Sutoratosu

December 4, 2017

"Why don't we test it then?" Lucille responded "Start small to be safe, record the results, and go from there... like, here" She tapped about with the newly wrought cane until she struck something harder than the barren dirt. With another tap of darksteel against stone, she got a feel for the size of the rock and other factors such as hardness and density, and finally used the walking stick to knock it over to her feet, picking it up and proffering it to Soma. The thing was a modestly sized stone, about the girth of a ping pong ball. It was hard to tell the variety of stone, it looked.... simply like a generic peice of rock and rubble one might find in any post-apocalyptic area.

"This," she continued "Stone and Metal are relatively close to each other, in a few ways, so it'll probably be less.... chaotic, wouldn't it? We've got plenty of crystals on the transport, maybe you can experiment with them too?"

December 4, 2017

"How... unpredictably?" Thinking on it for a moment though, she quickly followed up with "on second thought.... don't answer that if you don't want to. Maybe you can try it out on the spear we made earlier, iron out the whole... chucking-with-extreme-force quirk? Or just make it even more dangerous to try and use...ya know, we should probably try to do something about that thing before someone gets impaled on accident."

December 4, 2017

Stellio took off his helmet as he stepped further into the room. Not quite what he'd been searching for, but it was definitely close enough. As to who had thought it a good idea to put a forge in the middle of a ship, with the walls left their barren wood finish and only the flooring reinforced to protect against potential fire, he did not know. And by all accounts, he reckoned whoever had made the decision was long dead anyway.

He stepped over to the Anvil with the worn tools and Chimney to see if there was anything of even remote interest about any of them. After which his attention turned to searching the room for any remnant of old arms or other gear the previous occupants left behind.

December 4, 2017

"I see...." Lucille said. She put it on the ground and tested her weight on it, finding the metal adequate. As is, it could've already been used to walk, though a change in form factor wouldn't hurt it. "Do you think you could do this for some of the scrap metal we have, too?"

She muttered something under her breath, seemingly at the same time as she spoke to soma- how she did without the entire sentence becoming a jumbling mess of words, it was hard to ascertain, but just as with the many times she done it before, it almost as though.... the mutterings contained no words, nothing to become entangled. Or at least, no words an ordinary person would understand. Being so close, Soma would doubtlessly hear nothing from them, but nevertheless feel an odd vibration in the air as lucille felt her way around the peice of rebar, before settling for which spot would be best to alter:

Lucille used Mold on the Darksteel Rebar, Requiring a difficulty check due to being a magic-material

Spoiler

Crafting Roll: 19 vs 11
Quality: 50: Average quality
Randomness: 52: No randomness.

You have made your Darksteel Rebar Cane by using Mold to bend it into shape. The cane can now be used for walking and whacking people upside the head

The Darksteel Rebar becomes the following:

Darksteel Rebar Cane: A cane made of out of a peice of rebar which was converted to Darksteel and bent into proper shape. Can be used for walking or as an improvised weapon. [Deals 1d6+Dex damage. The user can spend an action to ignite this weapon with holy fire, making it deal an additional Ess/4 damage for 2 turns.]

After just a few moments, she was done. The vibration Soma would've felt had stopped, and Lucille once again testing the improvised cane on the ground, only to be caught off guard as she made an idle thought about the crackling of flames she'd heard earlier, and finding the implement once more bursting into the fire which roared, yet did not burn. Her, at least. The ground it touched was left with a minute scorch mark. The stench of smoke briefly wafted up to her nose, as she moved the end and left a black line in the dirt. By the time she thought about making the flame stop, there was a thin, half circle scorched into the earth.

"Hmmmmmm.... this could be pretty useful.... or fun. Maybe both. Thanks, Soma~"

December 4, 2017

Stellio walked the halls of the ruined vessel alone, as most of the others seemed to have scattered deeper. This wasn't.... quite like anything he'd seen, back on the isles- fishing and overseas trade were both booming factors to Valeria's economy, before the civil war. But this thing seemed like it was made to tread waters of a...different sort than he was used to. Something felt... off about it however. He had been present to disasters before, seen the aftermath of towns razed, cities raped and burned, and their inhabitants slaughtered wholesale and in some cases raised yet again as thralls.... and this sensation was the very same as when he'd walked through the ruins, every time, listening as the souls of the damned cried out- creating a cacophonous noise which culminated into one thing, and one thing only...

The sound of silence.

Silence... yes, that was it. Pure and utter. Silence so grand, he could hear the cries of those he had slain even now, with every step forward he took. Bits and fragments of shattered memories and broken dreams- the residual energies of too many men and women to count, as they writhed in the agony of death. Energies which stuck to a Terror Knight like flies to honey.

"How many might cry out here, if one were to listen?" The knight pondered to himself "How is it that so much death is tied to this place, this derelict? An instrument of war, in it's day and age? Or perhaps something yet more sinister..."

He kept walking, hoping to find the answer to his own question. If this truly had been a warship, it would have an armory at the very least, and barracks to house the crew and any troops it transported...

Stellio attempts to find the Ship's Armory/Barracks (Or whats left of them)

December 4, 2017

"Huh- oh.... thanks?" Lucille said, as the rebar was pressed into her hand. At the crackling and odd signatures coming off of it, she was half afraid Soma had simply lit a branch or something alight and handed it to her... which would've said quite a bit in "thanks" for the chameleon. Hefting the thing in her hands however, she came to realize that despite the crackling of flames, she smelled no smoke, felt no heat or pain even as she inched her hands further up the length. The metal itself was.... odd though, felt like nothing else she'd ever held. The weight, handling, and the way sound echo'd of the material when she clicked at it, all came together to paint a totally foreign picture in her mind.

"Um.... what is it, exactly? You said you made it yourself?"

December 3, 2017

"Not really..." Arya shrugged. Whatever it was, it probably was the same thing that had distracted the girl back on the trail. Not like it really involved them. And the girl had outright said she didn't want them around. Plus if anything, it'd be best if they kept that.... little discussion earlier to themselves, no point sharing it with an instructor.

"Guess we'll head there on our own, then. Where is it?"

December 3, 2017

"'Yep'.... that's it? That's... all you gotta say after they sent you to trek out here after us, like a red shirt?" It was kinda odd, Arya figured whoever would've come to fetch them would complain about how they wasted their time with that stunt, or try and lecture them about not running off, kinda like a teacher's pet. Infact, a teacher's pet was exactly who'd she'd been expecting. The girl almost seemed distracted by.... something. Something Arya wasn't about to go to the effort of prying, nor did she really care enough to linger on it. They still had shit to fix, and the less bitchin' there was in the kitchen, the better.

"Well, alright" Arya shrugged "You might as well lead the way back"

December 2, 2017

Maya had remained silent through the whole conversation. She'd tried to give the benefit of the doubt to Anna's kin, convince herself they couldn't all be quite as.... well... it was difficult to ascertain the precise words. Eccentric? Yes, very much so... Sociopathic? Hmmmm.... there were hints of it, here and there... such as when Anna had caved in that man's skull over one remark, yes... Greedy, Selfish, short-sighted, and somewhat irresponsible? yes, all of those too... Petty? Oh most definitely, the passive aggressive cat fight just now cemented that. By the end of the introductions and the stories, it was just about all Maya could do to simply smile and nod whenever she was directly mentioned. She simply began to tune things out, once Anna Clara grabbed some poor girl from one of the tables.

To think, she'd been worried. Well, she'd been right too. But not about whatever past ecquis and the other Anna might've had, but the fact that, as far as she could see, there was a nigh carbon copy of Anna running around on this earth, and apparently, there were several more clones as well, somewhere. She pondered whether or not the remaining sisters of their clan shared their same.... she would be nice and call them 'Quirks'. Just as much as she tried to ponder the probability of one woman giving birth to several daughters who looked as similar as Anna Marie and Anna Clara did to each other.

Astronomical, I'm sure....

You should really lighten up you know? It is a party, afterall. Didn't you say we were gonna celebrate that cloudy bitch's death?

A bit hard to celebrate when you're dead, don't you think? she chuckled, at what, was anyone's guess But fine, I guess you have a point...

December 2, 2017

"Oooooh....shit. Thats... yeh, I see what you mean now" Arya sighed. It was one big surprise after another, it seemed. Still "Uh well... look, it's all out in the open now, and... that's what important. Hopefully we can fix the misunderstanding with Naya, and well.... um..." she was still blushing a little bit, as she kicked a few loose pebbles off the path

"We can talk about the...other stuff later. We should... probably head back to the pavilion though, try to patch up everything... plus we probably got into even more trouble by running off. But... Natalie..." She finally regained enough of her thoughts to look the other girl in the eye, slowly supressing the warmth that had spread throughout her face. She wasn't if she was right, but well, there had already been two surprises now, whos to say there wasn't a third waiting? Only one way to find out "is there... anything else I should know? Just out of curiosity. I figured if there is, it'd probably be easier to say it now, since we've already.... you know. If there isn't, we should really head back and try to fix this"

December 2, 2017

"hmmmm, you have a point" Lucille said before she took out a bit of charcoal and began drawing on the ground. Before long, letting a combination of extensive muscle memory guided by the trance like state a Thaumist needed to carry out their work, she'd constructed two complete Circuits on the barren ground, and set the two halves inside them.

A snap of the fingers, and one of the circles fire right up. Lucille went to work almost immediately as the surrounding area quickly filled with a bright white light...

Spoiler

Roll 36 vs 14, Lucille DOMINATES!
Quality: 25: Oh
Goggy Randomness: 99!
Lucille goes beyond what is thought possible and creates an armored bird made of steel, roughly the size of a pidgeon. Not much, but it's rather obvious that this steel is extremely hardened, and could probably tank a lot of damage just by existing. Also, it maes pretty bird songs.
... Oh yeah, did I mention that it could talk? Because it can talk.

Le Bird
Sex: Female
Race: Ferro Columbidae (Steel Pidgeon)

Stats:

HP: 28

Con: 4
Essence: 1
Dexterity: 4
Intelligence: 2
Resistance: 8
Strength: 1
Synergy: 0

Perks

It’s a talking bird: This steel bird can talk. IT CAN FREAKING. TALK.

Actions:
High in the sky: This bird can fly into the sky, becoming untargetable while in the air. They also have a +10 to perception rolls to see anything below it, which it can inform Lucille about if it pleases.

And out hopped a pigeon sized animal, covered in steel feathers that heavily resembled knives in their right.

"Enw peonh, ohw sid?" It asked, cocking it's head as it looked upon the one who had created it. Lucille could only stand there, have in fasincation, half in disbeleif that the thing had actually... talked.

"Uh...C-come again?" She asked. At the same time she did, she reached out with a bonded part of her mind, trying to form a connection... "I didn't quite... catch that..."

"Het nrte is aetl. Eht tcteciliyer was rtndue off." The bird chirped "Uoy hsmnua aer the iflth fo sith orlwd, uoy sudolh usrdeernr now so hatt ruo ogrilsou magiraa ovslordre nca imcla erith gruitfhl caple as hte oamnndit cpisese!"

"Hang on, nevermind, got excited. You're not Sapient little buddy, you're just capable of speaking something close enough to human language.... it's not quite as basic as mimicry, but it's not as advanced as holding actual conversations. Which meeeeeeans...."

Lucille binds the Steel, talking Pigeon!

The bird turns to Soma now, looking her dead in the eyes as speaks it in perfect.... something "She'll be plenty useful, I'm sure. Most of what she says is gibberish on her own, but with a little rational thought giving her direction, she's not half bad at relaying messages. Anywho, onto the next one.... who knows, maybe it'll be able to talk too"

Lucille herself chuckled, before again snapping her fingers. The other circle fired up, and again, there was a bright flashed as Lucille walked over. thinking on how Soma used her weapon, perhaps it would be best if this one could serve as a potential replacement.... hmmm yes, she had just the right type of creature in mind...

Spoiler

Craft: 35 vs 24: Still a pretty good success.
Quality: 95 oh shit that's some fine ass quality.
Randomness: 99 OH FUCKING SHIT

your Chameleon making goes much better, as you create a chameleon the exact way you want. Roughly the same size of a chameleon, except there are some strange things about it. First off, that barbed tongue is razor sharp, much sharper than you anticipated, and it can go invisible. No, not camoflauge, go flat out invisible.

Minutes passed. The bird was silent as it hopped along the ground beside Soma. Soon enough however, the glow of mighty magic at work faded, and lucille was kneeling at the edge of the circle. In her hands was a generously sized reptilian creature, which Soma likely would've recognized as a Chameleon almost immediately. As it saw her, it stuck it's tongue, which was barbed with razor sharp blades, before shifting it's body color.

And like that, the lizard was gone. Literally gone- for in lucille's hands, it seemed like she was holding nothing at all. Nevertheless, she stood and made to bring said nothing to Soma.

"Oh come on, don't be like that" The girl chided. Almost reluctantly, the Chameleon reappeared, staring up at the Parahuman. Seemingly on lucille's prodding, he reached out and grabbed onto her, quickly climbing onto soma's shoulder. Lucille herself was practically beaming, clearly pleased that not only had there been no flesh horror, but both of them had out at least decently well "I think that little guy will make a decent replacement for your weapon, until we can scrounge a new one up for you. He can fire his tongue just like you could, and well.... don't let him lick you, it won't be a fun time. Aaaaaand one last small thing.... I could only tell cause I was inside his head figuring out all the odds and ends, and it really has no bearing on me, given well..." She waved a hand infront of her blank eyes, even outright feinting as if she were going to poke one of them. Neither eye gave any reaction, as one would expect from a blind girl

"buuuuut it felt like he was triggering something just now, and when I took a gander in his senses, it was like he could bend some type of energy around himself somehow, and my guess is that it was light waves... You might want to put a collar or some sort of identifier on him, just to keep him from getting lost. though, he might be able to bend them around the collar too....um.... well, nevermind, forget I suggested that. Just let me know if you ever need any help finding or training him. That little trick isn't much use when you can't see to begin with. Plus it's easier to condition things when you can sense what their feeling."

Lucille gifts the Razor-Tongued Chameleon into Soma's custody!

December 2, 2017

"oh... Soma...." Lucille trailed off once she realized who it was. She recalled the relative positioning of where the weapon landed and retrieved the broken halves. It was difficult for her to be certain, but from the touch alone the damage certain seemed to co-oberate the story. "Well... I'm sure we can do something with it. Maybe it's not suitable as a weapon anymore, but... why not turn it into a pet?"

As far fetched as that statement probably sounded, the expression on the girl's face was earnest. It wasn't like it was the first time she'd made life from the inanimate, and it likely would not be the last time either.

December 1, 2017

The information she obtained was... interesting, but it proved to not be that helpful as she'd reached out with her own power and tried to replicate the effect the Aragami "core" apparently had on the other cells. Twice she tried, and twice, she failed. All she could really do was shrug it off as she stood up- it was disappointing, but not surprising. The little trick she'd tried had been practiced using bugs and other small critters, nothing on such a small and quite frankly strange order as a bunch of hive-minded cells which could apparently each act as individual organisms in their own right, when not daisy chained.

She clicked her tongue a few times, used the echoes to map things out again, and headed back to the others. Just as she got closer however, two peices of something- made out of wood and metal, from how they hit the ground, nearly struck her, and probably would've if she hadn't heard them coming and stopped a good foot or two off of their trajectory. She listened around and eventually deduced that the nearest humanoid shape on the sonar had probably been the one behind it.

"Ya know, there's no point tossing something," she said to the figure- not that she had any real way to know who it is without them talking to her "someone around here could probably help you put it back together.... or at least turn it into something that's useful again."

December 1, 2017

"I...I....I..." Arya just stuttered while an increasing warmth rushed to her cheeks, as pale as she was, it would've been all to easy for Natalie to see the nice shade of rosey red. There'd been a great many things she'd theorized would've been the cause for everything. This however... was most certain never one of them "I'm... the reason why? You... You really felt like that...? I... never had someone actually interested in...well..."

For the first time in a very long time, she found herself verbally disarmed, sheepishly rubbing one arm as she looked away. The irony of just how this whole situation, from Mother Opium setting up the intervention, all the way to right now, was not lost on her. But it also didn't make the topic of conversation feel any less foreign and awkward. "I.... never knew.... never even guessed it. It all... makes sense though, now that I think about it. And... I know why you always stayed away, Natalie... and I didn't really blame you. It was just... how things were. How they'd always been for me...and I never expected any of that to change when your mother sponsored me, but... if this is how you really felt, you could've said something sooner... when there were times like now, where no one else was around and it was just us..."

Slowly, but surely, she could feel herself getting a reign over the awkward mix of emotion. Well, not so much get a reign over it, as much as she simply sorted through the thickest parts to regain a bit of clarity. And as she did, something else Natalie had said caught her attention. Something... strange

"What do you mean 'you changed someone else for the worse' though?" she asked "What happened? Who are you talking about?"

December 1, 2017

There was a moment of silence, as Arya considered things. finally though, just as the other girl was heading further down the path, she called out

"What's going on Natalie? Come on, talk to me..." it was a plea laced with genuine concern, more than a simple request "It doesn't matter what it is, I'll listen. Whatever's going on, it's obviously getting to you; I doubt you would've exploded on that girl just now if it wasn't. You don't have to deal with it alone."

Of course, knowing Natalie she half expected her to simply keep walking to the cabin, but at least she could hope that maybe, just maybe, she'd turn around. Or at the very least, if she didn't, the plea would still get her thinking later on. Or maybe the cynic in her was right (despite how much she told it to fuck off right now) and these hopes really were in vain...

December 1, 2017

Lucille released the Circuit and crept over to one of the fallen "Aragami" as the man over yonder had apparently named them. Her beast had been sent back to the bus- they may have cleared out the ones here, but it didn't mean there might not be more lurking in the area. Clicking her tongue a few times and using the ambient noises of the environment, she found her over to a large mass of something relatively soft, going off how the sounds had echoed from it. She clicked yet more times over it, as she ran her hands over the strange armored hide, and indeed, from the sonar imaging she got, it held the same basic profile as one of the bipedal, large tailed.... things that had joined the attack.

"Such a waste.... though maybe it's for the best," she muttered "If your kind resisted me that easily, then you can't be that far off from gaining sapience. I wouldn't want to have one of your around, once that happened... considering what I felt inside your heads. Not as bad as the Serpent was, but not much better either."

Nevertheless, she opened her senses, let herself fall into the trance, and scryed over the remains, trying to find even a hint of what an "Aragami" was defined as, and how it generally functioned as a biological organism...or organisms rather, going off what she'd felt earlier.

December 1, 2017

The knight's charge was swift and silent. Not but a few moments after the scavenger slung his magic, Mercadier was breaking through the haze of darkness left in it's wake, blood cold as ice as he ducked up and underneath the swordsman's already faltering guard. From that point, there was nothing that could save him- The dour knight had already exploited shatterpoint to get this close, and he was about to exploit yet another.

One located right underneath the ribcage.

His lance thrust upward with an almost sickening, wet squelch, impaling the Initiate like a hot knife through butter. The force of his final blow so great, it made the poor fool jolt upward from the impact, and it was there he hung upon the lance, as Mercadier looked at him. Eyes barren, expression matching a deadman's indifference.

"..."

Nothing. So absolutely disgusting were their foes, by this point he found that all he'd had to say, he'd already done it as he'd slain the earlier ones. And it was in that silence that he lowered the weapon, callously kicked the corpse off, and turned his attention to the last foe in view, practically daring the Recruit to face him in single combat.

December 1, 2017

H17, Impale the initiate

November 30, 2017

Moves:

I. II. III. Lucille will use all 3 of her moves this turn to play the Healing Kazoo on whichever allies are at the lowest health! Brachus use his Restorative Breath on the same targets as lucille!

(Heal Kazoo restores [6d5]% Mhp on the target. Restorative Breath heals 1d6+Syn{5} HP on the target)

Spoiler

Lucille

28/28 HP

7/14 Bonds

Essence: 7
Constitution: 4
Dexterity: 7
Intelligence: 13
Resistance: 8
Strength: 0
Synergy: 0

Relevant Perks

The 3rd Instance: [When Lucille casts a thaumaturgical Spell/Ritual, the numerical effects of said spell/ritual are boosted by 1.3x]

Beast Heart: [Lucille has a number of "Bonds" equal to her Essence*2. These "Bonds" can be expended to bind living, non-sapient beasts/monsters and turn them into companions under her control. Binding beasts requires Lucille to spend her action forming a Bond with them, at which point a number of bonds equal to ½ the Beast's Int will be expended, with a minimum requirement of 1. If Lucille doesn't have enough open Bonds available to satisfy this cost, the binding fails. The bonds expended on them will be restored to Lucille upon either the Creature being reduced to zero hp in battle and dying, or by her dismissing them, which may be done at any time as a free action. Bound Beasts who are dismissed will never turn hostile towards Lucille or her companions unless attacked after the fact. Bound Beasts have Stats and Actions identical to their normal counterparts, and act simultaneously with Lucille during her turns.]

Slots: 7/7

Actives (1)

Edge of Silence- Lucille utters an incantation, causing a harmonic resonance in Animus and producing a Wonder within the Physical Realm: Sound itself condenses and twists into a winding blade that seeks out and slices whatever has earned Lucille's Ire.

~Current Effects~ [Active. Thaumaturgical Spell. Launches 2 attacks that deal (1d3+Int) sonic damage each, these attacks ignore Damage Reductions, but Damage Immunities still apply. They may both be aimed either at the same, or different targets.] (boosted by Grand Thaumist Perk)

Passives (2)

Uncanny Senses- Lucille has spent her entire life missing her sight, but her taste, smell, touch, hearing, and other senses have all been amplified in order to compensate. Though she cannot see, she actually has a far greater situational awareness than most sighted people, and is more than capable of functioning effectively in dangerous situations...

[Passive Ability. The user gains +1 move in combat, making it so they always have a minimum of 2 moves rather than 1. This ability is not eligible for any upgrade.]

Walking Bestiary- Lucille has extensive knowledge of many beasts, from their habits, habitats, and physical traits. In battle she draws on her extensive knowledge to use her bound beasts to far greater effect, having them work together to cover each other's weaknesses and amplify their strengths.

[Passive Ability. Beasts who are bound to Lucille gain a 20% boost when dealing damage.]

Trumps

Tricks

Equipment (3)

Serpent Staff: It resembles a short, snakeskin-bound staff with a large reptilian eye set into the headpiece. The eye blinks every so often.

~Current Effects~ [Bound. Fires 4 bolts of green energy that deal 1d4 necrotic damage each, and restore that much HP to the user. If the user attempts to use this weapon while at 0 Int they are knocked unconscious and cannot act until their Int is equal to or above their starting total.]

Draco Vest: A small but incredibly durable vest. At a glance it appears to be ordinary fabric, but upon further examination it's actually made up of countless overlapped wyvern scales, which harden upon impact to protect the user from harm. It has several pockets which have some stretch to them, and are durable enough to hold even magma.
~Current Effect~ [Bound. Grants +6 Res while equipped. Able to carry extremely dangerous materials without risk.]

Healing Kazoo: A Metal Kazoo painted a bright metallic color. The special root in it's paper vibrates with a healing tone.

~Current Effects~ [Bound. When used, restores (6d5)% of the target's Max HP.]

Beasts (1)

Bracchus

Spoiler

Brachus

Sex: Male

Race: Draco Vitae ("Life Dragon")
-A Dragon Lucille created on accident while working on the splice technique and triggering an oversight. Colored a sterling Emerald, It has Breath resistant Scales, a Cross Shaped, red flap of skin on its back, and a thin tongue it uses to focus its breath weapon. Ironically though, Its breath heals those exposed to it rather than harms them, and it seems to be especially effective when used to heal other dragons…

Stats
HP 20/20

Essence: 5
Constitution: 5
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5
Resistance: 5
Strength: 5
Synergy: 5

Actions
Active
Feral Tactics- [deals 1d6+Dex damage. When fighting Rodents or Avians however, deals 2d6+Dex instead]

Restorative Breath- The specimen opens Its mouth and exudes a breath filled with rejuvenating essence, healing wounds and soothing pains. It seems to be especially powerful when used on fellow Draconic entities [Heal 1d6+Syn Health. When used against fellow Dragons, heals 2d10+Syn Health instead.]

Passive
Hunting- [This unit gains a 10% bonus to their stats while tracking or using stealth, with a minimum boost of 1.]

Dragon-proof doc- [The user has +10 RES against attacks from dragons, and +20 RES against attacks from friendly dragons.]

Tricks

Fly (Trick)- The user takes flight [The user is in the air, and all that entails.]

November 30, 2017

3 hours ago, KosherKitten said:

Natalie

"Lay off her, Arya, she doesn't know any better."

"Alright," Arya had sighed, "fine, guess I did go a bit far there. I'm so-"

And then all hell broke loose as the ~~murders~~ shouting began. The two of them had gone back and forth so quickly, there'd not been a single moment for Arya to interject, and by the end of it Natalie had stormed off towards the cabin and the girl with fake glasses was face down sobbing into the table.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck..." she hissed just under her breath. Yes, yes, great work here, she had done. This was certainly helping the problem with Natalie, indeed. "God damn it, that spiralled way out of control...."

To be fair, it wasn't like fake glasses girl was exactly innocent by any stretch of the word. But Arya had just wanted to give her a hint that maybe she should bugger of, maybe intimidate her a little bit too- blondie had reminded oh too much of well.... most everyone. But even as she stood to follow after Natalie, some part of her couldn't help but glance back and feel just a bit of.... not quite guilt, not sympathy, but something that could come close enough to the two that she lingered for a moment.

"I appologize. About all of that... well, some of it... look, I'm sorry"

and with that said to Naya, she ran off towards the direction of the cabin... Natalie couldn't have gotten that far ahead in such a short time, could she?

November 30, 2017

There wasn't a flicker of reaction on Arya's face. Not even the smallest sign she'd even heard Black-Glasses' complaints, as she finished refining the effigy's shape and moved onto the fine detailing of it's fur, eyes, mouth, and claws. None until she very calmly and evenly said

"I think the slur you're looking for is 'Mack', " The knife and miniature bear kept moving. She seemed to have shifted focus to the eyes above all else, going into almost excruciating detail with the knife as she did.... something to it. "Don't know why you're suddenly afraid to say it to my face; I hear girls just like you whispering it behind my back aaaaall the time. What, is it the knife? That what's got ya spooked? I mean yeah, sure I'm good with one, maybe even as good as I am with the Sketchpad. But do you really think I'm stupid or impulsive enough to turn this on you without a better reason than 'she insulted me'?" She chuckled darkly, shaking her head and continuing to carve away at the effigy's features

"Look, I don't know who you are, and I really don't care, but... Don't go flattering yourself, m'kay? You wouldn't be the first bitch to call me Mack, and you wouldn't be the last either; been called it so many times by now, it might as well be my middle name. As if some pissant little girl like you could really make me snap, after I've gone this far keeping it together. You'd be nothing more than another random voice in the chorus; there is nothing you can say to me that I haven't already heard, or been called worse."

With one last stroke of the blade, she seemed satisfied, slamming the (largely un-finished) bear down on the table, and turning it to face Naya. Though the hints of impressive detail, namely the flowing fur, most of the sculpture was still textureless, save for the head. Unlike the rest, it had been finished in all it's gory detail, one eye a ruined mess as a single arrow protruded from it, sunk so far through the socket and into the brain that only the fletching and lower half of the shaft was visible. Especially fine attention had been paid to the fur around the wound, the whittling lighter than in other areas, which compared to the fur detail around it almost gave the impression of slick wetness spreading over the patch. The beast's mouth was twisted in a death keel as the life left its single intact eye. A cold, unfeeling eye, one that, despite being nothing more than whittled wood, seemed to pierce right through anything it faced right down to it's very core.

"Now," She flashed Blondie a friendly smile, but her eyes remained as cold and dead as a wage slave who'd just worked the single longest shift in her life "Were you gonna whine to Natalie some more about her roommate, or did you come over here to bother her because you actually had something of substance to talk about?"

November 29, 2017

"Right here," Arya answered just as the blonde girl with glasses asked. She sat just a bit further down the table from them, wooden block in one hand and carving knife in the other, the former rotating and turning as the latter worked with a nonchalant deftness. She didn't even seem to be paying attention to what she was doing, yet as the moments dragged by the block quickly began to take the profile of a bear raised on it's haunches, claws raised threatening. Eyeballing it a bit before beginning to further refine the rough shape, she continued "Name's Arya. Don't think I've ever seen you before...you a friend of Natalie's?"

It honestly wouldn't surprise her, if the girl answered yes. Clearly Natalie herself wasn't too thrilled with her company, but Blonde-Hair-Black-Glasses seemed to think there was nothing wrong. Hard to tell whether she was just socially dense, or there was something else going on there.

November 26, 2017

At the demonologist's request, stellio loosened his breast plate a bit, sliding in a gauntleted hand and quickly retrieving an old, leather bound journal. How many decades it had been since he last wrote in it, he did not know, nor did he know how long it had been since he last delved headlong into whatever libraries or other potential places housing information about them, desperate to find even a scrap of information to help him excise the damn fiends. Quite frankly, after a certain point, probably right around the time he'd enlisted, he'd simply given it up, resolving that if he could not find a way to excise them, at the very least he could hone his will enough to resist his constant temptations...

Shaking his head as the old memories faded back into the corners of his mind, he offered it to the witch "Already compiled, years and years ago. When I was younger and a bit more naive, I had thought to seek out each and every last drop of knowledge I could about them, just encase there was some way out of it... there wasn't."

Within the old journal would be contained a veritable wealth of names, titles, and various descriptions, each of them numbered as neat, scribbled little entries across the journal's pages, each entry detailing the name, role, and other tidbits of the countless denizens of the abyss.

As one would read it, it would become Obvious a teenage stellio had started off his notes by exploring the most common of the Ogres, the foot-soldiers and cannon fodder breeds; namely the Imp and it's more powerful relatives such as Devils, and stellio had included a sketch of every one of their types- all of them resembled tall, emaciated humanoids with broad wings, hunched posture, curled horns atop their heads, cloven feet not unlike those of a goat or horse, and a serpentine tail. They appeared to be pathetically weak individually, but the knight in his younger years had made a special note of how they tended to make up for it with otherwordly cunning easily capable of outdoing even the best mortal conman.

After Imps and Devils, the entries focused on progressively stronger classes of Ogre, organizing them into strict orders of magnitude which escalate from lower, middle, high, and finally the Peak. Lower and Middle orders contained the names and descriptors of lower Ogres such as Imps, those who were meant as little more than common rank and file and middling level officers, while those of the high order represented the Generals of the Ogres, direct servants to the supreme god of darkness, the fabled and dreaded Diablo, and his cabal of lesser Ogre gods... and chief among these Generals, Stellio had placed a demon named "Galf", an imposing, gargoyle like-being who had become notorious for his ferocity and steady victories during the ogre battle, only to be defeated by three angelic knights sent by the gods themselves in order to help mankind retain control of the surface realm. Cheif among his strategies had been converting and corrupting the souls of fallen men into vampires and other ungodly undead as a means to bolster his own armies.

The Peak Order, or "Cabal" level as Stellio had put it, contained the most powerful individuals ever known among the Ogres- each one of them powerful enough to rival a full fledged god in their prime... names included a being named Ashmedai, who apparently had a more masterful command of elemental darkness than any of his peers. Danika, who in her own right had quite the story which stellio had made sure to include, who was honestly more a prisoner to the Cabal of Ogre Gods than a willing participant, but had eventually grown to sympathize with her captors and orchestrated to improve the lives of the Ogres... or tried to.

Cheif among the fell gods, was unsurprisingly the very beast he had mentioned earlier- Diablo, the mage wyrm. A great, horror-inspiring figure who was said in times of old to have rivalled the creator god himself, whoever that might be (for, as Melisa would likely pick up from various footnotes stellio left, the people of his world had long since debated and warred over the question of just which "god" had actually created the world and was thus the one true deity to rule them all). He seemed to be able to take on a variable form at will, from a fully fledged, mountainous sized dragon, to a centaur form of an Imp-like humanoid fused to a twin headed dragon at the waist, to yet more appearances. Stellio went into greater detail about him than any others, going so far as to recount tales that he claimed no other scholar could know, in the text... tales of how Diablo, sealed away after his failed bid to take the surface world from humanity and elevate the Ogres from the misery of the underrealms, had found a disciple through a corrupted artifact, and through him had tried to return to the world merely a few decades ago, using a massive war as a cover... only to be vanquished and sealed again by a few rebels before he could regain his full might.

November 26, 2017

The mechanic felt something rise in him, as the god's taunts started to actually hit closer and closer to home. Just as quickly as the fires flared however, Asmodeus was there, voice even and leveled as he snapped the man back before he could fully lose his shit

"Focus Sully." The AI reminded him, "Focus. Don't let him get what he wants out of you, don't let him get that foothold. It's all a ploy to knock us off balance and create the opening he needs, just like the battle against Ball-Boy."

The mechanic grit his teeth still, hot fury just bubbling beneath the surface. But he took a breath, nodded his head, and re-established a firm control over Revenant's raw nature- the rush the persona provided was like being caught up in a storm, a massive tempest that seemed all too willing to swallow him whole. And if he slipped up even a minute, he'd be giving the dragon control yet again, and it would just devolve into a repeat of last fight. Yet both Sasha and Asmodeus had been convinced that if he just took the to try and be the dominant force, if he learned now what he'd been too afraid to back then, maybe, just maybe, he could do this.

"Didn't know the God of Lust was a psychologist." Was all Sully countered with, verbally.

In terms of the situation around them however, his efforts were far more swift; before the small missile could even clear half the distance to him, a blast of lightning arced forth from his palm with countless tendrils of crackling radiance, intercepting the ordinance and causing it to blow it's payload uselessly in the middle of the arena. At the exact same moment as his interception, Ragnorok had altered its course after the God dodged it... but this time there was no attempt to slice into Swag. No, for the moment that Sully launched the electrical burst, Ragnorok produced a blast of far greater magnitude from behind the god, sending forth a bloom of pale grey, violet and blue electro-magnetic force, a bloom that expanded outwards in the blink of an eye as the explosion from the premature detonation would've served to distract from it's march.

SPECIAL ABILITY: DISABLING EMP, ACTIVATED VIA RAGNAROK

Just as Solomon was taking action, so to did Asmodeus, pumping the repulsion fields around the mech to high and watching every sensor they had for any sign of an approach from any direction- instantaneous teleportation based or otherwise. He held two words especially ready on his voice synthesizer, just encase the projected possibility he was most apprehensive of came to be true, and the mechanic might have to embrace the power he'd been neglecting by trial by fire. Though there had been some practice in the time before the exhibitions, he couldn't help but still be leery over whether the mechanic would manage to replicate their results in the heat of a split-second save or die scenario... but he could hope.

November 26, 2017

"Not in my world, it wouldn't be," the knight responded "Most who are knowledgeable and insane enough to intentionally draw forth an ogre- our equivalent of what you might deem a full-fledged demon -must do so either by using divine artifacts to break seals that were placed for good reason, or more.... direct methods. Dark Magic alone holds none of the same conotations in my home realm as it sounds like it does, in the places you've visited. It's merely another element, with it's own set of offenses, defenses, and utilities.

But very well, if you are not interested in the primary magic I practice, I've witnessed and put an end to enough arcane crimes over the decades that I've pieced together how some of the less... well known schools in my world operate. I could give you notes on the sympathetic principles by which necromancy functions in my realm, the mental degradation it seems to have on most practitioners, the names, habits, and deeds- both good and ill, though mostly ill -of the greatest ones I've crossed paths and killed, etcetera.

Or conversely, I could do the same for the principles of Draconic magic- whose name indeed stems from exactly what it sounds like: Dragons. One could say it's like an amalgamation of every primary element we have, with several unique capabilities to it's name, such as long range teleportation, Precognition, the power to negate both blades and spells alike like it's nothing, the power to sacrifice one's own life force to resurrect another, so on and so forth. Admittedly, I have less information on that subject than I do necromancy, given it's practitioners are even rarer, and it's roots even more ancient and harder to track with certainty.

OR, if not even the most archaic schools of magic from my realm interests you, I have just as much knowledge on techniques which scholars struggle to classify, given they produce effects comparable to the arcane arts, yet do not consume mana in order to function. Techniques born of training one's body, mind, and spirit to a razor sharp point, turning one's will into a weapon of reality warping destruction upon the battlefield. Slashing holes into reality to let all manners of energies pour forth and annihilate your victims. Loosing an arrow with such utter accuracy and resolve, that it violates the very laws of nature to bring ruin upon your target. Thrusting a spear into one's target so viciously that it tears the fabric of dimensions and spawns countless other copies of itself to mirror your movements, so on and so forth... and there are yet more tame techniques which full under this category- striking a target with enough mal intent that it shakes even the most courageous of victims to their cores, inspiring fear into countless foes with nothing but the mere presence of one's spite, spontaneously generating obstacles such as barricades and living shadows, generating auras which halt enemy advancement like an invisible wall slamming into their ugly mugs, force feeding the ambient mana to flow through one's body at an accelerated rate... the possibilities of these "Special" Techniques and skills is seemingly boundless, and I have spent just as long studying them as I have magic.

If however, still you are not interested in any of these offers, then the last bastion of my Knowledge I've to offer is everything I have researched and uncovered of the Ogres or "demons" of my world, over the decades. And everything I have witnessed first hand of their power from fighting two rulers corrupted and warped into Ogres, one by his sorrows and the other by his ambition. I could give you the complete history of the massive battle they once fought against the gods and humanity, in hopes of escaping the netherworld and ruling the surface as their own. Just as I can give you the names of each of the fell generals who help to rule over them, their powers, and their roles in the Ogre Battle. Infact, I could give you the same depth of information on the gods of the ogres themselves, and their chief Diablo, the mage wyrm. Gods know the fucker hasn't left me be since he latched on, his lips are rather loose when conversing with those who wishes to groom, and the powers he grants his thralls, while devastating in battle, tend to carry their own special brand of ruin... this is my strongest, and final offer. There are few others who yet draw breath in my world who can give such a thorough account of ancient events and the hierarchy by which our demons rule themselves.

So, do we have a deal for any of these, or are Diablo's taunts in my skull right now correct, and I'm just wasting my time?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH Stellio, foolish, foolish stellio. hmhmhmhmhmhhoooooooh it's almost adorable, thinking your dark soul- which owes it's very survival thus far to me, by the way -can be purified by some pidly light brought from another realm. HA! Stop this rampant denial, you are one of us stellio, an Ogre in human flesh regardless what you might postulate to the contrary... your mother saw to that...

As always, go peddle your lies somewhere else. I'm not buying, I'm never buying. There's a difference between persistence, and futility.

How ironic, coming from the knight who futilty denies his nature, when not even a ful hour ago, you were soaked in the blood and viscera of another who you'd torn limb from limb with no mercy in your heart to be found... just like an Ogre would...

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