BCTheEntity

Kingmakers - The Throne Alone (GoT/ASOIF-like) (Noble Politics)

@DegenerateThree A common misconception about the Old Norse people, funnily enough, is that they were all white. DNA evidence suggests that they had a great deal of ethnic diversity, with ancestry from hunter-gatherers and farmers from across the Eurasian steppe in addition to the Nordic regions. This article goes into a bit more detail about it, if you want to take a look at it for ideas to refine your CS.

Kingmakers - The Throne Alone (GoT/ASOIF-like) (Noble Politics)

If I may, @DegenerateThree, I don't believe it's specifically the white skin that's an issue here, but more precisely the idea that they can use it to camouflage themselves in heavy snow, which winds up overlapping with what's been put down in @TheRedWatcher's sheet. Not only that particular detail - overlaps of that nature seem to be common - but it's an example.

I will, however, ask you this: if they're historically nomadic sailors, and have only recently settled in Adanion, why is their skin so pale to begin with? Sailing demands a hell of a lot of outside time, and oceans tend to be exposed to a lot of sunlight; alabaster skin would burn horribly under those conditions. It'd make a lot more sense if they were heavily tanned or dark-skinned, akin to Moana's characters if you will.

Kingmakers - The Throne Alone (GoT/ASOIF-like) (Noble Politics)

Drevilna-under-Vyapult

Domain Name: The Grand Realm of Drevilna Under Ownership of the Great House of Vyapult, also known as Drevilna-under-Vyapult for shorthand. Typically interchangeable with "Frostmark", and many don't bother making the distinction.

Location: The Frostmark, most prominently its largest region to the West of the Great Bastion Mountains, bordered and protected by these mountains to the East, and to the Farwater River on the West.

Domain Summary: Drevilna-under-Vyapult is considered one of the larger territories in Adanion, with quite a wide horizontal range and perhaps the most vast vertical range of any realm, supported by a system of rivers flowing from the mountains and bordering the land on its East and West sides. At these bounds, the land is prime territory for farmland, well protected by both geography and military force; yet within are a variety of forest trees ranging from deciduous forests further down, indeed marking the realm's lower bound and supporting this idea with border fortresses stationed within the treelines, whilst further North the trees gradually transition to evergreens, then pines, before the cold grows too much even for these and the land turns to nigh-uninhabitable tundra - in theory under the control of House Vyapult, in practice under the control of none but nature itself, only ventured into for the sake of hunting certain animals.

Major Holdings:
Farwater River, plus additional tributary streams and rivers - The river and associated tributaries bounding Drevilna to its West and South, its rapid growth from accumulation of meltwater is such that even shortly after the northernmost tributaries emerge from the lake, it becomes difficult to safely cross with more than perhaps a dozen individuals at a time. It also provides an easy source of fish to support the Frostmark's population, and less obviously helps transport minerals Southward from the lake, fertilising the land and, with substantial effort, rendering the regions along its coast somewhat better suited for farming extremely hardy crops and supporting a small number of livestock, though its primary provision remains fishing.
Supporting this hold, three bridge-keeps persist on it, providing easy passage across as well as heftily-guarded points in key locations: Severoreka, providing passage to the Mistlands at the point where the river tributaries merge before splitting into Splitstream and Farwater; Yugoreka, offering entrance into the Crownmark just before the Farwater River merges with the Great Bastion's tributaries at the Frostmark's Southernmost point; and Lesreka, relatively close to Yugoreka, but positioned between where the Great Bastion's tributaries merge and where this river then merges into the Farwater proper to grant access to the Arbormark.

D'yavoles Forest - The general name given to the boreal forest encompassing the lower portions of Drevilna. It has been said by some that it is cursed in one way or another, perhaps inhabited by the damned souls who perish within it; whilst it is certainly thick enough to get oneself lost within, it also provides a rich source of wood from various types of evergreen tree, as well as prime hunting grounds for very many animals and foraging material for many sorts of berries and fruits. It is not, however, exclusively owned by House Vyapult, and many other Houses in the Frostmark do draw their wood from this region.

Vyapult Wood - A forest that is House Vyapult's exclusive property. Taking credit from the Frozen Tears, House Vyapult began to "farm" trees from D'yavoles Forest by planting saplings and branch cuttings and carefully managing their growth, an endeavour seen as laughable back at its point of origin. Nowadays, the region around the realm's capital city is rich with woodland under the exclusive ownership of House Vyapult, an asset far greater than many give it credit for, and much more difficult to replicate than other Houses may recognise, much to House Vyapult's ongoing amusement.

Kivhar City - The capital city of Drevilna-under-Vyapult, in that it generally hosts the Grand Duke of the Realm. It is a fairly-sized place toward the Northern edge of Vyapult Wood, combining local lumber with imported stone to produce a uniquely-blended structure of houses and culture. This surrounds the castle Dom-Vyapult, where the Grand Duke of House Vyapult takes residence and diplomats to his domain alike.
The main church of this city consequently stands out like a sore thumb - a blend of white marble and black basalt, The Church of Life and Death espouses amongst the Twin Faith's usual ideals the dual nature of the world as covering both the living and the dead, best represented by the way Vyapult Wood dies at the tundra's edge, perfectly presenting this balance. Not everyone in Kivhar is enthused by this choice of message, but it at least holds water for many.

Azkuzia - A city well to the South-West of the realm, effectively supporting and guarded by the Yugoreka bridge-fort leading toward the Crownmark, and the Lesreka bridge-fort into the Arbormark; if Kivhar City is the political capital, Azkuzia is certainly the mercantile capital, trading out to the rest of Adanion in both native resources and those gained from the Frozen Tears to the far North. To this end, it is a city that blends culture from many other realms, noticeable in how its general aesthetic merges traditional Drevilnan structures closer to the center with increasingly-esoteric designs further out. The local Guild Hall covers much trade for a system of guilds within this city, which ultimately controls every niche in the city.

The Frozen Tears - Interestingly, the Silver City and mountains of the Frozen Tears are at present a functional vassal state under House Vyapult, moreso than would be typical in normal circumstances. More precisely, the leader of the region is to be considered the Duke or Duchess of their realm and head of one Great House Echo by virtue of their unusual natural resources, having sworn fealty to the crown through the High Lords in charge of Drevilna-under-Vyapult.
This renders Drevilna-under-Vyapult in the interesting position of being a technical suzerain, as the Frozen Tears' primary access to the rest of Adanion comes through House Vyapult, but also confers the status entitled to ownership of a Duchy upon House Echo for this. Granted, actual political power is another matter, as due to their isolated position, the Frozen Tears' political strength is effectively that of House Vyapult.

Reputation: The Frostmark's primary reputation is tied to its extremely cold weather. Beyond the northernmost forested reaches, the land is cold and inhospitable, making it difficult to survive within; because of this, it also has a reputation for poverty, the House's wealth historically considered lesser than most others whether or not this holds true.

Wealth: Drevilna-under-Vyapult has some forests available to it, but nowhere near enough to sale to other nations regularly between growth cycles and structure building. Consequently, their economy is reliant in many ways on fur and pelt trading in Winter, and ice harvesting in Summer. Year-round saleable goods include hides suited for leathermaking and the like, river and lake fish preserved with ice, and high-quality lumber acquired from either D'yavoles Forest or Vyapult Wood. Despite their reputation, sales of these things combined with thrifty personal spending have allowed House Vyapult to build up quite reasonable coffers in the last two generations, giving them more economic power than other Houses might give them credit for.

Strength: One might make the case that Drevilna-under-Vyapult's primary defense is its cold environment, which certainly holds true in its more Northern regions, but as both of its largest cities are more Southern, this cold is thus somewhat less of a barricade for those who simply want to claim the area without outright conquering everything. Its true defensive worth lies in its geography - surrounded by wide rivers whose key points of invasion are controlled by fortresses bridging the gaps, Drevilna-under-Vyapult is extremely difficult to invade simply because actually getting into the Frostmark region is an extreme challenge to begin with.
In terms of offensive force, whilst a significant proportion of the realm's defenses are focused at the bridge-forts, this is not to say they cannot make a push outward. A modestly-sized knightly order known as the Frostguard exists within Kivhar City, in theory acting as the last port of call to protect the Frostmarch from its enemies, but in practice acting as elite soldiers within a potential army, should House Vyapult choose to expend its monetary resources in building up levies and mercenary forces alike as the bulk of troops.

High Lord Varan VII

Name: Velikynaz Varangyrian VII of House Vyapult, a.k.a. High Lord Varan VII
Titles: Velikynaz - A title that in context translates roughly to "Grand Prince", representing Varangyrian's nature as master of the Frostmark. In practice, he is for all intents and purposes a High Lord.

Description: Well-groomed and handsome, the High Lord's 32 years have presented themselves quite well indeed. One understands from a gaze that he is focused, intelligent, and understanding of the way the world works, traits gained from a lifetime of education both under tutors and in the wider world.


Claimant: Sharles of Bremerant - Comparing Sharles' milder, all-but-tame insights to Anyamara's potential brutality, and her insistence of returning to a "status quo" which by his account has been recently gruesome and lately inept, Varan has thrown himself in with Sharles for the time being.

The Great House of Vyapult

"To forest and frost!"

Reputation: The Velikynaz of Drevilna-under-Vyapult is taken to be a fairly capable individual, no matter the generation. In an environment as varied in scope, and especially as broad-spanning as Drevilna and the Frostmark, one has to be capable to keep the area from falling to pieces. For Varangynian VII, this is no different at all: even in person, one can see his wit and experience at the fore, and it is quite clear to see that he has no trouble with running his realm whatsoever. Not to mention that he could be taken as objectively attractive, despite (or indeed supported by) the scar along one side of his face, though one wonders how he maintains a somewhat darker skin tone despite a relative lack of sunlight.
Indeed, one needs to be a smart person to try and negotiate terms with the native tribe up north - savage as they are, it is thus all the more impressive that he has been able to wring out as many resources from them as possible, all but taming them of their worship of false gods and devils! However, simple as those people are, many have asked why the Great House is so keen to retain these people as vassals, even this subservient position providing implication that they are in any way equal to the truly noble people of Adanion. What, in the end, stops this great man from eradicating them and taking their resources?

"When I ferst laid eyes on Varan, I thought he would be as slow as the rest of the Grand Houses. Yet, he has a curiosity about him that is good. He accepts the knowledge of the People and thatsa good start on our relationships. I do see him having benefits in the future relations with the other Houses. Perhaps the Varan in time can become more than someone who grants us presence in the Marble People Politics, but someone who takes us off the reigns and allows us our own autonomy." - Merta the Echo
The People of the Frozen Tears have a mixed opinion about the current High Lord. Their relationship with House Vyapult has been an odd one: while Vyapult has been kinder to them than, say, some of the other Great Houses, they are uncertain of this uneasy alliance.
But Mertavodah believes that he can ease that uncertainty- he believes that speaking with Varangyrian may lead to better future opportunities. If Varan respects the history their people share; the resources the Frozen Tears have given; the help navigating the terrain; insulating the Drevilnan's homes more effectively; what plants to eat; the uses of minerals and ores... then Varan should respect the alliance that they have. To say they feel uneasy hope from Varangyrian VIII is the best way to put it.

Ambitions: Under normal circumstances, he might be content with simply ruling the Frostmark as his family has for over a century. With what he's learned of himself in mind, and especially the current royal situation, this is no longer so: Varangyrian VII is keen to avoid a potential repeat of his grandparents' execution under King Colyt II, the stress of which likely killed his mother in short order, and he will do about anything to ensure this does not come to pass for him too, although he is keen not to hurt those he considers important in the process.

Aptitudes:
General Logical Intellect - House Vyapult is keen to present its best self to the world, and prides intelligence greatly in this respect. Thus, it has widely been taken that of each generation of siblings and cousins, it is the most capable who will claim the seat of Velikynaz, somebody who can present themselves to Adanion and succeed through knowledge, strategy and wit, rather than brute force alone. Varangyrian VII proved the smartest of his siblings in that respect time and time again, and therefore took the title of High Lord upon the previous holder's passage.
Communication - It is not always easy to talk with the leaders of other Houses, especially when at least one bears a culture utterly unique to them, and nor is communicating one's will down to the common folk easily done. Varangyrian's efforts in life have been focused greatly on this in particular, for well-executed diplomacy can turn foe to friend just as surely as poor diplomacy can kill you in the house of an ally, and likewise ensuring one's communication reaches those who it needs to is a continual task; no truer is this than with House Echo, whose distance from the rest of Adanion demands firm lines of communication to maintain contact, and whose unusual customs continue to present Varan with something between thankful amusement and confused frustration when, for instance, a formal gathering is in place.
Forestry - One of House Vyapult's greatest skills, ever since the first tree of Vyapult Wood was planted, has been an affinity for the management of forests and trees. Woodcutting, tree farming, and dendrology are all long-instilled skills of the House's scions, a necessity to maintain not just Vyapult Wood, but many other forests in the Frostmarch. More than once has D'yavoles Forest or Vyapult Wood been saved from mass deforestation by the discovery of a tree-eating fungus, and the subsequent destruction of every tree and stump within fifty or one hundred paces to prevent its spread; and over-harvesting of the forests is a matter carefully prevented by highly particular policies on when given trees can or cannot be chopped down.

Vulnerabilities:
Ties of Emotion - Varan, for all of his political abilities and high position, feels intensely what others do, moreso than mere empathy should explain. Thus, the happiness of those he holds to be important, be they his family or the people he rules, is his own; and in turn, their loss, their frustration, and especially their pain, eats at him like cancer, potentially affecting his ability to lead when experiencing this high emotion, or even swaying him toward actions he'd otherwise not normally take.
Mixed Blood - It was Varangyrian IV, great-great-grandfather to the current High Lord, whose failed attempt to raid the Silver City led to the Frozen Tears' current status as Duchy. Yet within a few decades, his grandson Varangyrian VI had found love within that city, and from there bore children with a member of the Frozen Tears; in the end, the Mad King killed them both most brutally for perceived blood treachery, being swayed not to strip House Vyapult of its status or slay the line outright by Prince Daymian alone.
For Varangyrian VII's part, this proves a conundrum on two parts: first, encouraging his investigations into their culture as an aspect of his bloodline; and second, given the Frozen Tears' reputation as savages, serving as a potentially-scandalous revelation among just about any other Great House were this to be discovered, whose aftereffects could range from eternal blackmail to being stripped of the status of High Lord or even nobility outright... or hardly a jot, depending on the outcome of events.
Ambivalence - Truthfully, Varangyrian is not convinced that either claimant is especially qualified for the throne. Anyamara is clearly the less pleasant option, for more reasons than one, but Sharles in his turn looks to be a rather weak king, with an inability to properly effect the radical changes he proposes - and crucially, neither has a true claim to royalty.

Additional Info:
Vyapult Line (starting from Varan I's designation as High Lord of the Frostmark)
1. Varangyrian Vyapult I x Duchess Mariya of D'yavoles
2. Varangyrian Vyapult II x Duchess Eleonora | Duke Dzhek, the Treefarmer x Lady Alison of Arbormark
3. Alekzandr Vyapult I x Archduchess Ruthenia | Archduchess Anastasia of Azkuzia
4. Varangyrian Vyapult III, the Cruel x Duchess Miriam of Stormlands
5. Alekzandr Vyapult II x Duchess Arianne of Wildwood | Erik the Hunter (formerly the Outcast)
6. Varangyrian Vyapult IV, the Suzerain x Archduchess Vyatik, the Wanderer | Archduke Garl't x Countess Alina | Duchess Aleksandryr, the Lawbinder
7. Varangyrian Vyapult V x Warden Markus of Westmarch | Count Varangyrian of Mirkuzi x Lady Dzhezika of Severoreka | Duke Varangyrian x Archduchess Lilianna of the Crownmark
8. Varangyrian Vyapult VI (recently the Barbarian) x Dikynima | Duchess Novgoriz x Duke Izboryk
9. Theophania Vyapult I x Warden Jacques | Duke Dyr of Bastion | Archduke Dvini x Duchess Miriyam of D'yavoles | Duke Varangyrian of Eastfrost x Duchess Ayla of D'yavoles
10. Varangyrian Vyapult VII | Duke Karl, the Guildmaster x Duchess Natalie of Mistlands

Kingmakers - The Throne Alone (GoT/ASOIF-like) (Noble Politics)

Hey! I've been introduced to this game relatively recently, and I have a character in mind. Watch this space!

Static Tabs Do Not Take Up Internet - BCTheEntity's Character Links

The Delinquent

"Fuck off, you lemming. I never did anything to you."

---

Name: Tim Conner

Alias: Delinquent, thug, basketcase, asshole, scumbag... really, a lot of insults could be considered "aliases" for him, though they are not names he particularly enjoys.

Namesake: Tim Commerford, bass and backing vocals for various bands such as Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage.

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Birthday: 19th July, 2002

Zodiac: Cancer

Chinese Zodiac: Horse

Appearance: Tim isn't weak in and of himself, but he's not the strongest person in the world either. Combining with his height of 5'6" and weight of 124 lbs, it's hard to say he's intimidating, at least when he isn't scowling at everybody.

Personality: Tim is a real douchebag. Just ask anyone, or heck, just look at how he dresses and acts like a total thug! Complete asshole. Except, that's a very surface-level interpretation of his character, despite his aggression toward others. For one thing, he's pretty intelligent, enough to realise that just because the society he lives in isn't the absolute worst version of itself, doesn't mean there aren't very glaring flaws in how it functions, albeit describing how it's wrong in precise detail escapes him - he's only young, after all. He consequently puts up a front against others, one of disrespect and delinquency, because he can't exactly respect people who are slaves to a system that hates them. Equally, though, he can't truly hate them just for being stupid, and in reality, he is quite self-conscious, not keen on engaging in fights most of the time, and very anxious about how the rich might crush him to nothing under their heel; thus, whilst he might lash out verbally, his bark tends to be much worse than his bite, unless you really are somebody who controls how things are.

Short Biography: Born to a family with modest prospects at best, Tim grew up watching his parents work as hard as they could to provide for him, and yet never truly escaping the proverbial rat race. They way they were told, and the way they told him, "hard work pays off" - and yet, the reality of their hard work for little gain seemed to disprove that constantly. Even as Tim grew older, he watched his dad finally enter a more promising career path that could afford to put him into better education, only to witness how listless his father seemed to become thanks to his job, almost like it was sucking out his soul in exchange for that comfort and security.

It also afforded the family a few luxuries. For Tim, it afforded a fairly nice smartphone. He would use this phone constantly throughout his early teens, looking up information about "the American dream" and "corporate culture" and such, and whilst he could well have been directed to content that would reassure him that all was well, the algorithms behind his searches directed him toward much more radical content - content that suggested the world was screwed, content that said it was the fault of the rich, content that provided statistics which soured Tim to the idea of any dreams being feasible for his social class, let alone American. And so, whilst he kept going to high school for the time being, he found himself falling into crowds that others might find unacceptably crude, but who agreed with him when it came to how screwed up America was, and through this outlet cemented himself as the delinquent of the schoolground - unapproachable, mean, resentful, but not necessarily underperforming despite himself.

Quirk:

• At any given moment, there is a good chance Tim will be on his phone instead of looking at the world around him.
• Whilst not actually suicidal, he has a tendency to claim he wants to off himself the moment something goes even slightly wrong. This habit may or may not be derived from his anxiety.
• Don't talk to him about money. He will get angry with you, sometimes incoherently so.

Other: Expect lots of swearing from him, even as a friend. Also, the other delinquents he hangs out with are presented below:

Friendelinquents

Jason Johnson:

Luke King:

「Rage Against the Machine」

Stand Name: 「Rage Against the Machine」

Namesake: The American rock band Rage Against the Machine.

Stand Type: Long-range artificial humanoid.

Appearance Description: 「Rage Against the Machine」 appears as a robotic blue humanoid with a segmented metallic outer plating formed into decent musculature, covered in bright red triangular iconography. Whilst the majority of its body seems relatively sleek, complete with white segmented eyes, its jaw is overlarge and heavily mechanised, with blunt, meshing orange teeth jutting up and down a significant distance from the corresponding jawlines. Think Evangelion for rough design notes.

Personality: 「Rage Against the Machine」 is not especially independent, but will occasionally emit a loud roar when it attacks.

Abilities: 「Rage Against the Machine」 has the basic power to convert anything it touches to semi-solid metal, and then reshape it as it pleases. This can be in the form of strikes with its limbs and other body parts, deforming a region and leaving imprints of its attacks in a surface; it can mould substances more precisely with its hands, allowing them to "cool" into new shapes, for example to form a key for a lock; or, at its most destructive, it can attempt to take a bite out of a target, transforming everything within the Stand's jaws into that metal even as it chews through it, to be consumed without harm or spat out as the user desires.
More insidiously, 「Rage Against the Machine」 can also enter any electronic communication device the user is near, emerging from any other such device that is presently turned on, treating its range as though the corresponding exit device were the user themselves. For instance, the Stand could enter a computer monitor, then emerge from the screen of a turned-on phone, and make use of its full range as though the phone were the point of origin for the Stand. Should a device this Stand is manifesting through then be turned off, 「Rage Against the Machine」 will immediately fade and return to its real user.

Stats:
Destructive Power: B
Speed: B
Range: D (3m)
Persistence: D
Precision: B
Developmental Potential: C

Heartbreaker - The Best of the Isekai Hunters

Trudging up the stairs toward Ahriman's dining hall came a figure who, at a glance, seemed very out of place in this demonic bastion. Indeed, with a glance at his quite plain shirt and trouse, his noblesque step and unmarred form, and the mixture of white and blue in his colour scheme, one might be inclined to believe this figure to be an angel - even his horns appeared coated with some form of magic that could potentially be divine in nature, if one did not stoop so low as to double check through magical means.

Behind him came two more obviously demonic figures. Brutish hulks, their bodies not entirely stable as parts of their form swelled and shrank at random, who may even be mistaken for bodyguards... which, in a sense, was true. Just not his. For him, they were more akin to thugs sent to take him to Ahriman, creatures intentionally bloated with power specifically for the task of ensuring their charge did not make a scene until he had taken up the offer most ceremoniously sent to him by one of the newest Lords of Sheol. Normally, he would not have done so... but with these things, puling entities he recognised as nominally his inferiors but for the excess of energy that even now ate at their insides, that could not be afforded.

Yet even they were better than the majority of mortal entities. Especially the one he and his "companions" had just encountered. Sleeping on Ahriman's staircase, in fact. It was a strangeness that mortal beings had to work with, losing consciousness for often upward of eight hours a day; so that it had chosen here of all places to take its appointed time of sleep was unconscionable. It showed the true weakness of mortals, of course... not that that mattered to the other two demons, or so it would appear, as one simply foisted it up in their arms and nodded for the troupe to proceed.

And proceed they did, reaching the hall at the appointed time of eleven of the clock and fifty minutes, the angelic figure entered through the great doors smoothly, as if he were not compelled to do so by two beings empowered beyond their means - said means quickly becoming clear as, the moment he stepped into Ahriman's sightline, the power audibly rushed from their frames and back to who knew where; a glance back revealed two creatures, just as skeletal and worthless as the mortal they had dropped on the floor so haphazardly, lacking in anything resembling obvious strength, let alone physical or magical potency, and plainly worse for wear for the clear overburdening they'd had put upon them for this task, their innate power withered, at least for the time.

One hard stare sent them scurrying away. He'd have to ensure he could track them later. A small gesticulation of hand set behind the door (to avoid prying eyes, of course), a divine-looking ritual circle forming about his wrist, and a moment of intense pain followed, leading to a minute creature emerging from his palm: a fairy of sorts, purplish-red in glow, which promptly followed after the two sub-beings as its creator turned back to the true intent of his mission here. Of course, he'd spent time scoping out Lord Ahriman's character for a while beforehand... which, given that the two perspectives he'd been receiving from this keep were no longer offering input of any sort, he suspected might be why he had been brought here. Foolish error on his part. He should have known better than to assume he'd be missed... sloppy work.

Still, here he was, in sight of the Demon Lord himself, and at least two other figures... ah, yes. Classically-potent individuals, with a great amount of lore behind them. Especially the one who had turned traitor not so long ago... the great and powerful Medai, now a lapdog all over again. And the self-proclaimed Master of Black Chaos, too! Pfeh. Powerful, admittedly; yet if it ever tried to challenge a Demon Lord in mortal combat, it'd crumble like a twig. And as for himself... tone neutral but polite, remain formal, ensure one does not make oneself overly interesting...

'Greetings, my esteemed Lord Ahriman. I am Daero'moroke, as I imagine you are aware. It is a pleasure to be invited into your company.' Daero'moroke bowed deeply to the Demon Lord, since of course that was what he expected of a... subordinate. Eugh. The idea that he'd be serving this being was beyond galling, but at the very least, it would not overtly affect his plans in the long term. And in any case... it did provide high-quality sustenance. If it had not already been devoured by these pigs, at least.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Alina Sanford

It was probably for the best that she'd been ignored here. The imp was, honestly, kind of rude... and hard to say anything to. He explained that Her Gloriousness was the leader "down here", which probably meant the cave, then? And in the end, the figure who emerged was... well, honestly, queen-like. She had the clothing and demeanour for it, anyway... but something felt off about her, more than just the horns. Her presence alone was kind of disconcerting, and glancing over at Harriette, she could see she was...

Scared. Terrified, even.

And Alina had wanted to abandon them by giving up and dying. Like a coward.

She was a coward. Which was why she didn't immediately follow the instructions given, and instead moved to Harriette's side, limping the whole way until she could plant her hand on Harriette's shoulder.

'It's okay.'

It wasn't. None of this entire experience had been okay. But she wanted to do... something? She didn't know, this whole thing had been way too much. She...

'I'm Alina Sanford.'

...she needed to kneel, too, right? That was grovelling, probably. She didn't know, when was the last time somebody had mentioned it in any context? Anyway, she did kneel, because that was needed. Maybe it'd keep her alive a bit longer.

Heartbreaker - The Best of the Isekai Hunters

Daero'moroke

Name: "Daero'moroke", each syllable pronounced independently. Technically, this is to his true name what a mortal's nickname is to their full name plus a great many titles and honorifics, but the entire thing becomes a mouthful for most mortals to pronounce beyond that point - intentional grafting of that conceptual aspect of his soul has made it so, to wit. Besides, he's not keen to just give out the full thing on the regular, so he has a few epithets beside that to work with: many common languages give him the titles Lord of Bulls or Master of Sacrifice; he is The Watching Death in the Orcish tongue; The Evil Eye in High Elven; The Burning Eye in Low Elven; and in High Alytian, to those few priests and paladins who know and understand his methods, he is simply The Observer.

Age: Roughly 4350. It's been longer than that, but at some point you just start counting in decades for sake of ease.

Race: Demon

The Many Forms of the Demoniac

Guise of Nobility

Guise of Ecclesiarchy

"Angel" Form

"Fairy" Familiars

The Demon Unleashed

Background: The full life story of a demon as old as Baero'moroke is much too lengthy to explain to one with such important business as Lord Ahriman. Suffice to say, however, describing his character will help to explain most of it.

You see, many of those working to break the so-called Heroes of the Goddess have personal reasons for it. They have been personally wronged by the Church of Clionism and its minions, or they've found direct issue with the Heroes and their unfair advantages in the world compared to the native inhabitants, or they are simply brainwashed into their role as opposition. Some might even consider this among demons: even the mighty are not immune to emotion, and some fall foul of fear or fury so fervently.

Daero'moroke is different. He is, simply put as possible, a narcissistic dick with a bad case of anti-social personality disorder, and a distinctly deadened sense of empathy as a result. He can appreciate individual beings, but moreso based on what they give him than what he feels for them. A useless tool is of no value to him - and to be frank, most mortals are only useful to him as toys to manipulate into doing things against their better interests. He gets joy out of this, you see, finding it amusing to twist mortal wants until they ruin everything they have for themselves, and especially finds screwing with those silly little Heroes a fascinating exercise in figuring out what makes them tick, then pulling at the gears until they break apart - even if those gears prove infuriatingly resilient more often than not.

Rarely directly, though. His true form is monstrous, but he has a variety of alternate guises to work with in place of that: human forms, of noble and Clionistic approach amongst others, and a form that one might very well mistake for angelic if one were foolish... as many Heroes are. Much more often, he will send minions or spells out to gather information about the world, then send it back to him to build up his knowledge ever further, and track down people who might be of interest to him.

The main things that have been holding him back to date are but twofold - middling demonic power, and a distinct lack of ambition. He already enjoys what he does, after all; why change that? Well, when the Demon King demands your presence, and asks that you help make a concerted effort to wipe out the Heroes and the Goddess' influence in the world as a whole... there is rarely much one can do to protest. Even if it means working with... admittedly-unusual mortal allies.

---

Skills and Abilities: Physical - If Lord Ahriman were interested in raw power, he'd stop at Medai and sic her on the continent. As it is, Daero'moroke is of noteworthy strength, speed, and durability even when not tapping into his full power, and can outmatch even most Heroes at his utmost - but then, it's not "most" Heroes that prove a problem, but the single Hero who gets strong enough to slay the Demon King. At that point, and consequently with a great many demons, he cannot simply beat them senseless.
Magical - Likewise, for raw magical output, Ophidias Seht would do just fine. Daero'moroke is, in fact, quite the magus in and of himself, with quite a range of reasonable offensive and defensive magicks to hand - but, more pertinently, a great many magicks to support his primary capabilities, including ideas along the lines of scrying, charms, hexes, conceptual interference, seals both consensual and non-consensual, and two very pertinent spells: the power to split off tiny slivers of his own metaphysical being, ensconsing them either within a subordinate or as their own fairy-like entities to acquire information and relay it directly back to him; and a sort of internal library of memories, exceptionally valuable for organising inputs on the scale of thousands, even tens of thousands of hours of time each day, enough to drive a mortal mind mad. Naturally, he outranks the majority of mortal mages, and in theory could scale up nigh-indefinitely, but the minute losses from splintering one's essence (even if it heals gradually) and relatively discrete use of this power take their toll on his final output.
Mental - No. What sets Daero'moroke apart from the rabble is his intensely manipulative, and moreover exceptionally organised mindset. He is smart, that is clear, but it is bent toward using others to get what he wants, and ensuring he has every single piece on the table just in case he needs some for later. It is rare that there is something of importance happening in the land which he doesn't know about, and even rarer for others to know when he is actively meddling with it. Indeed, he prefers to gather as many pieces of a puzzle as possible before striking at its heart, if he has to be physically involved at all; and in the rare cases where he deigns to brute force an event, he prefers to be precise, delicate, a scalpel rather than a hammer, attacking suddenly and using just enough power to win the fight so as to avoid drawing attention to himself.

Quips: He defies the concept of the Bishonen Line when it comes to transformations. He is also more than aware of many of his "companions'" own flaws and desires.

Heartbreaker - The Best of the Isekai Hunters

Daero'moroke

Name: "Daero'moroke", each syllable pronounced independently. Technically, this is to his true name what a mortal's nickname is to their full name plus a great many titles and honorifics, but the entire thing becomes a mouthful for most mortals to pronounce beyond that point - intentional grafting of that conceptual aspect of his soul has made it so, to wit. Besides, he's not keen to just give out the full thing on the regular, so he has a few epithets beside that to work with: many common languages give him the titles Lord of Bulls or Master of Sacrifice; he is The Watching Death in the Orcish tongue; The Evil Eye in High Elven; The Burning Eye in Low Elven; and in High Alytian, to those few priests and paladins who know and understand his methods, he is simply The Observer.

Age: Roughly 4350. It's been longer than that, but at some point you just start counting in decades for sake of ease.

Race: Demon

The Many Forms of the Demoniac

Guise of Nobility

Guise of Ecclesiarchy

"Angel" Form

"Fairy" Familiars

The Demon Unleashed

Background: The full life story of a demon as old as Baero'moroke is much too lengthy to explain to one with such important business as Lord Ahriman. Suffice to say, however, describing his character will help to explain most of it.

You see, many of those working to break the so-called Heroes of the Goddess have personal reasons for it. They have been personally wronged by the Church of Clionism and its minions, or they've found direct issue with the Heroes and their unfair advantages in the world compared to the native inhabitants, or they are simply brainwashed into their role as opposition. Some might even consider this among demons: even the mighty are not immune to emotion, and some fall foul of fear or fury so fervently.

Daero'moroke is different. He is, simply put as possible, a narcissistic dick with a bad case of anti-social personality disorder, and a distinctly deadened sense of empathy as a result. He can appreciate individual beings, but moreso based on what they give him than what he feels for them. A useless tool is of no value to him - and to be frank, most mortals are only useful to him as toys to manipulate into doing things against their better interests. He gets joy out of this, you see, finding it amusing to twist mortal wants until they ruin everything they have for themselves, and especially finds screwing with those silly little Heroes a fascinating exercise in figuring out what makes them tick, then pulling at the gears until they break apart - even if those gears prove infuriatingly resilient more often than not.

Rarely directly, though. His true form is monstrous, but he has a variety of alternate guises to work with in place of that: human forms, of noble and Clionistic approach amongst others, and a form that one might very well mistake for angelic if one were foolish... as many Heroes are. Much more often, he will send minions or spells out to gather information about the world, then send it back to him to build up his knowledge ever further, and track down people who might be of interest to him.

The main things that have been holding him back to date are but twofold - middling demonic power, and a distinct lack of ambition. He already enjoys what he does, after all; why change that? Well, when the Demon King demands your presence, and asks that you help make a concerted effort to wipe out the Heroes and the Goddess' influence in the world as a whole... there is rarely much one can do to protest. Even if it means working with... admittedly-unusual mortal allies.

[br]

Skills and Abilities: Physical - If Lord Ahriman were interested in raw power, he'd stop at Medai and sic her on the continent. As it is, Daero'moroke is of noteworthy strength, speed, and durability even when not tapping into his full power, and can outmatch even most Heroes at his utmost - but then, it's not "most" Heroes that prove a problem, but the single Hero who gets strong enough to slay the Demon King. At that point, and consequently with a great many demons, he cannot simply beat them senseless.
Magical - Likewise, for raw magical output, Ophidias Seht would do just fine. Daero'moroke is, in fact, quite the magus in and of himself, with quite a range of reasonable offensive and defensive magicks to hand - but, more pertinently, a great many magicks to support his primary capabilities, including ideas along the lines of scrying, charms, hexes, conceptual interference, seals both consensual and non-consensual, and two very pertinent spells: the power to split off tiny slivers of his own soul, ensconsing them either within a subordinate or as their own fairy-like entities to acquire information and relay it directly back to him; and a sort of internal library of memories, exceptionally valuable for organising inputs on the scale of thousands, even tens of thousands of hours of time each day, enough to drive a mortal mind mad. Naturally, he outranks the majority of mortal mages, and in theory could scale up nigh-indefinitely, but the minute losses from splintering one's soul (even if it heals gradually) and relatively discrete use of this power take their toll on his final output.
Mental - No. What sets Daero'moroke apart from the rabble is his intensely manipulative, and moreover exceptionally organised mindset. He is smart, that is clear, but it is bent toward using others to get what he wants, and ensuring he has every single piece on the table just in case he needs some for later. It is rare that there is something of importance happening in the land which he doesn't know about, and even rarer for others to know when he is actively meddling with it. Indeed, he prefers to gather as many pieces of a puzzle as possible before striking at its heart, if he has to be physically involved at all; and in the rare cases where he deigns to brute force an event, he prefers to be precise, delicate, a scalpel rather than a hammer, attacking suddenly and using just enough power to win the fight so as to avoid drawing attention to himself.

Quips: He defies the concept of the Bishonen Line when it comes to transformations. He is also more than aware of many of his "companions'" own flaws and desires.

An Unseasonable Chill

'One of "them"?' Miriam asked curiously. 'As in an Indian reservation? Ohh... if I could get- but that wouldn't fit in the scope of the novel, would it? Mmmm...' That was a pity. If she had the ability to get some more... but, for safety reasons, it'd probably be best if she didn't, ultimately. And again, that was a dreadful, dreadful shame.

In the meantime, more creatures! Including one based on Hattie herself. She made a note to ask about them during the interview with the older woman; in the meantime, she nodded, took a look at the map to find their location, and then moved with the rest of the group toward their designated search zone.