Yep! There she is!

Name: Rigel Stenfield

Age: 26

Race: Human

Gender: Human

Affiliation: Cardinal City [The Emperor]

Appearance: At first glance, Rigel would appear to be (to the average caste citizen in a Cardinal City) a casteless wanderer. He wears fatigues and satchel bags that have clearly seen plenty of use and travel, covered only by a red cloak which seems to flow over his body like water as he moves. However, his face is startlingly sharp compared to the rest of him. As caked in grime and dust as it is, a face with green eyes, short red hair and a faint smile more fit in court than in the wastelands greets whoever may approach him.

Personality: Rigel seems almost awkward and naive as company due to the many questions he asks everyone along with the many books he reads on a continual basis. His thirst for information may grate on the wrong (or right) personality, but he is almost always forming a mental picture of his surroundings, his acquaintances, and especially potential obstacles. He sees fighting as unproductive, and would rather come to negotiations over duels, but he can and will fight if he feels the need. Rigel is also very polite, almost to the point of being shy, and hardly if ever loses his temper openly. You simply cannot concentrate if you're angry, after all.

Occupation: History Student, Archaeologist [Noble]

Equipment: Rigel's equipment is standard fare for an archaeologist. An oil lantern with plenty of fuel, rations, survival gear for camping in the wastelands, and as much rope as he might need. Rigel can also often be seen with a pen and notepad, and is constantly writing down items of interest to him (which seems to be most things).

His prized possession, however, is the Titan's Grasp. Classified under the highly sought after "Mineral Weapons," its' appearance is that of a single leather bracer fixed to Rigel's right arm. Once it was discovered by Rigel in the ruins of a nameless civilization far to the east of the Emperor's realm, Rigel discovered it granted him nearly superhuman strength. He also discovered it was a rather cranky soul that resided in the bracer, and more often than not it would urge Rigel to simply smash through a given obstacle. Rigel usually declines to use the Titan's Grasp unless absolutely necessary. But if a large boulder, an impassable wall, bandits, or an obstacle stands in his way that cannot be moved around or negotiated with, Rigel does not hesitate to let the Titan's Grasp live up to its' name.

Abilities:
- Keen Eyes: A combination of both courtly upbringing and a year of traveling the wastes has made Rigel extremely aware of tiny details around him. He has developed a habit of taking note of certain things that the average person would not, and if asked he will happily expound on the topic (to the questioner's regret). This does nothing to stop him from asking questions about it either.
- Clever: Humans did not survive Rainend because they were the strongest or the fastest. They thrived because they cheat, and build and use tools to keep cheating. Rigel is no different, and when faced with threats he can't ignore or negotiate with, he is not above settings traps with rope and whatever else he can find to even the odds.
- Rigel is an archaeologist who explores dangerous ruins on a regular basis. As such, he is careful around new threats, takes his time, and is always looking for either a way past the obstacle, or a retreat path if he has to run. He will only use the Titan's Grasp in a fight as a last resort; he is not a fan of being too reliant on an artifact he politely bickers with on a regular basis (though he happily demonstrates what it can do to dissuade anyone from trying anything funny). If it comes to a fight, combined with leveling the playing field he is also a skilled pugilist (a result of paying attention to his self-defense classes) who has a basic understanding of how to incorporate inhuman strength in a fight.

Biography: Born to the minor nobility of the Stenfields in the Emperor's Cardinal City, Rigel is the fourth of four sons. To most sons of the nobility this would be infuriating - there would be no chance of inheritance bar kinslaying. To Rigel, however, this was a relief. Besides being charged with bringing renown to the family name, very little was expected of or imposed on Rigel as he grew up. While his elder brothers jockeyed with each other over inheritances and prestige, Rigel spent more time in education, particularly that of the histories of the Cardinal Cities. What truly interested him, however, was what came before. Why was Rainend the way it was? What brought its' current sad condition?

Discovering very quickly that he would not find the answers staying inside of the city, Rigel - with reluctant approval from his parents - began venturing outside of the Cardinal City and into the wastelands to find answers under a University charter. At first he was escorted by the family guards, but Rigel soon proved that he was more than capable of dealing with obstacles. The guards soon were withdrawn by his brothers wishing more protection from each other than for guarding the non-interested heir to the family, and the issue was never raised again when Rigel discovered and bonded with the Titan's Grasp. Now he regularly ventures out of the city with a potent (if seldom-used) Mineral Weapon, a state of affairs his family is more happy to continue.

Rigel has, largely unknown to him, a small reputation in and out of the cities as an archaeologist noble. He is equally praised as a seeker of knowledge and derided as a thrill-seeking junkie, but even if he knew about it, he would agree with both stories. Accomplishing the next great adventure is only part of the joy - it's how he gets there that makes him happy. And while he is no closer to finding the real story of what happened to Rainend, he is more than content to keep going and publishing what he does find.

Name: Gaius Findley

Age: 23

Race: Human

Gender: Male (Sex is also male)

Affiliation:
North City - Gaius has lived there all his life, and has not ventured very far out into Rainend. He knows a lot of the people there and has plenty of friends within the underground hive-like city. While he is not necessarily loyal to The Duke who leads the place competently enough (though he will follow their orders out of both respect and fear), he is more loyal to the people of his city, and is sure to do his best to keep them safe from whoever and whatever may try to bring them harm.

Findley Weapons and Arms - A small company started by his grandfather, it is a well-known weapon manufacturer within North City, and some outlying settlements who often do trade with merchants coming from North City. It is a family business with some paid workers for mass production of large orders, and while it is currently owned by his father (who handles many of their financial dealings) Gaius is expected to take up the mantle after his father becomes too old and his hands become too shaky to screw a gun together properly. They mainly produce ballistic firearms but have recently tried to dabble in compact hand-carried laser-weaponry after extensive research into the laser turrets utilized by the local guards. While they are nothing impressive when compared to the superior armaments of South City and Lady Crimson, within their region they are counted among the best producers of top-quality firearms. Gaius cares a lot about the business as he views it as their family's legacy and will do his best to make sure it stays alive and continues to become greater.



Personality: Gaius is a perfectionist, and cannot stand the idea of leaving things to chance or fate. His family did not get far in the gun business by being careless, after all. He plans out much of what he does to the last detail, whether it's about new weapon designs, or deciding on profitable deals to strike with other merchants. This nature of his has caused him to view a lot of bad events as caused by shortcomings and failures on both his part and everyone else involved, because he views no situation as "unavoidable" or any defeat "circumstantial" because everyone has the power to alter the flow of events if they really wanted to or knew how to. So while he has an incredibly strong drive to succeed against any and all odds, he also has a tendency to berate himself if ever he falls short of his goals. The mental backlash of such an event borders on atelophobic in nature.

While he does view failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, he takes the "learn" portion from it very seriously. Should he ever feel as if he failed at something, or not fulfill a goal he has set for himself, he will spend hours thinking about what he did wrong and what else could be done to avoid that in the future. He will find himself quickly annoyed at people who are careless or do not seem to exert as much effort as he does in being detailed and careful, most especially people who decide to "wing it" or improvise instead of analyzing situations as he views these as surefire ways to repeat past mistakes or make new ones altogether.

Occupation: Artisan. Gun designer and manufacturer for Findley Weapons and Arms

Equipment:
"The Pacifier" - This mineral weapon is an old, semi-automatic hunting rifle with gold trimming along its oak stock, and ornate designs of what appears to be blowing smoke on the main body of the rifle. The word "Pacifier" is etched onto the right side of the rifle's body encased in a golden rectangle. The scope of the weapon appears to be some kind of strange gemstone rather than normal glass, but can still be adjusted by the valve on the right side of it. What makes this weapon unique is that whenever it is lined up to make a killing shot (such as pointing at the head or the torso of a living creature) the view of the scope becomes distorted and the crosshairs no longer align properly. In addition to this, should you attempt to fire the weapon in this state, the shot will often go off-course, causing the user to miss even if they try to aim without the scope. However, if the weapon is pointed at inanimate objects or non-lethal parts of a body (such as the legs and arms) the view through the scope will remain crystal clear in even the harshest of weather conditions, and the bullet will always travel with pinpoint accuracy to where the crosshairs are pointed. Gaius even feels as if the weapon compensates for wind and distance on its own by adjusting the bullet's direction as it exits the barrel of the gun to make sure that it will always land on where the crosshairs point. The weapon uses standard sniper rifle ammunition and can often be restocked at any place that sells ballistic armaments, but Gaius prefers taking from his family's own produced stockpile to be sure of its quality.

Experimental Laser Pistol - One of their company's first ventures into the production of handheld laser weapons labelled as the "Scorcher" model, it is a hefty weapon much larger than most ballistic pistols. It is a weapon that uses charged "Battery" magazines to fire its laser, giving it 10 "shots" (though in actuality it is a controlled burst of laser energy) before needing to be replaced. The weapon is inredibly accurate as long as the laser lens are properly cleaned and maintained and has an effective range rivaling most rifles. The laser is devastating to most organic targets as it burns the tissue and causes blood to burst from the veins as they are boiled by the heat of the weapon. However, the weapon struggles when dealing with armored targets (as discovered in the testing phase) and can only weaken metal armor by softening up the material with its heat. The battery ammunition it uses is specifically made as well and, as far as Gaius is aware, are only produced by their family business. As such, he is careful not to use it unless necessary. He usually carries around 4 battery packs giving him 40 shots with the weapon.

Tools of the Trade - Gaius always carries around a backpack carrying anything he may need to build or maintain weapons (and some machines) wherever he goes. It contains a few spare parts needed to repair common firearms such as revolvers, automatic pistols, and rifles. However, most of the extra parts he carries are for the maintenance of "The Pacifier" and the "Scorcher" (such as spare laser lens). Aside from this, it also contains the tools needed for maintenance and repair, including a screwdriver with varying heads, a large adjustable wrench, a bottle of oil lubricant, and clean cloths. In a pinch, the wrench can act as a melee weapon due to its sturdiness.

Abilities:
Smithy's Senses (Occupation) - Much like the keen eyes of many alert wastelanders, being a weaponsmith entails being able to spot minute details honed from years of having to spot the tiniest of abnormalities in a weapon that would make it stop functioning, and acting upon it. Gaius is capable of noticing small physical details from the chinks in a rifle's barrel to a stray coin in the gutter.

Natural Machinist (Occupation) - Gaius is a natural when it comes to dealing with many machines, not just weapons (though he is far more knowledgeable when it comes to firearms). As such, he is capable of repairing most, if not all, mechanical objects that he may encounter with relative ease. He will only struggle with highly complex items (such as the laser guns of North City), needing more time and information if he is expected to make a repair job out of it. If needed however, he can even build firearms outside of his family's workshop, as long as he is provided with enough supplies to construct one.

Steady Hands (Occupation) - A weaponsmith's hands are steady and stable above all else. Gaius in particular harnesses this stability by being able to handle the internal components of both weapons and machines with surgical precision, and to fire a vast array of weapons with accuracy rivaling some of The Duke's finest soldiers. His time in the weapon ranges of North City and from performing his own weapon demonstrations both inside and outside the city gates have developed both his skills and reputation in this regard.

A Merchant's Perspective (Occupation) - As a necessity of running their own business, Gaius has learned the ins and outs of making deals with people, often capable of realizing whenever he is getting offered a poor bargain, and will often call them out on it to get a better deal. However, while he can stop others from giving them poor exchanges, he is not always skilled enough to constantly make situations profitable as he never truly specialized in it.

"Nothing's Outside Our Control" (Racial) - Gaius' perfectionist attitude has developed within him a sense of responsibility over his actions, to the point of believing that failure will always be one's own fault. Because of this, he has an uncommonly high level of determination when he sets out to do something, and come Hell or high water he will be doing everything in his power to get it done. He will never believe that a cause is lost until it's already been lost. The drawback to this however is that when he does fail or lose from his point of view, he tends to take it very harshly, bordering on atelophobic anxiety attacks.

Name: Mask (old name: Andrew Ashford)

Age: 37

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: none

Appearance:



Occupation:

Former: Smelter

Current: adventurer(merc, scavenger, selling tid bits ectr)

Equipment:

Iron Flask: A simple revolver side arm. It lacks any distinctive features in design although its years have left patterns on it, such as a long scratch down the side of the barrel and is name scrawled in some sort of tattoo on the side. The handle is made up of a leather wrap that has long since started to crack.

The Mask: Andrew wears a worn poncho, black and leathery all over that drapes past his knees and hugs his wrists in constant movement. A series of small bulky patch work can be seen poking from the inside at points from the shoulders, the gut and around the neck. Each holding solid metal for minor protection. The most notable aspect of this dress is that it has a front side hoody, which when pulled over the face like a reverse hood, it is tied with belts. The fabric having a circular, copper based breathing apparatus with anti-fog, green bug eyes.

Survival equipment: Most of the basics are there: water flask. A hunting knife. A lighter, a mess kit for eating food and a small pouch of snacks.

Abilities:

Shaky Reviews: The mask has earned a mixed opinion in his travels, due to Ashford's general personality he sometimes unawaringly leave chaos in his wake of helping someone. As a result, depending on the location and the affiliation, he may be considered a trouble worth appeasing until he leaves or a local doo gooder.

Environmental protection: The mask that he wears is capable of defending him from most forms of toxic gases and deadly air borne pathogen. Although most of his skin, most notably his hands and shins are not protected by anything but standard gloves and jeans.

Metal Knowledge: His years as a smelter make him someone knowledgeable of most basic designs. Chance are that if it exists he aided in its creation once in one of the foundry, be it from blades to guns, to locks and chairs. He may be able to offer some insight into a specific items attributes but not any mineral or special items.