"Alright. Talk to you later." Sajan left off her conversation with Miller before hanging up. While she wasn't about to turn down the offer of coffee, she did think it was hardly necessary to make anything up to her personally. Still, it would probably just make Abigail feel bad to be pointlessly pedantic over such a thing. More importantly, it seemed she had a date with the director to keep, so she wasted no time getting into her now empty car and heading off.
She did not immediately race into the director's office, however, as while she hadn't gotten too banged up in the fighting, she had certainly been around enough smoke and fire, as well as having sweated aplenty, to warrant a good wash. When she was done, she was naturally back in her suit, looking quite prim and proper for her meeting. Upon entering the director's office, she was immediately greeted with the sight of two fresh faces. It was hardly difficult to tell that they were both card masters as well. Was the director on a recruitment drive, perhaps? One thing of note was that one of them actually looked a bit Japanese. This was noteworthy because in spite of them being located in Japan, Sajan had met strangely few Japanese people while working with the Muninn foundation. The director was not Japanese, neither was Abigail, and certainly Sajan herself was not Japanese. Heck, even the two people she had just apprehended were not Japanese.
In any case, Sajan joined the group, giving a small wave to the newcomers, and prepared to listen to what the director had to say.
Michael had little time to take in Ascot's explanation before everything took a turn for the worse. He noticed Koda's transformation and assault too late to be the one to take him down. He had instinctively raised his pistol in response, but by the time he had aimed his gun, Tristan of all people had already swooped into action. In due time, Koda was nothing more than ash, and everyone looked the worse for it. All Koda had been to Michael was the man that tried to help in his literal last moments on earth, but that didn't make this any easier to see. He was a comrade, even if only briefly, and the fact that one of their number had perished so suddenly and so horribly made Michael sick. He was hardly a stranger to death; people had died during his time on the force, either civilians that ran afoul of someone vicious, or criminals that got clipped in the wrong way. Michael had even shot people himself, though he had yet to kill anybody. But there was something raw and visceral about this that wrenched his gut all the more.
It only got worse as people began to speculate as to why it happened. Ascot brought up the possibility of him being overwhelmed by the magic he had come to possess. The very same magic many of them had already partially indulged in. It instantly brought up fearful visions of himself turning into some kindof monster and attacking the others. Did the ghost girl know this was going to happen? It seemed unlikely that a being of seemingly great cosmic power wouldn't know the dangers of their own magical artifacts. Regardless of the truth, Michael felt a shot of anger wash over him at the mere thought. If she even had an inkling that this would happen, then she was directly responsible for turning Koda into that thing. Michael hoped for her sake that she had a good explanation, or he would make her regret this, no matter what it took.
But now was not the time for thoughts of vengeance and possibilities. They still had a very much living group of people to be concerned about. As much as Michael imagined Stormy was suffering, even though she sounded disturbingly calm about it all, Michael was just as concerned about Tristan. It was not something to be taken lightly, the fact that he had just killed someone. It was something he had to do, but Michael could only imagine how it was cutting him up inside. In the absolute worst case, this could be something he would kill himself over. They would need to handle him with care if they were to carry on together. His friend, that Tabitha girl, was already saying something to him, and Michael hoped that might be enough to assuage whatever was going on in his head right now.
With Stormy being tended to and Tristan occupied with his friend, Michael was initially unsure of what to do with himself here. Then he noticed Anni, wrought with grief. She reminded him that they had an almost unfairly young and vulnerable girl with them, in a world that had just proven to be so much more insane and dangerous than some of the worst places on earth. Of all the people the ghost bitch had to drag into this, why did it have to be her? It shouldn't have been anyone, but least of all someone barely beyond being a child. Michael leaned down beside Anni and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The least he could do was this much, whether she would be comforted by his words and deeds or not. She did have that Kate woman as a friend, but...Michael had absolutely no confidence in her ability to be useful in a situation like this. Heaven help her if she even thought of making a quip like she had about his "death".
"Let it all out, kid." Michael told her. "Just know that we're here for you. It'll be alright."
Eventually, Sajan's strategy paid off. The robber exhausted himself attempting to keep up with her unrelenting assault and ended up disengaging from his card and collapsing. The day belonged to her. As he lay there on the ground, she instinctively aimed her kirpan at his neck. It would be effortless to finish him off in this state, and she certainly felt a gnawing urge to hurt him for all the trouble he had given her, not to mention the general monster he had proven to be. However, between the judging gaze of the Guru that she felt on her back, and her own misgivings over executing a defenseless man no matter his crimes, she could not bring herself to do it. Earlier, she had made up her mind to kill him for the sake of saving others. Not only had she ultimately failed to do that, but now there was no way he could rise from this place without someone intervening.
Against her impulses, she gathered both him and his card from the ground. She would hold onto the card for now, but she had serious misgivings about ever trying to tap into it. She could not be certain of its nature, but it had certainly aided and abetted a vicious criminal. Swiftly exiting the burning alley, Sajan brought the man over to her car, which had fortunately escaped fire damage so far. She briefly mused that it would be terribly ironic if he had managed to burn her car with his arrows, as he would have been responsible for killing his comrade, or brother, or whoever he was to him, as he was still inside. Propping him up, she tore a piece of his clothing to bind his wound with. Hopefully, she could at least stop him from bleeding out. She called out to one of the nearby Muninn workers, saying, "Does anybody here know first aid?" With luck, somebody among them might be able to stabilise the man a bit better. Regardless, Sajan phoned the foundation to report in.
"Ms. Miller, I've subdued the target. Where do you want them?" She hadn't been here long enough to become overly familiar with how Muninn dealt with its prisoners. Either way, she would be prepared to deliver these two wretches to whatever awaited them.
Unlike some among the Chimera present, Berke didn't hesitate to get amidst the crowds, oblivious to the stares of those that might judge him. His Chimera features were mostly hidden underneath his clothes, so it wasn't immediately apparent that he even was one, but some people would still call him a Gorilla for reasons besides his heritage. He stood well above the heights of many of the human students, so he made quite the spectacle. Perhaps the biggest spectacle about him was the giddy grin that adorned his face as he took in the sights. Berke was basically a tourist in this place, and getting to attend this prestigious academy alongside so many people was just plain exciting.
As much as Berke was eager to start talking to people and making friends, he wondered how soon the opening ceremony would start. After all, it would be disrespectful to sit there and chat away during the school's important event, wouldn't it? Berke certainly did not want to be rude. He would await the ceremony patiently for now.
Mycona Frisa
Mycona had spent the whole ride over with her face pressed against the glass of one of the windows of the train, completely oblivious to how ridiculous she looked to those around her. Mycona was simply too overwhelmed by everything she could see to pay any attention to what she was doing, not that she would recognise anything wrong with her behaviour even if she could. All Mycona knew was that "mother" had told her that she had to ride the large thing called the "train" to reach the "Mordhaben's". The Mordhaben's was her destination. She had read about it in that book. They did "magic" there, and magic elicited a unique reaction from her. She could not describe it properly.
The train ceased to move, and the others all went somewhere. This was the moment mother had described, their "arrival". Mycona was to leave the train with the others and wait for the "ceremony". Mycona did not understand why she had to wait for the ceremony to start magicing, but Mother told her she would understand eventually. Mother had also told her to find a "friend". She had first said to "make" a friend, but she changed her words when Mycona informed her she did not know how to make one. According to her, one of the others could be a potential friend. Mycona attempted to find the friend by asking others around her, and the conversations went something like this;
"Hello, I am looking for a "friend". Are you a "friend"?"
The others reacted in different ways. Some would just make a strange face and turn away. Others would tell her they were not her friend in various fashions. One told her to "fuck off". Mycona responded that she did not know what that meant. They also made a strange face and turned away. Mycona had come to the conclusion that finding a friend was "difficult". "Difficult" was the feeling she had when she attempted to access some of the books at "home" on a high shelf. "Father" had been there to help her acquire the books. Father was not here now. That made Mycona feel something else she couldn't describe. Mycona resigned herself to awaiting the ceremony. Perhaps after the ceremony, she could find a friend.
Appearance: Mycona is a petite creature at 155cm (5’1), and weighing 55kg (121lbs). Her hair is short and of a reddy pinkish tinge. She has a pasty, almost sickly complexion, though she is otherwise healthy, and her eyes have an amethyst hue to them. While her clothes betray a wealthy background, Mycona has no preference as far as clothes go, and tends to throw on whatever she happens to have on her at the time.
Under her clothes, there are places on her body that have begun to betray the nature of her condition; a few of her veins have become visible, as though bloated with some material. She has a flower-like growth on her head that is in fact a protrusion of the fungal parasite that has taken root inside her. If one were to stick their hand into her hair (more than a mere surface touch) they would find their hand covered in spores.
Age: 16
Species: Fungus Monster Parasite attached to Human host
Gender: Female (though the fungus technically has no gender)
Occupation: Student
Personality: Mycona Frisa was a depressive and melancholy person. Though her reasons for becoming as such were trivial at best, she nonetheless had come to the belief that life had no charm and spent her time entertaining herself with whatever she could get her hands on. This all changed recently when Mycona suddenly became an incredibly cheerful individual with a seemingly endless new lease on life. She is now infinitely curious, to the point it’s as though she were born yesterday. Her appetite for knowledge goes beyond the mundane; she seems inclined to learn just about everything, and she has been known to devour thick books in record time. She is, however, debilitatingly naïve, and takes things said to her very literally. As clever as she can be, she lacks foresight, introspection, or even much understanding of customary behaviour.
Magic Type Preference: Matter Manipulation Innate Magic Talent: Gas Manipulation Interests: EVERYTHING Learning new things, playing with words, learning more about Mycona (yes, really), dissecting any topic of discussion, eating Skills: Learning
Biography: One upon a time, Mycona Frisa was a normal girl that lived a privileged life as the daughter of a wealthy couple. They lived a comfortable existence in a quiet district of the Unoctocan capitol where Mycona wanted for nothing. However, due to a lethal cocktail of teenage hormones, a few bad, though ultimately trivial, life experiences and a ill-natured friend, Mycona came to the conclusion that life was a bitch. The aforementioned friend convinced her to try some hard drugs at a tender age, and soon Mycona was hooked. Initially, she fritted away the substantial pocket money her parents gave her to buy as much as she liked, but soon they found out about her awful new habit, and tried to put a stop to it. They also restricted her free time and put her under the surveillance of handlers they had hired.
Desperate to find a new avenue for her misery, Mycona slipped out from under the noses of her minders and wandered off to a nearby forest. She had heard that there was a flower-shaped fungus that provided a high like the kind she was looking for. After some searching, and some luck in avoiding any threats that lurked in the woods, Mycona eventually found the fungus of her desire. Without a care in the world, Mycona quickly consumed the whole thing. Soon after, she lost consciousness. After some time, her parent’s employees tracked her down, finding her still unconscious and miraculously unharmed. They carried her back to her parent’s mansion, where they feared for the worst.
However, the next day, Mycona suddenly snapped back into consciousness. While this was promising news to her parents, the fact that she now seemed to be in an almost brainless state was alarming. They summoned a physician to examine her, but at the time, he could find nothing to explain what was wrong with her, although he had only taken a cursory look into her condition so far. To their great amazement, she swiftly recovered from her debilitated state, and was soon speaking and moving around like nothing was wrong. At the same time, she did seem to have completely changed in personality, having become chipper and perky compared to her earlier moroseness. It was as though she was experiencing life anew for the first time. As strange as it was, they decided that this change was for the better, and thought it was best not to look the gift horse in the mouth.
As far as they were concerned, things only got better from then. Mycona displayed an astonishing capacity for learning, having all of a sudden picked up a thesis paper her father had written, read it front to back, and then regurgitated the whole thing without missing a beat once. It seemed she didn’t fully understand it, but it was amazing to see nonetheless. It was even better when she suddenly read a book about Mordhaben’s and became obsessed with looking into magic. After a short while, she displayed an ability to manipulate some kindof weird smoke. The parents were ecstatic to learn they had a magical talent in the family, and made plans to send her to Mordhaben’s immediately. Of course, as enthusiastic as they were, they were also concerned their daughter’s aberrant behaviour under certain circumstances would be an issue, and tried their best to make her understand how she should act. They are unsure if their lessons had taken root, but decided to risk sending her off regardless. Mycona, for one, appears to be all too eager to become a mage.
Appearance: Berke is one big guy, standing at 215cm tall (7’1) and weighing 110kg (242lbs). His eyes are coloured green, and his skin is mildly tan. Most of his weight comes from his exceptionally muscular form. He has a messy but short head of black hair, and the beginnings of a beard on his chin. As a gorilla-like Chimera, Berke has patches of thick black hair in places on his body, especially the chest and back, though it’s usually hidden under a full layer of clothing. As far as clothing goes, Berke tends to favour simple clothes, usually comprising of a non-descript pair of pants and a sweater.
Age: 19
Species: 4th Generation Gorilla Chimera
Gender: Male
Occupation: First year Student
Personality: Berke has a big heart to match his big body. He likes making friends and keeping people happy, and it always saddens him to see someone else being sad. Even when met with open hostility, Berke tries to make the most of it and see it as a relationship to be worked on. He is an exceptionally tolerant and forgiving person, and he likes to think that everyone just needs a little understanding to get by. However, this line of thinking often bleeds into dangerous territory, as he will take a hands off approach to some self-destructive behaviours, and lacks the assertiveness to tell someone when they’re just plain wrong. Of course, he isn’t so meek that he wouldn’t do a thing about someone hurting another person in front of him, but he is so naïve to think he can just ask them to stop.
Magic Type Preference: Matter Manipulation Innate Magic Talent: Metal Manipulation Interests: Bodybuilding, Playing Sports, Making friend Skills: Hitting people really hard, taking really hard hits, having sheer, bull-headed determination
Biography: Berke’s family is descended from a type of Gorilla Monster out in the wilderness. They have often been stereotyped as a big dumb bunch of ape creatures, but as Berke would tell anyone, his grandpa was a big ol’ genius, and he has an aunt that’s only 5 feet tall. Berke and his family hail from a town called Altay, where Humans and Chimeras exist in relative harmony. Berke was thus sheltered from most of the prejudice of the rest of the world, and grew up believing the idea of discrimination was but a fairy tale.
Life in Altay was very simple, and primarily revolved around hunting and gathering. Berke tried out some of his family’s hunting gear a few times, but he was never a great shot, and tended to prefer to use his physical strength. His family tended to roughhouse among themselves when bored, and having an informal tournament was something of a pastime for them. However, no matter how rough they got with each other, they always knew it was all in good fun, and knew that they were unique in their physical abilities. Anyone that couldn’t stand their strength was not to be hit lightly, and Berke’s parents made sure he and all the family understood that.
On the outskirts of Altay, there was an abandoned building with steel walls. As strong as the Bayamaar family were, even they couldn’t punch through steel. Berke, however, one day decided to test his strength by seeing if he could at least make a dent in one of the walls. To his great surprise, he did in fact end up punching straight through one of those steel walls. However, what he discovered later was that he had not punched it open, but had instead displayed a latent magical talent. It was here that his family encouraged him to pursue a magical education at Mordhaben’s. Berke was keen to enter the world doing something important to contribute to it, so he saw Mordhaben’s as the perfect avenue to pursue that goal. So began Berke Bayamaar’s entry into the world of magic at Mordhaben’s.
Name: Leonora Serannen
Appearance: Leonora is a tall and elegant woman that has put a great deal of thought and effort into her appearance. She is 168cm (6 feet) and weighs 61kg (134lbs). Her hair is long, flowing and golden and her eyes match its colour. While some would claim Leonora looks stunning without any work done, she still applies a great deal of cosmetics to just about anywhere she thinks she can improve upon. Possessing an enormous wardrobe, Leonora is almost never found wearing anything short of high fashion, though she tends to favour wearing a good pair of trousers to skirts. As a fifth generation Chimera, Leonora has only one trait belonging to her monstrous ancestors, and that is the feline claws on the tips of her fingers. She always wears custom made gloves built to mask her Chimera trait.
Age: 28
Species: Fifth Generation Feline Chimera
Gender: Female
Occupation: Staff – Mage Corps Instructor and Guidance Counsellor
Personality: Leonora speaks exceedingly politely and formally, sparing no effort to carefully craft her sentences so as to avoid causing offence. Seemingly in line with her role as the institute’s guidance counsellor, Leonora is proactive in approaching students and inquiring as to their wellbeing. Her only mildly provocative trait is that she’s been known to ask somewhat probing questions to others, even ones of a socially or even politically charged nature. Leonora is known to be difficult to read, as her default expression seems to be a pleasant smile, even when met with a difficult individual.
Magic Type Preference: Sensory Manipulation Innate Magic Talent: Perception Manipulation – Making people see things that aren’t there Interests: High Culture, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology Skills: Eloquent Speaker, Military Trained and Seasoned, Firearms Knowledge – Pistol Specialist, Clever Tactician
Biography: Leonora was born the bastard child of an affair between a wealthy and influential aristocrat and a fourth generation feline Chimera. Initially, Leonora’s existence was unknown to her father, and her mother had never planned to get either of them involved in her father’s world. However, her mother would die of illness one day, and upon her death, Leonora’s father happened to track her down and decided to take Leonora in. Having many particularly bigoted friends and associates, her father attempted to keep her nature as a Chimera a secret, but the rumours got out, and Leonora was frequently the target of hostility from those in her social circles. Still, while her early life was not perfect, her father was always fairly nurturing, and she still lived a largely privileged existence.
Leonora attended Mordhaben’s like so many others, and while prejudice existed at the Institute, Leonora found that people tended to forget what you were so long as you performed well, and perform well she did. Leonora was not only an excellent student but also a talented mage, and graduated from Mordhaben’s semi famous for her demonstrations of ability during her time. She was scouted by a captain in the Mage Corps, who wanted to make certain that she of all people became a soldier. If you asked Leonora, she would tell you that she signed up because she wanted to prove herself on the field of battle.
She served for several years under the captain that mentored her, only to suddenly resign from the Corps following an incident that occurred on the field of battle. While Leonora has not spoken of it to anyone, those that have heard anything about it know that the captain of her unit was killed under suspicious circumstances, though an official investigation reached no clear conclusion. Shortly after her departure from the military, Leonora took up a position at Mordhaben’s as a member of staff.
Name: Mycona Frisa
Appearance: Mycona is a petite creature at 155cm (5’1), and weighing 55kg (121lbs). Her hair is short and of a reddy pinkish tinge. She has a pasty, almost sickly complexion, though she is otherwise healthy, and her eyes have an amethyst hue to them. While her clothes betray a wealthy background, Mycona has no preference as far as clothes go, and tends to throw on whatever she happens to have on her at the time.
Under her clothes, there are places on her body that have begun to betray the nature of her condition; a few of her veins have become visible, as though bloated with some material. She has a flower-like growth on her head that is in fact a protrusion of the fungal parasite that has taken root inside her. If one were to stick their hand into her hair (more than a mere surface touch) they would find their hand covered in spores.
Age: 16
Species: Fungus Monster Parasite attached to Human host
Gender: Female (though the fungus technically has no gender)
Occupation: Student
Personality: Mycona Frisa was a depressive and melancholy person. Though her reasons for becoming as such were trivial at best, she nonetheless had come to the belief that life had no charm and spent her time entertaining herself with whatever she could get her hands on. This all changed recently when Mycona suddenly became an incredibly cheerful individual with a seemingly endless new lease on life. She is now infinitely curious, to the point it’s as though she were born yesterday. Her appetite for knowledge goes beyond the mundane; she seems inclined to learn just about everything, and she has been known to devour thick books in record time. She is, however, debilitatingly naïve, and takes things said to her very literally. As clever as she can be, she lacks foresight, introspection, or even much understanding of customary behaviour.
Magic Type Preference: Matter Manipulation Innate Magic Talent: Gas Manipulation Interests: EVERYTHING Learning new things, playing with words, learning more about Mycona (yes, really), dissecting any topic of discussion, eating Skills: Learning
Biography: One upon a time, Mycona Frisa was a normal girl that lived a privileged life as the daughter of a wealthy couple. They lived a comfortable existence in a quiet district of the Unoctocan capitol where Mycona wanted for nothing. However, due to a lethal cocktail of teenage hormones, a few bad, though ultimately trivial, life experiences and a ill-natured friend, Mycona came to the conclusion that life was a bitch. The aforementioned friend convinced her to try some hard drugs at a tender age, and soon Mycona was hooked. Initially, she fritted away the substantial pocket money her parents gave her to buy as much as she liked, but soon they found out about her awful new habit, and tried to put a stop to it. They also restricted her free time and put her under the surveillance of handlers they had hired.
Desperate to find a new avenue for her misery, Mycona slipped out from under the noses of her minders and wandered off to a nearby forest. She had heard that there was a flower-shaped fungus that provided a high like the kind she was looking for. After some searching, and some luck in avoiding any threats that lurked in the woods, Mycona eventually found the fungus of her desire. Without a care in the world, Mycona quickly consumed the whole thing. Soon after, she lost consciousness. After some time, her parent’s employees tracked her down, finding her still unconscious and miraculously unharmed. They carried her back to her parent’s mansion, where they feared for the worst.
However, the next day, Mycona suddenly snapped back into consciousness. While this was promising news to her parents, the fact that she now seemed to be in an almost brainless state was alarming. They summoned a physician to examine her, but at the time, he could find nothing to explain what was wrong with her, although he had only taken a cursory look into her condition so far. To their great amazement, she swiftly recovered from her debilitated state, and was soon speaking and moving around like nothing was wrong. At the same time, she did seem to have completely changed in personality, having become chipper and perky compared to her earlier moroseness. It was as though she was experiencing life anew for the first time. As strange as it was, they decided that this change was for the better, and thought it was best not to look the gift horse in the mouth.
As far as they were concerned, things only got better from then. Mycona displayed an astonishing capacity for learning, having all of a sudden picked up a thesis paper her father had written, read it front to back, and then regurgitated the whole thing without missing a beat once. It seemed she didn’t fully understand it, but it was amazing to see nonetheless. It was even better when she suddenly read a book about Mordhaben’s and became obsessed with looking into magic. After a short while, she displayed an ability to manipulate some kindof weird smoke. The parents were ecstatic to learn they had a magical talent in the family, and made plans to send her to Mordhaben’s immediately. Of course, as enthusiastic as they were, they were also concerned their daughter’s aberrant behaviour under certain circumstances would be an issue, and tried their best to make her understand how she should act. They are unsure if their lessons had taken root, but decided to risk sending her off regardless. Mycona, for one, appears to be all too eager to become a mage.
It seemed like it was to be a day of worst case scenarios for Sajan. She had been directed to the wrong person, allowing the robber to kill and steal once more. Her arrow had failed to deliver the killing blow, resulting in this scumbag being able to unleash devastation on the surrounding area. Now, it turned out this guy really did have some skill and certainly much strength in close quarters combat. From their clash, Sajan learned it was best never to lock blades with him, lest he overwhelm her. Fortunately, it proved simple enough to maneuver out of any such clashes, especially as he lacked agility.
It only got worse, however, as he revealed his ability to spit flaming arrows from just about wherever he pleased, or so it seemed. This explained how he was able to maintain his assault as he fled earlier. The saving grace of the situation was that for as intimidating as this storm of arrows he was unleashing appeared, they appeared to lack accuracy. She could easily maneuver in and around the mess of arrows. The only worry was that the ever rising flames might prove too much. However, with all this thought of arrows, Sajan came to a realisation; the arrow she had hit this man with was most certainly not sticking out of him any longer. Had he pulled it out? If that was the case, he truly wasn't all that clever. Unless he possessed some obnoxious healing factor, or his armor was so tight it bound the wound, then he would certainly be bleeding all the more profusely from it.
A plan forming in Sajan's head, she intended to keep moving, perhaps even circling the man. As she moved, she would take intermittent jabs and slashes aimed at his right side, more specifically his right arm. Though she fully intended to exploit any gap in his defense, it was less important to her strategy to actually hit him, and more to put strain on the wound that she expected was already straining him quite fiercely. If she could overwhelm by exploiting his weakness, then perhaps he would wear himself out, or at least find it all too difficult to raise his rightmost armament in his defense.
Just in case anyone wonders, these are both sheets I used in the previous iteration of this roleplay. I'm putting them here so the GMs can see the slight alterations made.
Name: Berke Bayamaar
Appearance: Berke is one big guy, standing at 215cm tall (7’1) and weighing 110kg (242lbs). His eyes are coloured green, and his skin is mildly tan. Most of his weight comes from his exceptionally muscular form. He has a messy but short head of black hair, and the beginnings of a beard on his chin. As a gorilla-like Chimera, Berke has patches of thick black hair in places on his body, especially the chest and back, though it’s usually hidden under a full layer of clothing. As far as clothing goes, Berke tends to favour simple clothes, usually comprising of a non-descript pair of pants and a sweater.
Age: 19
Species: 4th Generation Gorilla Chimera
Gender: Male
Occupation: First year Student
Personality: Berke has a big heart to match his big body. He likes making friends and keeping people happy, and it always saddens him to see someone else being sad. Even when met with open hostility, Berke tries to make the most of it and see it as a relationship to be worked on. He is an exceptionally tolerant and forgiving person, and he likes to think that everyone just needs a little understanding to get by. However, this line of thinking often bleeds into dangerous territory, as he will take a hands off approach to some self-destructive behaviours, and lacks the assertiveness to tell someone when they’re just plain wrong. Of course, he isn’t so meek that he wouldn’t do a thing about someone hurting another person in front of him, but he is so naïve to think he can just ask them to stop.
Magic Type Preference: Matter Manipulation Innate Magic Talent: Metal Manipulation Interests: Bodybuilding, Playing Sports, Making friend Skills: Hitting people really hard, taking really hard hits, having sheer, bull-headed determination
Biography: Berke’s family is descended from a type of Gorilla Monster out in the wilderness. They have often been stereotyped as a big dumb bunch of ape creatures, but as Berke would tell anyone, his grandpa was a big ol’ genius, and he has an aunt that’s only 5 feet tall. Berke and his family hail from a town called Altay, where Humans and Chimeras exist in relative harmony. Berke was thus sheltered from most of the prejudice of the rest of the world, and grew up believing the idea of discrimination was but a fairy tale.
Life in Altay was very simple, and primarily revolved around hunting and gathering. Berke tried out some of his family’s hunting gear a few times, but he was never a great shot, and tended to prefer to use his physical strength. His family tended to roughhouse among themselves when bored, and having an informal tournament was something of a pastime for them. However, no matter how rough they got with each other, they always knew it was all in good fun, and knew that they were unique in their physical abilities. Anyone that couldn’t stand their strength was not to be hit lightly, and Berke’s parents made sure he and all the family understood that.
On the outskirts of Altay, there was an abandoned building with steel walls. As strong as the Bayamaar family were, even they couldn’t punch through steel. Berke, however, one day decided to test his strength by seeing if he could at least make a dent in one of the walls. To his great surprise, he did in fact end up punching straight through one of those steel walls. However, what he discovered later was that he had not punched it open, but had instead displayed a latent magical talent. It was here that his family encouraged him to pursue a magical education at Mordhaben’s. Berke was keen to enter the world doing something important to contribute to it, so he saw Mordhaben’s as the perfect avenue to pursue that goal. So began Berke Bayamaar’s entry into the world of magic at Mordhaben’s.
Name: Leonora Serannen
Appearance: Leonora is a tall and elegant woman that has put a great deal of thought and effort into her appearance. She is 168cm (6 feet) and weighs 61kg (134lbs). Her hair is long, flowing and golden and her eyes match its colour. While some would claim Leonora looks stunning without any work done, she still applies a great deal of cosmetics to just about anywhere she thinks she can improve upon. Possessing an enormous wardrobe, Leonora is almost never found wearing anything short of high fashion, though she tends to favour wearing a good pair of trousers to skirts. As a fifth generation Chimera, Leonora has only one trait belonging to her monstrous ancestors, and that is the feline claws on the tips of her fingers. She always wears custom made gloves built to mask her Chimera trait.
Age: 28
Species: Fifth Generation Feline Chimera
Gender: Female
Occupation: Staff – Mage Corps Instructor and Guidance Counsellor
Personality: Leonora speaks exceedingly politely and formally, sparing no effort to carefully craft her sentences so as to avoid causing offence. Seemingly in line with her role as the institute’s guidance counsellor, Leonora is proactive in approaching students and inquiring as to their wellbeing. Her only mildly provocative trait is that she’s been known to ask somewhat probing questions to others, even ones of a socially or even politically charged nature. Leonora is known to be difficult to read, as her default expression seems to be a pleasant smile, even when met with a difficult individual.
Magic Type Preference: Sensory Manipulation Innate Magic Talent: Perception Manipulation – Making people see things that aren’t there Interests: High Culture, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology Skills: Eloquent Speaker, Military Trained and Seasoned, Firearms Knowledge – Pistol Specialist, Clever Tactician
Biography: Leonora was born the bastard child of an affair between a wealthy and influential aristocrat and a fourth generation feline Chimera. Initially, Leonora’s existence was unknown to her father, and her mother had never planned to get either of them involved in her father’s world. However, her mother would die of illness one day, and upon her death, Leonora’s father happened to track her down and decided to take Leonora in. Having many particularly bigoted friends and associates, her father attempted to keep her nature as a Chimera a secret, but the rumours got out, and Leonora was frequently the target of hostility from those in her social circles. Still, while her early life was not perfect, her father was always fairly nurturing, and she still lived a largely privileged existence.
Leonora attended Mordhaben’s like so many others, and while prejudice existed at the Institute, Leonora found that people tended to forget what you were so long as you performed well, and perform well she did. Leonora was not only an excellent student but also a talented mage, and graduated from Mordhaben’s semi famous for her demonstrations of ability during her time. She was scouted by a captain in the Mage Corps, who wanted to make certain that she of all people became a soldier. If you asked Leonora, she would tell you that she signed up because she wanted to prove herself on the field of battle.
She served for several years under the captain that mentored her, only to suddenly resign from the Corps following an incident that occurred on the field of battle. While Leonora has not spoken of it to anyone, those that have heard anything about it know that the captain of her unit was killed under suspicious circumstances, though an official investigation reached no clear conclusion. Shortly after her departure from the military, Leonora took up a position at Mordhaben’s as a member of staff.
It seemed as though this robber was content to turn the area into a veritable inferno. He truly had no honour to recklessly endanger those around him on such a massive scale. Although she lamented the devastation, at this point, she had only resolved harder than before to catch the bastard. If he would burn up an entire district just to escape her, what would happen the next time someone tried to bring him in? His viciousness needed to be stopped here and now.
Surprisingly, it turned out that rather than running, he had decided to come back and face her. It was beyond belief; not only was he rushing into the hands of someone that wanted to kill him, while injured no less, but he was heading in the same direction of all the fire and smoke he had a hand in creating. When he finally came into her direct sight, however, Sajan had an inkling as to his plan. Did he believe it would be as simple as engaging her with a sword to defeat her? He either truly believed she would be defenseless at close range or was extremely confident in his swordplay. Without hesitation, Sajan simply shouldered her bow and called forth the Guru's Kirpan. Unlike the modern Kirpan she concealed on her person, this was a significantly larger blade. Sajan hoped for his sake that the man actually knew how to use his sword, or she would be about to humiliate him with her skills. Moving to close the gap, Sajan planned to allow the man to attempt to strike first, and then slip past his attack and strike herself. Alternatively, if he should lose his nerve, she could just try and run him through from behind.
