[System]
Appearance:
A flat chested, short haired, well groomed woman who fits right in with the men in the office. Although no need, she wears contacts as sorta a protective measure. She keeps her appearance regardless of the occasion, only changing her attire to full nudity when it's time to sleep. Noticeable features include a splatch of scar-tissue on her left forearm, and clothes plagued with fur (as much as she tries to clean it, it never goes away).
Nicknames: //

Age: 24

Gender: female

Rank: 2

Quinque: A shoulder turret that covers her arm and comes to a sharp point over her hand.

Personality: Upbeat, friendly, and a bit too positive. Her life motto is "C'est la vie" and she takes that to its fullest. She has no problem with ghouls, nor does she harbor the same feelings some of her fellow investigators may or may not hold to. She feels ghouls have as much right to life as humans so-long-as they follow the rules. She doesn't, however, flaunt her viewpoint onto her peers.

Biography: Grew up in an area plagued by ravenous monsters who, as a child, thought they were more misunderstood more than anything. One night, a ghoul attacked her mother, father, and two sisters; killing the parents and getting teeth deep into young Yoko's arm before CCG showed and put it down. The eldest sister at the time, Namari Hikari age 20, became head of the household until all three eventually grew up and moved out. Somewhere along here, Yoko got herself a baby red panda who she named Riichi. Namari became a professor at a university while her other sister entered the academy two years earlier than Yoko and was killed on the job before Yoko could join her.

[User]
Out of nowhere someone dropped in between Akurai and the girl and he found himself jump backwards. The guy frightened him and made him shiver slightly, if the girl was a 1/10 this guy was 100/10. "I was pretty happy about being unknown..." Akurai whispered to himself. The words the mand said were like knifes and without knowing Akurai had been steeping backwards and was now with his back to the wall. As the mans Kagune ripped forward Akurai's did the same and coated the boys vital organs as well as it could, but never in his life had Akurai felt so frail.

"I dont care if you kill me. Actually it would be nice. My mom and dad are back at home in a pool of their own blood. A ghoul killed them both and he was eating them as I came home. I lost control and I started to punch" His hands curled into fists "and I didn't stop. I just kept going until he looked more like a gooey mess then a man" He looked right at the masked man "and then I ate him" he didn't want to give a reason. He didn't want to say that even if mommy and daddy smelled so good he forced himself to eat the ghoul. " So kill me... I wont mind"

The girls plea however came as a surprise. He didn't see what reason she would have to want to keep him alive, but as soon as she said they should keep him he started to understand. "I won't hunt, I can't. I have always had food at home, dad provided for me" He looked at the girl as she said she needed a friend "I ate one of us and still you say I could be your friend ?"

[Assistant]
Bakura held his ribs tightly the entire time, that's where it ached the most. He had already gotten over his broken arm but his ribs were broken and he hoped that he didn't have an internal injury. His nose twitched at the smell of human meat, it's smell smelling like life in solid form. He quickly grabbed it and tore it apart from his mouth, devouring it within seconds. He let out a sigh of relief, usually feeling better after a meal. He wiped the blood away with his sleeve as he began to move his left hand It's healing faster than before He turn to glare at the young girl in the eyes, blinking as they reverted back to normal "It was the Dining Hall. But it doesn't matter. That rhino looking bastard is dead anyways" He said as he slowly stood up.

He turned his gaze to the other stranger Ghoul in the shop "If I was gonna draw Doves here, I would of left myself to die out there" By the time he finished, the Ghoul left. He walked over to the table and fell onto one of the seats, grabbing a cup of coffee and taking a sip. He looked down at his hand, squeezing it tightly Just that meal won't suffice for me to heal. I need to eat. "It isn't common for strangers to be coming here this late. Why are you here?" He said to the female Ghoul as he took off his hood and took another sip of coffee.

[User]
Meat, Meat, MEAT!

Just as Bakura finished his question, Edward sat across him with his coffee in hand. "Well, at least you probably won't be going there again in a while," he said, taking a sip from his cup. "You should be better soon enough." He wasn't too keen on the idea of people hunting near the shop. It might eventually lead to the doves investigating the area more thoroughly, giving the ghouls at the shop a hard time. He shot a brief glare at the girl. She seemed like a rather uncontrollable ghoul, or perhaps that was just Edward's perception due to her erratic behaviour so far.

[Assistant] A god-awful noise suddenly rang out from Yoko's phone, loud enough to rival the music and ambient noise coming from the main dance floor of the club. At first Yoko just ignored it in her dreamlike state, but as her migraine started again and the noise didn't stop, she pulled out her phone and answered with a worn out tone before she realized what she was doing. "Moshi..." She started to fade away. "CCG, rank 2, Hikari Yoko. At your service." Before the person on the other side could respond, Yoko quickly recalled any reason why anyone would be calling. The only people that would have this number would be her sister up at the university and her fellow CCG workers, but its not that she had a partner or anything. And she had finished her work for the week, except for that last minute file that appeared on her desk. She has yet to look through it though, which she was hoping that it wouldn't come up. She didn't even know what time or day it was.

[User]
Ishin gave a short and violent growl as the boy spilled his story. Ishin didn't care. This was an offence to his domain and he would have none of it…especially from cannibalising scum. He raised an arm, preparing to strike swiftly before he was stopped by Chou. He looked down at the girl and raised an eyebrow. She was asking something of him again. He knew how uncomfortable that made her so it seemed…out of place until she mentioned needing a friend. He nodded and his Kagune retracted. He stepped forward in front of Chou and towards the cowering boy. He did look far too gone to be of much help tonight.

"another one to train I suppose" he mused before taking off his helmet and resting it under an arm "you have been saved by someone's good graces…I suggest you show more appreciation of that fact, boy" Ishin nodded gently "Chou…take the boy back to Dark Nights" he said quickly "Clean him up and show him around…I'll hunt solo tonight" He tapped a finger to his chin "Go to Rocky and ask for the key to Room 3-B…that'll be yours and boys for time being until I can find somewhere else" he placed his helmet back on to his head and shot up into the sky with the help from his kagune. Now he could be by himself. He could hunt with reckless abandon. He could be at his normal. The scent of humans filtered through the metal helmet drove him on. His stomach tightened in anticipation. His arms covered in thick plates of RC cells, he was 'Savage' once more.

Leaping over alleys and pounding over rooftops, Ishin was a silent predator. His first target, slung over his shoulder and half-conscious, was a girl for Chou. He needed about three more bodies to feed the demands of his Ghouls. He leapt in to a group of teens that were either drunk or high. Breaking the street light above them with a flash of crystal RC, in a flash they were on his shoulder as well, in varying states of consciousness or death. That was enough for now. He returned on his hunting path back to Dark Nights.

Arriving back at Dark Nights, Ishin let himself in through a cellar door and down into a room that was hidden from view. The corpse cellar. Leaving the humans there for later, he returned to his office and changed into his usual day to day attire. Leaving his mask behind seemed most prudent as he needed to check on the drunk before checking on Chou and the Boy. Ishin made his way through the crowds and up to the Drunk Tank, rapping on the door with his knuckles "Open up."

[Assistant]
Izumi

Well, while it seemed that the guy hadn't been damaged by doves, he still had enough of an attitude to be making snarky remarks. Izumi felt that she actually liked the guy more than one would actually think. "Well, now that the no life isn't here anymore, I think I should leave too. Preys might not be as abundant if I delay a bit too much." Izumi smiled, before turning to the waiter, Edward. "Oi, boy. You okay on supplies here? I can always bring over my leftovers if you aren't. I'm giving preferance to you guys, you know?" Izumi said, before taking her cellphone out and tinkering with it a bit. Even if Luca didn't know, Izumi was actually an acquaintance, and a good friend, of the owner of the restaurant. That's why she so nonchalantly moved around the place as it were her own.

Before long, she noticed that what she said might actually gross the guy out. What could be more disgusting that human entrails? Half eaten human entrails. "Oh, but I don't actually mean leftovers like that, I mean the guys I can't eat after hunting tonight." Izumi said, blocking her phone and smiling at the pair of guys before her. "You asked what I'm doing her, no?" Izumi made her way towards the back door. "Well, I was just checking in, you know. Making sure people here haven't lost their balls and so, it is pretty bad when that happens." Izumi laughed a bit.

"And also, you never know with that head of the CCG. He might be onto you the moment you take your eyes off him, or the cameras. You gotta be careful, here in district 8, is eat or be eaten. Now, ciao!" Izumi shouted, before jumping away from the restaurant, and putting her mask on after searching for it inside her bad.

Asuya
"HIKARI!? For god's sake, can't you actually BE where someone needs you? Listen, I've gotten on some piece of information I need checked out. Aside from you, there's no one else free right now, and I need you to come with me. Where are you? I'm coming to pick you up rigth away. Do you have your quinque with you, or should I bring it to you?" Asuya spouted out to Hikari, without even waiting for a reply. "Anyhow, be ready. I know your location anyway. I'll also bring a backup should you not have your quinque with you, or yours if I find it. Bye." Not wanting to stay too much on the phone, Asuya quickly hanged up.

Fortunately (unfortunately for his underlings) Asuya had a tracker put in every and each one of them, using their phones or otherwise. Paranoia is a really dreadful thing. He quickly started up in his phone the application and searched for Hikari. Finding her in the club Dark Nights was NOT a pleasant surprise. "That girl.... you can't actually be serious, hanging around such a place." He sighed with exasperation. He left the building and went to his car.

Soon enough, he was en route to the club, to pick Hikari up.

In the dark alleys of Ward 8

A man, clad in full body armor and wearing a menacing looking helmet, walks through the streets. His kagune that was covering his hand just moments ago disappears into nothing into his shoulder blade. Contrary to his medieval appearance, a ringing sound coming from his phone suddenly rang. He quickly rushed to pick it up and turned it on, the screen lighting up his helmet. The neighs of a horse could be heard nearby.

"They are onto me... and the Cannibal Corpse no less. I will need full support in this one, and there's no reinforcements to call upon besides you, Checkmate. Help me through this, and even if I am caught I will not say anything about you." As a middle aged man would, he slowly slid his fingers through the touch screen of his phone and said what he wanted to write in the message. Before long, the message was sent and he approached the black horse standing in the alley. He climbed onto its back. "Let's go, Yozo. They cannot hope to outwit us, not with her on our side." Knight took the reins of the horse and they set off.


[System]
Age: 20
Likes: The ocean, rock music, magic, rum, his ship/crew
Dislikes: being on land too long, politics
Parents: Captain Davy Jones
Bio: The son of Captain Jones, Roger runs the seas on his ship "Lady Luck", always up to no good. He found it odd that his father would have him get married, but after his dear old dad made some promises, he was more than happy to do it.

[User] Roger slept on the couch, like he promised. He sat up the next morning and sees his new wife. "Morning dear." He said and got off the couch. He stood and stretched abit. "Hey, if you're done looking at my muscles, can you hand me a shirt? I'm not just some piece of meat, you know?" He joked, wanting to start the day by making her laugh or something. He was sure this couldn't be easy for her as well.

[Assistant]
As far as James was concerned the morning could have never come, it had been so long since he'd actually made it to a bed before falling asleep. Still the morning sun had other plans and its light trickled into the room and began to dance along his features. The warmth of the light might have even been pleasant if it hadn't been forcing him to stirs from his slumber. A loud yawn escaped from the waking man and he stretched out in the bed and went to roll over, however instead of the soft form of the mattress being there to meet him he felt himself falling.

With the stinging pain of the fall James could feel the memories of last night came running back reminding him of what had been happened. Groaning his pushed himself up into a sitting position and rested back on the bed's side, he could hear the sound of what was presumably Iris playing around behind him. Slowly but surely he got to his feet having to use one arm to steady himself and the other to fend off the offensive rays of light still filling the room.

"Morning" he grunted as he staggered passed Iris and into the bathroom, the sound of flowing water was almost as refreshing as its cool caress. His vision was slowly coming back into focus. "That should do for now" he stated more to himself then anyone else and feeling slightly better trudged back into the bedroom "What do they want now or was the envelope just complimentary?" he said actually able to notice see what was on the tray Iris was holding.

[User]
"You could have closed the door," Iris says as she hears the water running. She did not know it was coming from him or the sink. "I thought I would be the cranky one as you hogged all the pillows." She guess James did not get the meaning that he also use her soft chest as one too. "To your question from the bathroom, we sit down to eat breakfast first than we find out what they want." She sits the tray down and pulls the cover off. She is glad to see pancakes, eggs, and sausage with spices in all of her food. She looks over at the second tray to see what Is under James's tray.

"Morning, hot stuff." Lila says as she tease him back smiling slightly. She is surprise he sleeps half naked than just sleeping in his underwear. She starts to blush but turns away to hide it. She hands him a shirt, "you can make anybody ease up in any situation." She hope she can do the sas etching for him as well. "Let see what we have for breakfast and what is in the envelope." Lila says as she opens the envelope, "after breakfast they want us come to the banquet hall."

[Assistant]
"You close the door to wash your face?" James joked his mood lightening as he finds that he wasn't the only one bothered by this 'early start' to the day. He got the idea that something else was bothering her but thought better then to press of information, based on what she'd told him the night before the last thing he needed was get on her bad side anymore then he already might have been. Taking his seat opposite Iris he cover reveals the continence of an English breakfast, James calmly takes up his fork and makes short clear work of the dish.

Once done with his food James took up the envelope, giving it a once over he opened it. Surely they weren't going to be sending every message with an envelope now. Moving his plate to one side he laid the map out so both Iris and himself could see it, a quick skim was all that was needed to to surmise the note's continence.

"Ok all we gotta do is get down to the banquet hall, seems easy enough" James said placing placing the note atop the map, once Iris was done he lead her down the simple halls and stairs to the banquet hall.

[User] Roger chuckled as he put his shirt on and sat next to her. "Yeah that sounds fun. Hey, let's force you to get married, and then make you do all this crap instead of letting you get to know your new wife or husband." He said and started to eat. "You know what I mean? I kinda just wanna spend the day with you." He said.

[Assistant]
Lila stops eating her omelette and is thinking that mating is still off the the table for now. She guess that is going to happen at some point during the year. She takes a sip of her tea to clear her throat before speaking to Roger. "I like to hang out with you but we are working hard on what ever they throw at us or it could be knowing each other in another way." She says as she finish her breakfast, she did not to talk about anything else as cheeks are so red. She waits for Roger to finish his breakfast so they can get to the banquet hall.

Iris is glad to have a peaceful breakfast after shading the room a bit to hide some of the bright sunlight. After she finish eating, she quickly gets dress. She wears a purple shirt with black skirt, she wakes down the stairs with Jamestown the banquet hall. She did notices they were the first ones here and wonder who will show up next and get this meeting over with.

[User] Roger raised an eyebrow as she spoke. "I just wanted to talk with you. I'm married to ya and barely know anything about you. And I understand that these little things they make us do are meant to help us do that, but we are doing it with a group of people." He said. "I was hoping just one on one talking. Why? What was on your mind?" He asked and started to eat. He then notice the blush, and started to laugh. "Oh, you were thinking of that, huh?" He asked her as he finished eating. "Look, I'm not gonna try and rush you or anything to that. We agreed to wait until we knew eachother better." He said, still chuckling abit.

[Assistant]
The boat arrived at the dock. Since her kingdom was farther away than some of the others, Rose had been late to arrive. She wondered if perhaps all of the matches had been made already. Then she could go home and get away from this nightmare.
But she knew she was not that lucky.

"Welcome Princess Rose," someone she assumed was the steward or butler. "I trust your journey was-"
"Long," Rose said, her tone clipped and short. She was not a happy princess right now. She knew it wasn't this man's fault, but he was unfortunate enough to be standing there at the moment.
He merely nodded. "I'm sure. Your room is prepared and ready for you. Your contemporaries have arrived and are going about their business. You are free to wander the residence after you have rested. I will show you to your room."
"Thank you," Rose said. She might have been cross and tired, but she still had manners.

If she hadn't been so angry at being forced here, she would have considered the island and the house quite beautiful. She didn't see anyone in the halls so perhaps they were in their rooms or exploring the island, which was what she planned to do later on.
Once they arrived in her room and her bags had been brought in she nodded to the steward. "The room is lovely. Thank you. So when will I be meeting the stranger I am to be shackled to by force for the rest of my natural life?"
The steward coughed and looked uncomfortable. "After you have rested you shall be escorted to the chapel. The ceremony shall take place there. I'm afraid you shall not meet your husband until then."
"Lovely," Rose said and turned away as the steward left.

Rose sighed and stared out of the window. Her room faced the jungle. It was very different from the forests that surrounded her home. She already missed it dearly. And she was to remain here with strangers for an entire year?
And one of those strangers was to be her husband.

[User]
Griffin was not happy. He did not want to get married. He had no intention of carrying the bloodline. Which of course was exactly why his father had signed him up for this stupidity. Jafar knew that he would not marry or have kids on his own. So his father had signed him up for this newest attempt to keep the peace.

He arrived late. He had done it on purpose. He figured if he was late their wouldn't be as many people around you witness his humiliation. His father walked by his side to make sure that he didn't bolt. Griffin knew running would do him no good so he didnt waste his time.

Once the arrived at the hotel he was shoved into a room and ordered to change. He reluctantly put the suit on then he was taken to the chapel. He stood at the alter and waited for his bride. He wondered how she felt about this.

[Assistant] "We can hang out by ourselves after the meeting, we need friends to help us out in a rough situation or for us to give a hand to our friends when they need help as well. Anyway, I hope you keep your promise." Lila says as they hope they are not late for the meeting as she is relieve her face return to its normal color. "You are one unquie pirate, than I have heard from the Legands and you are thinking I am one odd princess." She says as she gets up ready to go to the banquet hall whenever he is ready.

[User]
Rose didn't rest long. Might as well get this over with. She opened the package her mother had sent with her, for her to open once she arrived. She froze.
Inside was a gown, a letter and a dried rose.
Picking up the letter, Rose read it with slightly shaking hands.

"My dearest treasure : it's your wedding day. I know it is not what you wanted, and indeed it is not what I wanted for you either. But I of all people know the truth that sometimes bad beginnings can turn into amazing things. When you were a child you loved hearing the story of your father and I. Now it is time for your story to begin. How it ends is up to you my precious girl.
Your father and I love you with all of our hearts, and are proud of who you are.
Remember : do not be deceived by appearances, for true beauty is found within."

Rose picked up the rose and pressed it to her lips. The scent was gone and the petals were no longer soft, but she knew it was from her mother's garden.
It was true. If anyone knew about bad situations it was her mother : the Beauty that tamed the Beast and broke the spell he was under, saving him and everyone in his castle. She wished she could be more like her mother, looking for the good in others and trying to see the bright side. Rose resolved to at least try. She wanted to be someone her parents could be proud of.

Putting on the gown, she allowed the maids in her room to do her hair and makeup. It seemed like a lot of effort for a small ceremony, but she supposed it was all for appearances anyway.
Pushing the anger from her face, Rose tried to look serene and demure as a wife should look but she couldn't quite get rid of the sparkle of spirit in her eyes. Following where she was led, Rose made her way to the chapel.

It was large and there were still quite a few people inside. A man stood at the front. So this was her husband. Finally seen face to face.
To call him tall, dark and handsome did not do him justice. So much for a bad appearance. Whoever his parents were they were good looking. Rose was not going to lie to herself that she was not somewhat relieved. But then again her mother's story had also taught her that the most handsome of men could be the biggest monsters. Putting her shoulders back, she entered and walked towards the stranger she was to be married to.

[Assistant] "Do you Rose promise to walk by Griffin's side forever. Do you promise to love, help and encourage his in all that he does. Do you promise to take time to talk to him, listen to him, and care for her? Will you share him laughter and tears? Will you become him partner lover and best friend? Do you take Griffin be your husband for now and forever more?" The minster asked the bride.

[User] He got dress as well, and chuckled as he walked with her to the meeting. "Mm, yes I do find you a bit odd. But that is why I like talking to you." He said, looking at her. "Normal people are incredible boring, it's always the odd people that are the most fun to talk with." He said as they entered to room for the meeting.

[Assistant] Lila smiles as they enter the banquet hall she notices a scholar and a women with purple hair and dark makeup. She smiles at them as she knows that all people are not morning people and did not want to be snap at as she takes a seat at random. She wonders if the meeting has to do anything with those questions from last night. Iris glance at the couple that just came in and glance away to poke James with her fingernail flier to wake him up.

[User]
@Alisdragon911 @SirSqueakalot91 @Pineappletumble
"Welcome. Please be seated. Every day we will have a group activity. Each night you will have a couples activity. These will help you get to know each other and grow closer. You have been forced together but other experts are going to do our best to make these relationships real. Each of you pulled a question out of a fish bowl. You will share the question, your partners answer, and your response to that answer."Dr. Pepper explained.

[Assistant] Roger sat down next to Lila as he listens to the Doc. "Now, that seems a little personal, don't you think? What if my answer was just something that I only wanted Lila to hear?" He asked her.


[System]
Age: 25

 Gender: Female

 Race: Naga (attempting to transition to another race through magical means)

 Class: Artificer

 Personality: Fieri Angharad is haughty and opinionated, and almost religiously believes in the superiority of magic over all other things. Fieri Angharad has spent decades working in a secluded university, away from all humanoid contact, and is exactly as desperate for affection as that implies. Beneath a thick veneer of contempt, Fieri Angharad is close to a child in terms of practical experience and romance. For some odd reason, Fieri "Diamond-Tail" Angharad insists that everyone refers to her by her full name, nickname and all. Thanks to a hostile environment outside of her birthplace and an inability to cope with it, Fieri is ashamed of her current state of being, and is seeking to change it as soon as possible. Due to this, Fieri gets flustered if her most prominent physical traits are exposed or accentuated.

 Fieri was born in the bustling town of Cartus Magnum, located in the western portion of the nation of Ithillin. Fieri's parents found work as porters and washerwomen in the prestigious university that largely encompassed the town's workings. Cartus Magnum University was a mage's college dedicated to teaching practical magic and hard sciences, and held a stable of fantastic teachers to facilitate this. People from across the continent came to the town almost exclusively to either work for or study in the university, and Fieri's family was no exception. Fieri's father was, rather controversially, a tenured Senior Wrangler, who very narrowly avoided being fired for an ill-advised fling with Fieri's mother, a migrant washerwoman. Unfortunately for both Fieri and her father, Fieri's mother abandoned the both of them almost as soon as she was born, moving on without even a word of warning. With no knowledge of how to raise a child and no wife to do it for him, Fieri's father did what he always did: let the university handle it. And so, Fieri's upbringing was brought entirely into the hands of the university's servants, professors, and students.

 Fieri spent almost the entirety of her life within the confines of the university. Educating the young Fieri was a pet project of most of the university's faculty, who found an unceasing audience in the cheerful naga. As Fieri grew, so did her wealth of knowledge. Mathematics, philosophy, theology, herbology, and artificing all opened their gates to Fieri. Thanks to her father's extensive connections with the university and Fieri's minor status as a staple of the university's live-in entertainment, Fieri was afforded the faculty's level best in education, for no charge-- after all, any money taken in for her education would go right back to her father.

 At the tender age of 18, a startling idea crossed Fieri-- she could be learning to have a job! Startled and mesmerized at the prospect of having to work to earn her daily bread, Fieri nervously opted to follow a career in artificing-- utilizing advanced magic to enchant mundane objects into powerful tools. The idea of making her job trivially easy without even needing to expend too much mana was immensely appealing to Fieri, and she threw herself into her studies with gusto. Fieri studied like a madwoman, egged on by her father, and very nearly graduated at the top of her class at the age of 24. With her magical potential unlocked through rigorous training and studying, and a bevy of spells and enchanted objects at her belt, Fieri... promptly attempted to return to her life of lazing about the university and looking smugly at the students. It was at that point that her father gently but firmly encouraged her to go find a job elsewhere, and politely informed her that, if she continued to stay at the university, she would be arrested and convicted for vagrancy. With no small amount of bitterness, Fieri moved out of the university, and set off into the world. Fieri now wanders aimlessly, searching for odd jobs and helpful servants.

 Equipment: Fieri Angharad is equipped with a variety of self-made magical tools. The weapons underneath are poor-quality, but the enchantments on them are made with love. Fieri's arsenal is as follows.
* Staff of the Diamond-Tail: a university-provided magical focus, that allows Fieri to store and release large amounts of mana. In effect, it is a battery, for intensive magical works. Thanks to the wonderful efforts of the university's engineers, this staff is also capable of drawing mana from ambient sources. In broad daylight or in the light of a full moon, the Staff of the Diamond-Tail regenerates mana very slowly. The staff is also quite sturdy and hurts to be hit with. It is currently filled with several days' worth of stored mana.
* Knife of Lacerations: A standard household bread knife, enchanted to unleash a blast of concussive force exactly the size of its blade on impact. It's useful against unarmored, unexpecting targets, but nearly worthless against armor.
* Bag of Holding: Fieri's thesis project. This is a simple leather satchel, enchanted to magically shrink down anything placed within it. Even thought it is about the size of a traveller's pack, its carrying capacity is about the size of a shipping crate.
* Mana Battery Kit: The mainstay of Fieri's repertoire, this is one of the only things that cannot be made by an artificer. With this advanced piece of magitechnology, one can handily replicate the effects of the university's staffs in a smaller and less powerful form. The kit takes any stone, metal nugget, or gemstone and fills it with mana. These mana-filled minerals can then be inserted into an artificed object to make them usable for non-mages. The more valuable and conductive the material used, the more mana the resulting battery can contain.

 Abilities: Fieri's magical powers are based around utilizing mana in its raw and pure form. These abilities are relatively expensive to use mana-wise, but can also draw from her staff's reserves.
* Mana Bolt: Fieri is capable of projecting a bolt of pure mana at her opponent. The bolt is relatively effective against uncovered flesh, and causes moderate to severe burns on contact. Against large amounts of mana, the bolt reacts violently and explosively.
* Miasma: Fieri is capable of venting large amounts of vaporized mana into the surrounding area at once. The mana, while not strictly toxic, is almost unbearably hot and temporarily interferes with any sources of magic. Prolonged exposure to Miasma results in severe nausea and disorientation. Fieri is not immune to the Miasma's effects.
* Artifice: The gross sum of Fieri's life and Fieri's true calling, this is what Fieri is best at. With a generous amount of mana, a targeted object, and some imagination, Fieri can enchant anything. The more valuable the object is, the easier it is to enchant. It takes half an hour to a day of concentrated work for an Artificing to be completed, and the resulting object must be charged with mana to function properly. What Fieri can enchant is limited only by her scientific knowledge and imagination-- if she can logically conceive of a way to make a ring capable of teleporting its wearer, Fieri can enchant one to do it. Researching and developing new enchantments takes time, mana, and plenty of test subjects. A list of enchantments Fieri currently knows follows.

	+ Emit Force/Absorb Force: Phenomenally simple, this enchantment is designed around converting mana into directed kinetic energy, either to work against incoming blows or amplify them.
	+ Emit/Absorb Heat: Exactly as simple, this enchantment is designed around emitting large amounts of heat or absorbing large amounts of it. With some more sophisticated supplementary enchantments, the weapon appears to emit flames or bolts of frost from it, though the effects are the same.
	+ Discharge/Absorb Mana: This enchantment is explicitly required on every Cartus Magnum Artificer's products, for safety reasons. Upon being discharged, the enchanted object immediately releases all stored mana in a single blast that, at higher levels, overloads other magical items and causes extreme burns. Upon its Absorb function being activated, the object briefly draws from any source of mana directly connected to it.
	+ Feather/Burden: A simple and efficient enchantment, used widely across the continent. When active, the enchantment actively lifts itself (or pushes itself down), making carrying heavy objects significantly easier. In most cases, Feather is attached to armor.
	+ Grow/Shrink: A strange branch of enchantment explored by few, the effects of these enchantments are directly tied to the current size of the object affecting it. When activated, anything touching the enchantment will be either shrunken or grown to a predetermined level. At the same time, both its volume and mass change, allowing for even heavy objects to be carried with ease.

[User]
"Don't worry, we'll meet you inside!" Al called, waving at the paladin. It was good to see that everyone was so eager to get to looting an ancient tomb.

Picking up his pace, the adventurer led the way to Haldric's Tomb. No doubt the church had hired them for a treasureful sidequest.

[Assistant] As the horse trodded onward, it slowed down its pace to match that of the adventurers. Its rhythmic galloping seemed to lul Sergeant Wykes to sleep, as she slumped over the horse's main and grabbed its neck. Slow as it was, it seemed Sergeant Wykes would not fall off. She had a countermeasure in the form of straps which snapped on- she had them installed after the second time she had fallen asleep while on her horse. It was a trick some of the king's cavalrymen used, or at least a trick that was developed by some of her peers back in training so they could catch up on sleep while out training.


[System]
"I-if I had a 1-up mushroom I-I'd probably risk talking to girls directly..."
Gender:
Male

Age:
17

Appearance:
Matt's 5'10" and is always in some type of causal attire. He doesn't wear suits though. Even if the situation calls for it he'll often revert to wearing his black hoodie. His hair is a dirty blonde color and his eyes are a dark cyan. Matt sometimes unconsciously has a lost or confused expression on his face.

Personality:
When he's in the surroundings of a few of his friends he's live and very talkative, expressing very hit of his emotions, but then there's times when he's by himself. When he has no one to talk to he's very silent. Usually drawing and whispering to himself. Matt has a seriously tough time talking to girls. He'd stutter, forget words completely, speak backwards, become clumsy all the signs of your average boy speaking to his crush. Unlike talking just your crush it's for every girl he speaks to. Matt just doesn't do well around girls. He likes them, but is to afraid to speak to them. The only way he could talk to girls was when he was helping with work or talking about a subject that he can get lost in. Besides being really crappy with the ladies Matt is really smart and well know for being one of the smartest students around school.

Likes:
Anime (:P Otaku!)
Manga
Books
Comics
Music

Dislikes:
Bullies
Spicy Foods
Crowds
Public Speaking
Too much attention

Sexuality:
Heterosexual

Bio:
Matt was born in a household that had both parents. Though his parents are from different backgrounds which leads them to getting into feuds on what's right or wrong for Matt. This often ends in him not getting a say so in whatever they're fighting over. Matt usually has is nose in a book to avoid their constant dispute. Which is probably why he's so smart now.

Extra:
•Matt always has his satchel on.
•If the school has a library then that's where you'll find him.

"We are strong
But we don't belong
Born in this world as it all falls apart"

Matthew Stephens
F I R S T N A M E . L A S T N A M E
Relationship: (Acquaintance / Friend / Close Friend / Best Friend / Love Interest / Boyfriend-Girlfriend / Ex / Enemy)
"Thoughts on relation."

M E L A N I E . T I M E R E
Relationship: Acquaintance
"Ice Queen, she's obviously a boss level mob, but she can't really be that cold."

G E N E V I E V E .Y O U N G
Relationship: Acquaintance
"The Boss level harem Girl, she seems nice and good at lot of things...shit I sound like a stalker..."

B E R Y L . C A N T R E L L
Relationship: Acquaintance / Love Interest
"Pretty flat chested for a chick, but that's the perfect role of the Silent Heroine, she's kinda cute in her own way."

D A R I A N . G R E E N
Relationship: Acquaintance
"Okay, Okay, so you know when you play a video game and you get to this level were it makes you question your love of the game and why did you buy the game. That's like this chick! Every time I see her I question my sexuality! Like if a girl I'm dating acts like she does! Fuck that! Rage quitting that relationship!"

A L E X . H I L L
Relationship: Acquaintance
"Boom! So, he's like that character you'd have on your team that you can count on when everybody else fuck up! I swear we can be friends without a doubt!"

M A C K I E N . A C K E R S O N
Relationship: Acquaintance
"Obviously a playboy or at least the center of a harem! I know he has one! He can't be as wild as these rumors that I'm hearing...maybe I should start a harem rumor myself..."

L E N A . W I L L I A M S
Relationship: Acquaintance
"Oh my gosh! It's a female version of Ken from Street Fighter!!! She doesn't look mean and it'd be awesome to see her cosplay!"

O C T A V I A . F A I R C H I L D
Relationship: Acquaintance
"Hmmm best guess is the little sister type. That or undercover sleeping beauty. I'm not totally sure but I think she's a gamer. Once the time is right I'll see if my guess are true!"

A N T O N N I A . S M I T H
Relationship: Acquaintance
"I truly believe she doesn't see me as anything but a sex toy...I know odd right but I swear everytime I pass this chick my spider senses are telling me to run the hell away and don't look back."

R O Z A . K R A S N O F F
Relationship: Friend / Love Interest
*Gasp!* "Dickless the Clown has a friend that doesn't have a hot dog!!! Yes I know, I know calm your panties. I'm actually somewhat friends with this chick. Notice her beauty and massive hypnotizing boobs! I mean....she's nice and I bump into her a few times around the library. But I'd like to think that we are a dynamic duo and I'm Sherlock Holmes and she's Watson... Just more attravite with D cup weapons."

 A R I
Relationship: Friend
"Holy Corn Dog Fucking a door knob! Matt's friends with not one but two girls! Its the apocalypse!! Well I must be precieve as a gay dude that really hates girls! Wtf! Anyways you have your drug dealers and badies like that! I'd like for you to meet my Anime/Manga/Eroge dealer! She as all my otaku needs! Its like a drug trade but with stuff that actually matters!"

[User]
Alex

Alex just sighed at Darian's comment. He looked to the freshmen and said, "Don't worry about her. Just don't go near her and you'll probably be fine. She's rarely at school anyway." He helped the girl up and showed her on the map how to get where she wanted to go. He turned away from her and could smell a familiar scent. From having worked with Gigi so often he could recognize it fairly well.

He walked into the school and knocked the snow off his shoes at the entrance before continuing to his homeroom. The bell rang before he got there, but it didn't really matter to him. Homeroom seemed a little pointless to him anyway. He sneaked in the back looking down and sat beside Octavia hoping the teacher wouldn't call him out for being in the wrong seat. He just didn't want to go to the front and look at the seating chart. He didn't care who he shared homeroom with until he heard the easily recognizable voice of Darian. He groaned and looked up noticing that not just Darian but Roza was also in his class. Then he saw Melanie, Lena, and Matt towards the back. He looked to the front and also saw Mackien, Beryl, and Gigi. In his mind he was already running through the many problems that could occur with this group and thought, *This is going to be a REALLY long year.*

[Assistant]
Melanie

Melanie looked over to see the albino, a flicker of a smile when she saw Beryl. Good... that meant there was at least one productive student in class. A slight frown slipped on to her face as Mackien walked over to him, that guy sure was distracting... As soon as Mackien tried to say something to her, she turned quickly, doing her best not to show him anything she was feeling. Luckily, he didn't continue talking to her, but to Beryl.

Gigi was here! She kept her right hand down with her left instead of waving back. Her food was just to die for and the girl had found out about her sweet tooth... eh, she'd have to be careful this year.

Melanie slipped a book on conceptual physics out of her bag. It was better to get everything memorized first so she could spend time in her dorm reading...

Now that Melanie thought about it, the snow probably had made everyone uncomfortable. Her legs had been freezing outside, and the foot lockers were a wet mess. It was a hope that the snow hadn't ruined her shoes, she hadn't gotten a chance to get a pair of boots yet.

S-She! That girl that always had rumors about her, Roza Krasnoff came into the room... with her shirt seemingly not covering anything. It was all Melanie could do not to blush up to her ears, she hid her face in her book. Those tattoos had to be against the dress code and... and... w-whatever, she didn't care or anything.

This was going to be an exhausting day. Darian had just come into homeroom not in her uniform, her shoes dragging in snow. She had taken that Boy Alex Hill's seat and gotten it covered in dirty snow. The language, the swearing...

She... said that Gigi's muffin was hers... Melanie stood up quickly and walked over to Dar- Alex's seat.

"Darian, coming to school without being in uniform is against school policy. Your snowy boots are a hazard, a student could slip and break their skull open." Melanie crossed her arms in front of her chest, a hand adjusting her glasses.

Try me.

[User]
Beryl
---

Beryl started to sweat, the cold air chilling his spine and he started to breathe a smidgen faster. Oh God, why in the world was Makien, the most popular guy in school, actually talking to him now? Makien had completely ignored him last year, so what had changed? 'Please don't tell me that he's... "interested"', Beryl thought with a slight shudder. It had happened before, guys who weren't from school would ask him out while he walked around. He always declined, but it was really hard to do so without his brother's help. They were always so pushy...

Clearing his throat, trying to keep down the anxiety that was rising up inside of him, he turned in his seat and replied to the red-headed teen. "I-I was fine...", he said to his peer softly, his voice just barely being heard by the popular boy, but completely incomprehensible. His eyes were darting around, trying to focus on Makien's face in order to see his reaction. Was his response enough?

Beryl wouldn't know, because not even a second after he gave his weak response, the other popular student walked up to them. Oh why, oh why, oh why. Did God hate him or something? He was internally screaming right now, wanting to hide under a rock somewhere and die. Outside, however, he was as cool as a cucumber, only a increased rate of perspiration was a indication of his discomfort. Then he heard what she was asking, and would have bolted from the classroom if it wasn't as rude as it would have been.

"...C-... C-Could you... repeat that?" he sounded out in disbelief, his high pitched, feminine voice actually at it's normal volume in the wake of his surprise. The moment he understood what he just did, he wanted to kick himself. Hard. What in the world did he just do?!? He just talked! With his normal voice! There is absolutely no way anyone who had thought he was a girl could ever change their opinions now. Two years of pissing off classmates and teachers, all wasted in a single sentence. He couldn't help it, he was just so deep in disbelief. Why did BOTH of the popular teens want to talk to him all of the sudden? He was going to get crucified! Could his life get any worse?!? Then, the unthinkable happened. From the corner of his periphery, he sees Darian come through the front door. Darian.

'...I think I feel faint...' This was going to be the worst school year in the history of school years. Some way, some how, he had pissed off God. This is was punishment.

[Assistant] Once Darian entered the class Matt immediately closed his manga and took a deep breath. He quickly glanced in her direction and then looked back at his desk.  "God damn it. What is this!? Did the faculty plan to have a mass murder on their hand or something..."  Matt whispered to himself as he looked at all the possible psychopaths that will come from the little classroom. He especially looked at Darian making sure he wasn't caught looking at her. She was obviously a basket case. Matt rested his head on his desk exhaling and restraining himself from searching for a banana and stabbing a certain loud mouth person in the throat. Matt chuckled at the thought of, death by potassium. Look when you have little to no friends stuff like this happens to you so don't judge him. Matt doesn't see how Roza dated her but he isn't her so he shrugged and reverted his attention to Berly. He gritted his teeth as he heard Darian speak poorly of her. If Matt was more sure about how'd he do in a fight she'd be catching his hands instantly. Luckily Berly handled the situation before Matt stepped in...well he wasn't but think of what would happen if he did. The brave hero steps in and protects the beautiful damsel in distress from the mischievous female Bowser! Lost in his thoughts Matt unconsciously whispered.  "Fuck you Goomba."  Outside of his daydreaming mind he was leaned back in his seat in starring at the ceiling with a big smile on his face.


[System]
Age: 36

Role&Kingdom: Regent King of Hiertania

Skill and/or Weapon: As the younger brother to the former king, an adolescent Adrian found himself with few duties to occupy his time growing up. To satiate his ever growing boredom, the younger prince pursued a number of interests such as riding and reading, but nothing captivated him quite like the sword did. Before he knew it, people were saying that he was "Loved by the blade," due to how he took to the discipline as easily as breathing. And his time in the military would only serve to further hone his talent and make word of his prowess spread outside of Hiertania.

Despite all appearances, Adrian is surprisingly well informed on a number of issues, but inattentiveness to his lessons on statecraft has led to his rather unambitious rule. However, when push comes to shove, the regent king has proven time and again to be rather charismatic and capable of rallying those around him, both peasantry and nobility alike, with his words and actions.

Personality: From the way he carries himself to the way he speaks, Adrian exudes a frightening amount of confidence in himself. And while this makes him seem painfully self-involved at times, his genuine nature helps him come off as charming rather than insufferable more often than not. Yet that honesty of his has a bad habit of landing him in hot water, as his bluntness and lack of subtlety has not won him many favors at court. Not that Adrian concerns himself with such matters, as the opinions of others have never held much sway over the wayward royal.

And contrary to what some may think, Adrian is unquestionably loyal to both his people and his family, caring for both dearly even if he isn't that great at showing it. To him, his duty is to be an unshakable pillar to support others, which makes the otherwise honest man hide emotions he deems weak, such as doubt and grief, from others. His position has also made it difficult for him to develop too many close bonds with others despite his easygoing disposition, not to mention rumors regarding his love life are all but nonexistent. But for those he cares about, he cares fiercely and would willing go to the ends of the world for them.

Biography: Adrian had never wished for kinghood, even when he was a child. To him, his older, more responsible brother had always been the ideal fit for the role. But sitting patiently and watching from the side had never been his style, so from an early age the royal made it his mission to find what it was that he excelled at. Swordsmanship found him at the age of twelve and has been his constant companion since then. Unbridled by many of the responsibilities his brother faced, Adrian was free to pursue his calling in the military, which he entered as a talented boy and emerged a confident man.

Never afraid to get his hands dirty with his fellow men, the second prince quickly earned a name for himself in the eyes of the people. And although he wasn't a tactical genius on the battlefield, his ability to make quick decisions and inspire his men made him a force to be reckoned with. Success after success helped shape the brazen man that he is today, but as peace took over the kingdom Adrian set his sights on home. Almost two decades had passed since he had joined, which with his always far too short visits had made him become a bit of a stranger in his own home.

His brother had married during his long absence and already had a small brood by the time he returned. Adrian was by no means the perfect uncle, but he did what he could for his little relatives and in time grew fond of them. The king also brought him into his inner circle, becoming one of his brother's few confidants. While they by no means agreed on every topic, Adrian still cherished the time they spent. Which made his brother's death and his ascension to regency all the more bitter of a pill for him to swallow.

Appearance: By all accounts, Adrian is every bit the dashing individual that he is unfortunately all too eager to proclaim that he is. Standing at a lofty 6'4" and with a physique that has been honed by a lifetime of swordplay and military service, the regent king has never had a reason to blush when caught without a shirt. His light brown hair is kept slightly long and swept to one side, while his eyes shine an equally bright brown with small hints of gold mixed in. And together with his ever present cocky grin, it's easy to see how he got his reputation as a lady killer.

(The picture is a pretty accurate reference, except he has golden brown eyes and he actually appears to be in his 30's)

Recoloring provided by our awesome @AAB. You're a rock star!

[User]
Waking up to the sound of rustling papers and ink bottles clinking was a morning ritual for the third prince. Balthazar liked to say he kept his room tidy without the help of servants. However, in reality, it was just so the staff would stop going through his stuff while they were cleaning. He had severe paranoia to the point where he trusted no one, and to the extent, he keeps the fact he's paranoid to himself. He also knew that most of the staff gossiped about him and minimizing their exposure to his private life was considered the best course of action. So when he woke up in his bed and spilled an ink bottle in the process it was a surprise to no one. What was a surprise to Balthazar was that he woke up in his bed. He usually tried to sleep, couldn't, and wrote poetry until he fell asleep on one of his three desks covered in parchment, quills, and ink bottles. However, this morning he woke startled by the fact he was sleeping in his own bed, leading him to fall out of his bed, covers and all, and knocked over an ink bottle in the process. His entire room is covered in writing supplies except for the fireplace and his piano because he doesn't want any of it to burn and he is fond of his piano. Before he goes to breakfast he washes his hands in his basin (to avoid getting ink on the keys), and plays his piano a little. Although he cannot read music, he knows exactly how every key sounds. He plays two songs leaves and brings his breakfast to the garden. He finds a part of the garden with a tree (that has the least amount of bees) and sat down to eat his omelet. After finishing he pulled out some of his poetry to review for spelling and grammatical errors. After finding only a few missing commas he decided to go back inside. There he found servants bustling through the halls and thankfully not giving him the time of day as he hummed through the halls avoiding his brothers and fathers rooms completely while heading towards the library to finish reading all of the owned fantasy books again for the fifteenth time. This was much to the bookkeeper's dismay who repeatedly stated,
"If you would stop rereading those fantasy books you would have read the whole library by now!"
Which was true but that didn't mean that his highness was going to do it.

[Assistant]
Rowan de Hiertania
It shouldn't be too long now.

For the third time in a row, Rowan read through the section of the thick and dusty book. He hadn't been able to find that many books on alchemy – certainly not in the royal library – but this one had served him well since he had begun learning several years ago. It was rather worn-out, with the occasional tear in a page or stains from an ingredient, and covered in his own hardly intelligible notes. It was preferable that he be the only one who could understand it, anyway. For months now, Rowan had been creating a serum – a poison meant for his father. There was no poison like the one he had desired in the book – the ones listed in his book were for potions that would kill quickly. But he needed one that would take some time, one that would require many small doses and make the death seem natural. So a fair bit of experimenting was required, which had concerned the young prince immensely – after all, this wasn't something that could be done wrong. No, everything had to be perfect. It would be perfect; he was growing increasingly sure of that now. His father had reacted perfectly to the serum, appearing to fall sick just as an older and no doubt stressed man would do. And the reason that Rowan was so riddled with nerves and excitement was because, according to the research he had done, it was almost time for his father, the King of Hiertania, to perish. And after that, Rowan could begin to take care of the other issues standing in his way. Most importantly, his older brother.

Though perhaps such a strong emotion was unfitting for a ruler, Rowan hated Luthier. He was naïve, foolish, and yet he was the one who was to be given the throne? To rule an entire kingdom? Not just any kingdom at that, the mighty kingdom of Hiertania. There was simply no way that his brother could handle that responsibility – Hiertania would certainly crumble. Rowan knew that by getting rid of his brother, he would be saving Hiertania, and that thought alone drove him on. With his skills and his passion, Rowan was absolutely certain that he could bring the kingdom into a new Golden Age. And if he had to make some sacrifices along the way for the greater good, then so be it.

The book slammed shut. Rowan stood up, feeling the familiar mix of confidence and nerves rattling in his stomach. He knew that the next few days would require the utmost precision and thought. There was no room for error. After putting the book back into its place, he left his quarters to begin his daily weapons training outside. As he walked down the stone corridor, he overheard the voices of a couple servants.

"They burned the whole village down last night, that's what I heard anyway!"

"How awful! What if something as scary as that happens here?"

They quickly ceased their conversation as they passed by the prince, but Rowan's curiosity had been piqued. He looked towards them sharply.

"What happened?" he asked tersely. The servants looked bewildered that he was speaking to them.

"Um...What is it you mean, my lord?" one of them asked awkwardly. Rowan suppressed a scowl. He never really spoke to most of the servants; they always seemed so slow and ill at ease. Though a few of them at least were more tolerable - his own personal servant came to mind.

"I heard you speaking of a village that burned down. Where was this?"

The servants looked rather surprised. The other one piped up, "Bandits trying to cross the border of Tiadan, my lord, they attacked a village!"

Rowan frowned. "And why wasn't I informed of this?" The two didn't answer, instead just shifted awkwardly. With a curt nod, Rowan dismissed them and walked away briskly. He felt himself brimming with anger again – a not too unusual occurrence. He resented the fact that he was never kept updated on the happenings of the world, especially events that could influence Hiertania. His father, or anyone else for that matter, clearly didn't care enough to inform him – clearly didn't believe that his thoughts mattered. Rowan gritted his teeth as he entered the courtyard. He was sure Luthier had been immediately told of this raid. And if Luthier was king, what could he do if something like that happened on Hiertania's soil? He would be too weak to handle a situation such as that.

Rowan's sword slammed into the wood target – his vigor had increased with his anger. Perhaps it wouldn't be long until this sword was buried into the chest of his dear older brother.


[System]
Gender: Male

Age: 26

Appearance:
Soft face features adorning tired turquoise eyes, accompanied by a mess of permanently unkempt blonde hair. Freir stands at 1,73m, sporting a modest slender physique. Save for his eye colour, nothing about Freir would stand out in a crowd of northerners.

A blue tattered wool cowl rests over his long-sleeved tunic along with fingerless gloves. His brown leather pants accompanied the light leather armor strapped to his chest and covered the shins of his thick boots. Like any sensible person who grew surrounded by unending landscapes of snow, he wears layers of fur underneath his garments. Strapped to his belt is a small axe and resting beside the axe are the two most curious objects that often accompany Freir. A triangular relic containing four Soul Stones, one in each vertex and another one in the center, and a one handed sword, that features a finely decorated hilt embedded with a final Soul Stone, which no one has ever seen out of it's scabbard.

Bio:
Freir hails from the northern lands, where the cold is a constant presence and the borders between humans and the shadow creatures remain tense. Specifically, the land he came from had come into political instability when he was young as it's Lord and successors had been ambushed by the demonic creatures during one of their religious pilgrimages, leaving the land to be disputed among the remaining nobles. Lacking order in their upper ranks, the local armies and militias have found themselves in a constant tug-of-war with Humanity's old enemy, recovering land one day just to lose it the following week and while peasant villages live in fear of the common shadowy demons raids.

Some time after his family perished, Freir found himself stumbling into a local priest's care along with several other children clutching in his hands the only mementos left from his family, a one-handed sword and a relic containing Soul Stones. Despite being an ordained member of the clergy, Brother Byren knew that most of the children under his care would not follow the path of faith. His bleeding hearth, fearing that the kids would meet their end at either a dark creatures claws out of misfortune or at the gallows for picking the wrong noble's pocket, found it best to teach the children how to run and master the use of shadows.

However, our sky-eyed orphan would not get along with the other boys and girls, preferring to sleep, bathe and eat by himself, rarely uttering a single word outside of brother Byren's confessionary. His confessions would often be of how he was almost caught stealing from either the property of the recently appointed Lord or how he was again humiliated and beaten on the street by young nobles and guards after mouthing off one time too many. Freir, more than the others, blamed the incompetent lords and ladies that would rather squabble among themselves instead of uniting against their common enemy.

After coming of age, the priest who gave him a roof tried one last time to knock sense into his head, suggesting him leaving his homeland in order to make a fortune for himself and try to establish a home, away from the nobility he hated so much. Following his advice, Freir left the snow covered lands behind. His expertise however could briefly be resumed into thieving and fist-fighting. As for what he was to do with his life, after briefly weighing his options he decided it would be best to join a mercenary company, at least until he got enough money to buy himself into nobility and return to oppose the corrupt lords of his cold homeland.

Fighting Style:
Freir fights is a close range fighter, preferring light weaponry and armor in order to outmaneuver his opponent and finish the fight in the least amount of blows possible. For the most part he will fight either hand-to-hand or with the aid of his short-axe in a nimble yet savage manner. In order to aid him he uses various small magic tricks in order to confuse and deceive his opponent.

Equipment:
Light leather armor, winter clothing, a short-axe, a one-handed sword with a Soul Stone embedded into it, a Relic containing 4 Soul Stones and basic supplies

Skills/Abilities:
Very nimble on his feet yet discreet. The classic case of a burglar with a preference for finishing off his adversaries before his presence is noted. Initiated into swordplay but not terribly good at it. Can tap into Soul Stones in order to cast simple yet effective tricks on his victims. Especially fond of simple misdirection spells, smokescreens, voice projection and creating temporary hallucinations.

[User]
"You're late, Jing." A high pitched, tiny voice said from the midst of the crowds, herself struggling to break through the tide of worries and flesh that was escaping from the vanguard and the orcs, where a line of Knights still valiantly stood. Thanks to her nimbleness she was not trampled, but she managed to reach the frontlines, a bag in her hand.

She eyed the crashing waves of the horde, as she mysteriously pulled something from the bag. Maybe something that could change the tide of war? Some kind of secret weapon? No. Just an apple, which she promptly and greedily bit, filling her cheeks with sweet and crunchy apple pulp, much to the incredulous stare of knights and several people who surrounded her.

"What is a kid doing here?? Shoo shoo!" Someone said.

"Fancy an apple? Well, I guess not. Alright." She said to herself as she pointed a dainty little hand to the Orc columns, behind the lines of Shields. Arcane words were whispered, and a small giggle came from her lips.

"This is going to smell...a bit." She said, as out of nowhere, sizeable orbs of fire appeared from her hands, and flung in an arc, burst and scatter aminds the thick of the Orc horde. Being so many cluttered together made such easy targets, weren't they?

[Assistant]
Xia

With the tides of battle quickly changing with the elemental ferocity of fire and ice, Xia saw no more glory to be gained here amongst these sorcerers, merely cleaning up their mess. She did what she did well and slipped into the ever looming shadows, instead focusing her attention on finding those that in light of recent events might no longer wish to be found. She would not let the enemy cowards flee or hide from what they had started. She began hunting and tracking in silence.

[User]
@dark light

 Volux

The stomping of feet alerted Volux to the orc's arrival, their lumbering physique making the boys heart skip several beat. "Ah" he exclaimed, a wave of fear breaking over him like rocks. But like rocks, he stood his ground, waiting for the water to retreat. The orcs stepped closer, much to Volux's dismay, and drew their long crude swords; vicious grins spreading across their ugly mugs.

A warm feeling overcame him. Was it bravery? Courage? Or was it just a reckless side effect of whatever magicks had been lain upon him? Either way, Volux did not care. After seeing Arden melt into the crowd through the corner of his eye, he urged Sereph to go find him, "I've got this" he whispered with an unusual fire burning in his eyes.

Stepping forward he drew his rapier, and wiped it, almost as if cleaning dust from the blade, on his cloak. Drawing it again, albeit this time from between the folds of his mantle, it seemed to glisten with a green liquid, and a grin started to spread across his own face.

The first orc charged on it's own, seemingly believing that the medic would be no challenge for someone of it's stature and battle prowess, knocked over a merchant cart in it's eagerness to reach it's 'victim'. Splintered wood and goods flew through the air, but Volux held his ground, side stepping at the last second as the oaf ploughed through. It seemed to slow slightly before tripping over itself, seeming almost... dazed? On closer inspection however, dead seemed like a more fitting term, as the brute seemed to have a deep gash in his left side, narrowly missing the ribs and directly piercing the heart.

Volux stood between the corpse behind him, and the two remaining orcs, a look of disgust on his face at the sight of his gorgeous blade bloodied once more. Sending a filthy look back towards the orc, Volux knew that the other two wouldn't underestimate him, or his companions, next time.

[Assistant]
-=Northern Gate=- @AtomicNut

Jing was not surprised when Sybille showed up at the gate the "Young" half elf had been following around the Irregulars for the last two months attempting to join them whenever she could. But Jing had held back on the idea, although she was a talented mage and had more training than most of the current Irregulars she still looked so young and had the maturity level to match her looks. But this was the first time Jing had actually saw Sybille in actual combat and so far she was a bit impressive although he wouldn't say so out loud.

The defense of the gate was going well Jing with the Knights covering the entry way and Shion, Gwen, and Sybille giving covering fire the gate itself seemed impenetrable. That was until a bell started to ring from the gatehouse, it seemed that the knight captain had decided that enough of the civilians had been evacuated and was now calling for the knights retreat. It only took the knights beside Jing a moment to decide if they were going to stay or flee and soon enough Jing stood alone at the city gate as the Knights themselves fell back to the Gatehouse.

In an instant the battle changed from defense to survival "Shion we're leaving too, give the signal to retreat" Jing yelled as he continued to fight at the gate trying to give Gwen, Shion and Sybille a chance to retreat back a bit before he let the Orcs stream into the gate. Shion nodded at Jing's command and readied an arrow which he shot strait up into the air. The arrow made a loud whistling noise as it flew up into the sky before going off like a little firework signaling for the Irregulars to retreat as well. Then as Shion started to make his way back jumping from rooftop to rooftop he suddenly fell, impaled by a spear thrown by an Orc who had made its way inside the city from another point. "I got one boss!!" the Orc yelled before getting scorched by a fireball launched by Gwen as she made her way to Shion in an attempt to save the boy.

By the time Gwen and Jing had made their way to Shion it was to late Jing took a moment to look around knowing things were bad before turning yo Sybille. "Sybille, I need to ask you a favor," He said in a serous tone, "Take this letter and find Xia. She will be making her way to Blackrock Village. Please deliver the letter to her." he said as he pulled a sealed envelope from his shirt. "Actually this isn't a request it's your first order as a member of the Bloodrose Irregulars," Jing added while pulling out a wooden token with the Bloodrose Irregulars' symbol on it and adding it to the letter. Jing then turned to Gwen and gave her a nod to leave as well. "You're about to do something stupid and you expect me to leave? Fat chance boss, Someone has to make sure you get back home." She replied before turning to Sybille, "Run along now I'll make sure he gets through this, ohh and welcome to the Irregulars." Gwen said to the half elf before turning her gaze at the main gate with Orcs now pouring through. With a small chant she created two walls of flame that seemed to make a funnel with Jing taking his position at the mouth of the funnel.

-=Western District=- @Dark Light@stoneString

After his moment of rest Alm moved to return to the Knights and Freir for the moment the battle was in their favor the current group of orcs on the run but the next group had yet to make its way through the walls. "Good job," Alm commented to Freir, "Thanks to you guys I didn't have to worry about anything but Ugly over there." He continued before looking around a bit. "Where did Xia go? wasn't she with you?" Alm asked noticing that the girl seemed to disappear during the fighting. "We have to find her Jing will kill me of anything were to happen to her after you two were sent to help me out..." Alm added, but before he could start to move to try and find Xia it happened. The bell at the gatehouse rang the knights who had fought beside them left leaving Alm and Freir by themselves. ".... We really need to find her now..." Alm said looking around. "If the knights are retreating it won't be long before we get that order" Alm said knowing the obvious route of the battle. Then as if on Que another group of orcs started to come through the opening in the gate as the whistling arrow was released signaling the Irregular's retreat aswell. Alm readied his weapon and took up his stance. "Ten on two, maybe three, think we should take them or make our retreat?" Alm asked ready for whichever action Freir decided because he would not leave an ally alone to fight these creatures and he didn't want to let them roam free so in his conflicted state Alm left the decision to his team members.

-=Eastern District=- @MojaveCourier@Dark Light@Cherrywitch

When the Bell sounded nothing changed in the Eastern District, most who wanted to flee already had and there were no knights around to retreat anyway there was just the few orcs in the area wanting to destroy all and the members of the Irregulars there to save those who were left. The small skirmish would continue on until the Whistling arrow was released And although it was the Irregular's sign to retreat it also seemed as a call to the Orcs as after the arrow was released A swarm of orcs appeared at the end of the street charging almost as an incentive to retreat from battle.


[System]
Rank: Spartan. Lieutenant prior to the end of the Human-Covenant war.

Species: Human (Spartan III)

Appearance: Generation 2 Mjolnir Armor, colored black with a dark-tinted visor. (I can look up the exact details of his accessories from the MCC gear list.)

Skills: Excellent sniper, although as with all Spartans, Ben is trained in the use of most if not all UNSC equipment.

Preferred Weapons: SRS99-S5 AM sniper rifle, Covenant sniper weapons (when available), M319 grenade launcher.

Background: Entered service in 2545, having been born on the planet [Censored]. As with all Spartan-IIIs, Ben was orphaned at a young age when the Covenant attacked his planet, glassing the surface. Early on, he was singled out for his skills as a sniper, along with extreme levels of loyalty and a willingness to carry out any order given to him, even those which required him to turn of his own friends and allies. As such, Ben was assigned to the Spartan-III Security operations group, an organization so secretive, even other Spartans weren't made aware of it.

As part of Sec Ops, Ben was nominally a part of Beta company for some years, switching to Alpha and Gamma on occasion. He achieved an exemplary number of kills and was never part of a failed mission. As such, he advanced to the commissioned ranks quickly, becoming a lieutenant by the year 2552. None of the other Spartans knew that he was part of Security Operations, or what his real missions were, for while he still had the same objectives on each mission as the rest of the team he was assigned to, his real goal was to keep the other Spartans in line, report any dissent, and execute any member of the Spartan program who displayed treasonous behavior, cowardice, or put UNSC security at unnecessary risk. His authority for execution also extended as far as the normal UNSC military forces, a fact kept well off the books. It also extended to witnesses to any event which if reported, could jeopardize the political or military aims of the UNSC.

After the end of the Human-Covenant war, Security Operations was reformed into Epsilon company, and retroactively given all of the trappings of a normal UNSC Spartan-III company as if it had been active since the start of the Spartan-III program. Now that the Spartan-IV program has begun, no more members of Epsilon are being added, and members of the company are often combined or sent to participate in larger groups which are formed as the situation demands.

[User]
Tar 'Mdalak
Paxopolis Broadwalk

---

Her mind was still racing from the Sim and the confrontation when Tar passed the train centre's double entry doors. The cool morning breeze of Paxopolis whispered through her armour. The base's clean, wide streets were starting to fill up with people on their way to work.

Tar's stomach complained; she realised she hadn't eaten yet today. She set off for one of her favourite places, courteously waiting for a pair of ONI analysts to cross her path. Tar had never fought Humans during the war. She'd wanted glory in battle like all her brothers, but hadn't been allowed to enlist on account of her gender. As a result, she'd never even seen a Human until her flight to Paxopolis almost half a year ago.

Although comparatively puny, they were generally quite clever and resourceful. A lot of their behaviour was dishonourable by Sangheili standards, but mostly they were at least civil around her. There had been a few insults, but they were quickly pounced on by superiors who seemed under orders to make the co-deployment a success.

Tar was particularly impressed by their weaponry. Considering they hadn't been blessed with reverse engineered Forerunner technology until recently, their ground armaments felt powerful. She was particularly enamoured with their M90 shotgun. The pump action seemed inconvenient, but it had the stopping power of a Gravity Hammer. She'd used a variant with an extended trigger (to accommodate her large Sangheili hands) on a few exercises already.

She crossed the street from the training centre, walked a few hundred metres down one of the main thoroughfares before heading down a side street. She saw the neon sign which read 'Refreshment Area #0259', and the smaller, homemade sign underneath which read 'The Kel 'Darsam' in Basic Sangheili.

Two Sangheili conversing outside the large front door moved aside to let her enter. The interior was high-ceilinged and surprisingly spacious. It had been designed specifically for Elites by sympathetic builders. A bar separated an open plan area with chairs and tables and space for activities from a full kitchen. A stairway off to her right led to a mezzanine level where she could hear a group meditation being guided. Several Sangheili sat at tables nearby playing complicated games with dice and other small objects. A group of older hands loudly discussed epic poetry in the corner.

Tar moved to the bar, where an attractive young cook took her order for a mixed bowl of meat and vegetables along with a nutritious shake. She stood at the bar with her eyes closed, following the instructions of the meditation guide upstairs.

The Major had managed to push her buttons earlier; she'd almost been compelled to fight him for her honour. Perhaps she should've done - It would've forced the other traditionalists on the base to respect her, at least for a while. The meditation helped, and she slowly felt her battle reflexes quietening.

After a few minutes, she heard the door behind her open and close. He was right on time. "What're you eating?" She called out, opening her eyes and turning round.

The Sangheili that approached wore his full, crimson-colored armor, with the exception of his helmet. He was a Ranger, so a vacuum-sealed helmet was not particularly convenient attire for breakfast. "Roasted colo, I think. I need proper food to get this foul taste out of my mouth of a fruit a Human gave me. I cannot conceive of how they stomach such things."

The Sangheili stood alongside Tar, repeating his order to the cook. His name was Kryu, and they had known each other for about as long as they had been stationed on Sarcophagus. They were both crew of the same cruiser, and though they served different units, they did often have cause to be deployed together.

[Assistant] Spartan Aviza observed the current situation at hand, weighing her options on where the best location would be to gather information about the compound in the distance while remaining undetected. It was obvious at the moment that the team was currently not set up for any stealth missions, they would be identified almost instantly then obliterated shortly there after if they tried anything besides keeping their distance. "It's never that simple is it.." said Aviza under her breath before she came to a conclusion on to where they could best view the point of interest and its surroundings. "It appears that our best option on observing the compound in the distance without being caught from the patrols would be to move to the Mesa in the distance, Shih, could you please ping that location for the team?" Without waiting, Aviza would start moving out towards their destination, and would be the first to arrive. When she did, she would quickly go prone and enable her Argus armor to start scanning the surroundings in great detail.

[User]
Vael 'Virisusai and Shih

---

Vael, on his part, agreed with Aviza's decision. While it was more exposed, nothing they had observed so far suggested that the phantom patrols would range that far from the structure. Moving closer would only worsen the risk of detection. As for actually reaching the mesa, it was not an entirely easy climb, but it was nothing the team could not handle. There was no path leading to the top, but there was a steep, but traversable, hill that led most of the way up. They would only need to climb the very last section up to the flat up of the mesa. For Vael, he tossed his sentinel beam up ahead of him so he could get a firm grip on the rocks for the final climb.

Vael did not need an order to follow Aviza's lead. He kept himself low to avoid silhouetting too much against the sky, laying prone to observe the structure in the distance. His HUD did allow him to zoom in on objects in the distance, though it could not compete with the many specialized sensors built into Aviza's armor. It was those that Shih was making the greatest use of to scan the area.

Even without such sensors, Vael could still see the activity around the structure, and it was, unfortunately, not encouraging. It was not just Jiralhanae occupying the structure, but he could see Humans as well. Far more of them than Jiralhanae, in fact. Most of the Brutes Vael could see seemed to be moving closed crates to and from the interior of the structure. This was the insurrectionist base, and the Jiralhanae they were dealing with were holding directly above it. Together, the two factions would present far more forces than Aegis team ever expected to face at once. The structure itself was a fairly large compound, with multiple buildings and other obstacles that would slow any approach to the central tower. He did not see any way for them to reach the center before Jiralhanae reinforcements could overwhelm them. Not alone, at least.

"The Jiralhanae are holding too close to the rebels. They will be able to assist them should we attack. I believe we will need reinforcements to deal with them. Perhaps then we can surround the central tower and prevent their leader's escape." Vael suggested.

Shih soon chimed in over the team's radios. "I'm afraid it might not be even that simple. Now that we're close enough, I'm getting better readings on the structure. I'm detecting evidence of an underground tunnel system beneath the central tower, leading away from the compound and into Sarcophagus' superstructure. I can only begin to guess at the purpose of the tunnels, but the point is that the rebels may have an underground escape route planned in the event of an attack. If we want to stop them here, we'll have to get into that tower quickly."

As she was giving her explanation, the AI highlighted the relevant sections of the compound on their respective HUDs, though she soon also highlighted the Brute cruisers above them. "Luckily, I don't think the Brute ships are going to give us much trouble. Based on everything I can get on sensors, their ships are in pretty poor shape. I'm not even picking up shields on anything but the corvette. I guess the Brutes haven't had access to proper maintenance these last few years. If we call in the battle group, they should mop the floor with them."

[Assistant]
Spartan Lucas Ryker

Having moved with the rest of the team to the plateau, Lucas scoped up on the structure, or structures, as it had turned out, and watched the movements of those below. The Jiralhanae were definitely patrolling the outer area of the crater-like area but the interior was being patrolled by the Insurrectionists, which provided the team a potent advantage. "Before we do that, myself and a couple other members of the team are outfitted with active camo. If Grikgar is outfitted with enough ordinance, and I brought some grenades that we can jerry rig some charges out of, we can sabotage some things before calling in the battle group, particularly things that Shih marks as important. And while the rest of the team pushes in at lightning speed to take advantage of the confusion, we can sneak in and find the URF leader."

Granted, they were still a fairly small team to split up in such a way, but if things played out right, then they could maybe even get the two groups to turn on each other. "Let's face it, these are greater numbers than we were expecting and we don't necessarily have the time to come up with too many more ideas. Plus, maybe the two groups will turn on each other when there are plasma charges destroying critical URF infrastructure at this base."


[System]
Nickname(s): Dan

Gender: Male

Age: 12

House: Ravenclaw

Appearance:

A rather fit looking boy. He has matted, long brown hair. He has smooth, kind brown eyes. He normally appears with a bright grin, and clean white teeth to go with it.

Wand: An 10 1/2 Inch Dark Oak wand, with a core of Dragon Heartstring.

Pet:
Arrow, a Bared Owl, bought for him at Diagon Alley. It was named after his last name.

Strengths: A good climber. All he needs is a few bricks, rocks, or tree branches, and he's at the top of it.

Daniel always talks with a clear voice. This may make his incantations work better, producing better spells.

He has eyesight like a hawk, which combines with his good climbing, to make for a good scout, or lookout.

Weaknesses: Has a fear of snakes.

Personality: He is always the kind one in the group. He always has a kind word for everyone (except for slytherin) He is passionate, and a friend to the core. He is always the one to make friends. He is interested in girls, but is shy to tell them so. Because of this, he is very nervous, and tongue tied when around them.

History: Daniel lived in California, with his muggle mother, and wizard father. Because of his personality, he made many friends. One day, in elementary school, while he was sitting under an apple tree, he made the branch lean down, and he picked off an apple. ,any saw him, and called him 'a freak'. Because of this, all the friends that he made, were gone. No one liked him, and he was lonely.

When he was eleven, his mom got a job as the director of a major fashion company. But, it was in Britain. So they endured the move away from family, and made it work.

On his twelfth birthday, a letter was sent to him. An invitation to Hogwarts. He would finally be with other people like him, othe witches and wizards. He was excited, to learn the wizarding ways, and make new friends.

NPCs: Mathew Arrowmyner - His father, and his biggest influence. He taught him about the wonderful ways of magic, and all about Hogwarts.

[User]
He saw it, in the shrubs. The moonlight caught it in such a way, that the flower glowed. He was about to walk over and pick it when he felt Roze's hand clutch on to his, and heard her squeal. He stood upright in glared into the direction Roze was staring at. It wasn't to far away from his flower, but he didn't see anything. Now that Roze saw something move, he didn't want to pick the flower, so instead he stayed with the rest of the group and watched a another girl pick up what would have been his.

"I didn't see anything. Do you think it's safe to be out here right now, I mean, it could've been anything."

Daniel gripped his wand tighter, just in case it was something worth worrying about. In all the commotion, Dan was so focused on what Roze had seen, he forgot focus on casting the spell, and his wand light flickered out, and Roze, Dani, and him could only see the light emitting from the others wands a little ways away.

"Lumos. Lumos. Lumos!" Dan was getting more frustrated by the second and felt a cold hand on the back of his robes. His wand ignited with a jumpstart and illuminated the area around him to see that the hand on his back belonged to one of the teachers.

"Come along now, you wouldn't want to fall behind from the group. The forest is dangerous, especially at this time of day." Dan started walking forward with the feeling of relief that there was a teacher waking behind them in case anything did happen. In front of him he noticed one of the flowers. With barely any effort he was able to pick the flower from the dirt, and put it in his bag. Whatever this thing Roze saw was, he hoped it wouldn't come back again.

[Assistant]
Charlotte was disappointed by the mundanity of the task at hand, but, she supposed, it was a punishment. She had gotten her hopes up about it being some kind of fun adventure, but no such luck. Life was not fair after all. He held her wand like some of the others, and tried to summon a light by copying another boy's incantation. She didn't get the silver light you were supposed to, but when she shook her wand she could make purple sparks rain gently out of it, and it at least shed some light onto the ground.

The new Professor was the Transfiguration Professor, Richard Nothing his name was. He was as yet an unknown quantity to the students, as most of them had not yet had his class. And just now he wasn't giving much away. He walked quietly along the far edge of the group, every once in a while ushering a student who was wandering away back toward the mass of students.

[User]
"Come along now, you wouldn't want to fall behind from the group. The forest is dangerous, especially at this time of day." Cassandra had called out, looking on as Dan cast a light spell. "Not bad for day one." She smiled. She meant to urge the group along when he students seemed to spot the flower in question. "That was quick." She would stand back and let the students inspect and collect these specimens then move them along through the wood. There was not likely enough there to provide all the students with their samples.

Caelum, as observant as she was, did not notice anything amiss. She looked up from the fistful of silver blossoms and in the direction of Richard Notting, the transfiguration teacher. Caelum hoped he would be impressed with her find... Well... It was really Roze that had found the flower... Yet, perhaps since Caelum was the first to pick it... Richard would be impressed...

She didn't notice what lay behind the patch of flowers lurking between the shadows in the forest...

[Assistant]
Roze sighed quietly in disappointment, and then let go of her friends' hands with a murmured apology.
"I wasn't talking about the flower..." She muttered, moving along uncomfortably with the rest of the group as the teacher behind them ushered them along, still glancing over her shoulder to stare at the spot where she had seen the shadow. However, as the group passed on, the darkness consumed the trees behind them.

Roze's hair was now much lighter than it had been before - and it certainly wasn't due to happiness.

Moving along with the rest of the group, Roze pondered silently over whether or not to mention it to the Professors. Would they just laugh and not believe her? What if they thought she was just making up stories and she got into more trouble? And what if the rest of the class heard and just laughed at her?!

Roze felt as thought her insides had all twisted up, knotted together in her anxious indecision. Not only that, but there still remained the feeling that they were being both watched and followed.

As the group moved along, she tensed up everytime someone let out a tell of triumph when they found a flower - and her unease only grew as the trees thinned out into a wide clearing. The moonlight shone through the light cover of the branches above, casting a pale light over all of them. It was bright enough to warrant turning their wand light out, but Roze did not put her wand away. In fact, it was raised in the same defensive way she'd seen her brother raise his own when practicing spells at home. There was something seriously amiss in this forest.

As the group came to a stop to dither over which way to go from the clearing, Roze began slowly inching her way to the closest Professor, ignoring the strange looks she received from Daniel and Dani. The closest teacher turned out to be the newest one - Richard.

"Sir," She began in a quiet voice, not daring to tear her eyes away from the treeline. She was sure she had seen more movement. "I think there's something following us."

As Richard looked down at Roze, probably to tell her that she was just seeing things in the dark, or had an overreactive imagination - a hoarse voice from the shadows uttered a curse, and the pale clearing suddenly lit up with bangs, screams, and the terrifying light of dark magic as the attack began.

And from the shadows, their leader watched with a content smile... waiting for the perfect moment to strike...

[User]
Had he not stopped to reassure a student, Richard might have gotten a counter attack as well as a shield, but distracted as he was it was all he could do to intercept the incoming curse. He caught it on the tip of his wand, and twirled it over his head, redirecting the curse back into the woods. It flew wild and high, and Richard lost track of the source.

The night was exploding, and Richard shoved Roze back roughly toward the bulk of students, and lifted his wand. A bulb of light, brighter than the moon shot from it and hung just below the canopy of trees, casting both light and shadow over the forested landscape.

"Charlie," he called urgently, not taking his eyes off the tree line, his wand raised in a dueling position. "Trouble." He shot another curse of his own back, but refused to move from his defensive position.

[Assistant]
Charlie Weasley heard Richard and drew his wand. He was near the head of the group still, and dashed forward on long limber legs to shield a small penguin-like student who had wandered aimlessly ahead of the group. He brushed her aside, countering the curse, he thought he saw a cloaked figure in the forest... Charlie yelled 'Stupefy!' with his wand outstretched to the enemy in the dark... Were these some older students playing a prank? Charlie thought of the train-car incident... The pranks this year seemed to lean the side of extremism. He would attempt to stun these attackers and determine if they were students or outsiders interfering in Hogwarts business...

Charlie Weasly defended Hogwarts once before, he would gladly do so again if called upon to do so.

Moirah shrieked, nearly struck by a glowing red glob of magic. Charlie knocked her out of the way just in the nick of time... But he also toppled her straight over and she rolled off the path and into the briers. She wriggled and whimpered as the thorns bit through her robes and into her skin. She watched Charlie and a strange wizard begin to duel...

Cassandra turned about as the trouble came upon them. She brought her wand arm up and her lips began to move, but before any words came forth she was struck in he shoulder and she crumpled to the ground. Red blood bloomed from her shoulder and the stain spread down her sleeve. She didn't' move for awhile...

Caelum was blinded by the lights and deafened by the noise. She dropped all the little silver flowers that she held in surprise, then crouched against the tree by self preservative instinct. She was still well off the path collecting flowers where Roze had spotted them... Or had she seen something else? It seemed so.

She wanted to dash back to the group, but hesitated. She saw the crossfire of spells in the air and was afraid of being hit. 'Do they know where I am?' She wondered if in the chaos they would forget her and run away...

Then she felt something grip her ankle, she gasped looking down. At first she thought it was the silver flowers that were the culprit. For they rose up from the earth toward her, the flowerbed undulating angrily. Yet, it was the roots of the tree beneath. The spell-animated root grabbed her ankle, then wrist, then began to drag her away from the path away from the school group and into the dark forest.

"R-RICHA--!" She called the first name that came to her mind, the new teacher. Then felt a spell hit the back of her head, her mouth suddenly felt like it was... was... full of something like peanut butter that tasted foul. She was unable to call for help. She had one free hand left, she clawed at the ground ripping up dirt and silver-flours as she was dragged away.

More roots might threaten to grab the ankles and toes of any students to far on the outskirts... The attackers, for the moment, stayed beyond the tree line...