New faces. Unknown names. Hidden powers, and secrets greater still.
Dawn could sense as much in that war room. The sixteen-summers young lady sat with her hands folded neatly upon crossed limbs. She exuded a reserved demeanor, perhaps shy, but in truth simply contemplative and diligent. She was taking in as much information as she could. There were but a few names and faces she had already met with in the Ascendancy since the short days she moved to Penrose. Most here she would need to accost later, to say nothing of the multitude of bodies that were keeping to the shadows around them.
She, however, was given a seat at the table. That was a good sign.
Names were tossed around. Sylvia. Alicia. Deserters. Heretics. She'd been briefed beforehand about the nature of the leader of Penrose's Beacon Branch. Their disappearance. Their tolerance of corruption. As much as she wished herself to directly intervene on the Ascendancy's behalf to root it out, Hudie's words dissuaded her from outright offering to handle things.
The mention of her own name sparked a glimmer in her otherwise passive eyes. Protocol. She certainly preferred things to abide by protocol. This Rachel girl was clearly joking in the way that indicated protocol wasn't always followed, something Dawn would have scorned were it not for her acute awareness of a simple fact:
Young girls with magic powers rarely followed guidelines.
Dawn sighed, shrugging her shoulders at Rachel and Hudie.
"Perhaps some context would be pertinent?" she suggested, eyes wandering to the door where Leena and FanFan had exited, "What is this unspoken quality of Leena you're throwing around? Should I be concerned about her whilst aiding her?" Speaking about another Ascendancy member as if they were a potential threat seemed all too natural for Dawn in this environment. There was, after all, no mercy for the wicked or useless. In that darkened room, in that short moment, Dawn had learned a great deal of how things would operate here.
She had no fear -she would never fall short of expectations.
A tingling in her senses drew Dawn's ear aside to the door, and moments later at the sound of someone new entering the room she stood suddenly; she knew the meaning behind this sense. In the gloom she could discern a male figure bearing a cane and pristine white clothing. There was no mistaking that style.
Aurelio, one of Sylvia's underlings.
Dawn threw an open palm out, facing it downwards. As she lifted the arm, a bright white light cut into reality before it, and slowly a massive weapon slipped through the cracks. She drew the handle with a rip, pulling her arcane sword fully out, taking care not to swipe at Rachel sitting beside her. The breadth of the weapon whooshed through the cold air as it pointed towards Aurelio threateningly.
"You should know you are not welcome here," she growled.
Name: Dawn Astraea Age: 16 Gender: Female Appearance: Dawn is a tall girl, standing at 5-foot-7 even at 16 years of age. With pure white hair and stern blue eyes she is a spitting image of the heavenly warden, both beautiful and frightening in tandem. Pride and apathy to judgement (who would have the right to judge her?) lend to a posture and wardrobe that reflect sensibility and normalcy. This, however, does not at all extend to her attire when transformed, becoming suddenly bodacious and brazen. "Deception does not befit a warrior of my quality." ...or so she says.
Specialization: [FIRE] No element represents the aims of justice more readily than that of fire. Cleansing infernos sweep aside the wicked and enact punishment upon the guilty. Dawn wields fire as both a representation and a tool to enact the virtues that her Patron requires of her. Merciless flame strikes precisely upon its target. Where agents of chaos would use fire in wide swathes, attacking with reckless abandon, Dawn's use of the element is focused and dedicated. She attacks with elementally-enhanced melee strikes to compound her similarly ferocious physical strength, and auras of heat to melt those who would strike her.
Weapon: [Mystic/Melee - Transforming Sword] Dawn's weapon serves both as the temple and the inquisition. In the form of a stave, she can exert her magical strength from afar, bringing down pillars of flame upon those deserving. As a sword, she may meet the enemy in brutal close combat.
Power: [KILLING BLOW] [Seven-fold Image of Fated Damnation] Before the presence of Dawn's ultimate magic, none deemed unjust can avoid punishment. As a halo of fire expands behind her, a great aura of heat spreads across the battlefield, striking all who look upon her. None are spared save those Dawn deems righteous and without sin. Even those who Dawn has not personally examined -ones she is unfamiliar with- will fall victim to the instantaneous combustion wrought upon their bodies. Resistance will only further the punishment.
Perks: [DUAL WEAPON] - A transforming weapon of JUSTICE. [AWARENESS] - Dawn has an acute sense for that which slinks and scurries. The wretched and perverse cannot escape her. [HEALING ARTIFACT] - Dawn's armor is, itself, a medium for healing. However, as one who extols justice and not charity or kindness, it is an effect reserved for herself, and cannot be used to aid others. [A WAY OUT] - The Beacon is aware of the complexities of justice, especially in as imperfect a thing as human society. They have been merciful to Dawn in offering her the choice to forgo her duties should she find her choices unbearable. It comes at the ultimate price, however... [ENHANCED SUSTENANCE] - The righteous do not tire. The forces of evil are many, and often do not have the same drawbacks as a mortal human. Dawn must be greater, if she is to meet them in power.
[LEITMOTIF - PLATINUM COIN] - Unique Move "Unified Vision; Assault of the Heavenly Host" Once per battle, Dawn can utilize her signature move, summoning an array of flaming swords and spears which act independently of her will. In a sense they are independent spirits, capable of their own decision-making and rational thought. She can communicate with them telepathically to offer suggestions, but they are want to act on their own more often than not. Still, they serve as powerful allies, working towards the same goal that they were initially summoned for. These weapons have physical bodies and can be clashed with, but apply magical properties to their strikes rather than mortal wounds.
Benefits: [Perfect Life] - Dawn was multiply-blessed by the Beacon in giving her new parents. Having lost her original parents, being given a new lease on life with a family was wonderful enough, but to be given such perfect ones was a miracle. [Spark] - Corrupting justice is the greatest irony. Dawn is unbelievably strong in defending against corrupting forces to her mind and body. [Physical Prowess] - Dragon slayer, demon vanquisher, inquisitor, punisher; Dawn has been gifted with the power necessary to crush those who would loom over the weak.
Drawbacks: [Vow of Justice] - Dawn extols the virtue of justice, ensuring all that she does reprimands and punishes those who would deceive, harm, and corrupt. In this she must be lawful and good herself. A difficult prospect for someone in the midst of so much chaos. [Excommunication] - As a virtue of justice, failing the baseline rules set forth by the Beacon would have her failing in every way imaginable.
Fighting Style: Unrelenting, merciless, pitiless. Dawn fights with the very fury of the heavens, never ceasing in her assault upon the enemy. To draw back or dampen her rage would be tantamount to forgiveness. When she is not slashing away in close-quarters, she is blasting her foes with unending magic-casts. Her style does not lend well to prolonged fights; indeed, she is adapted to ending things as early as possible, expending as much energy as she can from the very start to keep the opponent(s) off-balance, and to never let them regain their composure. No matter how weak the enemy, she always attacks them with the same ferocity as with the strong.
Personality: Severe, extreme, tireless. Dawn in a school uniform is but a light version of her magical-girl self. Though she conducts herself with a more mundane composure when not on the battlefield, she is nevertheless quite the party-pooper when it comes to doing things kids her age might want to be doing. Rambunctiousness is not in her vocabulary, and everything she does very much hinges on a single question: "What would my parents think?" In this, she is also an incredible student and athlete, filling her time where possible with virtuous and productive activities.
Friendship is difficult for her, ultimately welcome to relationships but, for obvious reasons, finding few who can stand up to her personality. So long as those around her are behaved, Dawn is otherwise a simply stern girl, perfectly capable of having fun and enjoying herself.
She believes herself fortunate enough to have taken a vow which she so firmly believes in; had she not been put into the shoes of a magical girl, she was adamant in pursuing a career in law and, ultimately, becoming a judge. Her obsession with justice being something others may find worrisome is often lost on her; in very few cases does she concede that maybe, just maybe, she's going a little overboard.
History: Dawn was an orphan, but not one who would let statistics and likelihoods govern her future. Even as a lonely child she was bull-headed and forceful, getting what she wanted through willpower and hard work. She broke past the shackles of an underprivileged life to be a star student throughout her education, and continues to be so in high school.
On an orphanage field trip to the west coast, Dawn encountered the strange jewel that would change her life. A crystalline blue rock, sharply cut and translucent, transformed into a suit of armor that was once the property of The Beacon. Aware of its existence, and tied to it spiritually, the Beacon opted to let her keep it, and employed her as one of their exalted in turn. She would be a figure of virtuous justice, propped upon magical fires, and defeat the enemies of the Beacon, both human and monstrous alike.
Upon her return to her home city, she was miraculously adopted by two loving parents and lives with them happily by day, moonlighting as a terrifying force against evil. She was originally living outside of Penrose, but has since moved there recently after requests by the Beacon Ascendancy to bolster their forces. She is unfamiliar with the environment and notable faces of Penrose, but is confident and excited to be a part of their mission.
Name: Dawn Astraea Age: 16 Gender: Female Appearance: Dawn is a tall girl, standing at 5-foot-7 even at 16 years of age. With pure white hair and stern blue eyes she is a spitting image of the heavenly warden, both beautiful and frightening in tandem. Pride and apathy to judgement (who would have the right to judge her?) lend to a posture and wardrobe that reflect sensibility and normalcy. This, however, does not at all extend to her attire when transformed, becoming suddenly bodacious and brazen. "Deception does not befit a warrior of my quality." ...or so she says.
Specialization: [FIRE] No element represents the aims of justice more readily than that of fire. Cleansing infernos sweep aside the wicked and enact punishment upon the guilty. Dawn wields fire as both a representation and a tool to enact the virtues that her Patron requires of her. Merciless flame strikes precisely upon its target. Where agents of chaos would use fire in wide swathes, attacking with reckless abandon, Dawn's use of the element is focused and dedicated. She attacks with elementally-enhanced melee strikes to compound her similarly ferocious physical strength, and auras of heat to melt those who would strike her.
Weapon: [Mystic/Melee - Transforming Sword] Dawn's weapon serves both as the temple and the inquisition. In the form of a stave, she can exert her magical strength from afar, bringing down pillars of flame upon those deserving. As a sword, she may meet the enemy in brutal close combat.
Power: [KILLING BLOW] [Seven-fold Image of Fated Damnation] Before the presence of Dawn's ultimate magic, none deemed unjust can avoid punishment. As a halo of fire expands behind her, a great aura of heat spreads across the battlefield, striking all who look upon her. None are spared save those Dawn deems righteous and without sin. Even those who Dawn has not personally examined -ones she is unfamiliar with- will fall victim to the instantaneous combustion wrought upon their bodies. Resistance will only further the punishment.
Perks: [DUAL WEAPON] - A transforming weapon of JUSTICE. [AWARENESS] - Dawn has an acute sense for that which slinks and scurries. The wretched and perverse cannot escape her. [HEALING ARTIFACT] - Dawn's armor is, itself, a medium for healing. However, as one who extols justice and not charity or kindness, it is an effect reserved for herself, and cannot be used to aid others. [A WAY OUT] - The Beacon is aware of the complexities of justice, especially in as imperfect a thing as human society. They have been merciful to Dawn in offering her the choice to forgo her duties should she find her choices unbearable. It comes at the ultimate price, however... [ENHANCED SUSTENANCE] - The righteous do not tire. The forces of evil are many, and often do not have the same drawbacks as a mortal human. Dawn must be greater, if she is to meet them in power.
Benefits: [Perfect Life] - Dawn was multiply-blessed by the Beacon in giving her new parents. Having lost her original parents, being given a new lease on life with a family was wonderful enough, but to be given such perfect ones was a miracle. [Spark] - Corrupting justice is the greatest irony. Dawn is unbelievably strong in defending against corrupting forces to her mind and body. [Physical Prowess] - Dragon slayer, demon vanquisher, inquisitor, punisher; Dawn has been gifted with the power necessary to crush those who would loom over the weak.
Drawbacks: [Vow of Justice] - Dawn extols the virtue of justice, ensuring all that she does reprimands and punishes those who would deceive, harm, and corrupt. In this she must be lawful and good herself. A difficult prospect for someone in the midst of so much chaos. [Excommunication] - As a virtue of justice, failing the baseline rules set forth by the Beacon would have her failing in every way imaginable.
Fighting Style: Unrelenting, merciless, pitiless. Dawn fights with the very fury of the heavens, never ceasing in her assault upon the enemy. To draw back or dampen her rage would be tantamount to forgiveness. When she is not slashing away in close-quarters, she is blasting her foes with unending magic-casts. Her style does not lend well to prolonged fights; indeed, she is adapted to ending things as early as possible, expending as much energy as she can from the very start to keep the opponent(s) off-balance, and to never let them regain their composure. No matter how weak the enemy, she always attacks them with the same ferocity as with the strong.
Personality: Severe, extreme, tireless. Dawn in a school uniform is but a light version of her magical-girl self. Though she conducts herself with a more mundane composure when not on the battlefield, she is nevertheless quite the party-pooper when it comes to doing things kids her age might want to be doing. Rambunctiousness is not in her vocabulary, and everything she does very much hinges on a single question: "What would my parents think?" In this, she is also an incredible student and athlete, filling her time where possible with virtuous and productive activities.
Friendship is difficult for her, ultimately welcome to relationships but, for obvious reasons, finding few who can stand up to her personality. So long as those around her are behaved, Dawn is otherwise a simply stern girl, perfectly capable of having fun and enjoying herself.
She believes herself fortunate enough to have taken a vow which she so firmly believes in; had she not been put into the shoes of a magical girl, she was adamant in pursuing a career in law and, ultimately, becoming a judge. Her obsession with justice being something others may find worrisome is often lost on her; in very few cases does she concede that maybe, just maybe, she's going a little overboard.
History: Dawn was an orphan, but not one who would let statistics and likelihoods govern her future. Even as a lonely child she was bull-headed and forceful, getting what she wanted through willpower and hard work. She broke past the shackles of an underprivileged life to be a star student throughout her education, and continues to be so in high school.
On an orphanage field trip to the west coast, Dawn encountered the strange jewel that would change her life. A crystalline blue rock, sharply cut and translucent, transformed into a suit of armor that was once the property of The Beacon. Aware of its existence, and tied to it spiritually, the Beacon opted to let her keep it, and employed her as one of their exalted in turn. She would be a figure of virtuous justice, propped upon magical fires, and defeat the enemies of the Beacon, both human and monstrous alike.
Upon her return to Penrose, she was miraculously adopted by two loving parents and lives with them happily by day, moonlighting as a terrifying force against evil.
Well, that wasn't entirely true, but it certainly seemed to be the case lately. It had to have been weeks since she called up Suzume or Kento for more than an idle text, but she wasn't just yet about to break that lull. Her night was spent disobeying the apartment's rules disallowing smoking on the balcony, a tradition she'd long figured out wasn't going to actually get her in trouble considering her neighbors' total lack of care.
After a simple meal, only half home-cooked, she went to bed, somewhat peaceful after her unusual encounter that day. Shaking things up, it felt, had given Mana a measure of happiness.
--------------------------------------
If it were any other street, Mana might have given the benefit of the doubt that a group of thugs' yelling and posturing was just their way of scaring a proprietor out of billing them for a large meal, but here on Niimura...?
Mana kept to herself as she strode slowly towards the verbally assaulted shopkeep, maintaining a speed slow enough that the thugs would have left in time, but not so slow it seemed she was merely watching them. A hand slipped into her hoodie front pouch, and out came a deftly lifted cigarette which she popped between her lips. Cops liked to keep smokers staying in designated areas, but they wouldn't bother her here. That her scene was able to loiter on Niimura all these years was evidence enough of that.
The man who owned the storefront there had long since gone, his business failed and replaced with the next cheap house of merchandise. She didn't know the shopkeep's name, but carried herself as if she might as well have. She knew this place like the back of her hand, even as the placards on the front of the buildings came and went.
"What was that all about?" she asked of the storekeep, her voice a tad muffled by the cigarette planted in her mouth. It bounced as her lips moved, casting tiny bits of ash onto the ground.
Mana blinked. What an equally odd name for a girl. She found herself appraising Kiwa, as if judging how likely it was for her to be stalked by someone. Given her athleticism, perhaps it was the case someone had become infatuated with success and popularity, but that was just imagination.
"Stalked hm..." Mana nodded, "Any idea by who?" she asked. Something caught in her throat, and her eyes turned to apology as she shook her head. "Ah, well I don't mean to pry or anything. Not like I'm a detective. But uh... Well this is all just a really odd situation. Probably more weird than you even know. Maybe... maybe it's important? The identity of your stalker that is." Mana considered all that was lining up in just the recent few days. It... couldn't have all been mere coincidence, right? Mana certainly wasn't immediately thinking that Kouta was stalking her for looking like Hanami but...
She couldn't deny it was in the back of her mind.
"And about that girl. Ahmya. Has anything seemed... strange about her? Anything at all?"
Forina was all for justice and mercy, but she understood just as well that being the ones to exact mercy was merely kicking the bucket down the road. However many soldiers these bandits had already slain was enough to sentence them to hanging or beheading, and all their mercy here would not change that.
And she was sure as hell not going to waste time pleading to the king to spare their lives either.
The knightess clicked her tongue before pulling out a cloth and wiping down her blade. After sheathing it, she followed Fanilly's orders and set to further securing the prisoners, moving them wherever it was they'd decided to start collecting them. All tied up, exhausted, and many wounded, Forina wasn't overtly worried that two or three soldiers could keep a good watch, but then again, the king's men had already died before to their blades.
She was inclined to go on ahead of the Captain, for fear that any traps laid out just before the bandit camp would meet the same oblivious fervor. She could preemptively stop it if she were ahead, or simply spring the trap itself with foresight of its nature. Seeing these pitiful fighters left Forina feeling confident that the coming assault would be similarly one-sided.
"We should make sure to check the bandits supplies for anything important stolen," Forina said to Fanilly, "Before we set to burning it down."
A hand immediately cupped at her neck, rubbing away the sickening feeling of having your windpipe pressed against muscles and bone. Mana seemed agitated, though not for the now sudden realization that she had identified the wrong person.
"I'm alright. I've... been clotheslined before, I guess," Mana grumbled, eyes to the ground. As she got her bearings back stepping off the wall, Mana turned up to the girl apparently named 'Kiwa'. Immediately she thought the name sounded silly in particular, but at least she probably had been spared the endless jokes throughout schooling about how she was named the after a fantasy magical resource.
"Kiwa Usui?" Mana repeated to herself, seeming somewhat skeptical. As she looked the short-haired girl once and twice-over, it felt unlikely that they'd be so similar, but then again, Mana had only physically interacted with Hanami at most three times. The situation, still, seemed way too coincidental. After all...
"I'm sorry Kiwa. You just... looked so freakin' similar to an acquaintance of mine, and she's missing. Maybe my worries got my hopes up. Sorry... again," Mana explained before continuing. "Though... that girl you were with, just before you got onto the train? You know her, right? She was wearing an eyepatch." Mana said as she swirled a finger around her right eye.
"What's her name? How do you know each other? Oh, uh..." Mana paused her questioning, realizing it was probably best to explain why she herself knew the eyepatched girl. "I uh... Well I met her during one of my lunch breaks a little while ago, as it so happens."
Forina stood over the corpse of her final and late opponent, a puncture wound erupting with dark blood through leather padding. All that hadn't surrendered or escaped were dead, and so she had loosened up her stance, though still kept her sword gripped tightly. Her face, however, had not relieved itself an inch. The red-haired knightess strode over to the gathering group, delivering testing prods and kicks with her steeled heel to the bodies along the way.
"Every second we waste tying these men up and hauling them onto a cart is a second the enemy gets to prepare themselves," Forina said low. She stood by one such bandit who had been captured, eyeing him with scorn. Her sword was held threateningly close to his stooped form, as if showcasing the thin layer of blood now encrusting upon it.
"...To say nothing of a cart full of bandits needing supervision. What would you have? One? Two? Three knights to babysit them? Each one is fewer to attack the camp."
"You idiot!" Forina practically screamed, already rushing for the Captain. The knightess had her blade drawn quick as a flash, but paused for a moment as the arrows sunk into tree and carriage with a quick thunk, thunk, thunk. The bandit that swung at Fanilly met with Forina's own steel before he could even try for another shot, and in an instant his life ended. The longsword cleaved right into the bandit's shoulder, sinking deep enough that Forina need an immediate wrench to free it from the flesh.
As the bandit crumpled into an oozing pile, Forina turned to Fanilly, her sword held low at her side. The red-haired knightess' face was a contorted mess of anger and disappointment.
"I caution everyone and then this?" she spat. Forina wasted no more time chiding her own Captain, taking to the rest of the bandits as the Order had charged in so recklessly to do. Forina added another unanticipated kill to her list as she drove her sword through the spine of a bandit which had only just begun to engage Narcissa. A scream escaped him as the tip of her sword shot out from his belly, only to be pulled cleanly out before the pained noise could die.
"At the very least, we can confirm they'd not expected us. This will be easy," Forina said to Narcissa. She flicked her blade to clean it somewhat, though her whole right arm remained dripping with blood. A nod of her head towards the Larette signaled she was ready to help her cousin charge further in.
[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEBNruYiLXM[/youtube]
[hr]
[i][color=#e60000]Call me:[/color][/i] Asuras
[i][color=#e60000]I like:[/color][/i] Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy, Anime Aesthetics
[i][color=#e60000]I play:[/color][/i] Anything. Mostly women.
I have a long history of GM'ing, perhaps even more than playing. I like art, and I commission a lot. D&D is my life right now.
[/center]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center"><iframe src="//youtube.com/embed/yEBNruYiLXM?theme=dark" frameborder="0" width="496" height="279" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><br><hr class="bb-hr"><br><br><span class="bb-i"><font color="#e60000">Call me:</font></span> Asuras<br><br><span class="bb-i"><font color="#e60000">I like:</font></span> Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy, Anime Aesthetics<br><br><span class="bb-i"><font color="#e60000">I play:</font></span> Anything. Mostly women.<br><br>I have a long history of GM'ing, perhaps even more than playing. I like art, and I commission a lot. D&D is my life right now.</div></div>
Kronshi
Estylwen
Stern Algorithm
Skyswimsky
OwO
Sky Blue
Remram
Half Pint
hanzo
