Prodigal Son

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Hello! I would be interested in joining this fine RP. Seems like a lot of effort was put into world building and I appreciate that sort of thing. Please let me know if there is a slot available, or, if I may be on a waiting list of some sort.

@Skepic

You are in luck, as it just so happens that you asked this sort of question right before the joining period will close. (The way I have written the narrative it's hard for me to add people to the RP but I am making a special exception for some of my old veteran RP brothers and this exception can be used for others as well.)

What I will need from you

-A Character outline based on the skeleton provided in the original post (post it here in the OOC first and when I approve it, post it in the character section.)
-You to read and adhere to the rules that have been included in the original post
-You to post at least once a day. (Exceptions can and will be made, but keeping this RP waiting a week without explanation will result in a warning. Two warnings and you are out.)

And that's it.

Please RP Responsibly!

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix took joy in Travis' compliments.

"Well, thank you for the compliments, Travis. I did work hard on this particular aspect of the headquarters. So, I am glad to see it is appreciated," Felix expressed gratitude. "And as for studying ol' Espy here," Felix replied, "I was thinking about conducting a few tests right here and now."

Felix placed the container orb in another golden colored stand, that looked like four gold claws clutching at the container. He then tapped the top of the container, which immediately hinged open. Felix reached in and grasped the paragon. And held it out in front of him.

"The first thing I wish to do, is to see if the paragon functions like a mana crystal does. When we use loaded mana crystals, it is possible to cast spells using the mana crystal as the medium of the spell. It is much like forming mana from our own wells into our hands before saying the incantation and releasing the mana into a physical form. But with a mana crystal, instead of pulling mana from our own wells, we already have mana at our finger tips, we only need to manipulate it and say our incantation or use runes as our incantations." Felix explained. "So what I am going to do is a very simple test to see if I can cast a spell via the Paragon. I am first going to attempt to manipulate a bit of mana from the paragon, then attempt to create a spell with the mana. It'll be a simple light spell. If you can use manalysis adequately, try and observe the paragon and my aura manipulating the mana from it, and take any mental notes of any abnormalities you may see."

Felix grasped the paragon in both hands, "Okay here I go." Felix said. He then concentrated his manalysis into feeling and manipulating the mana. Once again he was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the mana well. He began to feel inside the paragon to draw forth from the paragon's well, any observing party would see tendrils of his white aura flowing from his hands and reaching into the paragon. As his aura tendrils penetrated the rock, the paragon's purple aura latched onto Felix's white aura, and pulled it a bit. Felix immediately felt as though his own mana well would fall into the paragon. This frightened Felix, and in an instant, he threw the paragon to the ground, it bouncing a few feet before skidding to a halt on the white laboratory floor.

Felix turned to Travis, "Sorry, I was taken a bit aback by what just happened there." Felix walked over to the paragon and retrieved it from the floor where it lay.

"It felt as though my mana would all be assimilated into the paragon if I had continued. Which would leave me a manaless husk of dried, mummified flesh." Felix frowned.

"Please tell me, Travis, did you observe anything odd while watching?" Felix asked

---

Raiya sipped on her drink as she thought for a moment. She didn't owe Nemo anything other than her presence. But the liquor had taken its hold, and was inclining her to be a bit more candid than normal.

"What do I like, what do I like... hmm.." She tapped her glass with her fore finger as she held it in her grip. Then she blinked and held up the fore finger if her other hand in a manner of epiphany. "Oh! I like drinking." She replied in a sarcastic manner, giving a halfhearted smirk. "I love the thrill of a good fight, exercising my magical and combat prowess. I love the cold sharp steel edge of my knives, and how they rend flesh from bone. I love the smell of gunsmoke after a freshly fired round. I love the kickback from firing multiple rounds at once, the way it makes my hands feel numb. I love seeing my enemies driven before me. I love righteous vengeance. I love speaking in Japanese. And, I suppose I have a bit of a soft spot for cooking."

After she finished talking, Nemo suggested a massage, to which Raiya replied, "You touch me, and I will charge my skin with 200 milliamps of electricity, causing your heart to cease beating, and you'll fall down in a lifeless pile of smoking flesh." Raiya replied with narrowed eyes.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix nodded his head in interest as Travis told the ongoings that happened while Felix had lost contact with the group. After Travis finished, Felix spoke, "I see. So it was likely that the Academia placed the paragon within a runic formula that was etched into the stone it was sitting on. The runes were not activated until someone came in contact with the paragon."

Felix raised his folded hands and placed them under his chin as he thought. "So it is confirmed then, that the paragons can be used for spells outside of the skills they innately possess. Interesting."

Felix stood up, and waved towards Travis, "Follow me." He said. He used his magic to levitate the paragon container with them as they walked.

He lead towards the front of the room, and walked through a doorway that lead to the entrance room. He then turned down a darkly lit stairway in front of the entrance doorway. This led down to the basement with the water pump connected to the spacial rift which fed through the pluming in the whole house. And also the generator that ran off of mana crystals that powered the entire house. On the side of the wall, there was a mana crystal torch jutting out of the side of the wall. No doubt there for when the generator's crystals run dry and there is no electrical lights available. At least, that would make sense, if the owner and builder of the manor wasn't an archmage who could produce his own light at a whim.

So Felix walked over to the mana torch and gripped it in the middle, and pulled to the side. The torch twisted with a click, and when it did click, a low rumble could be heard from inside the brick wall to the side of the torch. Eventually the wall slid open to reveal another staircase. But this staircase was brightly lit. He walked down it until reaching a brightly lit laboratory. There was all manners of scientific tools such as microscopes, scientific glassware with tubes connecting throughout the glassware system, even some exclusive mage tech used for getting accurate manawave readings which looked a lot like a multimeter used to test electrical currents. There was also a lot of flat counter space and writing implements to record their data.

"Travis, this is my, er, our laboratory. The walls are made out of dense mana crystals, and a runic formula is placed throughout it to contain all manawaves. That way we can directly examine the paragons in this room without fear of any of their mana signatures leaking. This is where we will be working on all paragon research. And you are also welcome to use it for small scale runic research and testing." Felix smiled, as if proud of his craftsmanship. "So, what do you think?"

---

Raiya sipped on her drink as she leaned back, keeping the chair at the balance point. After Nemo finished his line of questioning, Raiya downed the last bit of her drink, moved her feet off the edge of the table allowing them to fall and all four legs to come into contact with solid ground once more.

"Oh, so you're a psychologist now? So where'd you get your degree, Doctor Smiley? Mamertine prison start an education program?" She said with as much sarcasm as possible and hint of anger. Why do I drink!? She raised her voice, "If you must know it's because I found out my entire life was a lie. I found out my chance at living with real parents outside of a shadey organization was ripped from me. If you must know, it's because the ones responsible are still at large. It's because no matter how far I have gone down the line of clues and evidence I have amassed, I am no closer to finding who really is responsible. If you must know, I drink because instead of spending my time buttering up crime bosses to get information, I have to spend my time with a brother who betrayed me, and a psychopath who tricked me. AND NOW! She raised her voice even louder, "THADEUS! Thadeus shows his face! It's like everyone who ever wronged me in any way has conspired to just show up all at once in my life again." She stood up, her anger welling to almost tears. But she choked them back and calmed herself. She learned not to cry back when she joined the yakuza, and she wasn't about to break that habit now.

She walked over back to the alcohol counter and poured herself a glass of straight whiskey on the rocks. She walked back to her chair and plopped back down in it.

"Just- just stop psychoanalyzing me. Okay? If you're worried about me growing dependent and ruining my liver, don't. Once every month I begin a process where all of my body is renewed and I shed my skin. It resets my alcohol dependency and heals any liver damage as well. So- just stop." She explained, downing half of her glass in one gulp.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix caught Travis's expression and walked up to lay a hand on Travis's shoulder.

"Yes, we encountered losses. And as tragic as they may seem, we musn't falter. Artos was well aware of the dangers, as were all of you. You all decided to venture forth regardless. We will keep Artos in our memories. But we must focus our efforts on what lie ahead." Felix pulled out the paragon from his jacket. "Take pride in what you all have accomplished."

Felix flicked his wrist, pulling a spherical mana crystal container, with a brass colored flat metallic disk through the middle of the container. Felix tapped the container, it opened at the disk seem. The disk had a large diamond shaped hole in the middle of it. Felix calmly placed the paragon inside the diamond hole in the disk, and it began to float in the middle of the disk. Felix closed the sphere, the container letting out a hissing sound as it became, no doubt, hermetically sealed. He then used mana to levitate the sphere onto a golden stand that was sitting on the coffee table.

"The case I placed the paragon in masks mana waves. It wouldn't be good if Thadeus tracked us here through the paragon's mana signature now that he knows what to look for." Felix sat down on a leather chair in front of the coffee table and folded his hands. "Now then, Travis, could you please recount to me what exactly happened after you all entered the paragon chamber?"

---

Raiya walked over to the kitchen and checked around the cupboards looking for alcohol. There was a large horizontal rectangular cabinet on the edge of the counter. She reached to open it but discovered it was locked. With a bit of magic, she jimmied open to lock to find a fully stocked bar.

She mixed together a long island iced tea before sitting down at the table that Nemo was at. She leaned back in the wooden chair she was sitting in, withe her feet up on the table. Her boots just almost in Nemo's way. Just enough to be distracting in his peripheral. She sipped on the drink while leaning back, paying no mind to anything. Just unwinding from the battle that had commenced.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

@ShiningSector It's your turn

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix didn't quite understand why Alya didn't wish to be teleported out of the ruins. But he assumed it had to do with personal pride, especially after being rejected.

Felix turned to the group, "In any event, we have much to discuss, and daylight is waning. Let us away." Felix said

And then created a cross glyph portal in the midst of them taking them back to HQ, in particular, the living room/den room. Felix and Raiya stepped through the portal and awaited the others.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Travis procured a fist sized rough looking gem. Roughly in the shape of a sphere, with many cumbersome edges. The shape was nothing special it looked like a normal rock. But the purple transparency with the shimmering, dynamic, almost alive glow that exuded from within was anything but normal. When Felix analyzed it with manalysis he was overwhelmed. Even against his own manawell, the aura that came from the gem was like a vast ocean, his own manawell like gallon bucket of water comparatively. But something else struck Felix. mana waves exuding from the crystal were unlike a normally charged manacrystal. Instead, the paragon had its own living aura. This was very peculiar and something he'd have to look into further.

Felix grabbed the paragon, and tucked it away in his robes.

"Good job, team. Even though we suffered a loss, you have succeed. You guys will have to debrief me on what happened after you found the paragon. But that can wait."

Alya explained that she wished to join their ranks, which took Felix by surprise. He pursed his lips and placed his hand under his chin to contemplate. It took him about 30 seconds to come up with a response.

"Well, it's a little more intricate than just allowing someone to join. Without giving too much away, these members you see before me were not chosen by me. So it's not really up to me who joins and who doesn't. So, without other confirmation, I unfortunately cannot allow you to join. And since our hideout location is a secret, we can't be taking people who aren't part of the lis-" Felix stopped himself before he spoke anything about the list that he had dreamed. To anyone who was not on the list, it would sound absolutely insane.

"Anyway, I can teleport you out of these ruins if would like. But that's as far as I can take you." Felix suggested.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Raiya raised an eyebrow and shuddered back at Nemo's all-too intimate action towards her navel. It took her a moment to fathom a reaction to what had just transpired. On a normal occasion, she would have reached for one of her sushi knives and made some Filet o' Nemo. But seeing as she was exhausted, and since she was also not sure if even at her best she could even scratch Nemo she just said in a drab and dry tone, "Please for the love of all. Do not ever do that again. Ever."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix cocked an eyebrow at the sudden change in the demeanor of the blonde woman.

"We don't take prisoners," Felix replied, within a moment he realized what it sounded like he said and added a frantic, "W-we don't kill witnesses or anything like that either. You are free to go wherever you wish."

---

Raiya turned her gaze to Nemo when he spoke to her. Raiya cocked her head to the side in a questioning manner. She then turned her body, and opened her coat revealing her torso. She grabbed the cut on her shirt which was drenched in blood, and lifted her shirt slightly, revealing her belly to Nemo. There was only a thin scar where the cut was made. The cut, which could have easily been a fatal wound had it not been treated properly, was all but gone.

"I had to use that spell, I won't be able to use it for ten more days. So I hope we are not going to get into any situation where I would need to use it." Raiya replied.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Thadeus began to recite scripture in a grandiose fashion, his voice loud and reverent, his smile as wide as it'd ever been. "For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song. Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered," His mana poured into his hands, and a mana circle with the hebrew name for God יְהוָ֥ה(Yahweh) appeared in the center of the golden circle that floated in front of his hands. "And let those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish before God." The circle was completed and the power was almost charged to completion, but Thadeus wasn't content with only 90 percent of the power. So he recited the scripture and the verse, "Psalm 68 verse-"

One moment Thadeus was charging one of his grandest spells, but within the next moment he was interrupted by a blue comet smashing into him. Driving him back into the wall. His spell was interrupted as he found himself embedded into a crater into the wall behind him. Standing in front of him was Felix in his shining blue manaegis. Felix turned to face Nemo.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here, team. It took me a bit to get through a closed passageway, and I stopped a moment after discovering Artos had died there." Felix explained, "Is everyone else alright?"

Thadeus was winded and drained from the mana he exerted, so he remained in the crater, gathering his bearings for a moment.

Then Thadeus retracted the mana he was using to keep up the arena and the barrier around the arena. The arena fell back down into the ground as if the ground had never been disturbed in the first place.

---

Raiya walked over to her chain daggers that were still charged with the rune she placed. After examining them, she realized that Dominick must have used the last of his willpower to teleport through the the pain and motor-skill overload from the electrical charge. She quickly retracted the chain back to its small base form of 2 feet, and then stored the weapon in her mana inventory.

She stood up and stopped for a moment, realizing through the familiar feeling of the manawaves his manaegis gave off, that Felix had arrived. Then the arena fell around them.

Every square around them looked well battled in, scorch marks and boulders everywhere. In fact, it looked as if Raiya's portion was the cleanest of them all.

Raiya held her arms out in a T and flicked her wrists, her jacket materializing on her from her mana inventory. She reached behind her neck and pulled her hair free from behind her jacket, allowing it to fall behind her jacket. Then she began to walk towards Felix, Nemo, and Thadeus.

---

Thadeus used a warp spell and disappeared from the crater, reappearing next to Dawn. He grabbed her, and disappeared once more, reappearing on top of the balcony he had made and was sitting on earlier with Dawn kneeling next to him with her brother's dead body still on her lap.

"Well, I'd love to stay. But it does indeed appear we have been bested on this day. We shall regroup, revise our plan of attack, and be back for that Paragon." Thadeus licked his lips as if he hungered for that day to come quickly. "Au revior!" He waved, as he wrote a glyph with his other hand opening a rift gate behind them. Both Dawn and Thadeus walked through it at the same time. Dawn cradling her brother's corpse. The rift closing as soon as they were through.

Felix dispersed his manaegis, he was wearing his old robes again. He figured that his robes offered massive amounts of protection against magic, as well as lots of pockets to hold any manner of things they'd need on a mission. So he couldn't bring himself to throw out the robes just yet.

Raiya walked up to the group. Her eyes narrowing a bit when she saw that Nemo was still alive. If Felix would have waited just a second more, I could flee this stupid operation and get back to what's really important. Raiya thought.

"Okay, so we are all accounted for except for Travis." Felix looked around, and saw Travis off far away, still facing an opponent. Felix raised an eyebrow. "Is that one of Thadeus's subordinates?"

Felix ran off over to Travis, Raiya following behind. Felix noticed the exhausted blonde female who was still in a battle stance.

"It's over," Felix said, "There's no need to fight anymore."