[System]
Appearance:
Moderately tall, standing at 6'2". Dark of hair, kept medium length and usually in a pony tail. Athletically built, lean but not frail. Blue eyed, holds fierce expression.

Age: 320 soul years, looks approximately 16 in human years.

Gender: Male

Hair Colour: Black/Dark Blue

Birthday:May 29th

Clan/Family:Kuroda (Kurisa, you'd better approve this..)

Race:Tainted Soul(Kurisa, you remember why...)

Profession:Shinigami. Official judge of the tea ceremony club

Rank: Lieutenant of Squad Eight

Spiritual Energy Colour: Blue, with orange streaks.

Power Level: High lieutenant

Personality: If ever there was someone who is first heard then seen, Kyoichi would be it. Boisterous and carefree, Kyoichi walks his path with absolute certainty. He carries about him an air of arrogance, a sense of trust first and foremost in himself. Slightly insane, he will dive head first into any challenging situation before assessing his chances of success. All of those traits aside, he is quite joyous, often found joking and chatting idly with anyone he meets. Strong willed, he is not easily discouraged. All in all, Kyoichi is the neighborhood jokester who likes to enjoy whatever his life has to offer him, just take whatever he says with a grain of salt.

History: Every year for as long as Kyoichi can remember, there has been a ceremony held by his immediate family revolving around a sword. To him, at his young age, it just look like a blue piece of metal held up on a shrine. He simply did what he was told and then enjoyed the food his mother and grandmother took literally hours and hours to prepare. His father and grandfather carried out intricate rituals to cleanse and polish the sword, something Kyoichi was taught to do ever since he started taking part in the ceremony...

Other than that, Kyoichi carried on with school, joining any club that seeming interesting to him. Sports, literary, debate, his choices were quite diverse as he found many things to be of interest to him. His grades did not suffer because of his incessant need to find new things and unending curiosity for new subjects.

His fifteenth birthday rolled around. He finally got his chance to at least hold the sacred sword his family has enshrined for as long as he can remember. When the ceremony came to pass, everything changed. His grandfather instructed him to retrieve the sword and unsheathe it for the cleansing and polishing that was done each year. When he did as he was told, a burst of blue and orange energy poured out from the sword and was absorbed by Kyoichi. Kyoichi himself did not see it or feel it, however, everyone else around him saw it happen in what seemed like slow motion. His grandfather remembers a story told to him by his grandfather about the prophecy around the sword. One day, a child born of his roots will be able to call on the spirit that resides in the sword and carry out his sacred task. After the event, his grandfather asked Kyoichi to sheathe the sword and they moved the shrine to his room and it was kept there until the day he left for Bugei Academy.

Getting into the academy was not a huge problem as his family has ties with a powerful family from antiquity. It helped that Kyoichi had top of the notch grades and loads of extracurricular experience. On the day he was leaving, his grandfather retrieve the sacred sword personally and handed it to him, telling him about the story around the sword. He then asked him, as a final command regarding the sword, to keep the sword safe at all times and learn to use it to its fullest. Accepting the task, Kyoichi set off to start his secondary education at Bugei Academy.

One year after that, he was struck with a terrible, and odd disease. Unknown and incurable, it took him very quickly. For some reason, he felt as if his family knew of this. They did not try as hard as they could to bring him back, instead, they just let him pass.

Arriving at Soul Society, he met up with his ancestors, who were all shinigamis before him, all the way up to the patriarch, Kuroda Kenshin. One afternoon, Kenshin sat the young Kyoichi down and explained everything to him. The disease that took him was in fact hereditary, and was called Tainted Soul. Kenshin was the first to be afflicted with this, and he told him the story of his first...outburst. He also told him why his grandfather's name is Sengoku, and the reasoning behind it all.

Now that he is here, Kenshin expects his fourth generation descendent to join a proper squad and be a productive member of the Gotei 13.

Relationships/Friendships/Rivalries/Siblings:
All are still alive-
Kuroda Sengoku (85) Grandfather
Kuroda Yuuko (83) Grandmother
Kuroda Kenshin (52) Father
Kuroda Natsu (50) Mother
Kuroda Yunko (12) Sister

Other:
Pair of sunglasses, not particularly extravagant.
A old pipe and pouch, given to him by Kenshin the First

~Zanpakuto~

Zanpakuto name: The Furnace

Type:

Zanpakuto Shikai Release command: Bring to life the essence of the Living Flame!

Spirit Appearance:

Spirit Personality/Goals:
Quite serious, his zanpakuto does not bend nor does it yield. Harsh, it does not tolerate weakness. Driven, it is determined to take the title of "Strongest Fire Type" from the legendary Ryūjin Jakka.

Inner world:

Sealed appearance: Katana. The blade is tinted red, and the guard and sheath is gold. The handle is white and wrapped with a purple cloth.

Shikai appearance:A golden mace, lit on both ends with golden flames.

Bankai appearance:A large, brown mace. Lit in the middle with dark red flames. There are ancient glyphs that glow on both sides of the weapon, pulsing with the flame.

Shikai skills:
(Start off with no Shikai or 4 to 5 Shikai skills)
1. Burning Orb- Kyoichi swings his mace, firing a fireball in the swing's direction (No Cooldown, usable each post)
2. Decimating Smash- Bring his mace down into the ground, Kyoichi lights the ground around him, in a 5 feet radius, aflame and stuns anyone caught in the blast (1 post cooldown)
3. Vicious Strikes- Kyoichi swings his mace twice. If either of the two swings connect as a hit, he can immediately launch a Burning Orb at close range at the enemy (3 post cooldown)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Bankai skills:
1. Mercurial Blast- Kyoichi fires off three empowered Burning Orbs in quick succession. These orbs will seem unpredictable, but they are truly homing blasts sent towards the enemy(No cooldown, usable each post)
2. Soul Furnace- Empowering his Decimating Smash, the radius is now increased to 15 feet, and the blast now continuously pulses after the smash at the site (2 post cooldown)
3. Reckless Swings- Kyoichi swings his mace four times and if any of the four swings connect, he can immediately chain the hit into a Mercurial Blast (3 post cooldown)
4. Bloodlust- By consuming the flames contained with his mace, Kyoichi transforms into a rage-infused monster. Each strike will lit the enemy aflame. Can only be used once per thread
5. Last Breath- Charging at his enemy, Kyoichi leads with his flame-imbued mace in a dashing attack (2 post cooldown)
6. Dragon's Descent- Kyoichi summons a dragon-shaped meteor down from the skies to strike the battlefield. Once struck, the battlefield will have pillars of flames appear randomly (Usable only when Bloodlust is activated, thus only usable once per thread)

Non-lethal Zanpakuto Skills:

Skills
(Note: The skills below are the ones learned in the Academy. You may pick and choose which ones you want from what is listed below already. You can have all the skills already given to you or perhaps challenge yourself a little and Handicap your character in some area's)

Zanjutsu

Hozuri (1)
Shitonegaeshi (1)

Kido

Bakudo
#1 Sai (1)
#4 Hainawa (1)

Hado
#1 Sho (1)
#4 Byakurai (1)
#31 Shakkaho (1)
#32 Okasen (1)
#33 Sokatsui (1)

Hakuda

Tessho (1)

Hoho

Shunpo (1)

Total points gained:
Total Points Spent:
Mission log:
Points spent and skills gained:

[User]
@Kurisa
Aya Oda
Aya after getting her pole fixed since her cousin went and fucked it up with the whole cutting it down, she would begin to feel the ground shake and watch her pole fall back down. "GOD DAMNIT!" She shouted and listened to the voice that sounded. "Wait wha?" She muttered before the blinding light and then..... nothing. She was in the same spot as last time and would look around confused. "Im kicking whoever caused the fucking earthquake, and I'm making him fix my damn pole." Aya mumbled walking away a bit but stopped when a shockwave went right by her face and a ton of debris that Shinzo himself caused. Aya just dodged all the flying wood and look at the gaping hole and walked into his office and stared at Shinzo who was alone after Juki left. ".... He owes me a new pole. Did you mention my pole? The pole is very important."
---
@Phobos@Kurisa
Ike
"Oh just great, they taste amazing at first, then after you ingest the flavor into your system long enough then its just food that you eat." Ike said answering her on how they tasted. "Oh wait, I'm suppose to promote everything like a good worker does. Lets see hmmm. Oh yes, they are just the perfect blend of flavors. Even though I work back there he doesn't tell me nothing about how he makes them, truly C is a god at making dumplings." Ike said giving a wink and thumbs up to Yakima before slouching back at his table, after shoving a dumpling in his mouth.

[Assistant]
The time is now half past five, for anyone that is observing. For Kyoichi, it seems as if time has been standing still for as long as he has been inside that temple. The monk, acting as if nothing was out of place, stood still with his staff in his hand. "Your forefathers would be ashamed. It has taken you, a supposed prodigal child, too long to understand the meaning of my words. One must flow like the mighty river in order to temper the flames that burn within. Take that to heart, child, and you will find that your skills grows five-fold. Until then, you must receive these rods in penance." The monk said, moving in a shunpo-esque motion. Kyoichi, still befuddled, was trying to raise his sword to block as fast as he could. However, the monk's staff struck hard and true, literally beating Kyoichi all over the ground.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of beating, Kyoichi stood up and paced back, eyes fully closed. "Flow...like water..." He said. His reiatsu, to those that can see it, seemed calm but still containing that sense of wildness that he has always had. With one deep breath, he opened his eyes and said "I understand now, master Monk." He held his sword loosely in his right hand. "Then come and test your understanding, baka disciple..." The monk said, displaying a wild grin that is not supposed to appear on a man of spirituality.

Taking one hard step forward, Kyoichi shunpo'ed towards the monk and swung his sword arm upwards at a 45 degree angle. The monk instinctively moved to his right to dodge, only to receive a downward slash on his right shoulder from Kyoichi. "Hm." The monk said, swinging his staff to bat the sword away. Retracting his sword, Kyoichi swung it horizontally at the monk. The monk moving once more to dodge, this time simply moving backwards. However, Kyoichi had switched his sword hand to his left and had thrust the sword forward, piercing the monk at the sternum. "Very good..." The monk said before disappearing in a puff of smoke...

Reappearing uninjured, the monk said "You, after many tribulations, have passed my test, you may pass to face your next task, which will be more difficult and will require you to utilize what you have learned here to pass...Also, say hi to the old man you'll meet for me. Simply tell him the monk says hi, he will understand..." Kyoichi, sheathing his sword, said "I will, master." Giving a full bow, he gathered his things and moved on, past the temple and into the mountain path behind it...

Flowing like water, Kyoichi is finally learning how to tame the fire that burns within him...

[User]
-In the human world-

Kyoichi woke. He was taking a simple nap when the even had transpired. Grunting, he stood up from the grassy field and looked about. "Just what in the hell happened..." He said to no one in particular. He spotted three captain, particularly the captains of Squad Four, Nine and Thirteen. Having not heard what was said before he woke, he approached the captain of Squad Thirteen and said "Ma'am, just what is happening? Are we on a special mission or something? There is sure a lot of shinigamis here for a mission..."

-Sword Quest-

Moving through the mountain path, Kyoichi had spotted a small diner, oddly placed considering the locale. "Yukihira's...sounds interesting..." Securing his sword and backpack, he stepped through the curtained doors of the small diner. "WELCOME!" The chef called out. "Have a seat wherever you'd like sir." The chef continued, without even turning around. "The menu is on the wall. The special today is Scalding Hot Nabeyaki Udon, served with a side of ryukiri beef!" Kyoichi was nodding along to the whole nabeyaki udon part but when the ryukiri beef bit came about, he furrowed his eyebrows and turned to look at the chef.

To his surprise, the chef wasn't at the stove...


[System]
Nickname: CAS
Race: Half Human, Half Ronso
Age:19
Notable Parents:None.

Appearance:

Skin Color: Pale White.
Hair Color: Dark Brown.
Eye Color: Hazel Green.

Proportionality:
shoulders 6in
Chest 12 in
Waist 8-10in
thigh 10-12in
Buttcheek 8x10in
wrist to tip of middlefinger 7 1/2 inches.
pinkie starting digit (base of hand before extending to finger) to thumb digit 4inch
feet (as in my feet) 12 inches

upper arm (weight )3 inches
lower (forearms) 2 1/2 − 3 inches
wrist 2 1/2 − 3 1/3 inches
elbow to wrist 11 3/4 inches
Shoulder to elbow 12 1/4 inches

heel to knee 15 inches.
Knee to thigh 16 inches.

height 5'11 to 6ft.
6 1/2 inches from collar bone to chin.
7 inches from one end to the other (Left to right)

crotch to waist (curves) 9 inches.
waist to belly button 4 1/2 inches
waist to chest (where ribs start) 12 inches
chest to neck 9 inches

Height: 5'11 to 6ft
Weight: 175lbs.

Personality: He is a Snide, Cynical, Sarcastic, Inquisitive, but a logical person who does rarely care for many. He does however try to be considerate, but has a grey sense of morality. Sometimes very leader like mostly because despite his weakness he is strong willed.

Job: Alchemist,Monk/Pugilist
Weapon: Atelier- A Handcannon developed by the Al-Bhed to extract minerals and combine items. Does not fire bullets.
And a Dagger to small Hammers.

Primary Weapon Function: It extracts items from the ground or water to air. Compresses said substances into balls, gems, and gels. These can be used as items that are defensive, offensive, or a restorative to some sort of debuff, buff, to being used by crafters to make new items or weapons.

Secondary Function: Can be used to charge up energy to attack with laser bolts or beams if charged up. Or can use some gems or items as a spray.

Armor: Light, typically blue and black, pretty much a wetsuit with a Harness of some sort to hold his items and weapon.

Weaknesses: Born Anemic, thus at times he is dizzy and or tired. Flat footed, thus his feet hurt and cramp up easily. Has Asthma; thus shortness of breathe at times. His weapon can be slow at times even if he himself is fast. Not very strong, and the Ronso frown on him.

Strengths: Very fast moving, silent walking and running do to him constantly walking using the tips of his toes. Surprisingly accurate. Pretty fluient in Al-Bhed because of his friend Vivvine. Wears a wetsuit for diving.

Backstory: Was born as the result of his mother being indebted to a Ronso. During the Pregnancy she established a connivance store with some of her connections; as a result business flourished enough for her in Luca with her secure shop and constant produce with her trade with the Al-Bhed and Guado.

When her son was born, the father had returned to his homeland, however she was not stricken with grief, she had the luxury of trade, friends, security, and welfare. Her child grew to not knowing his father, and he was okay with that.

She took her son to see Blitz ball games only to discover he rather be active than sitting in a bench watching people hold their breathe for extrenious amounts of time. So rather than make him sit stationary, he helped attend to the shop and run errands, of course he always had a Machina following him to make sure nothing bad happened.

As the years went on, and he reached the age of four-teen. He wanted to go with his friend Vivvine to the Highroads and use an Atelier with her to help mine and learn how things work. His mother was okay with this for she rather him have some experience.
To their surprise he was quite good at finding things to bring back, it did help increase profit with two people rather than just one.

By the age of 16, his heath had deteriorated due to his hereditary ailments he was born with. His mother decided to have him go to Beside to get fresh air with theory that he may find help and healers there to help with his ailments. To his surprise his heath improved as he lived in Beside for the next three years. Currently he is still procuring items with his Atelier.

---

Machina Name: Helios

Height: 1'7
Weight: 20lbs

Abilities:
Healing Ray - Potent heal. 20% of Energy
Party Heal- A weak version of healing ray. 35% of Energy
Restore- Revive ally at low heath. 70% of Energy
Doctor's Prescription - cures ailments. 40% of Energy

Illusion - Projects a holographic image that can distract fiends. 20% of Energy.
Taunt- Recons an enemy to try to attack him. 0% of energy.
Scan- Can read enemy vitals and possible weaknesses. 0% of energy.

Weaknesses: Most of the ray based moves are dependent on Cassius' energy charge.
Weak in terms of defense. Easy to knock down and stagger. Lightning staggers him.

Strengths: Fast, hovers, evasive. Energy efficient. Lightning can be used to power him. Easy to power up.

[User] "I completely agree with that sentiment." Bohdan said in response to the first thing Cassius had said. He followed Cassius' words as well as he could, a lot had been said in a short period of time. He listened eagerly, as this new knowledge satisfied him better than any meal Caissius or his friend could offer. "There is likely a great deal I should like to ask you," Bohdan began "but this is the first time I've ever heard such a thing about Macalania. What exactly do you mean?"

[Assistant]
He folded his arms. "Well, from what I read, it was dying after the calm rolled in; I however could not find the details as to why or what aside from Forest spirits fading or something. It sounds a bit too supernatural for me. In short... I could not tell you. I mean... these were passages wrote years ago. Some details about the events were odd, and the writer never says his or her name... just events and the perspective. Like, it talked about how the Guado and Meister Seymour ordered the attack on the Al-Bhed fortress like structure called 'Home' and how there were monsters... The Religious extremist are a bit... nuts." He chuckled.

"There was another passage about how Seymour killed a great many of the Ronso... Basically dark history. To the basic consul betrayals of Bevelle. To even the unsent being part of the council... Which would scare anyone. All I can say is the passages were interesting, but I wonder who this swimmer was. This person was brave and deserves respect. As do the locals of the village seeing as most listed in this book I read live here." He pondered who the person was.

"But... most of my knoledge is restricted to this book. Yevon is not as peaceful as people would like to admit.. But... There are still worshipers." He said flatly as he placed a hand under his chin; looking down with such a look that made him question if he was truly safe with such a group around him in earshot.

"Perhaps a change of topic while we wait on the food...?" He turned back to Bohdon. He was truly enjoying his company.

[User]
After Gippal answered her he looked to Urick with a concerned look. Urick shook his head and then nodded towards the exit, at which Gippal gave a small appreciative smile in thanks. He didn't understand why suddenly both Nai and Alex left, did it have to do with Eva? He shook his head when he looked to the Fayth, who now spoke to the woman in front of them.

It only took Gippal a short while to run back to the entrance. Only to find Lady Yuna and Lady Lulu talking with Alex and Nai, who was crying. A concerned look came on his face at seeing this. He walked down the steps towards them.

Yuna looked up into Alex's eyes and held a confused look for what she was saying. She was very distracted by the fact the silent halls of the temple now rung with the hymn of the fayth once more. She simply healed her hands with a Curaga and allowed her to leave. She looked to Lulu and said, "Ill go on ahead." At which Lulu nodded in thanks and turned to Naisha. Yuna then hurried up the stairs and stopped at Urick. She looked him in the eyes and asked, "Is anyone else hurt." At which Urick said, "No m'am." She let a sigh of relief and touched his cheek " You boy's always start trouble when you arrive." She then hurried up the stairs and towards the Fayth's chamber.

 Lulu spoke to her student, "What's wrong Nai..." She rested a hand on her cheek to wipe away the tears. "What happened down there? Are you hurt? " Lulu started to sound like a mother... as though she was a teacher to Naisha, she still considered her as a daughter she didn't have. She looked up at Alex as she complained about being hungry and tired. " Then you shouldn't be running into the temple and yelling and punching ice slabs." she said with a small hint of an amused smile.

It was this point Urick walked up to the three of them... His fingertips running back and forth on the palms they were connected to, as sweat ran down his face. "Are...Are you two ok?"
-----------

"Saina..." She said with a smile. "We called you, so you will help stop him..." She pointed lightly towards Eva and Gippal. "This meeting was important for all of spira... travel with them, and through this you will find your clue at Macalania temple..." She smiled one more time and slowly faded away, till she was gone. Only her song still sung, while her Statue continued to glow.

Gippal waited a few moments and said...." Wait a moment, she came back to have you meet us?" Were they speaking of the same guy he was thinking of? From the crap he's done he wasn't actually surprised. But still surprised at the fact they managed to come back on their own....if that was the case, maybe he did bring them back....yet they are fighting him somehow.

This was the point Yuna made it to the chamber. "What in Yevon happened here Gippal?" She looked to Eva and the other woman. "Who are these two?" She did note that the Eva was dressed similar to how she dressed when she fought Sin. And the other woman seemed to be....Familiar, someone she should know, but her face was foreign to her, but her presence. Also reminded her of the days with Sin...

She didn't wait for an Answer as she moved forward and crouched down to feel the glass of the now glowing statue of Valefor. What was going on? She sent all of the Aeon's to the farplane 25 years ago. She defiantly felt Valefor's presence here now. She looked up to the others. "Well tell me!"

[Assistant]
Bohdan nodded. "I've heard about some of this. The near extermination of the ronso, of course, was hard to miss for obvious reasons. But what you're saying about the Macalania woods and the spirits who are supposed to live there still interests me. I believe I know where I'll be heading after this." In truth Bohdan wanted to get up and leave that instant, but he wouldn't dream of disrespecting his host. He wasn't even completely sure what had suddenly gotten him so impassioned about those woods. Sure, he'd planned to visit them, but they weren't somewhere he'd always dreamed of going. Perhaps he felt as though the world couldn't afford to lose the forests as it knew them, and only realized it now. He wasn't even sure what he'd do when he got there. 'Stop it' seemed like a clear choice, but he was already sure he couldn't. At any rate, they were something he wanted to see, especially if he might not always be able to.

"As for a change of subject..." Bohdan had to think on that. He had never been much of a talker, and while he liked his new host well enough and wanted to show him respect, neither of those things were enough to make him better at conversation, something he was beginning to realize he had no natural talent for. "Perhaps I could tell you a bit about what I did before I got here. It's not likely to be too interesting, especially not to someone who lives in a village which, as you said, is home to so many far better warriors. Adventurers, even. But I have been on the roads for two years. Mostly just the main ones, granted: as I said up until this point I've mainly been working to get the funds to travel to places I'd actually hoped to see, but I did fight fiends, for what that's worth. Perhaps you could ask me about that."

[User]
"Well, you pretty much gave me the short version... And I could help you with funds... My mom sends money from Lucca occasionally, sometimes other things like shampoos and clothes. So... I could help you... in truth I've been meaning to get out." He chuckled.

"But, not everyone here is a warrior. If it was a real fight, you'd have killed me with your spear. This weapon I hold isn't really a weapon, just a mining tool a friend gave to me. I still would have fought tooth and nail; strategically, but I can weigh the odds. Tip for hand to hand? Realize your anatomy and force, anyone can move with force to excel it,sorta like how I made you trip. If you stopped mid strike, you might have hit with more force... But rather than me impose and nitpick... Tell me about your quest..." Cassius received a plate from Rohzar, it was slightly cooled down; but warm enough.

From what he could see from the plate- it was Chocobo meat. It was just spiced, and to the side, there was a pot of tea placed on the dresser. Cassius poured himself a cup of it; which Rohzar also handed to him and his guest. Cassius poured him tea as well before taking the first sip. Talking particularly was tiring for him; especially as long winded as he got.


[System]
Species: Ssi-ruu

Gender: Female

Appearance: (with brown scales, instead of red)

Age: 17 (this is an adult, as Ssi-ruu mature more quickly than humans)

Height: 2.15 meters

Skills/Abilities:
* Close to medium range combat specialist
* Strength equivalent to an adult wookiee
* Thick, blaster resistant hide
* Very keen sense of smell (able to detect changes in the emotional state of species with which she is familiar)
* Triple eyelids resist sudden bursts of light
* Surprising speed and grace for a creature of her size

Weaknesses:
* Long-range combat
* Eyesight poorer than that of a human
* Very limited non-combat skills
* Young age compared to adults of other species limits her practical experience
* Stands out in a crowd, or any other situation
* Little to no stealth capabilities

Equipment: Like most Ssi-ruu, Sirka wears only bandoliers across her chest to carry her belongings, along with whatever holsters she needs. Her primary weapon is a Mark II medium repeating blaster cannon. While normally a mounted weapon, the cannon can be carried by the heightened strength of a Ssi-ruu. She has modified it with a proper stock and grip, and powers it through a power cell which she wears as a backpack that, compared to her size, is reasonably compact. As a sidearm, she carries an E-11 blaster rifle, and a one-handed variant of a vibro-ax as a backup weapon. She also carries a small belt of fragmentation grenades.

Background: Sirka'ith had somewhat of a unique childhood among the Ssi-ruu. As xenophobic of a species as the Ssi-ruu are, they were forced to engage in some measure of diplomacy with the rest of the galaxy. Sirka's father was a black Ssi-ruu spy, ostensibly serving as a diplomat off-world, while her mother was a red Ssi-ruu bodyguard. This forbidden union made her a brown-scaled Ssi-ruu, and a member of the lowest caste of Ssi-ruuvi society. Normally, her egg would have been destroyed by her parents, but being outside their home system, her parents could not as easily get away with the murder, so they simply passed her off as the child of one of their brown-scaled Ssi-ruu servants.

In the first few years of her life, Sirka was in the position of being mostly ignored by the parents who had disowned her, and the servants who were meant to care for her. As such, no one bothered to stop her when she started to interact with the local populations of the worlds they were assigned to, something that would normally be forbidden for any Ssi-ruu hatchlings that, for whatever reason, found themselves outside Sii-ruuvi space. Her adoptive parents did teach her some of the Ssi-ruu, but she was more heavily influenced by the cultures of the worlds around her.

It was years before Sirka's father and his entourage returned to Lwhekk, and by that point, Sirka was too old, and had been outside Ssi-ruuvi space for too long to ever be able to accept what her life there would be like. The brown-scaled caste of Ssi-ruu were treated terribly. She did not care about the Imperium, nor about the religion they started to force on her. After a few beatings, she played along, but she resolved to escape as soon as possible. Luckily, the fact that she was raised outside Lwhekk also meant she was one of the few Ssi-ruu who could actually speak Basic, so it was not long before she was assigned to be a translator for a real diplomat. As soon as they reached a relatively large city, Sirka made her escape into the city's crowded underworld.

Despite only being a child at the time, Sirka found that there was one kind of work that such a large and intimidating being as herself could find quite readily. As a mercenary, she earned enough credits performing simple jobs to get offworld, and from there, she decided to continue honing her skills in combat. After all, it wasn't as if she had the skills to do anything else.

[User]
Dazan had gone to the room presented and, after moving the mess of old parts to a corner of the room, set his stuff up near the bed. Once he was sure everything was there, he laid down to get some rest, as he hadn't had any good rest time in a couple days. Lo and behold, he wouldn't get any now, as he could hear them talking outside his room. He was still in enough of a trance that he couldn't hear everything they said, but a word hear and a couple more there were enough to keep him from napping.

Eventually, the captain of the ship said something about nearly arriving at their destination and them preparing themselves. That figured. Letting out a quiet sigh, he sat up and went through his things once more before loading up. Once done was when the message came across the intercom, "... Already things aren't going as planned."

[Assistant]
"15 Black Mandalorian Ales then ask me if you wish to partake in certain festivities." Tor said not missing a beat. Mandalorian Black Ale was known to be a very rough drink across many races, but Tor was a veteran drinker of the stuff. It wouldn't kill him to have that much, but he definitely wasn't remembering anything other than the fact the bartender would probably refuse to serve him more. "Either way I feel we have a few options. Get aboard the command station, shoot, kill, slaughter, and murder our way to the dude who can deactivate the shield. Or perhaps me and Spacezillo here can do the whole bounty hunter routine. Technically you are still wanted by Tyber Zann. We could be transporting you here for holding. Wouldn't surprise me if Tyber Zann has spread his corruption to a place like this, man has a way of doing things that even a Sith Lord could fear." Tor said as Tony and them made their way to the bridge.

"Also I am not giving you 10 credits, because you still owe me money for the bantha milk you had me pick up at the food market back on New Alderaan." Tor said as he stared out of the huge window that showed the aging capital ship. "Don't let its looks deceive you, more than likely the weapons systems have been upgraded to more current standards than what the ship originally had."

[User]
Sirka gave something mixed between a grunt and a laugh. "Hmph, be careful with the offers you make. I might just be willing to accept, and you might find yourself waking up with a broken bed and a sore-" She began before a loud ding interrupted her. Tony explained that they would be arriving soon, which meant it was time to get serious. Honestly, she had not expected to arrive so quickly, but she supposed that they weren't too far away to begin with, and this ship was supposed to have a good navicomputer.

As everyone was getting ready, Sirka did the same. She returned to her room, then strapped back on her bandoliers and holsters, grabbed her sidearm, then put on the backpack that contained her heavy repeater's power supply. The repeater itself was currently clipped to the backpack as well, and was tethered to the power pack by a reasonably thick cable. It wasn't the most elegant weapon to carry around, but she could put out an entire squad's worth of firepower with it. Given that they were definitely going to be outnumbered, and probably by a lot, it was worth every bit of hassle.

Sirka rushed up to the cockpit once she had finished arming herself, her heavy footsteps echoing through the hall as she ran. "Alright, I'm here, so what'd I miss? We going to end up boarding that frigate or something?"

[Assistant]
Tony sat looking at the ship just sitting there, by itself. Tors comment was completely unhelpful. "Yeah, but we're not in a standard ship ourselves. We'll be fine. Though I have no idea what we're supposed to be doing. We didn't get a full set of instructions, remember?" He sat there tapping his fingers on the dash of the ship. He then just flicked the comm switch trying to open a channel. On it appeared a Zeltron woman, a recognisable one too. "Hey Tony, Tor.""Fierfek, why is it you Dela?""What do you mean?""We save your life one time, and you turn up everywhere. Did you not get enough of Tor before you tried to kill us both?"

She gave the camera a wink. "Tor can visit me anytime.""Yeah, great. Fun times, what do you want?""I'm here to give you a ride-""Let me stop you right there.""I mean I'm here to take you to your job.""That's better.""Yeah I got this ship about a month or two back, jealous?""Not really, I could run rings around you and still beat your ass.""Is that ship envy I hear?""Get to the point Dela.""I run people to the prison, I was persuaded to carry your ship down to the planet through the shield. Once you're there, on your own. But I can at least get you to the surface, so are you ready yet or-""Give us a second." Tony flicked off the comm unit spinning his chair around to face the others.

"Whose up for a terrible idea?"

[User] Sirka shrugged her shoulders. She didn't like the fact that there was essentially nothing she could do at the moment if things went wrong and someone tried to shoot them out of the sky. On the ground, she could be in control, but in ship-to-ship combat, her skills meant nothing in anything except boarding actions. Although she didn't know if she could trust Tony to get them to ground safely, she definitely knew that she wouldn't trust herself to do it, so there wasn't anything she could do but follow his lead. "Most of my ideas are terrible, so it won't be anything different from what I'm used to. Seems like this Zeltron knows what we're up to, so it's your call from there. Just make sure we don't get blown up in orbit, alright? If I die, I want to be able to look my killer in the eyes...then gouge them out. Oh, but before we do whatever you're doing, do you have any smuggling compartments or somewhere to hide things on this ship? I'd like somewhere to stash my credits if someone ends up searching this ship while we're away." Sirka asked.

[Assistant]
Tor jumped with excitement for a minute when he saw his sweet Dela on the hologram. It was indeed true that considering how large the galaxy was and to keep running into the same person repeatedly was astronomicly crazy, but if he did ever after to keep running into someone Dela would be his number one pick. She knew how to push all his buttons and grab a few as well. "Hey hey hey, no need to to get angry Tony, people try to kill us every day, at least Dela knows how to do it with a beautiful smile." Tor retorted. "You know I'm always up for horrible ideas, but does this one involve me plus Dela equal happy face?" Tor asked with a giant smile underneath his helmet.

Sirka also threw her vote towards this terrible idea, not like the had many options besides other maybe even worse ideas. Tor was always the first thing that comes to mind kind of guy anyway so might as well they go with this one opposed to another, saves them time on having to think and exert unnecessary energy to think. Next worry on the list was what to do with the goods, Tony's ship was pretty tight on self defense when it came to boarding parties, but one never could be too sure. "We have plenty of smuggling spots, but I took the liberty to turning one of the rooms into a treasure vault if you will. I a good year designing the system myself. The walls are reinforced with Mandalorian Iron, weaved with Cortosis. If this ship was to be obliterated to dust, the room would still be intact without a scratch. The door requires two people to open it. It works by placing your hand into two circular chambers, it takes a scrap of blood, skin, and nail from both users and scrambles the chromosomes randomly throughout a tiny datachip that is then inserted into the other persons hand. From there it generates millions of random false datachip codes to hide the true code that was imbedded in the users hands to prevent someone from hacking the system and trying to make a replica of the datachip to open the door. I know one might feel uneasy about trusting someone else's vault with a lot of credits, but you have my word sworn upon my honor no trickery will be involved."

[User]
Sirka crossed her arms and looked at Tor with a hint of skepticism. What he described for their vault seemed rather excessive in her mind. "So...let me get this straight. You spent all the effort and money to get this room turned into a small fortress for your valuables, complete with a complicated and high tech security system that can only be opened by you two? You went through all of that to protect your money instead of, like, a bank account with an insurance policy? I'm sure there are plenty of ways to get illegal funds into the system without much issue; politicians do it all the time."

Sirka gave a chuckle as she shook her head slightly and shrugged her shoulders. "Ah, whatever, at least you have it here and now. I'll trust you not to try anything. After all, you're the ones that'll have to deal with an armed and enraged Ssi-ruu in the middle of your ship if you double-cross me. I'll be right back with the case." She said before turning to exit the cockpit.

[Assistant]
Tony shrugged as he turned around. "Let me set things straight. He set up the vault, he built it and the reason he's trying to sell it as since he made that waste of space he hasn't got anyone else to get tuned to it so it's just sat closed. I think your niece can act as a second user but I'm personally not registered for it. If you want to use it, go ahead. If you want to use a smuggling compartment, you can ask. At the end of the day it's your call." With that he began moving the ship closer to the frigate, instructions came through apparently to a rather large bay. He sighed as he navigated the ship into it, turning his head to Tor as he did so. "You know, this ship is probably terrible with all the space they took out to add in this hanger. Though on the bright side we're inside it, so once Dela delivers us through the shield we can blow up her ship from the inside."

He clapped his hands. "It's the perfect plan! Nobody will ever see it coming."

[User]
Sirka hurried back to her room to retrieve her case of credits, and fortunately, had a memory good enough not to get lost on the way. As she picked up the case. she paused and stared at it a moment. It still seemed unbelievable to her that she was holding such an amount in her hands. The upfront payment from this job was far greater than the overall payment from any job she had ever taken before. It wasn't as if she was some well-known bounty hunter or mercenary in the galaxy. Granted, she was unique, but she was not quite sure how or why her current employers heard about her to even offer this job. Perhaps she had simply impressed the right person who passed on her information? She had taken some jobs recently that culminated in some pretty intense firefights.

Shrugging off the thought for the moment, Sirka rushed back to the cockpit, as she assumed they did not have too much time before they would be heading down to the surface. "Alright, got the case. Who wants to take me to this vault?" She asked as soon as she entered the cockpit.


[System]
Age: 30

Sex: Male

Appearance: 6'2" with black hair and blue eyes. White skinned. Noticeable facial hair at the chin and finely trimmed. Sporting a more Westerly appearance with a short and thin leather duster coat, white button-up shirt with a popped-out collar and a loose scarf-like tie, dark faded blue jeans, and boots.

"Shh, I'm focusing...And trying to look intimidating."

Like many of the Societas Academia, Travis has a very good understanding how magic functions and how certain spells are performed. Being an Untalent however, much of what he has learned is unfortunately outside of his realm of implementation and only gets by with the bare basics of each aspect. But to him, this is perfectly fine; the spells Travis can produce by himself are considered useful survival tools in order to help him get by.

His real prowess is through the deciphered tomes and runes recovered throughout his journeys, capable of extending his abilities beyond his current potential. Though if anything, they too are yet another means of allowing him dissect and better understand their magical functionalities and eventually reproduce their effects in more manageable and efficient methods.

Funnily enough, given his recent and occasionally perilous encounters, Travis has been seen to be a rather surprisingly athletic runner.

"Magic is simply another form of science that is growing and evolving as we continue to discover and learn more about it."

Being an Untalent amongst a rather social community of more capable Talents can definitely be rough. Condemned to a lesser status because of one's natural inability to coordinate with magic fluidly was the fate many Untalents within the Societas Academia faced almost daily. Travis however didn't seem to be bothered by this too much. In fact, he was perhaps too busy studying and discussing theories to really care at all.

While as an Untalent and indeed had higher expectations set against him by his self-deserving peers, he enthusiastically conceptualized these endeavors as welcomed challenges in order solve rather petty societal crises to stress about. Though Travis was no ace mage and was more likely a magician as far as skills go, his main strength was his constructed knowledge base with a fierce understanding of the architecture of mana and magic implementation.

After years of hard study and grueling practice, Travis eventually achieved the rank of Aspect trainee and began the next phase of his training. Without any particular proficiency found in any particular set of spells, he would then opt-in into the Aspect of Scholar. As one would expect from his intuitive personality, Travis had felt right at home with his new position and became eager to set out for new discoveries.

What he didn't know was how cruel and horrifying the world could be outside the Societas Academia. The concept of death was something many students were well versed in, some more than others, but to experience and its many forms was something rather undesirable. Thus for Travis, now a Scholar, would soon come to know and witness this concept on more than one occasion as he pursues his quest for knowledge.

"So I spoke to an ebony dressed lady from the Cult of the Enlightened. We actually had a pleasant conversation until I asked about the concept of soul weaving. She laughed. Her fur coat cried. Suffice to say, I left in a hurry."

Despite his humble demeanor, surprisingly as an Untalent, Travis is certainly not afraid to speak his mind and express his views when necessary, sometimes comical or sarcastic if it benefits the mood. Being an easily fascinated and curious sort, he takes his role as a Scholar by heart (if not seriously) and seeks knowledge whenever he can find it; until it gets him into trouble. Nonetheless, he does show great pride and devotion to his line of work, atypical as it may be.

Travis can sometimes be described as a pacifist or "pass-the-fist" as he himself describes it. He sees no need for violence and certainly rejects the notion of killing but acknowledges the need for self-defense if he cannot negotiate his way out of a troubling confrontation. Of course said confrontations are usually created by something he may have said or done without any harmful or insulting intent.

"When the going gets tough...See to it you're not where the tough goes."

[User]
Raiya was a bit annoyed at the voice bit, but what really irritated her and pushed her a bit over the edge was the mock ahoge Nemo managed to erect. Normally she would have suppressed her emotions to not let it bubble out into a physical display of expression. But Nemo's joke got Raiya's goat so efficiently that she could not help but be flustered. Her face grew a bit red as she clenched her teeth and balled her fists a bit.

She turned her head upright violently and scoffed, "That's not very funny." She puffed out angrily. After regaining her composition, her lividity and expression returning to normal, she replied, "I don't know. Both of those girls are oddities. If things turn too ugly we could always step in, though."

[Assistant]
Boslan emitted another shockwave from his body to get Zoey off him. "This isn't gonna stop till one of us is dead." He remarked, suddenly being tipped off to Zuri's attack thanks to his manalysis. Boslan spun around and generated shield, figuring he had taken care of it. But instead the spear punctured straight through his shield and impaled him right in the abdomen. He let out a howl of pain, clutching the spear until it dissipated into energy, leaving a large wound in his stomach. Boslan bled from the wound profusely, blood dribbled from his mouth as well.

In response he shot out a large explosive blast towards Zuri with one hand, the other trying to halt the bleeding.

---

Nemo used his hand as a visor and squinted, looking towards the action. "Looks like they've got it covered." Nemo commented after seeing Boslan get hit. He fixed his hair and turned back to her. "It might not have been a show stopper, but seeing you blush was worth it." Nemo admitted. "Your talent mark is lovely too. I presume that's what began your interest in snakes?"

[User]
Raiya raised her right hand to cover her right eye in contemplation. It was a talent mark, but unlike others who were talent marked, he aura was blank like a normal talent before she decided to specialize. This led her and others to ponder whether or not it really was a talent mark and not just a normal birth defect. However, the slit pupil was not something that could be a natural biological flaw, it had to be a talent mark.

"It's funny, I hadn't ever really thought it was snake-like until recently..." She explained with her right hand still on her eye as she looked down from her perch. "No, I didn't get to choose my iruzumi beast. There are only so many of them, so they are assigned and recycled throughout the generations in the yakuza. They are only reassigned after the previous wearer dies." Raiya explained, "Although, the style and depiction of the tattoo is up to the wearer. The iruzumi beast imbued into the tattoo is not a choice. It is assigned as a status symbol to the lieutenants and administration in the yakuza."  Raiya continued, "It just so happens that I ended up with the hebi iruzumi." Raiya lowered her right arm, and pulled up her coat sleeve to reveal a flame-like orange snake coiling around her arm.

Raiya didn't fully understand how the spell worked herself. But she knew the iruzumi artist who gave her the tattoo somehow created a complex runic formula with his tattoos, and that the ink he was was special as well. It was natural for her to not understand it, though. The only person who did fully understand it was the artist himself. The method was documented, however the scrolls that contained the knowledge required to create the tattoos were hidden and closely guarded.

[Assistant] Zoey sighed, having hoped to have gotten through this without killing the guy. If that's what he wanted,, though, that was what he wanted. She pulled out her pistol and fired at the back of his head from her prone position, having been thrown a couple of meters away from the guy, as he shot his concussive blast at Zuri. It was a shame she'd have to kill a human. She much preferred monsters.

[User]
"Ah yes, your tattoos. You know I'm a fan of art, so body-art like that is right up my alley." Nemo replied, slowly spinning around with his arms outstretched as if he was trying to become a helicopter. "Such vibrant yellows, reds, and oranges on that one. The yellow really matches your eye as well." Nemo stopped spinning, slightly dizzy. "People often considered my appearance to be the result of a talent mark. But I surely wasn't born a talent. I suppose it's more like an un-talent mark."

---

The sudden usage of the pistol caught Boslan off guard, which unfortunately was his final downfall. All that could be heard after the quiet sound of the silenced pistol was the sound of the bullet impacting Boslan's skull, and then his body limply falling over dead. His spell he used against Zuri would be his last.

With Boslan dead there was nothing keeping the realm spell going. A sudden rush changed the scenery back to the real world, though that didn't bring much of a change. Besides the damage done by the spells clearing up, one could only notice minute details change. Like the sounds of seagulls calling to each other from up high, and the tides coming in.

---

"Well that's that." Nemo said, looking around to make sure the workers haven't returned. Thankfully it was all clear. Without Boslan or Logan there to sort them out it didn't surprise them it was taking extra time. He looked over to Travis. "I'm hoping you're almost done over there or else were gonna be in for more trouble." He called out to him, looking back. "Also I'm hoping somebody has something to sort out there bodies unless we want to cause a stir." Nemo added.

[Assistant] Zoey sighs and puts the gun away. She looks at her feet for a while, as if sending a prayer, then turned and looked around. "Right, which container's our mark. Would rather get this over with quickly. Also, what do we do with the body?" She had a feeling that if Felix were here, things may have gone differently. She put her illusion back up and leaned against one of the containers, looking tired.

[User]
Travis continued at his task while everyone battled against the newcomers Logan and Bosan. As the conflicts raged, Travis could feel a sense of helplessness of being unable to help repelling the new threat. Nevertheless, he kept his focus centered on the runic lock before him.

While studying the characters upon the dial design, Travis utilized one of his manadial's applications he had recently been able to figure out. The program behaved like a spectrometer of sorts; in this case, it projected a small aurora as a representation of one's own aura while during a mana flow. Upon the interface was an animated wheel he gently stroked his left hand's thumb over up and down, dictating the resonating frequency which in turn made the aurora spike or slow down. The idea, his argument, was to match the correct frequency manifested by the simulated aura that the characters corresponded with. His hope was that if he could isolate the proper wavelengths he could then use to them select the proper sequence each glyph is coded in. The concept to him appeared figuratively simple and efficient enough; if anything, he was carefully choosing the right handles in picking a physical lock.

Eventually, he found the proper behavioral states while cross-checking the visualized wavelengths and the likenesses of the characters within the runic lock. The task was nothing overly difficult however it did prove demanding in determining the correct frequencies. Travis took a movement to ease back and wipe the accumulating moisture from his forehead but with the sound of fighting still prevailing behind him, he continued with next portion of the lock.

Upon examining the next sequence, Travis quickly concluded that figuring out the characters and their matching sequence would take up more time than his team was currently allotted if he were to utilize more traditional methods. Given the eight symbolic characters on the lock, Travis with more time to spare, could have analyzed each of the glyphs and created the likely candidate sequence to use. The problem was that it the assumed the caster of the lock was using a predictable pattern and not a random configuration; an unlikely concatenation no one would leave to chance.

Travis however had a different and more efficient approach to this conundrum. Casting an advanced light projection spell, he quickly reproduced the runic lock and projected into the air. Each simulated section of scripting was now his to manipulate as he pulled the entire structure apart, separating each part into different portions based on function and response. The dissected rune now gave Travis a detailed perspective of its inner workings. It was then he found a newer series of scripts and circuits leading to each of the characters that had been visually masked before. Each line connected to what Travis determined to be a kind of receptor node that passively responded to whatever source it was geared towards; in this case to an aura wavelength. The Untalent deduced that if he probed each node without actually selecting its character, he could then potentially root out the sequence he needed.

Wasting no time, he began emitting through the aura he projected in his hand and brought it close to the runic lock. While the actual rune wouldn't visually respond towards this gesture, the simulated copy that mimicked it however did. Bringing his aura over each character node he eventually caught a line giving off a faint glow that none of the other lines emitted. With a bit of hesitation, Travis tapped into the glyph with his forefinger to select is as the first part of the sequence. The real rune naturally reacted with the character lighting up while the simulation manifested a green coloration throughout its own script before connecting with the locking script whose designated pillar design separated into two halves.

"Bingo." Travis smiled, now confident that he finally found the solution to their problem.

With relative ease, he pinpointed each node in-part of the established sequence and tapped into the aligned character, further undoing the rune's security measures. It wasn't long until Nemo's and Raiya's voices resonated nearby, indicating that they had dispatched their adversary. This was soon followed by an unexpected gunshot the momentarily distracted Travis, unaware that it was Zoey's piece that had discharged, finishing off the remainder of the two party crashers, finally ending their threat and collapsing the realm spell that had enacted, returning everyone back to real time.

Just as Nemo queried upon his progress did Travis then select the last remaining character, "I think I…"

With the last glyph now in-place, the whole rune seemed to flip its hidden elements over to the front, showcasing each node that was selected breaking the security pillars within the scrips. With each now measure broken the rune itself then unlocked, representing this through its design dividing in half as its original purplish hue turned to a bright confirming green. Travis rose from his position with a somewhat smug expression, feeling not only feeling triumphant in unlocking the rune but also overcoming Siedon's handiwork. The thought then quickly hit Travis that he didn't personally know Paul Siedon and only knew him by name, erasing any sense of rivaling superiority he had beamed while losing himself to the brief moment.

"Yes, we're in" said Travis has he recomposed himself while opening up their hijacked container.


[System]
Age: 21

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Personality/History: Leander is cunning and calculating. He grew up a normal kid until he lost his parents at a young age in a home invasion. Ever since he had been fascinated with death. He is sociable enough in public but tends to weird people out with his body language, pretty awkward. After schooling he joined the British military as a surgeon and combat medic. He was eventually captured behind enemy lines. After a narrow escape, he never returned to his superiors, and is still considered dead. Most recently his "dear" grandmother had fallen prey to a failed ritual of his. He can show love and compassion to people he truly cares about, but others, particularly ones he doesnt like, he oh so easily begins to view them as projects or pieces of meat. Something is most definitely wrong with him in the head, of that there is no doubt. Magic will have that effect. Considering his hobbies include dissecting animals and dead people, he is fairly well assimilated to normal life, choosing to hide out and jump from motel to motel in downtown London. His only real goal is to further his knowledge of death and do his best to connect the two someday, in hopes of forming a bridge between life and death, to further prevent his loved ones from leaving him forever.

Country of Origin: England

Method of Magic: Necromancy. Leander is fascinated with death. His rituals involve animals and people of all kinds, and hopes to one day successfully sacrifice a live person in order to raise a demon of death. Loss of life is what powers his magic.

Demons: Lesser demons, none worth mentioning. He uses them to further his studies, and over the years has worked to where he is at, dangerously close to using a live sacrifice to summon a truly powerful demon of death.

Other: While he mainly uses animals and people he has no ties to, his most recent failed experience with his grandmother was a revelation. Distant though it was, the connection with his grandmother made the experiment all the more powerful. He fears that to summon the demon he requires to bridge the gap between life and death and see his parents again, he will have to sacrifice somebody he loves.

[User]
Charles Hodges

Charles laughed at Pride and Agares jaw ticked. "I don't adhere to Demons, I control them…"  I said looking at Pride then Agares who murmured to Pride about this one having a mouth or something, harder to keep the Demon shut up when she wasn't dirtying my mind. Zayn was getting straight to the point, no time for pleasantries, eh? Good that's how I like it.  "I called you here because I understand you control it,"  I said pointing toward Pride "... and it is a powerful foe for any Mage. And well, Agares is an obedient but unpleasant example as you'll find out. Others will be here, you don't have to talk to them or anything, painstakingly I do have to do that however." I took a deep drag of my Cigarette and exhaled. "If they have questions I can easily answer them though I must ask where did you learn your Magics?"  I took a seat at the table crossing my legs and ashing my smoke. "Of course you can go back to wherever you came from if you don't want to stay, I would understand. Though…"  I took another drag of the cigarette. "You may want to stay for the ending? I have a little story to tell about a particularly naughty Mage I need help dealing with, 'save the world' and all that good jazz as it goes."  I exhaled.

[Assistant]
Zayn | London Apartment
With: @kagethekiller
Theme: Hero

Zayn turned to Pride who gave a simple nodding to agree to the terms. Zayn sat opposite him and Zayn's sword became obvious. It was two handed mammoth of a sword and it was strange as to how Zayn could conceal it so easily. Zayn pulled his sword and sat it down next to him. "Me? I learnt it at a very young age. So young I almost killed a kid. Summoning this Demon took more then an arm from me. It took both my parents lives. So Pride raised me as his own, and I've sent my life since that point in time, training my magic. Well... Magic and swordsmanship. Tell me, Charlie. Have you heard the rumor of some female who summoned... Lucifer?" Zayn let the question float in the air for a second before continuing, "I was tracking her down to see if it was true when I got your invite. Now if I amto stay, Pride and I demand the biggest room."

[User]
Charles Hodges

Charles laughed again… this was getting scary stop laughing Charles. "Janet? Whatever do you need her for? Good Mage but weak in the moral fibers, can't fight much but she's a smart one. Last I heard she was in antarctica doing some sort of ritual there, she was supposed to be here but said she couldn't. I don't know how that whole lucifer thing panned out for her, rather greedy that demon, she gave him her son and nothing, that alone is enough to drive anyone mad. I hear they have some sort of pact though she's never told me of it. Strange Magic on that little girl. Hard to believe she's only 16, eh? And you'll come to see that your room if it's the biggest is just like 24 others so don't feel to special, there are 23 just as big…"  I stood up snapping an Imp into the room with a quick incantation. "Show Mr. Zayn to his room so he may do what he wishes with so much room. I warn you though asking for one of those rooms you're bound to get lost I use them as villas, you see. Never have to leave home. Your welcome to whichever you like just don't get to deep so i don't have to send an Imp after you. Maybe a tour once you get settled, no other guest have arrived yet."  I said turning to him.

[Assistant]
Riley let out a bit of a huff and rubbed their hands together feeling rather cold. The whole place had been making them feel rather off edge, probably because it was a new setting for them entirely. Sticking to the back alleys had hopefully been the right choice and likely was since Riley was not 'himself' currently and instead something else for comfort. It was rather relieving when Riley approached what they assumed to be apartment but was rather unsure. Riley quickly tried knocking at the door and sitting down limply in front of it. Briefly muttering to themselves. "Hopefully this is the right place, all the cranes that it took to get here.."

If someone had come to answer the door they would be met with a cartoonish looking polar bear creature, rather resembling a teddy bear of some sort. It was currently around 3'5" and wearing baggy clothing (Sweat pants and a hoodie) as well as a backpack. A wide and practiced grin printed across its face as it tried to look from the corner of its eye whether or not someone had opened the door and came to it. There was a small wish for having some more methods to prepare but none had come directly to mind. Especially not in a somewhat tired and hungry state. Perhaps something should have been grabbed along the way. "It is..or should be here.." A quiet whisper ran through Riley's mind.

[User]
Charles Hodges
The door buzzed as Zayn was shown to his room. An odd looking polar bear stood on my doorstep, I looked out past it and checked the streets, making sure no one was looking. What a sight indeed. " Hello I am Charles Hodges and whoever might you be?" I said motioning for the creature to come in. There was a rather strong spell transforming this Mage and it stroked my curiosity. @AwesomeZero5

[Assistant] Riley sitting upon the doorstep of sorts noticed someone standing near the door. It seemed that the person had rather, already recognized them as a being rather than just a doll so that was a sign. A sign showing that this definitely appeared to be the right place. It seem the person gave out there own name immediately so that was rather welcoming. It, being Riley in this case rather stood up slowly and was being motioned to be lead inside. Riley rather took a slow approach to this and was uncomfortable of giving up his indentity quite yet. It may have been rude but it felt 'safer' to do so. "Well, umm.. for now I hope you don't mind calling me Kuma! Sorry for the improper introduction, just a bit.. on edge for a while." The creature's voice would likely come off sounding as young as a child and perhaps a bit robotic in more of a practiced manner. He would try to take a few slow steps toward the building before quickly slipping in.

[User] Leander casually strolled along the sidewalk, lost in his own thought. He was questioning why he even bothered to come to this party. Who exactly was Charles Hodges? What did he want with me? Surely Leander hadnt caught any unwanted attention, he only had imps at his command right now. Although if they knew about the plans he had for the future, that could be why. How would anyone know though? He had told nobody. Unless he had been followed sometime recently. No matter, he had nothing else to do. Whats the worst that could happen, somebody murder him? Leander resisted the urge to lick his lips. Death, what a lovely goal. He could only hope the altercation got bloody. He shuffled to the door and knocked, wary of what lay on the other side.

[Assistant]
Nicolai

Nicolai nods to the fledgling necromancer, and collects his modest fee. After saying their farewells he leaves and begins to wander the streets of London with a vague idea that he is supposed to be somewhere, but just cant think of where it was. He paused to get his barrings, as he looked around he noticed a pair of glowing eyes in the shadows of an alley. Nicolai sighed as the creature moved into the light, it was a drooling and grotesque ghoul.

"Ahriman, will you knock it off..."

"Come on Nic, this will be fun. can you reach the party before the Ghoul catches you?"

Nicolai watches the Ghoul as it begins to slowly approach him. It is an illusion, it couldn't do him any actual harm but it would seem to hurt him until Ahriman was satisfied. Nicolai could force the illusion away but Ahriman would push back, he wouldn't give up on this cruel game. Nicolai begins to walk quickly down the street hoping that it was in the right direction. While he walked a Figure appeared walking next to him clad in red. Ahriman wasn't actually there either, simply an illusion cast from within Nicolai's mind. Out of frustration Nicolai begins reciting an elaborate conjuration ritual, he put nothing behind it so that he wouldn't summon a lesser deity into the streets of London. He was certainly not going to make that mistake again.

"Nicolai, Nicolai, Nicolai... you realize you are going the wrong way don't you?... No, well then. Ill give you a hand, Its not any fun if my Ghoul catches you without a fighting chance... alright, three blocks south and four east from here."

Nicolai listened, and glanced behind him. The Ghoul was closer, matching his pace and then some so that his there was a time limit on the game. He didn't have long but he should make it to this shindig before the game was up. Once he was about a block away he realized where he was actually supposed to be, some apartment for a gathering of mages. As rounded a corner and noticed the door to the apartment close, he hurried up towards the apartment hearing the ghoul only a few steps behind him. The moment he reached the door the sound of the ghoul vanished abruptly.

"Well done, you should probably knock it would be impolite to just wait outside."

Nicolai hesitated but knocked anyway, as his knuckles hit the door Ahriman vanished and Nicolai stood on the doorstep alone.

[User]
Charles Hodges

The bear walked in a bit warily, and was quickly escorted into the dining room where Agares was waiting to tell him… maybe that wasn't right. At any note, I really had hoped for more of a turn out than this, was this the best he could do against the forces of Evil that were currently at work stitching the fabrics of Fate. Changing it to their every whim. My eyes glazed over as I recited a spell, to any onlooker it would appear as though my eyes had turned into small galaxies. I sifted through the goings on of Ms. Downey on Baker street, then a man in Peru being beaten by a drug addled youth. I shook my head, dispelling the tiny lights in my eyes along with the spell. For some reason I could never find him… hell I didn't even know who he was.

But he was. And that was all that mattered, not for the first time he felt a tug on the scales of the universe. Felt the Dark Army being built as one by one more Demons were obtained by a single Mage. Whatever it was it rivaled the God's in power. And this was all I had to work with. I looked around the room seeing Agares standing there.  "Someone knocked you know…" She said hands on hips.  "Two times in fact."  I stood up quickly pushing the Demon out of my way and pulling the door open. Cold air blew in and two figures stood there.

 "My name is Hodges! Who may you be." I said the with the best smile i could muster.

@DarthSeverus394

[Assistant]
Riley simply and slowly followed as they were escorted into the dining room. Riley seemed briefly surprised and curious about Agares presence inside the room but decided not to say anything yet. They felt rather unsure of how to greet the other being physically in the room besides their escort. Riley's tilted their head and scratched at its left cheek with a small curiosity rising from the uncertainty. It certainly did not seem proper to give out a simple, hello or hi in this situation. It would briefly bother him for a moment.

Riley's escort having his eyes filled with stars rather literally was something else of interest. They quickly tried to divert their attention upon such and stepped back a little in order to prepare for a dash. It seemed that the demon was somewhat, sassy but not overwhelming at the moment. It seemed Riley's escort went to answer the door and that more people were arriving.

"Bowing slightly and adding 'your grace' would be the fitting greeting." A voice whispered and perhaps somewhat complained in the depths of Riley's mind. Riley quickly followed the instruction, bowing forward as to tilt his back and so on forward. "Um, um..Hello, Your Grace..?" Riley tried to say but it may have come off in an uncertain manner. Seeing as Riley was still somewhat unsure if that was proper at this moment. "Would you happen to have a kitchen I could use? Your Grace?" Riley tried adding the title of sorts toward the end having not phrased it into the flow of the question.

[User] Leander stayed silent, evaluating both the person next to him and the owner of the apartment, presumably a Mr. Hodges. Immediately he could sense their energies as well as those already in the house. He could not ever come to terms with the way others used their magic. More often than not summoners give up too much of themselves to bind their demons to them once summoned, often sharing both mind and body with the entities. Foolish, he thought. He much preferred to sacrifice a strangers body and mind than his own. A demon with power enough to influence a mind like his? Mass murder awaits in a scenario like that. Sensing the social akwardness of the two others he decided a nod to Hodges would suffice, brushing past him into the enormous foyer.


[System]
Appearance:

---

Concise statistics:
Place of origin: Tokyo, Japan
Age: 17
Height: 180cm
Eye and hair color: Grey
Noble Arm: "Vox Vulgaris," a C-Rank Sword Interference/Communication-type Arm.

---

Noble Arm Name & Appearance: Vox Vulgaris takes the form of a long sword of vaguely Japanese design, with an almost-straight blade akin to the weapons of the pre-katana era, but with katana-styled tip sharpening. Takumi refers to his sword as a longsword, katana, or tsurugi, seemingly at random and freely switches the appelations if the theme of weapons or Noble Arms comes up. Given his background (and fighting style) this error is rather obviously deliberate to those who know him well.

---

Abilities:

The abilities of Vox Vulgaris are multi-faceted, trading raw unrestrained power for a panoply of useful effects.
Takumi made a habit of adding three-word somewhat poetic summaries to rote uses of his power, making it easier mentally to call upon on specific manifestations of it:

● Communication Control suite allows Takumi to control lines of communication.
● Involvement Adjustment allows Takumi to increase or decrease the amount of enthusiasm or apathy in an individual.
● Perception Intrusion abilities allow Takumi to manipulate basilisks, understand (and with time and practice, create and deploy) memetic weaponry, and manipulate perception of the world in a targeted individual.
● Entropy Manipulation abilities are those of chaos, violence and disharmony. Their concepts are destruction, removal and excisement. That isn't to say, though, that destruction doesn't have a certain art to it, particularly if collateral damage is to be avoided. These abilities as used by Takumi allow for selective, targeted destruction. He carefully chooses his focus and then introduces chaos, changing variables in the background just enough to throw things out of balance.

---

Personality:

 *Likes: People who stand for their beliefs (even if those beliefs are directly opposite to his own)
 *Dislikes: His family, people who believe that something is "fated"
 Fears: To not amount to anything
 Defining virtue: Inquisitive
 Defining vice: Rebellious
 Quote: "Now you see me... And now you don't."

---

Bio:

 Takumi comes from the renowned Isamaru family, who have made their name during the aftermath of World War II in Japan.
 His ancestors are well-known: his grandfather, Daito "Tetsujin" Isamaru, with his "Kongou no Yoroi" was one of the oldest Noble Arm users recorded in the country, and his matter strengthening abilities helped during the post-war rebuilding; his father Daiichi "Atomic Samurai" Isamaru, who has helped to clean up at the most terrible natural disaster sites of the second half of XX and XXI centuries (including Chernobyl, Bhopal and Fukushima) due to his peculiar ability to ignore adverse external conditions, is lauded as a hero; his family's zaibatsu is at the forefront of turning Noble Arm abilities into useful product and research into these strange para-humans.
 Since birth, Takumi was put under great pressure to conform and to confirm his family's great name. His rather early-manifesting Arm saw to that he was put into training as early as five years old. He wasn't told the actual reason for such haste until he was seven — apparently, shortly after the atomic bombings of 1945 the grandfather of the family met an early Noble Arm user, whose soul-weapon manifested as the earthly version of one of Japan's three legendary treasures, the mirror of Yata. This woman told him a lot of his future, which allowed the Isamaru Group to prosper, but the price for this knowledge was that he knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a great calamity would befall him and his in three generations, and it was now apparently up to Takumi to withstand it.
 Except it was not up to Takumi at all. While he alternated between resentment, depression, understanding, and rage, his sister, who was deemed unfit to lead, awakened her Noble Arm, "Vox Fati," and beat him at the first practice. She was obviously neither as proficient nor as trained, yet it happened — apparently it was "fated" that he would never win against her. She then proceeded to beat him at each and every duel thereafter, no matter how hard he tried or what tricks he pulled.
 Takumi didn't let it get to him... until a review of his grandfather's papers after his demise uncovered a journal that conclusively confirmed the "Child that Withstands The Calamity" as female. At that point... no one specifically made anything worse for him, but his father stopped considering him vital and started considering him... expendable. The focus of the family's research switched to Reika, leaving Takumi alone and frankly, somewhat bitter.
 At some point thereafter he broke. Having a coldly worded congratulation about being accepted into one of the top Noble Arm user academies in Japan thrust into his hands by the family butler had something snap inside him. He used most of his connections and resources available to him as the elder son of a prosperous japanese zaibatsu and moved to the Phillippines, enrolling to their Trinidad Academy instead. He's determined to prove that he has intrinsic worth, not as child of prophecy, or a heir to something, and to forge some legacy he can call his own.

*Current Goal: To start forging some sort of basis for his own legacy

---

Student Rank: 602

[User]
Ah jeez, group work. And it was going to be graded. Absolutely perfect. Luis sighed audibly as he changed into his PE uniform. Small Unit Tactics is a class that he had dealt with pretty capably previously, mostly due to his own initiative. As long as he wasn't grouped up with completely incompetent teammates, he'd do fine.

"As for the groupings, I want you all to form groups of three. I advise you to avoid pairing with friends, however it is not prohibited!"

Well the latter point wouldn't be a problem. Luis had trouble considering anyone in his class as a "friend", they were all either delinquents or just plain weird. Pablo came over and asked Luis to join. The guy spoke like he was talking to a kid who just dropped his ice cream cone and Luis had to admit, it was kind of irritating. But even so, being in a group with classmates would be better than having to work with the underclassmen, even if it meant potentially playing third wheel between Pablo and Reinhard. Plus, with them, it was more than likely that Pablo would be doing all the heavy lifting.

Luis waved the Filipino off. "Relax, bro. I can fight if I need to. Let's just try to get a good result here."

He walked to join Pablo.

Bee

[Assistant] Nishka ignored the boring classes and managed to avoid getting called on, having perfected that look of paying attention but really not from a young age. Finally they got to the class that seemed least boring, SUit, taught by Sir Tan. Nishka hated it when people were named stupid things like that. Tan isn't a name, its more like a noun, at best some sort of adjective, certainly no good for being a name. That was like naming your kid 'smart'. Then when you said things like 'my kid is smart' you have to explain what exactly you mean and the whole thing is more confusing for everyone. Stupid names are stupid. Nishka rolled her eyes upon hearing they would be in groups, what a bunch of work. Of course it was called small unit tactics for a reason but still. Rather than searching for a group Nishka did what she usually did, nothing. Either the teacher would lump her into a group or some geek would recruit her, she didn't particular care either way. Frankly she was surprised the nerd that'd asked her to hang out with him hadn't immediately latched onto her. Whatever.

[User]
Silence settled in the room as Yuri finished his grand spiel. The adults in the room were taken aback by the sheer certainty in his voice. The fact that he was acting not only as if he was not guilty, but also a dispenser of true justice was . . . an experience, to say the least.

The instructor stared at Yuri intently, and then rolled his eyes. "All hypothetical circumstances that can't be compared to the situation at hand. I would like to point out, very clearly, that the only one who actually injured anyone was you. You acted on nothing but your own assumptions as to what would happen," he said, sliding the form closer to Yuri, "and from what I saw back there, rather than attack an aggressor, it looked like you picked a side. That lady he was glaring daggers at didn't look like much of a victim."

"As for your proposal," said the DO, standing from his chair and approaching the door, "I can't believe you have the arrogance to not only suggest that our disciplinary faculty is not enough, but to even suggest that you of all people be at the head of such an organization. It speak a lot about of your personality."

"In any case, your punishment hasn't changed, and we will not compromise."

---

The instructor waited for a minute or so, observing as the class clustered into different groups. Eventually, the class was more or less grouped. For those stragglers that didn't bother to even look for partners, Sir Tan put together. All-in-all, there were twenty teams split among the classes.

Two underclassmen were paired with Nishka. A timid pair of identical twins. The two of them fidgeted around the older girl, staying close enough so that it was obvious they were grouped with her, but not close enough for Nishka's hands to grab them if she simply stretched them.

Once the groupings were settled. The instructor nodded.

"Okay then, kids, our warm-up for today's session is very simple. Ever hear of the game "freeze tag"? Well that's what we're going to be doing. Here's the catch though: There are eight teams of "it's", and only members from the same team can unfreeze a frozen player. We play for ten minutes, and for every member on your team frozen, a corresponding penalty will be carried over for the day's drill. No Noble Arms, and the entirety of the quadrangle is your battle ground. Any questions?"

With no questions asked, the instructor randomly picked eight teams to represent the "it" side. Those that were chosen were given sleeveless jerseys to wear over their PE uniform, to distinguish them from the other players. Pablo, Reinhard, and Luis were an "it" team. Takumi, Gloria and King, along with Nishka and her group-mates were part of the running teams.

The teacher separated the two teams on opposite ends of the quadrangle, and blew his whistle.

At once, all hell broke loose.

"It" players began charging straight towards the other side, who responded by scrambling chaotically, sometimes getting in each others way and tripping over each other. Others had outright abandoned their teammates and soon a fast exchange of freeze and unfreeze was taking place.

Nishka's group-mates had left her alone and were running together frantically. A team of three approached Takumi and attempted to box him. All the while, the teacher looked on impassively. It was about as he expected, really.

-@Eklispe-@banjoanjo-@Letter Bee-@Keksalot-@Altasaire-@KindledBeast

[Assistant]
Unlike most of the others Reinhard took a rather slow approach at the problem of being a good "it" in freeze tag. While the other its were frantically expending energy chasing their 'prey', which in turn for the most part just ran away as fast as they could, Reinhard didn't move much, at best he walked. Admidst the chaos he positioned himself, so that the flow of escaping students would either pass him, or be deflected by his presence into another "it".

His strategy payed off somewhat, as small clusters of one to three frozen students formed around his paths, but Reinhard didn't guard them in any way himself, so unless another "it" did so, either intentionally or unintentionally, they were quickly unfrozen.

[User]
Pablo analyzed the situation; he was not going to go after Takumi, King, and Gloria; too strong. But, he wasn't going after those that were too 'weak', either; he might get accused of fighting too dirty. So, he was going after the middle tier, and that meant Nishka and her group; this task was made easier by the fact that said group abandoned the Russian-American, meaning that he, Reinhard, and Luis can safely go after her.

So he ran for the former street urchin, but not so fast that he would outpace Reinhard and Luis to the point of breaking the team's cohesion. Taking quick gazes to ensure that his former team members were by his side (Turns out Reinhard chose to go his own way), Pablo positioned himself to Luis' side, presuming that Luis followed his non-verbal cues and went after Nishka as well.

Luis would at least dislike me for this, which is a shame, as I want to be his friend. After a split-second of that thought, he would put it out of his mind for now, and keep going after Nishka, his eyes alert for any tricks and feints. If she went to her left left, he would gesture at Luis (who might still be entertaining thoughts of dislike) to catch her, if she went to her right, well, he himself would go on the offensive, and try and catch her, while being ready to roll away in case her teammates had a change of heart...

@Eklispe@banjoanjo

[Assistant]
No Noble Arms, — Takumi smiled, unsummoning Vox Vulgaris with an effort of will.

Taking note where the three boxing him in were, he then did a weird hopping half-step backwards, swinging his arms erratically, and vanished from view as people's eyes slid off him, not being able to find purchase on his form visually.

He's suddenly out of the "box" twenty, then thirty feet to the side, flitting around like a coked up colibri — always just a tiny bit out of reach, drawing people away from teammates.