Last Embers ~Reboot~

[Lovejoy]

Okay, so in the interest of getting us started as soon as possible, what do you guys say to us starting the IC while I get the OOC finished?

[Desert Zephyr]

Sure, I don't mind.

[Avery Calhoun]

Not a problem with me.

[Crescendo]

That'll be fine C:

[Fox of Spades]

I'm fine with it too ^^

[Scout]

I vote YES :D

Hahaha, Kathi-chan XD It didn't take you long to get your adorable little Deerling back, did it? :3 *points to my avatar* LOOK! It's a .gif! :D Kinda... it just has a moving word bubble. :3 Isn't he adorbs? XD

[Desert Zephyr]

I will try and finish up my initial work on Muraad tomorrow, but here is a teaser.

Muraad
Fragment of the Titan: Heart and Lungs

He surveyed the land with pale eyes the color of ice, frost still clinging to his hair that belied his fierce and fiery desires. When he moved, he danced with divine eminence and sublime grace, as if floating above the ice. Driven by fell passions, his each step took his partner’s breath away, whether an angel’s waltz or a devil’s jig. And his dance was the dance of Death.
- Lord Gotrek Vorcraag, First High Priest of Muraad

[Crescendo]

@Scout
Yep, couldn't resist getting the little cutie back first thing ehehhe. Your icon's super adorbs too :DD

@Zephyr
Looking forward to the rest soon!

[Scout]

Hahaha xD Deeerling is an adorable pokemon, despite how awful it is.

[Scout]

How's progress, fellas? :3 Also, Fox, I love the Charmander icon. XD

[Desert Zephyr]

I am working slow, but it's happening. How is everyone else doing? I wonder if LJ would want to start and IC thread?

[Nightbringer]

If we start a new IC thread then I assume we'll have the timelapse and then just continue where we left off?

[Scout]

I'd hope so, Avery and I are mid-collab. ^^"

[Avery Calhoun]

I am not sure if LJ wants to move it forward or not?

[Nightbringer]

Ah okay, I didn't realise you guys were working on stuff. It's cool with me, there's no rush :)

[Avery Calhoun]

I am sure we could work the collab that Scout and i had going into any flash-forward. It may be a bit longish coupled with a flash-forward but I'd imagine we are both capable, if that is what LJ wants to do.

[Scout]

Agreed!

[Lovejoy]

Sorry for the lack of updates guys. Been really busy with work here. I'm still working on the IC, and it should be finished soon. Can you guys do me a favor and post your character sheets here in the meanwhile? I wanted to mention some of your characters but I kind of forgot certain things about them.

EDIT: Oh and yes, I was planning on moving the IC a bit forward in time, but if you guys want to stay where we were, that's fine too. I did have more characters to introduce in that introductory period, but I was thinking that you guys might want to move the story along so I offered to adjust our 're-starting' point a bit further up in time. Would you guys rather we started back where we were instead?

[Scout]

I think a small push forward would be fine ^^ Avery, I'll send you what we have on our collab so we can get going again. If I have it in my computer, that is. :3

Kassandra

Name: “Mother” Kassandra Xenos

Age: 21

Height/Weight: 5’6, 142 lbs

Appearance: Kassandra has a rather sharp build to her. Her hair has always been short to maintain her modesty as well as practicality. It is smooth and has a silvered tinge to it – a trait she received from her mother’s side of the family. She covers herself as well, even when not in uniform, she dresses in clothing very similar to the common apparel of a priest. Her weight is distributed as lean muscle throughout her body, but she isn’t a brute by any means, relying more on speed than pure strength. Her hazel eyes are soft and her cheeks are rather flush when compared to her lighter skin and hair.

Note: I couldn’t really find a “real” image to use and I really wanted to avoid using a picture with modern clothing.


Personality: Kassandra has a sharp tongue and a cold attitude, or at least that’s the impression she gives to most. Those who she actually shares a bond with, like quite a few of her fellow priests/priestesses, know that she is loyal and even, to some degree, caring. However, when in battle, focused on a mission, or around those she is not very familiar with, her cold, calculating attitude returns. Despite her slightly below-average height, she is confident and protective, despite being quiet in unfamiliar situations.

Kassandra wasn’t an ambitious youth, nor would one consider her to be as such while an adult. However, due to her circumstances, she has never shirked on her duty and strives to be the absolute best at whatever she is tasked with. Of course, this is still not to be confused with ambition – her entire life has been spent with having this idea of being the best drilled into her. Kassandra did not have a natural desire to climb the ladder of success, it was merely that her entire life has revolved around being the most respected, strongest figure she could be.

The priestess uses her faith and focus to avoid confronting any conflicts within herself that may go against her beliefs… Not only the temptations of drink or other pleasures, but those desires buried even deeper. By focusing on her work, she will never have to face the fear she holds – the fear of those desires being true. She’s found herself never able to connect beyond friendship with any man… And only has she felt attraction toward other women; these thoughts are the ones that she buries the deepest in her soul, locking them away so that not even she knows of them.

Talents/Abilities: Mother Xenos, like the others who have been accepted into priesthood, has become rather experienced in combat. Her own specialty lies in a falchion, which she wield in her right hand and keeps strapped to her back and, upon her left hand, a lightweight cestus of metal with small spiked plates near the knuckles. With the cestus, she wears a bracer that is a little on the heavier side, when compared to the common armour of the other priests, in order to help deflect and block attacks without the need for a shield, though it does lack the strength and durability of one.

On the magic side, Kassandra was slightly less blessed – she found difficulty in grasping the concepts she was taught and, while she tried her best, only managed to gain power over the most basic of abilities in the field. She has found, however, that her reflexes have a nearly sixth-sense feel to them, which is actually why she chose a falchion and cestus combination for her weaponry – a pair that is very rarely seen. It was also the reason she chose the bracer over a shield.

Background: Kassandra was never able to meet her biological mother. Her father rarely spoke of it before his own death, and her family is always very quiet whenever she would ask. However, the very little information she was able to collect told her that when she was young, her mother was actually kidnapped while alone in a nearby city and sold into human trafficking for a high price. Being of a lower noble family in La Nostre, as well as being rather attractive, she fetched a high price. The family, while esteemed in their small area, was not well-known throughout La Nostre and they were unable to pool the resources to look into what happened or retrieve her… It is likely that, by now, her body has been worn down into a laboring slave.

Mr. Xenos, Kassandra’s father, passed when she was young as well, but she was almost ten, so she can still clearly remember the man… He was kind and always warm-hearted. However, her memory does not serve her well always; there were nights where he would come home and not even acknowledge her presence… He smelled of spirits and would saunter to his study, lock the door, and not come out for hours… sometimes he would spend nearly two whole days in that room – coming out for perhaps a meal or two, or to search the cupboards for a fresh bottle. He never hit her, but Kassandra remembers having to care for herself on those days. He died in that office of what was later considered as some form of alcoholic overdose.

Life after that was much sterner, and Kassandra changed completely. She moved in with her grandmother and aunt. While her grandmother, Megaera, was not always capable of caring for herself and Kassandra’s aunt would help her, it seemed that the elderly woman held some form of disdain for her own daughter. Kassandra did not understand, but assumed it was because her aunt did not marry, despite being a grown woman. After Megaera’s death, Kassandra noticed that one of her aunt’s friends seemed to come to the house far more often, though perhaps it was just to help care for the young girl.

Her entire family had been instilling patriotism for La Nostre and the goddess that once guided them all… Even when she was young, she was resilient and steadfast in her own opinions, which were molded by her family, and her affinity for physical battle, she believes, comes from her devotion to that goddess. Of course, because of the time that had passed, no matter how short, it was undeniable that Varyan society had mixed with that of La Nostre, and so she still believed in the strength of Lord Varya.

It was more her aunt’s decision for her to go to the Red Seminary, but she was also told of the glory and the strength of character that came with becoming a priestess… Though Kassandra never told her aunt about the thoughts that had slowly been becoming part of her mind, she honestly believed that by becoming a priestess, she would be cleansed and could find herself… “fix” that part that she so desperately fought and locked away. Besides that,she knew that by becoming stronger, she would never be cursed with the fate that her mother was… The harder she worked, the farther she went, the stronger she became… All of these things would protect her, and more importantly, those around her… She couldn’t let somebody else be taken due to their own weakness. This was a burden she brought on herself after her mother’s death; her father’s passing as well, when he gave in to the temptations of alcohol and wallowing in his own depression; and finally, her grandmother, a bitter old woman who passed full of regrets which she could never express as well as a disdain for her daughter which, ultimately, caused the woman to stop taking such close care of her… All fates that were caused by weakness and which she had been powerless to stop. Never again would the priestess feel so weak and unable to control that which tore her family apart.

Quote: Weakness lies not in the mind, but in the soul. In order to crush it, you have to strengthen every part of your being.

[Scout]

Kassandra Relations

---- Kassandra's relationships to the others ----

Father Boris: Kassandra has no true resentment for Boris, but he seems to have something against her, though he seems to act that way to quite a few people – he’s rude, blunt, and a bit arrogant, so she just doesn’t really go near him often.

Father Mal: These two have a strange relationship… As Motya, one of Mal’s close friends, is Kass’ most common sparring partner and a good friend (though they aren’t extremely close, they are on rather good terms – as joking friends). Mal and Kass tend to argue and make pointed statements toward one another, having something of a “rivalry” with one another, they keep their tongues sharpened whenever they are near one another.

Father Motya: Being one of Kassandra longest standing sparring partners, Motya and she have grown somewhat close, though they hold no more significance than a couple of old, nostalgic friends. The two prefer to keep their discussions short and focus on the fights that they have very often. Their opposing styles and completely different body-builds make them an interesting round to watch. They commonly break even in their combat, constantly learning and observing how to fight another so different from themselves.

Mother Misha: For some reason, Kassandra never liked Misha. Perhaps it was the fact that they weren’t close early on in their priesthood, so there is no room in her heart for the softness that she believes she sees in the other girl, or perhaps it’s just one of “those things” that will never be explained… But, regardless of why she holds disdain for the other girl, it clearly exists. However, it seems rather one-sided, as Kass often gives her the cold shoulder and makes no attempt to hide her annoyance in dealing with the other priestess.

Father Maksimylian: Max and Kassandra have a history that only a few really know about, as it never truly got far. Sometime during their training, Kassandra wanted so desperately to prove to herself that, mentally, she was normal, and so she decided that, to prove this to herself, she would say yes when Maxi asked to be an item… It was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing for her, and they got as far as the first kiss before she left and, in her first moment alone, had her breakdown. To this day, she has managed to convince herself that she just felt nothing and would never feel anything for anybody. Life moved on, and while things between them may seem awkward at first, Kass holds no strangeness for their history and only hopes that Max has left it behind. They aren’t as close as good friends, but they aren’t on negative terms either.

Father Eldvanar: Kass and Eldvanar have been at one another’s throats for years now… Though not in a hateful way – their rivalry has become something of a tradition, and it’s a very comical relationship. It started during a mix-up several years ago, when somebody told Kass that he had been peeping on her… After she bloodied his nose, he explained that it couldn’t have been him. The two of them found the one who had framed him and gotten in a large amount of trouble for the beating they promptly delivered. The other boy was kicked from the school and reassigned, much to his dismay. The two became slightly acquainted friends during their punishment, but Kassandra never apologized for lashing out at him, and so their relationship became a series of “one-ups” on each other, almost like mischievous pranking. How they found the time for something like this is beyond me, but they did, and sometimes they really go out of their way to “get” one another. Max seems to be trying to get even, but Kassandra plays to win.

Mother Ottilie: Kassandra and Ottilie were roommates fairly early on, being assigned to one another. Ottilie always seemed so frail to Kassandra, who would work harder than even most of the others in the school – stuffing extra hours into her combat skills and working to hone her reflexes and stamina. Of course, she had to find ample time to pass her magical classes… Ottilie is Kass’ second closest friend, after Mother Alina, which to most would be strange, but they bonded during one of Ottilie’s early-year breakdowns while she was writing to her parents for release. Kassandra took her under her own confident, priest-bound wing to teach her more about fighting. She helped Ottilie to hone herself (at least a little better) emotionally for the trials of the Red Seminary. In exchange, Ottilie would help Kassandra with whatever she needed in regards to learning about her ether. The two of them, with Alina, are rather closely knitted, and in the end, Kass would do anything for Ottilie if she was in danger.

Father Elias: Kass and Elias are not extremely close, but the two of them click rather well. Him being married and her having absolutely no chance of being in a relationship makes them a rather awkward pair, but they have a somewhat funny relationship as well. The two flirt, but only because there is absolutely no sincerity behind it. While Kassandra has never been a happy-go-lucky or joking type of person, for some reason, around Elias, she feels comfortable enough to break away from that comfort zone if only for a bit. Of course, she isn’t always fun around him, it just happens that she often shows traits uncharacteristic of herself while they are in conversation.

Mother Alina: These two are like sisters. Alina and Kassandra met in the very first days at the Red Seminary – during the orientation stage, while everybody was still learning the schedule. They clicked well and the two have been pillars of support throughout all of their training. They tell each other everything (though, still, nobody knows of Kassandra’s attractions) and know just about all there is to know about one another. Despite their friendship, the two rarely spar, they prefer to just enjoy their time together as friends, and Kassandra has enough people to spar on a daily basis, as her strange falchion & bracer combo attracts a bit of attention in the ring (as many will underestimates her efficiency with the weapons).