[System]
Oni no Hanzo

True Name: Hattori Hanzo

Class: Assassin

Gender: Female

Attribute: Man

Height/Weight: Variable depending on disguise, 156cm, and 56kg in original form.

Era:Age of Man

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Personality: A pleasant sort of person, one that was easy to talk to, as well as easy to approach. Seemingly benign, and soft spoken, it would seem that she could never really get angry. Soft, and looking unlikely to the next person to stab you in the back. While she can be boisterous in battle, she never truly loses that soft edge, as if trying to lure the opponents into feeling a bit complacent. Other than that, the strongest reaction one can get out of her to anything would just be at most a small jump or the like. Has utterly no qualms about using dirty tactics, lying, or manipulating people to get the desired result. Answers the call to the Grail War to fulfill a selfish and simple wish.

Character Objectives: To once again prove the Iga was a force to be reckoned with.

History:Other than her being a woman, nothing much else has changed.

— Parameters —
STR:D | END:C | AGI:A+ | MAG:C | LCK:B | NP: D
[MASTER APTITUDE:Removed modifier from STR]
— Class Skills —
Presence Concealment -A+
Hides one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. It is possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected, even against a Servant's perception. However, efficiency will decrease once preparations to attack are taken.

— Personal Skills —
Ninjutsu(Hanzo) - A+++

At A+++ Rank, one stands shoulder to shoulder among the legendary ninjas. Being one of the more prominent ninja during her period, she was naturally extremely adept at this. Includes usage of ninja tactics, strategies, torture techniques, and other arts. Due to her legend of fearless tactics even with only a few against much more numerous enemies, she specializes in defensive battles and counter attacks, especially when outmatched and or outnumbered, thus gaining appropriate bonuses to those.

Subversive Activities - B

The ability to reduce enemy's war potential in the preliminary stage before going to battle.
An expert of traps. With this skill at Rank B, it is possible to disable close to 30 percent of the enemy forces before they advance.

Disengage - C

Bonus effect of returning battle conditions to what they were at the beginning of the match.

Projectile (Ninja) - B

With special throwing technique, any throwable ninja weapons like the kunai and shuriken, gains the same destructive power as firearms when thrown, typically spelling certain death for human targets.

— Armaments —
Very literally all her tools, including kama, kama with chains, shurikens, kunais, strings, poison, clawed gloves, clothings, swords, short swords, longer swords, bows, and even her spear.

— Noble Phantasms —

Ninja Escort Service
Though even hellfire we reach our destination
Type:Anti-Unit/Anti-Army
Rank:D
Range:-
Maximum Number Of Targets:1 - 300

A recreation of her most famous feat, the escort of Tokugawa through Iga. With only his 300 men to escort Ieyasu, they marched 200km in just 5 days, undetected and unfettered. With this, she can summon any and all of the 300 ninja that helped with the journey, as well as well as unconditionally shortening distances. By default they take the most optimal path possible, making it much easier to reach destinations.

Due to its nature, its the sort of Noble Phantasm that did not require activation through calling out its true name, and was most noticeable when she's actively escorting someone. However, Each of the ninja summoned aren't at all on par with a heroic servant being only at the level of a wraiths. They do however benefit from her Noble Phantasm and Presence Concealment, and can demonstrate their skills as Ninja fully. The noble phantasm also doesn't have any additional effects beside summoning the escort ninja as well as the shortening of distances unconditionally. Thus, this Noble phantasm doesn't drain much magical energy unless all her escorts take the field.

"Sorry, I ain't gonna give up yet."
Title(s): Ultra Explosive NEET

Gender: Female

Age: 26

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Rank: Count

Objective for the Grail: To reach the Root, for the ultimate and best kaboom.

Character Objectives: Prove to the world she wasn't a retard and wastrel who squandered her family's history.

Command Seal: Three crescent moons arranged in a circle, with the one placed near the knuckles having a point in the middle.

Personality: A rough, brash and rather strongwilled person, she was the kind of person you'd expect to be working in a construction job, not as the heir to one of a relatively young magus family. While intelligent at times, she's more partial to more direct methods rather than more convoluted and indirect methods. Has a tendency to focus on odd things at times, as well as having a soft spot towards those weaker than her.

Bio: A family of mages, who first started in Japan, but fled from it in an old old incident, crossing the seas and eventually settling in a remote mountainous area of China, before spreading towards Russia. Tenryuu, as a product of this, was more Russian than she was Chinese or Japanese, though they kept their Japanese roots close to them. They were primarily focused on immortality, and focused on making or transferring then maintaining consciousness to a new more perfect body, developed simultaneously due to corpses being a poor substitute, though there were extensive efforts made to gather parts from them. Taking inspiration from the terracotta soldiers, they tried making a perfect body from other materials as well.

However, all of their methods remained Japanese, even while taking in foreign influences. Their martial arts retained their Japanese base even while incorporating outside influences, their rituals were tempered by their roots, they still spoke mainly in Japanese within their households. Even the clay dolls were made with words of power inscribed into them to induce the transference, though there wasn't any actual true successes that meant true immortality. There were some that had good power in them, but none that fit the family's true goals. While their magecraft, being from a different origins, were far weaker, their desire for infinity meant they persevered nonetheless, pursuing their goals with the same dogged determination as they did in Japan.

Tenryuu, however, ran away to join a remote Grail War across the world. To her it was simple; her family, while relatively well off, didn't have much in terms of actual assets, and Paris would be a grand prize indeed. Wielding a byproduct of her family's research, she would also try to prove to them, that making things explode was a good thing and should be researched more.

---

Magic Circuit Switch: A gunshot.

Number of Magic Circuits: C

Quality of Magic Circuits: B

---

Elemental Affinity: Fire

Origin: Expansion

Magecraft:
High Speed Aria
Magecraft refined through time, they eventually learned how to save time in their endeavours to cast them, as if ever wary that their time might be growing shorter. For Tenryuu, it was incorporated into her movements and kotodama.

Magecraft basics

Rituals/Greater Rituals
Arguably her family's greatest strength, doing elaborate rituals for their experiments, as well as minor ones for smaller scale operations.

Kotodama
"The Soul of Language", a Japanese centric magic that revolves around the belief that even just words alone can contain power. A simple magic with little power on its own.

Automaton Creation
Or rather the creation of high quality bodies, made and refined using any sort of materials around.

Advanced Reinforcement
Unsurprisingly, through their pursuit of infinity, the simple magic of Reinforcement was honed and used to create higher quality materials that can stand more duress. She can use this far far easier with much less effort, with far greater results than any other magus who did not train as much in this.

Spiritual Evocation
Something that her family was very proficient in, considering they were very interested in capturing spirits and souls to transfer into their ever growing pile of experiments. They could be considered experts in this field, and by extension, so was she, though she uses them far more unconventionally than other people would.

Crest:Old, around 5 generations or so.

Weapon: Gloves with just a kanji for Power sewn onto its back. Special chalks.

Exceptional Benefit: Superior Mystic Code- You may have an exceptional mystic code. It is a very high grade mystic code that won't count against your mystic code section in the sheet. For example if it was a puppet body, it would be a puppet body that would defensively fight against even a Servant. This should only be used for extremely strong codes at the highest tier. Superior Mystic Codes are extremely powerful, so they should be approved separately over PMs. To preserve their secrecy, do not add them to your public sheet.

[User]
Sylvester II
Seine Right Bank, Business District
@SubjectVision@KoL

---

"Perhaps if they wish to speak with us I would not be against such an interaction. Though this is a war and our goal is to analyze our opponents, one should never dehumanize them. From heathens to heretics, I care not, but of humanity I love. I am not so bloodthirsty to take the first action against them if you wish not to battle, but know that if they are to wish any form of harm to you Master, I shall not allow them to do so."

"Even if I am but a man of science and a man of the cloth, that does not mean I do not have enough bark to my bite. You are speaking to the man who was able to single-handedly defeat a Lord of the underworld with nothing aside from my own hands, after all."

Striking a rather triumphant pose in the face of his Master, Sylvester seemed to show off in a rather simple manner by flexing his muscles above his shoulders like a boxer taunting to a crowd. Even though he seemed mostly composed in his speech and composure, it appeared that Sylvester did have at least a modicum of belief in himself. He was, after all, a Heroic Spirit; those class of people who had 'saved' humanity. And even if they were unable to do so, their effects were still felt today.

"... Pervert. You just want to know if they are a woman or not, don't you?"

"O-Of course not. I simply see no issue in discussing with other heroes. Though I am no Hero myself, I had been selected by the Grail to grant my Master the Grail. If my enemy is not hostile towards me, I'd wish to avoid confronting them if possible."

For but a moment, the facade of stoicism seemed to fall at the face of the statement by his wife berating his previous actions. Though the agreement between the two was that a mutual love between one another, Sylvester was but a mortal tempted by the wiles and woes of mortal women. While he did love his wife, there were times where his moral compass was to redirect himself. After all, he was only human.

"Hmm. Well, we shall see about that, won't we then? That is what you said about that village girl in Avenguine. Not even to speak about the lady from Prague! How many homewreckers have you brought home in your time?"

"That is that and this is this."

With a dismissive sigh from Sylvester and an irritated "hmpf" from Meridiana, Sylvester cleared his throat before he continued.

"I shall accompany you, Master! Do not leave my side unless I tell you to. Even if they seem friendly, I do not want you to let your guard down. If they try anything funny, I'll give them the taste of my Demonic Drill of the Divine Blessing … Yeah! That is what I'll call that! It will be the greatest!"

For whatever reason Sylvester wore a look of excitement that could only be compared to a child who had gotten a new toy. He seemed pumped for whatever reason.

.... Maybe he did want to fight against strong heroic spirits, despite what he had said earlier?

And with that, Sylvester began to escort his Master towards where he felt the enemy Servant was currently, moving at a comfortable speed for his Master's sake. Masters were, after all, not at the level of Servants when it came to speed. And in the event that the enemy Servant was one that used trickery or range to take out Masters, he did not wish to allow his Master to get caught in the crossfire without his support. Even if that Old Man was more capable of his own from Sylvester's appraisal, Servants were on a tier of existence greater than humans when it came to physicality.


[System]
Appearance:
Gender: Female

Age: 17

Grid: Focal

Secret Gift: Pyrokinesis-She can create fire from her palms. She can also control any fire she comes across. She can increase the heat of the fire or reduce it. She can manipulate fire into a spherical shape to throw at enemies, as a weapon.

Weapon of Choice: 8 inch daggers and ninja stars

Gear: Medical pack, compass, rope

Bio: Paige was born in Focal. Her parent's weren't Council Members, but they were close to becoming so. She never wanted anything that she didn't get. But, with her parents running a political campaign, they never had time to spend with Paige. She found herself acting out to get their attention. Instead of getting her way, her parents erased any mention of her from their lives. They said she was too big of a risk if she couldn't constantly be on her best behavior. So her parents bought her her own penthouse, which she's been living in since she was 13.

Habits (Optional): She is always chewing gum.

Theme Song (Optional): Ain't It Fun by Paramore

Other:

[User]
Dyana kept buttoning her jean blue button down in anticipation "Just act like you, im sure they're will be other's from my districts...just for gods sake try to make it through this" she looked out to see others already standing near the stars and it seemed that the districts were colored differently "huh...thats a bit of an interesting choice..." her limousine stopped and a man opened the door for her. Grabbing her back pack, she slung it over her shoulder and stepped out. Brushing her faded blue jeans off, she looked around the area and was in awe almost.

Looking to the building ahead, she almost couldn't contain her excitement, there had been buildings in Luminosity but not like this. She wasn't obvlious to these, it was just amazement to see that they could be this big. Walking over next to another Luminosity boy she kind of found a bit of comfort in knowing there was at least one other around her that she knew was from her district, even if she didn't know who he was "Uh...I know you Limo was white, as was mine and I think that means we're from the same district, so..." she hated being awkward "Nice to meet you, my name is Dyana Dolaso" she extended a hand towards the boy.

[Assistant]
The ride to the building was just as Nyaleena Vega had expected. She had been to the Guard training facility many times and knew just what to expect on Recruitment Day. Her brother, Codeeva, sat next to her in the limo, completely silent and staring out the window. To occupy her thoughts, she replayed the morning scene again in her head:

Nya stared intently before throwing her hands up in defeat. "This is hopeless! Focal is about to be overtaken!" she exclaimed. She took a deep breath and adjusted her posture. She was a Guard and knew it needed to show. She tried not to let the sound of panic enter her voice before she continued, "My forces are surrounded on three of the four perimeters but I can clearly see a head on approach will be a slaughterfest. Our rations are low; we haven't slept in days and…"

"Nya," her brother interrupted, "how do you know your regiments haven't slept in days?" He set his blue, Anomalous game piece down and looked across the board with a twinkle in his eye and a slight smirk on his lips. "I mean, we've only been playing for 2 hours."

"Oh shut up." Nya replied, throwing her red, Guard Commander game piece at his face and slumping back in the dark, leather chair. It was cold. Only the edge of the seat had been used. "I just hate that I always lose." She paused, leaning her head back to stare at the ceiling. "I need to drown these sorrows." She got up from the low coffee table and headed into the kitchen for a drink. Her brother followed silently. He leaned against the counter, watching her. As she poured two glasses of juice, Nya continued, "I don't even know why I play with you. I mean, the Guard's best and brightest graduate should be playing with people in his own league. Not a lowly recruit." She was purposely playing a hurt victim and rolled her eyes dramatically at the last point. In reality, they were quite evenly matched in the game. Codeeva just smiled, not wanting to encourage her outburst, and picked up the beverage she handed to him. He glanced at the bright clock on the wall behind Nya's head.

"Speaking of," he started. He swallowed the last of his juice, set the glass down, picked up his jacket and headed to the door. He stood in the doorway and attached two guns, two knives, and a small medical kit to himself, all in one swift movement. Nya watched him like a child watching fireworks for the first time. He continued, "We need to head out. A Vega will not be late on their first day. You will become the best and brightest in no time." His face became stern, the look of The Guard. Then he winked.

Her thoughts returned to present day. No pressure. She sighed and stepped out of the car. "Good luck." Codeeva smiled at her one last time. Nya failed to return the smile as she turned to face the next year of her life.

[User]
To say that Sarah was nervous as she sat in her limo was an understatement "Keep calm Sarah, you can do this" she said to herself as she nervously played with her hair in the back of her limo and looking over her jeans and t-shirt. Looking out of her window she noted the different colours of the cars and was left in awe when she caught sight of the Guard training facility. As her limo pulled up next to the building and the driver opened the door for her, she climbed out out mouth agape at the impressive structure.

"Thank you" she said to the driver as she took in the building and the other recruits, the building was impressive and gave Sarah the confidence to know she was joining something bigger than herself. Looking around at the other recruits she assumed by the colour coding that there were three others from her district. She could already see two of them had paired off, while another in a dress and made her way to the back of the crowd. Smiling, Sarah decided to introduce herself to her. Making her way over she reached out her hand and said.

"Hi, I'm Sarah and judging by the colour of your limo were both from the same district, pleasure to meet you and that is a lovely dress"

[Assistant]
Logan had never in his life left Till. Now he was on his way to Focal and to his training. He was both excited and scared. Course there was no way he would ever get back home. He was going to be a Guard or die trying. He was gonna be the top recruit if he had to beat the hell out of all this snotty rich creeps. Not a single one of them had ever had dirt on their hands. That would make them easier to beat. He figured none of them could take a punch. Logan knew he could beat any of them up.

He saw two of them jump out of their limos while he walked like a normal person. He had basically convinced the driver to let him out since he hated limo's. He was just a farmer's son. He was wearing a pair black jeans. It was something he would wear out into the fields. Course he had a grey tank top over his shoulder since again that was something he would do back home. There was no real shame in his family and these rich snobs would be all a flutter over something like that. He stood at about six four inches tall and was built from years of farm work. He looked over at the other guy standing there. He could tell that this guy was pampered. "You snobs are all the damn same. Glass jaws and pedicures. I could kick you up and down this street." Logan said not backing down. His brothers had taught him to study some one by if they could fight.

 He said looking from the guy and towards the rest. "Seems I'm the only real person here." He said looking at the girl who popped out of another limo. "Wow. Anyone else want to wear their jewels? I thought this was for the Guard not some sort fashion thing..."

[User]
Light leapt into Alda's eyes when she felt a rough tap on her shoulder as the limo driver turned to wake her up. "I'm sorry, Miss...Bayne," said the man awkwardly, but she nodded in thanks and pushed the vehicle's door open. The daylight made the young woman squint and rub at her eyes. As soon as her eyes were adjusted, she looked with dread at the massive slab of glass that loomed so high above her, reminding Alda of an improperly-cut tree that was about to fall on its slayer.

Enough of that. Gotta go. She made her way toward where the rest of the crowd were coalescing and scanned the group of people warily. For a few moments, she let her eyes settle on a good-looking topless guy from, she presumed, Luminosity. Certainly loud though. A few girls nearby giggled in an infuriating way when the young man winked, so quickly Alda looked away and focused on finding a relatively-clear part of the crowd. There was no point in getting involved in anyone here. Her "gift" would likely just be revealed sooner or later, and that would only mean trouble.

But that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate handsome males. She stole another glance toward Colt, reasoning with herself that it was simply like admiring a good piece of art. She had been taken away from the calm, peaceful forest, so she figured she should make the best of it. She absentmindedly pushed someone who had stumbled too close to her away, surreptitiously continued to ogle the complete stranger, and waited for someone to announce that dinner was ready.

[Assistant]
Flashback
"Ready or not, here I come!" Braylen yells from afar. Lincoln could hear it, as he hides in a crevasse between two large rocks. Lincoln peeks around one of the rocks, sees nothing. He begins to look around, checking for another hiding spot he could get to if things get bad. "Where are you Linc?!" Her voice is getting closer, but Lincoln can't abandon ship just yet. "I gotta wait for the right time." Lincoln thinks to himself as he peeks around one of the rocks. He sees Braylen. Her long dark brown hear flipping around as she checks every corner of the woods.

Lincoln and Braylen takes hide and seek very seriously. It is 6-5 right now, Braylen's lead. Lincoln has to win this one, if he doesn't, he will never hear the end of it until the next "season" of hide and seek starts. "If you come out, I will make you a batch of yummy peanut butter chocolate brownies!" Braylen yells out, smiling greatly. Lincoln's eyes widened, those were his favorite dessert, nothing ever comes even close to Bray's Famous Peanut Butter Choco Browns. It's tempting, but Lincoln stays strong. Lincoln peeks around one of the rocks again, but to his dismay, Braylen is standing about five feet away, gleefully smiling. "Crap!" Lincoln starts to run, locking in on the "safe zone." If he gets there, he will be safe, and it is his turn to seek. But Braylen begins to close in, her long hair and dress flapping behind her.

Braylen's leap deems successful. Lincoln was on the ground, Braylen on top. "Yaaaaaayyyyyy!" Braylen screams, blissfully jumping up and down. "You stink, Bray." Lincoln chides, brushing dirt off his pants.

Present
Lincoln snaps back into reality, looking up to the large tower out his window. It was one of the last memories he had of his sister, before she was killed by an Anomalous. His eyes filled with anger, promising himself he would kill all of the Anomalies. Lincoln tells himself to relax. The limo stops, now Lincoln sees a group of people at the stairs. "Must be my fellow recruits." Lincoln thinks to himself. His door is opened by a large man, and steps out. The cool breeze feels nice. Lincoln stared at the multi-colored line of limos. He always liked the colors for some reason. He begins to walk towards the group of recruits. He looks behind for a second, seeing other recruits make their way to the same destination. Before Lincoln gets the group, he stops. "This is it. My chance." Lincoln whispers, a tear runs down his cheek. He quickly wipes it off, and makes his way to the group, tossing his bag on his back.

[User]
Finn sighed as the limo he was currently seated in approached the gleaming towers that housed the Guards. To say he was nervous was an understatement. While he had been eager to join the Guards, despite his powers, he was now terrified. What if someone found out? He'd probably be shot on the spot, or at best, sent to the Outlands. He chewed on his nails as his limo neared his future home.

As the limo pulled to a stop, Finn grabbed the duffel bag that Alessa had helped him pack. He smiled as he thought of his kind hearted nanny, the one who's eyes were lined with wrinkles from smiling so much. He hopped out of the dark green limo that signified he was from Principle and looked around. He saw at least four white limos, but there were only two people from Principle, himself included.

Finn was not the average child from Principle. While he had been raised with mass amounts of money, he didn't take after his Grid mates with their snooty attitudes. Years of having to hide his powers had humbled him. However he knew that he'd most likely be targeted by one of the Recruits, someone who had a grudge against those in Principle.

Finn looked up at the instructor who had called for everyone to gather at the front of the steps. Having chewed his index finger nail to a stub, Finn moved onto the thumb as he walked forward with the rest of the recruits. He stopped, duffel bag slung over his shoulder and his eyes focused on the instructor.

[Assistant]
Paige drummed her fingers against her kneecap waiting for the limo drive to be over. It wasn't that far for her. She was just going from one part of Focal to another. Pulling out a piece of gum from her pocket, she unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth. She was surprisingly nervous about arriving. This was the first time she was doing something for her benefit and not someone else's, specifically her parents. Balling up the gum wrapper, she stepped out of the limo. She flipped her curly hair over her shoulder before walking over to where the group was gathering. This was definitely an experience you couldn't be prepared for.

Looking around at some of the other people, Paige resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose. She wished that the Guard training facility wasn't in Focal, then all these other people wouldn't taint her home. But, at the same time she couldn't imagine leaving Focal for something less than amazing. Blowing a bubble with her gum and popping it loudly, she dropped her bag at her feet and crossed her arms. "This should be an interesting time." She mumbled to herself. She looked down at her nails and picked at the day old nail polish. "I need a new color." She held her hand away from her face trying to imagine what color would best suit her.


[System]
Recent picture of Captain Stojan Markovic (Right), and his second, Lieutenant Zlatan Milosevic (Left).
Species: Human
Faction/Unit: Rebel Alliance/412. 'Viteska' Company (Independent partisan company currently shadowing the 7th Uslam Liberators Regiment)
Location: Uslam Wilderness near Lorya
Role: Captain of 412. 'Viteska' Company of the Uslam Sector Force.

NOTE: 412. 'Viteska' Company is looking for members. Take a gander at the roles and post your character accordingly.
* 412. 'Viteska' Company [52 personnel]

	+ 1. Section

		- Captain Stojan Markovic, Commanding [Blaster Pistol]
		- Lieutenant, Executive [Blaster Pistol]
		- Staff Sergeant, Senior Enlistedman [Blaster Rifle]
		- Corporal, Radio Operator [Blaster Rifle]
		- Corporal, Combat Medic [Blaster Pistol]
		- Seven Privates [Rifle].
	+ 2. Section

		- Sergeant, Commanding [Blaster Rifle]
		- Corporal, Executive [Blaster Rifle]
		- Lance Corporal, Automatic Rifleman [Repeating Blaster]
		- Private, Assistant Automatic Rifleman [Blaster Rifle]
		- Eight Privates [Rifle].
	+ 3. Section

		- Sergeant, Commanding [Blaster Rifle]
		- Corporal, Executive [Blaster Rifle]
		- Lance Corporal, Automatic Rifleman [Repeating Blaster]
		- Private, Assistant Automatic Rifleman [Blaster Rifle]
		- Eight Privates [Rifle].
	+ 4. Section

		- Sergeant, Commanding [Blaster Rifle]
		- Corporal, Executive & Assaultman [Blaster Rifle + Launcher]
		- Lance Corporal, Heavy Machinegunner [Blaster Rifle + E-Web]
		- Private, Assistant Heavy Machinegunner [Blaster Rifle]
		- Eight Privates [Rifle].
	+ Company Victor (Vehicle) Pool

		- A-A5 Speeder Transport 'Crvena'
		- Corporal, Driver [Blaster Pistol]
		- Private, Gunner [E-Web]
		- Sergeant, Crew Chief [Blaster Rifle]
		- Capacity of 25.

[User]
Uslam, Aryon Mountains, Two Klicks South of Acting Imperial Command

The sky was on fire.

Xaxus Shang stood at the old mine entrance- a small, rusted metal doorway in the side of a sheer rockface- the ruin of his face turned up, enjoying for a moment the spectacular and terrible display of light as the Moff and the Admiral's ships brawled in low orbit. Flashes of emerald and crimson scarred the sky; fiery trails burned in all directions as debris rained down from the embattled vessels and ignited on descent- like a thousand comets, like the stars falling. Lightning arced through the clear winter sky: stray energy shots dissipating in the atmosphere.

"Beautiful," he said, wiping spit from where it had leaked and frozen through gaps in his mutilated left cheek.

"Trapped the old pirate up there, I guess," said a Bothan soldier to Shang's right. He was peering through a scope not at the sky but at the Imperial Command Center down the valley, an octagonal compound of grey plasteel and low, square buildings at the base of a long white slope. The command facility was bustling with activity. The faint whine of TIE patrols was a clear beneath the howling mountain gale and the thunderous crackle of the orbital battle, "That's it for fleet support."

"Wouldn't be so sure," said Shang, "I've worked under Xen's command before. The man has a way. Rumor is he's spooky, touched by the Force, but don't let him hear you say that. Unreconstructed Seperatist- he doesn't take kindly to Jedi types, or the other kind."

"I doubt any of us'll get much to say to the good Admiral again," replied the Bothan.

Shang shrugged and turned his gaze from the heavens to the men around him. A semi-circle of SpecOps soldiers in white fatigues, hunkered down among the pines and the boulders, most wearing rebreathers and goggles against the cold.

Two blasts of static came over their comm-units. The wookie's team had planted the charges.

Shang clicked his communicator thrice, then once, not speaking.

Get to the speeders. Blow it when you're out of range.

In Orbit, the Ancestral Right

The observation chamber was dark, like the nave of a temple, the only light coming from the blue glow of the central holodisplay, Uslam's pale radiance, and the turbolaser exchange taking place just beyond the thick glass windows.

Admiral Xen stood at the holo-projector, where the ferocious and silent battle outside was playing out in miniature before him. His head was bowed, like a man at prayer.

He was not praying.

His narrowed eyes were tracking the markers for Intruder squadron as they completed their run on Punisher. He watched as the squadron CO's X-Wing flashed red, then was gone, and as the XO's ship spun masterfully out of flak and tracer fire, taking out two TIEs in the same number of seconds.

Clang. The XO's callsign was Clang.

The Admiral tilted his head a moment, seemed to consider something, then straightened up. Outside, Punisher drew near, venting flames and atmosphere from at least four serious holes punched in her hull by Cutlass and Intruder. Good sized, but not fatal. Xen would see to that. Behind Punisher loomed Vronskr, already directing long-range fire at the rebel flag-ship, shrugged off for the moment by the Right's intact shields.

The battery exchange between Xen's battlegroup and the Punisher intensified as the rebels closed on the Star Destroyer. The Imperial vessel's forward shields glowed red, with ragged tears beginning to open along the energy seams.

"Alright, get in close and ugly," said Xen, "Keep Punisher between us and Vronskr."

Captain Zyme shot back a terse acknowledgement from the Right's bridge.

"All vessels," said Xen, "get your shots in on the Victory destroyer, then jump. Scimitar and Saber squadrons stay with me, keep those TIEs off the Right and use the vulture-screen to absorb fire. When I jump, you jump. Intruder, Cutlass, Broadsword and Stranger squadrons, get out of here."

Acknowledgments crackled in over the comms. The Right pulled alongside Punisher and let loose a catastrophic broadside, popping the Imperial ship's shields in a bloom of azure and crimson light.

The rebel fleet unloaded on the un-shielded Victory as one by one ships disappeared into hyperspace, fleeing to relative safety. Not all of them were so lucky. Vronskr's guns claimed the Corellian corvette Ashland and the Recusant destroyer Gamekeep as they powered up to jump.

Xen watched their icons disappear on his display. He spat onto the deck with a sneer.

Meanwhile, his flagship and Punisher danced, the rebel ship pivoting constantly to keep out of Vronskr's line of fire. The space between Punisher and Ancestral Right was a blinding flurry of scarlet and jade. Explosions raked Punisher's failing hull and the vessel began to come apart, its serrated-dagger frame splitting crookedly.

Vronskr- eager for a chance to take the rebel flag ship- fired on its lesser cousin, obliterating it and sinking a row of shots into the Right's prow, setting scores of decks ablaze.

There was an azure flash, and it was over. The Right was gone.

Xen had fled. The only rebel ships remaining were a handful of suddenly mindless vulture droids and the burning husk of Gamekeep spinning in the void, amid the vast smoldering ruin of Punisher.

Uslam's orbit belonged to the Empire once more.

[Assistant]
Aboard the Warspite.

The growl was almost audible from Wyte as the Rebel ships cut as close to the Punisher as possible. Credit where credit was due, the bombing run had been effective. The asteroids in the system had always had strange properties, she was told it was something to do with the mineral composition in them. Something warranting further study, however for now she had bigger things to worry about. The Punisher was going to go down, there was nothing she could do about that. She'd soon bring an end to this Rebellion, her tactic had been strong however in doing so it decreased the ability to take down a large number of ships, had she jumped into one formation she wouldn't have takena nything with her, and now she knew what she was up against. The loss of life was regretable, however in war it wasn't unexpected. The Rebels were better prepared than she had previously thought, fighters and bombers more heavily armed. Luckily numbers had prevailed and the sheer volume of TIEs in the conflict had eliminated a large amount of the Rebel Squadrons.

"Have the Vronskr fire across the Punishers prow, order Captain Fillx to abandon ship-" there was nothing she could do about the Punisher now, but she'd show her resolve. She could see as the order was instantly relayed, the Vronskr lashing out at the aging Providence, some of its shots missing the dying hulk of the Punisher others striking her and tearing through. As the last Rebel ship jumped into hyperspace she couldn't help but notice that not all the fighters had made a retreat into hyperspace. "-Admiral." She turned to face him, and he looked up in acknowledgement "Order the Vronskr to actively ignore the Rebel Fighters in their retreat, have it appear to focus on the rescue of personnel from the Punisher however I want an officer tracking each individual fighter on sensors. They've got a base somewhere, and I want to know where it is."

Quint nodded. "Yes Governor."

Things were moving along nicely, track those fighters discretely back to their base. That would give her wherever the Rebels were planning to launch their assaults in system, then all she had to worry about was the fortifications in Lorya. The city itself was already in a defensible position, situated up in the mountains. The shield generator that she had installed was the best available to the Imperial Military for shields of its type. With the fact that her space station was missing important components she had to run under the impression that the rebels had further fotified the capital, it wasn't that much of an issue for Star Destroyers but it was an issue for launching TIE fighter support and landing craft.

The information packet from the Colonel came in, detailing where the Rebels had dug in. The Warspite and absolution continued to pull into orbit. She smiled as the ship then slowed, it's powerful engines preventing gravity from taking her. "Begin blanket bombardment of Rebel Positions-" She turned to look out of the viewports. "-Clear a path to the capital, all ships and all batteries." She watched as the turbolasers lanced out down towards the planet, she could only imagine the fear from the Rebels as they heard the shots ring through the sky. It wasn't precise fire, given that the ships were holding in orbit and the targets weren't designated and marked. She turned around. "Prepare my shuttle, inform the Colonel to prepare Firebase Alpha for my Arrival. As soon as the orbital bombardment stops, launch the Gunships to clean up any survivors."


[System]
Also known as: The the messenger, the neutral, the traveler.

Age: Oooooold.

God Status: She was once charged with traveling between the three worlds with various missives though this is no longer something she can do. Now she is the goddess of messages and messengers, travelers, and neutrality. She was always a minor goddess with a few small powers.

Personality: Iratze is carefree and mellow. She likes to watch and meddle at the opportune moment, or when asked to intervene. It is in her nature to let others resolve their conflicts, and to help resolve communication issues only when needed. She enjoys travel, colors, variety. She might be called indulgent by some or careless by others, however this is all a matter of perspective! The bright-haired goddess likes to tread in grey-areas of morality, where the answers are not so clear and the rules undefined. It is here she feels the most free.

Parents: She was not born, but was created. It is said she was constructed by the Sun and the Moon during a period of marital strife. Constructed by both and loyal to neither. She was given the ability to pass between the worlds and carry messages between them until they were able to resolve their differences. They found her useful to keep in touch with their various children, and so, kept her around to fulfill the role of their messenger.

Sexuality: Bisexual.

Form on Earth:

True Form:

Powers:

-Flight: To aid her in delivering her messages quickly and efficiently!
-Tongues: To aid her in delivering messages for anyone she has the gift of tongues, she can understand and speak many languages. The language of the sun and the moon, and any language created by their creations (mortals)
-Sense of Direction: She has an excellent internal map. She has an internal compass, and a knack for finding almost anyone she might need to carry a message to.

-LOST POWER: Once she had the power to travel between the three worlds. In addition to carrying herself across the borders, she could carry things across (letters, gifts, objects), and people across with her. This is not something everyone could do which is what made her so useful in her role as a messenger god. After the fall she lost these powers and was bound to earth with the rest.

Weapon: A pen! For the pen is mightier than the sword!--
To keep their messages discrete, the Sun and the Moon gifted her with a magic pen. When writing with the pen, the message can only be read by the intended recipient (One must hold the pen and speak their name aloud before they begin to write).

History (Pre-Earth bound): Constructed by the Sun and the Moon to carry messages between the deities, the first chapter of her life was all this. She traveled between the three worlds mostly at the request of any god or goddess, but some times for fun. Some liked her, others did not, but it did not matter much. She was a very minor deity who remained neutral in all things.

History (Post-Earth bound):

She had a small identity crisis. Not being able to travel between the worlds and being shut out by the god of the underworld was certainly a shock for her. However, she was very comfortable on earth having been there many times before. She has been spending her earth bound years keeping a low profile, mingling with mortals, playing tricks on them, befriending them, and reinventing her disguise from time to time.

Motive: She values her neutrality, and therefore, remains so even in her bound form. She wonders if she will ever be called back into true service, though she is now enjoying her freedom. A conflict between the gods would not serve her at this time.

[User]
The last four days for both Armarion and Tet were a bit exhausting they had searched long and hard for Amare and Brontes but in the end they turned up nothing. Now here the two sat, on the fourth day, in a park, on a bench, enjoying some mortal food. It was not god tier food, and to add to that it was somewhat cheap food, but it had a somewhat pleasent feeling, leisurely enjoying the food in their hands.

While the two enjoyed their food Tet was honestly surprised at how the two had actually gone the past four days without deceiving one or the other. While surprised as Tet may be, he did not mind it considering he enjoyed the awkward, but enjoyable talks they had every now and again. At this point he could say they were more friendly rivals, than enemy rivals.

While the last four days may have been enjoyable, they processed no results and as such Tet decided it was time for a bit of change, while the two together may be an unstoppable pairing of intellect and wit, there still needed to be some brute force mixed into the equation just in case, if a problem were to ever arise requiring a bit of sheer fighting ability. Not only that, but, to Tet, it felt as if the tension was too high between the two, and who knew when they would turn on each other. With that Tet finished off his food and stood to his feet, looking off into the park.「Armarion, it was a good four days and I can honestly say I enjoyed them but I think it is time for us to part ways, but not forever. I can confidently say that if we cross paths again in the future I would not mind having a little chat or playing a game or two.」Tet gave a joking but friendly smile.「So before then be sure to not lose to anyone else, in wits or intellect.」Tet grabbed a hold of Armarion's free hand and shook it with a firm grip. He gave a slight nod before walking off and out of the park.

Once Tet left the park he decided that it was time for him to go into the town for a bit and do some searching/sightseeing seeing as he actually hasn't toured the town before he always, wanted to get a lay of the land of this town just in case. He went from place to place, visiting various types of stores, but there was one store in particular that caught his attention it was a classy clothing store, it wasn't the actual clothing that caught his attention per say although Tet was actually wearing the type right now. It was the two godly presences he could feel from inside the store. A quick glance through the window revealed to him one of the gods he sensed. Rather than a god it was a goddess, a goddess that went by The Lost Goddess, Kyra. The other god that he sensed was no where in sight but he knew this overwhelming presence from anywhere, as this god was someone very important in the heavens. This god was known the Heaven's Guard, Amos.

This was an honest surprise to Tet to think Kyra, and Amos were in the same place, legitimately together in the same area. Seeing as Tet was on the good looking side in his mortal form a few heads turned as he appraoched the clothing store, and from what he heard from whispers, this store was a rather expensive one.

Adjusting his clothing he walked in and at first pretended to be a customer but ever so slightly inched his way closer and closer to Kyra, until he was pretty much standing next to her. At first he wondered why she wasn't moving but as soon as he was close enough to see he was greeted by her sleeping face. The attendant didn't seem to care one bit, it was a sight to see. Seeing as he could smell a faint trace of alcohol from someone he pretty much guessed that the reason Kyra was on the floor was becasue she was heavily drunk.「Well that's one thing learned about Kyra, she can't hold her liquor too well.」

[Assistant]
[Iratze]

Armarion.

She followed her her inner compass toward the location of Armarion.

She found Armarion with another god: Tetsuo The Wildcard. Her message, however, was for Armarion and Armarion alone. She watched and waited for The Armar to be alone.

'I should not be surprised', she thought 'Myself, Jack, Thallie, and Seatus have mysteriously converged, it is no wonder that other gods have too... This is an auspicious time.'

Tetsuo left, perhaps out of boredom, perhaps to further his own schemes.

It was then that Iratze The Rainbow decided to present herself to The Faceless One.

An aside on the irony of titles: The Faceless One, at this time, appeared to have a face, he seemed to any other eyes mortal man. The Rainbow, at this time, appeared to be only a girl with a bad dye job and too much free time.

She floated toward the god, and her tye-dye high-tops touched the earth softly as she landed. It was as if she were simply landing from a very long leap and not true flight. She looked much different today than her ancient self, or even her previous disguises. These days she looked like a human youth: Some type of scene kid or rave girl who adorned herself in bracelets and piercings that chimed together like bells as she moved.

"Armarion." As she spoke she let some of her true voice, her goddess voice, be heard. "Hail, The God of Knowledge. Son of the Sun and the Moon. I have sought and found you with a message. Your siblings and the seasons, Jack Frost, Ash Adair, Thalliana Dedoria, and Seatus all beseech you." Iratze felt as though her tongue were putty, clumsy. She had not said the words, the formalities, in such a long time. She hoped that the God of Knowledge would not know her discomfort. Yet, it all came back to her. She was a natural. It is what she was made for.

"They ask that you meet with them, in the home of Jack Frost. They wish to work against Brontes. They wish to take back Amare and… 'free Brontes's hold on his mind'... They worry for your youngest brother, and for whatever Brontes has planned. They ask that you come, and bring with you any other deities you have been in touch with..." Tetsuo, for instance. Iratze thought wondering what type of plan the two gods had mustered together already. She said nothing else, and bowed her head low to the god of knowledge, so low that her long rainbow hair touched the earth. "That is the message..."

[User]
"She who relays my words and heeds others back is the one my heart holds dearest!"

Text from one of Armarion's books

Armarion scowled as he heard what Iratze had to say he thought about who else he could bring and sadly he could only think of Tet who he had come to understand and respect as he did his brother Amos.

"Thank you Iratze it is also pleasurably nice to see you once again!"

He stood up and walked over to a garbage can to throw his food wrappers and other assorted garbage away.

Armarion turned and looked at Iratze who looked very much like a troublemaking teenage girl in the form that she had taken yet he guessed that was just how she wanted to look so he just pushed those thoughts aside and spoke up.

"I will go get Tet if he is still here and we will go see what Jack has in mind, please follow me Iratze if your not busy of course!?"

He chuckled and looked at Iratze in a fond manner as if he were looking at a wife or a loved one because deep in his heart he knew that he loved her and that she was a beautiful Goddess that he had come to understand throughout the years.

He wondered if she would join him because he wanted her company but also he needed her there so she could direct them to Jack Frost's home.

[Assistant]
Seatus swam to the surface of the lake, near Jacks hideout. He peeked up only to see fire blazing, horrific creatures attacking and Onatar standing above them all. Seatus wouldn't watch as the dragon would terrorize them, he swam under to the bottom of the lake. He darted up out of the waters in the skies, he moved his arms making a pushing gesture to the monster army. The water began to rise dramatically, creating a massive flood.

A flash flood began to occur, heading right towards the monsters moving so fast it caught them off guard. By the time the monsters could've reacted, they were struck by the waters drowning them instantly the fires caused Onatar and his dragons were also put out. The monsters were dragged under, and pulled out to never be seen again. Seatus finished the flood and looked at Onatar.

Onatar was the only one left now. Seatus stared right into his dragon eyes, showing no fear. He jumped up high, enough and crashed himself right on Onatar. Seatus's push was so powerful both Gods went up in the air, flying across the earth at an intense speed. Both found themselves now above the ocean, Seatus had planned this to happen for he let go of Onatar letting himself crash into the ocean.

Seatus landed onto the bottom of the ocean, he stood up walking towards a black cave. He took out a horn, it wasn't a normal horn it was a weapon the deadliest one known to nature. Seatus placed the horn onto his lips letting out a mighty blow that sounded like the roar of a monster.

There was a moment of silence, but coming from the cave another roar was heard in response to the horn. Seatus turned around swimming back up to the surface, it would take a long time for the beast in the cave to emerge Seatus had to fight him for now. He breached up from the oceans, taking on his true colossal monster form. He let out a great roar before Onatar.


[System]
Race: Human (Deathless)
Gender: Male
Age: 42 (appears in his mid 20's)
Psychological Profile:

A passive man, usually friendly and non-aggressive. He has a great sense of humor. Tends to be a bit cynical at times. When focused on a case, the case comes first, alienating himself from anyone not helping him to solve it. He has shown to have a strong will, his years of work not slowing down his determination one bit.

His immortality has seemingly dulled his sense of self-preservation. He has gone into dangerous circumstances, knowing he can't die. When dismembered, he's just as calm, if a little annoyed, as usual. He's even used his dismembered limbs for practical jokes. Strangely, Douglas has reported to still feel pain, so it's unknown if this still occurs with dismemberment.

Background:

Born in 1986, much of Douglas' life was normal. He grew up in a loving household, graduated high school on the honor roll, and went to college to become a forensic investigator. After getting his Bachelor's at 19, he worked part-time as a forensic scientist for the NCPD, while studying for his next degree. Eventually, he worked his way into a full-time position as a CSI. For the next few years, he assisted the NCPD in catching many criminals.

One day, when he was 25, he was investigating the seemingly sacrificial murders of the city's residents. The MO had lined up with a similar case years before his time, Serial Killer Markus Durian, so he decided to investigate the condemned house of the murderer to see if there were any connections. This is when he was ambushed and captured by a group of cultists, The Durian Cult, whom idolized the previous killer and thought he was onto something big before he was captured. They performed a ritual, and branded him with a circle in his middle-back (dubbed "The Mark of Cain" or "The Endless Cycle"). It's assumed that the cultists must have misunderstood Markus's notes, for the ritual had made Douglas "Deathless", and he could no longer die. They tortured him with his newfound immortality for the next day, until the day after when the NCPD raided the home and found the cultists, along with Douglas, in the basement.

Following some months of paid leave and therapy, Douglas was back to the NCPD, the encounter with the cultists having only strengthened his resolve. He worked for the next 5 years unaware of his affliction with undeath, believing what the cultists did to him involved hallucigenics. But then, one fateful day, he was investigating the crime scene of a possible gang shooting. A crowd of people who knew the victims had gathered, and Douglas was lightly questioning one of them when 3 cars slowly passed the scene. The passengers rolled down the windows and open-fired on the crowd, injuring and killing many civilians and officers alike, before speeding away. Douglas was hit 3 times in the chest during the drive-by. But as he got up from the floor, he felt fine, feeling his chest, there were bullet-holes in his shirt, but no wounds in his body.

After being sent home that day, hiding the bulletholes from his colleagues, he went into his bathroom and cut his hand open. After a few moments, it healed right back up before his very eyes. Then, he did something very stupid: he took his gun, pointed it at his chest, and fired. For a second, he thought he was dead, having just been an crazy idiot. But then he woke up moments later, alive, slouched against the bathroom wall. But the bullet did hit the wall directly behind him.

He hid his Deathless state from his coworkers for the next coming years. Occult occurances were becoming more and more common. Then, in 2019, OIA came around. Douglas immediately applied for a job and told them of his predicament. Including a demonstration. He was hired on as a senior R&D member ever since, investigating the world of the Occult.

Assigned Division:
R&D Department
Specialization:
Occult Forensics Expert
CSI
Training:
Forensic Degree
Expert Occult Researcher
Basic Firearms Training

Relevant Experience:
Years of Forensic Training during his police days.

Notes:

While he has gone through therapy Douglas can still be found at times simply staring off into nothing.

When testing the lengths of his immortality, Douglas's dismembered arm decomposed at a near-instant rate after a day of seperation, and he proceeded to grow another within a few minutes.

His parents have both passed, and Douglas has no other family, being an only child. And, through his own reports, it seems he cannot reproduce.

[User]
In his final moments Darc saw what Lenny saw. He was just moving some props around the back when her heard a struggle. Lenny barely had time to even ask what happened when suddenly men in yellow cloaks surrounded him and the other actors and stage hands. Some of the stronger men tried to fight, but were easily killed. Those who tried to fight or run were killed almost instantly. Those who surrendered were tied up with ropes, some forced into strange outfits the strangers pulled from the costume room. And that's when the slaughter began. One by one the others were killed in various gruesome methods, either by slit throats, stabbings, or other methods that Lenny didn't have the stomach to watch. But he'd hear it. Their choked screams and cries for mercy.

Soon it came to Lenny and some of the others. There didn't seem to be any purpose for why these people were chosen; Lenny himself didn't even have an acting role yet. Then he felt something sharp enter his body. He didn't know at first but a few seconds later the agonizing pain wracked his body as he was barely able to look and see he had been impaled by rebar spikes. Between the pain and tears however Lenny did see something, something that Darc needed if he wanted to find out who did this.

Lenny saw a man, a sophisticated looking man. Perhaps in his early forties, black hair, grey eyes, trim goatee. A face that Lenny didn't recognize but Darc saw enough that he'd be able to try and match it to the OIA database later. He heard the man say that their work was done, that they needed to head to the chapel and help their other "brothers" there. Once they were finished there was only one more thing left to do before their lord was back. Lenny tried to hold out for longer but the wounds he sustained were killing him quickly. The last thing he saw was one of the other actors who managed to crawl out before any of the others noticed him. And with him, the prayers that someone will stop this madness. And with that everything turned black.

In the span of that one second Darc gained this information and immediately brought up his pad to store the information into his database. Accessing his digital spellbook he stored Lenny's memories within and uploaded the data to the OIA cloud storage. Once he gets back to base he'll be able to break down and process this information individually. Lenny was diligent in using his dying moments to give Darc as much info as he could, though it wasn't fool proof. Lenny was a regular human and there's a good chance that the man he saw might've been in a mortal disguise like Darc is right now. His fear and horror also would warp Lenny's perception of reality so that was something else Darc would need to process through. But it was evidence nonetheless. Better than nothing.

"They have one more ritual before they're ready to summon their dread lord, or whoever it is that caused them to do this." Darc said outloud as he took pictures of Lenny and the others on the stage. "Men in yellow cloaks did this to them. Guessing it might have to do with the King in Yellow from the old stories. Some harbinger of misfortune or some such, I'm not familiar with the elder mythos. In any case they have a chapel too. And more importantly, I have a face to look for." Darc pulled up the image of the man that Lenny saw, showing it to the others. Hopefully they might recognize it. Even if they didn't Darc will make sure to have his familiars know this face so they can either find information or even better, find him.

"Recognise it?"

[Assistant]
~Katherine~

"Son of a bitch-!" Before she could react, that madman had somehow managed to sneak up on her, wrapping his weak little hands around her neck. His frantic look did nothing but cause her to snarl. Thankfully for him, he didn't attempt that long, otherwise she'd have put a bullet in him. "Fucking hell..." She snarled, watching apathetically as the man ran, only to be snagged by the now presumably awakened creature and dragged back into the darkness.

Screams filled the air, but it wasn't anything she hadn't heard or even seen before. The beast presented itself before them spouting some nonsense about Lord Kaiwan. Thoroughly unimpressed, Kat's mouth slowly turned into a sadistic grin as she imagined just what fighting this beastie was going to be like. It lurched forwards, amalgamation of teeth and obscene flesh intent on making a meal out of her. Well, unfortunately for the beastie she wasn't quite an easy snack unless she was drunk.

Kat dove to the side, sprinting and making sure she was clear of the beasts charge before turning, firing a few rounds from Remy at the beast before moving again, intent on staying mobile.

[User]
Nova Amherst

---

After giving a quick assessment of the scene, Isaac led Nova and the other detectives into the theatre. It was dark, and a little colder than she expected.

Then the smell hit. A sharp metallic, coppery, like old coins.

Bodies littered across the interior of the room, all staring with their grotesque, coerced smiles and glassy irises. She didn't have enough time to turn back out the door before involuntarily retching at the scene. A scene - that's exactly what it was. The murderer was the director of a play, and the victims his unwilling actors.

Nova's knees felt weak. As much as she didn't want to, she forced her legs to wobble closer to the corpses. If she couldn't do at least this much, she would be in the wrong line of work.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Nova spoke solemnly, as one of the detectives stood beside Lenny's body. She was devastated to hear that one of the OIA's detectives would be connected to one of the victims here. She couldn't imagine how it must feel if someone she knew had been defiled in this way as they died.

Isaac brought up the correlation between the scene and some sort of ritual, or cultist behaviour. Nova twiddled her thumbs - she didn't know enough about cult belief systems to pitch in a good lead, but Darc easily pulled up a photo of a suspect. Her head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. Maybe he had some ability she wasn't aware of.

"I don't have any leads on the guy, but I think there are other ways we might be able to track down the people involved." Her eyes scanned the room, stopping at the yellow centrepiece of the stage. She gulped, before continuing, "If you say we're looking for men in yellow cloaks, maybe we can start by looking at local fabric stores for particularly large purchases of yellow fabric dated back to before this incident, or similar incidents started happening. Well, I doubt H&M is selling cultish yellow cloaks."

Nova managed a chuckle despite the situation, but quickly cleared her throat and continued. "Um, well, I'm not sure if that will get us any leads but it's worth a try. We might also have some luck looking through past cases for similarities; my intuition is telling me that a cult would do smaller test runs before a big, 50-person ritual to summon their demon lord."

[Assistant]
Douglas had already taken a few pictures before he began piecing them together. Something about this scene had seemed so familiar. That's when it hit him: he'd already seen it before. He's looked over countless occult texts, and he remembered this cast of characters in particular. It was from an old tome OIA had found in Syria and stored away.

"Hold on a second, I recognize this..."

He approached and gestured to the bodies, quoting from the Tome:

"His Holy Knight, to enforce his divine rule... His Royal Spymaster, to seek and destroy those who would oppose him... His High Priest, to spread his good word... and his Royal Mage, to seek out the lost knowledge and enlighten him on the ways to spread his influence..."

Douglas stops just in front of the main figure.

"... And King Kaiwan himself, divine ruler of the city-state of Carcosa."

He turns to his coworkers to elaborate.

"Well, his version of 'divine' and 'holy' is more akin to 'indulgence', allowing rape, murder, destruction... and unnatural creation."


[System]
Age: 14

Affiliation: Hero Brigade

Appearance:

Wish: "I wish to prevent my brother from being harmed." Ryuko's wish came from a desire to protect her brother, as he was the dearest thing in her life, if not even romantically so, though she could never admit it.

Soul Gem Color: Orange

Magical Weapon: Ryuko uses an over-sized hammer that she wields with great strength, using it's weight to smash her enemies. Ryuko can also ignite the small motor on either side of the hammer, causing it to make a small explosion when it lands a hit.

(Core)
Skull Barrier:
Ryuko can create a spherical barrier in the shape of a cartoon-stylized skull reminiscent of her old gang's symbol from her open palm. They protect from physical and magical harm in the immediate vicinity of the area the spell was cast in, usually as a personal shield around the user, but it can also be cast on other people and areas. They form instantly either around her or an external target that is within reach. The barrier can either be formed with a set amount of magical power that shatters when it's damage threshold is reached, or a continuous one that drains Ryuko for as long as it's active.

(Secondary)
Rallying Point:
Ryuko can plant a hammer at a location and use it to remotely set up a barrier at will. However, the hammer is consumed in the process, and the barriers are weaker in strength than those personally created by her.

(Secondary)
Stunt Jump:
Ryuko creates a barrier under her feet in midair that she can use as a physical platform and jump out of, granting her some degree of aerial mobility.

(Secondary)
Homerun:
Ryuko creates a smaller barrier that she launches as a magical projectile using a swing of her hammer, like a golf ball. Barriers generated in this manner can be destroyed with less power than defensive barriers.

Personality:
Ryuko is always serious and determined in her actions, whether it is speaking with brutal honesty or clobbering her enemies until they're wet stains. She loves fighting to an absurd degree, and easily succumbs to her bloodlust, turning wild and reckless. She hates weak people, civilians and soldiers alike, and doesn't waste any chances at berating them. She is proud of her fighting skills, and loves showing them off whenever she can.

However, despite all her abrasiveness, she has an honorable side to her, and respects others who have proven themselves as capable warriors to her, which is usually when they defeat her or otherwise impress her. Her trust is hard to come by, and she can be argumentative and skeptic about a lot of things. However, deep inside there is a vulnerable side to her that she keeps in check by focusing on her training.

Biography: Ryuko grew up in a pleasant rural village with her parents and big brother Tamaki, who was a part of a local gang and respected as one of their best fighters. She looked up to her big brother, and admired him for being strong always there to protect her. Their father however denounced Tamaki for his delinquent ways, and forbade Ryuko from seeing her when she turned 12.

Ryuko still secretly met with Ryuko, and asked him to let her in the gang as well and teach her to fight. He eventually did, and Ryuko was happier than ever going to their secret meetings and getting to spend more time with him and his "friends", and in time she even developed a tiny precocious crush on him. The gang came to resent Tamaki for bringing his meddling sister to the mix, not helped by Tamaki's change in his attitude: at first Tamaki thought he was simply getting lucky when he turned invincible from Ryuko's wish, but after he was shot multiple times and survived he gradually went mad with power. One day he went so crazy as to try and take on the enemy gang on his own, and he was never seen again.

Ryuko searched for him for weeks, but couldn't find him. She never truly recovered from what happened to Tamaki, but his words of encouragement inspired her to grow stronger so she can protect herself, and not rely on her brother like she used to. Her mother's death only furthered this development. Some time later, she moved to Miso City to escape from the gang violence that enveloped their village, and do her best in fighting for what she believes in, no matter how hard she has to struggle.

Theme: Battle Against a True Hero

Other: Ryuko is physically fit, and has some skill in most sports and physical activities. She also has experience in travelling, and so has some knowledge in basic survival.

[User]
Sakura Hitome

Sakura was pretty chill throughout the meeting. There were a lot of annoyances. Ryuko Ishiniwa for starters staring at her made her uneasy, then when she erupted out of anger she only furthered the ill will she had against all magical girls. Next on her hate list was Mitsuki, which she didn't really hae a reason, just her gut told them that they'd clash hard against one another. Then again, Sakura clashed hard against probably everyone here, especially the contractor. Having receiving the needed infromation, she was the first one to leave. Frankly she wanted to go to the Bridge, not only would it be less embarrassing with fewer people, but less people in case her power started acting up again. She left the room and headed out aways before transforming. The god awful suit rode up on her in the most uncomfortable ways, as she neared her destination.

[Assistant]
Angel Cassandra Malve

 "Can anyone tell me the answer to number five?"  The teacher asked the class, as she sat in her chair, looking among the students. A few of her pupils raised their hand to answer the question, but the teacher neglected them. She paused for a second before her eyes were set upon one of the students who weren't paying attention.  "Angel."  She called out.

The young girl jumped and she turned around, towards the teacher when her conversation was interrupted.  "Sorry, what was the question again? "  Angel asked sweetly as she shot the teacher a inicent smile to lighten the blow that was coming towards her.

The teacher shook her head, rolling her eyes.  "Hmm... I wonder why. Maybe if you stop chitter chattering with your neighbors, you would know."

Angel spun around to her desk as she looked down at her empty paper. She didn't bother much about doing the actual task at hand. In her opinion it was pointless to learn about a bunch of dead people. She would say something about that, but she knew she would just get the same old lecture about how 'important'it was.

 "If it helps, -"  Her sentence was cut off in the middle by a ringing of the bell. She didn't continue talking after the bell rang, instead she and quickly stuffed the paper in her folder. She shoved the folder in her bag and zipped it up. Once this was done she stood up, and swung the backpack over her shoulder. Looking up at the teacher she said,  "Oh, well that's the bell I should probly go."

The teacher shook her head as she heard the bell.  "Everybody sit down! " She warned. The class was hesitant but did as the teacher had told them to and was listening with there full attention. "I did not dismiss you yet. You do not leave the class until I tell you to, it is disrespectful to do otherwise. I want everyone to do this paper for homework, no excuses. If you fail to do so, I will call your parents, and you will stay in for reecess and lunch for a week.' After this was said, there were a few moans and groans from the class.  "You are dismissed." The teacher said. The class got up and rushed out the doors and into the halls of the school.

Angel rolled her eyes at the speech, half ignoring it. It was the same thing everyday. When the teacher said they were dismissed, she was one of the first ones to jump up and leave. After exiting the school, she was out in the rain. Angel pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and ran to her house. Once she got there, she was already soaked and wet. She twisted the door knob, opening it and entered the small house.

 "Dad, I'm home. " She called out as she closed the door. She entered the house as she looked at the grandfather clock that stood to the side. She could already tell that she was going to be late for the meeting, she hoped they wouldn't mind. When she didn't hear a response from her dad, she ran to the livingroom, where she saw that he was sleeping on the couch.

She half smiled at this fact. He was getting better, she could feel it. She grabbed a pen, clicked it, and a piece of paper. She wrote,'   I have to do something, I'll be back soon. Love you dad!!! XOXOXOXOXO ~Angel'   She placed the note on the table and left for the meeting. She didn't bother to change her clothing or anything. She didn't see the point in it, she was just going to get wet again anyways.

Once she made it to the meeting she took a seat by one of the Hero Bridge members, as she sent a disgusted glare at the Order members.  'What were they doing her?'  She wondered. She looked around at the others as she shrugged.  "Hey, so what's this meeting for? I forgot, and sorry if I'm slightly late."  She said calmly trying to start a conversation of some kind.


[System]
Age: 30

Appearance:

Personality: Loves to learn more things constantly. A peaceful person, he prefers commerce and negotiation to battle, and will only fight another person in self defense.

Skills: Engineering, computer use, electronics, physics

Non-standard Abilities:
Mutation: Radiation absorption: Metabolism feeds on Alpha, Beta, and Gamma radiation up to a certain level. If he absorbs too much, his radiation level will start to go down once he enters and low radiation area. This allows him to travel areas that would normally be dangerous for humans to be in. While metabolizing radiation cellular mitosis occurs faster, giving him up to a 5x healing rate.
Bionic Implants: Computer interface: This implant can wirelessly access nearby computers and download data or control them. It allows perfect recall of any data stored on the device. It also stores his electronic currency behind a firewall so that it can't be stolen by run-of-the-mill thieves.

Equipment: Dual Ion Rifle: Can switch between firing Negative Ions, which damage shields and electronics and stuns organic life, and Positive Ions, which heat up and burn targets, though it isn't as efficient at producing damage as a particle or laser weapon.
Wrist-comp: A largely unnecessary computer on his forearm, he keeps it for its superior processing speed, Geiger counter, holo-projector, and long range communications array, essentially an overpowered cell phone.
Backup power cells: Extra charges for his rifle or wristcomp. Sometimes used to bring derelict technology back to life.
Personal shield generator: Found on a dead Slaver, it doesn't protect against many hits, especially from heavier guns, but it is enough to keep him from getting injured by a stray shot while diving for cover or moving between cover areas.
Hyper-crystal necklace: Given to him as payment for repairing the reactor that almost killed him, he keeps it both for sentimental reasons and because it is both beautiful and valuable. The hypercrystal appears to contain a moving light within it, as the tachyons that enter it from hyperspace decay into photons when they enter our space-time continuum. Theoretically, the crystal could be used to power a hyperdrive, but he lacks the funds to build one.

Bio: Shortly after birth, he was adopted by someone who could afford to properly raise a child on Earth, something which is fairly rare. Raised by a Zathuran engineer, Setta Feestra, who worked at a starport in one of the larger salvage cities by the name of Savannah, he studied science and technology from a young age. He left when he got old enough. His implant was a gift from his parent, and was manufactured on their homeworld.
After leaving Savannah he traveled around, looking for a place where he could put his skills to work, earning a living by helping people. He learned of his mutation when a traveling wave reactor he was building for a city developed a radiation leak. He received a lethal dose of radiation and was expected to die, but over the next few days his radiation sickness went away, and his sores began to scab over. Within a week, he was reading as radiation free by the Geiger counters at the clinic.
Since then he has made a decent living salvaging in lightly irradiated areas, as few people have tried salvaging them, and radiation suits and radiation treatment drugs are fairly expensive.
Name: Zathuran (Zthu'rn)

Homeworld: Zatha

Specialization: Advanced tech, especially power, FTL, and scientific equipment.

Appearance: Red, yellow, or sometimes Purple Humanoids. To the human eye they appear to have a mix of male and female features, such as male physique, but also having feminine facial features. They rarely have visible hair on their faces or heads, though what hair they do have is in shades of white, silver, or grey.

Description: A race of hermaphrodites, they have a fairly diverse culture compared to many. The structure of their brains naturally makes it easier to understand advanced mathematics and physics, which has lead to many of them specializing in technology. In fact, their technology is the industry standard in the areas of hyperdrives and warp drives, as well as quantum singularity reactor technology. Their computer technology is also some of the best, as it has needed to be to do the calculations necessary for advanced physics research.
Those that don't go into such fields often still enter a scientific field, causing a much larger than normal percent of their population to work in biology and the medical fields. They also have a rich culture of art, music, and philosophy which draw large numbers of their people into it. This uneven distribution of employment has lead to them seeking other races out to fill the jobs in their business which their own society cannot provide. Many also go to other worlds to seek better employment opportunities outside of the flooded employment market of their homeworld.
At a young age all children are given a computer interface implant to aid in their education. Other races also purchase these implants from time to time, as they work with a variety of neural patterns as long as the proper firmware is installed on the chip.

[User]
The sound of a running motor was hard to miss. Rolling down the road was a very rough looking vehicle. It almost looked homemade, and Neptune wouldn't have been surprised if it was considering the driver. An off-worlder whose blue skin color matched the shade of blue that was his natural hair color. He made note f this as he turned to see Stan and his partner had disappeared. He made note of the door that had just closed to the shop across the street, and walked over to see what was going on.

Taking a peek into the bar to make sure they hadn't gone in there, he cracked open the door and poke his head in. No one had really noticed the door opening a little, and he was free to look without attention being drawn to him. A lot of drunkards in here, and even more people on there way to being drunk, he sighed. How could anyone drink their life away without ever having a desire to make a difference in the world? The answer eluded him and he shook his head after assuring his guys weren't in there. He closed the door and looked back at the shop across the street. Lo and behold, he could see through the window that two figures stood in front of the silhouette of a panicked clerk. Neptune's hunch was right, and before he could start running to the shop, the clerk dropped. It didn't take long after that for Neptune to bust through the doors of the shop.

Stan and the stranger turned to see him without a weapon drawn, and made it a point to flash each of their shiny, sharp knives. Neptune calmly stood there without moving towards his weapons. "Put the weapons down and I'll go easy on you," he said, managing to only get a laugh out of the two men. Stan turned his knife upside down and held it by the blade, brought it back, and threw it at Neptune, who ducked out of the way of the blade hurtling towards his head. The two men charged at him, but now only one had a weapon. As the stranger brought his knife back to jab, Neptune stepped to the side, grabbed the strangers head, and slammed it against the wall, knocking him out cold in a single blow. Stan had enough time to land a blow on Neptune's jaw, but it didn't do too much, and Neptune quickly retaliated by grabbing Stan's arm as he went for the next punch, twisting it around behind his back, and pressing him firmly against the door. Helpless, he tried to shake free, but Neptune was stronger than he was and held him against the wall as he grabbed his other hand and held it behind his back. Using a zip tie- yeah, the town didn't have but one pair of handcuffs, and that set was in the possession of some other guard- he tied Stan's hands behind his back. He forced him to lay face first on the floor so he couldn't get up and run very quickly.

Checking to see if the clerk was okay, Neptune walked around behind the counter. Luckily, he had only been punched as his only wound was a broken nose. He breathed a sigh of relief as he then thought about what to do with the two idiotic criminals.

[Assistant]
After trading some scrap for a few fuses T'Lora opened the bonnet of her jeep and installed the new hardware. It wasn't a big job but it was necessary. Just as she finished she was approached by a human.

"Hi." he said, walking up to the alien woman, "nice Jeep. Looks like a pre-apocalypse gas-burner that was refit with Lightning parts, possibly during the first ten years after it."

"You've got a good eye, Human."

"You look like a skilled salvager. I guess it's kind of unusual since you don't know me, but care to team up? I know where there's a fairly fresh Zathuran security patrol ship in a rad zone. With your vehicle and a few rad-resistance chems we could get inside the ship before getting badly irradiated. Once inside, we'll be able to pull more salvage than you've likely ever seen."

"Straight to business. I like that." Most humans approached her for something other than work. Humans seemed to have a ridiculously active libido and always seemed like they were looking for potential mates. T'Lora sometimes used that to her advantage, she learned fairly early during her stay on Earth that if you made yourself more sexually appealing to humans they were more likely to be generous during trade offers although this time it didn't seem necessary. "More than I've ever seen, that's cute. I've been pulling wrecks since before you were born." Although that was true she said it jokingly. No need to sincerely insult the human, after all a security patrol ship was actually a decent find. "Getting past their security will be a pain though, it always is. Sounds good to me but we'll need a bit of muscle too. Assuming it's in good condition we'll need someone to carry the heavier equipment since Zathurans use fairly dense materials on their military ships."

[User]
"More than I've ever seen, that's cute. I've been pulling wrecks since before you were born."

"Well, more in one place, maybe, not total. If it's as fresh as I hope, neither of us will have to worry about money for a while."

"Getting past their security will be a pain though, it always is. Sounds good to me but we'll need a bit of muscle too. Assuming it's in good condition we'll need someone to carry the heavier equipment since Zathurans use fairly dense materials on their military ships."

"True. And I doubt any of the exoskeletons are left in the cargo hold." Exoskeletons were valuable and in high demand due to the fact that they could roughly triple the amount you could lift. For that matter, they could triple the strength of your punch too. "As for some extra muscle, I'd look for an out of work security guard or caravan guard, maybe an anti-raider. There aren't many bounty hunters or mercs I'd trust on a job like this." Anti-raiders did to raiders and slavers what raiders and slavers did to normal people, and unlike bounty hunters, they didn't wait until enough people had been attacked or killed that the local law enforcment put a bounty out. Many raider camps had been slaughtered and looted by anti-raider parties. Because the anti-raiders didn't hurt non-outlaws, towns didn't mind having them around. "So, which one of us should go find one? We'll also need a trailer to haul stuff in. One of us will need to rent or buy one. And the Jeep will need a recharge, as the wreck is north of Houston and I don't want to risk running out of power out of power in a rad zone."

[Assistant]
Neptune stepped outside, knowing full well that the two individuals inside couldn't get out any way except through him. He waved a few guards and a wagon over to take away the captives. The wagon was for the wounded one. "Let's have these two put away for a bit. Alcohol may or may not have influenced their actions, and I want to find out." Neptune was fully aware of what happened to people who committed capital crimes, and if alcohol wasn't involved, they would definitely be let go with a simple ban from the bar. If not, well...

The town couldn't afford to hold any prisoners for long, since there were only two rudimentarily put together cells. He just hoped that they were under the influence. Odd to think about at first, but at least they'd get a second chance. He began walking down the road again, whistling Yankee Doodle and hoping the rest of the day was calm.

[User] "Qasan T'Lora..." She touched her right hand to her forehead and bowed slightly as is customary for her people. "...that all sounds like a good plan but I'm beat. I could use a rest and a good drink." She stretched her arms out and leaned back against her old jeep. Surely he wouldn't mind if they waited until the early morning. It was already getting late and a few hours rest would do her (and probably him too since he walked) a world of good. "Besides, if you want muscle in any town you start with the bar!" She smiled to herself, even if it was true she was still using it as an excuse to get drunk. It had been too long since T'Lora tasted a drop of anything other than recycled water and it was time to fix that. She started to climb back in the jeep. "Do you want to come along or should I just meet you somewhere?"

[Assistant]
"Sure." said Has'la. "Has'la Robinson." He held out his hand. "I've never really needed extra muscle for a job, but you seem to know better than me what to look for. I'll put a listing on the 'net, see if any ex security or caravan guards are looking, but I'll have them meet us in the bar at sundown. I'll meet you there as soon as I unload some junk and buy or rent a trailer for us. Shouldn't take long."
After the conversation was over he walked into the general store she had just left and traded in the junk he had salvaged on the way for a few Valn. He then walked around the town until he found a trailer that met his needs. "Are you looking to sell?" he asked the old man who was unloading scrap steel from it.
"Depends on how much you're offering." said the old man. "I still need the jeep, but I can borrow a trailer if I need one."
After settling on a price, he arranged to pick it up tonight and went to the bar. There he found T'lora and sat down, ordering something to eat.
"So, find anyone interesting yet?"