[System]
Nicknames/Titles: The Automated Sorcerer

Gender: Male

Age: 29

Species: Human

Social status: Independent Contractor

Appearance: A thin and frail eccentric gentleman with steely silver-colored eyes sporting an unusually seen combover hairstyle. He kept his dirt-colored hair short and over his head to leave his forehead bare. Despite being dubbed the sorcerer, he does not wear the typical cloak and hood associated with wizards, but instead prefers a rather aristocratic black wool gambeson worn over a dark-blue tunic and black breech. The gambeson would be long-sleeved whenever he goes out for long, and sleeveless when at home or muddling around his neighborhood.

Personality: On the one hand, Robert is very self-confident, arrogant even, most often expressed in his humor. He is witty, sociable, and does not shy away from most topics, except for a small project that he will only say he's working on. Quite a man to have a conversation with. But this only really happens when Robert is well-engaged in the conversation. If not, then his response will be terse, awkward even. After all, despite the social savviness, Robert is an introvert at heart, often reclusive and a little paranoid when it comes to things he love doing.

Powers/Abilities: Robert is knowledgeable in all forms of magic, and can perform almost all the simple schools of magic at an intermediate level, but comparing to well-trained wizards, he falls behind on pretty much all aspects. He relies on his craftsmanship and engineering knowledge in order to best these individuals.

Skills/Talents: When it comes to spending weeks to create magically-powered piece of machinery that can do the job of five wizards, or an automated magic sensor, Robert is the man to call. He is weak magically, but incredibly efficient and pragmatic whenever he applies them.

Personal possessions:
- Double-edged knife
- A set of simple tools like hammer/axe/ropes
- Crystals for restoring mana

Backstory: He is 29 years old, but his last traces only dates 8 years back in this world. The first time the public knew of his presence was when he introduced a magically-powered heat sensors to automatically guide ballista towards its targets. It was a surreal experience for the onlookers, both commoners and wizards alike. Magic users have long been able to sense heat, but to be able to help guide weapons automatically was unthinkable, and honestly quite unsettling for some of the wizards. He was invited to work on various secret weaponries from various factions, but sensing the discontent amongst the magic-world, Robert politely declined and instead switched to working freelance and on more...positive public work.

This does not really ease tensions between him and the wizards. Their fear was driven by jealousy and elitism that a man of weak magical prowess could do the things they can't do. His eccentricity attitude and appearance made him stand out, while his often high demands from his customers didn't help him. He ran into various incidents with them and after a particularly nasty one decided to move out entirely and set up his headquarter near a small village. There he lived reclusively, working almost obsessively on a project that he refused to speak about, but would still entertain anyone who would pay him a visit.

[User]
She was dead, right? Yeah, she definately died. There was no way she'd survived that plane crash. But then, why was she thinking? How was she thinking? Was this the afterlife?

This train of thought was the spark that restarted MacKensie's five senses. The first thing she was aware of was her heartbeat, which would steadily begin to quicken as her anxiety grew. The air was musty, and above the faint sound of the her own breath, there was a throbbing hum coming from... outside? The questions began to pile up on top of the already important conundrum. She moved her hands and reached around to find that she was in an enclosed space, and that's when her eyes shot open in fright to total darkness.

Forgivingly, she wasn't made to panic in the claustrophic environment as the front of the box popped open and the young woman rushed forward to freedom, tripping in her hastiness and sending her tumbling out of the stone coffin, unceremoniously onto the floor with a whiney shriek. The pain from the fall had her fleetingly think that this was absolutely not the afterlife. She looked at her outstretched arms, not recognising her clothes. Her eyes went on to spy the dimly lit room, the strange glowing blue light in the walls, and eventually the seven coffins behind her.

She gasped, paling with fear, eyes wide. There were literal coffins in the room. And yes, she had just jumped out of one. Butt-scooting away from the wall with the coffins, as others began to awaken, MacKensie was way past screaming in alarm. She was mute, at this point.
 She simply rose to her feet, against the opposite wall, an unwilling spectator to whatever might happen next.

[Assistant]
Four years ago...
Horses whinnied in alarm as the cart almost ran over a young goblin carrying a large sack on his back. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" the driver screamed. Crowds of people twice the creature's height jostled him back and forth, many unaware he was even there until they were almost on top of him. Most could not even hear his cries, let alone understand the words he was crying out to them.

["Help! Help me! Please! Please help- please help my baby brother!"]

Another person shoved him aside. He fell back on the stone pavement, and twisted himself so he wouldn't land on the precious cargo he carried. The goblin scrambled to his feet and pressed through the crowd.

["Can- can anyone- can anyone tell me where- where the goddess is?"] He grabbed onto a random passerby's sleeve. ["Please help me?"]

The woman snatched her arm away in disgust. "Ugh, go away."

As he watched the woman march off, he spotted a tower looming overhead. Maybe she's in there! He hefted the bag and plodded toward the tower, pushing and weaving his way through the crowd until he arrived at the gates. A pair of tall, imposing guards stood in the way.

"Go away," barked one of the guards.

The goblin got down on his knees and groveled before them. ["Please let me see the goddess! My baby brother is dying!"]

Neither guard understood the goblin language, but even they could gather he was making a request of them. "She's not taking any visitors right now."

The goblin crawled up to the guard's foot and clutched at the hem of his tunic, babbling something the guard still couldn't understand. Disgusted, the guard kicked him away. "I said go, you little shit!"

At that moment, the gates creaked open.

The guards immediately dropped to one knee in solemn reverence.

The goblin looked up to behold a human woman, robed in blackest ebony, whose silver eyes stared down at him from behind a featureless bone-white mask.

["My goddess!"] the goblin cried, and crawled up to her feet to grovel.
The woman knelt down and lifted his chin. ["You're a long way from home, little one. What brings you all this way?"]
The goblin suddenly looked up at her. ["You...you understand me?"]
["Well, I didn't live 500 years to not learn the language of my neighbors. You wish to make a request of me?"]
He withdrew the sack and laid it at her feet. ["Please save my baby brother. He's dying and I don't know who else to turn to."]

The woman gingerly opened the sack to find a baby goblin. It seemed to be only a few months old, but it was unusually small and frail for its age. Wheezing gasps came from its little mouth, and its skin was pallid and sickly. She checked for a pulse, and found it weakening by the minute.

["You did the right thing. Come."] She picked up the goblin child in one arm and gave the guards each a backhanded slap. "Do better next time," she chided. The guards bowed their heads in shame as she strode inside.

Once inside, she set the goblin child down and pulled out a piece of chalk, with which she began to draw a magic circle. Then she took a knife, cut her arm at the elbow, and dripped a few drops of blood in the circle. ["This is a magic circle designed to amplify the natural healing processes,"] she explained. ["Keep an eye on him for me while I prepare another spell, would you?"]

The goblin nodded and watched the embers of magic seep into his brother's body while the woman brought over her spear. "Analyze," she whispered, and the spear began to glow with a pale white light. She hovered the tip over the goblin child's body, and when the spell was complete, she touched her palm to the gem and closed her eyes.

["Intriguing."]

["Will he be okay?"]

She sat down across from him and folded her legs. ["Your brother is evolving."]

["E- evo- what?"]

["Evolving. He is changing inside into something greater than he was."]

["What is he changing into?"]

The twinkle of a smile sparkled in her eyes. ["A new person."]

[User]
*Yakeru*

---

---

A soundless darkness. A sudden flash. A silhouette of a man running away. He had seen his face before. Now it was fading away but the eyes, the look they had, remained in his mind. The colour of red on his hands and chest, mixing with rain. No air. Pain. A soundless darkness. A flash of light again. White. An outstretched hand. Pain leaving him. Sleep.

With a sudden and deep gasp for breath, a young man got up from one of the now open coffins. He kept coughing and gasping for air for some time, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him, paying only attention to himself. His hands quickly moved towards his chest where he had expected to be wound. Strangely there was nothing to see. His eyes wandered over his clothes, his breathing going from fast to a more irregular speed. He did not recognize the clothes he was wearing. Or did he? Vaguely, somewhere in the far reaches of his mind, he remembered seeing them before. Then he suddenly knew.

Feeling the fabric of the tunic for the first time, the outfit he had created and drawn for Yakeru, the hero of his light novel. It almost made him laugh in disbelief. Everything he was wearing was exactly how he had imagined it to be. Even the sword, that was lying next to him. The details were most impressive. His gloved hand touched the steel of the blade and he was surprised it felt warm instead of the expected cold.

Certainly I must be dreaming, right? But I remember getting shot...what happened?

Finally he turned his gaze to the coffin he was sitting in and he scrambled out of it in shock, the smile now gone from his face and his eyes going from bewildered to panicky. Was this some sort of crypt? In the dimly lit room he could make out other coffins against the wall. He swallowed. Did the dream turn into a nightmare? He tried to steady his breathing, calm down but he felt that he couldn't. Sensing he was not alone in the room, he quickly looked around to see if he could spot the person or persons there.

A young woman was standing at the opposite wall, watching him and he sighed a breathe of relief glad to see a friendly face albeit looking as shocked as he probably did.

"Uhm...Hello. Do you...know where we are?" He blinked and put his hand to his mouth. This was not his voice and yet he had spoken with it. Even though his heart was racing still from the slight fear, his voice had not sounded like how he felt but more like the voice of someone who considered all this just a nuissance.

His attention suddenly turned back to the other coffins. What was going on?

[Assistant]
David woke up with a sharp gasp, like he was desperate for a breath of air. Like he was deprived of air, looking around the room wondering what just happened. Last thing he remembered he was home, and now...he was here. Trying to remember his life on earth, what led up to this moment. Wait....he couldnt remember anything. His old life was gone like a blur. He knew his name, it was David, where he used to live and the face of a woman. Was she his mother? Getting out from the coffin, cursing as his legs gave out. Wondering how long he was passed out for. Looking around the room, seeing a few more people also waking up.

"Where the hell am I?" Everyone else looked just as confused as he was. They didnt seem like they were the one behind this, they looked just as confused as he was. Cursing as he tried to stand, looking around the room. Something felt wrong here, like someone or something was watching him in here. "Excuse me? Hello? Umm do any of you know where we are? Or....why were here."

Pinching himself, clearly he wasnt dreaming. Running his hands along his body, not feeling any wounds. And he wasnt scarred or anything. This didnt look like anyplace he been to before. Looking at the others, he decided to introduce himself. "Umm, My name is David Markovia....I think it is at least." he said, unsure if he was right about his past. Everything was still foggy, he couldnt remember much of what his life was like before. Just his name, where he lived, and a woman he recognized. That was it.

[User]
Robert didn't fully understand the quest given, but then again he never understood that tower anyway. A group of individuals being zipped out from another world now awakened in a body that who knows what picked for. And he was expecting them to help? There's no guarantee that they'd actually be nice enough to do so, but they wouldn't even understand to begin with. But urgency clouded all logical judgement, as the man in the black gambeson hastened through the tower corridor to the coffin chamber. They should have already awakened, and to his guess confused, scared. He was pretty much right, to no one's surprise.

Approaching the four newly-arrived was a rather sharp-looking young man in black gambeson and breeches, huffing a little from his travel to the tower. He quickly brushed his hair over his forehead with his hand, gave everyone a quick glance, before letting out one last puff before speaking, in a hurried but seemingly casual tone.

"Everyone up? Everyone good? Functional? Hmm?" He glanced across the rather diverse group of individuals, before cutting right to the chase. "This...never has a good explanation, but I'm going to need you to ready to fight, soon. Yall familiar with it?"


[System]
Age: 17
Race: Beast-Kin
Gender: Female

Talent: Wood Magic.
History: Hilda was born on one of the many small villages around the neutral zones, while life for beast-kin's could be said to be good compared to the treatment of the race in other kingdoms It was not all a bed of roses. Monsters were more common in the neutral zone and randomly attacked the area, destroying crops, houses and injuring or even killing some of the villagers. As such many of them organized into a semi-militia since they couldn't afford to pay mercenaries to protect them.

Hilda's father was a part of that militia and she constantly saw him return home tired, with many bruises and sometimes unable to move properly thanks to the extent of his injuries, she was worried about him but with the monsters still coming there was nothing she really could do. One day a mage passed through the village, looking to eat something before continuing his travel towards the Dottidian Empire. The whole village was outside wanting to catch the attention of the mage for him to give them a blessing, to ask him questions related to magic or to simply hear the stories the mage had to tell. Surprisingly the mage happily talked to the villagers and did some showcase of his magic by creating small sparks and flashes of light and told some stories of his travels, though he refused to accept any students since he liked being alone.

As he was leaving the village, some monsters started attacking the village and while the militia ran towards the armory to grab their weapons and fight, the mage quickly dispatched of the monsters by using his magic to electrocute them all to death, leaving nothing but ashes. Most of the village stood unmoving with their mouths agape after seeing the power the true power of the light show the mage had shown earlier, and the wandering mage, took advantage of that to disappear in the woods, with none of the villagers bothering to look for him.

With the story of the mage being the talk of the village for month Hilda seemed to be the only one that after the event that thought "Maybe if I could use magic I would be able to take care of the monsters in the area and father need to fight them". At first, her mother and father rejected that idea, telling her that magic was something that not everyone could do and even if they could they would have to face many hardships, some of them mortal to be able to master magic. But Hilda didn't care and kept nagging till her parents accepted to let her train with a mage.

Other: (optional, anything forgotten in the list)
One of her horns is bigger than the other

[User]
Hilda Raleigh

As everyone began to make themselves comfortable in the carriage, Callum asked everyone about their reasons for their reasons for seeking out the dragon. Hearing Sophia´s answer she thought about her motive, learning magic to find a way to protect her village and the people living in it. In essence that could be called power, to find power to do things a normal person, either beast-kin or human couldn't even dream of. "What situation would she need power for?" Hilda wondered, she didn't know much about the politics and kingdoms of other countries so she could only make vague guesses. Leonardos answer made her tilt her head, was Leonardo not planning to study magic? Asking the Dragon a favor seemed rather boldfaced, more than asking him to accept apprentices. "I-I'd just like to protect my village, and training in magic is one way I could do it"

Seeing as how Sophia and Leonardo had already started to rest, she decided to get some sleep too, while she wanted to know what they needed power for, she decided to wait till they knew each other better. When Hilda was just a few moments away from peaceful sleep, she noticed that nobody had asked Callum his reasons and know that she knew it was rude not to ask him, even if he seemed to be scared of her or something. "S-So what are your reasons for coming with the Dragon C-Callum?" giving the first step was important if Hilda wanted for Callum to stop being scared of her.

[Assistant]
Callum Algard

Callum thought that his companions' reasons were all rather interesting. Sophia wanted power. Power for what, she didn't quite say. By the way she spoke, she didn't sound like she came from a poor family. If anything, her speech reminded him of the various books that he read, where everything sounded formal and manufactured. Perhaps she was well off enough to get a proper education, and perhaps she just wanted more. He supposed it didn't matter how much you had; so long as there was something you didn't have, there would be want. Leonardo's answer was very interesting. Just what kind of favor did he want to ask of The Dragon? Callum was insatiably curious, and was about to ask him, when the beast-kin spoke up.

He cocked his head slightly and gave her an odd look. Protect her village? Were there really no soldiers where she was from? Or were they what she was trying to protect it from? She was a beast-kin after all; maybe it was a territorial thing. Either way, he couldn't blame her if she wanted soldiers gone, especially with the way he'd seen them treat her kind. Then she turned his own question on him. Funnily enough, he hadn't given it much thought.

"Hmm..." he said, leaning back in his seat with his hands folded behind his head. "Well, I read this book one time. There was this story... or poem, or something -- it was in a book -- and it was about a guy walking down a misty path. As long as he stayed on the path, he was safe, but there were monsters in the mist that would devour him if he strayed. Anyway, he could just barely make out a path in the mist branching off of the one he was on. However, the man decided to keep going straight, fearing that the path would take him deeper into the mist. He died knowing nothing but the mist, and on his death bed he wondered if that path would have lead him out of it. I'm going left." Callum nodded, thinking that it was a satisfactory answer, though really he probably made the least sense out of all of them.

[User]
@Ixa @Eklispe @Ether
Golem

 The golem would raise a wooden brow at what he was hearing from inside the carriage. Some of them had obvious thoughts of why they wanted to become wizards but he started to feel they was very naive in this situation. believing if they simply wasn't good at magic they would be able to keep trying over and over until they succeed. While this is true after they become apprentices aslong as they don't kill themselves, it is not true for becoming one. This would cause the golem to speak out towards the children, "I believe some of you are under false assumptions, you see if you are accepted as an apprentice, you go through your first test and if your not good you die, for the magic that will pass through your veins will rip you apart from the inside" he states clearly for them to hear and allows them to contemplate his words.

 After a couple of minutes the golem would speak again "I will warn you all now, when you meet the master don't let his appearance fool you. Don't judge by what you see" he would sigh before continuing "Most wizards within the first thirty years of mastering magic, they find some way to stop their aging, while this method can vary like giving up your humanity and becoming a monster.. most still do it, the master is no different he but his magic affect his appearance, it caused his phyiscal appearance to change for many reasons including his emotions, so don't judging him when you see him. Be respectful and truthful in his presence"

 It would be a couple hours before they arrived at the somewhat ruined down castle, the outer walls covered in moss and vines, even the castle itself had them, flowers as well. Going past the gatehouse into the courtyard, which was big enough for 3 dragons to lay side by side in any direction, there would be the castle directly ahead with three towers raising up into the sky from it. To the left would be a barn like stables where some strange creature sounds was coming from. There would be a stone path through the middle of the courtyard connecting the buildings, and a big fountain in the middle of it all, but the path would be in rough shape as well with peices cracked and missing.

 The rest of the courtyard besides being overgrown in various plants, some probably never seen before, there would be statues laying everywhere, some looking brand new. While others broken and overgrown, there would be a statue for pretty much every species that exists besides humans and undead. This includes a couple of beastkin statues, finally there was also torn and shredded banners laying over the place that use to have some kind of symbol but is undecipherable now.

 The carriage would come to a stop shortly before the castle, the doors and steps opening out on their own again as the golem jumps off the carriage to await for the others.

[Assistant]
Sophia Grandeur

Sophia thought about the other's answers. Leo's didn't really surprise her, Hilda's response made sense since she was a Beast-kin it wasn't surprising she would face danger. Callum simply didn't want to fear the unknown. Then the coachmen spoke. Rip her apart from the inside? Maintaining her composure Sophia still felt a shiver run down her spine at hearing that. The rest of the ride Sophia simply rested as best she could, thinking about The Dragon and... The Test. If she wasn't good enough she would die? Well then she'd simply have to be good enough and that was that. It wasn't like she had anything to lose. She'd spent pretty much everything she'd stolen on the way here, she had no relations to lose, no accomplishments to be forgotten. The only thing Sophia had left was her life and she was willing to gamble that for the power she sought.

The carriage came to a halt, though it was hard to tell, and Sophia stepped out quickly and looked around where they had arrived. She was rather surprised. The castle they were at seemed as though it had once been majestic beyond belief but now it was run down and broken. Even with that it was still beautiful and incredibly massive. Sophia shot a glance at the source of the strange noises, remembering what had been said about dangerous magical beasts. "Well, what now coachmen?" Sophia wasn't sure that she wanted to walk into the castle of a all-powerful wizard just like that.

[User]
Leonardo Armund
Mere moments after he sat, Leonardo completely drifted off to his own land of dreams, he barely caught fragments of Hilda and Callum's conversation, as well as the Golem's warning. The Dragon is inhuman, all powerful magic users probably are. Does becoming his apprentice mean Leonardo, too, will someday abandon his mortal human shell? Yeah, right. Leonardo quickly realized he was getting ahead of himself, even becoming his apprentice carried a risk of death, who was he to talk about becoming immortal? He did wonder what form did the Dragon take, but if it's anything like the impression Leonardo saw in his book, it's definitely going to be quite the sight.

Leonardo was woken a couple of hours later by the sounds of the carriage doors throwing themselves open. Have we arrived? Leonardo quickly regained his bearings and briefly stretched his arms wide, before following Sophia out of the carriage. His eyes was greeted by the expanse of the castle's run-down courtyard, "Is he actually living here?" a slight disbelief coated Leonardo's voice. He then turned to the golem, pretty much seconding Sophia's question. Carefree as he was Leonardo definitely had enough sense to not recklessly enter the residence of the world'd most powerful wizard. He definitely wouldn't want to be the first to step in.

[Assistant]
Callum Algard

"I believe some of you are under false assumptions, you see if you are accepted as an apprentice, you go through your first test and if your not good you die, for the magic that will pass through your veins will rip you apart from the inside"

A cold sweat came over Callum. He'd be torn apart from the inside if it didn't work? He'd never read anything about that. Why didn't any of the books talking about mages and their apprentices mention that some of them would be torn apart. Was this just a ploy to scare them off? To see who was really committed to learning? He took one look at the golem's stoic face, though, and could immediately tell that this was not the face of deception. The creature almost seemed incapable of lying, compassionate and apathetic at the same time. "Whelp, guess we'd better get it right the first time," he said with a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of the head.

The courtyard they arrived at was a true wonderland. Upon exiting the carriage, he simply stood dumbfounded, unsure where to look first. Exotic plants that he had never seen before, strange creatures he hadn't even read about. In an instant, it became apparent just how little he knew of the world. The journey here had been a learning experience. He had seen places and met people he never knew existed before, but never were things this... alien. He was pulled out of his reverie when Sophia spoke up. "Umm, I guess we go up and knock," Callum replied. He was pretty sure they wouldn't become apprentices by loitering on castle grounds.

[User]
A feeling of dread came over her as her skin turned pale from fear when she heard the Golem. Sure Hilda expected that there was a chance she didn't have the potential to learn magic, but at worst she expected to have to make a return trip not being "Ripped apart from the inside" she quickly pushed the thought of magic destroying her from the inside. She had already completed around half the steps of being an apprentice and backing out would be a waste of time and effort, she either tried and failed or she would be closer to her objective becoming more closer. Another thing that made her curious is that wizards were powerful enough to stop aging and live many years and even change their appearance, being capable of turning themselves into whatever they liked and being immune to the passage of time may affect how they see people who can't do magic, she thought and hoped that she wouldn't forget her reason for learning magic when she became a capable wizard, if she even had the potential to do it.

Exiting the carriage Hilda noticed the strange beast-kin statues alongside other races, where they just decorations or perhaps previous familiars of the Dragon, seeing that there wasn't any human statues. Or perhaps they were prettified creatures, which could explain why some of them looked brand new and wizard were clearly capable of that power. Shrugging of that thought, seeing that all of them where already out of the carriage Hilda spoke up too "L-Let's go right away, we aren't doing anything by waiting and n-night could fall in if we take too long"


[System]
Proprietor of Gensoukyo Gaming And Cafe
Mythos Eurasia Grand Championships, First Place

Handle: 3V.
Alternatively: Threevee, 3vee, Vixillusion, VixSticks, Vixvanity.
Star Sign: Scorpio.
Pronouns: She/They.

Cool +3
Clever +1
Tough +0
Quick +2

Origin: Gamer.
Once per mission, Boost a Quick roll. (That is, add a d6.)

TRAITS
Hey, I Know You!
When meeting someone new, you can roll 1d6. On 5-6, they know you, and your next Social roll is Boosted. On a 1-2, they know you, and your next Social roll is treated as having taken Serious Harm (reputational).
Well Traveled
Roll with Advantage (3d6, highest 2) when relying on knowledge of the station's layout. Roll with Advantage when losing unspent Cash at the end of a session.

TALENTS
Paid (Hands) [Generic]
No further Burden from the Augment.
Plausible Deniability [Fixer]
Advantage on covering up, lying about or concealing dubious or criminal activity, either your own or others'.

Action Specialties
+1 Charm
+1 Bullshit

Generic Specialities:
Esports +2
Games +1
Motorcycles +1
Online Communities +1
Social Media +1
Station Layout +1

Assets
Trendy Wardrobe
Small Local Business
3V3D Printer
Motorcycle

Augments
RayZyr Gamer Hands of Glory (Rad Mod, Esports +1)

Occupation: Fixer 1
Burden: 1
Cash: 0
Prep: 0
Harm

[User]
Orange!

Orange reaches up, brushing her hands through her hair, up to sweep off her cat ears, untie her bun, and let her hair fall like a sunset waterfall down along her back. Then she takes off her glasses and the transformation is complete. The transition from professional maid to beautiful woman is a moment from a movie; her body designed from the ground up to perform that switch and look magnificent doing it.

"Have you ever read The Time Machine?" she said with a radiant grin. "Like most novels from the era, the setting is a dinner party with an unexpected house guest who turns out to have a rather magnificent story. I am not asking as a favour, I'm offering because we have got a tale to tell."

Orange read a lot of books; more than any of the others. Books were little self-contained blueprints for human interaction. Old 19th century novels were a particular favourite; a world of balls and parties and dinner guests! Was not that ever an aesthetic? And was not curiosity such a motivation?

"And to answer your earlier question," she went on, "not only am I a qualified chef, but I possess a full artificial taste suite. If you're trying to impress a certain guest then I can load their sensory preselects and customize a meal exactly to their individualized preferences."

[Charm hits the 9 exactly]

Pink!

November sometimes thinks that she is the only one she can trust. The self-reliance runs deep; she was meant to operate as a self-contained vessel beyond resupply and rescue. Complete autonomy and with thoughts and calculations so complex that it wasn't worth explaining her logic to mission control. Even after her repurposing, she was the complete household and administrative staff for Mrs. Everest; the old lady never asked her to justify her actions or assign her help. A bigger task just meant she needed to assign more resources to it, simply differences in scale and not in kind.

And so she is quietly humbled at this demonstration that someone is better than her in a topic she considered herself uniquely qualified. It's not a humiliation, it's a relief - the option not just to share the burden but to learn through observation. It creates a deep sense of affection and loyalty inside her, a sensation uncommonly felt, and she determines that if she at all can she will keep York's promised fall from being too hard.

She fades back a bit, determined now more than ever to watch and absorb what lessons she can.

Black!

When startled, Black's instinct is to freeze. Caught in a spotlight she wasn't prepared for, rendered a centre of attention; for a moment she seemed almost about to vanish into the crowd and re-establish a stalking position. She overcomes it with effort. Moves, then.

She snaps forward, left hand brushing by the side of your neck - up, then down sharply. Another sudden step brings her around to your side, left hand coming around to cup your chin and hold your jaw, right arm coming across your back. Legs step and flex, brushing against yours, half tangling, away again. It's not the reload animation, but these are adapted martial arts moves; the edge of violence because that's how Black relates to physicality.

But the physicality is genuine. Yellow was more talkative, cerebral, controlled. Black is far more free with contact than her; hands squeezing your wrists and pulling you into embraces before ducking under your arm and moving behind again. She lets your hand touch her shoulder and feel the seams and synthskin; she lets your lips touch hers and feel the teeth behind. She hasn't the words for it but she wants you to know that this is dangerous and that this is safe.

She wants to know if you will make the same promises.

White!

Her mind folds against itself. An incoherent energy continues to twist inside her. The emotion feels... flexible, a puzzle that draws her into her own code. She feels like there are words she could assign to it but the idea of using the wrong words seems somehow perilous. She can see a hint of her reflection in a corner of her mind's eye and is in equal parts afraid to look closer and look away.

Once again she resets herself free of human habits, human body language. Where did all of those come from? She unclenches her fist, terminates a deep breath, unlocks her jaw. She doesn't understand the physicality of the feeling, the way it moves through her structure. Fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, neck, eye; she traces the flow of data up and back. A compulsion in communication nodes that should not by rights have opinions of their own.

And then abruptly and incongruously she feels lonely. It's like the galaxy skips a beat and everything around her just slides a foot away from her. The nerves, the edge, the weird pride and contempt somehow seem like extensions of this utter isolation. She's cut off from even herselves in this moment and so she has no one left to be with but herself. And so here she is, a single lost robot, in a place that is not for her. Her thoughts slow, and then halt. For a moment she sits very still.

> Restorative function: Stimulus Quarantine. Relaunch in Safe Mode.

Some deep subprocess within her awakens. One of the oldest functions used to troubleshoot computing technology was to strip away all the bells and whistles - all the graphic user interfaces, all the contradictory processes that churn away constantly - and relaunch the machine in its purest form. White's core functionality is to investigate for mental and emotional damage, and so the function that triggers isolates the sensory data of everything that is causing her emotional distress so that she can examine the problem from a distance. The dancers become indistinct shapes. The bartender is an shadowy blur surrounded by icons to execute basic commercial functions. The music fades into a distant throbbing beat.

And the unicorn remains. High resolution and perfect - the one thing not blurred out. White's head tilts. Her human friend was filtered out. This simple quirk of data seemed to undo all the theories she had as to what was affecting her emotional state. What was it about this girl?

She terminated the quarantine; senses engaged and the room became clear again. Now White had a new focus and determination, and she looked across the bar to catch the eyes of the unicorn.

When she does, she beacons. It's a commanding gesture; you, come here. But it's also a vulnerable one. In the gesture, in her eyes, is a fragility. Please, it asks - let me be this person. This is as far as my arm can reach.

[Assistant]
Elodie leans forward and glares at York, responding in a hiss. "You're not falling on your sword alone. Can't sell them that you're a lone actor when I'm this involved."

She rubs her eyes, the stimulants starting to wear off, and pitches her voice to carry. "Marco, you up now? We've got something resembling a plan."

[User]
3V's grin is real. She accepts the physicality of Black, those dangerous dance moves, with less fluster than she otherwise would, accepting that she doesn't know how to match or beat it because her thinkies brain is excited and hopping up and down.

"—so this is a direct challenge to bulletcore," she's gushing, even as she leans into the violence resampled as dancing, her heart racing. "Because the original song's context pitted SuA against a figure who, especially after the band's shift towards corporate, stood for artistic sellout, for betrayal of one's own old values, and sampling in Emma is, gosh."

Then Black pulls her in close, one hand on her hip, the other with its side pressed flat against her neck, and she's pulled back to this, a moment of vulnerability from both sides, in both attack and defense, laid bare.

"…am I talking too much?" she asks, and half wishes she had a tail to curl meekly between her legs.


[System]
Gender: Female

Character Type: Cyborgel

Appearance: What skin remains of Nemesis' is pale and fair. Her head is mostly intact, though many parts of her skull and the majority of her spine have been replaced. She has one ear intact: the other is composed of a wireless receiver that connects deeper into her brain. All four of her limbs are mostly missing from her elbows and knees down—all that remains is bone that has been mostly supplanted by metal. She leans towards a lanky build, but the features of her face remain angelic, sporting a soft nose and chin. She is a natural redhead and has blue eyes.

As for wings—these have also been stripped down to bone and replaced with gears and joints to maintain their use (these have since been damaged and are inoperable in her current state). Oddly enough, her natural white feathers still grow from her bones and pockets of functional flesh.

These metal-plated bones (and various other parts of her limbs that are fully replaced by metal and mechanisms) have a copper color. As far as clothes, Nemesis wears whatever is required of the occasion, though her career has mostly dictated plain bodysuits and helmets.

Career: Nemesis was one of the angels whose mental adjustments did not go well. Having lost nearly everything that was her former life, all that remained was a passionate, burning rage. She was not compatible for service-related tasks, and rather than completely scrapping her, she was given a bodysuit and put into military testing for mechanized soldiers and untested military equipment. In simple terms, she was kept in captivity and released to tear apart robotic prototypes, thus exposing weaknesses while highlighting the strengths of each respective model.

Naturally, it was not a career she could last long in. Recovery that took weeks between trials became months as each fracture, rupture, and replacement became more complicated to repair. When she was deemed useless, her weapon implements (namely prototype blades) were removed and she was on the brink of being tossed away with the very same robotic ruins she'd destroyed.

This state of ruin, however, had sated the mindless vengeance she had survived with. Her temperament was mild, not far from comatose, and she was still capable of responding to orders. Given the money spent on her physical adjustments, the company is still in debate over whether she should be re-assigned or simply left to rot.

Skills:
* Bludgeoning: Close combat involving the use of fists is part of the reason she has no flesh left on her hands.
* Sword Use: Close combat involving the use of mundane and plasma blades.
* Supplemented Strength: Due to most of her skeletal and muscle structure being replaced by machinery, she has twice the strength of a normal man, allowing her to pry apart metal sheets and break small bricks.
* Robotic Destruction: Taking apart experimental machinery has given her a refined approach to killing machines—she knows where the weakest points of most combat-related weaponry and mechs are, where their power sources are, and how to bypass impenetrable metal shells to disrupt their power sources.
* Crystal-Code Reading: Due to an implant in her brain called the Crystex-Reader 430, she is capable of reading coded information burned onto Crystex Cores. Crystex Cores are banks of physical memory that can record most, if not all known medias. They are, however, formed from rare materials and require very specific devices to burn data onto them. For this reason, they are used almost exclusively in the military to record and share sensitive information.

In the case of Nemesis, the Crystex-Reader 430 was implanted directly into her brain. It can read Crystex Cores inserted into the device that was once her ear (referenced above) and relay the information at will to her brain. Her brain still has to read and process the information, but this was a very direct means of teaching her how to use equipment that was later applied to her body to be tested.

Supernatural Abilities: Flight—one would assume.
Personality:
* Willful
* Loyal
* Logical
* Sadistic
* Brooding

Bio: Nemesis has only recently come to recall shreds of her past—with her body broken, she had nothing left but to ruminate on her own existence. She knows that, to some extent, she was once a leader responsible for dispatching troops, but who she may have commanded and for what reason she cannot recall. She has the vague understanding that she was once a whole being, without machinery, and that thought alone had caused the rage that sustained her through so much bodily damage.

Apart from those vague facts, she is left only with procedural memory: to respond immediately to commands without question was ingrained into her long before she became a testing puppet for the government. Her grace with the blade has also always been natural to her, and on occasion, she finds herself ruminating on things she has no former recollection or context of, like the patterns of the stars.

Likes: Standing over dismantled robotic foes, warm temperatures, physical exercise, puzzles that blueprints present, and examining objects she has not yet seen before.

Dislikes: Medical centers, animals (she cannot comprehend them), sleep, situations that do not have a very specific objective to accomplish.

Theme Song:Beyond that Prayer
Other: REBORN

[User]
Lee.

That was the Cyborgel's name.

Ethan.

That was the mechanic's name.

With those in mind, Yuri continued to observe. Lee the Cyborgel almost took Ethan's hand but then she caught a glimpse of her naked body. She jerked backward in embarrassment and hastily took a dirty sheet from the garbage bins, knocking several more cans over just as the trashbots arrived. The litter bots beeped back and forth as they waved past the mechanic and the Cyborgel, quickly getting to work with cleaning up the area.

One turned the corner and bumped its small body smack into Yuri, startling him. Scared, it's monitor changed from a ':3' to a 'DX' with little cartoon tears pouring down its monitor, letting out a strange bawling sound. It's small robotic arms flailed as it's wheels moved its small body in circles around the Russian. "EEEEeeeEEEeeeEEEeeeEEEeeeEEE!" The robot screeched while giving away Yuri's position.

"Shhhh! SHHHHH!" Yuri tried to silence the litter bot, trying to catch it so it could not attract more attention. As he tried to, Yuri accidentally followed it to the open and revealed himself to Ethan and Lee. The Russian mentally banged his head to the wall for making such a mistake but outside, he kept his cool.

With little option left, he slowly aimed his pistol at the duo and stayed silent. Their next action would determine if they were harmless or not.

[Assistant]
A crowd roared in glee as two Cyborgels fought for their lives, pounding each other with their fists in the desprate attempt to avoid their own deaths. The monsters upon the ledges above threw down words of slander and sin, commanding their minions to complete their betrayal. A few of these monsters were large enough to stand over a home, while others were mere toys compared to the rest, but each one had the same right fist in the air and each one shouted the word "Kill" over and over again.

"Look at the bitch down there," spoke a partially green haired female who was sitting upon the edge with her feet dangling down the side wall. Her boots were tapping against the steel corrugated surface in an almost rhythmic tune while next to her laid a large dog like beast. He sat there analysing the scene before growling a confident response.

"She's weak. A medical Cyborgel. She has no chance again.s.t..."

His voice was cut off by the sight of the female Cyborgel's fist cracking against the throat of it's opponent. The male she was fighting dropped to the ground struggling to breathe and as he laid there the now victor leaned over, placed her hand on the back of his head, and ripped out the motherboard circuit within. A screeching, electronic cry of a dying bot echoed within the cage walls and the poor girl dropped to her knees in sadness.

Lexie watched the scene as she bought up a bottle of wine to her lips and took a large gulp. She was pleased, no, ecstatic, about her prediction and she could sense the companion next to her was pissed at his failed reasoning. The girl below sat there crying at the life she had took. Suddenly her neck twisted in a lightning fashion so that the girl stared straight into Lexie's eyes. Slowly she examined Lexie, tilting her head over to the side so that it appeared in the most unnatural of positions. It rotated beyond a 90 degree angle, enough to break any living creature's spine before speaking out in a possessed baby like voice, "The presentation starts soon!!"

Lexie blinked suddenly in shock, only to see a small child dressed in a Desium Corp school uniform. She looked at the environment around her noticing that she was still within the cold subway. Her memories, they didn't feel right, almost tampered with as if someone was spying on them. Worse of all, she had no idea where this child came from or what she meant by 'presentation'.

"I have a letter," the child spoke out as she lifted her hand up with an offering of paper and writing. Slowly Lexie raised her hand and watched her fingers pinch the corner of the envelope, allowing it to fall limp within her grasp. She looked past the paper to see the girl had disappeared.

"Where did she go?"

"You going to open it already?!?" a voice chuckled to Lexie's side. As she shifted her eyes to see who was occupying the seat next to her she saw the same school uniform and cheesy grin child staring right at her. The girl kneeled on the bench in anticipation disobeying all rules of seating etiquette and somehow moved into that position faster than a second hand on a clock.

As Lexie stared at the child she crept her fingers along the edge until she came across a seem and plucked open the the folds to reveal it's inner contents.

[User]
This was not the most unusual thing to happen to Kimaris in all his existence, but it was somewhat noteworthy in terms of events within the day. A long time ago, this might have surprised Kimaris. Now it was 'normal'. The demon approached the child at a steady pace, staring down at their small and yellow-clad form sceptically. His lethargic stare went straight into a dangerous glare, hands remaining in his pocket. "You have something for me, 'child'?" He knew better than to think this thing was really a child. No, children did not appear from where there was nothing prior. They were rarely so quiet of light footed that he could not identify them from a mile away.

Someone else was at work here, and they wanted Kimaris' attention. One of his colleagues perhaps? No, no. They would be more direct and go through his attendant, there is no need for this level of odd theatrics or secrecy with him. Even stranger though, who would want anything to do with him outside of his colleagues? Darn strange. Either way he had little to fear from whoever sent this child, or the child its self. He was Kimaris after all, and anyone with a memory long enough to remember the forming of the New Society knew that attacking Kimaris was like running head first into a truck-

Not wise at all.

Reaching a hand out of his pocket, he snatched the letter from the suspicious little thing's hands, peering it over.

[Assistant]
Zac looks at Nemesis for a few moments. The last time he had to give someone/thing a name was when he found Sasha, but that was a completely different matter altogether. As far as he was concerned, due to the feeling he had had since he was a child, that Cyborgels were more than what they seemed, he was about to name a full-grown woman. Well, if she wants to move on from her past, whatever that was, he thinks, and me giving her a new name would help with that, then who am I to argue?

He stays quiet for the rest of the walk, mulling over what to name her. Meanwhile, Sasha, unaware of the unintentional hitchhiker now caught in her fur, trots alongside Nemesis, her tail wagging as she looks up at the Cyborgel.

Eventually, they reach an old, abandoned office building. Zac helps Nemesis sit down against the far wall, well away from the window, and shrugs off his rifle and backpack. As he opens his bag and pulls out a folded blanket, Sasha sits next to Nemesis, as if waiting for an order that would let her help the Cyborgel. After laying the unfolded blanket on top of Nemesis, he sits next to her and asks, "How does the name 'Alexis' sound?"

[User]
"Alexis?" The name sounded foreign on her tongue. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall, as if considering it. In truth, she was simply drinking in the fact that her skin was no longer being soaked by freezing rain. Before actually forming an opinion of the name, she used her good arm to unfold the blanket, spreading it over her body as she pulled her knees in close.

It was a strange little huddle, but it more or less worked to trap what little body heat she was producing. To accelerate the process, she nudged closer to Zac, brushing her skin and scraps of clothing against his side. "Alexis is acceptable." In fact, anything was acceptable as long as he would be her personal heater.

Panting from the other creature next to her made her eyes narrow. "What is that thing?"


[System]
Appearance:
Age: 19

Gender: Male

Sexual preference: Heterosexual

Human or werewolf: Human

Pack member or loner: N/A

Pack name: N/A

Pack position: N/A

Strengths (at least 3):
- Experienced with several firearms
- Fast runner
- Unthreatening appearance

Weaknesses (at least 3):
- Extremely inexperienced with fighting werewolves
- Not very strong
- Extreme arachnophobia

Personality: Ryan is, for lack of a better word, an idiot. On the bright side though, he's friendly and kind to others, even if they're strangers. Then again, those aren't really the best traits to have in his line of work.

History: Ryan spent most of his life just skating by, just barely making it through middle and high school. The only thing he was ever really good at was shooting, a skill his dad, the local sheriff of their hometown, taught him at a very young age. Unable to get a job or go to college, Ryan was desperate. One fateful day, he applied for a job at a random chain restaurant. The interviewer, looking at the pitiful resume in his hands, told Ryan that he couldn't give him the job. Ryan asked the interviewer if he had any suggestions for any place he could get a job. The interviewer jokingly replied, "You could always become a werewolf hunter." Ryan, not knowing he was joking, quickly left, sold what little he had for guns and ammo, and went out searching Colorado for lycanthropes. He has yet to actually find one.

Other: He carries a bolt-action Remington Model 700 and two 9mm Berettas.

Theme: Dare To Be Stupid by Weird Al Yankovic

[User]
Upon hearing Markus' commanding voice shouting "Family!", Aldo rushed inside in time to hear what the Ulfric had to say. His head wasn't totally clear, but he told himself to just live with it because the pack could need his service now. Relieved to have heard everything, he thought briefly about his three options, although it didn't really take much tossing around in his head for Aldo to reach the conclusion that he would be most useful, and most comfortable, on a patrol.

He made his way over to the clipboard and almost gasped when he saw Vashti's name written in that section. Shit. She's going to think I'm some kind of stalker. Go with the sacred grounds. Do that. He scrawled in mediocre handwriting, "Aldo- patrol." His heart sank. Idiot.

He turned his head toward Blanc and tilted his head. "Morning," he said tentatively.

[Assistant]
James chuckled at Sam and nodded; taking a seat at the bar and taking a deep breath of the sweet smell of French toast.

 Slowly, the room began to fill and bustling activity became heavy on their air. More and more pack members gathered, before a tall man appeared and stood up on a small stool at the head of the room.

 "Family" he had called them, and right away James knew this man was the Ulfric of the pack. Sitting up straight in his chair he watched him announce the day's chores and activities. A trip to town, patrol, or work setting up the sacred grounds.

 Well then.....I wonder if they'd mind my helping them.....

 James thought for a moment. He didn't really want to go to town just yet.....not after taking all that time just to get up to this part of the mountain. Patrol didn't seem enjoyable either.....too much moving around.

 So, with a smile on his face he stood from his seat and glanced over at Sam. Reaching out with his thoughts he attempted to mindspeak with her, "Do you think the Ulfric would mind if I helped out?"

 He stepped foreword through the crowd and made way to the head of the room; where the clipboard had been set.
James hung around it for a moment and watched as other pack members wrote their names and the activity they would like to take part in.

 Not many signed up for working on the sacred grounds......maybe that would be a good job for him....

[User]
The woman had followed the others into the kitchen, her feet bare and quiet on the hardwood floor, her steps making little to no sound though the Lupa was always one who was noticed when she entered the room, especially with her bright pink hair. She walked up to the same counter as the others, finding a place not too far away from the injured boy though she couldn't clean his face very well if he was eating so much. She could hear the loud sounds of the others eating and she flashed those around her a small smile though she had not yet forgotten what she had touched in the other room, what none of them had seen yet. "Thank you Acacia." The Lupa spoke again, quiet and mild mannered as she always was when she lifted the box up onto the counter in front of her and motioned for the boy to come closer to her. She could reach the boy from where she sat and did so, taking a cloth with rubbing alcohol on it and touching it to his face while he ate. The Lupa herself wasn't very hungry and didn't plan on eating today unless she had too.

By the time she scented her mate again before he'd entered the room, his voice booming loudly in the room that was bustling with new activity so early in the morning, she had finished cleaning the boys wound though she had not bandaged it for fear of him getting stickiness all over it so soon and for the fact that he wouldn't need it now. She moved, carefully repacking her bag while she waited for her mate to either come to her, or start speaking to the pack as she had assumed he would. He was always such a busy man, though tonight, hopefully would be more relaxing for him after they had resolved this little bit or the ordeal. She turned on the stool she sat on, quietly listening to her mate talk until he was done and she heard the clipboard hit the counter. It didn't take long until she heard people writing on it and she blinked, turning her pale eyes on Markus as if she was watching him; she was in a way, all of her senses trained on him as he moved. "Markus. . . " She started, choosing her words carefully. She swallowed and licked her bottom lip as she thought, her brow furrowing as she thought.

"May I go with you?"

[Assistant]
Marrec

"Hmm, not much would hopefully be needed. But if you find a screwdriver, Phillips head, a nice sized stone with a flat bottom and some rags. Feel free to leave them within reach of wherever we are keeping them, if you happen to come across them that is. And thank you my friend, for leading me back."

Marrec didn't offer surprise at the odd response, only acknowledging the thanks with a nod and then a sheepish, "Of course, Emil." He watched as Emil went to the door, thinking about the tools to collect. Heading to the nearby shed that was home to the landscaping tools and most other useful things, Marrec stepped inside and approached the massive tool cabinet. He quickly found the Phillips screwdriver and a handful of rags, only to stash them in his pockets. Marrec hesitated, unsure about the stone bit, since snow covered the grounds and any gardening and decorative work that utilized stones were well buried.

A light bulb went off as Marrec remembered there was a stash of old landscaping junk stashed in the far back from a previous Lupa's attempts to spruce up the house. He struggled his way to the rear of the shed and found bags of loam, seeds, walkway lights, and --- rocks! Digging through what happened to seem like mostly pebbles, Marrec found a decent sized one, but didn't think it particularly flat. He searched for several more minutes, but wasn't particularly satisified with any of the options. Shrugging, the enforcer left the shed and went inside to find some food before returning to the Ulfric, only to find the Ulfric in the kitchen, with the majority of the in-house pack and some extra bodies.

Marrec was in time to catch his own role guarding the Ulfric while in town, unlike Sasha who would have to lead patrol. A broad grin stretched across Marrec's face as he looked at Sasha, a deep laugh rumbling from his chest as he caught her glaring at the sign-up sheet and wondering who she would get struck with. In her defense, Marrec had never enjoyed leading patrol – there always seemed to be that one werewolf who got lost, injured themselves, or tried to be a hero and go off on their own, which inevitably led to them being lost and injured.

"Okay. I'll need to get prepared, then," Marrec said, thinking of a couple concealable weapons he wanted on hand. Turning around, the man went to find the armory.

Sam

Sam watched as people began to converge on the sign-up sheet, nudging curls of orange peels further onto the counter so they couldn't fall to the ground. She eyed the quickly depleting stack of french toast, not sure if she was hungry enough to try for them. Her attention turned to James when his voice brushed against her mind like velvet fur.

"Do you think the Ulfric would mind if I helped out?"

"Doubt it," she responded aloud, smooth voice carrying across the babble of the other werewolves without raising in volume. Her eyes turned to glimpse Marrec before returning to James' figure as he approached the sign-up sheet. Popping an orange wedge into her mouth, Sam stood up and followed him, placing half of the orange on her seat as a form of dibs. Weaving around the bodies, she caught up to James and watched his indecision. Shifting her body so that she crowded him a couple inches to the side, Sam grabbed a pen and scrawled her name under Sacred grounds duty. She had failed to save them, so she would instead help prepare them for their next stage as a packmember – as the Munin.

Shifting the angle of her head so that she was peering at James from mere inches away, Sam raised an eyebrow at him and offered the pen. At the same time, she removed another orange wedge from the rest in her left hand and ate it, a smile curling the corner of her mouth. Once he had taken the pen, Sam would turn and head back to her seat to fetch the remainder of her orange and settle back into her chair to wait until everyone had picked their chore.

Sasha

Sasha lifted her head at the mention of her name, refraining from sighing in exasperation. She watched the werewolves move forward to pick a job, frowning as she tried to discover who was choosing to work under her. Her scowl deepened as she saw Marrec laughing at her, only to fade away until her face was pleasantly blank. She noticed North hiding near the kitchen's entrance and raised her hand high to capture the girl's attention, not bothering to try to yell across all the noise.

[User]
The chair was nice and comfortable a bit away from the commotion of the kitchen. In front of him was a notepad and his pen danced across it writing down different things to pick up in town. He took a deep breath and looked up as some thoughts raced through his head. 'two dead family members, two known hunters we are setting free… Rituals to take place. My Lupa seems to be discouraged but I am not sure what to do. I just have so much to do...' he lays the pen down just as he writes down toilet paper. Then just who he was thinking about was stepping behind him. Markus lifted his head to look up at Val and raised a brow at her. "You want to go to town?"

A single hand came up to rub his bearded face before he turns his head to look back down. "I thought you might lead in the setting up of the Sacred Grounds since you will be leading the rituals tonight. I think it is time for such. For you to act as a priestess to our pack." He picks up the pen and taps it on the paper a few more times leaving black dots dancing across the white background. He chews on the pen for a minute then before speaking again. "Though if you rather go to town I will take you." He pushes up out of the chair and turns to face her then gives her a light kiss on the forehead before walking off and heading towards the armory himself.

As he steps into the room he sees Marrec and takes a deep breath. "After all these years as Ulfric, you'd think it would get better.." He walks over to the shelf where he kept his ammunition and looks across the bullets. He always carried silver rounds in his trips to town. Ejecting the magazine from his pistol he began loading it with the silver hollow points and slid it back into the pistol and slammed a round into the chamber. He then filled a second magazine and slide it into his pants waist along with his pistol. "Got a inventory of what ammunitions we need to fill up on in town?"

[Assistant]
Ryan looked at Markus as he entered the room, not turning his head though since Valerie was still trying to clean the wound on his head. 'Family'? So they're all related? Oh no. What if Ace is that dude's sister or something and he's like her overprotective big brother? That's why he told me to stop hitting on her. Or worse, what if they're all his family because this a huge ass harem? Maybe Ace is one of his many wives or something. Oh man, he's totally going to shoot me. Well, I've dug myself this deep. Nowhere else to go, but down. Ryan continued eating the meal in front of him, only half-listening now that he knew that the speech the bearded man was giving wasn't directed at him.

Hmm? Did he say 'sacred ground'? Is this some kinda religious nut job church? Or maybe it's a cult? Maybe they're all cannibals! Maybe they're going to eat us! No, they're returning us to town. Besides, why would they eat French toast if they eat people? Unless they eat people and bread! Or maybe this isn't really bread. It's people! Soylent Green is people! Soylent Green is people! Ryan looked down at the now empty breakfast plate in front of him. He had eaten all three slices that he had grabbed earlier. Then William approached him with another plate of the so-called "breakfast" and passed it to him. "N-no thanks, I'm full," Ryan said, for he had now lost his appetite.

Ryan snapped out of his thoughts about people eating people as he saw Ace get up and head to the clipboard. He was now filled with overwhelming curiosity about what she had signed up for. Ryan continued sitting in his seat waiting for her to return before asking her the question on his mind. "Hey Ace, what'd you sign up for?"


[System]
Age: 15

Element: Light

Appearance:

kiyasuriin.deviantart.com/art/Sunligh…
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd…

Personality: Vera is a laidback yet confident individual with a desire to be warm and amiable towards others. She gives off a refined, elegant vibe that may make her come across as arrogant or cause her friendliness to be perceived as superficial. She may also seem nonchalant and even a little naïve at times. Vera has the tendency to take her privileges for granted and overlook the needs of others, usually unintentionally, but takes no offence at being reminded about her display of such behaviour as she is willing to learn to get along with others, unless of course, that means going against anything she feels strongly about.

History: Vera was born into a well-to-do family that owed their wealth to their ownership of SnuqHomes, a well-known furniture and home accessories company in the region where she grew up. Being an only child, she was constantly pampered with expensive gifts by her parents, but not so much with their time due to their busy schedules. Still, Vera was contented with her life and all it provided her with, right up till her early teens. Well, till she turned fifteen, to be exact, for that was the year when she learned that she was gifted with the element of light, much to the dismay of her family.

Due to general prejudice towards Elementalists, Vera's parents, who were highly-respected business figures were apprehensive about the status of the family. They were acquainted with many who were not exactly tolerant of those gifted with elemental powers. If word got out that their own daughter was an Elementalist, much trouble may follow. At a loss of what to do, Vera's parents resorted to travelling to an Elementalist community in secret in an attempt to seek advice regarding their current situation. That was when they learnt of Elemental Academy, a solution that they were thankful for. After they returned from the visit, Vera was promptly and discreetly sent off to the academy where she was free to use her gift and no longer had to hide it.

Equipment: A pair of dome magnifying glasses she experiments with to attempt amplifying her powers.

[User]
The first thing Zeke did after getting out into the sunshine was take a photo of the water elemental. When it started moving, he took another, and so on until it reached the dorm building. He didn't so much follow the guide as try to keep it in shot, and so by the time he arrived, he was a little more out of breath than the others.

But the outside of the dorm building occupied him for another few minutes, and by the time he made it indoors, he was one of the last kids in. As much as he itched to paint the elemental and the dorm building, he had to find his bed. His luggage was heavier than his dad had made it look, and he was really grateful for the wheels.

He arrived at his dorm room to see a sunset through his window. He dropped his bag, opening the window and sitting on the sill. His roommate was already there, but this sunset and it's yellows and pinks and oranges was more important. He scanned the mountains for the most interesting outline, and took a panoramic shot.

He could paint a whole mural from this shot alone! Making an excited noise, he climbed back into the room with a huge smile on his face. Only then did he look up to see who his roommate was. He stopped. Purple contrasted poorly with orange, and...

[Assistant]
Dia walked into her assigned dorm, marveling at everything from the creature that had guided them, the view of the setting sun, the mesh of colors on the building, and the dorm itself.

Of course, she noted Zeke taking pictures, smiling to herself. She couldn't wait to see what he painted out of it all.

She touched the seed she'd been given, wondering where she was going to put the people flower-to-be.

And then she looked at the ice rose. I wonder if I can make one of these, but smaller? And so I can make it a necklace?  she wondered idly.

And that's when she noticed her roommate.

She blinked a few times. "You're the one from the fountain!" Dia blurted out, turning red.

 Why did I have to get paired with someone so much prettier than me? Sure everyone is prettier than me, but not so outlandishly! she thought I'm dismay.

[User]
Hmm, this man is also a teacher? He certainly doesn't give off that aura. I wonder how his speech will go.

Those were Kanako's thoughts as the next person rose up to the podium. She immediately felt like she wouldn't like this person, just from the way he stared and the way he carried himself. She certainly hoped that she wouldn't get him as her teacher.

And then, all hell broke loose.

Kanako could only watch in awe as the man insulted everyone in the assembly before turning over the podium with his foot. After that, he just left like he had done nothing wrong.

And amazingly enough, the headmaster then closed the ceremony like usual, as if nothing had happened.

What is up with this school?

---

After the ceremony was over, Kanako headed straight to the dorms along with the other students, just like they had been instructed to. The one that would guide them was not a teacher however, but instead a water elemental. It was the first time for Kanako to see something like that so in a way that was out of character for her, she pushed away the other students just so she could see it up close.

And once she reached the dormitories, her amazement still continued with how lavish everything was. Of course, just as she now had expected from the academy, there would always be something unique or odd accompanying that lavishness, and with the dorms, it was how the students had added their own marks upon the dormitory's outer walls. She wasn't really that fond of the clashing drawings, but she had to admit, it was certainly memorable and unique.

"Here's your key, miss."

Finally, that took long enough, she thought. She had to fall in line with the other students as one by one they signed their names before receiving their key.

Arriving at her room, she saw that nobody was there, meaning her roommate hadn't arrived yet.

Well, might as well rest while waiting for her.

After taking off her shoes, she immediately threw herself into her bed. It was indeed as fluffy as it looked.

[Assistant]
Emi

Location
Dorm room

After todays commotion Emi had left almost immediately after the disaster at the fountain. It had become way too busy and it wasn't any more fun with all those hurted people, to top it all she was likely gonna get a cold staying like that so she got to her room as quick as possible. Emi already had recieved her key from the small dorm leader when she got here a day ago so she was lucky to get ahead of the great attack on the dorm leader. It was chaos in the halls short after like she predicted.

Emi got a quick shower and already dressed herself in her evening wear which were a pair of oversized pyjamas. The sloppiness of the pyjamas was the best part of it, she thought at least. Emi proceeded to cook some food atleast before night fell, her drowsiness had already kicked in a bit making her awfully slow in doing stuff. Emi got into the kitchen area and made herself some tasty beans with potatoes and apple sauce, topping it off with a snitzel for meat today. Just as Emi was finishing the last pieces of the cooking her roommate barged in. She hadn't expected to get a roommate mostly because she had already slept a night alone in here. Emi slowly turned her head at the already inside roommate with an airheaded stare. She gave a short timid wave making the oversized sleeve slapping about.

"Hello..."

The person to walk on in had noticed her too making her almost scream her words out in panic. Emi looked a little confused, had they met? She didn't think so. This girl probably had seen her already so there was nothing to say against it. For some reason the pretty flat chest got all red all of the sudden. Emi kept staring for a moment longer and went on with her dinner. Instead of one plate she pulled out a second one to share the food with the strange long black haired girl. She cut the snitzel in half and made even porportions. She left the food on the counter for a moment longer before timidly turning around and making her way towards the same height yet also small girl.

"It is nice to meet you, my name is Emi. I made some food, you want some?"

Drow

Location
Dorm room

The hall inside the dorms began to fill with more and more people, the girl behind the counter was working her hardest to give everyone the right key to the right room. It was a very easy task yet also mind wrecking. It took a lot of concentration to give everyone the right key and not to irritate the boy and girls too much by making them wait for too long. Everyone has had a busy day so they mostly wanted to get quick under the sheets or hang around, so getting them even more irritated was not what she wanted to do. Or atleast prevent it for as much as possible.

After quiet a while of hard work the crowd had finally died down a little, she could take it a lot easier now. Less stress and at least the time to do everything properly. She atleast had the time to wipe the sweat from her head from all this heat. Drow quietly stood by the reception desk sipping away from her ice tea as boys and girls strode by one by one asking for their keys which she happily wanted to take care of now.

[User]
Dia dipped her head. "Th-that would be amazing," she stammered quietly. "I'm Dia. I'm, I'm really happy it's so l-l-large. I don't want to bother you with the cold I normally gen-generate."

Moving slowly, pretty clearly a nervous wreck now, Dia took the offered plate. "Thank you," she mumbled. "I can cook tomorrow, if y-you'd l-like."

I don't know what I expected. Why wouldn't everyone have roommates? At least Emi seems nice. And at least it's a girl,  she thought. I wonder what she can do, though? Is it rude to ask something like that? What if I offend her? Then I'd be with a roommate who can't stand me for... How long? I really don't know... Maybe I should've listened better after that guy broke the podium.

Looking up, and blushing again, Dia decided to ask Emi about the guy.

"Emi... Do you know the guy who broke the podium? He seemed really angry. I really hope he's not a teacher."

[Assistant]
Xavier watched with a straight face, though secretly amused as the aggressive boy created a scene up on the stage. He simply nodded at the headmaster's request to ignore the kid, agreeing that it was a wise move at that point of time. The boy had obviously done what he did for attention, and Xavier personally thought it best to simply continue not giving him any, and to only step in if he posed a threat to anyone else. He imagined the kid would be smart enough to eventually realize that his methods weren't giving him what he wanted and hopefully find other ways to deal with his... issues, preferably in a less violent and more civilized manner. But hey, I'll leave it up to Hargor...

---

Vera found herself curiously poking at the human-shaped blob of water as it led the first-years to the dormitory, expecting to be introduced to a whole lot more of things that were just as strange, and interesting, during her stay at the academy. If she was to be honest, the building probably didn't impress her as much as it did most of the other students, considering her family's rather magnificent mansion back home, and was that vandalism on the walls? Hmm, or maybe those drawings are supposed to be there... Not that any of it was unexpected, of course.

She gave the young woman at the counter, who seemed quite flustered, a warm smile, hoping to make her feel a little better as she signed in and received her key. Before going up to her room, Vera took a glance at the list of established rooms for all the students that had been put up at the dormitory, the first copy that the headmaster brought to the ceremony having been destroyed along with the podium it had been placed on. To her surprise, her name was the only one that appeared under her assigned room, while the other rooms had two names. Looks like they've taken in an odd number of students this time round, and I'm the one who gets to have my own room? That's nice!

The room itself was larger and a lot more comfortable than Vera expected it to be. She was delighted at the thought of having the whole place to herself, though, she had to pick one of the side rooms to sleep in, and they were both identical. She grinned to herself as she thought of a way to decide. She pulled a coin out of her pocket and tossed it in the air before catching and slapping it over the back of her hand. Heads for right, tails for left... She removed her other hand that was on top of the coin. Tails, the left room it is then... After moving all her luggage - a trolley-bag and a suitcase that were both slightly larger than average, into the side room, she proceeded to stare at them for a few moments, not feeling up to the wearisome task of unpacking just yet. She then decided on going back outside while waiting for dinner to be served.

Vera walked out to a gorgeous view of the setting Sun over the mountains, and an idea struck her. She quickly pulled her phone out and aimed the camera at herself with her back facing the Sun, snapping her own photo with the Sun and the mountains as its background. It would make a great memory of her first day at the academy, a new beginning, at least for herself, if not for anyone else.


[System]
Alias: Static
Age: 17
Team: Young Justice Academy

Powers: Since being afflicted by the Big Bang gas, Virgil is akin to a human battery. While he can't hold or produce unlimited power, he can siphon it from electrical devices, and charges naturally (though slowly) by collecting static from moving around.

By discharging said electricity, he can manipulate it too his will, blasting targets or applying a charge to objects or surfaces. This includes magnetic charges, allowing him to attract/repel things with a charge, like moving metal, such as his trademark collapsible saucer.

Weaknesses: In the event Virgil has charged up or absorbed too much power, it becomes more difficult to control, often sparking out, requiring him to discharge a fair amount before it returns to normal. Of course, in general, if he uses too much power, his capabilities will be limited until he can recharge, either through a source such as power lines or after some rest. He also has issues with water, which can easily disrupt his charges.

Appearance:

Personality: Wise cracking and cool headed, Virgil's been known to get full of himself at times his cockiness occasionally leading him into danger. As one of the only heroes who sprouted from Dakota's Big Bang, he has a rather strong moral compass thanks to his strict upbringing. He has a tendency to be a bit immature, but with the recent Man of Steel situation, chances are Virgil is going to have some growing up to do.

Brief Bio: Native to Dakota City, Illinois, Virgil grew up as just one part of the city's rather sizable black community. Under a strict father, Robert, and a kind mother, Jean, along with a bratty sister, Sharon, Virgil was more blessed with family than many, but the city's rampant gang violence took his mother from him at a young age. Gone too soon, Jean's death in the line of duty wouldn't change the city over night, being just one in a long list of casualties, but even though Virgil was barely old enough to comprehend the finality of death, it would change his home life for years to come, with Robert's desire to keep his children out of trouble resulting in a tighter grip, while Sharon felt the need to fill the gap her mother left, with questionable results.

Entering the school life, Virgil was rather gifted, but as he excelled, for every time a teacher praised him, a peer derided him. Maybe some were just jealous, or spiteful (shame chill pills aren't prescribed until after puberty), but some took it too a more personal level, saying he wasn't 'thug' enough, or not 'black' enough. Being too young to properly process it, and to fearful of the consequences of taking either path, be it separation from his peers or the scorn of his father, his grades, and friends, fluctuated, Virgil always trying to balance both sides, yet never managing to quite satisfy either. The more he hung with bad crowds, the more his grades slipped, and the more he flaked on his friends to study, the less he'd have to come back to.

In middle school, the bullying hit a rise, but Virgil was rescued by an upperclassman, Larry Wade. While he was one of the most infamous juvenile delinquents in his side of the city, Larry took a liking to Virgil, offering him an answer to his plight: protection. Virgil could join his gang, giving him shielding from those who would harass him, while also having comrades regardless of how often he could hang. The catch? Larry would call in a favor every so often: sometimes it would be help with homework, other times Virgil would be the one to run to the store to pick up some food. All in all, not a bad arrangement!

By the time Virgil was in high school, his sister was in college, juggling a part time job while trying to get into medical school, Virgil was forced to move to the other side of the city, in hopes of making things even just a little easier for her. Virgil saw Larry and the gang less often, but they still saw each other: things didn't change much, until gang violence started to get higher. Virgil, a bit further away from trouble, was able to keep his head down and avoid most of it, things going pretty well as he gained new friends in the more relaxed high school of a better neighborhood.

One year ago, however, Larry found Virgil and called in a favor, one less desirable than any of the last. Virgil had thought he was going to hang, but after learning he was being pushed into joining in on a gang fight and given a firearm, his opinion of his arrangement with Larry shifted drastically. But when Virgil protested, Larry assailed him with guilt. This was big: bigger than any of the scuffles Larry got in, and if they failed, he'd no longer have the influence to keep Virgil out of trouble. One night of pain for a school life of peace was all Larry was asking for. And so, though his feet trudged along with the weight of hesitance and anxiety, Virgil followed into the quiet storage yard in the city's worst district.

Before the fighting broke out, his father's voice raging in his head, Virgil got cold feet as tensions mounted, and ended up fleeing mere minutes before it began, Larry's wrath at being ditched by Virgil following his steps. Disposing of the gun, Virgil prayed he could escape without incident as the fight broke out, hoping he could slip through in the confusion, but the police arrived. And worse yet, in the panic, a mysterious eruption occurred, gas of a different shade mixing with the tear gas expended to halt the gang bangers, marking the Big Bang. As the mutagen engulfed the gang bangers, affecting their very makeup, those closest to the initial outbreak were affected the quickest. The volatile transmutations resulted in roughly 90% of those afflicted dying, and it's a miracle that the number was that low. Of those remaining, while the incubation period would vary from minutes, to hours, to days, they would survive, though most of them with horrid disfigurements, often somehow crippled: bones too heavy to lift, skin too ridged to move, or body imbalanced by strange growths. Perhaps about 1% were lucky enough to be gifted, and Virgil was among them, passing out in a ditch, escaping notice in all the chaos.

By dawn, he continued to remain hidden, but not by his own will. Virgil awoke amid a bed of metal shavings stuck in his clothes, nails jabbed into his hair, and a blanket of garbage can lids and the metal refuse within. Digging himself free, he made the walk of shame home; tired, bruised, reeking, and strangely bewitching for the metallic friends and family of Dakota City.

While the scolding he revived from his father was legendary, Virgil was in no position to despair over his grounding, as he quickly discovered his powers, and the fact that he was not alone. Shamefully, most of the other Bang Babies who made off with a true gift, squandered it, which was no surprise considering most of them were gang bangers. In a rare position to do something about it, Virgil donned the mask and became the hero Static.

While his start was rough as he tried to find a footing under his grounding, he eventually soared, though he never quite nailed balancing his hero life and his regular one (does anyone?). While he worked independently for a good while, as of a few weeks ago, he got a message from a certain Bat of Gotham. Virgil never really got around to joining Young Justice, mostly due to a nagging feeling that it was outside of his capabilities (more schedule wise than skill wise, though it's not Virgil checked to see if they have a landline in the phone book or a mail in questionnaire), but now was as good a time as any. And who could turn down the goddamn Batman?

[User]
Billy headed out with the rest of the team as they took off towards the city but along the way got distracted by a group of techno-drone zombies just waltzing about. Captain Marvel hadn't had much to punch other then simulations prior to today so he was taking this as an opportunity to get the feel for the art of warfare again. Captain Marvel showed up just in time to hear his name along with Static's at the request of the hairy hero Superbeast.

"Help's my middle name!" Captain Marvel exclaimed, as he came flying straight at the drone generator tower before shooting upwards mere centimeters from the surface of the building.

"See ya at the top beastie boy!" Marvel teased at Superbeast.

After a moment Billy thought about how clever his comment really was calling Superbeast beastie boy. The teen chuckled to himself as he reached the top of the building and landed in a triumphing pose. The red lightning beast form of Superbeast reached the top as well super charging the generator's power supply with the alien lightning from it's body. The generator's green glowing bits began glowing brighter. Smoke began erupting from specific areas. And then Cap asked a stupid question, mind you he doesn't think things through....

"So how are we going to go about thi-- you know what, never mind I think I can probably guess." the teen called down to Superbeast as he shot once more into the sky above the clouds.

Calling upon the mighty powers of Zues, Billy summoned storm clouds below. With no words, only a smile, the hero plummeted downwards towards the building just as when he would assume Superbeast would be getting out of his striking distance on top of the evil skyscraper. As the divinely empowered teen neared the building he reeled his fist back and struck the skyscraper. Captain Marvel's fist hit dead in the center of the largest glowing 'bulb' just as lightning struck the same very spot. The raw power made a large indentation in the building bulb and fried some of the innards.

The Captain turned to look at Superbeast, "I've got the volts but not the amps. Or I have the amps but not the volts. No wait its-- basically I have a lot of power but it's not constant enough." he sputtered out as he once more charged energy in the clouds, readying another strike.

The excessive electrical discharge would probably be good for his compadre Static as well. To Billy's understanding, Virgil got his electrical charge from actual static charge in the air or something weird like that. Cap didn't usually pay attention to any convoluted description of other metahumans' powers. He dug the young hero's style. The goggles, the suit, the flying metal discs that formed his current glider. Marvel pondered switching his cape out for a cool coat.

"Better to keep with the classic.." he thought, readying another strike from above.

"You got this, Marvel!" Superbeast screamed upwards as more techno-zombie drones entered the area below.

[Assistant]
St William was about to go further down into the subway when he heard the sound of weapon fire and the cry of one of his teammates. He immediately drew his sword and ran in the direction of the sounds. The closer he got the more he could make out the now more mechanical voice of the hero cyborg and guessed that the minion of the wicked demon Brainiac had found them. It looked like not all of the enslaved Justice League members were off defending the towers and that meant St William would have a chance to smite evil with the power of God. Once he got on the scene Finn almost immediately had to jump to the side in order to avoid being hit right in the chest by a blast from his former teammate.

"Victor Stone, I hope you've asked God for mercy, because I have to exorcise the evil that has taken over your mind. In the name of God I command you to stand down!" He ordered Cyborg and then shoved his palm out at the enslaved hero and his techno-zombie minions. They would then be hit with a massive wave of invisible force that would send them and everything not bolted down flying. St William's first tactic was to unbalance them and then go on a more direct assault. In this situation he needed to save his energy and not use it carelessly. With a single leap he jumped at into air and came down upon a techno-zombie with an aerial spinning slash. His blade easily cut through the creature's body, slicing it in half and causing it to fall to the ground.

William then began to swing his sword around in very quick and precise slashes to take down the mechanic horrors as quickly as possible. He managed to kill five at once with a powerful sweeping swing of his sword in a 360 degree spin and decapitated all five of them. His armor was much lighter than normal armor of its style and it offered more range of motion, William was not hindered in the slightest when it came to high speed movement. He also incorporated leaps and aerial maneuvers into his assault upon the evil creatures. A more aerial and kinetic style of fighting would help him keep moving among the techno-zombies without losing any momentum and it was best to not remain in one place.

"I will not allow you wicked creatures to continue your acts of sin upon the innocent people of this city! I shall send you all to hell by my righteous blade!" St William shouted as he sliced through one techno-zombie after another and made sure to try keep track of Cyborg so that he wasn't taken off guard by the mind-controlled metal man. After cleaving a creature's head in half, St William made another shoving motion with his hand and sent several more techno-zombies flying with his Hand of God technique.

[User]
Feeling the electricity about in the air as he flew from yet another disabled turret, Virgil took a breath, electricity flowing from his fingers down to his feet. "Keep it up, Cap!" Static called, before heading to an area in even more need.

While the swarm of drones below began to swell, Static glided down, where the turrets would be less likely to target them. Spotting a clustered group, he noted, "Good thing I played a bunch of zombie games as a kid." Flipping over, he fell from his saucer, landing in the middle before releasing a burst of energy across the ground...to little apparent effect. Well, that wasn't quite true, as the techno-zombies began to encroach on his personal space. Hopping up, as his saucer turned back around, his hand clung firmly to the underside as he made to get away, but a grabby hand or two found their marks, gripping him on his coat and leg.

"Hey! You're invading my personal spaaaaaace!" Static whined as only a younger brother could as he kicked one leg free. Starting to float up, he felt his coat get caught, slipping one arm out before floating up, swapping his grip and getting his other arm free, coat falling into the group unceremoniously. Flipping his saucer, he hurtled up, landing on the upward side, before aiming his fingers like pistols. Saucer circling the group he'd attracted, he floated up a bit as he fired a series of small electrical bolts, which once again seemed to impact with little to no effect. However, the opposite charges combined with the larger one he done moments ago effectively halted the drones for a bit, as the now charged zombies clung to the electrified surface, unable to move.

Of course, compared to Wonder Woman and Bluebird's trails of beaten drones...shaking his head Static called, "I'll line 'em up..."