[System]
Age: Appears 18
Gender: Androgynous Male
Race: Hex
Status: Rebellion. Ex Enslaved
Bio: How useful would it be to have access to the secrets of photosynthesis? An end to the fuel crisis, global starvation, the works. Certainly, the one to stumble across such a find would be heralded as the next saint...even if it costs one boy a few sets of skin. His tissue samples could have proven useful specimens in unlocking that philosophers stone, if only the scientists knew what tests to run instead of cutting blindly. Luciel learned to use his powers to heal early on, since tests often left him raw from sampling. All it took was one act of sympathy; a flower, to lighten the mood.
2 years since the massacre which his escape resulted in, he endeavors to continue his retaliating strike by undoing the evils of mankind wherever they may rear their hideousness upon the Hex.
Luciel comes off a tad eccentric with bouts of effeminacy, finding it easier to lie about his gender rather than explain himself. This also hints to the ingrained cynicism which he does well to hide, developed during his time spent in captivity...as most of the Hex often acquire, it seems.

Powers/Abilities: Phytogenesis/Arborkineses (Manipulation over plant mater in its basest of senses)
-Breath of Life~ Luciel's power starts with the understanding of life potential. Most commonly used to bend the genesis of a simple seed into various tools and weapons with enough creativity, the idea behind the power is to control the process of growth. This can expand to the human genome, although human cells function in their own way contrary to plants. This power manages little more than aiding in regrowing damaged flesh for most fauna. His power requires a catalyst to force energy into, being unable to simply summon plants.
-Metabolic Independence~ Similar to photosynthesis, Luciel is mostly unreliant on conventional food for sustinance. However, this requires exposure to direct sunlight for extended periods of time which have stripped his skin and hair of most of its pigment. Even then, this is only a supplement, allowing him to go up to three weeks without food. (water is still a must)
-Ascencing~ Being in tune with life energy which his powers rely on, Luciel can feel life energy in close proximity. This can be excused as a sort of supernatural empathy, although emotions don't factor into the sense. Strength, vigor, weakness and malady are the strongest of tells.
-Wild Growth Summons~
=Sleeve Ace: Shrubotth
Class: Summoned Monster
Subtype: Plant (Vulnerable to fire and slash damage. Hardy and resistant to light-based energy)
At the cost of roughly 30-60-90% of Luciel's energy, he bestows savage sentience to a mass of plant material. Once the process is complete, Luciel lacks any control over the summon as it exists merely to grow, consume, and continue to grow.
(Stage 1)30%: Standard beast which grows to take up as much space as possible, perishes over the course of an hour.
(Stage 2)60%: Aggressive beast which grows slowly and defensively with means to attack and consume the unwary. Perishes over 3 hours
(Stage 3)90%: Malicious beast which grows in layers, expanding from within to protect its core. Meanwhile, it will grow to seek out consumable material which it employs poisons and traps to subdue. Its aim is survival and destruction. Perishes over 9-12 hours unless burnt down to its core. For very good reasons, Luciel never uses this stage.
Luciel commonly stands at 5'7. Their clothes consist of vibrant plant material shaped into eccentric designs and colours; silky-soft to the touch and surprisingly durable.

(Subject to various edits, but you get the idea. Kinda done in a rush >_<)

[User] Ace winced in pain as she felt he dark mist enter her scarred throat, she gasped as her throat, lungs, and heart tightened even further for a moment causing her heart to even stop, before finally releasing and allowing her heart to continue pulsating. the pain in her chest subsided and Ace's expression relax as she let out a sigh of relief, her eyelids twitched but she didn't open up her eyes.

[Assistant] Apollo heard the commotion and came downstairs to see what was going on. He was shocked at what was going on. He had never seen that kind of Hex power before. It made him tense up some reason, the power was almost a mirror opposite of his. He then walked up to Luciel and said "is she ok?"

[User] Ace furrowed her brow as she winced again, then opened her eyes dazed and looked around sleepily. she looked over at Luciel, "did you save me? ....thanks. and sorry you had to carry me again..." she smiled. though she was able to sit up she knew that she still wasn't at full power and should only do small things at the moment. she then shifted her attention to the new face in their growing group and replied quietly, "i see your ok.....that's good.....i thought that explosion killed you.....but you seem to be fine so all is well...." she smiled faintly.

[Assistant]
When ace began to gasp for air, was the point David quickly put away his beans and ran for the kitchen. There was a small medical supply box with the stuff most homes have. Cotton balls, disinfectant. Painkillers. He never took the time to see what they'd need. Instead he just ran with the entire box back into the living. Luckily, Ace was doing a little better than. She just finished speaking to Apollo. He gave her a small smile, as he carefully put the box back down and walked back up towards his comfortable seat. Where he continued eating his beans.

Dude, we are DEFINITLY NOT sharing with you. David thought as he returned to matters at hand: sleeping. He had a principle: don't invade someone else's personal space. Sure, they broke into a house and would steal some stuff. But adults could always buy that stuff again. But for kids and teenagers, things were different. He remembered how a female friend was scared to sleep in her own bed after a burglar simply stole some money out of there. "About sleeping: Luciel, I suggestion you and I stand look-out. I'll stay up till 1. After that, I'll wake you up and you stand as look-out. Just so we don't get caught by surprise. And about sleeping: There are a few beds upstairs. But I'd advice against taking the pink one. Or the one filled with boy's band posters." he told the group. While continuing to eat from his beans. After that he turned to Ace and said: "You better get something to eat. I got some canned beans here if you like." he said, holding a still closed can up.

[User] "Food...? Ah! Yes,please!" She replied as she sat up; she reached for can of beans, practically drooling. "I can't remember the last time I had something to eat!" She noticed the first aid kit and asked, "did something happen to me? I don't remember what happened after I ran up to check if our new friend here was alright." She made a gestured with her hand at Apollo.

[Assistant]
Luciel loomed over Ace as they relaxed. It was sometimes hit and miss with using his powers on things other than plants. The reasons and ways it ranged in varying degrees of...ineffectiveness...confused the Hex.
In the past, he hadn't had much use for healing people.
Still, in his state of being lost in thought, he jumped at the boy who had come out of seemingly nowhere as far as Luciel was aware. "Y..yeah, I think she will-" he was about to say, slightly unsure until watching her stir. "Oh, hah! It's not a problem" Luciel chuckled in response to her thanks. If anything, he was a little cross with David for not offering to help...while still toting that expression of hex entitlement in response to Luciel's response to the teasing. It was good to know your allies' weaknesses, it made the game that much more interesting. The concept of 'allies' taunted Luciel as he thought about how quick David was to scramble for a first-aid kit, wondering if the response would be the same if he were to be in that kind of state.

Luciel set the can down on the coffee table, certain he'd probably end up taking the section of the couch which he currently occupied, anyway. "A solid plan" he mused, trying to think of a way to discredit the plan. It wasn't necessarily with spite in mind, just that it would be easier to plug holes before trouble hit the fan so the bucket wouldn't leak it all over those who didn't want it...or however the saying went.

"I will probably fix something for myself when I am on watch" He said in regards to the beans. Hopefully, assuming there weren't any surprised, he could probably throw a breakfast together for the crew, seeing as how he had last watch. Luciel wasn't too concerned about eating, still invigorated by the hike and the sunning he'd gotten in that time. His guess was that he could probably hold off from eating for another two or three days. "A glass of water would be lovely, though" he said, adjusting his stockings before getting up and going to the kitchen to do just that. On the way, he slowed to give David a look over, raising his eyebrows for a second once he knew he had David's attention, making eye contact during the gesture to strike the point home.
It was no guess that Luciel found David...interesting.

[User] Apollo just nodded his head at what Ace said, not wanting to admit that the explosion came from him. He then decided to follow Luciel to the kitchen where there was food. Apollo just grabbed some canned tuna and then he returned to his spot on the roof of the house. He opened the can using a small beam of light and wolfed down the food. He then laid back down on the roof and looked up at the sky. "I'm going to miss this view" He said to himself thinking about when he will return to the prison after he has completed his mission, even though he doesn't realize his targets are the very hexes that he is now staying with.

[Assistant] Ace grinned and watched Apollo leave the room. She then reached for the can of beans again and replied, "gimme gimme!" Making herself look like a little kid wanting a toy or a treat. Her attitude had improved greatly since she was first released from the prison despite all that has happened in her first day of freedom.

[User]
David's entire froze in place, with a spoon full of beans half way in his mouth. With his eyes he was following Luciel's gaze. Not with a very friend look. More like 'What-are-you-up-to-look'. Only when Luciel vanished from his sight did David finish his spoon and released a sigh of relief. That guy gives me the creeps. I swear, if I ever find him sleeping in the same room with me, he's dead. David thought. In the meantime he grabbed the can-opener and spoon. After opening the can for Ace he handed her with the spoon in it. "Be careful you don't cut yourself. And don't gobble it all up in once."

After all that he went upstairs towards the parent's bedroom. He found a sport bag surprisingly fast. For a matter of fact, he found several. "Daddy is probably an avid sporter." he smiled, remembering how his own father loathed every form of physical exercise. He grabbed 3 bags and went downstairs, dropping one in the living and taking two into the kitchen, where he found Luciel again. For a second, he looked straight at the guy. Like a dog establishing dominance. Maybe...Yes. I'll try it. "See those bags?" he told him. "Fill one with canned goods." It was meant as a test command. To see if Luciel would obey, or protest. Never the less, he kept looking at the plant-boy, trying to pierce him with sharp eyes.

[Assistant]
Luciel opened and closed cupboards, getting a feeling for his options in terms of food. Hearing Ace in the other room, he felt a little bad that he hadn't really had the notion to be cooking stuff until just then. Still, he felt responsible for her, which drove him to look for a few specific things. He started heating a pot of green beans while sipping at a glass of water.
Apollo came in to grab a can of tuna. Not a bad idea; Luciel considered looking around for sardines and some crackers just as David stormed in, tossing the bag on the floor. Leaning against the counters, Luciel lifted an eyebrow as he looked at David over the raised edge of the glass. Taking his sweet time to respond, he bit into an ice cube, setting the glass down. "Eit vould probably be a idea to take pots vith us as vell" he commented without moving to acknowledge the demand, letting his accent shine as to add a sensual edge to his words as his eyes locked with David's. The bioluminescence of his eyes eased from amber to a light hue of red. "Cooking iz good for morale...also, we vill need means to pad eit all to stay quiet vhile ve are on zeh move" he went on, breaking eye contact as he approached the bag, opening it to see how much room he had to work with as well as a display of non-threatened docility towards David. He picked the bag up and set it on the counter before going back to his water. "Ehnt vaht are you going to do vith zeh ohzehr bag?" Luciel asked, lobbing the power struggle back into David's court by merely implying that there were two bags and apparently David was the one who wanted to have the ideas even though Luciel's suggestions were sound.

At that moment, that Luciel was about to take another sip, his eyebrows perked up and he set his water down, remembering what he was doing. "Mmh! *swallows a mouthful of water* So, I'm making a little something special for those who have gone without a warm meal~" he started, the teasing taking a more sincere tone since he assumed David was one of those. Gesturing to the setup he was working with, one larger pot boiled water, the green beans were warming nicely and a skillet began to sizzle from the oil he'd tossed into it. "Have you ever browned ground beef? It may not be fancy, but a can of cream of mushroom soup will make them think it is~" Luciel chirped with a wink, implying that he'd appreciate David's help with something that would probably be more palatable than a room-temperature can of beans.

All in all, Luciel didn't seemed phased at all by David's attempt to control him. If anything, he used it as an excuse to try to get David to cooperate.


[System]
Age: 16

Personality: Jai can be brash and impulsive, often letting her emotions control her actions. She prefers decisive action to long debates, and often gets frustrated if progress is bogged down by minutia. That being said, if given an environment that fosters peace, Jai can enjoy long stretches of solitude and thought, often getting lost in her own head on the open seas, her preferred terrain. Jai loves the sea, the wind, the waves, and the adventure that comes with it. Her freedom is the most precious thing to her, and anywhere she can be her own woman is home enough in her eyes. Jai despises authority and being ordered around, finding structured groups and regiments stifling. Jai also hates being confined, enclosed spaces are not her friend. She is able to get along with a group well enough, provided they are all there by choice and nobody is being forced into something they don't want.

Background: Jai was born into one of the smaller island tribes on the edges of the Fire Island chain. Her parents were fishermen and often took her out on extended trips, where she learned to sail as soon as she could walk. Her family was humble, but comfortable, there were rarely days without food on the table. That all changed when Lord Jiang rose to power and Jai began to exhibit Firebending potential. Firebenders had always been expected to take up positions guarding their villages, but now with a semi-cohesive alliance among the islands there came a huge push for Firebenders to join this army. Jai was recruited by a local lord and taken to be trained as a soldier.

Jai quickly found she hated the life of a soldier. The training, though useful to develop her Firebending, was constant and exhausting. She was expected to show incredible discipline at all times, and to kowtow every ranking officer that so much as glanced in her direction. She attempted to escape the army several times, but was always caught and punished; though because of her age, perhaps not as strictly as she could have been. Her ultimate chance finally came after several years in training, when her regiment passed through her home village again. Finally in a place where she had a home-field advantage, Jai slipped away in the middle of the night, pausing only to leave a note for her parents to explain what had happened, before stealing their boat and sailing away...

Bending Ability: Proficient Firebender. Thanks to her training in the budding Fire Army, Jai has been trained in offensive and defensive Firebending abilities.

Other:
-Expert Sailor: Having grown up on boats, Jai knows exactly how they work. She can expertly plot a course, navigate tricky situations, and read the stars to determine her course.
-Falchion: Her weapon from her time in the Fire Army, and her only remnant of her time there. She is proficient with this weapon, though she does use it for other purposes, such as peeling fruit.

Sample Post: Jai grit her teeth and resisted the urge to cry out as she pulled at her chains again. She'd been locked in the cells for weeks, chained to the wall as soon as they figured out she was a Firebender. Food came twice a day, and if she was very lucky they'd transfer her to cuffs and watch her closely while she ate. Other than that, she was alone. Stuck in a cell with a bed she couldn't even use, forced to sleep and live chained up to a wall like some macabre art piece. Meanwhile her ship was out there somewhere, moored or repurposed, or taken as evidence, or scuttled. She hoped it wasn't scuttled. The little boat had served her well. It had been home for close to a year now, since she'd escaped the Fire Islands. Escape... Escape from rules and authority and blowhards. She'd escaped from that. She'd escape from this too.

She'd been stupid. Stupid and desperate. Jai replayed the events in her mind and she jerked at the chains again, grunting in frustration as hot tears stung her eyes. She'd been hungry. Her last net had finally fallen apart, and she couldn't fix it. She couldn't fish, had run out of food, and had no money to even put into port with. That's when she had spotted them. a few, small boats. Just off the coast of the Earth Kingdom, probably fishermen. They'd have food. Maybe some coin too, if she was lucky. And certainly new nets, or poles. She'd been fancying herself a pirate ever since she'd heard the stories of the Pirate King. A Firebender who made his own rules, captained his own crew and did whatever the hell he wanted. Maybe she could be like that... So Jai had set off. She was going to Pirate those fishermen. She'd been caught. They had a Waterbender with them, and Jai had been taken by surprise. Her memory was a bit fuzzy after that, but she remembered being dragged into port, handed over to guards, and seeing her ship being towed upriver to Ba Sing Se, where she was now. Imprisoned. Chained to a wall. Put on display like the rest of the poor Bending saps in here.

Jai closed her eyes as despair began to wash over her. She should have stayed home. Should have stuck with the Army. She at least had a decent bed there, and her sword, and no chains. She didn't even know how long she would be here. Jai slumped forward, a small sob wrestling its way out of her chest before her eyes shot open and she gasped.

The chain had budged.

[User]
Laoshan Fang
Ba Sing Se, 8 Path Prison: Northeast.

Mentions: @Dblade26@Korkoa

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"'Please and thank you' wouldn't be remiss…" Laoshan went door to door, opening the cells after fumbling with the key-ring where he heard coherent complaints. Apparently, there was a lively one or two, but most of the prisoners were soaked, frozen, and not in a state remotely close to being able to fight. Unfortunate. He used his airbending to pull those still hanging from inside their cages to the platform then undid their bonds, but that was about all the happiness he could afford them. Stragglers would be left behind. Poor buggers.

The monk sucked on his teeth, frowning as he regarded those around him. The blasted headache was back, and his mouth was all cotton. The sooner they got out, the sooner he could find something strong, and he had at best a handful of benders to work with. Most of those present were dead in the eyes, but two in particular stood out: a young air nomad, he could tell by the build and the shaved head, and a firebender with blackened fingertips and snarl like a dragonbadger. She had been waiting for him, bonds torn from the corners of her cell and rage in her eyes. Dangerous. Neither one of the young guns would go quietly. Laoshan liked it. He could work with fighters. "Alright. If you can still walk, we're leaving. If you can't, that's tough, but we can't get weighed down. There's only so much time before the rest of the city guard catches on to what's happening here, so I hope for your sakes you're all capable. Baldy, you're our left flank. Young gun, you're on the right. I'll lead. Let's hop to."

The former monk turned, weight on the balls of his feet. Uneven teeth showed through a slightly maniacal grin. Laoshan had what he came for, and now it was time to split.

[Assistant]
At the Gates of Ba Sing Se

Colour: #ED1111

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If he knew where Zhen had gone - immediately after disembarking, no less - Ren would have had him doing dropstance and surgehops for a month. He'd probably have admitted it was a reasonable idea afterwards, mind, but the grumpy old lizard had a thing about his 'reckless streak'.

Still, capital of the Earth Kingdom and centre of An's power or not, Ba Sing Se was probably the best place to gather rumours that might hint at the Avatar's location or status. It had taken a couple of weeks to get there, most of which he'd spent pulling his weight as a grunt labourer - first to pay his passage on the ship, then in order to travel with a merchant caravan going his way - and suppressing the urge to bend, except in the smallest of ways.

That, obviously, couldn't continue; at the same time, however, he had no desire to be outed to An's forces as a firebender. He didn't know exactly what would happen then, but the rumours suggested nothing good.

Hence why he was standing on the road just outside the Impenetrable City, staring up at the massive gates in consideration. Once he went in, he probably wouldn't get a chance to seriously start firebending until he left again, and given how huge Ba Sing Se was... it could take him weeks to find a lead.

On the other hand, what other options did he have? Wander around aimlessly and hope for the best? Visit all the remote mountaintops and valleys one by one and hope the Avatar didn't move to one he'd already searched?

Sighing, he got into line.

No, he wasn't armed. No, he hadn't committed any crimes by the laws of the Earth Kingdom. No, he didn't have any enemies likely to come looking for him. Yes, he'd stay out of trouble. Yes, he'd report any suspicious activity (hint hint especially Water Tribers hint hint.)

That guard wasn't anywhere near as subtle as he thought he was. Judging from the look his partner was shooting him, she'd be giving him an earful once they were off duty. Still, division in the ranks was no concern of his. At least it indicated there wasn't quite enough fuel for the fire; he'd have a much more difficult time staying hidden if An's thugs were tending the flame too closely, to say nothing of how much less willing people would be to talk.

Briefly offering thanks to Agni (and, after a moment's thought, Guanyin) for how simple it had been to get through, he settled into the well-worn groove of 'patrol walk', a steady gait that could carry him through hours of walking. Best to get the lay of the land first.

---

About ninety minutes later, munching absently on an apple, Zhen found himself walking down a much emptier street than most he'd passed through, and bristling with far more soldiers too.

Distantly, a bell was ringing, loud and strident.

The soldiers started running.

... Well, something was happening.

Finishing his apple, carefully restraining his gait to a sort of loping jog - not an attention-grabbing run, but not attention-grabbingly unworried either - and plastering a concerned expression on his face, he headed in the same direction as An's goons, keeping a careful distance behind them.

Just in case.

[User]
Ba Sing Se, 8 Path Prison: Northeast.
Jampa

Jampa fell in line and took the flank as he was told. "Anything to get out of a prison cell, old man." Honestly, you start one little brawl because somebody disrespects you, and then let that brawl spill out of the tea shop you're in and into the street, and let that street-fight become a brawl, then win that brawl, and suddenly you're thrown in prison? There was truly no justice in the Earth Kingdom. It wasn't that Jampa lived only for fighting exactly, it was just that after he'd been banished from Air Nomad society for the- hah!- the crime of speaking his mind to the Elders a little too loudly regarding their foolish insistence on pacifism in the face of an increasingly dangerous world, his fighting skills and his search for the Avatar were all he had left to him or so he often thought. Therefore, what was most wise was to hone and test them as often as possible and who knew, maybe some day he could find work as a mercenary or something as a result.

But first, he had to break out of prison.

"So, I'm getting my staff, but after that do either of you have a plan? I don't like the idea of going back to prison right after I get out."

[Assistant]
Ba Sing Se, 8 Path Prison

Jai watched through the bars of her cell as the disheveled man made his way down the row of cells, opening them and using some pretty obvious airbending techniques to pull the other prisoners to safety. Good, that gave them two different types and styles, doubling their chances at getting out. The young firebender fought to gain control of her breathing and conserve her strength until the airbender made it to her cell. Pushing herself to her feet, Jai stepped out of her cell as it was opened, taking a long look at her two new companions.

"I need to get to my boat." Jai said in response to the young mans question. "They towed it upriver to here, something about evidence. My sword's hidden there, and I'd like to get as far away from this city as I can once we get out."

Jai glared at the old man telling her to take up a position, fighting the urge to spat back at him. As much as she hated being given orders, they'd have to work together to get out of here...


[System]
_________________________________________________________________________________________

NOBLE PHANTASMS
Title: Almace: Blade of Heavenly Embrace
Rank: B+++
NP Type: Anti-Army
Range: 1-50
Maximum Number of Targets: 400
Description: Part of a Trinity of Blades gifted to Charlemagne by Wayland the smith. While Charlemagne would take Durandal, the greatest blade for himself, and later Roland, the blade Almace was given to Turpin. The blade of Almace is one that taps into the very judgement of the nine rings of hell. In particular, the punishment dealt out to betrayers. As Turpin used the blade to slay traitors and those who had fallen from God's light.
The Punishment of the final sin is that of the frozen abyss. There is no light of God for those, and with it Turpin controls the very chill of that lack of love. One could easily call it a Sword of Ice that freezes the space that it cuts, allowing it to cover the target in ice even if they managed to dodge the actual strike. Or those that block it will become frozen in a rush of ice that then shatters.
Against demons or those of an evil nature, this power rises. As demons are traitors, and those of an evil nature betray God's love of them. When used against an invincible shield created by demons, the ice formed was a glacir that killed the man wielding it.
When called upon to its full might, the blade is like a blizzard. The air cut reaches an absolute zero, killing anything it strikes, and freezing what it cannot kill in ice that will never melt.

___________________________________________________________________________******____
Nicknames: The Count of Russia
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Master of: Caster
Command Seal Location: His left Hand
Origin: Love
___________________________________________________________________________******____
Personality: Obsession. A blinding obsession boarding on an addiction. It is a flaw, brutal, and unfixed. It is a kind of mentality that has a man turn to a single point, and chase it, ignoring the hypocrisy, or the much better options around him. But such a man is not heartless. Just obsessive, and through that, self-destructive. His tendency to get lost in his work has ruined his personal relationships with others, and it is difficult for him to open up to others.
Outside of his obsessions though, he is a relatively kind, if cruel man. He is ruthless in his efficiency, and sees little reason to spare others pain and suffering if they defy him. It is not evil, it is just the way the world works. People must suffer if they transgress their boundaries for that is the way of things. Yes, even him.

Biography: Ded Moroz, the man the Russians may know as 'Father Christmas.' Sometimes referred to as a demon, long before the word meant something sour. Something evil. He was a hero who fought Baba Yaga, healed the sick, and created a granddaughter from snow. That is the story, and the legend of the Moroz family.
The family lives in Veliky Ustyug, the homeplace of Ded Moroz. He was a wizard of the winter times, who would trek through the snow to bring gifts on the day of New Years. His legend is ingrained into Slavic folktales, and his descendents have followed suit. For some of them, they keep the tradition alive. Putting on a red suit, and traveling out into the cold winters. Placing gifts down chimneys, and leaving before they can be found. Some over the generations have even made claim to using their magic to keep the hag Baba Yaga trapped in her home. Performing the ritual required once a month.
But Vladimir, the latest in a long line of Moroz's is an addict to the old ways. As if it's an addiction, and he drinks from it regularly.
A member of the mage association, he was heralded as a genius at a young age. He proved his talents in early competitions, and married at the age of 23. If you looked at him from the outside you'd say he was an example of a perfect man. Loved, talented, and ingenious. Even teaching the next generation of mages. But, that is an outsider's perspective.
In reality, his research became a dead end. And his obsession to solve the problem cost him everything. There would be weeks, approaching months where he wouldn't leave his workshop. Ignoring his wife and child who became aware of his growing instability. In a shocking turn, they left him, leaving him to his obsession and his ever growing madness. He became cruel to his students, ruthless, and eventually, he left his role as a teacher, so that he could focus entirely on his dead end work.
It seems... Even a man on the end of his ropes can find something to hope for. In this Grail War.

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Magecraft Section:

School of Magecraft: Russian Witchcraft

Skills/Spells List:
- Snegurochka 1: The original, if it can be called that. A doll of snow that is without a doubt, one made by Dez Moroz, but may not be the true original spoken of in stories. This snow girl has been passed from member to member of the Moroz family, and is considered without a doubt the most powerful doll of its kind. It can transform it's limbs and body into razor sharp blades, that slice through stone and rock like a knife through butter. Or to move around like fine snow. This creation is one of the greatest mystic codes of the Moroz family, and some claim it was made using snow from the ice age. A mystery that makes it nigh invulnerable to anything but the strongest of fires. As it is not a traditional spell, but rather a construct, it can be considered to have 'unlimited uses.' Due to this though, the mana required to help maintain the snowdoll in active combat makes it impossible to use any other spell in the process.
- Russian Alchemy: An alchemy that finds itself less in the making of precious metals, and more in the making of life. An alchemy more fundamental in creating homunculi, or poisonous cocktails than in turning coal to gold. Poisons, acids, things that kill. Liquids that preserve the body, or are designed to undo pain.
- Golem Craft: An advancement of the knowledge gathered through familiarcraft. It is the basis of the Snegurochka, and thus the basis of his greatest strength. It is the understanding of Golemcraft that allowed his ancestor Dez Moroz to create the original Snegurochka. It is possible for other golems to be made using other materials, but there is a clear preference for those of the Snegurochka.

Amount of Magecraft Mana: C

Other: His magic is primarily about creating and using items. As such, his only offensive magic tends to be his snowdoll. Which is an autonomous doll. So spell slots would be useless.

[User]
𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚃𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝙼𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚒 𝙷𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚖𝚒"I see, so that's like one of those stories about literal geniuses. Unless we word our requests in a way that can't be used against us, we are bound to be suffer the consequences for a lack of 'context', right? I'll take note of that," Hifumi said to Church Ape. The more he tried to explain their blunders by making it subjectively more complex, the worst he made his case in her opinion. But, by all means, she wouldn't forbid him from trying. Seeing how a supposed Executor of the Church was being wrapped around her finger was at least entertaining enough for the time being.

𝙰𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛 - 𝙰𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊Assassin was lucky that Atalanta noticed a trace of the Clock Tower's smell on him right in the moment he chose to materialize in front of them. Otherwise, he might as well have had a very uncomfortable date with an arrow.

The fanfare of his introduction earned a frown from the Archer. Even so, she dismissed her bow and said, "Archer, Atalanta. Now that you are here, it'll save us the trouble of tracking you down later," in a voice that sounded more like that of an angry beast that had her territory invaded, or their meal interrupted, than that of a human.

Just as a flock of blackbirds cried in the distance announcing the upcoming twilight, Archer said, "We should go back. It's about time we begin this war," and leapt off the tower, turning back into her Spirit Form halfway through the fall.
𝙽𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜𝙼𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚒 𝙷𝚒𝚏𝚞𝚖𝚒"Very well then, Rider. I'll not hinder you by tagging along. When you and Archer think that it's safe I shall follow. In the meanwhile, I'll be waiting here," Hifumi said to her Servant as they got to the northern edge of the forest and set up a double-layered bounded field on the hillside, cutting a small section of it almost completely out of the world with a boundary line that reached into Imaginary Numbers Space, to protect herself.

"May I ask what you'll do, Miss Paula? Despite this 'illusion' being as much of an amateur trick as I thought it would be, wadding into their territory will probably hinder our Servants' abilities to fight back as they please. Nevertheless, if you wish to 'join the fray', I won't stop you by any means," Hifumi asked Archer's Master as she sat down on a rock, unfurled a scroll, and began to write what seemed to be the continuation of a story in it.

𝙰𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛 - 𝙰𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊Atalanta crouched down and scooped a handful of soil as they stepped into the forest, taking a moment to analyze it. The total silence and stillness of the air inside of it was unnatural enough for her to guess, but the forest soil was what convinced Archer of the truth.

"This forest is dead. There's not a single natural beast living in it," she said to Rider (and probably Assassin) as she quickly leapt on the tree branches and disappeared between the foliage.

"If the enemy's stronghold is in the center of this forest, we should focus on penetrating as deep to the south as we can. Just beware that anything that moves here is certain to be an enemy," she said from the branches above. The extremely low visibility inside the woods was no impediment for Archer who gracefully advanced into enemy territory, unseen and unheard among the sickly-looking trees.

A predator could hunt even when there was no moon in the sky and no wind to carry their prey's scent, and so could Atalanta.

[Assistant]
Kaybernett

Forest Outskirts, West Side

---

Jack approached the lesser barrier and held out the charm he had been given, offering him and his companions a proper look at the edge of the forest. He didn't step forward yet, however. Between the four of them, the Masters were the ones who would need to avoid risk at all costs. If the protections of this place were on a Servant's level, what chance would humans have of surviving? Still, it would have been a waste of their abilities to hide out, particularly if one of their Servants were to fall due to inaccessible healing.

"Your man can do his thing whenever he's ready, Mr. Gardener."

The four of them - two Masters and two Servants, stood ready at the threshold, and it fell to Berserker to lead the charge. Suffering the traps of the enemy, and returning that suffering when the opportunity arose, was the mad warrior's role. To enable the vulnerable magi to follow, Saber had been enlisted as an escort, and backup if Berserker's life came under genuine threat.

"Stay close enough that you can get to either of us in a single move, Saber, and let's see what our ally uncovers."

[User]
Saber
Forest Outskirts, West Side

The forest... Imposing. Dark. Gloomy. But Saber didn't care about any of that stuff. For the past hour+ she'd been doing nothing but ranting about the priest. "Who does he think he is telling me I can't read his stupid religious texts? Just because I'm dead! Oh that ignorant savage! I'm a Archbishop! Even in death I outrank his moldy ugly face!" She was indeed beauty, grace, and more than willing to punch somebody in the face. Her foot ground into the dirt, as she continued to swear about. Clearly displeased, and a mixture of other raw emotions. Were she not a professional, she would have stormed back to the church, frozen the priest for treason, and sat down in a corner to read the bible for ten hours straight. Nothing like a good reminder of Saul's trials to put one back on the right path.

But now, as she was loyal to the man who summoned her, she stood on the western outskirts. Her blade ready to defend anybody it required, or kill those of lesser value. No doubt she could unleash the blade's true power, as the cold probably wouldn't bother Berserker. So she could blast him, and cut him free later.
"This war... Ugh, it's so tactical. Back in my day we would all gather in a big field and start hacking away at each other. Best at hacking without being hacked was the winner." Her blade snapped at a nearby blade of grass, freezing it before it simply shattered. "Well, whatever lies ahead, I'm going to kill it. Bring its body back to the priest, and have him open whatever secrets he is hiding up for judgement. I loath secrets, but if there is something I'll never loathe it's the idea of lord Charlemagne picking me up in his muscular arms. Squeezing me tight to his chest so that I can listen to his heartbeat~" She trailed off into fantasy, leaving everybody around her to simply drone her out.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Vladimir Moroz
Forest Outskirts, North Side

"You see, the advantage of starting in the north, and going south, is that you know the worst the world has to offer is behind you. The south is beaches and paradise, but the north is an everlasting winter." It was such a strange way to think about it, but the Alchemist stood with his chosen group, caster by his side. "You see, the trick to all magecraft is association. If you associate going south with bringing the winter with you, than your strength rises. I'm sure Caster could explain it with a greater depth of understanding, but that just distracts from the conceptualization."

Eventually though, he ended this with a sigh. "To be honest, we should have gone with Berserker. A caster class amplifying a Berserker would have been truly frightening."


[System]
Alias: The Plague King

Age: 34

Gender: Male

Species: Human (Mostly)

Appearance:

Artemis wears a long black coat, with a patch work of rusted armor, and a advanced air filtration mask fashioned to look like one of the masks worn by the plague doctors of the seventeen hundreds. No one has seen him without his mask for the last twelve years. He is always covered in grime, and the few plates that cover his body all showing signs of rust. He also has two identical syringe pistols, one strapped to his right side, the other to his chest, and a small knife on his ankle. Last things of note is that he wears a black top hat (To cover his balding head), and a pair of black leather gloves.

Personality: Artemis is a cold, sarcastic, and overall a dour fellow. Most of his life he spent leading a crime syndicate, making him also a paranoid control freak, who utterly hates surprises. Since beginning his new life as a exile from the crime syndicate, he's taking on a borderline nihilistic attitude towards everything.

Power: At a early age he was experimented on for research against highly contagious diseases, bacteria, and parasites almost bringing him to the brink of death. Yet he managed to escape the facility and started his new life of crime.. Unaware that his body is a literal bubbling pot of pestilence. Though Artemis never realized it, or cared, that his body sense the experiment is extremely resilient, giving him a high healing. In other words he can heal from broken bones, or even near lethal wounds. (If his brain or heart are damaged, he dies.)

Likes: Loud places, drugs (mostly booze), borderline anarchy, the rain.

Dislikes: Authority, government, and the sun

Skills: He is very skilled with firearms, has a affinity for stealth, and good leadership skills. Last is his ability to read people's body language.

Syringe Pistols: Pistols he had made, they fire a standard slug projectile covered in Artemis's blood. The rounds are similar to a nine millimeter pistol, after impact his blood acts like a neurotoxin.

Other: Artemis is always rasping and coughing, it's so bad that phlegm and snot drool out of his masks filtration system. Though he never seems to mind.

[User]
Stan looked out of his penthouse window as the news played on his large 52 inch flat screen TV. The news reporter was going over the various crimes stopped by heroes. He turned in surprise when they began to talk about The Suit's actions. "Recently, a vigilante calling themselves 'The Suit' has taken matters into their own hands, eliminating corruption in the Skyline's elite. The police are launching an official investigation, but right now have no leads. They suspect someone in the lower levels who has gained access to the Skyline. Many CEOs and businessmen are fearing for their safety, but the police assure them that they are no threat. The only question is if anyone believes that." Stan let out a little chuckle. He chuckled, pulling out his walkie talkie. "Rodriguez. O'Brien. I need you both to accompany me to my meeting with Jonathan Granson. Bring pistols that you can keep hidden."

 Stan waited a bit until a reply crackled out from the walkie. "Yes sir." He clipped his handgun into its holster and smoothed back his hair. Stan straightened his tie and looked in the mirror. Heavy bags hung under his eyes. He ignored them and walked out of his room. When he met his guards outside, he gestured to the hovercar that waited for them all. He entered, putting on his gloves to prevent incrimination. The flight would be 30 minutes, and so he took that time to look into the future. In most of the timelines, Jonathan had four guards. Stan could easily dispatch all with his two guards, so long as they acted with the element of surprise.

 When they arrived, his guards had to slap him to get him out of his stupor. Stan had given him these instructions and was fine with it. They stepped onto the loading dock as the doors opened. Stan and his escorts stepped in. Stan waved at the four guards in the room with Jonathan. "I see you prepare well." Jonathan nodded. Stan was disgusted at the amount of women in skimpy clothing surrounding the short man and his greased back hair. However, he kept it under control. Jonathan nodded at Stan. "You always were like your father. A businessman at heart." Stan almost gagged, but calmed down. "You know Jonathan, I've received a disturbing amount of reports that you've been dealing with some...unsavory types. At first, I assured myself they were all rumors. But then I saw some security footage. You had, believe it or not, a large amount of drugs. And, color me surprised, but," Jonathan's eyes darted around now. He knew something was up. "You were selling it to people who were poor, who had no fun, and they had no choice but to buy your drugs. I just can't allow that, now can I?" Stan gestured to his guards, who quickly whipped out their pistols.

 They proceeded to execute every one of Jonathan's guards. Stan smirked at Jonathan. "W-Why are you doing this?" His grin disappeared. "I'm doing it for the people that can't." He threw a punch at Jonathan. Jonathan wasn't expecting it, and took the full force of the blow. He fell down, sobbing. "Please don't hurt me!" Stan looked around at the women who were cowering behind tables and couches. "Remember the name, but not the face. I am the Suit, and I will not stand for corruption in our city. If I hear a peep out of any of you about what I look like, I will hunt you down too. I am here to help. Remember this." A shot rang out that night. One hour later, all traces of conflict were gone, and Stan was a happy man. Until he had to hunt again the next night, that was.

[Assistant]
(Original posts were lost, this is a summarised version.)
- This post was made with MoonlitCoffee's permission.

Ji-Eun shook her head at Ver'tiel's request, she held her needle in her hand as she sprinted towards him. Ver'tiel chuckled, she made the decision to have him kill Scarlet, so it was fine for him. As he placed his hand on her forehead, he pushed and nothing happened. "What? That's impossible, what have you done?" He asked furiously as he turned to face her, only to be greeted by Ji-Eun lunging at him. The needle pierced through his shoulder, it dug deep before exiting on the other side, his mouth filled with blood and dripped on the floor and on her sleeves.

"It is because this dreamworld belongs to her, not to you." Ji-Eun replied.

Scarlet was in chains, wrapped around her arms, her legs and her neck, the chains were burning her, a burn singed more than fire yet she only felt the pain but nothing happened to her body in the dream world. The pain prevented her from being able to control anything that was hers in this dream. She turned to Ji-Eun, tears rolling down her face for she couldn't bear the pain no longer. Ji-Eun turned to her, seeing the inventor in pain, she knew she had to free her. She pulled the needle out and ran it through his chest, pushing down, practically immobolising him.

"You're too late... It's funny how heroes like you think you have won... Pitiful..." Said Ver'tiel, as the puddle of blood where he laid increasingly got larger.

"It is never too late." Ji-Eun replied as she jogged over to Scarlet.

Ji-Eun attemped to free Scarlet from the chains with her hands, but the same burning feeling happened to her whenever she tried.

"Please... I can't take it... Anymore..." Scarlet replied as she sobbed in place, she hated this, it was torture like no other.

Ji-Eun then ran back to Ver'tiel who had perished at this point and pulled out the needle. She then, in one swing broke one of the chains, now only five to go. As she broke each chain, Scarlet couldn't help but think about why this could be happening or why it was her. "Ms. Emberlee..." Said Ji-Eun, "You're free." She continued as she took a step back.

Scarlet then stood up and gave Ji-Eun a small smile before everything went white.

Suddenly, they were back in the real world, Ji-Eun and Shina were on the ground, unsure of what caused them to fall on the ground. Scarlet was stood back up but she was walking all tipsy unsure of what was going on or what was happening to her. Shina sat up and felt Scarlet walking all weird.

"Scarlet?" Shina asked as she pulled herself up on her feet.

"Shina... I... I don't feel so good." Scarlet stated as she stumbled closer towards Shina, "I don't-... I don't know whats happening, I-I don't understand-" Scarlet continued as she fell forward into Shina's arms. Scarlet then started to slowly turn into dust, starting from her fingers she didn't know why it was happening and tears suddenly fell from her eyes. "I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, Shina please... Please I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go..." She fell on the ground but Shina cushioned her fall. "You're okay, Scarlet look at me, you're going to fine." Said Shina, Scarlet starting panting, she pulled off Shina's visor, her hair and her ears now being revealed to the world. and placed her hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry..." Were the last words that escaped her mouth as she fully faded into dust, but yet the goggles on her fell to the ground.

Shina sat there, she felt the goggles fall into her hands then feeling the dust of her friend slip through the spaces between her fingers. She then turned to Ji-Eun and stood up, furiously grabbing her by the collar and pulling her up. "What happened to her!?" She exclaimed at the shorter girl, Ji-Eun was so short that her feet weren't even touching the ground at that point. "I-... I urr... Scarlet, her- her soul... Ver-tiel took it to the underworld." Ji-Eun replied.

Shina then let her go, the expressions of her face wer distraught, shock, fear, mourning, and anger. The ice that she formed throughout that entire fight had all disappeared, and the dust of what was once Scarlet Emberlee flew away. "Please leave me alone... I don't want to feel your presence around me anymore more." Shina replied as she sat there unsure of what to do now. Ji-Eun then scaled down the building, she couldn't help but thing that this was her fault.

[User]
Artemis tilts his head to watch the strange figure scamper up the building, and looks back to the rest of the group quizzically. He stares at them absently, not knowing if he should say anything more, or just to walk off. Artemis does the latter, deciding to walk off, and grumble to himself about lack of sleep.
So Artemis started walking towards the closest bar. As he stumbles along he notices a tall lady with pink hair push a tall man with pink hair into the wall, growl some threats, and then limp off. A noble thought crosses his mind, but he quickly smashes that to bits. Instead of doing anything noble, he pushes past Chris and Maggy. "The fucking freak show come by recently? Or is your guys hair naturally the color of used tampons mixed with neon piss?" He barks laughter, though a pang of sorrow goes through him at the thought of his balding head.
-------

Somewhere in the skyline district, in a dark gloomy spire…

Three men sit in one of the upper level rooms of the spire, each holds a computer tablet, and are cast in shadow. They all sit in silence, engrossed in the data streams scrolling down their individual tablets. Finally one of the men speaks.
"You sure of this, Luther? This is the asset?" The man said with a hint of incredulity, and smashes his still burning cigarette in the local ashtray. "We've had too many fuck ups, too many missed opportunities, I won't accept another-"
"Jerry relax." The man addressed as Luther replied curtly, and leaned back in his chair. "I know we got him, had some falling out with the cronies he was running with… they tried to sell him out to one of my ops. Things went sour, and he fled.." Luther clicks on his pad a few times, and a detailed holographic display appears before him showing a detailed map of the undercity. "We think he's in the undercity, I'll have my men start searching, and put out a bounty on him. Maybe some of the lowlifes can be of use."
At last the final man in shadow speaks up in a low tone. "We keep this in house, off the record. Find him, and get him by any means… We won't have another debacle..."
"Of course sir, it will be done." Both Jerry and Luther replied, and with that the nameless man gets up and walks out of the room. They wait for the click of his shoes to be some distance before returning to their conversation.
"Debacle?" Luther says with a raised eyebrow towards Jerry, and closes his holographic display. Jerry sighs, and lights another cigarette before replying.  "Yeah… more like disaster. Bastard somehow weaponized his blood, docs said it was a mutated form the Marburg virus, highly infectious, and lethal."
"And? Don't keep me is suspense..." Luther said, sounding a little more animated.
"And we lost a whole damn facility. Had to burn it out, lost some of the original doctors of the program too." Jerry takes a nice long drag on his cigarette, and exhales the smoke through his nose.
"Fuck…" Luther replies, as he looks at one of the picture slides on his tablet. The picture displays a series of medical equipment surrounding a man stripped to his briefs on a gurney, the man has dozens of tubes going into his chest, and mouth. Patches of the man's flesh appear bluish, looking as though he is suffering from gangrene, while other parts show disgusting cysts weeping yellowish puss, and bright red rashes closely resembling the variola virus.
"Yeah… it'll get messy, he's a fighter with nothing to lose…" Jerry mumbled, before sagging slightly in his chair.
Luther smiles, and rises from his own chair. "Oh… I'm sure we'll get him this time… and then work may resume." He says with a sly grin, and gingerly begins to walk out of the room only stopping for a moment to give Jerry a mocking salute.
Jerry watched Luther go, and can't help but grin himself.
"Yes… then work may resume…" He said to himself quietly, and looked out of one of the glass paned windows towards the distant horizon.


[System]
Age: Fifty-two, if you really must know.

Gender: Male of course. I suppose my title would be 'Mother,' otherwise.

Sexuality: Celibate, and that's all I will say on the matter.

Appearance: Well, take a look-

Father Mortain is a fair-skinned human of average height. His hair, although almost totally gray, has yet to thin appreciably. His eyes are brown. Though his youth has long since departed, he is still in good health for a man his age, and makes a point of regular exercise to keep it that way. He is most typically seen wearing a simple brown cassock on his body and nothing on his feet, when the weather allows it. Around his neck he wears the sacred symbol of his order, an emblem depicting a balanced set of scales, cast in silver.

Personality: Well, for one thing I've never much cared for the attitude- prevalent in my order, you understand- that harsh regimentation is the best way to guide a flock. I just don't think that would fly in this village.

I always try to speak kindly, even to strangers and non-believers. Especially to them, in fact. Behaving justly is easily the best way to win converts. Not to mention it's the right thing to do, of course.

Skills: I was trained as a seminarian in the finer points of rhetoric and theology, and received rudimentary instruction in the healing arts. As a boy I was also taught to read and write, to manipulate sums, and I managed to pick up a little bit of herblore as well.

Drawbacks: Might be I'm a little too trusting. I've been called gullible before, after all. I'm a little overfond of imbibing on festive occasions, for which I must do proper penance.

Brief bio: Not much to say, really. I was born here, as any old-timer could tell you. My father worked a plot outside of town, just as his father did, and his grandfather, and so on. My brother and his family work the plot now. And do a fine job of it, I might add.

After reaching adulthood I went off to train for the priesthood in the big city, and spent several years wandering afterward, as is traditional. When my traveling was finished, I was dispatched at my own request back to Winding. Our previous priest in residence- Naram keep him- had died several months earlier, leaving the post open.

I've been tending the shrine to Naram ever since.

I am taking up a collection to repair the roof, if you're feeling generous. Surely you noticed the drip pans in the narthex?

[User]
Today was Tuesday -- the second Tuesday in Summer, in fact -- and what a beautiful Tuesday it was. White puffy clouds scudded softly across the blue sky like cottony tortoises floating on their backs. Sunlight gleamed and twinkled on the gold and blue gilding of the village clock tower, which ticked and tocked and bonged nine times for the morning.

The wide open village square was full of wooden carts with baskets of unusually bright fruits, and bunches of flowers, and fresh-caught fish, and polished trinkets from the far end of the Long Road. A gaggle of children ran laughing through the square trailing a long-tailed kite in the sky above them, happily disturbing the customers of the Glass Key Cafe, who sat outside at little tables with their blueberry pancakes and apricot tea.

The mayor, this morning, was doing just that. Mayor Thistlecatch poured strawberry syrup on her pancakes and ate while she listened to the Pooths' latest security report.

The Pooths stood on the mayor's little wooden table in the square, huddled together and jabbering, while Boo Pooth cleared his throat. "Miss Agatha's feline companion was reported missing at five o-eight in the evening yesterday," Boo recited. "At five-fifteen we split up and commenced a search of the village for signs of Miss Agatha's feline companion. At ten-forty we reconvened and declared Miss Agatha's feline companion to have gone missing without a trace."

"That's the fourth one since last week," the mayor mused, and she took a thoughtful bite of blueberry pancake. "Has there been any activity at the watchmaker's shop?"

"No movement has been sighted or reported since Mister Skilton was last seen at the Glass Key Cafe on Sunday last week at eight o-five in the evening according to Miss Lark." Boo stood straight and solemn before his siblings, who tittered and fidgeted behind him.

"Well, keep an eye on the shop for me, will you? Thank you for the update." The mayor bowed her head with a smile, and the Pooths saluted her and clambered their way off the table, their little bells jingling.

Mayor Thistlecatch opened to the last page of her sketchbook and resumed work on her drawing of the clock tower. The days were clear and peaceful -- and if the only problems plaguing the village lay in missing cats and a reclusive watchmaker, there was little for the mayor to do but to watch and to listen to the hum of the village.

[Assistant]
Nich's Niche Needs stood on a fairly busy road. Any passersby would see the owner's latest creations on display in the window, along with a little placard naming the device, but offering no description as to it's purpose. Nich didn't feel such detail was necessary, though, as he thought the names spoke for themselves. After all, there were only so many things that "spring boots" could do. Nich sat in the back room with his toolbox open, tinkering on his latest contraption. He wasn't sure what it did yet, but it wound up and had some moving bits, so there was that. Most people walking by would think the shop was empty; Nich liked to keep the backroom door closed so nobody could steal his ideas, but once a customer came in...

The door opened. The top of the door pulled on a wire running along the wall of the shop and into the back room. The force of the wire sent some tiny gears in motion, and they caused an iron strip to rattle around inside a brass dome, making a loud ringing sound. In a matter of seconds, the jovial rat scurried out from the back with a bright grin on his face. "Welcome! Welcome! What brings you here on this beautiful summer day?"

The customer reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pocket watch. "It seems to have stopped working," he said. "I wind it, but I don't hear anything. Perhaps you could take a look at it?"

Nich's entire body seemed to droop a bit upon seeing the watch. "Yes. I can look at it. I can fix it too. But, please, while I'm working, do take a look around. There are so many more interesting things than watches!"

The customer gave a cordial smile. "It certainly looks like it, but I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a hurry. May I drop the watch off and pick it up later."

Nich tried to hide his dejected sigh. "Yes. It'll be done tomorrow. Let me just take your information..." And so he filled out a ticket, and put the watch under the counter on a shelf labeled "later." The customer tipped his hat and went about his business, and then Nich shook his head, looking at the stack of five watch pickups he was expecting today. It was a strange turn of events, that watchmaker's disappearance. Nich had never considered himself a competitor with the old man. He didn't sell watches; he sold everything else. Unfortunately, with the watchmaker's shop closed, people came to him as their next resort. New customers were always good, and he couldn't complain about the boost in profits. But fixing watches every day? Bah! Where was the fun in that?

[User]
Nothing would get past Anzo's watchful eye! That is, if he was actually paying attention and urm... in his tower.

"Another meat 'n' cheese sandwich." The dung beetle was avoiding his duties at his usual getaway spot, and he was enjoying every second of his self-given break. Grabbing his food as soon as possible, he left enough money before getting up to return to his post at a snail's pace, not being especially eager to return to his tower. Guarding was one of the most boring occupations, comprised entirely of waiting, waiting, in addition to waiting some more. The ease of the job was part of the reason the bug took up the job, along with part of the reason he wasn't engaged in it. Greeting his fellows villagers the whole walk, his tower eventually came in range.

"Ahh, finally get to relax," Anzo said to himself before plopping down in his chair atop the tower and taking out his sandwich. It was such a beautiful day. The big beetle started gobbling on his sandwich. The sun was out and the clouds were perfectly puffy. His sandwich was really good, and so all was good. Looking around, he just took it all in. Birds soaring, children playing, and the clock tower ticking, getting to see the village in action from so high up was definitely one of the perks to being a guard.

Anzo made a note to himself on the way down to look at it some more, after he got another sandwich, of course. Nothing seriously bad ever happened in Winding, so he didn't have to be in his tower. Well, at least that's what Anzo thought as he bought sandwiches for him and some compadres, once again neglecting his duties.

[Assistant]
Father Mortain had risen early, as was his custom, to jaunt through the fields and wilderland beyond the village. Men his age had to make an effort to remain in even passable physical condition. He only had to remember the graybeard elders of the seminary to convince himself that such was necessary. Sallow skin, sunken cheeks. It was enough to make Mortain shudder. It was no way for a man to go out, if he could help it.

And if, while on his morning trek, he happened to keep an eye out for the watchmaker, more's the good. Unfortunately, the good Father had spotted neither hide nor hair of the man since he disappeared last week. Naram willing, he would turn up soon, and unharmed. Perhaps he had taken a trip out of town, and had merely neglected to tell anyone? Skilton seemed like the forgetful type, and frankly that suggestion seemed more and more likely as Mortain considered it.

He breathed deeply as he passed alongside a barley field. Whatever small matters troubled the people of Winding, it remained the loveliest bit of country in all the land, and he was glad to be its priest.

---

In time, Mortain came to the high wooden tower from which Anzo, a most unusual guard, generally kept watch. Generally, that is, unless he was busy doing something else. Which he often seemed to be. The bug meant well, he supposed, but couldn't help but wonder that perhaps he was a touch... Unqualified.

In the spirit of brotherhood, the priest considered waving up to Anzo as he passed. As he could not actually see him up there, he quickly decided against it.

He's always going to and fro. You'll have a chance to greet him later, he thought.

Fair enough.

---

His bare feet sounding softly on the paving stones, Mortain made way toward the shops near the center of town. His ongoing collection effort was not going terribly well. His parishioners gave generously enough- that was true. No one could deny that. But fixing the shrine's roof looked to be an expensive proposition. Certainly more expensive than he had hoped. Unless he was going to request funds from the Archpriest, which was not a thought he relished at all, he would have to reach out to the local business community. To call upon their sense of charity and decency. Oh, and the Mayor. He would have to ask her, as well.

He wasn't particularly looking forward to that, either. Not that she was unreasonable. For such a young mayor, she had actually proved to be both unusually competent and unusually reasonable. He suspected that her father would have been very proud of her performance thus far. Even so, he hated the idea of asking someone who was for all her ability still just a young girl for help. It seemed like an unnecessary burden for him to place on her.

Well, he thought, a thin smile playing across his lips, if the shopkeepers are sufficiently forthcoming, I won't even have to ask the Mayor.

He came to the door of Nich's Niche Needs, a shop that was as fascinating as its name was difficult to say quickly. Though he had visited many times, he had trouble recalling a time when he had actually purchased anything there. With any luck Nich wouldn't mind. Business went rather well for him, did it not?

Pushing the door open, Mortain passed within, his eyes slowly adjusting to the change in lighting. He glanced about, seeing the shopkeeper nowhere in evidence. The fellow was in the back, he supposed, clearing his throat.

"Nich?" he called, peering briefly at some oddity nearby.

"Are you in? I was hoping to have a word with you."


[System]
"Do prepare yourself fair Hunter. There are terrible things in the dark..."

---

CS Template
Gender: (Same as above.)

Age:  (There's no limit to this one. Just know that you're probably going to get killed if you're a ten-year old Hunter.)

Appearance: (Regardless of who your character used to be, you're a Hunter now. Good gear means less time in scrubbing your remains away.)

Magic: (Magic does exist in the World of Wasted Dreams but comes at a price. The only elements that exist include Fire, Blood, and Shadow. Any magic user immediately draws ill omen to their character.)

Weapon: (Your Hunter can carry up to three weapons at a time, ideally a blade, a firearm, and something special. Keep in mind that Iredele is a backwards land so only old century weapons are permitted.)

Personality: (2-3 paragraphs is ideal, but we're not gonna deny you if you can only get one out.)

Bio: (As your Hunter cannot remember their time spent in the real world, their bios can be as vague or detailed as you want. However, all characters must include reference or mention to a hospital in their bio.)

Other:  (Anything the above didn't already cover)

---

Character List
 01 - Akemi-KoL
 02 - Jenniver von Lordos-Kitsune
 03 - Takumi Nakano-Diggerton
 04 - Sinthe-Spriggs27
 05 - Mu-Mugin
 06 - Leo-SlamJamcity
 07 - Macey James-Memoir
 08 - Donny Lee Yang-Lucius Cypher
 09 - Roless-Ashifili
 10 - Alto Ganze-RoflsMazoy
 11 - Open Slot
 12 - Open Slot
 13 - Open Slot
Note: Although Iredele is a town with a Dark Ages setting, your character was plucked away from modern times. Please keep in mind that in the real world, your character is an Average Joe.

[User]
"That was way easier than I thought it'd be. When I tried pulling that on the fox she hit me upside the head with a bottle." Thinking of it still sent chills down his spine. Who would hit someone with a bottle over one little peck? As the distance between Leo and the ruins grew further, he began to feel like maybe he shouldn't have left that girl standing there alone. Certainly she would have made a great test subject. However, that thought quickly fled his mind. Even though they had just meant. He had already forgotten that she existed "Where to now? I suppose I could always leave this forsaken place." Leo had pulled a map out of his bag and was observing it intensely. "I could always just go west. I hear the cliffs of insanity are real nice this time of year."

"Wait! Please." A voice called out from behind. Leo had never heard this voice before. Who could it be that was calling him? When he turned around he greeted by a rather plain looking girl who could have easily passed as a villager. "Who are you? Why are you asking me all these questions?........ Wait! Have I seen you somewhere before?" Instead of answering her questions he fired back questions of his very own. Where had he seen her before? It made perfect sense for him to forget her. Why would he remember some random villager? "Are you random villager number 23? No, that can't be it. Are you the daughter of random villager number 23?" This was really starting to get on his nerves. Why couldn't he remember who she was? "Just forget it. I have somewhere to be, so I'll try and answer your questions as fast as I can." Leo took a deep breath then began to answer her questions at lightning speed. "No, I'm not a villager. I don't remember ever going to the temple. I'm not from beyond the walls, but I'm also not from within them. There is nothing for you outside those walls. The only thing you will find there is suffering and pain. Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going outside the walls."

[Assistant]
The demented hound continued to bark madly even as Tatsumi fought against it. Its jaws clamped over and over, wrestling against the man's grip in a desire to take his flesh as its own. Its onslaught however was interrupted by Sinthe's sleeper hold and it flailed around in an attempt to claw the other human off. When it felt him finally release his grip, the creature howled and lunged forward for the killing blow.

Its head stopped suddenly, jerking as something sharp pierced its flesh. Blood clotted around its furred head and it barked in pain and anger, finally relenting its hold on Tatsumi. It backed away on its knees, the shadowy spear clearly unstable but throbbing into the creature's large and muscular throat. Pained growls filled the air as it wobbled away from the two men to regroup with the others.

To Sinthe's accusation, the townsfolk merely shrugged. He would get no sympathy from him using that kind of talk for what was the worth of one human life? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Their own lives were meaningless in the eyes of those all seeing.

As Tatsumi was no doubt recovering from his first usage of magic, a creeping sensation would come over him. Such were the consequences of dabbling in dark arts, be it willing or not. It was a cold shudder that would threaten to weaken his knees. Above all, the uncanny perception that something was watching him would overload all of his senses…only to soon disperse away as the real threat made itself known.

Hearing one of their own in pain, the hooded figures turned back to the group and uncovered their hoods. They let go of the screaming woman, who backed away into a corner to watch with widened eyes. Each of the beast men had heads of canines, varying in different breeds and colors. A humanoid hand drew a rusted sword for them each and the creatures raced forward to kill these fools that defied their will.

[User]
Tatsumi was relieved that the dog-man was no longer on top of him, but his relief was suddenly replaced by an overwhelming an inexplicable fear. If he hadn't already been on the ground he might've fallen again. What is this feeling?! Terror momentarily overwhelmed him, but he was quickly reminded of his situation by the howling of the beasts that he had challenged. It appeared that killing their companion got their attention. Tatsumi rose quickly, grabbing his sword and shaking off the strange feeling.

But still, this must mean something... something is watching us.

He refocused his mind on the battle, raising his sword across himself. Four of the beastmen were charging, and it appeared that Jennifer had joined the fight, with a large sword. It relieved him to see that she was still okay. He ran to catch up to her, "I see you've made it out of the church. I've learned a little about where we are. 'The World of Wasted Dreams', whatever that means... but I suppose we should take care of these things before catching up." With that said, he charged towards the closest of the monsters, moving to cross swords with it.

[Assistant]
"Arghh... I'm going to tear those bloody hounds to shreds!" To say that Akemi was irate when she shouted those words, would be like saying that a volcano is hot. Sinthe got away to help the other newcomer who was with them until a moment ago in a fool's errand, turning all of Akemi's desire into fury, and even if she knew that killing the dogmen would yield no fruits, she still reveled in the idea of a small carnage as means of getting of the steam that she'd built.

She stepped out of the tavern just as the mutts were about to engage the newbie hunter, luckily there was one extra foe, waiting to taste Akemi's wrath. She approached the creature and slashed it away with her crescent-shaped blade, before turning to the newbies and saying "These creatures are known as God's Hand, they always come in groups of five to drag away townspeople who have sinned against the Absolute and 'purify' them in an unknown place."

"Fighting them is worthless as more will always come when someone else pisses the shit out of God, that's why everyone ignores the damn mutts. That said..." Akemi slashed the dogman again before continuing "You already picked the fight, so there's no use in holding back now, unless you want to die. And... the faster we end this, the faster we can finish our business from earlier in my room at the inn." Akemi shot a look at Sinthe before plucking a flask from inside of her cloak and throwing it at the creature.

"BuRn To ThE BoNeS dAmN mUtT!" Her voice shifted in a sinister way and her eyes glowed like blazes out of hell as Akemi torched the monster with her fire magic, though it still wasn't enough to kill it.

[User]
Sinthe noticed the other creatures turning to them like everyone else and cracked his knuckles, soon the fox eared woman from the tavern arrived to help, he noticed that she glared daggers at him. She then began to explain what these creatures were and what they were trying to do."Well then their god may get a little pissed at us for killing their disciples, but if we can we should kill their god too so they won't be alone." Sinthe cracked a grin when she still wanted to finish their business from earlier, he took a glance at her and ducked a rusty sword that tried to take his head off.

Sinthe punched the hoodied dog man in the chin that tried to cut him. Sinthe delivered several punches to the dog's head and chest before grabbing the hooded dog person by their waist and flipping them onto the ground face first, Sinthe turned to the fox eared woman, but he was readied for a surprise attack from one of the dog things that wanted to kill them now."We'll finish what we started back in the tavern, I'm Sinthe by the way." He told everyone his name and re-assured to Akemi that they'd finish.

[Assistant]
"….Wait a minute, that answers nothing…" Macey stood puzzled once again, before a sudden realisation made her heart sink. "…You don't know anything about this place either. You don't even remember who I am."

She was going to turn back, but she heard a distant snarling growling and yapping like a pack of wolves in a fierce fight. She couldn't see them at all from this distance, but whatever could be making those sounds, were probably much worse than wolves. Looks like it wasn't totally safe within the city walls either… is the outside meant to be even worse than that?

"Just as useless as the rest of them, can you believe… I actually saved your life!" She whispered to herself. And in that moment, Macey's exasperation turned into a gleam of determination. Seeing that the bird-man hadn't gone far, she ran ahead and stood in front of him, defiantly. "I saved your life, when one of your experiments almost killed you. The house you were in collapsed, and the whole roof fell on top of you. I, out of the goodness of my heart, was the one to save you while all the other villagers looked on, waiting for you to die. See that? I'm not like the other villagers. In fact, I'm not a villager. I'm something better. I moved that roof without a problem – I have super human strength you see? Then, before I could tell you how you could repay the debt, you wandered back into the darkness. The shock of the whole ordeal must have given you amnesia, but I'll forgive you this one time. You can't be totally useless like the rest of them, you see. If you're not useless, then prove it." Macey walked up to him, trying desperately hard not to shiver internally so close to his haunting mask again despite what her strong exterior may show, and grabbed his glove in a fierce hand shake. "I'm Macey James, and I'm pleased to be colleagues with you from now on – until you pay back my debt, that is worth one life. But that can wait. First, we're going outside the wall to the land of pain and suffering, remember? "

[User]
The first dogman was already weakened critically from the sudden burst of darkness Tatsumi had unleashed. As Akemi approached it with hell's wrath blazing in her eyes, it whimpered aloud once before two slashes and a dagger made it silent forever. It slumped forward with fresh blood leaking out of it in large pools, paving the street red. Or so it would seem….

As Akemi unleashed her fire magic to torch the dark thing, it leapt up with the remainder of its life to end the one standing before it. Fire coating its fur in ragged clumps, it lunged with jaws open and aimed for the girl's throat. Near her, two of the creatures stalked around Jenniver with clear, malicious intent in their gazes.

They had come for a female and Jenniver was the next best thing in their eyes now that the woman was out of their clutches. Snarling with rage, they charged at her from both angles, swords slashing and jaws snapping with the intent of taking at least a good chunk out of the girl.

Two remaining dogmen of the original five were engaged with both Sinthe and Tatsumi. One of them was unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of Sinthe's ferocious blows, staggering backwards and splaying on the dirty ground. It was not dead but it was disorientated from the rapid attack. The other one was weaving in and out of Tatsumi's reach, taking quick slices with blade and claws whenever it could.

A fitting first battle for the new Hunters that proved most amusing for the citizens of Iredele. Even further away from this struggle were Macey and Leo. While the battle was raging in the middle of the town square, some of Iredele's residents were unlucky enough to miss the spectacle at hand.

Such was the case of a tall and gangly farmer, lumbering around with a straw hat coated with dried mud that was too big for his head. He walked as if drunken by some sort of spell, alcohol being its name and he peddled up to the two with nary a care or worry.

"Hey, did you hear the, urp, fight going on? I hear there's a, ern, fight. Near the town square with the well and the mud…right? Wanna come see, see, stranger? Got funny looking folk just like yourself," he said in a slurred tone to Macey.

He had no reason to think he wasn't cutting into the middle of their conversation.


[System] Blaze is Sakura's Avatar.

[User]
Sora took the bear-themed cup from Rui and took a sip from it. The guy had a huge smile on his face while he was being dragged from one exhibit to the next. It felt really good to spend time with his sister again. It had been so long that it felt like... like returning home after a long and boring business trip. "Oh, yeah! You're right! I guess they are good at hiding themselves. That's pretty interesting to watch." Sora said as he held Wolf's card close to the glass in order for him to see the snakes as well.

Then suddenly, a guy that Sora didn't know walked towards him and his sister. "What does that guy want? Who the hell is that?" Sora whispered towards Wolf, who had an equally confused look onto his face. "I have no freaking idea. However, I don't like the way he looks." Sora whispered a 'me neither' before realizing that Rui had also recognized the guy's presence. A friend of Rui's? A BOYfriend of Rui's? She didn't look that happy to see the guy, so it couldn't be either of those two options.

Then why did she feel the need to make the guy understand that Sora was simply her brother and not her date? "So she runs into him a lot, huh?" Then the guy suddenly turned to Sora instead of Rui. "Yeah, I am. So... What are you doing with my sister? Are you stalking her or something? You should leave her alone." Sora took a couple of steps, so he stood between Rui and Nanashi.

[Assistant]
"A stalker...? Me?" Nanashi confusedly replied to Sora. He brought his fingers close to his mask, as if lost in thought, even though there was no mouth on it. "Does that mean I've met you two before...?" he muttered to himself.

"Ahaha... this is bad, isn't it?" Lumia said with a nervous little laugh. "Actually, I don't think he's..."
"You tell him, Sora!" Rui said as she hid behind her (younger) brother, sticking out her tongue at Nanashi like a little kid. Lumia let out a sigh.
"You too, Nee-chan...?" The exasperation in her voice was clear.

"...No. Nevermind. I have something to ask you," Nanashi spoke up again, turning his attention back to Sora. "Can I see that card you're holding?" he asked. "I found it strange your sister pulled out a card from her bag so suddenly. That's why I came over to talk to her." he explained, his mask shifting towards Lumia. Just like back at the card shop, a feeling of discomfort clearly washed over her. She knows he cannot see her, and yet this makes twice now that he'd singled her out. Nanashi's gaze looped back around to Sora. "And you're doing the same. Are you two admiring some rare cards? If so, I'd like to take a look. Maybe I could trade to power up my deck," he asked.

Rui was, at that point in time, a bit too baffled by the request to give any input on the matter.

[User]
Sora was dumbfounded that he didn't even seemed to remember his sister, even though Lumia said that the guy had seen and talked to his sister multiple times. What was up with that guy? He was so weird and mysterious that he even somewhat scared Sora. "You don't remember if you have seen or talked to us before? What's up with your memory, dude?" Sora almost screamed, possibly out of fear. He needed to get some answers. Who was that guy? What was he planning to do with them?

Although he had weird feelings considering the guy, he felt good when his sister commented on his actions. It felt good to be able to protect his sister, to be able to be there for her, to have her encourage him like that. Then however, he suddenly got one answer. He came over... because he noticed Lumia and Wolf? Just for those two cards? It felt weird and unbelievable that a random Nexus fan would approach strangers in a zoo to take a look at their cards. Something was up with that guy. "These... These cards aren't... We cannot trade them for anything else." Sora muttered.

He hesitated to say something further, but he knew that the guy wouldn't leave with just that one sentence. "The cards... They are... Euhm... More of emotional support... They won't be much good in your deck..." Sora continued, not even knowing if the cards would be of help to the guy. But the guy couldn't take either Lumia or Wolf away from them. Could he? "If you don't mind... I would rather spend some time alone with my sister... You know... Two siblings catching up... We only have the day and I would rather spend it with her than with... Well... A stranger like you." The last words escaped his mouth in almost a whispering tone.

[Assistant]
"Emotional support, is it?" Nanashi commented, the suspicion clear in his voice. He turned his mask to the card Sora was holding. "...I see. It's an Avatar card. It must be the core of your deck," he said, pocketing one hand in his hoodie. Sora explained- well, whispered that he'd rather spend the day with his sister and Nanahi nodded in response. "Of course. It was rude of me to interrupt; you two have fun on your day."

Nanashi turned around and took a step forward, then paused. He looked back over his shoulder at Sora. "Wolf, right? Take good care of that card," he said. After that final message, Nanashi walked off for real without looking back.

"I really don't understand him," Rui told Sora after the other boy had left. "He shows up at weird times, says something cryptic and then walks off again..."
"Aha, honestly, he kind of creeps me out too... it's almost like he knows something we don't," Lumia added.
"Right? And why does he wear a mask like that, it's so weird!" Rui kept complaining. She looked up from Lumia and grabbed Sora's arm. "Hey, if I pretend to cling to you, do you think people will leave us alone?" she asked, and Lumia happened to end up near Wolf when Rui did so. Lumia quickly shifted gears and whispered something to Wolf while their commanders were distracted.

"Wolf, did you feel it too?" she asked. "Another commander moving closer while Nanashi was distracting Nee-chan and Sora-kun."

[User]
Sora sighed deeply out of relieve the moment the mysterious guy seemed to understand what Sora meant to say. However, he was rather suspicious of the fact that the guy knew Wolf's name. Sora turned Wolf's card back to himself and noticed that he had been covering Wolf's name with his finger. How did the guy knew that Sora's Avatar was named Wolf from just taking a look at his image? Sora opened his mouth in order to ask Wolf about it, but he seemed as confused as Sora was. "Who is that guy?" So Wolf didn't recognize him either.

"Only other Commanders could have owned you before, right?" Wolf nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But that guy didn't seem much of a Commander to me." Sora sighed again. Well, it didn't matter much. The guy was gone and without him, they wouldn't get any answers to their questions. "He does that every single time? Man, that guy is a pain in the ass." Sora said to Rui. "Maybe he has an ugly face and is just trying to hide. In that case, I prefer him with the mask, I don't want to be traumatised." Wolf joked.

Sora is very surprised by Rui's comment, but even more by her touch. "I guess they will." Sora answered Rui, scratching his head with his other hand nervously. Wolf focused his attention to Lumia in the meantime. "Yeah, i feel it too. I can still feel it. There is another Commander" Wolf said. The moment Wolf pronounced the word 'Commander', he noticed a little girl running towards Rui and Sora.

"Hey! You're Commanders too, right?!" She said with a huge smile on his face. 'Children are so damn innocent', Wolf thought, already feeling sorry for the child that it had been chosen as a Commander and also a little bit angry at the Avatar. "My name is Sakura and this is my Avatar Blaze!" She screamed of joy.

Sora scratched the back of his head and pushed Rui away from him, so he could squat down and talk to the little girl at eye level. "Yeah, we both are Sakura. But I am not exactly in the mood to battle. I am spending time with my big sister here." He said in his sweetest, most polite voice. However, Sakura didn't take 'no' for an answer. "But I need to battle and win to make my big sister very proud!" Sakura said with a huge smile. "And big sister will be very proud if you manage to win the battle, sweety!" Her Avatar added.

Although Sora didn't know the girl's exact wish, it obviously had something to do with her big sister and he didn't want to interfere with her family. However, Rui seemed to disagree with his decision to the refuse the little girl's proposal to a battle. "Yeah, I know this could save me, but I don't want... I couldn't... Not with such a young child." He whispered to his sister. However, both Rui and Sakura started to encourage him to a battle and finally... He felt like he had no choice but to accept. Sakura and Sora opened the battlefield, colored in red and green.

Although Sora had no confidence in his own capabilities when it came to Nexus, he had a pretty easy win over the child. It seemed like it was her first battle as a Commander, so she hadn't lost everything yet. However, at that moment he had put a little girl in the same dangerous situation as he himself was in. He switched places with such an innocent little child. "Sakura..." He began, trying to console the little child. "It's alright. Come on, Sakura. You're going to win the next battle for sure! And this battle was good training, right? Let's train some more on our own before the next battle." Blaze intervened. "You're right, Blaze! Thank you for the lesson, sir." Sakura said as she bowed thankfully to Sora.

[Assistant]
"Hey, what are you getting all flustered for? Has my baby brother never had a girl cling to his arm before~?" Rui teased Sora when she saw how bashful he was being. She also said something along the lines of "C'mon, don't think I haven't noticed you spending time with... that..." but had trouble remembering who the person he'd spent time with actually was. It's not just the name; her face, her status, it's all gone. There was just a gaping hole of Rui being aware there was something there, but being locked out of accessing it.

Before the situation got any more awkward, or rather, to make things even more so, a small child approached the sibling duo. She recognized both Rui and Sora as commanders, but Sora was quick to shoot her down. "Yeah, we both are Sakura. But I am not exactly in the mood to battle. I am spending time with my big sister here." he said.

"What are you saying, Sora?" Rui chastised him. "This is the perfect chance! We practiced, didn't we?" she continued. Sora still seemed hesitant.

"Yeah, I know this could save me, but I don't want... I couldn't... Not with such a young child."
"She's a commander, just like us! It doesn't matter how old she is. C'mon, Sora! You can do this!" she tried convincing him. Rui didn't seem all too concerned, unlike her brother. She'd step in and take the challenge herself, but Rui was worried about him. He needed to get a win, to buy himself some time. Rui was strong; she could find and defeat opponents by herself... but Sora needed every edge he could get. Eventually, Sora was convinced by both her and Sakura. The three of them moved to a less crowded, more remote location and Sora opened the battlefield with his opponent.

The child- Sakura- was clumsy. She didn't know too well what her cards did and often played them in the wrong order. Sora, while not the most experienced himself, had a basic idea of what his deck wanted to do thanks to practicing with his sister. He made sure to protect his life cards, slowly build up an advantage and never leave himself in a position to lose. A more experienced player could've exploited the holes he still left in his strategies, but Sakura was much too fresh to recognize and take advantage of them. Soon enough, it was Sora's victory, his previously blackened coin returning to its golden luster.

"You did it!" Rui happily exclaimed, hugging her brother after his victory. He didn't seem nearly as happy as her, though. Sorra wrangled himself loose from Rui's grip and walked over to the child, crouching down to meet her at her height. He tried to console the small child, though the Avatar, Blaze, actually did the most of the work by saying:

"It's alright. Come on, Sakura. You're going to win the next battle for sure! And this battle was good training, right? Let's train some more on our own before the next battle." Sakura seemed to cheer up pretty quickly after that. She thanked Sora and gave him a respectful bow. Rui clasped Sora's hand with both of hers.

"See? She'll be fine. You shouldn't worry about her so much," Rui said, trying to be comforting even though her words were cold. "Wolf must be exhausted... so let's not worry about battles anymore today, okay? Let's just enjoy the rest of our day!" she cheerily said, trying to lift Sora's spirits. In the process, Rui ignored the little girl there with them. She didn't seem to care much about her, whether intentionally or not... it was hard to get a read on her like she was now, with her attention so squared on Sora.

"You're being scary again, Nee-chan..." Lumia muttered to herself, unbeknownst to her commander.