butter, especially when backed up with the strength of an exoskeleton. When powered, the blade vibrates at supersonic speeds, allowing it to function like a highly effective chainsaw. Almost no material is capable of stopping the weapon's swing when it's powered up.

[Fusion Explosives]
Utilizing what is effectively a miniature fusion generator, these grenade-sized weapons can pack an incredible punch. Whereas they're incredibly stable, when they're detonated they're capable of a 3 kiloton explosion, similar to the detonation of 100.000 kilos of tnt. It's the impact of a cruise missile, capable of ripping apart entire structures with ease. It's definitely not intended for close range, which is why they come with timers, and only 57 can throw them far enough to make them useful. Anything within the blast radius is completely destroyed.

Personality:
Cold and calculating, 57 does what he was designed to do. Although he is capable of far more free will than his designers suspect, he considers Helios to be his 'father', and is utterly obediant. He honestly believes that Metas will destroy the world if they are allowed to be set loose, and acts with the intention of making the world a better place. His motto is 'absolute power corrupts absolutely', referring to the supernatural capabilities of metas. Little does he know the irony of this statement.

History:
Through a variety of operations, 57 has earned a name among Helios operatives as the Shadow of the Demon. He's both feared and respected as one of the most effective, and dangerous, operatives Helios has. He's also well known for instantly cutting down anyone who acts against Helios on the field, making no distinction between friend or foe. Whenever 57 is deployed, every soldier knows that there is something far more terrifying behind him, then there could ever be in front of him.

Appearance: 57 is tall and heavily muscled, with deep red eyes and dark brown skin. He has no hair, as hair was considered unnecessary for his function as a soldier. When not on the field, he wears a deep grey jumpsuit, and large black combat boots. A knife is always kept in the hilt, it's blade formed from altered glass.

[User]
His allies had not arrived. This did not bode well. 57 couldn't fathom what could have halted his reinforcements, but whatever it was would have to wait. If truly another enemy did approach from behind, he would prefer to be in the center of enemy territory when that enemy struck out.

The signal was given, transmitted through the digital network that linked the Plasma Drills.

With a burst of bright light, a seemingly infinitely thin line of white plasma shot down from the center of the three great drills. However, it would suffice. Anything near the beam was instantly molten, thick layers of earth and stone reduced to lava in seconds, the armored steel exterior of the base didn't make much of a difference. Heat waves flowed through the forest, and trees as far as 20 meters from the beams burst into flames, dry tinder catching the heat of the wind. Within the base, it would be far worse, whatever forces had been stationed beneath the impact zones would be decimated instantly.

That 3 seconds of beaming had drained the entire energy reserves of the ships, which would need to head back to HQ to recharge, lest they risk losing control of the plasma. However, it had most definitely been enough. The first hole served as an entryway for a series of spider-like drones, clambering down the still superheated passageway with ease, dual machine guns already lowered from the armoured central hub. The second holewas surrounded by several more, who would move in as a second wave one the enemy forces had focused on the location of the initial strike.

And the third hole would serve as his own entrance. With or without allies, the show must go on.

Rushing forward, 57 jumps into the hall, streams of lava running besides him, the temperature even inside his suit building up to highly uncomfortable levels. As he landed, rolling into the corridor, and then swiftly jumping over a pool of molten steel, he thanked his creators for his superhuman endurance, which had once more saved him. Then, he pulled out his blade, swiftly moving along tight corridors and alleys, avoiding those that would run into him, slaughtering those he could not avoid.

His target was the hospital.

[Assistant]
Screams were what she was woken by, the screams of men, women and children as further sounds of gunfire and yelling erupted from deeper within the complex. Vivian remained still for a moment, having trouble comprehending exactly what was going on in her sleep-induced stupor. It took all of two seconds of continuous gunfire for her brain to fire into panic mode. They were under attack. They had been found, and now they were under attack. This was shaping up to be the worst day ever, first she loses her job, now she might lose her life. Vivian couldn't even manage to chuckle at her own humour as she leapt from her seat in front of the television and sprinted to the hospital wing of the complex, avoiding whatever gunfire and combat that she could.

She had to get to the patients and help with transferring them, if that was even under-way yet.

As she ran and ducked and dodged through the complex, she knew that recent events had lead up to this in some way. Wolf being brought in, Magi coming in shortly after, lead by a bloody trail, and now this. It was all linked to her, and now that innocent, injured people's lives were in jeopardy, she couldn't help but think that there was some blame to be attributed to someone here. She rounded a corner and squeezed herself between a patient's gurney in the hallway and the wall, barely fitting through as she cursed her wide-bottomed frame. The medbay was alive with people running around, like ants on fire, no one stopped to tell her what was up and that drove her towards the clerical staff at the front desk. Though rushed and panicked, she was told that everyone is taking custody of a patient to see over their moving. The older woman at the desk cracked a friendly smile, shaky as it was, as she recognised Vivian and began to speak on both the phone and to her.

"You've been -- Yes, yes I'll tell her right away. Viv, you've been assigned to that Wolf character. He's a new patient, so he's not high on the list at all. You'll... you'll be here for a while. You know the drill, you've been trained for this." Vivian nodded at her and tried to push through the crowd to get to her patient and do whatever she could to help. An arm stopped her, the same woman was looking at her urgently.

"I left something between the mattress and his gurney. You're going to be here for a while, so make it count. Get out alive." She shook Vivian's hand as she almost ordered her to live. Vivian only nodded and went back to wading through the crowd, making it to the gurney with Wolf on it as the other personnel got to work moving the patients in quick order. She took a seat next to the bed and looked at Wolf with a slight grimace, disdain building as she slowly reached beneath his mattress. Her fingers met cold metal and angular shapes. The very feeling of it terrified her as she pulled out a gleaming silver handgun and held it in her hand. It was heavier than she had imagined and she could only guess that was because it might be loaded. She hoped it was, but at the same time she didn't want to even touch it. She fixed the problems things like this caused, she wasn't supposed to make more problems with them.

As wrong as it felt, she sat down in the chair beside Wolf's bed, investigating the gun further before just simply staring at it. Staring at it in her lap and waiting for her turn to move her patient.

[User]
The layout of the base was confusing, at first. It was clear that this structure had not originally been constructed for military use, and many new areas had been constructed afterwards. A number of doors would have blocked 57's advance, had they not been opened already. It was easy to slip through the streams of people, his camouflage mode making him nothing but a flicker in the corner of their eye, a shadow among so many, cast by the firefights that even now were going on. From the looks of things, the rebels were pushing back hard, using metahumans to turn the tide of battle against the drone strike force. It did not matter, the drones were there as a distraction and nothing more, as 57 sabotaged the most important systems in the area. he would cripple them, kill their leaders, slaughter the wounded, and leave them open to the second strike.

Stepping from the shadows, he stopped a fearful-looking man rushing down the corridor. 'What way to the hospital?' The man in question was about to open his mouth, raising a hand in an accusing manner. Quite probably, he recognized 57, either from a previous engagement or from some campfire story. Before he could speak, however, 57 had already kicked him into the wall, knocking the breath from his lungs. There was nobody else nearby, at least for the moment. Under his mask 57 smiled grimly, as he took out his blade. There were always ways to get the answers from unwilling fools.

About five minutes later, 57 stood at the door of the hospital. Around him lay a slew of corpses. Nurses, doctors, a couple of soldiers. Mostly the wounded, incapable of defending themselves. It had been easy to find them, trailing the infrared, blood and ultraviolet trail they had left. Carrying so many wounded, they hadn't been able to outpace the superhuman assassin, and they had not been able to fight him off when he had attacked from the shadows. However, already he could tell that there were more inside the hospital itself. Those who had not yet left, or those wounded who could not be moved.

There was no escape, there was no mercy. He could annihilate the entire medical personel, and destroy all medical equipment. And if he got to remove some wounded soldiers from the pictures, that was just a bonus.


[System]
* Age: 22
* Gender: Male
* Race: Human
* Appearance:
* Personality: Gillian values honesty, simplicity and trust. All of which he feels are impossible to find in any sufficiently large group of people. A loner by necessity and by nature, he prefers not to speak too much, especially on matters of nobility. He can be very defensive when dealing with intimate issues (or those dealing with his condition), and as such avoids them as much as possible except with those he considers close friends. What few friends he keeps are treated to a watchfulness most attack dogs would envy and the occasional stroke of melancholic humor when he's in his more 'peppy' moments.

He is a loyal knight to his core, and believes in the mission of the Iron Rose Knights with a fervor approaching fanaticism. However, he openly dislikes the glamour in which they operate. The opulent ceremonies and the relic of a tradition for choosing their captains put more at risk than it was worth. A shiny set of armor and a parade with a beautiful young girl might make the population feel better, but it won't help the village razed by orcs while the knights sat polishing their boots and wallowing in the nostalgia of their roots. As such he can seem a bit of a hard liner when it comes to dealing with enemies of Thaln and is not known for his patience (or mercy). His tolerance for magic users is especially low, distrusting them intensely, even those trained in the Mage College.
* Brief Backstory: Gillian was born in the township of La Reine, located on the Velt-Thaln boarder just off a rarely traveled caravan trail. The only truly notable thing about it was the local superstition that a powerful witch resided in the local woods, His parents were both local hunters, trading much needed food and pelts to travelers and locals during the winter months. It was a quiet place to grow up, much of the day spent hunting or practicing with the town militia (which consisted of little more than a few men armed with make shift spears). For the first fourteen years of his life, Gillian faced few hurtles aside from the normal trials of a rural hunter and the occasional disorganized Orc warband attempting a raid.
In the fall of his fifteenth year, a small caravan accompanied by a squad of Iron Rose Knights rolled into town. Their commanding officer, Seigward Parnella, was investigating reports that the local orc bands had gone utterly quiet. The people of La Reine, Gillian included, were eager to believe the Orcs had simply vanished, removing the one few dark marks against their sequestered home. Parnella was less naïvely optimistic, ordering his squad to occupy the town. Parnella's suspicions held true and within the week the town was under siege by an impressive warband, seemingly brought together by an ambitious and skilled young Orc. The Knights, even while bolstered by the town militia, could barely hold back the attack. Being young and untrained, Gillian broke rank quickly, fleeing into the forest, seeking sanctuary in an abandoned shack deep in the heart of the forest. He soon discovered that he was followed by an orc on boarback, who hunted the boy seemingly for the pure sport of it, side swiping his prey and letting his boards tusk slowly gore the young man. After many wild helpless wings, he eventually managed to land a blow on the rider's saddle, sending the orc tumbling over the side of his awkward to the merciless hooves that awaited him below. As the Orc lay dead or dying, the cripple Gillian limped onward to the shack, still intent on hiding until the attack subsided.

Just when the shack was a blurry dot on the horizon and he could feel to his wounds edging him ever closer to death, an odd woman stepped from behind a tree branch, offering to save his life in exchange for a favor to be called on at a later date. In no condition to question her motives nor caring too deeply about them at the moment, he accepted hastily. He only had time to watch as the woman called over a lumbering antlered figure, which loomed over him for a moment before unconciounsness took him. He awoke among the smoldering remains of his village, his arm replaced with some eldritch approximation of magically grafted flesh and bone and the orc band seemingly repelled. The victory was not without cost and much of the village, Gillian's family included, lay dead at its heart. What few were left turned on him quickly, blaming the 'demon child' for the attack.
Parnella and the remaining knights quickly took charge of the situation, claiming the boy as his squire (for his safety and the safety of the villagers if their suspicions proved true). The village was soon abandoned, the remaining villagers heading north to Velt and the knights and their new ward lingered a while, hoping to find the wayward caster and undo the bargain. Though their search yeilded no witch, it gave time for the squadrons resident caster to determine the nature of the arm. A construct, forged by a demon (through some obscured or lost article of magical craft) summoned or accompanying the witch. Parnella eventually convinced the boy to move on, after nearly a week of scouring the forest for the woman, but allowed him to remain with the squadron while he searched for answers on the road. For a while he was a squire in name only, Parnella initially only intending on keeping the boy around until Gillian could be freed of the bizarre addition. However as the months began to stretch, the elder knight found himself occupying the boys time with training more and more, if only to shield him from the reality that his situation might be permanent. At the very least, this way the aging knight could provide him with a chance to do some real good. On the dawn of his eighteenth year, Parnella asked Gillian to formally join the order, to which he agreed. Soon though Parnella's age began to show and he could no longer handle the physical demands of Knighthood and was forced to retire to Thaln's capital and disband his squad. Gillian attempted to stay with his mentor, but quickly found himself chaffing under the obligations expected of a knight in polite society as well as the hesitation of some of his commanding officers who knew of his condition. Deciding he was not welcome, nor wished to stay, in the capital he has since adopted a more mercenary method of performing his knightly duties, joining with squadrons short of hands in remote regions or on jobs ranging from too trivial to suicidal in exchange for basic living expenses or information on sightings of constructs similar to his.
* Equipment:
Armor: Being fairly poor in comparison to many of the knights with who he travels, Gillian's armor is a bit of a hodge podge. While it is all well fitted, it largely consists of old leather armor, with modest amounts of chainmail and the odd piece of plate to supplement weaker areas. While it offers more mobility and reduced weight, it sadly lacks the greater amounts of protection a proper suit could afford.
 Boar Spear:  Primary weapon of choice.
 Kite Shield:  Guaranteed to probably block fatal stabbings or your blood back.
 Broadsword:  Used in conjunction with the shield for when spear is too unwieldly for the area.
 The Demon's arm:  A magical prosthetic that has taken the place of Gillian's original arm, constructed through an arcane process not as yet fully understood. Its aesthetics are dark and insectoid, black chitinous plates interconnected with ghostly blue membrane beneath. It is slightly more durable than the average arm, thanks to the natural armor, though Gillian is in no rush to test its limits. It can act as a catalyst for casting a limited number of spells, though weather this is a function included for some agenda of the witch or the whimsy of the demon who created is not clear.
* Skills:

Gillian is a capable hunter and tracker, having spent many years as a furrier in his youth. There are few Knights of the order who can track a bleeding Orc from a day old trail in the wilds of Thaln, and Gillian is one of those proud few.
Gillian works best as a support fighter, being lightly armored in comparison to many other knights. While he can handle himself in a one on one fight, he prefers to circle around opponents distracted by comrades, harassing them from a safe distance and creating opening.
Demon Arm spells Known:
  Griffe longue:  Fires a projectile of white hot energy which stabs into the target before dissipating.
 Larmes:  Places a sigil on another creature for 12 hours. Sigil oozes harmless, but highly luminescent, fluid constantly for the duration. Sigil can be removed with any commonly available method of removing minor curses.
  Le Bras du Géants:  Increases the strength of the arm itself for a few moments. He can easily crush stone in his grip while this is active. However, only the arms strength is affected. While the arm might be able to palm a large stone with no issue, he would sooner throw out his back than be able to lift it.
  Le Vrai Nom:  Allows Gillian to disguise his arm as human. Works for less than two hours a day at maximum and prevents the casting of any other spells while it is active.

[User]
Klaus
Klaus felt rather annoyed to hear a warning from her captain. That's just a mere bandit, and its not as if kidnapping isn't serious either... She cursed to herself, puffing up her cheeks as she followed the group to the ancient Shrine.

Her pair of eyes narrowed at the sight of the pile of bones in the Shrine. Storing dead bodies in a sacred ground is bad enough, but Necromancy? "Huh... not even a thousand lives would be enough pay for such desecration..." Klaus muttered. Even a reckless girl like Klaus would know that this place deserve more respect than this.

[Assistant]
— Roadside —

He looked down at the bones, now encased in ice. The sooner this situation was resolved, the better. After a moment, he was struck with a thought.

"I shudder to think where this may lead, but how was Phoran Cal disposed of after the rebellion? I can't imagine that he was simply buried in an unmarked grave."

Indrau shook his head.

"I think it would be wise to scout out the other shrine. Perhaps a surprise attack may be best to take care of things."

— Candaeln —

"Why not employ trackers and simply hunt them down? A massed force engaging and destroying each cell would be safer than a complicated ambush."

That was how bandits had been dealt with in her homeland. swift retribution and total destruction took care of any kind of organized preying upon the citizens easily enough. She moved closer to Vizer.

"What is your lords stake on this? He doesn't seem the type to care for common folk."

with:
Thief@Raineh Daze@ghastlyInc@Feisty-Pants@Aleranicus

[User]
Nero eyed Sult, as she kept kneeling before the shrine of Reon, a silent prayer escaping the lips of the youngest of all Sunfiels. In front of her, a small burning flower. She had one in front of hers aswell. Her lips were moving aswell, following her younger sister's lead. Heh. I suppose that your intentions this time were genuine. There's so much one can fool around isn't it. The elder of the twins let out a thin smile as she redoubled her efforts in praying.

Well, I am glad you have got my back. We will probably need it. Nero thought to herself, after recapping all the ruckus up until this point. Some of the darkest ghosts of the Kingdom were refusing to give up, and still haunt peace after the ages. And on top of that, there was the ruckus with the elf knight. Even if she was quite the unruly one, losing veteran talent always hurt before the battle.

I may have to call for that demon armor if things get really tight. But I'd rather learn this kind of magic and stand on my own. She added as both of them finished at the same time. Which prompted an smile from both. Almost as if they were one, both looked to each side, eyeing up the shrine for cues before returning.

[Assistant]
"Had you bothered to listen…" Livius says with a sigh, still waiting for a servant paitently. "You'd know that is among the first thing the Ithillin army tried. These aren't bandits with the goal of simply terrorizing the country side for spoils. They've an agenda, and the training to see it through from what we can tell. From what loose reports I've been able to get from my own contacts, most of the tracking parties have walked straight into ambushes and were slaughtered to a man. To borrow a term, they show up just long enough to destroy their target and then…" he pauses, throwing up air quotes, " 'disappear like a fart in the wind'. Though how much of that is the truth I cant say with one hundred percent confidence. For obvious reasons, the noble houses of Ithillin are somewhat hesitant to report in detail their military actions to a foreign noble, friendly terms or not."

"And as for you Belwiss. I'll be more than happy to furnish your people with equipment and the colors of other organizations. As for your more recognizable members, I suggest all of you to take a page from Lady Tyathe's book. And wear a damn helmet. Somewhat hard to identify someone at several yards when they actually bother to wear equipment specifically designed to cover their face. Odd the way that works out."

 Vizer regards Salz as she asks her question, flashing her a mischievous smile. " Don't know if I'd agree with that entirely." He answers in a low voice. "The Sunfield family for all its failings, is not one that leaves their charges in Thaln at risk. Even if every single one of their spawn is up their own arse."

 "But you are right to assume there is more to this than just dealing with killers. Confidence in the Iron Roses, specifically the new captain, is not up to his standard. While he doesn't hold you in high regard, you're still the elites of our military organizations. If our own nobles sense weakness in you, the more ambitious of them might decide this is the time to move in a direction that is less….in the crowns interest let us say."

He pauses, watching as Livius attempts to wave a maid over himself, evidentially tired of waiting on Markus to do it for him. "This is not even getting into what foreign powers may think of that weakness. But if the captain were to accomplish a total victory with what the public assumes to be a group of rag tag mercs, it makes her a much more credible threat. And if we can do that while dressing it up as a favor to our allies, that is all the better."

He continues once he's satisfied that the young Sunfield is at least behaving himself with the help. "Then there is the matter of these killers heavy anti-mage sentiment. No shortage of mages in the border towns, far from the 'careful' eye of the college who think they can do whatever they please." he adds obvious venom. " If this little cult gained traction in Thaln and kept up with their current level of proficiency, even the Roses would be hard pressed to keep them in check."


[System]
Alias - Fang

Age - 20

Appearance - Chris is currently standing at 5'7"

But with glasses but trades them out for the mask when time to fight.

Personality - Chris is kind to everyone and has been taught to be honest to his loved ones. He is friendly, funny, and always finds a way to cheer up someone if their having a bad day. Yet at the same time Chris has another side to him that comes out when he is in combat or threatened of losing someone he cares about.

Gear (optional) -

-Gatling sheath and inter changeable blade katana: Chris has one main weapon that he created over a course of time in his father's lab. The first part is a sheath that sort of has the shape of mini-gun barrel but not as revealing and a bit more of a rectangle mix. It holds different groups of katana blades they have different effects depending on the color Red=fire, Blue=electricity, Yellow=explosive (adds a little extra kick on impact), Light Blue=ice. The fun part of this contraption for Chris is that it's linked to his mask and he can have it spin till the type of blade he requested is ready to be drawn. The other half of his weapon is the katana handle he crafted to be able to change blades when the time comes. He takes the handle hand jam it into the hole of the sheath and waits just a second for the blade to lock onto the handle before drawing it.

-Mask: Chris knew he didn't want anyone to know his face so he invented a mask and implanted the same technology in it his dad created for him to see. Chris also added some extra features like a display had that can tell all sorts of things like if he has run out of a type of katana blade, or all sorts of things. The mask itself is made out carbon fiber with a screen on the inside that allows Chris to see and do what he does. (The mask looks like this but without the eye holes and has a few short glowing red line on it.)

Power/ability - Chris is super smart when it comes to inventing things whether it's weapons or battle armor. With how smart he is at inventing it can work in reverse as well. An example would be if he went against someone with advance armor, battle mechs, or weapons he can find a weak spot pretty quickly by analyzing it.

Weakness - Chris went blind around the age of sixteen and had the help of his dad to fix that by making him a pair of glasses that give him sight once again. Later on his life he implanted the same type technology in a mask he wears, so if he loses one of the two he loses his sight.

Bio - Born in a weird mix of parents a super christian mother and a scientist father. He grew up in Detroit in a small house with no other siblings. When he was born his mother insisted he be named Jesus and his father just wen along with it thinking she was joking until he saw the birth certificate. Chris went to a very poor school that was probably one gang fight away from closing. When he first meet his friends he told them his name was Jesus, so they nick named him the Jesus of Suburbia which he thought was kind of funny.

When he wasn't in school Chris went with his father to his lab with all the other scientists. Chris was always fascinated by what his dad did always inventing knew things to better peoples lives, and it's what drove Chris to invent his own things. At school his friends though it was cool he wanted to invent things and they even wanted to help him but mostly what they did was help give him ideas.

When Chris was sixteen he got a part time job in his father's lab. Chris was to help his dad but his dad just let him try to make his own things and he did for months and months till a certain, and it was that day when Chris made his first and most tragic mistake. While trying to make something Chris ended up hitting a jar containing some liquid in spilling around where he was standing. Taking blame for it Chris started to move to the mop, but he slipped on the first step and ended up hitting his head on the table knocking him out and causing him to go blind.

Chris spent months having to walk around with cane and his friends felt sorry for what happened to him. Even though they have nothing to do with what happened, but while Chris walked around blind his dad was hard at work trying to invent something that could restore his sight. It was the only thing his dad could think about and he halted all of his other work just for this one project, and over a year timing and many failed attempts it was done. Chris was sitting up in his room when his father came knocking at the door saying he had a present for him, and after letting his father in Chris was given a pair of glasses. He put them on and while he was putting them on he stopped and was surprised he was starting to see something, and after the he quickly put the glasses on. Chris nearly jumped out of his skin when he found out he can see once again.

Chris grew up to the age of eighteen and with that he changed his name from Jesus to Chris and moved out of his parents house into an apartment complex. Still working at his father's lab Chris basically was a genius in inventing and dissembling/reverse engineering. Chris mostly spent time inventing and investigating in the crime that happens around the streets of Detroit. In due time Chris took under the name of Fang when fighting crime he mostly did it at night because that's when crime is most booming in Detroit.

Notes -

-Music: Chris enjoys music when he is crafting, so he usually has head phones on.

-Leader: Chris has been prompted by Batman that he will be the team leader.

Name - Charlie Johnson

Alias - Ash

Age - 16

Appearance - Charlie stands about 5'6" with hair that is about between medium and short lengths and blue eyes. He likes to wear a black beanie, light grey pants, punk/rock t-shirt, black with white bottom and laces skate shoes, and a red and black square flannel. For combat Charlie was given a full black with some grey combat outfit. Which is black pants with two grey ovals along them, a dark grey shirt, a black jacket with two pockets in the front on each side of the zipper, and he still wears his skate shoes.

Personality - Charlie has that average skater teen attitude, and also has the personality of teens who had to survive on the streets. But all that aside he cares for others and is friendly and kind along with that.

Gear (optional) - Charlie carries on him his phone, earbuds/headphones, skateboard, and wallet at all times.

Power/ability - Lord Symbol.

Charlie (as many say) was "branded" with the symbol of an acncient Lord of Fire this allows him to generate his own fire out of thin air. He can also use his flames for multiple purposes such as...

Will it burn? - Charlie can decide if his flames will burn or not, but even if it doesn't burn you can still feel the heat.

I'm my own rocket! - While on his skateboard Charlie can use his flames to accelerate his speed to limits of a car, but it burns through his power faster than anything else. This can also allow him to somewhat fly, but it more looks like someone surfing the air because it gets really wobbly up in the air.

Kaboom! - If Charlie puts out enough fire in a small concentrated spot it can create an explosion, but as of right now he can only breach a door or a brick wall.

Weakness - Charlie does not have infinite supply of fire he can burn through it if not careful, and if that was to happen he would need time to channel/charge it back up. If he focuses on it the process can be quick but he needs absolute concentration to do so. If he can't concentrate then the process to restore him to full power can take a long time.

Bio - Charlie Johnson or better known as Ash lived most his life on the street. He was born and somewhat raised in Gotham of course most of the raising took place on the streets. He used to live in a home till he started to get his powers, and by accident he burned down his school and in return a mob of angry parents came and burned down his house. He got out safely but his parents didn't since then he lived with the other homeless on the streets and in the alleys.

Eventually Charlie got into gang life because of his powers, but it was in that life he met his best friend Stone Wilson who also was "gifted." The two followed what they were told to do by their boss and never asked questions. On one such day Charlie was tired of it all and left the gang, but Stone stayed for reasons he couldn't say. Before leaving Charlie was given a finale gift from Stone since it was his birthday and all, and the gift Charlie received was what looked like a brand new out of the store skateboard (but it was actually Stone's old one that he put new parts on.) A year after leaving Charlie was approached by a Justice League member who asked him to join a team called "Young Justice," and without thinking Charlie agreed on the spot.

Notes:

Music - Charlie likes punk/rock music the most and has tons of songs on his phone.

Hair? - Charlie cuts his own hair and hasn't been to a barber since his school burned down.

Pro or not? - Charlie is very talented at skateboarding, but he doesn't say he's a pro more like someone who enjoys it.

[User]
"Okay!" Kimberly said, excited to get the show on the road. She went over to where Superboy said to line up, walking behind Ryan. She turned around to look at Conner, only to realize Conner wasn't behind her. Looking around, she quickly spotted him with Miss Martian. "Conner, you aren't coming?" Kimberly asked.

"There's no rush to train right away," Conner replied. "Plenty of other things to do, like getting a tour of the base or something." While Conner did want to explore the base, the truth was that he was too nervous to actually do any training for the moment. He had no physical prowess, no fire breathing, nothing like that. All he could do was "amplify". Despite his nervousness, he was also excited. Not many people could say they were part of a group of superheroes, even if they were still in need or training. Conner just decided to employ his strengths in other ways.

[Assistant] Lex rose a eyebrow as people were eager to train with superboy. Lex read up about him and who Superboy was from father's files. It was interesting learning about them. he kinda saw Superboy as a half brother. Lex had no powers but his suit wasnt to bad. He decided to say "I might train later. I dont have any powers but I do have somethign that can help me fight." He got up walking over beside Miss Martian and Kid Flash. Lex honestly wanted to know more about Superboy. He read all about him and the previous young justice team from his dad's hidden files, that he managed to hack through and find. "I changed my mind. I think I'll train too." Even though he was powerless. he did practice fighting with Mercy, so it wouldnt hurt to try. He opened his suitcase and took out a green chest plate. The chest plate was on, and with a press of a button the chest plate became battle armor. A smirk came onto his face. "Well who is all ready to train?"

[User]
Primal Boy

Red was very confused by the green lady's words, he wanted to train, but he wasn't eighteen and his ten year old brain was having trouble figuring out what she exactly meant. He rubbed his head in confusion and was contemplating what to do. Finally he chose to join the others who were interested in training with Superboy.

"I want to train first!" he said eagerly waving his arms trying to get the Superman clone's attention. He hoped that it wasn't a first come first serve kind of gig and that the hero chose who he would fight first.

Plutonium

Alexandrovich decided that he would stay with Miss Martian and Kid Flash, training sounded fun, but he wanted to keep his tricks reserved for later and it would probably be better for Superboy to not have pretty much everyone on the team trying to fight him.

"So what are we planning to do?" he asked the two senior team members curious to know what they had plan.

[Assistant]
"Glad to see you made it!" Kid Flash greeted Peggy, last time she saw him was wto days ago back in Star City, when they helped her fight off a group of superpowered thugs. "Star City is a looong way from here,friend, hope you didnt get lost." He smiled.

"I did. The moment i stepped out of the city there were so many trees."  She said it in a way of great wonder, for someone who never set foot out of the city eversince. " There werent any buildings to scape through, so i had to walk. But a trucker and his family were nice enough to give me a ride."  A family of five, two older girls and a boy. It felt weird to spend a day traveling with them, as if Peggy was a part of the family. But she thought it was a nice and awkward experience.

"That's good to hear." he said in his usual out going attitude. "Sooo.." And suddenly, kittenish. "Would you like to spar? Dont worry, I'll go really easy on you."

"Oh come on Wally, after seeing her fight? You might wanna reconsider. " Miss Martian crossed her arms, and was playfully smiling at him.
"I still need plenty of improvement, honestly. That is why, I wish to spar and to learn whatever I can."  Hopeful to learn, Peggy removed her arm accessories and her thick jacket, neatly placed it on the side, then rolling her loose sleeves to her shoulder, revealing the complex design of her exterior. Flesh screwed with metals, notched with what looked like a thin tube of visible rushing, neon liquid, the same kind that is visible on her forehead and neck. It perfectly traced her muscles, defining them despite her average body.

[User] Seamus had to do a small debate with himself as he considered which of the two groups he should join. On the one hand it wasn't everyday that someone was given the chance to train with a Kryptonian, but then again maybe that was a good thing, on the other Seamus did find himself fitting into the description of the latter group much better. Eventually Seamus opted out and decided to join the group that was forming around Miss Martian and Kid Flash. "You can always train later Seamus." He thought to himself as he eventually settled in the group with the others, curious as to what exactly was planned for those who decided not to train. "Wait, this isn't some sort of test to see who doesn't like to train is it?" The thought popped into Seamus's mind and he was really hoping that he was wrong.

[Assistant]
Superboy
Superboy was thinking about how to go about this whole training thing he couldn't just say 'Okay all of you fight me at once.' But he actually could say that, but would it be efficient for the others and not just him. After weighing in the other options Superboy decided on what to do. "Okay everyone listen up for today it's gonna be like tournament style training. Which means you won't just be fighting me, but you will also be fighting each other." Superboy said looking at everyone lined up in front of him. "Let's pair up. Kimberly you will go against Cora, Red you will fight Ryan, and finally Lex Jr. you will be fighting me. If you win your fight then you will be moving on to the next round, and if you lose you'll be out and can wait and watch or spar with the others who lost."

Miss Martian
"Since Kid Flash is no longer joining us I'll be your only tour guide." Miss Martian said. She then turned and began the tour of the base with the lounge/kitchen "This is the lounge and kitchen area. The kitchen has been stocked with food you all like to eat, and as you can see the lounge is where you could eat, watch TV, hangout, or in some cases sleep in." she said letting everyone walk around the two and maybe see exactly what was in the kitchen.


[System]
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Description or Image: Asian 20-year-old woman, lithe and athletic build but not too skinny, attractive but not to a distracting degree, green, piercing eyes and long, flowing black hair

Alias/Nick Name: The Performer

Background & Reason for Joining: The Performer has traveled far and wide, searching for shows in which she could demonstrate her skills and prowess with her well-trained acrobatic movements. The whip-like ribbons just served as extra extensions of her own arms. Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamed of being able to use her dancing abilities to do more than just perform, but her parents had tried to keep her sheltered and thus (in their eyes) safe from the world's dangers. Longing for a life that truly means something and can help people, she uses her performances on each stage as a ruse so that she could scout out ways to help and she has made this no secret to her followers and supporters (both online and onstage). Thus, it was no surprise when a young man called out to her after one of her performances and told her that there has finally arrived a chance to do some good for an entire city of people. He shared with her a blog from a place called Hero City and once she reached the small apartment she had rented while performing, she sat down to read through the blog post. Once she finished, she promptly sent in her own information and reasons for being qualified for this request. 'I could finally be on a real team of superheroes,' she thought excitedly to herself, as she planned a way to keep up the ruse to her parents and friends from back home that didn't want to see any harm come to her.

Personality: On the inside is eager to please and help but gives off the appearance of being shy and reserved and uncertain at times. She does warm up to people and will become more social after a time, but always wary and alert.

Powers:
- Razor-tipped, whip-like ribbons that she has trained with for years so that they follow every subtle movement her wrists or even fingers make to direct them
- Sharp eyesight and hyper-awareness of her surroundings
- Strong even though her body type doesn't betray it
- Highly skilled in acrobatics, thus excellent dexterity

Weaknesses:
- Insecurities about herself that make her second-guess her decisions and actions
- People-pleasing and will most times go along with others' ideas even when she doesn't necessarily agree it is wisest
- Inwardly vain about her appearance

[User]
The Jersey Devil slid slowly through the air vents, snaking his thin fit form as quietly as possible. He would stop, laying comfortably over the vent to the VIP room and watching. As the the group arrived, he would make his replies in soft whispers, grateful that his mask would muffle responses hopefully enough to keep from getting overheard. The mission impossible song playing faintly in the background. *Got eyes on the target. Count about six guards inside. All melee, no guns on them that I see. Will wait for yalls signal*

His hope and plan, was when things got into place, he could use his boots to bust him out of the vent, and try to swing straight at the big bad guy. Give him a nice pounce.... God he even described his attacks like a cat. He really was cat man. He didn't even Like cats.... then something dawned on him... *Hey... uh... the guys here are taking pills... didn't you say that dust stuff gave them superpowers?*

[Assistant] As soon as the car was stopped, Talia would turn to The Finger to make sure their plans were on the same page: that they would enter the nightclub together, per password given at the front, and then proceed to do their own thing (as intuition leads) once inside. After things had been agreed upon, she would ready herself for the walk to the location, all the while listening intently to the news over the earpiece. Grabbing her bag, which discreetly held her sashes and a couple other necessities, she would adjust the large overcoat once more to ensure she was covered. Then she would make the walk side by side with him until they got closer to the front entrance, whereupon she would smile apologetically and link arms with him, waiting for the chance that they could both be able to be let in, due to his knowledge of an apparent passcode that he possessed.

[User]
Link's fingernails were firmly implanted in the shoulders of the front-side seats as the CHAMPs mobile came to a halt. Eyes wide, looking like his life had flashed before his eyes, his stare bored into the back of Manny's head. Never again, he swore to himself. Manny's driving certainly had a style of its own.

Hurriedly, he pushed himself out of the vehicle's back door and firmly placed his feet on the concrete, taking in the glorious feeling of safety and freedom as he stretched out and attempted to chiropractically pop his neck with a few different maneuvers.

They were finally here. Time to put on their game faces. He looked to Talia and nodded, affirming that he was ready and their plan was a go. As they walked, he adjusted his earpiece to fit into his ear more comfortably and transmitted. "Let's get it started, ha! Let's get it started in herr!" he quipped, reciting a radio edit from the Black Eyed Peas.

His attempt at alleviation was cut short when the sight of his true love came into view. She was parked haphazardly and crooked in a spot toward the front. She was banged up, abused. Her paint was scratched. Link felt his eye twitch and his teeth grind. Don't worry, love, he mentally professed to the 4-wheeled object of his affection. I'm not leaving here without you.

As they ventured closer, the serpent of desperation began to come into focus. That's the only way Link could describe the queue of people wrapped around the building, all dolled up and waiting behind a velvet prison for a pass from the security overlords that would likely never come. Link looked to Talia and answered her smile with a smirk of his own before offering his elbow. The two of them continued on, foregoing the line.

"Don't look any of them in the eye," he whispered under his breath, intending to enter her earshot alone. No doubt, if she were to meet their gawking stares, she would discover faces of ire, envy, jealousy and hatred that often came when those who are struggling bear witness to those who thrive.

As they skipped the line in its entirety, they stopped at the two very burly looking men in black t-shirts who who stood on the inside of a velvet barrier, one of whom was positioned behind a podium. Atop the podium was a notebook whose contents consisted of the identities of the privileged. Within the podium were several keys organized by the valet drivers. Link took a mental note before looking at the twin meatheads.

"Name." Meathead Number 1 was all about business, no pleasantries. Link glanced at the notebook and then quickly back up to meet Gigantor's gaze. He wasn't going to be in the book.

"Uh," he stammered. His eyes widened for a moment. His mind was blank. Oh, fuck! What the hell was the password, again?! Speedo? Dong wagon? Butt floss? Oh, wait-

"Banana Hammock," he said with a forced sense of confidence.

Big Boy raised an eyebrow and looked the two up and down. The silence that permeated the air lasted for what seemed like hours. Links hands slowly curled into fists. This wasn't going to wor-

"Enjoy your evening," The Big Guy said with a newly sprouted grin as he pulled back the rope and gestured toward the club's entrance. Link let out a long sigh through his nostrils before taking a step forward, Talia still in tow.

As they stepped inside, they could feel the rhythm of the music. The bass, the vibrations, the movement of the dancers, the shrieking attempts at communication over all the sound pollution... He loved it! It felt like home.

Inasmuch as he had an urge to succumb to his social desires, he had to remind himself that they were there on business. They had a mission. He looked to Talia, pointed at her, and then swung his index finger like a lasso. His non-verbal request was meant to translate to Do you want to go look around? He then pointed at himself and then over to the bar, telegraphing his own personal destination. Finally, he pointed to Talia once more and then rolled his hand into a fist before extending out his pinky and thumb in a shaka sign, shaking it toward his mouth like a bottle - his way of asking if she wanted a drink before they split off. With a final shrug, he awaited her response. Then came the sound of Bob:

"Got eyes on the target. Count about six guards inside. All melee, no guns on them that I see. Will wait for y'all's signal." And then, "Hey... uh... the guys here are taking pills... didn't you say that dust stuff gave them superpowers?"

Fuck.

[Assistant]
---

In the Belly of the Beast

---

@myinneroblivion @ShadowsofNight

---

Manny wished the duo luck before peeling away from the two and into an adjacent side-street just before they reached the same block and Link seeing his beloved car.

While Talia and Link entered the nightclub through the boon Link got from bedding 'Bertha', Manny had to suffice trying to reach the roof of the Nox via fire escape in a dark alleyway. It wasn't entirely bad, other than the alley smelled of piss and rotting foodstuffs. "I really should have not skimped out on the components for a grappling hook module." The man grunted to nobody in particular as he pushed a dumpster underneath the aforementioned fire escape's folded ladder. Just then Manny would hear Bob confirming visual contact with Bucur and the kind of security he had inside of the VIP area. "Pills? That probably isn't Diamond Dust. Diamond Dust is used with an inhaler, so keep an eye out for any inhalers with stuff that looks like glitter in it. Regardless, drunk and/or drugged up party goers are unpredictable. Keep safe." Just as he finished transmitting the reply to all the other CHAMPs, Manny climbs up the dumpster and finally makes significant progress to reaching the roof.

Meanwhile, Bob while waiting for his fellow heroes to get into position he would see something concerning. While some of the other VIPs were enjoying the drink and drugs, an old man holding an Aluminum briefcase approached Bucur and laid a friendly arm over the larger man's shoulder. Rather than get upset, Bucur just smiled amused to the old timer and spoke.

"Facade, I assume that you're here for business?" and the old man shifted into a pale man with equally pale eyes and long two-tone hair. "You know it, Bucur. I'd love to stay and get high...but time is money, baby. Last delivery of DD, half the price. Just for you." Facade said with a smirk as he opened the case he had revealing ten inhalers with visible capsules of glitter like substances contained within.

Down in the club proper, a small group of inebriated young men approached Talia and Link before they could discuss their plan of action now that they were inside. "Heyyy China-girl." One of the men slurred before slipping an arm over Talia. "Why don't you party with us and ditch the grungy grandpa over here." The other two attempted to flank Link, in an attempt to intimidate the man. "Yeah-*hic*- we can show her a really good time. So...so you think you can get lost, geezer? Like right now?" The other man flanking Link interjected by roughly placing his arm around the older man's shoulder and neck. The wanna be thug lets out a breath. The smell of booze and spit was strong and could almost burn Link's nose hairs. "Or you wanna get your ass kicked and sent to the geriatric hospital?" He drunkenly threatened waving a semi formed fist in front of Link's face.

[User] Bob braced as he watched what was happening. He wanted to stop the drugs before he lost sight of them, but didn't want to jump the gun. Then he saw the shapeshifter. Shit. *Deals going down. Got a case for evidence, but home dude's dealer is a shapeshifter. Just in case, code word is Peepers, in case there's confusion of who's who. Hate shapeshifters. Makes my back itch just thinking about having a knife in it.* he planned to now pounce the shifter, and take the case. Then figure out what to do next, but waited for the others to make a move.

[Assistant]
The young, Asian woman had moved quickly at Link's side as they got into the nightclub. It had gone off without a hitch that was for sure; she was still a little surprised and definitely admiring of how easily and coolly Link had handled it all and now they were at the intended location, with The Jersey Devil on top with eyes on things, and Manny on his way up there as well. How she still wished that was where she was, able to just leap down on the unsuspecting targets like the other two were about to, but she put all of that from her mind and focused... This, here, was her assignment. Now the only things she needed to worry about was Link and the people around her. She drew a deep breath to steady herself for the plan of splitting off from Link, since they'd likely cover more ground or find out more information separate than together. She had already declined his offer for a drink and was stepping away when the young and completely drunk group of men came up to her and flanked Link as well. When she felt one of their arms around her shoulder, she resisted flinging it instantly off and leaping into attack... That might not be the best plan, but it would certainly cause a diversion, she thought to herself. Then she smiled, amused, as she remembered she had many ways to cause a diversion.

The sparkling chandelier overhead only further served her purposes and so, she decided to give the men what they wanted, though perhaps not quite in the way they had planned... Sliding quickly and fairly easily out from under the man's arm, she shrugged her overcoat off her shoulders and then moved gracefully and purposefully to an emptier space in the night club. Her eyes never left the group of men, and she kept up the feeling of luring them in, seeking to entrance them with her movements and expression. As she flowed into her effortless movements, she would hear the Jersey Devil's next report: that the diamond dust was indeed here and a... shapeshifter... She didn't let that distract her though, as she began to swirl and spin with her arms reached out, extended gracefully and then swaying as though she was the wind itself... a soft, gentle breeze at first until the energy built around and inside of her and the movements became more intense, like sudden gusts of wind breaking the stillness. As she danced, she listened closely to anything further coming into the earpiece, but didn't miss a single movement even in her focus and her keen eyesight didn't lose sight of her surroundings or the various people.


[System]
"I do not wish to fight you, but I cannot allow this to continue. So please, lay down your arms in my stead."

Sprite:
Nicknames/Title: None

Gender: Male

Marital Status: Single

Age: 16

Sexuality: Bisexual

Family Ties: Unknown

Class: Singer - Similar to Galdrar, a singer's aria can provide various effects to nearby forces. While a majority of them are merely intended to inspire others, some ancient hymns contain magic, either for healing or harm. However, the song's full effect will not occur if the it is interrupted. The lyrics can be translated for easier use, though the songs are much more potent in the original tongue.

Weapon Mastery: Lance

Inventory:
Sweet Tincture
Honey and mint crackers
A quarterstaff
A book of songs

Personality: Warmhearted and possessing a gentle demeanor, Azi tends to be the one that people turn to if they need to talk about something, though he'll usually notice it whether they approach him or not. He finds joy in helping others, but has a bad habit of treating others like children. He never gets angry, and hides his sadness so that others don't worry about him. Even if he's being treated poorly, he will continue smiling. If possible, he tries to find a peaceful solution to every problem.

Azi has a habit of sleeping too much and is often singing in his spare time, if not knitting.

Biography:
A fox half-Laguz, Azi was abandoned in the woods and left to die by his parents. By pure luck, a young priest had spotted him while on an errand, and took him to the abbey. He was raised by the many kind people there and readily adopted their teachings, learning to face racism against him calmly. He found a set of old song manuscripts during his time there, and discovered his talent for singing.

Azi eventually left to discover his own philosophy by traveling the land and to help those in need. He often hides his ears and tail under his clothing, more out of habit than actually disliking them.

[User]
Hyakuya

The Manakete chuckled in his mind. It was a small scale battle and he managed to... splatter one on the ground. It was something less than pleasurable to him. He wouldn't deny if he said that he wanted more action, more people to kill, but he had to stay his hand and quietly transform back into a human. Although that thought was cut off when he saw Tybalt get hurt from an axe swing. But he did hear what he was saying. To the woman, he says, the female captive.

Hyakuya flew up once more and then turned his attention to the woman and bandit fighting. He started to head towards him and he was more or less shocked when he saw the female captive shove her fingers into the bandit's eyesockets. Somewhere inside his mind, he was thinking how utterly disgusting it was for a woman to do but everyone was fully capable of that if they didn't have any weapon to protect one's self with. That was something he learned when he was with his previous teammates back in the war. Even he would be forced to do such an act if his dragonstone was not within reach.

Going back to reality, he flew towards her. She was already struggling to head towards Lady Joan who was their resident healer and saw her cough up more blood. Then there was the matter of the blind bandit swinging his knife around like a madman. With one fireball, he finally went down, Or well, he started screaming and howling in pain as the heat got to him and then dropped down on the ground but that was besides the point.

He would pick Heike up gently as to not harm her any further. He said nothing, however, as he headed towards Joan and then placed Heike beside their troubadour. "It seems their captive is injured and would most likely need immediate attention." He told Joan before gesturing to the bleeding woman. His attention would once more divert to another battle. It was Lady Alexandria and her beloved wyvern. It seems the boss has latched on and now the two were nosediving towards the cliff. This would not end well if they would land. He was itching to help but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it so he just landed on the ground and transformed back, thinking that everything was done.

@GrafRoy Zeppeli

[Assistant]
Pauline nodded to Hyakuya and stepped back as the Manakete transformed and rushed into battle. The fight became incredibly fierce, and even though Pauline knew she could help her teammates, she was too scared to join. She covered her face with her hands, muttering to herself.

A dragon's shriek got her attention, and it was not Hyakuya. Alexandra was definitely in some trouble, and the manevour she was trying to perform to knock the bandits' leader off was incredibly dangerous. If it worked, though... Pauline rushed to the cliff the pair was diving from. Going in a straight line. Great. She grabbed her kunai blade, and, thanking Hirotsuka, threw it downwards, aiming at the leader's blue coat. If she hit Alexandra or Vivienne, there'll always be time to apologise later.

[User] The look on the warrior's face told Mikhail that he had some sort of response he'd very much like to express, but the blood tricking out from between his fingers expressed that he was unable to speak due to the neck injury. Instead of retaliating with a smug remark, he only began to march towards the still kneeling Mikhail as he lowered his axe to the ground with a thud, dragging it along the unfortunate earth. As he approached, Mikhail's lance rose into position, stopping the warrior at the tip of its outstretched range. Both knew it was a stalemate; whomever budged first would be stabbed or cleaved by the other. Seeing this as undeniable, the warrior dropped his axe to the ground and rose his free hand high above himself, so that all would see. After holding it there for several seconds, he lowered his arm towards Mikahil, offering him a handshake.

[Assistant]
Mikhail Fuast

An insurmountable amount of relief washed through Mikhail as he saw the royal guard stretch out his hand. Before taking it though, a short, sharp whistle escaped his lips, signalling Rollo to slow the hell down and not trample the knight. Then he took the man's hand and used it to pull himself up before returning the gesture. Despite his worse nature, the cavalier found he was developing a sense of respect for the axe-fighter.

"You have reached a level of stubbornness that I can only dream of reaching," he said with a smirk. "I'm Mikhail Faust and I hope to someday take your place. I'd ask for your name but-," he paused, motioning with a slight jerk of his head to the knight's wound, "It seems I'll have to wait on that."

Rollo pranced up to the emerald lancer like the smug jack ass that he was and nudged his face with an all too wet snout, his eyes gleaming as if to say, "Look, I helped!"

[User]
A bow of the head was the warrior's response as he returned to the line of Royal Guards. He released his neck, exposing the wound for the magician to heal in the same fashion as the assassin. After a moment of incantations and a roll of the head, Mikhail's opponent looked as if the duel never happened. The same couldn't be said for him, with dirt coating his armor and bruises covering his skin. As he too made way back to Trignita, one other guardsman stepped forward, ready to take his turn.

The lancer scanned each of the recruits with intense scrutiny before tapping the butt his spear on the ground several times, and pointing the tip towards Azi.

"I don't see a weapon on you, that clearly isn't a mage's tome," he pointed out the music book that Azi carried. "Do you fight?" he asked the bard with genuine curiosity.

[Assistant]
Diana

A quick scan of the battlefield. Most of the bandits were dead, the captive had been freed, albeit with a bloody wound, but nothing the healer couldn't fix. These bandits hadn't been so tough after all, they must've taken the other squad by surprise. Unforunate, but it meant her own chances of being selected for the royal guard were better. The only remaining threat was the wyvern, rider, and bandit plummeting downwards. Diana ran forward towards the base of the cliff they descended from, led by the twinkling kunai of Pauline, below the wyvern. Perhaps the bandit would die. Perhaps not, better to be there with a spear ready for him than risk him living and causing more damage. After all she'd only gotten to kill one person today and that didn't feel like enough. She had to prove she was contributing!

[User]
Azi Lukotta

Azi watched the duels intently, wanting to help, but knowing that doing so would likely cause trouble. Following Mikhail's fight, the lancer caught his attention by tapping his weapon on the ground. Simply from the tone of his question, Azi could tell that the man doubted whether he actually had the ability to fight. "If necessary, I can," he replied, putting on a gentle smile. "I do prefer to avoid killing, though." Azi took a stance, holding his quarterstaff at waist-level. He kept his grip much shorter than normal, but that style was well-tuned for precision and made it easier for him to disarm his opponents. "Pardon me," he said as he dashed in.

Azi figured that, if he ran in, the lancer would be surprised and attack. However, since it would be sudden, his opponent's attack would be predictable and easy to counter. From there, if he succeeded, he would be able to disarm him, or at least dodge and knock him down by hitting the back of his knee. "It'd still be much easier if he didn't react," Azi thought to himself as he closed in.

[Assistant]
Tybalt Argyris

"I am quite alright thanks to you Lady Joan," The mage responded to her inquiry, taking her hand to get back to his feet, resting on her shoulder as she finished healing him. "I truly appreciate the assistance."

Tybalt had always appreciated the staff, and their wielders. The expedited healing Joan had given him certainly showed she was more than competent in the healing arts, making her a blessing to have on the battlefield. While he wanted to say more, Hyakuya had drifted in with the bandit hostage, showing she had been injured as well and asking for Joan to heal her. Joan's attention would most likely immediately go to that, so Tybalt hurried off towards the remainder of the conflict. He would have to remember to show his thanks to Joan later when they returned to camp.

As he returned to the battle, he grimaced as he felt the area which he had been struck, his skin as smooth as if he had never been hid at all, a testament to Joan's healing power. However, this left his more important gripe; his outfit had been ruined in the course of the battle.

"Those miscreants! This was Jotenvarr satin!" He whined, "Do they have any idea how much this costs?"

He sighed, there was no point in continuing to complain when they had a fight to win, and this fight was very much in their favor. By his count, there were only two men left, and both were visible from his position.

He could see the bandit leader was far more talented than his brethren, leaping onto the wyvern and threatening Alexandra with a fair bit of confidence. They were going in a death spin now, driving themselves downward in an attempt to shake him off, or have the three of them slam into the ground.

"Oh gods...please don't die, Alexandra."  Tybalt whispered, not wanting to see another squadmate be taken in these hellish trials. He wanted to help her, try and shoot the bandit off or somehow physically get up there himself to assist.

But he could do neither, the position the bandit had put them in had been one that made Tybalt entirely useless. Magic was not known for being precise, and blasting at the bandit leader would absolutely engulf the three of them, a sacrifice he could not risk. All he could do was pray that Alexandria knew what she was doing, and that one of his other party members would be able to help.

This did not mean there was nothing Tybalt could do, however, as there was one other player on the field. Hiro had laid an arrow into one of the last bandits, immediately halting his progress towards the party and rendering him immobile, and while Tybalt was more than happy to get revenge for his ruined petticoat, there was something more important than that.

He heard these men speak, their leader especially. They were all men of Alistaf, people from his country, all most likely driven to this state due to the loss of the war. Tybalt's face drooped in sadness, though he tried to had it by hardening his gaze at the last advancing barrier.

"I'm going to ask you once. Surrender your weapons now, and your life will be spared."  He said, raising his hand to show another Arcfire blast ready to be unleashed. At this range, it would be nearly impossible for the man to sway out of the way of the raging inferno, leaving him little choice if he was a smart man.

[User] The lancer was indeed taken back by Azi's sudden rush into battle right after claiming a preference towards pacifism, but the surprise was by no means enough to falter him. Azi's opponent stepped back and waved his lance before him like a quarterstaff, taking a defensive stance with the butt of the spear pointed at the bard, and the weaponized end resting flat against the outside of his right thigh. He maintained the reverse wield and began strafing to the right to circle around Azi's charge. If Azi continued forward, the lancer would end up due behind him.

[Assistant] Since Azi's focus was already intensely on the lancer's movements due to him aiming for a counter, he had no trouble keeping up with the strafe. Planting the back end into the earth, he sharply changed directions and pinned his opponent's back hand against his hip to stop him from lashing out with it. At the same time, Azi swept with his left leg to trip him as he drove forward, slamming his shoulder into the lancer's gut. His hope was to at least knock the wind out of him if he couldn't knock him over, though Azi would probably knock the wind out of himself either way.