[System]
The basics:

Middling height, lean, mid twenties. Blonde, wavy/curly shoulder length hair usually kept in a ponytail. Modern-day comparison would be almost a Charlie Hunnam type appearance, just with curlier hair and a little rougher around the edges, but that should give you some reference. Light olive skin tone. Wears a few small rings in his ears, generally kind of scarred up, is rarely truly clean. He packs light for a vagabond.

His eyes are important. They're blue, but a really intense telltale cobalt (think Lapis Lazuli). It's an obviously not really human color. It is unique to his kind and is widely known as a way to identify a shifter since it's one part of their appearance they cannot change. The same is true of their blood, which is distinctly a dark graphite color. This is a natural phenomenon, but people have come to believe that they are creatures of the Darkness because of this.

A note on shifters:

Sometimes called Blackbloods, Greybloods, or other variations of a similar nature, they are shunned by society and generally viewed as untrustworthy, deceitful, wicked, and undoubtedly touched by the Darkness. They are capable of changing forms--anything from tweaking their appearance or copying another person, to becoming an animal. The animal must have some level of brain or basic intelligence (so not a fruitfly), blood (so not a jellyfish or coral), and it has to be something that exists in the universe (so no Manbearpig). Some forms are easier to hold than others, all take effort. There are ways to inhibit or prevent a shifter from changing shape.

About Rohaan:

First and foremost, he has a lot of names. Rheoaan, Rohaan, Rio, and his family name is Ja'aisen. All three of his given names are his actual names--not nicknames. But which one he offers up depends on who he gives it to. The first and shortest is for strangers, the second is for friends, the third and longest is reserved for family.

Secondly, he's a thief. After winding up on the streets as a kid, he was taken in by a pirate captain and traveled with him for many years. Eventually he wandered inland to harass the coffers of the bourgeois. In some places, he is known for his lawlessness and is wanted by the law. He is rarely interested in the prize in particular and more often is in it for the pursuit of said prize.

He's easygoing, has little love for authority, and likes to stir the pot a bit. Is friendly if anyone will give him the opportunity, but he's more than willing to be violent if someone gets in his way. Survival is paramount. Tenacious, jovial, foolish.

[User]
"You're not from around here, are you?"

Rohaan most certainly was not. For one thing, he had not been to his homeland since he'd left it as a child. But truthfully, he didn't actually know with any certainty exactly where he was from. He had an idea, a region at least, but he'd never found it on a map or any sea charts he'd ever seen. He and Berlin once spent hours sorting out where he'd come from, and the only thing they'd settled on was that Rohaan was from an island somewhere off the southern coast. But was that south directly? Southwest? Southeast? There was a lot of coasatline down there. And he'd never tried to scope it out.

Rohaan let a slow smile spread on his lips. "No lad, I'm not. Not remotely. I can guarantee you ain't never heard of the place I come from. Ain't important. But for the record? South. Really south. But like you said, don't matter. Lemmy hear this plan of yours." As he spoke and without looking behind him, he reached up a hand and dropped his very very bare apple core onto a plate held by the resident serving lass as she passed.

Rohaan watched the boy as he explained he was going to the Capital and why. At the mention of Orthreloth he just sort of laughed as if remembering something fondly, but that mirth sort of melted off his face as Xander went on. He squinted at the parchment he was handed, slowly making out the words. Many were unfamiliar to him, and though he did learn his letters, he was never very quick with them. Rohaan handed it back when he was finished, then leaned back in his chair and gazed at the fire for a moment as if thinking. He was silent for a long time.

It was a bad idea. Rohaan was full of those, so that didn't necessarily stop him. But it was something to consider. This lad was probably some upstanding type, liked well enough back home. And all he wanted was to save his sister. Rohaan, on the other hand, was not the sort of man one wanted to be seen with. He was not a 'good' man exactly, though he wasn't the monster most made him out to be. Life had cornered him and he chose to fight—that was all.

Rohaan knew what it was to be alone. He knew what it was to be desperate. And he wondered if this kid from some little hamlet would make it alone. Judging by the fear in his eyes, he probably wouldnt. And the shifter remembered clearly being half starved, severely injured, and hiding out in an overturned barrel in a filthy shit-strewn alley. He remembered a bear of a man wearing sailor's clothing coming towards him with an offering of bread, hard cheese, and an orange. Berlin had saved his life in more ways than one. It was time Rohaan returned the favor.

All of the casual mirth seemed to have left him as he turned his chair around to face the lad directly. He was very serious as he leaned forward and said, "I have been to Orthreloth. Now, provided you can actually survive the trip there, they won't just let you walk into the Athenaeum—-" he said this a little bit slower, it was a somewhat unfamiliar word to him, though he'd heard it before "—-just because you ask nice. As far as they know, you're a dirty rotten thief. Now, I don't think you are. But they don't know that."

Rohaan spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "But I am. The dirtiest and the rottenest. In fact, I have a bit of a warrant out for my arrest in Orthreloth, actually. The city guard and I go back a ways." He chuckled a bit. "The Cloaks too. That's a story for another time. My point is, I can get you there, and I can get you in, and back out again. No one better. But before you gimme some sad story about how you ain't got much coin, or worse, before you start throwing it at me, I don't want it. Money ain't worth much to a man like me. No, what I want from you is merely an answer. It has to be honest! And you have to promise to keep things quiet."

Rohaan glanced around for a second, then very carefully pulled up his hood—just a little. The firelight finally reached his full face, and even in the orangey firelight the chilling too-blue color of his black-ringed irises was sharp and distinct. Even if Xander had heard nothing of shifters and their infamous eyes, it was obvious the blonde stranger was not exactly human.

"Just how far are you willing to go to save your sister, Xander?"

[Assistant]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Sarah!" Xander yelled, his back pushed against the exterior of his hamlet farmhouse.

"Heheheh...No Sarah 'ere ta save ya now boy…" The grotesque darkness addled beast growled.
The creature, humanoid in form but more darkness than man took a step closer slowly pulling a crude curved short sword from its belt. Bearing its blood stained yellow fangs, the strange beast of pale green skin seemingly decayed and stretched over his sinew and bone cackled with glee. Its body covered in cloth and loose hanging bandages, large bat like ears lined with golden rings. Incandescent eyes of topaz, peered through Xander's skin fueling the slobbering jaws that moved just enough to allow its pointed tongue to flick a wet tongue over its dry teeth.

Slowly the creature raised the rusty steel blade above its head, glistening in the moonlight. Above its head, the blade wavered. It's adjusted and tightened. The blade fell from its clawed hand. Its eyes spread wide. Its jaw went slack and a blade erupted from its chest, black blood dripping over the nearly forged steel.

"Come on Xander," a feminine voice cried out in panic, "we have to move!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
That was only the first time she had saved him that night. The creatures had swept across the hamlet in the late evening as people were winding down from their evening meal enjoying the crisp summer air. They were not equipped to burn. Such fires would betray the darkness as it moved in secret. But they began by gutting the homes closest to the forest before moving into the hamlet proper before. Two guardsmen on duty. They couldn't even sound the conscription alarm. The tailor had done that before he was cut down with the guards standing only a few yards away. Of course, they were fighting their own battles.

Despite how fast Xander and his sister fled, they had no one to run to. Their parents had been entangled in their own battle. They had been trained to fight to a certain extent, but none of it could have prepared them to combat the darkness. The first had only been slain because she had feared the loss of her baby brother. Subsequent encounters had not gone so well. Evasive maneuvers, parry, dodge, feint… both of them had learned them all to varying degrees. But there were too many of them. Every scatter point seemed to lead them to another encounter.

So they did what children do when they have nowhere else to turn. They stopped running and they hid. They used their knowledge of the hamlet and found themselves a quiet place to hide. Their biggest danger had been their inability to see. From their nook upon the storage space of a barn, nestled in amongst the bales of hay they could not keep track of their enemy. As they were laying in wait, hidden, the adrenaline had begun to wear off and a drip of blood tickled Xander's leg. A drip of blood that had fallen from a gash on the girl's arm. His sister's arm.

But the darkness moves like a wave. It had swept over the hamlet of Pyre, taking with it whatever lacked the strength to prevail. But it would not recede back to the forest from which it came as though it were the ocean. Instead, it pressed onward as if it were still cresting along the plains of the southern Midlands.

While Pyre gathered its dead and made its dying comfortable, the darkness moved on. Rumors spread quickly that the King's riders on a routine patrol had come across their path and quickly thwarted the threat. Word of mouth suggested that they had not left a single monster to roam the land. Of course, Xander had not the means to go carousing through the grasslands to see his vengeance fulfilled.

Looking up from the floor Xander turned to face Rio. His eyes determined, and he spoke sternly trying contain the apprehension in his voice.

"To save my sister, as far as I have to go.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


[System]
BASIC
Goes By (Nicknames): Yavvie (Elven Children), Yavanna (All), The Brightest Star of Rivendell, Bright Star of Middle-Earth. Dearest Child, Dearest Grand-daughter (By Her Grand-Parents)
Royal titles: Lady of Rivendell/Lady of Imlardis. Princess of Rivendell/Imlardis, Her Highness/Your Majesty.
Other Titles: Daughter of the Stars, A 'Sensitive' others refer to her a Psychic.
Age: 67 *Looks 18-19*
Gender: Female
Race: Elven Hybrid *Mortal, Noldor and Sindarin Bloodlines*
Other Bloodlines: Teleri and Vanyar *Through her Grand-mother Galadriel's relatives*, *Maiar through her father and his relatives*. Celestial*Through her mother.*
10/20 Elvish, (5/10 Noldor, 3/10 Sindarin, 0.5/10 Telerin, 1.5/10 Vanyar) 7/20 Mortal, 3/20 Maiar

APPEARANCE
Face Claim: Adelaide Kane
Hair Color: Raven Black
Eye Color: Green *Sometimes crystal Blue, when Sad/Grieving. Intense brighter Blue, when Stubborn. Silver when Angry/Betrayed.*
Skin Tone: Creamy
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 118 Lbs
Body Build: Slim

Bow:

Sword:

Daggers *From Lake-town* 4 of these:

Sword from Erebor:

Combat Suit:

Dresses for Two Towers/Return of the King

Her Cloak

PERSONALITY

OVERALL PERSONALITY
Likes: Hobbits, Elves, Dwarfs, Humans, Nature, Music, Dance, Peace in Middle Earth, Summer, Starry Skies, Rivers/Seas/Oceans, Animals.
Dislikes: Death, War, Orcs, Greed, Liars
Strengths: Combat/Fighting, Healing/Medicine, Intellect, Singing, Conscience Views, Kindness to Strangers, High Resistance to Harsh Temperatures, Enhanced Senses ect.
Other Skills: Star Light Manipulation, Elven Magic, Telekinesis, Acrobatics.
Other Powers: Telepathy/Visions, Telekinetic Hovering/Flight, Light of Purity-Deadliest to any evil enemies.
Weaknesses: Horseriding *Arwen's the faster rider*, People taking advantage of her niceness, Stuborness
Fears: Spiders, Sauron/Saruman, Loosing her loved one's

Elegant | Compassionate | Tender-Hearted | Fun Loving | Courageous | Innocent | Pure | Talented

Yavanna is the youngest child of Lord Elrond and Lady Celebrian. Many people, of Middle Earth believe that she and Arwen; are the symbol of peace and love in Middle Earth. Just like her elder sister, Arwen. The young elf is blessed with beauty and grace. Over her life, she's been taught the magic of healing. She's a skilled, talented healer among her people. Being Innocent, some people take advantage of her loving sweetness and niceness.

There is an Pureness about the young she-elf. Yavanna never hates; no matter what the other person may think off her. It's not something, she's capable off. She believes, that most of Middle-Earth are not enemies. They all belong in this world; no matter what race they come from. She values life, and is friends with most. A value, that is not seen in many others. Yavanna will often defend others; even if she does not know them too well.

Due to her rare elven Bloodlines of Noldor, Teleri and Vanyar. Three of the Elven blood-lines, that are not so common in Middle Earth anymore. Yavanna has talents and knowledge of Elvish Magic. Her father, Lord Elrond has Maiar blood; allowing him and his children of magical talents. It comes naturally, especially to Yavanna. Her powers come from the heart, at times her emotions can even control her abilities.

Whilst she's young and curious. Yavanna has explored parts of Middle Earth. She knows the forests outside of Rivendell, rather well. Having ventured out there many times. Lothlorien being one of her favorite places, as her grandparents live there. She's not afraid of adventure and helping those whom need help. When Young Bilbo and company, come to Rivendell during their quest. She is there to offer some guidance and help, with along with her father and grand-mother Galadriel. Be-befriending a few of the dwarfs in that period of time.

After Thorin and his company leave; Yavanna decides to join the company on their task to reclaim Erebor. Despite Thorin's cold, harsh demeanor and reservation, with her joining. Yavanna is set on helping the Durin King and his family/friends. Proving to be a rather valuable alley, and eventually helping warm Thorin up to her and Saeril. She helps, save Thorin numerous times through out the quest. Forming a strong bond with his two nephews and the she-elf Saeril.

When the company gets captured by the elves of Mirkwood. Yavanna tries to reason with King Thranduil, about the release of the Dwarfs. In the midst of it all, she meets the young Legolas. After meeting his son, Legolas. The pair have a slightly shaky start to the start, but despite his coldness. Yavanna saves his life, during the company's escape from Mirkwood. Yavanna finds herself drawn to him soon enough. The pair grow closer, after sticking together for a while. Yavanna is present, during the defeat of Smaug and Battle of Five armies, to save Middle Earth. After Fili's death, Yavanna grieves over the young Dwarf...as he had been one of her closest friends. Her best-friend in fact. Whilst he will be missed by her greatly, he will always be remembered.

Many years later, young Frodo now has Bilbo's ring...and is on a task to destroy it. Yavanna becomes a part of the Fellowship of the Ring. Helping the young Hobbit on his quest. Growing protective of the young Hobbits, that are in need of guidance and helping hand.

BACKGROUND
Place of Birth: Rivendell *Also known as Imlardis.* The Last Homely House East of the Sea
Family:
~ Lord Elrond *Father; Alive* *Half-Elf*
~ Lady Celebrian *Mother; Unknown;Presumably Deceased* *Sindarin/Noldor Elf*
~ Elladan and Elrohir *Brothers. They are Twins; Alive* *Half-Elves*
~ Arwen *Sister; Alive* *Half-Elf*
~ Elros Tar-Minyatur, King of Numenor *Uncle; Deceased* *Half-Elf*
~ Galadriel *Grandmother; Alive* *Noldor Elf*
~ Lord Celeborn *Grandfather; Alive* *Sindarin Elf*
~ Eärendil the Mariner *Grandfather; Deceased* *Half-Elf*
~ Elwing the White *Grandmother; Deceased* *Half-Elf*
~ Finarfin, Prince of the Noldor *Great-Grandfather; Deceased* *Vanyar Elf*
~ Eärwen *Great-Grandmother; Deceased* *Telerin Elf*
~ King Finwë *Great, Great-Grandfather; Unknown* *Noldor Elf*
~ King Olwë *Great, Great-Grandfather; Deceased* *Telerin Elf*
~ Lady Indis *Great, Great-Grandmother; Unknown* *Vanyar Elf*

Other Relations:
~ Legolas Greenleaf *Love Interest/Mate; Alive* *Sindarin Elf*
~ Thranduil Greenleaf *Family Friend; Alive* *Sindarin Elf*
~ Tauriel *Acquaintance/Friend; Alive* *Silvan Elf*
~ Bilbo Baggins *Acquaintance/Friend; Alive* *Hobbit*
~ Kili Durin *Friend; Alive* *Dwarf*
~ Fili Durin *Friend; Deceased* *Dwarf*
~ Dis *Acquaintance; Alive* *Dwarf*
~ Thorin Oakensheild *Friend; Deceased* *Dwarf*
~ Searil Hermiaen *Acquaintance~Later Friend/Mother Figure; Alive* *Elven Hybrid (Noldor/Sindarin/Silvan Elf)*
~ Aragorn II Elessar *Friend; Alive* *Man*
~ Haldir *Friend/Mentor; Alive* *Silvan Elf*
~ Gandalf the Grey/White *Friend; Alive* *Maiar*
~ Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrine Took (Pippin) and Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) *Friends; Alive* *Hobbits of the Shire*
~ Gimli *Friend; Alive* *Dwarf*
~ Azog the Defiler, Bolg *Enemies; Deceased* *Gundabad Orcs*

[User] Saeril watched and listened to the wise Elven male before her, before having to nod at his request of being able to talk alone. There was a chance that it be rather sensitive and/or disturbing for Yavanna and Kili to hear, and the result can go a lot worse if they stuck around to listen. "My lord", the elder she-elf concurred in agreement, before looking back at the princess and Kili, silently reassuring them that everything was going be okay. Even though, in reality, it really wasn't.

[Assistant]
Kili looked at his god-mother. A little unsure if things were alright. But seeing her reassuring nod. He gave her a light smile; before he and Yavanna left. Leaving Saeril alone in the presence of Lord Elrond; to talk alone. As Yavanna and Kili made their way through the castle; an elven servant found them in the halls and by Yavanna's request. Escorted Kili to a guest bedroom, and made sure that a bath was waiting for them both. So they could freshen themselves up.

Yavanna had given Saeril a little smile before they left. Once she made sure, Kili was alright in company in one of her most trusted Servants. Yavanna had made her way to her own chambers to freshen up.

Lord Elrond waited till his daughter and Kili had left. "Yavanna tells me, you keep getting headaches that keep getting worse?" he asked, with a slight raised eyebrow. Wondering how bad her headaches were getting. "And something about the Dark Lord Sauron rising, which I have to say is true. Even the rest of us have our fears, he's coming back and growing stronger."

[User] Saeril watched as Yavanna and Kili left the room, leaving the elder alone with the Elven Lord. Saeril walked further into the throne room, just as the doors were closed by a servant. Hearing Elrond speak, she frowned a little, just as soon as the Dark Lord was mentioned, as well as her episodes. "Yes", she confirmed to his description of the case at hand, and she sadly sighed. "I believe that fear will be expanded, if he does. My headaches; the constant aching; it ties me to him. My past...involving my corruption...it still lingers within my mind", she tried to find the right words to explain her case. "As he grows, I strongly feel his attempt to take me back".

[Assistant]
Lord Elrond pursed his lips deep in thought as he listened to Saeril explain her situation a little bit more. "I promised my daughter, Yavanna I'll do my best to help you. I shall keep my word." he told Saeril. "Me and my best healers, can try and temporary block your mind from Sauron, ease away the pain as best as we can. But the headaches might return...I can't give a time on how long, it'll be before they return." he told Saeril honestly. He wasn't sure, how much he could do to help her; especially if Sauron was getting stronger.

"I summoned people, all over Middle Earth to meet here in a few days time. There will be a council meeting regarding the Ring of Power. The ring is now in Possession of Frodo Baggins; Bilbo's Nephew. The course of action will be discussed. I would like you to sit on the council, given your experience..." Lord Elrond was careful of how he phrased his words. But he knew Saerils council would prove useful. That's why he wanted her present.

[User] Saeril listened to what Elrond had said, in helping her. If Sauron had his way, many and many tragedies would follow, right behind her. Support was what she drastically needed at a time like this. Something really evil was among them, and her fears of his return were confirmed when he started explaining about an upcoming council that she was permitted to be a part of. "Of course", she said, willing yet slightly unnerved for her presence to expose the truth of her past. "Kili and Her majesty would have to know", the she-elf thought aloud, having to realize that her godson and Yavanna might be present.

[Assistant] Lord Elrond could see her hesitation in telling Kili and Yavanna the truth about her past. He knew how much his daughter had hated lies; so this would not be a good mark in Saeril's books, if it upsets his daughter. "Yes, they will have to know." he said in agreement. "It's up to you, if you'll like to say the truth yourself at the meeting...or myself or Gandalf can explain it ourselves." he offered for her.

[User] Saeril was mentally sorting through her thoughts, having to look at the ground, as Elrond took note of the current circumstances. "I'm afraid of hurting your daughter even more, my lord, given to what I've seen", she admitted, with the addition of peeking inside the memories, as well as the event she had to witness from earlier. After a moment of thought, the she-elf looked back at Elrond, with determination in her eyes. "I believe...we should all tell them, while you and Gandalf also have the knowledge", she answered.

[Assistant] Lord Elrond could see that Saeril was contemplating things over. He rose a slight eyebrow at her words. "Are you refereeing to my sons?...They certainly didn't make things easy on Yavanna, since my wife went missing." Elrond couldn't help but sigh in sadness. Lord Elrond wasn't sure how much she knew, about Yavanna's brothers and the situation at hand. "I can't promise, that Yavanna won't be angry or upset. It might take her a while to see, you were just trying to protect her from your darker self." He knew his daughter's reaction could be bad, but hopefully Yavanna might come to understand one day, why Saeril never said anything before. As she came to a conclusion, he nodded. "Then we all shall tell them, when the time comes." he agreed.


[System]
Appearance
A tall blond, not altogether exciting. When Horace arrived at the slave camp he was clean shaven, neatly groomed, pale skinned, and somewhat wispy for a man over six feet. By now he's a little less delicate than before, a lot more untidy, and sporting a very masculine chin of reddish stubble—which does not at all match his straw colored hair. His blue eyes reflect bitter surrender, too tired to be confused anymore about the absurdity of his situation.

The only thing that's remained the same about him since his arrival is the arid look of contempt he offers the camp guards.

Age
25

Gender
Male

Race
Human

Class
Priest

Magic Description
Divine

Personality
One part piety and two parts dry wit. Horace is easy company for anyone with a lot to say. He enjoys listening more than speaking, and he's a good source of advice or a sly joke when it is sought. Many would describe him as easygoing, more liable to bend with the breeze rather than stand in the storm, but they would be wrong. Like an extinguished hearth, his cool ashen mein hides a bed of glowing embers.

Despite his approachable demeanor, Horace does tend to be a bit personally withdrawn. He possesses a self destructive streak when he becomes hopeless (like now, for instance), as well as a very unpriestly appetite for vices of all sorts.

Who you were
A novitiate from the Temple of Truth. Before Horace was caught up in this mess, he was a young priest in service to Lord Ceron, God of Knowledge. The Temple boasted a well tended library, often visited by scholars and students, as well as an altar and large marble image of the bearded god himself. Not a great fan of archiving, however, Horace usually served Ceron by visiting nearby villages to treat common ailments with his magical talents, as well as educate young children and curious adults.

Orphaned in his early teen years, Horace was not skilled or unscrupulous enough to resort to thievery and pickpocketing to get by. Instead he begged for coin on street corners where he was paid to please stop singing because busking was clearly not his calling. Over years he became more useless, relying on friends to pay for him to get drunk at pubs and taverns until he was rowdy enough to be thrown out.

One memorable occasion with a duke's daughter nearly landed him in a situation not unlike the one he's in now (and when he remembers that, he'll be appropriately spiteful). A gray-maned priest of Ceron intervened and claimed that Horace was merely teaching the girl history, not unlacing her frock. The duke was skeptical, but the priest was earnest and trustworthy. It was enough to drag Horace to safety by his arm.

Horace's future looked grim, and confronted with the powerlessness of his existence, he followed the priest to the Temple of Truth in an attempt to fill the void in his heart.

[User]
This entire situation felt like a dream... no, a nightmare. Two weeks ago she woke up without any memory of who she was, or why she was being harassed by men clad in armor accusing her of some murder she had no recollection of. Thereafter she was dragged to a slave camp, tortured for what seemed like days on end, and forced to labor in their dirty mines. The brutes even left welts, bruises and cuts all over her body - they seemed to like her face when they felt particularly frustrated. "Let's mess up that pretty face of yours, doll." they'd say, "Then we'll see if you talk." They never believed a word she said, accusing her of working with several others who she also didn't know. Who was actually evil here? Them or her? Perhaps it really was her. Sometimes she wondered, as she lay in her cell staring at the cold stone walls before day break and the nightmare started all over again.

Either way, execution day came and the slavers still had no confession from her or the others they thought she was working with. At least it would have come had a mysterious figure not come to their rescue the night before. At that point Echo had been looking forward to her own death, as she felt so worn down and tired that it no longer mattered to her. Being free of the slave camp would be enough, even if it was in the after life. That and the fact that she had no idea who she was or her own purpose in life helped her make that quiet decision with herself. However, this mysterious man who called himself Tychus of Shattergarde had other plans for her life. Yet again, she had become another pawn in someone else's hands.

The man was insanely talented, she would give him that much. Somehow he managed to take out all of the guardsmen in the camp and free her and the others accused of Tancred Lonefire's murder. Whether or not he was by himself she wasn't sure, but he currently led her and this small group of misfits by himself. Initially she had asked questions after escaping; who was he? Why did he release them? Where was he taking them? Who were these people? Did he know who killed the Grand Marquess' son? It wasn't her, was it? To be fair, she had a lot of questions that he could not answer at that time. Tychus only told her that she would know in time, and she best keep quiet or risk revealing them all. Understanding, she remained quiet for the rest of the long journey, occasionally eyeing the rest of the group with her pale green eyes.

"Do you smell that?"

Her thoughts broke and she glanced up at Tychus. He smelt something? Was he part canine? All she smelt was lilacs, which she had realized earlier that she hated. At least, if anything, she knew that she hated lilac. Perhaps she should have told someone to write that on her grave stone, considering what was about to appear before her. "Here lies Echo Notaras. A person with great distaste for lilac."

Her own banter in her head quieted as Tychus motioned for the group to start jogging. She felt so exhausted that jogging seemed impossible. They hadn't even stopped once since escaping save a few seconds pause, how did he expect them to run? The rest looked just as run down as she did, perhaps more so. Nonetheless, she gathered all the energy she had left in her tiny body and did as he asked.

"In the name of the Grand Marquess, drop your weapons and surrender!"

Echo's heart dropped at the sudden voice booming through the valley. It felt familiar, but as she looked at the massive knight before them she could not bring a name to mind. Why did she have the feeling in the back of her mind that she knew this behemoth? There was no time to ponder on it, as Tychus quickly drew his sword. Just as rapidly a snake of a woman revealed herself from the grass. "How did we miss them?" She thought, baffled. "How long have they been following us?"

As the women approached, yelling at Tychus, Echo's heart began to race. She almost felt frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Was she supposed to roll over and be captured or not go without a fight? Which would be the worse option? Apparently, Tychus opted for the latter.

"All of you, run towards the crags. These two are way above your skill right now. You'll find a passageway in there that will take you to where you'll find answers. I'll hold these guys off... Just don't die."

She stared at the older man as he sprang forward and attacked the two, then glanced toward the rest of the group. They all began running as Tychus said, and Echo had the brief thought of running in the other direction. Perhaps running with them until the very end, slinking off by herself when no one was paying attention. She could escape on her own, couldn't she? Why did she need the rest of this group?

"Of course I need them. What good is a girl on her own who remembers nothing about herself?" She thought, realizing she would have no clue what the next step would be had she been able to disappear on her own. That, or those two hunters would notice and she would have been easily picked off when alone. Convinced, she began running toward the crags with the others.

Echo briefly glanced back at Tychus, witnessing several copies of himself fighting against the two rivals. Quite amazing, if you asked her. Who was this "Shadow Reaver" anyway?

[Assistant]
As your group runs forth, mustering the strength to sprint across the last quarter of a mile, you hear the sounds of swordplay behind you. Tychus seems to be holding his own against these two assailants. In fact, if you dare to look behind you, you can see that he is actually beating them back. Perhaps they aren't as dangerous as they originally seemed?

He's able to hold the duo back long enough for you to get into the thicket of the rocky land in front of you. It's a winding maze of barren scaling cliffs and sharp crags. Fortunately, there is a clear yet narrow pathway for you to follow. The party keeps moving, eyes on the lookout for what Tychus was referring to. The path eventually runs out, ending in a narrow crevice that you shimmy through, but only one at a time. Looking through the darkness, you can't make anything out, but you do smell a lingering scent of fire, as if someone had been camping within this cave. The old man immediately comes to mind, and you can guess that this is probably where Tychus stayed before he came to free you all. He said that answers lay through here, but what could that possibly mean?

Suddenly, like a crack of thunder, you hear a howl of agony behind you. Tychus skims across the path that led you to the crevice, blasted by some foreign power to about 400 yards behind you. The man looks to be alive, but just barely. His right arm hangs from sinew, blood gushing out onto the soil. Pained, the elderly man looks at you all and waves you on with his intact arm, trying to say words but unable to speak.

"Ivory, after the prisoners. I'll finish off that pathetic man." the soft voice of the white haired woman boomed.

On command, the giant knight rushes onto the scene. Like a gigantic bull, he lowers a shoulder and appears to be aiming to dash you all against the cliff walls. Tychus can't respond fast enough to protect you all, and you have moments to shimmy as fast you can away from the knight. By the looks of it, if you manage to squeeze through and avoid him, he would be too large to get through the entrance.

If you manage to shoot a glance back in your rush, you see the female bounty hunter approach the struggling Tychus. He rises once more, his severed arm finally snapping from the sinew and falling to the ground. Nonetheless, he pulls out his last knife and lunges at the woman. As he strikes, some sort of sorcery envelops the elderly man, pushing out from his form before they vanish into a dark smog. Unable to see any more, you can only ponder on the old man's fate.


[System]
The galaxy is, in a way, it's own character, and everyone is free to add things to it. This is a collection of all the "Meanwhile!" style posts, that either provide some commentary to what's happening, explain some concept within the game, foreshadow certain events or simply add a wonderful little bit of extra flavour to help set the mood. To keep things vaguely organised, the posts will be linked to in the order they've been posted, along with a note of who wrote what.

Meanwhile! The Introduction of Doctor Frosty & Cold Front
Meanwhile, upon Dämmerlicht... by @Valor
A Hendersons Ribs Jingle by @TwelveOf8
A footnote on Swarm Sentience by @DracoLunaris
Meanwhile! An Introduction To Faster-Than-Light Travel
Meanwhile, in the past... by @DepressedSoviet
Meanwhile! Life on Dämmerlicht! by @Valor
Please rise for the national anthem of Monochromia, with notes, by @TwelveOf8
The Hendersons Ribs Safety Jingle, transcribed by @TwelveOf8
A newspaper article from Ofromia Tonight, written by Aggro Deluxe.

[User]
As the door slid open, Vanessa tensed in preperation for the need to shoot her rifle. As the moments ticked on, Vanessa noticed that nothing was really happening. The warthog was holding a baseball bat, but the brainiac seemed to be unarmed. Vanessa wanted to remove any ounce of confidence that the warthog had in his capabilities, and thus began to aim very gently at the baseball bat in his hands. Before she fired, she heard Toony ping her on the commlinks they were all provided and ask her if she could teleport the slime out. The first problem with this is that teleporting was rather limited. Teleporting another organic being was simply far too risky to be viable. The risk for them getting lost in the ether during the brief moment of teleportation was simply far too high to consider it a useful talent. Small inorganic items, like plates of food, were at little to no risk of separation. They weren't complex. Things that were alive were typically much more complex and thus much more likely to be lost in the journey. Once you were lost in the ether after a teleportation mishap, it was frequently impossible for any previous companions to find you once again. On top of that, slimes were disgusting and Vanessa didn't want to ruin her suit by trying to scoop one up only to have it fall out of her hands due to being a mostly liquid creature.

Thus, Vanessa replied to Toony with. "Negative, but I can do this..." Before pulling the trigger to her rifle. A sharp crack resounded from the barrel of the rifle and a .303 British round snapped downrange and shattered the baseball bat that the Warthog was holding, leaving it nothing more than a useless splintered mess. Vanessa quickly pulled the ejector handle downwards, which sent a smoking brass case flipping out of the rifle. Vanessa caught it in her teeth and she loaded another round and pulled the ejector back up, sealing the breech and rendering the gun ready to fire once again. Vanessa had the gun on target in a matter of moments. Subtle smoke wafted from the .303 British casing clutched in her molars, and Vanessa aimed lower on the Warthogs frame. She was aiming towards the kneecaps to incapacitate him should the Warthog begin to move. It wasn't a non-lethal shot, as many people falsely believed. A shot to the leg was just as dangerous due to the presence of several large veins that would eagerly make a large mess. But, it was much more survivable than a shot to the head or a shot to the chest as long as prompt and proper medical attention was given. Thus, Vanessa aimed for his knees.

With nothing more to do now, Vanessa waited to see who would make the next move.

[Assistant]
"So that's how it is, huh? No 'good morning', no 'how's your mother', just straight to the insults and threa-"

 The Brain was interrupted by the sound of a wooden bat exploding into a cloud of splinters and did what most normal people would do in such a situation; he flinched, ducked, and covered his precious face. In his defense, however, this was Henchman Training 101 and a good daily skincare routine gave him a face to die for, or indeed, kill for. The threat of roving gangs of unscrupulous cosmetic surgoens in some neighbourhoods was very real indeed.

 Boss Hog, on the other hand, didn't move or flinch, and for his troubles, received quite a lot of damage to his suit and a few bloody scratches from the slpintering wood. He did not look like a model of civility and happiness prior to losing his bat, and whatever self-control that was holding him back from simply lashing out with his hands was beginning to fray. There were signs, subtle ones, that something was going to snap within Boss Hog at any moment - his jaw squared, his muscles tensing, his eyes narrowing. Maracun, still firmly in Toony's grip, knew the signs, and began to squirm about a little, trying to free himself to no avail.

 "-threats, I was gonna say threats. You want this slimy fella? What's he to you lot? The Capatians own half the streets and throw the parties to prove it, the Heron's haven't got jack, you're picking the wrong bleeding fight here. Heron isn't worth it."

 As far as appeals to reason and veiled threats went, it wasn't absolutely terrible, but it certainly lost a lot of it's impact as The Brain was still cowering slightly. Given the choice between trying to look imposing and not catching a bullet or a laser beam (or a dozen laser beams) to the face, he knew hat he wanted, and that was to be able to spend an hour looking in the mirror after all this was over to check for any errant splinters.

---

"Deploying towed array sonar!"

A little hatch on the back of the cleaner bot flipped open, and a long coil of rope explosively launched out from it. The rope had a string of little sensors mounted along it, each in it's own little clear plastic enclosure. The force of the deployment system knocked the cleaner robot on to it's face and, after scrambling back on to it's feet, it looked up to Fiddlesticks. It was smiling, clearly happy to provide some help, even if it's action was of very little help indeed. Quite why a cleaner bot would be equipped to detect submarines was something of a mystery, but it probably had something to do with the laundry system on board the Quest for Flavour.

The bees, above the whole sorry scene, happily waved down from the safety of a tunnel that intersected the ceiling of the one Fiddlesticks and the Cleaner Bot found themselves in. A rather flimsy grating provided a place for the bees to sit and watch what happens next; one of the more enterprising bees was taking bets. The odds weren't good.

From further down the tunnel, the mechanical sound of doors opening could be heard, and the water sounded just that little bit closer. The insects wound up their party and began to arrange themselves into neat rows, awaiting their own watery doom with a certain amount of dignity and grace.

[User]
"Yay! Go cleaner bot! You rock!" cheered Fiddlesticks. He danced a little jig, without a care in the world. The splashing of the water off his feet coupled with the feeling of wetness sobered his mood very quickly.

The small runnel of water now took up the entire floor of the tunnel. The water was still a couple of centimeters deep though. They still had time.

In those dark tunnels, sonar mapping was a godsend. Without it, Fiddlesticks and the bot would have both been hopelessly lost. No doubt he found it puzzling that a cleaner bot would have sonar mapping installed. But during their ordeal, Fiddlesticks was just thankful that it did. Questions were for times when drowning wasn't a real threat. Even Fiddlesticks knew that. A practical mindset to be sure.

A familiar buzzing was heard from the pipes in the walls and in the ceiling. Pieces of the captains body came flying out. To almost anyone else, that would be both a disgusting and disturbing prospect. When it came to the crew of the Quest for Flavour though, it certainly was not. Their captain was a sentient swarm of bees after all. Much to the relief of the hapless duo, some of the captain bees came to save the day. Much to the disappointment of Fiddlesticks in particular, there were not enough. Only six bees!?

"Hey bees! I'm so glad you're all here! Could you guys help us find a way out!? Things are going to get a lot more wet around here!" asked Fiddlesticks. Words couldn't describe how glad he was that they were there.

"Hey cleaner bot. Do you think we have enough bees to divide them up into three scouting parties?" Fiddlesticks asked the ladybug cleaner bot.

[Assistant]
"And I'm sure you were just the politest and most pleasant bunch when you beat up and stole Hip Kallo's clothes."

The mind was rather confused as to why there appeared to be a gang conflict of some kind revolving around parties on this planet and was currently ruining down the hiveminds list of negotiation tactics, which suggested additional threats/taunting. The Bees were more distressed that this was looking less like a throw a party gig and more of a security detail, which meant that they weren't going to be allowed to get drunk on mead any time soon and that was a travesty. They suffered a -20 penalty to morale as a result. They were all ready to launch into tirades about these thugs despoiling the noble art of the party with their brutish ways when the the banner of the interplanetary space friends was brought through the door by its carriers and the Mind kept talking, having decided on its course of belittling and self aggrandizement .

"see this banner, that is who we are and we don't back down from a request for help, so you and your mates better bugger off and leave us be. We are here to help throw a party, I don't see why you're so threatened by that? Think your Capatians can't do better than a bunch of drifters? Go prove it rather than sticking around here playing mobster. Which your really bad at by the way.

There was a chorus of agreement from the bees as they buzzed in closer, coming through the door now that it was obvious the thugs were out gunned and as they were itching to give these no good scoundrels a good stinging for ruining the festive mood they had all been in.

---

One of the bees down with fiddlesticks had been in charge of holo-umbrellas and so at his mention of it getting wet the bee handed out 5 little handles to the other bees, which then projected very flimsy force fields above them to keep them safe from rain. Naturally this would completely useless against the oncoming torrent that could be heard flowing down the pipes towards them, but the pink, green and blue neon glowing umbrellas did provide a little light. So as they did whatever scouting the cleaner bot required the bees would be easily spotted through the gloom by the glowing fields they now carried.


[System]
Theme Song: Sunset Heroes
Gender: Male
Age: 24 years
Race: Angel of Laguna

Appearance: Gene's right arm appears to be made of flesh-colored marble, and has a small bracer on each of the arm's joints.

Faction: Hierarchy of Laguna

Personality: In spite of--or possibly because of-- being the "Humble" Effigy, Gene Smith is the very embodiment of arrogance. Proud, cocksure, and foolhardy to a fault, Gene never fails to boast about his power. However, his angelic superiors have instilled a strong sense of duty and camaraderie in him. Gene holds his four siblings in extremely high regard, and despises any and all enemies of Heaven.

Bio: The Hierarchy of Laguna had usually relied on human agents for their dealings with the human world, and for a time that plan had worked flawlessly. Recent developments, however, had made humanity much less willing to listen to their holy superiors, and the Hierarchy was forced to take more drastic measures. To that end, the Hierarchy's best artisans had attempted to improve on their wildly successful "Joy" angels. Whereas Joys were capable of near-perfectly mimicking Witches in both appearance and power, this new breed of angel would be capable of mimicking regular humans. And so, the very experimental "Effigy" angel came into being.

Effigies are angels designed to blend into human society while still defending themselves from outward threats. Unfortunately, a fatal flaw in the Effigies' creation process had made it so that each one developed a rudimentary Angel Arm from its own soul, weakening them immensely. This strange flaw caused the Effigies' mimicking process to fail utterly when replicating certain parts of the body, in particular their right arm and skeleton. Both of these parts were rendered indisputably nonhuman in both look and function, and made going incognito practically impossible for all Effigies. As a result, only five Effigies were ever made, and very nearly all of them were captured by Gilgamesh agents only a few years after touching down on Earth.

Gene is the last and youngest Effigy, colloquially known as "The Humble Effigy". He currently works in the mailroom of a Gilgamesh-owned splinter corporation office, avoiding detection through a variety of complicated and dangerously insecure means. Fortunately for Gene, his Angel Arm manifests as something that can be easily mistaken for a prosthetic, and its complete lack of veins and muscles makes it even easier to disguise. Gene has spend the last five or so years quietly working for Gilgamesh, Incorporated as an intern, spending all the while trying to track down his lost siblings.

[Combat]

Powers and Abilities:
Angelic Constitution 1: Being ultimately an Angel at heart, Gene is physically superior to most humans, normal or augmented. In terms of raw strength, Gene is roughly comparable to a Hell Gluttony or an Applaud, while at the same time being not much faster than either.
God Trigger 1: The power stored within Gene's right hand can be tapped into for a brief period of time, granting Gene immense pain resistance, increased attack speed, and a massive boost in physical power on par with that of a true Joy. Unfortunately, this form can only last around fifteen seconds.

Style: God Hand Style 1: A style devised by Gene himself. God Hand Style focuses on using and abusing Gene's own durability to overwhelm enemies. Rapid attacks, blocking blows with the God Hand, and fighting as dirtily as possible are all staples of the style.

Equipment: Gene has nothing to his name other than his employee ID, a set of clothes, and the Angel Arm that replaced his right arm: the God Hand 1. The God Hand, being the manifestation of the majority of his power, is functionally indestructible and is much denser than his left arm. If Gene focuses hard enough, the God Hand can be imbued with further power, granting it strength far beyond Gene's own. It is this very property that makes up for at least two of Gene's techniques: the Palm Smash and the God Uppercut.

Techniques:
Side Juke 1: Gene's most agile move, the Side Juke is nothing more than a dodge to the right. Despite not moving his legs at all, Gene is capable of traveling several feet sideways, diagonally, or even in a parabolic arc away from his current position.
Sugar Gene Combo 1: An extensive but relatively simple combination of jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and straight punches that pummels enemies senseless.
Palm Smash 1: A slow but powerful blow with the God Hand's palm that blows enemies several feet backwards.
God Uppercut 1: An attack that is almost comically over-telegraphed, but strikes with unmatched power, the God Uppercut is fully capable of blowing its victims straight to heaven.
Blue Stinger 1: A true remnant of Gene's angelic heritage, this is a kick done in midair that miraculously propels him forward. While not very damaging, it is excellent for closing distances and rattling people's braincases.
Side Swipe 1: A withering blow to the side of the body, meant to break guards in general and ruin kidneys in particular.

[User]
Barlour City: Gilgamesh HQ

A lone man clad in the fine armor of the knights of yore strode forth, his attire fiercely clashing with the grimy cement and asphalt surrounding him. Below his boots was a parking lot, housing the cars of an untold number of cubicle drones and suit-clad executives. In front of his face was a massive skyscraper, one built by the greed and lies of the unfaithful. The heretics inside thought themselves an equal authority with Heaven and therefore God Almighty, and that would not stand. Somehow, even the blank bucket helm adorning his face conveyed an expression of divine wrath as he stared defiantly at the leviathan that DARED to raise a hand against divine servants.

No, it had done even worse than merely declare war on our Lord and Savior. The church had many ears. Antonio had heard tell that this so-called business did terrible things to His servants. They performed "experiments". The most innocent beings in existence, guides to humanity, were now used for vivisections, dissections, and torture. If the information held true, their very souls were forfeit.

To claim any being's soul was an unforgivable crime.

"Today..." he began, before raising his voice to a thunderous roar, "TODAY I, FATHER ANTONIO HASTA, EXORCIST, PALADIN, HUMBLE SERVANT OF OUR LORD, DECLARE CRUSADE AGAINST THE FILTH OF THIS CITY, THE HERETICS, UNBELIEVERS AND DEMONS, UNDER THE ORDERS OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF ROME, POPE FRANCIS, IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOULS, FOR I HAVE NONE. AMEN!"

The lone warrior of the next crusade raised his fist, a long, golden lance materialized in his hand, giving the faint call of a trumpet.

"AMEN!"

[Assistant]
Gilgamesh Inc. Headquarters

Gene had faced certain death before, though never in as direct a form. He could survive a gunshot, maybe even a dozen gunshots. Several dozen gunshots, however, would prove to be much more problematic. He'd need a distraction if he wanted to survive the next few seconds. Something to keep these guys' attention away from him, so he could do something slightly less stupid than what he was already planning. Something that would directly take the heat off him and force people to pick their targets before continuing.

"MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOULS, FOR I HAVE NONE. AMEN!" came from outside the room. A few eyes glanced towards the exit.
"AMEN!" A few guards turned to face the exit. Something like this. Gene thought, smiling.

Gene clutched at his right arm, as it glowed blindingly brightly. Like a cork being popped off a bottle in a paint mixer, a surge of angelic power blew through the room, knocking the rifles out of the hands of some of the guards and knocking some others off balance. The world slowed down, and Gene sped up.

Gene's right fist collided with the guard next to him like the hammer of God itself, blowing him straight into the scanner. With a sense of agility honed through years of self-training, Gene leaped over the small barricade that the guards had put up to force people into the line of the scanner, and drove his knee into the closest guard beyond it. Gene lunged forward and delivered a withering flurry of punches into the guard just in front of him, sending him crumpling to the floor. Three down, and only five more to go! thought Gene, his mind buzzing with confidence.

It was at that point that he realized those three guards were the only ones on this side of the room. They, being of sound mind and tactics, had anticipated something exactly like this happening, and so planned for it. A hail of bullets thudded into Gene's center mass, hurling him backwards. The will to fight drained away from Gene like money in a Californian's bank account. As his stamina bled away, Gene briefly wondered why these bullets hadn't killed him immediately and, moreover, why they weren't made of metal.

"Infiltrator neutralized," said the most decorated member of the remaining soldiers. "Bring him up to the holding cells-- the research team'll be glad to know rubber slugs work on supernaturals."

"Oh, that's right," thought Gene, as a pair of burly arms wrapped around both of his. "I forgot they took us in alive." Gene attempted to brace himself for a very unpleasant next few weeks in the research labs, and failed miserably before it even began.

[User]
Gilgamesh HQ

Suddenly, the roar of an engine filled the room as Antonio Hasta, the last crusader, burst into the room on a gleaming golden motorcycle. The chopper's exhaust pipes extended high behind him, resembling a pair of iron wings. The front itself resembled a crucifix, poised directly at the armed guards.

There was a brief moment of silence, or at least as silent as it could be with a Harley revving in an enclosed space. Hasta eyed the man fallen on the ground, and remembered the old adage, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". That man with the prosthetic was no doubt some hapless bystander, falling pray to the heathens that filled the room.

Antonio's fist tightened around Gabriel.

"RIDE, ROCINANTE." he shouted, popping a wheelie before charging forward. The lance thrust through a singular guard before drifting across the room, carrying the hapless fiend like a gruesome flag. The bike slid to a stop behind Gene, and Hasta tossed the heretic off of his lance. The remaining guards dared open their fire a second time against an innocent.
Lance gave way to sword and shield, and Antonio leaned down, wrapping his arm around the prone form. Images of the Saints themselves deflected gunfire, such was their gift to the faithful. Once the volley ended, the engine gave a fierce roar to match the one escaping the paladin's lips as he charged the last two men. Some may argue that it was ignoble for cavalry to mow down infantry, but these men were long past mercy, or anything other than God's fury given shape.

Antonio stomped down on the kickstand and dismounted, his motorcycle dissolving into ethereal golden flames as he stepped away. He knelt by Gene's form, examining his body.
"He was shot, but bears no wounds. Probably beanbag rounds. I should prepare bandages." he said, removing his scarlet cape. As he began to tear off long strips, his eyes noticed something odd.
"His arm... how odd. Is that marble?" he put down his cape, and reached forward to grope the plated limb.

[Assistant]
Gene's rescue had happened almost too quickly for him to process. All Gene understood was that something unbelievably loud had burst into the room, ruined the equipment, killed the guards, and disappeared. All that was left was an armored, evidently friendly, soldier wearing very obvious religious paraphernalia. Gene graciously took Antonio's hand, and rose to his feet. The hard, angelic material of Gene's right hand sparked with residual energy, grounding itself in Antonio's hand.

"Thanks for saving me back there, dude." Gene said. "This damn arm has been nothing but trouble for me!" Gene flexed his God Hand irritably, allowing it to shine in the dull light of the fluorescent bulbs above.

"So, why are you here, anyway?"


[System]
Age: 37
Nationality: German
Gear/Weapons:
WAlther P38
HK MP7
PzF 3 Bunkerfaust

Apperance:

Bio:
Karl Schultz was born out in West Germany, near the great wall that used to separate the country. He never met his mother, but his father was an officer in the German army, and so was his father before and his before him so it was only natural that Karl enlisted as soon as he came of age. Because of his family's history of being officers, Karl was pushed to follow them. At the start, Karl was a slow learner, unable to follow even the simplest procedures of an officer. But he persisted, slowly climbing ranks and learning. After a few years he was finally given command of a small squad, and though they never saw any action. After that it was an easy journey for him, a better grasp of what was expected of him and better understanding of his troops and how to lead them. While he is still considered one of the lower skilled officers in the Bundeswehr, many still recognize him for his persistence and his ability to adapt to his squad.

While he wasn't the first choice to lead Team 1 into the New Realm, he was given the position as a chance to prove himself, something he had been asking for for a very long time. He oversaw the training of all four teams over the course of the two weeks they spent and took time to understand each of the soldiers partaking in the expedition.

Personality:
Neutral. Neutral is the best word to describe Karl's personality. You are either on his good side and get treated with respect, or you are on his bad side and get treated with a punch to the face. Despite this he likes to put up a tough front while on duty, often yelling when not needed or just quoting lines he's heard in American war movies, though even when yelling at them he still respects those that serve under him providing they listen and act like soldiers. He is a very patriotic man and would gladly charge headfirst into battle if his country asked it of him, even though he has never been given the chance until now. The same goes for his men, he would put himself into the line of fire to protect those serving under him.

Other:
Originally was not slated to be on the N.W.R.T.F, let alone the one leading it. However Team 1's leader was in a car accident two days before training began and Karl was selected to go in his place.

Despite how he acts, he has never seen action other then training drills.

Surprisingly, he apparently has a good sense of humour though rarely shows it.

[User]
"I swear to god: if we come up on the ewoks village, I'm going to loose it."
The next two hour or so passed without incident as he tried to keep a lookout for not just the strange, but the familiar as well. Signs of local German flora or fauna, even an oak leaf or chipmunk would be of some reassurance. Then came the fence, he was an army brat and a city-kid so he had no bearing on fences beyond picket-iron-chainlink. But this proved to have both benefits and drawbacks.
Assuming the best case scenario for them, it would be n abandoned dwelling with perhaps some sort of writing and food samples for the science teams to comb over with a fine toothed comb. An abandoned house would also give them a rest point and forward position of shelter against whatever this world might bring. Even a turtle-shell roof against deadly meteor showers. The other chance is to make fist contact with cannibal hobbits who want them to stay for dinner.

"Sir, logic would dictate that this area is corded off for a reason, that means civilized tool using people. Our chances of encountering fauna and local natives that are capable of thought and reasoning goes up exponentially. This fence could be one, ten, or a hundred years old."
He looked to the others in the group for their support or at least to get a read on their faces. He saw the medic having carried so much extra gear to keep them alive, a twinge of guilt struck him. That guilt became an idea to force a break on the group to reconsider following the fence.
"Snider. We're halfway there, do you want me to take some off your back for the next leg?"

[Assistant]
Karl nodded in agreement. Their job was to recon the area for any signs of anything, a fence was more then enough reason to investigate, even if it looked like it hadn't been maintained in forever.
"Right. Okay let's move out then. Keeps your eyes open, just in case. For all we know those green things back at the entrance could have made this."
It took the group about 20 minutes to follow the fence over the hill to it's origin. The burnt out ruins of what appeared to be a farm house and a barn, along with some other smaller buildings. It wasn't recent though and you didn't have to be an expert to see that. Most of the ash was gone and plants had started to grow up in some of the ruins, this farm had obviously been destroyed a long time ago. Two things, however stood out. Littered about where withered, burned wooden shafts, probably arrows of some sort. And the other was a dagger sticking out of one of the burnt posts on what would've been the farmhouse. The dagger was in good condition, albeit very rusted, and was most likely placed there after the fire. The final thing that was noticeable was a fading path, that connected to a larger path that conveniently led off into the mountains.
"Well, whatever was here isn't anymore. Hmm... That path there leads towards the mountains, we can take that. If there is an easy way through them this path would probably lead us there."
He turned to the group.
"Right, okay we'll take a 5 minute break and then continue."
Turning back towards the burned down house, Karl started to take a closer look at the dagger. Probably a message from whoever attacked whoever.

[User]
"Right ok we'll take a five minute break and then continue"

Jack took a sip from his water bottle and replaced it in his coat. He contemplated sitting on the ground but his curiousity of the farmhouse was greater than the weariness of walking all day.
Jack climbed over the fence walking around to the back of the building. Jack walked into to the barn and looked around picking up a withered stick to look at. It could have been an arrow or maybe a piece of some other tool; a plow or rake.
The building was old and Jack wondered what had destroyed it? Why? Was this place so close to earth as to have wars of sorts? It seemed to be at least as civilized as earth. Fields, fences, what if they had just stumble back in time not into another world? The troll the German police had seen came back to him. No that must not be it. If the building was newer he could tell more he was no expert on this...
He was egar to continue on up onto the mountains standing on the path lookin up seeing if anything coul. Be discerned by the little path.

[Assistant]
"Snider. We're halfway there, do you want me to take some off your back for the next leg?"

Lucas shook his head when Keller asked if he needed any help. It was uncomfortable, but not unmanageable. Besides, as a medic he wasn't supposed to do any sort of fighting (unless it was to protect his patients), so it didn't matter if he was a little over-encumbered. "Thanks Keller, but no I'm good. It's just bulky, no big deal."

***

When the group arrived at the house (if it could even be called that anymore), Lucas dropped his pack and joined Karl in examining the dagger, followed by wandering into the house and taking a look around. His curiosity was plainly visible on his face as he did so. The architecture was just like back on earth (albeit, a very early European style), and the dagger looked like something straight out of their history museums... This was odd. How could two separate dimensions have the same basic technology and architecture? Did humans from early in earth's history discover another portal like this and settle here? It seemed unlikely, since something that impressive would surely have been documented in some of the historical records. What about the technological development in and of itself? Could it be that there was general direction which was the most efficient for technological progress, so any civilization would develop along the same lines as earth had? Lucas shook his head, perplexed. He was a doctor, but questions like this were still far above his pay grade.

When he finished investigation, he walked back over to Karl and remarked "Seems odd eh, Sir? Everything here looks like it could have been made on earth maybe 500, 600 years ago."

[User]
"Seems odd eh, Sir? Everything here looks like it could have been made on earth maybe 500, 600 years ago."

Karl grabbed the dagger, giving it a small wiggle as he yanked it out of the post. The dagger was thin, decorated with a mixture of long, straight lines and curled short ones. The blade itself had two curves in it and looked more ornamental then one meant for use.
"Maybe, but people 600 years ago at least knew how to make proper blades. Whoever made this preferred looks over use."
He examined the blade a bit closer before shoving it in one of the empty pouches he had.
"Alright, time to go. Weirden, Keller! Break times over! Let's follow this path here. It'll be easier and probably safer."

The small dirt path obviously hadn't been traveled on in a very long time, though a few animal footprints could be spotted on it. Guess no one had any reason of visiting a burned out barn. The dirt road was long, but eventually lead to a larger one. The larger one ran off into two directions, one towards the mountains and one towards the forest. The larger dirt road also looked like people used it recently, fairly recently. Footprints, horse tracks, wheels and some other unidentifiable tracks littered the road. This pretty much confirmed that people still lived here. Karl squatted down, getting a better look at the tracks.
"Maybe something of a main road?" He looked up, scanning the horizon in both directions.
"Might just be a slow time in the day. Alright, we'll take this to the mountains." He stood back up, motioning towards his men to follow. The road was long and very empty, after another two hours of walking the group didn't come across anything else except for the occasional road sign. The letters on the signs were various circles and spirals. Obviously not a language from their world. At each sign Karl took pictures of the lettering in case they'd need to translate it later. Around the third hour mark two figures appeared in the distance. People. Karl started running situations through his head. Should they jump of the road and hide while they pass? Should they try to apprehend them, see what they could learn from them? Thinking over his options, he quickly decided to go with the best one that would draw the least attention.
"Safeties off, but no sudden movement. Just keep walking. If they look like they are going to try something you may fire. If this truly is like the times of old, then four oddly dressed people won't stand out too much."
Karl flipped his MP7's safety off, keeping his finger resting just outside the trigger guard in case they were hostile.

[Assistant] Lucas flipped the safety off his carbine with a metalic click and took up the rear of the group. Who were the people they spotted? What did they look like? Were they human? Alien? Monsterous? Oh in his heart he truely wanted to take the lead and be the first to get a closer look, but the situation demanded that he stay in the back incase shit went sideways. Wouldn't want the medic to be the first casualty of an alien attack. *ThumpThump ThumpThump ThumpThump* His beating heart betrayed his excitement. First contact, oh what a time to be alive! And he was part of the group doing it!

[User]
Andrew had hung back and kept his head on a swivel. Patroling the outer range, he took photos of the structure from all outsides. He let the others do the exploration and did indeed take the offered break to snack on a power bar then wash it down with a swig of his canteen that had a packet of kool-aid in it for flavor and a sugar boost. It was something his family did back since nam.

When it was time to be boots up, he took third position and switched from shotgun to grenade launcher in case they encountered anything heavy. As they came upon the tracks, he took a picture of them for the eggheads back at base, the boss was taking pictures of the signs. But now it was time for first contact.

Firing an explosive into the group was a recipe for disaster, so he switched back to shotgun but kept a relaxed position. His weapon was armed with alternatig rounds of birdshot-buckshot-slug. He set his phone to record and put it in his chest pocket. Hoping for the best and planning for the worst.

[Assistant]
The group continued down the road towards the small group of locals. As the group grew closer they could clearly see two things, one was that there was two locals, and two was that they were running. The two were running at full speed down the road, occasionally looking over their shoulders. Karl held up his hand, signaling his group to stop, people don't just run for no reason. The locals didn't appear to be armed and the way they kept looking over their shoulders made it obvious that they were running away from... something. Behind them another group of people emerged. There was about 15-20 people in the second group and they appeared to be chasing the first. As the two locals drew closer to Karl and his group they started screaming at them in a foreign language, pointing at the second group and making gestures indicating that they should run too.
"Don't follow them. Hold positions."
As the locals passed the group, they slowed down still trying to urge them to run, shouting at them in their own language.
[UNTRANSLATED]
Once it was obvious that Karl and his group weren't running or listening to them the two locals sped up again running past them and down the road. By this time the second group where much closer, and it was obvious they weren't normal people. Their skin was a pale grey, their eyes pitch black. Some were missing limbs, chunks of hair, an eye or two, and some didn't even have clothes on. The group stumbled over each other as they ran towards Karl and his men, with no hint of stopping or going around. They way they looked and acted were almost like a zombie from horror movies. Karl raised his rifle. Whatever they were, they were hostile and his team's protection was priority one.
"I'm deeming this group to be hostile. Everyone, get ready to fire. Small arms only. Take out the ones in front and work your way back."
Karl squeezed the trigger once, sending a bullet right into the chest of his target. The grey runner stumbled back from the force of the bullet but kept running. Karl hit him with another two rounds, center mass. Again the grey runner kept running. Karl raised his rifle a bit higher, sending a fourth round into the head. The bullet passed through it's skull, dropping it like a rock. A little part of Karl was upset that he knew to do this from watching those horror movies.
"Forget center mass, aim for the head!"

Behind the group, the sound of gunfire made the two locals stop running, both turning around to look at Karl and his group.


[System]
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Species: Dracoavian
Image created by Ridlins.

Stands at five feet, seven inches tall.
Bio: Trevor lived a relatively normal, boring life, though, for some reason, he was absolutely okay with that. When he was a child, he was always the target of bullies due to his love for video games, and general nerdiness, however, he was one of the few nerds who could and would fight back, and even so, with surprising strength. If he didn't change schools every year due to his parents moving, he probably wouldn't have gotten picked on after the first time... that isn't to say he didn't get in trouble, since he was bad at trying to convince people, and everyone always thought he was lying, despite Trevor typically not being one TO lie. At first he didn't really think he HAD anger issues, but all of that changed in the seventh grade, when he was just awake enough to notice that he was blacking out, and going completely berserk... the last sight he could remember seeing was his fellow students running away from him, or getting out of his way... funny thing, he doesn't even remember what GOT him that angry, but that incident caused him to finally agree to work out that issue.

 He has since calmed down, and hasn't gotten in any more fights, since most of the bullies in high school remembered him from at least one of the elementary schools he went to, and they didn't want to mess with him. He has since just finished college, getting a degree in computer programming, of all things, and he took his first interview for his first real job... his first day was going to be in a couple days, but he was, hilariously enough, excited about this. This was going to be the start of a brand new chapter in his life, and of course, he didn't think the meteor would actually hit until yesterday, and that REALLY soured his mood for a bit, but then he said to himself 'Well, if it's the last day for humans, let it be known that I really tried to adult' he chuckled at his own joke, and tried to live the last day as if it truly were the last. He tried all sorts of new food, all kinds of new activities with all of his friends, even introducing a few of them to others, and blew most of the cash he had in his wallet. He ended up DEAD tired when he got back home, though, he really didn't want this last day to end for various reasons, his body just wouldn't let him stay up any longer...

 However, much to his surprise, Trevor somehow woke up the next day, though, not everything was where it normally was, specifically, there were feathers and scales everywhere, and he had a long, blue thing blocking his vision... and he felt like he had a tail and wings, but, that can't be possible, right?

Weaknesses (x2): Ice, Stone, and Nature magic
Strengths: x0.5 - Water, x0 - Fire, x-1 - Lightning

Skills:
Fisticuffs: Not one to use weapons, Trevor prefers to just punch the enemy, despite the fact that his claws might be a better choice. He uses no real fighting style, since he was never trained, but there's enough strength behind his punches to make this a viable option.

Fire: Firebreath, and some other fiery skills... Trevor's alright at it, but some of the more advanced fire moves tend to come with some sort of drawback for him... he uses it as recklessly as one would expect.

 Flame Drill: A skill in which Trevor imitates a drill and drills through the opponent using his tough claws, and a dose of fire breath. A powerful move that can easily hit weak points and ignores an enemy's defense, but it also leaves Trevor dizzy, and unable to accurately attack for a while after its use.

Lightning: Trevor's a natural at using electrical abilities, apparently, and he tends to shoot said lightning from the tips of his claws, often shaping his hand to look kind of like a gun and even occasionally saying 'pew, pew' when he does so.

 Energize: Trevor can use some of his own electricity to give one of his teammates, or himself, a sudden burst of energy. Heals HP, and can restore some lost magic... costs a decent amount of magic to use, however.

Runes: Scan Rune - Allows one to use the 'Scan' skill both inside and outside of battle... said skill allows the user to read alien languages, and know the strengths and weaknesses of enemies once it's used on a sample of that language, and an enemy, respectively. This rune doesn't need to be equipped to any skill slot, and doesn't require any real magic to use.

 Heal Rune - Allows the use of one type of healing magic, depending on which type of magic it's equipped to. In this case, it allows the use of the magic skill 'Energize', since it's equipped to his lightning magic.
Other: Nothing.

[User]
Mia

---

 The drill was able to easily tear through a steel plate not unlike the one blocking the path to the ghost. Stealing it was not only morally questionable, but while the guards were around, it would be very difficult. Still, it seemed like the only option at the time.Mia went over their options in her head. They could lure the guards away and take it, but getting such a large drill to the wall without being noticed would be nearly impossible.

 While she was lost in thought, she hadn't noticed that Trevor had already began approaching the wall. It wasn't until Trevor used his newfound power that she happened to turn her head. "Damnit, Trevor..." She muttered under her breath, rushing over to assist him. It seemed that he'd been inspired by the drill, because this attack certainly did look like it. Perhaps it could get through the wall, as well. It seemed to significantly damage the golem as well, and though he seemed a little dazed afterward, Trevor didn't appear to be injured too badly.

 Mia hadn't used any offensive spells until this point, so she was unsure if her magic could do anything besides heal. It took a moment, but she was eventually able to form a rod of light with a pointed tip. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be an arrow. She quickly flew to Jason - she'd seen him make weapons before. "Jason, could you make me a bow?" Though she'd never really shot a bow before, if her magic could create arrows, it was in her best interests to learn how.

[Assistant] Jason looks at the glowing arrow in Mia's hand in surprise, and nods. "I'll try, but it's gonna have one heck of a draw strength. Gimme a minute." Many of the drawing around him fade away, the lines making them up blending and vanishing back into nothingness. He measures Mia's arms, and draws a metal bow with his claw. He pulls the bow out of the wall, and "erases" bits of scrap metal that came with it, by slicing them off with his white hot talons. He then hands the new metal bow to Mia, and draws his small pistol, hiding it with his enormous wings, and loads a clip. "Let's go find out what we're up against here." His wings and feathers begin to glow, slowly and steadily, and the items he drew flicker with the same golden flames.

[User]
Shaula

---

 If they could only get to the drill fast enough, all they had to do was drive it away and ram it at the wall. Unless it needed a key. Do mole-aliens even use keys? Before she could figure out an answer to that question, however, they had made it to the wall, and Trevor was already fighting the guard. He had launched himself at the golem, spinning and breathing fire in an impressive imitation of the drill as his attack went straight through it. Celina cushioned his fall. If he could manage to do that again, they might not need to steal the drill. Shaula noticed Mia and Jason preparing to fight and realized she should figure out something fast.

 She took an Orgone emitter from her backpack and threw it at the golem. It bounced off harmlessly. The golem looked over and, notably, did not double over from pain as the Orgone energy surged through its body. "Course. Orgone doesn't actually affect any of these aliens. Why would it be that easy?" she said. Shaula raised her arms toward the golem. "Fine, then. I can do this. It worked last time." Water blasted from her palms and knocked her backwards. Regaining her balance and planting her feet more firmly in the ground this time, she shot water at it again.

[Assistant] While the strange item didn't do much, or rather, any damage to the golem, Celina's copy of Trevor's move seemed to do quite a bit, though, Trevor could only assume that she'd be dizzy, just like him, afterwards. The others spoke, and someone shot water at the golem, dealing some pretty decent damage to it, as well, and even managing to erode its head, a little bit, but now it was Trevor's turn, again... Trevor got up and tried his best to punch the golem, however, his dizziness actually caused him to miss, and said miss probably prompted the golem to smash one of its arms right into him. "Uuuuugh... owwww," Trevor managed to say after getting smashed into the ground by a literal boulder, albeit one that was loosely connected to a bunch of other boulders, forming a vaguely humanoid shape. The golem then took a bit of time to just punch into the nearby wall, causing some loose rocks to fall around the place, only to then patched itself up with said rocks, healing itself just by using the environment around it. This... wasn't going to be an easy fight, unfortunately. The golem then slowly approached Mia, its speed being even less than that of Shaula's, or Celina's.

[User]
Mia

---

 As Mia pulled back the bow's string, she could see what Jason meant when he told her about the draw strength. She couldn't hold it back for long, and when she fired it, she completely missed. The golem was such a large target, as well. She would need some practice if she wanted to use this ability in combat anytime soon. "I'm sorry Jason, but I think I'm done with the bow for now." She placed it on the ground, though she kind of felt bad for having Jason make this weapon only to fire once and miss.

 In the short time it took to fire the arrow, Trevor had gotten a serious beating from the golem. Now, it was coming for her. It stood between the two of them, but it was much slower than Mia was. She ran off to the side, kiting around the golem in an attempt to reach her injured teammate.

[Assistant] He shrugs. "Don't worry about it Mia. I can just make another one later for you to practice with." The bow fades away, and he tosses a barrage of fireballs at the golems head in an attempt to melt it. "Get Trevor out of there! Don't let it step on him!" He lifts a large spear, the head of the weapon blazing with white flame, and puts it into the golems back when it turns to follow Mia. "Oi! Rock head! Over here, you pile of pebbles!" He backwings, sending himself hurdling backwards, and lands awkwardly. "Get it in the head!" He pulls out his gun, and begins shooting the golems face.

[User] Now this was bad. Celina felt very dizzy after what she just did, stumbling around and having some difficulty being able to aim. And as what she saw while her world was spinning, Trevor had the same issue, actually missing his move on the golem. Celina though about it and tried to draw something, actually summoning a bird... sort of? The things wings were very crooked, its beak seeming like it was made to be a very badly drawn toucan beak, and its tail seeming like a snake tail. The thing started to fly... before crashing down right at the golem's feat and disintegrating. "God dang world spinning... ugh..." she then said before falling face first on the ground, dizzy right now. She shook her head, hoping to regain her senses soon. This was not good at all right now for her. At least with her slime form she would not really get hurt too much by physical attacks. At least that is what she hoped.

[Assistant]
Shaula

---

 Shaula spun around at the sound of gunshots to see Jason shooting a pistol at the golem's face. "Jason! You brought a gun with you and didn't tell us!? There was a giant spider, we could have used it!" she hissed. It would have gone to better use against the spider, because the golem seemed to be able to regenerate any damage done to it. They needed a new plan. Getting it away from rocks was out of the question; they were in a cave. Really, though, they didn't need to kill it. They just needed to get through the wall.

 "Celina, Trevor!" Shaula said, "We'll distract the rock alien! You try and get through the wall! Do that drill thing again!" She ran around the golem (picking up her Orgone emitter along the way) and shot water at the golem to keep it away from everyone else. "Jason, keep shooting! Get it angry at you!" If Jason could get it distracted, then all they had to do was break through the wall, and it would be easy to outrun it. And then all they had to worry about was that dragon...


[System]
Age: 47

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Weapon: The underside of Algernon's watch is a dart-shooter. It reacts to the muscles in his wrist; if he extend his palm, the darts will fire. While the normal darts are coated in sedative and are not very harmful, he owns special dust-packaged darts that can exert quite the elemental effect on their target.

One of the items in his duffel bag, aside from various folders, binders, and papers, is a boxlike device called the Onager. If Algernon puts his right hand into the slot and plugs it in, the box unfolds into a mortar that rests on his shoulder when in use—siege mode. In siege mode, Onager fires volatile bombs in a big arc, perfect for large, slow-moving targets. In the default storage mode, Onager is much safer.

Specialty: Algernon detests physical combat, believing it to be below his station as a professor. In rare situations of combat, Algernon's chief strategy is keep-away: the art of running and shooting. It is an uninspiring, though effective and safe, style of fighting. He'll often employ his wits in combination with his dart-shooter and Onager, effectively classifying him as a gunslinger/scout. Of course, as a teacher he rarely gets involved in fighting scenarios.

Semblance: Drowse Algernon can put people to sleep—and not just with his lectures about calculus. If he yawns, everyone in a radius around him will instantly succumb to slumber, and if he stifles that yawn, he puts himself to sleep. While not effective at all in a wide-awake combat situation, Algernon still sees his unique little power as useful.

Personality: If it weren't 'Henry', 'methodical' would be Algernon's middle name. Slow, cautious, thorough, and even boring, he always makes sure that both he and his students have a firm grasp of whatever comes their way and are prepared for what's next. He is a pacifist that prefers not to fight, but understands all too well the necessity of warfare. While not the most outgoing, he generally likes to help and enjoys forming teacher-student relationships with those attending beacon. Algy is pretty pragmatic and not overgiven to sentimentality, knowing that the overemotional response can often be the wrong one. That didn't stop him from marrying the girl of his dreams, though, but exactly who his wife is he keeps a playful secret from the students—the only hint is that she is another teacher at Beacon.

Color: Amber

Emblem:

Appearance:

[User]
Gren Orchid

"Fancy seeing you up here. Here for the concert or do you just like the view?"

Gren had been on the same roof that Sapphire was on, though he was rather surprised that she was able to get up here. The walls were hardly suited for climbing and Sapphire didn't seem the type to deface school property by using her daggers as climbing tools. Did she have a power similar to him? He put those thoughts aside as he walked up to his team leader.

The two shared the same view of the crowd gathered below. Gren could pick out a few people among the crowd, but none of them seemed to be the source of music. Which still begged to question what was causing such a ruckus. He turned to Sapphire wondering if she knew anything about this. "I don't suppose you have any idea what this is all about, Rode?"

While he was up here it also occurred to him that if Shiro was going to give Gren his headphones, he'd need to find him wouldn't he? Gren sent Shiro another message in the event that he has obtained his headphones by now.

And unknown to Gren, their little team pet Scoot had been hitching a ride in Gren's bag. It had a plentiful enough space for the small creature, and for some reason or another it's telepathic semblance had some difficulty speaking to Gren's mind. It started to weasel out however when it smelled Sapphire near by and sent her a message.

"Loud! Fun?"

[Assistant]
Oswald Connolly- Anime Shenanigans

Wondering what was taking Sapphire so long, Oswald cocked his head to the side as his Scroll vibrated against his leg. Pulling the offending object from his pocket, Oswald was a bit surprised to see a message from the object of his inquiries.

Greetings? Really? Whatever. Looking up at the roofs, Oswald only noticed Sapphire's figure after a few moments of searching. He was...frankly, bewildered. Her Semblance certainly hadn't allowed her to get up there. Was she really that agile? "Color me impressed, the other gem managed to find a good vantage point! I'll head up first, if ya really want I can bring you up, but I don't think teleportation would work well with your stomach!"

Nodding at his teammates, Oswald looked back to Sapphire and took a moment to think. Could he make it? The girl was only a few stories up. He was worried that his Semblance would wonk out and leave him somewhere other than his intended target, though. While he understood most of the limits, this was a situation he couldn't be positive about the results of.

Throwing caution to the wind, Oswald focused on a spot just next to Sapphire, right on the edge of the roof, and suddenly his entire view of the world shifted. He was now on the roof. Stepping forward to make sure he didn't plummet to his doom, Oswald looked between Gren and Sapphire. "Team meeting?"

[User]
Grane Blauer
"I see you just got your sea legs laddie!"

"Gee thanks." Grane gripped his stomach in pain, trying to resist the urge to throw the the first mate and his shit eating grin overboard. He hadn't expected the ship ride to be that bad, he chose it over the airship for a reason, but the storm they went through made the ship lurch like no tomorrow. Perhaps he should have taken the long trek instead of trying his chances with this merchant ship. It would have been much more peaceful. And Grane wouldn't have felt like he was about to throw up yesterday's lunch.

"Thanks for the ride I guess.... I'll go now." Grane jumped off the boat, and gave a sigh of relief as his shoes hit the ground. The Port of Vale was full of activity, as expected from such a major city. Well, with all these goods.... They wouldn't miss one measly bottle. He needed it for the next bloody ride he'd have to take to get to Beacon. Gods know Grane would rather be drunk than trying to sit through a flight on nothing. He hastily shoved the bottle in his bag after taking a sip.

It seemed that no one was really watching, as he made no attempt to hide the blatant crime. Grane found his airship and waited for the flight to start…but then fell asleep.

---------

Grane found himself waking up with a bad hangover. He was never too good with alcohol anyway, but that never really stopped him. Grane sluggishly walked off the airship, making it to the entrance of Beacon. Grane actually didn't know what to do at this point- nothing came to mind, and perhaps he was a bit too drunk to think properly. Aimlessly walking around, Grane hoped he might find someone with authority he could talk to. None of the students really wanted to talk to him, and some even mumbled something about bad music.

He saw someone who looked relatively new as well, and found himself following him in hopes of finding some sort of faculty.

[Assistant]
An elated giggle erupted out of Skyra breathing in the fresh air. "Your bum is just right. Not too fat, but still properly butt shaped. It's at least better than mine." In a swift motion she reached into the bag of sweets, pulled something out, she didn't actually care what, and put it into her mouth merrily chewing on it.
"Shanksh!", she mumbled, her mouth full of the remains of baked goods. Quickly she gulped it down, although still savouring the aftertaste in her mouth.
"You're also a lot more well equipped in other areas than me." Skyra winked and massaged her small bumps on her chest for a second. "Not that I wanted yours, though."