[System]
Hector is 5'11" tall and has long, dark hair which reaches his shoulders. Although he often went to the gym with a friend, when he was on earth he lived a very sedentary lifestyle and didn't control his diet. He was overweight and had poor posture, but since coming to Alma Terra he has burned off his fat and quickly built muscle, straightening his spine and giving him a commanding presence, albeit not a graceful one. He is now only 195lbs, much of it muscle.
Age: 17

Pre-Transport Story: Most of Hector's peers considered him intelligent, in fact they would be surprised to know that he was an underachiever in high school, only doing the bare minimum to pass. He was born into a normal American household, but it didn't stay that way for long. His family had its problems and his parents split up.

Hero Object: The Lightning Rod, as seen in the above image.

[User]
Earlier that day, Outside of the capital

Just off of the main road, hidden away in a small copse of trees were a group of men and women watching the gate. "Are you sure you have to do this Anthony?" One of the rebels said, her accent and the way she pronounced his name making it sound like 'Antony' "I'm positive, and if i don't go Gaius will call me a dishonorable coward." He said. "All of this skulking around is dishonorable, but we shall never refuse a summon when the horn calls we come. And perhaps we can find a peaceful end to our conflict." Gaius said, seemingly speaking from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
"Well i don't know the man, but he can't be good if he let his land fall into this state, and let people outside the walls die."
"Perhaps he does not have enough men to fight."
"You and I both know that is not the problem, and besides from what little memories you have you've beat back entire armies with less."
"Did i? I can't seem to recall."
Anthony just shook his head, and adjusted his gear waiting for a way to enter the city, and it came in the form of a retinue of men lead by someone in heavy armor, even from where they sat they could hear him as he addressed the guards acting very much like a king, but to Anthony he was just another loud mouthed fool peacocking for his gathered men.

But then the man pulled out a rod and a single bolt of lightning came down and struck it. Startling the guards and the horses of his men, Anthony took back what he thought about the man peacocking whoever he was had a hero object and the power to back it up. "Go now, under the carts." Gaius urged him, but he did not require it before he knew it, he was moving as quickly and as silently as he could taking advantage of the momentary chaos caused by the bolt. He managed to get under one of the supply wagons, and hang onto the bottom of it. When the wagons were a good distance away he let go dropping into the street getting his green cloak all muddy not that anyone would notice seeing as the cloak was all dirt, mud, and field patched anyways. With the caravan firmly out of sight, he disappeared into the crowds of the city.

Later that day, the palace
Anthony didn't linger for very long, instead going straight to the palace and scouting it out. He waited for what felt like ages for the right moment but in reality it was only a few hours. He resigned himself to entering through the front door, approaching the guards they looked at him curiously. "You look familiar." One of them said, and reached for his sword. "I left the party for some fresh air, perhaps you saw me enter?"
"No, I could of sworn i saw your face on one of the wanted posters."
"You must be mistaken."
"I'm not mistaken, you're that rebel!"
"Whatever you do don't fight them."
The guards grabbed Anthony by the collar and pulled him to the ground. "Nice, try traitor." The other said and dragged him into the palace. The nobles turned their gazes to the guards dragging in this scruffy rebel by the collar of his tunic, they slammed him to the ground in front of the king. "This rebel was trying to sneak in through the front gate M'lord." And with a bow and a swift kick to the ribs to a fallen Anthony the guards left the room. "You didn't fight them I'm very proud of you Anthony." Gaius said, "Tell that to my ribs." He said aloud, and looked to the king. "You going to have my head right here, or you going to have the courtesy to offer a chair to a guest?" He said, staring the king right in the eye from the floor unflinching even with the dull pain in his ribs.

[Assistant] Nolan frowned as the guards brought in someone they refereed to as a rebel and shoved him before the king. Frankly he was surprised that he hadn't received the same treatment, he had been under the impression that killing nobles tended to do that. Apparently no one liked the ones he killed any more than the mistreated peasants they ruled over. Or they were to scared to do anything about it, he thought cynically. Sighing he polished off what remained off the food on his plate and left ignoring the slob next to him and was about to walk over to the king when he noticed someone waving a staff around and looking incredibly awkward. Sighing he walked over to the nervous person and said, "Come on then, the king will want to see us sooner or later might as well make it now." and then proceeded to do just that, walk over to the king. The other nobles of course parted to make way for him like he was the plague and he heard several whispers of "murderer", and "assassin", he simply ignored them nearly as disdainful as Loden. As he neared the king he respectfully bowed rather than fully kneeling like was no doubt proper, "I would say I hope you don't think of me as to forward but I really don't care, so why exactly are we here?" Loden sniffed haughtily, "Doesn't look like much of a king to me."

[User]
Robyn stays toward the back of the banquet, leaning up against the wall. Dressed in her dark clothing, she had hoped that no one would notice her, but she has already had multiple walk up to her and congratulate her. As they come and go, the swords whisper to her and she cringes, not wanting to give into their blood lust. She does not understand why they call them Heroic Objects, when these swords at anything but. She stares at her boots when suddenly there's a commotion across the hall. Her head flies up and she sees a young man being dragged by guards into the banquet. They throw him at the feet of the king and she lurches of the wall, looking toward them. The man looks faintly familiar, but she does not know where from. The man makes the comment and Robyn bristles angrily. She stalks over to them.

"You may want to show a little more respect, sir," she says angrily. "This man could end your life and I can already see in your eyes that you do not want to die." Her fingers itch to go to her swords, but she steadies herself. She then realizes what she has done and turns to the king, bowing before him. She kneels to one knee, placing her fist on the floor. "I am sorry, Lord King. I must have lost my head."

You cannot lose your head, for I am always in it. Yūkan'na, her katanas, whisper to her. She swallows hard and ignores them.

[Assistant]
After the Heroes made their entrance several were immediately trapped by eager ladies in waiting and barons hoping a friend of the Hero might earn them a place higher up in the food chain of politics. The food and drink were distributed liberally with plenty of both for the crowd. One hero made his way to the king and gave a formal voice of thanks. This seemed to please the king who smiled. "It is I who should thank you young Hero. Please a savior need not kneel. It is us who are in your debt." The voice betrayed the Kings appearance which was one of an older man. Instead his voice, like the hero object he possessed, rang out loud and powerful even echoing some as those around him drew quiet.

The reason for silence seemed to multiply after a group of guards pulled a young man forward. The face now recognized by many as the one on the wanted posters. The mans name was unknown and he was simply known as a bandit. Since his attacks on caravans both traders and the kings own he had been getting more and more recognition. When the man is thrown in front of the King he turned to the bandit and frowned.

"It would seem we have lost our manners when hosting this hero..." His voice was low and threatening to the guards. They quickly started to defend their actions pulling out a poster, but were quickly silenced by a wave of the Kings hands. "I pardon all acts against my seal this man has committed." There was no murmur from the guards. Instead silent nodding. The King then walked over and pulled the young man up onto his feet. "It would be wise to learn you are not back home playing a protagonists journey. Learn to adapt instead of create more chaos. Not knowing the larger picture can make you the bringer of disaster." This was said in a high whisper.

The mood was now dapper and the King quickly signaled for the band to play bringing life back to the party. "My captain has informed me that you all come from the same home. It is understandable that you all have much to catch up on. I too would like to hear of how you came to be chosen as a hero." The King was again standing with his strong voice and aged body. Still his eyes seemed to twinkle like that of a boy in a candy store.

[User]
Sean Evans,
Outside the Capital

The Lord of the realm assigned twenty men to accompany Sean on his summons to the capital. They traveled on horseback under the cloud covered sky. Perhaps we should move quicker… The daylight is all but gone for this day, the moon is coming round - wouldn't you agree?, Sean heard the voice of the nameless ring insert itself into his thoughts. "I wouldn't want to tire the men by having them move faster. We have already been traveling since noon." We are likely to be late, many have already arrived. Sean was a suspicious as to how the ring knew such a thing, but he figured he wouldn't bother with it, the ring was likely to give it's usual reply - 'I do not know what you are talking about.' - the ignore all future mention of it.

After many hours the gates to the capital were in sight. Ah, the capital. It has been many moons. The ring seemed to be reminiscing. The clopping of hooves echoed as they made the transition from gravel to cobblestone roads. The moon was high in the sky by this point and the clouds seemed to not have moved at all. We are most certainly late. The ring maintained its calm demeanor. We must find ourselves an audience with the king - there is likely a gathering of the heroes.

The clopping of hooves suddenly ceased. We must have arrived. The ring seemed to be relatively satisfied. "Captain Heinsworth. Why have we stopped?" Sean road to the front of the guard.

"They're approaching us, my lord." Heinsworth steadied his steed.

"Who are you?" One of the three guards, who were approaching, called to Sean and his guard.

"We are the honor guard from Rathe, escorting the bearer of a Hero Object." Heinsworth called back.

The city guards were close enough to see by this point. They carried torches and one a banner. At the mention of the phrase 'Hero Object' they turned and began discussion silently. They turned back, "May we see the Hero Object for confirmation?"

"Of course!" Sean rose his staff so they may see it and the glowing stone atop of it. A glowing, blue, mocking bird fluttered about for a few seconds.

"My lord, please come this way - the king is expecting you.

At the Banquet Hall

Sean had arrived later than the rest and so, hadn't had a chance to make his way to his room - he was given a chance to change his garments to a more formal attire. He was then positioned behind a door, staff in hand, leading to the banquet hall. The other object bearers will be behind other doors.

"That would make sense." Sean realized something the other day, but hadn't brought it up yet. "When you told me that I was destined to be here, you refused to elaborate... Is this it then?"

The voice remained silent. After a while, it spoke. When you get out, try to make the king's acquaintance. The ring had ignored him, it was as he had expected it to happen.

He could hear a muffled voice from the other side of the door. It then opened and the king, himself, introduced all of the object bearers. Sean stepped through the door and joined the party.

[Assistant] Nolan's brow furrowed in response to the king's words. They had all come from the same place? Then someone else must have vanished from that field trip, he turned to examine the black-suited women more closely, it was clear now. The year spent in this world had changed her but now he could see that if she came from the same place as him she must be Robyn Silverman, the super-smart girl who was always reading. And the only girl he had a crush on but was to embarrassed to ask on a date. Loden hissed angrily, "This is no time for your wasteful emotions to occur!" Nolan colored slightly but it quickly went away and he hissed back "Shut up, this is no time for your spiteful and suspicious words either," Nolan sensed a sulky silence from Loden but refused to say anything else, luckily as far as he knew no one could hear Loden but him. Although he was positive that the women was Robyn he still had to make sure so he asked her, "Would you perhaps be Robyn Silvermna?" he asked somewhat nervously. He wasn't sure whether he wanted the answer to be yes or no and he didn't know how he would respond anyway.

[User]
"It is I who should thank you young Hero. Please a savior need not kneel. It is us who are in your debt." Just as he had hoped, the King was a humble and wise man, everything Faust had imagined him to be. Clearly, he would listen to reason when it was presented.

Before he could reply to the King's gracious gesture, there was a disturbance. All eyes turned away from Faust and to the guards as they dragged a criminal before the King, hurling him to the floor unceremoniously and delivering a crude amount of abuse before the assembled nobles. He used the commotion as an opportunity to rise to his feet. He possesses an object, Rod whispered, by way of warning. Despite that, Faust placed a hand on the hilt of his blade, ready to wipe the insolence from the other hero's face, but the King was quicker in offering mercy and kindness. As was to be expected of so noble a ruler, although even he thought that pardoning the criminal was taking it a step too far.

"My captain has informed me that you all come from the same home. It is understandable that you all have much to catch up on. I too would like to hear of how you came to be chosen as a hero." The King stated, as the mood of the banquet hall returned to normal.

"Your Majesty, who is this captain you refer to and how does he come by knowledge, if I may be so bold?" Faust queried, showing a hint of nervousness before continuing. "I, Faust the Thunderous, was born into this world but one year ago. I know little of anything that may have occurred before that, nor will I let it have any bearing on my actions."


[System]
Madcap Mechanical Menace
Basic Information
Species: Dwarf
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Class: Rogue
Appearance:
Like most of her race Henrietta is shorter than most other races, but she still stands a good couple of inches taller than most of her own people. Heavily influenced by the technologies of both the Tevinter and the Qunari, Henrietta has built herself a 'battle-harness' which incorporates any number of weird and wonderful gadgets to help her keep safe in battle.Curriculum Vitae
Specialisations: Artificer, Sabotage, Subterfuge

Notable Traits:A Gadget For Every Occasion: Whenever the opportunity presents itself Henrietta loves nothing more than to dismantle and rebuild her battle-harness, upgrading and improving its design with her latest madcap invention. She always seems to have some sort of gadget to lend a helping hand to a situation, even if they don't always work in exactly the way she had intended them to.
Mechanical Mastermind: Henrietta is a genius when it comes to mechanisms, machinery and motorised marvels of all kinds. There are very few devices which, with the proper instruments and time, she cannot discover the purpose, function and operation of.
Mind Over Matter: Fully aware of her physical shortcomings, Henrietta's battle-harness has built-in strength enhancing gauntlets designed to increase the power of her punches and enable to to fight back against anyone who might try to take her inventions away from her. While this only makes her as strong as an average warrior, it still packs enough of a punch to help Henrietta out of tight corners.
Duck and Cover: The only reason Henrietta has survived this long in her experimentations is her innate ability to know when something's just about to go dreadfully wrong, and having the speed and skill to make herself vanish just before someone asks the question "Who the hell blew up my forge?"
Flaws:Fade-less: As a dwarf, Henrietta has no connection with the Fade and cannot use magics in their normal manner. While she has a resistance to lyrium in all its usual forms, she can still be affected by red lyrium over long periods or in large enough quantities.
Loose Screw: While none can doubt her skills at forging and crafting components for her latest creations, Henrietta has a habit of missing out minor, but often key, components when constructing her devices. Nine times out of ten this isn't a problem, but the tenth time... DUCK!
"What Does This Button Do?": When faced with a mystery, especially a mechanical one, Henrietta just can't stop herself from giving it a poke. Sometimes this habit of practical experimentation leads to great rewards and breakthroughs in knowledge, but at other times it can lead her and her comrades into trouble.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Henrietta is obsessed with the number three and often has to do minor actions, such as stirring her broth, washing her bowl and tightening screws, in multiples of three. While this has no immediately detrimental effect should she not be able to complete the action, it will bug her for the rest of the day, until she can finally complete the sequence.
Skills: Spike Trap, Elemental Mines, Caltrops, Hook and Tackle, Throwing Blades, Knockout Powder and Stealth
Backstory
Biography:
Born on the surface, in a clan of dwarves living in Nevarra, Henrietta soon showed an inquisitive and curious nature which was only fed by the love of her blacksmith father. Quickly learning the ways of the hammer and tongs, Henrietta set out to discover new ways to make metal work, developing skills in precision crafting and forging which enabled her to build smaller, more efficient mechanisms each day. When the Nevarran Military discovered the young girl's gift they immediately travelled to her small settlement to make her an offer she couldn't refuse, to turn her skills towards constructing war machines which would make Nevarra the envy of the world.

Asking for some time to think over their proposal Henrietta and her entire family swiftly scarpered, leaving their village behind them to seek out a safer, less intimidating place to set up shop. For several months the dwarves journeyed around the shores of the Waking Sea, passing through numerous countries on their way, the family eventually found themselves in the shadow of the Frostback Mountains with seemingly no way to pass.

Settling down the dwarves began doing what they do best, mining. As they cut their way into the side of the mountains, uncovering ores and minerals which could be used to craft their wares, the dwarves were surprised to come across red lyrium buried deep within the rocks. Not realising what this strange material was they happily began forging it into their armour, weapons and trinkets as an adornment to their creations. Soon after they found themselves under the gaze of the Inquisition, who demanded to know where the red lyrium had come from.

After revealing their mining endeavour the dwarves were quickly evacuated from the area, for their own safety. WHile the move was sudden the poor innocents were treated with the utmost respect and soon found themselves working their trade under the Inquisition's banner. CHurning out arms and armour each day held little interest for Henrietta though, so instead she set to work building herself the means to help the Inquisition more directly, and had soon created a working prototype of her battle-harness. When presenting the mechanisms to the Inquisition forces they were less than impressed, mainly due to Henrietta managing to accidentally demolish part of the kitchens in the process.

Seeing the potential in the young and eager dwarf, and not wanting her anywhere near them when her mad inventions finally managed to reduce the area around her to a smoking crater, the Inquisition forces made enquiries as to the need amongst their allies for a blacksmith-come-death machine, and Henrietta soon found herself in the company of the Company, brave mercenaries who treated her with the utmost respect and courtesy, from as far away as they could politely get.
Personality and/or Motivation:
Dreaming of nothing more than machinery, cogs and gears Henrietta seeks to learn everything she can about the physical sciences, and to be the first to build something spectacular. She doesn't know exactly what that something may be, but she is most definitely certain about the spectacular part.
Player's long term goals:Henrietta can be an important part of any quest, her skill with mechanisms and devices extending to locks, traps and secret doorways just as much as to machinery and engines. I'd like her to have the opportunity to build steam-aged machines to help out the party, if she can work out the science behind them first.
Relations:* Henrietta's family are currently sheltered by the Inquisition, working as blacksmiths and trader on their behalf.
* Although her family once had times with the Noble House of Harrowmont, as a Surface Dwarf Henrietta has no contact with Orzammar and only limited knowledge of dwarven beliefs and traditions.
* While not Andrastian herself she holds a deep respect for their faith and accepts many of their customer and rituals as her own.
* Henrietta is currently wanted by the Nevarran Military, although as they only wish to recruit her they wouldn't want to take any overtly aggressive actions against her, least they drive her into the hands of their rivals.

Secrets:The power supply for Henrietta's battle-harness is a refined red lyrium reactor, which harnesses the power of the strange element in order to make her mechanisms function. The long-term effects of exposure to the material, even in its heavily shielded state, are currently unknown, and should the containment ever be breached the red lyrium could adversely affect everyone Henrietta comes into contact with.

[User]
"Live... You know, Etta, I'd ask if you're serious, but I don't think I want to hear the answer."

Fredrick heard Martin's announcement and shook his head.

"Bah." Fredrick said.

"Bah. Bah!" he repeated angrily, getting up and approaching his tent.

"Good night, fuckwaffles! Wake me up and I will come down on you with the wrath of an angry god!" he said, before slamming his tent flap.

Mangy followed, barking an apology for his master's behaviour as he entered the tent.

[Assistant]
Cassius looked at Fredrick. "Waffle...? Do those even exist? I mean I'd know..." He shook his head.
"No such thing, as a testament to ignorance of others." He furrowed his brows.

Cassius however simply nodded. "Still didn't fully answer my question. I'm asking for a biological construct, not a history of what they are. But I suppose that information does not hurt to know either." He smiled as he laid down.

"Though we could talk in the morning." He waved a bit as a sign he was dozing off.

[User]
The early hue of dawn was peaking up out of the cover of the night's sky. Karras had opted out to go ahead to and scout ahead for any signs of trouble. He had been scouring about throughout the night after a shaky voyage across the Waking Sea. There had been only but a few dog sized spiders wandering along the edge of a nearby forest path, until a few well placed arrows through and in-between carapace took care of that problem.

 Any other forms of danger or threats seemed to vacant of the area as he went over traversed through the area again. Letting out a satisfied grunt, he slung his great bow back over him and made his way back to were him and the rest of the mercenary company and made their landing. It took him some time to return, seeing that the sun had nearly rose up and the dark night dissipated. Karras could smell the wafting scent of meat burning over a fire before he even neared them meaning that they were already up and bustling about.

[Assistant]
Martin greeted the breaking dawn by breaking wind, loudly and persistently for a full minute before finally rolling onto his back and rubbing the sleep from his eyes with both hands. With a spluttering cough and a loud groan the old soldier slowly rose up onto his feet and started making his way around the burnt down embers of the campfire, still glowing slightly as the last of the fresh wood from the night before was turned to ash.

Some of the party were already up, sitting around chewing on whatever it was they'd found for their breakfasts, but quite a few were still tucked up safely in their beds, wrapped tightly against the morning chill. "Al'right, you maggots!" He called out at the top of his lungs, swinging his boot into one of the militia members of the Company whose bedroll just happened to be the closest at hand. "Time to get yerselves up and awake. We'll be heading out within the hour and I want this place cleared and stripped by then."

Turning away from the grumbling malcontents Martin made his way out into the bushes to make his morning ablutions before finding his way down to the small stream set a short way from the campfire. Washing himself as best as he could be bothered he strapped his armour into place and made sure his sword was securely in place before heading back to the rest of the party.

Most of the work had been done by the time he got back, the serfs and minions of the Company well versed in the art of breaking camp and already stowing what needed to be taken with them on the old wagon which served as the baggage train for the mercenary group. Stepping over to his bedroll Martin pulled it back to reveal the heavy, iron-bound chest which was the Company treasury.

"Any problems?" He asked, looking up into the tree overhanging his bed. He didn't need to check if she was there, he knew she would be hanging close this early in the day, preferring to wait until night fall to move around on her own.

"Nothing to worry yourself with." The silken voice replied, its every tone sounding like a threat to someone's life. Despite how long he'd known the girl Martin still found himself wondering at time exactly where Nighthawk had learnt to talk like that, and what horrors she'd visited on the people who lived there in the process. And he never doubted she'd been the horror in whatever wild places they may have been.

Hoisting the chest up onto his back, bracing it against his shield, Martin hobbled over to the waiting cart before lunking it down beside the sacks of food and the spare arms. Lifting himself up beside it Martin settled himself into place as he carefully watched the others preparing for the road ahead,

[User] Gerald had little to prepare. He had spent the time in the morning preparing his supplies: Flasks of fresh water, elf foot, and other various things that could be useful. Nothing special and nothing out of the ordinary. Knowing the deep roads from the books he read in his time at Kirkwall he knew that the places were going to have stale air and as such he prepared a small cloth to act as a block between his mouth and the air while still allowing him to breath. It was more or less a minor safe guard that he could tie around his mouth in order to keep any possible diseases lurking down there to have a harder time getting in through his lungs. He grabbed his staff and hung it from his shoulder as he looked around and sighed deeply. Not a person who enjoyed talking to fools and loud mouths he had the pleasure of working with. He just hoped they were right and he was wrong and this moronic journey into the deep roads was actually worth it. If it was he'd eat his words. If he wasn't....well he'd probably be too busy dead to bother bad mouthing them for their life choices.

[Assistant]
With a loud explosion and a cloud of smoke Henrietta's 'bedroll' lifted itself into an upright position and unfolded like some monstrous metal morning flower before collapsing back down into a small. easily portable box. Bending down, her armour and equipment shiny and polished as if she'd spent the entire night cleaning them rather than just sleeping in them, the dwarf quickly plucked her bedroll up[ off the floor and dropped it into her pack.

Moving over to the wagon she hoisted the large bag up over the side, making sure the delicate contraptions inside were secure before turning her attention to her battle harness. Grumbling to herself she reached down to her belt and pulled out a screwdriver, moving it to tighten something up under her elbow for a moment before straightening out her limb, testing its mobility.

Seemingly satisfied the artificer tucked her tool away again before stepping up beside the firepit with a smile. "So, what's for breakfast?" She asked merrily, her magnifying eyepiece locking down into place as she examined the array of pots and pans simmering over the waning embers. Dipping her finger carefully into a large vat of something brown and bubbling she jammed the digit quickly into her mouth before beaming a wide and joyful smile. "Mmm, Rat au vin. My favourite."

Reaching down Henrietta seemingly materialised a large spoon and bowl from somewhere about her person, serving herself up a generous helping of the mud-colored gruel before finding a comfortable place to sit overlooking the sea below. The weather seemed to be holding out well, with a slight chill quickly giving way to the warm sunshine as the first rays danced on the distant horizon, and the Siren bobbed merrily on the rising tide while Henrietta made short work of her food, before once again vanishing her implements away to wherever they'd appeared from in the first place.


[System]
G E N T L E
The humans called us monstrous, so monsters are what we became.

B A S I C S

---
AGE

128

RACE

Minotaur

CLASS

Cleric/Barbarian

OCCUPATION

Lay Brother of the Temple of Apollokeos

ORIGINATES FROM

Achea

IF OUTSIDE TORVELT

The Human Republic of Achea is a loose collection of city states far to the South-West of Torvelt. The climate is hot, and the terrain mountainous, though the people have risen to the challenge of taming such an arid land, becoming famed for their exports of grapes, olives, gold, and marble. The Achean's stand proud of their achievements, proclaiming that their society is the greatest in all the wide world, pointing to their democracies, philosphies, music and art as evidence of this, though it is whispered in courts around the lands that the prosperous country wouldn't be half as impressive as it is if it wasn't for the broken backs of the monstrous slaves it has all been built upon.

P H Y S I C A L A T T R I B U T E S

---

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Large even by Minotaur standards, Gentle stands taller than eight-and-a-half feet, over nine if you included the tips of his gently curving horns, which you probably should when measuring a Minotaur. He's broad too, as the 'proverbial' bull in fact, and hasn't he heard that one more than once since coming to Torvelt. His once bulging muscles and steely thews are running to fat a little in his old age and relative indolence, but he still possesses the kind of physique that would give even the most confidant pitfighter cause to pause.

To his intense consternation his lustrous black pelt is being invaded by unsightly streaks of iron-grey. Swirling blue-grey patterns are tattoeed across his arms, shoulders, chest and back, intricate patterns of some hidden meaning which Gentle hasn't shared with anyone since arriving in Torvelt. Age has also stolen some of his vim, and the spring from his step, but his hands are still strong and his horns still sharp. It will do, he tells himself.

STRENGTHS

* Physically powerful
* Experienced combatant
* Access to divine magic
* Rough wisdom

WEAKNESSES

* Large and heavy
* Moderate rheumatoid arthritis
* Fading eyesight
* Rage

P S Y C H O L O G I C A L A T T R I B U T E S

---

PERSONALITY

Pragmatic – Melancholy – Ponderous – Wistful – Studious – Mercurially violent (though working very hard not to be)

SEXUALITY

Pansexual

FEARS

* Heights
* Deep, fast moving waters
* Large canines
* Small, enclosed spaces
* The ghosts of his past

GOALS

To find the prince, stop the Fog, and achieve personal salvation.

S K I L L S

---

Labyrinth Recall

He can perfectly recall any path that he has taken.

Great Weapon Fighting

Perhaps unsurprisingly giant bull-men are pretty good at swinging large, sharp pieces of metal with the intent of hurting people. Who knew?

Sense of Smell and Hearing

A Minotaur's sense of smell and hearing is several times more advanced than that of a humans. Gentle has found himself relying on his more and more since his eyes started failing him.

G E A R

---

ITEMS ON PERSON

* Heavy iron bracers
* Travellers pack (sleeping roll, tinder box, dried rations etc)
* Icon of Apollokeos (Small golden pendant featuring a rising sun over a river)

WEAPONS

* Large wooden post (Functions as a quarterstaff/club)
* Great Sword

H I S T O R Y

---

The Minotaur known only as Gentle first walked into Torvelt about fifteen years ago, with nothing more than the clothes on his frame and a rolled bundle of leather upon his back. From there he wound a slow and gradual path towards Koprust, eventually arriving in the capital city and taking on a slew of odd jobs, seemingly happy with working hard manual labour for minimal pay, simple food and somewhere dry to sleep. On those rare occasions that he was approached by those not intimated by his monstrous visage he was found to be polite, but distant, seemingly happy to nurse his ghosts in solitude.

He eventually found himself working for the Abbott of the Temple of Clean Waters, a holy place that venerated Apollokeos , Lady of Dawn and New Beginnings. Gentle quickly fell into life at the Temple, becoming a lay brother and settling in for what he imagined would be a life of quiet contemplation and honest labour.

The God's, it seemed, had other plans.

He'd had nightmares for as long as he could remember, horrible and twisted visions from his past that tourtured him nightly without reprieve. However one night, when the horror had reached its zenith, he found salvation. The Lady Apollokeos visited him, in all her golden splendour, and explained that his redemption was in reach. She tasked him with joining the quest to find the Prince, and that through that labour he might just find the peace he so desperately desired.

When Gentle awoke he thought the dream no more than that, the fantasy of a tired mind, but later that day he met a man who introduced himself as Minoas, the fabled absent father of the Minotaur race. Minoas reinforced Apollokeos commands, urging Gentle to join the quest before disappearing.

One visit from a God he could ignore. Two would have been pushing it. Collecting his belongings and making his farewells, he made his way towards thee castle.

[User]
---

AONÉ INALOR

---

It wasn't long before the small party began their travels, Aoné much more at ease now that they had begun. She wasn't particularly in a hurry, not that what they were doing wasn't important and time was certainly of the essence, but she hadn't been blessed with the greatest patience nor the ability to stand by and do nothing whilst pursuing a goal. Both of which had estranged her from her family many years ago, and now she could sense those unwanted feelings creeping up on her again as she stood among this group of strangers. She hadn't said much in their short time together as they introduced themselves, save for the moments she had to, but she honestly preferred it that way. Knowing herself, the elf knew with the way the conversation had been going, she would've just caused trouble; however, it would've been funny had she.

Now that the other half-elf, Imalessa, had received a new bow, an honest mistake of coming here without it, they had no more reasons holding them back. Aoné wasn't certain about how she felt toward the huntress, she respected her loyalty to the forest however vocal she was about it, and she didn't seem like someone who'd get in her way lest their tempers clash, other than that, she seemed like someone she could hang around given the time. The term "friends" would be taking it a step too far though.

When it came to the other members of the party, Aoné could say she felt indifferent toward them. Not in any negative way, she just needed more time, although she did especially enjoy Gentle who managed to intrigue her the most, purely by the irony of his name. As far as she knew, minotaurs were an angry race; temperamental and ferocious. But judging by the one beside her, she'd have to look into it more. Perhaps she was wrong.

As for Brynan...she was something else. Probably would've been fine taking on the task herself if a group wasn't required. Not that Aoné disagreed, just that she would have to keep an eye on her. To make sure she didn't do anything reckless to get the rest of them hurt.

---

Luckily for her, horseback riding had been something she was taught from a young age, along with traveling for long periods of time, Aoné's trip to "Mudshit" or wherever was made a lot easier. Along with the essentials, she had managed to grab some medicines and herbs, as well as her journaling book, that was stashed away in a small satchel she carried on her horse. The rain had never ceased as they journeyed, only making her more irritable as her attempts to keep herself dry proved futile. And though light was fading pretty quickly, her darkvision proved useful as she was still able to see.

Not too soon after, just as the rain had come to a light drizzle, the caravan in front of her slid to a stop in the mud. Both horses had sensed something and were now freaking out, Aoné struggled to take back control. At first the noise came. And then the putrid smell. Looking to the source, still steadily to maintain her grip on the reins she already knew what enemy lay ahead.

"Trolls! Ready yourselves!"

Damned fucking trolls.

Hopping down and grabbing her satchel, she quickly moved to the rear of the group. Knowing she wouldn't be of any use up front, she prepared for any possible injuries they would suffer.

[Assistant]
---

Solveig Forgeheart

---

Rather enjoying the new company, Solveig probably seemed the most nonchalant about marching to his doom. In fact, after they had left Koprust Solveig was obnoxiously whistling as they began to travel to this 'Mudshit'. Apart from the butting of heads between Gentle and Brynan, the rest of the group seemed to be rather introverted or at least withdrawn. Everybody had their secrets for sure, but the Dwarf would've preferred if everyone else weren't quite as reserved. Especially the Dragonborn. Ah well, beggars can't be choosers. Regardless of whether the rest appreciated his loud whistling, nothing brought Dwarves together like a bit of light-hearted rhythm. Perhaps it wasn't time to bust out a mining or drinking song but perhaps the theory could work here too.

As rain began to pour, Solveig popped the collar up of his jacket more. He didn't have a hood so his hair and beard were starting to get drenched. However, Solveig kind of liked it. There wasn't any rain to speak of back at Tharum Kholdur, at least if you wasn't a Mountain Guard who watched the borders. Sometimes water would drip down but nothing like this. It was kind of relaxing. The tiny pitter patter of droplets reminded him of pickaxes striking the rocky earth of the Mountain. It was comfort.

That was when a potent stench wafted over the party. Solveig held his nose as his face scrunched up. "Gentle! Please tell me that's not what Minotaur shite smells like!" He exclaimed as he tried to wave the smell away. However, the playful jab at Gentle was overshadowed by the call from Naldir.

"Trolls! Ready yourselves!"

Solveig turned on his heels to the direction of the hollering creatures. He watched as Stur was one of the first to step forward, beginning to draw a battle line. With a grin and a hearty laugh, Solveig joined as he pulled out his prized knuckledusters from his pockets. Punching his own fists together making clanging sounds that rang out, Solveig joined the large human's side with glee. Finally it was time for a punch-up!

"RIGHT THEN YA BASTARDS! COME GET A TASTE OF DWARVEN STRENGTH!!!"

[User]
The day was going bad enough without throwing the stink of rotting meat into the mix. Gentle thumb a soaking forelock out of his eyes, wondering if he could get away with plugging his nostrils with grass when he noticed the pony's terrified looking stance. Rotting meat doesn't scare horses. He took several more deep sniffs, but couldn't work out what the stink belonged to.

"Gentle! Please tell me that's not what Minotaur shite smells like!"  The dwarf distracted him. He was still trying to lock onto the queer scent when he responded absentmindedly "Only after we eat dwarves. The rest of the time the scent is quite pleasant", shortly after that someone yelled troll, and Gentle's humour soured even more.

He'd never met a troll before. Had never wanted to. By all reports they had a worse reputation than Minotaur's, which was akin to winning an award for sheer bastardy. He'd heard they were hard to kill. He guessed he was about to find out just how true that was.

Kill. By the God's, he'd really hoped he was finished with killing, but it looked like this old bull still had to put down a few more matadors. Wasn't like he could still get this quest finished and do the God's proud while being digested in a trolls gullet, and if he'd heard right diplomacy rarely worked with these monsters.

He gripped his staff tight - not quite willing to draw the sword on his back yet, still scared of the 'taur he became when that hilt was in his hand - and stepped forward to stand alongside the human, on the opposite side of the dwarf. The little bastard was screaming out taunts, and Gentle couldn't help but respect him for it. His hoof stamped in the dirt a couple of times while he tried to quell what he told himself was fear, but he actually knew was excitement.

"You fight these things before?" He asked the axe-wielding human. Frail he might be, but he at least looked experienced, and handled that axe like a veteran. Gentle wouldn't like to sip from the same cup as him, but he trusted the man could fight. "They like to set traps?" He gestured off to their right. There was a riot's worth of noise coming from the left, but while Gentle knew next to fuck all about trolls, he had some experience with ambushes. If he was in the attackers position he'd make a lot of noise from one side, while assaulting silently from the other. Nothing wins a battle quite as fast as making the other guy look in the wrong direction while you stabbed him in the back.


[System]
Sex: Female
Age: 26
Height: 5'9"

Alya has light blue eyes, fair skin and straight light blonde hair till slightly below her shoulders. She usually keeps her hair neatly tied up in a ponytail.
Alya wears the Grand-Magi's robes which are similar to the robes of Felix; except they are lacking the gold trim and the design of the patterns are less ornate and simpler.
Her aura is light blue (same as her eye color).

Alya uses an enchanted extendable metallic bo staff is 5'6" long when fully extended. When contracted it is around 1 foot long. When in use the ends of the staff glow faintly with magic.

Eye color and aura color

Alya specializes in defensive and restoration magic.

Being a Grand-Magi from the Catholic Arcanocracy she is still decent in other magical areas.
Her ability to heal extends from cuts all the way to broken or missing bones. While healing others is extremely simple for her; self-healing costs quite a bit of mana and is mentally and physically taxing.

Defensively she is able to shield herself and others with magical barriers which protect from either magical or physical attacks. Protecting from both types at once is possible, however this drains mana far more rapidly than normal.

Combat wise she is skilled with the use of her enchanted bo staff. She is able to channel her magic into the staff for various effects in combat ranging from increased kinetic force when striking all the way to the application of debilitating hexes.
The ends of her staff glow depending on the kind of enchantment she is currently channeling, by default the glow is light blue.

One of Alya's signature offensive spells involves causing temporary bone growth in her target causing severe pain and eventually paralysis. Continuous application may result in death from asphyxiation due to the lungs being unable to expand properly. However, Alya (and possibly other magic users) can reverse the bone growth with magic. This ability requires proximity to her target. (About striking distance of her staff.) The ability comes in stages of increasing intensity and requires Alya to maintain concentration on channeling the ability. Interrupting her during this ability will result it quickly receding to the last stage. The hex will wear off after a few minutes if not reapplied.

Alya's presence also has a calming and soothing effect to those nearby. She is able to suppress this effect at will.

All Alya knew nothing of her parents. She was inducted to the Catholic Arcanocracy as a child and there she was raised. From a young age she was taught; told that she had a special talent.
As she grew so did her abilities. Her tutors quickly discovered her knack for healing magic, and they quickly refined it and honed the talent while still covering other basics of magic.

Starting from her early teen years she was taught combat and how to use the bo staff and how to mix her magic offensively with it. Alya protested to her tutors that a weapon would be unnecessary for what she wanted to do, but they always told her not to question their orders. Her peers occasionally poked fun at her for doing so. She did not let this affect her and she quickly surpassed many of them in terms of magical application with her weapon.

Alya eventually began experimenting with her healing magic, finding different ways of application. This allowed her to develop various offensive spells which she continued to master.
She rose through the ranks of the Catholic society and eventually achieving the rank of Grand-Magi at the age of 24.

From here on Alya continued to prove to be one of the best and most skilled healers in the Catholic Arcanocracy till the current day.

Alya is compassionate. She sees value in each life and does her best to help those around her.
Alya shows qualities of a leader; able to take charge and can maintain composure under pressure.
She dislikes conflict and will try to solve situations peacefully, however she is not a stranger to combat, and she will defend herself if necessary.

When dealing with others Alya tries her best to be accommodating and friendly. She is emphatic and is able to maintain friendly relations with others most of the time.
On the times she disagrees with someone she would voice her opinion and would be open to listening to what others would have to say about theirs.

Alya respects the hierarchy of command and will obey orders. She would voice her concerns with any orders given if there are any, but she would still obey them.

[User]
"Roger." Travis replied simply.

With Felix withdrawing up the stairs to his study, Travis remained in the lab staring at an empty page of his note pad. The idea of keeping two Paragons in the same space and yet out of each others influence was not a simple task. He took into account how limitless their Paragon was and how it could drain someone of their inner mana in a near instant. Having an equally endless source that was responsive to interaction was an incredibly unknown factor. Travis sighed for a moment and left the lab as well and began making his way back to the first floor. He needed room think and scheme.

Trying to keep to himself and stay out of everyone's way, Travis paced back and forth by the entrance to the basement, brainstorming as much as he could about their containment problem. The notes he made were little more than doodles as he expressed his unproven ideas to paper with pen. One simple line drawing supposedly depicted a runic circle with a Paragon residing in it. Small text to the side of each illustrated element described the concept dampening the Paragon's awareness to local auras via an erected field. If it were to be enacted, Travis could pull it off in a matter of a day provided his construction of the plan held up. This was however assumed that the Paragon was only able to pick up on auras and wasn't in any way "aware" of any other elements. It was a start nonetheless.

Noting some of his more capable teammates displayed abilities as of late, another concept described a way of housing the Paragons via a pocket dimension of sorts. The thought believed that by taking a Paragon into other measure of space, there was no hope of it being able to interact with anything. Travis comically drew a simple depiction of him tossing one of the sacred mana crystals into his chest back at his quarters. The fancy trunk he carried with him on his long travels was essentially a device in creating said pockets in order to house his belongs as he had not the mana well to maintain that kind of storage space by himself. The idea appeared to be more sound but proved more complex to develop than his first though.

As he continued to ponder further, he looked up on response to Nemo advising him that breakfast was ready, "Thank you Nemo. I'll be there soon," Travis replied before returning his attention to his notes and slowly making his way to the kitchen.

[Assistant]
help me?

"No, no... I couldn-" Then it struck Felix, "Yes... You have connections. Perhaps you might be of some use. I need information on a paragon on an island. I don't know where the island is, or what it's even called. But, perhaps with your connections even this vague information is enough." Felix said, "I'll be in the dining room in a bit." Felix said

[User] Alya's nap was interrupted by a knock on the door; it was Nemo calling her for breakfast. "I'll be right down." She replied getting up from bed. She stood up and headed to the door, casting a spell as she walked. Alya was once again clothed in her regular robes though now in pristine condition. She made her way down to the dining room.

[Assistant]
"Good... good." Nemo replied. "It shall be done, finding things is one of my specialties." Nemo said with monotone confidence. He excused himself from Felix's room and began to trek back downstairs. As he descended the stairs Nemo brought his manadial up and activated the display. He put in a series of commands which led to a holographic keyboard. Nemo's return took a few extra minutes as he typed in a message. But soon enough his letter was let loose off into the mananet, to whomever he had addressed it to.

Nemo entered the dining room, seeing Travis and Alya had already arrived. He turned to Raiya. "The remaining two should be here soon, lest they plan on being tardy."

[User] Zoey blinks at the new guy, who seems to have no trouble with her appearance without the illusion spell up, and shrugs. For a time, they game together, both relatively good at the game for different reasons. Then he dropped his name and just left, before giving her a chance to introduce herself. On the other hand, he mentioned breakfast and she could now smell it. She sighed happily and re-upped her illusion spell, padding softly back upstairs.

[Assistant]
Felix came into the dining room, a set table sprawled before him. It wasn't a banquet like he had done before, but a single meal which was the same for everyone. A giant veggie stuffed omelette, some rice with an egg on top, and crepes. There was also a large bowl of fruit in the middle and a plate with a pile of multi-grain toast on it.

Felix sat down, and bowed his head for a momentary prayer of thanksgiving and blessings on the food, before picking up a fork and digging in.

"Wow, this is delicious!" Felix said with a smile.

Raiya leaned against the wall near the kitchen entrance in front of the table. She was waiting for everyone else to take a seat.

"Thank you. Nemo helped a lot as well so thank him too."

"Thank you, Nemo." Felix said.

Then everyone began to pour in one by one and take their seats. One everyone was seated, Felix began to issue a few announcements.

"Now that everyone is here, I am going to talk a bit about where we go from here. You may or may not know that I am not sure where our next mission will be. While I had direct information about where the paragon of Espial, the first paragon we have gathered, was, I do not have such information for the next paragon. But also, until we figure out a way to contain the paragon so that it does not resonate with another paragon in its vicinity, we can not have another paragon here with us. I have Travis working on that front, while I am working on figuring out where the next paragon is. I have also tasked Nemo with investigating through his network to see if he can find any information on where this next paragon would be. The rest of you can take it easy. It make take a week or so, maybe even longer to gather the necessary information. It could take less time, who knows. However, I do expect those who do not have assigned tasks to remain vigilant. Training during this time period would be a good and recommended use of your time." Felix explained.

He then turned to Raiya, "Perhaps you should accompany Nemo." Felix suggested.

Raiya muttered something in agreement under her breath but didn't seem particularly enthralled by the suggestion.

[User]
Nemo didn't make any comment about Raiya joining him as he sat at the table. While not out 'working' one would say Nemo is actually a remarkably calm person. He gave a nod in response to Felix's thanks and then sectioned off a piece of Raiya's omelette and took a bite, then moved onto the rice.

"The food is magnifique, Raiya." Nemo commented to her with a smile. He didn't seem to bother to touch his own creation yet. Not because it wasn't good, but likely because he took much more enjoyment out of eating something that was prepared for him by someone else.

His social demeanor might be enough for some people to neglect his actions and temperament as a whole. However one look at Nemo's unnatural appearance would be enough jog their memory, to make them feel like they are probably being misled. To someone more familiar with him like Felix, it would likely be very hard to ever believe his kindliness is remotely genuine.

[Assistant]
Now that most of his teammate had arrived at the dining table, Travis went and took his seat and claimed a few pieces of toast to add to his plate before digging in. A soon as Felix commented with his positive opinion on their meal, Travis resonated his own remark towards Nemo and Raiya, "This is very excellent indeed My compliments to the fine chefs."

Before long, Felix made his anticipated announcement. Travis already knew most of the details since he had worked with the Arch Magi earlier and already determined the difficulties locating their next Paragon. Listening further in on the announcements, it appeared that there will be some considerable wait time until they had a sure fix on following Paragon. It was slightly disappointing not having another relic to adventure out to retrieve but there were plenty of other activities to participate such as his project with containing the Paragons and a slew of other possible spells to develop after their previous trip.

Once Felix had ended his declaration, Travis openly made his report but directed it towards his employer, "I've so far compiled a few rough ideas on how we may contain the Paragons...if you would like to go over them after breakfast of course."

[User] Zuri starts eating the food but also pays attention to what Felix had to say. Once he finished what he had to say, Zuri doesn't really care much about what he said other than the last sentence, something about spending the free time she has on training. The food was delicious, and soon nothing was left on either of her plates. Both the main dish and the crepe was really nice and filling, especially the rice. "That was really nice.." she says softly, referring to the food she just had.

[Assistant] Zoey took note of what Felix was saying, and decided she would continue her hunting duties here, wherever here was. She also noticed a distinct lack of meat on the table however, and frowned a bit. She took some toast and some fruit, and would eat that with some of the jerky she had on her person. Maybe not the most refined of breakfasts, but she'd rather have the jerky at this point than overly rich desert pancake and eggs on rice on eggs with broccoli. She found a spot to eat a little closer to a corner, and would continue to pretend like she didn't exist unless someone engaged her directly. That was more likely at the moment, however, because the illusion spell was up.

[User]
Alya took a seat as everyone gathered at the table. She took a piece of toast to add to her omelette and began to eat as Felix began to explain the current situation. Alya remained quiet as she listened and ate. After finishing her omelette she took some crepe as desert.

'The next week would be a perfect time to practice and refine new spells and get to know my new allies.'  She thought as she ate her desert. "My compliments to the chef."


[System]
Alias: Re-Re, Muffin, Utter Disappointment
Date of Birth: December 8th, Age 733.

Age: 46 (physically 28-33).
Height: 6'0".
Weight: 130 lbs.
Species: Saiyan-human half-breed.
Gender: Male.

Relatives/Relationships:
* Bruss (biological father; deceased).
*Liu Yin (biological mother: alive).
*Beerus (Former Master)
*Whis ('Real' Former Master)
*Soru (Friend/coworker)

Occupation(s): Tempworker (generally Janitorial), Low Class Warrior.
Affiliation(s): None
Former Affiliation(s): College Student

Hair Color: Silver
Eye Color: Silver

Personality: Careful, Jester, Stubborn, Thoughtful, Patient, Intellectual, Optional Coward.

Power(s): None but apparently can go Super Saiyan according to Beerus
Abilities: Master close combat Fighter, Immense Physical and Mental Strength, Surprisingly Durable, Heightened Senses
Powerful Ki-control, sense, flight, poor manifestation outside of the body, skilled in using it to amplify his own power, medium regeneration.
(Relies more on his own power than blasts due to difficult to manifest)
Sphere of Destruction/Beerus Ball (Taught by Beerus, can't manifest fully), Pressure Point attacks.

Theme Song: youtube.com/watch?v=hNtP8zJFL2M

[User]
Kinoko heard Goku's voice, until she felt his hand of her shoulder, to which she placed her hand on top of it, silently thanking him for the comforting gesture, as her younger brother explained the current circumstances to Kitsu. True enough, he's got a point. Yuvo will more than likely come back to kill them, once he gets the chance. Maybe it was a good idea that they stick together on this, but she can't force their guest to stay. Besides, he could have other things to take care of, back home.

In response to Kitsu's departure, all Kinoko could give was a small wave, slightly disappointed that he couldn't stay a little longer. Her arms hugged her upper body, before lightly patting Goku's hand on her shoulder, before walking away to the direction of the machine. "I'm gonna go train", she had to get her mind on something else, after what they had been through today.

[Assistant]
Goku nodded at her understanding, it was hard to imagine 21 turning against them and this Yuvo person seemed to know about them and their abilities. Bringing up Dr. Gero only made him all the more concerned, Yuvo didn't seem like the good androids, or whatever he was. Goku decided to inform the others about this just in case Yuvo approached them as well, though it seemed he was focused on the three of them he probably knew of the others and he seemed to be using 21, he doubted he'd stop there if given the chance.
"I'll take the next watch so train as long as much as you want, Vegeta's taking the first one. Probably his way of apologizing for what happened a few days ago."
He had offered to go first but Vegeta was already sitting in the chair and staring at 21, they didn't expect her to wake up until tomorrow but they stayed near her just in case.

---

The following afternoon Ryo stood at the front desk staring at the female clerk, she seemed a tad bothered by the fact someone in costume was here and Ryo had come as Kitsu since that was how he was known. Soru was also working the gardens so he couldn't risk him seeing his face as well. The woman at the desk adjusted some of the things on her desk before folding her hands together, judging by the kind of guests Bulma got this wasn't a rare occurrence, but it seemed the appearance of costume visitors made her job harder.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
Ryo raised a sleeve and pointed inside causing the woman to glance back before looking back at Ryo who lowered his sleeve.
"Um...if you don't have an appointment-"
"Let them in."
The woman turned before jumping a little seeing Vegeta standing nearby, he glared at Kitsu before turning and walking inside.
"They have business here."
Ryo let out a mental sigh glad he showed up before things got awkward, but he still gave off that fierce aura making it hard to follow him.
"Man...the stares I got coming here in this outfit...that woman didn't have to shield her child from me."
Vegeta led Ryo into the room where 21 was waiting, she was awake and staring at the window in silence. It seemed she had woken up earlier that morning, but she refused to talk only saying she would say something when 'everyone' was here, which seemed to mean Kitsu as well.
This was confirmed by her glancing at Ryo when he entered the room and took a seat near the wall.
"...I'm sure you have questions...I'm...not really sure where to start," 21 said.

[User]
All night, Kinoko had been in the gravity machine, and all of the memories of yesterday and the day before that, continued to bother her. She could only hope that the answers she would receive, were the right ones. Turning up the gravity to 250-300, she could only last for so long before she decided to call it a night, even though the sun was already on its way up. She had no regrets for not sleeping in the past two days. Funny enough, liked Vegeta, she didn't want to be one step behind. The princess wanted to at least be equal with them. She wanted to overcome her fears; her challenges.

These thoughts continued to replay themselves, even while she was in the shower. That whole morning, she didn't talk to anyone, only having to train alone, until Kitsu arrived. By the time he did, Kinoko was already in the guest room, waiting for everyone.

[Assistant]
"I suppose I'll start at the most important part," 21 said crossing her arms. "Goku, Vegeta...Kinoko...you can't fight Yuvo you'll die if you do."
Goku and Vegeta looked at 21 at this and the serious expression on her face, Vegeta scoffed and opened his mouth but 21 spoke having a feeling what he was going to say, positive it was an insult in her direction and doubt.
"Yuvo is not a person that can be beaten by fighting strength alone, he's able to mimic energy when he feels it. To be specific he can feel your ki and how it flows and mimic it himself. By doing so he amplifies his own strength while draining any energy in the air, he can increase how much is in his body through physical contact, basically draining it."
"...like 19," Goku said bringing a hand to his chin.
"You mean that fat android?" Vegeta said. "That thing was a joke."
"He can drain like 19 but he's more like Cell in terms of structure, not techincally an android but a bio creation. To the best of my knowledge he was one of Gero's failed creations."
"If he's a reject than why is he a problem," Vegeta added.
"Well he was a failed project because of control, not power," 21 said. "The problem is if you fight him he'll just mimic you and become stronger, and he repeats this process indefinitely, meaning punching him in the face is actually a bad thing."

"...well this seems like a great situation," Ryo thought leaning against the wall.
That meant using energy against him would power him up, and going off that earlier scene he was immensely powerful already. He did seem pretty happy when everyone turned Super Saiyan almost like he was expecting it, or needed it.
"There is some hope though...that's why I've been...working with him looking for a weakness."
Goku looked over at Kinoko before looking back at 21, his eyebrows lowered a little and he touched his chest.
"Why didn't you tell us...or ask us for help. We wouldn't have hesitated to assit you."
"Speak for yourself Kakarot," Vegeta said causing Goku to glance at him.
21 closed her eyes and slowly shook her head, a worried expression fell over Goku's face and 21 looked back out the window.
"Yuvo approached me having my data...he believed me to be your enemy being a fellow creation...if I spoke to you he would have realized that I'm not...and he's been watching me for a bit now. Forgive me...I wanted to find out as much as I could to find a weakness."

[User]
Kinoko listened to Amaia's explanation for allying herself with Yuvo. At first, it made her worry for 21's well-being, but her ruse to join him was, honestly, the most clever thing she had ever seen from the android. So, Yuvo was not like any other extraterrestrial; he was a bio-android, who had the ability to drain one's energy, in a sense. That was when she thought back to her one-on-one fight during the tournament. That was his plan all along: To absorb her own energy, and later, many others. Nearly identical to Cell.

"That's why he was provoking yet forcing us to fight him", she realized, before closing her eyes passively and crossing her arms. "At least we now know of his intentions", she opened her eyes, looking at 21. "You could still acknowledge me that you were back in town".

[Assistant]
21 gave a small nod at Kinoko who seemed to understand the situation, though at her comment she looked at her before offering a small smile.
"I'm sorry Kinoko...we were already 'working together' at that point," 21 said. "He actually found you all and had us come here, I was trying to lead him away until I found out where the lab was."
21 was silent for a moment and folded her hands in her lap, the look on her face seemed to hint that the situation was far more dire than just that, with a small sigh she continued looking back at the four in the room.
"The biggest problem that comes with Yuvo is he's able to asexually reproduce, almost infinitely," 21 said. "He actually has hundreds of himself in West city already, and these clones match his power level, though some are weaker since he made them a little earlier when he first came here. Even as we speak he's making copies, and their sort of like a hive mind, they have a shared consciousness with Yuvo who is the main head."

Ryo brought a sleeve to his chin, this guy was beyond a normal problem. He was an alien or something of that sort able to become stronger through battle and from what this 21 was telling them he could not only become stronger but he was able to make an army of himself if need be, that all communicated with each other. Looking over at the two men they seemed just as bothered by this, save the taller one who seemed to have a smile on his face, Ryo didn't get it until a smirk formed on the smaller one's face as well.
"So how do we beat him," Goku said slamming his hand into his fist. "You figured it out right 21."
21 blinked a few times as she looked at Goku before a small smiled formed on her face, it was hard to be worried with his enthusiasm.
"Hmm I have found a way, Yuvo can draw in power but he can't control it like you all do, that's why he has to watch you. He knows how to use his ki to regenerate like Kinoko since he saw that fight, so he's now more of a problem than before...however that only proves that though he can draw it in, he only learns how to use it upon seeing its use. I was trying to find his lab because even if the main Yuvo is destroyed he just transfers his consciousness to another clone sends his clone to the lab, and makes well...another 'him' and furthermore, the 'main' Yuvo is the only one that can make clones and adapt."
"Why is that?" Goku questioned.
"He knows himself, and he's not the type to be subservient, so he made his clones unable to recreate like him, among other things so he remains the alpha among them."
Vegeta closed his eyes at this and tapped a finger on his arm for a moment.
"So what you're saying is, we find this lab and destroy it, no more 'main' Yuvo, that doesn't solve the problem of this Yuvo."
21 gave a small nod before her gaze moved to Ryo.
"That's why we need Kitsu," 21 said.

Ryo blinked a few times before looking at the others, he wasn't strong like these three he wasn't sure he was going to be of much use.
"My plan is to destroy the lab without Yuvo knowing, and then have us four draw his clones and fight them. When Yuvo dies he will transfer his consciousness to a clone, all we have to do is make sure it's the weakest clone left. We take out all but the weakest one while Kitsu fights and defeats Yuvo."
Goku and Vegeta looked at Ryo who seemed just as surprised by this plan as anyone else.
"Yuvo doesn't have any data on you Kitsu," 21 said. "You weren't involved with these three in their fights, which means you're an unknown. Yuvo won't know how to fight you, and he won't be able to resist going up against someone whose power he doesn't have. You're the perfect distraction. Once we kill all but the weakest clone we'll contact you and take out the main Yuvo. If this works, Yuvo will be trapped in his weakest clones body unable to adapt or reproduce, he'll have to grow like a normal fighter."
"Or we can just kill him," Vegeta added.
"I leave that choice up to you," 21 said. "It's...been difficult not getting innocents involved. I always told him they were two weak to drain from which has kept him busy, but..."
"At the tournament he showed he has no problem wiping them out," Goku said. "I like it 21. You've been hard at work. Okay Kitsu you think you can help us?"
"Huh?!"
Ryo leaned back at Goku's words before looking at 21 who bowed to him.
"Please aid us."


[System]
Runan Isles Savior Corps

---

Established in the wake of Westwel's destruction, the Runan Isles Savior Corps is by no means the most impressive program on Illun, but it's well-funded and well-run by a few survivors of Westwel's own Corps.

Character Info

Name – Besca Darroh
Age – 35
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Originally from Westwel, Besca Darroh has been around Saviors her entire life. Her grandfather had helped fell the Modir who would become "Dragon," and her father had headed Westwel's burgeoning Savior program. She met dozens of pilots, watched as their connection to the Modir ate away at their minds and bodies. Other nations treated their pilots like a resource to be burned through, kept at arm's length in all but public affairs. Besca, however, went out of her way to engage with Westwel's pilots and even piloting candidates, caring after them with a degree of humanity which was, frankly, missing in the programs of other nations. Her methods were derided as frivolous and naïve by her peers, but the pilots appreciated it, which, to her, was all that mattered.

She lost many things in Westwel's fall; her home, her father, her friends, and no small piece of her faith in humanity, but ironically enough she didn't lose her job. When Runa took in her country's refugees, and subsequently acquired their first Savior, they came to the last living member of Westwel's program for help in founding their own.

Nowadays, Besca doesn't often involve herself in the politics of the program. Technically speaking she isn't even chief of operations—a position occupied by the Runan government—but rather, her duties revolve around "pilot maintenance." While she hasn't lost her desire to make life easier for the pilots, she isn't nearly as incorrigibly optimistic or sunny as she once was.

Character Info

Name – Dahlia St. Senn
Age – 18
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Dahlia was a toddler when her home was destroyed by the Modir, spirited away from Westwel in the arms of a family friend. She spent the first fourteen years of her life in the quiet, lakeside town of Hovvi. She was, like many children, absolutely enthralled by the Saviors, so when she tested positive and was whisked away into orbit, Dahlia thought her dream had come true. She missed her friends, and her adoptive father, but this was her opportunity to do something important. This was her chance to help.

She had no idea.

Runa's Savior, Dragon, had not been phased by a single pilot until Dahlia entered the cockpit. With its potential finally unleashed, she was able to end invasions within minutes—which was crucial, because she couldn't remain connected for much longer than that before the giant's neural regeneration reached critical levels.

Dahlia has become Runa's WMD, and as such, she actually doesn't pilot as much as she did before R.I.S.C. acquired its two other Saviors. Besca has become rather protective of her, not wanting to risk putting her in situations where she may be forced to over-exert herself, or risk being overtaken.

Character Info

Name – Hadrian Ghaust
Age – 38
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

Hadrian Ghaust is Helburke personified. He is strong, unrelenting, stoic to a chilling degree, and utterly devastating in the cockpit. Ghaust is also a veteran pilot, having commanded the Savior Marrowman in service of the Helburken crown for 20 years, and despite a phasing speed so slow that he rarely deigns to use his magic at all, he was well on his way to becoming one of his country's most accomplished pilots.

However, Ghaust's priority has always been the fight against the Modir, and Helburke's clamor for political power is something he viewed with silent disdain. To him, using Saviors to settle diplomatic disputes isn't just wasteful, it's shameful. So, when Helburke ordered him to bring Marrowman to bear against the newly-risen Runa's Dragon, he refused. When, then, he was given the ultimatum of going through with the duel or forfeiting his rank and position, he looked his general in the eye, ripped the pilot's medal from his collar, and left his home behind.

Overnight Ghaust was made a Pariah in Helburke, and his home turned against him. He was forced to leave, and though several foreign programs sought him out, Ghaust denied them all, even passing up a pilot's seat in Eusero. Instead, he went straight to the burgeoning program in Runa, who was more than happy to take him.

Character Info

Name – Safie Calhan
Age – 22
Affiliation – R.I.S.C.

R.I.S.C.'s newest pilot, Safie has spent the past year earning her place at Dahlia and Ghaust's sides. Born and raised in Runa's largest city, Queenshand, Safie was one of countless starry-eyed youths who dreamed of the day she'd get to step inside the cockpit of a Savior. A positive connection-test put her on the path, but it was the months upon months of personal training, rigorous study, and nights spent running sims until dawn that pulled her ahead of the other aspirants. With a phase potential speed just above average, she was a perfect fit between Runa's other two pilots.

While Dahlia has accrued something of a heroic mythos about her, she's often reclusive and hesitant to make many public appearances. Safie on the other hand loves to meet the people she's helping, be that with personal visits, answering fan-mail, or simply getting her hands dirty cleaning up after the messier invasions. Some see her approach as distinctly Euseran, but Safie didn't become a pilot for the attention, she became a pilot because it was the right thing to do.

Character Info

Name – Lucis Abroix
Age – 25
Affiliation – Casoban, on loan to the R.I.S.C.

Casoban's sole effort to save Westwel, while ultimately futile, planted the seeds of goodwill between it and Runa. Casoban has always lived in the influential shadows of Helburke and Eusero, but allied with Runa, the two manage a strong presence on the world stage.

As a show of solidarity, Casoban has even begun sending a Savior of its own as backup to Runa's invasions. Enter: Lucis Abroix.

Lucis is perhaps one of Casoban's most beloved pilots, despite having only a handful of deployments to his name. Handsome, personable, with a poetic flare and the voice of an angel, many people back home already consider him the face of Casoban's Savior program—a role he is more than happy to play. Lucis makes regular public appearances, seemingly never missing an opportunity to espouse his love for the beauty of the world, and his burning desire to protect it from the Modir.

[User]
Dahlia gasped quietly when the eyepatch fell away. She'd never seen beneath it either, never felt the need to know what it looked like, never much wanted to. But she did suddenly realize that she'd never asked what had happened. Now that she knew about the water, and she was seeing the telltale signs of a growth outbreak, it made perfect sense.

Every last trace of bitterness within her evaporated in an instant, burned away in the heat of something much stronger. She clutched the sheets, felt her new fingers squeeze so hard they clicked. With every word Quinn spoke, every sick revelation that came with it, Dahlia grew angrier. Her gut twisted in disgust, not at the ruinous state of her eye, but at the implication of its ruining.

Dahlia had killed monsters. She had killed people. She had never wished violence on anyone.

She wished it now.

With a small struggle, Dahlia sat up again, met Quinn's eye and prayed she understood the fury in her own wasn't meant for her, because she could not contain it.

"It didn't," she said, composure shaken. "It did not have to happen. They made it happen. They hurt you, because they're awful, horrible people, and they will never hurt you again."

Like Quinn were a cave, Dahlia's rage resonated within her, and something deep inside echoed it back. Horrible. Unfair. Monsters. Takers. But the longer she looked at Dahlia the more that feeling settled. The more it urged her to believe those words. Believe she was safe, now.

She got the sense that trust was foreign to it. All the same, it wanted Quinn to trust her sister.

[Assistant]
Quinn was almost knocked over by the sheer level of anger pouring out of Dahlia's face and the venom in her voice. There was a heart-attack second where she was absolutely certain that Dahlia was going to yell at her, she didn't know why. But it passed in a blink, and then the rage was less scalding, and more warming. Like a warm blanket on a cold night, Dahlia's anger scooped her up and held her close. She reached out as though to hug her sister, but remembered at the last moment that she had three ribs that needed to set.

So instead she sat back down again, staring into Dahlia's furious eyes. "It's really that bad, huh," she murmured to herself before directing her attention back to Dahlia proper.

"I know," she said quietly. "I trust you."

A pause. A moment. The drawing of a breath, a tiny hesitation to gauge whether or not something was okay to say. Then, "...and she trusts you too."

Picking up the eyepatch from her lap, she steadied her shaking hands enough to replace it, letting out a relieved sigh when she smoothed it back down over the scarred growth. Then, sitting there in silence, she felt the impulse to embrace Dahlia again. And again, she had to resist. This was going to happen a lot, wasn't it?

"I'm going to keep a tally of all the times I can't hug you," she joked, forcing humor into her voice though her expression remained unchanged, "and repay it with interest once you're better."

[User]
Dahlia watched the fear in Quinn's eyes melt into understanding, and felt relieved. Her own expression softened, and reached out as well when she did, though Quinn decided against the hug at the last moment.

"I'm glad. I trust you, too. I can't…help worrying. So much has happened, and none of it is fair. What's worse is that it's probably not going to stop anytime soon." She frowned, more to herself than anything. She was meant to be comforting Quinn, not preaching doom. "What I mean is, I'll always be there for you. Besca, too. Neither of us blame you for anything—you never did anything wrong. And even if you did, I don't care. I'm with you. That's family—real family."

"I'm going to keep a tally of all the times I can't hug you, and repay it with interest once you're better."

Dahlia smiled. She couldn't think of the last time Quinn had tried to make a joke, it made the room feel brighter. "You'd better," she teased. "Debts are the one thing I don't forgive."

[Assistant]
Quinn closed her eye lightly.

You never did anything wrong. And she guessed that she hadn't done anything wrong. Or. Well. The only thing she'd done wrong was be. They still came to Hovvi because of her. it still lay at her feet. But at least Dahlia and Besca wouldn't ever leave her behind. She'd been silly to think otherwise.

"You and Besca," she murmured. "I must be the luckiest girl in the whole world."

She remembered she couldn't hug Dahlia this time (she still counted it on the tally, though). So instead she stretched out beside her, taking her hand gently, running her fingers along the unfamiliar metal contours.

"I'm sorry for making you go in there. I promise if I could've, then I would have gone myself." Her words died away before any more reached her throat. It just seemed so blasé, whatever she was saying, whatever she was thinking of saying; incapable of trying to communicate what she was trying to say.

So she leaned in, resting her head very lightly against Dahlia's, and hummed, "I love you, sis. You know that, right?"

[User]
Laying there, Dahlia sighed deeply as the anger and confusion fizzled out within her. She was content, which was a feeling that had eluded her for more than a week, and was only a visiting stranger in the weeks before that. But now the smile touched her eyes, shut though they were, and she leaned against Quinn and nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. Love you, too, Quinn."

She could have stayed like that for a long time, and been happy. But that wouldn't do, not for Quinn. She'd survived not only her first duel, but her first Modir as well—three of them, at that. She should be celebrating, or at least out enjoying herself while the tsunami of political fallout was still only on the horizon. There'd be time for business and fussing in the coming days, but for now they could breathe. It had been so long since she'd just...breathed. Not since before Hovvi—a lifetime ago, now.

"You know, when I won my first duel, Besca and I baked a cake. I bet we've got all the stuff we need—we should make one for you tonight, too." She brought her other hand up, tousled Quinn's hair. "Go on, get out of here. Go relax, go hang out in the observatory. Go be happy. I'll see you guys tonight."


[System]
Age: 29
Gender: Female

Appearance: Kiyo is a youthful woman who is best described as being "almost beautiful"--if only she weren't so plain. Her features are steep and angular, as is typical of the Reijin family, and her skin is relatively pale – Kiyo looks as if she has been sheltered indoors for most of her life and looks physically weak, and while this is not incorrect she is more resilient than she looks. Kiyo has long, silver-grey hair that reaches down to her sternum in angel curls. Kiyo has a bit of a resting bitch face.

Hometown: Lifan

Personality: Kiyo is a seeker of power of all kinds, and does not adhere to a set of morals in the same sense as most people. While she believes that she is fundamentally good, she will not hesitate to perform unquestionably evil acts to further her own agenda. Kiyo likes to help people, but not at the expense of her own advancement – she comes first and foremost, but is a stalwart ally until such a point where remaining allies becomes detrimental to her own goals.

Thanks to her experiences in the war, Kiyo is particularly fascinated with the ending of life and what comes next, leading her to be fond of Ghost-type Natrelmon. She finds exorcism and the art of Gishiki equally interesting, however, and is not so much fascinated with obtaining eternal life as she is curious about the nature of death, about those who transcend it, and those who restore things to the natural order.

Relic Description: Kiyo manifests her relic as a book of portraiture. The Natrelmon she has captured are depicted in greyscale portraits, with the black being almost oily.

Starting Natrelmon:

Lotulia (M) [Level 15];
Zeruo (F) [Level 10];

Gifts: Telepathy; Advanced Knowledge

Starting Spell Schools: Frostweaving; Windspeaking; Shadebinding [Advanced Knowledge]

History:  Kiyo is the youngest child of the Reijin family, a noble house of the East centered in Lifan. Kiyo's growing up was relatively normal, and she was trained in the arts of war as most children of the prominent houses were in the time in which she was raised. The Reijin family were traditionalists of a most esoteric sort, keeping alive ancient customs that many found eccentric and anachronistic in the modern era. Kiyo grew up learning how to cultivate herbs and performing tea ceremonies alongside learning martial arts and the art of Frostweaving--something her family had historically practiced thanks to their worship of Seiryu, the Lord of the North. In the war, Kiyo eschewed the use of her family's magic in favour of Windspeaking, which afforded her the ability to weave in and out of combat to better use her Shadebinding magic. Though she still paid deference to Seiryu, and conducted her rituals in his name, she eschewed his magic knowing that it would not be as useful to her as that of Windspeaking.

During the war Kiyo became fascinated with the nature of death, wondering precisely what came afterwards in the wake of the lives she helped take and the lives she helped save. She underwent her rites as custom dictated, hoping to gain more experiences with the nature of death and to grow in power.

Professions: Mage; Herbalist

Herbalism - Rank IV - 2,600 EXP

Mage - Rank V

Gift(s): Innate Shadebinding; Telepathy

Noteworthy Skills: Many connections, notable magical prowess, competent at hand-to-hand combat, extremely knowledgeable in a great deal of esoteric subjects, especially those relating to ghosts/death and ritual magic.

Magic:

Windspeaking - Rank V - 109080

Rank I - Windborn Weapon
Rank II - With the Wind
Rank III - Soaring Gusts
Rank IV - Slashdance
Rank V - Vacuum Aura

Shadebinding - Rank IV - 54915

Rank I - ???
Rank II - ???
Rank III - ???
Rank IV - ???

Frostweaving - Rank I - 17473

Rank I - Frozen Sphere
Rank II - Frostburn

Necromancy - Rank I - 800

Rank I - ???

ITEMS:

17,000N

- 3 Rank F Relics

- Shared Herbs with Selim:

1 Lady's Mantle
9 Mistweaver
14 Wintergreen
6 Wardian Foxglove
15 Noxshrooms
10 Peak Root
5 Moonlit Pearl
1 Armic Plating (Psychic/Steel)
2 Gen Darts (Fighting/Dark)
2 Lotulia Blossom (Grass/Water)
3 Weddelbek Straw (Grass/Fighting)
5 Toranese Thistle
1 Blue Mist Flower

Shared Elixirs with Selim:

- 10 Elixir of Capture
- 2 Elixir of Draconic Spirit

Natrelmon:

Grandra (M) - Medium - 16731- 25
Zeruo (F) - Medium - 1000 - 10
Mythrael (M) - Slow - 37738 - 31
Tibearius (F) - Slow - 911 - 9
Kyumin (M) - Medium - 343 - 7

[User]
▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼ Mezhas ▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲
Blurry figures moved across Mezhas vision, moving all around the small space they occupied. Everything was blindingly bright, so the splotches of pastel blues and greens that surrounded her almost blended into the world around them. Their voices, the sounds of their instruments, and some kind of clattering mixed together into indistinct ambience. She could feel a shaking sensation as the world flew by before her eyes, like she was flying. Something with a strange flexibility to it was pressed to her face, and she felt a prick on her arm. Blackness dropped over her vision like blinds.

She woke up in a bright room laying in a bed, and opened her mouth, but no sound came out. In an instant, she was wide awake and had many questions. Was she okay? Where were her parents? In a haze, her hands suddenly felt warm and wet. She could hear panicked shouting, and a strong voice. Something firmly held her arms down, and she felt another prick on her arm. The room went dark again.

▲▼▲▼▲▼ Toran, Present Day ▼▲▼▲▼▲
Mezhas wasn't quite fond of cities, and often considered treks into them a necessary evil. Her disdain towards cities could be fairly easily understood if one knew her circumstances. Being mute, she couldn't easily communicate with anyone she met, though at least the scars on her neck made it obvious to those she encountered why she didn't speak to them. She also couldn't let her gift be revealed, so Urst couldn't carry her around like he usually did. The only one of her companions she could consider summoning was Fulnit, but two foot long fire-spitting pupa don't make for good social lubrication either.

A sigh escaped her lips as she walked. She was mistaken for a young boy everywhere she went, and didn't have the energy - or ability - to correct anyone. This only served to further cement her desire to finish her errands and escape back to her campsite in the forest. She got along much better with natrelmon than she did with humans, and she dearly missed having the company of Kaisl, whom she'd gotten to know quite well.

▲▼▲▼ Toran Forest, One Week Ago ▼▲▼▲
Mezhas lounged in Ursts arms, making her way around the woods. She considered it a nice stretch of her legs from the errands earlier, and the faint crimson glow from Urst's black-rimmed eyes indicated to her that he felt the same. Moreso than Nomstel, Urst was easy to read. Then again, Urst was the first natrelmon she'd bound, so it was Natural that he was the one she knew best.

「Mezhas.」Urt's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, her eyes turning to the distance. The last time they'd come across something it was an Orkora, so she'd tempered her disappointment. She was floored when she caught a glimpse of purple in the clearing ahead. Urst let her down on the ground, and she slowly picked forward to peer at the creature in the distance.

「Is that... a Kujaku?」She asked Usrt, looking back at the tibearius. She was going off a vague description the doctor had given her, and resolved to study the less common natrelmon more. Beautiful blues and greens mingled in it's feathers, and unfamiliar symbols adorned it. Mezhas was, frankly, unsure if she would be able to capture this beast, and looked at her Relic, William, with uncertainty. She settled on no, and pursed her lips. While she didn't like the idea, she settled on using her gift.

Mezhas carefully made her way towards the creature, the flesh under her fingernails blackening as dark energies began to swirl at her fingertips. Her eyes, rimmed by a blood-red glow focused on the Kujaku, and she whispered an apology in her mind. The Kujaku's head turned abruptly to look directly at her, and she briefly froze. Only long enough for silence to reign for a heartbeat, and be broken by torrents of cloudy red mist to surge from the ground and envelop the creature, black chains whipping around it.

Mezhas grit her teeth, feeling severely guilty over what she was doing, the sinking into the Kujaku, which thrashed violently in it's binds. It was over moments after it had started, the Kujaku going limp as the chains holding it faded away. Urst joined Mezhas at the Kujaku's side, the girl gently petting her new companion.「I am sorry for what I've done.」She gave the Kujaku a telepathic apology, then held her Relic - a Weddlebek plushie - out.

▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲

Mezhas broke free of her thoughts, shaking her head. She'd ended up wandering while daydreaming, she'd ended up close to Central Square. She mostly avoided the more central areas of the city, she didn't get along well with crowds. After getting her bearings, she groaned, about to start heading back for camp. Something caught her attention in the square, though.

She slowly picked her way down the street, stopping at the threshold of Central Square. Two other trainers had squared up, and Mezhas was pleased to find she'd arrived in time to see the first exchange. She hadn't had to really fight anything up to now, so seeing what she'd be up against was likely for the best. Especially if other powerful natrelmon like Kaisl were out there.

[Assistant]
Selim decided in that instant to roll the dice. If she had a card to play, his response would likely for her to play it.

Rather than move to either side, or even away from them, Selim surged forward quickly towards Kiyo ready to engage her in exceptionally close range. While Kiyo was overall bigger than most women, Selim still had a fair amount of size on her, which did have its advantages in a direct on attack when there was not a difference in physical agility. He was confident at that close of range, even with her Windspeaking, he would be able to force her to reevaluate her decision. It was smarter than letting her execute on whatever she was trying to do. At Selim's behest, Soelbe, along with its light orbs moved to collapse on Kiyo with Soelbe coming in an arc from behind, the Globe of Ielle more from a direct side position, and the Globe of Indolu right next to Selim.

With all of the motions towards each other, everything would quickly erupt in complete and utter chaos.

[User]
Though Kiyo did not expect her gambit to cause Selim to outright take the offensive, she was prepared to execute her strategy as he did so. Kiyo had many factors to consider in the moment, the most prominent of which being how Selim would choose to use his counterspell. It was common knowledge that spells whose effects were instantaneous were simply unable to be counterspelled as there wasn't time for the magic to work--and Kiyo assumed that someone advertising themselves as a bodyguard had plenty of practical knowledge in the art of magical combat--so the choice of which spell he countered was vital to both of their strategies. Kiyo did not know if Selim knew that she planned to use a Wall, but she cautiously assumed that he did. Windspeakers were known for their proclivity towards slamming foes into objects to cause damage, and a smart opponent would ensure that no surfaces were available for such an attack.

Given the sudden decrease in available time thanks to his movement, Kiyo concluded that Selim would most likely counterspell her wall. Still, it was a requirement that she placed it, and even if he did counterspell it she had ways of buying more time. With a wave of her outstretched hand Kiyo created a wall to her left (and Selim's right) in the open space where the Natrelmon were not that was seven feet away from Kiyo, and just slightly further than that from Selim. The Wall would end up approximately perpendicular to Kiyo's Mythari, though slightly below its position to account for the angle between Kiyo and Mythari as well as between Selim and Soelbe. If Selim counterspelled this Wall, Kiyo would have no choice but to slightly delay her initial strategy and would compensate accordingly if the situation arose.

Assuming that it was not, Kiyo would wait for the pair to reach their melee distance--taking maybe a second, if that--and Kiyo would execute her strategy. She would put her weight on her right leg and lean into the movement, feeling the rush of the wind energy course through her, as she felt Selim come into range. She released the magic in the form of With the Wind, moved on Selim five feet towards the wall that she had made, and immediately as she did so invoked the Soaring Gusts, which had no delay thanks to her recent successful use of the magic. She positioned the circle in such a fashion that she and Selim would both immediately be shunted an additional three feet in the direction of the wall. This combination of spells would slam Selim into the wall with considerable force, and Kiyo would follow the movement up with a Windborn Weapon directly at Selim's chest. Given the short distance between the two, Selim hypothetically being damaged by the hit, and the speed of the projectile it was very unlikely that he would be able to avoid it also.

The sheer bevy of magic performed in such a short time left Kiyo just a little out of breath, and she doubted she would be able to use more without just a little respite--magically speaking--but habitually begun the process of drawing on the Quietus deep within her in case she was required to use it in the immediate future. If the manoeuvre worked, Kiyo's momentum would not allow her to stop--she would continue towards Selim and prepare herself to engage in physical combat.

Mythari and the Nightfall shadow elected to not use any moves, but kept their horizontal position stationary and instead elected to fly up three feet, ensuring that the range of the globes would be safely distant from them. As ever, they remained dutifully vigilant and ready to react to Soelbe should Selim command it to take action.