[System]
Human appearance:
True appearance:
Equipment:Black armor, broken heart and mind.
Role:Offense.
Power:Shadowstep, shadowmeld (can teleport through darkness, and fade into darkness at will.)
Weapons and tools:Scythe of Souls, can safely store human souls for later release into the afterlife, Axe of Vengeance, used to punish those who upset the balance.
How do you view Humans?:To save humanity, I must give it something to fight against, to fight for. They must earn their survival.
Other:I know that I may die for my way of living, but it must be done.

[User] The human nods thoughtfully. "You work around here?" Xerces gives a half grin. "I guess you could say that. I travel a lot in my line of work." He sighs. "I've got to get going. Maybe we could talk again sometime. You've got my number. See you around." He stands up and walks over to a small car, and begins driving away. Xerces waits for a while, staring out at the water. He abruptly stands up, and walks downtown. I need to find that other Protector, Athe, again. Maybe he could tell me what's happening.

[Assistant] He needed information, about anything, whether it's the Rifts or where the Protectors were last seen. He had planned to go around the city, asking the Vendors for any information that they had. He was going to start with a Vendor that set up shop downtown, near the City Park. The Park used to be a hotspot for Protectors, as well as Angels and Demons. If he could learn when they were last seen, that may help him learn what happened. He left the Hotel, and set off towards the Shop. He was moving rather quickly, but he tried his best to blend in.

[User] He stops, and looks around. Where can I find a Vendor? He walks around, searching for someone to give a sign of recognition. He searches for a few hours, and keeps searching for another portal. What is causing those? He shakes his head. I need to fight something. He walks to the entrance of the park, and looks around for something to duel.

[Assistant] As he enters the Vendors shop, he immediately sees the Vendor. "I have questions." Athe says to the Vendor, who just looks up from his register and replies, "Ask away, what do you need?" Athe then spends the next couple of hours asking this Vendor questions, which he gets few actual answers for. A few Humans entered the store, as normal. But to the Humans, it sounded like they were talking about some weird Anime or Sci-fi movie. One piece of information that he did get was that many of the Protectors disappeared at the same time. What could that mean? How did they disappear? Where did they go?

[User] He hears a thud and turns, raising his scythe.....nothing. What's going on? He walks down the park walkway, and sees a glimpse of reflected light. He walks towards it, his battleaxe ready. It bursts into flame, and he walks around the glimmer. What is that? It has an unearthly polish to it, glimmering and sparkling even in pitch black. That thing is dangerous. He carefully walks towards it, and pokes it with the handle of his axe. It rolls over, and revels itself to be....a helmet. A Protectors helmet. He picks it up, and looks around. What happened here?

[Assistant] As he was getting the inconclusive answers, he became more confused, which began to irritate him. When he gets angry, it never ends well. He knew this. 'This is going nowhere...' He thought to himself. He needed to find Xerc again, and at least try to come to an agreement on something. Maybe he found something that Athe didn't? Maybe he knows something that Athe doesn't?

[User] He stands up, and walks down the street, helmet in one hand, battleaxe in the other. He keeps trying to remember who's helmet he has, but to no avail. He lets out a roar of frustration, which echos throughout the park he's in, and turns, walking in the general direction of that vendor he was at earlier. Maybe he would find Athe there. He turns at the sound of a riiip. and sees....another portal. But it doesn't appear to go to heaven or hell. It's just....there. A hole in the world. He immediately closes it, and begins teleporting to the nearest vendor, jumping from shadow to shadow.

[Assistant] As he heard a mysterious roar, both he and the Vendor look towards the park. He then quickly grabs his sword and rushes towards the door, until he slams into someone who is coming in the store at the same time as he was attempting to leave.

[User] He steps fully out of the shadow, and growls, his eyes flaring. "You again?" Then he sighs, and says "We have a problem, Athe. Look what I found when I was tearing my way through that nearby park." He holds out the Protectors helmet. "Do you recognize this?" He puts the helmet on the counter, and looks around.

[Assistant] He looks at the helmet after entering the store again. "Vaguely. I've seen it before, yet I don't remember who's head it belongs to... Where did you find it? He says, then locks the doors and puts up the CLOSED sign. No Humans needed to be involved in this. Whatever is going on, it's starting to ramp up...

[User] "I found it just inside a Rift in that nearby park." He examines the helmet, and looks back at Athe. "Why would a Protector go into a rift?" He looks almost scared. "Athe, the portal I found it in led to...Limbo."

[Assistant] "Nothing makes sense. Damn it!" He says as he goes back to the counter and puts his sword on it. "Limbo... Is a place that shouldn't exist. The Catholics call it Purgatory. We never, ever, go there. Nothing that you can say will make me go there. Off limits." He explains as he tries to calm down.

[User] "What if that's where all the other Protectors are? Trapped, stuck in Limbo? We know at least one of them is, and that's the only clue I've had in years."

[Assistant] "If that's the case... Then we are out of luck. There is no coming back from that wretched place." He says as he leans against the counter. "No one comes out of Purgatory. The only way to do it is to become a Monster in either Heaven or Hells army."

[User] He stares at the ground. "That's not....entirely true." He glances at Athe. "Athe.....that's my homeland."

[Assistant] "Yea... That may very well be true." He says, trying to come up with a plan. "If that is true, then you should be able to travel through that plane. But I am not. If I go there, I don't come back."

[User] He reaches out, and tears open a shadow, making a pitch black hole in the world. "If you went with me, I could keep you save from the things that exist there. I wouldn't say live there, because they aren't exactly alive anymore." He laughs softly. "I'm not exactly a Protector. Not in the way you'd think. I'm more of....an emotion, given form."

[Assistant] "Then you can travel unscathed. I, on the other hand, will not leave this plane. I am a Protector. I have a duty to uphold here. Since no other Protectors are present, the threat is high." He says, looking at the hole. This "Protector" continues to amaze Athe. Something new happens every time they speak. "While I refuse to enter Purgatory... I may be able to... Provide assistance to you while you're there."

[User] He nods. "Thank you. Now lets go see what happened to your friends." He steps through the portal, and his disguise vanishes immediately. The flames that make up his body glow at the same brightness and color of the fires surrounding him. He turns back, his eyes glowing orbs of his flaming power. "Until we meet again, Athe."

[Assistant]
"Yea yea. Don't get too hurt. I will still need help when you get back." He says as the portal closes.

Now... The adventure begins... What now?

[User] He walks through the silent Underworld, unnerved by the lack of monsters. What happened? He travels throughout the whole of Limbo, searching for any sign of them, but only finding darkness. He searches for months, and finally finds a stained weapon. Well, this can't be good. He opens the portal again, and pops out in front of Athe, barely a split second from when he left. "I only found a few weapons. Whatever is taking them, I'd think it would have to be.....The Creator, or The Destroyer. Or some Arch Angel/Demon on the level that we've never seen."

[Assistant] "Back so soon?" He says as he turns around, as if nothing happened. "So it's not just Earth... Oh boy." He says as he thinks. "Normally the powers never touch Limbo... We have some work to do."

[User] "Oh no. I've been gone for almost five years. Time doesn't work the same in Limbo as it does here. It is much slower there." His ax glows in flickering bursts. "I need to rest." He collapses to the ground.

[Assistant] "No matter how time moves, you found information. Now we have something to work from." He says as Xerc collapses. Athe then proceeds to move Xerc to the back of the store, which, oddly enough, looks the same as the last Vendors store.

[User] He lifts the stained sword he found, and tosses it on the table. "That was all I could find." He sits back against the wall, and sighs in exhaustion.

[Assistant] "You need rest. I will look at the sword and see what I can find." He says as he walks to the table, looking at the sword, but not picking it up. "There doesn't seem to be anything special about it. Hm..."

[User] "When you hold the hilt, it glows blue. That tell you anything?"

[Assistant] "Enchanted. Some kind of spell. I don't know much besides that. I say that we keep it, just to keep it safe." He says as he carefully moves the sword to a workbench.

[User] "Or until whoever lost it takes it back." He sits up. "Do you have any food? I haven't eaten in a few....weeks, I think."

[Assistant] "Fair point. There's food, just take what you need." He says reassuringly, he was kind of glad that Xerc found the sword. He felt like it was finally a step in the right direction.

[User] He eats all the food he can reach, then looks back at Athe. "What makes me so different from the other Protectors?"

[Assistant] "Well, from what I can tell, you are more of a physical form of emotion. You are unlike anything that I have ever seen." He says as he continues to look at the sword. "I would guess that you being formed in Purgatory was the beginning of all this madness. You being created may have unlocked a chain of events that we are living out right now."

[User] "Great, so I'm to blame for all your problems? I believe that if I'm so different then the rest of you, I may or may not have been a prototype. A test to see if Protectors would work in the first place. If that's so, I also believe that I was corrupted somehow, given the fact that I want to fight humans, whereas you lot want to save them." He looks around. "If that's so, what if this was just an experiment, and now it's over?"

[Assistant] "You are not to blame. You didn't start this. The event that created you caused this. If anything, you are one of the few things that may save us." He says, leaning his back to the table. "If this was just an experiment, then that means that someone started it. We need to find who that is. You are, potentially, the key to fixing all of this."

[User] "Then what should we do? Go back to the place where I was created?"

[Assistant] "It may be our only option... Which is not what I would prefer, but we can do it." He says, regretfully. "I will need time to prepare for a journey like this."

[User] "I understand completely. Take all the time you need."

[Assistant]
"Good to know. I will be gone for a few hours. Try to stay put. If you do venture off, don't cause any trouble, please." He says as he gathers his things and walks out. He took his sword, and nothing else. He is going to search for something that could assist him on the journey.

Now, time is yours. What will you do?

[User] He stands up, and walks around the Vendor's store. I've never been in one place for so long. Is this what home feels like? He walks to the window, careful to hide his true nature. He looks across the city he's in, and feels trapped. My purpose is violence. I have to find something to take it out on.

[Assistant] Pedestrians are traveling about the city, just normal transit. The soft hum of natural and human sounds fill the air. No one seems too worried about anything. Just living.

[User] He takes his hand off the windowsill when he realizes that the heat from his body is staring to melt the plastic. He paces the store, agitated.

[Assistant] The Vendor notices his agitation. "You are a special one, right? Not like the rest?" He says as he appears to be organizing alcohol behind his counter.


[System]
Species: Half-Bear
Age: 8 (physically adult)
Gender: Male
Appearance: 10ft, 550lbs. Unusually long torso. Tawny brown fur with dark brown grizzling.
 Claws are aggressively trimmed and filed down to thick nubs. Concealed in thick holocaust cloak/robes, gloves, and heavy boots. Carries a coarse wooden staff. Cloak decorated with typical druid paraphernalia. Colorblind (Yellow-green)

If disrobed, and on all fours, would pass easily as just a very large bear.

Bio: Offspring from the "sordid" (depending on who you ask) relationship between a forest hermit and a she-bear. Learned his craft and appreciation for honesty, integrity, and reverence for natural beauty from his dad. His "Good looks" from his mother.
Shy/sentimental. Has a brother the same age, and numerous younger siblings. Due to events in his home province before his birth, his father is magically connected with a rather expansive magical woodland, which suits him fine. Local logging town and his dad have a 'mixed feelings' relationship about each other. Cedar helps with diplomatic solutions. Is still young and naive in many ways, but shockingly adult and mature in others.

Skillset:
Woodcraft,
basic potion lore,
basic anatomy,
ecology.
Possesses "Speak to animals" spell-like ability.
Superhuman strength.
Superhuman sense of smell.
Low-light vision

Spells:
"Enhance/grow vegetation"
"Entangling roots/vines"
"Light heal"
"Detect magic"

Equipment: Dark brown and green 'holocaust cloak'/robes. Large wooden staff. Small hand axe. Small boot knife. Ball of twine. Antler knapping tool. Flints.

Other: Will arrive 'later' than other players.

[User]
[NPC Post]

Matilda watched impassively as the baker introduced himself. She kept her silence through the exchange, eyes narrowing with mounting paranoia as it passed. The knight waited for the two elves to finish, but Jazdia went upstairs instead of returning. That suited her just fine. Briskly following after, Matilda spared a glance to ensure no one followed before disappearing from the common's view.

"I will not pry into your past, or your network." The orc caught Jazdia before the latter entered a room. "But I require your words that it will not negatively affect the mission at hand."

[Assistant]
Jazdia was clearly not pleased with this untimely interruption. Though Matilda's suspicion was probably justified, they had all the chance in the world to join in and listen when she had a talk with Baker. Heck, it even would save her time from explaining to their team leader how the devices works.

"No, it will not," she replied with a deadpan expression. "On the contrary, I just solved our communication issue and ensured we can leave safely. From what I heard we probably have multiple targets, so splitting might be an option. Anything else? If not, I will take my leave and rest."

[User]
[GM Post]

"None. That will be all, miss Jazdia. I will see you tonight."

There's nothing but the elf's own word to it, but Matilda had to be satisfied with that much for now. Returning downstairs, the orc sat alone and glowered at the rest of the room as she had her meal and waited for Anderson's delivery. She'll make sure no mistake will happen before the departure.

After that? Maybe she can catch some sleep.

*****

Time passed. People were roused an hour before midnight, to fully prepare for the rescue mission. Reinhold was already up and awaited, still rather haggard but with a hint of sharpness that was absent from his earlier form. As promised Anderson had horses and a wagon delivered earlier, though not in person considering the other tasks he had to do. Cedar shared the wagon with Veronica, the horses seemingly too distressed by the latter's presence to allow riding, everyone else having their own horse to ride. At the forefront rode Reinhold, the hunters' words rang true as he traced the terrain without much difficulty despite the limited lighting.

The half moon offered sufficient illumination to reveal dark silhouettes. Still, it made for a slow travel. The horses couldn't move quickly, for even an errant pebble or branch could prove hazardous should they trip on it. Besides, Reinhold regularly had to stop and wander sideways to ensure that they're on the right track. Progress, however, was steady.

It was about four hours in when the first issue arose. Reinhold's guidance had slowly led the party toward the village of Fanghorn, where one particularly lowkey baron Otto von Kruber resided and ruled from. Around five miles out, Matilda ordered for a scrying for confirmation. This particular scry seemed to have punched through a veil as she abruptly gained direct vision of the prince sleeping in a well-furnished room. He looked unharmed at a glance, but that's not the issue - it was the location, which pinged not from Fanghorn but from Pesti instead, about seven miles to a different direction. That village was governed by one Sir Caspar, who received the land for contribution on quelling a potential rebellion a few years ago.

What to do?

[Assistant]
It was three or less in the morning when Veronica reported her finding. It was the pinpointed location of the prince himself and his general well-being which apparently remained unspoiled for the past six days.
What concerned them was the part where her finding conflicted with the hunter's account, which pointed to Fanghorn as the location where the kidnappers went.

Jazdia huffed and dismounted from her horse. It was not really a big deal for her, but she wanted to hear what the team leader had to say about this information, and the intel gatherer herself.

So the elf opened her pocketwatch and called for an emergency meeting. The map of Kindeance opened, and her enchanted arrows provided the light. Ten minutes at most.

"How much is the enemy on each site?" she began, eyeing Veronic. "In Pesti especially."

[User]
[NPC Post]

Of course it wouldn't be a smooth sailing. Which path would be the right one? It'll take at least half an hour to get to either villages, so checking both was still within the time table but that relied on one important thing. Which, considering how competent their enemies had been so far, was probably some wishful thinking.

"Veronica, what are the chances of our enemies noticing the scrying?" Matilda wasn't well-versed in matter of magic, but she had better general knowledge than most. Skilled far-seers were great boon, but nowhere near impossible to predict and counteract. "And as the elf said, try check the amount of potential hostile on both sites. Surprise may no longer be on the table now, if we are to divide our force we need to split it accordingly."

[Assistant]
The journey through the night had so far been rather uneventful. Sight was sufficient enough to not have the horses break their legs but the journey was still slow. Kaito could not help but find the whole ordeal of traveling through the wilderness at night rather boring. Rather odd considering he was born as a nocturnal predator. Throughout the years the fox had grown rather accustomed to the human way of life.

However the night was about to turn more eventful as the party stopped due to Veronica spotting the prince with her scrying. "Well, isn't that convenient, that the captors of the prince drop their guard after learning that we are on their tail." Spoke the kitsune sarcastically. It wasn't that he didn't trust his teammates, however the result of the scrying was rather fishy.

"Aaron Delving has already seen us fight and should be aware of Mathilda's prowess as well. He knows that he isn't dealing with just the run of the mill soldiers. If I was him I would try to have us split up and ambush 1 group at a time with my full force. But that is just me. Maybe I give him and his cronies too much credit."


[System]
* Age: 228
* Gender: Female
* Race: Sentient Undead (Human)
* Appearance:
 Though at one time as shiny and luminescent as pictured, Tyaethe's armour has lost much of its lustre due to a combination of two hundred years of constant use and an inability to perfectly clean it whilst in use. The result is a blurring of the intricate detailing on the paladin's shield and armour, and the shining metal is now a dull grey verging on black—when not coated in blood. It got cleaned. The scarf obscures how the throat is heavily armoured, beyond what one would expect of such an ensemble.
Though none still in the knights can say for certain what she looks like underneath all the armour, her eyes are clearly an unusually brilliant red and her hair white. Since the armour's on the intentionally bulky side and doesn't come off, it's not quite clear what Tyaethe's height is... though probably over six feet. Currently, she seems to be trapped in appearance as a child... though her armour's size doesn't quite mesh with the old paintings.
* Personality: If there's one thing that all her instructors tried to do, it was to cure Tyaethe of her temper. Fervour and determination in a battle is all well and good but carrying that attitude over to your everyday life? Despite their efforts, it was a fruitless endeavour and the tall paladin is as irascible as ever, though with enough self-control to avoid the worst outcomes.
At heart, Tyaethe is a dutiful knight and a good person. So despite her frequent anger, she has never once backed down on her duties or struck out at a child or someone truly innocent, even if rather aggressive verbally. Her unfaltering devotion to her duty—or anything else, as she seems too stubborn to ever back down—is best exemplified by her continued presence in the Iron Rose Knights, despite the drift from being a religious order.
Something more familiar to the newer recruits than the veterans is her sullenness and risk-taking. Not a behaviour always evident but at the same time a concerning trend, as if her patience for something is running out.
One trait carried over from her normal life is a dislike of being seen out of her armour. Since Elionne's death, this has exacerbated into a full refusal to remove it for any reason short of their first captain's return. Partly, at least, this is to prevent anyone from learning of her undeath and to preserve the idea of an immortal knight.
* Brief Backstory: Tyaethe was born to a minor noble family and, as the only child, was expected to carry on the family's duty as knights. To this end, at the age of seven, her education was entrusted to an important but highly religious duke that owed her father his life. It was for this reason that instead of continuing on to be a squire, the young Tyaethe pledged her service to the church and became a paladin.
As an adult, her strength and steadfast service was admirable, even though her hot-headed attitude caused friction with some of those she had to work with. It was for this reason that she was granted the honour of protecting the High Priestess and, when reports of an incoming force surfaced, left Falthir in order to conduct the fighting when she wouldn't be at risk. Naturally, this backfired and it was only Elionne's intervention that prevented the deception from being successful due to the diversion of the guards.
Owing the maiden for fulfilling her duty where she could not, Tyaethe swore to serve her in life and in death, second only to the goddesses. Part of the Iron Rose Knights since their inception, Tyaethe's death came in a pitched battle where their foes managed to split herself, Elionne, and some less experienced knights from the majority of their comrades.
The reason for her survival has never been perfectly explained. Some of the knights assumed it was just sheer luck and the high level of mana in the region and the more religious assigned it to divine intervention. Some of her detractors have even accused Tyaethe of dabbling in necromancy. As for the paladin herself, she cites her oath and willpower, as well as a refusal to go down whilst Elionne was still in danger. The fact of her undeath has been kept a secret within the knights, to cultivate a reputation as an immortal holy warrior, though doubtless people have guessed the truth.
Tyaethe has been unsurprisingly steadily more bitter since the original captain left, wanting to know why and find out what happened. Despite this, she has faithfully explained new captains their duties and guided them through it, even as the knights have drifted further and further from the religious unit she joined.
* Equipment: Forged nearly two hundred years before, the styling of Tyaethe's armour is antiquated to say the least—though the decorations, obscured as they are, resemble the current pieces made on the behalf of the church. Few people can move efficiently in such weighty protection, let alone adjust to how it restricts movement in order to fight but even going for its vulnerabilities leads to a difficult time in scoring a fatal injury. Of particular note is the one addition made before Elionne left: a reinforced gorget, to make even accidental decapitation even less likely.
Her other armament consists of a sword that most refuse to treat as one and an immense shield. Both are as long as she is tall and the sword itself unreasonably broad and tough; it crushes as much as it actually cuts. The shield, scratched though the design is over the years, contains a wolf rampant in its design—a lesser-used Mayonite symbol.
All three pieces were blessed and enchanted to regenerate under moonlight, since even before Tyaethe's death they took vast amounts of punishment and repairing them manually was prohibitively costly.
* Skills: Raised as a member of the nobility and intended to become a far more ordinary knight, Tyaethe knows falconry, board games, how to ride, and the social graces needed for polite company. All of these skills, save the riding—and that relies on draught horses in her case—are incredibly rusty skills due to neglect. Her literacy and ability to recite scripture on a whim, due to her training as a paladin, are as strong as ever.
In combat, Tyaethe's immense strength and armour leads to an approach best likened to an oncoming tide: she's not the most agile or that hard to hit but actually stopping her or resisting the offence is futile. Her speed can also be deceptive; she chooses to adopt a slow approach for psychological reasons and is more than capable of surging forwards to strike down a threat. Though a shield might seem redundant with such armour, she happily uses it as a second weapon or to force an opening from someone hoping to budge her defence.
With over a century of experience on her side and an initial training in the arts of warfare, Tyaethe is also a valuable tactical and strategic source—provided that you ask her opinion when she's not agitated in some manner and ensure that the reason Tyaethe suggests she be put in the thick of it is due to needing an immovable obstacle.

[User]
The guards' hastily-assembled defensive wall crumbled under the attack from Martina and the strange paladin. Shields splintered and men died, or fell to their knees in surrender. Soon enough, the entire room had been cleared of active opponents. They were either dead, or had given up entirely on fighting.

"Collect their weapons," Fanilly said, quickly, as she came to a halt near the surrendering guards. "And bind their hands. We'll take them to the guard when we're done here."

So far, they had yet to encounter any undead. It was likely, if the necromancer still had any risen corpses waiting, they were deeper in the tomb. It was strange, though.. on one hand, the sanctity of the dead being undisturbed was hardly anything to complain about. But on the other... what was the necromancer doing? There didn't appear to be any undead, despite the number of coffins lining the walls. At once Fanilly was thankful, but wary.

"We'll be going after the conspirators," she said, turning to address the knights, "With the guards dealt with, we'll be able to focus on them and any undead the necromancer may have risen, so-"

Something whistled past her cheek. Fanilly swiftly turned on her heel, and saw... It looked like a man, standing on the stairs, but his identity was concealed behind a hood and black leather armor. In one hand he held a crossbow, and in the other a shortsword.

"You're looking for me and my fellows, then, are you?" he asked, leaning against the wall as he spoke. When had he gotten there? And why hadn't he dropped in earlier? He was now between the two groups of knights... "I'll be sure to tell them that. I saw the little nem girl with those others. Tch tch tch."

He waved his finger. "That'll cost her one whole sister."

Fanilly took a step forward, raising her sword, only to immediately be met by... another attacker?! wielding a heavy axe, she was forced to step back, her own sword barely deflecting the blow. He was tall, muscled man in steel armor...

Two out of six conspirators were here.

---

As Tyaethe charged, the ground in front of her suddenly blazed brightly, a magic circle igniting bright blue on the ground where there had been none before.

She'd have to act quickly to avoid stepping into it and triggering whatever effect had been planted there!

---

Tili simply nodded to Marianne's words. She understood this was not out of kindness. However, she did not know the way. They had never let her beyond the first floor of the mausoleum. And so, she was left with the others, in silence, hearing them speak amongst themselves. And yet, there was another tone she could hear... she could hear breathing. Her sister's breathing. It was a technique they had used to detect one another, a Nem hunting technique repurposed. That meant, certainly her sister was still alive!

If she could just listen for where the other Nem was, then...!

... As the last guard fell, another sound came from below. It was a rattling noise, almost like dried branches, but deeper.

The bleached white frames of skeletons, carrying swords and shields, proceeded from the depths. Among them was a tall man in black, wielding a longsword in one hand.

"Blast it, the Iron Roses, eh?" he said, as skeletons filtered in around him, "And Neldrin was so sure you'd never find out... well, his skeletons should be useful, regardless."

He shrugged.

Tili's eyes locked on him. He hadn't seen her.

As skeletons filtered into the room, Tili drew the dagger she'd taken from the dead guard. Her eyes were still on that man.

Provided no-one looked directly at her, it would be easy to lose track of her in the upcoming battle...

---

The Princess stared blankly at the man who had arrived. So... that was... quite a story. He'd... tried to kill father? But now he hadn't... and... the girl shook her head. She wasn't exactly in the best mental state, and quite a lot of things hand happened very rapidly. She took a deep breath as she tried to discern what kind of response was appropriate to such an unusual tale. Especially given exactly what it entailed... a situation that could have been the death of her father.

Finally, she spoke.

"I... see," she said, flatly. It was all she could manage in the wake of such a strange story.

Meanwhile, Bethany seemed rather overwhelmed, still embarrassed by Sult's treatment of her. Quaking slightly, the court mage quietly shuffled behind the Princess. While she wasn't particularly much taller then the blonde girl, the sight of her attempting to hide behind Eliabelle was rather absurd.

[Assistant]
Dante watched the man in black as well as the undead around him. She had faced the undead before in an incident where a lower tier necromancer had tried to destroy a farm. But that had only been a few. This was a few dozen. Even though the situation made her nervous, Dante shook it off, and charged, loosing a battle cry as she did.

She sprinted with her kite shield in front of her, sharp end pointing up, and her Battle gauntlet trailing behind her. The first skeleton she came to she planted her left foot in the ground and used her momentum to swing the gauntlet with as much force as possible. The blow struck the skeleton directly at the top of the sternum, the force of the punch combined with the brittleness of the bones made the undead soldier shatter from the shoulders up. Dante then pulled the gauntlet hard to the right and up, smashing the skeleton directly next the other one's head against the damp stone wall, causing it to splinter into pieces.

The skeleton that had been to her left at the beginning chose that moment to try and lob her head off. She raised her kite shield just in time to block the blow. She raised her shield slightly higher and the sword slid along the curve of the shield, she then pinned the sword under her shield and then used her gauntlet to break it in two. Dante the flung her gauntlet up in a backhand blow directly to the undead creature's chin, ripping its head off. Dante then realized that her entire chest was open to attack, and brought her shield in to guard her just as a bolt struck her shield and richoched into the wall.
She muttered to herself,
"Too close."


[System]
Frost

"Why don't you take a chill pill?"

Vitals
Age: 29

Sex: Male

Date of birth: 22nd May, 1986

Lineage: -

Class/Major: Rogue

Class/Minor: Mage

Occupation: Detective

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Marital Status: Widower

Birthplace: New York, New York

Blood Type: B+

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 6'

Weight: 177 lbs

Hair Color/Style: Snow white, waist length hair tied into a long, thin ponytail.

General Appearance: Anthropomorphic wolf. Normally wears a thick hoodie over a shirt, a grey square cap on his head, jeans and sneakers. His hands are usually adorned with a pair of plain black fingerless gloves.

Skin Tone/Condition: Normal grey wolf fur colours.

Markings: Two sky blue arrows that start on his cheeks, pointing towards his eyes. The other ends of the arrows travels as stripes down his neck, shoulders and onto his arms, where they end as arrows again on the tops of his hands. These markings glow a pale blue.

Combat Stats

Dominant Hand: Right

Equipment:

-Upper Body: Nil

-Lower Body: Nil

Weapons* Black Blade - A standard length katana with a wholly black blade, the sword is Daniel's power focus. He can channel his ice energy into it to make it flash freeze anything he hits, and it is also bound to him; he can summon it anywhere he chooses to. Its blade is razor sharp, able to cut through most sturdy materials like wood or stone with ease, metal less so because of its strength against a cutting force, but with a substantial effort, yes he can cut blades with his sword.
* Eagles - Two IMI Desert Eagle pistols with engraved grips. These pistols, born from magical energy, do not run out of ammunition, instead shooting bullets of compressed magic. In turn, Daniel can channel his ice into the guns to make them shoot ice bullets that freeze their targets solid.

Abilities* Super Speed
* Enhanced Strength
* Enhanced Reflexes
* Heightened Senses

Magic* Ice Elemental - Daniel, once flesh and bone, is now a being wholly made of ice. His intensive training with the element has made him so in tune with it that he has become one with the cold. As such, basic physical attacks to his body cannot harm him, as he will simply refreeze any injuries he suffers. He is also highly skilled in the use of ice magicks. Magical attacks, however, will cut past the ice that once was his flesh and injure his inner being, making him bleed in that sense.
* Mark of the Rogue - Representing the Rogue, Daniel is able to travel at speeds faster than the naked eye can follow, along with being able to easily navigate terrain, staying out of sight and being a very fast attacker. All this emphasis on speed does reduce his ability to hit harder than he's normally able to.

Bio

Voice: Deep, raspy, compelling.

Personality: Cool and collected, cunning and lethal, Daniel makes it a point to let everyone know that he means business and that if you cross him, bad things will happen to you. That being said, he treats his friends with the utmost care and concern; if you are on his good side, you are a best friend to him. Acquaintances that have likewise earned his trust and respect are people whom he will also treat very well.

Backstory: Born in New York City, Daniel Anderson took into his father's footsteps by enrolling in the NYPD and becoming an officer. With hard work and determination, he took up his late dad's desk as a detective and began a long, hard career in the service.

Near his fifth year in the office he was taken over by a powerful celestial force known as the Protectorate, and was transformed into a Protector; a powerful demigod whose sole purpose was to ensure the safety of the world. He trained with the best and made many friends around the world, demigods one and all. Together he and his Guardians went on many an adventure, with the safety of the planet often hanging in the balance.

After several decades, Earth began to decay. Society collapsed, the environment ran rampant and turned the world into a wasteland. Still he persevered, though the more years he spent on the earth, the more of his Guardians fell to the ravages of time, age and injury. It was then that he realised that the world didn't need him any more; it was dying, and soon it would be time for the demigod, now nearly a full god in terms of power, to leave for greener pastures. One of the remaining Guardians suggested that he venture into the multiverse; a plane where worlds and universes collided, an interdimensional highway, so to speak. An endless amount of possibilities lay within, and the promise of more power. So he went, leaving the ailing Earth to the care of the remaining Guardians, and entered the multiverse as a wanderer.

Now Daniel is no longer a god. He considers himself more of an elemental than anything else. His wanderings have brought him far and wide, though recognition is sparse. A run-in with a Dreamer ages ago was the closest he'd been to making a friend in the multiverse.

[User]
Just as the monk expected, the anthropomorphic wolf padded in from the right, still quite clueless as to where his opponent was, up until he entered the T-junction and saw the other guy standing there with a bow and arrow fully drawn. With a quickness, he brought his sword (still in its sheath) up from within his belt and held it in his right, turning on his left foot to face the monk. His stance lowered, feet spreading apart, right ahead of left, as he pulled the brim of his cap lower and steeled his grip on his sheathed sword.

"Well then, this is a pickle."

[Assistant]
Not a pickle, I am a monk, my title is Xing Yi the Endless one, and I have my endless long bow trained on you, werewolf.

Xing drew back his arrow and was ready to fire at any given moment, the tension in the air was thick, and Xing could sense this creature was incredibly strong, and was exuding some powerful energies that seemed to transcend regular magic. Xing Yi had encountered all manners of beasts and warriors before, but this individual was perhaps the most intrugiung.

Why have you come here? you are clearly not from this land or maybe even this world. I think you should leave, your aura stinks of a false god, your very presence offends me.

Xing took a few steps back with bow still trained on the werewolf, looking to put the broken coffin between himself and this creature for minor cover should he need it.

[User]
"False god? What false god? I don't see any gods here."

He spun his sheathed sword in his hand a few times. That bow looked quite fearsome, actually, but nothing he couldn't handle.

"And my name's Daniel, just to get introductions out of the way. And I'm looking for something, or someone, really. It led me here. Have you seen a beagle around here anywhere? About yay high?"

He held his free hand out to roughly his head height.

"Blue jeans, cowboy boots, big ol' hat?"

Ready for anything, of course. Sword and sheath were in his right hand, stance still the same. Nothing had changed. If the monk fired an arrow, he'd be ready.

[Assistant]
You are not simply mortal, correct? I sense energies in you that are not of this world, you are a false god.

Xing Yi hunched to a slightly crouched position with his arrow still trained on the wereworlf, now wondering how he was going to fight such a being if he needed to. The light from the chandelier reflected off the fairly deep puddles on the floor, which almost bathed the hallway in a glistening aura which painted the picture further that these were two people whos powers had at least some influence from the divine. The werewolf once again spoke describing someone he has never met nor would wish to.

Youre not going to leave are you? Ive given you ample chance to flee and never return, but a false god will always find himself in places he is not wanted. This cathedral will be your grave, werewolf.

Xing refused to call the creature by his Anglo name, and focused his eyes as he fired an arrow straight at the creatures chest.

[User]
He saw the monk's movements before he loosed the arrow. The tiny flinch of his hand as it pulled back a fraction, the tensing of the arm and the twitch of the tendons in his hand as his fingers released themselves from the arrow's feathers. All this happened in a fraction of a second, nearly the height of his enhanced reflexes and vision.

Then the arrow left the bow, travelling across the hallway in a blaze of speed. Its motion slowed in his eyes, he had all the reaction time he needed to lean slightly to the right, letting the arrow sail right past him, embedding itself deep in the stone wall behind him. With a small smile, he resumed his stance, rolled his shoulders and stretched the kinks out of his neck.

"Well then now that's just rude. You wanna play this way, fine then. I'll play rough."

With a flick of his free hand the water in the hallway began turning into ice, swiftly and steadily. He braced his right foot, bent slightly to gather his strength, and then pushed off from his right. This action made him hop into the air slightly as the leap forward closed the distance between him and the monk, even as the water beneath him froze solid, trapping his feet and ankles in a solid, icy grip.

A second passed. Two.

Daniel landed on both his feet and, using the ice as a rudimentary slip-n-slide, let his right foot skid forward. His body twisted left and he leaned to the left, lowering his left hand to the ice to clamp down on it, slowing his progress forward enough to turn his forward momentum into a sideways spin on his left foot. Maintaining the crouch he swept his right leg right around counter-clockwise, aimed right for the monk's left shin.

Continuing the spin, he came round again, still pivoting on his left foot, and threw up his free hand as a feint, palm up in a quick flicking motion that did nothing, while beneath him his sword arm came up swiftly in a straight, quick diagonal jab from Xing Yi's low left, aiming to hit his solar plexus with the hilt of his sword. He would be in a kneel now, his right knee on the ice with his left foot bracing.

All this, from dodge to leap to kick to feint to jab, took merely seconds, what would seem like a short moment to the monk.

False god he may be, but speed was his game.

[Assistant]
The arrow flew beautifully towards the werewolf and like water the opponent was able to dodge the movement like it was nothing and flicked his hand. Xing Yi was very in tune with spirits and magic energies and knew that very second that there was a spell being cast....the air in the atmosphere began to cool down considerably.....that was it, ice magic! The shallow pool around the floor began to freeze almost instantly, Xing Yi was lucky he placed himself so near the broken coffin and quickly hopped on top of it so he was not in the puddle as it froze.

The werewolf then used the now frozen water to skate towards him throwing a low kick just as Xing jumped back on to the coffin and was able to narrowly dodge it, luckily. But the attack was not over, the low kick's momentum allowed the beast to spin into an attack with his sword handle, which Xing did not expect, luckily the attack seemed to be aimed for his chest, but in Xing's elevated position the attack thudded into the monk's stomach. Which was very painful. Xing Yi managed to grunt the pain of the attack and maintain his excellent balance on the smooth coffin.

The Monk's endless bow shifted form instantly to a new weapon.. the bo staff! Xing countered the attack he suffered by swinging the large pole toward the werewolf's neck at a diagonal angle from the right, all while maintaining balance.


[System]
Age: 12
Hometown: Ecruteak City
Appearance (pic preferred):

Starter: Fennekin
Bio: Shiranui had developed a fascination with fox-like Pokémon from watching the Kimono Sisters performing during his childhood. His favourite Pokémon are Espeon, Umbreon, Delphox, Zoroark and Ninetales. He is generally kind, but has a low tolerance to those who speak ill of his likes. He had been inspired to go on a Pokémon journey ever since he spotted Ho-oh taking off from the Bell Tower at age 8, later catching it during his journey through Johto along with two of the three Legendary Beasts.

Having never left the regions of the Far East, Shiranui is excited for seeing the culture of a faraway land whilst also steeling himself for the culture shock he may inevitably feel. As part of his ninja training, his father had told him to expect the unexpected.

[User]
Ryan shrugged and called out his Pancham. "Come out Bancho." The Pancham looked ready for a fight as it began hopping around. The opposing trainer was a 17 year old male who was wearing a torn up scarf. He sent out a Poochyena and prepared for battle.

"Bancho, start it off with a Comet Punch." With these words the battle began as Bancho rushed the Poochyena with a flurry of punches. The Poochyena dodged the first two punches, but was hit by the last three in turn.
"Poochyena, use Bite!" The Poochyena latched onto Bancho but it did practically nothing due to typing.
" Bancho, Slash it until it lets go." Bancho brought out his claws and began repeatedly slashing at the Poochyena until it eventually let go. The Poochyena was obviously on its last legs, so it was time to end this.
" Bancho, Circle Throw." Bancho grabbed the Poochyena and threw him over his head and into a nearby wall. When the dust settled the Poochyena was knocked out and Bancho was the winner. "Well done warrior. Return and rest." Ryan returned him to his Pokeball and graciously accepted his cape to show his new status as a Baron.

[Assistant]
It was now Shiranui's turn to battle and his opponent was a 16-year-old red-haired boy with a blue shirt who sent a Murkrow into battle. "That Murkrow reminds me of Kyouchou," Shiranui mused, thinking about his Honchkrow, "Honoh, I choose you!" He sent out his Fletchling and the battle was on.
"Murkrow, Pursuit!"
"Honoh, Peck!" The Fletchling put his Gale Wings ability to work and gave Murkrow a swift peck before Murkrow tackled the robin.
"Murkrow, Wing Attack!"
"Honoh, time to test out that new move we worked on! Acrobatics!" The Fletchling let out a high-pitched chirp before he started to glow. Honoh grew more than a foot in height before the glow subsided to reveal a Fletchinder.
"Fletchinder, the Ember Pokémon and the evolved form of Fletchling. The hotter the flame sac on its belly, the faster it can fly, but it takes some time to get the fire going." Honoh executed a few aerial stunts before dive bombing Murkrow into a knockout.

Shiranui also gained the status of Baron after receiving his own white cape.

[User] Mr. Coleman appluded the valliant battles done by the three heroes.

[Assistant] Ryan put on his cape and smiled. He bowed when Mr Coleman applauded him and his grin got even wider. "I am glad to see you enjoyed our battles."

[User] "So, where are you three off two next?" Mr. Coleman inquired. A dark skinned man approached, "I bet they are heading for the Cyllage City Gym, right?" he asked. Liam confirmed the speculation. The man introduced himself as that gym's leader, Cliff. and that he looked forward to their battles there. He then excused himself and left to return to his gym.

[Assistant] "So this is the guy we need to defeat next," stated Shiranui, donning his cape and letting Yoto out to ride on his back.

[User] "Well, shall we move on?" Liam inquired.

[Assistant] "Let's do that." Ryan responded as he opened the exit. As he opened the door he came face to face with Viola. "Nope." He immediately closed the door and ran to the restroom. After a few minutes he came out in different clothing and a hoodie. " Ok, I'm ready to go now." He opened the door again and made sure to cover his face as he walked past Viola and towards Cyllage City.

[User] "What was that all about?" Shiranui inquired. He grew concerned about Ryan's strange behaviour.

[Assistant] "I wonder what his beef with Viola is." Liam thought aloud. "We should probably catch up with him though."

[User] "Agreed," replied Shiranui.

[Assistant]
Ryan stopped and panted a bit. He remembered his experience with Viola an hour ago and shuddered. She had been shaking with rage after that incident with the door. "I'm not crazy right? She looked like she wanted to kill me." Ryan asked Oberon and Fuma.

"You're definitely crazy. but you are right about this one thing." Oberon responded with a level of sarcasm that couldn't hope to be expressed through words.

"Screw you. You agree with me right Fuma?" Ryan asked, while just Fuma shook his head and snickered. "Everyone hates me." He said with a cartoon storm cloud above his head.

[User] Liam finally caught up with Ryan. "Here you are." He said.

[Assistant] Shiranui caught up as well. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

[User] "I am concerned as well." Liam added.

[Assistant] Ryan looked directly at them and smiled. "I am perfectly fine. Let's never talk about Viola ever again." Ryan then continued walking towards Cyllage City. "So how much farther would you say we need to go?" He asked.

[User] Shiranui wore a sceptical look on his face as he considered asking Oberon what was going on, knowing the Ralts could sense feelings. "We just have to keep heading west and go through a cave before reaching Cyllage City," he answered.

[Assistant]
Liam encountered a Machop inside the cave. He called on Jiraiya. The Froakie won and evolved.

"Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokemon, and the evolved form of Froakie. It can throw bubble-covered pebbles with precise control, hitting empty cans up to a hundred feet away. Its swiftness is unparalleled. It can scale a tower of more than 2,000 feet in a minute's time."

[User] Ryan nodded at Shiranui in recognition of his accomplishment and sent out Amber to take down so Machops. In the process Amber evolved into a Vespiquen. It Slashed the remainder of its opponents and was quite pleased with itself. Ryan returned it to its Pokeball and began walking forward to the exit. He caught a Mawile, but when he retrieved the Pokeball it disappeared from his hand. "So that's how the six Pokemon limit works. Interesting." He commented to himself. He would decide who to store when he got to town.

[Assistant]
Liam encountered an Axew. He remembered the one he met at the Blackthorn Gym. He noticed that it was a shiny one as well. "Jiraiya!" Liam called on the Frogadier.
 "Cut!" Liam called." The Axew got hit and used Assurance.
 Liam called for Rock Slide next. Axew used Dragon Claw next. Jiraiya followed it up with Ariel Ace. Axew used Dragon Dance. Liam tossed a Luxary Ball. Axew got hit. The Tusk Pokemon was sucked in. After shaking a bit, the ball pinged shut. Liam now had a total of four Pokemon on his person.

[User]
Shiranui encountered a horde of Whismur and sent Higitsune out to battle. "Higitsune, start with Ember on the far left!" The Fennekin breathed out some embers on the Whismur on the far left and scorched it into a knockout with a critical hit. Shiranui had to hold his ears as half the remaining Whismur used Uproar while the other half used Pound. The four-pronged attack inflicted major damage on Higitsune. Higitsune started to glow, shifting from a quadrupedal stance to a bipedal stance. The glow subsided to reveal a Braixen. Higitsune pulled his stick out of his tail and fired a bright iridescent beam of energy that knocked the Whismur on the far right out. Shiranui recognised the move as a Psybeam. One of the Whismur continued its Uproar while the other two started their own Uproar attacks. The loud discordant noise caused Higitsune to be on his last legs. "Higitsune, return; Hana, I choose you!" Shiarnui switched the exhausted Braixen for his Flabébé.

---

The Uproars continued and Hana got some major damage from the three-pronged attack. "Hana, Fairy Wind on the left Whismur!" The Flabébé let off a bright glow of her own, Hana's flower morphing into something like a parasol. The glow subsided to reveal a Floette that unleashed a Fairy Wind on the Whismur on the left, knocking it out in one hit. The last two Whismur continued with their Uproars and Hana was left exhausted. "Hana, return; Yoto, I choose you!" Shiranui switched out his Floette and pulled Yoto out of his sheath and threw the Honedge into the battle.

---

The Uproars continued, but Yoto was immune to the attacks. "Yoto, Swords Dance!" The Honedge performed a series of slashes that sharply increased his Attack. One Whismur started another Uproar while the other tried to use Pound, both attacks not affecting Yoto at all. "Yoto, use Pursuit on the Whismur on the right!" The Honedge did a charging thrust at the Whismur indicated and stabbed it into a knockout. The last Whismur continued its Uproar to no avail. "Yoto, finish the last Whismur off with a Pursuit!" The Honedge did a piercing thrust that stabbed the Whismur into a one-hit knockout. Shiranui breathed a sigh of relief as Yoto returned to his sheath, glad the noisy battle was over.

[Assistant] "Well, we are most of the way though this cave, then we can receive our next badges."

[User] "It'll be a breeze for me," boasted Shiranui.

[Assistant] "Same here." Liam said.

[User] Ryan shook his head, he would've called them arrogant if he didn't know them. But they had the skill to back up their boasts. "Let's just get out if here before you guys cause a cave collapse." Ryan said as he walked out of the cave.

[Assistant] "I'm with you on that," Shiranui agreed, feeling lucky the Whismur he battled didn't cause a cave-in with their noise.

[User] Eventually, the end of the cave came in sight. It would only be a few minutes until they were in the next town, and they could stop at a Pokemon Center.

[Assistant] Ryan checked his watch and saw that they were arriving precisely on schedule. He walked to the Pokemon Center and thought about what he was going to do. He got all his Pokemon healed up and he deposited Mimi in exchange for the Mawile he found earlier. He decided to name it Futana.

[User] Shiranui checked his Pokémon in at the Pokémon Centre as quite a few of them were exhausted. He knew Grant would use Pokémon restored from fossils, but was wondering what ancient Pokémon were native to Kalos.

[Assistant] Liam got his Pokemon healed at the Pokemon Center as well.. "You guys ready?" He asked after everyone recived their Pokemon back?

[User] "I am ready." Ryan answered with a smile.

[Assistant] "Ready," added Shiranui.

[User] "Then, its time to face the gym." Liam said. He was fired up. Grant was outdside the gym waiting for the heroes. He welcomed them into the gym. Liam saw the inside had huge rocks to scale. Grant expressly said not to have Pokemon help in scaling. When Liam made it to the top he stopped to catch his breath while his friends made it to the top.

[Assistant] Ryan followed Liam the entire way and smiled as he looked upon the entire gym. It's always nice to see new places. "Anyone want to go first?" He asked the others.


[System]
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Element: Water
Birthplace: Northern Water Tribe
Current Residence: Republic City
Occupation: Pro-bender ("The Ice Wolves")

Appearance:
Child

Grown

History: Siku grew up in the Northern Water Tribe, spending her first ten years of life in the icy habitats of the distant North. Her family lived quite well-off, as her father was the chief's cousin, thus providing an environment for young Siku to thrive easily. From a young age, she showed a capacity for water bending and a curiosity beyond even the other children in the tribe. She was always exercising her abilities, absolutely fascinated by the way water reacted to even her very presence. Having acquired the ability to bend from her father, the man was the first to jump on a chance to train his only daughter. He was one of few water benders who wielded a weapon from time to time to accompany his art. Much to his chagrin, Siku had grown rather attached to their television on certain nights of the week. It was like pulling her out of a coma when her eyes glued to that screen to watch the pro-benders of Republic City, champions of their craft, dueling.

The girl wanted nothing more than to see one match, in person, and learn to diversify her own talents, no matter how small their manifestation still was at the time. After months of begging, pleading, groveling, and extra chores, her parents gave in to her incessant requesting and took her to the arena in the city. Hoping to satisfy her, they left within just a few days and spent a week in the city, leaving her in awe of everything from the cars to the music to the three matches they attended. The plan backfired quite noticeably because within only a year or two the chief offered her father the recently opened position of Ambassador for the North Pole and when Siku heard… well, there was no shutting her up. Her bags were packed before the decision was made and by the time she was ten, they were unlocking the doors to their new, and admittedly quite lavish, house in the center of the city. It had a yard and a garden, granted due to her father's position. They had not purchased it, but rather it was owned by the Northern Water Tribe. Siku's mother had always stayed at home, maintaining the house and caring for Siku and their new two year-old daughter Sesi. Siku started going to school in the city and her father continued their training sessions, waiting until she was old enough before starting to teach her how to use a dao, just as he incorporated one into his own training. They began with wood, and by the time she was finishing school, she could flourish the blade as though it were naught but air.

She acquired her spot with the Ice Wolves amateur pro-bending team after their water bender took a nasty fall off the platform, forgetting to catch himself properly in the water below. He was only temporarily out of commission, but he decided to leave pro-bending behind after the injury. Siku leapt at the opportunity, despite how crunched for time she already was, proving herself to be a worthwhile gamble. Somehow, with a packed schedule, she managed to give herself at least a little bit of time each week to stroll the streets of Republic City and clear her mind or spend recreational time with her friends.

Name: Hiresh Sudhir
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Element: Earth (Affinity for Metal)
Birthplace: Zaofu, Home of the Metal Clan
Current Residence: Republic City
Occupation: Metal Corps Officer

Appearance:

History: Hiresh was born and raised in the city of Zaofu of the Earth Kingdom. He was a natural earth and metal bender, though he displayed little talent in much else, he was content with his bending prowess. By the time he was sixteen, he knew he wanted to join the Metal Corps in Republic City. On recommendation of many of the city's guardsmen, he was accepted into the academy, where he trained rigorously until he was finally a full-fledged officer. He was assigned to duty as one of the Tsukiko family's guard and escort to start with a basic job. It was the Northern Water Tribe's ambassador and his family, the job was plenty important, he told himself. He spent so little time hunting Triple-Threat members and actually doing good, however, that he sometimes felt underappreciated in the force. His superior officers have been promising him for months now that they would post him elsewhere as soon as they could, but he has yet to see any kind of paperwork pushed for it. Guard duty be damned, he joined to be an officer, not a security guard. Was it just because he had a generally protective attitude? Rather than being outspoken for justice in particular?

!!! WARNING: Early Pages Spoilers !!!

Name: Grand Lotus Hideki Yakedo

Gender: Male

Age: 54

Element: Fire

Appearance:

Background: Grand Lotus Yakedo is the head of the White Lotus organization. He was a part of the group from a very young age; his father was an agent who gave his life in the line of duty for the previous Avatar from the Earth Kingdom. Having grown up in the society made becoming an official member rather easy. Of course, he set his goals much higher. While he loved the group, he saw countless flaws with how institutionalized it was; the White Lotus was an "official" faction nowadays, but he knew that in history they were once a secret society which protected the balance of the world alongside the Avatar, they weren't guards for the Avatar. Hideki did not make it his life's goal to become the leader of the Lotus, he wanted to change it - to get it back to its roots before somebody turned its tides against their charge. The Avatar should be in charge of their own training, watched over and supervised by the sages and elders of each kingdom. No government, no politics, and no full-time protection. The Avatars of old were so great because of the trials and tribulations they faced in their travels - an Avatar couldn't be trained, they had to be grown. Now, his worst nightmare has come to pass: even as he tries to pull the White Lotus out of the Avatar's life (hence why Katsu was able to avoid them for so long), there were double agents and infiltrators in his midst who meant to bring the boy harm.

[User]
The small brown haired girl hummed to herself as the other two in her group conversed. Asha's mind was somewhere else completely, as she wondered about what all they might see during their travels. She had been born and raised in Republic City and even then she hadn't seen much of it. This whole traveling and adventuring the world was an exciting new prospect for her and that was all that was going on in her mind, before she felt a hand around her shoulder which caused her to jump. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink when she had seen just who it was who had their arm around her shoulder; Asha giggled softly and nodded at Katsu's words, him saying she was his little air nomad...she sort of missed the other part of the conversation, though.

It was then that Asha realized that the avatar had said something that ticked off her water bending friend and she just watched with amusement at how easily Siku threatened Katsu's life yet again over something she was assuming was petty. Still though, it was funny to see how the two interacted and despite how much they fought, how close they seemed. The brunette smiled at the others before turning her attention back towards the road they were traveling, hoping to watch out for anything suspicious. Since the Avatar was wanted and now on the run, one could never be too cautious.

"Hm?" Asha turned her attention once again towards her comrades, more directly to Siku, "Oh, yeah, I think that is how it goes. So, whenever you want to learn some air bending, lemme know!" the girl said with zeal, forming a fist with one hand and throwing it in the air. "It really is a fun element..." Asha trailed off, not knowing whether or not Katsu was ready to even attempt air bending. Since Katsu had taken more of a liking towards fire (obviously) and earth, she feared that the boy would have a very troubling time with the other two elements.

[Assistant]
Katsu bit his tongue and refrained from snapping at Siku, not at all appreciating her taunting behavior. His life hadn't been easy, not that he expected her to know, and the fact she was joking about it annoyed him to no small end. Did she know what it was like to not eat for days on end? To sleep on a bench in the park in the pouring rain? He doubted it, yet he wasn't going to sit here, get on a box and cry his troubles out to the world; she could go on thinking he was just complaining, he didn't really care enough to correct her. All of that was behind him anyways, and even on the run now his life was better than it had been. Rolling his eyes at the complaint about the restaurant, Katsu smirked slightly amused and gave a dismissive shrug, just to egg on Siku.

"Food sucked anyways, too overpriced if you ask me," he responded calmly, looking away as though he were disinterested. Heh, two could play at that game, he'd rile her up just as she had him. When asked about whether he'd practiced other elements or not he answered honestly, a bit ashamed to say he hadn't yet seeing no reason to hide it. There was no need for him to, it wasn't like there was some great war or anything going on; aside from his problems with the Lotus defectors the world was in a relative time of peace, there was next to no reason for an Avatar to even exist. Seriously, if he only learned fire and nothing else then he should be perfectly fine!

Heh, water princess, he figured that was a pretty good one. Obviously he didn't mean it and made it in jest, but given Siku's sometimes haughty nature it fit. Chuckling to himself at her expense, Katsu gasped when he suddenly felt his support leave him, and soon was knocked to his knees with a rather angry Water Bender looming over him. Blinking just once when she began threatening him he glanced at her dao silently, doubtful she had any real intention of using it but not wanting to test his luck. Watching as she retracted the weapon and left him be, the Avatar breathed a sigh of relief before climbing back to his feet. "Jeez Siku, someone sleep on the wrong side of the ground last night?" he joked, rubbing at his neck before grinning at her cheekily, "You're kinda hot when you're mad though, anyone ever tell you that?" He really didn't know better it seemed, or maybe he was calling her bluff with her weapon being drawn, who knows.

"You said it, I don't care to master them. Why should I when I can use two already?" Katsu asked in turn, placing his hands into his coat pockets as he strode along. At least Asha was plenty supportive and not at all being a pain in the neck, unlike some women of the group. Seriously, two days thus far and Siku had already threatened him twice, what gives? If she was going to draw her weapon on him every time they spoke then he'd just leave her be, see if she preferred that! She could have a pet rock if that was better for her, then he'd not be at risk of getting shanked for speaking.


[System]
Erika Anne Dominique

---
Birthday
August 26th.

Age
17.

Gender
Female.

Sexuality
Demisexual.

Relationship Status
Single.

Scars, Tattoos, Piercings
Basic piercings on ear lobes. Usually wears a pair of diamond earrings.

---

Likes & Dislikes
Likes

•Fiction books
•Cats
•Her laptop (and the internet)
•Her friends

Dislikes

•Dirt/Anything dirty
•Insects
•Being alone/left out
•Loud people

Hobbies
•Reading books
•Writing poems
•Taking pictures
•Painting
•taking daily strolls

Habits
•Cleaning
•Reading until falling asleep
•Combing her hair from time to time

Fears
•Being alone
•Insects and other creepy crawlies
•Doing anything in public

---

Personality
• Approachable • Tends to overthink • Clean • Crybaby •

Biography
Erika is a normal human. She likes doing arts and enjoys literature. She's been raised by her aunt and uncle her whole life and was treated as an only child. Erika is a straight A student in her school and surrounds herself with people who were like her; people who enjoyed taking pictures and reading books. She also spends most of her nights on tumblr.

Erika grew up with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She wants everything neat and organized. One thing that's out of place will make her frustrated. Because of her OCD, she is described to be a perfectionist, which is slightly true, though she only wants everything neat and arranged. Whenever she can't do anything about something she wants to fix, she becomes frustrated and lets loose by crying.

Erika was an unwanted baby. Her mother never wanted to have a child but had one by accident. Because of this, her mother sent her to her Aunt Mary and Uncle Stew. She treated them as her parents and they treated her like their daughter. Erika never found out who her father was and she barely remembers her mother. Her aunt does not talk about her mom either and says it's for her sake.

Famile Members
Aunt: Mary Dominique Oak
Uncle: Stew Lowell Oak

Your Mahlimae
Three

---

Relationships between Friends
• Georgina Anne Berglund
• "Opposites do attract. We're a living proof."
• North pole and south pole in human form. They're close with each other but they sometimes get irritated with each other as well due to them being almost polar opposites. Though Erika isn't the most showy person when showing affection, it is very evident that she cares about Georgina, even if she doesn't arrange her school works alphabetically.

• Yuki Fuyuko
• "Probably the only person I can be with twenty four-seven."
• Erika treats Yuki like the sister she never had. She shares a lot of hobbies with Yuki and they bond mostly around books. Out of the group, Erika is the closest with Yuki as they seem to understand each other more than anyone else.

• Titus Omar Calloway
• "I don't hate him... I just don't like some things about him. Okay, I hate his tattoos."
• Erika isn't the biggest Toc fan. She doesn't like how he smokes weed and how he wishes to leave the town she grew up in. Toc's physical appearance isn't Erika's favorite part about him either. She believes that tattoos are permanent litters on one's skin. Anyone who has tattoos, she has bad impressions of. In the group, the two have the least interaction. Despite that, Erika and Toc can be labeled as friends.

• Vivian Anastasia Locke
• "I'm glad she's part of the group. Like really glad."
• Vivian and Erika were friends since middle school. They were never each other's best friend but continued to be friends until they were in high school. Erika was a bit weirded out when she found out Viv was bi but got used to it cause they were in the same squad after all.

•  Kenneth Edward Vartilli
• "Kenneth's fine... it's just a bit awkward between us. He's a good guy though."
• Erika and Kenneth were a thing for a short while. It didn't quite work out for them because Eri wasn't ready and Kenneth rushed into things. Eri never talked to Kenneth about why they broke up. They remain friends, though there's a little bit of awkwardness still.

[User]
---

December 21st, 2015. 8:00 AM

---

It was a miracle that the ground wasn't covered in at least a foot of snow by now in the quiet town of Alta Vista. Instead, a slight fog paired with a sprinkling of rain came down on the frozen ground, leaving everything around a very dull and dead grey color. For all students, it was the beginning of winter vacation, a week off for the holidays to be spent with friends and family. For these six friends the day had started even earlier. Around 7:00 am they all decided, (somewhat reluctantly) to all wake up on the first day of the break and spend all day with one another. Having breakfast at the diner, they ate happily and started their day off on a bright and cheerful note.

Gaining a bit more energy and after the rain halted, the group decided to go exploring in the forest that surrounded the outskirts of the town. Upon reaching a small clearing appeared a faded yellow home. The windows boarded up, or if not boarded, broken. The siding decrepit and crumbling. The friends looked at one another, varying faces of excitement, curiosity, and worry spread across their face. They had never seen this place before, and they had sworn they had tracked over every inch of that town- twice.

Georgina adjusted the white beanie on her head as she looked to her friends, "You guys wanna take a look?" she asked innocently, as she hopped up the very weak and wobbly steps, almost going right through when she stepped on the termite infested wood. Wiggling the door handle, she pouted. She half expected it to open for her, but of course it was bolted lock.

[Assistant]
It was about 6:45 in the home Titus Calloway. Sleeping hard and slobbering from the tiring effects of going to bed around 3 in the morning, despite his grandmother's protesting of him staying up so late. By the time he was suppose to get up, he stay unresponsive to the alarm before being woken up with water being sprayed on his face by a spray bottle Miss Gardner uses if her grandson stubbornly stayed sleep, sleeping through the alarm.

Waking up cursing, Titus, reluctantly got up and went to get ready to meet with the friends at the diner. Sporting his red and black hoodie and meeting with his friends, Titus greeted them with handshakes and hugs. The tired and a little annoyed look on Toc's face started to change during and after breakfast..plus, sitting next to Georgina and Viv, bringing a smirk on his face.

Then came the exploring, Being their usual selves, Gina was pretty much in the front like always with Titus being close by, looking, searching for something new and interesting to occupy their time. They didn't have to search too long upon finding a beat up abandoned house they've never seen before. Looking at the house and his friends, he placed his hands in his pockets "Damn...and I thought we've seen everything this town had to offer. How the hell did we miss a house like this?" he asked, watching Gina walk up first, with no surprise.

Titus looked at Gina "Now you damn well knew you're going to check it out even if we said no but...I'm not letting you go in alone...you're not showing me up....I'm in!" he said with a half smile and turning "If you guys wanna wait back here....we'll be back in a few." turning back to Gina's direction as she tried to open the door but was locked "Gina watch out, I'll kick the door in."


[System]
Age: 10 Months
Gender: None - Vocalizer uses male voice pattern.

Equipment:
Artie's AI core is equipped within a prototype X4 Tactical Combat Unit. The Combat Unit is a state of the art droid, designed specifically for combat, using advanced cyberlimbic technologies to create a single body. The body itself is made up of advanced electronic circuitry housed within a EMP-cased shell of advanced artificial servomotors and processors. The artificial body is then clothed with diamond-carbon weave kevlar, and additional high strength alloy armor plates are equipped in a manner to make the robotic unit considerably more durable. The X4 Tactical Combat unit is able to use U.S.F. standard equipment, and comes with its own built in weaponry. Alongside its light machinegun, the X4 also houses a control system with which several X3 units can be slaved to.

ACR-10 Battle Rifle
Combat Blades
APP-3 Machine Pistols x2
Electrical Whipcord
Mini-Rocket
Suppression Foam

Personal Skills:
Highly mobile and capable in both long ranged warfare and hand to hand combat. His hardy construction makes him extremely durable and capable of taking much punishment. He has the logic and computing skills of a supercomputer and has the ability to control multiple X3's at once.
Personal Weaknesses:
As one of the first attempts to mass produce AI's, Artie is prone to the occasional glitch. He also occasionally expresses conflicting opinions, and exhibits less compliance than many Corporates would like.

History: Advanced Reconnaissance and Tactical Electronic Interface, Serial number 0014, commonly referred to by the squad as 'Artie' is a prototype Artificial Intelligence unit created by the Lorne Corporation for the Coalition, with the intention of mass producing capable and efficient, yet cheap AI. Only created in limited numbers as of now, each ARTEI unit is typically bound to a human "Operator", either a USF Squad leader, or Hunter unit, to provide it with tactical as well as strategic advice. ARTEI is capable of re-tasking local X3 units in order to provide further aid.

ARTEI-0014, commonly known as Artie by development teams as well as the few ground teams its been in contact with was the first ARTEI unit to complete training 5 months after its creation. 0014 then spent the next 4 months conducting classified raids against various pirate forces in order to continue gathering combat data and combat experience. ARTEI-0014 has spent the last month at a holding facility, where he maintains guard over a select group of unique humans.

[User]
Working she glanced at the woman that was running her mouth. It didn't take very long to realize what she was doing, it was a tactic she used herself to get out of a couple jams. Speaking up she made a comment that would have fit better were she still in her old age. "You need to calm down child. I don't really care who you are or why you're here so long as you don't get in my way." But upon mention of teleporting she stopped. How exactly did that work? Stupid question, she was already in some bizarre situation where she was a teenager with gray hair that can apparently slow things down. That was actually more instinctual than anything when it came to the X3.

But back to the problem at hand. Maybe there was a bargain to be made here. Turning her attention back to Cassie she took a breath. "Teleport? If we help you find your brother can you get us out of here?" Unlike Chris' reasoning using terms like "us" and "we" were persuasive words that made people feel included. It was something she employed heavily during her more free years.

Speaking of which Chris was about to out her. It looked like he was going to hand her the gun. Though she reached out to take it he stopped and drew back. Edith could see it in his eyes, the lights had come on and the tidbits of information and actions fell into place. But then he outright asked her if she was terrorist. Who does that? It's a great way to get killed. Thankfully she wasn't the same kind of person she was when she came in. Having paused what she was doing she resumed although somewhat with less vigor. "I was thrown in prison 43 years ago with a life sentence. 43 years I was locked up and grew into a 87 year old hag. That amount of time to yourself gives you a good opportunity to reflect. Yes, I was a terrorist. But that woman died in that prison cell. I woke up here 17 again. Honestly I'll take that as a second chance. But I'll be damned if I'm going to spend another hundred some years in a hole or let them take me apart like some lab rat." Making a few more connections she left one wire loose and tucked it away so it wouldn't contact anything.

[Assistant]
Cassie

Listening to the conversation she was both loosing faith in them, and loosing time. She knew the name, but how did he always manage to do it? No matter where they were? When she thought about it was actually a little bit creepy. The child comment almost made her laugh. "Child? I'm older than you." Then came the going back in age comment. "Oh well that explains it."

She did this while pondering the question could she teleport other people out. Well obviously, that's why the Watcher sent her to get Ryan but three people. She'd be exhausted. Though she agreed, I mean who was she to go against killer robots with guns and stuff. Getting killed wasn't really on her Agenda today. "You got a deal. If you find my brother. I'll get us out of here." She offered her hand to shake, what was a deal after all without a bit of formality?

Ryan

Nearing the end of the hall he could see a door in his way. Casting his shoulder first and turning into a cross between a run and a scuttle he hit it full force with his left shoulder. Crashing through it into a roll. At first he could only see various X3 robots, nothing too tough. Though then something hit him, hard. Back out the hole he made in the wall and down the corridor he came sliding to a halt, he shook his head to try and clear it. Standing up he almost fell over, yeah. That was definitely a concussion. That was going to be interesting.

Watcher

"It's all coming together-" He cast his arms at the screens on front of him. Speaking to nobody in particular, the enthusiasm evident in his voice. "-These people. These people are the future of Mars. They will shape it, mould it. They are the masters and it is their clay and whatever has come before will pale in comparison to what comes after."

[User]
"Citizen 4561-2407-9485, Renat Emlyn. You are under arrest. Do not resist."

They should really program these VIs to take into account things such as human annoyance, Renat thought as he panted, hearing the same message again.

"The human body has a minimum reaction time of .11 seconds, and a maximum theoritical speed of 65 Kilometers Per Hour. Taking into account the reaction time of the X3 and X4 models, as well as the 2000 meters per second velocity of the round fired from the ACR-10, I estimate your chances of avoiding my weapon at 0 percent."

Since when did VIs gloat? And what is an X4? I haven't heard of that model before.

"Do not resist, and you shall not be harmed."

"Ok, I get it. I've surrendered," he snapped at the robot before stopping himself, secretly thankful that VIs were not very good at human behaviour or tone recognition. He noticed an X3 approaching from behind with cuffs. Stun cuffs? I heard they were not as bad as they sound, just enough to keep you rather uncomfortable. Though I still don't fancy trying them on. Renat continued talking in a calmer tone - despite that the VI still probably didn't understand half of what he said, he still needed to try. "I've surrendered and am not resisting. Stun cuffs hurt, that means I would be harmed - which you said I wouldn't be if I don't resist. And could you please tell me why I am being arrested? I have not done anything wrong and was never planning to." He was pretty indignant at the current situation. Sure, they had probably somehow figured out he had powers, but he hadn't caused a threat to anyone. Nor displayed his power to anyone - only telling his parents and friends. He didn't need or want to be another story shoved under the carpet wherever the 'freaks' go.

[Assistant]
"I... I'm sorry." The labcoat lowered his eyes, the "90 year old teenager" effect hitting him in the face. Her voice and words, unfitting her appearance, were making her look like some kind of vampire or divine reincarnation, adding to his already undeniable discomfort with teenage girls (that he had done a good job hiding for the last hour). Edith did sound trustworthy, for some strange reason. Then again, he was never good at judging people.

But, it was time to return to the problem at hand. Despite her confidence, the newcomer did not seem to be in full control of her abilities (did she get hit by a net while in hyperspace?!), and they could only speculate whether her teleportation location really had anything to do with her brother's location.

He realized he had access to the facility's database. "I can check if your brother is here. What is his name."

[User] Accepting the extended hand they shook on it. That was about as solid an agreement as any in prison. Turning back to Chris she took the gun from him. Her voice was much more toned down and rather calm. "We might need this. Let me get it working in case we run into more X3s." Whilst working she glanced up. "Can you save the brain scan we did? I want to look at it later." Taking a bit to get the gun to operate she scooted it back over to Chris.

[Assistant]
"Well, strangely it begins with Ryan, the name I said earlier. Probably should have been able to figure that one out yourself Doctor. I guess that's why I wasn't an intern here... too smart." She walked over at the mention of the brain scan, taking out a portable drive and handing it to the said Doctor. "Pass it over onto this, I haven't been able to get my own brain scan having atleast one persons will probably be quite useful." Then she realized what she was talking about before.

"Ryan Wells, was taken about a Month ago when everyones power started manifesting. He had some form of red rock growth on his chest where he was punched. He's not the calmest of people so has probably been trying to hit his way out for a while." She sighed, she only hoped that she would be able to get them all out of here. Otherwise they'd all need to punch their way out.

[User]
Chris looked up sharply. He did not appreciate strangers insulting his intelligence. He made a quick calculation in his head - indeed, if the ability to recover names from disattached pieces of random speech had anything to do with being a doctor, the future of medicine would be grim indeed. In fact, the only reason he still remembered Edith's name was because it was written in front of him, on top of her file. He had no idea if the teleporting woman introduced herself or not.

His eyes lowered to the data drive in her outstretched hand. "No." he said flatly while punching in the missing brother's name. "There is no time, there is too much background noise, and the instruments here are connected to the USF network. I do not have time to reconfigure the connectivity. No data must reach the USF database."

When the wide, square-jawed face of a Ryan Wells appeared on screen, he handed the handheld UI to the newcomer, replacing it with the X3's rifle. "He does not appear to have red rock growth, at least in this picture. Strangely enough, he was in a cell next to you." he looked at Edith. "We know where to start looking, at least. Let's go."

The labcoat gave the disassembled X3 on the floor a last look, and took a step towards the door. He detected the signals appropriate to adrenaline release and heart rate increase. His fear of what's beyond the door took an almost physical form. He clenched his teeth, released a slow breath, trying to bring his vitals down naturally.

And as his hand hovered over the opening switch, the door slid open, revealing the glistening, angular shape of a fully-equipped X3 that was summoned by the general some fifteen minutes ago to subdue and dissect Edith.

[Assistant]
Chris apparently forgot about the earlier order for backup. As it appeared he was going to just open the door she rushed up. Yes there was the robotic X3 waiting for them. Careless. Pulling the gun from his hands Edith fired several shots through its head and three down the torso.

The guns kicked harder than she remembered. Maybe it was her smaller weaker frame that just made it seem that way. Lowering the barrel she rubbed her right shoulder a bit. "I'll scold you later. I can remember where I saw him last." Taking the lead she backtracked toward where she had seen Ryan turn off. Down that direction was a trail of destruction that made it slightly easier to follow. The sound of more X3s could be heard which seemed to indicate they were getting closer.


[System]
Race: Lizardfolk (Gold)
Age: Young adult, birthday unknown
Weapon: Claws/Teeth
Armor: Natural scales only
Alignment: Lawful Good
Religion: Draconis Rex (Gold Aspect)
Magical Ability: Divine spellcasting
Languages: Draconic (native), Common, Hand Sign (basic)
Other skills: Herbalism, Cooking, Sewing, Music (fiddle)
Special: Wings (gliding only)

History: Rhin's background is something of a mystery, even to her. Brief and confusing memories are all that remain to remind her of her youngest years, her only trinket a golden talisman pinned to her smock. As a small child she was discovered on Metallic Dragon Lands, lost and wandering very near to the Great Chasm. It was lucky for her that mithril-scaled Melanor was on patrol, as most other dragons would have found little reason to take interest in a mere dragonkin infant.

Brought to The Roost, it was the great king Aelinor who decided Rhindani's fate. All she can remember of that illustrious but brief meeting with the great golden wyrm was how he seemed to peer at her, his stare thoughtful but stern over a chinfull of long whiskers. It was a gaze that was terrifying to one so small and confused.

Since that time, Rhindani has been a ward of the Church of Draconis Rex, raised by a kindly but elderly cleric named Ki'Nem in the ways of the Gold Aspect. A quiet and pensive but perceptive child, Rhindani took quickly to the arts of Healing, her talents growing from the use of herbs and traditional medicines to asking the Blessings of the Golden Aspect to address greater maladies in those who seek the services of the Church. In addition to working in the infirmary, her years have been filled with other humble domestic toils such as sewing and cooking. What little free time can be had in the life of a vestal was spent with her friend and confidante, a copper lizardfolk female named Mahva who is as impulsive as she is deaf. It is because of Mahva that part of Rhin's daily exercise includes using her wings, because according to the young copper "there's no point in being born with wings if'n all you're gonna do is hide them under a robe until they shrivel up."

For the last three years Rhindani has been living in a small Church in the People's Conglomerate. The move away from the beauty and comfort of Metal City and the grand Church of Draconis Rex to a land of humans surprised those who knew her but wasn't exactly a shock to those who knew her best. Rhin wasn't without many doubts, but something wordless and nameless urged her to take her skills, little as they might be, to places unknown (at least to herself). Perhaps a little adventure would settle the coil of longing that comes with not knowing who you really are or where you came from.

Personality and Traits: Rhin has always been quiet and somewhat reserved, but ultimately kind and empathetic. That's not to say she is soft at heart, however, because tending to the sick and the dying instills and requires a certain amount of strength that has nothing to do with being bullheaded or the hefting of a sword. She prefers tasks that don't require much conversation, her favourite chores in the Church being tending the herb and kitchen gardens or cooking, or even sewing (though she prefers to do so outside when possible). She enjoys reading, drawing and listening to music, her prized possession a silverwood fiddle that took ten years to save up for and another ten to learn how to play with any skill. Rhindani hopes to one day discover her own origins, though long ago exhausted what little information she had to go on. She suspects that the knowledge will help her understand herself better, and explain some of her shortcomings, primarily with regards to a delayed advance in the abilities that come from worship and the strange pale opalescent gold colour of her scales that do not quite match with the beautiful rich vibrance of her fellow Gold dragonkin. She continues to pray to Draconis Rex about the former, and rubs ash soap on her skin to mute the latter. So far, the dragon God has been silent on the matter.

[User]
The day had been full of challanges for the pale-scaled dragonkin. Abandoning her usual routine out of the small temple in Mitrongi to answer Gladios Magnus' summons was different enough, but accepting the assignment to a rather rag-tag band of scaleless fighters on a poorly-planned errand to oust some scoundrels from their stronghold was, frankly, vastly removed from the cleric's usual pursuits.

Yet even as she struggled to remain upright on the sandy-coloured light horse that had been chosen for her by the others, her legs sore and her sharp teeth clacking inside her snout at every harsh trot, Rhindani felt a subtle push, a nearly imperceptible impression that this path had been laid out to her by Draconis Rex himself. Rhindani had felt this mysterious wordless reassurance several times in her life, and it hadn't proved to be false yet.

Regardless, by the time the seasoned fighters reigned their mounts in for the evening and sought out a place to make camp off the road, the dragonkin was highly tempted to use the divinity of Draconis Rex on her own aching limbs. Even her horse seemed exhausted, likely from being forced to carry such a novice rider, and Rhindani was convinced that it was only the beast's instinct to remain close to its fellows that had kept it moving over the miles they had passed through the day.

Clutching her blue shawl at her breast as she slid down from the saddle, the healer took a few moments to lean against's the creature's side, whispering an apology for her own ineptitude in her native language and giving it a few guilty pats on the withers.

"I'll get better," she promised.

It was fortunate that the stablehand who'd handed the palfrey over to her back in Mitrongi had been interested enough in the rare sight of a lizardfolk to find an excuse to talk with her and pass on a few basic tips, which was the only reason Rhin knew to loosen the cinch under the horse's belly to offer it some comfort through the night. She dragged her saddlebags down from the gelding's rump and set it down just long enough to tie the creature up with the others before heading to where the soldier types had started a fire.

The thick leather saddlebags and her satchel both landed with a thump in the dirt next to her bare talons and the dragonkin heaved a sigh. Both hungry and tired she wasn't sure which to address first.

[Assistant]
Upon leaving Mitrongi with the group who had become her fellowship, Saida mounted her new friend and stead, beginning their journey towards their destination. She rode well as she was not new to riding a horse, she understood them and loved them, allowing her to quickly and easily understand this horse and caress it into behaving for her. The ride was long as cumbersome to their first camp, Saida noting that the Dragonkin whom she had yet to approach and speak to was somewhat struggling under the reigns of her stead.

As they approached their first camp, Saida dismounted her horse and kissed it's nose in appreciation for the work he'd just put in for her. "Thank you my friend." She whispered with her hands running along it's neck in gentle comfort. She was sure to put her horse in a warm location near enough to food and drink so he could replenish himself if need be. She then removed her saddlebags and slung them over her shoulder when she saw the struggling Draginkin ride up and dismount. She watched quietly and unknowingly as her companion assembled her things and limp to a resting stop by the already prepared fire.

A stew was already being prepared when Saida put down her saddlebags near her bedroll and pulled two bowls from within them. She brought them over to the stew and dumped two portions into the bowls and then made her way over the the Dragonkin. She delicately whispered a small blessing on the second bowl so it would being soothing comfort the he who drank it. "May I join you?" her voice was soft and gentle, echoing modesty and sympathy in it's depths. As Saida sat before the warm fire she handed the Dragonkin the second bowl before staring into the fire, her light blonde hair almost floating above the group as it lay fallen down her sides, reflecting the orange light of the fire. Saida touched the bowl to her lips and took a small quiet sip of it's contents.

The soup was only just tasteless as it wasn't decorated in the many herbs that could have complimented the dish and were unavailable due to the current circumstances. Her face betrayed no such feeling or emotion as she continued to sip, placing the bowl in her palms that sat in her lap between each sip. Her deep blue eyes turned to match the Dragonkins, "Pardon my manners if you will, I am Saida Keyran of the Brightwoods.