Phoe

Masks: Resurrection Roundabout

Errant's face twitches with irritation as she flips out of the way of a blast of foam. Her foot drops back to the ground less than an inch from disaster and she desperately serpentines through still dormant TAGS to present less of a target. Already she can hear the telltale sounds of the entire line starting to boot up. She's got seconds, here. Five or maybe six tops. Think, damn it! Think!

Ugh. This would be so much easier if she were literally anybody else. Sara would jack their joints with hardlight, or Victor would hack them with nanites, or Ferra would... Ferra would be fine, let's just leave it at that. But Errant? Errant punches things! How much fun is it to be the brawler in a room full of thugs more than twice your size who can end you from the other end of the hangar?

Two seconds. Think!

She grinds to a halt. God damn it! God damn it, all of you absolute morons! You cowards! This is your home too and you're just... letting her take it! AEGIS belongs to her! Her whole life, it's been for her! You can't have it, Victoria!

"YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!"

This is her last second to act unimpeded. Errant grabs the nearest TAG as firmly as she can manage. She can feel the heat coming off of her arms. She can hear the whine in her legs. She ignores both of them, and she yanks and twists with everything she has. The room fills with the sound of cable snapping in half and the furious scream of a single girl as she lifts this super heavy war machine straight up off the ground and suplexes it into the active TAG just as another burst of riot control foam starts spraying. It shoots everywhere, gumming up gun ports and freezing joints, as frame after frame seizes up and topples into the next one while sparks and flecks of foam more than large enough to lock one of her arms or legs up for hours drift everywhere.

None of it touches her. Errant runs without pausing to look or second guess herself as she darts between pockets of clean air, twisting out of the way of snapping cables and rolling under uncontrolled heavy arms fire. For a moment, she taps into something elemental and moves like she's shrinking the space between her and the exit more than passing through that space herself. She doesn't even get her hair dirty.

With a final leap and a flying kick she crashes straight through the hangar door and runs as hard as her body will let her as soon as she pops back up off of the ground. Her heart pounds so hard in her chest she feels like it's going to explode. Her lungs are screaming at her. Her back and her abs are burning. But none of it feels like anything next to how angry she is. None of them. None of them were doing a damn thing!

For a moment, she's got nothing to listen to but the sound of her own heavy footfalls. Errant can't help but remember Nobunaga complaining at her about not getting to rescue her last time. Her visor runs corrections on her vision to account for the tear welling in her eye as she bites down hot fury at herself for thinking she'd help this time, too.

[Unleash squeaks by with a 7. Marking Angry]

Princess-Champions of Hyperborea

Mittens has had nightmares like this, you know. She has to dance with the most elegant partner ever but there are literally hundreds of outfits all begging to be warn and she doesn't know what to do she doesn't know what to do she doesn't know what to do! And, oh yeah, she's in her underwear.

Stars and... whiskers? Euphie reeeeeaaaally likes playing dress up.

Violet bravely shapes itself into a pair of scissors and snips threateningly at a slinky evening gown, but it's overmatched. This was Mitten's cleverest light, but also by far her weakest. Without any of the others to guide it, it'd never make much of a weapon more deadly than a pocket knife. And sure, that's plenty good enough for her current predicament, but only if she could move it with the grace and speed of Orange or... eep!

Mittens reaches desperately for her beautiful suit. If she could just... get it! She knows everything would work out ok. Somehow. Just, come on! A little further! But every spin and tiny hop and desperate reach is matched by the mannequin as it bobs about in the sea of clothing and the shifting of the floors. Mittens is very good at dancing, and almost as good at navigating quicksand, but even so it's hard not to attract hangers-on, and soon she's got several extra pounds of scarves and socks and one especially aggressive kimono obi wrapped around various bits of her that are making it much harder to keep going. Still, she gets her hands around her partner. She wraps her arms around the suit and hugs it tight against her chest. And she rises above the tide of fashions with a triumphant squeak and a whoop!

She might even have made it through this. If it hadn't been for her tail. Wait, her what? No no no, she's not actually Askaian, this is all dress up and headgames, she doesn't have a--

"Eeeeeek!"

There's a belt! A belt yanking on her soft lavender tail! It's sending! The most! Awful! Jolt! All the way! Up her spine!! Eep eep eep eep! All the muscles in her body go taught all at once, and then the floor violently lurches under her and becomes a wall, and I don't know if you know this, but Mittens can't stand on walls. That's not her brand of magic. So with a startled mew and a squeak, she goes tumbling into a pile of rejected outfits and slides under the shifting fabrics inch by silly inch.

The socks are the first things to get her. Because of course they are. Tight little nylons in cutesy calico patterns yank all the way up to her knees, and in a flash of one of the room's many many mirrors, Mittens has just enough time to notice the (really?) "toe bean" patterns on the bottoms of her feet. Eupheria is really rubbing it in. A gorgeous satin blouse pins her arms behind her, and a series of belts and straps lash her hands to her feet. An Illuminan gown wraps its silks around and around and around and around her tummy in all seven of the colors most cherished by her kingdom. A pair of rough spun Felorian trousers tackle her waist and if the scratchy feeling on her bare skin wasn't bad enough they also pin her tail against her body and now all it wants to do is twitch and thrash in annoyance and it can't so she's just so aware of it and it's the. Most. Unpleasant. Sensation.

Meanwhile, there's a wool sweater hugging her chest and a bridal veil sitting haphazardly on her head and a shoe poking her somewhere she'd really rather not have a shoe poking her, while the sheerest of lingerie joins all those belts and trusses her up so tightly it's hard to do more right now than wiggle.

The saddest part of all is that she couldn't quite hold onto her suit, and she has to watch it lie there next to her. She could swear it feels sorry for her, as surely as she knows the rest of the clothes in here are jealous that she didn't choose them. They sink beneath the sands of fashion, these partners in crime. Mittens can hardly start thinking about how this could get any worse right now before she feels a tickling sensation crawling up her shoulder, around her chin and then... oh joy of joys, her friend is back.

"...Thnnnk thhoooo mmmgch, ssnnkrrrhheef."

[That's a 6 on Overcome, chief]

Masks: Resurrection Roundabout

Fight Science has a lot to say about a moment like this. Power vs Speed vs Size, a lot of simple physics, and a comparison of skillwires and software, all of which leads to a very simple conclusion: anything that Maria hits with that sword is going to die. The reason BlackSun went the direction they did with Maria (apart from her natural "War Goddess" body structure, which is probably more likely to be why they hired her in the first place) was for the simple reason that absolute power was, frankly, easier and cheaper to build and engineer than agility builds like Errant's or skill specs like @SARAHPHIM. And not only was it cheaper, it was also brutally effective. It turns out that high-precision bleeding edge tech broke just as easily as anything else if you hit it hard enough.

But!

There's a reason why nobody launched missiles to end car chases, or why knives were so much more common weapons than swords. All of Mr. Big Show's obnxoious, boring lessons go flashing through Errant's head. The best way to take a hit was not to. So! With those thrusters, Maria had exactly one attack vector. Turning or pivoting on a dime like Errant could would be impossible, and if she missed then she'd be lucky not to go crashing through the wall on the opposite end of the hallway. And since they'd gone and done her the favor of scaling that sword to match her absurd strength, the slash would come at one of two angles. At these speeds, it was a matter of guessing: would Maria favor the broad horizontal stroke to strike as wide a zone as she could, or would she go for the overhead smash so she could swing with enough power to split an atom?

What the hell kind of question is that? Of course she's lining up a vertical attack. There's no way to rely on even boosted reflexes to dodge at these speeds, but educated guesswork is Errant's strongest skillset. She charges straight into Maria's zone and then with a split second to spare before she commits to the swing, Errant stops. She twists her body and leaps nimbly onto the wall, running up and over Maria and planting a big, back swinging kick into her back to push the two champions further away from each other. She doesn't taunt, celebrate, look back, or even hardly remember to breathe. She just runs until she finds the steps, then turns and tears up them like her life depends on it.

Because it does. If Maria gets another bead on her, the next attack would come from behind. Fight Science had a lot to say about that too, but with much fewer caveats. She had to get out. She had to get out now. She had to... think, damn it. Did she have any help left?

[Directly Engage: 9. Errant resists or avoids Maria's blows]

Princess-Champions of Hyperborea

"My name! Is not! Mittens!"

Her voice rings out satisfyingly through the room, but there's no response beyond the slight rustling of fabric on fabric. Also, it's a nice thought (and it's even nicer to be able to say it out loud), but however nice a thought it is, she can't... that is, between all the swinging and spinning she can't actually... this is so silly actually, but she's having a hard time remembering what her name actually is. Every time a letter or a syllable tugs at her brain, her collar swims up to meet it and that's that. Maybe she really is Mittens, what does it matter? So long as she still remembers she's the Princess-Promised, who she's here with, and who's waiting for her to come home, there's still hope. She doesn't need a name she likes.

So fine, her name is Mittens. You win, Eupheria. But she hasn't forgotten she's got a job to do in here, or that clock is very literally ticking, and no amount of taunting, overly enthusiastic snakerchiefs, or tossing her into giant wardrobes could make her forget that. Mittens marches determinedly past piles of silk dresses and floofy Jedadi dancing pants, past the most gorgeous gowns you could hope for and past even a set of slightly older-looking Illuminan battle regalia. Find an exit, find an exit. Focus, Mittens...

...

Ok, fine. Maybe there is no exit. Is this a test? This is probably a test. Eupheria was testing her descendant to make sure she had all the qualities a Princess of Illumina ought to. So first was grace and acrobatics, and now it was fashion. What did she have to do in here, then? Find the magical dress of unlocking? No, that's stupid. That's something a kid would come up with. It's probably more... if she puts together an outfit that beats Eupheria's awful dress. Then she'd... no, this still sounded stupid. But the fact was she wasn't going to get much done in this dress anyway, so--

"Eeeek!"

Mittens squeaks and jumps straight into the air. Something on her leg, something on her leg! She heard something, she know she did! She felt it! Her glowing green eyes cut through the darkness as she sweeps the room once, twice. Nothing. She swallows, and holds her hand over her chest, where her heart is pounding like a waterfall on rocks.

Ok, she's alone. That's... that's good. She'd rather be alone right now. Yeah. Mittens starts picking through the fabrics more critically now. She fingers a Rowani tunic, peers critically at a gown that reminds her so much of Rita that it hurts, and rubs her face against a Konkon kimono. No good, no good. No... eeeep! Wh-what was that???

"...H-Hello? Hello? Is... is someone there? If you're there, come out! It's not funny, sneaking up on me!"

But there's no reply. She really is alone. It must have just been some outfit or another falling over; she really is alone in here. What in rains was she supposed to be watching out for? Darn it, Eupheria!

When she sees it, she squeaks. She never wears this sort of stuff, never ever ever, a Princess Must Always Be Beautiful, but it's just so... good and wouldn't Rita just love love love it and gosh oh gosh she's sure beyond sure that it was meant for her! Just for her! There on a mannequin is the most perfectly tailored suit in the history of Hyperborea. It's Illuminan-made, she's equally sure of that. Gorgeous black knee-high boots go over tight black leather pants she can't help but notice are exactly her size, right down to her petite hips. The belt is dotted with stained glass crystals in all seven proper colors. The shirt is an absolutely gorgeous pure white silk number with delicate silver buttons that dot their way up to a loosely open ruffled top and collar in a style matched down by the wrists, which flare and dangle just a little bit over the hands. There's a loose, deep navy tie she could just slip on over her neck and let it dangle there, so charming and sexy, yes. And then the vest. Oh rivers, Mittens was born to wear that vest. The deepest jet, like Ourania sewed it out of the night sky, with a series of tiny, gorgeous silver chains dangling across the chest, tied up at the tops in swirling fountain patterns worked into the fabric. The whole ensemble would cling to her figure and flatter her perfectly. There's even a pocket for her snakerchief! She could take her hair out of this bun and not a girl anywhere could resist her, if she still lived that sort of life. Oh rivers, oh shards, oh yes yes yes.

She startles again, and this time she actually hisses. That's twice now! Why is she hissing? Stop it, Mittens! You are not a kitty! But it's just, she could swear that... no. Another absurdly cautious sweep of the room tells her she's absolutely, definitely alone. She sighs, maybe in exasperation and maybe in relief. And then she shrugs. She wasn't going to let her jumped-up danger instincts ruin this.

She very carefully, piece by piece removes the suit from the mannequin and sets it on the ground underneath her. And then, humming an old Askaian marching tune Rita taught her as a kitt-- child! As a child. Ahem. She hums the tune, and giddily starts to slip out of her ruined, useless dress...

Princess-Champions of Hyperborea

This would be a lot easier if Eupheria had at least let her change outfits. She wouldn't even need to give Mittens (siiiigh) back her battle regalia, honestly, anything would do. Some common silks, one of Dandy's farm outfits, an Askaian sundress, Jess' pajamas... rivers, even her "Rinley" costume would be fine. Or someone could at least help her with this snakerchief. But no. Do the impossible, Mittens! And do it while wearing this unbelievably stupid dress!

CLANG! HISS! DING!

She's out of time. Left or right? Left or right? Rivers! Left or right???

Mittens catches the glint of purple light and realizes there's no choice at all. If she didn't do everything she could to rescue her lights after all they'd been through together, then she was no princess at all. She takes both steps backwards that the conveyor belt will allow, then runs forward and leaps for all she's worth. She can feel the wind from the Princess Catcher slamming shut behind her and knows she didn't have a second left to spare.

She hurtles through the air as though she were swimming downriver. She reaches out with both hands to snag the first chain as tight as she can, but even as she rocks back and forth in relative safety she can see that this isn't going to work. For one thing, she needs to gain height as she goes, and climbing one of the chains in a dress like this would be... problematic. Just sitting here her skirt is catching on the links; the rigid hoops keeping its 'poof' going are springing back from her grip and feel like they're trying to push her off entirely. For another thing, the next closest chain is in the wrong direction, and it's... oh stars and lights, even Queen Marina would have thought twice about this.

She takes a deep breath through her nose, and (carefully!) slides down to the bottom of the chain, where at least the skirt hoops wouldn't be in her way. Her top slips just a little and feels like it's about to betray her completely, but there's no time to worry about that right now. Another deep breath, careful not to bite down on the poor snakerchief now, and... now! She kicks forward with all of her might, swinging forward, then back, then forward again with another kick. Here at the bottom it's easy to build momentum, though she has to be careful or she's going to swing herself right back into those machines again. Back and forth, back and forth, wider and wider.

And then release. Mittens' momentum carries her feet up and over her head as she sails through the air with a slow, backward flip. Good, just as planned so far. She takes the extra half second while she's spinning to pull this stupid, padded top back up her chest a little bit. The motion swings her skirt back and keeps it out of her way so she can grab the next chain and get a really good swing on it. Her eyes are already tracking the path to the next chain after this. That's the trick of this, really, you have to be thinking far enough in advance that you never get stuck. She's never going to be able to build good speed on these smaller chains again if she loses it now.

She flips back and forth over the chasm like a dolphin playing in the waves. Up and up and up, until at last she gets her chance. She twists her entire torso and snatches wildly at the crystal stuck to the fire alarm. The room fills with the horridly loud, blaring klaxons, but she can feel the warmth in her hand that tells her she succeeded. Violet sparkles joyously, and Green winks back in reply. There you go, back where you belong. Eupheria would regret underestimating Mittens.

She releases again, travelling down and across the chasm again while her arms scream at her to please finish this soon. As she flips again, her light forms into a deep purple utility knife which floats alongside her and slashes down across her skirt from thigh to foot with two quick, sharp strikes. One on either side of her legs. The hoops snap with a satisfying 'crack' that she catches even across the awful din drowning out her own thoughts, and the skirt flutters around her legs now very much deflated. It's a little embarrassing having it flutter all about like this, but at least she can move like a proper princess now.

With one final leap, Mittens lands safely on the ground, rolling over her shoulder and popping onto her feet with a final exhausted hop. She takes a second to catch her breath and yank her dress back up again. Violet floats atop her head, glowing softly. All right. There's gotta be a door around here somewhere. Find her friends, find Rita. Find Momma. She knew, as surely as her name was M... you know what? Never mind. She just knew, ok? They had to find each other before it was too late for them to work together. One winner, six losers. She just couldn't let that happen.

[Get Away (With Despair): 5, 4, 2: 8. Mittens arrives at her destination unharmed]

Masks: Resurrection Roundabout

A good soldier does not consider the nature of her miracle. Strike where the opportunity presents itself.

Errant launches herself forward before she's even finished test-wiggling her fingers. It's blind faith that, whatever's going on here, it's left her truly free. She's a reddish blur with an angry fist who closes into range faster than even augmented human reaction times. If you're gonna label her a criminal and don't wanna get punched, then don't spend her entire life speccing her for speed. Morons. Buddy is just another training course dummy. This is just another workout. Her fist smashes directly into those mirror shades, and there's a vicious pulse of satisfaction inside her when she hears them crack. She steps into the punch and sends him flying straight through the remaining partition, straight into Bargain, and straight through to the fall wall as a pair.

A good soldier does not lose sight of the bigger picture. Always make decisions based on as much information as possible.

She's hesitating. She can't afford to hesitate. The Commander is in trouble! He's right there, and he needs her help! She can jump in there and save him, and then together they can fight their way out of the building. In fact, that's the only option. How can she abandon him after everything she just said? After everything he's done for her? This is the man who finished raising her after her parents died, and he just chose her again. She's already leaning into her next charge when suddenly and for no explainable reason, she stops.

'Go!' That's what he told her. Victoria's already getting up. Remember the score. The last time they went at each other, she got both of Errant's legs and one of her arms. This time she's fully limits-free, but Victoria's got the full weight of AEGIS behind her. And what's more, this time her limbs are coursing with a magic power that she's not sure can survive the kind of hell she's been putting on her body lately. If she loses these, it's probably back to nor-- no. No one's gonna put her back together anymore, either. It's back to being a cripple.

But she! She can't! If it means one less body in front of her, what does it matter what happens to hers? What does it... what does it matter?

A good soldier follows her orders.

She has no idea what's carrying her right now. Her legs twist around underneath her and she spins on the balls of her feet to leap for the exit yet again. She's leaving him! She's leaving him!

Because she trusts her Commander.

Back into the corridor. Back into the labyrinth. Her visor clicks back down and her eyes scan frantically for angles she hasn't considered yet. It's time for another Pop Quiz.

You are a good soldier, Ms. Kim.

Masks: Resurrection Roundabout

Errant

Euna Kim

POWERS
Cybernetic limbs
Superstrength and durability
Enhanced senses (multispectral visor)
An alternate form (Limit-free mode)

LABELS
DANGER 1
FREAK -1
SAVIOR 2
SUPERIOR 0
MUNDANE 1
SOLDIER 1

MOVES
Before we get started: When you have time to closely observe your opposition before a fight, Roll +Savior. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 2. On a miss, mark a condition and hold 1. During the fight, you can spend 1 hold to name a character you observed and

• redirect their attack into another character or nowhere - into a wall or the sky
• cross a distance between them and you
• stun them, close up or from a distance
• ignore all harm from one of their attacks
• escape any bindings or impediments they attempt to place on you

I can do this all day: When something causes you to remove yourself from a fight, you can shift Savior down (and another Label up) instead. If shifting Savior down would lower it below -2, you have to leave the fight instead of shifting Labels.

No, you move: When you demand that an NPC live up to a higher moral code, roll + Savior. On a hit, they have to meet your standard or mark a Condition. On a 10+, take Influence over them as well. On a miss, they reveal that the conflict in question is more complicated than it seems; give them Influence over you.

When you're acting on orders and relying on your training, give AEGIS Influence over you to use Soldier instead of any other label when you use a basic or playbook move.
When you invoke your authority over citizens, Neo-Halcyon City personnel, or AEGIS staff, roll +Soldier. On a hit, your words carry weight. On a 7-9, someone will push back against your instructions or orders... sooner rather than later. On a miss, your attempts to control the situation create an opportunity for your enemies within AEGIS to act against you
When you ask AEGIS for additional resources, equipment, or information during a mission, roll +Soldier. On a hit, they'll resupply you as best they can. On a 10+, the resources are highly classified or experimental; take +1 ongoing to deploying them throughout the mission. On a miss, AEGIS sends what they think you need, regardless of what you actually requested.

TEAM MOVES
Triumphant Celebration: When you share a triumphant celebration with someone, tell them what they need to do to achieve their full potential. If they accept your advice, take Influence over them and add 2 Team to the pool. If they reject what you have to say, mark a condition.
Vulnerability: When you share a vulnerability or weakness with someone, ask them what cause they serve. If you find it to be a worth cause, tell them how you will fight for it, clear a condition, and add a Team to the pool. If they don't have a cause (or you find it unworthy), mark a condition.

INFLUENCE
Gives to: Brainstorm, Ferra

Has on: @SARAHPHIM Ferra, Brainstorm, Comstar, The Shogun, Number Eight, Commander Warren

RELATIONSHIPS
@SARAHPHIM, you're important to the longterm success of AEGIS. You're the spark that's going to carry us into the future. Your fans are the worst, but I've talked it over with my superiors and they agree I should make protecting you my top priority.

Brainstorm, I know you're not particularly keen on AEGIS. You say a lot of things I have a hard time agreeing with, but please. Don't stop saying them.

POTENTIAL
[X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]

CONDITIONS
None

Princess-Champions of Hyperborea

Princess Alina Cascade

The Petrichor Princess
The Enlightened

LOOK
Sad, green eyes - delicate body - frosted glass armor, diaphanous, multi-colored silks - lightly curled, lavender hair

AGENDA
Salvation: Seek out your own peace of mind.
Be Brave, Take Risks
Tell Us Of Your People
Improve The World Around You

STATS
Blood: +0
Courage: -1
Grace: +2
Sense: +1
Wisdom: +3

Wanderer
You wander the world, keeping whatever it is you wish to keep. Your little light gains the following form:

Light convenience (Useful). Your little light can take the form of tools or comfort items, like ropes, wrenches, screwdrivers, blankets, small animals, tattoos, or clothes. These things still glow, as your light normally does.

Alina's light is derived from her crown. Each crystal has a different color, and each color has its own specialties. When needed, the crystals can float freely off of her head and clip into the bracers on her arms and legs, which stabilizes their functionality (though not their magic. That comes from her heart). Since she's missing Red, her overall fighting power is lower than her station suggests. Since she's missing Yellow, her magic's not as bright as it should be. Her rainbow bridge has holes in it sometimes, please watch your step.

CORE MOVES
Your Little Light
You carry a little light with you. It generally floats around you wherever it wishes, but it sticks close to you and rests inside the [lantern] you carry. Your little light cannot speak, but it can point things out to you with beams of light, and flicker or change color to relay simple messages. Your little light will always provide light for you, and it can change its form to suit your needs. Its forms are listed in your gear. When you Share this Move, they also add the little light's Basic Forms to their Gear.

Bend Light
When you command the light to do as you say, choose a spell from the list and mark it. You cannot use a spell when it is marked. When you Fill Your Belly, remove a mark from one spell. When you Recover, remove all marks on your spells.
[X] Bridge: The light makes a path, forming a (almost) rainbow road for you to walk on. This bridge can connect any two well-lit places you can see.
[ ] Flash: The light blinds everyone nearby, everyone but you.
[ ] Shadow: The light flees the area, plunging it into darkness.
[X] Wall: The light grows still, forming a wall of hard light to block off a passageway.

This move cannot be Shared.

Reveal The Way (Wisdom)
When you tell someone what is best for them, you mean it, and they listen, roll +Wisdom. On a 10+, they will do as you say, with Hope. On a 7-9, they'll do it, but they'll either do it in the way they think is best, or they'll only do it if you help them. On a 6-, they reject your advice entirely.
When you Reveal The Way to another player, instead of rolling, they choose how to react. If they take the advice at face value, they roll with Hope the next time they follow it. If they refuse your advice outright, they roll with Hope the next time they do something to spite you.

CUSTOM MOVES
Healing Light. You may damage your little light to heal someone.

Hook Shot. Your little light gains the following Form:
Hook - Your little light can pull you to anything heavy enough to hold your weight, or pull anything lighter than that to you. The hook has a limited range, and cannot pull you past a certain distance.

Strength of a hundred. You can pick up anything and anyone you can firmly grasp with at least one hand. Objects and enemies you hold have the tags Ranged and Thrown.

Soul's Blade. Your little light is especially combat adept, and can take on two Forms at once. When your little light is damaged, instead of reverting to Lantern Form, it may retain only one Form for the rest of the scene. If your little light is damaged a second time, it reverts to Lantern Form for the rest of the scene, as normal. This move cannot be shared.

I Am One With The World. When you are not alone, you cannot have Despair.

Golden Warrior. You can pay a price at any time to envelop yourself in shining light, granting you total invincibility. While your armor lasts, Cuts have no effect on you, and you cannot take damage or suffer consequences from enemy actions. However, maintaining this armor drains your strength. When you make a move while wearing your golden armor, you take damage after rolling. Your armor goes away when you dismiss it, when you get Taken Out by it, or at the end of the scene, whichever comes first.

GEAR
Your little light has all of these Forms, but only one at a time:
Lantern - its basic form. The little light can fly wherever it wants, point things out to you, and provide a warm glow. If your little light takes damage, it enters this form and cannot leave it for the rest of the scene.
Light weaponry - (Melee). Your little light rapidly changes to suit your movements, forming blades around your arms and legs as needed.
Laser beams - (Ranged). Your lttle light fires blasts of energy at your enemies.
Light shield - (Armor). This shield will protect someone from all damage the light can see coming, but a hard enough hit will damage the little light. You can keep the shield for yourself, or command it to protect an ally.
Battle Ribbon (Melee)
A light meal (3/3 Uses, Food)
Ornate Armor and Jewelry (Armor, 1 Use, Precious, 2 Uses)
Throwing knives and explorer's gear (Ranged, 3 Ammo, Useful, 2 Uses)

BONDS
Princess Adila is so honest! Listening to her, she sometimes reminds me of home.
Princess Adila is a good friend, and I trust her even when she doesn't trust herself.
Princess Adila promised to win back Illumina.
Princess Kazelia saw me during my most vulnerable moment.

I am the light in the darkness for Princess Kaja Ironpelt
Princess Rita von Catabas and I remember the true shape of Summerveil
I love Princess Rita von Catabas with all of my heart
Princess Rita von Catabas is my strength
Rhyza Sussari likes me even though I'm Illuminan
Rhyza Sussari is worthy of my treasure and my affection
Princess Tashanna knows that I believe in her
I helped save Princess Helya Laynasdottir from Oberon's control
Princess Helya Laynasdottir is my family, whether she thinks she deserves it or not
Princess Jessamine Cascade loves me enough to come back to my side
Princess Jessamine Cascade trusts me to take care of her
Princess Freesia Cascade protected Illumina when I couldn't. I am proud of my brave, beautiful sister
I showed Princess Ninian true kindness when nobody else would
I am going to bring King Isolde back home to Mommy, and we're all going to be a family together again

BAD BONDS
"I have fought Alina before, and left a wound upon her. It burns with winter's chill in my presence. (Didn't you learn your lesson last time, dear?)"

ADVANCEMENT
The Lantern
Level 6
Destiny - The Enlightened

Princess-Champions of Hyperborea

She could cry right now, if it would help any. Even though it won't, she can still feel the strain at the back of her throat that says she'd like to try. Her oh-so-clever fingers scrabble over the satiny pink (pink! why is it always pink with this woman?) collar, but they can't find a buckle or anything to untie. She tugs on it, hard enough to start hurting herself, but it's useless. She's not strong enough to break it.

How dare she? How dare Eupheria make Rita confess her special desire in front of everyone and then punish her for it like this? Look what she's done to Kazelia! And Adila! Rrrrgh, if this stupid evil queen thought she had a monopoly on being mad about things, Mittens was gonna show her a thing or... wait. Mittens? Why Mittens? That's not her name. That's not her name! Her name is Mittens, and she's-- no, not Mittens, Mittens (that's what's on your collar, silly)! Oh for the love of rainbows. She's not even allowed to think her own name? This is stupid. How is she related to this person? How is Momma?

...Oh no. Oh no, Momma! One glance at her face is enough to shatter Mittens' heart to pieces. This is her fault. She should never have asked Momma to come with her! She should have found somewhere safe for her first, she should have given her Gold, she should've... oh, Ourania forgive her, how could she lose Gold? None of this would be happening if she'd been just a little smarter, or just a little stronger. It really is all her fault.

Mittens sinks to her knees.

"Please, Eupheria!" her voice quivers with desperation, "Don't do this! I, I know you're mad! I'd be upset too if this happened to me! But please, you can't do this! None of them... I... j-just punish me! I'm the only one who matters, I'm the only real threat standing in your way! I-I-I'm not asking for mercy, you can give me all of their punishments, just please, please don't hurrrffffmmmgh?!?"

There's a brief snapping of fingers and a giggle from Eupheria, and all of a sudden Mittens is the proud owner of a Snakerchief (well, when in Jedad...), worn stylishly stuffed in her mouth. Her desperate attempts at playing for time and deflection turn into whimpers as she feels it slither its fabricy scales between her teeth.

No heroic self sacrifices for you today, young lady!

Princess-Champions of Hyperborea

It takes Alina a while to speak up. It's not that she doesn't have anything to say! It's more that... it's taking her forever to get a handle on her dress. Every time she moves even a little bit, the hoops in her skirt shift and the entire massive ensembles rolls up and seems to swallow her in her chair. Layer after layer after layer of the brightest, gaudiest, girliest pink you've ever laid eyes on flare up and over the top of her, which does a wonderful job of showing off the lacy ridge at the bottom and the stiletto heels with obnoxiously oversized bows on the tops of her feet that she's been forced into, but also turns her from the graceful ideal of Illuminan Princessing to a hopelessly silly girl who can't stop fidgeting or even master sitting.

She has to stand up to get a handle on it. She's immediately forced back down, but she's able to tuck her feet underneath her like a mermaid's tail, and that's enough to squash this stupid skirt into obedience. She tugs up on the fuzzy pink top to keep it from slipping off of her chest. Sleeveless dresses have never entirely been Alina's friend, but it's doubly difficult when Eupheria has apparently decided she needs a little more wowza up top and has filled out the chest with a frankly insulting amount of padding. Her frame can't possibly carry this much cleavage! She pouts and she sighs, silently. Only her eyes seem unchanged. Hard crystal, eternal and defiant. Green pulses softly, demanding her sisters back.

"My name is Alina Cascade, and I'm the current Princess-Promised of Illumina. I... think I'm going to wind up being Queen soon. My Mom is really sick and I don't think she can get better and take care of the kingdom at the same time. But I'm really worried about it, because if I can't find the right medicine to help her she might freeze over again anyway and, besides, I'm the worthless idiot who let Oberon take Illumina in the first place, what kind of terrible Queen would I make?"

She's interrupted by a laugh track. Alina's face burns with shame. Her eyes continue to burn with quite a different set of feelings. She opens her mouth to say something, but her voice is drowned out like an out of tune radio. More laughter. She tries again: static. The laugh track, the same exact sound clip just stuck on a loop, rises to deafening levels. Alina takes a deep breath and recomposes herself.

"I'm, um, really mad at you for making Kazelia admit she wants me to tie her up, even though I'm definitely excited to try it and I know that Rita just loves the idea of threesomes because when we're making out at night sometimes we'll talk about how wonderful it would be to get kidnapped by Esmeralda. You know, as a couples' activity! B-but that's not the point! You're mean and awful and you stole my lights, I want them back! Looking at you makes my heart feel sick... for my whole life, I've always thought that families were the most special things in the world. We're supposed to support each other and share all of our happiest moments together. My family's always been there to pick me up in all my worst moments, even when nobody else would, and I want to be like that for them! But... but how can I, when an awful bully like you is family, too?"

She whimpers as all of a sudden, a crushing force pushes her head down to stare at the floor in fake contrition. How dare she say that about her favorite Auntie?! More thoughts bubble up to the surface of her mind. Her hands start trembling, and the tears bead up in her eyes.

"But I'm a big dumb liar anyway. I couldn't even keep my Momma from disappearing! She didn't say goodbye, she never wrote letters, she just left! She just left! Didn't I love you enough, Momma? What did I do wrong? Why did you leave me to lie to Jess and Free about how you felt about us? Why did you break Mom's heart? There was a reason, right? There has to be a reason! I want to believe there was a reason! But I... but I... but I..!"