Innocence Lost: A Science Fantasy RP [V.03]

[Letter Bee]

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy


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I. Intro

Intro

We were just children, albeit ones of exceptional mind and body. Then the Ascendancy of Man took us from our families, our friends, and our homes; they said we were needed to fight the 'Alien Menace' that was threatening our civilization. In the name of 'survival', they changed us, pumping our bodies full of impossible substances that defied the laws of reality. It was a miracle we all lived to see the horrors of war, they said, but was it really?

After being altered and trained, we were thrown into the meatgrinder that the war against the other species of the sector had become. With new powers given to us by the impossible compounds that were flowing through our veins, our battalions slew huge numbers of the enemy. But it wasn't enough; in the Battle of Proxima, the Ascendancy's fleets and armies finally fell to a sustained assault by the Aliens, and we, the supernatural child soldiers that had wreaked such havoc against the foe, were captured and taken to a prison camp in one of the enemy's holdings.

Despair overtook us as we awaited our fate. What abuse was coming? How will we be treated by those whom we had slaughtered in droves? But when our enemies, the Aliens known as the Rau've, showed pity on us instead, we wept in joy. They saw that we were just kids, and gave us mercy.

We were offered new homes, new families among the Aliens, and most of us accepted. But I didn't, same for a handful of others. I thanked our former captors - former, for the war had ended with a peace treaty - but I told them that I and the others with me wanted revenge on the regime that had betrayed us, used us, and were crueler than the enemy they fought. They sighed, and gave us coordinates to the Galactic Bazaar, a space station where jobs and ships can be found to start our revenge; they wouldn't help us directly.

And so we, with magic, combat skills, and what few peaceful talents we remembered before we were 'drafted' by the Ascendancy of Man, we went to the space station where almost anything can be bought and sold. But one must be warned; the Ascendancy of Man was also there, and will not tolerate their former tools turning against their 'masters'.

------

I fought in the Ascendancy's Fleet. I believed in their propagandistic drivel. I did work dirty and clean for them, and what did I get? Thrown away without pay, without a pension, just tossed out like last day's trash. And to add insult to injury, they blamed us for their own butts getting kicked on Proxima, said that us frontier-worlds didn't fight hard enough and so they got defeated. Well, I've had enough of them stomping on the little guy, so I joined the dime-a-dozen rebels - I mean, Moonstrike!

My name is Natasha Zhang, and I lead a crew of humans, aliens, and even a robot or two in missions of piracy and smuggling against the Ascendancy. Moonstrike is the rebel network we belong to, and they give us jobs to do to bring down those Ascendancy morons. And this latest mission is the sweetest yet - A bunch of renegade Ascendancy Supersoldiers is coming to the Galactic Bazaar to rendezvous with us!

Wait, what are these children doing walking about on the hangar bay? What, they have special powers normally seen only in those Crystal Aliens? Oh, no, those are the Supersoldiers Moonstrike One mentioned, aren't they?!

God Almighty, why am I stuck in a babysitting job?

------

Basically, this is an RP set in a Science Fantasy world with both lasers and (limited to some people) Magic. You have two options of player character:

- Child soldiers that had been taken from their homes and used by the Ascendancy of Man in their war against Aliens, were spared by said Aliens when they lost, and are now looking for revenge against their former abusers. You also have Magic.

- Natasha Zhang's Crew, a motley crew of humans, aliens, and robots who fight as privateers for Moonstrike, a resistance group opposing the Ascendancy of Man. You don't have Magic (unless you have a crew member of the Kaisoken species) but have more skills, experience, and technology.

II. Alien Species

Alien Species

The Rau've - The prime leaders of the Coalition against Humanity, the Rau've are a race of plant people who are able to nourish themselves through photosynthesis, enabling them to mostly sidestep the agricultural stage of development. Highly philosophical and compassionate, the Rau've can still be savage in war, as their organic warships and crystal-based energy cannons show. But they were deeply horrified at their enemy's use of children in battle, and were the prime advocates of letting the child soldiers go unpunished after the peace treaty was signed.

The Kaisoken: A race of sentient crystal-like minerals bound by quantum pathways and transcendant intelligence. Floating gently, the Kaisoken communicate through impulses translated into audible speech, and are proficient in the control of magic, though they are limited in a straight fight. They were traditionallly enemies with the Rau've, who had used their nonsapient crystal 'cousins' in their tech, but allied with them against the Ascendancy of Man, who had used ground Kaisoken dust in the experiments that eventually led to their child soldier program. Because of this, they broke off relations with the Rau've after the war for letting the child soldiers get off 'freely'.

The Gill: Combining reptilian and amphibian features, the Gill are evolved to live primarily in water, with long, slender limbs for powerful strikes ending in webbed hands. Hardy against poisons and extreme terrain, on account of the noxious swamps on their homeworld, they have moved to colonize other oceanic places, and are proficient skirmishers. Like Humans, they need Kaisoken dust infused into their bodies to use Magic.

The Korta: Diminuitive beings resembling pachyderms, the Korta are highly intelligent and analytical, mostly serving as engineers and bureaucrats. Computer systems, locks, and riddles tend to fall quickly before them. They also need Kaisoken dust mixed into their bloodstream to use Magic.

The Tayanen: Clusters of sentient amorphous material locked into massively armored shells, the Tayanen deliver heavy firepower with high resistance to shock, heat, or trauma, having little vulnerable area. Nevertheless, they are slow to react, though their decision making ability when in a group can be very fast. Cannot use Magic at all unless grafted with a willing Kaisoken 'host' through an unknown process.

III. Magic System

Magic

There are six disciplines of Magic:

High - There are many theories that try to explain High Magic. Some say that it is the power of The Divine, it is the power of positive emotions, channeled through the human soul. Nevertheless, High Magic is the power of controlling Magical Energy itself, allowing for the ability to see all Magic, to draw available magical energy from the sky and earth, create constructs of condensed Mana, create and fuel magitech and enchanted items, ward people and places from magic, and finally, the ability to create bolts of silver-white light that cause damage that cannot be healed by magic to Mages and Magical creatures... But not ordinary targets, whose burns can be healed as normal.

Note: High Magic has been nerfed; the last sentence has been edited so that only other Mages and Magical Creatures, as well as magitech, receive damage that cannot be healed by Magic.

World - World Magic is control over the physical elements of the world. You want to create Fire? World Magic. You want to alter Gravity to make yourself float? World Magic. You want to use lightning to electrocute a person? World Magic. Basically, if it has nothing to do with changing one thing to another, or controlling something that isn't wholly of this earth? World Magic is your key. Basically, Bending from Avatar: The Last Airbender, but without healing or spiritual arts and with control over gravity.

Change - This is the magic that deals with changing one thing to another. This magic can knit wounds and reverse aging, cause trees to grow fists and turn vines into whips. This magic can change one substance to another, turning lead into gold, earth into acid, and fire into water. What it cannot do, however, is affect stuff protected by High magic, or mess with things that are already dead. That belongs to another school, the magic of the Underworld.

Underworld - Death is all around us, and the old laws against disturbing the ghosts who chose not to pass on are gone, cast into the wind. Nevertheless, the souls of the departed have to be treated with respect...but it is not the same for their bodies. Underworld Magic is the magic of Necromancy; it is the magic you wield when you want to raise an army of the dead, to control the shadows of the world, to speak with ghosts, and to strike people dead with one blow (this is a high-level spell). You can even use this to transcend death, allowing you continued existence in this world without need for food, drink, and sleep...

Timespace - The magic of traveling vast distances in a single bound, of teleportation, portals, and scrying. The strongest Magi can even control probability, making a person luckier or unluckier, sometimes to absurd levels. But what it can not do is reverse the past; basically, no time travel. Bullet Time and Time Stop are also possibilities for incredibly strong practitioners but have certain requirements that limit their effectiveness in combat.

Bullet Time and Time Stop Nerfs: Bullet Time can only be activated defensively when confronted by attacks too fast for the mundane body to dodge normally. And by that, it only works when people are shooting bullets at the guy and it can only be used to dodge bullets and other attacks - it cannot be used to attack in turn. This keeps what I want - PCs being able to dodge bullets - without making them overpowered in offense, as well as giving PCs the choice not to shoot bullets in the first place.

As for Time Stop, not only can the 'time bubble' be cut apart by Ex. Swordsmanship, but it doesn't work on sapient beings; it can still be used to stop bullets, explosions, crashing trains, rampaging animals, and lightning strikes, but not melee strikes from sapient beings - neither the user or his opponents can use ranged attacks in a Time Stop. The in-universe reason for this is that having a Soul protects you from unauthorized changes to the timeline, and yes, AI have souls here as well.

Mind Magic - This magic deals with controlling minds and altering emotions of both humans and animals, as well as creating illusions, mental compulsions, and even erasing or editing memories. A very powerful magical discipline, but a strong willpower can break its effects...

Basically, each PC is supposed to mix and match effects from multiple sources of magic, although specialization is a thing.

Counterspell/Dispel Magic rules.

Countering and Dispelling Magic

Making Anti-Magic spells is a bit complicated, but basically, you first need three High Magic spells, including the Anti-Magic rote, and one spell of the School you want to dispel. For example, if you want to dispel Underworld Magic, you need three High Magic spells and one Underworld Magic spell. As you have six starting spells available, you can theoretically be able to counter or Dispel three schools maximum. You can only counter or dispel High Magic if all six of your starting spells are of that school.

Enchantment Rules

Enchantment Rules

Enchantment requires High Magic and a spell that you or another party member knows, along with an item to be enhcanted. Note however that the weaker and less durable the material is, the magic you can put into it is more limited; for example, oak can be enchanted to emit laser beams, birch cannot. This is the same for metals, and the strongest of spells can only be enchanted into 'Perfected Electrum (more below)'.

Perfected Electrum

Perfected Electrum

Electrum is a mix of Gold and Silver that occurs naturally but can be made by artificial means. This material, if treated by High and Change Magic by four different Magi (see 'Group Spells' below) can be 'perfected', aka transformed into metal as hard as a diamond yet not as brittle, and whose lightness is that of cloth. But the most valuable property of Perfected Electrum is that it can contain very, very strong spells, except for Resurrection (see below under 'Group Spells'). The Ascendancy of Man has a monopoly of Perfected Electrum; not that it helped them win the war.

Group Spells

Group Spells

Basically, multiple spell-casters with different Schools can do things that would strain a single Mage. This also helps in compensating for single Magi's weaknesses in specialization.

Example Spell:

Resurrection (High, Change, Underworld + materials for a new body) - Three Magi, or alternatively, a single Magi who has six High, Change, and Underworld spells each, can bring back a dead person. High Magic is used to supply magical energy for the permanent return of the Soul (said soul must always be willing), Change is used to turn inorganic material into organic matter, and Underworld is used to tug back the Soul from wherever it's been. Resurrection cannot be Enchanted into Items.

Note: Other ways of tapping into one's Magic besides the above Magic System are possible, but the Child Soldiers would use said system at first before developing in other directions.

IV. Non-Magical Options

Exceptional Skills

All PCs have access to 'Exceptional Skills', which are basically a mundane talent that can be boosted to extraordinary and unnatural levels. All Exceptional Skills can resist the magical equivalent, or even counter them; for example, Exceptional Swordsmanship allows you to cut through magical barriers or attacks, while Exceptional Medicine can cure wounds caused by High Magic and normally unhealable by any spell, provided one has the right materials.

Exceptional Skills can be anything you want, as long as 1.) it does not have an obviously magical effect, 2.) It is an enhanced version of something a normal being can already do, just boosted to implausible levels, and 3.) You can justify it with cybernetics, biotech, or even drugs. Stuff like Power Armor also works as long as it's treated as an essential possession of the character. Same for Alien/Robot biological traits.

This is an incomplete list of examples:

- Exceptional Swordsmanship
- Exceptional Archery
- Exceptional Unarmed
- Exceptional Endurance (can resist even magic)
- Exceptional Bureaucracy
- Exceptional Trading
- Exceptional Diplomacy (stuff done with this can resist the effects of Mind magic, even if the target is weak-willed)
- Exceptional Medicine

Exceptional Skills can also be stacked, aka doubled, or even tripled in power. For example, you can use up three spell slots to gain Exceptional Swordsmanship x3, which allows you to cut through a two-story building made up of granite, and tear apart a Time Stop with a slash. More on stacking in the Rules section.

Note that Exceptional Skills are intended to be specialized, but at the same time, lack the versatility of Magic. And yes, Child Soldiers can start with both Exceptional Skills and Magic, but they have to replace one Spell from their spell list with one level of Exceptional Skill.

Natasha Zhang's crew automatically has 8 Exceptional Skills, except for a Kaisoken member if there is one.

Technology

Tech Level is...variable, thanks to the effects of widespread upheaval. Automation is common in the more civilized portions of the Sector, as well as lasers, railguns, EMP emitters, and plasma throwers. The main method of FTL is the use of a 'wormhole system' that links most planets, but Kaisoken, Rau've, and Ascendancy of Man use Spacewarpers, spaceships that either uses Magic (Kaisoken and Rau've) or Super-tech (Ascendancy) that can turn a hundred light-years' worth of distance to one day's trip.

Cybernetics exist, but are taboo in the inner levels of the Ascendancy of Man, where biotechnology is preferred as 'it does not mar the pure human form'. Cybernetics can be used to justify possession of an Exceptional Skill, the same for Drugs, Powered Armor, and other pieces of technology.

V. Rules

Rules

1.) No Godmoding or Powergaming, aka no controlling other players' actions, no defeating your enemy in one shot, and no shrugging of all hits without a magical shield.
2.) Any consenting relationship between people of the same age group is allowed, whether it's Homosexual or Heterosexual. If you cannot stand such things, don't post here in the first place.
3.) Be polite to others.
4.) Please notify me if you will be gone for more than a week, I myself will let you guys know if I will be gone for that same amount of time.
5.) It's a fantasy world; you can learn Magic - two new spells of any School per Story Arc, more if you find a willing mentor (another PC, another Magic-user, a Kaisoken who doesn't hate your guts) and time. New Exceptional Skills, on the other hand, are easier to stack, harder to learn - You can double the power of two Exceptional Skills every first arc, and select a new exceptional skill every second arc. The story for this RP will have six Arcs, so you get to stack two skills on the first, add one skill on the second, stack again on the third, and so on.
6.) Clarification on #5, every level up, Child Soldiers have to choose between Spells and new/stacked Ex. Skills.
7.) GM Updates are weekly - if you don't respond to two updates in a row, and you don't give a good reason, you are regarded as dropped.
8.) The GM reserves the right to control inactive PCs as NPCs in order to keep the plot moving.

VI. Miscellaneous Lore and Worldbuilding

The Battle of Proxima (Also in the Char Section

The Battle of Proxima Centauri

The Rau've/Kaisoken Alliance were lured to the Proxima System, only 4 light-years from Earth itself, and the Ascendancy immediately redeployed much of its remaining forces to crush the Nonhuman coalition once and for all. Their plan was to use the smaller ships of the Ascendancy (Cruisers and Frigates) to lure the Alliance as close to Proxima's Sun as possible. The Sun would then cut off the Alliance line of retreat as the Dreadnoughts hammer them with walls of fire; the Carriers would remain in reserve.

It was a flawed strategy, as the Kaisoken contingents of the combined fleet caught on to it and sent their ships to envelop the Ascendancy's flotilla from above and below, snapping like a ferocious raptor's jaws. The Carriers under Grand Admiral Alexander Kherol were unable to do anything (or unwilling, as Kherol saw the strategy as stupid and wanted to save as much of the Ascendancy Fleet as he could from said stupidity) as the Dreadnought Fleet of the Ascendancy was well-nigh destroyed.

Nevertheless, although Kherol's non-interference was controversial, none can dispute that it was the survival of the Ascendancy's Carriers that prevented the Rau've and Kaisoken from vassalizing or annexing the Ascendancy outright, and even allowed the Humans to retain most of their territory, albeit under heavy requirements for war reparations. And it was after the Ascendancy's defeat that Emmanuel Thoreau began to build and focus more on Carriers and Carrier-based space doctrine; the days of the Dreadnought were over.

The Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet

The first two centuries of the Ascendancy of Man were of construction, colonization, and exploration, as the 'Spacewarpers' of the Human Fleet opened up new horizons. Over time, autonomous trading companies grew in the fringes of Human Space, pushing the frontiers of expansion. But when the Rau've and Kaisoken were finally discovered, along with their equivalent or greater power to the Ascendancy, the first President-for-Life, Corrin Herbert, began to move towards centralization, nationalizing several trading companies and forcing those left to consolidate underneath Henry Windsor, one of the leading explorers and merchants of the fringe worlds.

Together, these trading companies formed a formidable fleet, well-armed against Space Pirates (mostly Aliens and renegade Humans) and enough to endanger the Ascendancy itself if it came to war. And so Corrin Herbert was forced to make concessions: The Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet will be allowed to continue its operations, provided that it provide a large payment to the Ascendancy of Man and logistical support to its future wars. This was resented by Corrin's two successors, Elijah and Emmanuel Thoreau, but neither of them made any move to withdraw said concessions, being enmeshed with their own plans.

Even the coming of the Rau've/Kaisoken War did not endanger the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet, as the latter paid a large payment to the Ascendancy in order to avoid giving logistical support. This was a good thing, as the Windsors had already decided that the future lay in economic cooperation with Aliens (albeit with Humans on top) instead of making war with them. So they stood by, consolidating their power on the Southern Fringe of Human Space, well away from the Kaisoken and Rau've territory. And the war ended with the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet more powerful than ever, with only the Ascendancy's Carrier Fleet able to contest them.

Now, the Windsors cannot avoid a collision with the upper levels of the Ascendancy; money can no longer overcome the fear that the Trading Fleet, made up of Xenophiles and immensely rich and powerful, would conduct a coup. And the Windsors knew it, so they decided to conduct a coup for real, contacting disaffected elements among the fringe worlds and other dissidents only to find they had already been contacted by a new organization, Moonstrike, an organization that seemed to have access to Ascendancy tech and military hardware. And so all activity from them stopped. Was it jealousy, or were they biding their time for something else?

VII. Character Sheet Skeleton

Character Sheet Skeleton, Child Soldier

[b]Name:[/b] What’s your character's name?
[b]Age:[/b] How old is your character?
[b]Physical Description:[/b] What does your character look like?
Place any photo’s here.
[b]Important items:[/b] What possessions are important to your character?
[b]Short Bio:[/b] Tell us your character's story up to this point.
[b]Spell List:[/b] 6 Spells overall.
[B]Exceptional Skill List:[/b] Replace any number of your 6 Spells with an Exceptional Skill

Character Sheet Skeleton, Natasha's Crew

[b]Name:[/b] What’s your character's name?
[b]Age:[/b] How old is your character?
[b]Physical Description:[/b] What does your character look like?
Place any photo’s here.
[b]Important items:[/b] What possessions are important to your character? Possessions can also be used to justify Exceptional Skills.
[b]Short Bio:[/b] Tell us your character's story up to this point.
[B]Exceptional Skill List:[/b] 8 Skills.

Character Sheet Skeleton, Kaisoken Member of Natasha's Crew

[b]Name:[/b] What’s your character's name?
[b]Age:[/b] How old is your character?
[b]Physical Description:[/b] What does your character look like?
Place any photo’s here.
[b]Important items:[/b] What possessions are important to your character? Possessions can also be used to justify Exceptional Skills.
[b]Short Bio:[/b] Tell us your character's story up to this point.
[B]Special Spell/Ex. Skill List:[/b] Unique Rules are that you get 8 Spells which can be exchanged for [i]some[/i] Ex. Skills, but you are locked out of anything that requires arms and legs, such as Exceptional Swordsmanship or Exceptional Running. You also can't use guns unless you move them with telekinesis.

Exceptional Endurance (Is free at Character Creation)

[Letter Bee]

Name: Natasha Zhang

Age: 34, but looks 25

Physical Description:

Art originally of Melissa Mao from Full Metal Panic.

Important items:

Vacuum Suit - A spacesuit that allows her to survive in space for prolonged periods of time, and which acts as body armor in a pinch.

Monomolecular Longsword - A blade sharpened to a molecule-thin edge and can chop through most materials; contained in a special sheath that can withstand said molecule-edge.

Coilgun Pistols - Two Coilgun Pistols.

Omni-Tool - Miniature Computer that allows for communication, calculation, augmented reality navigation and small-scale hacking.

Galactic Credits - 100,000 Galactic Credits in both digital and material form.

Short Bio: Natasha Zhang was born in the frontier world of Qingdao, on the edge of Ascendancy space. Qingdao was a rustic world, mostly dedicated to farming, mining, and providing raw materials to the Ascendancy Core Worlds, who provided protection in the form of naval forces. As is usually the case in these kinds of stories, Natasha soon grew tired of the podunk homeworld she was stuck in and dreamt of greater things, to be a captain of one of the starships she saw on the HyperNet. And so, once she grew old enough, she went off to join the nearest Recruitment Office to join the Ascendancy forces in their escalating hostilities against other species.

Starting as a midshipman abroad a Corvette, Natasha soon encountered the glass ceiling that prevented those from the frontier colonies from ascending to high rank in the Ascendancy Fleet, as well as the favoritism shown to those from the Core. Nevertheless, out of stubbornness, she ignored it, and even hoped for a war against the Rau've in order to in order to give her opportunities to prove herself. Piloting a starship was her dream, and she wasn't going to let go of that just because of some opposition. And so she waited for war, and when it came, the rapid series of battles against the Rau've and Kaisoken gave her multiple avenues for promotion.

Finding herself in command of the Corvette she served in, then a Frigate and a Cruiser, Natasha's rise then stopped due to the Battle of Proxima, where she lost several of her crew to a Rau've broadside when the Grand Admiral in charge of the Ascendancy Fleet used her ship and several others held by 'frontier-born' officers as bait to draw a Coalition squadron into a space minefield. This drew her ire, especially as in the aftermath of the battle, she and the other 'frontier-born' were blamed for the battle's loss and dishonorably discharged. Shocked by such ingratitude, Natasha went back to her homeworld for a while to take up farming but grew bored again.

Which is why the secret message from Moonstrike, sent through the dark web, was music to her ears. The resistance group, tired of the Ascendancy's lies, propaganda, and totalitarian tactics were gathering people for a guerrilla campaign against the Ascendancy. And yes, they can provide the ex-captain her own ship: It would merely be a light freighter, but it would be enough for her; at last, she can soar through the stars again.

She remembered smiling as she pondered her vengeance against the Ascendancy; it will come swiftly.

Personality-wise, Natasha is a hard-drinking woman who loves loud music and surprisingly, history (mostly of the military type). She loves tales of old battles but has branched out to hearing about economic and social causes of warfare; she also loves a good tale of poisoning, assassination, and deliberately engineered 'accidents'. She is also a gun and sword enthusiast (unsurprisingly), but ships and navigation are her true love.

Exceptional Skill List:

- Exceptional Navigation x2
- Exceptional Endurance
- Exceptional Diplomacy
- Exceptional Trade
- Exceptional Swordsmanship x2
- Exceptional Gunslinging

[Letter Bee]

Name: Ashton Andrews

Age: 16

Physical Description:


Artwork Originally of Jason Levasseur from Moonlight Apparition, a webcomic made by one Darkhalo4321; all credit given to her.

Important items:

Curved daggers - Two blades forged from super-alloys and honed to a monomolecular edge, Ashton carries these weapons as reminders of his ordeal in the Ascendancy, and his determination to prevent the same thing from happening to other people.

Coilgun Pistol - A pistol that uses electromagnetic technology to launch metal bullets at a fraction of the speed of light.

Ballistics Vest - An undershirt of soft but tough materials surrounding a core of armored dura-ceramic plates that can withstand a few pistol shots.

Galactic Credits - A few thousand credits in digital form given by the former Rau've warden.

Omni-Tool - Miniature Computer that allows for communication, calculation, augmented reality navigation and small-scale hacking.

Short Bio: Ashton Andrews could still remember a time when he had been happy. Born to an ordinary household, with the only thing extraordinary about him being his intelligence, he had loving parents and friends, as well as promises of a future scholarship to the University of Proxima Centauri, a star system which he would one day 'visit' in a way he very much did not want. Then the war with the Rau've and Kaisoken started, a war that his parents privately murmured was 'for unneeded territory' and 'to serve the needs of the dictators in power'. These whispers were somehow heard by the authorities, who were already viewing Ashton as a potential test subject, and so on Ashton's thirteenth birthday, Ashton disappeared on his way to school, and it was subtly hinted that his abduction was to keep his parents under control.

After disappearing, Ashton was taken to an Ascendancy Black Site, where horrific experiments were done to him, as well as various humiliations and torments to slowly break down his sense of self and make him more malleable for military training, which he was quickly thrown into as the war with the 'Alien Meneace' was intensifiying at a rapid pace. He was trained by the best special forces trainers, who put him through hell in order to fight in any environment with his chosen weapons and use the Magic that had been infused into his blood to lethal effect. And once he was ready, he was sent to another level of hell.

Life became a blur of combat actions, depression, and additonal traumas imposed by his 'superiors'. And also friendships, bonds, and even love with his fellow child soldiers, among them one Flame Brooks, who became his boyfriend and fighting partner. Together, they managed to make it through the Ascendancy's increasing number of losses, which culiminated in the Battle of Proxima, where the Ascendancy Fleet tried to prevent the Rau've/Kaisoken Coalition from pushing through to Earth.

Ashton and Flame were deployed with most of the child soldiers in a boarding action against the Rau've's flagship with orders to demolish it, but this turned out to be a trap, as the Aliens had learned how to fight against these 'magical humans' after many engagements. Ashton and Flame and their battalion were ambushed by overwhelming enemy forces, who subdued them with a tranquilizer which could not be negated with Change Magic.

The young man woke up in a prison camp, screaming for Flame. A collar of plant matter and crystal was on his neck, preventing him from casting spells, and the walls were padded and without any convinient air vents. It was clear that he was at the mercy of his enemies, and all he can do was cry.

Then, he was allowed to meet with Flame, and there was hope that things might be all right. Said hope was proven right when the aliens treated the child soldiers humanely, allowing them to roam freely in their 'prison quarters', giving them books to read, puzzles to play with, and actually taking care of them. And with Flame, he was happy, even though the other boy burnt with a need for revenge, while Ashton wanted only closure. And so, they decided not to accept the Rau've's offer of a new home, and instead chose to chase rumors of Moonstrike, a resistance against the Ascendancy. This was allowed, but not without regrets...

Spell List:

High Enchantment (High) - Ashton's daggers and bullets can be enchanted to deal wounds unhealable by Magic on Magi, Magical Creatures, and Constructs. This can be cast on weapons not owned by Ashton for three rounds of combat.

Aerokinesis (World) - Ashton can control wind, moving it around at high velocities.

Flash Step (Timespace) - Ashton can teleport a very short distance, the length of a small room, to get behind an enemy and thus gain the advantage of surprise.

Exceptional Skill List:

Exceptional Acrobatics
Exceptional Knifework
Exceptional Marksmanship

[Letter Bee]

Name: Flame Brooks

Age: 16

Physical Description:

Artwork Originally of Lark Meadows from Moonlight Apparition, a webcomic made by one Darkhalo4321; all credit given to her.

Important items:

Perfected Electrum Bow - A magical weapon which boosts the strength and range of Flame's 'energy' spells, allowing them to burn through meta-materials and flesh alike.

Emergency Knife - A fully-mundane knife carried on his person just in case he needs a last-ditch method of defense.

Ballistics Vest - An undershirt of soft but tough materials surrounding a core of armored dura-ceramic plates that can withstand a few pistol shots.

Galactic Credits - A few thousand credits in digital form given by the former Rau've warden.

Omni-Tool - Miniature Computer that allows for communication, calculation, augmented reality navigation and small-scale hacking.

Med-kit - A futiuristic first aid kit which contains healing nanomachines and biological gel. Can heal burns from High Magic within reason.

Short Bio: Flame Brooks was born to a drunkard father whose mother ran out on the family. Needless to say, this did not result in a happy upbringing, even with Flame's high intelligence and physicality allowing him to be fast-tracked in education. By some miracle, the authorities only took Flame once he was thirteen, and even then it wasn't social services who came for him, but rather the miitary, whom Flame's father sold his own son to in exchange for more drinking money.

What followed was hell, hell that could have turned him into a sociopath or psychopath willing to inflict cruelty and pain on others just to gain respite from his own suffering, if not for Ashton reaching out for him in one of the few periods of free time they were allowed to have. Friendship followed, and in the adrenaline-charged haze of the war, so much more. Flame found someone to love, someone who loved him, and he was able to endure the perils of war and the traumas placed on him and Ashton by their 'owners' in the military because of this. And so in what moments of spare time he had, he plotted revenge, revenge against the Ascendancy.

In the final decisive battle at Proxima, Flame fought hard against the Alien Coalition's forces, fearing death and other ordeals should they be captured by the enemy. But it was said enemy who spared them after capture, and said enemy who treated them as sapient beings once more and not property. And thus, he had time to think about the revenge he planned on the Ascendancy. However, if Ashton had chosen the Rau've offer of a new home, he'd have accepted - Ashton's happiness was important to him, after all.

Thankfully, his boyfriend had a similar need, a need for closure, and so they decided to courteously decline the offer of a new and peaceful life. And so Flame made his final decision: To throw himself into a new conflict, this time, to make the Ascendancy - The enemy - pay for the treatment he and Ashton were put through!

Spell List:

Energy Bolt (World) - Bolts of pure light and heat which can inflict serious damage on the level of a powerful laser.

Shield of Force (World) - A barrier of energy which allows Flame to protect himself from harm.

Exceptional Skill List:

Exceptional Marksmanship 2x
Exceptional Endurance
Exceptional Acrobatics

[Letter Bee]

Artwork originally of Lark Meadows (Left) and Jason Levasseur (Right) from Moonlight Apparition, a webcomic made by one Darkhalo4321; all credit given to her.

Lark is used for Flame and Jason is used for Ashton.

[Landaus Five-One]

Alright, I am interested, might as well bring my character from the previous version of this. Therefore, so she can be relevant from the start. lol

[Letter Bee]

NPC Character Sheet

Name: Snow Cecil

Age: 14

Physical Description:


Important items: Normal Clothes, Ballistics Vest, Coilgun Pistol, Monomolecular Knife, Omnitool, Holographic Camera, Recorder, and Player. Also, a large amount of Galactic Credits.

Short Bio: A child, wandering the Galactic Frontier. A child, who seems to know everything. A child, whose allegiance is unknown, but certainly not with Moonstrike.

[Anything else is REDACTED due to Spoilers]

Spell List:

Supernal Vision (High) - The Mage can see all Magic, identify what School it is, and the strength of the spell.

Enchantment (High) - Snow can give an object magical powers; said powers are any of his spells or a spell lent by a willing partner.

Project Senses (Timespace) - Snow Cecil can project his senses in a six-meter (twelve-foot) sphere radiating from his body. He can hear, see, smell and otherwise sense anything in this radius, including enemies behind, above, or under him. This spell can be enchanted into objects.

Bullet Time (Timespace) - Snow can slow down time long enough to dodge bullets and other fast-moving objects.

Learn Faster (Mind) - Snow Cecil can watch someone do something (fencing, shooting, even gardening) through his eyes or a holotape, and gain that ability as an Exceptional Skill for one Posting Round. Note that the Ex. Skill must be something his body can endure; he can't use the spell to gain Exceptional Endurance or Exceptional Heavy Weapons without damaging his body.

Detect Emotion (Mind) - Snow Cecil can see various emotions as colors that light up one's body in an aura. Red means anger, Pink means romantic affection, and Black is despair. This can be coupled with Project Senses and/or enchanted into objects.

Exceptional Skill List: N/A

[Letter Bee]

NPC Character Sheet

Name: William Windsor

Age: 23

Physical Description:


Important items:

Ascendancy Charter of Trade - A Contract with the Ascendancy's Government, signed by the first Ascendancy President-for-Life, Corrin Herbert, giving the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet extensive powers to trade in the Outer Territories of Human Space, including the exclusive right to trade with 'Aliens'. This was 80 years ago, when Xenophobia was still seeding itself in the Ascendancy's minds, but hasn't been nullified since, thanks to Ascendancy inattention and hefty bribes paid to the Ascendancy Congress.

Steelweave Formal Clothes - Several sets of formal clothes for diplomatic occassions, made up of thread as strong, if not stronger, than steel.

Ballistics Vest - A ballistics vest that can withstand even a small Coilgun Pistol.

Coilgun Pistol - Coilgun pistol enlaid with ivory and non-perfected electrum.

Plasma Pistol - A gun that fires superheated plasma.

Short Bio:

The Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet

The first two centuries of the Ascendancy of Man were of construction, colonization, and exploration, as the 'Spacewarpers' of the Human Fleet opened up new horizons. Over time, autonomous trading companies grew in the fringes of Human Space, pushing the frontiers of expansion. But when the Rau've and Kaisoken were finally discovered, along with their equivalent or greater power to the Ascendancy, the first President-for-Life, Corrin Herbert, began to move towards centralization, nationalizing several trading companies and forcing those left to consolidate underneath Henry Windsor, one of the leading explorers and merchants of the fringe worlds.

Together, these trading companies formed a formidable fleet, well-armed against Space Pirates (mostly Aliens and renegade Humans) and enough to endanger the Ascendancy itself if it came to war. And so Corrin Herbert was forced to make concessions: The Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet will be allowed to continue its operations, provided that it provide a large payment to the Ascendancy of Man and logistical support to its future wars. This was resented by Corrin's two successors, Elijah and Emmanuel Thoreau, but neither of them made any move to withdraw said concessions, being enmeshed with their own plans.

Even the coming of the Rau've/Kaisoken War did not endanger the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet, as the latter paid a large payment to the Ascendancy in order to avoid giving logistical support. This was a good thing, as the Windsors had already decided that the future lay in economic cooperation with Aliens (albeit with Humans on top) instead of making war with them. So they stood by, consolidating their power on the Southern Fringe of Human Space, well away from the Kaisoken and Rau've territory. And the war ended with the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet more powerful than ever, with only the Ascendancy's Carrier Fleet able to contest them.

Now, the Windsors cannot avoid a collision with the upper levels of the Ascendancy; money can no longer overcome fear that the Trading Fleet, made up of Xenophiles and immensely rich and powerful, would conduct a coup. And the Windsors knew it, so they decided to conduct a coup for real, contacting disaffected elements among the fringe worlds and other dissidents only to find they had already been contacted by a new organization, Moonstrike, an organization that seemed to have access to Ascendancy tech and military hardware. And so all activity from them stopped. Was it jealousy, or were they biding their time for something else?

William Windsor was born to the Windsor Family, which was descended from several Old Earth Royal Families (European, Indian, and African ones). Though well-educated, William's mother, Elizabeth Windsor, taught her child to hide the true extent of his skills from all but a few people within his inner circle; this was later revealed to be a reaction to the mysterious kidnappings of prodigy children that occured in the years before the Rau've war. It also helped that William's focus was on Politics, not on 'common genius topics' like Science or Art or Engineering. Nevertheless, there were a few close calls where he was nearly found out, but thankfully, he was lucky enough to make sure those all came to nothing.

When the war against the Rau've was lost; which was than a year ago now, Elizabeth gave up her position as the head of the family to William, who immediately began planning Rebellion against the Ascendancy but found out that Moonstrike had been doing that first. He was then contacted by a young boy named Snow Cecil, who after [SPOILER] and [SPOILER], told him about [SPOILER].

And so he began doing, well, [SPOILER]

Exceptional Skill List (8):

Exceptional Willpowerx3
Exceptional Speech
Exceptional Politicsx3
Exceptional Trade

[FalloutJack]

Nero Kayakos

Name: Nero Kayakos

Age: 15-ish

Physical Description: He's kind of the wiry delinquint type, quick to react and seemingly on-guard alot of the time. You can see that he's watching you, studying you, testing to see where the chinks in your armor are. Simultaneously, he's keeping himself at arm's length so you can't do the same to him. So, unless he's alone, he's rarely relaxed for real. There's always that tiny hint that, from a lying position, he could suddenly spring up and attack...and that sometimes he would, because he has been ill-at-ease around everyone his entire life. He prefers to wear dark colors, but in fact will only let off a token grumble about there being otherwise no real choice.

Picture

Important items:

Curved Monomolecular Knives - These are fairly-common weapons, but Nero makes more use of them than other weapons.

Ballistic Vest - Again, very common, and notably his doesn't get damaged that much.

Killer Mask - NOT very common. A tactical assistance device in mask form which can change visual input, and serve as both breather and gasmask. Ballistic Vest material quality. Nero's looks like the cross between a welder's mask and a hockey mask.

Galactic Credits - A few thousand credits in digital form given by the former Rau've warden.

Omni-Tool - "Son of a- How the hell do you work this damn thing? Come on, already!"

Short Bio: Oookay.

Nero's disposition about fighting in the war was a little different from most. He was oppositional and confrontational from the start, his attitude taking a "This is what you had to resort to for the win?" sort of stance. He was cynical and judgemental, calling those around him that weren't a part of the program pathetic and weak. He was allowed to do this because they both knew that he was being shipped out to die for their cause, and he didn't have any choice in the matter. You see, Nero's delinquint nature is his own. He was an unwanted child to begin with, thrust into a foster home that didn't care for him, which then later sold him out to the military in order to receive more financial support. Of course, getting a hold of him was tricky. He liked to climb and sneak off places as a hobby to piss people off, so when the time came to grab him, only the army's decent training allowed them to really keep up, and he still injured two men in the process. Said soldiers were actually given the opportunity to watch the experiments on him for their troubles, and then assured that the powers and training he gained would not be used against them. And while this was true, it was only because they didn't stick around. Whole new measures of security procedures had to be put in place to contain Nero, and they had to entice his more vicious side in order to keep him focused on the matter at hand, which was the war.

In battle, Nero directed all of his anger into fighting, to the point where he pretty much revolved around being vicious and chaotic. It was his nature to stir up trouble in an area, force the enemy to slow down and try to deal with the problem, picking them off, one by one. When he and the others were captured, he was either the least afraid or overriding his fear with his anger, getting rather vocal that he wasn't given any fucking choice in his being a part of the war. Naturally, the Rau've needed to figure out why he kept mentioning procreation in such a manner, or made references to the posterior. They DID catch on once he called someone "Shit for brains!", though. He only really quieted down once it was properly explained that he wasn't going to be harmed, just contained to prevent damage to any other being. In short, it was just a holding cell. That calmed him a little, but like always, he was ill-at-ease. He didn't know how to really cool down entirely. There was alot of need to get out and do what he pleased because of people trying to confine him. Unfortunately, the Rau've were better at it, and quickly learned from all of his tricks.

The war ended and Nero almost didn't care. He never knew who to belong to, anyway, but that included this so-called peaceful life on an alien world. Nero didn't know what he wanted, but he knew what he didn't want, and that was this. It just didn't mesh with him. Maybe he didn't belong anywhere, to anything or anyone. Maybe he was just a frigging asteroid thrown out of its galaxy with nowhere to go. Well...someone proposed somewhere to go, and he...kinda' liked the idea. Killing the fuckers who started this mess? Sure, why not? Smack into the Earth! That's where the asteroid goes! He was in, and while the alien plant-boys didn't like it, he said, "Well, look. You were worried I'd shiv someone. Now you don't gotta worry anymore, right? Right.". He didn't care about the danger because nobody cared about him, anyway. So, hell with it! Why did it matter? Go teach those fuckers a lesson...

Spell List:

Shadow Charge (Netherworld) - The ability to charge an object with dense shadowy energies to increase its strength. Armor becomes effectively thicker and more difficult to damage, blades slash and stab deeper, bullets have more penetration, and so on. The limits of a Level-1 ability is that you must cast upon things effectively one at a time. Weapons in hand, armor on body, and some things on person would count as three separate castings. (A stronger field for more objects at once would happen later.) Take note, howwever, that in a pinch, one can charge the extremities of one's body similarly for extra directed impact force, and the same follows for anything thrown or otherwise in motion, or to make nearby cover more durable.

Shadow Step (Netherworld) - The ability to become a silent shadowy form, one which meshes perfectly with the darkness and appears as a near-indistinguishable shade in the light. You cannot be heard, even if you speak out loud, though you can pull people in to your immediate vicinity and THEN speak to them. They become obscured as well, if you do so. The limits of this spell at Level-1 is that you are still physically there and can be hurt, but obviously you're more difficult to hit and near-impossible to recognize in the light. (Later levels could see exceptions to that rule, though, such as intangiability, shape-changing, and certainly transportation from shadow to shadow.)

Exceptional Skill List:

Exceptional Knifework x2 - In fact, it's practically all he did in the war, making use of any slashing/stabbing weapon smaller than a sword, including the quick-throwing of such devices. He is especially good at finding the weakspot and using it like Richard B. Riddick.

Exceptional Acrobatics x2 - At Level-1, you would have the abilities of Claire Statfield from Baccano, which is to say being exceptionally balanced and able to move around even dangerous locations with great ease and control. At Level-2, you're probably close to Samurai Jack.

[Letter Bee]

@FalloutJack, Once the OOC is made, this will be accepted. I love Baccano!.

[dragonpiece]

Iris Matthews

Name: Iris Matthews
Age: 15 almost 16
Physical Description: 5'7

Iris

Important items:
A locket with a picture of Samuel and our Family

Identical wrist bands that make a heart when connected with Samuel's half

A gold ring that matches Samuel's ring

Omni-tool

Ballistic suit

Coilgun Pistol

Spell List:

Gemini Link (Underworld) - A passive spell that seemed to have been innate to the Matthews twins as it connects their very souls. With this deep connection, their strength and magic become more powerful the closer they are to each other. However, this same effect happens in vis versa as the farther they are away from each other the weaker they become.
Every 100 feet they are away they lose half of their strength to the point of being 1/10 of the strength of physical and magical power they normally have.
When they are 200 feet away from each other they are at their normal strength, as every 10 feet they are closer to each other they gain 10% extra strength of physical and magical power. This goes to the point where they are holding each other they gain Triple the strength of physical and magical power they naturally have. - This deep connection has a few detrimental parts as when one of them gets wounded the other will get an identical wound, no matter how far they are from the other.
- Anytime someone is to heal one of them of their wounds, it will heal both of them. However, this is true with all things, including magics to help and hurt, poisons and medicines, and as well as anything that will affect one with some helpful or hurtful effect.

Enchantment (High)- Iris can give an object magical powers; said powers are any of her spells or a spell lent by a willing partner

Molecular Deconstruction (Change)- Turning solid objects into there smaller parts. Like rock to dust, metal to metal sands, plastic to oil, or simply breaking up its singular form. Works on inanimate objects. It rapidly spreads through the object. It can also be projected like an invisible wall around 5 meters across and 3 meters high. It projects from Iris's intent

Heal (Change)- Iris changes all broken cells back into there normal self. If some pieces are missing it will fill in with scar tissue.

Your it! (Change)- Iris looks at a person or a thing, attracting anything that she throws, and the magic she uses and modifies chases the target.

Exceptional Skill List:
Exceptional Luck

Backstory

Twin Stars

Iris was born with her twin, Samuel, to Richard and Joanne. Richard Matthews worked as a Star Ship Inspector and Joanne Matthews worked as a meteor miner. Mom was working one of the drills when she went into labor. 6 hours later, the twins were born. Iris was very healthy and came out screaming her lungs off. Samuel was born smaller and quiet, lacking constitution. As they grew, these differences at birth seemed to define their traits early in life. Iris had grown quickly, towering over Samuel. She loved to play games, sports, and adventure. Iris was quite a handful to deal with and she would usually get ahead of herself and leave everyone behind. However, she would always run back for her brother, She enjoyed teasing him calling him little brother, poking fun at his size. Whenever Iris made Samuel cry on accident she would panic and cry too. Although she was quite the athlete and developed a strong personality, what she lacked was academic skills. She was truly an idiot. If it weren't for Samuel and the threat of no more sweets, she would have been held back. She could never stand being away from Samuel for more than a few hours. Any more and she would throw a truly outrageous fit.

Their parents loved Iris and Samuel but not in the normal way. Having twins that were almost like opposites entertained them. Iris and Samuel were almost status symbols to them. Iris could never tell the difference and saw it as normal. Their gifts were meant to sell how close they were as siblings, adding to the look of the family unit. Iris couldn't help but love every matching present they got, each one becoming a new treasure to her. Samuel was her brother and best friend and these gifts that connected them were nothing short of proof that it was true. Sadly this started to create the notion that their relationship with Samuel was more important than any relationship with her friends or even her parents.

Just turning 10 the day before Iris wasn't done celebrating with Samuel. She pulled him along to a remote woodland park that she discovered the other day when she hopped on the bus for no reason. It was new and full of adventure. Iris was running everywhere checking out all sorts of things. However, all this running had made her hungry. There she saw an ice cream van. Having 5 credits in her pocket and those sweet treats were a weakness for her. She ran over and started to order a 2 churro, 2 vanilla cones, and 2 sodas. The white-haired man asked what the occasion was and Iris without though spurted out it was her birthday with a big energetic smile. The man smiled and told that if she came to the back of the truck he would give her some candy. Iris was a naïve girl and the man in the van sold ice cream. How could he be bad? She ran to the back and out popped some men in black, trying to grab her. She was able to resist for a while by kicking and screaming for Samuel. She even bit one hard enough it went through his pants and drew blood. However, she in the end was pulled into the van which started to move. Still struggling, she heard Samuel coming over. The scene that followed was gruesome as Samuel reached in at the exact moment they slammed the van door. The metal edge of the door had sheered his arm off. Iris screamed in the realization of what happened and passed out from shock.

Days in captivity

Iris slowly came to consciousness in a windowless grey room. Old stale air filled the room, a juxtaposition to the clean air of the park she and her brother were at. As Iris slowly rose to her knees, Samuel seemed to hover near her, seemingly trying to keep her calm. Iris, however, was still foggy on what had occurred but she could at least tell Samuel was okay. With that, she hugged into him and cried for a bit as their situation became clearer to her as he regained focus. Soon they told us they were at a laboratory owned by the government. Iris wanted to ask more questions to her captors but Samuel always told her that it be unwise to do so. Soon training and experiments began. Iris's sense of self deteriorated quickly but Samuel held her together through the worst of it. She will always remember the sweets he would give her in the facility. The only sense of normality they had was each other and she was always scared to lose Samuel. The cramp spaces started to make her feel like the walls were always closing in and before she knew it she had developed claustrophobia.

A few months into the brutal training, Iris and Samuel ran into an older boy, Tarak. Iris was nervous at first, him being so much older made her feel as if maybe he was somehow working with the adults. Iris observed him speaking with the other kids and seeing how they liked him, she followed suit eventually and started to like him as well. Soon he was the only other person Iris trusted besides Samuel. His having candy also helped her trust him as ironic as that seemed.

Tarak appearing at the facility was followed in an increased intensity of training. They kicked up the training ludicrous levels. The start was okay but the mental toll was starting to have Iris's energy wane as every day of this hellish regime broke her down more and more. Samuel and Iris were barely able to move at the end of the day but Tarak was always there at the end of the day to make sure we could continue. Iris would have not have been able to continue if it wasn't for both Samuel and Tarak. Iris remembered when Samuel came to her bunk to check on her after a particularly hard day. He jumped into the bunk and comforted her till she would fall asleep giving her the first restful sleep she had in months. At first, Iris thought she was just a burden for Samuel and Tarak, never seeing her worth to them. During a certain night she woke as it seemed Samuel had awakened in a cold sweat, she watched him hold into her. The sight of her tired and scared brother forged a strong resolve to keep him safe, to be there for him. She knew she wasn't tough like them but all she could do was smile for them then that is what she would do.

Basic training had finally completed for the twins and Iris had grown stronger. Iris walked around the base looking for Tarak or Samuel. She didn’t like being by herself in this place, it made her remember there kidnapping. It wasn't long before she noticed there were fewer kids around and her heart began to sink as she began to worry about her brother. Almost paralyzed with anxiety and fear before those feelings were uprooted by Samuel hugging her. She felt true relief that he was okay and they were together. It wasn't long until some men in black started to grab them. Almost like last time she started to resist. Biting and kicking through the entire exchange. They were trying to separate them. If they weren't wearing face mask she would have tried to bite at their face and pluck their eyes out. Anything to keep Samuel together. Eventually, they just decided to take us together. As they walked Iris held Samuel's hand trying to act tough but Samuel could feel how shaky her grasp was. As they were brought to an operating room and hastily were strapped to their tables. They began to pierce our skin with countless needles that were all connected to this see-through vat of white-rainbow liquid. The liquid began to move down the tubes, inching closer to the injection site. Iris began to panic and started to try to break out of her confines. She looked over to see how Samuel was reacting and saw him mouth "it's alright, I'm here". All she could do was lay back and smile. No matter what we'll be alright were her only thoughts as the liquid pumped through their veins. She tried to hold in her screams but the pain was just too much to bear and she didn't even know when she passed out from the pain. Later they woke up in their bunk, holding each other. She couldn't help but smile and say were alright to Samuel, holding him tighter after that through the pain.

By some weird coincidence, it seemed that Iris and Samuel were linked by magic. The scientist couldn't help but test the twins unique magic. These "tests" were just as crude as poking a frog with a stick to see if it did something. Through the experiments, they discovered how their power worked at the very least. Iris loved this power as to her that proved to her that their connection was something truly magical. Whenever Iris got hurt Samuel would run over to check on her and make sure she was okay. She started to get use to the attention from Samuel and to a degree became more greedy with her doting brother. He seemed to enjoy it too so she just decided that being the "little" sister wasn't that bad. Magic training wasn't nearly as bad as basic training and she could feel a part of her personality come back as in private she started to tease him a little. They started to work with each other's magic to become a real unit, combining spells and coming up with strategies to support each other. Iris found a lot of fun to be had working with Samuel. Although they were held here against there will if she didn’t try to have fun it would mean she would break her resolve.

Fog of War

Once Iris and Samuel seemed to make the requirements set by the government they were sent off. Battles were more intense then they could imagine. It was truly dizzying what they would expect of the child soldiers. Blood and death were tough for the first few battles but Iris was always got by it knowing Samuel was there. Well more exactly, Iris started to see the battles as simply an exchange in away. To Iris, her and Samuel life's were worth more than everything else. She balanced all the things she did as for her and her brother and that protected her delicate sense of self intact through all the death and bloodshed. The officers were definitely annoying though. She knew if she responded or let them get to her so she did her best to close off even to her own allies.

About a year and a half into the war life had tried to become normal but it felt as if something was missing that Iris couldn't place. However, the answer seemed to be assigned to them as a huge "child" approached decked out in power armor. Iris was worried because honestly calling this guy a kid was stretching the definition of kid. Samuel stood in front of Iris to keep her safe. However, a welcomed surprise occurred as the guy removed his helmet revealing big brother Tarak! Neither of them had seen Tarik since the injections, Iris started to believe that he was one of the ones that couldn't withstand the infusion. Either way, Iris couldn't hold her excitement as she threw herself at Tarak to hug him. Fighting with Tarak made things less stressful having someone to help out. Tarak did the normal thing and started to take more under his wing and more people joined our little company. Iris loved every ounce of attention she got from Tarak. Her heart softened up a little with Tarik around.

Everyone's mood seemed to improve as things went by despite the bloody war always looming. She didn't know how to describe it but she felt close to all of them. Samuel's sour mood seemed to finally start improving and that was a relief to Iris. She had been scared that during him trying to keep her safe that he was going to lose something that can't be replaced. Tarek would always get candy somehow and would hand it out between the kids. Candy was still one of Iris's favorite things and is probably still the quickest way to get on her good side. No matter how much candy she was given it would always be gone in a day or 2. However, she would always give Samuel the puppy eyes to get his candy, then she would do the cutesy routine to all the other child solders to get all their leftover sweets. These were the good times before the war kept its promise of ruining our lives.

We were given a mission to wipe out the alien forces in star system Proxima. This would wipe the opposing forces out, that was our final mission. It all felt too surreal that after this mission we could all go home, we could all be normal again. Samuel could start being a nerd again and Iris could be that typical high school girl that loved sweets! But there was something that outweighed this excitement. Iris believed that the potential rewards of this mission would lead Samuel to do too much and throw himself into this mission holding nothing back. We were given the mission of raiding their flagship Indignation. Iris was nervous before the mission but not just for her and Samuel. For Tarak and the rest of their group that they have made from all of this warring. She realized as she looked down at her locket and opened it. As she looked at her brother she felt love and a deep want to protect them but when she looked at her parents the emotions were nearly as intense. She looked up to the group and the feelings were so much stronger for them then she thinks she ever felt for her parents. She did a silent apology to her parents in the frame and replaced it with a picture of her new family.

Prisoners of War

However, the mission fell apart almost instantly, aa these weird darts had started to knock out there teammates one after another. One of the darts got her in the leg leaving her half-awake as she watched some of her family get gunned down and watched her brother literally take bullets to keep her safe. She could only watch as they hurt them. She pleaded countless times to Samuel to just leave her. But he wouldn't. Soon they were knocked out. In her unconscious state, she envisioned for family being slaughtered over and over again like some sort of wicked fate.

She awoke to shake from her night terror, already hyperventilating and about to go enter hysteria when she realized that if she was alive then Samuel might be as well. She bit the lip like Samuel and she had practiced to let each other know we were okay. But she felt nothing, no response, nothing. He didn’t respond. Hysteria began to set in for her as her nightmare seemed like it was coming to life. She tried to break out, using her magic but nothing sprang forth from her will. She couldn't use magic. She stopped and thought maybe she just can't feel Samuel at the moment. With that, she fruitlessly took her fist to the door trying to break it. She yelled out for Samuel as her fist went bloody, breaking it in her hysteria. Eventually, she had passed out from exhaustion.

Eventually, they let us meet without fellow captives. As she saw some of her group was not here she started to cry into Tarak's chest, mourning the death of there friends. She didn't see Samuel either and for the moments he was not there she felt so empty like something had been ripped out of her. Tarak let Iris mourn for a bit, running off to go help the others. Soon Iris pinged up to see Samuel, still alive. She rose to her feet as he came near. She held him gently because she couldn't squeeze yet, she still felt too weak to squeeze. She never wanted to be apart from Samuel again. Things calmed down as she had to accept who had died and just hold them in memory. During this time Iris had become more clingy to Samuel then usual. To the point, she doesn't remember being away from him for more than a few minutes at a time. The Rau've treated them much more humanely then there own people did. Samuel informed her that the Ascendancy had made peace with the Rau've and the war was over. Iris was overjoyed knowing that no more children would have to fight and die as their family did. But Iris could see that Samuel didn't feel the same way. He wanted revenge and Iris knew that. She could relate to him but the idea of being in danger for revenge wasn't the way for her. She wanted to be normal. But when she looked at how determined Samuel was she couldn't help but go with him. After all, wherever Samuel goes she will follow. Forever.

[Th3King0fChaos]

Samuel Matthews

Name: Samuel Matthews
Codename: Adam
Age: 15 almost 16
Physical Description: Stands at 5'10 and weighs 150 pounds, Samuel is no small man, being well built and strong.

Samuel

Important items:

Inventory

Personal Momentos

A golden wrist band that connects with Iris' identical wrist band to make a heart.

A golden locket that has a picture with the whole Matthews family (Mom, dad, Iris, and Samuel).

A small golden ring that is attached to the golden locket he wears around his neck. The ring seems to be far too small to fit Samuel's fingers. This seems to have been made with a matching ring.

Gear

Caladgolg, Magitech- A small bullpup carbine that was made with magitech to shoot condensed bolts of white-hot energy that is consists of his light lance magic. The power output of the energy bolt is lesser than the normal Light Lance, however, each shot still has the same effect of not being able to be healed if attacking a magical object or a being able to use magic.

Caladgolg

Ballistics Vest - An undershirt of soft but tough materials surrounding a core of armored dura-ceramic plates that can withstand a few pistol shots.

Galactic Credits - 20 thousand credits in digital form given by the former Rau've warden. Took Iris' credits on account she would spent it all on candy.

Omni-Tool - Miniature Computer that allows for communication, calculation, augmented reality navigation, and small-scale hacking.

Short Bio:

Backstory

Twin Stars

Samuel was born with his twin, Iris, to Richard and Joanne. Richard Matthews worked as a Star Ship Inspector and Joanne Matthews worked as a meteor miner. Mom was working one of the drills when she went into labor. 6 hours later, the twins were born. Iris was very healthy and came out screaming her lungs off. Samuel was born smaller and quiet, lacking constitution. As they grew, these differences at birth seemed to define their traits early in life.

Samuel was a runt for a good portion of his early life, more like a shadow to Iris. He never had the same fascination nor constitution to play outside, so he took to more indoor activities, like reading and academics. Samuel excelled at schooling, music, and drawing, passing and far exceeding all around him. Yet, no matter how far he shined above others, he always seemed to pull Iris with him and helped her in every way he could, never questioning a moment when she did not get a subject. However, like anyone, when he gets upset he can become mean and accidentally make Iris cry, which ends up with him comforting her by holding her and getting her candy. Even with his lesser physical body than normal, he pushed himself every way he could to play with Iris, sometimes getting hurt or sick, yet never letting it show as he always wished to play with his sister, even if it hurt him. He never could truly be too far away from Iris, to the point where he could go into literal fits of anger when forced to be away from her.

Their parents loved Iris and Samuel but not in the normal way. Having twins that were almost like opposites entertained them. Iris and Samuel were almost status symbols to them. Samuel took notice of this, as their parents almost seemed to enjoy them more being different rather than them being their kids to the point where the gifts they were given were meant to sell how close they were as siblings, adding to the look of the family unit. Samuel did not mind the gifts in the end, however, as Iris loved them too much to make him mad. He allowed her to take his clothing so they could match and made Iris feel as if they were closer than anything. To Samuel, they were, as she was the only thing he cared for. As few people played wit him, and their parents didn't seem too different either, just there enough to look like good parents, yet far enough away to be their own people.

Just turning 10 the day before Iris wasn't done celebrating with Samuel. Samuel got pulled along to a remote woodland park that Iris discovered the other day when she hopped on the bus for no reason. Samuel was nervous but they both being there everything should be fine. Samuel walked with Iris as she ran and played, Samuel was not much of one to play 'till his heart gave out, so he watched her as he walked with her and played a little here and there with her, yet once he saw Iris get tired they both noticed an ice cream truck. Iris quickly ran over to get them some cold treats, while Samuel took his time to come over. Yet a cold chill ran down his spine as he heard Iris' scream as if someone put fire into his blood, Samuel ran over with a speed he never knew he could muster, as his heart was in his throat when he saw a few men in black put Iris in the back of the ice cream truck. Samuel, in this adrenaline high, tried to reach into the van to grab Iris, yet saw the door shut, not even noticing for a moment his arm was gone until he felt a warm wet liquid run down his arm. His eyes seemed almost enraged as he yelled in pain, as his other arm reached up and threw open the door that was being blocked by his now dismembered arm. He shakily stepped in as he moved towards one of the men slowly and threw a soft almost lifeless punch as Samuel said, "Let…her go-", as Samuel passed out near Iris. The men quickly took his arm and applied biofoam to the breakage and stuck the arm back on with nanomachines, and took Samuel too, after all, the kid showed enough potential in such a small frame, what can these twins do together?

Days in captivity

Samuel and Iris woke up to find themselves in a small grey room with each other with no visible doors and no windows, the air smells stale like there hasn't been fresh air here for years. Samuel quickly went over to keep Iris calm and make sure she was okay. This was the moment they were taken to an Ascendancy of Humanity Experimental site, where they were sent through a horrific blender of experiments and training. All the while being subjected to various humiliations and torture to slowly break down their sense of being and make them more weapons of war rather than people. However, anytime Iris seemed to have been overwhelmed by the grueling pains of missing the outside, Samuel was always there to make sure Iris knew he was there, and that they could get through this together and see the outside world again. As anytime they are given any form of sweet, may it be a fruit or otherwise, he would always give Iris his bit of sweet, as she seemed to love it more than he ever does, and in all honesty, her having a little smile is more than enough to make him happy.

After a few months of their stay at the Ascendancy of Man Project site, they met an older boy by the name of Tarak. Samuel found this boy strange he seemed to be older than any other child here and was brought in now as everyone else was brought in at the same time. Samuel found him strange as he was an outsider to this world of pain. Yet before Samuel could notice, the strange boy was already talking to many of the others, many Samuel never even talked as they kept to themselves. Samuel watched in great interest as the boy went from one child to another. Tarak seemed to have this strange aura about him as he had this strange charisma that made many of the toughest kids laugh or smile as it was almost like they saw their big brother again. Sam watched hoping to gain that ability to maybe be able to do the same for his sister, yet never noticed that Tarak was already there and about to talk to them. As when Tarak spoke, Samuel felt strange, as if the boys very existence was this soothing thing that made the pain wash away for a moment, yet Samuel never noticed as the boy was talking, he passed the boy a piece of candy and so he did the same for Iris. His smile seems to have shown through as he took the candy to Iris and gave her his piece of hard candy too. Samuel trusted Tarak, for some reason he just couldn't explain.

Like an omen, when Tarak started to train with them, it felt as if they were babying them, as they seemed to have kicked up the training. When this new level of training began, it was grueling. Being both physically and mentally demanding, everyday left Samuel exhausted beyond what he thought could be possible, as even the energetic Iris was left too tired to move. Yet, Tarak was always there to make sure they are taken care of, as he carried them back to the bunks when they were too tired to carry themselves to bed. Yet while during the training Samuel would keep Iris from falling apart when the training gets tough, and when in the bunks Iris and Samuel wound normally sleep together to keep each other sane while sleeping, as sometimes the yelling would never leave his ears, and sometimes he would wake up in a cold sweat as he felt the pain in his body radiate from his core outward as the pain was intense, yet while holding Iris, the pain subsides and he can at least gain some sleep.

Now finally completing the basic training, Samuel felt some kind of strange uneasiness as he noticed multiple kids missing. Samuel started looking for Tarak, becoming increasingly worried as he saw more kids randomly disappear. He ran to find Iris again as he spotted her and felt this calmness flow over him as he ran to hug her. Almost immediately after this calmness disappeared some agents came and grabbed Samuel and Iris. Samuel kicked and bucked as they tried separating the two of them, and after more struggling they finally allowed the two to be taken together, as they walked hand in hand Samuel was scared, scared what will happen. They were soon brought to a lab, as they were set on testing tables where they were no more than 5 feet apart. From this distance Samuel looked to Iris and mouthed to her, 'It's alright, I'm here'. Soon an impossibly hot liquid was sent through Samuel's veins, as he grits his teeth and silenced a scream that was about to tear out his lungs. His eyes watered as the liquid ran its' course, yet not a single peep left his lips because he knew if he screamed, Iris would be scared. Soon he found himself passing out from the pain. Later waking up in the arms of Iris as they were both taken back to their bunk.

When they started to learn magic, Samuel found out that any injury he or Iris sustained, the other sustained. The scientist started to test how far this strange connection goes, to the point of near torture to just see the response the other had. Samuel always felt the deep anger anytime he felt even a tinge of pain, as he headed over to find Iris to make sure she was okay. Almost like a sixth sense now Samuel was always there anytime he felt some tinge of pain or weakness, he knows where Iris is and even if she is okay. Feeling a bit like Tarak, he felt happy, happy that he is more like a big brother. Yet this was not the only magic they had, as they made many more, now to sync up and combine magics to help each other, as now in their training they were taught how to fight like a unit, to fight in tandem, and to always stay on the same wavelength, never losing focus, as they became a perfect machine. Samuel was more than willing to do so, so long Iris would be okay.

Fog of War

When the big wigs thought they were ready, Samuel and Iris were sent to war. A haze of blood and gun smoke covered Samuel's eyes, all he could see through that thick smog of death was a single goal, to make sure his sister was safe. Making sure that Iris would be okay in the end. They bleed together, fought together, and killed together. For the first year, all Samuel remembered was the hard nights with Iris as it was just them. Many of the other kids either died or were deployed elsewhere. Many of the soldiers and officers there treated them like dirt, many didn't even look at them as human, Samuel felt a rage build inside him as he watched them constantly berate and belittle Iris.

After a grueling year deep into this messy fighting, the war had been going for about a year and a half now, through the war, they were sent out on a joint mission with another child soldier. Samuel was warry at first as the 'child' towering over both of them. The 'child' was wearing a large suit of armor as he met both of them. At first, Samuel was very protective, until the person took off their helmet to show the face of Tarak. Samuel and Iris hadn't seen Tarak since they were injected with that serum that made them capable of using magic. Samuel felt the unease fall away as they started working with each other. Tarak seemed the same as always, a kind big brother, as when their little group of child soldiers grew, Tarak seemed to take more in under his wings, while never forgetting to give attention to Iris and Samuel, but Samuel was more than pleased to see Iris seeming to do better with all these other kids to play with.

After this point, the war seemed to be a bit happier? Samuel never knew what that feeling was, but he'll just say it was happy. Therewith these people that they could relate to made life a little easier. Samuel found Tarak was a glue that kept the kids around Iris happy, so Samuel found himself happy as well. As there were plenty of times where Tarak had to talk to a requisition officer to get sweets for the kids, most of the time it ended up as a no, there was the occasional 'extra shipment' of sweets the requisition officer found and had nothing to do with. Tarak took to the rationing of sweets as Samuel had always taken Iris' share, not for the fact he somehow gained a sweet tooth, but for the fact that he knew iris would eat all the candy so fast she would be sad once she had all of hers, then his, then Tarak's then probably 5 other kids candy. As really, Samuel knew Iris was too cute to say no too. These little things made Samuel feel okay, not about the war, but his life. He just had this nagging fear that wouldn't let go of him.

Near the end of the war, Samuel had heard from some soldiers there was going to be this large joint operation to finish off the Alien forces at the star system Proxima. Samuel thought this was perfect! After all, to finish off the enemies here means all of them to get to go home. Get to live a normal life, and who knows, maybe Iris can get all the candy she wants when they all get home. So Samuel threw himself to this mission like it would be his last. This mission would be the most important mission they were ever given, as they were sent in with a battalion of other Child soldiers to take over the Rau've Flagship 'Indignation'. However, Samuel realized this mission was doomed from the start as they were captured quickly, many of them taken down quickly in the ensuing firefight. As people went down, one by one, Samuel did his best to protect Iris, yet soon even they too were overwhelmed and taken down as Samuel protected Iris from a shot, yet realized too late that they were both affected by this strange poison that affected both of them.

Prisoners of War

Samuel awoke in a new place, as he shoots out of bed and starts looking around like a mad man. Finding himself in a singular cell as he closes his eyes and bites hard on his lip to tell Iris where he was, yet when she was to bite her lip back, he felt nothing. Strangely he felt…normal? No this felt strange as he called out for Iris, trying to hear for her yet through the yelling and crying of others Samuel couldn't tell which voice out of the sea of yelling was Iris' and he felt this dread as it felt like his heart was about to crack. As he felt tears well up as he sat onto his bed now at the mercy of their captors. As when they were allowed to meet with the others, Samuel went out searching for Iris, as his eyes immediately landed on Tarak as he seemed to be looking after everyone and guiding others to people they know, as Tarak made his way over to Samuel and lead Samuel to Iris. Samuel tried acting tough, yet, holding Tarak's hand almost made him cry as he was afraid, afraid if Iris was oaky. Samuel saw Iris and he ran over to her and hugged her like he thought she was dead as he cried as he held her tight. Samuel felt lost without that little magic to know Iris was okay.

Holding Iris Samuel thought everything would be okay. Big bro was there, Iris was alright, and the aliens treated them well. Samuel and Iris were able to play with everyone else who was here and it was genuinely pleasant, the Rau've given them books, puzzles, and toys. Yet one thing struck Samuel in the heart when they heard their people signed a treaty and left them. A flame burned, unquenched by Tarak as he wanted to get revenge against those who did this to Iris and him. They took away their bid for a normal life, and dare to leave them in the hands of the Rau've. Many took the option, as they did, Samuel thought he would be here alone with iris, after all, that would be all he needed, yet, Tarak stayed. Samuel still feels strange Tarak is with them, after all, he deserved a good life, just like the others who left. Yet, he was still happy, Iris seemed to like having more than one big brother taking care of her. Samuel was originally going to just find any and every way to fuck with the Ascendancy, yet Tarak cooled him down to chase the rumors of Moonstrike, a resistance against the Ascendancy. Samuel just hopes Iris doesn't regret following him.

Spell List:

spells

Gemini Link (Underworld)

Gemini Link

- A passive spell that seemed to have been innate to the Matthews twins as it connects their very souls. With this deep connection, their strength and magic become more powerful the closer they are to each other. However, this same effect happens in vis versa as the farther they are away from each other the weaker they become.

Every 100 feet they are away they lose half of their strength to the point of being 1/10 of the strength of physical and magical power they normally have.

When they are 200 feet away from each other they are at their normal strength, as every 10 feet they are closer to each other they gain 10% extra strength of physical and magical power. This goes to the point where they are holding each other they gain Triple the strength of physical and magical power they naturally have.

- This deep connection has a few detrimental parts as when one of them gets wounded the other will get an identical wound, no matter how far they are from the other.

- Anytime someone is to heal one of them of their wounds, it will heal both of them. However, this is true with all things, including magics to help and hurt, poisons and medicines, and as well as anything that will affect one with some helpful or hurtful ailment.

Magitech Creation (HIgh) Samuel can create Magitech and can power existing Magitech.

Terrakinesis (World) The control and formation of earth, stone, and dust.

Electromagnetism (World) The control over electromagnetic forces, such as electricity, magnetic forces, etc.

Light Lance (High) A large lance made of bright white energy that spans about 7 feet in length and a foot in diameter at the largest part and goes down to a small point at the end. It hits as hard as a powerful laser that burns the target and makes it where magical entities are unable to heal from it.

Exceptional Skill List:

Exceptional Willpower, Unnatural resistance to magical mind-altering effects, and the mental fortitude to push through anything that is set before him, no matter the odds.

[Letter Bee]

@dragonpiece, @Th3King0fChaos:

I'll approve of them once the OOC is made. But good job, guys!

[Starlance]

Avelyn Vernal

Avelyn Vernal

Age: 18

Appearance

Voice: Marit Børresen
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 67 kg

Personal belongings

• Omni-tool - A miniature Computer that allows for communication, calculation, data storage and augmented reality navigation.
• Credits - A few thousand digital from the Rau’ve, few hundred in material form. Don’t ask where the latter came from.
• Electronics toolkit - Meant for dismantling and repairing computers. Also works for bypassing locks and simpler alarms on the hardware level.
• Armor – Ballistic vest made to be concealed under clothing, made of overlapping circular tungsten plates sown into the Kevlar fabric. Armor with small metal plates does not degrade as fast with successive hits as large ceramic ones and even should one fail, the surrounding body area is still protected, but comes at the cost of not standing up to dedicated armor penetrating munitions.

Weapons: None.

Spell List

• Illusion (Mind): Avelyn can create an audiovisual illusion perceptible by a single individual. She has to concentrate on keeping the illusion and cannot do anything else that requires her mental faculties (she can create an illusion while performing simple or routine tasks, but not when doing somehting that requires ehr to think too hard about it). The illusion can be virtually anything, but bigger or more detailed things require more focus and take a greater toll on her. Keeping the illusion for more than a few minutes leads to headaches, nausea and general exhaustion. The illusion can only be seen by the affected individual and Avelyn and cannot physically interact with the world.
• Mind Bridge (Mind): By far the most advanced spell available to her, Mind Bridge allows her to passively pick up surface thoughts and strong emotions of people around her. Normally, she can suppress this, but when unable to concentrate, even a small crowd can become a nuisance and a large one an overwhelming distraction.
  
  Its more tasking, active use allows Avelyn to relive the memories of others or share hers with someone else. The process requires physical contact and complete concentration, sending both Avelyn and her victim into a trance-like state. Memory extraction time ranges from milliseconds to a few seconds, depending on the target’s mentality and training to resist such practices, but the more the target fights it, the worse their headache will be when she’s done. She cannot create new memories or change or remove existing ones.
  
  As a side effect of this memory-altering spell, Avelyn’s memory improved. Not to any superhuman level, but her memories, especially the extracted ones, remain vivid and accurate much longer than usual, as Mind Bridge accesses the memories as they are stored in the brain as opposed to as one recalls it. To ‘clean up’ in her brain to avoid information overload, Avelyn’s learned to intentionally forget things and is currently working on extending this ability beyond her own memory.
• Gravity Manipulation (World): Avelyn can manipulate objects at a distance by creating small gravity fields. Applying its effects to herself allows her to jump higher, slow her fall or make small adjustments to her velocity mid-air, but does not allow flight.
  
  Due to its versatility both on and off the battlefield, she devoted a lot of time to practicing control and pushing the boundaries of this spell, giving her very precise control over the size, shape and power of the fields. While she can manipulate gravity through thought alone, specific hand gestures help her focus when she requires precise control.
• Pyrokinesis (World): Allows Avelyn to heat up and cool down materials by increasing or decreasing the kinetic energy of the atoms making them up, to the point of causing the material to ignite. She doesn’t have to see the object, but must know its approximate location.
  
  Much like with Gravity Manipulation, Avelyn gave a lot of time to practice and improvement of this spell due to its on and off the field versatility.
• Deflection (World): Summons a rapidly shifting, head-height gravity field in front of Avelyn to shield her from attacks. Unlike Gravity Manipulation, Avelyn cannot influence the strength, direction, shape or location of the field, but it's strong enough to alter the direction of incoming projectiles. Physical contact with the field is not recommended.

(In)Abilities

Abilities

• Exceptional Awareness: During training, Avelyn’s ears have been severely damaged by an explosion. To restore her hearing, she was given cybernetic implants that can pick up and amplify distant or quiet sounds as well as lower the volume of loud sounds to protect what little remains of her biological ears, effectively making them better than before. When paired with an Omni-tool, the right ear implant can play audio files and receive transmissions, allowing incoming voice communication inaudible to others.
  
  Without her implants, Avelyn is for all intents and purposes deaf. Her left ear is severely damaged and her right inner ear has been completely replaced with cybernetics. As a side effect of this, disabling her implants will make keeping balance much more challenging, though not impossible.
  
  Additionally, biotech implants in Avelyn’s eyes mimic the tapeta lucida found in nocturnal animals, granting her better vision in low-light conditions. While in dim light, Avelyn can only discern shades of gray and bright shades of green. The implants react to incoming light intensity and only work under a certain threshold to avoid overbright in daytime. The implants only amplify existing light, therefore she will still be blind in a completely dark environment and they do not protect her eyes from bright lights.
• Polyglot: Due to her many forays into human and alien minds, she has become fluent in both written and spoken form of several languages, though she has an accent in alien tongues. The different accents are caused by the differences between human and alien vocal cords, mouth structure and other body parts.
• Finesse: Avelyn has a good deal of dexterity from stealing, further helped by her acquired ambidexterity, agility from quickly navigating various environments and, being primarily a close-quarters combatant when magic fails, quick reflexes from fighting. What she lacks in strength, she makes up for in endurance.

Inabilities

• Thalassophobia: The combination of being from a world without a hydrosphere and only a rudimentary ability to swim leads to a deply ingrained fear of deep or large bodies of water. Once she can’t see, or at least reach the bottom, she’s not going in unless there is absolutely no other way, and being suddenly immersed in a volume of water larger than a tub will also likely cause no small amount of panic. Symptoms include rapid breathing, elevated heartrate, shortness of breath and inability to focus.
• Eduaction Gaps: Kidnapped at the age of fourteen, Avelyn’s education was mostly put on hold by the whole ‘war and augmentation’ ordeal. While this isn’t much of a problem in combat, lack of common knowledge, down to something as simple as square root, is quite a handicap in daily life. While the Mind Bridge helps to some extent, even basic things like elementary school math can only get you so far without practice

Short Bio: Born and raised in the capital of the Epsilon Theta, Longannet, neither the neighborhood nor her family were particularly well off. And since someone her age couldn’t be employed, Avelyn took to thievery, working her way from food through credits to jewellery. Over the years, she’s become proficient at sleight of hand, blending in with crowds and getting from place to place without being noticed. Well, most of the time. Nothing ever goes completely according to plan, and so she got quite good at getting from place to place without being caught. Until one day she didn‘t. Upon her capture, the authorities took note of her agility and her almsot four-year streak of uninterrupted crime. It wasn’t long until her holding cell was visited by men in military armor instead of policemen - the last time she saw her home.

Avelyn was sent for augmentation, which lead to a fear of needles, and was supposed to be assigned to intelligence. Along with another group of children with similar predispositions, she was trained to enter and exit any compound, negotiate any terrain or obstacle and extract any necessary information from captives. Avelyn was supposed to be a crossbreed of a black-ops operative and a master interrogator. Then the first tests came, and Avelyn’s mind-oriented capabilities were much weaker than expected. But where her mind magic was considered underwhelming, her proficiency in manipulating gravity, be it precise manipulation of small objects or swatting away multiple opponents with a single motion, got her reclassified from intelligence to special tasks. Going behind enemy lines attached to a small team to gather information suddenly turned into going behind enemy lines attached to a small team to wreak havoc. Her outer-colony origins certainly didn’t make her the team’s favorite. Fortunately, there was one other person, a child soldier on tech support duty, in a similar predicament - a Venerian girl named Lucinda Cain. Though Sol-born, she was nonetheless shunned due to her extensive cybernetics that, in combination with mind magic, made her the tech-person counterpart to Avelyn’s ‘people skills‘. The two quickly formed a sister-like bond, keeping each other’s spirits up in face of the hostile core-worlders in addition to the daily grind.

At Proxima, the team was sent to disable a Rau’ve electronic support ship that was feeding additional targeting data to the alien fleet. But before they got even halfway through to their objective, Lucinda tripped a silent alarm she wasn’t familiar with. The team was set upon by much of the ship’s security force and the two child soldiers were abandoned in the confusion. Rather than face the uncertainty of capture, Lucinda spaced herself and Avelyn was captured.

In captivity, the former thief awaited her inevitable execution with bitter resignation. Against all expectations, she and those like her received good treatment, which greatly aided her recovery. However, she couldn’t return to normal life, if the word ‘return’ was even applicable. She didn’t know much besides thievery and war, despite the efforts of some of her alien captors, or rather saviors. All of this pushed reason aside and fanned the flames of vengeance that lay dormant at the back of her mind, and seeing an opportunity for revenge, she took it.

[Letter Bee]

@Starlance, accepted.

[The Man Emperor]

Name: Finbarr Callaghan
Age: 17 (appears as 30 when under the effects of Shapeshifting)
Physical Description:

Normal Appearance

Finbarr is 5'8" tall and weighs 65 kilograms. Overall, he has a modest form.

Shapeshifted

When using shapeshifting to alter his human appearance, he becomes 6'1", but he still weighs the same.

Important items:

Items

1. Armor: Standard issue body armor.
2. Twin energy swords: Two plasma blades that can be turned on and off. Light and easy to carry around, if not having a strange balance of weigh when wielded.
3. Pictures of family and friends. Believe it or not, he has a Rau've friend.
4. A diary containing all of his experiences.
5. Credits: A few thousand worth of money given by the Rau've.
6. Plasma pistol: Definitely only for self defense.

Short Bio:

Finbarr's Story

Finbarr Callaghan was born to a middle income family in an underground city in the Jovian Moon of Titan. As an only child, he was extremely cherished by his parents, and because of his loving upbringing in a rather friendly environment, Finbarr would grow up to have a heart of utter compassion and a positive outlook in life. And, to be fair, he truly was blessed in the lottery of destiny; he had a family that was quite well off, he attended a private school that was built into a space station orbiting the moon, had true friendship, and did not have any bad experiences early on in life. As such, he would see the universe as a place of opportunity, a realm where there is always a silver lining if one knows where to look. One might say that he is detached from reality, but no one can deny that this kind of thinking is the reason why he was good at what he does. Friends looked to Finbarr for comfort, and he spent quite an amount of his allowance when giving to beggars. All was well, life was good. Finbarr dreamt of going to theater art, and eventually become an actor. After all, his cousin, Connor, was also one, and was already starring in a few movies.

Those dreams would end up becoming wishful thinking, however. Finbarr was kidnapped by unseen agents on his way back home before his fifteenth birthday, and was injected with Kaisoken dust, giving him magical powers. The Ascendancy said that all of this was for betterment of humanity, even as he and his fellow youngsters were forced into a grueling program. Despite everything, however, the temptation to lose his humanity in the depths of horror and torture was ignored. He would help squad mates that hurt themselves, even if it meant a scolding from the higher ups. He would then be forced to fight, and even then, it took a lot of "convincing" with Mind Magic to get him to actually kill anything. It took a while for him to finally accept that he had no choice, and did the missions anyway, even with a heavy heart.

The battle of Proxima Centauri would be his last deployment. He was amongst the first to be captured, jumping out of a breach portal only to be immediately grappled by a Rau've soldier.

When he came to be, he looked around to see the friends that he had made in the camps in prison as well. At first, he expected to be abused yet again, but the Rau've were unexpectedly compassionate... just like himself. It would be reported that all he did was cry tears of relief as soon as the Rau've showed them kindness rather than wrath.

Now that he had been released, Finbarr had found his former dreams an impossibility, to return to his beloved mother and father a paradox. To this end, despite whatever his conscience may say, he will avenge himself, and every other child whose future had been ripped away from them by the Ascendancy.

Spell List:

Spells

Breach Portal (Timespace): Finbarr is able to open either two small portals (large enough for someone to put their hand inside), or one person sized portal at any given time. These portals can either lead to visible locations within 100 meters, or to a place that Finbarr is very familiar with. The exception to these principles is that if Finbarr detects that someone he is 'connected' to is in danger via Retrocognition, he will be able to project a breach to their location, even if he is not familiar with it.

Energy Blast (World): Finbarr is capable of projecting beams of energy from his hands, which are powerful enough to hit with the strength of a heavy laser.

Spacetime Lockdown (Timespace): Encapsulates up an entity in a cuttable dimensional pocket space via a beam of energy for 5 seconds. While inside, captured entities are unable to interact with the rest of the universe and vice versa.

Retrocognition (Timespace): Finbarr has a chance of being able to sense when someone he is connected to is in mortal danger. This connection refers to friendship, romance, or familial ties.

Shapeshifting (Change): Finbarr is able to turn to any kind of animal, though this requires practice for each type. Currently, he can be a cat, a lizard, and rat. In addition, he is also able to alter his human appearance to a limited degree. Usually, he uses shapeshifting to hide his true age.

Exceptional Skill List:

Skills

Exceptional Swordsmanship

[Letter Bee]

@The Man Emperor, Accepted.

[Conscripts]

Alexander Kherol

Alexander Kherol

---

Full name:
Alexander Kherol

Age:
34

Race:
Human

Affiliation:

The Ascendancy of Man - Grand Admiral

---

Important Item:
A small picture (See sidestory chapter 3)

A pair of glasses.

Plasma pistol (self-defense purposes)

Biography
Alexander was born on Earth, one of the metropolitan planet in the Core World of the Ascendancy of Man, and poetically the origin of humanity itself. Rumors, whether true or false, persisted in his city that the young boy was able to compete in local chess competitions for high school students by the age of two. Nine years later, that boy beat a chess grandmaster for the first time. By the time he was seven, he attended high school and as he reached the age of thirteen, he was able to think critically and conduct certain analysis at university and post-graduate level.

His reputation spread far, but through a miraculous yet brilliant twist of fate, Alexander did not perish under the Ascendancy's early policies of using young children. Before the Ascendancy could forcibly kidnap this standout young genius, one certain nobleman, governor and politician of his planet, someone whom Alexander would look upon with respect and gratitude later in his career, offered him the opportunity to enroll in the Grand Military Academy when he reached the age of twelve. Yes, voluntarily. There, young Alexander would be given special protection from all the overly-ambitious Ascendancy's leaderships who were looking to use prodigious children as tools of their own.

There, he received over-the-top quality education that only served to further his inhuman ability. By the time he was eighteen, the normal eligible age, he went into officer training. He became a ship's midshipman aboard a Cruiser by the age of twenty, and then a captain of a dreadnought by the age of twenty-one. Things go uphill very quickly for Alexander. From the command of one individual ship, he rose to the rank of Commodore, commanding a dreadnought and two cruisers, then to Admiral, taking charge of a fleet of seven ships, consisting of cruisers, battleships and fleet carriers, with his personal capital ship. His finest hour was during the first years of the Rau've War. Alexander was the mastermind behind Operation Conundra, in which was a successful lightning military campaign against the Rau've important military targets. It is considered by most, if not all analyst, to be a spectacular tactical victory, as it disabled over half of the Rau've's space fleet in a course of a few weeks. However, some analyst considers it a strategic defeat, but most Ascendancy's military commanders see otherwise, as subsequent military actions were the prime reason for their defeats later on. Nevertheless, Alexander was promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral by the age of thirty for the successful strike.

That was the peak of his career, however. As the war progressed on, Alexander could see the Ascendancy's armies slowly stagnating in its track and entrenched. Foreseeing a long-term war, the newly promoted Grand Admiral proposes a more defensive plans, intending to play the game with them, the game that he excels at. However, the high command rejected this proposal, as they found it too passive. As a result, the scale of war gradually tipped to the Rau've, as things began to go downhill for the Ascendancy. With Alexander's effort, however, he manages to lure the Rau've forces into a decisive battle at Proxima. There, he was determined to crush the Rau've's forces with his superior ships. His initial plans for the battle was to entrench the Rau've in the defense line while destroying the backbone of the Rau've heavy ships and guns with field artilleries and carriers before steamrolling the smaller pawns with the dreadnoughts. This, however, was countered by the Ascendancy's high command, through lack of understanding of rules of warfare. This was the last straw for the Grand Admiral. He knew the Ascendancy was doomed, but didn't want his men to die in vain, so he counter-proposed to let his ships remain in reserve, ready to back up the troops at the front once the defense line was breached. His proposal was granted, but he did not keep his promise.

Before he knew it, the war was over. A peace treaty was signed, with the Ascendancy's army from an intergalactic force to almost complete destruction, with only the 1st Fleet completely intact and ready for combat. This was the wake-up call for Alexander, as he redoubled his effort to expand his military forces. He spent his post-war year maintaining order around the Ascendancy as well as speeding up several of his pet-peeve project for his army.

---

Exceptional Skills
Exceptional Intelligence x5
Exceptional Willpower
Exceptional Diplomacy x2
Exceptional Speech
Exceptional Politics x2

Alexander's side stories

A collection of side stories about one of the Ascendancy's greatest generals. From his earliest day, through to his finest and his lowest moments, his most extraordinary and his most human. All separate stories.

Chapter 1: The Mind of a Genius

"Alright, Alex. How about you, can you solve this equation?"

The teacher said, as he gently handed his child the pen to the holographic board. A child of merely eight years of age. Among a crowd of thirty kids, all one head taller than him. The kid was reluctant to be called so suddenly, but at the gentleness and politeness of his professor, he found himself unable to deny his offer.

The child slid out of his chair, walked to the board and slowly, his hand holding the pen to which he would write with. As he neared, he simply stood still, silent. He inhaled, and exhaled. Again, and again.

And he wrote.

"This is an equation that if you follow the conventional way of solving, it will resolve in a massive power number, which is technically very difficult to solve. But if you prove and apply this inequation to our main problem, it is possible to see that the left hand side of the verse can be reduced to this, which is always larger or equal to the right side of the verse, which is zero. So the equation only occurs when a specific condition is met in the left side of the verse. This greatly reduced the complexity of our problem, and it's quite straightforward from there."

The boy put down his pen, as he finished the last of his solution, as he slowly returned to the seat. But what he did not notice, perhaps too young to notice, were the eyes towards him. His teacher. His peers. Even the parents of some other kids who happened to be there at the time.
They were shocked beyond belief.

---

"...In my years of teaching, I've never seen a mind like your son’s."
"The reason that Kobald failed on his conquest I believe was more to his own logistic than his enemy's tactical ability like you said teacher. The guerrilla soldiers did little in terms of combat, but it was the scorched earth policy done by the citizens that actually dealt the damage. Kobald's region was too far away for a reliable source of provisions, so he brought little and mostly lived off his conquered land, which was vulnerable to this policy"

"He possesses the mind of a genius. One that many centuries we have yet to see again."

"Castling on the king side is the most common move here, as it would grant the king additional protection against the enemy's knights and bishops, but if we play Queen to A4, it will block that Knight from going anywhere, while threatening the D4 pawn, so it's a more reasonable move."

"He’s the only underaged student we have admitted, and yet he has already learnt everything we could ever hope to teach a child ten years older than him. There’s nothing more here for him to learn. Please, you have to let him go with us."

The teacher begged, again, as his parents began to feel more and more reluctant.

"He is too young..." His mother said, her voice full of indecisions.

"I am aware ma'am." The teacher responded. "But his reputation has already spread across the school. No, the district now. It is only a matter of time until the Ascendancy took notice of his unusual mind."

His mother's eyelids dropped, as if the dam was about to break. His father looked at his son, who was innocently reading the book inside his room, completely unaware of what was being discussed outside. There were inside rumors of the Ascendancy intending to kidnap prodigious kids for a special military program. And they all knew the system at play here, it wasn't that hard to believe. It was perhaps the only situation when a parent would be in painful tears upon the discovery that their child was a genius.

It would be hard. For him to face reality this early. For his parents, to not worry about him. And for both of them, to say their goodbyes.

"I understand your concern. It's better to be voluntary early, than being forced out later. I know a person that can help him avoid that fate. But please..."

"Teacher, am I right?"

"...you have to let him go."

Chapter 2: Finest Hours

August 2374

Planet Wasa, Rau’ve’s Space Dock #3

The war had begun more than two weeks ago, but the Rau’ve had already been decimated. Their poorly prepared defense line would be a source of ridicule among historians for generations to come. The Ascendancy’s space fleet sliced through their lines like a knife through butter. Their once mighty two carrier space fleets now two asteroid belts of metal. The third one, having managed to escape the carnage of Alexander’s lightning campaign, retreated to the orbit of Planet Wasa, one of their Space Dock deep in their home territory, initially for refit of armaments and space planes in order to counter the superior Ascendancy’s armor and firepower. Too bad for them that they would never be able to accomplish their original objective. For by the time the Rau’ve finally got together the tools to upgrade their fleet, the Ascendancy would have been at their very door steps, with bombs all over their vegetable heads. And six months later, the Ascendancy’s flag would be flying high at their capital.

Upon the news of the Rau’ve’s second line of defense being breached, the Rau’ve’s third carrier group had instead dug into their docks and made it their fortress. With the remnants of the broken second defense line rendezvousing at the once prosperous industrial planet, they were determined to halt the rapid advances of the Ascendancy’s Navy. But if only if they knew who they were up against…

“4 Dreadnoughts, 6 Cruisers, 15 Frigates, 12 Corvettes and most importantly 3 Carriers.” Said the grey-haired admiral, wearing the standard dark grey Ascendancy’s officer’s uniform, sitting at the far end of the table. His eyes hidden behind the thickness of the glasses, adding another layer to the already present aura of mystery and chilliness. “That’s our price for the taking.”

“But they are dug into their asteroid belt, with multiple stationary guns on the asteroids. And even though we have the same number of carriers, their number of ships in total are nearly twice our numbers” Replied one other commanding officer at the table, this one sitting right next to Alexander, his embellishment missing a star comparing to Alexander’s. His voice lowered. His eyes twitched as he kept his gaze on the battlefield being replicated in the hologram right in front of him on the table.

“They fight as one we’ll kill them as one.”

“They’ve chained up now, it’d be hard to break.”

“Not with the right way.” Said Alexander, eyeing over the battle overview. “The Rau’ve's position implies they are trying to counter our lightning strike strategy. We'll present them something else at the last minute, and we shall watch them fall apart...”

And that was exactly what he did. And it all began with his explanation.

“The Rau’ve have chosen the battlefield in a way that can maximize the strength of their numbers. Our forces will approach them just like we usually do. Like a nailboard…”
“Nawar and Rar, you brothers will be commanding this front.”

---

The next day, what was materialized on that holographic table was right there, on the space just a few thousand kilometers wide area of space, with the asteroid belt flooded with those heavy hitting anti-armor railguns. And that would be the thing the Ascendancy’s Navy would have to break in order to win this battle. Along with the lines of guns are capital ships, frigates and corvettes taking their cover behind these meteorites, ready to meet their adversary. And right behind those things would be the reserve fleet. And behind that the carriers. Those juicy target that Alexander was longing for.

The Rau’ve was certainly surprised by the speed of the Ascendancy’s Navy, but they were not daunted. Morales were high, and they were determined. But their pride had blinded them. For the Ascendancy approached the battle line just like how Alexander had told them, but with a single twist.

---

“But this time, our dreadnoughts will not be at the front anymore. Instead, the breakthrough will be made by the heavy cruisers.”

---

And indeed, they were. Right at the front, ready to charge into the thick. And they went under the blind’s eyes.

---

”Before the charge, however, I want you, Lan, to destroy their air group.”

---

And so the battle began. The Ascendancy’s carriers immediately sent out hundreds of their star fighters, accompanied by other ships in the fleet, though with lesser numbers. And in response, the Rau’ve also dispatched their entire fighter groups to the ensuing battle. The air fight opened the curtain for one of the most biggest space dogfight the universe has ever seen. In a narrow area of empty space, nearly five hundred fighters had slammed themselves against each other, greeting each other with bullets and metals, clashing with the others on a personal level. And those to come out victorious, could change the course of the entire battle.

---

”If we win this air fight, we win the entire battle. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is. Even if you suffer massive casualties you must gain air supremacy.”

---

All of Alexander’s hope for this battle came in the form of a few hundred fighters. He normally despised relying on one single thing in battle, but this was the only time he had to put faith in it. On the grittiness, the well-trained pilot of the Ascendancy’s Air Force.
It was chaos. A birthplace of aces, but a cemetery for hundreds of young men and women. A clash of steel, of skills, of wits, but not without blood from either sides. But the ensuing 15 minutes battle had emerged the Ascendancy as the victorious side. Air supremacy had been achieved.

---

”While the air battle concludes itself, our breakthrough forces will surge forward. The Rau’ve will definitely respond with a hail of fire from their asteroid guns.”

---

As the cruisers moved, the guns lit themselves up. Hell ensued for the heavy cruisers. Of course because the cruisers were not as heavily armored as the dreadnoughts, they were not as well protected as them. They would reach the belt faster than the dreadnoughts would, but in doing so, some began to burn...

---

”Do not relent. Once your cruisers reach the asteroid belt, you will have time to repair, in which you must, because the Rau’ve will throw ahead their reserve, to push us back.”

---

And exactly that, they surged forward, frigates, corvettes and dreadnoughts descended upon them, taking the Ascendancy’s cruisers right on their faces. The Ascendancy’s advances had been halted.

---

”At this point, the Rau’ve will think their plan worked.”

---

The cruisers slowly backed, as the Rau’ve poured down fire upon their invaders. Some unfortunate were left burning…

---

”Give ground, and let them believe.”

---

Soon, the grounds the Ascendancy had gained were handed back to the Rau’ve, as fightings intensified. Guns blazed, star fighters answered. The entire asteroid belt was lit up by a spectacular lightshow of fire and bullet. No ships were willing to relent, as they continuously hailed down fire upon anything that moves, until they could no longer

At this point, the Rau’ve had the reason to be proud. They held their ground, they pushed the Ascendancy’s back. They thought they may have ended the myth of Ascendancy’s invincibility. And they were led to believe, as their lines between the reserve and the front began to merge

---

”It is then that we will mobilize our two dreadnoughts in reserves, and our remaining bombers, destroy the entire belt.”

---

It was too late for them.

When they had realized their mistake, they had nowhere to go. Any form of retreat would mean giving the Ascendancy the means to break their line completely. But staying would mean no different. The Ascendancy do not intend to play a fair game here. They only have one objective, and that is to obliterate the Rau’ve’s naval fleet completely.

From above and below, Ascendancy’s dreadnoughts approached, like the hammer and anvil. Their huge battle cannons turned, strangling the Rau’ve with every angle. Bombers from the carriers accompanied them in the violent purge with their shield-deactivation bombs. Once they had locked on their targets, it was when chaos descended. It was the same for the killed and the survivors. When they opened their eyes, it was a scene right from the depths of hell.

The Ascendancy blew up the entire asteroid belts. They buried the Rau’ve alive.

---

”The rest of the fleet will charge forward, surround the belt, and cut down any stragglers.
There will be no mercy.”

---

The winner had been decided in the first fifteen minutes of the fight. And the tide turned in just less than 5 minutes.

In those 5 minutes, the Rau’ve’s forces went from solid confidence and discipline into a complete riot. Those who were courageous enough to remain in the fight were cut down without mercy, their corpse dissolved in the flames of burning ships. If one still valued their very lives, then he must strip away their weapons, armor and gave themselves in voluntarily, for they may find the Ascendancy’s prison having a higher chance of survival. Those foolish enough to run away from battle, the Ascendancy spared no moments of hesitation. The lighter ships charged forward, unleashing barrages of rocket and main battery fire, disintegrating the Rau’ve’s armors in seconds. Screams echoed, as panic settled into the ranks of the Rau’ve, until there were no more organization, no more resemblance of a military forces, just a massive hulk of crowd running fearfully for their lives. And then, there were no more…

---

“It was the greatest battlefield victory of the age. Their entire fleet was destroyed or captured. Not one single ship made it back to their home for any form of resistance. And above all, over fifty thousand Rau’ves, including five high-ranking generals and many officers had been declared killed in action. Our road to the capital had been opened.

Today is a victory greater than any victories the Ascendancy could have achieved throughout its one hundred years of rules. A victory that would solidify me as the greatest Ascendancy’s military commander of all time.

And yet I felt no sense of triumph…”

Chapter 3: Proxima

What happened to our victorious march during the early days? After the battle of Wasa, there was nothing.

In the mind of the Ascendancy’s youngest and most feared general was full of melancholy. He did not work so hard for his entire life for this moment. He did not leave the comfort of his home, the warmth embrace of his mother and father for this. Nor did he work his entire way up to the rank of grand admiral, ignoring the brutality and hostility of where he was raised. Nor his effort to bring the Ascendancy to the doorstep of the Rau’ve capital. For this. For the Rau’ve to reorganise, counterattack and inflict deaths upon the army. For them to push the army the entire way back, reversing all of the effort Alexander had grinded through. All thrown into the bin in the most ungrateful manner by the colleagues he worked with.

He saw this coming. With those eyes behind the thick glasses yet saw far better than those perfect visioned so-called generals. He saw the slow decline, and he tried to stop it. But once glory had been achieved, these men and women decided to toss him aside, gradually throwing him into the sidewalk because they didn’t want to miss out on the glory that they craved. ’Glory my ass.’ Was always his thoughts. If they were his direct subordinate, he’d have their head taken, or in his procedure, stripped of their ranks and booted back to being a common soldier. Anything glory driven was always a waste of time, manpower and resources. But like his old teacher once said, his mind was far few in between. Only he could see it. No other could. And when stupidity plus ego, here he was.

Sitting in the tall-backed chair in the private quarter of his huge battlestation, the capital dreadnought Aegis, he, for once, took off his glasses, revealing his true colored eyes for the very first time, though unfortunately no one was there to witness it. He took out a small handkerchief from his pocket as he wiped the layers gently. A long sigh escaped his lips, his breath held weight, and it was pulling him down, also the rare moment of human emotion he displayed ever since he was stripped away from his parent. From his normal life.

His only work for the moment was to wait. In the hours that seemed like an eternity to the grand admiral. It had been a few hours since the last strategical meeting had concluded. The high command had decided against his military advice. Not far-fetched from what he expected, but this time it was the only decision that he very much feared. He had called for a reconsideration, and they were discussing it. If they did reconsider, then he’d be informed of another meeting. That was the message that he was expecting to receive for hours.

For he knew if they went forth with their decision, it would be a massacre.

The silence was just unsettling. The silence that he once enjoyed, from the stillness of the bookshelf to the solemnity of the chandelier. He couldn’t sleep. Nor could he do anything either. He normally hate idleness but today he couldn’t help but be so. Doing anything would be useless right now.

And then, for some mysterious reasons, his hand suddenly reached for his drawer. He opened them, and inside was a small picture. A paper-back picture. Not very commonly seen nowadays. And in it, it was a picture of a young boy, gray-haired but without glasses, smiling prettily. The boy was barely even six when this picture was taken. And next to him, crouching and holding onto his shoulder was another person with the gorgeous silky platinum hair, tied into a side bun whilst the rest left hanging down to her waist. Her smile perfectly matched her beauty. And standing right next to the two mother and son was the final puzzle to make a happy family. The man did not have any resemblance in terms of hair-color, but he was well-tuned, well-dressed, smart-looking. And that passed on well.

A picture of a happy family. Of a loving mother and father, one that would pull them into their warmth everytime they fell into a dead juncture, one that would cheer them on from the back as they march on the long road that is called life. Alexander spent a few minutes without lifting his eyes. And then he turned around to the back, to see a beautiful feminine handwriting on it.

October 23rd, 2349.

An outing with my darling and my sweet child…

…

…

But before anything, a notification suddenly appeared in front of Alexander in a form of a hologram. Incoming call. From Admiral Damon. It must have been it.

Alexander had no hesitation in pressing the receive call button. As the image of the admiral appeared in front of Alexander, he quickly re-adjusted himself, put away the picture and put on his glasses again.

“Yes, Admiral Damon?”

“Grand Admiral, I’m here to inform you about the high command’s decision of your request for a strategy reconsideration. The President has refused your request. You will proceed to execute the plan according to what had been given in the last meeting.” Damon quickly informed.

Alexander’s expression was unreadable.

That’s it then…

“Is there anything that must be clarified, Grand Admiral?”

“No, thank you.”

Alexander briefly replied, as he looked at Damon one last time before his image disappeared. He knew that this would very likely be his last time speaking to him. Damon was the commander of the ambush task force. And he was certain that the ambush would turn out a spectacular disaster. And Damon was definitely not a righteous man. He had committed numerous atrocities against Rau’ve’s prisoners and civilians. There is no way the Rau’ve would let this go unpunished. If he did not die with honor on the battlefield, he’d rot in the Rau’ve’s prison, or had his neck broken in a noose, or his chest made into cheese in front of a firing squad. He definitely felt he deserved it, but nevertheless, Alexander could not help but feel bad for him. He had yet to realize his fate.

Nevertheless, Alexander stood up from his chair. His eyes now completely clouded behind his thick glasses, unseen from the outside. He immediately called one of his admirals under his direct command over to the bridge.

---

The days after the final order had been given, the atmosphere surrounding the Aegis was the polar opposite of Alexander’s private quarter. Ship crews were hurrily running around in the ship, trying to reach their battle station. Sounds of boots clattered with the hard floor on the ship, echoing into deep space. In the midst of it all, standing in the middle of the room was Alexander and Admiral Faro of the 1st Fleet. Facing each other, their brows furrowed.

“I’d say it, we’re done for.” Alexander said. “Despite everything I've said, they still found a reason to disagree.”

“No disrespect sir, but what do you expect from a band of circus clown, kidnappers and sadists?” Faro replied, making an unimpressed face.

“Be serious, Faro.” Alexander adjusted him. “I’d have to take matters into my own hands. Proxima will be lost by tomorrow. When they do, who will defend the Ascendancy’s homeland from the Rau've?”

“Are you sure you can hold, with just a single carrier fleet?” Faro asked skeptically.

“Once they knew who they were against, they’d be having second thoughts. They can win, but heavy casualties will ensue. Thousands more lives would be lost.” Alexander replied "The Rau've are compassionate folks, they will see the better options here."

“Be careful, that can be interpreted as treason.”

“Ha, Faro. Don’t worry. If it saves the Ascendancy, they would have to accept it. Killing me would just be sawing off the tree while sitting on the branch.” Alexander said. “Now is all ships in position?”

“Yes sir. We’re all set.” Faro replied.

“Very well.” Alexander gave a short sigh. “Tell the other grand admirals that we’re ready.”

“Yes sir.” He nodded as he turned on his heel to leave.

“Oh.” Alexander suddenly called him just as the bridge’s door opened. Faro turned around, curious. “Tell those admirals to visit by Nevivsky sometimes.”

Chapter 4: Between two suns

Nevivsky Kremlin, OGLE-2005-BGL-390Lb, Headquarter of Ascendancy’s 1st Fleet

For any newcomers, this was frozen hell. To the soldiers of the Ascendancy’s 1st Fleet, this was their normal daily lives. The howling wind, the half-ice pellets raining on their snow goggles, the frozen engine that constantly hopped in and out of consciousness. They’re used to it. By the weekends, it would be a wonderland, stores would be open again in the nearby city and the soldiers back out on the training field before they could go wild with their boozes.

A cup of hot coffee next to the fireplace, the various designs of space warships laid out on the table before him, while his tablet was on his lap. For today however, it’s just about getting comfortable in his office. He hadn’t felt this much serenity ever since he joined the army. Constant fighting against the Rau’ve and within each other had allowed none of such luxuries, but power dynamics of the war was changing. His political rivals were beginning to rise up, trying to cash in on the glory that he himself created. Also fueled by the high command’s fear of losing him on the battlefield, his involvement in the campaign gradually began to be a lot more passive. Now, all he heard about were from his private office instead of on the bridge of his starship. It was getting frustrating, but he at least had some free time to enjoy himself a little.

“Grand Admiral, someone’s requesting entry to the planet.” A sudden voice message popped up on the room’s intercom.

Alexander’s eyebrows piqued.

“Who is that?” He immediately called the sender.

“It identifies itself as a private vessel from the Windsor’s family.”

Windsor? He’s here for them?

“Let them through.”
----------------
You'd know this is one of their places immediately from the first step onto the monstrosity and masterpiece of architecture.

A fortified complex, stretching a small town’s worth of area, surrounded by gigantic red walls dwarfing most mortal beings passing through. The soaring towers radiated in a strange violet aura that helped form a massive transparent dome covering the entire base from snow. Buildings in the inner layers were no less extravagant. The rather more traditional Earthly palace architecture did not hide the fact that this was a military base. Gun placements could still be seen from the ground up, covered by what seemed to be moveable rooftops that could easily go undetected by radars.

It continued with his office as well: the long walk from the door, across rows of tall pillars and a thick textured purplish marbled floor. The multiple holographic projection of a soldier carrying a classic projectile rifle, wearing solemn dark grey uniform, typical of Alexander’s approach to his army design. Yet it proved to be brutally effective, as seen along with the walls marking the mementos of the Guard's past triumphs on the battlefield.

If the grand display at the interior of the entrance wasn’t enough to put guests in their places, then the look at the man himself probably did. His eyes were hidden behind the thick glasses, yet it still gave off the image of a thousand needles jousting into a man’s throat. The slim build, gray-white hair, thin lips were still, expressionless, watching his every movements with interest. The symmetric insignia was engraved right on his collar, blended in with his black red uniform, yet few could miss it entirely.

“William Windsor. It’s unexpected that you’d come here today.” The Grand Admiral welcomed, his tone unreadable.

--------

William knew that despite his own genius and knack for political theory, as well as learned skills through various interactions, that it would not be good to underestimate Kherol. More to the point, it would be better to anticipate a loss beforehand and begin preparations for damage control even before the talk had properly begun. After all, Kherol was more experienced than he was, and sharper too.

Accompanied by only two bodyguards and two aides, William had chosen not to be extravagant, and chose the simplest of his steelweave silk clothes, a black-and-white business suit which absorbed and retained warmth even in the cold of the military base. Said warmth will have to reassure him in the upcoming confrontation with Alexander Kherol.

As the dark-skinned blond gave a short bow to the Grand Admiral, he knew that said confrontation would not be easy, but he owed it to his folk to try. The Windsor Family insignia was on his own collar, a reminder of the power his family had, and it was a reassurance that if he was cautious and perceptive enough, he might gain something from this.

He then spoke and said, “Grand Admiral Alexander Kherol, your men have charged several innocent traders, some with connections to the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet, with various crimes ranging from the petty to the outright harmless. I have also received word that your subordinates, in their zeal, have escalated the situation such that both sides ended up exercising their right to self-defense.”

William sighed, “The Autonomous Fleet stands for the promotion of free commerce in Ascendancy space, and have paid large sums to the Military’s war effort in order to strengthen their ability to protect trade and entrepreneurship. I do not believe that such a relationship should be interrupted over a few harmless exchanges.”

An obvious legal fig leaf, but flimsier arguments had won before in this regime, as long as those in power profited from it. A reason for humanity’s stagnation before, during, and after the war.

“And I know that’s the case. That’s why I simply offered them to release a public apology to those involved, promising not to promote alien cultures among my troops and the people of Nevivsky.” Alexander simply shrugged his shoulders. “By then, I’d let them go basically scot free. Plain. Simple.”

William Windsor blinked at that and said, “Thank you. I will secure such a public apology from them immediately. Does this mean that this situation is defused even before it starts?”

“Well, they’re not obliging. That’s why it has dragged on for so long.” Alexander replied. “I want the ones involved to say it themselves.”

The dark-skinned blond twitched, and his speech was genuinely snide - Though the snideness was not directed at Kherol - when he said, “And I thought the age of martyrs was over. Very well, I’ll talk to them immediately and secure a public apology. I presume there’s no additional business to talk about?”

As he prepared to depart, William whispered a brief, “Thank you,” one that could be picked up by Alexander’s ears, but swiftly denied by William if called out.

“And how will I know if that’s genuine?”

His words echoed just as William was about to be out of the door.

“I want a genuine apology, not explicit coercion. That’s why I am surprised you are here. Unless you have that sort of charisma in you.”

William turned back and said, “I came here to prevent innocent merchants from becoming martyrs, no more, no less. No merchant should die for their beliefs, it’s bad for business.”

A half-truth - William did not believe that martyr and merchant should be synonymous, but he did believe in fighting for one’s beliefs… Eventually.

Then he sighed, “I have no plans for ‘explicit coercion’ either - As I said, merchant-hood and martyrdom are incompatible and a true trader can be convinced of that.”

“Then make sure it is so. Send me the speech so I can see if it is. But keep in mind, it’s not going to be towards me that they will be addressing. I'm not concerned. It’s to the people of Nevivsky.”

William paused for a moment, knowing full well that Alexander Kherol was fully able to cut through the evasive language, useless qualifications, word padding, and blame deflection that a ‘normal’ apology speech would have. So with some reluctance, he ventured a question.

“Is the amount of feel-good, flattering, pacifying wording that nevertheless doesn’t take true blame for the perceived crimes you are willing to take the same as the people of Nevivsky are willing to accept? This is a pure hypothetical, of course. Either way, the people will be at peace, I can promise that.”

The promise was real, the hypothetical was not, but challenging it when peace was already offered was for someone who can afford a political crisis over something with an excuse. Hopefully.

And of course, William can always bring up his final emergency card, the small minority of ‘non-human auxiliaries’ in Alexander’s forces...

Alexander’s eyes rolled beneath his thick glasses. His lips perched up for a brief second.

“Just to pull you aside a little, what do you think about...the city’s architecture?”

William replied right away, “Brutal. Regal. Meant to close people’s minds while at the same time making them more receptive to what they’re being fed by the authorities. Conveys distrust of the people while seeking to overawe them.”

A pause and a thin smile, “I know my history. The people here take after promises of peace, land, and bread like moths to a flame, and live with disappointment for decades after such promises.”

An interesting chuckle echoed throughout the room. “You are one cynical man, Mr Windsor. But I do not deny such interpretation. But, there is more to it than just a fortress. You don’t see it from here because of the blizzard, but from that angle, there is a big clock tower, a reminiscence of the old days of humanity. And it’s mechanical as well, made purely by turning gears. There is something truly beautiful in that that is lost on today’s society.”

He paused a little, to turn his seat around.

“And that is the human roots. We grind our way up from the ground, with no magic, no Kaisoken dusts. And people here are proud of such heritage. And I don’t blame them. I am proud of what I have achieved.” Alexander looked at Windsor directly. “But with the combination of what you just said, you can understand why I want a genuine apology.”

William nodded at that and said, “There will be one for treating the populace like sheep to be influenced, and one for the violence which has occured. But there is a fine line to not wanting my affiliates to martyr themselves and asking them to sincerely renounce their convictions, which are their own and need not cause further disorder.”

A pause, “I offer peace and the end of involvement in your garrison’s affairs. Any other officer would have accepted this without question, without trying to make windows into my soul or the souls of my affiliates.”

Alexander sighed loudly. Seriously? He came here unexpectedly without any invitation, and now he’s telling him off?

“I don’t remember inviting you today, do I? Hmm.” Alexander threw a quick jab, but stopped soon to halt any escalations. “But anyway, I have a reason to proceed now. Glad we could have this discussion.”

His tone was unreadable, just like always.

[Letter Bee]

@Conscripts, Approved.

[Th3King0fChaos]

Tarak

Name: Tarak (Tear-ek)
Codename: Baal or Hunter Wolf
Age: 19 Almost 20
Physical Description: Standing at 6'5 and weighing 250 pounds this man is a tower of a man who has very dense muscles and strong frame, Tarak was born an imposing man, even at the ripe age of 11 he was at eye level with many adults' and could fight most to the ground with ease.

Big Brother

Important items:

Equipment

Spinal Cybernetics

- Used to interface with his Power armor and has a few other nifty features such as his Omni tool, a connection to his vitals, and a power source. Is made of these tough yet flexible metal plates that allow for a full range of motion without hindrance, and almost invisible while being underneath a thick shirt/jacket.

Armor of Wolf

Wolf Armor

Wolf Armor: A powerful suit of armor that is virtually impervious to most conventional small arms fire, as a square hit is the only thing that will actually damage the suit, if at all. The suit comes with many nifty features that make Tarak more combat effective: H.U.D, micro thrusters, powered exoskeleton, life support, Adaptive Camo shroud, and mag boots.

Adaptive Camo Shroud: A Large detachable shroud that can be placed around the armor, objects, or using the nanite skeleton inside, creates an invisible cover that stands about 3 feet tall and covers a 7-foot length. This shroud disrupts both thermal signatures and electromagnetic signatures to track the suit and to hide that this shroud is made of electronics.

Advanced H.U.D: The head of the suit contains thermal vision, night vision, a connection to his vitals, his ammunition counter, and a direct connection to his Omni-tool.

Micro Thrusters- The suit has micro thrusters put onto the pack on the back of the suit and on the legs. These were designed for use in vacuum of space so that you don't get stranded in space. If you're creative enough you can find a few more uses out of them as well.

Powered Exoskeleton- The suit has a powered exoskeleton that keeps it moving, as it is too heavy carrying all of its natural weight. This allows for Tarak to move as fast as he normally would without the armor, and not to feel encumbered at all.

Life Support- A life support system integrated directly into the suits pack, that can sustain Tarak 4 hours at a time before needing to resupply. It also includes heating, cooling, pressurization stabilizer, and has an adaptive oxygen filtration system, that can kill off airborne living organisms through heated emissions. When a hole is made in the suit that would destroy its integrity a durable see-through gel will fill the area. There is enough gel to fill up to a 3 square foot area hole. The helmet is sealed off from the rest of the suit, to allow for probable survival if the lower bodysuit is compromised.

Magboots- Powerful electromagnets that are placed at the bottom of the feet of the suit. When these magnets are activated, Tarak is able to control them with normal steps, as the magnets turn on and off with his leg movements.

Angel's Lyre

Angel's Lyre

A Slug thrower Assault rifle that holds 40 rounds in the main rifle. The rifle fires large rounds that are covered in plasma to allow deep penetration into all targets.

The weapon has an underslung 30 mm gun/launcher. As the gun has many different rounds that can be shot through the gun, as these are his favorites:

- Phosphorus rounds, these burn in a 5-foot area that burns in the air and destroyed filtration systems.
- High explosive rounds, these explode at the same level of a hand grenade and sends shrapnel and a concussive blast to those near it.
- Stun grenades, an explosive round that impacts and explodes as it creates a loud sound and a flash of bright light that blinds people for a few seconds.
- Rifle Round, a large rifle round can be fired through the lower gun as it can punch through most armor, however needs to be manually loaded with the second bolt for the lower gun.

inventory

Galactic Credits - 10 thousand credits in digital form given by the former Rau've warden.

Arc lighter- An old arc lighter that seems to be used to be far beyond its year. Yet it still has used in it, as it seems very well maintained.

Short Bio:

A Tough Life Breeds a Strong man

The Den of Thieves

Tarak was born on a backwater slum planet too far from any of the main traffic ways for the Ascendancy to really do much policing there. Making the Galirus System a den of thieves, crooks, and criminals, the perfect place for a child.

Tarak was born to a prostitute mother who died during his birth because of complications, and a Spacer father who left Tarak's mother after a one night stand. Tarak was given to an orphanage, where most kids were treated like shit. Fed 1/4 rations, normally kids were starved to near death and then forced to work and panhandle just to be allowed to eat. Tarak hated life here, many of these kids came here because they had nothing, Tarak treated them like siblings, as most here were no older than 4-5 years old, he, 6, was like a big brother as he was the one to steal for them, work harder for them, and even bleed for them when one of them was caught stealing.

Yet news of everyone keeping a bit of money to get away spread, and you know what they say when you steal from a Den of Thieves. Many of the kids were beaten to literal death by the 'caretakers', while others were sold off. Leaving Tarak one option when they left him for last, that night the orphanage burned. Tarek did save money, just enough to get an arc lighter, as he smoked the entire orphanage and blocked off all the doors. He killed his tormentors as he walked away, now with no family, no place to go, and nothing to eat, he took to the streets. After all, those same streets he worked never changed, they always have their jaws open, waiting.

As Tarak grew he took many different jobs, ranging from morally proper jobs such as delivering packages and being an errand boy, to the more morally diluted jobs. Some of the most noteworthy jobs include his smuggling, his prostitution, and his work with Mercenaries. His most consistent job was when he was taken in by the Incubus Mercenary Company, for his hunting and killing of the Hunter, a murderer and a target who had killed hundreds who had chased him down.

The Incubus took him in, a kid who is no older than 10 and standing at 5'8, with a hardened heart and combat skill is more than an asset, after all, a child is malleable. As Galirus was a horrid place in this Galaxy, it either eats you alive, or you become like a hungry demon. Tarak had confirmed over 100 jobs completed and over 200 confirmed kills within his 3 years of his employment with the Incubus Mercenary Group, all of this death under the name of Hunter Pawn. Being given all the gear he would even need, any weapon he wanted, any armor he chose, and any transportation that could be asked, as he was tasked to be the long arm of any client, never able to outrun them, as no matter how deep you may go, Hunter Pawn will dig you out, dead or alive.

During his time as a mercenary, he got a set of power armor for himself, to really feel apart of the whole mercenary group feel. The group even gave the armor a nifty paint job and did it up to the specifications he wanted, to really feel like apart of the family. This armor never really left Tarak as he felt safe in it, not because it was impervious to all forms of conventional injury, but for the reason, it is the first thing he was proud of, that and his arc lighter that he keeps on a chain, just in case.

However during one of these missions, he was caught out in a trap, set specifically for him. He was supposed to go on a simple mission to grab and bag a wanted fugitive, simple stuff. Yet, the mission felt weird, as Tarak has a sick sense, something was off, like someone was looking at the back of his head, as he kept patient watch as he was waiting for his mark, that sixth sense flared as he lurched his upper body out of the way as he saw a bullet smash through the concrete wall, as it was aiming for his center back. He let out a click of the tongue as he wiped around and let off a heavy burst of rounds towards the assailant, but found he was facing around 10 men with guns aimed at him, this had to be a trap. As the men let loose onto Tarak, his armor was more than a match for this level of firepower, after all, it was rated to stop a Coil rifle, but the sheer amount of fire slammed Tarak into a wall as he saw multiple men run-in with concussion rifles and continually fire off round after round, keeping him pinned to the wall as another group of men restrained him to the ground. Tarak bucked and kicked to get out of their hold, yet to no avail. As someone came over and took off Tarak's helmet and injected him with a sedative and knocked him out.

A Prison Like Any Other

Tarak awoke in a small grey cell far bigger than most prison's the Galmar sector ever had. He scoffed as he paced the room and looked around and scanned the area for a way out, none. Tarak laid back down and waited for whoever was here to talk to him. As this was Tarak's first taste like in the care of the Ascendancy.

Here is one of the Ascendancy's Black sites, Tarak was experimented on humiliated, and tormented like he was nothing more than a piece of meat to a dog. Tarak never lashed out, as he knew from doing time in prison, even a peep means you get reprimanded. So he kept his head down, as the words the trainers put into him just pass through. Yet around a few months into the meat grinder, they call hell, Tarak started looking at the little kids around him. His eyes opened as he started to find these kids truly just kids, not child soldiers who went through his same pain, just kids taken from their families. With this revelation, Tarak started to take care of them like they were his own siblings.

He was almost 13 now, and all he wished to do was help all those around him. Kind of like this big brother instinct that was inside of him since the orphanage never died. He started to take care of the kids around him the best he could, carrying them when he needed to, encouraging them when he needed to, and giving some of the parts of his ration when they began to feel starved. The staff noticed the performance of the group increase, to the point where they found the kids here had strange quirks about them, this was probably something intended by the head scientist upon acquisition of these first batch of children. All candidates taken for this super soldier project seemed to have had some strange extraordinary talent. Some had great skills in strength, speed, or intelligence. Others were more intangible in nature, such as uncanny understanding of the battlefield, or, what Tarak would put into practice, his unnatural ability to defy the odds, and an uncanny ability to bring people together and lead.

After a year into the training of these soldiers, the scientists need to produce a working batch of super-soldiers, so they injected the children with the miracle liquid to have the kids be able to do magic. Each child seemed to have an attribute with magic, except Tarak. His abilities with magic were nil, as he was unable to manifest any conjuration of mana. They were to do tests on him to understand what is with him, yet the war started before they were able to. They decided to send out this batch of subjects as they sent Tarak off to another station to be tested on.

When he was moved to site Zeta Prime, he was introduced to the children there quickly. Knowing full well of Tarak's abilities as a calming agent to the kids, they did not test on Tarak immediately, knowing once they figure out his magic then they will be sent him out to fight in the front lines. Yet till then, Tarak took to tending with the kids there immediately, many of them have had terrible times here as he had started taking to tending to each one. Many seemed to have different struggles, some were near breaking because of the pressure while others have hardened themselves to stone. Tarak knew how to break every one of them out of their pains as he made sure each knew he was there. The worst had passed, and that it would be all okay, as big brother is here. Many different children clung to him like a sturdy pillar, as they found something to keep them going. Many times Tarak had taken the abuse for children, got them sweets by 'persuading' the scientists, and even had learned habits to help each kid there to cope with what is happening. He started to help others to learn how to help others, how to become stronger, and then eventually they wouldn't need him to keep them okay, they would be able to help each other, just like the twins.

Once the injections began again, they took Tarak off to test on him and found out he had this exceptional healing factor and an exceptional body. As they tested further they finally pinpointed his true magic, as he had a strange quirk with his magic, he had passive magic already innate to him, a rare breed. It was the ability to mitigate magic that affected him, as the scientists found his magic less than thrilling, and his aptitude to try and make magic is so abysmal, they decided to use him anyways, as a Vanguard. Tarak was given free rein with RND to enhance his old gear from Incubus to his specifications. He already had plenty of things he used with it, his main concern was his deployment as a Vanguard, so he had them up its armor, giving and exoskeleton, and extra thrusters, he had them modify the life-support to kill off microorganisms that could enter through the filtration system. As he was given a weapon of his own design and was sent off to war. Tarak wished he could say goodbye to the kids, but they will be asleep for too long, and they were rushing him out, all he could do was give a slight prayer, as they gave him the gear he required, plus some of his personal belongings he still had and was sent off.

Home Sweet Home

Once Tarak was released and sent out to war, his feet never stopped moving. He was sent to rush into battle. Battle after battler, like a machine, he never let up, not for the fact he wished to be here, nor the fact the big wigs were telling him to do so, no, he was here for the children beside him and behind him. He rushed forward to spare those who had been with him at the start and had been fighting for this year or so. He missed the kids he met at the Black site, he missed the twins and their strange behavior, yet where ever Tarak went he wasn't missing family, as many of the kids warmed up to him and treated him as a big brother. He helped them learn how to fight well in this battlefield, he made sure they were alright, and even in the end, he pulled strings with old colleges in his old days he saw to get candy for the kids. As the number of the kids grew, they started getting split up into smaller groups, Tarak was quick on the upkeep, as he started teaching other children how to lead, how to make sure they keep others okay, and who to talk to for candy. As many of the kids left, Tarak was also one who had to leave, as he was going to be the captain of a new group of super-soldiers that had been just sent out.

And so the Ascendancy started to use Tarak as a tool to keep their other toys from breaking. Tarak had spent his time fighting with these kids, and acting as a big brother while also being a tool of the Ascendancy of Man in this war. Tarak never minded it though, as long as he could keep as many of them safe as he could, he didn't care, no matter how long it took, he was here for the long haul, after all, the hope is that when this war is over they will let the kids go, yet Tarak knew that wouldn't be the case. During one of his deployments, he met some old friends, the twins. He hadn't seen them in almost a year now, as the first thing he noticed was that they grew, but also the fact they didn't recognize him, he was off-put until he realized he was wearing his armor. He forgot about it, now it just feels like his skin to him, so he pulls off his helmet and introduces himself again. As a small reunion happened between Tarak and the children of Site Zeta Prime.

Soon after he had started to take people into his little army of 'demons'. Stating combat effectiveness of all are raised in this case, rather than sending him around to 'babysit' them and leave them after a few months. So it started with the kids from Zeta Prime then slowly as kids were introduced to the project and released to war, many had met the little army of kids known by the soldiers as, "The Army of Demons". As the army grew Tarak had started to take more of a Big Brother/Father role, as he was quite literally the oldest her, he had even taken it to the point of persuading requisition officers to start gaining the recourses for the kids. Sweets, ammo, replacement gear, and upgrades when the kids needed it for their growing bodies. Other than this, life was 'pleasant', as pleasant as Tarak's life has ever been. During this war he had grown a little shining to the Iris and Samuel, they seemed so genuine to who they were, and they seemed like extra special kids who every now and again forgot he wasn't their real Big Brother. All the kids he had been with made him genuinely happy, he wished to at least give them more. Yet, good dreams don't last forever, as he had to watch many kids die, many of which hurt him deeply, yet for the others he never showed it, always smiling, giving them the big brother they need.

Near the end of the war, Samuel had heard from some soldiers there was going to be this large joint operation to finish off the Alien forces at the star system Proxima. Tarak didn't think finish off was ever the right word here, Tarak knew for a long time the Ascendancy was losing, this had to be a last-ditch effort to try and turn the war around. Tarak spent this time before helping the kids, getting them ready, and giving them a bit of extra candy, make sure they are happy, as he allowed Samuel to spread the news this might be it. Tarak couldn't break their excitement like that, even though he knew he should like Monarch would have told him to do. Tarak threw himself into the fray as far as he could, taking the heat for the kids, after all, a big brother needs to protect don't they?

The mission they would be sent on is one of the most important mission anyone here was ever given, as they were sent in with a battalion of other Child soldiers to take over the Rau've Flagship 'Indignation'. However, Tarak realized this mission was doomed from the start before they even boarded as he felt his spine tingle like mad. They were captured quickly after the initial boarding, as many of them taken down quickly in the ensuing firefight. Many of the kids went down, one by one, Tarak did his best to protect everyone he could, the Twins, Ashton, Flame, and many others fell, as the Rau've let loose onto Tarak, as he had to hold his ground if he moved then the kids behind him would be caught in the onslaught of fire. As soon he started to overwhelmed by all the angles of fire, as they beat him down, he never bent a knee, as they continued to charge him as they finally wrestled Tarak to the ground and inject him with a sedative…just like last time.

A Brother's Duty

Tarak Awoke, again in a prison. Except this place is different, lots of plants and stuff must be Rau've. They treated them well, as Tarak actually talked to their captors and took in the situation, as he asked them to provide entertainment and playtime with the others, as most will not actually do anything. The requests seemed to have been well received, as they were already planning to do that anyway. As when they were allowed to meet with the others, Tarak took immediately to looking after everyone and guiding others to people they know. Iris soon found him as she started to bawl into his chest like many already have, yet she seemed weak as he set her down gently to help the others cope as well. Up until his eyes landed on Samuel and he saw the literal pain in his eyes as Tarak made his way over to Samuel. Tarak started to bring him over to Iris as he sees her nearly crying her eyes out as he leads both Samuel and Iris to each other and let them reunite. AS he let them go as he continued off onto his own to help the others.

Tarak spent this time talking to the Rau've and learning their language more fluently and spoke to them as soldiers would. Learning that soon a treaty will be struck and that the kids will be left to fend for themselves. Tarak was worried at first until the Rau've promised them new homes. Many of the kids originally didn't want to go, many for different reasons, however, one of the most powerful ones is the want to see the Ascendancy pay for them taking their futures away. Tarak knew he wouldn't be able to convince them to take the Rau've up on their offer, so he decided to go with them. After all, what kind of big brother would leave their younger siblings to do the fighting. So Tarak pulled some old connections with some solo mercenaries to get a clue on a resistance movement, Moonstrike. He found the others as he told them of Moonstrike, as that will be their line to follow. A rumor of a rebellion.

Spell List:

Hunter's Resilience (High)-

Hunter's Resilience

A passive spell that makes Tarak unique. He has a thin layer of magic constantly surrounding him, this layer of magic is quite unique as it gives him a strange resilience to magic. May it be because of the nature of High magic, or may it be the presence of magic, but anything he wears around his body will be covered in this thin area of warding magic that lessens the impact of magic on him.

Mind magic is slightly less effective, offensive magic is slightly dampened, and healing magic is less potent. Yes, this is two-way magic, both helpful spells and harmful spells are less effective. The effectiveness of the spells are reduced to the point where they are only 80% as effective against him. This does not include illusions cast onto the world like holograms, alterations of physical objects to attack him, and the high magic healing cancelation damage.

This does include all magics that are affecting his physical being specifically, so gravity manipulation of the area still includes him and will be dampened, and him stepping through a portal will cut around 1/5 of its time away from it's time it can be up, if there is one.

Exceptional Skill List:

Skills

Wisdom of Solomon (Exceptional Leadership, Luck, & Insight)

Exceptional Leadership, Unnatural charisma, and the strange charisma to lead others even when they wish not to follow, may they be either too afraid or too stubborn.

Exceptional Luck, Unnatural luck in all things from small gambles to becoming lucky enough to make the right call in a life or death situation.

Exceptional Insight, Unnatural insight and instincts, able to read deeper into most things, as his very intuition and understanding can be seen to almost onto the same level as detectives.

Demonic Resilience (Exceptional Will power & Natural Healing (Augmented))

Exceptional Will power, Unnatural resistance to magical mind-altering effects, and the mental fortitude to push through anything that is set before him, no matter the odds.

Exceptional Natural Healing (Augmented), Unnatural regenerative powers that far exceed the known human body, making were stabs and bullet wounds will heal after a few moments, and the body will quickly stabilize things like missing organs and limbs rather than them being immediately lethal, however, he can have only one thing being stabilized at a time.