Psyker Landshark

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

A race to the auditorium? Curious. No doubt that the threat of losing one's place at the academy would prompt a mad scramble to begin in the next few seconds. Certainly not the High Bishop's style, at first glance. A desperate stampede in the name of competition didn't quite seem like something he would approve of. Either there was something beyond this or he wasn't particularly involved in how the school was run.

Regardless, it seemed as though she didn't have a choice at the moment. With a resigned sigh, Iraleth joined the rush of prospective students, starting to simply shove through several with a combination of her natural height, muscled form, and plate armor providing bulk. She didn't employ direct violence, of course. But she didn't let anyone in her way slow her down, either.

A few moments of the obvious approach told Iraleth it wouldn't pay off in the long run. There were simply too many students in the way for her to keep this up for the better part of an hour to reach the front of the pack, or close to it. Anything less was too much of a risk to not be able to make it into the auditorium. And she'd sworn to her father she would succeed. His hopes and the legacy of his dead fellows were riding on it.

Fine. She'd invoke her Ethos, then. After all, this was ostensibly an academy intended to train everyone enrolled in such. There was little reason to restrain herself that she could see. A sweep of her plated arm shoved aside those nearest to Iraleth. She would need the space. The other fist clenched, held in front of her.

"On borrowed wings."

The Inheritor's armor materialized around Iraleth in a flash of light, revealing an eight foot-tall holy warrior completely encased in gleaming plate. Wings of light spiked out from the armor's back, and Iraleth took flight, literally soaring above the rest of the competition as she made her way towards the auditorium.

Iris Ascendis

Will get a post up soon.

Also edited in something under skills that I realized I forgot to put in a week ago. Leaving it here for quick reference in case Nanaya wants me to take it back out.

Unyielding: Through a combination of conditioning, armor, and sheer, unrelenting tenacity, Iraleth is hellaciously stubborn, able to power through wounds that would take lesser warriors out of a fight.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Renar Hagen

Awkward things, these curse beasts. Lumbering and clumsy, yet more than lethal if anyone was foolish enough to get caught in the way of their blundering. Renar backstepped out of the way of their flailing, patiently waiting for one of the curse abominations to tire themselves out and let up just slightly in their wild swings before he moved in. When one did, he pounced.

The Bastard of Brias surged forward, ducking below the frantic frailing of a hamstrung abomination to run up towards its head and bring his poleaxe up. He wasn't a burly executioner, all muscle and flab with a blade crafted for the sole purpose of decapitation. Even if he was, this thing's neck was thick enough that aiming to sever the head would be a fool move that would get him killed. No, there were other, softer targets.

A thrust of the spear point plunged it into one of the curse abomination's eyes. As it howled in pain and jerked back, Renar withdrew his weapon and went for his actual target: the creature's now-exposed throat. A second thrust of the tip of his poleaxe sent it straight into the windpipe, where Renar kept the poleaxe stuck in while drawing a dagger in his off hand and plunging it deep into the side of the beast's neck for good measure. On a human or any other similar race, it would be where the carotid was. Fatal for anything mundane, but the hamstrings had proved these creatures weren't exactly immune or resistant to damage, so it should hopefully keep one down.

@Crimson Paladin @Raineh Daze

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Kayliss Lambert

At least the little lordling's pet brute understood the point. Unfortunately, he was quite a bit sharper than expected. Kayliss's respect for and wariness around Istvan went up several notches as he started drawing closer to a truth she certainly didn't want or need anyone to know. This line of questioning was going far too close to the truth of the Crownsblades' status. Of the entire outfit, only Lady Velvetica knew, and even that had been too much information revealed for Kayliss's liking.

"It's more convenient for everyone involved that the Lady has specialist assistance close at hand." Kayliss finally deigned to give a bland response to Istvan's prodding. Simply dropping the matter would only invite even more suspicion. "Consider my official status to be...on loan, as it were."

This wasn't even untrue. If the opportunity arose, Kayliss would return to the Crownsblades in a heartbeat, if there was any semblance of an organization left. Scattered survivors, certainly. But not enough and with none versed enough in leadership positions for any true centralization.

"The Lady is fully aware of my status and consented to my positioning in her ranks. Rest assured that I'm here largely for the mission statement and not for internal politics."

@HereComesTheSnow

Iris Ascendis

The Inheritor

Iraleth Kyrios

Race: Half-elf
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Appearance:

Hider

Stands at 6'3" thanks to her elf blood. Toned, athletic figure with good amounts of muscle in her limbs.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Personality:
Uncompromising determination and iron will. Iraleth is stern, strict, and brooks little dissent or resistance. If there's an obstacle in her way, it will move or be moved. When faced with the unknown, Iraleth tends to fall back on tried and true methods, reflecting her trust in the wisdom of those who came before her. Nero Leuvalt is her foremost idol, and she wishes to see the revival of the Wings of Nero as much as the High Bishop does.

Secretly, Iraleth is a hardline Neroite with severe anti-Shaktan sentiments. While she respects and likes her spiritual leader, High Bishop Verne, she cannot help but completely disagree with his stance on equality between Neroites and Shaktans. To her, Vaal Nero was a victim of conquest in an unjust war of aggression by Shaktis, and it continues to pay for that to this day, with the current power outages proving her point.

Backstory:
Whatever the truth of her birth, Iraleth has known nothing but the church's orphanage from her earliest memories. She was raised as a ward of the church within Vaal Nero's territory, but tragedy befell the outlying territory it was located in when a battle between a party of paladins against leftover Umbralists from the Apocalypse spilled into it, decimating the village and draining it of Essence. To this day, Iraleth has no idea how she managed to live through the ensuing battle when everyone around her succumbed, though the child was left was grievous injuries before the sole surviving church knight, Eltoras Kyrios, discovered her.

Filled with guilt over how the battle had decimated an innocent village as well as cost him his fellows, the paladin Eltoras took Iraleth in as his page, practically adopting her as he served the church in the city of Vaal Nero itself. As it turned out, he and his compatriots had been greatly inspired by the tales of the Wings of Nero, attempting to revive the organization themselves. Though with the death of the majority of the group, that effort was largely dead in the water. Nevertheless, he raised Iraleth to carry the dreams of himself and his fellows, training her in the arts of knights and priests alike. Iraleth took to both the training and the stories with gusto, dedicating herself to becoming a knight of the church.

Her new upbringing in Vaal Nero exposed her to the realities of her birth land's political situation, however. The hardships Vaal Nero faced were so obviously brought upon them by the Shaktans that Iraleth began to fall in along the same lines of anti-Shaktan resentment that many hardliner Neroites espoused. Her adoptive father had long since felt the same, which didn't help matters. Though this was tempered by the knowledge that the High Bishop was a moderate and wouldn't approve of their resentment, Iraleth's resentment of the capital never faded, though she learned to hide it better so as to not disappoint the kindly Bishop Verne.

By the time Wingram Academy was established and announced, Iraleth had just finished her squiring with her father and teacher, and he encouraged her to attend. While neither of them was exactly thrilled with its stated goal of equality, both of them respected the High Bishop too much to not at least attempt to do things his way. At the very least, she would be trained to master her newly-discovered Ethos should the worst occur and Verne's dream fail. So with her father's blessing and influence within the church, Iraleth was enrolled into Wingram, setting out on the next chapter of her life.

Prime Essence: Inheritor
Ethos: "On borrowed wings."

To invoke the Inheritor is to channel the powers of those who have come before. Formed of her belief in carrying on the ideals and dreams of her spiritual idols, Iraleth materializes the Inheritor's armor around herself, becoming an avatar of their living legacies.

When Iraleth invokes her Ethos, divine arms and armor form, replacing her current armaments with ones of immense strength, durability, and Essence. The manifestation augments both her physical abilities and her divine magics to the point where she can stand against the greatest mundane warriors and mages as a baseline. Furthermore, the armor grants limited powers of flight, as the greatest of Iraleth's inspirations is Nero Leuvalt himself. Thus, it stands as Iraleth's representation of the Wings of Nero.

The Ethos draws strength from those who Iraleth venerates. If she is aware of their specialities in battle, Iraleth can draw upon techniques and magics that they were known for, though this taxes her greatly.

Furthermore, the Ethos is empowered by Iraleth's awareness of others' belief in her. The more she is entrusted with the hopes of those around her, the mightier the manifestation grows. Its aura affects enemies and allies alike, reflecting their perception of her. The more one believes in Iraleth, the more the aura empowers them in turn. The more one fears or distrusts her, the more paralyzing the dread the aura instills in them.

Hider

Magic: Divine

Miscellaneous Skills:

• Unyielding: Through a combination of conditioning, armor, and sheer, unrelenting tenacity, Iraleth is hellaciously stubborn, able to power through wounds that would take lesser warriors out of a fight.
• Swordsmanship: Iraleth fights as a knight does, favoring heavy arms and armor and bulldozing through foes with sheer tenacity. Little grace or elegance is found in her sword style, only efficiency and sheer force.
• Sacred Tenets: As a ward of the church, Iraleth was raised within its halls and educated to the point where she can perform rites and sacraments of the Light as well as any priest. She can perform most roles one would require a priest for, including confession, preaching, funeral rites, and sanctification.
• Local Knowledge: Having grown up within Vaal Nero's territory, Iraleth is very familiar with the local area around Wingram.

Inventory:

• Bastard sword: A hand-and-a-half sword formerly carried by a knight of the church that fought in the Apocalypse. Passed down to Iraleth upon completion of her squiring.
• Full plate: A mismatched set of plate with components from several different suits and refit to her size. Cobbled together with what spare funds Iraleth and her teacher could scrounge up.

Additional Notes:
Voice claim: Kari Wahlgren
Character theme

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

Race: Half-elf
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Appearance:

Hider

Stands at 6'3" thanks to her elf blood. Toned, athletic figure with good amounts of muscle in her limbs.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Personality:
Uncompromising determination and iron will. Iraleth is stern, strict, and brooks little dissent or resistance. If there's an obstacle in her way, it will move or be moved. When faced with the unknown, Iraleth tends to fall back on tried and true methods, reflecting her trust in the wisdom of those who came before her. Nero Leuvalt is her foremost idol, and she wishes to see the revival of the Wings of Nero as much as the High Bishop does.

Secretly, Iraleth is a hardline Neroite with severe anti-Shaktan sentiments. While she respects and likes her spiritual leader, High Bishop Verne, she cannot help but completely disagree with his stance on equality between Neroites and Shaktans. To her, Vaal Nero was a victim of conquest in an unjust war of aggression by Shaktis, and it continues to pay for that to this day, with the current power outages proving her point.

Backstory:
Whatever the truth of her birth, Iraleth has known nothing but the church's orphanage from her earliest memories. She was raised as a ward of the church within Vaal Nero's territory, but tragedy befell the outlying territory it was located in when a battle between a party of paladins against leftover Umbralists from the Apocalypse spilled into it, decimating the village and draining it of Essence. To this day, Iraleth has no idea how she managed to live through the ensuing battle when everyone around her succumbed, though the child was left was grievous injuries before the sole surviving church knight, Eltoras Kyrios, discovered her.

Filled with guilt over how the battle had decimated an innocent village as well as cost him his fellows, the paladin Eltoras took Iraleth in as his page, practically adopting her as he served the church in the city of Vaal Nero itself. As it turned out, he and his compatriots had been greatly inspired by the tales of the Wings of Nero, attempting to revive the organization themselves. Though with the death of the majority of the group, that effort was largely dead in the water. Nevertheless, he raised Iraleth to carry the dreams of himself and his fellows, training her in the arts of knights and priests alike. Iraleth took to both the training and the stories with gusto, dedicating herself to becoming a knight of the church.

Her new upbringing in Vaal Nero exposed her to the realities of her birth land's political situation, however. The hardships Vaal Nero faced were so obviously brought upon them by the Shaktans that Iraleth began to fall in along the same lines of anti-Shaktan resentment that many hardliner Neroites espoused. Her adoptive father had long since felt the same, which didn't help matters. Though this was tempered by the knowledge that the High Bishop was a moderate and wouldn't approve of their resentment, Iraleth's resentment of the capital never faded, though she learned to hide it better so as to not disappoint the kindly Bishop Verne.

By the time Wingram Academy was established and announced, Iraleth had just finished her squiring with her father and teacher, and he encouraged her to attend. While neither of them was exactly thrilled with its stated goal of equality, both of them respected the High Bishop too much to not at least attempt to do things his way. At the very least, she would be trained to master her newly-discovered Ethos should the worst occur and Verne's dream fail. So with her father's blessing and influence within the church, Iraleth was enrolled into Wingram, setting out on the next chapter of her life.

Prime Essence: Inheritor
Ethos: "On borrowed wings."

To invoke the Inheritor is to channel the powers of those who have come before. Formed of her belief in carrying on the ideals and dreams of her spiritual idols, Iraleth materializes the Inheritor's armor around herself, becoming an avatar of their living legacies.

When Iraleth invokes her Ethos, divine arms and armor form, replacing her current armaments with ones of immense strength, durability, and Essence. The manifestation augments both her physical abilities and her divine magics to the point where she can stand against the greatest mundane warriors and mages as a baseline. Furthermore, the armor grants limited powers of flight, as the greatest of Iraleth's inspirations is Nero Leuvalt himself. Thus, it stands as Iraleth's representation of the Wings of Nero.

The Ethos draws strength from those who Iraleth venerates. If she is aware of their specialities in battle, Iraleth can draw upon techniques and magics that they were known for, though this taxes her greatly.

Furthermore, the Ethos is empowered by Iraleth's awareness of others' belief in her. The more she is entrusted with the hopes of those around her, the mightier the manifestation grows. Its aura affects enemies and allies alike, reflecting their perception of her. The more one believes in Iraleth, the more the aura empowers them in turn. The more one fears or distrusts her, the more paralyzing the dread the aura instills in them.

Hider

Magic: Divine

Miscellaneous Skills:

• Unyielding: Through a combination of conditioning, armor, and sheer, unrelenting tenacity, Iraleth is hellaciously stubborn, able to power through wounds that would take lesser warriors out of a fight.
• Swordsmanship: Iraleth fights as a knight does, favoring heavy arms and armor and bulldozing through foes with sheer tenacity. Little grace or elegance is found in her sword style, only efficiency and sheer force.
• Sacred Tenets: As a ward of the church, Iraleth was raised within its halls and educated to the point where she can perform rites and sacraments of the Light as well as any priest. She can perform most roles one would require a priest for, including confession, preaching, funeral rites, and sanctification.
• Local Knowledge: Having grown up within Vaal Nero's territory, Iraleth is very familiar with the local area around Wingram.

Inventory:

• Bastard sword: A hand-and-a-half sword formerly carried by a knight of the church that fought in the Apocalypse. Passed down to Iraleth upon completion of her squiring.
• Full plate: A mismatched set of plate with components from several different suits and refit to her size. Cobbled together with what spare funds Iraleth and her teacher could scrounge up.

Additional Notes:
Voice claim: Kari Wahlgren
Character theme

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

While House Caradoc's seat of power wasn't particularly far from the dragoon's lodge, it was still a decently long walk, made slower by the rush of people going to and fro in the early evening of inner Midgar. Izayoi sniffed slightly at the mix of scents in the air: industrial smoke, alcohol fumes, and cooking fires all assaulting her nostrils as they passed several taverns and pubs in the streets. There were even some people in Osprean dress roaming the streets, explaining the relative lack of stares her garb had gotten. Most likely peoples from the territories Edren had annexed, trying to make the best of their new lot. As much as she despised Edren's land grab, Izayoi couldn't fault those conquered for being victims in it all.

The reminder of the war certainly didn't help her mood as they finally approached the gates of the Caradoc estate. The sight of Galahad had the guards wave them through with little fuss, though they recoiled upon seeing her. Likely forewarned, then. Irritating. In contrast to the industrial nightmare that comprised the rest of Midgar, House Caradoc's manor was far more akin to what someone would see in Balmung or any other noble estate in the Edrenian heartland, if more fortified than the average keep.

Awaiting them in the manor's entry hall was the lord Caradoc himself, flanked by his entire bodyguard retinue and holding a sheathed sword. As the Kirins faced down the welcoming party, Izayoi removed her hat, staring her old nemesis right in the eyes.

"Artorias Caradoc." She stated flatly, the flash of her sheathed sword beneath her cloak already causing several of the bodyguards to stiffen and tense. "Do you always greet your own flesh and blood with men-at-arms? You Edrenians certainly have quite the queer habit."

The stern visage of Galahad's father narrowed his eyes at the remark.

"You live. I had thought the reports this afternoon to be mere hearsay, exaggerated to be hysteria." His grip around his scabbard tightened for a moment, but he mastered himself and looked to his son.

"Galahad. I send you to answer His Majesty's call, and you return with the Emperor's Demon in tow. As well as..." His gaze swept across the entire group.

"A mage, a nameless sword, and the most transparent infiltration attempt from Skael in decades."

"Explain."

Iris Ascendis

Came up for air from Armored Core 6 just in time to see this. Interested, I'll try to get something up soon.

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

Salvator Rasch

Direct confrontation wasn't their new friends' specialty. Right. Cute. In insurgent talk, that translated to "we'd rather risk your lives than our own on the frontal assault". Objectively speaking, it wasn't an unfair statement, considering they were the ones with the walking tank. But that was cold comfort when they were the ones about to face the void-damned power armor. Good thing he'd fought them before on several occasions. They were tough, but not invincible. Sending just one was a cocky move.

Salvator stayed crouched in the foliage, raising a hand to wave the remainder of the Envenomed squad over to him. Once they were gathered close enough, he started speaking through the squad comms.

"Right, this'll be a bit of a problem." He grunted, starting to ping each contact on his display and relay it to the squad's HUDs. "Bad news is that having both the automata and the bastard in the power armor makes this annoying. Good news is that we have the jump on them. I'm going to give us all a cloaking field. It'll keep you in stealth for at least your opening shot, so make use of the advantage and set up a kill box. It's not going to muffle your sound, though, so stay quiet." The veteran trooper slung his newly-acquired shotgun over his back and pulled his carbine out once more, reaching into his armor for a fresh magazine and swapping his current one out.

"EMP rounds if you've got them, they'll screw with the power armor trooper's systems as much as the automata's. Armor-piercing if you don't. Kleo," Salvator reached for a few of the grenades on his belt and handed them over to the aforementioned. "You've been bitching for a grenade this whole op. Hope your throwing arm's good. The one with the blue casing's the only EMP grenade I brought, try and tag as many of the automata as you can. As for the both of you," He tilted his head towards Echo and Ilshar. "Focus fire on the power armor with me, then try to take out the automata as best as possible once he's down. All of you use your own discretion on firepower past the opening salvo. I'm hoping our new friends pick their balls up and open fire once the power armor's taken out at least, but I'm not holding my breath." His briefing done, Rasch channeled the void through himself and swept his hand out, enveloping the entire Envenomed squad in a void cloak.

"Cloak's up. Spread out and set up. Open fire on my mark." Once everyone was in position, Salvator nodded to himself before raising his carbine, drawing a bead on the power armored soldier. "Fire!" He pulled the trigger, sending a burst of EMP rounds straight for the soldier's helmet.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Kayliss Lambert

The next time Istvan took his coffee break in the kitchens, Kayliss was there, emerging from seemingly out of nowhere as she sidled up next to him, one hand falling down to rest next to his stash of whole coffee beans.

"Sir Istvan," Kayliss said in her usual emotionless deadpan, staring right at him. "I'd like to discuss your choice of...conversational topics with others."

There hadn't been time or opportunity to confront Istvan over this while they were still out on campaign, but she was still rather miffed that he so freely gave away her status as a Crownsblade in front of unfamiliar figures.

"My former status relied somewhat on word of mouth to keep certain ambitious elements in line." Read: the Crownsblades were made known to the Veltan nobility in order to intimidate them into not getting ambitions beyond their station. "That being said, allowing the identity of such an agent to leak invites investigations and reprisal. In the interest of my effectiveness as such, it would behoove you to not freely speak of my identity to others. Are we clear?"

Her hand hovered briefly over the container containing Istvan's beans before withdrawing as Kayliss did, stepping back. A clear threat if there ever was one.

@HereComesTheSnow