Name: Seloph

Gender: Male

Age: 8 months

Appearance: Seloph is a small insect with large red beady eyes and a thin proboscis over its mouth about one-fourth of his body size in length. His six black legs and main body are a dark brown. A green carapace resembling a leaf covers its back and all six limbs. When dehydrated the carapace appears to dry out and wilt. The edges of the carapace are thin and sharp, and are quite capable of cutting through tougher materials with only some difficulty.

Personality: Seloph is just like all other Cutter Leaf’s, however he is prone to becoming nervous or unsure of his skills when the odds are stacked against him. He has some difficulty trusting other species, but to those he does trust he trusts them heavily.

Species/Sub-Species: Cutter Leaf - Gatherer

Species Biology: Cutter Leafs are predatory insects that stealthily hunt after their prey lying in ambush. They prefer other insects as their main source of food, especially those that are meaty and juicy. They do not care at all for plant material, though they do tolerate plants with a bitter flavor, even if only slightly. The typical Cutter Leaf is shrewd and almost always examines the area around it before engaging an enemy. They are also playful and kind to anything they view as friendly, and they may often tease each other or engage in mock duels in which they attempt to hit their playmate with very weak punches and air blasts. In a way it sort of resembles the human game of tag, only instead the focus is on both evasion and accumulating the most hits, rather than simply being faster than their opponent. It’s both fun and helps the group train their combat skills as a whole. The Cutter Leaf thrives in areas that are both hot and humid, and it’s not all that uncommon to see a Cutter Leaf grooming itself in fresh rainwater. Cutter Leafs generally live around three years, but as with most creatures, those with particularly high magical abilities have an enhanced life span.

Cutter Leaf’s generally prefer to ambush their opponent and attack them by surprise. Of course this isn’t always an option and in these cases they generally attempt to overwhelm their opponent with quick attacks, and in case of more durable opponents they generally focus on more compact powerful punches. Another option is to use the sharper part of their carapace to “slash” and stab at an enemy. This is very effective at breaking through tougher armors, however due to the size and width of the carapace, it usually is not very effective when used on larger opponents as the cut is not very deep. Cutter Leafs do take advantage of their cutting abilities though, and over the many generations two simple combat techniques have been born. Residents that live near these insects and have watched them in action refer to their moves as “Cut Counter” and “Grazing Slash.” Cut Counter involves the Cutter Leaf dodging an enemy attack at the last moment before sticking the outer edge of its carapace, (usually it’s frontal limb,) in the way. The result leaves its opponent with a lengthy bleeding wound. Grazing Slash on the other hand has the Cutter Leaf Stick out it’s carapace as it runs full speed down the entire length of an enemy leaving a long slash. This second attack isn’t quite as useful as the enemy can simply retreat out of the way or attack while the Cutter Leaf continues it’s run, though it does help against armored and slower creatures.

If all else fails Cutter Leafs can inhale a large amount of air which swells up their body before blowing it out of their proboscis creating a mini-air blast. The attack does take a small amount of time to perform though, and generally it’s only used when initiating an enemy, or when facing a flying or ranged type.

Seloph belongs to the gatherer caste, known for usually being well-rounded with no true specialty. They are both the smallest and weakest breed of Cutter Leafs, just below the Sniper caste. Gatherers excel in both agility and speed and are decent punchers, though they lack both cutting power and magical power. Snipers on the other hand are slightly larger than the gatherers and have a long proboscis half the size of their body. They have great eyesight and have both accuracy and power when it comes to attacking from a distance, though they suffer majorly in close combat. The next caste class are known as Razors. Razors have grown wider carapaces that are serrated to cut in a more brutal fashion, they are also not all that bad when it comes to attacking from afar, but their punching power is limited, though their accelerated combat and move speed makes them fierce opponents. Razors are the only caste that prefers to use cutting based attacks over punches. (With a few exceptions) Finally the last caste is known as Tank. They are much larger than all of the other castes and have a large amount of brute strength and durability. In fact one punch from the average tank is about equivalent to the punching power of four average gatherers. While their cutting power is nothing to boast about it is still nothing to laugh at. The only downside to this caste is they generally have weaker long range capabilities, both accuracy and power wise. The species itself is very varied when it comes to overall stats, and while it’s rare, it’s not unheard of for someone to find a Cutter Leaf in the tank caste that acts as a sniper or any other combination.

Cutter Leafs are weak to both fire and ice, as the fire burns their carapace, and the ice slows them down heavily. They are however strong against water and wind. Cutter Leafs are an uncommon-rare insect. They have no preference towards the time of day. They mainly hunt weaker or injured prey, and will continue to stalk for up to a day. They are mainly preyed upon by small animals and larger insects. Rats and frogs in particular love to feast on them, and while few ice or fire elemental species live near them, those that do generally will attack them. Cutter Leaf flesh has a nice sweet taste, while the texture itself is very crisp and wet. It kind of tastes like lettuce doused lightly with a faintly sweet dressing.

Habitat: Cutter Leafs live in the Keflu jungle, a hot and humid place where rain falls practically every other day. Plant life is abundant and thriving in this jungle, and many species of insects and animals make their home in this area. The Keflu jungle itself is somewhat large, but not huge or anything. It is reported that some Cutter Leafs make their home in some of the nearby forests, but generally these are isolated small groups.

Grouping: Cutter Leafs live together in small or medium sized groups and hunt alone or in small packs. Generally these insects move from spot to spot searching for more food and live a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

Elements: Seloph like all members of its species, can use both air and plant magic.

Specialized Body Parts:
Leaf Carapace: A hard, yet flexible carapace in the shape of a leaf. It’s main body and each leg has a separate carapace, though it’s main carapace, the one on it’s back is by far larger. The carapace itself functions as both armor and a weapon. While it’s not nearly the sturdiest or most protective, it doesn’t inhibit movement. When destroyed Seloph loses his cutting attacks, and loses a portion of his punching power.
Proboscis: A thin needle-like structure similar to a mosquito. It allows the Cutter Leaf to inhale and exhale rapidly creating a small air blast, though stronger bursts require more time to perform. When destroyed Seloph loses is unable to create air blasts and must rely on punching/cutting attacks. Air blasts deal a small amount of air damage.

Skills/Spells/Tactics:
Air Cannon: By focusing magical energy into his standard air blasts, Seloph can discharge a stronger magic enhanced air blast. This kind of attack greatly increases the knockback and damage dealt. (Air based - linked to Proboscis)
Leaf Slash: Seloph both hardens and slightly widens the Leaf carapace on his front legs temporarily. This has the effect of allowing Seloph to slash through armor a little easier, as well as cutting much deeper. (Plant based - linked to Leaf Carapace)
Overwhelming Pressure: The Cutter Leaf goes all out and attacks rapidly focusing solely on the opponent in front of it. This style pressures the opponent into having to focus on defense and evasion to escape damage. Additionally the Cutter Leaf gains a small bonus to dodging close range attacks by moving just enough so that its opponent is only able to graze or narrowly miss. While this is great for one versus one duels, this style of fighting leaves the Cutter Leaf open when dealing with more than one enemy, or when facing attacks coming from multiple angles. Additionally this style does not actually increase the strength of the strikes, it's actually the opposite as the strikes become slightly weaker. Likewise the Cutter Leaf must give up part of its defense as well, leaving it especially open to strong hits. (Combat Style)

Stats: Seloph is relatively standard as far as the Gatherer caste goes. The only difference is he has slightly more strength and air blast capabilities.

Biography: Short version - Seloph lived in the heart of the Keflu jungle with around thirty other cutter leafs. Being a gatherer he mainly focused on hunting other insects with a small portion of other gatherers and occasionally with different castes. Very rarely would he ever hunt alone. One day while out hunting in a small group they found a small burrow. Entering it they encountered a small swarm of armored insects with three legs and a large claw each At the very top of their body was a single thick bulging eyeball similar to that of a crab, with the only difference being that the stalk was composed of the same material as the eye. The battle was on, and while the Cutter Leafs had managed to win there were many casualties among them that needed to be healed, luckily no one out of the group was in a life threatening condition, so everyone instead took a break feasting on the corpses as well as rested. That’s when it appeared. The mother of the swarm who was not only much larger, but had a second appendage, that of a long tendril which ended in a soft, yet heavy sphere. The battle once again commenced, only this time it appeared the other enemy would win as the Cutter Leafs began dying left and right. Before Seloph knew it, he was all alone faced with the large monstrosity in front of him. Out of all the other Cutter Leafs he had been lucky enough to avoid any serious damage the whole time, yet he knew the odds were stacked against him and that he had to escape. He could not beat this opponent alone. He tried to make his way past the creature but ultimately was intercepted by the tendril. Forced to fight Seloph went all out, though his attacks proved rather ineffective. His cutting attacks left shallow scratches on the tough armor, and his punches seemed to do almost nothing. With the battle continuing for only a minute the creature finally caught Seloph’s proboscis it’s claw and lifted him up applying intense pressure. Seloph tried to escape by pushing himself away but it was no use. His opponent was just playing with him now at this point as it slowly began to increase the pressure on his proboscis. In a last ditch effort Seloph channeled the last of his magical power into his proboscis, and used his Air cannon ability. The attack, while not being dead on managed to graze the creature’s eyeball right as the proboscis snapped. Seloph dropped to the ground in incredible pain as he felt for his missing body part before attempting to retreat further down the burrow. The creature dazed for a moment snapped out of it and became furious. As Seloph ran he felt a warmth emanating from behind him only to turn around at the last moment to see a ball of fire hurtling towards him. He quickly shielded himself with his carapace and was knocked backwards, the heat of the fire slowly destroying his only armor leaving him naked and exposed. With the last of his strength he tried to crawl away. The creature attempted to give chase but thanks to a lucky attack from one of his comrades fell over due to a leg injury it had received earlier. On death’s doorstep Seloph barely managed to escape into the next room before curiously finding a purple portal on the wall. Seloph at the time did not understand what he was looking at, but he slowly approached it anyways figuring he was going to die either way. So slowly but surely, Seloph slowly crawled closer to the portal before sticking one of his legs in. He could feel a pulling sensation, and quickly removed his leg from the portal out of fear it was something else that would eat him, only to find out that his leg and carapace were now healed. So taking a risk, Seloph jumped in.

Name/Nickname: Subject 317

Gender: Male

Age: 4, most of which has been as a nymph.

Appearance: Subject 317 is a dragonfly, measuring about 155mm in length with two pairs of differently-sized wings, possessing a wingspan of roughly 180mm each. The biological portions of its body are iridescent in nature, with a distinctive grey-and-black pattern resembling demonic horns across its compound eyes, and a bright pattern of reds, oranges, yellows (the predominant colour in Subject 317's case) and blacks across the head and thorax. In a normal member of its species, this pattern would continue and stretch along its abdomen too, whilst its wings would possess a distinctive black colour edged with a spiked yellow pattern; however, Subject 317 has been subjected to processes which have, through means it does not understand, replaced most of its biological organs with artificial versions small enough to be compressed into its thorax, then replaced the empty abdomen with a long blade of grey metal, and its wings with a metallic construct similar in design, save for the same grey colouration as its new abdomen and the presence of a miniature, if relatively large ramjet atop where the four wings meet. All of these artificial replacements, though Subject 317 is not wholly aware of this, are composed of some form of living metal, capable of regenerating itself in much the same manner as the dragonfly's biological tissues, and at the same time introducing some substance that has vastly extended Subject 317's natural adult lifespan, though for how long is thus far undetermined.

Personality: Computerised processing protocols result in more logical thought processes than most members of Subject 317's species, though the manner in which these are implemented can lead to somewhat strange ways of thinking. It also has a slight obsession with becoming the best hunter the world has ever seen.

Species/Sub-species Name: Devilled Dragonfly - Yellow-Edged (anisoptera diaboli flavens)

Species Biology: Devilled dragonflies in general tend to live in high-temperature environments of quite varied humidity, feeding off of local, smaller bugs as both nymphs and adults in daylight hours, and generally acting as the apex predator of the high-temperature invertebrate world during their adult life, being too large for the majority of insects to try to eat, and too mobile and/or airborne for most of the remainder to catch, the latter of which is often enhanced by their general proclivity toward wind magic, the combination of traits lending itself to a fairly reasonable population size in general (though larger organisms such as frogs often feed upon them if they are unfortunate enough to cross paths, and exceptionally fast flying insects such as certain types of wasp can catch up to them for the purposes of feeding or, in the case of the aforementioned wasps, parasitic egg-laying). Of these, the yellow-edged devilled dragonfly is particularly agile, having an association with lightning that gives it notably greater speed than many other insects whilst in flight, on top of a combat style which promotes sudden strikes, use of motion camouflage to target prey, as well as a general tendency to dodge rather than tank attacks made towards them.
The average devilled dragonfly spends the vast majority of their life, the same as any other dragonfly, in their nymph stage, going through multiple incomplete metamorphoses before reaching their adult form, a process which takes around five years. By contrast, they tend to live in their adult forms for little more than a few months under normal circumstances; whilst some may acquire magic that extends their lifespans to a (possibly vast) extent, the majority follow the path of most summer dragonflies, with most adults tending to die off by Autumn's end at the very latest. Thus, whilst most nymphs are somewhat more relaxed beyond their day-to-day hunting procedures, adult devilled dragonflies have a tendency toward jitteriness and haste, generally finding a need to breed as quickly as possible before their lives end, and moreso for the yellow-edged sub-species than most others.
The yellow-edged devilled dragonfly has a very high proclivity toward speed and agility, being able to move at exceptional speeds and seemingly alter their direction of motion on a whim, moreso even than most other types of dragonfly. Furthermore, they are not overly poor in terms of offense or defense as one might expect, given how large some can get, though the yellow-edged sub-species in particular is notably weaker in both areas than its black-, red- and orange-edged counterparts, which in turn are appropriately less fast and dexterous than their yellow-edged cousins in exchange for other statistical improvements (respectively more effective in physical strength, magical power, and defense, though all have at least a reasonable tendency toward speed and agility); its magical abilities are not particularly above average for a creature of its size, and often tend toward wind and electricity, as one might expect. Indeed, it is quite capable of resisting both of these elements, in addition to those elements based on the use of earth and earth-bound structures such as plants, which evidently have trouble reaching high enough in many circumstances; yet adult devilled dragonflies as a whole suffer when pitted against water and other typically liquid elements such as acid, an irony considering the often aquatic nature of their young.

Habitat: Devilled dragonflies can be found across a fairly wide portion of the world, oftentimes in warm areas as described above; in particular, adult yellow-edged devilled dragonflies have a marked tendency to either chase, precede, or rarely reside within prolonged storm weather, seeking to benefit from both the high winds and electrical energy that may be present within the area of such a storm, though nymphs are obviously less mobile than this for lack of wings.

Grouping: Devilled dragonflies in general are relatively solitary, not particularly forming groups of any size except to breed. Indeed, most males are as territorial as any other dragonfly, defending any chosen breeding areas from other males of their species, as well as other dragonfly species in general and other potentially-interloping insects when necessary, though the ephemeral nature of these areas reflects their fast-paced nature.

Elements: Wind, Electricity

Specialized Body Parts:
Wings: Replaced with a construct that emulates Subject 317's original wing design in grey metal, albeit to a larger degree to account for the large blade replacing its abdomen, and adds on to it a relatively large ramjet over its thorax which, when activated by folding all four wings back against its abdomen, can propel it in a straight line at an astonishing rate, far faster than the vast majority of natural insects could move, though with little maneuverability as a result for various reasons.
Abdomen: Replaced with a large, flexible blade of grey metal making up more than three quarters of Subject 317's total length, extending beyond the natural length of a yellow-edged devilled dragonfly, and basically designed to be a giant (by insect standards) sword of sorts that can be controlled by thought in the same way as any other extremity. Whilst Subject 317 does have the capacity to attack other insects the same way a normal dragonfly would, i.e. with its toothed jaw and extensible labrum, the abdominal blade has proven to be more effective by far, being quite capable of slicing insects of poor defensive capability in two with one slash, without necessarily being unwieldy to swing round under or over the rest of its body, and it can even channel electricity generated by Subject 317 (see Electrostab below). Whilst fairly strong, the main issue with the blade is that its fairly substantial size and relatively small striking area can make it difficult to use against smaller targets, and is thus rather ineffectual against large swarms of tiny insects - whilst quite a few may die in one strike, far more would remain to react to the deaths of their brethren.

Skills/Spells/Tactics:
Electrostab (Abdomen): Subject 317 can generate electricity from both its own magical prowess and some form of device implanted into its thorax alongside its other artificial organs. This electricity can then be channeled through the blade on its abdomen in order to badly shock and potentially even paralyse targets that it strikes, helping to ensure that they are killed by this attack.
Ramjet Charge (Wings, optionally Abdomen): By folding its four wings back against its abdominal blade, Subject 317 can activate the miniature ramjet attached at the point between its wings, sending it speeding forward at a frankly incredible rate, in order to catch up with and/or ram into other insects; combined with minor use of Wind and Electrical magic to further boost speed to the point of generating small shockwaves, which in turn can be boosted with use of additional Wind magic, or by instead performing a fly-by strike with the abdominal blade for an extreme amount of shearing force, a massive amount of damage can be dealt all at once. Naturally, this is a very powerful attack option, but comes at the cost of being both draining and quite risky to utilise - ramming head-first into another insect at that sort of speed is rarely good for Subject 317's health to begin with, since it only has a rather minor amount of reinforcement in place to protect it from the forces in play, and even a fly-by strike with the abdominal blade can result in damage from abrupt deceleration or redirection into the ground if the blade sticks. Also, it is obviously very difficult to turn or slow down from moving that rapidly, meaning that if the target is quick and agile enough to move out of the way, it is likely that Subject 317 will move past it quite a significant distance before it can stop, or worse fly straight into a solid surface before it can deactivate the ramjet, which is naturally not a fantastic way of living one's life.
Motion Camouflage (Combat Style): A frequently-utilised attack method among dragonflies and certain other insects, the principle of motion camouflage involves a pursuer choosing a flight path which allows it to remain on the line of sight between its target and a designated landmark point, usually where the pursuer was as it began to head towards the target, such that it appears to remain stationary relative to the target beyond looming larger as it draws nearer; this is in contrast to classical pursuit paths, which keep to the target's line of sight from the pursuer's current position, and is commonly a somewhat more efficient method of attack, not least because targets are often confused into believing that the pursuer is still next to the landmark it started at and just growing bigger.

Stats: Subject 317 has seemingly been modified specifically to improve its one-on-one combat prowess. The replacement of many of its biological parts with metallic equivalents has improved its offense and defense, very much so in the former case, and a certain amount of effort has been used to moderately boost its magical capabilities as well. This does come at the cost of somewhat decreased speed and agility due to increased weight, more in line with the mid-point in the family that is the red-edged devilled dragonfly than the yellow-edged devilled dragonfly Subject 317 truly is, but overall, its modification has been a statistical improvement over unaltered members of its race. However, the procedures to implement artificial parts have rather exarcerbated its natural weakness to liquid substances, particularly magical elements like water and acid, to the point of at the very least increasing the damage taken from attacks of those elements by 25% or so, whilst extremely well-aimed or wide-area attacks capable of exploiting both multiple weaknesses and one or more weak points on Subject 317's body can result in nearly doubled damage from such attacks, a very bad proposition for it even after defensive improvements given its initially low-ish constitution.

Biography: Subject 317 spent a great many years as a nymph, whiling away its days as a ravenous predator of any insects smaller than it living in its pond, though every so often, it found itself moving into a new pond after the old one dried up or otherwise became difficult to inhabit safely. There is little to discuss about this extensive period of several years, as it is all but identical to the lifestyle of any other devilled dragonfly nymph, save its very end: during one such pond change, the nymph was captured by some monstrous, titanic entity, one which walked on two proportionally thick legs and trapped it in some invisible-yet-impenetrable cage held in one of its two front legs, with massive claws of some pale-pink colour holding the cage in place. Truly, this creature was an unassailable god. Or whatever concept comes closest to such in the mind of an insect.
The caged bug was carried to some place of metal and extremely shiny lights, and in that place, it was restrained, then stabbed with a gigantic metal rod that pumped something cold into its body. A short time later, Subject 317 moulted into its adult form, despite its own vague knowledge that it was not the right time for such a thing to occur, nor was the dragonfly of the right age to become an adult yet. This, however, proved to be only the first in a series of events that it utterly failed to define from its worldview - many times during its imprisonment, it was held still once again even though it dodged as frequently as it could, only for metal claws to descend upon it, slicing open its exoskeleton and removing things from inside of it in ways that should have been lethal, yet never did quite end its life, and afterwards repaired its exoskeleton like nothing had happened. Subject 317 noticed its thorax felt heavier and heavier with each claw attack, whilst its abdomen became lighter and lighter, mixing up its ability to fly ever more severely... until, one day, the claws descended again, and outright removed more than half of its body, leaving just its head and thorax.
The shock of realising that its entire being had been reduced so severely was only amplified when, out of nowhere, a much longer, grey abdomen was attached to where the old abdomen had been, and attached with scalding heat and long dual-needles that would be removed in a later claw attack, so that when the claws released Subject 317, its length had been greatly increased from what it was before. Not only that, but this new colourless abdomen was far more flexible than its old one to the point that it could bend it right over its head, and exceptionally sharp with that. The insects that were dropped into the dragonfly's cage to feed it were quickly found to be far more easily killed by this sharp-abdomen than with its mouthparts, and it quickly learned the best ways of utilising the sharp-abdomen in its hunts. It did, however, end up having to adapt to the weight of the sharp-abdomen in order to fly properly, as it had been made much, much slower than it was before... until the next group of metal claws came down, pinned it on the table, and removed its wings, only to replace them with much bigger, grey wings, and a strange circular object that it could just about feel with its new sharp-abdomen.
The purpose of this object was found out only when the titanic pale-pink-clawed thing took it out of its invisible cage by its wings, took it into a long area, then bent its wings back in a way that it thought should have broken them off. Instead, it shot out of the monster's hands, propelled by the object on its back, flying at speeds far beyond anything it had ever experienced before but which it was somehow processing, and only managed to unbend its wings moments before it hit a wall, slowing itself down just before impact. The object's speed boost had left Subject 317 feeling somewhat drained of energy, yet despite this, it was, for the first time in its life, thrilled... which was itself an odd sensation, because you'd think most insects aren't quite smart enough to feel emotions at all. Regardless, though, the metal claw attacks mostly stopped happening after this, and Subject 317 began to practice using this massive amount of speed whenever the pink-clawed thing took it into the long area, folding its wings back to activate the speed boost for several seconds before impact, as well as using its sharp-abdomen to hunt and kill flying insects for sustenance. At some point, it realised that it should probably have bred and died off by then, but it found itself not really caring. After all, more time to live only meant more time to become the best hunter ever. And so it practiced, and practiced, and practiced... until one day, after it had been returned to its invisible cage, a purple rift opened up inside its cage. Not knowing what the rift was, Subject 317 touched it... and everything went black.

Professor Alexander Farrons and his team of scientists had been tasked by the local military leaders to create a secret weapon out of a newly-created living metal, which would be able to destroy an enemy army whilst itself being exceptionally difficult to destroy. After much thought, they decided to try modifying the local insects into this secret weapon; insects, after all, are notorious among humans for being quite difficult to kill, and the combined magical power they possess could be channelled as a single unit to make a large swarm of them into the equal of any mage army. Many such insects were captured and subjected to experiments to alter their physical makeup and improve their magical powers, with miniaturised versions of advanced technology such as ramjets being attached to them by micro-surgery machines, as well as more standard close-range or projectile weapons composed of living metal replacing extraneous parts of any given body. Professor Farrons himself kept a close eye on the devilled dragonflies being altered, which were frequently captured as nymphs, only to be injected with a serum of sorts that forced them to moult into their adult forms within days; it was discovered about three months in that living metal had an interesting effect when combined with the trace molecules left behind by this serum, basically mass-producing a substance in their bodies that promptly rendered any affected insect apparently ageless. Whilst examining this effect in human subjects was handed off to a separate research team, it proved exceptionally useful for retaining the secret project team's current subjects for much longer than they would naturally live, allowing them to be trained for much longer periods of time, and so to be made an ever more effective force.
Containment procedures for this secret weapon were fairly substantial, as were safety measures for the insects themselves. However, insects are nearly-impossible to contain forever, and it took time for most to figure out how their modified bodies worked, and it was therefore the case that every so often, a number of them would be marked down as either escapees or casualties. This was not a problem, as the living metal body parts would not be passed on to the escaped subjects' children, if they were still capable of having children by the time modifications were complete; however, Subject 317's disappearance was a bit of an anomaly, as Farrons insisted that he had placed the yellow-edged devilled dragonfly under perfect containment the previous night, and that its sudden disappearance couldn't be easily explained as a simple escape. Regardless, it was marked down as "Escaped", and promptly forgotten about by the rest of the team. It weighed upon Farrons for a time, but ultimately, he too forgot that it had ever been an issue.