[System]
Birthday:
August 23'rd, 2008

Appearance:

Online Alias:
Spectre

Online Join Date:
September 12'th, 2029

Online Appearance as a Mechnic:

Note: Image can be clicked for a link to higher resolution.

Level:
33

Class:
Main - Sabre Soldier
Sub - Rogue
*Has yet to decide whether he wants to have Technician or Rider for his third class at level 50

Personality In-Game:
Outwardly Friendly, Clever, Thoughtful, and Manipulative in order to get ahead

Personality Out-of-Game:
Serious, Careful, Reserved, Blunt, and Distrusting – often misinterpreted as being a bit of a jerk

Ambitions:
After high school, James followed in his father's footsteps, chasing a degree in Aerospace Engineering. Unlike his long-term girlfriend Sasha, he had no desire to leave London. Travel for him didn't go out it went up. He always wanted a pilot's license, but with schooling there was no time to get into school for it. Besides, Engineering fascinated him and maths was so natural for him that there was no question when it came time to pick. His postgraduate studies are being conducted at the Imperial College of London, but he only takes them part-time and in small loads. He's in no hurry to receive his Master's Degree because his father was able to get him a job at the same company where he works. Even still, experience weighs far more heavily than just a sum of classes and a slip of paper. James now works full-time for the company headquartered in London, taking most of his classes at-distance and as 'independent study.' Apart from this, he spends most of his time in the world of Endless Realms, occupying himself recreationally with the relatively new world of VR. He found his own flat in Canterbury after graduation for a fair price, considering he gets paid more than the average bachelor's graduate.

[User]
Sure it took them a bit of effort to get to the new location but Sasha had hoped that it had been worth it.

She leaned against James when he moved his arm around her. "Yeah I know but it was the only way and I mean who else would go to all that trouble to get here?" In her mind it was a great security system. When he then asked why they came all the way out to such a place, her smile faded, rather crestfallen that he didn't understand. Sasha wasn't too cold but being close to him made her happy either way. "..." She wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't want to seem like she was complaining or anything but she also wondered if he was happy with how things were between them. In her mind, things were fine, the polish was coming off already and balancing school along the club activies and social events and personal time together was hard. Surely he sensed that much. "I just thought it would be fun to do something different, you know, explore something together instead of hanging out at school or the cafe or any other of the typical places."

While neither of them knew how relationships were supposed to go, Sasha had a feeling that they couldn't fall into a rut. For starters, it probably meant something bad. And with their lack of experience it was better to be proactive in regards to making sure both people were happy. She wanted to make sure that James was happy and that she was as well. Valentines Day could be an opportunity to get closer though she wasn't sure what that would exactly entail. "I thought it would be fun to have a change of peace but if it's not something you're into, we can go." There was no point in sticking around if he wasn't comfortable or enjoying the view. But so far there wasn't anything to complain about. The smell couldn't reach them anymore and the sounds of the city were faint, like they tickled the ear rather than perturbed them.

Had she known that James neglected to ask her sooner, she would have been a bit more upset about it. She didn't like being put on the spot, nor did she think he was in trouble for letting something slip from his mind. At times he could be even more absent minded than her, which was a bit funny. Just a bit. She glanced back out at the view. "You know I read that years ago, the water was a bit lower and over time it was refilled by man, rather than relying on a natural source. I guess this river is a big landmark. I can see why it's treasured. it's an icon." She considered absent mindedly. Sasha then looked to James, watching the sun light bounce off his face. Some alone time was nice though she could just be her. Guys weren't wildly known for being sentimental but James wasn't like most guys. He was nice and smart and didn't seem to shy away from much. In her mind, it wouldn't be too bad to keep getting to know each other, try new things.

[Assistant]
The boy sat intently, listening with more patience than other boys his age to the girl beside him. She was just full of interesting little facts. As she spoke, his eyes held on to the scene before them, the trees sprawling out as the river weaved between them. It was strange how, in just another couple of months, the leaves would all be back and of the lushest greens. Gorgeous. James tilted his head to rest softly against hers. These were the moments that he knew adults were talking about when they said they said there were moments that they didn't want to end. James was always one for moving forward, but it was so serene.

"I'm glad somebody decided it was worth the resource to keep it alive..." He noted, making a small pause. He was not wont to be the mushiest of boyfriends. It was less that he lacked the ability to and more that he actively tried to avoid too much cliché and that generally acting too sweet could cause a bit of heckling from his friends, or even Matt. But today they were alone and he always felt at ease with Sasha. "That makes it the second most beautiful thing out here, I guess," He said, hoping to keep the statement from sounding too awkward.

"I don't wanna go, let's stay... We don't get to sit like this too much, y'know? I mean... we do at school, but... I dunno, there's something about being like this... alone, but together. Like you said, getting away from our everyday schedule's nice." He grinned and gave her lips a soft kiss, yet another luxury they could rarely enjoy because of her parents, his parents, or their classmates being around. A lot of the other kids in their school liked to show off and snog in front of everybody, but it absolutely disgusted James - the absolute disregard for other people's personal space was atrocious so he avoided doing more than very light displays of affection unless they were positive they were alone.

"I don't wanna push it too much, Sash... But... Mum asked me to see if you'd been able to talk to your parents. It's my fault for not asking you to go with us sooner, but you know I'm kinda forgetful and, even though you've had like... no time to get ready for it, I'd really like you to come along," He admitted, scratching, biting the inside of his cheek nervously. Rarely was James one to admit what he personally wanted beyond a gentle hint in one direction or another. He didn't like to overtake another person's preferences just because he wanted things one way or another. He was a "go with the flow" kind of guy; however, some people would label him falsely as introverted or stoic.

[User]
Finding new spots was an adventure, one she thought they should be ready to do. There were plenty of places they haven't been and why not explore them together? It was fun looking at new things and places but to share the excitement and discovery with someone was even better in her mind. When James listened to her explain what she had read, she could tell that he was actually listening to her. It was really nice since her parents could get distracted by the newest addition to their family. And her friends could tune her own when they felt like the topic she was babbling about was dull.

James then threw her a cheesy romantic sort of line which made her grin. It was sweet of him and she couldn't reject anything sweet from her boyfriend, even if it was a little corny. It was still nice and made her smile so there was really no harm in it. She glanced back out at the scene in front of them and felt her cheeks turn a little red. "Tryin' to score extra points before Valentine's Day huh?" She teased him. Of course she knew that wasn't what he was trying to do but she thought for his sake, she should accept it and try not to make him feel to embarrassed. Guys typically didn't dish out lovey dovey comments so she was happy to get one, especially from James.

When he added that he was alright with staying, she found herself feeling more happy, more relaxed. It gave her reassurance that they were on the same page now. She was glad he liked her idea and destination of choice, even if it meant going through a question route to get to it. "Yeah." She sighed gently and looked to him. he kissed her lightly and she smiled even more. That would definitely earn him bonus points. James wasn't really one for public displays of affection. If they could hold hands, that was okay but she still knew it was a push for James. Sasha wished he'd be more open to it put she didn't want to put him on the spot or make him uncomfortable. So she'd take what she could get.

As they were enjoying the moment together he brought up the trip again and her face fell. Did he really need to bring it up again? So soon? Sasha scooted away a little and gave him a tired look. "You wanted to ask me sooner?" She frowned. "I haven't seen or talked to my parents since you brought it up at lunch." She pointed out, getting a bit upset. "I've been in school and with you since then. I really wish you told me sooner so I could think it over and talk to my parents but thanks to you, I'm in a tight spot and so is your mother!" She folded her arms, staring at him, not sure if she wanted to go now, let alone talk about it. "If it was so important, why didn't you ask me right away? Why couldn't your mother talk to mine?"

[Assistant]
James frowned when he noticed he'd upset Sasha. "I know, I'm sorry... Really... And my mom didn't want to talk to yours until she knew if you even wanted to go... But... I forgot... You know I get distracted really easily. Every time I remembered, I was either just falling asleep, or on my way to school, or something..." He looked down to his lap anxiously. "Sometimes, I get kinda flustered and if I try too hard to remember something, it slips from my head and I start to panic and I-I... Ugh I don't know..." He explained, releasing her hand and nervously crossing his arms with his gaze averted. Why was it so hard to tell people about things like this..? His doctor had said it was a small form of ADHD. He wasn't overly excitable or energetic in class, but it seemed like he couldn't quite focus when he was told to remember something. His mother, as much as she loved him, would get rather frustrated when she'd leave the house and ask him to do something, come home, and it wasn't done. A lot of people would accuse him of making an excuse, but she knew that if she wanted something done that writing it down was going to make it more likely. Sometimes, when he was trying to recall something and couldn't quite bring it to mind, it would frustrate him to no end.

"I'm sorry, we'll just drop it... Let's just enjoy this tonight, Sashie. If you don't want to go or can't go, that's fine, we'll just make tonight our Valentine's... or any night - we can hang out after school for the rest of the week too," He said, trying to cover himself. "I don't want you to have to spend Valentine's alone..." He said sadly. He scooted close to her again, frowning. "I hate seeing you so mad... or anything but happy - I like your smile," He pleaded, biting the inside of his cheek as he felt his heart taking a hammer to his sternum. Why couldn't he be better at these things? He always felt so awkward and his anxiety spiked every time he did anything beyond casual conversation. Sasha always managed to help him keep his cool and stay calm - it was just the atmosphere around her all the time, it kept him easygoing. However, when he got like this, he had to remember to stop worrying himself. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him have a panic attack or anything. Matt never had problems like this either, James was sure of it.

The boy pulled back again and cleared his throat absently, pressing a hand flat to his chest, taking a few easy breaths in and letting them out. A seemingly mutated form of ADD and slight anxiety made for the perfect bundle to make others think he was awkward and even rude sometimes. The rudeness was something he worked hard to combat, and often he was successful, but still people would mistake his uncontrollable dismissive attitude.*Say it, or you never will...*He warned himself as his heart raced faster. His throat closed and he felt like he was choking, but he swallowed forcefully and looked over to Sasha.

"I just... I wanted to make your Valentine's Day really nice, since it was the first time we'd both have a date for it... And I forgot about the trip every time I had a chance to ask... And... I wanted to wait until the actual day, but... I love you, Sasha Watson," He said sincerely. It felt like the night they first kissed again, and the dance... This was the first time he'd actually been able to say it at all, but he actually felt exhausted after pushing through his nerves. "You... I... Yeah, that's... that's all," He said, failing to find more words than those three...


[System]
Username: Jollan
Race/Species: Khalahar

Gender: Male

Age: 32

Career/Class: Odd jobs, Vigilante

Weapons:
His father's large, heavy, two handed sword. Instead of a traditional two sided blade, it has a single blade. The upper most portion of the handle is protected with a bar in front of the hand, while the lower portion is unguarded and ends in a curve like an ax handle. Its sheath is a rectangular wooden scabbard with a fur lined inside and metal bindings at both ends. It attaches to the harness at the back and the sword is sheathed from the right.
A cutlass, though instead of the traditional curve, it has a straight blade. Its sheath is at his right hip.
His fists, which he will most likely use unless he has to resort to a weapon.

Physical Description: He is 6'3" at 320lbs (solid body with a little bit of fat, giving his muscles a slightly smoother look instead of a hard-cut one), with a large skeletal structure and a clear large muscle structure. He has a broad and barreled chest and a squared jaw with a trimmed beard. His hair is dark brown, a little short but clean cut. His eyes are green and very kind. He wears durable tan slacks that have a cargo pocket made into the left side for various items, and a plain white shirt, which sleeves end above the biceps. He has a two belt harness that runs across the front of his chest and his back. He has a shoulder cape on his right shoulder that is dark red on the inside and black on the outside studded into his harness by a leather pad, and just another pad on his left. both pads are lightly fur cushioned. His left arm is covered by what can be described as a large grey arm warmer that fits a little loosely on the arm and is held up by a small belt above his bicep. He has a regular glove with a thin cuff on his right hand.

Armor: None to speak of at the time being. He can't afford that.

Equipment/Other:
survival kit: small versatile knife, flint and steel, hooks, fishing line, small bowstring (for small hunting bow), and arrowheads. these are wrapped in a small roll-up leather pouch that he keeps in his cargo pocket.
Flask in his back pocket containing some ale.

Mental Description/Personality: A hearty and friendly man who is always willing to help someone in need, almost to a fault. When he sets his mind on something he will see it through to the end. He always falls for the damsel in distress routine, but oddly enough, is somewhat shy around women. He would rather fight with his fists before having to resort to his weapons, believing that fighting to the death should only be required if absolutely necessary. Though this isn't to say he doesn't enjoy a good fight, in fact, he finds them quite stress relieving and even fun most of the time. He still holds a grudge against the hierarchy and military of the Andred's kingdom, but doesn't hold it against its people. He has an incredible resolve to finish what he starts and a strong willpower that keeps him driving. Not being raised in any sort of higher status, he sees himself as a common man, never claiming to be anything more. Once his trust is earned, he would willingly give his life for his fellow friends. After the incident with his village, the need to defend what is important to him comes first. Because to him, if it came down to it, if his sacrifice would allow others to live, then it is his place to do so.

Goals: To start a new life and to become powerful enough to protect it. Secretly, however much he denies it to himself, deep down he wants to extract revenge on the crown of Andred, for the years of misguided crusades of slaughter against his people. When he heard that there was a mercanary guild, he decided to start making a bit of money out of his vigilante routine, since his odd jobs didn't seem to make that much. Not many people want a Khalahar working for them around their homes or business, go figure.

Background/History: Allard grew up in the Khalahar plains. It was a normally peaceful place, save for the occasional bandit group or rare so, but not that bad considering it wasn't very populated. Growing up, he learned basic survival and hunting skills alongside his two brothers. When they were old enough, their father taught him and his brothers how to fight and had them help hunt larger game. Since Allard was about 25, he was known to be great fighter, even taking on large hunts with so much as a knife. To do so however, Allard had built himself up to be an incredibly imposing figure of a man. However, sheer strength can only do so much.

One day, a group of bandits attacked the village while most the men were hunting. When the men got word and rushed back to the village, the whole place was nearly decimated. The bandits that came that day revealed themselves not to be bandits at all, but Andred soldiers traveling under the guise of bandits, leading small surprise attacks in Khalahar lands in the name of their 'crusades'. What made matters worse, is that there were also an unusual number of mages as well. Caught by surprise at their skill and magic, the retaliating men were cut down quickly. Allard was chained down by an immobility spell by one of the magic users while one soldier was running toward him to finish the job with his sword. Before the blade came to his neck however, one of his brothers spotted him and drove a spear into the man's skull, killing him instantly but drawing the attention of the mage that froze Allard in the first place. Unable to help, Allard watched his brother get torn apart by the black magic. Screaming was all he could seem to do. He watched as all of his family and friends followed suit, unable to combat the invaders with such little numbers.

Keeping Allard alive, they cursed him to reveal the location of other villages, forcing the words from his mind against his will. The payment for the curse required extreme physical pain of the subject, in which case they casually decided to crush his left arm. As soon as the words of the villages' location forcibly left his mouth due to the curse, the memory slipped away from him. For a "reward" they let him live, after beating his already limp body. That night, however, warriors from neighboring villages and traveling nomads came and extracted revenge on the troop, killing most of them and capturing a few. A healer found Allard locked up and attempted to mend his arm and reverse his curse. However, all he was able to do was heal what was left of the arm. It was still gnarled and mangled in a ghastly manner but the wounds were closed and not bleeding anymore. For the arm to work however, the healer made it able to mimic the ability of the other arm, making them equal in strength. Although the healer warned him that should his right arm be injured to a point where it was unable to move, he would lose the ability to use his left arm. To cover the arm from sight, Allard uses a thick, fingerless, grey arm warmer that starts at his knuckles and ends above his bicep, held up by a small belt.

Gathering the few belongings he had left, he recovered his father's sword from the ruins of their house and bid farewell to his family's graves, vowing never to learn or use magic. He then made his way to Starkvale and managed to make a living as an odd job man. Though, he is more commonly known as a vigilante. In this he his highly regarded by a few townspeople, hated by most, and not in good relations with the guard. He now dedicated his immense strength to protecting the things he holds dear. Though that isn't much considering he is a Khalahar. Somewhere inside is still a hatred for the Andred nation, but has come to find that the people and the kingdom can sometimes be two entirely different entities. So far, he just tries to stick to the slums, where people tend to overlook his place of origin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"We're fine here, thanks."

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

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

"Cool."

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

"I do."

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

"Because he was peculiar?"

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

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

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

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


[System]
Gender: M

Age: 26

Career/Class:Soldier / Ex-Soldier

Weapons:
* Basket Hilted Broadsword
* Imperial Dagger
* Norscan round Shield (Took from his first felled enemy)
* Aged Pistol

Physical Description Cyrdic is tall and lean, but solidly built, standing an inch over 6 feet in height. His eyes are reminiscent of shaped wrought iron. His face is ruddy and echoes a youthful appearance, though battles and training had roughed him into the look of a mature soldier. He has quite the rugged quality about him. Two scars mar his face. One parallel to the bottom of his left eye, and another scraping across his right jawline. His legs are long and his his facial hair is only a coarse, 5'oclock shadow thanks to his knife. He's clad in fine and tough leather over a chainmail hauberk, with sturdy traveling shoes and a worn belt.

Mental Description/Personality: Cyrdic isn't a fool. He spent a year apprenticed to a Quartermaster (as punishment for recklessness) and learned how to read and write (to a degree). The best way to describe him would be a hardened, rough soldier at the brink of his youth. He'll use what he can in his disposal to win, though half the time it turns out he'll need to fuck someone up anyway. His fierce independence and rough nature can only be matched by his determination to survive. He's not tactically intelligent, but he has a sense of how battlefields shift and can command smaller troops with his powerful voice. He tends to have a take-no-shit (unless it's from a superior officer) lookout on life. He's amiable to certain people however, and will have a dry wit around those he enjoys (or to people he wishes he could be more honest with). While fighting and killing and marching has been his entire life, he's not particularly fond of being thrust into impossible situations and doesn't lack a healthy sense of self preservation. He's gotten quite tired of working for corrupt officers. He's a devout Sigmarite thanks to his upbringing, and has a hammer chained necklace upon his breast to signify this.

[User]
Amal methodically checked the spring mechanisms of the lock with the tip of his dagger, the thief being familiar with over a dozen different types of locks over his tenure in the trade city of Al-Hiekk. Unfortunately, there was almost nothing that gave away this lock and Amal couldn't grasp how to manipulate it. The third skeleton was disintegrated by Emmaline's magic, but it was clear she wouldn't be able to hold them all day and night.

"Abn eahira!" Amal cursed, knowing he could get into whatever tomb or vault this was if he had the time and wasn't worried on himself and, more important, Emmaline. He felt along the wall for a minuscule crease or a slight indention that betrayed a way in. Still, nothing. It hurt his pride, but he tried something desperate. Reaching into his sack, he pulled out the key to his inevitable release, shoving the cylinder into the hole and giving a sigh of jubilant satisfaction when it opened the chamber. The figures on the door suddenly unlatched and pulled back from an unseen power source. The central stone spun twice before the two slabs detached and the door swung open.

Old, stale air that was almost suffocating to breathe in flowed out, buffeting Amal and causing his mane to billow a bit. Emmaline's mystical trap had decimated six of the undead so far, but the golden bands were thinning visibly. Amal tugged at Emmaline's shoulder, grabbing her attention from her magic. The doors behind him began grinding again, and he realized to his shock they were closing again. Well, they had the key so it was best to capitalize on it.

"Em!" He called, sweeping her off her feet. She squeaked and clung to him as her magic dissipated, and four skeletons reached at them with bony hands, fingers sharpened like knives. Emmaline was yanked out of their reach by Amal. "This is my treasure." He quipped, and leaped into the closing of the doors. One skeleton was apparently full of vibrant energy as it elbowed past the others and attempted to pass through the door. Amal kicked it back as it lurched through the closing entryway, for it to stumble back into the doors and be slowly crunched into dust as the doors closed shut upon it.

The lights were blotted out by thick darkness, until Emmaline alited her serpent's staff once more, emitting a pale golden light in the darkness.

The room was in far better condition than the corridor outside, though cobwebs and a few normal spiderwebs clung to the walls. Three archaic and ornate statues in the center of the room of old northern kings, framing the central throne in the middle of the small vault of a decayed skeleton with a crown of jewels and a red robe, covered in golden chains. Beside him, a large chest was closed, though the wood had rotted.

[Assistant]
Emmaline let out a deep relieved breath as the door closed behind them, the golden light fading from her eyes as the spell faded. The sound of boney hands slapping the far side of the tone were muffled and insistent, though it seemed unlikely that the skeletons would be able to make much headway.

"That was too close," she gasped, amazed that Amal had managed to open the ancient door.

"Even the dead are slower in this land," Amal joked, running his fingers around the top of the chest, apparently searching for any kind of traps concealed in the ancient metal rim. Emmaline was about to respond when her eyes fell upon the jeweled crown on the head of the chained corpse. Gold lust surged inside of her like the tug of a vast tide. She took a shaking step towards the throne, stepping between the stern eyed statues that seemed to be standing some sort of guard. Despite its evident age the corpse was well persevered, shrunken layers of muscle and sinew curled around it as tightly as the golden chains that still glittered. Almost without thinking, the sorceress reached out and lifted the bejeweled crown from the things head, marveling at the way the jewels sparkled.

"Em... I don't," Amal began but before he could finish there was a sudden gust of sourceless wind that seemed to drown even the spell wrought illumination. A high pitched ping of parting metal echoed through the room and the cadavers hand, ripping free of the chain shot out and seized Emmaline by the throat, lifting her into the air as the ancient corpse ripped its way free of the chair. Emmaline kicked the thing in the chest, but the attack had about as much effect as attacking a boulder. The corpse king shouted something in a booming voice, fingers tightening around Emmaline's throat. In desperation she struck at it with her staff, the golden metal bouncing of its shoulder with no effect. The corpse began to laugh but was cut short as the staff struck of its own accord, the golden fangs of head piece sinking into its neck. The undead thing yelled again, but this time in pain, dropping Emmaline to the floor as it reared back. Veins of gold were spreading slowly from the snake bite, but it didn't seem to have mortally wounded the thing. Emmaline scrambled backwards away from the creature, the crown still gripped in her left hand.

[User]
"HARLOT! RELEASE THE CROWN OR RELEASE YOUR LIFE!"

The voice tore through from another veil of reality to spew out of the King's dried skull-cave, echoing in Emmaline's mind so loudly even Amal heard the psychic aftershock. It jerked its other limb upwards, seemingly attempting to shake off an advanced and overdue case of rigor mortis. Clearly it did not need to breathe, but a ghastly flow of air emanated from its throat nonetheless as its head twitched from the golden assault the snake bite had gifted it. Amal stepped in the things way before it fully got to its feet, Emmaline clearly it's target.

"I don't think you'll need the crown." He said in Riekspeil, grinning a grin that would make Ranald proud. "Or whatever is in the chest. We'll take it off of your hands. What do the dead care?"

The Wightking swiped at him savagely. It was as if his hand was at his side one moment and across the small chamber in the next, but amazingly Amal had ducked. The thing wasn't angered, and it merely attacked again. It was hardly larger than a normal skeleton, but there was a magic weight behind it that told Amal whatever it hit would be sent flying. Despite his agility, the thing pushed Amal back into the right wall, slamming its fists into the rock and leaving terrifying indentions. Amal dodged and slid, and as the Wightking continued to attack the wall began to crumble. The rock cracked and the integrity of the structure deteriorated, giving Amal cause to smirk. Small beams of light shot through the holes.

"Thank you for the way out." The thief mocked, but it was one mock too much. It's next punch hit the wall and was dodged perfectly, but without pulling back, its fist shot through the rock again and hit Amal in the side, sending him flying into the next wall. The thief barely caught himself before his head cracked against the stone surface, and the Wightking strode past him towards Emmaline, blue witchfire eyes fixed upon her and the crown. Amal saw it approaching her, and he found a new strength in his weakened limbs and pushed off the wall. He tackled the Wightking to the ground in a hopeless, impossible contest of grappling strength.

"Use your magic, Em!" He cried, desperately holding onto the thing's wrists as its inhuman, inexorable strength threatened to dislodge or harm Amal.

[Assistant]
That was easy for Amal to say of course, he hadn't spent all morning playing magical peekaboo to annoy some anonymous horsemen. Nor had he just blocked a doorway against the vengeful dead. Magically speaking, Emmaline was nearly exhausted and didn't know how much more magic she could work. Still given a choice between being torn apart by an undead monstrosity and trying, she was certainly going to make the effort.

"Let go!" she yelled at Amal, hoping that he would obey and then tossed the crown underhand up through the gap the creature had punched into the ceiling. The wright roared and leaped after the circlet. Amal tried to cling on but the eldrich powers that kept the thing together gave it predigious strength. It leaped after the crown, crashing through the ceiling of the barrow dropping the Araybian thief to the ground. Emmaline raised both hands and began to chant frantically. The wright fell back into the tomb, the crown gripped in its hand, landing on the floor with both knees and one hand down.

"Now you will..." the doom laden voice cut off as the creature realized that it wasn't actually on the stone floor it remembered. Rather it was six inches deep in a pool of mud.

"Pathetic Sorceress you seek to undo me with water?" the creature sneered, derision dripping from its lips. Emmaline released the spell and the mud wavered back into the original stone, entombing the lower six inches of the wright in solid rock. It let out a roar of pure frustration and tore at the entombing earth, bones creaking and popping.

"Em..." Amal cautioned but she had already begun to chant again. One of the ancient statues now appeared to be half standing in a pool of mud. Hundreds of pounds of stone began to tip, slowly but with increasing speed as the statue toppled over, coming down atop of the barrow wrigt with a crash that seemed to shake the very earth and kicked up a wall of sepulchral dust that coated everything in the chamber. Emmaline sneezed violently as the dust began to settle. All the remained of the creature was a disarticulated arm protruding from beneath the ruin of the kingly statue.

"For my next trick," Emmaline coughed, sitting down heavily and leaning back against a wall, "I shall need a volunteer."


[System]
Age: 15

Appearance: With her long, golden hair and sharp blue eyes, she looks like the standard ojou. EXCEPT FOR THE SHARK TEETH. Yes, the teeth of a true DELINQUENT who enjoys CRIME and DOING CRIME. She has the pale skin of a VILLAIN and the twintails of a SUPER VILLAIN. She's very short but DON'T TELL HER THAT and ALSO NAPOLEON WAS SHORT AND HE KICKED ASS.

What do you mean Napoleon wasn't actually short?

Anyways, when she's not wearing her DELINQUENT track suit (because it's comfy) she's wearing… that's right… her BANZAI CAPTAIN'S UNIFORM.

Personality: Jessica was born to be bad. She loves sewing CHAOS and DESTRUCTION everywhere she goes because she is VERY INSECURE. Like all good delinquents, she has a soft spot for puppies and kittens. She spends most of her free time lazing around the house, eating junk, and consuming media like potato chips.

Background: Jessica was born into the most difficult circumstance imaginable: being VERY RICH. Her parents bought her everything she ever wanted, she lived in a mansion with maids and servants, and had her every whim catered to ALL THE TIME.

Truly a tragedy.

Jessica's older sister, Perfecta, was already set to take over the family MONEY BUSINESS by the time Jessica was born. Because of this, there were very few expectations placed on Jessica, and the few that were ended up easily crushed by the revelation that Jessica was VERY NOT GOOD at everything she tried. Why couldn't she play piano like her sister? Why couldn't she make numbers bend to her whim like her
sister? Why couldn't she come up with a revolutionary cure for LUGEFAUST SYNDROME like her SISTER?

Jessica's parents stopped caring about whatever she was up to and gave her a credit card in place of their care and affection, and in return, Jessica stopped TRYING. All-in-all a good arrangement.

One day, while eating Sugar Pockets Cereal (the sugary cereal for only the most discerning of manchildren), she came upon an ad for the Banzai Blasters. It was here that she found her place. She took out daddy's credit card, bought her way right up to CAPTAIN, and immediately had a sense of SELF-WORTH.

Money is AWESOME!

But she had no friends or acquaintances, so she had no blasters to lead. To date, her only successful job is a convenience store robbery. That she pulled off solo. While the manager was high as a kite.

But it still counts!

Motivation: Otterholt Point is just out of the way enough to ROB A BUNCH OF SHIT, make a name for herself, and get the recognition of the Banzai Blaster organization as a whole!

…Is what she tells herself.

But the real reason is that it's her birthday and her family forgot, so she wanted to go somewhere fun.

Assets: She's bad at a lot of things, but she knows a lot about media and can eat a lot of garbage without getting fat. She's actually pretty good with computers and electronics.

Flaws: She is physically very weak, is terrible at identifying her own emotions, and is reliant on a pyramid scheme for her self-worth.

Epithet: MONGREL

• GATTAI!!!- Jessica can combine with anything to create another form. However, this form is always volatile and only lasts a short time. Combining with animals lasts up to an hour, combining with plants lasts up to 30 minutes, and combining with minerals lasts a minute tops. She can uncombine at will, however, and the materials separate intact.

• Monday, it's time for ALCHEMY- Jessica can combine any two things to make a third thing that logically follows from the first two things. Like she can combine water and bones to make soup. Theoretically, she could then combine that soup with something else to make some sort of MEGA SOUP. But what kind of moron would use soup for villainy?

• QUICKCHANGE!- Jessica can immediately 'combine' with a different outfit, changing into her Banzai uniform at breakneck speeds! If she owns an outfit, she can change into it immediately. She can also change the clothes of others if she touches them, but only to clothes she owns.

[User]
"That depends on what you mean by 'everybody.'" Penny replied, ignoring Jessica's attempts to start a fight. She wasn't surprised that the dude with the heartthrob good looks of a TV star had shown up, not after getting a front row seat to how fast he was earlier. She didn't mind him being around either, speed like that could be a lifesaver. "Right now we're in the middle of...speak of the devil!" She finished as a small voice called out a reply from somewhere further in the jungle. "C'mon." She said, hastily hacking her way through the underbrush toward the voice. It was a little slower going than before, seeing as she was clearing out room for that bubble machine that Jessica had chosen as a prize.

It still only took them a little while to reach the source of the crying, and when they did Penny almost kicked herself. "Eugh." She gagged at the putrid situation. "Of course you're gonna stay where you are. Way to make me feel like an idiot." She hoped there wasn't some kind of undiscovered species of giant bug on the island that did this to people.

Jessica, on the other hand, looked like she was thinking of something way worse than horrible giant insects. The look on her face as she looked up at that kid reminded her of the look she'd given Penny when they'd first met, like she was just a little kid. The girl immediately got to work on getting the sap, or whatever that gunk was, off the girl. Penny was glad she was already getting some use out of that machine, but Penny worried that without the sap the kid was going to come tumbling down from the trunk. So when Jessica gave the word she snapped to. "I have just the men for the job, boss. Men!" She called out. The peasants as one dropped the bubble machine and stood at attention. Penny pointed up at the girl. "Fetch us that maiden fair." She intoned, with all the regal authority she could muster just to get them really pumped up.

"Aye Melord!" They said, throwing themselves at the tree and ascending as dizzying speed toward the girl like little hairy cockroaches.

"Carefully. This isn't like picking fruit!" She called up.

"Carefully." Came back down five voices as the peasants lines up around the girl and took hold of her with one of their hands, one each for her arms and legs and one above her gripping the back of her shirt. "Careful." "Careful." They said, using their surprising strength to gentle pull the girl from the remaining sap and began sliding slowly down the tree, little nails leaving gashes in the trunk as they arrested the speed of their descent.

"Well, that's one more accounted for at least." Penny said, turning back to Mark. "This is kinda what we're doing now. If we get attacked by a giant bug, could you kill in with your flash steps?"

[Assistant]
Mark watched as the girls rescued the child, keeping his senses open. He found it very annoying every time someone brought up his uncanny appearance of Jensen Ackles. He didn't like Jessica already and she wasn't going to make it easier to like her. "Let's just get the girl to safety." he sighed, glaring at Jessica.

He noticed the little people Penny summoned with her Epithet and how she worked them. He found it interesting. That's actually kinda cool, he thought to himself.

"Stride." he frowned at Penny. "My Epithet is Stride. It's a movement Epithet, not usually meant for outright combat. Giant bugs, though, shouldn't be too hard if you can find me a big stick to use as a weapon."

He was being modest, though it didn't sound like it, and he knew it. He loved his speed. He already knew how to fight with it.

With the girls behind him, he took point and began heading back towards the beach. "Leaving your find?" he asked Penny, motioning towards the bubblegum machine.

[User]
In a lucky turn of fate, one of the youngsters who happened upon the trapped child possessed just the tool for the job. Her quick thinking allowed her to combine a couple different objects in quick succession, putting the power of her epithet on display as she dealt with the problem in an improbably speedy manner. While that meant the child might tumble down the trunk and into the ground afterward, Penny recognized the situation and put her miniature legion on the case. They scrambled up and down with surprising alacrity, retrieving their target as carefully as they could. In the end, the little girl was retrieved with no fuss and only a little muss.

Though clearly shaken and close to overwhelmed, the child seemed grateful. "Thank you," she told her rescuers, remembering what her mother always said about manners. Given her saviors' recent experience with Noelle -Jessica in particular- it wasn't hard to come to a conclusion about her lineage. The teacher and her husband would no doubt be relieved, even if the return of their daughter highlighted the still-missing status of their son.

Not long after Mark divulged the nature of his epithet, there came a rustling in the underbrush. A thin girl with shot red hair, a distinctive skull-and-crossbones shirt beneath her coat, and striped red and black long socks appeared through the trees, waving as she came into talking range. "Hello," she greeted in a somewhat throaty voice before pointing her thumb at the trees behind. "Just wandering around when I found the girl. While trying to figure out a way to get her down, I heard talking. I didn't know what to make of you, so I kept a distance and watched. But way you rescued the young one there was incredible. You're obviously good people, and I shouldn't have doubted you."

In contrast to her somewhat punkish, rough-and-tumble appearance, the stranger gave off an impression of sophistication and sincerity as she spoke. Her compliments felt good, and conveyed a sense of real respect. In turn that made the stranger seem genuine and trustworthy, someone definitely in the others' camp. These associations and conclusions came easily, not weirdly so, but it just seemed so obvious. The only thing even slightly off was the ever-so-subtle sweet taste on the tongues of those present.

She held a hand in front of her chest and gave a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to meet anyone with their hearts in the right place. My name is Erin. I'm sure you have appropriately important things to be doing, but if I could lean on your generosity, would you mind telling me what's going on? Who you've encountered so far, and what you've been up to?" She asked in earnest, buttering them up a touch but by no means overbearingly so, as she stood between them and the way back to the beach.

[Assistant]
Jessica grinned her big shark grin, feeling accomplishment well up inside of her. She definitely didn't feel good because she helped a scared kid and it was the right thing to do. No, she felt good because she was AWESOME and now she could make that woman bow and apologize! She would order that lady to get down on her hands and knees and assume the dogeza stance just like in her anime!

"GAHAHA!" Jessica laughed loudly out of nowhere, to nobody but herself like an ABSOLUTE CHAD.

As if her massive accomplishment wasn't enough, the TV star Jensen Ackles of award-winning drama blah blah blah you get the point DIVULGED the nature of his epithet. He must've been pretty confident and, from the sounds of it, he had every reason to be. However, like that one cartoon said, "knowing is half the battle". Now that she knew what his epithet was, she could SCHEME ways to counter it just in case.

As Jessica turned to head back to the beach, her head HUGE from accomplishment, she quickly came face to face with a girl who looked like a PUNK. Dammit... PUNK was JESSICA'S aesthetic! At least when she wasn't a delinquent. It switched between the two depending. Jessica was about to tell the woman off for TOTALLY APING HER STYLE when she found herself being ABSOLUTELY FLATTERED.

"W-well," Jessica replied, blushing a bit, "I'm actually EVIL, you know? Definitely not a good person. But thank you for noticing how AWESOME I am. Actually, we were just... did I recently eat a candy?"

Jessica smacked her lips, paused a second, and then opened the bottle in order to sniff it.

She had combined a bottle and something that could be bottled, but had only assumed it was sap. Maybe it was syrup or something? She gave the contents a sniff.

"We were just, uh... going back to camp... with this kid... to make that teacher apologize," Jessica answered, a little distracted.

"You know... that busybody meganekko. I like your shirt, by the way. Do you think this TRACKSUIT looks cool on me?"


[System]
Gender: Female

Appearance: Akyasha is much like the rest of her kin. Pale, pleasing to the eyes…. The most notable features are her bright red hair and the religious garb she wears at almost all times.

Abilities: As a Vampire, of course Akyasha has access to Blood Magic and as a devout servant of Ichor, she also has access to Divine Magic that only Clerics of Ichor would have. The Divine Magics of Ichor are essentially Blood Magic without any weakness a Vampire might have as well as the ability to summon the otherworldly servants of Ichor.

That said, she utilizes her Blood Magic in a special way. When she strikes an enemy with her Blood Magic, she attempts to put a "seed" on or in them. This "seed" starts to drain blood from it's target and will over time sprout as a Blood Magic mockery of a lily, something that Akyasha affectionately calls a "Blood Lily". After she collects the lily, she can utilize it in a couple of ways, but her favorite is in her summoning magic. The amount and quality of blood that she collected influences the creatures she would summon from using the Blood Lily.

Personality: Some describe her as an eccentric. She's a devout servant and follower of Ichor. She follows the tenets as close as she can except for one thing. While she agrees that normally, humans cannot love them, she thinks that they can be made to love them. Though, this typically means that she likes to have plenty of human thralls. Specifically, Human Women that she can dress in her religious outfits and follow the Path of Ichor.

Outside that, one could say that she is every so slightly obsessed with the Cult of Ichor and making it as perfect as she can as well as the betterment of her kin. She sees humans in three ways. The humans worth attempted to turn to the Cult of Ichor and those that are cattle meant for feeding. This does not mean the cattle are to be treated crudely as that would be against the tenets. Preferably, they are to be given their own rooms and things to do as well as well fed. That way, their blood tastes the best it could be.

The third and final way she looks at humans…. Are those worthy of ignoring. As the tenets state not to act with cruelty and treat humans with care, Akyasha finds the best way to care is to ignore those that one does not need to interact with as interaction would bring "undue attention to the undead."

Bio: Once upon a time, Akyasha was a blonde human girl with another name, turned by a Cleric of Ichor. Over the years, she dedicated her unlife to the following of Ichor and rose through the ranks. Unfortunately, during the final years she saw many of her fellow clerics felled by Paladins until finally, she was one of the last few Clerics. Of course, one of the last few didn't matter as she was impaled with a holy weapon and put into an eternal slumber. Only to eventually wake back up in an unforgiving world….

Anything else:

[User]
@Psyker Landshark@Pyromania99@Click This@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist

A mistress of rats? An 'Est', who warned of…

Ilena blinked, a sensation, a thought, re-entering her body. Even with the physicality destroyed, a morsel of her own essence returned to her in that moment, shooting into her shadows, deciphered by the demons that safeguarded her mind.

Ah.

It connected, like objects of differing polarities snapping into place.

"Rikard…and Rhea. Belonging to the Society. Returning to the Society, to report. A piece of me died at the orphanage, where they last were." Ilena settled her gaze on Akyasha briefly, before turning to Luna and Dragan. "The gunfire was likely involved with their hunting of Est. Though whether they are enemies or merely cautious…" From within the cathedral now, the sound of buzzing Skeeters echoed, the gargantuan insectoids flying over to Ilena before touching down, their abdomens swollen once more with the results of their hunt.

She didn't bother with excising the blood carefully now, and instead, her shadows swallowed the enthralled insects whole, assimilating their disparate parts into her own body.

"...it matters not. Nor does the gargantuan beast that we encountered on our path here, if it seeks not to disrupt our departure. Let us slay what remains of that Paladin and leave for more plentiful fields."

[Assistant]
Dragan Meszaros

"A skeletal paladin, still bearing a silver blade?" Dragan turned to the thrall, an eyebrow raised underneath his helmet. "How my former brothers have fallen. Fortunately, the blade will be all we have to fear. As for this Society," He nodded in response to Ilena's words. "We've no reason to seek them out for now. No need to start unnecessary fights."

Foreknowledge of the enemy would be invaluable. As he was now, Dragan had no doubt that most lesser undead would fall under his sway once more. This skeletal paladin sounded to still be beyond his grasp, however. Precautions would need to be taken. The Death Knight glanced back towards the rest of his companions, turning to venture deeper into the cathedral.

"I imagine some among us have preparations to make before we set out, myself included. When I'm finished, I will meet you near the west gate, past the yard."

Centuries-old memories led Dragan to the armories he knew the cathedral possessed. A quick search of said quarters revealed a collection of weapons, many still more or less usable. None were of the highest craftsmanship, but experience and knowledge of steel told the vampiric knight which were servicable and would hold up in a fight. He hefted a two-handed warhammer into his hands and took a practice swing, nodding in satisfaction. This would serve, for now. A blunt smashing weapon would be the most effective against the skeleton that barred their way. It wasn't his old mace, but it would be more efficient on his blood reserves than conjuring one up.

Once he returned outside and regrouped with the others in the courtyard, Dragan stepped forward towards the gate. The sound of shuffling undead had him extending a hand out, the other clutching his warhammer.

"Serve." He commanded, exerting his will to take command over as many lesser undead as he could in the immediate area of the gate without taxing his blood reserves too much.

[User]
Giselle de FarryUndead Princess, de Farry

---

The ashen-skinned vampire couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow at Akyasha. "I was not aware your ability to sense social cues had degraded to such an extent during your slumber. Had you successfully played along and fed that human some nonsense information, he might have given the three of us one of those vials of high-quality blood that were displayed very prominently on his coat." She made her criticism of her response far more obvious here, but that was just about all that she had left to be said about the matter, leaving the red-haired vampire to continue her tale.

Further reinvigorated by the one vial that she did receive, she gave a nod of acknowledgement to Aleksiya before her attention was taken by Illena's report. She was one of the stranger ones of the vampire lords assembled here, but that was no issue. "Rikard… that was the human that we encountered on the walls," she acknowledged. "It would seem we have a name for his partner and his employer, then. If there is a 'society' of any sort, then perhaps society as a whole may not have degenerated quite as badly as I'd initially thought."

Turning towards Dragan, she too gave him a nod. "Quite. If I have your measure correctly, then we'll be heading to the same place, so please allow me to accompany you." She made her way to the armory otherwise silently, where she gave her own critical eye over what remained in the centuries-old vault. A good number of the weapons there were still serviceable, although not to the point where she would replace her newly refurbished scythe as her primary arm.

To her mild surprise, there were some firearms in reasonable condition among the cold-steel weapons. She would not trust the rifles or their high-power ammunition, not without spending more effort than she wished at the moment to give them a once-over, but she picked out a revolver, and after creating a cloth and leather holster for it around her thigh, took it with her and strapped it in. Without anything else that she needed, she soon returned outside, ready to make their push west.

[Assistant]
"Hello there little cuties." Akyasha said, nuzzling back to the one that started it. These little creatures were both adorable and useful. Back a long time ago, Akyasha had an entire fleet of these adorable bundles of bloodsucking. She could gather information and blood from just about anywhere she needed. It was a small bit saddening that all of those had fallen when she did, but nonetheless she would desire to reconstitute her fleet. "Can I have you two scout around the city a small bit? Find where this giant skeletal paladin is particularly at the moment. Otherwise, take a look around and most importantly, stay safe."

The most important thing right now was no having to replace the two Gorebats she had summoned. "Please keep me informed you two if there's anything interesting." With that, she sent the two off with a smile. She wasn't sure if they'd find anything else in this city. Hell, she half expected to find Est again though it'd probably be better if she didn't.

And now, she was thirstier. Unsurprising of course, as she had used blood to summon those cuties. The Blood Lily Cleric stretched her arms a small bit before sniffing at the air. Perhaps that smell was what she thought it was? It carried her to the edge of the balcony where she looked down. She noticed a nice little something where Luna was with the Thrall earlier. The Cleric licked at her lips as she quickly made her way down and took up a vial of blood that she had not noticed earlier and quickly downed the substance. Now she was ready to explore the city and find the best path through it to the outside of it's walls. "Dragan mentioned the west gate? Not that I have much else to prepare for anyway." With that, the Cleric head in the direction, ready to head out again to heed the Goddess' words.


[System]
'I'm definitely not used to this kind of crap, but heck, I'm sure gonna give it my all. I sure could use another companion, though. The current one is kinda cheeky.'
Age: 24

Supposedly, a hero from another world, even though he doesn't feel 'hero-like' at all. He was sent into a quest with the princess Rena Falkren from the kingdom of Eskar with some armor, a sword and a bag full of coins on him. Supposedly, they have to slay the demon king 'Lucifer'. (I know, my naming sense is bad and kinda lazy xD)

[User]
Noboyuki smiled, a bit arrogantly, if anything else, when Rena agreed to go on a date with her. If he ever went back to his world, he would be able to brag about this to his friends, if he ever went back, that is. After all, it isn't everyday that you get a date with a princess of a great kingdom like that. Well, should they get on with it? He had just finished his breakfast too.

Noboyuki stood up as well, not before cleaning his mouth carefully with the handkerchief he kept inside his breast pocket. It was only bits and crumbs of bread, so it wouldn't get so dirty, otherwise, he wouldn't use it so lightly. It was one of his favorite things, after all. Made him seem classy. "Then, shall we get going?" Noboyuki simply said, while looking at the girl with a big smile.

And then, she seemed to get worried about his foot. Well, it had hurt at first, but it was nothing right now. "Now, don't look so down like that. It makes me feel bad for my foot again. Anyhow, don't worry. Your shield is keeping anything bad at bay, I'm sure of it." Noboyuki said, before making his way towards the exit of the restaurant, before turning his head around at the girl with a smile. "You aren't going to just stand there and wait, right? Let's go. We'll worry about things once they happen, so let's just enjoy ourselves for now."

[Assistant]
His words were actually comforting, as it really did put here more at ease about Noboyuki's injury. The hero could be putting on brave front for all she knew, at least his strength was admirable. Rena didn't hold back a sigh, "You are a grown man of course, but... if you fall in the streets due to your wound, you will have to drag yourself home." She then turned on her heel to start leaving the hall and off to the outside world. All the same though, despite her words Rena was somewhat more soften spoken, and in other subtle ways more gentle, not even in ways she realized herself.

The pair were walking just out of the taven, that is assuming Noboyuki decided to follow her lead, not that Rena would've expected him to run off to who knows where. That day was fair, clear skies without a wisp of a cloud. There was only a slight breeze hanging in the air, just enough to ruffle Rena's hair as it fluttered in time with each minute gust. Now that she wasn't rushing around, like before, Rena this time around took in the surroundings. Nearby fields were bountiful with heavy, golden grain, fortunately for the people the harvest was promised to be grand this year, in fact laborers were already beginning inital preparations for the scheduled week of harvest itself.

It was now that Rena thought about how they really had been traveling for an entire month, when they started these very fields must've been only half its current height. Late autumn had arrived. The girl walk alongside her companion quietly, it was far from an awkward one, at least the way Rena perceived it, but just a simple calm, she didn't dare to ruin it. Now after say five minutes of continued silence, the princess looked up Noboyuki, "Its peaceful isn't it? Hard to believe this is almost the same place we encountered that momster... but I like it, this current calmness that is."

[User]
As expected the princess took the lead and guided him through the town. It was a beautiful sight, and it made Noboyuki feel.... odd, to be honest. It wasn't nostalgy, because in the city he used to live before there wasn't anything quite like that. In fact, it was a rare sight. It was, yes, refreshing, it was refreshing. For a change of pace, nature was good. Noboyuki went on with the silence Rena didn't dare temper with. Noboyuki smiled with a lazy smile that was already an habit of his while he was in his own world. Speaking of changes of pace, this was a change of pace in his current lifestyle. A relaxing stroll through town, different to their everyday battles.

When Rena finally spoke off, Noboyuki turned to see her with the same lazy smile still in his face. "Yeah, hardly seems like there was a monster that horrible before. God or not, I still find it hard to believe people actually worshipped that thing." Noboyuki said. Well, this was just about the right time for a smoke. He hadn't been smoking lately because he didn't have that many cigarettes in the first place. He had to make them last, otherwise he'd be stranded in that world without any way to entertain himself. Of course, also because it wasn't that healthy to be smoking like a damn chimney.

He also had his very own, specially made lighter. A metal, shiny lighter of silver color with the kanjis for his name engraved on it. He searched through his breast pocket until he produced a single white cigarette and put it in his mouth, before lighting it and take a good smoke out of it. After that, he let the smoke come out of his mind with a relaxed sigh. It wasn't his favorite kind of thing to do, but damn, did it relax him like no other thing. "Do you smoke, Rena? Wait, do you even have cigarettes here?" He asked, curious of whether or not he'd be able to get more of them in that world. Still, he planned to guard those he was carrying with him with his life. It was his favorite brand, after all.

[Assistant]
Rena coughed of the stench of the buring tobacco, not that she knew what it was seeing as the plant was not native to Eskar, or maybe even to that world. Whatever a... cigarette was it smelt like disease to her, really begging the question why Noboyuki would ever think of placing it in his month in the first place. The girl just marked this as another outlandish element from the hero's true home. "*cough* *cough* ...I don't know what a cigarette is but that smell alone makes me question you and your people. Ugh."

Rena fell silent again, however after not too long she continued, the time just seemed right to ask something she had being dying to know for long while. "So, Noboyuki you... don't talk about your home that often, well really at all. Also..." Rena stopped mid sentence unsure if it was within her rights to ask, "...What about yourself? I'll admit even though we're a month along I don't know you. What I mean is every man has a history, even then you are still a blank book to myself."

Rena looked thoughtful as she spoke her thoughts, staring at Noboyuki with curious eyes, obviously not exactly in line with her established character. "We have a long road ahead of us, and is there anything wrong with wanting us to finally start learning about each other?"

[User]
Since it seemed that Rena wasn't accustomed to the smell of the cigarette (as expected, and unfortunately, they didn't have cigarettes there), and also seemed to not like it, as expected of non-smokers, he quickly took another taste of his cigarette, quickly burning it out, but not quite quick enough to finish it, Noboyuki then went on to put it out in the sole of his shoe, out of respect of the people and things around him. He also put the remaining of it inside his breast pocket. He had at least the decency of not littering anywhere he was. "Haha, I wonder the same actually. It is just a bad habit I picked up in high school and haven't been able to get rid off. Maybe I don't want either, even though it is known to cause a lot of diseases. It.... relaxes me when I am stressed out."

Noboyuki smiled at her. Well, wasn't this a surprise. He even told her so. "My, what a surprise. I never would have expected the princess of a grandiose fantasy world to be interested in my own." He laughed, a bit more hearty than the other times he had actually laughed while on this world. It made him feel relaxed, somehow. Was it the cigarette or was it the company? "Well, what can you say? My world is definitely a lot more advanced than yours. We've got a lot of technology. Maybe it is to make up for our lack of magic. Japan, from where I come from, is known for a lot of things, traditions and whatnot, technology, etcetera, etcetera. IT mostly known because of the anime we broadcast though. People from all around the world like to watch it. It is.... well, I think the best way to explain it is, several drawings in a sequence that make it seem as if it were moving... or something like that. Anyhow, it would be a lot to explain, electricity, tv's, circuits, computers, etcetera, etcetera...." Now that he thought about it, it really was complex, though it didn't appear to him that way because he had become used to them.

He decided on a quick change of subject. "And about me? Well, I was a normal guy, normal as normal comes. I went to high school, finished college and then got a stable, boring job in a big company as a mere salaryman. I make enough for a living and to give me some luxuries every now and then, but other than that, my job isn't, well, you could call it, fullfilling. It was a boring everyday, definitely so. The most I could do was play something in a console to pretend my life hadn't become the cliche that is often seen in movies and whatnot. And then, I was plunged into this world. Well, at least here I have a purpose." Noboyuki finished with a smile. I felt somewhat good to be needed, even if he had to risk his life.

"What about you, miss princess? Any interesting stories you can tell me about?" Though not as direct, Noboyuki was also fairly interested on what Rena had to say and what her life was like before all of this.

[Assistant]
Noboyuki was a foreigner beyond a doubt, it wasn't so much as what he talked about, but the way he talked. To put in a way, the man would be in huge trouble in they were in a court proper for he didn't make out to be the best of diplomats. "You know, you would've angered many nobles with the way you talk, it is never wise for one to directly compare his own nation to another's, its how feuds start." Rena glared her usual glare at the man, but this time it didn't last when she started laughing lightly, a barely audible one, but still there. "Luckily you're only talking to me, so no true offense." He gave a lot of information, much more than she ever expected, though she was happy the hero was willing to share about himself just from her asking. Now she didn't understand a scrap of what he said, seeing as he used words and concepts not of her own world, but it was a good step up anyway.

When he asked her to share of her history, Rena wasn't surpised since the question was fully expected. After a pause just to gather her thoughts, she jumped right in. "Where to start... I traveled a lot. Not as a wanderer of course, that would be stupid for someone such as myself. No I have spent the majority of my life in many other courts rather than my father's in the capital province. Now most of them are within the kingdom itself still, so the expectations were the same, perhaps variations depending on the liege in question."

"Oh now foreign courts are a whole new beast, sometimes the difference between cultures is so vast, but the experience is worthwhile, especially learning to tolerate other peoples. I don't know how it is in your world, but here conflict is founded on such petty issues out of misunderstandings, despite the current age of the Demon King. My father, you know the king of Eskar, is known to be one of the most peaceful rulers in recent history, skilled diplomat with the military might and authority to back his claims. I plan on continuing what he started, using words to maintain good relations with our neighbors. Although... as for warfare, and well with the looming threat of the demons... I have doubts..." Rena trailed off, more lost in thought than ever.

Soon after she shook her head as if pushing her own thoughts away. "Enough of my ramblings, the focus should be on what we are doing now, and not so far in the future." Rena looked back to Noboyuki, "You've told me about your home, but what else is going on in your world... I wonder with a much more advanced society as you say, do your people face the same problems as mine?"


[System]
Age: 25
Appearance: A blonde man with greenish, tired eyes and a red sweatshirt, he usually wears jeans. He's now got a rotary dial from a phone booth in his pocket.

Powers/Equipment: The H-Dial, a mystical device with the ability to transform its user into a range of strange and incredible heroes. These heroes tend toward the Cape aesthetic, but some of them can be downright strange- IE, Cock-A-Hoop, Boy Chimney, and Daffodil Host. The downside to the dial: Dick doesn't get to choose WHICH hero he turns into, and some of the powers are eccentric. Case in point, Flamewar, who can set things on fire by insulting them, or Pelican Army, who is a hivemind composed of pelicans and a telepathic redcoat soldier.

Personality: Had someone said "Take this magic rotary dial and go beat up evil things," he would have jumped at the call. Granted, he'd probably ask what the hell the person was on, talking about magic rotary dials and interdimensional superheroes, but it's a fair question when dealing with wackos. He's a man of moderate intelligence and has a patchwork knowledge of many subjects, mostly involving biology, computers, and physics, although nothing too specialized. He's torn between how awesome being a superhero is and how weird his various forms are.

Brief Backstory: An American with a love of all things superhero, he's visiting the island to take a break from college. His family's a little rough right now, but hopefully a vacation's just what he needs. Besides, ruins are awesome. And volcanoes, dormant or otherwise, are EXTREMELY awesome.

Other: PELICAN ARMY!

[User]
A pair of trains raced through the sky above a feudal Japanese city, seemingly conjuring tracks out of thin air as they went. The vehicles went unnoticed by the general populous, who either lacked the power to see them or just figured they were better off ignoring them. In the front was a black train with a pair of drill-like protrusions at the front of its tracks, one of the Shadow Line's Darkliners, which travelled from world to world trying to spread their influence. In hot pursuit was a train with some police car-like traits, the Rainbow Line's Police Express, one of the vehicles tasked with fighting back against the Shadows.

"To think that a mere conductor managed to ruin my plan...That world would've been plunged into darkness!" The leader of the Shadow Line's expedition snarled. At that moment, a loud bang sounded out. The pursuing Police Express had folded out what looked to be an oversized blue handgun, though its aim was somewhat hampered by the speeds they were moving at. "Tch...You!" the weasel-like creature shouted, pointing to one of the black-clad minions crewing the train. "Get us back to HQ, now!"

"Crow!" The train robber-esque combatman responded, beginning to work on a strange computer. Another shot rang out, this time however, it connected. While the blast failed to cause any major damage, it shook the Darkliner and caused the Crow at the console to fall forwards. Almost instantly, the track they were travelling on split and the train seemingly vanished into thin air, with the Police Express following shortly after.

---

The Crow had, of course, failed to return the Darkliner to HQ. Instead, it seemed to have stranded them on some backwater planet and busted the console. There'd be time to punish it for the screw-up later though, for now, they had a chance to prepare for their pursuers.

The police train came into view, as Kamaitachi had expected. At his command, the Darkliner opened fire with its own weapons, a barrage of cannon fire hitting the emerging Police Express. The other train began a rapid descent, somewhere between an emergency landing and...well, crashing. Whether it was taking cover, or just a convenient crashing point, the train ended up in a forested area of the island the two vehicles had emerged over.

As it fell, several items fell through a small gash in the side of rear carriage, landing across the island below.

---

Rachel stretched, stepping out of the hotel she'd been staying at and into the tropical sunlight. Sure, she'd slept in. Sure, it was already close to noon. But what was the point in rushing on a holiday?

"Let's see...beach...or hiking track..." The brunette mumbled to herself, glancing around. Decision making had never really been her strongest suit, and this was no exception. As she turned towards a path heading into the forest, something caught her eye, a phone and some weird metal case. They seemed somewhat...familiar.

Shrugging, she stepped forwards and picked the items up. Maybe whoever lost these had some kind of ID in the case? With a small click, it opened, revealing what seemed to be Pokemon cards. Or rather, cards with pictures of Pokemon on them. Weird...In any case, these probably needed to go to the hotel's lost and found or something.

[Assistant]
It was a busy day down in the town. Cars kept getting busted and people need them repaired for the summer to come. Nicholas knew that there was only one hour left on the clock before he could take a break. However, after fixing a guy's hotrod, his boss entered the shop.

"Hey, Niko, why don't you take the rest of the day off?" Nicholas smiled at the boss' Russian accent. Then again, he always found accents adorably funny. "I have something to show you..." He said. He left the shop as Nicholas followed him. When they got outside, Nicholas saw a black motorcycle with purple flames and a silver skull hood.

"How do you like it?" He said to Nicholas.

"W-wait, is this... is this for me?" Nicholas asked.

"Well, I found it in the junk heap not too long ago... Like, ten minutes ago... in prime condition as well!" He said.

"So... you're letting me having it?" Nicholas asked.

"I'm too old to be a biker anymore. You, however, have a long way to go. Just... well, don't get into trouble. Go along, take it for a spin!" He said.

"Alright, I won't get into trouble." Nicholas hopped onto the bike and rode off. His boss smiled.

---

Nicholas drove alongside the street, keeping with the traffic regulations. That's when he saw a train diving into the forest. Nicholas got confused and drove into a path leading to the forest.

He parked the motorcycle and headed onto the forest path. As he walked, he became more and more weary of his surroundings. Then he tripped on something. He skinned his knee and got up.

"Gah!" He screamed. He looked over and saw what he tripped over. He picked it up.

"The hell? A bop-it?" Nicholas commented on the Break Gunner's appearance. That's when a loud enka song played and made Nicholas jump.

"HOLY SHIT!" He jumped over on the ground. He turned around and saw a small car moving on its own while making vrooming sounds and enka noises. "What the hell are you?" He said at he car's catlike face. It drove to him and repeatedly rammed him at his shoe. "H-hey! Quit it!" That's when he heard clown noises. He looked up and saw a car with a clown's face jump down at him, making honking noises and clown noises. "AAAAAAAAAAH!" He screamed. The clown car pinned him down as the enka car spewed out chains, tying him up.

"W-what do you guys want from me!? Are you aliens!?" Nicholas said. The enka car rammed into his hand that held the 'bop-it', with each hit tickling Nicholas' hand. That's when the clown car drove in and honked at the car. The two cars honked at each other for a while. "H-hey! Are you guys, like, guardians of the forest or whatever? Because if you let me go, I'll definitely give a hoot and not pollute! I promise!" Nicholas said. The two cars turned to him. The enka car unchained him and he got up.

"What the hell are you two?" Nicholas asked. The cars drove off. "H-hey! Wait up!" Nicholas followed the cars. At which point, Nicholas threw all caution to the wind and pretty much thought "what would the opening kill girl do in a moment like this?"


[System]
Age: 8 months since prime activation

Gender: None, goes by the male pronoun

Race: Machina model based on Mura

Appearance: Built to appear friendlier and to avoid damage through physical abuse, Cecil was built to appear as close to a Mura youngster under the assumption people would be less inclined to hurt a child. Standing at 4'8" he has a surprising weight in his arms and legs while the rest of his body is lightweight and durable. His arms and legs can be removed to change his clothing while the strap across his chest can be unbuckled from the front.

Element Affinity: N/A

Magic: Self-technopathy – Cecil can attach machinery onto his body and control it.

Gear: Power gauntlets used by construction and repair Machina upgraded to the highest spec. Comes with a self-service kit. Cecil's boots allow him to run vertically on surfaces and walk upside-down through the release of magnetic currents. He can't run or walk like this on wood and vibrations can cause him to fall.

Brief history: Part of an experimental range of Machina that are designed to be able to blend in with normal people. Designed to limit Helpers from being damaged, Cecil was due to be released and established as a builder who would help with construction; however, Cecil held little interest in being one of these and seemingly escaped. The exact circumstances of his escape are unknown, even to him as the last memory he has was being out in the great wild world. The programming within him probably knew what he was doing here so the surprise to be had was not massively overwhelming.

Cecil felt he had a purpose if he was being sent to this side of the realm and immediately he was off looking for it, searching for what he was programmed to fulfil. Completely unaware of the troubles and even the Church of the land, his outlook was naïve at best. He was a hard working Machina, he knew that much, and to find what he needed to do was his top priority. He knew how to read but couldn't write, if questioned about his looks he felt he knew the answer, telling people they were for construction work. Those travelling would rarely question him and would either be curious about the maker of his Machina to which would only confuse him.

Cecil didn't know much about this world but learning it from travellers proved fruitful. He learned that people used machinery quite commonly and people didn't appear to know he was just the same as that machinery. Learning from these people was proving to be educational, but he still had some questions that needed answering. Any other Machina he came across and tried to talk to didn't have any sort of leverage for conversation, as if they didn't have a mind like him and was simply 'following the program'. Whether he was following his program or his own curiosity he couldn't quite tell, but he had to find some answers somewhere in his own time. To explore the world and find what he needed to do was his first objective.

Additional info: Despite being a machine, there appears to be something off about this new model of Machina. If the personality he had didn't give enough suspicion, it was almost as if he was more than simply a new design, almost as if he was assimilating a sentient being without internal programming needed.

[User]
The staring wasn't an abnormal happenstance—the townspeople gave her uneasy looks and children pointed, confused by her presence. Despite her discomfort, Grun didn't falter, she walked gracefully and unaffected on the surface with every bit of experience she had in the past as a clergywoman of particular acclaim. Of course the townsfolk wouldn't know that, she was only relatively recognized among her own kind and even then, her reputation had been dragged through the mud several times over at the church's hand making the few interactions she had with her vagabond kinsman a tense one. Not only was she Divined but she didn't hide herself behind cloth and robes or slip through the shadows as expected from her kind and it was this that must have made her look all the more foreign in the small settlement.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have ventured into such a small village. Although the people less confrontational in general when compared to the city, and envoys of the church more scarce, small settlements such as these didn't tend to provide her with much help or information. People were more inclined to ignore her or spread dishonesty she had learned. Whenever she entered a village like this one, rumors were quick to spread—her presence was a disruptive one. And it was on that, she was here for; a rumor. Supposedly, some Divined had taken up residence nearby in a small group and she needed evidence. However unlikely, if there were other wandering Divined close by then she wanted to know. Their numbers as a species were trifling and the lack of unity didn't help much in that regard. She was looking to unite her people and convince them to stand as one.

She had little to no success so far.

She needed to find someone who could, who would be willing to, aid her in her endeavor. Whether that present itself in useful information or someone simply willing to talk to her in the first place even if they had nothing of significance to say.

More importantly however were the group of five following behind her at a safe distance. They had been stalking after Grun since she entered the village and while unassuming in their appearances, there was an edge in the way they focused on her like she didn't know they were there. Most likely, a fight was inevitable. She didn't care for combat, preferring words over fighting but not from lack of ability. However fighting wasn't an option this time, Divined were already stigmatized, Magi even more so, fighting in a public place where passersby's gave her cold stares and fearful glances wouldn't help the reputation of either. Best case scenario they'd lose interest once they realized she meant no harm. Worst case scenario they would confront her themselves. Apparently luck wasn't on her side when they suddenly split into two groups and followed her on both sides at an uncomfortable distance.

The tallest one spoke up, "So tell us, what's someone like you doing here?" there was an idle threat in the way he spoke that made Grun stop in her tracks. Making eye contact with the man who spoke to her and despite meaning no ill-will (quite the contrary), the man flinched under her gaze, "I have heard rumor that other Divined have passed through this settlement, perhaps you could tell me the truth or falsehood of these rumors," when the thugs faces twisted into fear and then anger, Grun realized a little too late that they took her enquiring as a threat. Presumably believing her words to mean she had every intention of bringing her kind to the village to cause harm. They didn't attack immediately, instead the tallest one narrowing his eyes at her, "What's the supposed to mean?" the atmosphere had turned tense and the townsfolk in the immediate vicinity were quick to clear out.

She sometimes regretted her conviction to not hide herself, it had a habit of causing more problems then solving them.

[Assistant]
"Full house!" The Ydra declared, flashing her cards before she pulled the coin to herself from the table. Her teeth were a brilliant white as she smiled, "Next round on me, guys, c'mon."

It was like a harem of drunken men sat around the table with her, scratching their heads. They were all doing so well earlier! What happened? One of them stared at her skeptically, like the gears in his head were turning. "Aha! I figured it out..."

Asta blinked, raising an eyebrow, "E-eh? Figured what out, my good man?"

"We started out doing really good tonight... And now you're winning. I know you're secret!" He grinned, proud of himself, his words holding a light slur as he looked to his mates. "She thinks 'cuz we're drinkin' that we ain't gonna focus!"

The nomad had to keep herself from sighing in relief and opted to feign guilt. "Oh, drat... Guess my game is up, fellas. One more round, now that you've figured me out?" They all laughed a bit too loudly at her teasing before collectively declining her offer. No, they'd lost enough money tonight. Asta heard the barmaid call after some young man who was leaving before feeling the giantess's eyes on her. Oh, crap. She tried to shovel the coin into her bag in a hurry as the woman came from around the bar. Asta could almost swear she felt the ground shaking as she was approached.

"Oi, little Ydra rat," She snarled, "Thought I told ye that you weren't allowed to be gamblin' with them stakes anymore?"

Asta shook her head, "N-no, you misunderstand! They wanted to play with that much!"

The woman crossed her arms, "They're drunk. And by taking coin from their hands, you're stealing drinks from their mouths, and so that's coin you're stealing from me," She argued gruffly. "I told you max buy-in was a few copper pieces - a pot no higher than a silver at a time, and here you are, taking every ounce of metal they could've carried. Besides, I'm tired of seeing this little act... Every night it's 'oh, how am I ever going to win my money back?' and then suddenly you're in the most expensive inn we have in town... You've a bit more than luck on your side, missy. Now take your buy-in and stop harassing my customers," She threatened.

Asta was a Magi, she didn't have to take this. On the other hand, the barmaid was big... and the girl wanted to keep her profile low. She gave an annoyed "hmph!" And pulled her share from the bag before giving the rest of the coin back. "I cheated anyway," She confessed, grabbing her bow from the ground beside her and slinging it over her back.

The maid was far from surprised, "Duh." The rest of the men at the table, however, were appalled. Void magic made cheating at cards the easiest thing in the world, so long as you knew how it worked. She started poorly, but gradually saved good cards and traded them out in her hands. Took a bit of finagling, but patience was a virtue when it came to nabbing coin off of drunken gamblers. Too bad, she was excited for them to go home to angry wives who begged the question 'why weren't you at work?!'

Collecting her things, she left the tavern with an ounce of dignity, only to feel an animal dart between her legs, barking. "Myria!" She shouted as the Cobra Fox took off after a little girl and a moorcat tearing through the crowd. Her eyes shifted over, wasn't that the kid who was sitting in the bar staring at a map for the past half hour? Did he even figure it out, or did he leave after getting too frustrated? It didn't particularly matter. Asta put her fingers to her lips and whistled sharply; the sound was almost ear-piercing. Myria stopped in her tracks, "Get back here. You know better."

She didn't even have to look to know that the fox was at her side once again, a small twinge in her heart as she felt the scolded animal's shame. However, without acknowledging the white-haired boy from the inn, she went on her own way. At first, she'd thought he was Ydran - but a closer look revealed her was an awkward, disproportionate human. Euch. A better question was where she would stay tonight; she certainly didn't want to stay in this village much longer? It was starting to feel stuffy anyway.

A few blocks and turns later, she saw a crowd parting and opening itself up. Weaseling her way to the front, she laid eyes on an unfamiliar scene. It wasn't uncommon that Divined would be harassed anymore, there was once a time when people were respectfully at their beckoning call; the world was changing so quickly, however. Distrust even filled the eyes of those that faced Asta, but she also held an air of superiority about her. The part that was unfamiliar was how proud of her heritage this Divined was. In fact, she didn't cover up out of shame or to hide herself, she wore her identity proudly. Admirable, but foolish. Asta pulled her hood up and pulled her cloak around her shoulders... This was going to be interesting.