Vaude

As I have told most people in the roleplay (if not all of you; my mental head counting skills is pretty shoddy and shorn at the moment), this roleplay is put into a momentary stasis, the reason being a possible reboot. This is both a begrudged and an exciting possibility to me because I love each and every character in this roleplay, finding them wonderful and unique, and hopefully their wonderful and unique selves can be transposed to the new roleplay. Everyone, I thank you for your service to this roleplay, and I look forward to seeing you in the second one. To those new, message me via PM if you want to join. Thank you once more!

- Winona, with Ceres in the heart of Adamant - Winona smiled back, a little more at ease upon receiving Ceres' expression. She too was all set on things, but finding a charm on her home world would not only be a great memento, but also likely a good aid for her gravity-controlling powers. First things come first, however. "If that's the case, let's make that a side trip later and collect the reward now. I'm sure the person who posted the reward would be delighted to know that this man will not frequent this glade again . . . alive, that is, but let's keep this life and death thing between us. No need to scare the man prematurely." Together, Winona led Ceres into the stone-crafted inn, peeling open a pair of dense fabric curtains which kept the wind at bay at the door. The innkeeper glanced up from the bar table with multifaceted eyes similar to a fly, but still looking human, right down to the grimace he made when seeing new faces. Winona had only frequented this place before as a child, but she did not need to be a local haunter if she had a flyer describing the reward location. Thumping the unraveled flyer onto the bar table, Winona asked where the man who submitted it went. The innkeeper chewed on his lip and asked for a moment before slipping up a rounded staircase, seemingly to fetch the man from his room. The Havener Gravity Artisan glanced around at the alcohol menu in the meantime, attempting to pick her poison to numb the pain in her arm, but the innkeeper came down swiftly, along with a strange man with small eyes, a button nose, and thick horns above his tipped ears. Winona's first instincts were to run the small-eyed man through with her sword. Lifeblood Druids were not often welcome to the lands of the Gravity Artisans after a great war that broke out thirty years ago and ended only twenty years ago. Her memories of them were clear and painted poorly, but her time in the Haven was not poorly spent as her sword arm drew away from her weapon. "Thank you for meeting me. Do you have information pertaining to this . . . strange individual?" pronounced the Lifeblood Druid in forceful, individual words. "We do indeed. He was seen talking to himself in threatening fashion, muttering about killing someone. Men like him are more dangerous than the vagrants in the streets and roads, so after a series of questions and him attacking us, we whisked him away. He should not be a problem anymore." The Druid sniffed deeply, a trait common to his own kind in that it detected lies. He felt satisfied with Winona's story, however, and offered payment up front. Five hundred gold apiece, as well as 20% off coupons for, quite interestingly, a competitor to the store that had bone charms. The prices seemed about right on some of the advertisements on the very bottom, written in magical ink that shifted and swirled this way and that on the card. "Coupons?" Winona asked. "Coupons," the other responded with a smile, starting to slip away to head up the stairs again. "I own the store marked upon those coupons. Come anytime you need something. My assistant runs the shop even if I am here, and I think you will find it . . . useful." The pause was momentary, almost nonexistant. "Take care in your travels, Haveners." - The Dragon Quest, Tumula Village - The village elder looked down on everyone with solemn eyes. It felt very odd to Pang for two reasons, one being that he was usually the tall one and because he fought someone with his shape not long ago, but he had to admit that there was something peaceful in this Rakshasa's gaze that the other one did not have. "I know just the place: my hut. I think you will find it comfortable, and upon my honour nobody in this village or out will attack you on my watch. Chuloch, come with me. Your fated path will be decided with these travelers as witness." Nodding for everyone to follow him in, the elder leaned over his crooked, ornate staff and shuffled toward a small hogan to the left of the entrance. Chuloch followed nearby him, holding his ribs and grunting in pain with every step, his severed tendon not giving him much relief. Packed mud dotted the hut's outside and inside, creating an insulated barrier from the hot suns outside, and the deep recess inside the house allowed for enough cold to provide comfort for all within it. The furnishings within, including the steps down to the deeper part of the house, were not meant for those shorter than nine feet tall, and it would be impressive for anyone to keep up even with these lumbering giants. Pang had a little bit of an easier time, whereas Hogarth grumbled at every massive step down. His eyes returned to him through the door, which he reset back inside his sockets. Eventually all was settled, and the elder looked back upon his company. "This dragon you speak of is . . . a difficult beast. Long has it overlooked our village, as depicted on several wall paintings, but lately it has refused everyone who dares approach its peak. We gave shrine offerings as gifts, but it turned us all back with fire and scorching heat. Eventually the landscape turned to what it looks like now, and we hunt in our homelands on the last vestiges of nature before we will have to move somewhere else. It shames me that we have to leave our home under such a situation, but we cannot move the dragon from its perch . . . not alone, anyways. Many tried, but none prevailed. Are you thinking of slaying the dragon?"

- Winona Kissinger, with Ceres, walking back to town to complete the quest and collect their earnings - Winona could only nod sadly at Ceres, continuing to walk along the path she blazed which meandered off of the road. It was the best course of action on her planet. Muggers and highwaymen aplenty took to the streets and winding roads, looking for easy marks. It shamed Winona to think that her people were as misanthropic and self-serving as they were, but that was the way of the world now. She did not have to follow it if she chose differently, but maybe, just maybe, she can make a difference once she is free from serving The Haven . . . if she ever gets free. It was not an easy yoke to bear for the spirited Winona, but competition brought out the best of Winona. By making everything a game, a challenge, or a goal, she surmounted obstacles she never would have achieved if she just paced herself. However, this man could have been the death of her. Strength of spirit aside, he would easily have killed her if Ceres were not around. She hated herself for that. Weaving through trees for a mile and a half was tiring over the mutable terrain and took a fair amount of time. They had to jump over a thin lava stream on the way, too, but in the end they arrived at their destination without hassle. The town of Adamant was bleak, its buildings composed of strong bedrock held tightly together by mortar and supported by pillars and piles driven into the very earth itself. A few souls still migrated through the streets on this late night, and one of them looked hungrily at their ornate weapons and Ceres' armour before walking on. "This place is money-starved," she whispered to Ceres. "Our coins will be welcomed here, but do not make a show of philanthropy. There is a shop of general goods in town, and a bone charm shop which provides services even The Haven does not have, augmenting powers such as ours for a heavy but acceptable price. The inn where we have to go is over there"--she pointed to a well-lit building with wooden frames built on the outside to attract customers--"but we can explore if you so wish. Remember my warning, though." - Tumula Village, the aftermath of the fight - The shadow manipulator (Rak 1) watched as the shadow behind Rhiannon dissolved into nothing, all magic exhausted from the light ball within his hand before he could close the gap and spear Rhiannon with his broken weapon. The all-halt surprised him from Rak 3, however, and both stood down. The guard impersonating the village elder (Rak Boss) struggled under the creeping cold and the pressure of the Skeleton King, showing signs of weariness. The mighty Rakshasa were amazing hunters, but this one seemed to hold more of a magical gift than a physical one. Feeling himself lifted from the ground, his hands strove to cling to something else, and he was thrown a sizable distance, collapsing stiffly on the ground and letting out a groan before attempting to get up. "Ylack bracht! Hold! Listen to what Nogar has to say!" came a throaty call from in front of one of the tented hovels, this newcomer looking exactly like the guard was impersonating, except in the eyes which were the whitest they can be. He was the true village elder. "Chuloch! What is the meaning of this? You became me and lured these people into danger. I heard it all from someone concerned, and it seems they had every reason to be concerned. Look at your state! Now back down!" Chuloch, the guard, looked angrily downward. He definitely was in rough shape and clutching his rib cage for the most part, a few bones broken from where he fell. "We are sorry for the trouble provided you," continued the elder, advancing towards the group with a knobbly cane. "You came here seeking answers regarding the dragon, yes?" Within the main group, Hogarth leaned the wrong way and whispered with all eyes closed, "Pang, what's happening?" Pang cracked a grin at the bushy-haired man and replied, "Our saving grace appeared."

- Winona, with Ceres after the battle in the grove - With both of them wounded, maybe even crippled for the moment, Winona considered their options. It would not be a coward's possibility to teleport back to the Haven and be fully healed in the transition process, but for some reason she felt a certain desire to keep the pain, to plod on and experience the sensation until the quest was officially complete. Perhaps it was because it deadened certain thoughts . . . or augmented others, but in the end she could not tolerate the thought of putting someone else close to her in the same constant pain as herself, or perhaps worse. Ceres seemed plagued by gloomy thoughts, and Winona thought she knew the reason. "Actually, let's get directly back to the Haven and complete the quest later," she brought to voice, concern melding with her words. "We need a respite after that. And Ceres? Don't let him get you down. He was only saying that to trigger us to do . . . something, maybe instill his words before he died as a last resort. We cannot let him get his way, no matter what. Even in death he must not be successful." They were strong words which seemed ill befitting to how she really felt, but in saying them she felt a little braver. She only hoped Ceres would take her advice. She would hate to lose a rival this way . . . no, a friend, definitely a friend. Without her, things might have been very different, perhaps far worse. Not only would she have died, but she may have been used as a puppet. The thought sickened her. - Rakshasa fight, with Hogarth, Pang, and everyone else - The Rakshasa elder was entirely caught off-guard by the dissolution of the magic via Hogarth's Shield barrier and the onslaught of both Jerod and Galla. The slice towards his tendons struck true and stung viciously, causing the giant to collapse forward onto his knees, and the giant would easily grab him if so. Two things happened, however. One was that the illusion wrapped around the elder collapsed and revealed the gate guard from before, his eyes still as strikingly blue and red as he fought against the King of Skeletons with his brawny arms snaring the summon's bony ones. The second was that his body glowed with an aura, a self-enhancement spell without a vocal incantation that strengthened his skin like iron. This defensive magic slowed down his movements, but it would render him harder to crush and harder to slice, and could potentially lead to his freedom if he could overpower the King of Skeleton's bony grasp. Rak 1 grinned toothily as he saw another spear-wielding warrior charge forward, exhaling through his nose with a resonating snort. He matched her spear for spear and was quick to realise that his weapon was sorely outmatched. A loud snap followed Rhiannon's sundering strike, and he was left with little more than a stick. His defense poor, the upward strike with Rhiannon's butt end of the spear landed true and struck him in the jaw, but he was not going to let her get away with that. "Ulliuchkhuloch, umbelicukhuloch," he murmured in their native tongue (which roughly can be translated to "Light, hear my call, darkness, aid me"). A pool of light formed in the palm of his hand, and he lashed out at her with the leftovers of his spear. He aimed to knock her down with his quick strike, the real goal being pinning her down with the cast shadow behind her. A small number of shadowy tendrils two feet long at the most would try to tug at her and pull her down, at least until the light stops. Rak 2, in the process of bringing up his greatsword, was surprised by three Iseults surrounding him and having lightning strike their hands. Nothing could stop the limelight, however, from being brought to him, and he was promptly turned into a lightning rod before collapsing, severely electrically burned, if not dead. He was in no condition to keep going, that was for certain. Rak 3 watched as things went from bad to worse for their little group. The surprise attack failed, and they were overwhelmed with quantity and quality. Luckily he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders and held his weapon high in one hand before tossing it aside ((this is after all of my other actions)). "I surrender. Chuloch, Mishki, do the same! Wraloa kigh bacht!" If any survive besides him, they would attempt to back down if not attacked. Perhaps some restraint is in order for everyone's next moves.

- Winona and the Spectacled Man in a Gravigan Copse - When the Thin Man was lifted heavenward by a thin sheet of Shield, his eyes momentarily dropped all sort of sensation of success. Without his earth magic and a lost arm, his pool of resources rapidly shrank, and he felt for the first time now that he may lose. However, this was but a battle, and not the war. The sly smile encroached his lips once again. "Your goddess did make a failed decision in you, false paladin, and you, Gravity Artisan, don't know who you are dealing with." "And who am I dealing with? Tell me," she interrogated, pressing the tip of the gravity-infused blade onto his other arm. He could feel the shift, crunch, and groan of the gravity magic pouring into the flesh and bone of his upper arm, and he yelped under the pain, but the pain only bolstered up his the swelling grin. "I'll give you this one tidbit," he answered, laughing in spite of himself. "I'm a studious one. I experiment on people a little more than other specimens, finding out just what makes them tick. Your little Aquafolk friend? I learned much, even beyond anatomy, from her. Control, puppetry . . . so much, and the paladin, and you, Winona, will be my coveted next prizes." Winona held a mixed bag of emotions which only seemed to greaten by his gaze -- rage, terror, repugnance, odium -- and the culmination of it all brought her sword hand high and horizontal over the man's throat. With one movement, she changed the gravity magic within the blade into gravity itself, and the weapon acted as the fastest guillotine as it went earthward. The man's head toppled elsewhere, and his body convulsed before falling limp. "Your experiments are no more. We've shut off your funding." She gathered her sword, which was deeply set into the ground and returned to normal gravity, and spat down upon his neck. "Let's go back, Ceres." - The Dragon Quest, inside the Rakshasa Village - All three Rakshasa smashed their weapons hard against the ice shields, not realising that the electricity running through them was there in the end. Two had iron-tipped weapons, and were paralysed temporarily from the electric current running into them. The cold from Kolm's environmental spell aided in creating a slower recovery. The third (for simplicity's sake, let's call him Rak 3) with the wooden bo staff snarled and wound up for a stronger attack, unaffected by the electric current. Galla's flaming skull served as a proper distraction and caused the giant with the staff to twirl the staff and block it entirely with a summoned gust of wind. One of the two other Rakshasa (Rak 1) carrying a spear recuperated faster than his brother, using umbrakinesis to create a moving shadow similar to himself and thrusting at one of the skeletal serpents' neck bones in an effort to break one of the encircling threats. The other of the two Rakshasa (Rak 2) recovered slowly, bringing his greatsword fifteen feet in length above his head and aiming for Kolm and Galla. The ice barrier would not survive a second blow from this and would be cloven enough to hit Kolm and Galla unless protected by something else. Meanwhile, the elder (Rak Boss) mumbled something under his breath and raised a hand towards the sky, eyes closed and face showing that he was deep in concentration. Fire magic curled overhead into an enlarging sphere ten feet (three metres) in diameter, and was brought down towards the group. Pang and Hogarth looked up at the same time and watched in dread. "Pang, charge me!" Hogarth pleaded, mumbling something as well. Pang could not refuse to lend his helping hand and pumped supercharge magic into Hogarth, allowing the man to use a more powerful Shield magic to shove the fire magic away and not break into shards. It left the shield at the brink of destruction, but it was enough.

- Winona and The Spectacled Man, Endgame - The man snarled loudly as he was carried along with Ceres by his own weapon meant purely for her, coming to a tumble nearby. His head was still spinning when the lady paladin thrust an empowered fist into his face, knocking loose a few of his beautified teeth and splitting his lip. Even then, he smiled, aiming what could be a decisive blow to beneath her jaw in an attempt to render her unconscious. Regardless of whether the strike hit or not, Winona was prepared. The barrier had dropped, and she surged forward and inverted the gravity on herself, leaping high into the air before normalizing the effect of gravity and dropping downward. Her legs almost caved in on her, but in the end she stood, sword pointing its malign blade downward and free from any danger of hitting Ceres. "Surrender and give up your answers, and my friend and I will spare your life. We won't be very tolerant of the issues you have given us, however." The Spectacled Man grinned and spat out blood to the side. "And why exactly would I do that?" "Because," was all Winona answered before pressing the tip of her sword into the man's shoulder, drawing blood from the wound and a wince from the man. That was not all, however, as the flesh and bone cut shrank inwards and around the sword, crippling his arm in nasty effect. He howled in rage as he closed his eyes in pain, and his nostrils flared as he dared to breathe through his nose rather than his mouth. When he did open his eyes again, he was definitely furious. "Ready to talk now? You broke my arm, and maybe my companion's. Ceres, care to make it two for two?" The male mage reached frantically for the ground, not finding himself at a good angle to do so. "You wouldn't dare!" he spat in disquiet. - Pang, Hogie, and Uzume, near/in Tumula Village - The Rakshasa kept a constant eye on the hunters within their sights, as if wary for any trouble, before following the group from behind. Pang appeared equally wary, if not more so, and kept a constant eye on the three behind them all as he plodded along on padded feet. He also took to note, perhaps finally, that there were not one but two newcomers, the elusive Iseult and the very new Jerod, who seemingly was blind, if appearances were not deceiving from the hazy eyes behind dark glasses. This impressed him. It was not often that someone invited to the Haven was visually impaired, not since Harold Ironfang with his glassy gaze in his left eye, never able to be fully healed from before coming to their residence and line of work. Hogarth was panicked, wringing his hands as he kept a stern look forward, his mind resting almost entirely on his "eyes in the sky" which kept track of the movements of the giants behind him. Something filled him with unease. Uzumeashy merely kept her eyes to herself, with the exception of her gaze turning towards the giants' monstrous feet. She wondered if they were getting closer by choice or by accident. As the Haven party and the three giants from behind entered the gate of the village, the Rakshasa looked up at the village elder and, at the request hidden within his nod, they decided to pounce upon the group uniformly, drawing their weapons and aiming smashing downward cuts at those who trailed in back. Moments before this, Hogarth shouted, "Ambush! These guys tricked us!" The village elder smiled and drew a decently sized walking stick, more than prepared for the possibility of bringing food onto the table for himself, as well as maybe his immediate family. He could not wait to have a plate of human meat once all of this was said and done, and neither could the other three within the locale. ((I am extremely tired at the moment, and I apologise if this does not make much sense. I wanted to get this up and out there so that I don't have to do it tomorrow.))

- The Dragon Quest, at the parched Rakshasa village - The giant glared down at the little bugs below him, his eyes of mixed blood vessel colours filled with what seemed like uncertainty. For one, these weaklings seemed more prey than predator, and yet they said that they were from The Haven, a select group of hunters from beyond the form of this world. His club was still held above his shoulder, and he huffed a cloud of noxious air from his pig-like, upturned nose as he studied them a bit longer. His expression gave way to a sideways grin as he straightened his back, his posture no longer seemed threatening even if his appearance was very much so. He had taloned feet like that of an eagle, and his hands too seemed much like a hybrid between a lion's and sloth's, with long claws and thick, callous skin on his meaty palms. "Your claim be as Haven hunters, hnh?" he answered, wedging the club into a leather belt around his fur tunic. "I talk with chief. He will see, make sure what you say true." His chuckle was disconcerting as he ventured back into the village and turned behind the wall surrounding the village, but Hogarth dismissed the tiny laugh with a wide smile. "My, what a friendly guy! If he is as friendly as he seems, the chief must be especially nice!" "Friendly in that he wants something from us," Pang retorted with a shake of his head. "Come again?" "I've had dealings with the Rakshasa before," Pang continued, folding his arms. "They are skilled warriors, illusionists, and mages. One I met had a penchant for eating humans, elves, and beast folk like myself, and most have resorted to eating themselves or others at least once in their lives. With that said, be on your guard." Hogarth shuddered beneath his robes even in the heat of the day and pulled the hood he had on his clothes over his head. What is it with giants and eating people, he wondered? Fairy tales should stick to being fairy tales, in his opinion. Not soon afterward, a new and elderly face came around a corner, as well as three others of uniform breadth of arms and cranial muscles behind him. They stood on the side as if duty-bound, each with an Iron Age weapon unique to the owner, and the first and older face looked at the group with scanning, impartial eyes before nodding and turning around. "Can proceed inside. There we speak about dragon. We welcome you as own, but please come in," the man spoke in broken Common, ushering them inside and bowing as he travelled to the left-hand side of the gate. A clever man or woman would notice that the eyes of this older giant too was both blue and red. Perhaps this is a genetic trait for these people, like their burly and muscular body structure, but the knowledge can be considered worrisome to all in the know. - Winona and the Thin Man, with Ceres in a sacred grove - The spear head slipped by Ceres without meeting its mark, a combined effort of Winona's pulling the entire spear back and Ceres' graceful dodge and afterwards ensnarement of the shaft of the weapon. It should be known, then, that the flying tackle came to the Thin Man as just as much of a surprise, and he fell to the ground beneath Ceres, scrambling to get out from beneath her. Behind Ceres, the earthen wall crumbled under the restrictive force of the Shield barrier further encasing them. Winona, not finding a good angle to launch her attack, continued garnering power. The force behind her gravity blade will be stronger for it, and she deemed it a necessity to not just kill him, but eradicate him. "Get off of me, madwoman," the Spectacled Man yelped from underneath her shoulder armour, his perfectly filed teeth gnashing as he snarled. His hands fumbled across the ground, trying to have his palms properly placed to perform earth magic. "Get off of me and die properly so I may claim you!" His hands finally reached the ground, and a diagonally formed pillar of earth attempted to kick Ceres' off of the man with a sizable amount of force. If he were able to be freed, he would sink into the ground, liquefying it so that he could move freely beneath it. If he could remember his bearings properly, he would escape the tetrahedral shell of Shield energy containing him and pop outside of it by several feet, gasping for air. ((I will leave the choice to you as to whether Ceres' being kicked off happens or not, and if the man escapes her grapple.))

Tough choices all around, being a fan of dragons, chimeras, gryphons, the immortal phoenix, and unicorns, but I will stick to the humble chimera! It played a part in one of my earliest written stories (I'm an aspiring author), and it still holds a special part of me to this day.

- Winona and the Spectacled Man - The man with glasses had to admit that he was surprised by Ceres. Her tenacity was incredible, and her focus on the task of keeping him from being free from this makeshift prison was equally admirable. Nevertheless, he grew tired of this tetrahedral shell, and he pulled out a telescoping spear from his robes that grew to a full seven-foot size, his aim on killing Ceres to end his custody. The tip of the spear glowed an unnatural hue of blue. "You've got spunk, false paladin, I will admit that, and your powers are worthy of study. Together we will see if your goddess' protection will save you from my enthrallment." With a sneering expression, he readied the spear with his left hand and thrust it forward with great range and swiftness, aiming to pierce the centre of Ceres' chest. Simultaneously, he cocked his foot on the ground to form a stone wall behind her. If she did not dodge sideways or attempt to deflect the blow, her death may almost certainly come swift, but Winona did not let him get his way so easily. With gravity magic still under her thumb, she forged a gravity well behind him that would tug on him, especially his spear, from behind. His spear went up further than anticipated, towards the neck, so the worst course of action would have been to stay in the same spot. "Get him, Ceres! Strike him now!" Winona cheered from the other side, her weak hand hanging limply to her side while her other attempted to grab the sword she put back on her hip. Her eyes closed, her mind fought for control, and she started to lead up to a focused attack, mumbling something arcane under her breath. Great forces of gravity magic began to channel into her sword in tangible waves, and the air around her, even through the shield, grew stiff and hard to breathe. - Hogarth, Uzumeashy, and Pang, the scalded forests near the dragon quest - Poll: Tumula Village: III (Iseult, Jerod, Rhiannon) Dragon: I (Kolm) Undecided: I (Galla) Uzumeashy nodded, soaking in all of the information that the others have provided. They all made valid points, and while there were excellent ideas on taking on the dragon immediately the ones thinking about the village outvoted them. "Then we will go seek out the locals," she spoke up, gladdened that some sort of accord came up. Likely they will know what kind of dragon this beast is ahead of time, and we will be better armed with knowledge on how to bring it down, slay it if need be. If I would hazard a guess, though, it might be a drought dragon." "A drought dragon?" asked Pang, digging into the fur on top of his head to soothe an itch. "That's an odd adjective to assign to a dragon. I thought they only had colour designations." "This one is special," continued Uzu. "We had them on my planet, feasting off of the water of the air and causing rapid evaporation. They like drier locations, but I don't know how to kill them. Maybe someone of my planet would, or someone here if these are more common than just one, but let's see what the village says." "Then I will scout ahead and see what lies between us and the village," Hogarth replied, his good eye open and the others closed. Then, with a showy flair for the dramatic, he continued with an "Everyone, move out!" The village was not too far down the road, but it appeared very visible for a while. As they grew a little closer, some may realise that the huts and walls were larger than the average-sized creature would build for themselves, and as they grew even closer they can definitely see that the people they housed were significantly taller than the average joe, standing at about 4 meters tall (13 feet). Their faces were anything but comely, their bodies were muscular yet seemingly poorly nourished, and, if gauging from how reactive the sentry was to blow his dual horns, neither their intelligence nor their adroitness were sacrificed for their excessive gigantism like with hill giants of some worlds. The horns thrummed with loud tones over the distance, and one of the giants at the gate came out with a club taller than even Pang. "State your business!" he barked over to the group, gazing at each of them with a lingering set of red-and-blue-streaked eyes as if he were sizing them up or worse. ((If anyone wants to explain anything to the giant, feel free. If not, I will tack on a second post and help move the story on.))

I too look forward to the start of the roleplay on Friday! Until then I will familiarise myself with the cast. There is quite the selection, which I adore.

Using one's blood flow as a weapon through ferromagnetics or morphing metal, eh? A scary concept, but a neat one all the same. I look forward to seeing the implementations of a character who has both a wind-based and earth-based magical repertoire. Also, ah, bloodbending! The ultimate Waterbending technique, and with Theo Leviathan high tide can come any time at will, I think, which can only complicate matters if she did have this ability. Thank goodness she does not . . . yet.

Hello, everyone. As a heads-up, I made some updates to the first post of the sign-ups, including adding the silly map I drew, links for the new characters, a "Story Thus Far" which will need remedying later, and some other stuff. I also added a tad more information for the world that the dragon resides in within the last post I made for the roleplay itself, so hopefully that will provide some incentives for creativity. Additionally, thank you very much for your input. I look forward to seeing everyone progress in this next bit!

((All right, I will switch gears now and have things switch to the dragon quest. Those who want closure to the conversations they have started with others can accomplish this during or after the quest, and the arena fight between @Scrapmaster, @Nero Kunivas, and myself will be done via PM. You two can expect a PM starting for this soon. @rikunobodyxiii, @Elrandir, feel free to join the main party as you deem fit, and I look forward to seeing your characters in action!)) -- -- -- Elemental Effectiveness on this Planet: Jumping from the Frying Pan into the Fire, the Dragon Quest The gate opened with a roar of grinding technology and singing electrical snaps as its portal burned bright and revealed a tall mountain in the background, smoke billowing and forming into a deathly miasma about its top. Trees still blanketed the area with just enough foliage to cover the landscape and allow enough sun to strike their bases, but clear dirt paths, all of which was encrusted by fire, led in three different directions. One led to no distinctly visible area down a hardly travelled road, another essed down a more travelled road and had recent footprints in its crunchy wake, and yet another finely baked road leading directly toward the mountain. Pang was among the first to have stepped through the gate, supercharging himself and sniffing the air. He found it foul, sulphurous, as if the mountain had vomited volcanic gases from its peak and down into the forests below, but there was no other evidence that the mountain was active. He assumed it was the dragon. Hogarth stepped through too later, followed by Uzumeashy, who covered her mouth and coughed as lightly as she was able to hide her consumption. Hogie's eyes glittered with interest, possibly because he always seemed to be spat out into a timberland. With a wave of his hand, two of his eyes popped free from his sockets and soared to great heights, surveying the area with digital analysis. "From the whereabouts and my downloaded map, we are three miles to the nearest village of Tumula in that direction," he voiced, pointing towards the second path away from the mountain. "It is home to some Rakshasa and Rakshasi, who would probably tell us more about this dragon, or we can charge in and take care of this as quickly as possible. I would recommend gathering more intel, but I'll leave it to Uzumeashy here to decide." Uzumeashy looked helplessly about and shyly shooed the idea away, explaining, "I would rather put it to a vote. It would be dangerous either way, as the Rakshasa are a ferocious race, but additional information might spell the difference between life and death. What do you all think?" - Winona and the Spectacled Man, with Ceres - Winona smiled as she continued to aid in shifting the gravity upward, but a glance toward her right made clear that one of the yellow-eyed shadows was lurching for her with both claws outstretched. Both of her clones jumped toward her to rescue her from its killing blow. One took the blow for her after a failed shield parry, and the other used gravity magic in an attempt to pull the creature back and away from her. It worked well -- very well. Once it was tugged back so that its eyes were touching the shadow itself, it was torn apart by the strong gravitational pull of the magic, shrieking inhumanly while it did. Her eyes lit up. Even though it cost a portion of her to find it, she obtained her solution to defeating them. While her remaining clone made short work of the other shadow, the Spectacled Man struggled to overcome the weight of the soil as it pressed against his front. With Shield energy at his back, there was little dirt to propel him forward, so he performed a better method. Grasping the dirt near his hand, he clenched it so that the soil turned to stone and forged a pillar leading to the remainder of the ground beneath him. This missed Ceres by a fair bit, but with a bridge connecting him to the ground surface, he was able to launch a pillar out from under Winona's feet and launch her sky-high. Her concentration undone, gravity would begin to revert back to normal. Winona called out, "Look out!" shortly before falling hard onto the ground, her off-hand's lower arm breaking both her radius and ulna in the process. She winced, fighting through the pain as she strove to get back on her feet. This would not stop her, she thought to herself. The geomancer grinned, feeling freer now that he was not under crushing weight. He counted on Ceres being done for or in the same position as he was, and with the gravity mage at the loss of one arm it meant she was only half a threat. He lost his guardians, but he could always make more, whereas the thought of killing two Haven individuals was altogether greatly satisfying.

@Sikota Urinakano I feel like I've seen your name before somehow, long ago, but welcome to the roleplay, fellow RP'er! I hope we all can and will have a great experience together, and I am interested in seeing your Somnum character.

Ardyn joined the fray! Having played Final Fantasy XV, I know I'm going to enjoy Gerik's character. I could envision him being similar to the Man in Black from The Dark Tower series, that sly, manipulative trickster. Anyhow, below lies my second character to fill the ranks! Here's looking at you, Scrap, for the idea of drunk Jari the fox boy. -- -- -- Name: Jari Coriander Age: 24 Gender: Male Appearance: A lanky young man, about 165 centimetres tall (5 feet, 5 inches), with dark hair, green eyes, a rounded face, and an amiable smile that can kill, Jari is a bright young man with a strange air about him. He has taken a liking to a loose shirt and trousers, all-terrain boots, and keeps his hair nice and kempt. He has his quirks, however. The most prominent thing about him is his different taste in style. He wears a custom-made headpiece that looks like fox's ears and covers his own set of ears while retaining most of his hearing capacity, and he wears a fake fox's tail from time to time which he affixed to his rear, to make up for his losing his other one, he claims. Court affiliation (if any): Somnum Weapons: A well-honed hunter's knife. He also has in his possession several thief's tools, metal ingots of various kinds, and a interchangeable game board of his own design he calls his Crest, with pieces enough to play chess, checkers, backgammon, and seventeen other games. Magic: Lightning magic, whittling magic (a magical process which can cut away at what he touches into a shape he desires), lesser earth magic, infrared magic Personality: From a young age, Jari was what his friends would call special. His artistic mind was devoted to the creative elements of drawing, painting, sculpting, whittling, and his love for all things natural and created can be read easily by others. He tries to be kind, compassionate and polite, but he rarely advances to being a friend to people due to his weird claims of being an actual fox boy. He is harmless when sober and harmless when drunk (the latter of which happens quite often). Background: Born to two successful parents within the mages society, Felicity Thermos from Ignis (where they now reside) and Montgomery Coriander from Vivifica, Jari lived in the lap of luxury and was taught much about alchemy, chemistry, metallurgy, and the gifts of which he came with, but his dreamer ideals did not match either Ignis nor Vivifica, so he was shipped out to Somnum where he was taught even more of his gift, and most especially his knack for lightning and enchantment magic, enhancing something mundane into a wondrous item, especially art. He is a childhood friend of Shiroo from the Ignis court, and ran into Ephraim and Vincent once or twice.

Here's my first character. Hopefully it seems all right for the roleplay, though feel free to call out possibilities for improvement. Sources of inspiration abound, but Silas Marner of the same-named book, Gerald Tarrant of the Coldfire trilogy, and Dorian Gray of The Picture of Dorian Gray are some of the key ones. -- -- -- Name: Pali Noirtier Age: 80 (looks like 19). Gender: Male Appearance: Court affiliation (if any): Umbra Weapons: Epee, a heavy rapier without a cutting edge but intended for thrusting Magic: Real Illusion / Wishful Thinking, various lesser magics meant for making life for him better, teleportation for small objects, necromancy Personality: As egocentric as a sphere is round, and as desirous to be filled as a bottomless hole, Pali Noirtier is a man who puts on the facade of a socialite while being inwardly broken. He is highly introspective, though he is known by some to talk to himself or to his creations. He is like a different person around his daughter, however. Background: Pali Noirtier started out in a flawed branch of the Umbra court's train of thought, and sought immortality through any way that he could. He found one such method: to live a life fuller of debauchery than any other and gain the power of wishful thinking through a wizened old man who achieved this, killing him in the process and hiding his body through his own technique. He trained long and hard, and at the age of 19 he stopped aging, requiring to bathe, and more. Currently, Pali lives mostly by himself with his makeshift creations, though he does venture out of his home every now and again to perform the duties that made his living style possible. An air of nobility follows him, potentially because he is an older man trapped in a younger man's body and he dresses like an aristocrat. However, beneath his exterior lies the heart of an abomination, a blemished thing that never should have graced the world. His lone pride and joy, excepting himself, is his twenty-year-old daughter from a swiftly forged marriage he thought would make life interesting again. The marriage ended horribly, and his daughter Lev (Hebrew for "inner heart") grew up in his household until she moved out. She strayed deeply from her father's path and chose a life like anyone else, filled with freedom, excitement, and health. She visits him every now and again, which gives him a joy he long thought he lost.

After getting swamped with work and not being able to do much else, I have finally posted, though I hope it is up to par. @Scrapmaster @Nero Kunivas, what say you to working on this fight via PM? I would like for things to move on sometime soon (like maybe in a day or two), but it seems that interactions are being presented, so I am torn on continuing to surge forward or to concentrate on character development. Thoughts, anyone?

- Uzumeashy - The girl smiled and continued her breakfast, gladdened by the fact that she was going to learn a bit more about Iseult's homeworld, but did not expect to be so starry-eyed that she would drop her fork to listen. Flying whales, colour-lit cities, floating lands -- the world was so unique and the imagery so beautiful to her young mind that she could not help but be enamoured by it. This secret capital, hidden in darkness and yet allowed to enter the light, seemed like a dream come true, and she felt very embarrassed in comparison to be born on a world as docile and sequestered as hers was. Before she could utter anything more than an embarrassed string of um's and ah's, a spirited sylphid burst into the kitchen, apparently catching a glimpse of Iseult and badgering her with a question. While this was a nice distraction that allowed Uzumeashy some time to ponder over a way to respond, she could not help but feel a lick of jealousy towards the little fairy. "She's an elemental, from what I've witnessed," she commented, hoping to respond before the fairy. "Her elementalist is outside, as well as three other elementals. They're all nice, though I like Gnome especially. She's cute, shy, and doesn't say much." - Winona and the Spectacled Man - The real Winona let out a gasp of shock as she took a glance inside the shielded tetrahedron, not catching a glimpse of Ceres at all and only the Spectacled Man behind a mound of rubble, smiling quiescently back at her through the barrier. Something within her snapped, and she angrily thrust out both hands toward him. He frowned, potentially because the shield was not down, or perhaps because he knew that within an enclosed area he was in her specialty conditions for fighting: close quarter combat. Gravity magic was a baffling magic, and had a variety of practical uses. Lightening loads, burgeoning loads, and drawing things into gravity wells made everyday life a simpler task, but when weaponised it was a way to ruin armies. However, she did not have an army to focus on. She had one man who threatened a dear friend, and that was fine. Changing her mind at the last second, Winona withdrew her hands pointed in his direction and instead slammed them into the ground near the barrier's base. Gravity lost its effectiveness for a second or two, then completely reversed and launched everything within the Shield barrier, including the man and the clods of dirt he disheveled, towards the top of the barrier. The man was quick to catch on and shifted his body within the changing conditions of his prison before he was pelted with earthen clods falling upward with the acceleration of normal gravity. Over time he was almost completely hidden in the dirt, and it kept gathering until she found the paladin. "Ceres!" she called out, hoping she was all right. Gravity started to lessen again, this time just barely enough upward force maintained to keep all of the recently disturbed ground from slipping down and onto her. "Ceres, tell me you are all right!" - Hogarth - Hogarth made a puzzled expression, glancing about in search for them and not finding either in the cafeteria. Could it be that they were out and roaming still in the expanse of the Haven, or were they settling down for different tasks? After all, he and some of the other individuals in the cafeteria were thinking about going to the arena to hone their skills, so it could be possible that Winona and Ceres were the next ones in line. "I'm sure they will turn up eventually," he responded with a shrug of his shoulders. "There's still some time before we leave, though we should make it a quick match while we could. If you all would follow me, I'll set it up." With that, he swallowed up the rest of his tea and surged for the door, quite giddy with anticipation for the match-up of him against Henry and/or Lucia. They hadn't come up with who fights who yet, however, so he proposed the question, "Brawl or two versus one? I must say that I feel up to taking both of you on, though the choice is yours."

- Winona and the Spectacled Man (?), in the forest with Ceres - The Spectacled Man released his perfect smile and beamed a grin with his filed teeth. "Come and try," he uttered. With a wave of his opulently robed arm, he let out a trio of earthen ripples in front of him that grew with each release. The first one, one foot high, was meant to weaken Ceres' grip on the ground and dishevel her shield. The next grew to three feet after a second and was intent on bowling her over onto her back. The third and final wave was the real issue. Also released a second of time later, the ripples rose between six and nine feet high, and crumbled the earth beneath it. If Ceres was not careful, she could get completely covered in earth and barely have the strength to escape it. "To me, my minions. Kill the other Haven wench," he replied, summoning a rocky stalagmite from behind him, which was aimed toward the heart of the shield's release. If it was able to penetrate the Shield energy mixed with light, the field would be disabled and allow him maximum movement (or at least that was his intent). Winona found herself assailed by the shadows that she had espied earlier, yellow eyes leading in front of whatever bodies that came towards her. The original and a clone of hers swung dodging ripostes as the shadows lunged as one, and both of their swords slid through the bodies of the creatures as if they were nothing but air. Winona's other clone performed another aggressive strike from a defensive position. When one of the shades attempted to claw at her with knifelike fingers, she brought up her shield and swung her gladius once she felt the strike, but the sword whiffed the fleeing ghoul even when it should have connected. She wondered what in the world was going on. How can something have mass in one moment, yet be intangible the next? There was a trick somewhere, a secret that had to be unveiled before she could land a strike. Until then, she had to keep aware and maintain a level of patience. Eventually, as long as these creatures did not smarten up and attack at once, she would be able to discover their secret. Ceres knew how to handle herself, she inwardly thought to herself. She would not fail to capture this strange man for questioning. - Uzumeashy, with Iseult in the cafeteria / kitchen - Uzumeashy broke out in a fit of giggles at Iseult's disgruntlement towards a particular strand of legumes, soft at first and slightly louder at last. She did not say anything, however, and watched as the white-haired elfin girl fixed her own breakfast, which is more than what she thought half of those in the Haven could do. She sat down with her own newly crafted dish that she made earlier, before she even spoke with the others, and ate quiescently as Iseult talked about her past. This intrigued her. She did not pry too much into the dark elf's past, but what was said did trigger her curious instinct. "If it isn't too much trouble," she inquired between bites, nudging herself to the edge of her bar stool and closer to Iseult, "what was your home like, and your world? Were the people nice and caring? I did not know many people and sheltered myself in the kitchen when I was younger, but from what little I have seen there has to be much better worlds than mine."

Heyo, everyone. Here is a crude mapping of what I am thinking that The Haven is like, with bright blue being the main attractions, dull blue being regularly used but more mundane locations, and orange being present/future additions to keep Scrap from changing my map with his grubby hands (I kid; his hands are marvelously clean). I may have forgotten a few rooms in my haste, but I am just about ready to collapse and fall asleep, so have this before I pass out. I hope you enjoy! Edit: Thank you very much for the recommendation, Elrandir! The next time I get the chance I will try out that excellent Dungeon Painter Online application and see what kind of amazing stuff I can achieve.

@rikunobodyxiii, I hope you have not felt like you were swept under the rug at all during my busy period. My memory has been shoddy and my time hampered as of late. Is there a place where you would like to insert your lovely characters who greatly remind me of Berkut and Rinea for whatever reason (kudos are yours if you are familiar with the names), or would you like some assistance in getting them incorporated? You are welcome to have them be preexisting members of the Haven, or have them be newly acquired. Pickle Man might have had a bad accident and landed in an already overloaded shellfish tank (which is unfortunate because he is allergic to shellfish), resulting in these two being brought here. The choice is yours, and please let me know if I can help. A map is still in the works. I need to figure out a program which allows me to draw a grid or just manufacture an Excel sheet which can allow me to draw a rough layout and convert it into a picture. I am still planning to move on with the dragon quest by Friday or Saturday of next week. If you would desire an earlier or later venture, feel free to leave commentary.

- Uzumeashy, within the Cafeteria/Kitchen - Uzumeashy snapped back to reality and closed her recipe book, grinning sheepishly as she did. "Sorry about that. Ever have that moment where you think "THAT'S IT!" in marvelous fashion? I get that a lot. But yes, the others are a lot of help. I just hope that they are up to the task, and me too." Pocketing her newfound refection in her back pocket of her Bedazzled trousers, she got up, feeling lighter than a fairy and better than before. The taste of blood still filled her mouth, but she was contented with being around somebody who she felt understood her. "Let's go get that gallbladder once the time is up, but first you had best eat and drink something. Who knows where the Gate will spit us out, but given that we are facing a dragon I don't think it will send us close. We might have to walk a ways." - Winona, confronting the Spectacled Man (?) with Ceres in a Forest - Winona felt her strength be revived as Ceres empowered her with her presence with her certainty. Before she could act, the tetrahedral shield was summoned and blocked her off from Ceres and the man, her on the outside and them on the inside. Gravity magic affected a wide area and could ruin the shielding field or hurt Ceres if she was not careful. As a result, she could only look on, or at least make preparations. A pale glow erupted from her before she split into three, self-cloning herself with 80% of her strength still within herself and 10% for each clone, and every one of the Winonas took a side of the triangular base. The man kept a lurid green gaze on the two, most especially Ceres as she remained steady, enveloped in light and her shield projection. Impressive, but not enough to keep him in place. The last afterthought made him smile without restraint. "You are a peculiar specimen, holy knight, or so you seem to carry yourself. Would a holy knight strike down someone who refuses to be questioned for a matter of stringent, better importance than names that mean nothing to me? Let a simple man go. I will warn you just this once before I call upon my protectors." Beyond the grove, Winona began to see the glow of yellow eyes dart from among the trees in a wide circle, followed by wisps of bodies that trailed behind them. She counted one at first, then a second one. She quickly began to realise that this was not the typical shadow she had dealings with in graveyards, but something worse.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't do that. That is too much fun for regulations! Oh, to heck with it, build away! *hastily attempts to draw a map in the meantime to nullify the additions*.

Please view the above reaction as worry. =P That face is gloriously worrisome.