Apinya is a bit of a rough specimen, preferring to keep her hair uncombed and her fashion plain. Although shorter than the average nomad, Apinya hardly feels like this matters. Although most of her fellow Thai nomads go around bare-chested or with sport bras, she sports a plain singlet most of the time.

One of her striking features are the tattoos she has engraved on both her arms, a striking mix of reds of all shades. When Ki energy flows through her, her tattoos glow with an iridescent light! Apinya can also be seen spotting a sweet-smelling frangipani in her hair, occasionally.

Apinya hates losing. She loses a lot though, her family has fallen on hard times, plus she's getting her face and body kicked in almost every week. It's a fact of life for her. Yet she's far from willing to give up, nor blame others. She knows exactly why she's getting pounded to the floor in the arena; herself.

Although she's technically focused on trying to become a half-competent Nomad, in actuality she does have a life outside the ring; although not one for big parties, she keeps a small but strong circle of friends and friendly rivalries that have helped her feel less alone in the claustrophobic streets of Bangkok. She can be found sewing on her dusty mattress on the times of the day when she isn't working out, and she tries her best to maintain her cooking skills despite her tight budget.

For Apinya, she thinks that if you're struggling, you're heading in the right direction. She could have just stayed behind in her village and let the chips fall where they may, but then what? If life finally slams down hard on her family, what could she have done? At least now she can have a choice, and maybe even make a small name for herself. If she can give her family and herself a solid life, it'll make all the black eyes and coughed-up blood worth it.

Apinya was born in a region with a tumultuous relationship with Nomads. While Ki warriors were once commonplace in ancient times, decades of colonial suppression and later government paranoia pushed Nomads to the fringes of society in the region. In countries like Vietnam, Ki usage is tied strictly to the armed forces, the concept of independent nomads remaining illegal to this day. Singapore outright prohibits all Ki usage; out of sight, out of mind. But while all the nations have Nomads in the fringes, Thailand remains a peculiar outlier. While technically strictly controlled, Ki suppression is hardly enforced. In fact, so long as Nomads do not engage in explicitly anti-government activities, the Thai government is simply too swamped or too uncaring to really meddle with Nomads.

As such, Apinya was born in a nation with a rich Nomadic culture (by the region's standards), with other Southeast Asian nomads moving over to pursue their arts unfettered by agencies and laws. While most do not engage in public battles in the middle of Bangkok, out of fear of accidently forcing the police to do something for once, many engage in fighting rings held in dark basements or at the edges of the countryside.

She was actually born in a village in the outskirts of Chiang Mai in the northern highlands of Thailand. Apinya was daughter to a local Nomad, famed for engaging in friendly tournaments with neighbouring villages. Apinya was enamored with her mother's feats as a kid, although her dotting father was worried about her daughter getting such a dangerous world. Her mother's reply was always a variation of the same phrase;

"If you didn't want her to be a nomad, why did you marry me then?"

While Apinya happily learnt how to harness her Ki in-between harvesting rice and learning how to cook, her family began to fall on increasingly hard times. Rent became higher and their rice had to compete in a crowded market. Her father became worried that they would not be able to afford a higher education for her. Apinya worried if her family would even be able to afford basic things if this kept up. So, when she was barely 16, she decided to take her chances down south, in the fiery and bustling capital of Bangkok.

When Apinya was getting clobbered in a dingry, dark ring in a basement, she felt pissed. She hated losing. But at least getting paid to get clobbered made it slightly worth it, and even though she was paid a pittance, she felt that even the paltry sums she was mailing home made it worth it. Apinya spent 2 years in Bangkok, that beacon of nomad culture in an otherwise unfriendly region, living in a crowded tenement and eating awful food that made her miss home. It was necessary though, putting aside just a little each month so she could eventually afford her prize.

A one-way flight to Brazil.

A martial arts tournament. All eyes on some of the greatest and the best. Attention and money that she desperately craved. No, she tried to tell herself, she won't be like those greedy show-offs. She'll be sure to send the lion's share back to her family, she kept saying to herself like a mantra. But by god, the prestige. The sheer prestige of that carnival. It beckoned to her. Everything could change, everything!

Apinya practices Muay Thai, a very common martial art practiced by Thai Nomads. She frequently uses her elbows, shins and knees to fight off her opponents. She lacks the raw power that other Thai nomads possess, so she uses speed and dodging to try and evade attacks while getting quick strikes in. Unfortunately for her, her attacks lack much weight behind them, so she'll eventually lose the battle of attrition. One good slam tends to send her sprawling to the floor.

That's why she's been trying her best to internalize her mother's old lessons regarding Ki. Ki is her ticket, her way of covering for her weaknesses and sharpening her strengths. A way to add that strength to turn a simple move into the catalyst for victory. She just needs training, time, sweat and hopefully someone to yell at her that she's doing it all wrong, that her pose and her moves are all shit, and to show her what it truly means to be a Nomad.

For many nomads, they may carry distinct weaknesses, but at least that comes with a developed, deeply personal style. Years of experience too. This is where Apinya lags behind, a newcomer to the world of nomads. Her style differs little from regular Muay Thai, and she wouldn't even be the best at the regular marital art. Add in her underdeveloped usage of Ki, and you have a fresh Nomad who's not very good at being a Nomad. She needs way more time in the oven that is the wider world before she becomes the stuff of even minor legend.

Did you know that Apinya is the latest in a long line of legendary badass Thai warriors?

Of course not, because that last line was complete nonsense. In fact, the art of being a Nomad only started with her mum. If she wants to make a name for herself, she'll have to earn it the hard way.

Art was drawn by me.

Olivia is a plain, somewhat underdeveloped young woman, with vibrant blue (originally black) hair, which is often worn in two braided ponytails that reach just past the center of her back. Her vision is pretty terrible, so she wears a pair of corrective lenses over her intense blue eyes. Since becoming a Nomad, she typically dresses in comfortable, if a bit oversized, traveling clothes, usually in shades of blue or black. On average, this is a simple ensemble consisting of cargo pants, t-shirt, and hoodie. She’s also never without her extra large traveler’s backpack, which contains all her worldly possessions, most importantly, her custom controller and Xolys, whose head can often be seen peeking out of it.

Xolys himself usually takes the form of a small robot, which was obviously cobbled together from various sources, and fairly crudely at that. However, when Olivia activates Xolys’s combat form, he becomes a frighteningly perfect recreation of the towering technomantic nightmare of the same name from Gearmantic Hearts.

Olivia is a friendly, if socially awkward girl, who is always happy to make new friends and chat with them about her many interests. The problem is, those interests tend to be rather bizarre, and the talkative, overzealous, and highly energetic Olivia is almost always completely oblivious to that fact. Because of the near consent rejection and ridicule she’s experienced, she has started to become a bit more hesitant to open up to people, but showing even the slightest interest in one of her obsessions will open the proverbial floodgates once more, with Olivia happily babbling away for hours on end. Due to her exceptionally poor social skills, she often inadvertently invades others’ personal space and, especially when excited about the topic of discussion, speaks in an incredibly rapid and louder-than-necessary voice, which most find both difficult to understand and highly annoying. She’s also a hopeless romantic, which, coupled with her afore mentioned bizarre interests and lack of social skills, presents its own share of problems… Still, if one can look past all her quirks and eccentricities, they will find a loyal and caring friend. Indeed, Olivia doesn’t seem to have a single mean bone in her body, and all of her various bothersome mannerisms are completely unintentional on her part, leading the poor girl to frequently apologize for her offensive behavior.

On the other hand, despite his appearance (in both forms), Xolys is an unfailingly polite and respectful being, often complimenting other Nomads’ abilities and techniques. Strangely coming across as the grounded voice of reason, in contrast to Olivia’s somewhat unhinged exuberance, he attempts to guide her through social interactions in much the same way as she guides him in combat.

Growing up in the suburbs of Geopolis as the youngest and weakest of her parent’s five children, Olivia was always viewed as a freak and a failure. Her father was the proud owner of Bell Bionics, the best place in Geopolis for visiting Nomads to acquire mechanical augmentations and replacement limbs. However, while her talented older siblings served as his frequently-praised assistants, after one accident too many, it was clear that Olivia was nothing but a hinderance, and she was soon banned from entering the workshop. Things weren’t any easier for her at school, either. Her scrawny and bespectacled appearance was bad enough, but when combined with her strange interests, grating voice, and virtually non-existent social skills, it made her a prime target for bullying. Thus, despised, mocked, and shunned by her family and classmates alike, Olivia turned to the only place of refuge she possessed in her sad and lonely world- the local arcade.

From the moment she had first set foot in the neon-covered edifice, Olivia had been enthralled. Its myriad otherworldly lights and sounds drew her in like a moth to a flame, its array of games promising a longed-for escape from her depressing reality. Yet, there was one game that surpassed all the others- Gearmantic Hearts. A renowned fighting game from Covington Arts, it was one of the most popular games at the arcade, so much so, that Olivia hadn’t even been able to play it on her first visit. Or her second. Or her third… The lines were so long, she would spend hours waiting, only to go home disappointed when the arcade closed, just as she was about to take her turn. At the very least, she was able to watch the game being played while she waited, and she eventually memorized all the moves of each fighter. All, that was, save one…

Xolys.

He was a bizarre, eldritch machine that was simply captivating in his strangeness, and, to someone like Olivia, who had eagerly devoured all the works of H.P. Lovecraft, it was love at first sight. According to the one sentence description on his profile, which appeared along with those of the other fighters on the side of the game’s arcade cabinet, he was a robot that housed the soul of an extradimensional horror, but to Olivia, he was so much more than that. He was a kindred spirit, someone who could understand the pain of being unwanted by anyone. Despite, or more likely, because of his strange appearance, everyone seemed to avoid playing as Xolys. The boys either played as a burly badass, like ATLAS, the Aggronaught, or a sexy robo babe, like Penny Pinnacle, while what few other girls took an interest in the game inevitably fixated on the brooding bishonen bioroid, Finnegan Fabricant. No one wanted to play as a freakish cybermantic abomination. No one, except Olivia. For her, there could be no other champion. When she finally got her chance, she would show poor Xolys that someone did care. Until then, she spent her long hours waiting in line mentally filling in the blanks of the technohorror’s meager backstory, before setting them to paper when she finally returned home. He was fighting, Olivia had decided, in order to be reunited with his lost love, a young girl (and blatant self insert) who was the only person to treat him with kindness. Yet, she had been captured, and only by defeating all the other fighters would he be able to rescue her. Indeed, such feverish imaginings were Olivia’s only way of interacting with her cherished Xolys, until, at long last, the seemingly impossible finally happened.

She got to play Gearmantic Hearts for the first time.

At first, it was just another typical day of waiting in line, with Olivia one spot away from her goal, and mere minutes left before the arcade would close, depriving her of her chance yet again. But this time, something different happened. This time fate intervened on her behalf. She was holding her quarter in her hand, when someone bumped into her from behind, causing the coin to fall and begin rolling away. Leaving the line to chase after it, she was led on quite the chase, until she found herself in a darkened corner of the arcade. When the coin finally came to rest between Lunar Lander and Mad Planets, the arcade had begun to close down and disgruntled gamers were reluctantly filing out the doors. Ordinarily, Olivia would have been one of them, but suddenly, an idea occurred to her. If she hid herself in this darkened alcove and waited for everyone else to leave, she would have the entire arcade, and, most importantly, Gearmantic Hearts, all to herself! Of course, she would be locked in for the night, but her family never cared where she was, and the arcade’s two security cameras only monitored the entrance and exit, in case of a break in. They wouldn’t know if someone remained in the building after it had closed. So that’s exactly what she did.

Once she was certain the arcade’s owner had left, Olivia’s trembling body made its cautious way over to Gearmantic Hearts. The machine’s glowing lights and screen were even more pronounced in the darkness of the closed arcade, like a beacon, calling her forward, calling her to her destiny. Gripping her recaptured quarter tightly, her heart pounded as she inserted the small silver disc into the machine’s coin slot. Then, it was time. Carefully placing her delicate hand around the joystick with a reverence normally reserved for a holy relic, Olivia moved the flashing selector box until it had reached her precious Xolys and tapped the bright blue button to confirm her choice. It was like a match made in eldritch heaven, with Olivia leading the technohorror to victory in the game’s campaign mode at normal difficulty, and then at expert difficulty. When she returned home the following morning, she was the happiest she’d been in years, and no one was any the wiser. Thus, the following night, she again remained in the arcade after closing and beat the campaign on ultimate difficulty, an achievement no one else had managed. Her synergy with her beloved Xolys was simply unparalleled. But then, that wasn’t really surprising. Indeed, during the seeming eternity she had waited to play Gearmantic Hearts, she had even gone so far as to sneak into her father’s workshop and scavenge enough parts to cobble together a miniature approximation of the technohorror, along with a makeshift controller, which crudely mimicked G.H.’s own control configuration, in an attempt to practice for the day she got a chance at the real thing.

These overnight visits continued for several weeks, ensuring that her initials, ORB, were firmly ensconced at the top of G.H.’s score board, much to the immense puzzlement and frustration of the game’s army of patrons. Olivia silently watched from the sidelines as animated discussions broke out over the identity of the mysterious “Orb”, even as those discussions turned to debates over how they would fare against a human opponent. Still, while she was confident that she could lead Xolys to victory against any potential challenger, Olivia was reluctant to reveal her secret. After all, the ensuing questions could very well jeopardize her after-hours activities. Even so, a small part of her wanted to prove that she was as good a player as she believed herself to be. The game’s AI was strong, true enough, but it was still no match for a skilled human player. Thus, after a few more weeks of thinking it over, Olivia made the fateful decision to come forward.

At first, she was met with a mixture of mockery and incredulity (along with several accusations that this was nothing more than a pitiful attempt to get to the front of the line with a story that was clearly bullshit), but, eventually, enough patrons took pity on her to grant a demonstration. She would be going up against Kevin King, the player with the second highest score in campaign mode, and undefeated champion of PvP. Nevertheless, Olivia was undaunted, and when she stepped up to the controls for what many believed to be her first time, she was ready for anything Kevin could throw at her. Or so she thought…

Just as the match was about to start, someone grabbed her glasses and chucked them across the room. She was so shocked and disoriented by this unprecedented turn of events that Penny Pinnacle, under the command of Kevin’s skilled hand, was able to soundly demolish poor Xolys in record time. Cruelly mocked and pelted with spitballs, an utterly dejected Olivia retrieved her cracked glasses and trudged home under increasingly overcast skies, where she collapsed onto her bed and cried herself to sleep, her practice model of Xolys clutched tightly in her arms. This was the end, the distraught girl told herself as she sobbed into her sheets. She could never go back to the arcade again. She had failed her beloved Xolys, and now her dreams were well and truly dead. However, Olivia would soon discover that she was only half right.

That night, a mighty tempest rocked her small neighborhood to its foundations. The rain and hail pelted buildings and vehicles, while wind howled like tormented souls, and jagged bolts of lightning split trees amidst deafening peals of thunder. Yet, the slumbering Olivia was aware of none of it, nor did she perceive the swirling rent in the fabric of reality which opened above her bed, allowing a single ethereal flower petal to fall upon and phase inside her lovingly cobbled together recreation of Xolys. It would not be until the following evening that she fully realized what had occurred, when “Xolys” spoke to her. To Olivia’s astonishment and joy, she was told that her glorified remote control toy now housed the spirit of an extradimensional being known as Xolys, who had come to her universe to find and rescue his lost love, just like in her fanfiction! But, he needed Olivia’s help. Without her, he was nothing more than an inert toy, yet, guided by her controller and her boundless faith in him, he would be able to achieve the same incredible feats as his namesake from Gearmantic Hearts!

Needless to say, Olivia couldn’t believe her luck! Now she would be able to lead the real Xolys to victory in his quest, this time by battling actual villains and monsters, while entering Nomad fighting competitions on the side! It was like a dream come true! And so, a few days later, on her eighteenth birthday, Olivia packed up her most prized possessions and set off with Xolys on her new life as a Nomad. Recently, she’s heard of a massive fighting competition in Brazil that’s offering an honest to goodness Power Stone as a grand prize. Xolys has informed her that, with its power, he would almost certainly be able to locate his missing love, and so Olivia has made it her goal to not only enter the contest, but emerge as the grand champion.

Piece of cake, right?

Whenever it’s time to fight, Olivia whips out her custom controller and activates Xolys’s combat mode, which she guides through each fight with the rapid implementation of intricate button and joystick combinations. In addition, several small holographic displays flash to life in an arc around the controller, tracking Xolys’s health, power levels, and other related stats.

An imposing eldritch technomantic monstrosity, Xolys’s towering, supernaturally resilient combat form is covered in a plethora of Trans-Phasic Energy Scythe-tipped appendages, as well as a dizzying mass of spiked tentacular mechadendrites, leaving little doubt that he is an utter nightmare to face in melee combat. Although Xolys’s ranged capabilities are far more limited, consisting of just his head-mounted Unreality Beam, this attack is profoundly powerful. In addition, Xolys can also rapidly extend his tentacular technomantic mechadendrites out to fifteen feet, an ability sure to come as quite the unpleasant surprise for first-time opponents, who erroneously believe themselves to be safely out of range of any melee attacks. Although Xolys boasts an impressive pair of energy wings, he is incapable of flight, the wings being simply cosmetic.

For her part, Olivia herself has zero combat abilities whatsoever, and is actually quite a bit frailer than the average young woman her age.

Despite boasting impressive strength and toughness, Xolys is quite slow, preferring to remain in a single position and draw his opponent into the range of his multiple melee weapons. This, coupled with the fact that he possesses only a single ranged attack (albeit at two power levels), means that he seriously struggles against fast moving opponents with considerable long-ranged firepower. In addition, all his Signature and Super Moves have an obvious tell, in the form of the increasingly brilliant glow of his energy wings, which grows even more pronounced when he’s preparing to employ a Super Move. In fact, before each Super Move, the various wing segments split apart and begin spinning around in a different configuration, unique to each move. Thus, a perceptive opponent can easily foresee what’s about to happen and take appropriate action, at least, if they’re fast enough. Finally, incapacitating Olivia renders Xolys completely harmless, something a truly unscrupulous foe can easily capitalize upon.

Trust me, you really don’t.

Roguishly handsome and effortlessly stylish, Skyler is eye-catching whenever they walk into a room, and that's just the way they like it. While admittedly on the short side, they're still quite athletic and fit, with perfectly messy short red hair, nicely framing their pretty face and complimenting their tanned skin tone. While they have an eclectic wardrobe, Skyler usually sticks to a comfy if expensive jacket to dramatically throw aside before a big fight scene.

As any dedicated fansite will tell you of course, Skyler also has mild shapeshifting abilities to change their appearance, most notably into a simian form where the red hair becomes fur and Skyler resembles an anthropomorphic monkey as part of his most famous acting role to date, that of the Justice Rider's roguish anti-hero ally RADIANT LANCER!

Skyler is famous largely for two traits, their freewheeling chaotic energy getting them into trouble, and their charming smile getting them right back out of it again. Effortlessly charming, able to roll with punches better then anyone, and an undisputed master of working the crowd, Skyler adores being the center of attention, playing to their adoring fans and needling their enemies with witty one liners and barbs. While prone to vanity and having an overinflated ego from time to time, beneath the veneer of showman and celebrity, Skyler still has a strong moral code and will do the right thing when it's required of them, even if they never comes across as serious about it.

Born to to a Russian epidemiologist and a Chinese stuntman, Skyler was quite literally a nomad as they were raised on the road alongside their globetrotting parents, studying martial arts at a young age and eventually following their father into the stunt business, where they got their first break as an actor a few years in when they were cast as a loveable side character in the TV Show AC Emergency. The role made a big enough splash that they were contacted by SHINING when the show was over, and Skyler soon debuted on Justice Riders as the loveable rogue and on-again-off-again ally of the Riders, RADIANT LANCER, though in some countries they are named the Monkey Prince, given the character's strong resemblance to the mythical figure Sun Wukong. But of course you can read all about that on Skyler's IMDb page.

What you can't find on there is just how serendipitous it is that Skyler played that character.

Skyler has always been a little coy about exactly where they learned their martial arts skills, but their jokes about "learning from an ancient mystic deep in a Chinese mountain" are not entirely wrong. During one of their parents trips to Shenzen, when they were barely even ten years old, Skyler wandered away from the safety of their hotel into the seedier part of town when they were saved from a street gang by a plucky and charming stranger. Admiring their bravery and attempts to use trickery to beat the gang before he showed up, the stranger offered to train Skyler in his own unique style of combat and as Skyler continued to travel around the world with their parents, the stranger always seemed to bump into him to give him further lessons, often masquerading as pranks or menial tasks.

By the time Skyler started to get into acting, their training was complete and their master proudly gave them a medallion to signify their mastery of his technique, telling Skyler "guess you're royalty now, eh?" The young Skyler didn't think anything of it until their parents found the medallion lying out, and their father commented it looked similar to a prized possession of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Skyler hasn't seen their master since that day, though they still sometimes think they hear his howling, monkey-like laughter on the wind.

If it really was the Handsome Monkey King that trained Skyler, he'd certainly be proud of how far his student has come, being one of the most famous members of SHINING and, as a result, cleared to head to the tournament in Brazil to compete and prove that their talents go well beyond the silver screen!

Skyler is a relatively well-rounded fighter, specializing in agile brawling with a mix of Muay Thai and Monkey Kung Fu (of course) adding in ki abilities focusing on movement, misdirection, and electrical-based attacks, a personal favorite they incorporated into their character in Justice Riders. An expert improvisor who's not above fighting a little dirty from time to time, Skyler is great at playing to an opponent's weakness and coming up with a battle plan on the fly to take down opponents, all while looking damn good doing it. Their cockiness and bravado is definitely something an enemy can exploit though, and while Skyler's good at spinning such setbacks, it doesn't make that final blow sting any less.

Skyler may be adaptable and unpredictable as a fighter, but they tend to focus more on showboating and looking good in front of an audience then knuckling down and actually winning the fight. Their incessant taunting and showmanship could leave them vulnerable to an attack, and sometimes Skyler will even forgo an easy win if it makes for a more exciting or fantastic looking bout. Nonconductive materials also tend to make their electrical powered ki attacks less effective.

Skyler has a seemingly infinite amount of fancy jackets and $500 sunglasses to toss aside in fights.

On the surface, Horizon Rider makes good on his namesake, appearing as a dark bluish-green suit of advanced armor, with a dome-helmet completely concealing his face. Compared to on-brand Justice Rider models, his armor is much more plated, almost-scaled in appearance. His appearance was specifically designed to evoke official Justice Rider aesthetic and iconography to earn appeal with the public, while still allowing for utility and invoking menace.

However, on closer inspection Horizon Rider appears much more insidious and biological. What should be the motor-servos between his limb joints are dark-red banded steel, more similar to muscle than actual mechanical contraption. His hands end in monstrous talons, and his feet are two-toed with a backwards third toe. While these could be written off as stylistic choices, it definitely fills a sense of uncanny dread to anyone who examines the unit too closely.

It’d be forgivable to assume that Horizon Rider was actually a robot, given their quiet and stunted mannerisms. Outside of a fight they’re incredibly silent, stoic, and virtually immobile. They wouldn’t even respond to casual banter or even small talk that serves no importance or value to them. It’s hard to draw the line where Horizon Frontiers’ conditioning begins and the actual genetic creature they developed begins. If provided with an objective or an order, they will pursue it with brute simplicity, accomplishing it in the most direct way possible.

In combat is when Horizon Rider truly comes alive. When engaging in a fight, Horizon Rider becomes incredibly focused, animalistic, and sadistic, toying with their opponent as a predator would their prey. They’ll give an opponent the illusion of a fighting chance just to shatter it, slowly wear them down until they’re aware of their own helplessness, circle around before going in for the kill

Part of Horizon Rider’s conflicting nature is the juxtaposition between Horizon Frontiers’ programming and constant control of him and his own instinctual, bestial nature. The Brazil fighting cup brings them no shortage of frustration, having to stand and pose in front of crowds when they wouldn’t hesitate to rip someone’s head off for staring them in the eye. Yet, in an attempt to maintain their public appeal, Horizon Rider is occasionally forced to engage in awkward gestures, such as a thumbs up or posing for a photo.

Horizon Frontiers is one of the world’s leading medical and genetic research firms, dedicating all of it’s resources to studying the human body and unlocking the secret to the human potential. As far as the public is concerned, they’re a philanthropic foundation, distributing free gene treatments and medical prosthetics to those in need across the world, including those wounded in active conflict. With clinics and operations all across the globe, Horizon’s made well on their mission goal of “Curing All Humanity”. However, underneath their clean sanitized public image, Horizon Frontiers is an insidious organization that performs all sorts of inhumane experiments in the name of mastering the mysterious, esoteric force known as Ki. Anything that would provide a leg-up in their objective, say, the Power Stone, is something they will pursue to the ends of the earth to collect.

Upon discovery that the prize of the World Fighting Carnival would be one such Power Stone, Horizon Frontiers immediately locked their crosshairs on the event, trying to obtain it as discreetly and swiftly as possible. Smash-and-Grab was off-the-menu, as the greatest fighters all across the world had come to the event, and Horizon Frontiers was hardly the only organization interested in such an artifact. They couldn’t buy it either, as the prize was quite literally priceless. The best method was to simply enter their own combatant and win the stone legitimately.

For two years, Horizon Frontiers had dedicated all of it’s best available resources into the project to create a fighter strong enough to seize the stone. All of its’ Headquarters had pooled their rarest resources and got to work on “Project Horizon Rider”.

The World Fighting Carnival was a public venue, watched by thousands of people in person and broadcast all across the world to millions, so not only did the subject have to be powerful and efficient, but also had to be appealing to the public masses. To accomplish this endeavor, the subject was aesthetically designed after the popular media franchise “Justice Riders”, their entire body covered in a stylized suit of armor to hide their true form.

After two years of hard work and corporate extortion, Horizon Rider was born, a pure beast of battle in the guise of a noble hero of science.

The unit was developed with two goals in mind. One, win the tournament and acquire the Power Stone through legitimate means. And two, engage in combat with various martial arts experts and provide valuable combat data to Horizon Frontiers for future endeavors.

The project was overseen by Ulric Dotair throughout it’s two-year development. In the tournament proper, they will be observed by two Horizon Personnel on the scene, who will both collect combat data and report any aberrances.

Horizon Rider was designed as the pinnacle of technology and biology. As such, their fighting style is not only incredibly strong and potent, but also skilled and calculated. They combine both traditional fighting methods with an entire arsenal of implanted weapons and devices. In a fight, they’ll tend to at-first rely on traditional moves and basic attacks, then bring out the big guns and attempt brute-forcing their way past the opponent if they are sufficiently challenged.

Despite Horizon Rider’s all-around combat perfection, they are a high-maintenance project, constantly requiring attention and routine upkeep to keep at top-performance. Many of their attacks are also incredibly costly and difficult to use, making prolonged encounters difficult. Finally, they were designed for the Brazil-Fighting cup, in which most combat is limited to a single fight, making them difficult at anything more complex.

Selena normally dresses nice and neat, wearing button-up shirts, sweaters, and other things considered "Dark Academia" or "lame" to some. She looks like she goes to a school for rich kids. Her hair is bright orange and always braided immaculately. Selena likes to look nice wherever she goes, as she finds people talk to her more willingly when they think she takes herself seriously, which she does. The most striking detail about her is her eyes, which look like a pair of diamonds. She is also often see wearing a somewhat tacky coat that looks like it was ripped straight from a fantasy book. Selena says it's ominous but it's just ugly.

Confident: Selena is proud of herself, and sure of her capabilities. She believes she has what it takes to be a Nomad and get what she wants out of life. No one can tell Selena otherwise, because no one but her knows what's best for her. Telling Selena she can't do something is like telling the sun it can't rise in the morning, you're just plain wrong and it'll happen anyway.

Insecure: Selena's self-assuredness hides the fact that she's a little defensive. She believes she doesn't have to justify herself to another person, and Selena worries whether or not people believe that themselves. She tries to project an air of not giving a damn about what others think of her in any way, but deep down, she wants to be liked and cared about.

Bitchy: Sometimes, Selena doesn't go out of her way to be mean to people. Sometimes, though, she can't help but be inconsiderate of the way others feel. She has a habit of being insensitive, minimally empathetic and just plain rude when things don't work out as she expected them to. Selena doesn't do it on purpose, but it's a habit she's yet to break... Not that she tries.

Selena was born to two parents and an brother 4 years older than her. The Phoenix family was formed after two longtime Nomads fell in lover on their journeys, and settled down Gold City to raise their kids. They taught their firstborn son to fight and wield ki. He was a fierce martial artist, and followed in his parents' footsteps proudly. But Selena... Didn't. From a young age, the entire family tried to teach her the ways of a Nomad. They taught her how to throw a punch when she was no older than 10, and spent weeks searching for ki techniques that worked for her. Her brother Remi's lightning fast kickboxing, her mother's fiery mid-range style, and her father's defensive fighting were all applied to Selena's upbringing so that she'd carry on the traditions herself. But as they pushed her further and further, Selena moved less and less. Sure, her punches were straight and her footwork was decent, but Selena couldn't work up the ki to pull off any fancy techniques. Nevertheless, her family put her through it all the same hoping she just needed to struggle more. By the time she was 12, Selena learned of another method. In the attic, she found an old book about the magical Nomads of history. Growing up as a kid with a family full of punch-happy Nomads, this fascinated her.

In just a week, Selena conjured up a small, rocky substance that lasted for seconds before crumbling to dust. This alone was more progress than she ever made in marital arts, and so she dove in deep. She eventually tried to apply the logic of mythic techniques to what her parents taught her, but nothing happened. Selena came to the conclusion that magic would be the best path for her. When she told her parents about this, though, they were very disappointed. They interpreted Selena's new... "Activities" as a lack of commitment, that she was simply giving up. Selena showed them her spell, and her mother recognized it as a spell that her mother did once. Apparently, magic ran in the family just like martial arts. But this didn't matter to Selena's family, since they were martial artists, and they expected their daughter to follow the legacy they were setting in stone. But no matter how hard she tried, Selena just hit a brick wall, while making progress with magic in a matter of days. She rejected their legacy, and told them they had her Remi for that.

Her parents weren't pleased. The only reason they didn't take that damn book away right then and there was because she kept it safely stored away. Selena stopped training with them and her brother, and instead took to finding more books about magic. Being in Gold City, there were plenty of books to find in public libraries. There weren't many mythic Nomads around, since most were of a martial nature, but this only motivated Selena to push herself and teach herself. By the standards of a teenage, self-made magician, Selena was doing quite well for herself. But alas, talks at dinner were all about how Remi was doing so well in the local Nomad tournaments and how proud they were that he was getting better at fighting. Any time Selena tried to bring up how she had finally mastered a new spell, no one cared. They just switched gears and talked about something else, interrupting her like she didn't even speak. Selena never heard her parents say they were proud of her for learning to master a magic spell, because magic was always just a waste of talent to them. Except she didn't have any talent, she only had skill and hard work.

Year after year, Selena would get noticeably more skilled with her mythic study, and her relationship with her family would grow colder. Every now and then, an argument would erupt between them all, and they'd never apologize to each other. Selena devoted more time to practicing magic, spending entire days locked in her room with dozens of books to learn more. Eventually she found a few magically inclined Nomads in the city, and starting practicing with them. This got her out of the house and allowed Selena to learn a few things she couldn't in books, like the practical application of her spells. Her parents were glad she got out of the house, but they didn't care for her meetings with her "friends" very much. Surprisingly enough, the other magic users Selena befriended held their own miniature tournaments on the other side of the city. One of them taught her a teleportation spell so she could get there easily. This knowledge motivated Selena to try and reconnect with her parents. She invited them to her tournaments, but they were "too busy," and she discovered that "busy" meant they had another tournament to attend- Remi's tournament. They argued about this for hours, and eventually the whole family caved and agreed to attend the small magic tournament, on the condition that she face her brother.

She accepted.

On the day of the tournament, Remi blew through several magicians in minutes. The ones who gave him the most trouble were the defensive ones that burned themselves out before he could with his ki-charged speed. Selena outwitted her opponents by manipulating the environment and getting the drop on them. The two were on a hot streak in their own way, but most of the attendees in the crowd of about 50 were secretly confident in Selena winning. Two hours passed, and the siblings faced each other. Remi walked into the arena with red energy flowing from his arms, and Selena with spheres of light in hand. The match began, and Selena's spheres disappeared. Remi blitzed her, but she ducked. In all the years they fought, she noticed he was always too confident in that haymaker. Remi's fist soared clean over Selena's head, and she cast a spell to send him flying into the sky. In a flash, she teleported above him before he could start falling again, and blasted him with two bolts of light. He began falling, and Selena through a Crystal Wall to the ground before teleporting back down. Remi couldn't stop his fall, even with all his mobility he leaned on. Selena charged up a Falling Comet, and waited until the right second. Down, down, and down he fell like a meteor. Until...



She fired the Falling Comet, and it hit Remi straight in the chest. The explosion sent him backwards into the crystals, which blew apart and bruised him to hell and back. Ultimately, Remi was perfectly fine. He'd walk it off in a day or two, but the entire Phoenix family just watched him get laid out like a towel on a beach in under thirty seconds... Because of magic. And in front of a rather large group of magic enthusiasts no less. Selena could not have been more proud of herself in that moment, as the crowd went absolutely wild. She pulled off the upset, broke Remi's streak and practically stole the winnings- A cash prize and an enchanted cloak that Remi would've just thrown in the trash. Needless to say, Selena felt incredible... Until she saw the faces of her parents. They were angry at their son for losing so easily, as if Selena was a pushover. She put the cloak on and wore it with pride. When the family reconvened back home, the parents once again disregarded Selena's achievements. To them, she didn't win because of her hard work, but because Remi didn't take the fight seriously. Because there was no way a martial artist like him could lose if he tried.

Selena felt conflicted at this point. She proved to herself and so many others that she was an incredibly talented magician, but her parents didn't respect that. It was frustrating, and she wasn't sure what to do until she heard about the Power Stone being up for grabs at the World Tournament. Remi wanted to attend it, but so did Selena. As usual, another argument ensued. They argued about how a magician didn't deserve the Power Stone, and forbade her from leaving. But luckily for her, Selena was 18 by now. She could if she wanted, and besides, they didn't have anything to say when she asked if they were scared Remi would lose again. So, Selena gathered up her things, and used her prize money from the local tournament to buy a plane ticket. Selena didn't care if her parents approved or not, or even if Remi was on the way himself. She was powerful enough to contend, and that was enough.

[Selena points her hand at an opponent, and a spark of pale magic energy is shot outwards. It acts like a fireball, in the sense that it burns things away but doesn't produce a any heat. It's hard to not see the projectile flying towards you, and could be deflected like a tennis ball. Can be fired in rapid succession up to three times.]

[When Selena needs to, she can channel magic through both of her hands and shoot it out in a shotgun blast, meant to send someone or something flying backwards a few dozen feet. This is essentially an "Oh Shit" move to put space between Selena and her opponent. But due to the fact that the blast is raw energy forced out in such a violent manner, Selena can't do this in quick succession or she'll risk fatigue.]

[Selena picks a direction and appears at a chosen destination she can see within 50 feet, in a sparkly flash of pale light when she arrives, and can be used to carry up to one other person. This can only be done once per post, unless Selena is affected by Moonlight, which allows her to use Flare Step one more time.]

[Selena forms a glowing ball of light in her hand and hands it to someone. Whoever absorbs the Moonlight gets a boost to their next move. Attacks hit harder, duration based moves last longer, teleporters can teleport further, and so on. The Moonlight lasts for one move before fading away.]

[Selena hurls a clump of magic energy at a surface, causing it to crystalize and form a glassy barricade on contact. The barricade is roughly 7 feet tall and 10 feet wide, and is sturdy enough to be used as a platform if stood on. It can be broken with sustained attacks, but will slowly crumble away to nothing over the next two posts if not destroyed prematurely.]

[Selena channels magic to augment her senses, allowing her to detect anyone within 30 feet, from any direction and regardless of if they're visible. If they come within range, she will instinctually know where they are, provided they have a source of ki or magical ability.]

[The Shooting Star's older brother, the Falling Comet is a much larger ball of magic energy that Selena fires towards her target. The projectile leaves behind a much bigger and stronger explosion, but moves like a baseball thrown through the air, giving faster Nomads a chance to dodge the attack.]

[Selena opens up a magical power in the sky, above her head, causing dozens of crystals to rain down and pepper the battlefield. These crystals harden and become cover much like the Crystal Wall move, and burst into dust when they strike a person. Selena primarily uses this to provide herself with a lot of cover over a wider area when there isn't any. The crystals caused by this last much longer, but aren't any sturdier compared to a regular Crystal Wall.]

[Selena's cloak is enchanted, allowing her to produce a magical clone capable of casting spells and tanking some attacks. The clone does not speak, and bursts into a shower of light when destroyed. Once the clone is destroyed, it cannot be summoned again for the next two posts.]

The biggest thing that holds Selena back is the fact that she's a ranged specialist. The girl isn't capable of winning a fist fight against someone skilled in using their ki for more up-close fighting. Her comfort zone is staying at a distance and blasting her opponents with magic, getting the drop on them with sudden cover and repositioning. Those who rush her head on must contend with this, but if you can, then Selena is dead to rights. Strangely enough, Selena seems to have very little ki herself, if any at all. For this reason, she's generally much more fragile and easier to hurt. Some Nomads are easier to injure than the rest, but Selena struggles to take a beating even by normal standards- Grab her, and she's done for.

Gay as fuck. Women are pretty.