KremeSupreme

Nomadic Odyssey: Find Your Heart

Reception Room

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Already countless contestants were intermingling with each other, before the tournament proper had started. Some chatted amicably to pass the time, others were up and in each others' faces, looking like they were about to start the fight a little early. Given the small stray attacks flying about, a few actually were getting things started early. A few contestants soaked in the attention of the crowds of bystanders, striking poses and giving the reporters and hype-men a buffet of their own egos. Only a small sliver had the reserve to keep to themselves until the actual fighting began.

One such was Horizon Rider.

Even in an entire room full of martial artists and obnoxiously-colored individuals, Horizon Rider stood out due to his strange appearance, but moreover, due to his strange mannerisms. Whereas everyone else was loudly declaring their presence and hogging a nonexistent spotlight, Horizon Rider just stood there, absolutely motionless. At most, his cold reptilian eyes behind his glass helmet glanced about at all the fighters, sizing up the competition. A few reporters tried shoving their microphones in his face and asking them about themselves, any information, only for them to completely ignore them, pretending as if they didn't exist. SYM-24 had no patience for anything other than his prime objective:

Claim the power stone and crush anyone who dared stand in his way.

Above him, up in the rafters, a robotic raven eyed them, like a hawk, watching their every action.

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Arena Stands

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The main event hadn't even properly started, and already the arena was absolutely packed, people having traveled from all across the world to watch the greatest fighters alive lay the absolute smackdown into each other. The Carnival received only more attention abroad, being broadcast on every sports channel so that everyone back home could get a front row seat to the impending carnage.

In the stands sat two disguised figures, a man and a woman. The man was much taller and wider, and was busy gorging himself on two drumsticks big enough to beat someone unconscious with. Strapped to his back was an absolutely massive violin case that blocked the view of the poor spectator behind him, who was nevertheless too terrified of the man to protest. Next to him sat a woman, much smaller and hunched over. Both wore black coats and sunglasses that significantly concealed any personal details. The woman clutched the side of her glasses, observing the direct feed observed of their company's contestant, Horizon Rider.

"Howzit Goin'?" The man asked, his mouth full of meat.

"They're fine so far..." The woman relayed, "But definitely a bit boring. Probably would've been beneficial to hire some agents to answer all the questions people have on them and throw the reporters off. We might've made enough cash to buy the Power Stone if we just prepared some merchandise for this guy... How much longer 'till the tournament starts?"

"Not too long, should be less than an hour," the man replied.

And so they waited.

Nomadic Odyssey: Find Your Heart

SYM-24 "Horizon Rider"

"Unit SYM-24 Online."

by @Kamen Evie

"Loading File SYM-24.hfe." _____________________________________________________ NAME: HORIZON RIDER _______________________________________________ EPITHET: FALSE HERO _______________________________________________ AGE: 2 years _______________________________________________ PRONOUNS: Interchangeably He/Him, They/Them, It _______________________________________________ HEIGHT: 6’4” _______________________________________________ WEIGHT: 560 lbs. _______________________________________________ NATIONALITY: Horizon Frontiers _______________________________________________ LIKES: Fighting _______________________________________________ DISLIKES: Public Attention

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OVERVIEW

"Beginning Unit Abstract."
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APPEARANCE

"Projecting Visual Metrics..."
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On the surface, Horizon Rider makes good on his namesake, appearing as a dark bluish-green suit of advanced armor, with a dome-helmet completely concealing his face. Compared to on-brand Justice Rider models, his armor is much more plated, almost-scaled in appearance. His appearance was specifically designed to evoke official Justice Rider aesthetic and iconography to earn appeal with the public, while still allowing for utility and invoking menace.

However, on closer inspection Horizon Rider appears much more insidious and biological. What should be the motor-servos between his limb joints are dark-red banded steel, more similar to muscle than actual mechanical contraption. His hands end in monstrous talons, and his feet are two-toed with a backwards third toe. While these could be written off as stylistic choices, it definitely fills a sense of uncanny dread to anyone who examines the unit too closely.

PERSONALITY TRAITS

"Opening ‘behavioral_aberrances.hfe’..."
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It’d be forgivable to assume that Horizon Rider was actually a robot, given their quiet and stunted mannerisms. Outside of a fight they’re incredibly silent, stoic, and virtually immobile. They wouldn’t even respond to casual banter or even small talk that serves no importance or value to them. It’s hard to draw the line where Horizon Frontiers’ conditioning begins and the actual genetic creature they developed begins. If provided with an objective or an order, they will pursue it with brute simplicity, accomplishing it in the most direct way possible.

In combat is when Horizon Rider truly comes alive. When engaging in a fight, Horizon Rider becomes incredibly focused, animalistic, and sadistic, toying with their opponent as a predator would their prey. They’ll give an opponent the illusion of a fighting chance just to shatter it, slowly wear them down until they’re aware of their own helplessness, circle around before going in for the kill

Part of Horizon Rider’s conflicting nature is the juxtaposition between Horizon Frontiers’ programming and constant control of him and his own instinctual, bestial nature. The Brazil fighting cup brings them no shortage of frustration, having to stand and pose in front of crowds when they wouldn’t hesitate to rip someone’s head off for staring them in the eye. Yet, in an attempt to maintain their public appeal, Horizon Rider is occasionally forced to engage in awkward gestures, such as a thumbs up or posing for a photo.

BACKSTORY

"Opening ‘project overview.hfe’..."
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Horizon Frontiers is one of the world’s leading medical and genetic research firms, dedicating all of it’s resources to studying the human body and unlocking the secret to the human potential. As far as the public is concerned, they’re a philanthropic foundation, distributing free gene treatments and medical prosthetics to those in need across the world, including those wounded in active conflict. With clinics and operations all across the globe, Horizon’s made well on their mission goal of “Curing All Humanity”. However, underneath their clean sanitized public image, Horizon Frontiers is an insidious organization that performs all sorts of inhumane experiments in the name of mastering the mysterious, esoteric force known as Ki. Anything that would provide a leg-up in their objective, say, the Power Stone, is something they will pursue to the ends of the earth to collect.

Upon discovery that the prize of the World Fighting Carnival would be one such Power Stone, Horizon Frontiers immediately locked their crosshairs on the event, trying to obtain it as discreetly and swiftly as possible. Smash-and-Grab was off-the-menu, as the greatest fighters all across the world had come to the event, and Horizon Frontiers was hardly the only organization interested in such an artifact. They couldn’t buy it either, as the prize was quite literally priceless. The best method was to simply enter their own combatant and win the stone legitimately.

For two years, Horizon Frontiers had dedicated all of it’s best available resources into the project to create a fighter strong enough to seize the stone. All of its’ Headquarters had pooled their rarest resources and got to work on “Project Horizon Rider”.

The World Fighting Carnival was a public venue, watched by thousands of people in person and broadcast all across the world to millions, so not only did the subject have to be powerful and efficient, but also had to be appealing to the public masses. To accomplish this endeavor, the subject was aesthetically designed after the popular media franchise “Justice Riders”, their entire body covered in a stylized suit of armor to hide their true form.

After two years of hard work and corporate extortion, Horizon Rider was born, a pure beast of battle in the guise of a noble hero of science.

The unit was developed with two goals in mind. One, win the tournament and acquire the Power Stone through legitimate means. And two, engage in combat with various martial arts experts and provide valuable combat data to Horizon Frontiers for future endeavors.

The project was overseen by Ulric Dotair throughout it’s two-year development. In the tournament proper, they will be observed by two Horizon Personnel on the scene, who will both collect combat data and report any aberrances.

FIGHTING STYLE & ABILITIES

"Target Identified. Beginning Combat Sequence."
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SKILLS & ABILITIES

"Beginning Combat Maneuvers."
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Horizon Rider was designed as the pinnacle of technology and biology. As such, their fighting style is not only incredibly strong and potent, but also skilled and calculated. They combine both traditional fighting methods with an entire arsenal of implanted weapons and devices. In a fight, they’ll tend to at-first rely on traditional moves and basic attacks, then bring out the big guns and attempt brute-forcing their way past the opponent if they are sufficiently challenged.

SIGNATURE MOVES

"Deploying Arsenal."
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■ Bio-Blast

Deploying Concentrated Bio-Energy Attack.
Horizon Rider’s arm sculpts and transforms into a laser cannon, which then charges and fires a bolt of his own Ki at the opponent. This attack can be charged for an additional time for a more deadly attack, generating a bolt larger than his own upper body, which will violently explode upon impact.

■ Bio-Blade

Activating Lethal Measures.
Horizon Rider ejects a blade of pure energy from his wrists, able to cut through virtually any inorganic material like a knife through butter. The only defensive measure against this attack is the Ki of an opposing fighter, which will instead reduce it to severe cuts and burns on contact. Maintaining these blades for longer than a brief moment is an incredible waste of energy, however.

■ Rider Stomp

Mimicking Iconic Maneuver.
In a darker twist on the iconic Justice Rider move, Horizon Rider kicks downwards into an opponent, stomping on them. The attack is typically reserved for downed/defeated opponents as a finishing move, though Horizon Rider is able to utilize this with a jump, performing a sort of meteor kick.

■ Tail Lash

Extending Stinger Appendage.
An incredibly long and thin, yet incredibly dense wire extends from behind Horizon Rider’s waist, fully-controlled and maneuverable, serving as an additional appendage. The tail can perform a variety of attacks, from stinging and shocking the opponent to flailing wildly like a whip, spacing out an entire zone around Horizon Rider directly. Unfortunately, the tail is relatively fragile and easy to break or sever.

■ Ampule-Deployment

Recuperating Energy… Repairing Biological Trauma…
Horizon Rider is implanted with a reserve of Horizon Frontiers’ healing serum, a liquid that reinvigorates the body and can even quickly regenerate moderate-to-severe trauma such as lacerations and broken bones. When activated, Horizon Rider will experience a second-wind, recovering his energy and healing damage suffered. It still has limits as to what it will heal, though, and Horizon Rider only has a select amount that has to periodically be refilled.

■ Acid Spit

Deploying Acidic Surprise.
An underhanded and often-unexpected attack, Horizon Rider’s helmet briefly cracks open revealing a toothed maw, which will quickly fire a projectile spit at the opponent. Not only is the acid extremely caustic and able to melt through skin, but it will also quickly harden and stick, binding the effected limb. Most of the move’s utility is that it’s unexpected, and so an opponent that experienced it before will be well-armed to expect and avoid it. A second time.

SUPER MOVES

"Extreme Measures Unlocked."
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■ Bio-Beam

Bio-Cannon Charged to 200%.
Horizon Rider creates his arm cannon, and instead charges and fires a massive beam of energy, creating an overwhelmingly powerful attack. For a brief moment afterwards, Horizon Rider is unable to deploy any other Bio-moves.

■ Berserker Mode

Artificial Limitations Removed. DIE.
Horizon Rider kicks his entire body into overdrive, causing his entire body to tense and glow with sickly green veins as his entire body is pumped full of stimulant serum. In this state Horizon Rider becomes incredibly aggressive, yet also far faster and stronger. He’s generally unable to use any special maneuvers, instead unleashing pure animalistic instinct as he tears his opponent to ribbons.

■ Blade of Justice’s Bane

Deploying Ultimate Countermeasure.
Horizon Rider hypercharges one of his wristblades until it’s larger than his entire body, then delivers a single devastating swing. Not only is the attack itself perilously lethal, but the energy offshoot will travel a short distance, hitting anything that would delude itself into thinking it’s at a safe distance.

WEAKNESSES & LIMITS

"Caution: Unit has known limitations."
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Despite Horizon Rider’s all-around combat perfection, they are a high-maintenance project, constantly requiring attention and routine upkeep to keep at top-performance. Many of their attacks are also incredibly costly and difficult to use, making prolonged encounters difficult. Finally, they were designed for the Brazil-Fighting cup, in which most combat is limited to a single fight, making them difficult at anything more complex.

OTHER

"Unit Abstract Complete."
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Daren Metzger

"Guess that’s my cue?"

"Mama always said I was a looker." _______________________________________________ NAME: DAREN METZGER _______________________________________________ EPITHET: HORIZON’S BUTCHER _______________________________________________ AGE: 26 _______________________________________________ PRONOUNS: He/Him _______________________________________________ HEIGHT: 6’4” _______________________________________________ WEIGHT: 280 lbs. _______________________________________________ NATIONALITY: GERMANY _______________________________________________ LIKES: Meat, cooking, monster hunting, swords, anatomy, gore _______________________________________________ DISLIKES: Pacifism, fascism, robots/cyborgs

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OVERVIEW

"Here's my resume."
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APPEARANCE

"They say dress for the job you want, yknow?"
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At first glance, Daren has a haunting appearance. His skin is ghostly pale and covered in scars, stitches, and blemishes. His eyes are small and black, practically without any pupils. He stands at a towering 6’4”, easily looming over any other opponent in the room, though his body is lanky and seems to lack much muscle mass. His teeth are thick, white tombstones that are constantly on display in a small, easy-going grin. His black hair is likely the most normal part of his appearance. Most of his body is covered in a choice of a butcher's apron and a large, doctor's jacket, as well as wearing tall rubber boots and thick gloves. His wardrobe is almost always covered in stains and visceral fluids. Iconic to his image is a massive, oversized cleaver he carries around with him, which despite his thin frame he can easily lug over his shoulder or carry on his back.

PERSONALITY TRAITS

"I can really appreciate the cut of a guy’s jib, yknow?"
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Despite his ghastly looks, Daren is unfailingly polite, amicable, and easygoing. He never lets the heat get to his head, even when in the middle of butchering someone to ribbons or having suffered severe trauma. Much of his word choice is “Minnesota Nice”, failing to use any confrontational dialogue and generally speaking fairly, without any intense words. He also tends to use a lot of uncertainty in his dialogue (“i guess”, “kinda”, “probably”), avoiding directly stating any preference. To his own few allies he takes extra effort to ensure their wellbeing and to maintain communication.

That’s not to say, however, that Daren is not without his morbid side; He has absolutely no qualms whatsoever engaging with gore or intense violence. Despite his polite surface, he’ll still follow any orders given to him by higher ups in Horizon, and loves fighting, especially against strong opponents. He also has a powerful killing intent that he is able to subliminate perfectly with his kind demeanor.

BACKSTORY

"Once upon a time there was one little german boy…"
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Daren was originally a member of a family of traveling monster-hunters, who made a life out of seeking out the deadliest game the world had to offer for the best trophies; From urban myths to ancient legends, they lined the walls of their mobile home with the mementos from all sorts of beasts, cryptids, and even stranger quarry.

Well-- His family, had. Poor Daren was shafted with making the trophies; Every one of his family's triumphs meant a gruesome, thankless taxidermy for him to pull off, never fully receiving the full huntsman training he was promised every time he asked.

One night, when he was 22, his family was on a trip to South America, hunting down a jungle beast that had been terrorizing several towns for months. While the rest of his family was off hunting the creature, it attacked their RV where he had been hanging behind. The creature nearly tore the shelter to shreds, as Daren tried to desperately fend it off, already accepting his demise. The beast managed to tear off his arm with it's claws, and had what was left of it in grip of it's teeth... Suddenly, the beast was killed by a flurry of knives striking it along several points in it's back, thrown by a strange woman he hadn't recognized; She wasn't part of the hunting party, but was someone else altogether.

Just as she saved his life, she made it abundantly clear that Daren had two options:

1) Die

2) Work for her

Just before he lost consciousness, he managed a nod; Good enough for her, he presumed, since when he woke up he was in a hospital of sorts, having his otherwise-mortal wounds healed, his severed arm reattached.

The woman revealed her name, Ivory, and that her group -- Horizon Frontiers -- had been hunting the beast, and several others, for a different reason than his family's own glory-hounding; However, they recognized they had existing skills with monster dissection, the very same reason she had saved his life. And thus, Daren became an operative for Horizon Frontiers, not only being given a more dignified output for his skills in butchery, but also being given the chance to live as the monster-hunter he always wanted to be.

Horizon's primary reason for hunting down monsters and mythics was to harness the abilities of their physiology; Through research, they've deducted means of biologically grafting various organs and segments of living beings onto others, granting them some degree of their specific abilities; In the case of the jungle-beast that nearly killed him, it's own heart gave Daren inhuman endurance that allowed him to survive an otherwise crippling bloodloss. Since then, he's been the first eager guinea pig for several other grafting procedures, giving him a questionable degree of humanity -- Both physically, as he's taken on the aspects of several different creatures to both increase his power and repair his damaged body, as well as in spirit, given that he's become progressively untroubled by the idea of extending his butchery to that of other Nomads...

FIGHTING STYLE & ABILIES

"Finally got some vacation time!"
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SKILLS & ABILITIES

"I’ve been reaching into guts for years now. Mostly taxidermy."
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Daren’s fighting style is incredibly basic, yet rightfully so. Daren is monumentally strong and tough, able to defeat far more skilled opponents with little more than brute force and basic techniques. His weapon of choice is a massive Cleaver, almost larger than his own colossal body, with enough weight and sharpness to treat any sort of armor or defense as tissue paper.

Outside of combat, he has an expert proficiency with anatomy and physical trauma, including humans, animals, and even more obscure creatures such as mythics and cryptids. While he could potentially put this knowledge towards positive medical help, he more often utilizes it for autopsies and dissections. He’s also surprisingly worldly about different cultures.

SIGNATURE MOVES

"Time for a hostile work environment..."
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■ Cleave

”Schwing!”
With a simple swing of his massive cleaver, Daren’s attack covers a wide area. A single direct hit can deal serious damage to a Nomad that finds themselves slowfooted.

■ Guillotine

”Die!”
Daren lunges up into the air, then slams back downward with his cleaver, dealing enough damage to create a small impact crater.

■ Feel No Pain

”Keep it up and I might actually feel this in the morning.”
Daren’s body is incredibly durable and resistant to pain. He can soak an intense amount of punishment, treating trauma enough to mangle an ordinary person as a temporary embarrassment. Severed limbs have little to no effect on him besides obvious performance issues. In fact, he can even pick up severed limbs – His own or an opponent’s, and stick them right back into place, gaining full functionality within seconds.

■ Bladestorm

”Spin to Win!”
Daren swings his cleaver in a rapid, full 360 degree motion, hitting anything within five feet of him. Doing so takes a lot of exertion, and will leave him open and vulnerable to counter attack if it fails to hit.

■ Rupture

”Insurance’ll pay for it.”
Daren strikes the environment with his Cleaver, infusing it with his own vitriolic and chaotic Ki. After a brief moment, the uncontrollable energy will cause the surface to rupture, sending dozens of shards flying towards the opponent.

■ Punt

”FORE!”
Daren swings his Cleaver upwards, sending the opponent flying up and into the air.

SUPER MOVES

"Lets make some deep cuts!"
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■ Killing Intent

”Start running.”
Daren supercharges his own Ki, greatly enhancing his already astounding strength and toughness. Attacks in this state can hardly even scratch him, much less slow him down, and the mere swing of his blade can create enough force to send targets falling. Additionally, Daren’s killing intent and murderous aura become so profound and powerful that weaker opponents can feel it, with weaker opponents even temporarily becoming paralyzed with terror by the sheer desire for violence Daren emanates.

■ Brutalize

”Chop chop!”
Daren grabs the opponent and holds them in place as he brutally slams his cleaver down on them again and again. Most Nomads are completely beaten into the ground by this attack, while ordinary folk become little more than a stain on the floor at the end of a full assault.

■ Cull

”You’re FINISHED!”

Daren spots a wounded opponent and lunges in for the kill, leaping straight up in the air and bringing the full weight of his cleaver down on them in a single focused, killing motion. While an incredibly difficult maneuver to pull off, if successful will kill virtually anything.

WEAKNESSES & LIMITS

"Kinda fallin’ apart, here..."
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Daren is lacking in the departments of both speed and range. Faster opponents are able to completely run circles around him, and combatants that can reliably fight at long distances are his natural enemy. He also lacks any refined or special technique, relying on brute force through most encounters.

OTHER

"Quote here."
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Anything else we need to know?

Arianna Legose

"Target Spotted."

"Here's my file." _____________________________________________________ NAME: ARIANNA LEGOSE _______________________________________________ EPITHET: EYE ON THE HORIZON _______________________________________________ AGE: 20 _______________________________________________ PRONOUNS: She/Her _______________________________________________ HEIGHT: 4'9" _______________________________________________ WEIGHT: 135 lbs. _______________________________________________ NATIONALITY: America _______________________________________________ LIKES: Birds, video games, camera technology, justice riders, nature, being alone on a friday night _______________________________________________ DISLIKES: Small talk, confrontation, attention

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OVERVIEW

"Agent Wandering Eye, at the ready."
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APPEARANCE

"Sorry, I haven't slept in... I forget honestly."
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Arianna is extremely short, standing at 4"9', to the point that she occasionally gets mistaken as being younger than she really is. She has messy black hair she never cares to arrange, and tired blue eyes clearly lacking any proper rest schedule.

She almost pathologically wears the same token equipment, the Huginn-Module, which is a dark-blue colored jacket with a cyan-colored stripe running up it. It comes with a long-beaked bird mask with glowing-blue eyes, which when not active Arianna usually pushes up atop her head. Underneath, she usually wears a white t-shirt and shorts, with a belt of various technological gizmos wrapped around her waist, with a pair of shoes that match the jacket's pattern. The sleeves of the jacket are able to extend to extremely large, also ejecting a pair of sharp talons.

PERSONALITY TRAITS

"Is this for the employee review?"
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Anxious - Arianna is extremely timid and anxious, being quick to buckle under pressure for anything from a sensitive mission that needs to be done to a badly botched conversation. She much prefers her own company or that of her drones than that of strangers, or even her close allies.

Quick-Thinking - At the same time, Arianna has shown herself to have a knack for thinking quickly, creating solutions on the fly and solving problems with multiple moving parts. Part of her survivability thus far is thanks to her observational skill, being able to quickly identify an opponent's weakness and take the initiative to exploit it.

Hard-Working - Similarly to her other Horizon colleagues, Arianna has a bit of an issue with obsession with her technology. Much of her free time is spent upgrading and maintaining the Huginn-Module or her fleet of drones; She's even worked herself into a frenzy before and fell asleep right at the workbench (On one occasion nearly causing a devastating accident).

BACKSTORY

"I started working here for a little over a year ago. No, I do not have any previous employment history."
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Franklin Legose was a great private inventor, having created dozens of different stealth and reconnaissance technology throughout his life. However, his accomplishment in innovation turned to horror when he discovered that several of his inventions, originally intended for wildlife observation and forensics, were eventually repurposed by various military and mercenary groups as tools of espionage and war once they left his hands. Seeing how his own ambitions had been warped so far beyond his intent disgusted him from the idea of contributing any more potential devices of war, and so he retreated from the world into isolation with his family.

At first, he had his concerns of his daughter, Arianna, reacting poorly to the change of moving into near-total isolation from the rest of the world, but he had found she had a curiosity in the various animals in the wilderness around their home. Seeking to encourage such an interest, he decided to build one last project for her-- The Huginn-Module. Completing the device, she was then able to observe the world up close and personal while remaining distant from it.

One day though, she found several other armed men patrolling the forest, as if they were searching for her. Using the Huginn-Module to evade them, she immediately returned home-- Only to find a smoking pile of wood instead, her home burnt to the ground. Fiddling through it’s remains, she found no trace of her father or who destroyed her home, But knew that it was because of the Huginn-Module that they came, and thanks to it that she escaped.

For several days after, she wandered through the wilderness. Then, she encountered (or rather, was encountered by) a strange woman whose features she could not identify. Despite the Huginn-Module being active and concealing her, she saw straight through it and to Arianna, offering her a place with a group known as Horizon Frontiers. Though initially wary because of her own father’s distrust with lending his technology elsewhere, the woman assured her that, if Arianna had accepted, she would do more than enough good for humanity to repair her father’s own previous burdens. And so she accepted, becoming Horizon Frontiers’ top recon operative. Though she’s become increasingly aware and jaded to Horizon Frontiers’ true operations, every revelation only convinces her to double down in her efforts, in the hope that her father’s ultimate contribution to the world will be a positive one.

FIGHTING STYLE & ABILIES

"Wait, you don't really expect me to fight them, do you?!"
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SKILLS & ABILITIES

"I'm skilled in reconaissance, camouflage, espionage, eavesdropping, information technologies..."
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Describe all your character's martial arts (if any) or all things fighting.

SIGNATURE MOVES

"Hold on, 'Combat' skills?!"
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■ Drone Deployment

"Engage Defensive Maneuvers!"
Arianna directly controls a small fleet of robotic, crow-like drones. Primarily designed for reconnaissance and espionage, they were also designed able to carry out assassinations, giving them some ability to be used as a defensive tool in case Arianna herself ever gets into danger. While individually weak, the Drones are able to harass and occupy an opponent, giving Arianna a chance to counterattack or escape. They're not very tough and are prone to being broken in a fight, and as a such overusing them can leave Arianna defenseless.

■ Eyes of Heaven

"Let's get a good look at you..."
The Huginn-Module is outfitted with a variety of sensors and detectors, allowing Arianna to get an intimate and accurate analysis of the opponent, allowing her to identify their weak points and counter their incoming attacks.

■ Explosive Drone

"Go get 'em!"
Arianna commands one of her drones to swoop directly at an opponent and detonate, delivering a powerful point-blank explosion directly near them.

■ Camouflage

"S-Stay away!"
Arianna activates the Huginn module's stealth module, turning her temporarily invisible, allowing her to reposition herself to a better vantage point. The stealth isn't perfect, however; Moving too fast will create a visible distortion that gives away her position, and being too close to an opponent will further ruin the illusion. It's also incredibly costly in terms of energy for such a light module, and as a result can only be used for a few brief seconds.

■ Featherflux

"Take that!"
Arianna ejects a fan of sharp, bladelike feathers from the Huginn-Module's sleeves, throwing a small cluster of knives at the opponent.

■ Glide

"Woosh!"
Arianna is able to glide, falling at a slow pace, while wearing the Huginn module. Not true flight, she cannot gain altitude without using an updraft.

SUPER MOVES

"I warned you!"
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■ Telltale Heart

"You're already dead..."
Arianna scans the opponent's vitals, then makes a swift and decisive blow at the precise moment and location, dealing massive damage with an otherwise simple attack.

■ Unkindness

*Sharp Whistle*
Arianna activates her entire fleet of drones, commanding them to rush in and maul the opponent all at once from several directions. As the opponent is being harried and pecked to shreds, she'll then activate all of the drones explosives, catching them in an explosive tsunami.

■ Nevermore

*Need some backup here!*
Arianna deploys a signal, instantly calling in another full fleet of drones.

WEAKNESSES & LIMITS

"What the hell did you expect from me?!"
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Arianna barely has any training for actual combat beyond self-defense. As such she's a very unlikely fighter, relying mostly on a fleet of drones which is expendable and quick to be destroyed. Her most common strategy is to harass and overwhelm the opponent then escape as quickly as possible.

OTHER

"That's about all I have time for. I gotta get back to the nest."
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Anything else we need to know?

Quotes

“Lowering Adrenaline.” (Taunt)

“Generic Insult to your Mother” (Taunt)

“...Recalibrating…” (Whiffing Super)

“Target Suppressed.” (Round Win)

“Deploying Signal for Extraction of Subject.” (Round Win)

“Uploading Combat Data…” (Perfect Round)

“FAILURE. REQUESTING EXTRACTION.” (Round Loss)

“FATAL ERROR.” (Round Loss)

Win Quotes

“Suppression of inferior bio-mechanical specimen complete.” (Vs. Justin)

“Suppression of unit 07 complete.” (Vs. Oh-Seven)

“Acoustic irritant neutralized.” (Vs. Jaden)

“Ideal subject located. Beginning Extraction...” (Vs. Beatriz)

“Primary representative of baseline for design neutralized. Public appeal of SYM-24 projected to rise 85%.” (Vs. Jill)

“Paranormally-empowered individual suppressed. Subject successfully outmatched in sample of ‘anti-hero’.” (Vs. Izzy)

“Generic critique of art.” (Vs. Rosie)

“Contract terminated.” (Vs. Voyt)

“Recalibrating. Unable to recall context of previous actions.” (Vs. Lucas)

“Rival corporation stocks projected to decline 87%. Mission complete.” (Vs. Florian)

“Victory attributed to alcohol intoxication in target.” (Vs. Rui)

“Supernatural entity suppressed. Superiority of science established.” (Vs. Cavan)

“Target potential severely limited by psychological limitations. Victory unsurprising.” (Vs. Daniel)

“Deleting audio log…” (vs. Oriko)

“Euthanization complete.” (Vs. Locke)

“Successfully re-established sense of reality in subject.” (Vs. Olivia)

“Returning primate test subject to lab.” (Vs. Skyler).

Nomadic Odyssey: Find Your Heart

rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated

SYM-24 "Horizon Rider"

"Unit SYM-24 Online."

"Loading File SYM-24.hfe." _____________________________________________________ NAME: HORIZON RIDER _______________________________________________ EPITHET: FALSE HERO _______________________________________________ AGE: 2 years _______________________________________________ PRONOUNS: Interchangeably He/Him, They/Them, It _______________________________________________ HEIGHT: 6’4” _______________________________________________ WEIGHT: 560 lbs. _______________________________________________ NATIONALITY: Horizon Frontiers _______________________________________________ LIKES: Fighting _______________________________________________ DISLIKES: Public Attention

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OVERVIEW

"Beginning Unit Abstract."
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APPEARANCE

"Projecting Visual Metrics..."
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On the surface, Horizon Rider makes good on his namesake, appearing as a dark bluish-green suit of advanced armor, with a dome-helmet completely concealing his face. Compared to on-brand Justice Rider models, his armor is much more plated, almost-scaled in appearance. His appearance was specifically designed to evoke official Justice Rider aesthetic and iconography to earn appeal with the public, while still allowing for utility and invoking menace.

However, on closer inspection Horizon Rider appears much more insidious and biological. What should be the motor-servos between his limb joints are dark-red banded steel, more similar to muscle than actual mechanical contraption. His hands end in monstrous talons, and his feet are two-toed with a backwards third toe. While these could be written off as stylistic choices, it definitely fills a sense of uncanny dread to anyone who examines the unit too closely.

PERSONALITY TRAITS

"Opening ‘behavioral_aberrances.hfe’..."
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It’d be forgivable to assume that Horizon Rider was actually a robot, given their quiet and stunted mannerisms. Outside of a fight they’re incredibly silent, stoic, and virtually immobile. They wouldn’t even respond to casual banter or even small talk that serves no importance or value to them. It’s hard to draw the line where Horizon Frontiers’ conditioning begins and the actual genetic creature they developed begins. If provided with an objective or an order, they will pursue it with brute simplicity, accomplishing it in the most direct way possible.

In combat is when Horizon Rider truly comes alive. When engaging in a fight, Horizon Rider becomes incredibly focused, animalistic, and sadistic, toying with their opponent as a predator would their prey. They’ll give an opponent the illusion of a fighting chance just to shatter it, slowly wear them down until they’re aware of their own helplessness, circle around before going in for the kill

Part of Horizon Rider’s conflicting nature is the juxtaposition between Horizon Frontiers’ programming and constant control of him and his own instinctual, bestial nature. The Brazil fighting cup brings them no shortage of frustration, having to stand and pose in front of crowds when they wouldn’t hesitate to rip someone’s head off for staring them in the eye. Yet, in an attempt to maintain their public appeal, Horizon Rider is occasionally forced to engage in awkward gestures, such as a thumbs up or posing for a photo.

BACKSTORY

"Opening ‘project overview.hfe’..."
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Horizon Frontiers is one of the world’s leading medical and genetic research firms, dedicating all of it’s resources to studying the human body and unlocking the secret to the human potential. As far as the public is concerned, they’re a philanthropic foundation, distributing free gene treatments and medical prosthetics to those in need across the world, including those wounded in active conflict. With clinics and operations all across the globe, Horizon’s made well on their mission goal of “Curing All Humanity”. However, underneath their clean sanitized public image, Horizon Frontiers is an insidious organization that performs all sorts of inhumane experiments in the name of mastering the mysterious, esoteric force known as Ki. Anything that would provide a leg-up in their objective, say, the Power Stone, is something they will pursue to the ends of the earth to collect.

Upon discovery that the prize of the World Fighting Carnival would be one such Power Stone, Horizon Frontiers immediately locked their crosshairs on the event, trying to obtain it as discreetly and swiftly as possible. Smash-and-Grab was off-the-menu, as the greatest fighters all across the world had come to the event, and Horizon Frontiers was hardly the only organization interested in such an artifact. They couldn’t buy it either, as the prize was quite literally priceless. The best method was to simply enter their own combatant and win the stone legitimately.

For two years, Horizon Frontiers had dedicated all of it’s best available resources into the project to create a fighter strong enough to seize the stone. All of its’ Headquarters had pooled their rarest resources and got to work on “Project Horizon Rider”.

The World Fighting Carnival was a public venue, watched by thousands of people in person and broadcast all across the world to millions, so not only did the subject have to be powerful and efficient, but also had to be appealing to the public masses. To accomplish this endeavor, the subject was aesthetically designed after the popular media franchise “Justice Riders”, their entire body covered in a stylized suit of armor to hide their true form.

After two years of hard work and corporate extortion, Horizon Rider was born, a pure beast of battle in the guise of a noble hero of science.

The unit was developed with two goals in mind. One, win the tournament and acquire the Power Stone through legitimate means. And two, engage in combat with various martial arts experts and provide valuable combat data to Horizon Frontiers for future endeavors.

The project was overseen by Ulric Dotair throughout it’s two-year development. In the tournament proper, they will be observed by two Horizon Personnel on the scene, who will both collect combat data and report any aberrances.

FIGHTING STYLE & ABILITIES

"Target Identified. Beginning Combat Sequence."
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SKILLS & ABILITIES

"Beginning Combat Maneuvers."
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Horizon Rider was designed as the pinnacle of technology and biology. As such, their fighting style is not only incredibly strong and potent, but also skilled and calculated. They combine both traditional fighting methods with an entire arsenal of implanted weapons and devices. In a fight, they’ll tend to at-first rely on traditional moves and basic attacks, then bring out the big guns and attempt brute-forcing their way past the opponent if they are sufficiently challenged.

SIGNATURE MOVES

"Deploying Arsenal."
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■ Bio-Blast

Deploying Concentrated Bio-Energy Attack.
Horizon Rider’s arm sculpts and transforms into a laser cannon, which then charges and fires a bolt of his own Ki at the opponent. This attack can be charged for an additional time for a more deadly attack, generating a bolt larger than his own upper body, which will violently explode upon impact.

■ Bio-Blade

Activating Lethal Measures.
Horizon Rider ejects a blade of pure energy from his wrists, able to cut through virtually any inorganic material like a knife through butter. The only defensive measure against this attack is the Ki of an opposing fighter, which will instead reduce it to severe cuts and burns on contact. Maintaining these blades for longer than a brief moment is an incredible waste of energy, however.

■ Rider Stomp

Mimicking Iconic Maneuver.
In a darker twist on the iconic Justice Rider move, Horizon Rider kicks downwards into an opponent, stomping on them. The attack is typically reserved for downed/defeated opponents as a finishing move, though Horizon Rider is able to utilize this with a jump, performing a sort of meteor kick.

■ Tail Lash

Extending Stinger Appendage.
An incredibly long and thin, yet incredibly dense wire extends from behind Horizon Rider’s waist, fully-controlled and maneuverable, serving as an additional appendage. The tail can perform a variety of attacks, from stinging and shocking the opponent to flailing wildly like a whip, spacing out an entire zone around Horizon Rider directly. Unfortunately, the tail is relatively fragile and easy to break or sever.

■ Ampule-Deployment

Recuperating Energy… Repairing Biological Trauma…
Horizon Rider is implanted with a reserve of Horizon Frontiers’ healing serum, a liquid that reinvigorates the body and can even quickly regenerate moderate-to-severe trauma such as lacerations and broken bones. When activated, Horizon Rider will experience a second-wind, recovering his energy and healing damage suffered. It still has limits as to what it will heal, though, and Horizon Rider only has a select amount that has to periodically be refilled.

■ Acid Spit

Deploying Acidic Surprise.
An underhanded and often-unexpected attack, Horizon Rider’s helmet briefly cracks open revealing a toothed maw, which will quickly fire a projectile spit at the opponent. Not only is the acid extremely caustic and able to melt through skin, but it will also quickly harden and stick, binding the effected limb. Most of the move’s utility is that it’s unexpected, and so an opponent that experienced it before will be well-armed to expect and avoid it. A second time.

SUPER MOVES

"Extreme Measures Unlocked."
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■ Bio-Beam

Bio-Cannon Charged to 200%.
Horizon Rider creates his arm cannon, and instead charges and fires a massive beam of energy, creating an overwhelmingly powerful attack. For a brief moment afterwards, Horizon Rider is unable to deploy any other Bio-moves.

■ Berserker Mode

Artificial Limitations Removed. DIE.
Horizon Rider kicks his entire body into overdrive, causing his entire body to tense and glow with sickly green veins as his entire body is pumped full of stimulant serum. In this state Horizon Rider becomes incredibly aggressive, yet also far faster and stronger. He’s generally unable to use any special maneuvers, instead unleashing pure animalistic instinct as he tears his opponent to ribbons.

■ Blade of Justice’s Bane

Deploying Ultimate Countermeasure.
Horizon Rider hypercharges one of his wristblades until it’s larger than his entire body, then delivers a single devastating swing. Not only is the attack itself perilously lethal, but the energy offshoot will travel a short distance, hitting anything that would delude itself into thinking it’s at a safe distance.

WEAKNESSES & LIMITS

"Caution: Unit has known limitations."
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Despite Horizon Rider’s all-around combat perfection, they are a high-maintenance project, constantly requiring attention and routine upkeep to keep at top-performance. Many of their attacks are also incredibly costly and difficult to use, making prolonged encounters difficult. Finally, they were designed for the Brazil-Fighting cup, in which most combat is limited to a single fight, making them difficult at anything more complex.

OTHER

"Unit Abstract Complete."
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Quotes

“Lowering Adrenaline.” (Taunt)

“Generic Insult to your Mother” (Taunt)

“...Recalibrating…” (Whiffing Super)

“Target Suppressed.” (Round Win)

“Deploying Signal for Extraction of Subject.” (Round Win)

“Uploading Combat Data…” (Perfect Round)

“FAILURE. REQUESTING EXTRACTION.” (Round Loss)

“FATAL ERROR.” (Round Loss)

Win Quotes

“Suppression of inferior bio-mechanical specimen complete.” (Vs. Justin)

“Suppression of unit 07 complete.” (Vs. Oh-Seven)

“Acoustic irritant neutralized.” (Vs. Jaden)

“Ideal subject located. Beginning Extraction...” (Vs. Beatriz)

“Primary representative of baseline for design neutralized. Public appeal of SYM-24 projected to rise 85%.” (Vs. Jill)

“Paranormally-empowered individual suppressed. Subject successfully outmatched in sample of ‘anti-hero’.” (Vs. Izzy)

“Generic critique of art.” (Vs. Rosie)

“Contract terminated.” (Vs. Voyt)

“Recalibrating. Unable to recall context of previous actions.” (Vs. Lucas)

“Rival corporation stocks projected to decline 87%. Mission complete.” (Vs. Florian)

“Victory attributed to alcohol intoxication in target.” (Vs. Rui)

“Supernatural entity suppressed. Superiority of science established.” (Vs. Cavan)

“Target potential severely limited by psychological limitations. Victory unsurprising.” (Vs. Daniel)

“Deleting audio log…” (vs. Oriko)

“Euthanization complete.” (Vs. Locke)

“Successfully re-established sense of reality in subject.” (Vs. Olivia)

“Returning primate test subject to lab.” (Vs. Skyler).

Nomadic Odyssey: EX Fallen Virtue [Invite Only]

---

@Drag

Gold City - Financial District

---

Wow, straight for the revolver. Honestly, pretty dumb to assume that Voyt would have gone undercover unarmed. The only gesture Arianna could afford was holding her hands up in self-defense before she completely froze, dead to rights.

"Okay! Okay, nobody has to get shot," Arianna tried to reason. Her drones made a small fluttering mumble, reminding the out-of-costume cowboy that he was equally screwed if he chose to pull the trigger, being completely surrounded by a flock of robotic drones that could scratch, maim, and explode from any direction. The best either of them could do was stall for time.

Arianna knew Daren was already on his way, but that he was slow, hopeless with direction, and easily distracted, especially by fighting. Voyt himself even summised that she was likely just waiting for backup to arrive. Arianna didn't hitch too much on Voyt having his own backup on the way. None of her sensors detected any radiowaves, either, meaning he must not have been communicating with anyone before she ambushed him.

But also, Arianna wasn't exactly as frozen as she made it seem. She had a whole flock of independent drones, not just following wherever she went, but also all across the city. And right now, three little birdies were already inside of the Sunlight Shippings Office, just a few walls of concrete away from Arianna and Voyt. As Arianna surrounded Voyt with Drones, three of them flew off as soon as the assassin snapped around to face her, cutting a hole through and slipping inside of a window. As the rest of the office panicked to the chaos outside, the drones were picking open file cabinets and scanning over piles of documents for any mention of the Power Stone, Antarctica, or any other related names and buzzwords. Not a very effective method, but it was a way to get a leg up on MIRAGE's own hunt while she was held at gunpoint.

Of course, if Voyt managed to quickly figure out that Arianna had backup on the way, it wouldn't take him too long to figure out she was only stalling for time.

"You must be making some awful big bucks to associate yourself with a terrorist organization like this. All this trouble for one little rock?" Arianna chided, doing her best to keep him talking and distracted.

---

Gold City - Alleyway

---

"Sunlight Shipping, Financial District... Sunlight Shipping, Financial District... Sunlight Financial, Shipping District..." Daren repeated to himself as he ran through the backstreets of Gold City. Obviously a freak like him with a massive sword would draw too much attention, especially in a city that was on high-alert. Thankfully, HQ had several secret passages all across the city, letting him pop up wherever needed, and charted the backstreets and alleyways to travel through undetected. Just like Disney World!

Unfortunately, that was made with the assumption that Daren read through the public travel manual. Running around a few corners and under a few train bridges left Daren utterly stumped and without direction.

"Huh... I swear I was just... What was I looking for?" He asked himself, befuddled. Probably should've written the location down. And waited for Ulric to give him the actual address. Suddenly, he felt a powerful tremor nearly take him off balance as another explosion went off, this one just a few hundred yards away.

"Yknow what, that's as good a place as any," Daren mused, before running off towards it through the dark, seedy alleyways of Gold City, hoping to run into some trouble.

Nomadic Odyssey: EX Fallen Virtue [Invite Only]

---

Gold City - Horizon Frontiers North American HQ

---

Gold City was one of the richest and wealthiest cities in the country, with towering, brilliantly-shining skyscrapers, monuments to commerce filling the city's skyline. However, it was also infamous for it's rampant crime and corruption. Virtually any big company that put property in the city was bound to keep a few skeletons in the backroom, behind smiling clerks and busy offices. So, it should come as no surprise that Horizon Frontiers, one of the world's largest biotechnological & medical foundations, would use the city to host it's North American Regional Headquarters. The sixty-five stories reaching towards the sun were full of doctors offices, cubicles, and laboratories that worked in a constant buzz of medicinal progress. But no matter how hard investigators and reporters would search, nobody ever found so much as a crumb of incriminating evidence to Horizon's shady business.

No; Instead, Horizon Frontiers had it's true colors underneath the earth, a loose net of secret laboratories, development rooms, and living quarters for high-interest staff, who would casually go about their highly-illegal work.

*Shnk*
*Shnk*
*Shnk*
*Shnk*

Daren Metzger leaned back in a chair in the Control Room. In his good hand was an absurdly large meat cleaver, one more akin to yet barely qualifying as a sword owing to it's long blade. In his other, a cheap prosthetic, he grazed a whetstone against it in rhythmic motion, sending sparks flying with every graze. The blade shone brilliantly, absent of any chips or dulling, as the butcher endlessly shaved it's edge. Suddenly, a Scalpel stabbed into the wall behind him, mere inches from his head, catching his attention.

"Would you knock that off already?!" Ulric Dotair snapped. He had been sitting at the console of the control room as Daren lazed in the back, and the constant grating noise had finally gotten to him.

"Sure, I'll just sit here quietly, doing completely nothing, while we wait for Bird Girl to tell us where the Stone is. If she does," Daren shrugged, sitting forward and tossing his whetstone aside, propping his Cleaver to his side.

Ulric let out a defeated sigh, then pulled on the communicator, "Arianna? Come in. How's the view out there? Spot any 'shiny yet?"

---

@Drag

Gold City - Financial District

---

All across the city, flocks of birds would watch the folk below go about their daily lives. But among them, were not birds at all. Dozens of spy drones perched themselves across the city, completely inconspicuous to any wandering eyes, secretly observing the entire city and all of it's passerby. They especially kept tabs on the city's people of interest, watching them from a distance all day. Justin, Jaden, Jasmine, Jill, Lucas, the drones kept a tab on all of them as they went about their business, sending their data back to Arianna Legose, herself perched on top of the rooftop. Using her stealth suit's built-in systems, she was able to view the feeds of all her drones, tracking their locations as they all convened.

"Not yet," Arianna spoke, pressing the side of her head. As soon as her drones identified MIRAGE goons prowling around the city, Horizon immediately leapt into position. They knew why they were here: To track down the Powerstone, which had been lost in the confusion of the Battle in Antarctica. While Arianna was confident in her and Horizon's resources being able to find the stone themselves in no time, MIRAGE's sudden appearance was unexpected, but welcome. If they were willing to launch a full-scale attack on the city, then they must have had a decent idea to where the Stone was. So, Arianna decided to sit back and wait, watching as Mirage floundered across the city, looking for answers. A few Mirage goons started an explosion downtown, which drew some attention, both of the law and the likes of Jill or Justin, which Arianna saw as their locations began to convene.

On the other hand, she noticed a peculiar figure approaching the offices of Sunlight Shipping, the organization that helped move the Powerstone, which had been a location of interest for Arianna as well. Noticing him sulk around the building as the explosions downtown rang out and people began to panic, Arianna did a quick scan and consulted a database and--

Oh god damnit, it was Voyt. She could hardly recognize the Mirage assassin when he didn't look like he walked right off the set of a Western. But, the scars and facial pattern didn't lie.

"Hold on, I think I got a lead on them having a lead. Down at Sunlight Shipping Offices, engaging target!" Arianna spoke back through the transmitter before cutting off. She stood on the edge of the rooftop, spreading her arms wide out. In a moment, the sleeves of the Huginn-Module transformed into razor, bladed feathers. Arianna's mask flipped down, covering her face in a long pointed beak. Arianna then hopped off the edge of the roof, falling straight downward, before turning up and using the draft to soar over the streets and land in a roll down the same alleyway behind the building that Voyt slipped into. Her drones followed suit, flying after her into the alleyway, surrounding Voyt in a cacophony of screeches.

"Howdy partner," Arianna greeted mockingly, before ejecting her razor-sharp talons, "I'm guessing you're looking for a certain shiny bauble too?"

---

---

"Sunlight Shipping? Alright, Just hang in there, Daren's on his--" Ulric began, before being cut off as Arianna disabled the transmitter, and immediately leapt into action. Ulric sighed.

"That's my cue?" Daren asked, perking up.

"Yes. Sunlight Shipping Offices, over in the Financial District. There was an explosion out in the streets, Go around it, do you hear me?" Ulric instructed.

"Oh yeah, sure, I'll definitely go around the action," Daren opened the door and began walking out, shutting it behind him. It took then for Ulric to understand that his associate had very little interest in engaging the actual mission, and was very likely to get caught up in whatever caused the explosion all of the other Nomads were rapidly approaching.

"I am surrounded by children," Ulric groaned, placing his head into his hands in the empty control room.

Deadwood: Hope, Death, & Misery [Closed]

Magdalene did her best to shrink and remain quiet for the duration of the audience. She stood towards the back of the group, as if hoping to hide from the view of the queen; Not at all difficult, given her lacking height. She felt that if she were called upon the best she could manage was a choking stutter. She did not like standing before officials; Especially not the queen of a magical nation who could and wouldn't hesitate to toss anyone who made a scene plummeting to their deaths. As everyone else listed off their own reasons for undertaking this mission -- One that, they still hadn't actually heard of, Magdalene dreaded and worked up courage to state her own goal.

"I want-- To live here. Away from... Dead-- The 'Lower Realms', you said," Magdalene somehow managed to murmur out, letting the conversation quickly eject her afterwards.

Once the group stated their purpose, the Queen finally relayed their quest. At first it sounded simple enough; She wanted them as explorers of sorts, finding ancient information and lore of the world below, hopefully dredging up it's long forgotten history. Their journey would require them to travel across the breadth of Deadwood, but should they succeed, then their desire's would be satisfied. Except, Magdalene knew to read the fine print when it came to accepting a job. The whole deal sounded a bit unfair to them, and nobody else seemed to question the actual job itself. Finding herself inching closer towards the large stone golem for security, Magdalene mustered up the courage to actually talk back to the queen.

"N-Now, hang on, hang on... I uh... That... This mission sounds... a bit fixed against us. We're just-- You want us to travel all across Deadwood, including... New Kaimeria," Magdalene felt a bit too much malice slip into her voice, "and the Desolation? So we can look around for old books and information which might actually exist... Until we find whatever you call to be enough? Wh-Wh-W-What actual insurance can you give that we won't just be wandering around until we fall dead?"

Once she finished voicing her concerns, Magdalene felt dread coil up and rest in the bottom of her stomach, as she called the full attention of the queen to herself.

Nomadic Odyssey: EX Fallen Virtue [Invite Only]

Daren Metzger

"That's with just one R." _____________________________________________________ NAME: DAREN METZGER _______________________________________________ EPITHET: HORIZON FRONTIERS CHIEF OF AUTOPSY _______________________________________________ AGE: 26 _______________________________________________ PRONOUNS: HE/HIM _______________________________________________ HEIGHT: 6"4' _______________________________________________ WEIGHT: 180 lbs. _______________________________________________ NATIONALITY: GERMANY _______________________________________________ LIKES: Monsters, Swords, Cooking, Work _______________________________________________ DISLIKES: Pacifism, Medicine, Technology, Dishonor

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OVERVIEW

"'Nother day another dollar."
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APPEARANCE

"Casual friday already?"
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At first glance, Daren appears to be a normal, if a bit eccentric person; Standing at 6"4', weighing roughly 180 lbs, and with an incredibly pale face that sports an unchanging dumb smirk. He has constantly-tired eyes, despite his perpetual jovial expression, with a head of messy, bluish green hair. Most of his body is covered in a choice of a butcher's apron and a large, doctor's jacket, going to lengths to cover the rest of his body with a tall boots and long socks, as well as two varying gloves on his hands, his right one being a thin, needled one and the left one being a thick, greenish one.

Yet underneath his outfit, Daren's body becomes much more unsettling; His entire body is a sickish gray, covered in all manner of welts, burn-marks, and stitches, almost mixing and matching pieces of various size together into a single body. Even his attire gets stranger the longer one examines it, carrying around tools in pouches more befitting a butcher, including a giant metal cleaver almost as long as he is tall. His "face" as most people see it is actually a plain white mask, that covers his face. Even stranger, his left glove isn't a glove at all, but his own prosthetic hand, with wires barely attaching it functionally.

PERSONALITY TRAITS

"Dad said the apple didn't fall far from the tree."
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Detached -- Daren's... Not always 'there' in the head. He often fumbles with words and hardly expresses emotion beyond his friendly laid-back attitude. He even maintains this aura even in tense situations, being able to kill without blinking and even trying to strike up friendly conversations with opponents.

Diligent -- At the same time, Daren maintains a professional work ethic and dedication. In nearly any other career, this would be commendable, but in his case of being a murderer and monster butcher, it comes off as dissonant and disturbing, treating dives into monster guts and dismembering people as just the daily grind with enthusiasm.

Talkative -- Daren can't keep his mouth shut, literally and figuratively. Even when not talking with his opponents and in complete isolation, Daren mumbles and hums to himself.

BACKSTORY

"I was a really dull boy, before Horizon came along."
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Daren was originally a member of a family of traveling monster-hunters, who made a life out of seeking out the deadliest game the world had to offer for the best trophies; From urban myths to ancient legends, they lined the walls of their mobile home with the mementos from all sorts of beasts, cryptids, and even stranger quarry.

Well-- His family, had. Poor Daren was shafted with making the trophies; Every one of his family's triumphs meant a gruesome, thankless autopsy for him to pull off, never fully receiving the full huntsman training he was promised every time he asked.

One night, when he was 22, his family was on a trip to South America, hunting down a jungle beast that had been terrorizing several towns for months. While the rest of his family was off hunting the creature, it attacked their RV where he had been hanging behind. The creature nearly tore the shelter to shreds, as Daren tried to desperately fend it off, already accepting his demise. The beast managed to tear at his throat with it's claws, and had what was left of it in grip of it's teeth... Suddenly, the beast was killed by a flurry of knives striking it along several points in it's back, thrown by a strange woman he hadn't recognized; She wasn't part of the hunting party, but was someone else altogether.

Just as she saved his life, she made it abundantly clear that Daren had two options:

1) Die

2) Work for her

Just before he lost consciousness, he managed a nod; Good enough for her, he presumed, since when he woke up he was in a hospital of sorts, having his otherwise-mortal wounds healed, his throat covered by a sort of artificial-skin layer.

The woman revealed her name, Ivory, and that her group -- Horizon Frontiers -- had been hunting the beast, and several others, for a different reason than his family's own glory-hounding; However, they recognized they had existing skills with monster dissection, the very same reason she had saved his life. And thus, Daren became an operative for Horizon Frontiers, not only being given a more dignified output for his skills in butchery, but also being given the chance to live as the monster-hunter he always wanted to be.

Horizon's primary reason for hunting down monsters and mythics was to harness the abilities of their physiology; Through research, they've deducted means of biologically grafting various organs and segments of living beings onto others, granting them some degree of their specific abilities; In the case of the jungle-beast that nearly killed him, it's own heart gave Daren inhuman endurance that allowed him to survive an otherwise crippling bloodloss. Since then, he's been the first eager guinea pig for several other grafting procedures, giving him a questionable degree of humanity -- Both physically, as he's taken on the aspects of several different creatures to both increase his power and repair his damaged body, as well as in spirit, given that he's become progressively untroubled by the idea of extending his butchery to that of other Nomads...

FIGHTING STYLE & ABILIES

"You'd be surprised the muscle you pack carrying this thing around all day."
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SKILLS & ABILITIES

"Jeez, not even I'll be able to fix that."
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Daren combines his own experience with anatomy with his fighting style, relying on absolutely brutalizing an opponent with sheer force. Not only is his massive Cleaver capable of tearing even a seasoned warrior to ribbons, but his prosthetic hand gives him a decent reach and is also capable of infecting the target with a weakening formula. Daren's also inhumanly durable, possessing the heart of a savage beast as well as several other improvements to his body, including a near-total lack of pain and ability to subsist with intense damage, on top of his bulky outfit and durable mask, which has saved him from one too many shots to the face.

SIGNATURE MOVES

"Look, either way I'm just gonna hit something with my sword."
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■ Cleave

Daren swings his massive cleaver in a wide angle, striking a large range and making for a powerful, difficult to avoid attack for any close-ranged opponents.

■ Blunt-End

Daren swings the blunt end of his sword at an opponent, hitting them with enough force to send them flying away and through the air.

■ Rupture

Daren strikes his surroundings with enough force to smash through stone, wood, and even metal. The resulting explosion will create a shower of debris that deals light damage, as well as creating a minor camouflage for Daren to move through.

■ Hook-Hand

Daren fires his hand as a grappling hook, used for a variety of purposes. The most basic in a fight are to either pull an opponent towards him, or grasp them and swing them around, though he's also used it to move through the environment and reach high vantage points. However, the cord is rather flimsy and prone to breaking if overused.

■ Spare Parts

Daren's body is incredibly resistant to pain and damage; His sense of pain is incredibly dulled, with even the most agonizing sensations only being able to at most cause intense soreness. His body is also patchwork in nature, being incredibly resistant against trauma and rupturing. He's able to survive the loss of limbs, large amounts of blood, whole chunks of his body mass, and even persist for several minutes without vital organs. In addition, his body is able to "readopt" itself. If his arm were to be severed, for instance, he can simply pick it back up, wrap it back on with bandaid, tape, or whatever else is available, and have it function perfectly well. In addition, he can even steal the parts of other people's body if his own is destroyed. Though it won't function as well as his own, it'll gradually adapt and transform, until it is accepted into his body fully.

■ Spinning-Cleave

Hank quickly swings his Cleaver in a full 360 degrees, buying him some space and hitting everything within several feet of him. However, the attack requires a lot of strength to use so quickly, and will leave him briefly exposed for a few moments after.

SUPER MOVES

"Want a free tip? Start Running."
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■ Guillotine

Daren leaps into the air, swinging his cleaver downwards upon an opponent. This attack deals massive amounts of damage, crushing through solid stone and slamming his target into the ground. Anything without durability or protection will be reduced to chunky salsa, literally exploding from the impact of the attack.

■ Killing Intent

Daren sublimates his bloodlust and primal instinct, giving him an overwhelming boost to strength and toughness. He simply ceases to feel pain or react to any incoming attacks, and his own use of his muscles completely ignore his natural limitation. An average strike is able to completely obliterate stone, and some ordinary opponents have been knocked flat on their ass just from the force of his blade being swung at them. In addition, his Ki radiates a violent and overwhelming dread, even to the point of triggering an automatic flight response from weaker opponents. Once the state wears off, however, Daren will feel the impact of overextending himself, soreness setting in to possibly even incapacitate him.

WEAKNESSES & LIMITS

"I guess I'd die if I'm killed, if that counts."
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Daren's fighting style is pretty straightforward, being easy to predict and while possessing raw killing power, has little versatility. His Cleaver's also pretty bulky and slow, leaving him possibly exposed if he fails to land an attack he's invested in. He's especially vulnerable against ranged opponents, given his lack of defensive measures or mobility.

OTHER

"Quote here."
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Anything else we need to know?

Ulric Dotair

"Let's have ourselves a quick checkup, shall we?" _____________________________________________________ NAME: ULRIC DOTAIR _______________________________________________ EPITHET: HORIZON FRONTIERS CHIEF OF MEDICINE _______________________________________________ AGE: 48 _______________________________________________ PRONOUNS: He/Him _______________________________________________ HEIGHT: 5'11" _______________________________________________ WEIGHT: 172 lbs. _______________________________________________ NATIONALITY: Ireland _______________________________________________ LIKES: Model kits, tea _______________________________________________ DISLIKES: Idiocy, wasting time, annoying sounds

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OVERVIEW

"Let's see what we have on file..."
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APPEARANCE

"If anything these rags might as well be pajamas."
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Ulric stands at 5 feet and eleven inches, weighing in at roughly a hundred and thirty-two pounds. His skin is pretty heavily disfigured, being covered in boils and scars from overuse of his own self-experimentation, which has also contributed to the whitening of his hair along with his own age. He still carries some strength, however, still giving him a definite muscled frame.

Ulric wears a white doctor's jacket, along with several pieces of black supportive armor. He covers the lower-half of his face below his nose with a thick wrap of bandages. He also carries a myriad of different supportive equipment, including glowing green detection goggles and various devices and gadgets attached to his jacket.

PERSONALITY TRAITS

"I'm not much of a psychologist."
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GROUCHY: Ulric doesn't mesh well with other people, and even towards his colleagues can come across as brash and unpleasant.

OBSESSIVE: Ulric has little patience for disorder or annoyance, preferring everything to be neat and organized. Seeing something out of place or uneven greatly aggravates him, even to the point of causing him to lash out.

OBSERVANT: Ulric has an eye for detail and makes careful notes of his surroundings, always staying on guard and watching out for anything of importance.

BACKSTORY

"If you'd told me ten years ago that this path wouldn't have had a Nobel prize at the end of it, I doubt I would have stopped."
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Ulric Dotair was once a well-spoken name in the scientific community, dedicating his life to studying the human body and unlocking it's hidden potential. By the age of 30, he made countless breakthroughs and earned several awards, devising several means of enhancing one's strength.

As Ulric reached past the tip of preestablished knowledge, his passion refused to cool, prompting him to push even further into untreaded ground. Every success prompted him to only try harder, until he began to explore more obscure chemicals and unorthodox means for improving human strength that were considered unsettling. He began to develop work on his magnum opus chemical; One that when used on an ordinary human, could excite their Ki and accelerate their growth to meet a standard that normally took years of training to reach.

With the progression of time, Ulric became increasingly determined in seeing his creation reach fruition. His methods became increasingly dangerous and volatile, causing his support and funding to gradually decline. Regardless, he pushed onward with his creation, until he was practically limited to a small basement lab with no hands but his own. Stripped of resources and equipment to safely test his serum, he elected to use it on himself. Upon injection, he felt a massive surge of energy and strength rush through his body. However, it was soon followed by a pang of agony, which caused him to quickly black out.

When he woke up, he was in a facility run by Horizon Frontiers, greeted by a strange woman named Ivory, the true conductor of Horizon Frontiers. It was revealed to Ulric that, while his serum was indeed effective, it was extremely caustic against Ulric's otherwise average body, severely damaging his health and cutting down his lifespan by several decades. However, while the downside of such a serum was fatal to anyone not as lucky as Ulric, she saw the merit in such an invention, as well as Ulric's ambition. He was given a position as one of Horizon Frontiers' lead scientists, obtaining the means necessary to not only mass produce his first serum, but continue research to an even more potent formula.

FIGHTING STYLE & ABILIES

"Yeh, that was my joints cracking. Doesn't mean I can't break yours."
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SKILLS & ABILITIES

"Never doubt what the right mix of chemicals and compounds can do for you. Or do to you."
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While Ulric was never much of a fighter before taking his serum and joining Horizon, the sheer potency of it had uplifted him, an otherwise ordinary scientist, into a Warrior capable of rivaling most Nomads, albeit at a great cost to his health. He primarily fights with an arsenal of tools at his disposal, exploiting the human anatomy to critically cripple an opponent.

SIGNATURE MOVES

"Tell me how it feels when I do this."
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■ Scalpel

Ulric hurls a small dagger, which will travel rapidly through the air and pierce through most defenses, though ultimately deal little damage.

■ Adhesive Binding

Ulric unwraps a sticky, reinforced roll of gauze, which will wrap around an opponent and bind their arms. Isn't very difficult to break through from, though will still leave their target vulnerable until they break free.

■ Arrhythmia

Ulfric jabs an opponent in the chest, temporarily stalling their heartbeat. While it won't kill the target or even injure them really, it makes it extremely taxing and strenuous for them to move, yet at the same time will wear off as they begin to move, forcing them to either remain still and open to attack or walk off the pain.

■ Ki Sample

Ulric injects an opponent with a needle, filling it with a distillation of their life energy. In addition to draining away some of the opponent's health, it can be injected into Ulric or another ally, recovering some of their vitality instead. If shattered, it will detonate a small but deadly burst of Ki.

■ Field Lobotomy

Ulric jabs a pin into the target's head at a precise location, temporarily paralyzing them.

■ Second Wind

Ulric presses a respirator to his (or any other allies) face, filled with a canister of air-pressed Ki. When inhaled, it will rapidly restore his energy. Ulric only cares 3 cans with him at any give time, limiting how often he can use it. Using it also requires a moment of peace, during which an ally can attack him and destroy the respirator

SUPER MOVES

"Relax."
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■ Double Dosage

Ulric injects himself with a weaker version of his serum. For a short period of time, it will greatly increase Ulric's strength, speed, and Ki potential. However, after the duration is up the effects of the drug will manifest, exhausting and weakening him for several hours afterwards.

■ Knockout Gas

Ulric releases a specially-designed sleep gas from a capsule. Breathing in the gas will cause any opponents' stamina to rapidly deplete, before they fall into a coma.

WEAKNESSES & LIMITS

"*Ghgh! Hghk!*... Pardon me."
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The serum that Ulric ingested took a crippling toll on his overall vitality, due to spiking his Ki far too unnaturally as opposed to gradual cultivation most warriors opt for. Use of his strongest abilities not only requires effort and is tiring, but will even deal physical damage to him as his Ki strains his body, possibly even incapacitating or killing him.

OTHER

"That'll do for now. Good to have you onboard."
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Anything else we need to know?

Arianna Legose

"Is this going on permanent record?" _____________________________________________________ NAME: ARIANNA LEGOSE _______________________________________________ EPITHET: HORIZON FRONTIERS' ESPIONAGE EXPERT _______________________________________________ AGE: 20 _______________________________________________ PRONOUNS: She/Her _______________________________________________ HEIGHT: 4'9" _______________________________________________ WEIGHT: 135 lbs. _______________________________________________ NATIONALITY: AMERICA _______________________________________________ LIKES: Birds, nature, justice riders, video games, camera technology _______________________________________________ DISLIKES: Social situations, violence, small talk

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OVERVIEW

"Sheesh, you wanna know my blood type while you're at it?"
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APPEARANCE

"I uh... Guess you could've caught me on a better day for an interview."
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Arianna is extremely short, standing at 4"9', to the point that she occasionally gets mistaken as being younger than she really is. She has messy black hair she never cares to arrange, and tired blue eyes clearly lacking any proper rest schedule.

She almost pathologically wears the same token equipment, the Huginn-Module, which is a dark-blue colored jacket with a cyan-colored stripe running up it. It comes with a long-beaked bird mask with glowing-blue eyes, which when not active Arianna usually pushes up atop her head. Underneath, she usually wears a white t-shirt and shorts, with a belt of various technological gizmos wrapped around her waist, with a pair of shoes that match the jacket's pattern. The sleeves of the jacket are able to extend to extremely large, also ejecting a pair of sharp talons.

PERSONALITY TRAITS

"I'm a Pisces. Will that do?"
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Anxious - Arianna is extremely timid and anxious, being quick to buckle under pressure for anything from a sensitive mission that needs to be done to a badly botched conversation. She much prefers her own company or that of her drones than that of strangers, or even her close allies.

Quick-Thinking - At the same time, Arianna has shown herself to have a knack for thinking quickly, creating solutions on the fly and solving problems with multiple moving parts. Part of her survivability thus far is thanks to her observational skill, being able to quickly identify an opponent's weakness and take the initiative to exploit it.

Hard-Working - Similarly to her other Horizon colleagues, Arianna has a bit of an issue with obsession with her technology. Much of her free time is spent upgrading and maintaining the Huginn-Module or her fleet of drones; She's even worked herself into a frenzy before and fell asleep right at the workbench (On one occasion nearly causing a devastating accident).

BACKSTORY

"I uh... Honestly, I'm not too comfortable talking about myself like that. I'm a reconnaisance expert for Horizon. That's all that's important right now."
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Franklin Legose was a great private inventor, having created dozens of different stealth and reconnaissance technology throughout his life. However, his accomplishment in innovation turned to horror when he discovered that several of his inventions, originally intended for wildlife observation and forensics, were eventually repurposed by various military and mercenary groups as tools of espionage and war once they left his hands. Seeing how his own ambitions had been warped so far beyond his intent disgusted him from the idea of contributing any more potential devices of war, and so he retreated from the world into isolation with his family.

At first, he had his concerns of his daughter, Arianna, reacting poorly to the change of moving into near-total isolation from the rest of the world, but he had found she had a curiosity in the various animals in the wilderness around their home. Seeking to encourage such an interest, he decided to build one last project for her-- The Huginn-Module. Completing the device, she was then able to observe the world up close and personal while remaining distant from it.

One day though, she found several other armed men patrolling the forest, as if they were searching for her. Using the Huginn-Module to evade them, she immediately returned home-- Only to find a smoking pile of wood instead, her home burnt to the ground. Fiddling through it’s remains, she found no trace of her father or who destroyed her home, But knew that it was because of the Huginn-Module that they came, and thanks to it that she escaped.

For several days after, she wandered through the wilderness. Then, she encountered (or rather, was encountered by) a strange woman whose features she could not identify. Despite the Huginn-Module being active and concealing her, she saw straight through it and to Arianna, offering her a place with a group known as Horizon Frontiers. Though initially wary because of her own father’s distrust with lending his technology elsewhere, the woman assured her that, if Arianna had accepted, she would do more than enough good for humanity to repair her father’s own previous burdens. And so she accepted, becoming Horizon Frontiers’ top recon operative. Though she’s become increasingly aware and jaded to Horizon Frontiers’ true operations, every revelation only convinces her to double down in her efforts, in the hope that her father’s ultimate contribution to the world will be a positive one.

FIGHTING STYLE & ABILIES

"S-Stay back! I got a stun grenade and I have no clue how to use it!"
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SKILLS & ABILITIES

"Let's collect some information..."
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Arianna's fighting style is one suited best for the exact opposite of it's purpose, fighting. She's not Horizon Frontiers' ideal fighter, instead being their espionage expert. But, if push comes to shove, she's been trained and augmented the Huginn-Module to be able to hold her own, at the very least until she can escape, analyzing and predicting an opponent's moves while moving quickly and landing weak yet precise blows at them.

SIGNATURE MOVES

"Beginning Observation!"
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■ Eyes of Heaven

The Huginn-Model's core feature is it's brilliant observational technology. Within it's two eyes are dozens of different visual-sensors, including thermal and night vision, as well as other scanners that virtually nullify any sort of illusion or invisibility. In addition, it comes with a processor that scans an opponent's moves and fighting technique, giving a greater ability to predict the opponent's moves the more they attack.

■ Stealth-Mode

The Huginn-Module is comprised of camouflage nanofibers, allowing it's wearer to become invisible by reflecting their surroundings. Becomes less effective both the closer she is to an opponent and the more she moves around. Can only last for up to ten minutes at a time, as well before shorting out, as well.

■ Radar Pulse

Arianna activates a radar pulse, which sends out a circular wave of energy that feeds information of the patterns they trace, providing her with a rough display of her nearby surroundings. By reading them, she's able to determine the presence and location of any enemies.

■ Featherflux

Arianna hurls a fan of a dozen or so feather-shaped daggers at an opponent, scoring less hits the further away an opponent is.

■ Glide

The Huginn-Module is capable of gliding over a long distance, though not true flexible flight, though it can still buy decent distance away from an opponent. Arianna can still gain some decent air by just jumping or flapping the sleeves really quick.

■ Conspiracy of Drones

Stored within the Huginn-Module are several birdlike automatic drones, which each possess the Eyes of Heaven technology and are capable of tracking down and spying on foes. They also come with built in self-destruct mechanisms, serving as a makeshift bomb in case either they're trapped, or they need to defend Arianna.

SUPER MOVES

"*whistle* get 'em!"
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■ Unkindness

Arianna unleashes a flurry of any remaining Drones she has at an opponent. They will swarm and assault the opponent from all directions, flying around and stabbing them with their beaks. If they're destroyed, or any time Arianna decides, they will explode simultaneously, blasting the opponent from all directions.

■ Telltale Heart

Arianna X-rays an opponent, scanning their biology and muscle-patterns down to every last twitch, analyzing for the best point of attack. Once she's found it, she will lunge at an opponent, striking them for critical damage.

WEAKNESSES & LIMITS

"Well what did you expect?!"
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Arianna isn't even suited for combat; She lacks any real physical strength or endurance, instead keeping safe distance between her and the opponent. She's also highly dependent on the Huginn-Module, just to barely-match most other fighters, becoming functionally defenseless if either she's caught without it or it becomes damaged

OTHER

"No. Nothing else."
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Anything else we need to know?

Deadwood: Hope, Death, & Misery [Closed]

Magdalene did her best to keep her composure as the losing battlefield quickly devolved into hell. No matter how hard they fought, regardless of the she managed to fire, everything just got worse. More of the Bone Clansmen swarmed in, the tent became more and more tattered, the sandstorm worsened on them... It took more effort just keeping calm than actually fighting these damned raiders...

The whole experience was painfully familiar to the Band of Wolves' final night; Superior armed opponents pouring through the camp, cutting down anyone and everyone. Their own bows and clubs laughably useless compared to seasoned warriors. Only this time it was much worse; The sandstorm threatened to rip the skin off their bones at this point, and they could call themselves lucky if a single one of them survived.

Then, suddenly, a ring of fire roared as it surrounded the group. Shortly after, the tent fell over, the full brunt of the sandstorm now flooding into the tent. Following her old trusted survival tactic, Magdalene hit the ground, pulling up her hood over her head and closing her eyes. Between acting like a corpse and hiding behind a small flipped over group of furniture, she'd be completely overlooked. Her best hope at the moment was that the Clansmen would finally flee and let the sandstorm finish off their group of travelers. She didn't actually expect making it out of this situation alive.

She didn't see the light that enveloped the group, and mistook it's warmth as the desert. She did, however, feel the coarse sand and dirt give way to smooth and cool stone, and heard the cacophonic carnage grind to a halt. Magdalene raised herself up on her knees, her entire body still quivering, and looked around. They'd left the ruined and ravaged tent of the camp below, and were now in a courtyard, surrounded by knights and robed figures of various sizes and build. The air was no longer blistering and full of dust particles, but instead clean and refreshing, allowing Magdalene some fresh air.

Upon registering that they were now safe and still alive in Exusia, Magdalene fell backwards, collapsing back onto the courtyard's expertly-cut tiles, letting out a long and rough groan of relief as she gazed up at the blue cloudless sky above. She could've even started to cry in joy at the sheer miracle that rescued them. But, they had a job at hand. One of the knights stood forward and, repeating the same terms as the now-dead delegate below, ordered them to drop their weapons and magical tools, before their audience with the Queen.

Despite her initial protest the first time, Magdalene had no arguments this time. After the ordeal she just endured, she had no privilege of withholding her weapons, especially not when the hospitality of Exusia was the only thing saving them from the savage raid of the Bone Clans below. Sitting herself up, she realized she was still clutching her crossbow, even after dropping to the ground and being teleported leagues into the sky. One of the knights walked towards her, and she handed it over to him. Reaching into her pouch, she handed over her knife as well. Confused for a moment, she looked down at Poe;

"I Don't... suppose my bird counts as a weapon?" Magdalene asked the knight as she stood up properly, her voice still hoarse and shaky. She held up Poe on her palm. The black bird flapped their wings and pecked at their feathers, flinging off what remained of the sand.

Deadwood: Hope, Death, & Misery [Closed]

Acting on pure reflex, Magdalene immediately stood up as the clansmen tore into the tent and barged in, immediately cutting down the delegate, even as she unleashed impressive sorcery to inflict death and rot upon one of them. Although muffled, she could hear the sounds of carnage outside, the entire camp apparently being assaulted. The warriors in the meeting immediately retaliated, drawing steel and engaging with the desert raiders. She'd created a decent 'nest' of sorts, one where she could duck her head down and avoid any attention. Her hands shaking, she quickly drew out her crossbow. She pulled a bolt for it from her quiver, yet dropped it attempting to load it in. Not made better was her hand fidgeting and twitching, barely managing to pick it back up.

Calm down, Maggie, just calm down, she repeated to herself over and over in her head.

What the hell was she even doing here? They were already dead, there's no way this camp can fight off an entire raid. She saw another girl lift up one of the flaps and roll outside. For a moment Magdalene was tempted to follow her, then remembered that not only was the entire camp being attacked, which would've only exposed her to the rest of the clansmen, but they were right in the middle of a sandstorm. Even if she didn't get her gut cut open she'd have to survive the elements. No, her best chance was to dig in and weather it out. Who knows, maybe Exusia would've lent some aid?

Finally steeling her nerves, Magdalene picked up her arrow, managing to notch it in properly this time, and raised her crossbow. The fight in the tent was pure chaos, friend and foe alike dancing about, slashing and dodging, making it difficult for her already-shaking hands to steady a shot on one of the Clansmen.

Artur, the aged mercenary who yelled the call to arms when the battle began, yelped as they were knocked to the ground and dropped their weapon. Though they managed to knock down and gut their opponent, a few other raiders closed in, hoping for a few free kicks to him. Thankfully, Artur's own misfortune made Magdalene's own job much easier, as the congregation of clansmen gave Magdalene an easier shot; Even if the bolt missed, it could still find a home in one of the other opponents, now that they got into a large bunch together.

Magdalene took a deep breath, before letting loose her shot. Pulling the lever, her crossbow flung the arrow through the air, soaring a short distance. As her crossbow released the loud twang! sound, one of the raiders started turning their head up to look at the source. In that split second, however, the arrow landed right in his eye, or at the very least his tearduct. They screamed and clutched at their face, dropping their weapon and stumbling backwards, knocking over another Clansman behind him. Once the high of a remarkable shot wore off of Magdalene, she quickly fiddled out another bolt, and began hastily reloading her crossbow for another go.

Deadwood: Hope, Death, & Misery [Closed]

Magdalene snapped out of her hateful glaring as the delegate shouted, finally calling order and attention to the room. Magdalene blinked a few times as she returned to the rest of the tent, seeing as everyone else finally simmered down and started listening. As she regained her senses, she realized the horse had walked off of her, giving her some breathing room, and their handler-- Sjalvolki, she think he said? Was holding a bag out to her. Magdalene picked up the scent of apricots and sugars coming from it. She would've politely declined or questioned his altruism, but she was focused on listening to the delegate. So she accepted his gift, taking the bag and quickly muttering out "Thanks" as she leaned to the side to get a better look at the delegate past the elf.

"She wants to meet all of you in person to discuss the terms of the deal... which means that you will be teleported up into Exusia. However, when you get up there, we will relinquish any weaponry or any materials you can use to cast a spell until your time there is up. Is everyone okay with that? These terms cannot be negotiated."

The rest of the tent muttered among themselves, mostly shrugging and nodding as they accepted their terms. But nothing sat right about this whole situation to her; Surrender your weapons, let yourself get teleported to an island leagues above the ground? Nothing about that sat right with Magdalene. Obviously Exusia wasn't quite the place people came back to talk about; What if the whole "mission" they were summoned for was a sham, and they just wanted a fresh batch of slaves to toss into chains, or worse? At the same time, she couldn't just easily up and leave either. She'd come too far out here and was hitching too much on this expedition. At the very least, she could voice her own concerns.

Struggling for some courage, Magdalene stood herself up and began clearing her throat, which sounded more like coughing.

"H-Hang on. Excuse me? 'Tisa' you said? I got a question; What evidence do we have that we can trust you, going straight into a city in the sky, unarmed, and surrounded by sorcerers?" She asked, her voice sounding unsteady and shaky at having to make a scene for herself to be properly heard.