[System]
Age: 30

Sex: Male

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[User]
"I see." Raiya's voice a contemplative whisper.

The mana crystal lamps did little to light the way, which was probably because the charge in them was waning and no one had bothered to charge them in years. But if the way was lit just a little better, Nemo and the others could see that Raiya was visibly shaken, and almost in a state of panic.

It's even worse than I could have ever imagined. Not only has Nemo been suppressing his true power. But he has an innate abiltiy or some form of knowledge of a lost magick that gives him a limitless potential, and makes him by nature the enemy of every Talent. No, every life form.

Raiya shivered as her imagination took the idea of Nemo absorbing the entire world and animated it fully in her mind.

What can I even do? I didn't sign up for this. DAMNIT! At this rate, I'll never be able to get back to the Yakuza

She fumbled in her jacket with her shaky hand to take out the flask, contemplating downing the rest of the entire flask. She loosened the cap, but as she went to bring it to her lips, the shakiness of her hand was so severe that she dropped the flask, spilling the entire contents on the ground.

She was so at a loss that she hesitated in picking it up, letting it lay on the ground for several moments.

[Assistant]
Nemo saw the flask spill onto the floor, he had been trying to observe Raiya's reaction beforehand but was distracted by the mishap. Noticing Raiya's hesitation caused Nemo to bend over and pick it up himself. He brushed it off clean from the ground and then extended his hand to give it back to her. "You should be more careful, that's a very collectible piece you've got there." He commented.

Nemo then placed his gloved right hand on her shoulder, even in the dark his pale white eyes were still visible. "You know, I really hope we can get along in the future, Raiya."

[User]
As soon as Nemo placed his hand on her shoulder, she imagined all of her mana rushing out of her through his hand, her becoming a withered husk, dying while being assimilated into Nemo's mana pool. The thought made her flinch momentarily, and when she snapped out of it, she had realized she was still alive, and Nemo had extended his hand out for an abnormally long time to return the flask.

"Y-yeah. I hope so too..." Raiya replied hesitantly as she greedily snatched the flask back and placed it into her pocket.

With an absent mind, still lost in thought, she continued to walk forward, not noticing the corridor had shifted to the room with the multiple passages. As soon as she stepped into the room, her foot touched a plate on the ground triggering a trap.

Two large slabs of granite, one from the bottom and one from the top of the corridor, rushed together in an instant. Everyone except Artos had made it into the room with the multiple passages. Once the slabs came together, that was the end for Artos, and this was readily apparent. The small seem in the middle of the blocked way to the corridor oozed black blood, which dripped into a pool on the ground in front of the blocked path.

Raiya picked up the crystal inlay and placed it back in her ear.

"Uh- Felix-?" Raiya began.

"No- I know. Artos is dead. I felt his manadial blink off. He was the rearguard. The last one in the formation. It could have just as easily been anyone else. But he died doing his duty." Felix sighed.

[Assistant]
With Nemo's spell settled, so true was the skeleton's ambush. The blast and the resulting shrapnel had dispatched the trap's undead reserves, leaving nothing left to throw at the unconventional party. The gates leading deeper into the catacombs soon opened, giving off a grinding whine as the large doors dragged across the floor's surface. It was perfectly evident that their first trial was not over and they per permitted to advance.

All of a sudden, everyone's manadial went off with Felix's returning voice coming through the magical devices. Travis fiddled around with his own manadial until he found the earpiece to the still personally-not-so-well-understood contraption in his hands. Felix, unexpectedly, congratulated everyone in an overly blissful manner, betraying a rather calm and professional mannerism as observed before. Nemo gave a casual bow and returned thanks to those whom made his spell all the more effective. Travis nearly became blushed in receiving so much praise, from an Arch Mage no less.

"Erm, yes. Ah, I certainly made due with what I had. Pleasant to know it contributed well in the end." Travis returned, sounding awkward in his attempt acknowledging the compliments.

While it was difficult to take note during the fight, Travis recounted the spells that were utilized by his compatriots. Though he had accepted his limitations, Travis was somewhat humble about his "lacking" mana endurance. While he could not ascertain the number of spells everyone was capable of mustering, Travis himself knew he had a wide arsenal at his disposal. But many times in the past, did he had quickly confirm how draining his spells were and the physical toll they came with as well. With such a fight leading into a battle of attrition, Travis knew how risky some of his capabilities were had he used them, especially more than once.

While in the end, his reserved but logical participation proved efficient, as an Untalent however, there was more he wished to efficiently perform. Perhaps there was something he could soon learn from his other allies just as his influence for his next rune project had come from Artos' earlier presentation. Raiya's Shinto-based magic came off like an enchantment that helped projected the main spell through her blade. The intelligent utilization proved very effective against the skeletal orge, decimating it in one go. Enchantments were not outside of Travis' scope; in fact, it one of the things he could adequately manage on short notice, provided proper necessities available. As he thought more about it, a possible and likely repurposing of one of his new runes could prove radically effective as an enchantment.

Nemo's massively destructed spell was simply something Travis had not anticipated on. The amount of mana needed to even charge such a spell would have been ridiculously high. While perhaps it would have been a chunk for a Talent to deal with, Travis couldn't even hope to last in the casting process. However, its creation did require the projection of a graphical construct of some sort; something that begged Travis' curiosity. Despite the Latin trigger word and potential backgrounds with the Church, he pondered if the large "X" from earlier was more than just representation. If anything it seemed similar like casting a rune spell. However its process was performed, he imagined an alternative manner for one of his deadlier tricks if the time arose.

Felix eventually explained that the catacombs they now travel through were the conceived final resting place of a now deceased people called the Valakites that were said to, literally as Felix detailed, disappeared from the face of the Earth. A sudden inclination came to mind as he turned his head back to the carnage and the heap of bones behind him. Travis himself researched into the subject of the Valakites and the ware they waged with the Jews but to learn that the Academia had a hand further elevated his astonishment further. First the denial of the Paragons, then the existence of the catacombs, and now the burial grounds of a lost people. What else had the Academia been involved in that was not campus known? It the very thought intriguing but was grossly outplayed by how terrifying the possibility lead on. Raiya seemed deep in thought as well while Nemo expressed hunger, seemingly towards the mana crystals as before as Travis recalled the puzzling man dropping a shard down his gullet. Dare he ask why that was a thing?

Immediately upon stepping out of the previous room did they now enter into a hallway with lanterns of similar make as the rest of the place lighting up as they passed by each one. Felix warned of an upcoming room which split into different paths. Instead of having everyone move through their own pathway as Travis had immediately thought of, their advisor however advised against that course of action and instead openly preferred everyone to stay together in order to adequately deal with any danger likely lying in wait no matter the path selected.

Nemo and Raiya had begun to build a conversation as they strolled ahead, maintaining their assigned formation while he in the middle and Artos on rear. The hallway itself seemed more and more expansive with their two leaders still talking about their past lives. Travis didn't know quite know if he should take the opportunity to listen to them but the with the manadial earpieces laid in their ears meant a private conversation was on foot. Whether it was recreational or mission related, Travis certainly had no chance of involving himself in the matter. Given the time they seemingly continued to obtain as they continued down the hallway unopposed, Travis decided to take the moment to brainstorm more on his projects.

His cryogentic rune concept was very much incomplete but had a reasonable design to it that could make it just as efficient as his more explosive rune. While heat and oxygen was an easier factor to produce, water however demanded more attention to detail and create for that matter. Collecting the H2O in order for the rune spell to freeze could be pulled of from the surrounding moisture. But what if the climate was hotter though? It was likely he would need to incorporate a water projection spell into the mix. It was feasible but how much additional mana could that need? Travis wasn't necessarily picky really efficiency was now the apparent requirement now that he was capable creating something easily effective.

It was when they reached the space Felix mentioned did Travis, almost unknowing of their location began to turn his attention to Artos, seeking input from his icy comrade. But with a sudden click coming from beneath Rayia did Travis hear the load crashing sound of two heavy forces colliding against each other. It was so close that Travis nearly reeled forward has his ears briefly ringed. While he didn't flinch as much, a sudden inclined thought occurred to him, causing him to slowly look behind him, with dread soon washing across his face.


[System]
Appearance:

Super Alias: Noisemaker, Dr. Ding

Age: 25

Power(s):Cassie has the ability to emit, absorb, and analyze vibrations; in other words, she manipulates sound.
Genes: Super-senses, force manipulation.

Super Suit Specifics:Cassie wears a white enamel androgynous power suit that is easily mistaken for a robot. It looks something like the following image.But the head has a single red camera in the center like the following image.Cassie wears a white hooded robe over all this.

Cassie's power suit provides a decent amount of protection and minimal strength augmentation while providing her with many options when using her natural ability. She has many devices that produce or augment sound. Notably, she has a sword/bat that is essentially a massive tuning fork that she can make vibrate at different frequencies to shatter different materials. She also carries many small disc-shaped emitters that she lays around to create acoustic or harmonic zones that amplify her power. Cassie's suit was not designed by Edna Mode, though it still comes with the standard homing device and communicator.
Skills:Cassie has a PhD in theoretical physics and can do high-level math in her head, which helps her with the complex behaviors of sound.
Personality:Cassie comes off as stern and no-nonsense. She believes that superheroic acts should be a duty rather than a passion and looks down on those who do it for the thrill. She believes that supers are beholden to the people and should be held accountable if their recklessness harms or endangers the populace. This is not a popular stance among supers but has earned her a degree of clout among the BSA. Some supers see her as a traitor, but she frankly doesn't care what they think. Cassie believes in discipline and order and sees the government as the rightful holders of the reins over supers, red tape, bureaucracy and all. Cassie does have a nurturing side, like a teacher; and will praise and reward those willing to obey.
Biography:Cassie's parents were the Chinese-American duo, Dr. Ding and Tremor. Dr. Ding was the brains, a telwpath who used his incredible senses and ability to communicate discreetly to spot for Tremor, who could manipulate the ground and create earthquakes. Before Cassie was born, her parents played classical music towards the womb, based off a quack theory that doing so would help the unborn child's brain develop. When Cassie was born, everyone was surprised to hear Beethoven's Ninth Symphony playing from the baby. Cassie was only around 7 or 8 when the famous court case, The People vs. Mr. Incredible happened. Her parents, despite being supers themselves, saw merit in the suit filed against Mr. Incredible, and reassessed their own performance. They also saw this as an opportunity to stop Cassie from becoming a hero since they felt hero work was too dangerous for her since her ability did nothing to protect her, having zero defensive capabilities. They had Cassie focus her energies on her studies instead. Still, they didn't want her losing her super heritage, so they let her train her abilities in secret, always stressing discipline, control, and precision, reminding her that she had the potential to be extremely dangerous. As Cassie went through, her parents wondered if the classical music had worked since Cassie demonstrated super intellect and became an ace student, skipping a few grades in the process. She went on to university, and then to graduate school where she earned her degree. Cassie also showed an interest in sociology and political theory as she tried to figure out her place in the world as a super and has even given a few speeches in support of a world where supers operated only under government supervision. This has earned her a spot in the BSA's new program.
Equipment/possessions:Her super suit is a design she was able to squeeze out of defense contractors that she had collaborated with on research projects. She lacks a certain degree of sentimentality and doesn't keep mementos. She has her glasses because her eyesight is horrible even though she could use echolocation instead.
Others:She sometimes goes by Dr. Ding, which is her father's super alias because she not only shares the surname, but she also has the degree to warrant the title of doctor. She sometimes announces her arrival by emitting an 'elevator bell' *DING* sound as a signature.

[User]
Rebekah Green

The acid hadn't worked, which was a pity, but with Mr. Incredible now wrestling with the sensor array on top of the robot, she had to change tacks. With one hand outstretched toward the onmidroid with her fingers splayed, Karearea focussed her power into the popup eye to shrink it. She slowly clenched her fist as she did so. The gesture wasn't strictly required for her to use her powers, but she found that the motion helped her focus.

The idea was that shrinking the sensor array (but not its connection to the main body of the robot) would release Mr. Incredible's hands, and maybe give him enough room and leverage to rip it off entirely, the armour now being small, so thinner and weaker. Even of that didn't happen, however, she figured it would play havoc with the electronics anyway. She knew that the the resistance and current in any wire was proportional to its size, and since she was indiscriminately shrinking the whole popup, not just the part trapping Bob's fingers, the the sensors and circuits in there would be affected too. Suddenly, the inputs and outputs wouldn't match what other components knew how to interpret, fuses would blow and if she was really lucky, the whole part might go offline.

[Assistant]
Omnidroid and Incredibles

Cassie's call caused the robot to stop and look around at her, but it didn't appear to be standing down. Rather, it changed direction and started rolling at her instead. It had ben a clever idea to mimic the original master of the omnidroids, but sadly, they had only ever been controlled by remote, and not by voice.

Down on the ground, and now thankfully away from the robot's destructive path, Dash heard Magnastar's call and rushed over to her, and kept jogging on the spot while Mako took advantage of the breather.
"What's the plan, Stan?" he asked quickly. "Got an idea?"

Up on top of the robot, Mr. Incredible had been able to get his hands free from under the sensor array, but his tugging upwards to rip it off completely wasn't getting him anywhere. He settled for slamming a fist down on top of the thing and leaving a sizeable dent in the weakened material before he jumped off the rolling ball. He had been getting dizzy up there.

With the damage done to its sensors, the Omnidroid Beta had to slow up a bit. It's tough exterior could deal with getting shot, slammed, pounded, zapped and burnt, but getting magically warped from the inside wasn't something it was prepared for. It wasn't completely catastrophic, but after fuses had blown and surge protectors had kicked in to save the core components, it was down to about half of its normal perception, with several of its more sensitive and unusual detectors going offline completely. It could still 'see' the supers around it, but its 'vision' was fuzzy and a little slow.

[User]
"Yeah, I need you to get Vi to make a forcefield to stop it from moving, along with anyone else who can hamper it's movements. We need to work together to overpower it. Mr Incredible just did some serious damage to it. I am going to try and use my Magnetism to help try to get it to stop moving, but once we've secured it, I am going to try and use my magnetism to scramble it's brains and shut it down," Magnestar explained,"Can you spread the word?"

Once Dash ran off to spread the plan around she would immediately plant her feet and begin to focus her magnetism in pulling the Omnidroid back towards her. She would draw her sword now to try and guide her powers more effects.

[Assistant] As the droid began rolling at her, Cassie started to slightly panic. Still, it wasn't the worst thing that could happen. For one, it made it easier for her to lead it into her acoustic trap, which she started running towards. Then running the calculations in her head, she started firing her best estimate of the droid's resonant frequency at it. When it had entered her ring of harmonic amplifiers, she had them all play the same frequency, and though the sound itself could not be heard, its vibrations could be felt as a low rumble to all in the vicinity. Cassie hoped this would jostle loose something: screws, circuit boards, whatever. She knew from case files that the omnidroid's greatest enemy was itself, and the concept of applied destructive harmonics was essentially making a material destroy itself from the inside, so she hoped the principle applied here in the same way. Still if it kept rolling and didn't stay in the trap, damage would be minimal at best. And Cassie would become a pancake. She wasn't exactly the most mobile super.

[User]
Omnidroid, Incredibles and Rebekah Green

As the omnidroid closed in on Cassie and entered her amplifying circle, it's spherical body began to ring like a bell. It was still running its interferers on the inside and trying to block the sound's destructive effects, but slowly they were being overpowered. Slowly but surely, the robot was losing in its struggle with the Noisemaker.

Weakened as it was, the robot kept rolling on towards Cassie, but it was suddenly interrupted by a rippling purple sheet of force blocking its way. Violet too became visible, but just long enough to give an encouraging thumbs-up gesture before disappearing again.

Mako's message spread quickly, through Dash's quick legs and blunt tongue. Quickly, he, Elastigirl and Frozone had descended on the robot, and were working to keep it immobile. Its clawed arms whirled around and snapped at them, but the supers skills kept them just ahead of the omnidroid's pursuit.

Up on her perch above the battlefield, Karearea recognised the new plan did did what she could to assist. She focused on specific segments of the robot's many-jointed legs and grew them, causing jams where the joints wouldn't move smoothly any more. This limited its mobility, causing it to stumble and stagger as it moved about.

[Assistant] Attempting to pull an obeject of larger mass then herself can only have two real effects. First, nothing, or second, she launches herself at the object she was attempting to draw. In this particular instance, at first it was nothing, but once she saw that the Omnidroid was halted she switched into phase two. She started running toward the Omnidroid and launched herself through the air. Using the momentum of the increased draw of her magnetism she took her Katana and focused on forcing it to vibrate rapidly by constantly drawing and pushing the metal in rotation, like she had done with the pan in the induction testing earlier this evening. With the blade rapidly vibrating she plunged it into the surface of the Omnidroid. Once through the surface she changed her focus into simply putting out the most powerfull magnetic pull she could through her katana. Mako hoped that it would be enough to overcome any magnetic shielding protecting the Omnidroids electronics.

[User]
Cassie gave Violet a nod of acknowledgement for erecting the forcefield that pretty much saved her from becoming a pancake.

Seeing Mako's attempt to cleave the Omnidroid with her katana, Cassie wanted to see if she could help her in that regard. Despite the sheer amount of noise being generated, Cassie was still able to 'hear' the sound of Mako's sword vibrating, reminding her of the 'cooking' attempt she made in the kitchen. Realizing that Mako was trying to superheat her katana through magnetic vibrations, Cassie helped with sound vibrations by switching her acoustic traps to match the sword's vibrations. Maybe it would help the blade slice into the robot's hard metal shell, or maybe the blade would shatter from the stress.

[Assistant]
Omnidroid

The enhanced vibrations of the katana helped it to carve out a sizeable scratch in the omnidroid's shell, then a growing incision that was growing deeper by the second. The problem with this was soon reveal, however: superheating the blade was causing it to lose its temper and solidity faster than it was melting through the omnidroid's temporarily lava-proof outer casing.

With a final magnetic heave, the part-melted sword came free of the robot, along with a section of the robot's shell that had either melted onto it or been deformed enough by the magnetism to tear free. The hole was about a square foot in area with sharp, jagged edges.

In response, the omnidroid abandoned its attempts to break out of its cage and focussed solely on Magnastar. Its two claws became giant saws that swung towards her, while its legs retracted and the whole thing started to roll so that Mako and the hole would be underneath it.

[User]
With barely any time to react at all, Magnestar attempted simultaneously to leap out of the way of the blades, and away from the droid, while unloading her clip of ball bearings into the hole she had made. Once clear of the droids reach she called out, "Keep it steady!" She knew that it wouldn't want to move anywhere for fear of exposing the hole inside. That was fine, with her ball bearings inside of it, she could launch them around all over the inside of it ripping through control panels and servo motors and sensors until it finally shut itself down, or was unable to continue operating.

To do this, Mako closed her eyes, trusting her teammates to keep the droid from moving anywhere, and focused all of her senses on her magnetic abilities. She was looking for the 19 ball bearings that she had rolling around the inside of the Omnidroid. Once she had one she focused on it and pushed it straight away from her with as much force as she could. More than likely it would just roll along the inside curve of the spherical foe, but once it had made it half way up the arc she would draw it towards herself as strongly as she could, trying to draw it through the center core of whatever it was that was in there. She would move the next ball bearing the same way, and the next and the next until she had a swarm of them dancing around inside of the machine. Of course, this much control required more than just mental commands, this required a physical exertion as well. Using finely trained physical moves from her own brand of Ninjitsu, she spun and kicked and punched like she was fighting an invisible opponent with her eyes closed, in an effort to keep the small metal missiles spinning inside the Omnidroid.

[Assistant] With the hole Magnastar was able to open up in the Omnidroid, Cassie knew it was time to finish this. She made a gesture like a conductor urging the orchestra to a crescendoed finale, easing her hands in front of her, palms upward. The acoustic traps she had laid out switched back to the frequency that she believed was as close as she could get the droid's resonant frequency and amped up the volume. A perfect shape, like a sphere, was great at redistributing stress. However certain stresses, like harmonic stress, tended to concentrate at flaws and imperfections: chips, cracks, fractures, etc. It was Cassie's hope that the hole Magnastar had carved would be a great focal point for her acoustic stress to concentrate, and that the material, while a metal and therefore malleable, was hard and brittle enough to actually start shattering.


[System]
Username: rush99999
Race/Species: Gnome

Gender: Male

Age: 112

Career/Class: Artificer

Weapons:
* 1 homemade matchlock rifle
* 3 homemade matchlock pistols
* A seemingly infinite supply of ammunition for aforementioned firearms with various enchantments
* 1 large steel monkey wrench

Physical Description:
Hobnob is shorter than the average gnome. He stands as 3 feet rather than 3 and a half. A small magical mishap during his 1st attempt at merging magic and engineering left Hobnob's full head of hair and somewhat bushy eyebrows turquoise. After many a day of inventing rather than shaving, Hobnob possesses a luxurious beard rather than the goatee a gnome usually has. Aforementioned beard is also turquoise. While his eyes are green, you wouldn't be able to tell because he never takes off his goggles. While he isn't what you'd call muscular, all the manual work he does when making inventions keeps him out of the scrawny zone. There is always a sharp pencil behind at least 1 of Hobnob's ears.

Armor:
* Leather armor with a rune based magic resistance enchantment
* Everything else resistant chain mail (No enchantment here. Is't just very sturdy chain mail.)
* Leather gloves with a rune based electricity resistance enchantment, a glyph based heat resistance enchantment, and blade resistance because it's leather.
* Hobnob's goggles are also surprisingly durable.

Equipment/Other
* 1 gnome made smoking pipe
* A seemingly infinite supply of pipe weed
* 1 large tool kit
* 1 canister of blueprint paper
* 1 gnome fishing rod
* 1 small bag of magic seeds that grow into mushrooms large and sturdy enough to sit on in 60 seconds.
* The lenses on Hobnob's goggles have glyph based enchantments that allow him to see in different types of vision. Each type of vision makes the goggles glow a different colour when in use.
None: Ordinary Vision
Green: Night Vision
Orange: Thermal Vision
Blue: Mana Vision (Allows Hobnob to see the magic in the world and beings around him and tell how highly concentrated it is.)
Black: X-Ray Vision
White: Telescopic Vision

Mental Description/Personality:
Hobnob is incredibly eccentric and fixated on inventing things to the point that the aforementioned fixation over-kills the magic addiction that dabbling in the arcane arts usually brings. Hobnob also enjoys pond fishing while sitting on large mushrooms.

Goals:
Step 1: Find money for crazy inventions.
Step 2: Think of and invent crazy inventions.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit.

Background/History:
* 112 years ago, Hobnob was born in a small town in Cutterstone to an inventor and an enchantress.
* As he grew up, Hobnob took an interest in his parents' work. They were happy to teach, he was quick to learn, and by the time he was 35, Hobnob knew some basic enchantments as well as most of the ins and outs of inventing.
* Soon enough, Hobnob got the idea to combine what he had learned from both of his parents. His invention exploded during the enchanting, but the explosion did nothing worse than turn Hobnob's hair turquoise.
* Many years of studying and research later, Hobnob decided it was time to try again. This time around, he received assistance from 7 other like minded artificers and 2 like minded enchanters.
* Their work bore fruit, and The Obstacle Flattener Mark 1 was born...and exploded 7 days later. Convinced they could get it right the 2nd time around, Hobnob and his crew began work on Mark 2
* At the end of it all, The Obstacle Flattener Mark 2 was fully operational...until it exploded 7 weeks later. Undeterred, Hobnob and his crew began work on Mark 3.
* 7 months went by before the explosion happened. Just as Hobnob and his crew had predicted
* Before work could begin on Mark 4, Hobnob and his crew realised that almost all of their money was almost all gone.
* And so at the age of 111, Hobnob and his crew decided to leave Cutterstone to find odd-jobs and merc-work to fund their inventive endeavours after realising that their work on The Obstacle Flattener had almost emptied their collective coin purses.
* 1 year later their adventures bring them to Starkvale and the beginning of this RP.

[User]
Why Hobnob had to come along, he could not fathom. He simply wanted to get back to Hillcrest to see how the work on The Mark 5 was going. But instead, Kayden had decided to drag Hobnob along to the home of their 1st voluntary employer for some reason. Hobnob's only consolation was that a letter from Doctor Diminutive had arrived that told Hobnob that Secret had been found. The letter also said that even though Doctor Diminutive would only need to apply 20 leaches at most, Haukford still refused medical treatment from the gnomish doctor.

While waiting for their new employer, Hobnob was adding to 1 of his blueprints. Ever since few weeks before he was inducted into Kayden's mercenary band, Hobnob had been playing around with an idea for a firearm capable of firing even when wet. Such a thing would be accomplished by making this gun fire bullets by hitting them out of the barrel really really hard with a tiny hammer, rather than igniting a small amount of gunpowder to launch the bullet out with the resulting explosion. Such a thing should be impossible, but when you have enchanting in your toolbox, the list of possible things increases sharply.

Hobnob looked up briefly when wine was offered. "None for me" he said "I don't drink". With that said, he looked back down at his work.

[Assistant]
The handsome woman, with her blonde hair tied in a bun, raised an eyebrow at their manner. "
I'm just the help...
" she muttered. Still, she had been stationed to be there so she wouldn't walk away, at least until she received a 'no' from everyone. The large man and the diminutive Gnome looking over what she assumed was an aclehmist's nightmare unnerved her somewhat, though the Captain seemed suave and refined enough to be within these accommodations, and the shorter woman did not seem too out of place.

Kayden gave Lis a grin. "I admit, it's a tad cliche'." he told her, letting out a chuckle. He called the woman over with a wave of his hand, and then sighed. "Don't take this as an example of my usual manner, but...it is free." He took two wine glasses, and downed one with little effort. The next, he held for later in his left hand, his other hand with its thumb within his belt. Allard's comments drew his attention, and he raised an eyebrow. Inquisitiveness he didn't mind, as long as it disrupted nothing. The serving woman had left by that point. "Just keep mostly to yourselves. It's all about presentation with Nobles. However, I wanted all of you here to hear what this Pembrook had to say."

As if on cue, they suddenly heard the distant 'clack' of something upon the ground, over and over and over. It ominously came closer, as if it was a stalking shark. Closer and closer, yet painfully slow.

Kayden nearly chugged his other glass when he saw the Lord Pembrook, for it had been revealed that the clack was indeed a cane, and the man holding the cane looked almost like a mole. Short, fat, his beard looked more like whiskers, and he seemed to be almost blind. "G-greetings fellow swordsmen!" he called, waving at them with the free hand. He wore fine clothing and many rings on his fingers. "My my, what a large group you have!"

"It's only the four of us, my Lord..." Kayden replied, trying not to offend the old man.

"Four?" He squinted. "Ah yes, those are the chairs. Anyway, yes yes I am quite glad you have deigned to meet with me, yes. I am quite glad indeed. Yes yes, follow me!"

He abruptly turned around, and as painfully slow as he had been before, he began walking away.

Kayden looked like what the kids called 'done.' "
By the Gods
...Sir, sir please. We're only here to hear what mission you'd give us."

"Ah, but why not speak in the living room?"

"We're fine here, thanks."

Lord Pembrook halted, and turned. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, indeed." Kayden replied, his smooth voice very breathless from the sigh he was making. He decided it was time to down that second glass of wine. As he chugged, the Lord halted and nodded. "Very well. You see, my boy. You see, recently I have come across a proprietor that wishes to buy a trinket I have in my vault, yes. Yes in fact he seemed quite interested."

"Cool."

"Yes, hehe. And Indeed I did not wish to part with it. No, my, I could never! For the Book is quite old, yes. Quite old! Very old, you see."

"I do."

"So! But see, yes. Yes, see. The man seemed very peculiar. Very peculiar. My servants told me as much as well, as did my house priest. We believe he will attempt to take the trinket out of my vault by force, you see."

"Because he was peculiar?"

"Oh, many nasty rumors in town, my good fellow. Many. And one can never be too careful, and so I dearly hope to hire you to be guards for my vault for a few weeks, that is, until things have died down and we can be sure, you see. Indeed, yes."

[User]
At the sight of the noble mole-man, Lis' left eyebrow arched in disbelief, lips pursing in a displeased manner. Her look only soured more as the ancient Lord Pembrook began rambling on about nothings; clearly his mind was addled with old age (And alcohol, judging by the redness of his nose and size of his gut), and he still seemed to be living out his younger days in his mind. Although glad Kayden seemed to be dealing with it in a professional manner, part of her wished she'd taken the offer of wine now. If this job was going to be as dreary as it's employer, she was going to need a lot of alcohol to cope.

"We're guarding a dusty old book?!" Her harsh whisper to Kayden was equal parts incredulous and annoyed - this had not been what she was expecting from her first job with this company. She had expected fighting, bloodshed, excitement - even guarding a caravan on the road would prove more entertaining than being locked in this creepy old manor looking after an antique. Eyes darting back to Lord Pembrook, Lis stepped forward slightly to gain his attention; her not-so-quiet whisper to Kayden had gone unnoticed by the elderly man. His misty eyes did turn to her, double-taking and blinking in surprise as he had to look down, rather than up as he had with Kayden. Cheeks flushing red momentarily (Honestly, she wasn't that short - why did people still get surprised by it??), she cleared her throat, arms folded across her bosom in a businesslike manner.

"Surely tracking down and... dissuading this proprietor would prove more fruitful?" She suggested in as neutral a tone she could manage; only just catching herself at the end of her sentence and stepping back slightly to look at Kayden - he was the Captain, and it wasn't her place to decide such things; hopefully he didn't consider this for her to be speaking out of turn... otherwise they'd have some real problems down the road. Lis' opinion enjoyed being expressed.

[Assistant]
Allard nodded as he left the book alone and walked over closer to where Lis and Kayden were standing. He had to suppress a chuckle when an old overgrown mole came from the hallway greeting them as "fellow swordsman". Maybe at one point, but the man was definitely lacking something that he used to have had he ever been called a swordsman before. Allard couldn't suppress his smirk that he had, but it didn't take long for it to melt away. The way the man spoke was just a little less than frustrating, and little more than mind numbing. From what he gathered, they were here to protect some old book, that was from Pembrook's own description just a "trinket", from a person who is just vaguely peculiar.

Allard slid his flask from his pocket and threw some back before asking the mole man to attempt speaking any further. He then looked over to Lis and seeing that she looked a fair bit agitated already at the man, he offered her the flask. She may need it to if they were going to make it through this man's explanations. "What is special about this book and, more importantly, exactly what kind of rumors are floating around about this peculiar person?" He then folded his arms as he continued,"Also, it would be nice to have a name or information on whoever it is so we know who to look out for."


[System]
Gender: Female

Age: 21

Career/Class: Courtesan/Duelist

Physical Description: Camilla is a medium sized woman around 5'5. She possess the slightly bronzed skin, angular features and dark hair common among Tileans. She has the smooth clean lines of a classical statue and the lean musculature of a dancer. Every part of her seems artfully contrived, as though she stepped from the canvas of a master painter. Camilla moves with deliberate grace which is appropriate to her profession.

Mental Description/Personality: Camilla is a fiery impetuous young woman. As a child she was selected from among orphan's for her physical beauty and raised to fill the role of Courtesan in the decadent courts of her native Tilea. Among her studies were poetry, dance, repartee, song, politics, literature, art and sword play.

Camilla is out of place in rough and dangerous situations, and although naturally adventurous and curious about the world she is no heroine. She has a fiery temper and has a tendency to act rather than to wait if given the chance. While technically trained with the sword, Camilla's education is that of the stylized art of the sword rather than the rough and brutal style of real combat, while she is perfectly comfortable fighting a duel to the tough for the entertainment of a crowd, she had little experience with real killing.

Camilla has a passing devotion to Randald and Shyalla, although she tends to focus on the world in front of her rather than the world beyond.

[User]
Clothing it turned out, was cheap. Most everything in Port Reaver, as the place was charmingly named, was cheap. Goods for sale here were rarely purchased legitimately and were sold, often as not for a handful of coin and a few barrels of rum. Although there were bribes to be paid overhead on goods acquired at sword point was low and the fact that a proportion of the crew was not likely to survive acquiring those goods, wages were also manageable. So it was that an hour later stepped out of a tailor, if such a term could be applied, in an entirely new wardrobe for the price of a few pieces of silver. The supplies on hand didn't really run to dresses so she had instead a long shirt of white silk that hung down to her thighs giving the same effect. SHe wore trousers in long gray and black stripes tucked into Tilean boots with broad silver buckles. She wore a sash of red silk around her waist to belt the shirt in place that gave her a rakish and piratical look. The tailor had also been kind enough to scrub the dirt and blood off her, a service he had been so caviler about that Emmaline wondered just how wild a town Port Reaver could be after dark.

Amal had gone to speak to the captain of the Destrier having finished buying his own clothing well before she had exhausted her options and was due back at any minute. Emmaline had found an inn, there were several in the area and purchased a room for the night and then returned to meet Amal. She passed the time browsing the various shops and chandleries, amazed at the variety of goods available in such a remote settlement. There were even a few swords in one pawn shop that claimed to be of Elven manufacture, though Emmaline was reasonably sure they were fakes. There were many pistols, hand guns and even what looked to be a Dwarven flame cannon, though how anyone here could manufacture fuel remained a mystery to her. Books and purported arcana was less impressive, though Emmaline saw several places that claimed to sell such things, they were inevitably forgeries or simple baubles meant to con the gullible, something she was familiar with from having hawked no few faux love potions and fake astrologies in her time in Altdorf. It seemed that any serious arcane works would have to wait until Marienburg. Well that was fine, in order to buy much more than their passage on the Destrier and their room and board they would have had to have sold the artefacts they had liberated from the City of Sotek and Emmaline was sure they would fetch a much better price in Marienburg.

"There you are," Amal called and Emmaline turned to him with a smile and a flourish to show off her new clothes.

[Assistant]
It was a strange but fruitful visit with the captain, which he felt he dressed appropriately for. It hadn't taken Amal to find a good outfit, and it was somewhat similiar to Emmaline's though with a different feel to it. Ever the bandit, Amal had not seen to wear any sort of bright colors now they were back in some form of civilization. His belt was now made of leather, and he donned a dark coat that sat atop a white linen shirt. His pants were slightly baggier than Emmaline's and more bland in color, though a crimson bandana was tied around his head to keep his thick, dark hair out of his eyes. The final item, a wide brimmed hunter's hat fit snugly atop his head.

The Captain was an Imperial, known as Captain Walhem. His eyes and hair were nearly as bright as Emmaline's though there was flecks of grey from age and travel. He didn't judge Amal by his manner or accent, and after some conversation confessed that he was friends with Captain Diego by a flippant comment on a certain sailing story he had been delighted to tell the thied. Amal told him of the ship's fate and the Captain's passing, and though it brought a stormcloud over the man's features, he thanked Amal and told him as far as he was concerned he and his companion would be welcome on his ship free of charge.

This had brought a skip in Amal's step, leaping onto the docks and striding passed the fish sellers and cargomen hauling frieght off newly docked ship. A few roads further into the city and he passed by the marketplace where a weaponsmith was selling his wares. Amal reached into the bag and looked at the pistol he had taken off of the Empire man back on the El Cargador. Perhaps purchasing some powder would be of some use as well.

Minutes passed and he had a pawned infantry officer's saber at his belt, with 20 pistol balls and powder neatly tucked into a newly bought leather pouch that fit snug on his new belt.

He found a mirror at the edge of the street and strutted up to it, looking himself up and down. He looked very much the same, but somehow far different as well. No longer was he the street rat of Al-Hiekk, but Amal the adventurer! Who did some thieving on the side, granted. It was then he spotted Emmaline, and made his way over to her, calling to her.

He saw her give a flourish, and he watched and tried to do the same in response. He hadn't the flair she had, but he was a quick study and didn't embarrass himself. They smiled to one another, and Amal gave a wink. "By the way, we're getting a free trip on the Destrier."

Emmaline blinked. "How did you manage that?"

He placed his hand on the small of her back and shrugged. "I have my ways. So, do we have a room or are we to sleep on the grass again? If it's the latter, I think I will go steal a blanket. We're running out of that fool's money."

[User]
+Events of Tavern at the End of the World+

Emmaline awoke as golden light crept in through the window. She stirred lazily for a moment, reaching over to feel Amal's warm form beside her. With a sudden shock she sat bolt upright and the motion caused Amal to roll out of bed grabbing for his pants in the same motion his hand came up with his sword.

"Scheisse, it's already dawn," Emmaline cursed. Amal looked at her in concern for a moment before realization dawned in his eyes and he lurched upright pulling on his trousers and gathering up their few possessions with his other hand.

"By Allah, they ship will be leaving!" They pulled on their clothes as hastily as they could and ran for the door, Emmaline still buttoning her shirt as they rushed down the stairs. The taproom was nearly empty save for the bartender who started awake as they thumped down to the ground floor. A few men lay passed out at tables and booths, but all were to heavily drunken to do more than snort and snuffle.

"I trust my establishment," the bartender began but shut up as Emmaline hurled a handful of small coins at him as she fled out the door following Amal, they burst on to the sleepy street and raced downhill towards the sea. Sure enough the Destrier which had been slated to sail at down was in the process of setting her sails to carry her out with the morning tide. Amal shouldered his way past a long shoreman as they pounded passed the stevedores who were just beginning the task of loading cargo onto another large brig ignoring their startled shouts, jibes, and in the case of Emmaline who still hadn't managed to fully button her shirt, marriage proposals.

By the time they reached the edge of the dock there was already six feet of clearence between the bulwark of the ship and the dock. Amal made a flying leap and caught a hold of the bulwark with one hand. Emmaline was far less sanguine about her chances but leaped also, golden hair flying like a banner as she sailed across the gulf towards the ship. Amal caught her hand a fraction of a second before she planted her face into the hull and fell into the harbor and a minute later they were hauled onto the deck by grinning sailors, apparently very amused at the last moment arrival.

"I'm sorry friend," the Captain said with a jovial look at the pair of them, "I waited as long as I could!"

[Assistant]
Amal was hauled up as the Captain laughed, who himself held Emmaline's hand to help her be hoisted up. The thief might not have been able to pull off that sort of maneuver had he not had sufficient food or rest the night before. He had been 'running on fumes' as the Dwarfs say, though he had no idea of the origin of the saying. Soaked on certain sections of their clothes, Amal removed his coat and placed it on Emmaline to keep her wet chest out of the view of the other sailors.

"It was our fault. I'm simply glad my companion woke up on time." He said slyly and kissed her cheek. Amal shifted and got to his feet, removing his hat and blinking at the sun, trying to see the weather. A habit since the shipwreck, but at the moment there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"I'm glad you had such quick feet!" Captain Walhem chuckled, and he ushered them to follow him. The ship looked similar in proportion to the El Cargador, but with a decidedly different style. The build was thicker and there was more steel along the ship's frame, but the majority of it was very much laminated wood, built for speed. On deck, most of the men were busy at work, hauling ropes and mopping the floors under the morning sun. The heat had already begun to fall upon them.

Amal had never seen so many northerners in one place. Luckily they were all too busy at their work to notice his ethnicity or Emmaline's sex, if problems regarding either were ever to come up. He truly hoped not. He'd have to explain to the Captain why he slit someone's throat and tossed them overboard. Perhaps if he did it at the dead of night...

"Two floors below, three doors on the left you'll find your quarters. Here's the key. Lunch will be served in a few hours, and I suspect, Manaan willing, we'll be in Marienburg in ten days or less." The Captain explained, boasting at the end there. He saw Amal and Emmaline's looks of astonishment, and the man grabbed at his girthy suspenders, grinning. "Aye, got into a trade deal with the stunted folk of Karak Azul. We're using a motor to keep this ship going, though sails are still up. It mostly just keeps us flowing even against the wind. Weather won't be a problem for this ship unless we capsize."

The two looked at one another with concern. "Well, that is good to fear- I mean hear!" Emmaline declared.


[System]
Transformations:
Common Spider Species > Oculus Spider

Inventory:
Stomach Sac - 0/3 Slots Filled. Small Items only.

pg. 46
People Of interest.
 - Zieglar Blackgate = Elite Human Male, Knight Templar
 - Trent Bondeman = Human Male, Squire
religious Idol = the sun, made up of three main deities<Holy Spirits.
understanding of what they are/reward (does not make it true, simply what he believes.)
"Dhulfiqar" The King - Rewards decisions and team work that benefit the group, Loyalty to those around and under you, supports the Leader. A barbaric blood-drinking Sun Spirit whose following is limited to the deserts of Ashyra to the south
"Galatine" The Protector - Rewards courage and bravery to stand your ground to protect and fight for others either through words or actions. Doesn't care what side of a conflict is chosen as long as a side is chosen. the one who protects, the one who brings growth and life widely revered all across Viskard.
"Claidheamh" The Mother - Rewards growth and prosperity, weather it be food or wealth as long as what is gathered is shared and wealth not horded. so that everyone may grow and be strong. An ancient Sun Spirit from the Shiri people
Theme:

Andrews Song – End of Silence (youtu.be/--GloEz01Zo)

Gender:

Male

Species:

Pixie

Appearance:

Ardur looks like a small person with light fair skin, shoulder length green hair, Golden glimmering eyes, and wings that look similar to green leaves. A few things stand out on his person. There are three round dark spots on his chest and back. Also his hands are stained purple up to his wrists.

Goals:

Ardur simply wishes to be Strong. Strong enough to protect others and take care of them. He will do what he must to push others so they can also grow and be better.

- become worshiper of the sun and spread its influence.

New personality traits: Impulsive, Slightly crazy, Inquisitive, Courageous, Maybe a bit stupid, Opportunistic, lacks empathy towards most others.

Ardur was once known as Travis Smith and worked and lived in the weird city of Portland Oregon. Now Travis had a rather normal upbringing with nothing too significant happening to him. He had parents that worked in industry. His father, worked with shipping containers as a foreman. His mother, worked with air cargo as a manager. Both did rather well for their family and kept them in a modest home. He had two younger sisters, twins actually. Both were dead set on joining the navy after they graduated.

Now Travis learned early on through volunteer work with his high school, that helping others was what he wanted to do. So instead of joining up with the military, was able to get a few scholarships and went into paramedic courses and physical trainer classes. Both of which he excelled at, finding his purpose in helping others. He did adopt a strange and sometimes dark sense of humor through this to deal with the stressful work environment of a paramedic. he filled his down time with listening and singing along to a variety of different modern and classic music as well as watching nature documentary's to help him relax.

For a time his life was good. He did what he could to help others through work and volunteering. Travis learned more about himself then he expected too. Working one week on one week off was a bit of a pain but it allowed him to work with some local athletes in his free time. Travis eventually found himself to be quiet in the company of others, always with a smile on his face. He did tend to be a bit pushy toward the people he was working with. He wanted to see them grow and be great. Somehow he adopted a protective side to him as well, especially towards his friends or the people he loved. This protective instinct would eventually lead to his down fall.

Travis, now 32, was going to be married in three months to a beautiful short red head named Sara, who just so happened to be a couple months pregnant. Sara was the one person who could really light a fire under him and get him to do anything. She was his motivation to be better, she was his muse. The last night he would be working was a stormy one. Just past midnight with rain, wind, and thunder. A strong winter storm. He was called out with his partner to a domestic. Apparently the husband beat his wife up pretty bad then ran out into the night.

The two paramedics didn't think anything of it. It wasn't the first time they had been called out to something like this and it wouldn't be the last. The police officers that stayed at the residence called out that the scene was safe as they approached. A severely beaten female sat on the hood of one of the police cars. Travis and his partner approached her and began to asses her injuries. The police officers were nearby interviewing some neighbors when it happened. He saw him out of the corner of his eye. A man brandishing a revolver came at them from in between a few houses intent on killing the woman.

Travis didn't think he only reacted. Grabbing the woman and turning away from the man he tried to push her away and around the ambulance. He remembered hearing thunder and a scream. The thunder rang out three times but all he felt was cold as he hit the wet pavement. Several other flashes of lights and thunder rang out into the night as the last thing he remembers was thinking that Sara was going to kill him for this. The blurry and muted voice of his partner and the other officers continued in his head until everything faded, and he was alone and cold.

Then suddenly there was light and a voice talking about rebirth and demon kings. He thought he was hallucinating and thought this was just some sort of way his body dealt with the sudden loss of function, so he decided to play along. So many choices he wondered which one would suit him? The slime seemed nice but strange, the dire Rat just reminded him of filth and garbage. Then there was a wisp it seemed more of a loner and mysterious.

The goblin simply reminded him of stories of greed and madness, both things he dealt with regularly before and wasn't too keen on continuing that. The serpent seemed interesting but seemed more designed to inflict lasting pain or torture and that wasn't what he stood for. Finally, he was introduced to the Pixie. A strange creature sure, weaker than the others but a healer. Something that supports groups without inflicting too much pain. This is what he decided on and in an instant he felt cold again but also strange like waking up from a bad dream.

[User]
@Guy0fV4lor @ReusableSword @Gardevoiran @Kazemitsu @floodtalon @ReusableSword

Danny had no idea why Jason was suddenly yelling at the Goblin for digging what he assumed to be an escape tunnel and found it even stranger that he was yelling at the Dire Rat just for touching the crystal. The Slime's reasons became a lot more clear when he mentioned something controlling him.

As he looked around the small cave for a hiding spot or emergency exit just in case Danny realized that he had been there on his first day. Back then a green Slime brought him there ""Could that have been Jason? Nah aside from the color they look nothing alike."

Before he could really ponder it though Jason took off towards something at full speed.

Abilities:
* Mana Orb I and II
* Lesser Force
* Levitation
* Monster Analysis I
* Meditate I

Transformations:

Inventory:

[Assistant]
Mourningstar

Welp, this was a miserable failure of a helmet. However, this could be a great hat! "Yeah, this isn't quite what I had in mind but..." As she pondered the possibilities of using Rattleskull's head and doing her best to ignore the horrendous smell, she glanced over at her comrades who were in the process of evolution. This sure was taking a while huh. More innards were removed, including the tongue and any other fleshy bits, and the new hat was stuck on her head with guts strewn all about the floor.

"Mid-boss, I sees da--KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH?!" Mourningstar swung her gaze over to the goblins, probably too quickly as her hat immediately flew off in some direction, and smirked at their shocked expressions. Welp, time to scare the ever loving shit out of them and make them go away. Even she wasn't dumb enough to think that she could take on 3 Goblins at once, especially when she only had the mana for two Mana Shots.

"Indeed, be very afraid foolish green skins! I have defeated your leader with my arcane-"

"Dey killed da Boss by gangin' up on 'em, but look! There's just one left now!"

"Ok wow, rude. I did this all by myself, so you should really be more scared of me than you are, unless you're just that stupid." A Mana Blade was charged up to cut one's head off and scare them off, but of course life had other plans.

"Mourningstar! Stand down!"

Jesus christ she hated how he did that. Just assuming everyone would just follow his orders, no room for debate, listen to me or die. Made her so fucking angry, she absolutely hated being ordered around. And while in her past life she would have listened without saying anything, letting her resentment build, this was not her past life. And so, War Cry I forced her attention onto him.

"Would you shut the fuck up!" Mourningstar turned to Jason with a look of abject rage, covered in blood and specks of Bugbear innards as she glared at Jason. And then her concentration broke. Her Mana Blade was released, soaring through the air and cutting into Jason with fury and raw magical energy. Her expression immediately changed to one of panic, she didn't mean to do that. "Oh shit, oh shit oh shit oh shit-" A tactical retreat would be required, she also needed to find Digbie and Rain to get the hell out of here.

She rushed over to Oberon's strange cocoon and grabbed him, pushing her Lesser Force to it's limits as she poured all her points into it. That would bump it to 2.7, hopefully her carrying Oberon as fast as possible away from here would train it enough to level it up again. "He killed Rattleskull, not me!" Yeah it was a pretty shitty thing to do in all honesty. But this was a kill or be kill world, and she kinda wanted Jason to be killed. She just wouldn't do it is all, killing humans directly crossed a line she wasn't quite ready to cross yet.


[System]
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Race: Human

Appearance: Slender with an ample bosom, Cecilia stands proudly at 5'10, her very countenance exuding the sense of someone who's accustomed to being noticed. Her pearly complexion and vibrant amber eyes can frame her appearance as either cute or mature depending on her expression, and her hair, a pale lilac that turns silver in the right lighting, is left long enough to trail down to her waist.

Height: 5'10
Eye Color: Amber
Hair Color: Lilac

Personality: In a word, Cecilia is forceful. Though technically a runaway now, she still has the presence of a daughter of nobility, overbearing and accustomed to getting what she wants. Her emotions show freely on her face, because she fears nothing at all (except for the eventuality of being caught by her parents' knights and being dragged back home). Bright ideas come to mind easily, and her personality is such that she works to get everyone else on board with her when she's gotten interested in something. The more the merrier, and Cecilia doesn't particularly mind who's on board, so long as many are on board. A natural socialite, it seems odd at first that she would have escaped the ballrooms and opera houses of the aristocratic elite to muck it out in the mud as a solo adventurer/fashion designer, but there is a thread there still.

There is nothing natural about being a socialite in high society; Cecilia has only felt free and unemcumbered when chasing her dual dreams of wearing fancy dresses and slaying evil monsters. If she can accomplish the former with her own efforts, there isn't exactly much reason for her to stay around the mansion, no? She does miss her friends though, even if they were probably only pretending to be friends in order to curry favour with the Tonitrus family. Ah well, life's a journey, and a solo one at that.

History
The Oligarchy of Illiserev stands at the center of the world, not because of any divine ordnance or kingly command, but because they were the ones who drew the best maps, the ones who established the most illustrious Cartographer's Guild on the continent. Adventurers know Illiserev as the Forge of Explorers. Merchants know Illiserev as the End of All Paths. The grand Cephora Mountain Range upon which Illiserev's capital city is built at the base of feeds a network of rivers that stretch out towards the rest of the continent, and this forms the backbone of Illiserev's trade. With well-paved roads leading towards the kingdom and fast-flowing rivers leading out from the kingdom, the merchant-aristocrats of Illiserev boast wealth that would make the nobility of other nations green with envy, and the dozens of trade agreements Illiserev has between various kingdoms and principalities has shielded it from military conflict. Though various religious or knightly orders may be displeased with the cutthroat machinations of the wealthy merchant-aristocrats, no one has yet to truly act upon their displeasure: some small evils can easily be overlooked in favor of the pleasures and novelties brought forth in the wagons of Illiserev's wagons.

Cecilia Tonitrus, thirdborn daughter of the illustrious Duke Sarkuz Tonitrus, was never all that interested in the schemes and politics of her peers, however. Charming and generous, with a penchant for reading heroic tales, the young lady was pampered by her servants and guards growing up, taken on excursions throughout the nation. Her father didn't particularly care; he focused his attention on his heirs, Cecilia's older siblings, leaving her to do as she wished. So long as she didn't bring shame upon her family, the thirdborn was allowed to indulge in whatever her spoiled self desired. She threw grand tea parties, learned arts both martial and arcane, decked herself in beautiful dresses she'd discard the day after, ran amok through the estate grounds, and was generally the weirdest mixture of a dainty lady with fine taste in clothing and a rambunctious tomboy who thought herself as invincible.

That changed, though, when the Tonitrus heirs were slain, assassinated. The culprit committed suicide rather than risk capture, and suddenly, Sarkuz decided that he could not be so lax with his children. Before the grieving period had even passed, the amount of guards that oversaw the protection of his children practically tripled, and suddenly, they weren't able to go anywhere beyond the walls of the main estate. Cecilia hated that. She hated it even more that the whole business of the assassination was swept under the rug by her father, who still valued public opinion enough that he chose to keep quiet, rather than appear as an incompetent protector to his peers in asking for their aid. As those emotional wounds became scabs, scars, Cecilia's sense of suffocation grew and grew. The freedom in her childhood was no more, even though she should be more free as an adolescent, and she yearned for it enough that she wanted to scream.

Instead, she waited, watched, memorized, reconsidered, and pulled everything together. Her freedom was selfish and inconsiderate, an act that would only cause her father's hair to whiten further, but she would pursue it anyways.

One night, she slipped away from her estate and ran as far as she could.

She never stopped.
Level: 20
Class: Spellblade
Profession:
Seamstress [Novice]
Performer [Journeyman]
Stats:
Strength (STR): C
Vitality (VIT): D
Dexterity (DEX): B
Intellect (iNT): B
Wisdom (WIS): D
Charisma (CHA): C

List of Immunities:
N/A

Resistances:
Lightning

Weaknesses:
N/A

Equipment:
Ensorcelled Spear - A winged spear, 2.5 meters in length. Well-made and finely balanced, with arcane conduits inscribed upon the haft to let it function as a spellcasting focus.

Blasted Wand - A wand made from the branch of a lightning-struck tree, or so the maker of it claims. Relatively cheap, but serves its purpose as a back up.

Combat Dress - Customized for greater aesthetic flair by Cecilia. Though it looks much more visually pleasing, it has the functionality of well-made leather armor.

Travelling Boots - Sturdy boots that increases the movement speed of the wearer. An adventurer's staple.

Skills & Spells:
Returnerer - Passive. All objects thrown by Cecilia, if empowered by her magic, will return to her hand after striking their target. Travels at the same speed they were thrown at, and takes the straightest path possible, accounting for terrain but not accounting for moving objects.

Storm's Boon - Empower one's weapon with lightning, increasing damage and adding a paralytic effect that increases with each consecutive hit. When thrown, the weapon discharges residual lightning on impact to create a small blast, before flying back into the wielder's hands.

Zephyrus Aria - Surround one's self with a flowing armor of wind, redirecting physical blows and ranged attacks. When released, generates a burst of wind outwards, blowing everyone around one's self away. Does not protect against energy-based magical attacks.

Lightning Bolt - Unleash a bolt of lightning from one's hand or spellcasting focus, capable of sundering all that lay in its path with thunderous force. A powerful spell with a steep cost, but most definitely Cecilia's trump card in terms of destructive power.

Accelerate - Enhances speed and perception, making one faster and more precise. Don't leave home without this.

Double Jump - Jump in the air twice. Useful when platforming.

[User]
Well that was good, the silent clown and the noblewoman weren't hostile so long as they weren't hostile. He did give the pair a once over and wasn't impressed by them. Either really agile, or magic users. His ears twitched when he heard a strange sound, like ice breaking. It was too warm for ice to be here...and it was up? He glanced up just in time to catch the disco lights from the breaking star, but not the cause of it considering pisspoor angle.

And now a few seconds of loud sound, and everything was done. Then came a panicked yell making his eyes narrow. Feminine judging by the more shrill tones. He released Vani's gorget, letting him slump to the floor fully now, before crouching down. "I'm gonna investigate that yell." He said before lunging upwards. He didn't need buffs to make a good height of ten feet, and the stonework had plenty of finger holds for him. Well, more like claw holds.

He pulled himself upward, his claws slipping between the gaps of the stonework, his feet only providing some slight upward push since the 'claws' of his boots were quite thick and didn't fit in the gaps as well. The further up he went the more clear peoples voices were. He quickly reached the top and carefully peered over the edge. Three women, a young looking male, and nothing else. From here he listened in, curious about what was going on since he didn't see anything particularly threatening.

[Assistant]
Yinha Karathros

---

Wait, what was that sound-?

The well-endowed elven mage looked up just as Kaze seemingly did, before the odd sound seemed to be followed by a spectacle that left Yinha's eyes shooting open wide. A massive burst of light that seemed to emanate from the top of the tower...where the star had fallen. Alongside the unnatural silence, it seemed somewhat more akin to the magic that her very teacher knew. Safe to say, this was something that set off some alarm bells in the Angelic Mage's mind, but even more so outright stunned her for those seconds that felt like a forever before the sound came back.

And whose voice was that, which came right after in some kind of shriek?!

"Is someone hurt?! Wait for me!!!"

The mage called out in an almost frantic voice, giving an apologetic motion to Artemisia with her hands in haste as Vani was now placed in her care. Then the angelic summon came over, however, and picked Yinha up underneath the arms as it tried to hurriedly carry her up to the tower's top.

Admittedly the summon seemed to struggle slightly, but while it wasn't on par with Kaze's climbing skills it was doing its job at least. Bit by bit the elf and her bodacious bosom moved up into the air, the angelic mage and her summon scooting up and up to try to reach the right height. Those upon the tower's top would come to eventually see a statuesque being with wings on it, carrying in its obviously struggling arms the elven mage (who wasn't bad on the eyes at least). Though as she looked at the situation, Yinha let her summon know to drop her off on the tower's top...though as soon as the message was given-

"Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!""

Safe to say, the Guardian wasn't wanting to carry her weight more than it had to in this particular instance. Tumbling over the side, the High Elf's body pitched forward as she hit the ground and abysmally failed to stick the landing. While it was a rather negligible distance, and she wouldn't be tumbling off the top of the tower, such a sudden drop was not something she had been prepared for either. Thus, with all the grace of a caffeine-addled elephant with four left feet, Yinha ultimately fell flat on her face in front of the assembled group on the tower's top.

Truly a graceful sort of beauty.


[System]
Species: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 34

Nationality: Outreman, previously citizen of Angjusk

Occupation: Deputy head of department - Cradle Research & Development

Cybernetics:
* Cradle quick-access implant - Allows access to and from the Cradle environment without additional hardware. This advanced module also reduces fatigue caused by the process, allowing power users multiple entries in a single day.
* Tier 7c 'Cradle Builder' suite - Grants access to the programs created specifically for 'terraforming' the Cradle. Tier 7 out of 20 allows Freyr to auto-build a variety of specialised equipment and propose-build mid level structures.
* Ilyes Brand communication and productivity module - Standard implant for access to Outremer's communications network. Also integrates with many well known productivity tools like a personal assistant, as well as more bespoke scientific tools.

Backstory:
Freyr was born on Angjusk, an older colony than Outremer that was renowned for its military materiel, particularly star ships.

Her mother was an innovations tsar assigned by the government to a consortium of the planet's largest ship manufacturers. During most of Freyr's childhood, her mother's sole task was making sure Angjusk battle fleets were the best money could buy in the Diaspora.

Before she was born, her father owned and operated a series of protein farms across Angjusk. After a chance encounter at a lobby meeting, he was headhunted to co-ordinate the military industrial complex's entire food supply chain. He also met his future wife, as it was Freyr's mother who had recommended him for the job on that fateful day in the lobby.

Freyr was born five years later. Her early life was a whirlwind of schooling, snatches of intimacy with her parents (when they weren't busy) and extended periods with friends. She discovered a natural capacity for learning and excelled in her studies. So much so that she received offers from universities across the Diaspora to come and develop with them.

Her mother and father both pressured her to consider diplomas like Interplanetary Relations or Agrarian Policy. However Freyr was not interested in pursuing a career in politics. Angjusk has been involved in at least a dozen small conflicts since Freyr had been born. She had seen how politicians would destroy entire cultures for the sake of influence, and wanted none of it.

In her first act of defiance, Freyr accepted a position at a school in Babylon, the main city of a far away frontier colony called Outremer. Driven more by the desire to have time away from her planet than by the subjects on offer, she researched what Outremer was known for. It was here that she first discovered the object powering this section of the Diaspora - the Cradle.

She quickly became obsessed with its untapped potential and seemingly unknowable past. She decided to pursue Xenobiology and Machine Intelligence as her subjects of interest, voraciously consuming the knowledge gathered so far on the Cradle.

It was here at the university that she met her future partner, David, who was studying art history. Isolated from her family and friends, alone on a strange planet, Freyr was glad of his unassuming company and kindness. They grew very close over the course of their degrees, and moved in together after graduation. Their daughter Amy was born a few years later.

After Uni, Freyr was picked up by an Outremer administration outreach team and placed in a government career fast lane. Her obsession with the Cradle made her an obvious choice for the Cradle Research & Development department. Once there, she quickly proved herself capable. Several breakthroughs in her first five years meant she was allowed to hand select a team of dynamic young individuals to help pursue her work. A couple more catapulted her into a deputy head of department role, to the ire of some of it's older and more entrenched members.

It was on her 34th birthday that the Cradle abducted her family. It had been acting strangely for weeks prior, rolling back years of terraforming. Freyr had been working round the clock to figure out why, practically living at her field office by the Border. David had bought sweet treats and had Amy with her.

What can only be described as creatures emerged from beyond the Border and overran the camp. A panic spread through the mostly unarmed workers, leading many to flee for their lives. Freyr's last memory of her family was being propelled across the camp by one of the creatures. She could only watch from her position immobile on the floor as they carried off her husband and little girl.

Security forces conducted a sweep of the immediate area beyond the Border, but found no sign of them. So Freyr began looking by herself as soon as her broken bones were reconstructed. Months went by. Her work stopped and her mental health deteriorated. Eventually she was placed on sick leave and her access revoked, after she attempted to use her influence to organise an armed excursion deep into the uncontrolled zone.

[User]
Well...the water probably won't kill us.." Dr Wetherall concluded, peering at his suit's readouts from the water experiment. "At least not right away. It's chock full of microorganisms and minerals, but nothing innately poisonous to Humans or Rothians." He sent the results to Ngata's suit, who stooped over his left arm's holo-readout to see for himself. "Perhaps i will have that swim, after all." 595 smirked. "Maybe they'll have some bathing suits where we're headed."

"Focus up." Thebes ordered, the sight of his energy rifle scanning the land, water and cliffs in front of them.The trees rustled, as if whispering to one another. They advanced in an uneasy silence for a few minutes, keeping an even distance between the water's edge and the cliff faces around the basin's border. It wasn't until they'd made it halfway round the lake in peace that a loud flap and an animalistic scream disturbed the uneasy quiet. Acting on impulse 595 turned, locked her legs, pulled her pistol out and fired up at the object she found barrelling toward them. Several others from the team fired as well.

A bundle of leathery wings fell from the sky. 595 stepped in front of Dr Wetherall, shooting at the object a couple more times as it rapidly approached them. However she didn't get to see the results of her handiwork. Almost too fast for the eye to see, one of the nearby trees exploded into action, snatching the creature out of the air as it lost altitude. The fibrous tendrils of the tree engulfed it entirely, until something crunched loudly. The tree trunk then rocked back and forth, and the boughs ejected the crippled creature straight into the cold dark of the lake with a splash.

The water quickly submerged the ailing creature; it squealed as it was sucked down under the surface.

[Assistant]
While Rareth could have fired sooner, she had taken those few extra moments to try and assess how much of a threat the creature really was. Still, she could not entirely fault the agent for firing. Everything about its body language and movement did suggest aggressive intent. It was strange that it would try to attack such a large group, but then again, as a flying creature, perhaps it just hoped to pick one of them off.

In any case, it was not the flyer that was revealed to be the greatest source of worry. The trees around them, it seemed, were more than just stationary plants. In retrospect, Rareth perhaps should have been suspicious of them. Bioluminescence could be used to lure or dazzle prey. Though, she was not sure if the trees were predatory, exactly. The tree had not consumed the flyer, but rather attacked and tossed it away. It may have been more of a defense mechanism, in which case the lights were probably warnings.

"Move carefully and keep away from the trees." Rareth said calmly. She was glad they had taken the less dense pathway. "We do not know what will set them off, so just try not to agitate them."

[User]
"Why did you do that?" Dr Ngata complained, looking at the agent as she holstered her pistol. "I was watching it, and that creature wasn't going to attack us; believe me. If anything, it was trying to-" 595 quickly rounded on the scientist, cutting him off. "Let's get one thing straight, ok? If you see something, ANYTHING, moving in the area, you let the rest of us know. Not after you've had a chance to study it, not once you've added it to your codex, right-a-fucking-way. All our lives depend on it. You got that?"

"I'm trying to help us all out, you crazy bitch! Analysing the fauna before you shoot the fuck out of it will give clues as to what other kinds of organisms might live here!" Dr Ngata shot back, violently poking the agent's breastplate with one suited finger. "Or would you rather we all traipse around here with our thumbs in our asses and no idea which way is up?" 595 slapped the man's finger away from her. "Don't give me that; It's our job to keep you safe! And in a place like this, we can only do that by assuming everything is hostile until proven otherwise. And now we need to add the trees to that list too!"

"Umm, guys...what are these trees up to?" Dr Wetherall interrupted. 595 and Dr Ngata both looked at the other scientist. He was in between Carthage and Athena, with his back to both of them. They were all looking at one of the trees. A noticeable creaking, rustling sound hadn't stopped since the plant had grabbed that winged beast. Now, all of it's blue luminescent orbs had turned to face them. The branches weren't droopy anymore, but rigid and alert, like the tree was shocked to see them. Scanning the area, 595 noticed all the other trees were doing the same.

"We need to move. Now!" Thebes barked. 595 drew her pistol again as they began jogging raggedly in formation. They only made it a few dozen steps, passing a couple more of the trees before all hell broke loose.

Four trees, one on each point of the compass, all lunged forward as one. Their branches engulfed the team, grabbing at arms, heads, legs, weapons, everything. Comms erupted as everyone began shouting at once, and gunfire exploded in 595's ears.

Right in front of her she saw two strong branches grab each of Dr Wetherall's ankles, pull him off his feet and drag him out of formation towards one of the trees. Carthage leapt forward and grabbed one of the scientist's hands as the branches pulled him off the floor and into the air. With her other hand, Carthage shot wildly up into the tree limbs.

Another offshoot wrapped around 595's midriff and her suit's pressure alarm blared. She shot her pistol straight down through the branch as it dragged her backwards toward the water. Gouts of blue flame rushed past her face from Memnon's arm cannon, setting the tree behind her ablaze. A shrill squealing sound filled the whole basin, emanating from the tree as the orbs burst and from the lake. The grip around 595's waist lessened, but didn't give way.

Dr Ngata wiggled free of the thin stem wrapped around his wrist and ran for the agent, diving to grab her feet and slow the drag down. "SHOOT IT!" He screamed at her. "I'm fucking trying! Grab the knife from my right thigh!" 595 shouted back, pumping energy into the bough around her body.

[Assistant]
In one, swift motion, Rareth moved her fusion cannon to her back while drawing a more appropriate weapon for the situation. Unfortunately, it seemed the trees themselves were the threat they had to face. The weapon Rareth decided to use was not one that she had carried with her, but rather, was one that was integrated into her own body. From the outside, one would see her armor on her left arm opening up, separating long-ways into three parts…along with her arm itself. It revealed that there was no bone, muscle, nor any other organic parts within the limb, as it was entirely mechanical. Inside her arm, along the length from her elbow to her hand, there were three energy projectors that pulsed with a bright orange glow. In an instant, a glowing, red-orange plasma blade extended forth from her arm. It was a long weapon that could reach the ground from a standing position, and was intense enough to burn through nearly anything it encountered.

Especially for a being of her size, Rareth moved at a lightning pace. The trees too had reached their limbs for her, but her blade covered wide arcs around herself to cleave through the branches. Certainly, it was quicker to clear foliage with a blade than a rifle, so she had the chance to help some of the others quickly. Her priority was to help those that were not equipped to defend themselves, which to start was Dr. Wetherall. While Carthage was trying to pull him back, she came in at a sprint towards the scientist's feet and slashed at the branches to try and free him quickly.

For Nirann, he had been at the most central point in the group, farthest from the trees, so he had been spared from the initial grasping branches of their floral attackers. Or, perhaps it was the fact that he was entirely mechanical that led the trees to favor his organic allies? In any case, he was able to carefully put down some of what he was carrying: at least the things he could pick up again quickly. His cargo was important, and he had to protect it, but being in a military security bot, he did have some means to help. He reached behind himself and drew from his back a compact energy carbine, which automatically unfolded once he removed it from its compartment. Agent 595 had been grabbed from nearby to himself and was being dragged towards the water, so Nirann engaged his frame's targeting software and started to take shots at the source of the branches grabbing her.