I-Am-X

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Silvergate Academy - Arcture

It's been a whole week since all the crazy that happened on that kyoto trip. All drama regarding Seirin and the youkai who tried to sacrifice her in an attempt to revive a monster with god-like power, the trip wasn't all that bad. Ultana and Asta managed to find lots to eat, and she got some big fights that she wanted. Thanks to her adventures in Kyoto, she was able to grow a little bit stronger.

While all those different styles were huge, the most mysterious part of it was that experience with Abe no Seimei. Apparently that was only a simple fragment of power and that there was more to this 'Forbidden Compendium' out there ready for her to find. While it's not her highest priority, it's definitely something she needs to find.

When her little day dream came to an end, her teacher was prattling on about Alchemy. She wasn't interested in the slightest so she tuned it out until he started talking about the Adventurer's guild. THAT, however, was something she was verrrrrrrry interested in. She was quite excited to receive her badge from the teacher, probably a little TOO excited as she almost ripped it out of his hand. There'll be plenty of fights to be had!

---

After going through a bunch of security that felt like forever, they came upon the school's namesake, the silver gate. After registering their gear and being allowed through, Ultana found herself back in Arcanis. To be honest, she was back here much sooner than she originally thought, but back all the same. Though, she never really had the time or opportunity to come to the capital having been stuck in the Vulcanis Region, Igneus Caute all her life. Once the teacher finished what she had to say, she made her way towards the Adventurer's Guild as instructed.

Like the others, she showed the receptionist her badge. "Ultana Whelen of Igneus Caute." As long as she can fight a good fight and it helped get her stronger, she was more than happy to take any quest. Since she doubts she can come across what she seeks at this level. Though, before any specifics about quests can be asked, they mentioned about a tournament. This is what she wanted! What better way to not only get stronger but also potentially gain the information she seeks? Who knows maybe the ones responsible for what happened to her family, in her city, will be in the tourny? Maybe they're sponsoring it? Time will see!

Having decided to enter the tournament, apparently others have been teaming up to go ranking up. Not wanting to be left in the dust, she either needed to find party member(s) or if there was something she can take herself.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen

After another fun day filled with fighting more tough phones, Ultana was wiped and even forgot to eat (of all things!) when they finally got back to the inn. Though, even with that she ended up getting up at a 'normal' time....which was her stomach's way of telling her to get off her ass and give it food. Of course, Ultana is more than happy to oblige!

Anyways...with everything that went on in the previous night, they were finally able to come through on their promise to save Seirin and now it looks like they'll be able to be with her more instead of simply saying their goodbyes when they headed back to the Academy. Which is all good and everything, it's just not exactly to be a fun time when she gets into one of those excited little 'rants' of hers. But moving on, it seems like today will be a day of some down time, allowing them to make due on a promise and hit up an arcade.

----

After spending sometime having fun at Koyuki's expense at her failed attempts to 'understand' the claw machine, she wondered around the arcade to find some fighting games while Koyuki and Seirin did their things with DDR. When she was done, they were 'summoned' over by Koyuki to try the 'Purikura' or photo booth machine. She figured 'Why not?' since it's not something she really did at all or ever. She wasn't sure at first but Ultana eventually ended up having a good time. Though, the entire time they were taking photos, she was laughing her ass off at the others expense.

After a good chunk of time spent gaming it up, Ultana was starving. Suffice to say this situation called for some fine dining, Ultana style...I.E. finding a close by Ramen shop and dragging everyone to it! It was time to stuff her face and get herself a jumbo bowl of ramen and just have a good oleee time.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Streets of Kyoto

As Ultana walked around the city, she noticed a certain 'energy' in the people she passed....namely them being excited being excited about something and preparing for a festival? She wasn't sure if it that's what it was but the important thing is that whatever was coming involved food! And Ultana, being the connoisseur and gourmand that she was, she had to be involved. Having decided her participation (well unless the seirin thing happens sooner), she was brought back to reality to a familiar voice.

It was Helena and Asta on the prowl for ice cream, which considering how much the heat has been bothering them since they came to Kyoto, it's no real suprise, especially Asta. The heat definitely didn't agree with her. She was definitely someone who loved trying new foods, especially at the mention of 'unusual flavors'. Given how hot it was back home, Ice Cream was pretty much a luxury and not exactly common, so Ultana was definitely excited to try some different varieties.

"Is it?" she replied as Asta complained about the heat again. While Ultana was used to heat and wasn't nothing compared to back home especially considering she was a miner. But then again, she was hardly considered normal and by normal standards it was probably unusual to others. But she'll say this, it was definitely brighter. "....maybe the sun personally wanted in on the action" she joked to herself. Considering everything with Seirin, Shinzou and that Amaterasu crap, wouldn't surprise her if the rising heat had something to do with what Shinzou is up to...

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Nijo Castle --------> Back at the Inn

After their ordeal, the feeling after the battle wasn't too great to be honest. While you could say they 'won' but it wasn't something you can honestly be proud of. Sure they managed to survive and fortunate enough not to take any damage despite how powerful Shinzou was but all they really accomplished was drag things out long enough for reinforcements, namely their teacher again, to come in and eventually drive them away. Not only that, but they couldn't save Seirin. After saying all that about saving her....We...no, I...

From a mixture of not being able to save a friend and once again being in a life or death battle only for someone else to step in and bale them out was really eating at her. First the vampire, then the assassin....and now this Yokai....Goddamnit....clenching her fists hard enough to draw blood and stewed silently in rage, not paying any attention to their teacher talking until he mentioned Seirin. There's still a chance? Of course there is, if they said they'll save her, they'll save her.

They'll be running in blind and pulling it out of their ass but it's better than doing nothing. They were told to take the rest of the day to rest but Ultana was too wound up to 'rest'. She needed to get some air and preferably punch something or someone. As she once more left the inn, she found an isolated spot to work out for a little bit before returning and heading to bed.

---

The next morning it was a brief free moment until Utsumi 'summons' them with their magic. After having a brief breakfast, she leaves the inn and decides to clear her head with a stroll around the city.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Kyoto - Nijo Castle

Today Ultana found herself back in the library, why you might ask? Well, she kind of got distracted with the whole scroll thing last time and didn't really get anywhere with her real purpose here. Which was, of course, to find out more about the style that assassin used. It didn't take her long for her to start getting annoyed and to start getting a headache from all the texts she ended up reading. So when she overheard some of the onmyou at the estate about something going down at the Nijo castle, it was the excuse she needed....err the reason she needed to take a break!

Nothing eases the mind like a good fight! Well.....there's no guarentee that there'll be a fight but it was better than having to go through another scroll....With no hesitation, she hauled ass over to Nijo Castle.

---

When she arrived there she saw a big angry crowd at the front entrance with the staff along with a guard entail barring them entry. "Doesn't look like the front is an option...." she muttered to herself as she looked for a way in. After making sure she wasn't spotted, she went around the castle looking for a spot where defense was a bit lax. After what seemed like she was walking FOREVER, she found an entrance guarded by a very bored guard detail. They weren't bored enough to where she can tip toe passed them but it was enough to where they weren't looking toward the wall.

Once one of the guards turned around, she whispered an incantation “With an unyielding will, I call upon the power of the earth to aid me in this fight.” Crouching down, she sprang up, using her enhanced leg strength to jump up and climb over the wall. It was probably overkill but it was fun, even if it almost got her caught. Luckily she was over the wall before they thought something was up. She wasn't sure where she was going but she was sure she'd eventually find something.

With a shrug, she kept out of sight and started wandering around.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Streets Of Kyoto

When she finally found her target shop, it lived up to being a 'hole-in-the-wall- store.....as there was a literal hole in the wall. And the fact that the look of the place didn't exactly give a good first impression....so all in all, it was exactly what they've said! The fact that on her way there, she ended up running into Asta again was probably a sign from the food gods that this place had the kind of ramen she was looking for! After all, all the places she ran into Asta at all ended up having some really good food. Meeting like this seemed to be par-for-the-course for them, everyone had their own thing and food was theirs.

"I think ramen would be a perfect dish for Crystis, warm, delicious and the broth gives you the pick me up you need out there! Though....." Ultana paused thinking about the climate there it really did make her wonder...."Would the ingredients even be able to be grown there?" She knew magic can do some real incredible things that made some real uninhabitable places habitable....but she didn't know much about the place other than what Asta has mentioned before. It would be a crime against humanity for one to go without knowing the joys of ramen!

Another point, other than the food being that really delicious, that she really loved was how peaceful it is. Well, it could be because the place was empty, other than the two of them and the salaryman in the back but still it was nice being able to talk freely without worrying about people getting into their business. Though, that also meant that not as many people get to enjoy this one of a kind ramen! But, back to the conversation, Asta pointed out the strangeness in them always meeting like this and both happening to find this exact same store at the exact same time. Talk about fate!

While Asta clearly did her research, Ultana just ran over the place asking random people where she can get the best ramen and this place was far and away in the majority. But perhaps that too can be considered 'research'.....though, saying a big chunk of that was dumb luck would probably be more accurate...."No kidding, but when you're looking for the best food to eat, it's only natural you'll come across a fellow foodie!" She laughed as she scooped another serving into her mouth, food going everywhere as she continued to laugh.

After they finally finished their meal and conversation, it was time to end their day. Though, before Ultana made her exit, She 'invited' Asta on a run back to the hotel. Nothing like some good exercise to burn off a full stomach, especially if you totally forgot to workout earlier in the day! Ahem

Placing what she owes on the table, she signaled the owner and sprinted out of the door.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Streets Of Kyoto

Out of one hell and into another! Ultana raged as she found herself in another dilemma. Mental battle in the library and now a war has broken out for her stomach! For Ultana, it was truly a battle of life or death. Wellllllll.......maybe not that serious but it was still a difficult position she found herself in. Back in Seidoujima it was a clear cut call, with ramen being her number one food of choice but here in Kyoto, she came across all sorts of food that she has never come across before, a way bigger selection. Her mouth was practically gushing from all the delicious looking and smelling food.

But since that first bowl of ramen, she knew the path she was bound to walk! It was the path of the ramen arts! She asked around for advice on where to go to for her version of fine dining and it seemed that in this country, the best shops for ramen were smaller stones on 'less-traveled' roads. At first she wondered why, but she began to realize why. It was kind of like back home, small time 'local' places tend to have a homey, unique kind of taste with proper ingredients, as to the bigger places tend to muck up the flavor by serving something generic with processed ingredients that had a cheap kind of taste. And the fact you wouldn't find ramen in a fancy, fine dining kind of place.

Kind of like dive bars, the dirtier and smaller it is, the better the food. It's usually how it goes, so why not with ramen? Decision made, she was off to find herself the best ramen in Kyoto!

Ultana, with her spirit burning red hot, raced down the street in pursuit of ramen, not paying any attention to the commotion her passion for ramen has started. Well, it could be her running full-bore into a crowd of people, lost in her own little world and possibly sending a few people flying.....but let's ignore that part!

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Central Onmyou Library of Fujiwara

After some time of pouring through everything, Ultana wasn't exactly making any progress. Well, she already was veering off course with her new found interest in Abe no Seimei but it was probably a bit much to go through on her own. Luckily, the small shikigami that was floating around her was her Assistant when Ultana asked. Thanks to the shikigami she was able to go through all of it faster and was finally making progress.

It was definitely a bit of a bummer on their techniques and such, with talismans and the like not being her strong suit and all...But going through all the texts on Seimei, was without a doubt interesting. From his lineage to all the things he accomplished, it was all a good read. She was enjoying the read....until she eventually found a shred of paper that fell out of one of the dusty old books. The moment she touched it, the paper revealed it's true form, a talisman.

It got weirder when suddenly a scroll appeared in her hand and vanished just as fast. "Just what is go---" a voice cut her off and before she could discern what it was saying, she blacked out. It was then Ultana had a "dream", one in which an attractive man with dark hair and a flowing white robe appeared. The man seemed surprised that someone from another world found 'his' talisman but didn't seem disappointed in the fact.

Not exactly given a word edge wise, he continued on talking about how this talisman wasn't all of it, that there was more of his 'work' out there. Before she could make sense of it all, she found herself coming to back in the library albeit with the shikigami that was beside her gone and some kind of manual in her hands. Looking at what was in her hands, her mouth just fell. Demon summoning?! What she found was a scroll that had knowledge of regarding 'summoning' demons/yokai through use of shikigamis.

It made her recall that man in her dreams and the one-sided conversation. Considering the book she was reading, the talisman that popped out of it and what he was talking about....Could that mean that the scroll came from Seimei himself? And this was only 'part 1', so there was definitely more to this power than this. If that was the case, Ultana definitely had to find and track down the remaining parts. Having remembered what she originally came to do, she looked back on all the books on the table and groaned. Maybe it was best if she took a nice break before her head was going to explode.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Central Onmyou Library of Fujiwara

Just when she thought it couldn't get any stranger, it did, as it started blinking kind of like a computer when its loading a new page. There was of course it saying to use it's face as a touch screen to view the items that she would like to read. Hmm... Though she originally came here to find out about the style the assassin used, she was kind of interested in checking out Abe no Seimei, considering how many search results he was mentioned in. The other stuff can wait, might as well have some fun and see what kind of stuff they have on the guy.

Once she made her choice, she let the shikigami know so it can get the items. When finished, she made her way over to a vacant table and began to read them.

Silver Gate Academy [Accepting New Players]

Ultana Whelen - Central Onmyou Library of Fujiwara

It was quite a strange experience, meeting a shikigami for the first time. You hear about them and see them in fiction all the time, but to see them up close was something else. With what she heard, it ended up being just as described but there definitely was some disappointment that they didn't have a human like appearance. Though, that was just the manga and anime influence speaking. There were quite a number of them inside the library along with some onmyouji all over some items at their tables, focused enough to where she didn't have to worry about any distraction. One good thing about places like this, huh?

She asked what the tube like things were and apparently they were something like a container of sorts for entities. I guess somethings were stored via sealed shikigami form instead of written. Was it something to protect older items from being destroyed by time? No....they probably have things like that protected with magic. Maybe it for items of grave importance to where they needed extra measures to keep it safe? Maybe. I wonder if there's something other than shikigami stored in those...Whoops can't let myself get distracted. Wanted to find out about that style the assassin used.

Asking the shikigami, "Where can I find books or scrolls on the fujiwara's clan history? Or what about famous onmyouji?" While the last request was simply out of curiosity for learning of all the famous onmyouji and what they were like (along with about their strength and techniques) but she was hoping with the first quest to see if they had something about the discret arts. Probably not, but worth a look.