[CHAR] Of Gods and Men—An Urban Fantasy RP

[FujiwaraPhoenix]

• Name: Steven Fan
• Age: 26
• Appearance: "As the law dictates."
• Personality: Steven is, above all else, meticulous in his work, which also means that he is, for lack of a better term, a workaholic. He is driven towards helping to make his home a better place by means of rooting out criminals from society, but unlike the being he has a Contract with, he believes that there is room for repentance should the crimes not be as severe as he believes. In other words, he acts as both a vigilante and a just prosecutor, simply at different times, and while working as the former he is far less merciful than he might be otherwise.
  Outside of work, though, Steven tends to spend time just wandering about the city according to his own whims. He is, of course, open to conversation at any given time, but his innate habit of being a judge of character (combined with his primary Contract) means that he doesn't always pull away his mask when making small talk. With friends and acquaintances, though, he's quite talkative and all ears... Assuming there's nothing that needs to be done, of course.
• History: To say that Steven had any sort of encounter with a Contractor prior to his becoming a lawyer would be a bald-faced lie; up until he graduated from law school, he had absolutely no contact with the supernatural. His world was turned upside down, of course, right after he graduated, as a firm heavily linked to Soulflame approached him. His natural aptitude was high, and his other talents and history were a boon to their line of work. Not knowing what he was being dragged into, of course, Steven accepted the offer and entered the branch located back in Fairstone.
  It was then, of course, that he was introduced into the world of Contractors, and it was then that he first made contact with the Yama. Impressed with how diligently he had worked to obtain his position and predicting that he would become a boon in the future, the King of Hell formed a contract with Steven (after a bit of legal probing that the young man was naturally inclined towards after seeing all of this inanity). In short, Steven would act separately from the other Contractors under the Yama to mete out judgement alongside Soulflame, as though he had many connections to other Anchors, there were many times where the groups turned a blind eye for the sake of unity or times where his men could not act for fear of being removed themselves. In return, of course, the Yama would grant him a textbook that would allow him to 'study' for the exams he would give to raise the level of the Contract between them.
  The whole ordeal was incredibly surreal to Steven, of course, but after a few days' worth of discussion and negotiation with the members of Soulflame, Steven decided to accept both the Contract and the job, leading to his position now.
• Affiliation: Soulflame
• Level: Low
• Primary Contracted Party: King Yama (Deity)
• Abilities: Steven's primary Contract with the Yama allows him to strike those who have committed misdeeds with attacks representing one of the Eighteen Hells. Of course, this necessitates that his assumptions on his opponent's actions are correct, as being wrong would result in him tasting his own attacks in turn. Other than that, though, Steven has the ability to make contact with (or even attack) incorporeal spirits, if only to send them to the Yama himself for judgement.
  At his current level of ability, however, Steven is only able to invoke the Hell of Needles and Hell of Flames, which allows him to create needles to stab an enemy with from any location near him and create (and fire) flames from hell from his hands, respectively.
• Skills: Other than being an amateur criminal prosecutor (and having all of the connections that that entails), Steven is adept at drawing information out of people and digging up little things that might work as pieces of evidence against his opponents. He is not adept at things involving physical exertion, of course, but that does not mean he cannot act swiftly when the situation calls for it.
• Other: Given the stipulations of his contract with the Yama (which technically includes a pathway for him to gain the strength needed to do his job better), Steven's work is often set to 'study the textbook more' in between cases or jobs from Soulflame. For the sake of his sanity, though, he's not allowed to study more than a couple of hours during the weekends.

[TheFake]

Detective Donovan Lynch

Name: Donovan Lynch
Age: 31
Appearance:

Personality:
Detective Donovan Lynch is a serious individual but is still an friendly and approachable person. He is free with praise and humor but refrains from sarcasm. Sometimes he uses dark jokes in an effort to cope with the realities of his work. He treats those younger than himself with a fatherly attitude but has neglected to pursue any long term relationships, having seen first hand how his career has affected the families of his colleagues.
History:
Donovan Lynch was a police detective in Boston until he decided for a change of scenery. He moved across the counrty, settling in California for their weather and motorcycle culture. His integrity and sense of justice drew the attention of Manannnan Mac Lir, who formed a contract between them. Donovan uses the benefits of this deal to uphold his own side in pursuing justice in the eyes of the law.
With his success rate owing to a high percentage of confessions and a dogged determination, he is seen as being worthy of the respect of his peers. Outside of his career, when justice is not available in the courts he is compelled by his contract to do his duty.
Affiliation: Soulflame
Level: Low
Primary Contracted Party: Manannán Mac Lir (Deity)
Abilities:
Fragarach - It is impossible to lie in response to a direct answer to a question posed by Donovan and with enough effort he is able to compel a subject to answer. Conversely, he is also bound to tell the truth at all times. With just their current contract, Donovan is unable to manifest the sword itself.
Scuabtuinne - Manannan's boat gives Donovan the ability to operate land vehicles on the water.
Féth fíada - Donovan can render himself invisible to sight. He can extend this effect to cover small areas and other people.
Skills:
Marksmanship - Back in Boston he held top the top scores for his precinct and now with practise he has only gotten better. He visits the range like some people hit the gym.
Motorcycle riding - A hobby Donovan is totally devoted to. He embraces the precision and skill, using his machine as if it were an extension of his own body.
Investigation - Most of a decade as an detective has given him an eye for the little details that pull a case together and the intuition to ask just the right questions.

[Silvan Haven]

Raymond Harken

• Name: Raymond Harken
• Age: 32
• Appearance:
  
• Personality: As a ranking member and ordained priest Raymond strives to follow the ethos of the Ordo Sancti Clypeus to the best of his abilities. Be kind and just, bring aid to the downtrodden and punishment only to those who truly deserve it. Protect God's children no matter who they might be. About the closest you could get to a modern day knight. Experience in the less peaceful areas of the Middle East and against the supernatural after he returned Stateside has earned him a level head for when stuff hits the fan.
  
  When not facing off against whatever is threatening to ruin someone's day Raymond can usually be found either at the nearest collection of books or food bank/homeless shelter/blood drive, in an effort to placate his contract partner. He's a pretty good guy, but when you have the Archangel of Benevolence and Mercy constantly whispering in your ear it has an effect on a person's actions.
• History: As a former Army chaplain Raymond always believed in the supernatural, at least in the religious aspect. He got a much more practical example when the FOB he was visiting was attacked by some kind of local demon. By the time it had been driven off via copious use of explosives most of the forward operating base was a sand covered ruin and half the occupants were dead. More than a little surprised that monster attacks were a thing and worried at the likelihood that others would also face them he did his best to research the subject. In doing so he caught the attention of the Ordo Sancti Clypeus.
  
  The Order of the Holy Shield was a not-quite ancient paramilitary organization dedicated to the protection of Humanity against any who might do it harm. With roots going back to the first groups of settlers on North America they were not tied to any one church or state organization. Operating primarily on the northern half of the continent with the occasional foray into the more southern regions of the landmass when needed. While they had helped tame the many supernatural beings of the area, in modern times their duties lay primarily in preventing Contractors from getting out of hand. They had first noticed Raymond when he survived the attack in the desert, his continued digging into the subject got him a job offer.
  
  Upon his acceptance Raymond was led through the steps to summoning and contracting with a guardian angel. To both his and that of everyone who knew anything on the subject what he got was not simply a member of the Heavenly Hosts. It was Zadkiel, Archangel of Freedom, Benevolence and Mercy. Nobody is quite sure why the Archangel chose him, Raymond himself suspects that Zadkiel has a specific purpose he wants to accomplish and simply chose the first human he could work with. Whatever the case, Zadkiel isn't giving up any answers on the subject.
• Affiliation: Ordo Sancti Clypeus
• Level: Low Medium
• Primary Contracted Party: Zadkiel, Archangel of Freedom, Benevolence and Mercy (Deity)
• Abilities: While nobody knows the full scope of an Archangel's abilities, Raymond has been given access to only the basics. His contracted partner has said that he will gain more when he shows himself worthy.
  
  Blessing: With a prayer Raymond can bless anything he is in physical contact with. At the moment his blessings are limited to sanctifying objects. Holy water and holy ground being two ready examples.
  
  Healing: A well known form of miracle, with prayer and physical contact Raymond can heal most non-fatal wounds.
  
  Aura of the Archangel: The most unique of Raymond's current abilities. With an effort of will he can emit some of the aura of his guardian angel. While those familiar with the Archangel might recognize it's source all most will feel is an element of his dominion. Raymond can chose which of the three (Freedom, Benevolence or Mercy) to emanate most strongly.
• Skills: Even if he was unable to bear arms during his service that didn't stop Raymond from learning from those who could. He left the army with an excellent grasp on most firearms in use by the service. And that knowledge has only expanded after he joined the Order, now including a familiarity with explosives and the more esoteric weapons used by a supernatural paramilitary organization.
  
  Of course a knight can't always rely on his guns. Sometimes you just have to punch the nasties into submission. Raymond is capable in close quarters combat even if he's no genius, specializing in unarmed and small bladed combat.
  
  Ever since he left his post as a chaplain Raymond has been researching the forces of darkness. With access to the extensive secret archives of the Order he is now a veritable expert on most supernatural creatures and entities. Strengths, weaknesses, eating habits...trivia blurbs. If you want to know something about the unnatural things of the world, he's the guy to ask.
  
  A fair hand at it already, with his partner's power Raymond is supernaturally good at getting people to stop shooting and start talking. It's usually his job to talk to the witnesses of supernatural activity and keep police off the backs of his team.
• Other: With the growing relevance of Soulflame Raymond Harken has been sent as an ambassador in an effort to try and build an alliance or ceasefire between the two groups. Basically to head off any hostilities before they started. Christianity gained a foothold on North America the same time the first European settlers did. There wasn't a whole lot of point to trying to prevent it from coming back if it was already there. In fact the Order didn't want any of the other Anchors coming to the US any more than Soulflame did. With their goals aligning far more than they strayed it made sense to work together rather than fight.

[Tominas]

Fremont "Mad Dog" Lundgren

Name: Fremont Lundgren
Alias: Mad Dog, Fritz
Age: 29
Height: 6’9”
Weight: 387lbs
Appearance: "People say I'm a big guy... This is true."

Personality: Lundgren tries his best to be aggressive, territorial, proud, neurotic, and generally a bit of a bastard. His time in prison kicked off his paranoia, and he still has a hard time not seeing anyone as a threat first and anything else second. An introvert at heart, he tends to open up when others display weakness, but is usually afraid of initiating conversation if he doesn’t dislike someone. Once he does open up to them however, he sees them as “his people,” and heaven help anyone who would do them wrong. Generally good with animals, Lundgren does well in open air and dislikes closed spaces and the feeling of being chained down with a passion. In his time in prison, he developed a love of reading, and enjoys peace and quiet with a good book. His favorite subjects are romantic poetry, old survival stories, heroic myths, and anything occult he can get his hands on. The guy’s smarter than he looks, but gets a kick out of playing the part of dumb muscle and then surprising people. Still, he likes fighting just a little too much, and is a bit of a masochist, taking pride in “dealing well with suck.” He’s frustrated that fighting is pretty much all that he’s good with, and wants to learn other skills.

History

Born to a mother who didn’t want him, Lundgren was given up as a foster child the minute she finished giving birth. His childhood was spent moving from family to family, fighting and generally causing problems wherever he went. In this time, he developed a love of boxing, a vent for his aggression. He was a big kid, and it would’ve caused problems otherwise. Eventually, during his time with a small family of good people, his adopted little brother became involved in gang activity, dragging Fremont along with him. The problem was that Fremont took to it like a fish back in water, and the leader of the group, guy named DJ, got jealous.

Lundgren and his little bro were sent to a drug deal, but little did they know DJ had already called in a tip to the cops. Fremont’s brother got away, but the buyer got nervous and pulled a gun, firing at the police. Lundgren fled, but was captured after a short pursuit, biting two fingers off an officer in the process.

With aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, the uninterested, state-appointed attorney, and his refusal to speak for the sake of his brother and friends back in the group, the court threw the book at Fremont. He was off to the nearest federal penitentiary while DJ sneered from his seat on the street, back to business as usual.

The first and most important lesson that Fremont ever got in prison was that no one was on his side. The moment he set foot in the yard, a local thug noticed his size and tried to recruit him to his own corner. Fremont told him to stick it where the sun didn’t shine. The guy took it personally.

A riot erupted that week, and in the chaos, it turned out that the thug from earlier had more than a few friends. A group of skinheads pinned the kid down, a knife carving half a Glasgow smile into his face for being mouthy before the guards managed to reinstate order. He spent the next two months in the medical ward, then got sent back to gen-pop. This time, he kept an eye out.

For the next two years, betrayed by those he thought closest to him, Fremont got the everloving shit kicked out of him. He continued to grow, eating and exercising like an absolute madman, fighting like a trapped wolf. He tried to discourage conflict. He tried to be more trouble than it was worth, take chunks out of the others in the yard, but... An unaffiliated inmate, no gang ties to retaliate? He might as well have had a target painted on his back. More than one group used him as a proving ground for new members.

If it was one-on-one, he could handle himself. The problem was that new inmates arrived in bus-loads, and they always smelled the blood in the water. He was terrified, trapped, and pinned in like an animal. His life was a fight to survive from dawn till dusk, eyes peeled for the next shank, the next boot in his head. Over time, Lundgren became intimately familiar with the medical ward, spending his time bouncing between iso and gen-pop, the yard and a stretcher. It was only a matter of time before he was killed or worse.

The stress got to him. He started doubting his own sanity, hearing the same, gravelly voice in his head, promising strength and threatening dismemberment. In his search for clarity, answers, weapons, he found himself in the library often. He combed through records, fiction, fact, anything he could find that was remotely similar to his situation. It didn’t do much to help with his mental health, and if the library was more closely monitored, it would later be noticed that a certain musty tome on Norse myth had gone missing around this time. It soon became apparent why.

Lundgren’s cellmate took note that the man would just stare out of the cell’s window at the moon for hours at night, growling at himself and mumbling under his breath when he wasn’t exercising. His wounds would ooze, his hair seemed to grow faster than it used to. He became more and more detached, cackling to himself when he thought no one was looking, throwing back raw meat from the kitchens when he had a shift. One night, the blonde woke up the cell block with a colossal, hair-raising howl out the window of his room. The guards arrived, telling him to shut up and sit down. The inmate smiled, sharpened teeth peeking out from behind the jagged scar on his jaw, an awful clarity in his eyes. With a voice like the grating of two massive stones, Fremont responded that it was a joke, and returned to bed. After all, a growing man needs his rest.

To put it simply, Lundgren had snapped. The pressure had been too much, but his situation was a familiar one to a monster from his family’s old country, and he could become a useful tool in an active location. Fenrir’s voice seeped into the inmate’s broken mind, filling the gaps with instinct and anger. He was pulled back together, but he wasn’t the same as he had been. The fear was gone, rage in its place. The sadness had left, but the betrayal remained. He was changed.

He hit a growth spurt. He grew a full head taller, all of his hard work finally coming to light as his muscles swelled and his chest flared. Lundgren’s shoulders fell back, a predator confidence lending power to his steps. All at once, the fights started swinging back in his favor. He took three men. Five. Ten. Over the course of his next eight years in the Pen, he hospitalized 32 other inmates. He would’ve been convicted for it, but the fact of the matter was that every time it was ruled self-defense. He never started the fights, just finished them. The worst part was that to an observer, he was playing with them. It was a game, with the flicker of sharpened teeth shining in the sunlight as he tossed his opponents like rag-dolls. It swiftly became apparent that Fremont “Mad Dog” Lundgren was no man’s bitch, not anymore.

His life changed overnight. The library became his den and the yard his hunting grounds, daring someone to challenge him. He read voraciously, like a starving man. Anything he could unearth on the occult, anything that would explain his patron. The Wolf had told him so little but shown him much, and now he sought to learn. Though there was little that was of use, he found a sort of solidarity in the old myths. Heroes and monsters, figures larger than life. It all echoed his own life, and through the sliding of pages he found poetry, fiction. In the process, he became surprisingly well-read, picking up a small pack that he kept safe from the petty squabbles between gangs of the more hardened thugs.

Ten years after his imprisonment, a man came to visit him. The man claimed he worked for a group of similarly associated individuals, “Contractors” who had powers granted by divine beings. He said that there was a world beyond what the Mad Dog had seen, secrets in the night and monsters in the dark. The man wanted Lundgren to help his group, Soulflame, to combat the threats that faced humanity from the warring of petty Contractors. He could give the inmate his freedom, new territory, fresh air. Best of all, Lundgren would finally get answers on his patron, pantheons, and what the hell was actually going on in the world. The veil was going to be pulled back.

With a splitting grin, a spark flickered in the Mad Dog’s eye. “Where do I sign up?”

History tl;dr: Lundgren was a foster kid, liked boxing, got caught up in gang activity and imprisoned. In jail, he refused an initial gang offer, and got his shit kicked in for the next 2 years. Fenrir noticed the kid was super similar and in a convenient place, so made a contract with him. 8 years later, Soulflame sprung him from the slammer under parole and are using him as muscle.

Affiliation: Soulflame. They pay the bills.
Level: Low
Primary Contracted Party: Fenrir; Monster of the River Van; the Wolf at the End of Everything; That Hateful, Fluffy Sunuvabitch(Outlier)

Abilities: The contract with Fenrir is a simple one. As time goes on, he becomes more and more similar to the Famewolf. For now, this has resulted in his massive size and general physicality. He can rip a man’s arm off with his bare hands, bend iron bars, crush skulls, and is resilient enough to easily survive small-arms fire. Along with his size, resilience, and strength, Lundgren’s senses are rising to match. His hearing, smell, and reaction time are all heightened from human limitations. For now, this means that he can track via his sense of smell if unobscured by powerful odors like sewage, and he has the response time to deal with the basic supernatural threats. Essentially, he is "like a shitty Beowulf, but workin' on it." Though these powers have grown over time, with his current contract things seem to have plateaued. The Monster of the River Van will require a greater toll to further bestow his blessings.

Skills:
-Unarmed combatant: With no formal training but a few years boxing as a kid followed by the school of Hard Knocks, Lundgren nevertheless spent ten years of his life fighting off groups of hardened prison thugs. He’s got practical experience.
-Outdoor skills: He’s never had the chance to go camping, but has read a good bit on the subject and is eager to try his hand at wilderness survival. It may or may not go well.
-Intimidation: He’s spent enough time as the biggest dog on the block to know how to put someone into their place. It helps that he’s about as physically imposing as he possibly could be.

Other:
-It’s important to note, Fremont is on parole for “good behaviour,” as his reputation actually meant that he was one of the more well-behaved inmates back in Westwood. Unfortunately, this means that getting caught in the middle of a criminal offense means that the long arm of the law comes for him again. The guy’s gotta keep his nose clean. ...it’s a pain in the ass.
-Contract stipulations:
-“Boast.” The Famewolf got its name for a reason, Lundgren has to live up to it. A week passed without a great feat of strength to his name is painful, physically and mentally. There must be witnesses. For now, Lundgren makes a name for himself in the local powerlifting community as well as participating in the street fighting scene. It’s effective enough, technically not illegal, and combined with his time behind bars has given him a few criminal contacts.
-“Spite.” Fenrir is a beast of grudges, and every crime against him must be repaid in kind. For now, this means that every fight the Mad Dog gets into, he needs a scar to remember it by. Long-term, it means payback. Eventually, DJ is getting what’s coming to him. Prison was a good warm-up.
-Unrelated to the contract, the guy is pretty well-read. Likes poetry, in particular.

[RolePlayerRoxas]

Jonathan Sterling

• Name: Jonathan Sterling
• Age: 25
• Appearance: He looks like a guy that wears glasses
• Personality: While a reasonably polite fellow on the surface, Jon is a somewhat self-centred individual, who believes the world owes him luxury and prestige, and that 'menial' work is beneath him. This arrogance can seep into his social encounters, but for the most part he tries to hold that bit back. The lesser-skilled can get jealous, you know?
  Although he has great confidence in his, admittedly justified, ability to sell and convince, repeated roadblocks can wear him down rather quickly, showing off a more immature side to himself, as well. He's also not the most courageous of men, and is liable to hide behind rows of colleagues if given the chance.
  Jon does recognise the value in teamwork, however. Or at least the illusion of it. He's willing to play along with a group to an extent, purely to win favour and trust, but don't expect him to commit to any task more strenuous than 'show up and give the group morale support'. And to his credit, while he may have no morale qualms about selling defective, overpriced crap to the needy, he's not a monster. If he sees true villainy, it awakens a fire of mild disdain within him, and... he'll probably call it out once he's in a safe location. After all, he's not the one wearing the cape.
• History: There is truly nothing remarkable about Jonathan. He was never a religious person, he did not shine brightly above his classmates, and his talents have thus far landed him in a steady position selling construction contracts, as well as financial management. Combined with his narcissistic and arrogant views, he really should have been nothing more your typical sleazy merchant. It was just pure chance that he happened to conduct business with members of Soulflame, who noticed he had an aptitude for contracting with other beings. Claiming that they needed to hash out details with a 'superior', Jonathan was instead guided into a conversation with a slightly unusual client - a Japanese deity surrounded by eerie foxes.
  One flustered debate and deal broker later, Jonathan was left in a strange predicament - this deity was willing to 'gift' him with a glorified pet, on the basis that he improve his craft and influence a meaningful change for society. Or else. And so, somewhat begrudgingly, Jonathan is currently working with Soulflame.
• Affiliation: Soulflame
• Level: Low
• Primary Contracted Party: Inari
• Abilities: Jonathan isn't granted a direct boon - at least, not in his current level. Instead, Inari apparently saw him worthy only of a follower. The word is used loosely, as the kitsune granted to him is rather weak and temperamental. A glowing white fox with a single tail, this creature is agile and intelligent, but lacking in abilities beyond very basic fire magic. According to Inari, this fox will grow in strength alongside Jon, and is a reflection of his current worth. In other words, he's seen as so useless that even the fox rarely follows a direct order from him.
  as Jonathon grows in strength and worth, the familiar will grow stronger in turn, denoted by the number of tails. Its' magic becomes more varied and powerful, becomes capable of speech, and might even grant the ultimate boon - any rice-based dish will taste amazing.
• Skills: In the context of a salesman, Jon is a fast, almost charismatic talker, able to upsell the good qualities of any product. This also extends to his ability to bluff through conversations if need be. Evidently, he's not quite good enough to win the favour of a deity. He's also fairly business-minded, and knows when a quick profit can be made.
• Other: Jonathan calls his fox Fido. The fox does not respond well to this name.

[Raineh Daze]

Yang Chenlu

• Name: Yang Chenlu/Anna
• Age: 16
• Appearance: So far as things go, the ears are a pretty mild punishment for contract breaches.
• Personality: Chenlu is something of a ditz: she gets sidetracked easily and seems to miss the subtleties of a problem. She's also somewhat shy and reluctant to reach out to other people, though not to the point of social difficulty. Oh, and she has absolutely no problems with the idea of taking human life due to her upbringing, it's just that that's normally something that other people are meant to do whilst she stays out of the way.
  Really likes rabbits.
• History: Born into organised crime in China, Chenlu's purpose in life was made quite simple: exist, unless she contracted something so useful as to force a more active role in things. For a very brief period, it seemed that the young girl might indeed have made a contract like that... until the abilities it actually granted her was revealed. Indeed, someone after the martial power or immortality her contract might grant would likely never have been allowed to make it. Thus her future was fixed: exist until such time as she was old enough to marry, then continue as before.
  It was in Hong Kong, at the actual ceremony, that things finally took a turn for the better in her opinion: a hitman brought down her would-be husband, and for reasons she doesn't fully understand chose then to leave the business--an opportunity that the girl insisted on joining, having no desire to be forced into another marriage the instant things calmed down.
  And so the two of them arrived in Fairstone, on the run from organised crime and yet unavoidably getting tangled up in the local contractors. As for the ears? A punishment for celebrating the demise of her fiancé; behaviour that Chang-e certainly doesn't approve of, until such time as the girl learns her lesson.
• Affiliation: Soulflame
• Level: Low
• Primary Contracted Party: Chang-e (Deity)
• Abilities: Chang-e provides a quite eclectic group of abilities, being a lunar deity who perhaps derives more from her associations than her own direct actions. Shining down moonlight would be obvious, but cookery, rabbits, archery, and immortality? The latter is clear from her own origin, but the others stem from her location and husband: being on the moon, her association with rabbits is quite a clear one. The cookery stems from both the rabbits' own habit of making rice cakes... and that Chang-e was, before becoming a goddess, a housewife. To Hou Yi, who most notably did not attain immortality and become a contractable deity. Thus, only via Chang-e can that skill be accessed.
  Chenlu's current level of ability allows her to make rice cakes--though her cooking is otherwise appalling--and use moonlight in place of a torch. It also, and quite obviously, allows for her to summon moon rabbits of various sizes to be her familiars. Though quite smart and perceptive for rabbits, well... they're still rabbits. Even the really big ones can be quite skittish (of course there's large moon rabbits: the moon rabbit has to be quite large, surely).
• Skills: Fortunately for her, Chenlu is quite good with languages, which is probably the most useful thing she can really contribute to being in America right now. The rest of her life skills are pretty appalling and calling her a layabout is pretty fair. She burns everything that she tries to make except rice cakes, for instance. She's more able to defend herself than it might look at first glance, but she's by no means a great or trained fighter--more of a "conceal a knife and stab when you're not looking" type.
  If asked, she'll claim that her talent is burning in daylight so can she please stay indoors?
• Other:

[KoL]

• Name: Mao, he'll usually go by John, if he needs an Western name for any reason. None of these two are his real name, reason discussed bellow.
• Age: 25 years (Presumed)

• Appearance:

• Height: 178 cm | • Weight: 76 kg

• Personality: To the outside observer, Mao is a typical nice guy, trying to mind his own business. A typical everyday guy with little desire to attract attention to himself, who spends most of his time outside of work at home, very rarely going outside to buy some basic necessities or for other important issues.

The truth, however, is that he is basically indifferent to the worries of others; a man almost completely devoid of human emotions, simply wearing a mask that allows him to course through society in an easier way, especially when he's trying to keep a low profile. The only exception for most of these characteristics is a certain albino girl that Mao helped on a whim a few months ago; an event that changed both of their fates in an irreversible way.
• History: A man with no past, trying to find his way to an uncertain future. That's the best way to define Mao in a single phrase.

The earliest memory that he's capable of recalling with accuracy is of waking up in a hospital in Hong Kong, unable to recall even his own real name, and being greeted by a group of men dressed in business suits of varying colors, as well as shades and other over the top accessories; an appearance that seemed to have been lifted straight out of some old police drama.

He was told that he had a debt with an organization called the Syndicate and that now he would have to pay it by working for them or be disposed of. Needless to say, Mao couldn't remember anything of what the men talked about, nor could he remember anything else, putting him in a position where refusal wasn't really an option.

With no other real option left, Mao accepted the offer and began his career as one of the Syndicate's enforcers, surprising even himself when he found out not only about his martial arts proficiency but also about his abilities as a Contractor. The later was the main reason why the Syndicate claimed that he was indebted to them since it was apparently a contract that was mediated by the Syndicate, not one made solely because of mutual interest between Mao and the deity that he was contracted to.

After years of living as a hollow shell of a man, with no desires or interests of his own, Mao began to notice some changes within himself. Perhaps it was the weight of his guilty finally catching up him, or because his memories were beginning to fight their way back to his mind, causing him to be constantly haunted with visions that he couldn't connect to at all, especially an unknown girl's smiling at him with an unbearably sad look in her eyes.

What happened next was nothing short of fate itself at work, when Mao came across a girl that was marked for death in a hit against a group rival to the Syndicate. For a reason that even he couldn't explain at the time, the otherwise insensitive hitman felt that she didn't need to die on that day. Instead, he helped her escape his colleagues. It didn't take long for the Syndicate to know that Mao had betrayed them, forcing both he and the girl to run away from Hong Kong, feigning their own deaths, and seeking asylum at America.
• Affiliation: Former enforcer of a Hong Kong Anchor known as the Syndicate; currently associated with the Soulflame after some of their members helped him settle on Fairstone.
• Level: Middle
• Primary Contracted Party: YingLong, the Rain Dragon (Deity).
• Abilities: The abilities granted by contract with YingLong are almost universally related to water and weather manipulation. His contractors can produce or halt rain, shape and control nearby sources of water with varying degrees of skill; Mao is specifically capable of creating water decoys and defensive walls of water as long as there's enough liquid water nearby to manipulate. The most interesting ability coming from this contract is the ability to sense nearby sources of water—including other living beings since they are majorly made out of water— which Mao uses as a kind of echolocation ability, which allows him to operate in nearly total blindness without any problems.

Another ability granted to YingLong contractors is basically a deep knowledge of rice agriculture and irrigation techniques, while it doesn't help in combat this is perhaps the biggest boon the Rain dragon could grant to a mortal. At least from its point of view.
• Skills: Mao is well-versed in Chinese Martial Arts, his style is basically a combination of some traits from Bajiquan, Wing Chun and Shequan (Snake Fist) with a heavy emphasis on fast and hard counterattacks, as well as striking pressure points to disable opponents in short range combat. He's also very proficient with knives. Furthermore, while he certainly knows how to, Mao prefers to avoid using guns whenever possible since they were pretty awful tools for his previous line of work and even now he doesn't find much use for them.
• Other: Has a price for his contract, Mao has to eat a large quantity of rice almost every day, pretty much twice as much as most other people would. He can go without doing so for a while, especially if there's no easy source of rice around, but it weakens the powers of his contract and whenever he has the next chance of doing so, he would need to literally gorge himself to compensate for the time he went without fulfilling his obligation.

Mao is pretty good at taking care of house chores, including cleaning, laundry and anything in between. In fact, it's because he's pretty good at the kitchen that he was able to find work at a Chinese restaurant used to taking illegal immigrants as part of their staff.

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[VitaVitaAR]

• Name: Abigail Kelly
• Age: 21
• Appearance: "I don't put up with idiots." She's quite short for her age.
• Personality: A proud knight. That is the image Abigail Kelly wishes to project. And indeed, she is proud of her skills, her abilities, and the place she holds in her original Anchor. She is very dedicated to her duty as part of Ireland's Fianna, something she takes with the utmost seriousness. Straightlaced and proud, one could say she is the very image of the public consciousness of a "knight". That is, until you realize just how irritable she can be. Just as she takes her duties as a knight of Ireland's Fianna extremely seriously, she also has no tolerance for anyone acting foolish and is quick to complain. She is at once a noble knight but also a very caustic and aggressive girl. That being said, she is extremely dedicated to the ideals of justice espoused by the Fianna, doing everything she can to protect the innocent and defeat those who would do them harm. While Abigail is quite confident with herself, she becomes remarkably flustered by close proximity with others and general does not know how to handle relationships of any kind particularly well, likely due to spending most of her life training for her duty as a knight. She does not like being called short. At all.
• History: Abigail was born to the Kelly family, one of the primary members of the modern Fianna in Ireland. Traditionally, members of the Kelly family have contracted various Celtic deities, and a few times previously the family had contracted Nuada himself. This time, Abigail was able to successfully make a contract with the First King of the Tuatha De Dannan, before she even began her training. From a very young age, Abigail's life was spent on her extensive training, focused on forging her into a perfect knight that would be an excellent member of the Fianna. She embraced this as she grew older, but the lack of freedom she experienced nurtured a rather irritable side that only grew worse as she got older. Having a strong belief in Soulflame's purpose, the Fianna agreed to lend them the assistance of one of their knights. That knight is Abigail.
• Affiliation: The Fianna, "on loan" to Soulflame. The Fianna are an organization that claims to be the continuation of the original Fianna from celtic myth. Declaring themselves to be model knights of justice and contracting with Celtic deities, the Fianna's mission is to champion the cause of protecting the innocent.
• Level: Medium
• Primary Contracted Party: Nuada, First King of the Tuatha De Dannan
• Abilities: The abilities provided by Abigail's contract with Nuada center on two items: The Silver Arm, Airgetlam, and the Brillaint Shining Sword, Claiomh Solais. When Abigail's contract is invoked, any mundane item she is holding in her right hand is immediately transformed into the Claiomh Solais. This function, naturally, only occurs to inanimate objects. The Claiomh Solais is a longsword that shines like the sun itself, the blade glowing brilliantly silver, the metal the weapon is composed of almost seeming to be made of light. It is incredibly sharp, and can release brilliant bolts of energy. When released at its full power, the Claiomh Solais unleashes a great wave of magical energy. Airgetlam takes the form of a silver gauntlet covering Abigail's right arm. It protects Abigail, but is also a potent weapon in and of its own right, its surface burning with magical energies that burn her enemies on contact.
• Skills: Abigail is trained in swordplay, much of her life having been spent honing her skills. Additionally, she is quite light on her feet and very agile.
• Other: N/A