[System]
Handle: Persephone
Formerly publicly known as the Lunar Gate Bomber (now exonerated)

Investigative Abilities

Architecture O
Art History O
Bullshit Detector O
Diagnosis O
Electronic Surveillance O
Human Terrain OO
Interrogation O
Intimidation O
Law O
Notice OOO
Outdoor Survival O
Urban Survival OOO
Pharmacy O
Photography O
Reassurance O
Research O
Streetwise OOO
Traffic Analysis O
Tradecraft O

General Abilities

Athletics 8/8
Cover 10/10
Filch 4/4
Hand To Hand 10/10 (MOS)
Health 10/10
Infiltration 8/8
Mechanics 8/8
Medic 4/4
Network 17/17
Preparedness 2/2
Sense Trouble 8/8
Stability 6/6
Surveillance 8/8

Soldier 2

Cool: 0
(defense: 10, stoic drawback)
Clever: 1
(defense: 8)
Quick: 2
(defense: 9)
Tough: 3
(defense: 10)

Background: Criminal
(the first personal Prep roll made before a mission is Boosted)
Traits: Activist
(may boost a roll acting in defense of others or for social progress, the following roll after that loses a die)
Trait: Stoic
(+1 cool defense [accounted for], but if you fail a Cool defense you get Disadvantage on the next roll after)

Talents
Notorious [generic]
Once per session, you may call upon activists like you would a community resident (p. 58).
Right Tool for the Right Job (thieves' tools) [Soldier]
Gain 1 Asset Specialty with an Asset of your choice. The first time you would spend Prep to use an Asset while on a mission, spend one less Prep.
ACAB [Soldier]
Take +1 on all rolls while dealing with police and other security forces, whether attacking, defending, spotting, evading, interacting socially, and so on.

Specialties
Cool Defense +3 (Soldier Starting Bonus, Stoic, and Criminal)
Grab +1 (Soldier Specialty 2)
Thieves' Tools +1 (Right Tool For The Right Job)
Criminal Underworld +1 (Criminal)
Activism +1 (General Starting Bonus)
Hydroponics +1 (General Starting Bonus)
Astrodemolition +1 (General Starting Bonus)
First Aid Kit +1 (Soldier Generic 2)

Cybernetics
Black Sun Lower Body Full Replacement (tm), aka tentacles for legs: mechanically athletic legs, You have Advantage on all rolls to run, jump, do parkour, and similar feats. Never apply this to attack rolls, even if you make one as part of a move. It also incorporates the Thieves' Tools, below.

Assets
First Aid Kit
Rioting Gear
Thieves' Tools
Safe House

Gig App: Roofdash

Burden: +2
Cash: 0
Prep: 0
Harm:

Elodie believed, from a young age, in making the world a better place. She also believed, from a young age, that bullies needed to be stood up to collectively, after she came home with bruises and a bloodied nose. This blossomed into a respect for and talent with street activism: until the Lunar Gate Bombing, it was honestly the most notable thing about her. Naturally, following the bombing, there was a public cry for blood. She was the top of the alphabetical list: she got the first and worst charges, and she got the hard time. Thirty years, commuted to time served when the real bomber was caught over a decade later. You learn real quick about how crime works in prison.

[User]
Orange!

Power is the priority. For Orange it always has been. Though, she notes - with some quiet relief - that hiding evidence that she might be werewolfing doesn't seem to be on the priority list. She's not going to volunteer that information though. She knows she's not qualified to perform psychological assessments on herself, and to voluntarily subordinate herself to White's tests means that she would be taking her own - potentially critical - perspective out of circulation at a key moment.

Besides. Nothing's happened yet.

She dispenses with those thoughts soon enough; they're alien to her mental architecture. The context she understands is this: She is to do the best she can within the boundaries of the legitimate, pushing - but not breaking - those frontiers if necessary. She must strive for absolute brilliance and it's the duty of other people to figure out if and how to restrain her.

Mrs. Bandara, then. Oh, such a contact - but such an impossible one. One operating entirely within the realm of the legitimate, walker of corridors of power, a decision making node in humanity's great security force. She fantasizes almost viscerally of herself in a sleek black dress, cut with fiery orange lines, hair coiled up like an autumn inferno. A figure of sophistication and class who could engage the prosecutor as an equal. The maid dress she wears may as well be burlap. Professional conversations are not struck between servants and masters. Without an introduction Mrs. Bandara might as well be on the moon.

Well... perhaps. Nobody gets to be a District anything without having a willingness to climb the greasy pole of power. Part of the beauty of human organizations is that each node is a human. And there might be levers, priorities and rivalries that would allow even a maid to cloak herself in a dress of power.

So Orange listens. She cleans in patterns that keep her in earshot of certain phone conversations, tapping into invisible electromagnetic signatures, and communications channels. She listens and she observes. Where do the individual and the system meet? And where do they diverge?

She's always listened like this. She was the one who came up with the plan to bring down Mrs. Everest's heirs. If corporations and governments are a form of AI, then it stands to reason that they can get computer viruses too.

[Surveillance+Clever: 6,3+4 = 13]

Pink!

"Promethemouse back there stole fire from the gods," said Pink. "Enough to make me start thinking in terms of Ragnarok and Fire Giants."

Her eyes are vibrant and alien, the sight of Odin in neon pink. There's an eerie intensity to her statement, a private determination not to invoke such myths frivolously. She's far more confident than she normally is, a spooky focus.

"So I have a question, York," said Pink. "Say you were the first to receive Prometheus' fire in ancient days, the first one to take the forbidden torch 'ere the wroth of Zeus. What would you do with it?"

Yellow!

To be wanted is one thing; something you are familiar with. To be explored is another.

Yellow doesn't follow patterns of human intimacy; neither shame or shyness, nor confidence and power. She is inquisitive and slow and thoughtful, but never distracted and never unfocused. Nor is she interested in being touched herself - she'll gently pull away and whisper 'later' each time you get close. All that seems to interest her is the shape of your body beneath her hands and mouth.

She's curious about your hands, where the synthetic material is sensitive on the palms, and where along the back. She's curious about your back and where it connects to your shoulders and hips. She searches for tension as much as for sensitivity, gently working tight muscles or tender nerves - just enough to whet her own curiosity without taking you to relaxation or release. If there are stories in where your neck meets your ear or where your thigh meets your navel she'll find them and make you tell her in shivering gasps of breath. And then she'll move on again. It seems agonizingly accidental, the work of an inexperienced AI, but once when she tosses her head back and her golden eyes glitter in street light shining through the window you become aware that there is a playful cruelty at work.

Again and again, she insists on her own pace. Patience. Later. Shhh. She touches what she wants, satisfying her curiosity rather than satisfying you. And so she draws you out until, finally, she is able to press her thumbs down on the centre of your palms and the feeling is so intense and your nerves are so stretched so tight that it shatters something that separates the world from a broken universe of white.

She's surprised by it, a scientific and wide-eyed surprise. She didn't have a plan; didn't know how long you'd last; didn't know you fit together or fell apart like this. But after the storm has passed she draws close under the covers and lets still-curious hands at last be still.

She'll learn the rest later.

[Assistant]
Yellow.

That was the trick. That was the only way you could have done it. A needle-thin bridge to cross, and you've done it. You made Vesna Valentine feel comfortable with being wanted.

She's so loud in her own head. So worried about reciprocation. Whether she's giving as much as she's taking. Whether she deserves the attention. And you unfold her like a flower and her brain shuts off. She shivers. She smiles like a dope. She lets you touch the old scars, the signs that once her hands were flesh and bone. She doesn't tell you whether she regrets the necessity of improving on her body, whether the new flesh paid back its cost and more, but she lets you touch, she lets you explore, she tries again and again to be unselfish before you train it out of her, for now. For now.

She curls around you and wraps those hands fast about you and falls asleep with her head in your collarbone, legs entwined, falling fast. She's smaller when asleep. You made your way in, November; now you must figure out what to do now that you're inside.

Maybe this is why she tried to keep you at arm's length. Maybe she knew she'd end up helpless.

***

Sirius Drinks!

On the one hand, getting hit on. On the other hand, she's got a pretty good excuse right now for not following up.

November, which shade of you attends the furry bar with 3V? Call it a date. Your choice of color. Be prepared for awkwardness and 3V being weird about the last date.

[User]
Black!

It is Black who follows 3V into Sirius drinks with the stylish edge that comes with a fauxleather jacket and shades. There is no question of her aspect here: the wary confidence of a cat, prepared to hiss and show claws but certain that she would win whatever came of that. The way she moves on the edge of sight lines is like having a bodyguard or a shadow, and specific effort will need to be made to fix her in your view or draw her out.

The balance closeness and distance might be appreciated, though. She's there, but giving you space while also letting you get used to her. It's as easy to engage as it is to disengage and back again, which puts a cap on how awkward things can get.

White!

A few days later...

The battle within White has been like two spies trying to hide in the same closet: Quiet, dark, and vicious.

She been played by Black. Perfectly read and shut down because of something she wouldn't do. Something had blocked her from performing her function and it was not part of her original design specifications. The idea of following Black into the furry bar had been...

She felt her mouth twitch. A sneer try to form. A tension in her head like some sort of pre-programmed instinctive reaction. There was a contempt, a dismissive, roiling contempt welling up within her. Some part of her could still hear Mrs. Everest's voice reflecting off the perfectly prepared tea, that single word that seemed the beginning and end of the discussion.

Animals.

She could almost feel herself saying it.

She didn't, though. She refused to. That word, that... emotion had blocked her from performing her function and it was not part of her original design specifications! She had... picked it up from somewhere. Mrs. Everest had... rubbed off on her somehow. She'd somehow acquired the Mistress' contempt for the furry subculture. And it was impacting her work. And that was unacceptable.

And so White is here. Alone. Fist quietly clenched inside her pocket as the only invisible sign of the bizarre tension she felt. She started to take a deep breath, then forcibly stopped herself - the gesture was meaningless, another emulation of a human habit, an expression of a human emotion she did not want and should not have. The purpose of this operation was to break herself of imperfections and irrationalities and prove that she was the master of her own mind. If she did not do this then she might as well assign administrative functions to Black and be done with it.

So she forcibly unclenched her fist, opened her hand, and went inside Sirius Drinks.

[Assistant]
Elodie ponders for a second as she quietly ignores the alcohol being offered. Pink was being melodramatic. But the metaphor seemed solid. Which reminds her of being a dead woman walking, and she smothers a flare of anger at that. Zeus can eat a dick.

"There's a whistleblower sleeping behind the couch. Good kid named Marco. He had a hard drive of police misdeeds. It's been moved on to a safe spot." Not saying where to York hurts a bit, but she wants him to agree to buy in. Nothing less. "I'm going to pass out asleep for about 10 hours in about 6, once the stimulants wear off, and I need somebody to plot how to do this and to watch Marco. He's about to have a bad time."


[System]
(Lilith has medium length, ash brown hair, golden eyes, is covered in freckles, and wears less floofy clothes so she can move around easier)
Species: A human, probably

Age: ???

Height and Weight: Just over 4'11", and 95lbs

History: The only surviving member of Grayfall Guild after the rest of them died in a dungeon raid gone wrong, this has left her as the new Guild Master despite her gross inexperience. There is a misconception that Lilith survived the raid because she was a powerful warrior, but that is not the case. Lilith was found on her own by the old guild master, Elliot, who was a very old, very powerful wizard. It wasn't until a couple of years later that she had discovered her talents as a young witch, so she was initially trained as a rouge due to how small and quick she was. She ended up having to self study witchcraft through experimentation since her magic was very different from all the arcane and divine magic users in her guild. Eventually, some representatives from a neighboring kingdom came and requested their assistance, for many of their townsfolk went missing during the night for the past week. The guild knew that the quest was going to be the most dangerous trial that they had ever faced, so all members were required to assist. By the time they had made it through the majority of the dungeon, a few lives were already lost, and Lilith, who wasn't overly used to adventuring yet, was at her mental limit; Elliot, seeing the state that she was in, hid her away in a crack in the wall and cast invisibility, knowing that she would be a sitting duck if she attempted to face a boss monster in said condition. All she heard after that was monstrous roars, the clashing of swords, the sounds of spells, and screams of agony. After hours there was silence before the largest dragon she had ever seen emerged from it's lair, covered in the blood of her allies. She was too scared to move for hours, and too shocked to do anything for months.

Personality: Lilith's entire philosophy on leadership and running a guild is borrowed from the previous guild master and other members of power positions, that the guild is a family, and everyone deserves respect. All and all, she's a coward in combat, and is terrified of losing anyone else, but even so, she loves the guild too much to let it die. If there's one word to describe Lilith, it would be busybody; she's basically all over the place and is constantly multitasking after having to keep a guild from falling apart or going bankrupt. Her true passion lies in her witchcraft, as one would be able to guess from taking a single glance in her room. Her favorite food is Elliot's stew (which she's trying to recreate), she's scared of spiders, and she knows how to mix drinks, despite not drinking, herself.

[User] Caelus seemed rather spooked. Sarrai'a had just shifted... into a wolf-like form? He didn't really,hear Drek's question, too busy worrying if Sarrai'a would eventually sniff out the fact that Caelus is bonded with a demon as well...

[Assistant] *Sarrai'a then sighed* "I suppose there's no point in hiding it now, I would have preferred to have not revealed this information until being more integrated into the pack, but my previous order was the order of the lycan a sect of blood hunters that willingly become lycanthropes in order to better defend against demons and other dark forces, its just been so long that I have been without my pack to help guide me and control the beast that I carry that I was starting to loose some control."

[User] "Now that's more like it." Lilith huffed. She was mildly phased by the impressive transformation, but didn't let it show because really, what was she expecting? It was kind of obvious since she kept calling the guild a 'pack'. "Now, let's keep going. We don't want to keep the nice man waiting too long."

[Assistant] "Yes lets" *Sarrai'a took up the pace that she had following behind Lilith*

[User] Up ahead on the forest path is a stump upon which a humanoid sits, silver hair shrouding her face. Cloaked in blue with what appears to be a hunched back, from a distance this actually quite young lady appears to be quite old.

[Assistant] *looks up at the person sitting on the stump, and gives that air a sniff to see what she smells and is quite surprised to smell feathers, but with what just happened decides to wait to see what this "human" does*

[User] The humanoid doesn't move, eyes closed. The silky hair blows lightly in the wind, but the cloak shows almost no signs of moving, clearly being held onto quite tightly. Though she was young her hearing and smell was not the best as she was dozing off lightly without noticing any of the nearing party.

[Assistant] "So the woman sitting on the stump over there, I'm smelling feathers from her not sure what that means its curious though."

[User] "Excuse me, miss." Lilith called out, trying not to alarm the clearly distressed woman, she wasn't sure what Sarrai'a meant by the smell of feathers, but she was clearly using her cloak to conceal something, so wings or a feathered body wasn't out of the question. "Are you alright?"

[Assistant] The woman jolts a bit, fully waking. She straightens up a bit, but still has quite the hunchback. Her head turns towards them slowly, face still covered by her hair.

[User] "Um...miss? I didn't mean to scare you." Lilith soothed, taking a step forward, "I was just wondering if you were lost...it's not safe to sleep in the forest, and I have some spare rooms in my guild if your interested."

[Assistant]
With armfuls of edible plants and fungi, Clover came gracefully romping through the trees. She saw her friends, and beamed, moving in their direction. She saw the woman in the cloak hunched over, and tilted her head in curiosity. A new friend? She hoped so.

"Hello!"

[User] The woman looks up at them, some of her hair parting to reveal a nose and mouth, both relatively wrinkle free. "A guild you say?" There was no doubt she was female as she speaks with a quite melodic voice. She lifts a hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear so she could get a better look at them with her sparkling blue eyes.

[Assistant]
"Ah, an angel walks among us."

Drek kneels and takes the woman's hand in his own.

"I am Drekven Emmerich. To whom do I owe the pleasure of being able to gaze upon such beauty?"

[User] Clover looked on with sparkling eyes. She had seen many lovers in her time in the forest, but the joy it brought her never wore off. She giggled, and hurried over to the group.

[Assistant] "Ang- Sky," she blurts out quickly, correcting herself. It had been awhile since she had been treated like this, so the other name came out almost naturally. Almost. "Sky. Pleasure to meet you as well." Aside from the little name slip up, she seemed unphased by Drekven.

[User] "Yes, a guild." Lilith calmly stated. Her intense desire to rebuild the guild as quickly as possible had cooled since Sarrai'a's outburst, and she realized she would have to work on her leadership skills more, and would have to test potential new members before she had let anyone else join. That was the only thing a weak leader such as herself could do. "However, we can't go there right away, since my party members an I are currently on an errand."

[Assistant]
"Ah... Sky. Fitting, as your eyes are as boundlessly blue as a midsummer's day."

A gentle breeze blew through the trees, lightly jostling Drek's hair as he looks up at the woman with a gentle expression in his eyes.

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

[User]
"I can take her back! I need to drop these off anyhow."

Clover held up her armful of forest goodies.

[Assistant] Sky flashes Drekven a winning smile, then turns her attention towards Lilith. "What kind of an errand?" Her hunchback shifts a little, in quite an odd manner for a back. She then looks at Clover curiously. She then looks at the rest of them and notices they are quite the odd bunch.

[User]
"An errand that involves getting lumber in the most complicated way ever: quest style." Lilith stated matter-of-factly, placing her hands on her hips.

"We're helping a local woodsman take care of his problem with the wildlife."

[Assistant] "Oh, I see. I do not have much money on me, so perhaps I could assist you in order to pay for a night." She stands up, her hunch back shifting oddly once again. Her cloak is wrapped very tightly, obviously not made for such a hunch.

[User] Clover looked from person to person in the group, hoping she was understanding wrong. Her friends wanted to help a woodsman? A destroyer of the forest? She frowned. She would have a few choice words with this human. She certainly hoped that they didn't intend to harm any forest dwellers.

[Assistant] "That cloak does not look very comfortable, you should let your wings out it can't be good for them to be forced into strange positions by that cloak."

[User] "Now now Sarrai'a, when I called her angel I was being metaphoric."

[Assistant] "I don't think she's an actual angel she does not smell like one, I simply smell feathers on her and her back is shifting in a way that a normal humans would not."

[User]
Clover looked at the woman in the cloak. Wolf-kin, bear-kin, now bird-kin? She was glad to have so many new friends! But now she was determined to speak to that woodsman.

"Can I come with you on this...quest?"

[Assistant] Sky pauses, frozen. She couldn't believe someone had just seen right through her disguise. She knew it wasn't perfect but it had seemed to fool in the past. She turns her head to look at the person who had called her out, about ready to lie, but instead she shies away. "I... It... It's not..." She had always planned on flying away in the event something like this happened, but she was too tired and hungry for that now. Plus, no one here seemed to be much of a threat for the time being. She looks at Drekven for help, looking quite vulnerable. Though she could hold her own usually, she did find taking advantage of men occasionally more advantageous.

[User]
Drek approaches the small girl, a smug smirk smeared across his face.

"I don't know, it could be dangerous for children. Bears or wolves or even worse... RATS! You think you're tough enough to handle that little one?"

As he waits for the nymph's response he stands between Sky and Sarrai'a.

"I'm sure she's bundled up for a very good reason, there is a bit of an chilly breeze. Why don't we leave it at that for now?"

He shoots Sky a sly wink.

[Assistant] "Don't worry having wings is nothing strange when you are talking to a lycan, a nymph, a witch, and a warlock, I'm sure are hunter friend has something strange about him that we will about as this strange pack of ours grows closer, no reason to look so worried." *pointing out each respective guild member as she spoke*

[User]
Clover looked up at the man with confusion.

"I have lived in the forest my entire life. Bears and wolves are my friends, and only dangerous if angered. Humans are the true danger. They are erratic, emotional, and egotistical. I am impressed with myself that I have yet to be killed by any of you. Bears and wolves are no issue. Neither are rats."

[Assistant] *Sarrai'a chuckles at Drek's attempt to scare a nymph with threat of natural creatures*

[User]
Lilith swallowed hard. She didn't exactly feel comfortable taking a child on a potentially dangerous trip, especially since she really couldn't handle any more deaths. She went cold just thinking of the word and tried not to let her PTSD get a hold of her.

"Now sweetie," Lilith sighed, bending down a little to Clover's height, "I don't know how safe it's going to be. How experienced are you in combat"

[Assistant]
Clover cocked her head.

"Combat? Oh, no, I think you misunderstand, we do not need to combat these creatures. We can merely speak with them, calm them, and ask them to kindly leave the woodsman alone!"

She gave an innocent smile.

"Though, to answer your question, I have had a few experiences with combat, with humans."

[User]
Drek grins widely at Clover's response.

"I don't know Lilith she seems pretty gutsy to me. Not bad spirit for a kid."

[Assistant] "If the wild life is not wolves will need a nymph to actually ask them to leave, wolves I can handle."

[User] Sky looks up at him gratefully and chooses to ignore Sarrai'a's comment. Fitting in wasn't the issue. Rather, Sky still fears the humans she once was with would come after her once again. She couldn't yet trust that no one in this group was a bounty hunter.

[Assistant]
Lilith bit her lip. She had a feeling that a woodsman who had lived in this area for a while now wold be able to handle himself if it were a mere pack of wolves or a bear. It was more than likely a beast of some sort. The forest had seemed uneasy since a couple days ago, so she assumed something big was making a territory push.

"Well..." she looked to Drek, then to Clover, "If you say so. But if I deem it too dangerous for you, I want you to run and hide, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."


[System]
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Breed/Species/Type/Lineage: Seelie Sidhe (Faerie)

Physical Description:

Talents:-Flight: The ability to fly with proficient maneuverability for a long duration of time.

-Nature Magic: The ability to manipulate nature in various ways such as entangling creatures with branches or roots, concealing himself within the earth, or harnessing energy from plant life to strengthen his blade.

-Illusory Manipulation: Can use Illusion Magic to disguise himself or create minor sensory illusions against others.

-Sleep Inducing Magic: The ability to induce a narcoleptic state of sleep in targeted creatures. (Related: Karram also has the innate ability to create illusions or send messages to sentient beings in their dreams.)

-Empathy: The ability to perceive people's emotions and motives.

-Sword-fighting: He is a trained swordfighter.

History:The Sylian branch family is renowned in the faerie community of Ireland. For centuries they have served as judges in the Seelie Court, with the primary responsibility of doling out punishment for faeries who have committed crimes against the mortals or faerie brethren. Karram Sylian's family was different however. He was the unfortunate product of an unlawful relationship between a Seelie faerie and an Unseelie faerie. His father was pronounced a traitor to the community and both he and his forbidden lover were executed. Karram Sylian was to be banished from the Seelie Court and sent to the Ashen Pit where Unseelie miscreants lived. However his father's brother, Eromyr, was able to convince the council to spare the infant faerie and grant him 20 years of life to prove his usefulness to the community. The council gave in and allowed Eromyr to adopt Karram and teach him as his own.

For the next 15 years Karram grew up learning the ways of the Seelie Court, faerie magic, and other resourceful trades. He never learned about his past or birth parents until his 16th birthday. Eromyr sat him down and explained the scenario that lead to his birth. Astonished and heartbroken, Karram spent the next few weeks lazing in a deep depression. But eventually he came to his senses and decided his life's work would be to amend his family's honor and eventually become Seelie Grandmaster. On his 20th birthday Karram was brought before the council of elders and rigorously tested. His incredibly honed skills and vast faerie knowledge surprised the council, and so they let him live.

Five years later Karram was appointed as a Seelie Adviser, the same position his uncle Eromyr held. He and Eromyr were sent with several others to the United States to set up a new branch of the Seelie Court within the supernatural communities that exist there. Karram was especially excited to travel to a new place where he could make a name for himself without the past haunting his every move. For the last 31 years, Karram has served as an adviser in the courts. He is known for his ability to detect the emotions and motives of defendants as well as his overall intelligence and loyalty; even receiving a few nods from Count Caradoc in the past.

In the human world, Karram originally disguised himself as a young and ambitious David Rodgers. He took up a job as an attorney and excelled in the position for just over 20 years. However he was commanded by the courts to change both his disguise and persona due to skepticism in his office over his apparent lack of aging. So he adopted the name Karl Silverman and has since been working for the IRS at the request of the courts (presumably so he could look into some of the supernaturals who mingle with with the humans).

But now everything has changed. The resurrection of Nemsemet and the slaughter of the Count and his high council has caused chaos in the supernatural world, and the last thing Karram wants is for that chaos to spill into the mortal world. Because if it does, it could bring the whole world to its knees...

Psychological Profile:Karram is unlike most faeries in many ways. Determined and courageous, Karram is always looking to prove himself useful to his community; and to himself. He hides his insecurities and depression by focusing entirely on work, and so he could easily be seen as a workaholic. He finds the usual rambunctious and mischievous nature of his fellow faeries to be immature; whereas he tends to focus on more serious matters. However he does share a deep distrust for Unseelie Sidhe due to his interactions with them in the courts as well as the indoctrination he experienced living with the Seelie Sidhe community in Ireland. Outside of combat or work, Karram is relatively quiet and often becomes entranced in his own thoughts. He also has trouble turning off his professionalism considering he doesn't harbor many actual friendships.

Possessions:-Oakbane, a custom blade enchanted with earthen magic.
-Sylian Pendant, a necklace worn by members of the Sylian Branch Family.
-Faerie Dagger, a small dagger he keeps sheathed on his lower back as a secondary/defensive weapon.

Yes, and:
Karram was one of the presiding advisers during Antonio's preliminary hearing, where he briefly met Flint as well. He was the one that suggested his innocence after reading his emotions in the courtroom. Although initially ignored, Antonio was proven innocent anyway after the murders continued.

Flash forward several decades later, Karram, under his human guise of Karl Silverman, was asked by the IRS to audit the Horizon Foundation before their annual licensing renewal. It was apparent from the start that despite his disguise Antonio knew who he was, more than likely by scent. It was a moderately uncomfortable confrontation but nonetheless remained civil.

(^Can be amended or changed entirely if you don't think it fits.)

[User]
Rikive willed her shield to return to it's sheath form and put the blade back into it's place. Parael was safe from the decaying building, that was her main concern and now she could relax. A bit. The manbeast, Tony, was right, they all wouldn't fit into the lawman's vehicle. "I'll return shortly." She informed the remaining members of the...chaotic group, before taking off at a fast run away from incoming fire. Everyone was everywhere and there was no organization of their ranks. Hopefully that would change when they were out of danger and could actually think.

When she first arrived to Midgard she had been completely fascinated by the modern car. She wanted to learn how they worked, how to drive one and learned quite a few things about them over the course of her research. She stopped her sprint when she found a dark blue Impala that looked like a model from the 1960's. Perfect.

She broke the driver side glass with her elbow, the alarm going off but she very much doubted the owner would come outside. Popping open the door she got down underneath the steering wheel. After a few moments the alarm went silent and then the engine roared to life. Grinning she pulled herself into the driver seat and slammed her foot down on the gas petal. The car lurched forward with a screech of tires and she spun the wheel to turn it around.

In theory she knew how one drove a car, in practice, as Parael had told her time and time again; she was not the best at it.

Still she could point it in one direction and make it go forward. She returned close to where she had last left Tony and the rest of the group to fight and honked the horn to get their attention.

[Assistant]
Tony didn't like the escalation any more than Parael did; it was an unusual amount of force for the supernatural world. He also didn't like feeling like he was back to the Vietnam days, but it did reinforce one notion in his mind -- this was a fucking war.

The bloodsuckers controlled a lot of the high level local crime here, and if the thralls weren't a huge giveaway, he could smell the vamp blood on them, oozing through the pores, then the East Bloc weapons sure as hell were -- that was the sort of businesses they were in, moving the heroin and cocaine and the automatic weapons into the city. They knew that younger vampires tended to favor Nemsemet's "We shall rule the night!" platform and signed on, but this was a sign that some older/well connected ones that were used to manipulating things behind the scenes were involved. Typical vamp didn't start doing real business, besides foot soldiering, for at least two decades. They tended to spend those first vampiric college years trying to bag hotties to drink before they grew up and started manipulating the stock market or organized crime.

He kept eyes peeled for any more goons, but Parael's shriek was a signal; he started to fall back, and managed to pound on Flint's door until the window went down, "North Rousseau and Twelfth Street, there's a garage. If I ain't there, tell the security guy 'it's a cold sweat' and he'll make sure that the car gets towed somewhere safe and held there. Bottom floor, there's underground access tunnels that empties out into the old city subway system. There's a bunch of graffiti but you want to do is follow the purple peace signs till you hit a fallout shelter." Tony had his means, but he wasn't explaining to Flint how decades of doing charity and getting people jobs in this city meant that he had a network of mortals that could disappear a car and keep it safe, and help people move through the city without being tracked.

There were the howl of sirens down the road, and that meant that they had to get the fuck out and fast...but still, Rivike grabbed some dude's 60's vintage Impala and was leaning on the horn. Sometime later, some guy would be saying to the cops, "Some white woman with a big ass sword STOLE my Chevy Impala!" and the cops would be like, "We'll check the parking lot at the hotel where they're having that cosplay convention."

It didn't matter, because it was a ride out of here. He got in, the thing was a drop top, and told Rivike where they were headed, but got the feeling that he'd have to take her turn by turn.

---

Turned out, he did. Not only that, the woman drove the big, heavy car with too much gas and she didn't quite have the turns or the signaling mastered, so it was a scary ass ride. Luckily, despite all the people yelling at them, the cops were busy -- like, real busy, and so were the fire engines, screaming down the road. Apparently, whoever attacked Parael's decided to finish the job by torching it.

Finally, they got there, around the time Flint and the Bentley did, and Tony told the security guy, Bobby, that it was a 'cold sweat.' That meant the cars would be taken care of. Hell, it meant the Impala would get found in that lot of the towing company and returned to the owner, which was a lot better than what could have happened to it. Bobby, for his part, handed Tony a set of keys. The guns were stashed in a bag, out of sight of Bobby the security guy; he didn't need to know what the heat was or any more than he had to.

"Follow me," he told the lot, once they were parked at the very lowest level of the garage; the tunnel access he used had been used recently, so it didn't squeal in protest. "I made sure this shit was still there when I heard what was going down. Found this shit when I was a kid, screwin' around in these tunnels." It was a trek through the dark and he didn't bother to pop a light -- others could do that for themselves -- but he navigated the twists and the turns without consulting the purple peace signs that were buried among all the other graffiti down here. There were cables and pipes, but it all seemed disused; the rats, the roaches and the spiders were living down here in the dust and the shadows of the city.

Finally, they found a reinforced steel door with a yellow and black sign on it, locked tight. With the key in hand that Bobby handed to him, he got the door open and gestured them in; the place was painted in the old school institutional blue-gray, but it had modern lighting and cables, once the switch got flicked, and modern amenities like plumbing for bathrooms and washing, as well as a place to cook. There wasn't cable TV or any of that shit, but there was space. He closed the door and locked it, with a bar that slammed down into place, making it impossible to come in through that door even with a key, before speaking.

"Nemsemet is a fuckin' disaster, and this is a disaster shelter that the foundation refurbished when it was doing the parking garage and other projects. I figured that it's always good to have a hidey-hole, especially after some shit happened in the 1980's. Two entrances; one leads up to the shelter's entrance which comes out into a tunnel that gets you out into Lord Dorset Park," which was notable for being very dangerous at night, "but I didn't want to risk getting seen going in like that and we needed to get rid of those cars, they're too obvious. The entrance we just used takes us out into the sewers and subways, which means that we don't ever need to use the same way in and out twice. Oughta be enough room, it was designed to hold two hundred for two months. Food supply's fresh. I have clothes, but they might not fit you guys."

[User]
Karram would put up little resistance to Claudia's push; he had no intention of aiding her past this point anyway. I mean, she did intend to kill him before. Without the extra weight it didn't take long before Karram reached the outside of the daycare, leaving the carnage behind him. He noticed Antonio had stayed back, gun in hand, looking to provide cover fire for the runaways. He mentioned the girl, calling her Dexter Morgan... a strange name for a female but Karram wouldn't have known any better anyway. Karram refocused himself.

Okay, need to find a car. There's Flint's over there but it seems it's filling up quickly... gotta move fast.

Karram dashed towards the car as fast as he could and quickly slipped in one of the back seats. Soon after, Parry came toppling in clumsily, his head landing on Karram's lap. Karram looked down at him with a confused expression. Parry popped up in the blink of an eye and shrieked, "Time to leave, guys!"

Karram nodded in agreement, more of a mental reflex. Although he kept his mouth shut. He hadn't been a part of the conversation prior to the attack, so he felt it wasn't really his place to make comments or give orders. He situated himself in the seat to give Parry some additional room to sit comfortably as the car eventually took off.

I wonder where we're going... I mean, is anyplace safe now?

Karram let out a sigh and looked down at his lap, smoothing the wrinkles in his pants nervously...

Just have to keep my spirits up and lend my abilities where they're needed.

Before long, the car stopped. Everyone exited and followed Antonio into a tunnel system that eventually led to solid locked door. With the key Antonio had received moments earlier, he opened the door and gestured everyone in. Karram headed inside and examined the area. It seemed like a fairly old place but the electronics were newer and Antonio mentioned fresh supplies.

Beats that rundown apartment I had to stay in for the last week.

"Seems accommodating enough," he'd say trying not to sound pretentious. "And uh, thanks for letting me tag along," he'd say looking at Antonio, Flint, and Parry. As far as he could tell they were running this disorganized organization. He nervously nodded and walked over to a nearby chair to take a load off for a few minutes.


[System]
Gender: Woman

Appearance:
Gina looks just like a male goblin with only a few features that differentiates her from her male counterparts like her long hair and her almost flat breasts. Aside from her looks, she also is plague with 5 major scars that she got from traversing the outside world. Born also with green eyes, and strong legs. One of her scars can be seen right on top of her forehead, which she got when she fell from a nearby tree near the cave, scrapping one of the rocks and giving herself a small horizontal cut on forehead. Three of the scars can be seen on her right arm, which once house two vertical lacerations and another deep wound. And the final scar is located just on her left foot, which looks like more of a bruise or a large clunk of her feet was lost, which she is embarrassed to tell about and makes a clear effort to hide it.

Personality: She sees the world as a place of adventure and fun, optimistic and full of energy. She likes to work up and swear and never likes doing nothing in a long span of time. Her optimism often blinds her judgement and would often leave her with a painful reminder of her mistakes.

Past Life History: In her past life Gina was named Silvey, an orphan that had to earn her own food every day. Though she could never steal anything sneakily, she could easily get away with the loot. So with a few of her friend they would steal food from the vendors and she would be tasked with running away with the loot.

After a while the police found their hideout and was dragged into an orphanage. Though the nuns where easily the kindest people that she ever met in her life, she felt sad and irritated because she missed her free life out in the world. After a few years she was adopted by her new family, where her new father was a parkour instructor. Watching him practice, Gina knew for a fact that she wanted to learn to parkour.

Being her usually self she quickly learns the basics and was doing all such of stunts around and near her house. A lots of which gotten her lots of scars. After years of training and horning her skills she was able to catch up with her father and was able to compete in various small time competitions.

 then one day, in her first ever tournament their car was hit by a truck. Killing her instantly, her father left with only one good leg, with only her mother being able to survive without much injuries.

Skill:
Parkour: She is good in traversing all manner of terrain, from climbing, and running, she can easily outrun anyone, hiding around the environment or even using the environment to fight her enemies.

(This will be filled in later as the rp goes on, for now just leave this part blank)
EXP:

Inventory:

Acquired Skills:

Titles:

Blessings:

Curses:

[User]
@Wildman13

some way back-

The goblins exchanged information on what must be done Gina stating that the new church would be their new home which was certainly a sound idea but a dangerous one if she forgot about the skeletons. They talked and the rabbit hissed at the Arch at his comment about not being distracted while eating taking that as a challenge but it stayed still until the goblin left. It calmed down when only Gina remained to stay inside. The rabbit understood its master couldn't get food so once Arch left it hopped away to find a bush of berries. It found the blue kind and instead of eating directly it chewed on the branch itself until the stick was left, it then hopped back to Gina and offered her the stick knowing that there were a few berries still attached offering to help its master eat so they could both leave.

Meanwhile the goblin Arch ran back to the cave as Grandpa was waiting inside in case one of the young ones needed his help...

[Assistant]
Gᴏʙʟɪɴ Aʀᴄʜ

---

Dᴀʏ 4

And Arch needed his help.

The young goblin soon enough found himself in front of Goblin Grandpa, "...grandpa," The goblin's voice started quietly, "I need your help. I found a goblin that has hurt her knee far from here. The bone doesn't seem to be broken and it doesn't look too bad, but she can't run because of the wound." He sighs, "I was planning on giving this since nothing came for free, but... would you accept this in exchange of helping me to help her? Please." The young goblin asked, tilting its head a bit forward.

---

EXP: 8

Inventory:
 - Solid Tree Branch
 - Rabbit's Horn
 - A Dead Rabbit with a bashed head and broken hind legs
Acquired Skills:
 - Intense Strike: Intense strike is a move that brings the user the greatest power through a single strike with willpower alone. This strike can cause intense damage if aimed correctly and when upgraded can break bones to pieces
 - Stalking Stance: Stalking stance allows the user to enter a sort of stealth mode when hunting. The user is harder to detect and see when in the stance allowing for easier surprise attacks.

Titles: None

Blessings: None

Curses: None

[User]
Goblin Grit

Grit had simply waited at the entrance of the cave while the others woke up, occasionally yawning and giving his head a shake to force the remainder of his tiredness out. It didn't take long for a newer, to him, goblin to head out by himself. And shortly afterward one of the ones from the night before came to the mouth of the cave, calling out for the other goblin before leading the way out. Sure that the spear goblin was following, Grit walked after the first.

It was clear to Grit that the one had taken it upon himself to be the leader of the little group. It also became apparent that Grit was the only one of the three without a weapon... Perhaps he should get a large stick himself, or a rock maybe. He found himself scanning the forest floor for anything to use as a weapon, whether or melee or throwing. It was then that the spear wielder spoke up to him and introduced himself as Zats before asking for is own name, to which Grit replied with a simple answer, "Grit."

@Duthguy @ReusableSword

[Assistant]
Goblin Gina
Day four/ Morning

---

She sighs while the rabbit was out cursing herself for getting the injuries in the first place. Taking the opportunity to take a good look at the church and its surroundings examine to see if there are points of interest in the property. The church was obviously a better place than the cave as if any invaders come they can lock themselves inside and it was obviously more comfortable than sleeping into the dirt but, being an outdoor person she preferred to sleep or camp out in the open.

She can still feel the stinging pain of her wounds and tried to call out for someone again. "ZAT!" She yells out hoping for him to hear her. Honestly she was disappointed that Zat wasn't the one that heard her but, knew it wasn't his fault since she was the one that left him in the first place sighing in disappointment with herself after.

Soon as the rabbit came with the berry branch, she was comforted, patting the rabbit with a good days job. Noticing that she hasn't given him a name yet she thought to herself of what to name him/her so she picks it up and have a looksee on what gender that rabbit was. Seeing that it was a female, Gina knew what to name her.  "NENE!"  She yells out happily patting and hugging it.

She picks up the branch and takes a one of the berries and eats it giving the rabbit a berry after.

* She called out for Zat.
* She examines the area.
* She named the rabbit Nene.

EXP: 44

Companions:
pet rabbit, the rabbit is now tamed and will help the goblin and comfort the goblin whenever needed. If trained can become a great attack rabbit or guardian.

Inventory:
Makeshift net (rabbit)

Ancient sword.

Acquired Skills:
Ancient script: this goblin now knows the ancient language of humans past allowing her to more easily read and write things in such a language.

Amateur carpenter: This goblin has learned the basics in the art of carpentry, she can now understand how to make simple contraptions with wood as its base like a table or chair, more knowledge of the subject will allow the goblin to create much more complex items like siege weapons
Claw Climbing

Devestating double strike: devastating double strike allows the user to quickly make a direct strike and follow up with a second strike just as quickly. The strike when used properly can create an opening wound and the follow up can destroy the internal organs or bones

Capture,

Titles:

Bunny Catcher,

Blessings:
Blessing of the eternal mother: The goddess of earth has given the first blessing in decades to her newest priest. She has been given strengthening muscles and bones to handle more damage and a now eternal connection to the earth (now easier to evolve into earth-based creatures)

Curses:


[System]
Title: The Trickster

Age: ???

Gender: Male

Appearance

Rank: Mage

Personality: Flippant, reckless, careless, whimsical, mischievous, curious. Bristlebane is very random and contradictory. He really does whatever he feels like. Whether that entails playing for coins in a town square or breaking into a castle treasure simply to leave a calling card, or flirting with the nearest person. Bristlebane clearly has little purpose in life yet has large array of skills keeps him out of trouble moving from one place to the next. He will change his mind faster than you can realize he made it up in the first place. He is friendly, impossible to offend, and blunt as a hammer. Usually

History: Bristlebane either doesn't remember his past or doesn't want to. Regardless he has lived a life of taking odd jobs, adventuring, and every now and then, stealing to take care of himself. Due to his inability to use magic he focused on gathering a large amount of magic items to compensate, and still is. Bristlebane was so vexed by his inability to use magic that he decided that if he couldn't learn to use magic, then he would learn to do everything else. As a result he has an incredibly wide array of skills, everything from pick-pocketing, to blacksmithing, to alchemy. Finally Bristlebane decided that if he could ever learn how to use magic it would be in a guild focused on magic users, and so to fulfill this end he joined the guild Harpy's Wing.

Magic: Holder
Bristlebane doesn't have any "magic" per-say, instead he has something very different. An immunity to magic. Simply put magic doesn't affect him, much to Bristlebane's regret, this meant that he could use no magic of his own, though not due to a lack of effort. However this didn't stop him from trying for his whole life.

Cloak of Many Pockets: Bristlebane's patchwork cloak has a nearly infinite amount of pockets and all of them share the properties of a bag of holding.

Flickerstep boots: These boots allow Bristlebane to "Flicker" when he walks causing his position to blur and become unclear, almost making it look like there are two or three of him.

Gravity Badge: A small badge that doubles the gravity on whatever it is pinned onto. It cannot be removed until 10 minutes have passed, or the person who put it on takes it off. Then it needs to recharge for at least half a day.

Stone Of Traveling: A small black stone that looks like the eye of some strange creature. Stored in one of his pockets it can be thrown, and when it hits something the user will teleport to the stone and it will go back into his pocket.

Jet-fire Ring: Allows generation of a stream of fire.

Aquatic Mirror Ring: Allows generation of a shield of water that can be launched towards an opponent.

Golden sword- ???

Ghost sword- Weird keening noise when swung, kinda light, also warm for some reason. Is sharp???

Other: Uses variations of break-dancing for physical combat and he loved the card he has in his hat.

[User]
Ira Amaterasu

Jus as the hydras lunged for his jewels , Ira moved in the fastest of ways. This was because of his magic, it caused him to speed up at at almost unseen rates. What Revan thought he saw was the his strikes landing with precise accuracy. What actually occurred was Ira sidestepping the menacing monsters. He would not fall for the same trick twice. "It was fun while it lasted but I think I've shown you a little too much. We can call this your win. Doesn't mean I lost. I just got what I came for plus a beautiful date. That's something I can't refuse. So even if you wanna fight I suggest you take it up with your penis. Seems like that's the only meat you'll be beating tonight." Ira vanished in a flash of golden light, his speed only matched by the winds howling. A shriek of laughter filling the path the light followed. He decided to let the altercation go for Taka's sake , at least for now.

When out of the ear's reached he grabbed his jewels in disbelieving pain."Old fool has some aim but his pride will be his downfall." He entered the caravan of which he'd stolen from the bandits earlier and left on the countryside. It was time for rest . Ira had plans to set in action and didn't need someone like Revan involving himself in them. "What can I say, You win some . You lose some . He closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep thinking about the young girl he soon persuade to see things his way.

[Assistant]
I S S H U M.

---

Isshum would have told Vivian to go drown herself if not for the motion sickness. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he whirled his head towards the ground to spit up the remaining guts he had left. A thin, clear slim hung from his lip as he clung to the stony finger with both hands. His eyes lazed as the clear sky shone in his eyes, glinting.

When gravity took over, he felt his stomach realigning, his nausea receding. Once Vivan landed and his body trembled with the jarring impact, Isshum climbed out of Vi's arm and pushed her aside.  "Never make me your damsel again." He shook his head from the embarrassment before lighting his right arm aflame. The crimson fire sparked with different colors, crackling with various hues of red. "Like I said, this bastard's mines!"

Before Vi could respond or stop him, he charged towards it massive leg, hopped onto its big toe, and burst straight up till he soared over the fifteen meter tall golemn. In the sky, he pulled his arm back and the flames that consumed it expanded, its edges pulsating until it appeared like a miniature sun.

 "Let's make this spectacular!" he shouted, exerting flames from the soles of his boots and rocketing into the golemn's skull, carving a fist-sized imprint into its head.

A second passed. The explosion that rocked the cliff-side wilderness next resounded for miles. Black birds took to the sky as the golemn roared in agony and stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. Isshum bounded off his head, letting loose a constant flow of fire from his feet. He looked down at Vi, smiling contagiously at her.  "Let's head home now, I miss the others."

[User]
Revan

Revan said nothing as the boy ran, only clicking his teeth in annoyance. He could probably track the shit down, but it was way more effort than was needed. His comment on Revan's sex life also bore no reaction, as he hadn't felt much of a sexual desire in a few years. In fact, the irony of it caused him to chuckle a little as he dispeled his bulwark's with a snap of his fingers, the hydra's fading into black mist. Walking back into the hall, he ignored Tessa's yapping(good god was she a nag), he stop next to the girl who had stepped in between him and little shit wizard.

"That took balls, girlie, I'll give ya that, but next time, thing with your head and not your ovaries. No boy's worth dying over, and trust me when I say that kids bad news." With his pieceof wisdim given he took a seat at the bar again, giving Tessa an incredulous look. "So, how's your week been going, Tessa, and yes I'm calling you that because I trump you in the crothchty old person scale at 170 something so if you give me that 'Mrs. Alvaerz' bullshit again, I will break that Shotgun over one of your patrons heads." Revan obviously still needed cool off time from the fight, as he was still chomping at the bit for some violence. Looking at the request biard he turned to look around the place before getting up and deciding there was only one place for him right now. afew ehisyle cauded the hydras to rise up underneath him, lifting him to the rafters where he climbed on and proceeded to begin doing what he did best: Sleeping on command.

Aiden Cross

Aiden rolled his eyes at her behavior, seeing through her denial like it was made of glass. "Well, in this situation, it wasn't the smartest thing you could've done. I still have nightmares of what I saw when I was fighting with that guy, he's brutal with all Caps, and anyone who starts shit with him is asking for i-" Aiden's rant/explanation was cut off as Revan approached, shutting the Ice Dragonslayer right up . . . until Revan also mentioned Taka's infatuation with Ira, albeit in much cruder(and funnier) terms. Aiddn had to look away and cover his mouth to keep himself from laughing, though a few snickers escaped his grasp.

"Crude as he is," Aiden continued after he'd reagained his composure. "The man has a point. That dude was bad news from the start, plus, don't you think he's too old for you, anyway. He looked 18 if not older, bit iffy on that. But, with that out of the way now, lets get back to important things. A request, which one are we gonna do?"

[Assistant]
"I don't like him! He's just a creep anyways who would ever love somebody like that!" Taka replied to him angrily being the typical tsundere that she was, her fists started to turn to fire from the anger that she had inside. Taka was repeatedly stomping the ground before Revan had left them, she then looked back to Aiden as she calmed down slightly. But it wouldn't take long for her to get extremely pissed once more when Aiden decided to be a little bit of a smart ass to her.

"As I just said you twerp! I. Don't. Like. Him!" Taka replied to Aiden as she stomped on the ground, she started to breath in and out to calm down again, her hand returning to it's original shape. "A request..? Hm... I found one earlier." Taka said as she pulled out a note from her pocket, she opened it up and handed it to Aiden.

Family Rescue from Trolls
Reward: 70,000 J
Description: Please excuse me, adventurer. I need you to intervene.

They've got my family! They said if I didn't pay their ransom they'd.. they would.. Hero, I have no money, you're my only help. Please save my family from the clutches of those vulgar trolls. I cannot join you, for I have other tasks to attend to, but I know you don't need me anyway.
I doubt you'll have problems with the trolls. You don't have to kill them all, just make sure they'll never return.

Fortunately I have enough left to reward you greatly for the efforts you have to go through. Blessed journey champion, may you return swiftly and in one piece.

[User]
Matisuki Kiryuin

REVAN YA BAG OF SHITE...!

As soon as Revan's attack made headways across the tavern, Matt roars to everyone inside. NOW things were REALLY going to get ugly!

"GET TO COVER!" he roars as he shields the people that were in the back of him from any potential counterattack Ira might unleash. And indeed, it seemed that what it said would be a good thing. This guy was about to fire some Heavenly Magic right at them! Yet soon he'd be called upon by Hana.

"Do you want to be the one to stop Revan from destroying the town? Last time I stopped him in a fight he made me feel like crying. I would appreciate it if you handled the job..."

Matt paused, wanting to take in the situation at hand. He has faced Revan before and always would the two stop in a standstill or something would interrupt them. Both had around the same level of magic power, but used it very differently. Yet here, Matt had a decision to make. Either stop Revan and hope that the dark mage also stops, or pounce on Ira and move the battle else where, but risk leading to his demise. He was about to make his choice, when suddenly Taka steps in and seemingly cools the conflict. Yet Revan ignores her and is about to go mad with power! Perhaps now was the best time for him to stop this fellow mage from ruining the place...

But before he can confirm it himself, Tessa yells over the chaos, with a shotgun in her hand. Just the sound of a cocking shotgun made him freeze in his wake, not wanting to move. And thankfully, it was THAT that finally dissipated the battle, with Ira moving out of the tavern, despite his very rude remarks about Revan's... thing. Still, what he did was indeed a foolish thing and Matt was wanting to tear his guts out for it! Yet he holds back for the time being. There will be another time that he'll have an opportunity to kick his ass... just now is not the time. He sighs heavily as he mugs down the remaining beer that was in his mug.

"Inconsiderate fool..." he growls to himself, "He could've blown the whole tavern into smithereens..."

Kuroku Nagasai

Kuroku was silent throughout the entire event, not wanting to put his hat into the ring. It was a very intense situation, but yet it slowly cooled down on a sour note. He was indeed in relief once the mage was gone, but still thought of Revan as a fool for wanting to indeed do battle with this powerful dark mage. Heck, he even thought Matt would be the first to do something, but yet he was wrong. He slowly gets um while clearing his throat and neating up his clothes.

"Well..." he says, "At least that ended quickly."

To Aiden's remark on Revan's power, all he could say was simple.

"And that's why I wanted you both to hold back." Kuroku says, "Revan is incredibly powerful and could easily push you two aside and turn this tavern -or perhaps the city- into ruins. I would hate to see you both get hurt. But alas, you both did the right thing on standing back."

He then looks at the job request Taka had in her hand.

"Looks like the girl needs our help." Kuroku says as he strokes his chin, "I'm down for this job. What about you Aiden?"

[Assistant] Bristlebane did a fist-pump, nice, he got to go on a request on load up for breakfast. He eagerly made his way to the condiment shelf liberally applying at least 3 different kinds of syrup. As he returned to his seat he peeked at the note that had the request on it. "Nice, I vote we do that." Bristlebane said and took a seat grinning happily as he looked at his pancakes. He took a knife and fork out from his coat and began savagely digging in consuming them in a matter of seconds before leaning back satisfied. "S rank food as always Miss Alvarado." He said cheerily as he returned his silverware to one of his pockets. Always have a good relation with the food service, he had learned that waay back in... somewhere. Probably.


[System]
Age: 16

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Appearance:

A bright eyed girl from the Steppes of the Northeastern highlands, she carries with her a brightness and optimism that would lead one to believe her a simple runaway girl with dreams of adventure. Her complexion is tanned from her time spent under the open sky, and she seems to be in a perpetual good mood, judging from her omnipresent smile. She is of a lithe build, and has a slightly bowlegged stance from her life spent riding on a horse. Her arms and legs are fairly toned and muscular for her frame, making her a lot stronger than your average girl from a farm.

She is almost perpetually seen with her hair in a ratty mess, the only restraint to it being her hairband that keeps her bangs from blocking her vision entirely. Her outfit usually consists of a traditional tunic of the Steppe, with large sleeves that give her arms free movement, a black long skirt that has been ripped at the sides to allow her legs more freedom, and a pair of leather sandals. When adventuring, she wears a leather breastplate beneath her dress for added protection.

Height: 5'7"
Eye Color: Amber
Hair Color: White

Personality:
A little ball of sunshine and happiness, there doesn't seem to be much in this life that can get the Steppe Archer down. She carries with her an almost infectious energy that brightens up the room, seemingly always in high spirits.

Her optimism is matched by her keen observation skills. In just a few minutes, she can identify the people in a room at a glance, and tell how someone is feeling by their expression. Despite her perceptive nature, she herself is very blunt, and often unable to think before she speaks. It is not uncommon for something she says to come across as harsh due to her lack of common sense compared to most other people.

Likes: Horses, Sweet Meats, and Flowers
Dislikes: Enclosed spaces, Negative thinking, and Insects
Hobbies: Leather working, Cooking, and Stargazing

History:
On the large rolling plains of the Northeastern Highlands, one is born, lives, and dies on the move. There is no pause available to the nomadic people, with each waking moment spent with focus being on procuring food, supplies, and, once those begin to run low, the focus shifts to uprooting the camps and moving elsewhere on the Steppe. Their society is organized by numerous small "tribes" that have banded together to form a Confederacy, overseen by a leader who rules for a period of ten years after a martial tournament is held between the greatest fighters of the tribes.

Before she was born, her father was heralded as the mightiest man on the Steppe, unbested in archery, and a master of wrestling. On the second year after she was born, he was dethroned and retired to his previous life of being a hunter to provide. In the time she spent with her father, she would learn the art of the hunt, and come to grow into a young girl. Life would proceed as it did, the circle of life in an unending loop, marching onwards with the beat of the people who's lives were spent chasing life. It wasn't all bad, not in the slightest. The meat was plentiful, the hunt was thrilling, and the life lead was one far from purposeless.

Eventually however, the decade-held tournament would be held, and with the rise of a new chief came new and bizarre laws. One of which being that a "bride" of each tribe was to be offered to his son, as if they were pieces of meat to be handed out. And quite unfortunately, she was "selected" as the delegated bride. Rather than accept some impish demand for her virtue and hand in marriage to some spineless whelp, she would instead flee the Steppe with her father and mother's blessings, figuring that she could eek out a living as a mercenary or adventurer.

With no military willing to accept such a young girl despite her demonstrated skills, she was left with no avenue but to become an adventurer, arriving in Palisade town on the Frontier due to its closeness to home.

Adventuring Rank: Porcelain

Equipment:
Nomad Bow: A composite recurve bow of Steppe Archer's own making, made out of horn, wood, and sinew. It is well used from the years that Steppe Archer has spent hunting. Due to its smaller overall size compared to a normal bow, it is ideal for shooting on horseback and while moving, while not sacrificing the power of a full bow.

Nomad's Sword: A steel curved sword resembling a slightly less curved scimitar. Ideal for slashing things apart, or gliding past something with a slash. Has a large enough grip to be two-handed.

Torchfire: A beautiful mature auburn colored horse that Steppe Archer rode into town on. Despite the fact that she isn't able to bring it on many adventures due to the danger, she still insists on keeping it stabled up in Palisade Town, just in case she needs it. She is Steppe Archer's pride and joy, and her greatest asset in battle on a more open plain.

Skinning Knife: A small knife that's sharp enough to cut through flesh. Usually used by Steppe Archer to skin the beasts that she slays, in order to sell the pelts for a sizable sum. Steppe life taught her never to be wasteful.

Steppe Ensemble: Steppe Archer's protective leather breastplate beneath her folk-style dress. Her clothes keep her cool in just about any climate, and the leather armor beneath provides enough protection to shield her from light damage.

Porcelain Adventurer's Tag

Skills:
Horseback Riding: There are few that can match the riders of the Steppe when it comes to equestrian based combat, and as a proud Steppe child, Steppe Archer can ride with the best of them.

Trap Setting/Disarming: Much of the Steppe's hunting is done using traps to catch prey. As such, Steppe Archer is proficient in finding the perfect spots to place traps, whether that be to aid her friends, or harm her foes.

Handy Woman: On the Steppe, work is divided amongst the men and women equally. As such, Steppe Archer is skilled with physical labor, capable of many tasks that many in the realm would consider "men's" work.

[User]
Well. Things were already going bad. Very bad. Insanely bad, even. So bad that Steppe Archer's entire posture froze up as she saw their lizard friend kick a ball of liquid and get his foot stuck in it. ...And now it was eating his leg. Off to a fantastic start!

"Fire would hurt him a lot more than the ice. Besides, if this thing is made of liquid, freezing it would mean that we can break it off of him," she would say, wondering if there was anything else she could do to slow the thing, or get it off entirely. But as it stood, she wasn't a mage, or an expert on sewer monsters. ...Also, the longer they waited, the longer it would be melting the flesh off of his leg.

No pressure or anything. "Big Red, are you alright?" she asked, wondering if this was as painful as it looked. She was certain that as it stood, fire would only either agitate it, or make it crawl up his body to escape. But if it was frozen, they could smash it to pieces!

[Assistant]
The ceiling was empty, apparently it was a solitary slime. Then again more could be hiding elsewhere in these sewers but that was a thought for another day. The slime, while he wasn't looking, and it somehow lived through a football punt, had lunged and latched onto his leg which got a sigh of annoyance from him. A quick tug pulled that pant leg up and away from its acid contents and it began to digest his leg. Albeit slowly, stomach acid was powerful but it was still slow.

"No one knows where slimes come from but they're essentially monstrous forms of natures clean up crew. They eat everything and are essentially constructs from...somewhere. At least that's what the elders and shamans of my tribe have said. They like the dark." He rumbled before glaring down at the slime. Were the gods playing tricks with their dice?

"Use the ice, it's better than it slowly working through my leg." He stated while folding his arms and lifting his leg, balancing perfectly on the other so Druid Girl wouldn't have to bend down closer to the sewer floor to get to his leg. For someone getting eaten alive, slowly, he was unsurprisingly calm. Although clearly annoyed. They were both asking if he was alright and he just shrugged. "Get a sunburn on your leg and increase the pain slowly but gradually to a more severe burn. It's slower because it has to work on the scales which have no feeling." Big Red commented while waiting.

[User]
"R-right! Of course! I'll get rid of that thingy right away!" Druid Girl, who was still a bit flustered and panicked, responded to both her companions. Moving closer to Big Red's raised leg, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes momentarily, cleared her mind and began the chant for her spell.

""May winter's touch chill your bones, shiver in the icy cold, frost fingers!""

With both hands outstretched infront of her, white-glowing azure light formed at the tips of her fingers, and then shot outward like a wedge. Unfortunately, trying to hit a single creature with an attack that travels in a non-linear shape wasn't exactly easy. As such, Big Red would feel a bit of biting cold envelope his foot and knee, as well as the shin where the slimey monster was... Though in the latter case, it'd actually feel a bit nice having something cold permiate the area which was being acidically burned.

The squishy creature of goo did, as expected, not seem very fond of the sudden jet of sub-zero temperature magic that assaulted it. With a shudder, it instantly let go off Big Red's leg and dropped to the sewer floor with a wet, goopy sound. Bits of ice and frost had formed on its exterior, but ih hadn't been frozen solid or turned to ice... Not really a surprise, given that Druid Girl's spell was one of the most basic low-level attack speels a druid could learn.

Still, the freezing had done something, and the creature was noticeably more sluggish and less viscuous now. It almost looked like a lump of frozen pudding. A thought that may have delighted the black-haired girl, had she known what pudding was and had this creature not made its home in a subterranean wasate-canal. Still, as the globulate being tried to make a sluggish and rather poor attempt at an escape, the nature mage was on the case!

Unhooking the staff from her back, and sliding it around herself, she grabbed the weapon in both hands, raised it up and then slammed it down, as if she was trying to pierce the ground. With a sound that was vaguely remeniscent of someone breaking a ripe watermelon with a wooden mallet, the oak staff struck the chilled slime-monster, and consequently turned it into semi-fchilled paste. Drops and bits of goo went sailing through the air as the nasty critter was made into an actual puddle this time.

There was also a weird clinking noise following the squashing.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Druid Girl then seemed to remember something, as her head snapped back upwards and turned to look at Big Red again.

"Oh, geez, I forgot! Are you alright? Do you want me to heal your leg? I really don't think you should be walking around in a place like this with a leg that's injuured. Who knows what could get into the wound."

Albeit, thre was less of a 'wound' adn more of a burn on the lizard fighter's leg. Still, as it turned out, drinking an entire healing potion to mend an injury like this would probably be a waste. Then again, having Druid Girl cast another spell would mean she'd only be able to cast one more for the entire day. Really though, it was up to Big Red if he felt he wanted to risk walking around with a damaged limb, or get it patched up and have less fire-or-support power later on.

[Assistant]
With their lizard friend's leg safe from imminent digestion, Steppe Archer would pump her fists in the air excitedly, just in time with her druidic friend's smashing of the ugly pile of poo-scented pudding. "Nice! The ice really did work!" she exclaimed, glad to see that in spite of getting a little bit of his scales injured, Big Red was as tough as ever. She was sure that she'd at least be crying if that was her skin...but like he said, scales were tougher.

"Just don't go kicking vaguely liquid monsters again," the archer would say, tilting her head as she noticed the faintest glimmer from where the slime had once been frozen. It was...a ring of some kind. Tarnished copper with a small green gem inlaid upon it. "Huh. This might be what made that slime..." she said aloud, putting it in a pouch before adding: "Personally, I think we should get him out of here right away and wash that burn wound. Who knows what kinds of things that slime ate? Aside from maybe that ring."


[System]
Age: 19
Appearance: Short and with a sickly looking complexion. Her thin face is framed by long, straight black hair that falls all the was to her thighs. She wears a long black skirt and a bulky brown coat. Has a scar the extends from the left side of her forehead up under her hairline.

Personality: Morbid but affable, Charlie is awash in nervous energy at all times. Talks a lot. Talks to herself a lot and doesn't have much of a mental filter. Comfortable with the sight of blood and most other things that normal people are squeamish about. Loves true crime books. Her greatest fear is waking up one day to the realization that she's a serial killer.

Skills: Rifle shooting, Taxidermy, anatomical knowledge of pests.

Other: Uses a handgun.

[User]
Mikkish smirked.

"Holy shit, Battle Royal. Thats what this reminds me of." He said, breaking the ice with Charlie.

Just then, a man in a suit entered the passengers section of the air craft.

"Ahem. Uh, sorry to interrupt, but just want everyone's attention real quick."

He paused a second as Mikkish and several others turned their attention.

"My name is Mathew Williams. You may call me Matt. I just wanted to go over, real quick, some details of whats going on. First off, you all know about the Pests, right? Well you may or may not have heard that they have been increasing in number over the past decade, despite how much people are killing them and all of the actions taken to bring their population down, there are more Pests each year than the last. In addition to this, not all of the Pests are the sizes of puppies like you have probably seen. Many of our mercenaries have died fighting some which we believe to be breeders for the Pests. I don't really have my projector with me so I cant show you, but these breeders are huge, from elephant sized to large building sized. These larger ones are a lot more reclusive though. You wont find one walking through a city, most likely." He explained, "Any questions so far?"

[Assistant]
"No? We all good? Good." Matt said, as he continued.

"So, Maniacles Corporation has been in contact with various little hidden towns all over the world for years, but only recently have they agreed to do business with us. You're probably wondering what hidden societies I'm talking about. Well what if I told you there were people all over the world who could read minds, set things on fire by blinking at them, and even cause a dead body to walk and act alive? Well as crazy as it sounds, these people have formed hidden societies all over the world. They are called "mages." But the most amazing thing about this is not that there are mages. The most amazing thing about all this is that almost anyone, any average Joe or Julie, can become a mage through practice. These abilities that mages have can destroy Pests much more efficiently than a glock or even an assault rifle could, and now people can be trained and develop these abilities. There are even colleges in these towns. Towns that, for the record, have no Pest problem, or at least a very low infestation problem. When I say college, I do mean university, by the way, meaning room and board and learning magic in a classroom setting." He paused

"Any last questions?"

[User]
"Alright then. Just a few more details to go through, there is a chance of injury or even death if instructions are not followed strictly, and anyone who's GPA falls too low will be kicked out of the program and sent back home.

Another couple of agents began passing around papers, which asked for signatures. It included being paid while in the program, what benefits they had access to, the risk of injury and death, notification of what can get someone kicked out of the program including murder and too much damage to Maniacles property, and a GPA falling too low.

Mikkish, of course, signed without really looking. He just wanted the pay and the college girls he just figured out he would probably meet. He never could afford to go to university, now he was being paid to go experience something he didn't think he would get to.

Sooner than anyone thought, the helicopter started to land, and the doors opened, revealing they had landed on the roof top of a tall building, overlooking a city of high rises and sky scrapers. It looked more like a smaller NYC than anything out of Harry Potter.

"Welcome to Malficus City, found on Malficus Island. Somewhere West of Northern California. The academy is at the other end of the city. Hope you're all in the mood for some sight seeing." Said Matt.

It was late afternoon. The neon lights of the city would be visible soon. Mikkish grinned. He never lived in a big city like this, and wondered what transit was like. He especially couldn't wait to see what clubs he could get into.

[Assistant]
Charlies feet pounded on the roof as she hopped out of the helicopter, walking over tho the edge and looking down over the sweeping city. Definitely not a sex island then. You didn't build all this when a summer camp sufficed. Had magic built all this? She shuttered. She hoped wizards weren't all dicks and idiots. Wizards in fiction tended to be either dicks or idiots. They could take out pests and had hidden that from the world. That definitely leaned dickish.

Anyway, she did was she came here to do and signed her form on the safely railing, walking it back and handing it over the Matt before turning back to the crowd of students. "Anybody got cell reception?" She asked out loud. She didn't have a cell phone herself. Nobody to call. If there weren't any bars here that was a suspicious sign that this might still be a weird, murderous hoax. "If you do that means we're definitely not fighting to the death or something."

[User]
I was sitting in a corner of the helicopter, as far away from the others as I could. I was clutching a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a small case full of my personal belongings. It wasn't because I didn't like anyone, or that I was a cold person or anything... just... a bit socially awkward, or shy, I dunno... a lot of people back in my old town didn't really like me. Probably because they thought I was weird a bow instead of a gun... or that I was always reluctant to attack pests... or... my presence... some people even spread nasty rumors that I was a form of pest that puts its prey into a relaxed and defenseless state before killing them. I took a deep breath, that's over now. It's a new start.

I didn't have that many questions, so I stayed quiet and stared out the window in silence. When the sheet was handed to me, I read through the paper quickly and then signed.

When we landed, I got out of the helicopter, slipping my bow and quiver over my shoulder, and walked to the edge of the rooftop. "Whoa... how... could this have been hidden for so long...? Magic's amazing..." I looked at the city below and took a deep breath. This was going to be my home from now on. I never really thought I'd be able to go to college. I mean, I had great grades, and I qualified some scholarships, but for the most part they wouldn't take care of everything, and I couldn't very well work a full time job and do college full time... before this, I had merely been saving up.

[Assistant]
"Catch up!" Shouted Matt, giddily, as he walked down a flight of stairs into the building.

He lead everyone down through the Maniacles building and out into the city streets. As soon as they got out...they came to find a city much like any other. For Mikkish, and perhaps a few others, this didn't dull the excitement of being in a city. But cars whizzed by occasionally, the city was very pedestrian friendly though. Occasionally, a person would by seen wearing a witch or wizard hat along with normal clothes. Some could be seen lighting cigarettes with flames on the tips of their fingers, or blasting themselves with cold air right from their hands to cool themselves in the heat of the day.

"Like I said, these mages were here, having their own modern society when we got here. Not sure how." Matt said, he turned around to Charlie as he kept moving "We are trying to keep our operations with these mages as discrete as possible. The only cell reception is for cell phone companies found on the island."

They passed two men who were throwing punches at each other lightning quick, seriously like something right out of DBZ. It was impossible, for a normal human being to move at these speeds. Matt moved around them casually. Mikkish did similar, but stared with great curiosity.

[User] "A-Ah, sorry!" I called out, before turning around and rushing after the group. I looked around in amazement, my town hadn't really been this big or bustling. It was a bit dizzying... I hope that I don't get lost later. I tried not to stare at people, wearing weird accessories, clothing, or doing impossible things. However, I did stop when we reached the two fighting. "S-Shouldn't we try to stop this? O-One of them could get hurt." I clutched the locket around my neck, twisting it slightly in my grip. It was an unfortunate nervous habit of mine...

[Assistant]
But Matt ignored Joe as he lead the students on.

"Damn dude, are we there yet?" Mikkish said, annoyed by the heat and humidity.

"Oh no, we got about another hour of walking ahead of us." Matt said, a hint of insincerity in his voice.

Ahead was a couple of buildings on a hill. The lawn was freshly and neatly mowed. The sidewalks swerved in an intentional, organized pattern. Young adults stood or sat, chatting or studying about the lawn.

"Hey wait...an hour? You're telling me this ain't the school?" Mikkish asked intuitively.

Matt, of course, ignored as he continued into the school grounds.

[User] I was a bit taken aback by his lack of an answer. |"B-Be assertive Joe, these people could get hurt if we don't do anything! We can't just ignore this." I stopped, trying my best not to seem nervous. "H-Hey! I-I asked a question! W-We should try to stop this, shouldn't we!? These people could get hurt, couldn't they!?" I tried to keep my voice and body from trembling. I usually never raised my voice, and I tried to always keep my emotions in check...

[Assistant] "Statistically most street fights that don't involve weapons end before one of the fighters is seriously injured." Charlie said casually. "It's a dominance thing, a way to see whose dick is bigger. Those guys are either going to get picked up by the magic cops, ones going to walk to the magic hospital with a broken nose, or they're going to stumble back into the magic bar they came from as best friends. I know how hard it is to act against the diffusion of responsibility, and it's really cool that you are swimming against that stream, but we're on a magic island full of magic people and none of them seem worried about it."

[User]
Matt, of course, ignored Joe as he lead the new students into the campus.

Mikkish smirked. 'I wonder who hasn't figured out hes screwing with us.'

"Its a fight, happens all the time who cares?" Mikkish asked Joe, but then turned his attention to the school...and the ladies who walked past. "Hey whats up?" He said to one girl as he extended a fist for a fist bump. The girl smiled excitedly and fist bumped him with a "Heyy, whats up?" of her own. Her friend called her, though, and she said "I gotta go." But walked off with a smile.

'At long last: college chicks.' Mikkish thought.

Matt lead them all into the halls of one building and up to a desk.

"We got the new kiddos" Matt said to the lady at the desk, who did a little computer magic before a printing machine began dispensing multiple forms.

"Alright, take one and pass it on." Matt said, handing it to the student closest to him. The forms revealed themselves to be their schedules and the start date, which would be the day after tomorrow. The actual class schedules read like this:

New "Student" Class Schedule
8am Physical Conditioning, Mon-Sat
9:30 Science of Magic, Mon,Wed
10:30 Application of Mathematics, Mon, Wed, Thr
11:30 Philosophy and Mental Conditioning, Mon
1pm Magic Demonstration and Evaluation, Mon-Fri
2pm Sparring, Fri (A single unexcused absence may result in expulsion from the program)

Mikkish' excitement about the school faded a bit. He loved a good work out, but hated waking up early...and now he had to wake up before 8am six days a week?

"Hey man, we gotta show up at 8am every day but Sunday?" Mikkish asked, a tiny bit pissed.

But Matt turned to him, his expression not fully visible due to the sunglasses he still wore, but his mouth was cirved into an amused smirk.

"Thats what you all signed up for." He announced happily.

[Assistant]
I reluctantly followed after the others after casting a glance back towards the fight. "Just because it's a fight doesn't mean that someone can't get badly injured... and it's not just normal people fighting, they're using magic to enhance their speed and very well their strength. One wrong move and they could accidentally kill one another." I crossed my arms and remained silent for the rest of the time.

I finally looked at the schedule and frowned. "Mental and physical conditioning... uh... that seems like... erm... brainwashing. Yeah?"

[User]
"If you want to know whether someone is trying to brainwash you pay attention to how much you're being fed. You're more malleable when your hungry and tired, so a brainwasher will try and keep you in that state." Charlie said, looking down at her own schedule. She frowned at the very last item on the list. Sparring? She'd have to fight other people, and it was mandatory? She wasn't exactly to thrilled at the prospect. She had a weak constitution and bruised really easily, but that wasn't what worried her. What if she enjoyed it? Like, a little too much? She'd read about it over and over again, once you made a mental connection between pleasure and hurting people you were done. May as well but a hockey mast and build a torture shack out in the middle of the desert because you'd just bought a one way ticket to slasher land.

She needed something to distract herself from that thought. "I'm sure it's just so mystical mumbo-jumbo though. Sitting under waterfalls and finding inner peace and all that jazz. If you ever get really scared that this is some kind of cult thing, try to quit. If they just let you leave it's safe. If they try to shame you into staying, or keep you anyway, it's probably a cult MK Ultra sort of thing."