Reasonable, Minions, Mana Font, Retrieval, Transportation | Insomnia, Quick Tempered, Health Sapping, Fearsome Reputation
STR: 03 | AGI: 03 | VIT: 04 | MAG: 04 | LCK: 03
STR: 3 | AGI: 3 | VIT: 6 | MAG: 20 | LCK: 9
Coins: None
Kiyome
Age: 16 | Gender: Female | Time, Space Underdeveloped | Focused Assault, Regeneration | Horror (Thos) Precognition, Monstrous Metamorphosis, Big Damn Hero, Enhanced Weapon, Immortality
Reasonable, Marked, Mana Font, Minions, Retrieval, Magical Overload | Insomnia, Quick Tempered, Health Sapping, Fearsome Reputation, Monstrous Form Thick Skin, Second Specialization (Oddball: Space)| Hoarder, Broken Reincarnation
STR: 3 | AGI: 2 | VIT: 3 | MAG: 4 | LCK: 3
STR: 6 | AGI: 2 | VIT: 16 | MAG: 12 | LCK: 6
Coins: None
The dragon landed on her broken legs with a reflexive wince and mild gritting of her teeth, though standing on her knees she didn't allow herself to fall flat on the ground either. As the golden road dissolved into nothingness once more, and the emerald fountain disappeared once more, her eyes fell on the limp corpse and rolling head on the ground. Turns out this thing wasn't in Kansas anymore, or anywhere else of worth now. Kiyome then looked back at Akhenaten and Nefer before giving an affirming yet thankful nod to the duo.
"Bothersome little pest that was, but in the end it died like the rest anyway.
My thanks for helping me avoid becoming roadkill, and in finishing this thing off. Couldn't have done anything there without you two coming in when you did."
With a light grunt, then, the monster girl then conjured a pair of Horror Minions with one on either side of her. They would each support one of the dragon girl's arms, helping transport her toward the interior of the town. It would be an effective means of transport, at least, though she'd have to use magic to help them more swiftly move past danger due to the invading Spades. Even from a distance the swordswoman could tell the back lines had been penetrated, frustratingly so, as she silently huffed at it all.
Her mistress was not someone who couldn't fight, but the whole situation was becoming worse and worse by the second and she didn't like it. And no obvious route of retreat for civilians seemed to exist either, from what she'd seen thus far, to boot. Bah. Poor logistics was always frustrating to deal with. Even so, new arrivals seemed to be doing some good against the other monsters of note as the obvious giant death robot rampaged about and so forth. At this point she would look back at the duo who had assisted her rather vitally once more as she began to move toward her new destination.
"I'm heading back to see if I can at least help against the mooks getting inside the backlines. I won't be much good against the big ones out here as I am right now anyway."
That was all there was to it really. Truth be told it would be better use working on the mook situation if she could, and having enough magic reserves to spare would assist in that. Frankly making sure her mistress was ok was her top priority regardless of the situation here otherwise. In that vein she'd give silent commands to the minions carrying her back into town...though she'd conjured a couple more minions otherwise as she moved along and give them a proper verbal command.
"You two, tear off those feet off right now and bring them to me intact so I can get those slippers off and keep them. Then stay close and screen against the enemies for us as we go in to find Mistress Eliana."
...Sometimes, there wasn't going to be a golden path going all the way home. Just an old brick road paved with false promises and dangers ready to chew you up along the way. But once you chose a path, all that was left was to keep walking that road until its end one way or another. But she'd take the deceased armless girl's magical slippers as a prize and store them on her person for now, at least, as she continued on her way without skipping a beat.
Well, not literally skipping for obvious reasons, but she wasn't going to take a pause in the middle of all of this either. There was work to be done. Besides, she would conjure more horror minions within the town as or when she came into contact with Spades. Flying minions and standard ground ones alike would be perfect to sick on the foolish enemy soldiers in her mind.
Eliana briefly grit her teeth as she flung up a smaller barrier around the place the unconscious civilians had been placed inside of, using her magic to pull Tina, Ellen, and Alex into the barrier's protection as well. The cosmic gypsy would move closer to the three as she put in the effort to strengthen her own barrier, adding layers and more magical power to it as time went on to shore it up more and more. A repulsing dark energy magical barrier that'd send projectiles and enemy troops flying away and unable to get in. Stronger than her larger barrier, though it being notably smaller made this easier to empower and improve at least. By the time Alex zoomed out to fight alongside an enraged Lilly, Eliana moved to stand right next to Tina and the (hopefully now patched-up somewhat by Alex) Ellen.
"Please get inside with the civilians! I'll strengthen and hold up this barrier as much as I can to keep them out from here!"
And she's do that, both improving/strengthening the barrier by pumping in more magic and magical energy as well as improve things by adding additional layers to said barrier as well. All with the aim of putting in as much as she could to improve the defensive qualities of the barrier and its magic. She would protect these lives with her very life, just as she'd always done!
Even so she would quickly use her Absolute Direction to get quick check of the location of her compatriot, however, revealing that Kiyome's sword (the object she was in this instance using the skill to locate and knew about rather well) was getting increasingly closer. Good. She was alive! Thanks the stars. Perhaps she'd be able to assist against the Spades in the town as well!
Perfect Life, Shinespark, Mystic Might | Vow of Humanity, Excommunication
STR: 3 | AGI: 3 | VIT: 4 | MAG: 4 | LCK: 3
STR: 5 | AGI: 10 | VIT: 9 | MAG: 23 | LCK: 7
Coins: 2 silver
Hyun was certainly someone who stood by their point of view, at least, and held firm enough on it. At least from what the magical maid could tell thus far. The other girl likewise seemed rather committed to the Beacon and its ideals as well. That much was at least a good sign of sorts, perhaps, when it came down to looking at the potential danger of someone like her 'relapsing' as it were. Well, potentially relapsing. She'd heard a few things at Headquarters about the matter whilst she'd been there, both before and after her 'surprise' upon arrival and after she'd been bailed out proper.
Redemption was not something lightly given either. Much less finding mercy in a world neither of them had shown any to in the past. That much was for certain. Especially with an organization as 'vehement' about their mission as the Beacon was, where those such as the Inquisition frankly existed as a body in the first place as part of achieving that mission in the first place. At the same time, however, she'd found new friends...people who seemed to see her as herself, really, rather than as some repository of incredibly eldritch knowledge and data that would madden anyone else exposed to it too directly.
...She still wanted to ask Cardinal Ishtar later about what had happened at HQ. Her sudden illegal seizure and incarceration and such, etc. But right now wasn't the time for that.
"Well I can certainly say this outfit wasn't my personal choice at least. HQ gave me a Red Coin as part of some compensation for what happened after I first arrived there. The magic in the coin did the rest really, along with another unintended side consequence of the gift...just as long as a certain name isn't mentioned aloud it won't rear its head I hope."
She let out a small sigh, the sound of 'that voice' echoing in her head from memories, before a small smile came to her face and her tone turned more upbeat. No, now was not the time to think about that. Please no.
"I do look forward to working together with you as well, Hyun, and I mean that. Harsh sounding or not, though, you are right that we both are on the road to redemption and earning Beacon's respect...myself far more so than most could ever imagine I think. And I will continue to see that reality of my situation every day and night without a doubt.
Though in truth, I'm glad to have friends here who I can trust and help along their own paths too. I don't often feel I deserve such a thing, anything like that at all even, and yet they chose to extend a hand to me anyway. For that...for them being that light of hope shining in the darkness of what I came into at first...for that I'll be eternally grateful to them.
And perhaps we can one day be friends as well, eh?"
It sounded so sappy. So stupidly sappy and optimistic, like it came out of some random anime or cheap TV show. But she meant it all the same. Alicia, Aurelio, even Penny. Others had extended a hand to her, giving her a light of hope even in the great darkness she'd found herself mentally trapped in after becoming human. She'd feared just being abused and killed by others from day one, and was even more unused to being human. Was that fear all gone? No...not really. But she had persevered thus far, learned some, grown some she hoped, and would do nothing but her best to move forward no matter what came or what happened along the way.
Just one thing, one day, and one step at a time. They'd get there one day! She knew it.
But for now, she hoped they'd get to Bolorton in time to actually help do anything for those being attacked there. Beacon and Wonderland seemed on edgy enough terms as it was already. They were a messy enemy to handle for sure.
Death? Hallucinations? That wasn't any sort of small side effects to be sure, much less ones to speak so nonchalantly about, yet at the same time Nylah would listen on silently as she picked a good number of leaves for herself as well. She would need to dedicate this all to memory, get it all written down and such later perhaps. Just more ingredients too carefully add to her pouch for the time being though. More to look into, maybe see. If something could be used to lower the risks of these leaves, then perhaps the effects of making the body stronger could be integrated in smaller amounts into some kind of safer medicine? Maybe. It was a thought at least, even if it was an experimental one.
She would be curious to see how Jivka created the particular potion these leaves were associated with, at any rate, and would turn to look at the yaga and give an affirming nod to her offer.
...And then came the final thing.
“You ever heard of ‘Shalfey Blossom’?”
"Legend says its a cure-all for most physical maladies and can be used to make life-extending potions.”
The Mothraki suddenly froze in place for a moment, the shock of the news a bit jolting as Jivka continued. Shalfey Blossom. A cure-all? Life-extending potions? It sounded too good to be true, and yet Jivka had garnered Nylah's full and undivided attention even more so by simply mentioning it.
She would, however, attempt to loosen herself back up and 'relax' again before speaking to the other girl. Control her breathing, get her focus back on the person in front of her, etc. At the same time, however, the chance that she could...yes. She had to learn more. Understand more. Even if it only did so much, a building block toward a proper solution of 'that' was far better than nothing.
"I...haven't heard of it before, really. But you have me curious. What else does your people's legends say about it?"
And its location among those other details as well perhaps. Or potential locations if nothing else. Maybe places it used to or does grow? Whatever she knew, but without trying to be too intrusive or adamant about things. Just keep it to normal conversation. Yes. Because she was rather curious about it now indeed.
Kyr Reed acted as a sort of coagulant as well as sedative. Made people calmer…not particularly useful for treating frostbite on its own, but it was useful for staunching bleeding or injuries. Could be crushed into a paste with a variety of other things to achieve various effects. Wind-Leaf acted as more of a stimulant. When properly mixed with Kyr Reed it made salves and healing poultices good for bolstering the immune system and promoting natural healing. Coral Moss and Slug mucus were a bit harder to find, since the slugs only could be found in shallow water during the day, with Coral Moss being found in damp sea caves off the coast near the Goddess Spear. Slug Mucus was good for making topical salves for alleviating pain, while Coral Moss, when exposed to certain other substances actually heated itself to temperatures good for gentle rewarming of frost-bitten areas.
***Making anesthetics and preparing healing potions and salves.
It’d be easy enough to prepare both of those things especially with the things she had on hand. Fresh water for a base, crush the ingredients, then boil it to a broth. Simple enough, they didn’t have time to refine it. The Salves could be made by taking the same ingredients and crushing them into a paste without the water. Better for topical use on flesh wounds.
***Herbs In Yaga Territory
“A lotta the plants here you’ll have to dig a bit in the snow for.” She’d say. “They grow pretty well. Others you might find growing along the trees or even in some rocks. Just pay attention…like this one.” She’d say, using her foot to kick aside a pile of snow. Under it was a small plant, an herb with a fairly big root and small, three pronged leaves. “This one is a pretty potent poison. Makes an animals muscles lock up so they can’t move.” Jivka would lead Nylah through the forest for quite a while, pointing out a number of different plants and herbs. One could be used to induce vomiting - helpful for making someone spitup anything toxic they ate. A particular purple leafed plant was a pretty powerful hallucinogen and was sometimes used in yaga rituals, apparently.
“My favorite though is this one.” Jivka moved to a vine that was growing around a tree, pulling off one of the bright red flowers from it. “Oros leaf, we call it. If made right, it can really help one get stronger physically…well, if ya know survive the side effects. A number of the top Yagan hunters have to drink a draught made of this stuff to be recognized by all clans as anything more than a simple warrior.”
“When you first drink it, well…the body can have a particularly adverse reaction to it. Death. Hallucinations. Most first timers tend to get a bit rowdy and pick a fight with everyone, ahaha.” Jivka laughed nonchalantly. “Buuut eventually you’ll get used to it, and it makes the body stronger. Helps if you fight or work out during the high, ya know.” She’d pluck a few leaves from the vines. “Makes some people a bit more aggressive, though, if they’re a bad fit for it. Gotta mix it with a couple other things back home, too. I could show ya if you want.” The yaga would stuff the leaf into some of her pouches, likely to make more later.
***
***
***
***
-Acquired Lore/World Knowledge:
***Yaga Deity + Yaga Perspective On Rifelshka -
and slowly running her thumb across it. “It doesn’t have a name. Our deity, that is. We just know he exists and is the reason we survived the Moonless Era.” She’d pass it to Nylah for her to hold. “As for The Death goddess…” She lowered her voice, briefly glancing over her shoulders despite there being quite obviously no one else in the cabin. “We say the rest of the gods are lesser spirits born from our nameless deity when he fell from the heavens, his body was formed into these lesser Spirits. But the Death Goddess? She existed before him and if you believe the elder, had a direct hand in creating the Moonless Era and seeks to kill our deity once more. That’s all I’m saying.” She’d fall silent, seemingly nervously scratching the back of her head. “Uh, sorry I’m gonna take a walk. Hate talking about this, but one more thing. Do not mention her name here, outsider. That’s a good way to get every Yaga to want you to leave. Say she hears every time her name is spoken and we don’t want to try any attention from her.”
***Why the Krysa are at the Yaga Village and are attacking Mie -
Something has the Krysa spooked.” A brusque reply the Yaga ignored the snow starting to fall, leading the three towards a small house towards the middle of the village. “Someone trying to attack one of their wisemen or something? I dunno. They blame that merchant that travels through here around this time.”
***About Novak:
First, I know that I don't look the part of one of Mie's people. I originally wasn't- I was just some nobody that her caravan picked up, and she was gracious enough to allow me to earn a living working for her. She sent me to sneak out since I'm neither an Oni nor a Chagawa human, thus they have no reason to suspect that I'm with her."
***Mie's Caravan Situation Information As Acquired from Novak:
"I presume Haruno already filled you in as to what our situation is. Nothing's changed since she left- we're still holding out, but our food is running low and we need to get this resolved one way or the other. However, I did manage to learn some rather interesting things on my way here. The Krysa woman you saw me with, Lady Marushka, is with the Office of Internal Peace. She's acting on direct orders from the Tsarita herself, hunting some "person of interest" in the snowfields. I also overheard a mention from her guards about the life of someone important being threatened. Sir something...Ost...no...Osh...Ozven, that's it. Sir Ozven, they said."
***
***
***
-{Enthralling Dust} (Racial): Mothraki produce a potent pollen like dust upon their wings. Merely by existing they spread this where they go, though it's mostly harmless if not inhaled in large quantities. Causes hallucinations and dulls one's senses. As one may expect, people tend to frown upon this sort of thing.
-{Journeyman Light Magic}: A magic encompassing pure light and illumination, ranging from harmless orbs to light up one’s path all the way up to rays/beams of light as attacks to even light barriers and other light constructs such as swords and spears and shields and so forth. A versatile magic that does not call upon the fire of the sun, but does have its myriad uses and capabilities.
-{Novice Herbalist}: Non-magical practices of a healer, ranging from identifying or figuring out the use of new herbs and recognizing familiar ones, to making things like certain poultices and healing-based alchemy/potion-making, to how to handle wounds/injuries and such using these things.
-{Herbalist's Bag}: A simple leather bag with a well-built shoulder strap, that is filled with a good number of many types of herbs, a good amount of bandages, and finally tools to make tonics, poultices, and potions alongside a scare few pre-prepared ones that are within the bag itself. She usually wears it around most of the time. (EDIT: Has refilled her supplies, with three one total healing pots remaining now. Also now has four three vials of baby-chameleon-thing poison.)
-{Small Knife}: A gift from her mother, made with a smoothed-out bone handle and treated with certain oils, mainly used to help cut things like vines and plants when out collecting herbs and so forth. Also a very niche emergency self-defense tool.
-{Food}: A small pouch sitting on her opposite hip that contains a few strips of preserved game meat and a few dried edible herbs from the local area. Not much in amount, since it was meant to be snacks for heading into the woods to gather herbs before 'that' happened.
-{Wristband}: A simple little bracelet made of pretty stones dyed in various colors, carefully having had a hole made through each, sitting on a band made of twisted and treated leather strips. Worn on her left wrist and given as a gift to her by her mother. How long it took to acquire or even make is unknown.
-{Cuteness}: She is a definitely cute moth girl. This is inherent to her existence. Yes.
The Mothraki felt a certain sense of fascination as she and Jivka made their way into and through the woods around the Yaga village. Indeed, along the way the girl would take careful mental notes, as well as try to gather a large amount of samples of what Jivka showed her along the way. Er, not trying to take everything from the forest mind. Just a big bunch to bring home, maybe even grow a couple of them if she could get them back home to! Yeah. Well, maybe at least. Her gathering along the way also wasn't so obsessive as to slow them down too much either, but enough to try to get as much as she reasonably could for potential future use and so forth.
If she had a choice, she'd fill her pouch of herbs with as many of these picked ingredients as she could! Within reason. Of course she would be at the same time trying to be as mindful as she could to properly separate things like poisonous things and medicinal ones, to avoid cross-contamination, though for all she knew even a poison could have its uses medicinally. At least based on what she knew from Miss Calra thus far, as little as that was...but still! She wanted to become a better herbalist. A better magic user. Better able to help, to heal, to cure, and to fight. And this was just another step on that road, as well as a step closer toward her ultimate goal.
...That one person just needed to hold on a bit longer. Just until she could find something useful for that strange malady. Please. It meant the world to her.
And then, after that, they could finally talk about all the things they never got to say or finish back then.
But for now, she was almost happy to be temporarily removed from the current crisis situation going on. Not that it all could be rushed to some perfect ending, but a small and real breather would perhaps help her own mind with handling it all later. Once they got back of course.
As Jivka pulled down the vine with red flowers, Nylah did her best to keep her wings from fluttering in barely-restrained excitement. She'd been fascinated with everything Jivka was showing and teaching her thus far, rather visibly and even audibly so, and on top of the semi-obsessive sample gathering she'd done along the way she was perhaps very much in her element for a change. Or at least removed from how she'd been back at Jivka and her sister's place.
The Mothraki then moved closer too what Jivka was trying to show her, gingerly and delicately running her fingers over the petals of the flower, all before looking at the others still attached to the vine. She then looked back at Jivka, her eyes beaming with a certain sense of wonder and excitement even now. Whether it all came off as 'adorable and cute' (her natural cuteness was already definitely a thing indeed) or decidedly 'not' cute, though, would be entirely up to the Yaga who had agreed to escort her out there. Yet if nothing else Nylah was doing her best to be a rather eager and attentive student indeed.
"It's beautiful as well! Though what are the side effects?"
Yeah, those could be a worry for its potential use. On the other hand, this was all just part of the learning process as well. No herb or such was perfect. Just like people, really, now that she thought about it.
((Two more small inflatable full moon balls are thrown into the dialogue box, again, for no good reason.))
-Herbs/Herbalism Knowledge:
***Herbs Around the village of Dawn.
Kyr Reed acted as a sort of coagulant as well as sedative. Made people calmer…not particularly useful for treating frostbite on its own, but it was useful for staunching bleeding or injuries. Could be crushed into a paste with a variety of other things to achieve various effects. Wind-Leaf acted as more of a stimulant. When properly mixed with Kyr Reed it made salves and healing poultices good for bolstering the immune system and promoting natural healing. Coral Moss and Slug mucus were a bit harder to find, since the slugs only could be found in shallow water during the day, with Coral Moss being found in damp sea caves off the coast near the Goddess Spear. Slug Mucus was good for making topical salves for alleviating pain, while Coral Moss, when exposed to certain other substances actually heated itself to temperatures good for gentle rewarming of frost-bitten areas.
***Making anesthetics and preparing healing potions and salves.
It’d be easy enough to prepare both of those things especially with the things she had on hand. Fresh water for a base, crush the ingredients, then boil it to a broth. Simple enough, they didn’t have time to refine it. The Salves could be made by taking the same ingredients and crushing them into a paste without the water. Better for topical use on flesh wounds.
***Herbs In Yaga Territory
“A lotta the plants here you’ll have to dig a bit in the snow for.” She’d say. “They grow pretty well. Others you might find growing along the trees or even in some rocks. Just pay attention…like this one.” She’d say, using her foot to kick aside a pile of snow. Under it was a small plant, an herb with a fairly big root and small, three pronged leaves. “This one is a pretty potent poison. Makes an animals muscles lock up so they can’t move.” Jivka would lead Nylah through the forest for quite a while, pointing out a number of different plants and herbs. One could be used to induce vomiting - helpful for making someone spitup anything toxic they ate. A particular purple leafed plant was a pretty powerful hallucinogen and was sometimes used in yaga rituals, apparently.
“My favorite though is this one.” Jivka moved to a vine that was growing around a tree, pulling off one of the bright red flowers from it. “Oros leaf, we call it. If made right, it can really help one get stronger physically…well, if ya know survive the side effects. A number of the top Yagan hunters have to drink a draught made of this stuff to be recognized by all clans as anything more than a simple warrior.”
***
***
***
***
-Acquired Lore/World Knowledge:
***Yaga Deity + Yaga Perspective On Rifelshka -
and slowly running her thumb across it. “It doesn’t have a name. Our deity, that is. We just know he exists and is the reason we survived the Moonless Era.” She’d pass it to Nylah for her to hold. “As for The Death goddess…” She lowered her voice, briefly glancing over her shoulders despite there being quite obviously no one else in the cabin. “We say the rest of the gods are lesser spirits born from our nameless deity when he fell from the heavens, his body was formed into these lesser Spirits. But the Death Goddess? She existed before him and if you believe the elder, had a direct hand in creating the Moonless Era and seeks to kill our deity once more. That’s all I’m saying.” She’d fall silent, seemingly nervously scratching the back of her head. “Uh, sorry I’m gonna take a walk. Hate talking about this, but one more thing. Do not mention her name here, outsider. That’s a good way to get every Yaga to want you to leave. Say she hears every time her name is spoken and we don’t want to try any attention from her.”
***Why the Krysa are at the Yaga Village and are attacking Mie -
Something has the Krysa spooked.” A brusque reply the Yaga ignored the snow starting to fall, leading the three towards a small house towards the middle of the village. “Someone trying to attack one of their wisemen or something? I dunno. They blame that merchant that travels through here around this time.”
***About Novak:
First, I know that I don't look the part of one of Mie's people. I originally wasn't- I was just some nobody that her caravan picked up, and she was gracious enough to allow me to earn a living working for her. She sent me to sneak out since I'm neither an Oni nor a Chagawa human, thus they have no reason to suspect that I'm with her."
***Mie's Caravan Situation Information As Acquired from Novak:
"I presume Haruno already filled you in as to what our situation is. Nothing's changed since she left- we're still holding out, but our food is running low and we need to get this resolved one way or the other. However, I did manage to learn some rather interesting things on my way here. The Krysa woman you saw me with, Lady Marushka, is with the Office of Internal Peace. She's acting on direct orders from the Tsarita herself, hunting some "person of interest" in the snowfields. I also overheard a mention from her guards about the life of someone important being threatened. Sir something...Ost...no...Osh...Ozven, that's it. Sir Ozven, they said."
***
***
***
-{Enthralling Dust} (Racial): Mothraki produce a potent pollen like dust upon their wings. Merely by existing they spread this where they go, though it's mostly harmless if not inhaled in large quantities. Causes hallucinations and dulls one's senses. As one may expect, people tend to frown upon this sort of thing.
-{Journeyman Light Magic}: A magic encompassing pure light and illumination, ranging from harmless orbs to light up one’s path all the way up to rays/beams of light as attacks to even light barriers and other light constructs such as swords and spears and shields and so forth. A versatile magic that does not call upon the fire of the sun, but does have its myriad uses and capabilities.
-{Novice Herbalist}: Non-magical practices of a healer, ranging from identifying or figuring out the use of new herbs and recognizing familiar ones, to making things like certain poultices and healing-based alchemy/potion-making, to how to handle wounds/injuries and such using these things.
-{Herbalist's Bag}: A simple leather bag with a well-built shoulder strap, that is filled with a good number of many types of herbs, a good amount of bandages, and finally tools to make tonics, poultices, and potions alongside a scare few pre-prepared ones that are within the bag itself. She usually wears it around most of the time. (EDIT: Has refilled her supplies, with three one total healing pots remaining now. Also now has four three vials of baby-chameleon-thing poison.)
-{Small Knife}: A gift from her mother, made with a smoothed-out bone handle and treated with certain oils, mainly used to help cut things like vines and plants when out collecting herbs and so forth. Also a very niche emergency self-defense tool.
-{Food}: A small pouch sitting on her opposite hip that contains a few strips of preserved game meat and a few dried edible herbs from the local area. Not much in amount, since it was meant to be snacks for heading into the woods to gather herbs before 'that' happened.
-{Wristband}: A simple little bracelet made of pretty stones dyed in various colors, carefully having had a hole made through each, sitting on a band made of twisted and treated leather strips. Worn on her left wrist and given as a gift to her by her mother. How long it took to acquire or even make is unknown.
-{Cuteness}: She is a definitely cute moth girl. This is inherent to her existence. Yes.
Oh dear. The young mistress was off in the crowd somewhere, she just knew it! Not that this Serrica was anyone who would shirk from such a thing...much less apologize for it. A far call from the Serrica of the game proper to be sure, and far more financially savvy in what felt like a meta sense to boot, but she'd become accustomed to it all over the years here since her own arrival. Or, well, awakening? It was hard to pin down a word for it all. Even so, she was happy to serve and tag along here for the chance to fulfil her own aspirations.
Magic! Real Magic! This was an academy for the elite, but if she could glean and learn anything it would be superb. She'd also have to try a couple things she remembered about it from the game to boot. Whatever came, she would indulge her new life and live it to the fullest and best that she could! Yet how the eventual letter from Lord Haldblum would change anything, if it did at all, would certainly be something to see in the future. But until that time, she would at least take advantage of her current position in things if nothing else.
...However, this also mean attending to her cousin-mistress, or whoever she was this time around, as best she could as well. And to that end she was calling out whilst searching for her amidst the throng, nearly on her tiptoes as she tried to peer up to find that trademark head of orange hair.
"Mistress Serrica? Mistress Serrica?"
She was shoved aside enough times as it was along the way, of course, but she was used to the treatment by other nobility. Well, those who hadn't had her cooking at least. That much had gained her a sort of rather good reputation as a maid thus far, at least with guests of her mistress and mistress' parents in the past. Something to be proud of perhaps, but-
SLAM
She never saw who it was, but someone else sent her bowling back onto the ground by running into her. Lydianna fell flat on her back and side, wincing in pain as she made contact with the ground. But none paid any mind, it seemed, to her position, and as she did her best to at least get up onto her hands and knees she felt a slight warmth come to her eyes and flush into her face. It was humiliating...stupid crowds. Then her eyes would look up, landing on a familiar-looking someone walking in her general direction.
...Oh.
Her legs would bend to the sides as she sat up a bit more on her knees and tried to wave at said someone, before likewise starting to call out to them.
"M-Miss! Miss!"
She called out to the girl, one with uniquely peculiar violet eyes, short-cut hair, and seemingly in possession of a general beauty to her as if by design. Well, technically it was by design. Game design. Wasn't hard to recognize her as the girl who was supposed to be the heroine of the entire tale, after all, even if Lydianna herself was just trying to do her job right now.
But right now all she was seeking was a little bit of help for the moment, if possible...
The Mothraki would also carefully examine the shape and size of the dried leaves that Jivka was showing her at the moment as well. Her hands would very carefully and gingerly handle them to get a better look, before laying each bundle back down in turn right where Jivka had placed them. She did not want to damage or crumble up what Jivka and her sister needed here for themselves after all. Indeed Nylah was grateful that she at least knew how to carefully handle something like this after her training so far with Miss Calra.
“If you want, I could show you some. Got nothin’ better to do right now and if I get any more bored I’ll probably go crack a rat skull or two.”
W-Well, if it kept the other girl out of potential trouble at least...
"I'd be delighted to learn, Jivka!"
Nylah genuinely seemed to perk up a bit more excitedly at the prospect of getting to learn more about the local herbs. Not to mention the potential to pick some along the way to boot perhaps.
It would certainly be something to get her closer to what she wanted most to get done in all of this, but was also something that she wanted to learn about in general. Perhaps secondarily a chance to see more of the local area too, she supposed, and if they got lucky they could see something or overhear it maybe? But, eh, that was not the primary reason for agreeing to such an outing as this in all honesty. Didn't want to try to get too far ahead before they all could meet back up and talk again about what they'd learned or such.
Then perhaps they could figure out another move before things got even worse around here. Eventually maybe even meet up with Mie and her people somehow, though doing such without causing themselves or the Yaga any more Krysa troubles would certainly be an issue in and of itself. Ugh.
((A small inflatable full moon ball is thrown into the dialogue box for no good reason.))
-Herbs/Herbalism Knowledge:
***Kyr Reed acted as a sort of coagulant as well as sedative. Made people calmer…not particularly useful for treating frostbite on its own, but it was useful for staunching bleeding or injuries. Could be crushed into a paste with a variety of other things to achieve various effects. Wind-Leaf acted as more of a stimulant. When properly mixed with Kyr Reed it made salves and healing poultices good for bolstering the immune system and promoting natural healing. Coral Moss and Slug mucus were a bit harder to find, since the slugs only could be found in shallow water during the day, with Coral Moss being found in damp sea caves off the coast near the Goddess Spear. Slug Mucus was good for making topical salves for alleviating pain, while Coral Moss, when exposed to certain other substances actually heated itself to temperatures good for gentle rewarming of frost-bitten areas.
***Making anesthetics and preparing healing potions and salves.
It’d be easy enough to prepare both of those things especially with the things she had on hand. Fresh water for a base, crush the ingredients, then boil it to a broth. Simple enough, they didn’t have time to refine it. The Salves could be made by taking the same ingredients and crushing them into a paste without the water. Better for topical use on flesh wounds.
***
***
***
-Acquired Lore/World Knowledge:
***Yaga Deity + Yaga Perspective On Rifelshka -
and slowly running her thumb across it. “It doesn’t have a name. Our deity, that is. We just know he exists and is the reason we survived the Moonless Era.” She’d pass it to Nylah for her to hold. “As for The Death goddess…” She lowered her voice, briefly glancing over her shoulders despite there being quite obviously no one else in the cabin. “We say the rest of the gods are lesser spirits born from our nameless deity when he fell from the heavens, his body was formed into these lesser Spirits. But the Death Goddess? She existed before him and if you believe the elder, had a direct hand in creating the Moonless Era and seeks to kill our deity once more. That’s all I’m saying.” She’d fall silent, seemingly nervously scratching the back of her head. “Uh, sorry I’m gonna take a walk. Hate talking about this, but one more thing. Do not mention her name here, outsider. That’s a good way to get every Yaga to want you to leave. Say she hears every time her name is spoken and we don’t want to try any attention from her.”
***Why the Krysa are at the Yaga Village and are attacking Mie -
Something has the Krysa spooked.” A brusque reply the Yaga ignored the snow starting to fall, leading the three towards a small house towards the middle of the village. “Someone trying to attack one of their wisemen or something? I dunno. They blame that merchant that travels through here around this time.”
***About Novak:
First, I know that I don't look the part of one of Mie's people. I originally wasn't- I was just some nobody that her caravan picked up, and she was gracious enough to allow me to earn a living working for her. She sent me to sneak out since I'm neither an Oni nor a Chagawa human, thus they have no reason to suspect that I'm with her."
***Mie's Caravan Situation Information As Acquired from Novak:
"I presume Haruno already filled you in as to what our situation is. Nothing's changed since she left- we're still holding out, but our food is running low and we need to get this resolved one way or the other. However, I did manage to learn some rather interesting things on my way here. The Krysa woman you saw me with, Lady Marushka, is with the Office of Internal Peace. She's acting on direct orders from the Tsarita herself, hunting some "person of interest" in the snowfields. I also overheard a mention from her guards about the life of someone important being threatened. Sir something...Ost...no...Osh...Ozven, that's it. Sir Ozven, they said."
***
***
***
-{Enthralling Dust} (Racial): Mothraki produce a potent pollen like dust upon their wings. Merely by existing they spread this where they go, though it's mostly harmless if not inhaled in large quantities. Causes hallucinations and dulls one's senses. As one may expect, people tend to frown upon this sort of thing.
-{Journeyman Light Magic}: A magic encompassing pure light and illumination, ranging from harmless orbs to light up one’s path all the way up to rays/beams of light as attacks to even light barriers and other light constructs such as swords and spears and shields and so forth. A versatile magic that does not call upon the fire of the sun, but does have its myriad uses and capabilities.
-{Novice Herbalist}: Non-magical practices of a healer, ranging from identifying or figuring out the use of new herbs and recognizing familiar ones, to making things like certain poultices and healing-based alchemy/potion-making, to how to handle wounds/injuries and such using these things.
-{Herbalist's Bag}: A simple leather bag with a well-built shoulder strap, that is filled with a good number of many types of herbs, a good amount of bandages, and finally tools to make tonics, poultices, and potions alongside a scare few pre-prepared ones that are within the bag itself. She usually wears it around most of the time. (EDIT: Has refilled her supplies, with three one total healing pots remaining now. Also now has four three vials of baby-chameleon-thing poison.)
-{Small Knife}: A gift from her mother, made with a smoothed-out bone handle and treated with certain oils, mainly used to help cut things like vines and plants when out collecting herbs and so forth. Also a very niche emergency self-defense tool.
-{Food}: A small pouch sitting on her opposite hip that contains a few strips of preserved game meat and a few dried edible herbs from the local area. Not much in amount, since it was meant to be snacks for heading into the woods to gather herbs before 'that' happened.
-{Wristband}: A simple little bracelet made of pretty stones dyed in various colors, carefully having had a hole made through each, sitting on a band made of twisted and treated leather strips. Worn on her left wrist and given as a gift to her by her mother. How long it took to acquire or even make is unknown.
-{Cuteness}: She is a definitely cute moth girl. This is inherent to her existence. Yes.
Nicknames: Lunie (parents only), “Scars” (when she was a part of the Mutants/gang), Lulu (the only one she’d maybe eventually accept from other people these days who aren’t her parents)
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Personality: A person who usually says what she wants to without reservation, the sort of blunt-type and straightforward personality in the sense of not seeing any point in sugar-coating things when she feels like something needs to be or should be said/done. In that sense, she is a girl of action. She less enjoys the ‘usual girly type of stuff’ in favor of more physical activities and exercise and video games and so forth, though learning how to brush and even tie her hair up in a bun is something she’s picked up on (among a few small things) from a practicality standpoint over the last few years. At the same time, however, she isn’t the type to be so blunt about certain matters like trigger events and similar traumas. Even suffering from violence and gangs and poverty and so forth is something of a spot she’s definitely softer and more understanding about.
At the same time, she also has a certain bone to pick when it comes to her former gang. Guilt. Anger. Sadness. Frustration. It's hard to nail down her exact feelings. What she has made known is that she’s more than happy to help clean up the mess and their boss and such ilk off of the streets, perhaps one day once and for all. She wants to make things truly better for the world this time, unlike what she thought would help her do so before, and she’s dedicated herself to that ideal and goal both when it comes to the Mutants and other such things out there. At the same time, however, when it comes to her past she has likewise mixed emotions talking about it. Talking about how it was a mistake, and showing herself as proof of it among other things? Yes. Talking about the details of her trigger with other people, or other more complicated matters tied to it? No. These matters regarding her past are….much more touchy for her.
Whilst she had put years of work into her own self-control, not having been overly violent back when she was part of a gang, she has worked over the last few years to try to stem her more violent side as well. When angered enough she especially struggles with this, and it is something she has come to rather hate about herself. Not that she entirely loves herself in general otherwise.
It was Redline, but it was also her home. Heck, the impoverished area she lived in in particular was home to a number of people both normal or turned parahuman due to the events of their own lives. Gangs, the sound of police sirens, drugs, and the like were normalized to her from the moment she was born. Even so, her parents wished for her to find a better life beyond the neighborhood and area of the city she was born in…grow up better and live better than they’d ever had it in their own lives. She was sent to a decent public school in the city and outside of her neighborhood to learn, her parents scrounging enough money to help her get bus or other fare to get there. Anything in order to gun for the best possible future...albeit this came with its own pressures and more so expectations despite their intentions.
Yet life as it was where she lived was a reality she also had to live with, and in her particular neighborhood a certain gang would end up taking over during the early years of her youth: The Mutants. A smaller group of parahumans, bitter with the world they lived in and treatment of non-Hero parahumans and so forth, whose message and propaganda would find some ground among the children of her area. Including herself. Things such as: "Society won't accept anyone who isn't a slave of the ‘hero’ system", "We gotta make ourselves known to the world, even if it hurts em' all to do so", "Screw mundanes, those worthless sheep. Thinking they are better than us! They're right to fear us! We're better than them", "Let's take what society owes us, and rebuild everything from scratch", etc. Or whatever other kind of rhetoric they sought to use. The kind of things that people at the bottom, those most disenfranchised by the world, parahumans living in poverty, and so forth might be drawn to like moths to an alluring but red-hot flame.
But few would get the chance to survive learning that this very same flame would just as happily consume them as well. Violence. Death. Servitude. The Mutants claimed to keep the area safe from the 'mundy gangs' by making where a number of parahumans lived in her area into 'their territory' and 'a place where parahumans can be free of society's crap'. Yet it was no different than the other gangs out there. Drugs. Extortion of 'protection fees' from those living around. Stealing from wealthy stores or other places. Girls and women forced into certain ‘jobs’. Fighting with other gangs, peddling their ideology, and frankly trying to drive out and keep out both police and heroes alongside any other forms of authority other than themselves. It was just an old lie used by such groups, but this time with a new flavor, yet to many impoverished parahumans and non-parahumans left as the worst off they were convinced of a seeming hope of rising the gang's ranks and changing the world. In becoming something, someone, more. In making anything better.
Whilst there were also the inherent unsavory types that would naturally be drawn to such an organization as well, this dream they were being sold would help to grow the numbers of and replenish numbers within the gang. Yet even then the gang had a mixed reception at best within this part of ‘their turf’, and locals in her area regarded or interacted with the gang in a mixed manner. Some had siblings or parents or relatives in it, some merely turned an eye on them to avoid trouble, and others outright rejected them as just another violent group trying to exploit them with false promises and ‘beating the system’ or whatever the case was. Yet even amidst the mixed reception, Luna and her friends seemed to want to join and would do so. Promises of better money to help their parents, glory, whatever it was in the end that drew them in ultimately did so in effect.
From here, they would start off small and rather young. Carrying something to another member’s house to avoid suspicion. Petty theft. Pickpocketing. Mentoring and coaching from any surviving older members would seek to groom them into future gang initiates as they served them, preparing them and so forth. Indeed, it would begin to pull them in as they joined up and started off small. Then it was transporting small amounts of drugs to kids at school. Learning how to sneak in and out contraband from places, how to hide money and such things, etc. Luna herself still went to school and so forth as her parents wanted at the same time, often this being used to make her a way to convey substances or such to her school more so over time. At the same time she wanted to keep her parents happy, but caught in between two worlds she was becoming something much worse than they had hoped. But she coasted along with things, holding desperately to the warped perspective and idea that both worlds were necessary, and that she could resolve things one day.
By the time she turned fourteen, however, she was involved in gang activities on a wider and more violent scale, from fights to smuggling to whatever she was assigned to. Her parents were despairing about her future and their expectations for her, she’d lost at least two friends to the violence, and the gang had its expectations for her being pushed harder and harder alongside this as well. Then came the day she and some of her surviving non-parahuman peers who had aspirations to rise up the ranks were told they would be ‘tested’, all to see if any of them would be able to reach the upper levels of the gang’s hierarchy. Not many if any such candidates came back from these ‘tests’, that much they silently knew already, but those who had come out into the gang’s upper crust and had gotten past it seemed to be that much stronger, tougher, and the like. They lasted a lot longer than any lower commanders had, and rumor had it they all came out of it as parahumans themselves.
And then the moment came. After arriving at the place, they were pushed inside and told to wait in the front room before they’d be brought back for the ‘test’. It was also here that a passing hooded man came to look her over, taking special note of her before he left…and accidentally dropped a hastily-folded paper as he left as well. Seemingly a messenger from the higher-ups, from what she knew, she couldn’t help but grab up the message and take a look at it as her time for the ‘test’ came closer and closer. Indeed, by this point her peers had been called back one by one before she’d finally been left alone in the room.
However…
Right after Luna finished reading the letter, the doors to the ‘test’ room burst open and an imposing man with a loaded glock in hand stepped out this time. The look in his eyes, the blood that was not his own that was staining his upper torso, the finger he had on the trigger of the gun, it all spoke silent but untold volumes of what was going to happen next. Violence. Immediate and imminent violence. The hooded man also stepped back in as well, and upon seeing her with the paper he froze in place stunned.
An utter identity crisis occurred at that time within Luna.
Who was she, really? What was she? She had coasted along with the gang as best she could, put on her best performance for her parents and local gang captains alike, but in the end she couldn’t do either. Was she just some punk kid who knew how to do crime? An idiot who had tried to live two lives, but couldn't be fully honest with either and had failed at both? In the heat of that moment her warped reality and the illusions of her own self were irreparably and wholly shattered.
She triggered.
…once taken into PRT custody, and investigations into the initial incident were finished, Luna and her family were rapidly taken and relocated to a secure PRT site far away from Redline. Safe to say, however, this change was to be the greatest one of her life thus far. Due to her age, she could not be thrown into some kind of parahuman detention facility and was instead kept with her parents at this PRT site and under constant observation and tight guard. Likewise, her parents were initially fearful to even be in the same room as her. It was enough to keep her in a relatively dark place at first, though…a couple of visitors would soon make their faces known by visiting her.
Moving forward she was most often visited by the cape known as “Glacier”, member of the Redline hero group known as the Elementals who had been the one to escort her off the scene after her trigger event. Despite his being rather intimidating at first, and his cold demeanor and very blunt disposition each not helping the matter, he was also the only one that seemed to want to talk to ‘her’. Not trying to pry out information from her, not afraid to be in the same room as her, it was a small light when she was at the lowest point in her life in those first months. Indeed, as time went on the ‘chilling’ cape’s visits, and less common visits from Hephaestus himself also thrown into the mix, would see her begin to improve in her demeanor some more. In her own words about it all, as said years later: “He [Glacier] was a hardass from Day One, and honestly I had no idea why he’d ever come see or talk to a stupid punk like me. But he just kept it up, even when I was silent and didn’t respond or even care, and eventually it kinda clicked in my head…that’s just how he is. Social skills of a dead rat, heh, but he meant every little corny-ass bit of what he was saying to me.
Almost no one else wanted to even get close to me back then, even with plenty of guards around and armed and ready to send my brains onto the wall, at least at first. Not that I really blamed em’ for doing so..but in the end I ended up talkin’ to the guy eventually. I even talked some to old man Heph later on.”
It would take a long time to work toward it, but once she began to open up more she would eventually make contact again with her parents. Not that it would be an easy process. She would likewise eventually start talking to the PRT therapists and such, even if bit by bit. In time a legal bargain long-term was offered to her, giving information on the Mutants in return for leniency and other things, and this offer would be accepted by her after some consideration. It ensured her some kind of future, even one she frankly felt was less-than-deserved by a longshot, as well her information leading to a good number of arrests and successes against the Mutants back in Redline. But if there was one thing she knew for sure…no, this wasn’t going to be the end. That much the cape did get across to her at the very least. But the deal, and helping against the Mutants with that information, was at least a first step in her mind.
Even so, her containment was maintained still due to her legal status and so forth as determined by the courts and the PRT itself. Yet despite this certain restrictions would be relaxed, mostly over the long-term for good behavior and after proper approvals were made, over the course of the next three years. One part of these boons she acquired was use of a prepared ‘practice room’ arranged for her training, exercise, and so forth, which seemed to help her relax more as well as gave the PRT further insight into her capabilities and potential countermeasures against her to boot. There was even at times Glacier’s participation (even Hephaestus’ own participation distinctly much more rarely in such cases) that would be allowed in this room for limited ‘sparring’ matches or other approved tests under proper and full PRT supervision. She likewise would receive further education, helping her to catch up properly to her peers in terms of ‘getting an education’ as well.
For the first time in her life, she was being nothing but ‘herself’ and felt like it for the first time in a long time. Or perhaps, rather, she was realizing it all for the first time as well.
With the long-term maintenance of generally-good behavior during her time under PRT custody, and accepting the legal bargain, her prospects were noticeably improved. Yet it also took three long, arduous, and hard-fought years of progress for her to get to such a better spot. No small amount of effort required…and a constant reminder of her situation each and every day she woke up and got out of bed. Guards still around, containment still in place, sleeping and living out of a transparent reinforced containment cell at all times, and even having an ankle bracelet attached to her as a redundancy measure. Etc. At the same time, however, things had gotten better in other ways. Her parents talked to her again. She had at least two capes, Glacier (mostly) and ‘old man Heph’ (to a lesser extent) who interacted with her. She even had room to move and learn and try to make herself into something better to boot, but something that was all ‘her’ this time, and she would work hard toward that end indeed.
Yet a few months ago things would begin to oddly change once more. Notable at first was the sudden disappearance of Glacier and Hephaestus with the formation of the Redline Guardians in Redline itself a few months ago. Then came the presentation of future options for her, among which was a new and current offer for the time being to join the Wards Initiative. It would get her back out in the world again, even if back into Redline, but it wasn’t as if she’d simply be walking in the front doors of the place either on her first day. No, even after she ended up accepting the offer on her end certain measures would be needed regarding her there due to both her ‘legal/criminal status’ and certain local matters regarding her and the Muants back in Redline proper.
Power:
{{Classification: Changer (Can’t Think Of A Designation Number For This Classification Or Such RIP)}}
Changer Form: A slender, smooth, curvaceous, beautiful she-devil/succubus that is deceptively pleasing to the eye indeed. Exotic as well, even having an exotic-colored very deep blue skin color, jet black hair, and black-colored eyes with bloody-crimson-red-colored pupils in them. This form is distinctly dangerous, however.
Instead of fingernails at the tip of each finger, each finger transforms into a tough and razor-sharp claw on the end. Same at the end of each toe instead of toenails. Likewise has a long, slim, deceptively very sharp, and whiplike tail with a finely well-tapered point on the end. Also has a singular upward-pointing or forward-pointing pair of usable horns. Teeth are also sharp and capable of rending flesh just as easily.
Due to the Fang transform, however, these aspects of her Changer form undergo a unique effect. When she enters her Changer form, these 'natural weapons' start off in a weaker state. While her other abilities are still active and unchanging after the initial shift is over, though, once in a combative setting her natural weapons and fighting instincts hone in and sharpen up over the course of a battle. In other words, these aspects of her Changer form start off weaker, but grow exponentially threatening quickly as they change, develop, and literally sharpen and become more and more potent over the course of a fight. This means in a shorter battle she is still useful, but she's even more vicious and far more dangerous in a longer drawn-out conflict.
This form has incredible if not unbelievable mobility, basically able to overcome anything in terms of mobility save for outright flying. No surface is too hard to cross at all for her, whether it be skittering/climbing up walls rapidly, leaping between surfaces or airborne objects or positions rapidly, or so forth.
She is likewise faster and nimbler and quicker than any natural human, at least, outside of those Parahumans with the sort of enhanced perception and speed/reaction time powers/skills who could keep up. It is good to note she isn't "The Flash", though, or some kind of superhuman mega/super-speedster or such.
Has skin that, akin to a cuttlefish or octopus or such, can rapidly ripple to change color, texture, and to some lesser extent/degree shape and rigidity, in order to have active camo going that can be kept up to blend in with the environment best.
Allows for abrasive surfaces on the body that can be weaponized, sharpened points instead of nails or claws that are made rigid and can pierce or slice like talons.Can also use this for things like making the skin rough/coarse/sharper using this as well alongside the rippling change in texture, basically making it grazing or cutting or even worse against people without enhanced durability on contact….especially when combined with higher speeds she can move at and the force that comes with that. Can further use this to reinforce/enforce the skin to add some increased toughness/durability, or do things like make the skin incredibly slick (causing attacks to slide off, getting into hard-to-reach places, etc to that end).
Has no scent, and her skin fully hides her thermal signature/body heat so she doesn't show up on infrared camera/infrared imaging/thermal or infrared sensors.
Has some increased durability compared to normal humans due to the Fang Transform, but mostly just sees an increase in lethality potential from it.
Changer Skin(s): Deep x Finesse
Deep: Non-identity, in the ill-defined or incorrect self images. Includes abstract dreams or notions of who they are, clinging to warped perspective, or coasting through life letting a clique decide Self.
Deep skins are stealthy, with a variety of subtler ‘tricks’. Misleading or subdued appearances.
Finesse skins emphasize speed and dexterity, and tend to be slender and aesthetically pleasing.
Changer Transformation: Fang
Change happens as part of a fight and/or grants form focused on natural weapons. Triggers involve I.D. crisis from imminent danger.
Skills:
Fighting/Combat - Having spent years in a gang, and with the evidence of her own myriad scars, she’s seen an amount of battle indeed. Cops, other gangs, other parahumans, she’s been put through the gambit and survived. From her experience, mentoring in the gang, and so forth, she’s a generally pretty competent and seasoned fighter and combatant from the hardest parts of Redline. Hand to hand, the use of knives and improvised weapons, and even firearms are all very familiar to her within the realm of fighting and combat.
At the same time she isn’t like some 50 year old martial arts master, or professional soldier returned from a war, and there is definitely always room for improvement. However, her skills here are entirely practical, mentored, and honed from years of experience.
Exercise/Parkour - Had she managed to avoid joining a gang, she might have very well opened a gym or parkour-running group of her own one day. This is the phrase to best summarize her dedication and skills regarding this area, which has even included boxing and punching bags used for exercise purposes on the side. It’s also her favorite go-to for ‘venting some steam’ and stress-relief purposes. She is no bodybuilder or such, nor planning to ever be one, but in the practical sense it is all something she’s very good at personally and makes well-practiced and good use of.
First Aid - A skill she gained minimal practical knowledge from her time spent in the gang, but got formal training on in the last three years as well at her eventual request. Combined this has made her generally pretty competent in this area of things, both educationally and practically alike.
Sneaking/Stealth - Smuggling contraband past security, moving about as quietly as possible, hiding from notice when being hunted down, sneaking up on people, kidnapping, petty and major theft, pickpocketing, and even kidnapping are things that she’s gained years of experience in and involvement/mentoring with from within the Mutants prior…things that she can apply even now as a Ward at least. Not things she’s proud of, but has determined to continue to hone and make use of for the purpose of good as a Ward as well. Mostly involved in how this works on the street level, though the extent of said skills brings into question just how much she was actually involved with and ended up doing during her gang years indeed…
Her body is very well-built, but not overly bodybuilt or such, and is very solid and hardy in both terms of strength, pain tolerance, and stamina.
Other:
Spicy food, Thai food, Japanese, and Chinese-American foods are among her very favorites to eat. Picked up learning a few small words in Chinese alongside it from some of the local eateries to boot. She even knows how to use chopsticks after years of being self-taught and being given pointers here and there at the places she’s been to eat.
Height = 5’10”/177.8cm
Does not know how to pick a lock to save her life.
Owns a simple but beautiful snowflake pendant she often wears. A gift from someone Glacier in the past, perhaps?
...
...
…
…
…
-Secondary File Search Completed-
-PRT Authentication Recognized: Welcome Back, Director Fukada-
A Changer was likewise found at the scene, or “Subject #074”, sitting in the room where it has been ascertained that the Mutants once tortured people to try to induce trigger events artificially. She was unresponsive to most, and few were willing to approach with a severed head sitting next to her, but she easily stood up and came along just as quietly when the known Redline cape known as “Glacier” told her to come along with him.
Next most importantly, a letter addressing [REDACTED] from Stone was later identified as one of the victims at the scene. As a right-hand-man of upper management of the Mutants and Stone himself, we theorize [REDACTED] was present at the building to collect any ‘successful’ subjects as indicated by a letter found at the scene, or rather in this case a singular predicted success case.
The letter read as follows-
"T,
Message received. Be sure to handle this batch more professionally; I've tolerated your vices for now, but I need results, not broken goods. If you fail to deliver, I can ensure much worse than payment docking. This goes doubly so after your recent follies, and even moreso given your 'hunch' of something quality among this group. If they prove to be as invaluable as you believe, you are to take them directly to me after the process, and I will know if you did anything unnecessary.
Additionally, dispose of the rejects in a more clean manner than previously; The Elementals have picked up a trail, and I'm sure we both understand what that means for our operations. I pray I need not make myself any clearer. I look forward to your success, and prepare myself for your potential failure. Do not disappoint.
S."
It seems theories about [REDACTED]’s power as a Thinker were close to the mark. He would have visions of people who would trigger, but they were likely vague in nature for the most part. Limited in scope. But with his personal involvement, and this letter, it confirms that he could narrow down specific individuals using his power at times. He was not able to entirely realize the specifics of what would happen, however, but it seems general information or conditions involved in it could be predicted potentially as well.
In this particular case, Stone himself seems to have had a vested interest in the subject and wanted [REDACTED] to bring her to him once she was ‘finished’ becoming a parahuman. What [REDACTED] saw to cause such a reaction is unclear, and further evidence is unavailable. However, it seems [REDACTED] did not foresee being in the middle of the predicted violent outburst that occurred once the subject triggered.
[When] the Changer discovered at the scene transformed back eventually, roughly [REDACTED] later after initial confinement at [REDACTED], over the course of the next three days name and identity were able to be ascertained as the subject seemed to stir back into a responsive state. Initial struggles to get the subject to respond to initial questioning was evident, and initial psychoanalysis suggests that trigger-related trauma has left the subject in a state. Hence caution was taken in approaching the subject, though due to time and situational constraints had to be pushed for other reasons.
Upon acquisition of Subject #074’s testimony and evidence from the scene, she and her two parents have been thusly moved into PRT custody. In particular the security concerns regarding the subject led to the transfer being redirected from [REDACTED] to [REDACTED] in [REDACTED] for observation and subject containment due to the subject’s younger age. Such has also been done for protection, moving them far from Redline itself after PRT agents got word of a direct hit called out on the subject by the Mutants leadership shortly after the events of that day.
Further, after the subject became responsive enough to questioning some time after initial containment, we were able to get a testimonial of the events from her. According to her personal account of what happened after she triggered, as recorded by [REDACTED]:
“[It was] like all [she] could see was red. Bloody red. [She] could still remember the sound of gunshots, screams, cries, everything. [She] had been a fool, some [censored] idiot who had no idea who she was or where she was going and acted on the one thing [she] wanted most of all in that moment after triggering and transforming: Not to die. Not to become another blood smear on the armed guard sent to bring [her] in.
Because [she] wasn’t going to die…they were. It was one or the other. That’s what it felt like at the time.
By the time [she] came back to [herself], it was all over….limbs, bodies, everything splayed out all over the floors and on the ground. Hell, some of it on the walls and ceiling. A [censored] mess, but in the end [she] was finally safe…and then just sat down in the middle of it all and zoned out until suddenly someone else [she] didn’t know was there requesting [her] to come along.”
It would be confirmed there were no survivors who managed to flee the scene, present there or called in otherwise, though an attempt to run away by some was made according to ‘evidence’ found outside the building by arriving PRT forces, police, and accompanying members of the Elementals.
Once the subject transformed back eventually, name and identity were able to be ascertained and the subject’s family were rapidly taken into custody as well. Medical treatment was also applied at such a time as well for the subject for a number of minor injuries sustained prior to the event.
In accordance with PRT policy [REDACTED], the subject and her family have been thusly moved to Site [REDACTED] in [REDACTED] at [REDACTED] for observation and subject containment due to the subject’s younger age. Such has also been done for protection, moving them far from Redline itself after PRT agents got word of a direct hit called out on the subject by the Mutants leadership shortly after the events of that day.
Subject Recommendations
It is recommended the subject be kept in confinement for the foreseeable future, despite exhibiting initial cooperation thus far since her initial containment, and placed under strict observation and guard at her current location. Threat level of the subject has been determined to be and designated as: [REDACTED], and thus the proper security measures and caution should be used in accordance with PRT guidelines. Further interrogation of the parents for further information on the subject is recommended in turn, alongside careful examination of the subject by PRT psychological staff at said location to determine any further potential risks.
This ends the primary short-term list of recommendations.
Long term recommendations for the subject are as follows:
Should the subject maintain a cooperative manner with the PRT, it is recommended to further interrogate the subject regarding Mutants activities in Redline with the usual package of legal leniency in return for valuable enough information from the subject. Knowledge of Mutants activities in this area of Redline has been scarce in recent years, and could result in further advancement of anti-gang activities in the area.
Should the subject cease cooperation or prove a threat, guidelines for her designated threat level. If such persists, potential detention at [REDACTED] upon reaching an older age is recommended strongly.
However, a further request was made at the time of writing this report. Glacier, the cape who escorted the subject off of the scene, has requested visitation with the subject in the future. After review of the request, this has been given tentative primary approval and will be sent to [REDACTED] for a more long-term consideration at the persistence of Glacier in turn. History with such visitation requests should be considered, however, and thus with this weighted against the subject further this request for long-term visitations is recommended for secondary approval in turn.”
Personality: The type of person who earnestly seeks to do her best and makes sure of it no matter what, though when she gets especially passionate about a task there is always the chance of overworking herself. Still, in the end one can find her rather reliable in general and prompt when it comes to getting something done. Likewise, cooking has always been a passion for her that even now includes and involves the brewing and preparation of various teas that she’s learned about in the game and likewise since being ‘reborn’ in the game's world. Yet even with these initial traits that would seem perfect for a servant, there's more to this than just a seemingly happy-to-serve servant-type of person. She is a determined girl who, for the first time in a long time, feels like she is in control over her life to some extent. So what if it comes with serving the nobility? So what if she gained fame for her culinary skills and expertise that had been ever more honed and sharpened over a new 16 years of life? Her position is a particular one that allows her access to what she desires at least, especially in working for the Haldblums (not that she had any choice in that matter), whether it be cooking ingredient or pay or even being able to make people both wealthy and common alike smile with her dishes. Then again, she has also come to embrace the selfish wish to learn magic as well on a personal note. She’s always found the magical fascinating, and to be in a world where that is real, it’s a dream she seeks to make come true as well with all her heart. She wishes to learn all there is to learn from it, just as much as she adores and wishes to continue with cooking, and to see her pursuits blossom into fruitfulness in this new world in their entirety. This is why serving her mistress, the strangely ruthless-seeming and selfish Serra, does have more than one potential benefit to get out of things by serving her at the Academy.
Yet at the same time her knowledge of the game is something that has left her…suspicious of her mistress' behavior to a certain extent. Was she the only one to arrive in the world of the game? Because Serrica in the game was a kind and graceful girl, but the one she’d served all her life was nothing short of the opposite in some ways. In the end it did not matter for the most part, however, and she's kept to her role with a genuine glee. The future had potential for her as well, to be sure, whether that was further advantages from her position currently or even rising up the ranks of society one day.
Abilities/Skills:
As someone raised to become a maid and kept around her mistress from a young age, she’s acquired the skills that would make sense for one in the employ of a big noble family such as the Haldblum. Manners, etiquette, presentation, how to mend clothes, how to manage things on short notice, running errands for her mistress Serrica and her mistress' parents, housekeeping, gardening, and so forth in this vein of things. Aka, the whole wide range of domestic skills needed if not outright required for a high-class maid such as herself.
Meanwhile her old life’s passion, cooking, was something she took over into the new one with a continued passion that has brewed quite the results for her own personal reputation. Included in this is her dedicated how to prepare tea, and adding it to her repertoire of skills, which she's come to enjoy as just another part of her passion. However, from the start she was dubbed by her new-world mother and maid peers and even nobles she served as a ‘born genius’ at cuisine and cooking. Learning the practices and such of the new world, and taking everything she had memorized to an instinct before as well as game knowledge, she knew cooking would be a shoe-in area she could make work for herself. Not that this is all she knows of course, but it is her most standout skill thus far.
Further the nature of being a ‘fly on the wall’, a snooping sneaky servant, and so forth has also come to be part of her skillset inevitably. Listening in on someone or following them by her mistress’ command, sneaking in and out contraband, stealing, moving undetected, getting into things she shouldn’t, and the like are among the things she’s also become rather experienced and well-versed in due to the nature of her role and job. Being a maid doesn't mean living a boring life, after all, and even she has had to admit to herself that this sort of thing is a bit of a bad guilty pleasure she enjoys to some extent.
History:
A child with a passion for cooking, who enjoyed the flavors and learning about the ingredients and so forth from a young age. She was always curious and seeking to learn, and on top of enjoying fantasy books filled with magic and wonder. Yet her parents would push her, once a talent seemed to bud up in her, to take this passion and make it professional. Whilst her life started off humble, she was pushed and advertised and such until she became a young TV cooking star in the end. She often missed the more humble life where she could just cook as she pleased, and where she could help people with her cooking, but now she was having to invent recipes for cookbooks or allow others to put them in there as if she’d made them herself, follow show formats set by those above her, and talk to co-starring faces from other shows and the like that came onto her own show or invited her onto theirs. Etc.
All of this to her was rather taxing and draining, the only initial comfort she had at first being the far more advanced and fancy and top-tier cooking classes she got to take. Famous chefs and avant-garde cooks and 5-star restaurant recipes would find their way deep into her cooking and mind, on top of things such as historical recipes and such she could now pursue with her newfound status and wealth as a mere child. Indeed her talents and skills would be hones further, but it still wouldn't be enough to get her through on some days. Ultimately it would be her discovery of otome games and other kinds of video games that gave her another outlet during this time as well, within which she’d find a small passion in ~Cross Heart Academy~ and the struggles of the heroine who was surrounded by other nobility and their antics. She would go through the routes, side characters, and all she could to get an idea of things and grasp the game’s world. It took her out of things as they were around her, and let her be someone else somewhere else who could do things she could only dream of. It let her in a sense also be more herself as she sought to master the cooking aspects in the game, but also indulge things she'd fantasized about doing like learning how to use cool magic spells and finding true love out there.
Then came the day when her parents filed for divorce, after which came her being placed in the care of a middleman the day after as they bickered and fought in the courts to each get custody of her and her...everything. It was hard to sleep for days after that first day in court having to testify, during the nights of which she binged on playing ~Cross Heart Academy~ in particular to try to keep her mind off of things. Getting up to cook her own food during one of these following days, as per her usual, she would exhaustedly spill a small bit of oil after trying to pour some in a pan to cook her breakfast. Turning to grab a paper towel, her foot hit the spreading oil spill. She fell. CRACK. Her head hit the counter edge, and landed on the floor unconscious with a bad head wound. She would ultimately die of bleeding out on the floor before her 'neutral caretaker' that was living with her could get EMS on the scene.
…She then woke up as someone different in a world far different from her own. Now once again she found she could find joy in her life, had a loving parent to fill her life with, and room to fill that empty void and make a name for herself by doing what she loved. Sure it came with catering to the tastes of nobility, and working as a maid, but her former life had lent her some experience to help her deal with that at least. Not to mention being raised to fulfill her future role for nobility to boot. Yet now even cooking for her fellow peers was a joy in terms of the much simpler food they had to work with. It was far better in some ways than her old life, and now she knew things about the world that no one else did! Well…in theory. Potentially. She had more time to do what she loved, and the chance to learn magic in that at least was a treasure to her indeed.
However, her ultimate fate was yet to come....and what it would hold in this case was going to be the biggest mystery of all to her.
Original Role and Background:
Lydianna was originally a side character playing the part of the somber and dutiful maid of the Haldblum Family, being assigned in time specifically to the noble daughter of the family. Her mother and herself were always treated oddly well by their employers, which gained them some ire from a few of the other maids of the family's estate, but due to her struggles in performing some aspects of her job the beautiful girl found refuge in serving Serrica due to the other's kindness toward her. Only a year behind her charge, she would eventually assist in her mistress’ efforts to help the Heroine (in the applicable routes that is) when her mistress went to Starveil Academy. Here she would also assist her mistress in her actions, whether Serrica became a friend of the Heroine or not.
Yet it wasn’t all so simple. In reality, Lydianna was born the secret daughter of Lord Haldblum's brother who had married Lydianna's mother (a girl from a lower but still noble family) some time back before getting her pregnant and then dying. Yet due to the danger said brother was in at the time, which caused his death, the mother and child were taken in as mere commoners and became maids to hide the truth until things were safe for them to come out of hiding. Lydianna was never told the truth, but her mother would remain in-the-know the whole time. Eventually the Heroine could uncover the truth about Lydianna's parentage during one of the game's side quests at the Academy by snooping about during a side quest, finding the truth spelled out by taking and reading a misplaced unopened letter for Serrica sent to her by Lord Haldblum.
@Crusader Lord: Honestly, my biggest problem with this character is the weird (and maybe accidental?) suicidal ideation that the character portrays. It's one thing to pass away due to an accident or being a victim of some crime and be given a second chance, but to willingly take one's own life and, in essence, be rewarded for that? ...Yeah, doesn't sit right with me. I'll concern myself with the rest after that bit's fixed.
Oh no nonononononononono, that was not intended! I had just hoped for her to have a happier life in a new world. Not idealize, er, 'that'. Genuine accident on my part. Apologies. (T_T)
I have revamped and fixed her app! Should be looking better now in that regard, and a few others perhaps, I hope! :D
Personality: The type of person who earnestly seeks to do her best and makes sure of it no matter what, though when she gets especially passionate about a task there is always the chance of overworking herself. Still, in the end one can find her rather reliable in general and prompt when it comes to getting something done. Likewise, cooking has always been a passion for her that even now includes and involves the brewing and preparation of various teas that she’s learned about in the game and likewise since being ‘reborn’ in the game's world. Yet even with these initial traits that would seem perfect for a servant, there's more to this than just a seemingly happy-to-serve servant-type of person. She is a determined girl who, for the first time in a long time, feels like she is in control over her life to some extent. So what if it comes with serving the nobility? So what if she gained fame for her culinary skills and expertise that had been ever more honed and sharpened over a new 16 years of life? Her position is a particular one that allows her access to what she desires at least, especially in working for the Haldblums (not that she had any choice in that matter), whether it be cooking ingredient or pay or even being able to make people both wealthy and common alike smile with her dishes. Then again, she has also come to embrace the selfish wish to learn magic as well on a personal note. She’s always found the magical fascinating, and to be in a world where that is real, it’s a dream she seeks to make come true as well with all her heart. She wishes to learn all there is to learn from it, just as much as she adores and wishes to continue with cooking, and to see her pursuits blossom into fruitfulness in this new world in their entirety. This is why serving her mistress, the strangely ruthless-seeming and selfish Serra, does have more than one potential benefit to get out of things by serving her at the Academy.
Yet at the same time her knowledge of the game is something that has left her…suspicious of her mistress' behavior to a certain extent. Was she the only one to arrive in the world of the game? Because Serrica in the game was a kind and graceful girl, but the one she’d served all her life was nothing short of the opposite in some ways. In the end it did not matter for the most part, however, and she's kept to her role with a genuine glee. The future had potential for her as well, to be sure, whether that was further advantages from her position currently or even rising up the ranks of society one day.
Abilities/Skills:
As someone raised to become a maid and kept around her mistress from a young age, she’s acquired the skills that would make sense for one in the employ of a big noble family such as the Haldblum. Manners, etiquette, presentation, how to mend clothes, how to manage things on short notice, running errands for her mistress Serrica and her mistress' parents, housekeeping, gardening, and so forth in this vein of things. Aka, the whole wide range of domestic skills needed if not outright required for a high-class maid such as herself.
Meanwhile her old life’s passion, cooking, was something she took over into the new one with a continued passion that has brewed quite the results for her own personal reputation. Included in this is her dedicated how to prepare tea, and adding it to her repertoire of skills, which she's come to enjoy as just another part of her passion. However, from the start she was dubbed by her new-world mother and maid peers and even nobles she served as a ‘born genius’ at cuisine and cooking. Learning the practices and such of the new world, and taking everything she had memorized to an instinct before as well as game knowledge, she knew cooking would be a shoe-in area she could make work for herself. Not that this is all she knows of course, but it is her most standout skill thus far.
Further the nature of being a ‘fly on the wall’, a snooping sneaky servant, and so forth has also come to be part of her skillset inevitably. Listening in on someone or following them by her mistress’ command, sneaking in and out contraband, stealing, moving undetected, getting into things she shouldn’t, and the like are among the things she’s also become rather experienced and well-versed in due to the nature of her role and job. Being a maid doesn't mean living a boring life, after all, and even she has had to admit to herself that this sort of thing is a bit of a bad guilty pleasure she enjoys to some extent.
History:
A child with a passion for cooking, who enjoyed the flavors and learning about the ingredients and so forth from a young age. She was always curious and seeking to learn, and on top of enjoying fantasy books filled with magic and wonder. Yet her parents would push her, once a talent seemed to bud up in her, to take this passion and make it professional. Whilst her life started off humble, she was pushed and advertised and such until she became a young TV cooking star in the end. She often missed the more humble life where she could just cook as she pleased, and where she could help people with her cooking, but now she was having to invent recipes for cookbooks or allow others to put them in there as if she’d made them herself, follow show formats set by those above her, and talk to co-starring faces from other shows and the like that came onto her own show or invited her onto theirs. Etc.
All of this to her was rather taxing and draining, the only initial comfort she had at first being the far more advanced and fancy and top-tier cooking classes she got to take. Famous chefs and avant-garde cooks and 5-star restaurant recipes would find their way deep into her cooking and mind, on top of things such as historical recipes and such she could now pursue with her newfound status and wealth as a mere child. Indeed her talents and skills would be hones further, but it still wouldn't be enough to get her through on some days. Ultimately it would be her discovery of otome games and other kinds of video games that gave her another outlet during this time as well, within which she’d find a small passion in ~Cross Heart Academy~ and the struggles of the heroine who was surrounded by other nobility and their antics. She would go through the routes, side characters, and all she could to get an idea of things and grasp the game’s world. It took her out of things as they were around her, and let her be someone else somewhere else who could do things she could only dream of. It let her in a sense also be more herself as she sought to master the cooking aspects in the game, but also indulge things she'd fantasized about doing like learning how to use cool magic spells and finding true love out there.
Then came the day when her parents filed for divorce, after which came her being placed in the care of a middleman the day after as they bickered and fought in the courts to each get custody of her and her...everything. It was hard to sleep for days after that first day in court having to testify, during the nights of which she binged on playing ~Cross Heart Academy~ in particular to try to keep her mind off of things. Getting up to cook her own food during one of these following days, as per her usual, she would exhaustedly spill a small bit of oil after trying to pour some in a pan to cook her breakfast. Turning to grab a paper towel, her foot hit the spreading oil spill. She fell. CRACK. Her head hit the counter edge, and landed on the floor unconscious with a bad head wound. She would ultimately die of bleeding out on the floor before her 'neutral caretaker' that was living with her could get EMS on the scene.
…She then woke up as someone different in a world far different from her own. Now once again she found she could find joy in her life, had a loving parent to fill her life with, and room to fill that empty void and make a name for herself by doing what she loved. Sure it came with catering to the tastes of nobility, and working as a maid, but her former life had lent her some experience to help her deal with that at least. Not to mention being raised to fulfill her future role for nobility to boot. Yet now even cooking for her fellow peers was a joy in terms of the much simpler food they had to work with. It was far better in some ways than her old life, and now she knew things about the world that no one else did! Well…in theory. Potentially. She had more time to do what she loved, and the chance to learn magic in that at least was a treasure to her indeed.
However, her ultimate fate was yet to come....and what it would hold in this case was going to be the biggest mystery of all to her.
Original Role and Background:
Lydianna was originally a side character playing the part of the somber and dutiful maid of the Haldblum Family, being assigned in time specifically to the noble daughter of the family. Her mother and herself were always treated oddly well by their employers, which gained them some ire from a few of the other maids of the family's estate, but due to her struggles in performing some aspects of her job the beautiful girl found refuge in serving Serrica due to the other's kindness toward her. Only a year behind her charge, she would eventually assist in her mistress’ efforts to help the Heroine (in the applicable routes that is) when her mistress went to Starveil Academy. Here she would also assist her mistress in her actions, whether Serrica became a friend of the Heroine or not.
Yet it wasn’t all so simple. In reality, Lydianna was born the secret daughter of Lord Haldblum's brother who had married Lydianna's mother (a girl from a lower but still noble family) some time back before getting her pregnant and then dying. Yet due to the danger said brother was in at the time, which caused his death, the mother and child were taken in as mere commoners and became maids to hide the truth until things were safe for them to come out of hiding. Lydianna was never told the truth, but her mother would remain in-the-know the whole time. Eventually the Heroine could uncover the truth about Lydianna's parentage during one of the game's side quests at the Academy by snooping about during a side quest, finding the truth spelled out by taking and reading a misplaced unopened letter for Serrica sent to her by Lord Haldblum.
@MagusDream Kurama? She's tiny and won't hurt a fly...unless it's for an experiment.
*imagining something silly*
Knossos: "...No, Miss Kurama, I am not summoning an eldritch beast from beyond, AGAIN, for you to test this latest 'alien monster killer' potion on. The last time you tried the potion caused it to go berserk, and the result cost the locals three sheep, one head of hair, and a perfectly good local inn's roof."
BurningCold
Zapdos
Xaltwind
Spiffy
dwyer austin
The Otter
Dezuel
Izurich
Danyel
Aku the Samurai
