Rultaos

The Fallen Goddess - A Journey of Heroes

Cyterius awaited S'venia's answer, but was interrupted by the Lalafellen Elf who announced what he had been fearing in the back of his head: That the rest of their forces would not be arriving. S'venia's clarification further cemented the idea. Their current force was barely an army, and they were expected to go on a campaign to the Gods only know where. Cyterius let out a sigh as he took in that information. He brought his head up as S'venia spoke of organizing the guard rotations, but then turned his head to the door in surprise when a giant, lumbering dragon-like creature stepped inside. Cyterius very nearly drew his blade until S'venia spoke of them with familiarity. He relaxed his grip but was still tense at being near such an imposing creature. the meeting then went into the divison of labor among their limited force.

“After we break camp here, in two days' time, we are to head to the town of V’alnor... it’s a two-day journey for us and we will restock there, your Luna Falcons will serve as our forward party,” S'venia said. Cyterius nodded, somewhat pleased that she was at least familiar with their skills on paper. She then asked them to talk about their soldiers and how they could best be utilized in battle tactics.

Cyterius was about to answer, when the Lalafell, River, once again interrupted with a seemingly pointless question. Cyterius was almost about to reprimand the small elf for distracting the meeting, until he saw the ritual that the Elf was doing. It gave them a vision. A rather ominous one, that hinted at the nature of their foes. Yet it gave little of substance other than a vague appearance. Cyterius felt his blood chill at the possibilities that could make an entire platoon freeze in fear.

"That's our enemy it seems. Whatever that beast is...we are far from the great libraries of my kingdom, tell me, what would you say is the greatest collection of knowledge above land? I can only wish it contains the answers we seek." River said.

Cyterius nodded at River's suggestion. "We cannot fight an enemy we do not know. Knowledge and reconnaissance will be vital prior to any engagement. We should not let the enemy attack us on their terms if we can help it. Though until we know more about them, that may be difficult to ensure" He said, contemplatively looking at the now normal water bowl on the table.

"As for our skills... The Luna Falcons, as you know are primarily scouts and saboteurs. Send us in to recon an area, take out key targets, or quietly complete a task prior to or alongside any major action taken by our main forces. The Kyrantian Skirmishers meanwhile, are soldiers of the League's finest Light Cavalry unit. As evidenced by their name, they are meant to strike swiftly and harass the enemy. They are also well-trained in survival and can spend prolonged periods of time separated from the main force if needed. However, they are not Heavy Cavalry, and are not meant to lead charges or break fortified enemy lines. If need be, they will fight tooth and claw in the front lines, but that is not their place. Use them to support the main force and keep the enemy off-balance. Speed is our element, we would be most efficient if we are kept there." He explained, trying to detail as specifically as possible the uses of his men and women.

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

"Once Captain Voss' unit cuts the power to the sector, we infiltrate here. Bomb squad heads off on its rounds, the rest of you follow me up to the overwatch tower 350 meters to our 3 o'clock. Start scanning the ground to see if the target is in the open. Only open fire on my command. Everyone clear?"

Benny replied with "On the off chance we forget how our target looks, do we jus' open fire on ev'ryone?" He asked with a smile under his helmet, earning a scowl from the Alliance officer. Benny raised Skelly up in surrender. "Jus' asking" He said as they began working through the barrier as the power went out. With his nightvision already active, he simply waited for everyone to start piling through the opening. He checked his HUD quickly and began heading into the direction of Alpha sector under the cover of darkness, assuming Henry and Sadaet were following him as they should have been.

"How much heat are ya all packin'? Do we gotta ration our poppies or do we go happy hour on their arses?" He asked the rest of his group as they converged on the first of their bomb points without much resistance, given it was still on the outlying areas of the base. However, he could already see flashlights and emergency-power spotlights activating here and there.

The Fallen Goddess - A Journey of Heroes

"Samson, you have command while I meet with the other leaders. Get everyone settled in. Enact standard lookout rotations for the night." Cyterius said as he began heading out of the stables and lodgings. His second officer and best friend nodded and turned to the rest of the Kyrantian Skirmishers and the Falcons, making sure everyone was billeted properly. It was a bit strange bunking in near the small Lalafell elves and their humble mounts, but it was nothing worse than some places any of the League's people had slept in throughout their service.

The stationing of lookouts was more for the sake of instilling the habit into the troops rather than any doubt as to the competence of the Aurr camp's security. Captain Tervius, head of the detachment of Skirmishers, drilled his men well and knew the value of keeping them from letting their guard down regardless of any comfort and safety they may find on this long journey. In terms of overall security, they left that to the soldiers of Aurr and the newly arrived Luvalonians who seemed to already have plans in mind. Though the people of the League were often known for their competence in defense, the Falcons and Skirmishers knew their place as a recon and light cavalry unit, and did not wish to step into the jurisdiction of their allies. They did however comment on any improvements they found could be made to some aspects of the defense that they witnessed, such as blind spots that may be missed by patrols and how patrols and lines of sight could be overlapped to ensure eventual detection of any would-be trespassers.

The Falcons in particular were pleased to note that the warriors of Aurr were quite competent in organizing such things and there were only a few points they suggested improvements upon.

Cyterius took note of his surroundings as he walked through the occupied village towards the Mayor's office which had been converted into a command center. The defenses were sufficient for a temporary garrison, but the village was indefensible for even a short siege. No walls, simple buildings, paths designed for convenience rather than defense. He could already picture the heavy casualties that would be taken in any attempt to repel a concentrated assault. He began thinking of feasible avenues for a fighting retreat depending on where they may be attacked from. However, if they were to spot a large enemy force heading towards them, Cyterius knew the best course of action would be an immediate evacuation of their forces with small units performing rearguard harassment to delay the enemy advance if necessary. He hoped that the rest of the Council's expeditionary forces would arrive sooner rather than later. Staying in this village any longer than they had to was asking for trouble.

Cyterius nodded at the guards watching over the Mayor's house and the armored soldiers. He showed them the officer's insignia of the League he carried in his pockets, and they allowed him to pass through. The building was a cozy enough place, and was a lot more spacious than the farmsteads he and his men would be sharing for the night. He wondered if the officers of Aurr would all be billeted here as well. If they were, it would've been quite a big vulnerability. For if the building were to be taken or destroyed, the Snow Leopards would be immediately denied of their command structure.

He walked towards what appeared to be a door leading into the main room where the mayor of this town once performed their responsibilities. He had arrived not long after the leader of the Luvalonians had greeted Commander S'venia.

"... When we received your call, I jumped on my horse as quickly as possible. Luvalon will do all it can to help you find your missing Goddess.” the female Luvalonian leader said.

"The League of Kyrantes also honors the pact made with the Council of Seven, and have answered the summons" Cyterius started as he stepped inside the room, looking the two of them over. The aura that the two female commanders emanated could not be further apart. S'venia, the stoic, battle-hardened leader of a race of people who had war run in their blood. Then there was the Luvalonian leader, Beatrix he believed her name was, a cheerful-looking lady from a people whose philosophy was about rational peacemaking and the civilized rule of law. Then of course there was Cyterius, a dark-skinned man of the harsh desert who clawed his way up from the criminal underground into the official title he currently held. He mused that the scene they created, exemplified the odd nature of this expeditionary alliance.

"Commander Cyterius Yranov, Honored Lady. My blades, my men, and our horses are at your disposal, Commander S'venia. Now then... what are we here to discuss though the rest of the Council's forces have not arrived yet?"

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

(OOC A collaboration with @Strange Rodent and @iTem)

"Benny! You're looking well. Seems like you took your training seriously. Nice suit."

Benny hears the voice call out to them as they passed by. He turned and saw one of the new crewmates they had. Herbert? Henry? He wasn’t sure. He figured it would come up in conversation eventually anyway.

”Oh hey. Thanks…?” He started, not sure how to respond to them. ”Was nae about ta’ go into this unprepared. Especially not with these Alliance jackarses put in charge o’ us” He said as he continued towards the hangar area, not really gesturing at Henry as he could follow them of their own accord if they wished.

”Always best to be prepared. Speaking of… have a look at this”, Henry replies as he taps a few times on his holo pad, and going on to say ”Just sent across my preparations.”.

Benny looked curiously at the holo display and the file-send request from Henry’s device and accepted it. It seemed to be a document regarding their target, Quinlan Kifear. He decided to let it send and view it as he walked along.

Henry stumbled along behind Benny for a small while, before saying ”Oh, we have never properly met, have we? That’s no problem. My name is Henry. Used to sell old hover vehicles, before I… decided I’d had enough.”

”Sounds as boring as watchin’ a horse shit. Glad ya got outta there. Sorry ya ended up here” Benny replied frankly as he walked along to the hangar. ”And ye can just keep callin’ me Benny. Ev’ryone does.” he finished as the duo made their way along to the shuttles, heading to the ship’s main elevator lift.

”Yeah, that’s why I quit.”, Henry said, just before they got into the elevator. Little did he know that these were the last words that were to be spoken before they reached the shuttle bay. In the elevator, silence reigned like a supreme emperor, warring with that small part of you that feels like you should say something, but you never do because it might be more awkward than standing in silence. There was no inoffensive elevator music to pay attention to while they stood. Henry cleared his throat. Unfortunately, that only cut out the roaring sound of silence for a mere moment, and when it came back, it did so with a vengeance. Now the Emperor of Silence had redoubled their efforts, and all that could be heard was aggressive nothing. There was a light, long hiss as the elevator reached their desired level. The doors slid open so slowly it may have caused pain in lesser beings, and when the doors had finished the very small journey that took almost twice as long as needed, they discovered that the wrong button had been pressed. They needed to go up a floor.

Benny couldn’t remember if it was he or Henry who pressed the wrong button, but either way, he let out his frustration with a loud ”Cripes” bringing Skelly up automatically to mash the correct button as his arm registered his frustrated desire to get this awkward presence done and over with. Henry merely shuffled his feet and looked around the bare elevator.

After a much shorter duration of deafening silence between the two, they finally arrived on the Revenant’s hangar. Benny wasted no time in stepping off and away from their odd new crewmate and headed towards the direction of the gathering crowd in the hangar.

He spotted the rest of the Revenant’s motley crew gathering around their respective shuttles being briefed by the Alliance agents.

Awaiting their own shuttles were Koren and Matija, seemingly talking amongst themselves. Koren was the first to notice the two men exiting the elevator and waved at Benny as a result. Matija looked at where Koren was looking out of reflex and looked away the moment she sees one of the two. “Took you long enough,” the blue-skinned man said to Benny. “And you..? he asked as he turned to the other man that he never bothered remembering the name of.

Henry turned his bloodshot eyes on Koren and merely said, ”Yes, I am here.”, seemingly missing the point of what Koren said entirely. He waited almost a full five seconds before realising that he missed something. He wasn’t bothered to say anything about his blunder, though, opting instead to mumble something that might have sounded like words.

”So… How long ya think we’ll go fer before these Alliance shitheads screw somethin’ up?” Benny asked Koren, while checking to see if they were still in earshot of the agents, which they thankfully weren’t at the moment.

“Within an hour planetside, two and a half, if you’re being generous,” Koren responded as he too took a moment to gander on their unwanted allies. “I don’t understand why they want them with us anyway. It’s easier for black-ops to work instead of affiliated soldiers. If they die, it’s going to be under the Alliance’s name.”

Benny shrugged at that. ” Stryker says they’re deep cover agents. Dinnae ask me how they made tha’ grade, since their very air screams jarhead from a mile awae” He responded. Koren looked back at him in response, smiling. “Maybe the Feds they mingle with are just stupid. Or…” His eyes widened for a moment, contemplative, before shooting back at Benny and the druggie. “...this could be a trap.”

That last comment gave Benny an uncomfortable feeling in the pits of his stomach, but before the conversation could go any further, they were called to mount up onto the shuttles for departure. Benny took one last glance at the Juz’ and the Mecorian, and gave a quick nod before going with Henry aboard their shuttle, and began the flight to their targets.

---

"Listen up, here's the plan. We're dropping in just under a klick away, we'll make our way over on foot. Once we arrive at the depot, we infiltrate from this position here, and break into two groups. You three. Are gonna take this route around Alpha Sector, plant some of the heavy duty charges. The rest of you will follow me, we'll make our way around this way and drop 2 charges by the gate, just in case the target tries to escape. Regroup at this position here. We scan for the target, if he's not in the open, we trigger the main charges, set off the alarm to draw him out. Once the kill is confirmed, we begin exfil procedure. Maximum carnage rule applies here, so by all means, go hog wild you beautiful, degenerate fuckers"

The sergeant, whose name Benny couldn’t care to remember past the fact that it started with “Gun” or something, announced through the shuttle. All Benny knew was that he didn’t like this guy’s bossy and condescending attitude. He wondered if they could manage to “accidentally” hurt the guy in the midst of the chaos without compromising the mission.
He didn’t honor the guy with a reply, but he nodded in acknowledgement as he checked his equipment, and adjusted his seating so he wouldn’t be pressing into that waist-mounted thruster-pack he was wearing. He wasn’t used to how heavy it was, but he had carried larger weights before and he was confident he could make use of their new toy.

Henry looked at the waist mounted jetpack and smiled. Perhaps there was good in the universe.

Eventually, the shuttle began descending to a stop and the sounds of the doors unlocking filled the space. Benny checked Skelly’s holographic display, and set it to open up on his helmet instead of projecting above his arm. He brought the map of the area up and set it to a corner of his HUD, with relevant waypoints marking their objectives. He kept it minimized to a small display, and could be easily be zoomed in with a few taps on Skelly’s touchpad. "Alright convicts, go time"” The sergeant announced leading the way. Benny Hopped out after him with the rest of the group, rifle-raised and scanning the area. He flicked on his nightvision and allowed his eyes a moment to adjust to the glare, then glanced at the minimap on his HUD. He began heading in the direction of the area marked “Alpha Sector” on the base map. He expected Henry and Sadaet to follow suit without him having to check on them.

The Fallen Goddess - A Journey of Heroes

So I came across this Miracle Of Sound song that got me hyped for this RP and helped inspire some ideas to write through my characters. Hope it gets y'all hyped too

The Fallen Goddess - A Journey of Heroes

"We're almost there. Make sure everyone's on their best behavior" Cyterius said to the larger man riding a horse alongside him. The man, also wearing a cloak with a falcon silhouette on the back nodded, and slowed his pace to meet with the rest of the cavalry unit behind them. Everyone in their unit had their hoods or cloaks draped over them, with the cold climate of the environment they were in being far different from the much warmer air of their homeland. Cyterius glanced thoughtfully at his gloved hands, thinking about how they would have to get used to this now given the lands they would be travelling.

Cyterius was riding at the front of the formation, with a number of the spearmen acting as the vanguard, one of them flying the blue and yellow flag of the League of Kyrantes, divided diagonally, with the bright red insignia of a multi-layered tower (representing the various members that make up the League) with a large red sun glowing with short, wavy rays behind it.

Behind them was the main force of the Kyrantian Skirmishers, and his own Luna Falcons scattered amongst them. With the Falcons being the resident scouts of their unit, he had them covering various angles to keep an eye out for any potential bandits or ambushers. Prior to departing to meet with the task force made in search of the Goddess Rofella, he had seen The League's armies mobilizing in force over what was reported to be a significant breach in the dimensional shield made by the deities. While he would be more comfortable believing that the otherwordly monsters of legend would be confined to the battlefront around the breach itself, he felt it would be foolish to assume that a few had not managed to slip past the battle lines of the Seven Kingdoms. Infiltrators, wandering survivors, or even soldiers who were just plain lost were not unheard of in normal battles, and he assumed the same thing for such fantastical enemies.

After some more walking, following the directions in the letter along with the signs they had seen on the road, Cyterius heard a bird whistle call from one of his Falcons. He didn't bother looking back to check who signalled it, but he held a hand up high in a stopping gesture, making sure the other riders could see. "Cavalry halt!" He bellowed.

Once they had stopped, he scanned around while waiting for whoever signalled the whistle to approach him and report it. He heard a horse walk up slowly to the vanguard and made sure he did not spot anything before turning around. Nischa Ariteni of the Falcons had approached, she also had her hood up to shield her from the cold winds

"I assume this isn't just a bathroom break, Nischa?" He said flatly, but among his friends they could tell it was a joke. Nischa chuckled before responding. "Of course not, Cy. I spotted something ahead. It was only for a moment. It was a glint, like sunlight reflecting off metal. Don't think there are any trees in these foreign woods made of metal" She replied.

"No there aren't... Tell the rest of the Skirmishers to scatter the formation when we move. Have them divide into groups under each Falcon and keep a good riding distance from each other. If there's trouble ahead I want there to be room to move so we're not all corralled into one large mass of targets. Begin spreading the formation when we move again" Cyterius instructed.

"Got it. Should be ready in a minute or so She responded. Cyterius nodded and listened to her ride off down the line. He waited for around a minute, counting in his head, before raising his hand again in a command gesture

"Forward March!" He shouted. As they continued down the road, he occasionally looked behind him to ensure that his instructions were followed. Cyterius was glad to see that their formation had indeed split up. If there was indeed an ambush ahead that they couldn't spot as they approached, they would at least have room to scatter.

He needn't have worried however as when they went further down the road, they spotted a banner between the trees of the Kingdom of Aurr. The lone rider approached them waving their flag. The Kyrantian flagbearer in the vanguard waved theirs in return. Cyterius told the formation to halt again as he approached the rider personally. The horseman of Aurr told them he would lead them in to their destination.

"My compliments to your commander for being so considerate. Lead the way"

It didn't take long for the convoy of horsemen to eventually reach the small village they had been directed to. The place would've come off as an abandoned rural backwater had it not been for the armed guards wearing the colors of Aurr patrolling the outskirts, and the smoke of campfires rising up from the middle of the place. Cyterius and the Vanguard greeted the sentries as they approached. "Glad to see you have arrived safely, sir" The Sentry said, eyeing the League's flag they carried.

"Glad to have finally made it. I would like to meet your commanding officer as soon as possible. I will also require a space to act as a stable for our horses if we are to camp here for a while"

The Fallen Goddess - A Journey of Heroes

My character is confirmed and is fully up, and my Kingdom sheet has also been sent, but I'll post it here too if anyone wants to see ^_^

League of Kyrantes

League of Kyrantes

The Arid Expanse

Image Source: huginn.artstation.com/projects/NeJBz

“Hot as fury, cold as cruelty, this land cares little for your life. Yet these are a people who chose to not care about the desert’s brutality. Surrounding themselves with walls and weapons, they endure day after day things that would break our soldiers. To conquer this place, much blood will be paid, to both their arms, and the land itself…”
- Excerpt from the journal of an Imperial Expeditionary Chronicler. Dated during the era of the Empire’s “Unity Crusade”

Landscape:

Image source: artstation.com/artwork/DVGZO

An arid place where the land is divided mostly into vast sandy deserts, and hilly, savannah-like areas. Scattered oases and a few rivers are the main sources of plant life and water. Most settlements have cropped up around these sources. At the further reaches of the desert, there lies a mountainous area where another kingdom resides.

Brief history

Formerly nothing more than a scattered collection of tribes and villages, they formed pacts and alliances out of necessity as opportunistic bandits and other exiled undesirables often raided their settlements and attacked travelling caravans. Eventually, the majority of power was held by the largest city of the region, Kyrantes (Kee-Ran-Tes), a walled behemoth towering over the wasteland, protecting one of the largest stretches of farmable land in the region, provided by a river that flows through the heart of the city. They soon adopted an official form of government and named themselves as “The League of Kyrantes”, after the center of their power.

During the “Unity Crusade” where the empire sought to expand its territory, and bring all others under their heel, The League held out against the attack, and even managed to go so far as to attack the Empire with assistance from other kingdoms that had been provoked by the Empire’s war-mongering. This proved to be more costly than anticipated however due to the incursion of enemies from beyond the breach.

Currently, the League enjoys a seat in the Council of Seven with peaceful, though wary, relations with other kingdoms. Despite the demilitarization following the Council’s pursuit of peace, the people Kyrantes and The League are ever suspicious of anyone who lives beyond their walls.

Summary and Role

Image source: artstation.com/gabe-11

The League of Kyrantes is an alliance of various villages and cities, all submitting to the will of the great fortress-city Kyrantes, and its Grand Vizier. The Grand Vizier is passed down via heritage among influential noble houses in the city. While the title is highly coveted, and can at times be a cutthroat competition, the Grand Vizier is still required to please the other members of the League by creating unity and consensus. Otherwise they may find themselves replaced rather quickly.

Being composed of different settlements, The League is run by its own council of leaders, with each town and village having their own methods of selecting leaders. The Grand Vizier of Kyrantes simply gathers them all into the fortress-city whenever region-wide matters must be discussed, and they often debate on matters within the opulent Dawn Palace at the center of the city. While attempts are made for consensus among the leaders, if immediate action must be taken, and the leaders cannot agree on a decision, the Grand Vizier has the power to bypass discussions and do as they wish, so long as the rest of the League is made aware of this. Through this, they can force the League to work by their will, at the cost of their public reputation. Grand Viziers often do not abuse this power, as those who do usually have short-lived reigns when public unrest rises due to the myriad of hardened mercenaries and assassins often for hire within their region

Their role among the Council of Seven both during and after the War of the breach, is to act as one of its defense specialists. Their generals and tacticians being equally skilled in both defending a city, and besieging it by subverting their own strategies. However, their armies excel most at repelling enemy forces from behind a wall, or a fortified base of operations. Their archers being highly disciplined at holding the line and maintaining a hail of fire upon their enemies. Their infantry, resilient and fearless, fighting with almost a mad fanaticism against those who threaten their homes and families. Their cavalry, adept at breaking enemy lines and repeatedly scattering assaults, keeping any enemy from being able to find their footing in a siege. Any place under the protection of The League will demand payment in countless lives before it will be taken.

Patron God

Image source: stmed.net/wallpaper-133222

Guurut: God of the Sun and the Moon

Temple location: Solune (Sol-une)

Guurut stands nearly eight-feet tall. During the day hours his appearance is one of fiery fashion, with vibrant reds and yellows being the predominant theme while a loud, boisterous personality embraces all who come near. Parties as legendary as time has seen have taken place in his temple, with copious amounts of both alcohol and foods being consumed. Though as night rolls around, his appearance instead changes to more somber colors. Black and a dark blue color scheme wraps his body tightly during these hours, while a mellow and often sad personality push away any who come to see him. It is in these hours that people find that they have a chance to reflect on who they truly are in the temple.

It is during both dawn and dusk, do the two sides of this coin mesh. His appearance is a clash of purple and white, and a calm personality emanates forth. Those at his temple during these hours have a chance to reflect on what they truly want.

The Fallen Goddess - A Journey of Heroes

Cyterius Yranov

Name: Cyterius Yranov

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Race: Human

Appearance:

Face

Tan-skinned with an average body build. He has green eyes, and short black hair that tends to get messy from the hood he usually wears. When not wearing his usual armor, he wears a white shirt and leather pants with a brown leather hooded cloak with a black silhouette of a Falcon etched onto the back

Personality:

Quiet, Calculative, Cynical. These would be the words to describe Cyterius by his friends. He maintains a practical and realistic worldview, not putting much weight on goodwill or that people won’t have some underlying agenda. He’s not one to take old tales of heroism and legends at face value, always trying to see characters from the perspective that a person of their time would. He’s the kind of person that would willingly let others die if their deaths served an important purpose or a greater good. The exception to that however would be his close friends in the Luna Falcons; a small group of men and women who he grew up with and faced countless dangers alongside. Cyterius doubts he has it in himself to let them die if there was even a remote chance of saving them. In combat, Cyterius keeps his cool, and remains calm and collected as he analyzes the situation and the danger he is presented with. He thinks and processes information faster than most of his peers, trusting logic more than instincts or feelings, which make him more suited to a tactician and scout/spy role than a frontline fighter.

Call him stupid? Cyterius doesn’t care, he’s busy thinking of the most efficient way to rout your forces and remove you from the equation

History:

Born to a poor family, Cyterius lost his parents early on as they were locked away by the Kyrantian Guard when they tried to steal from a particularly influential merchant at the market district. He was left alone on the streets, though his parents had helped him by teaching him how to survive off the scraps of the street, and to steal what he needed. He eventually found a sense of belonging and brotherhood from a group of street children led by a large kid named Samson Karinus. Their small group of 6 shared food and money together, helping each other survive the cruel realities of their urban environment. One day, they were approached by a relatively famous Bounty Hunter who went only by the name “Sicario” who was tracking a few of his targets in Kyrantes. When he encountered the street children, he enlisted their help by paying them to spy on his targets, and cause distractions wherever it was needed to buy him time to either capture or kill his marks, depending on what the bounty asked.

Cyterius and the other children enjoyed working for him, and liked the amount of money they got as a share from Sicario’s earnings. The bounty hunter in turn liked the kids and their moxie and took them under his wing. Though they began doing the same tasks they did once before, they eventually became full-fledged bounty hunters as they grew, inter-dependent with each other’s skills, as efficient in the shadowy savannahs and in the tight crowds of cities; no target would ever remain out of their sight for long. After their master Sicario chose to go into retirement, Cyterius took on the overall leader role for the group, with Samson acting as his right-hand and leading the others as they liked and trusted Samson more. They continued their activities as the Luna Falcons, furthering their reputation as a feared group of hunters for those who had the misfortune of being marked as targets for collection by the authorities of the League’s settlements. When mercenaries hired by a crime group went after Sicario in the solitary home he had retired in and killed their old master, they sought revenge. They went on a bloody campaign of abduction, torture, and killing of the members of the slave-trafficking ring that carried out Sicario’s murder. Those who survived were left battered and broken in the streets of their home cities, with a note telling the local authorities that the Luna Falcons will not ask for any payment for the capture of the criminals.

The current Grand Vizier, Kardael Rutallamah had long followed the feats an career of the Luna Falcons, and had been considering how useful it would be to have a group such as that, at the beck and call of Kyrantes. While the Kyrantian Guard and The League’s warriors were more than a match for foreign enemies, domestic ones required a more delicate application of force. This was something he knew the Falcons could deliver. He sent them an offer to permanently buy their services, tying them to The League’s service, and make them the head of an official Bounty Hunter guild that was to be formed should they accept.

Cyterius was wary of such an offer, fearing that doing so would give up the control they had to pick their own targets, and would be subservient to the whims of the nobility of The League. After consulting with his friends, and all of them speaking to Kardael to negotiate the terms of their deal, they eventually accepted. However, it was on the condition that all targets sanctioned with being hunted, were to be made public knowledge after the capture or kill, along with the names of the people who approved it. Cyterius thought this would be a sensible way to keep the power of the fledgling Guild from being abused.

The Luna Falcons served as the head of the newly-formed “Crescent Hunters” Guild, with the Falcons acting as both their elite, and the trainers of aspiring Bounty Hunters. For 3 years Cyterius had organized the administration and training of the Guild, when the call came for a representative from each of the Seven Kingdoms to go forth and investigate the disappearance of Rofella, the Goddess of War. The League at first considered sending one of their experienced military commanders to act as their representative, but the Grand Vizier argued that such an undertaking was not necessarily a military one, and would require someone adept at gathering information, understanding the situation, and acting with initiative depending on what the circumstances demanded. This, he said, was something suited to the special skills of Cyterius and his Falcons.

Equipment:

• Salvo-Arm: A staple of the Luna Falcons, and then later on the Crescent Hunters Guild, it is a wrist-mounted, magazine-fed custom crossbow that fires by flicking the wrist downward, with a leather strap that is tied to the palm of the hand. Each magazine holds 5 bolts but can be quickly reloaded. Has a tendency to jam with improper wrist movement, needing to pull the wrist upright quickly after firing to reset the string before the next bolt is pushed in by the spring in the magazine
• Light armor with thin metal plating on the torso, arms, and legs, but leather on joints and thighs. Allows quick and agile movement while providing protection from indirect blows.
• Flying Snares: Throwable Bolas With two weights on each side. Used for both tying around a victim’s leg, or hitting them in the head with the spinning weights to disorient
• Officer’s Talon: a Curved Saber Primarily used by the horse-mounted military officers of their home region
• Man-Traps: A variation of a bear trap used by the Crescent Hunters. Using a pressure pad in the middle, a vise snaps closed around a victim’s leg. Digging into flesh with small spikes to keep it attached. Cannot be unwound without their unique master-key for their Man-Traps. Often has a chain attached to a tree or other anchor to keep the target in one place

Forces:

The Kyrantian Skirmishers

The Skirmishers are an elite light horse cavalry unit fielded by Kyrantes itself. Created with the intent of harrying and whittling down enemy forces long before they were close enough to besiege their towns and cities, the Kyrantian Skirmishers are trained from early on to ride and fight in the wilds a long way from home or any support from other soldiers of The League. Hence, they have extensive survival skills alongside their combat skills, though are more used to the dry environments of their homeland. The horses of Kyrantes, though not as fast as horses of other lands, are as tough and resilient as The League itself, often outperforming other breeds in terms of endurance and pain tolerance. Every Skirmisher has a special bond with their horse, training with them from the moment they are inducted into the unit. A rider and their horse are expected to always fight together, and eventually die together on the battlefield. Each member of the skirmishers specializes in one of 3 different weapon types, and are trained to utilize each on horseback: Sword, Spear, and Bow.

The unit sent with Cyterius is composed of 15 Swordsmen, 15 Spearmen, and 20 Archers, totalling up to 50 riders strong. Each type fills in a role for the Skirmishers’ combat tactics. The Spearmen are often the first ones in the fight, there to break and scatter enemy formations and go head-to-head against enemy cavalry. They utilize a unique polearm that allows them to both stab and slash at enemies, allowing a degree of versatility when engaging foes. The swordsmen utilize long curved blades, akin to the Officer’s Talon. Their duty is to assault and pick off scattered enemy infantry, usually after the Spearmen have charged. They are also capable of attacking enemy infantry formations on their own to slaughter them quickly, if scattering them isn’t necessary. The archers’ role varies depending on the situation. They can pick off stragglers of a retreating enemy. They can lay down a volley of fire to thin out large numbers of enemy forces, rapidly changing positions after each volley, thanks to their horses, to avoid counter-attack from enemy archers. They can ride around an open battlefield, using their arrows to scare and shepherd enemy forces into specific areas, making them easy pickings for the Swordsmen and Spearmen.

Though they are trained to operate independently of settlements or friendly forces, the Skirmishers are interdependent on each other’s skills in order perform their role as a hit-and-run cavalry unit. A group of skirmishers composed of only one weapon type are considered combat-ineffective and are told in training that they should return where they came from to be reinforced, before being sent out again.

Luna Falcons:

Other than the Kyrantian Skirmishers, Cyterius is never without his trusted friends in the Luna Falcons. Together they form a highly effective scout and sabotage unit. Skilled in both gathering intelligence on any opponent, and experienced in tracking down and subduing singular targets.

• Cyterius Yranov – Trapper/Tactician
• Nischa Ariteni – Blade dancer
• Percival Yariq – Alchemist/Poisoner
• Samson Karinus- Tank/Brawler
• Valeria Junaqea - Ranger specialist
• Darius Hutzal - Stealth/Assassin expert

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Benny wasn't keen on stepping back into the meeting room with the Alliance jarheads, but they all needed to be briefed on the plan. Stepping back inside with the others and leaning against the wall, he listened to the more detailed info given by their leader and the Alliance lapdogs.

"Target two, Quinlan Kifear... He's military. A high-ranking commander of the Shrekeer. There's a military supply depot on Teravainen, he's scheduled to make an appearance there and inspect the place. Sergeant Gunnarson will be leading an assault squad to attack the depot. Standard formations and all of that. Collateral damage will be a bonus. Stryker, the team?" Captain asked.

"Benny, Tobi, Sadaet, Henry, Harriet and Varrus." Stryker replied.

Benny raised an eyebrow at his assignment. Direct attacks were never really his thing, but the prospect of watching a military base go up in flames... excited him, and made him feel a pleasant twitch in his organic arm. Now with his undivided attention, he paid attention to the rest of the briefing up until the conclusion.

"We've got a couple of days before the targets arrive, but there's a lot of work to be done. Grayson, I need you to tune up all the guns. Amy, the Federation may still be working on old broadcasting stations and using codes from your time, can you get on signal analysis, see if you can turn up any extra intel? Benny, we're gonna need explosives, and lots of them. Sadaet, we're going to need a few mobile hack kits, that something you can rig together? Varrus and Harriet, prep some med kits. Everyone else, we're gonna be doing daily combat training. That'll be all for now."

Benny nodded when Stryker called him out. "I'll get to work on makin' what we need. Do we want a few charges with a big wallop? Or are we going with dozens o' smaller Timmies?" Benny asked. Stryker turned towards him before replying with "A bit of both. We'll need something with a lot of kick for a few things, but we also need a lot of diversionary explosions"

Benny nodded with a wicked smile. "As long as the rest o' the team's smart enough ta' stay clear of a blast zone, consider tha' place a junkyard" He replied as he went out of the war room to make ready

Preparations Underway

[A Collaboration between me and @iTem]

Throughout the week, Benny had gotten busy crafting his explosive arsenal in preparation for the big operation. It wasn’t difficult to make both standard charges with conventional items stocked in the Revenant, and IED’s with more unusual parts he found lying about, but in the end he felt he had enough ordnance to level the ship if placed correctly.

Now came for the other concern, which was talking to Matija to examine her gear for the sake of Harrison’s jetpack idea. He wasn’t sure yet if he would use it himself, but the idea piqued his interest. The problem however, was he was pretty sure she still hated his guts. He decided it would be best if he asked Koren to speak to her on their behalf. It just seemed safer for the whole group’s well-being.

The man approached Koren on the dormitory hallway. It was no surprise for the Juz’ to see Benny there since their room is next to theirs so the young man greeted Benny with a casual “Hey.”

“Hi so uhh… ya remember that thing with Harrison’s jetpacks, aye?” He asked, getting straight to the point of his visit. Koren looked at him curiously and nodded. “Yeah?”

”Yeah uhh, we needed Matija to share her gear’s specs with us for that right? As ye said. So… Think ya could ask her fer it?”

Koren shook his head in response. “Nah. You have to ask her yourself. She’s in our room right now. Anyway, see ya.” With that the Juz’ left, leaving Benny flabbergasted at the direct and cold reply.

”Well fuck ya too, blue boy…” he muttered as he went towards their room. Taking a deep breath before knocking on the door and waiting for them to answer. Matija was quick to open the door, muttering “Ya forgot your tools again, K- Oh.” She stared at Benny for a moment, seemingly confused on why he would grace her with his presence. “Wait. Why are you here?” she asked while placing herself in the door’s opening and another hand kept the door close to her side.

He sighed before responding. ”Okay… I know yer probably just trying not ta’ tell me to fuck off, right now, but… me Koren and Harrison have this little side-project ongoing before tha’ mission. And… we were hopin’ you could help us by err… letting us examine yer gear,” he said, getting to the point so as to avoid the awkwardness that was nagging at him from their meeting. Matija paused, then quirked a manicured eyebrow up. “That’s it? Okay,” she said nonchalantly.

He was looking away as she spoke, and he had to do a double-take at how quickly she responded positively to their request. ”W-wait that’s it? No… bargaining? No askin’ fer any favors or demandin’ anything?” he asked, in legitimate surprise. The confusion made Matija look away, almost annoyed at how stupid the question is before she started laughing mirthlessly. “Heheheh! Yeah of course… NOT!” The Mecorian’s tone changed into something more abrasive by the end. “Why the fuck would I let you or your friends, especially you, to touch my shit? Are you retarded?!” With that she tries to shut the door, hard, at his face.

His eyes widened at the sudden rant, and as she tried to shut the door he quickly pulled up Skelly and held it open, keeping her from shutting it, and exerting a lot of pressure on it to stop her slam. Matija on the other hand was trying to shut the door despite Skelly’s superior power on it. She hissed a “That’s fuckin’ unfair! Let go!” while slapping Skelly off and hissing other expletives at him.

”Okae fine! Fuck me fer thinkin it was actually that easy then! But is there really nothin’ I can do ta’ get ya to change yer mind? Don’t need anything I can make fer your job in the mission?” He said quickly, keeping Skelly in place. She responded with a deadpan look of done-ness and groaning before recovering and grinning. “Weeell...” she started, “You cain get on yer knees an’ ask for forgiveness for bein’ a douche ta me,” she finished.

Benny’s eyes widened again at that, and his expression flashed from surprise to anger, with Skelly squeezing onto where they held the door, causing a small dent. ”If… if I fuckin’ do this… you’ll let us look at the gear?” he asked, through gritted teeth at the audacity of her reply, asking him to basically shove his pride up his own ass.

Matija leaned on the door frame, letting Benny have his way with the door, she didn’t want it anyway. “Hmm… yeah. I’ll let ya look through my gear. I’ll even list all the mods that I’ve done and gone with it. What do ya say?” She had crossed her arms, and waited smugly for the bomber’s reply.

Benny looked down, taking a couple of deep breaths, taking Skelly’s hand off the door slowly and lowering it, though its palm remained in a claw-like position and seemed to be twitching at the fingers. ”fff-fine…” he said, taking a step back and knelt down slowly. ”I’m…” he started, hissing from the mental strain he was exerting on himself to do what she asked, and to keep his robotic arm from responding to the signals in his brain willing him to just deck her. ”I’m… sss… sorry fer… bein’ a douche… he continued, bringing his other organic hand to clasp onto Skelly as he made hissing breaths. ”Please… fff… forgive me…” he finished. She harrumphed and stepped closer to him, “..an’ for forgetting prior commitments to me,” she added for him to copy.

He inhaled deeply again before continuing. ”An’... fff-forgettin’ commitments to ya…” He said, Skelly’s palm now on the floor, making more twitches with their fingers. Matija watched Benny and Skelly, noting that the robotic hand tended to be erratic when he’s emotional, and finally sighing. “See? That wasn’t so bad,” she said as she gave him an assuring pet on the head. Benny felt himself burn up with embarrassment at the seemingly condescending gesture. ”Oh fuck off… he muttered under his breath. “C’mon in. I’ll list the modifications for you. The hell do you need it for anyway?” she said as she finally gave him room to enter when she did.

Benny took some more deep breaths, as he stood up, Skelly now being calmer as well. ”It was… Koren’s idea really. We needed a harness system to base off a… compact jetpack design on. He said yours was probably our best bet,” he said as he stepped inside, looking around her room. “Huh… I guess that’s true… I did a lot of trial an’ error with mine an’ the concept’s the same. I guess,” she said as she opens an app on her holo with a flick of her left wrist while her right hand reached out for a plasteel box that contained her gear from under her bed. She sent a list of modifications and even some old notes of hers when she made her gear towards Benny and opened the box with the other. “You gonna take this with you or..?” Matija asked, looking at Benny for a response while asking through gestures if he’s going to just look her armor over in their room.

He examined the gear as she took it out, taking note at what parts of it he could make sense of, and some that seemed to have more exotic modifications. Regardless, it certainly didn’t resemble any kind of military-grade gear he’d ever seen or stolen. He decided he’d have to refer to the list that she had sent him. “Might need to look this over in the lab… Just ta’ emulate how the harness works. I’ll call Koren an’... I guess ya can come with if ya want…” He said, thinking how he wouldn’t trust other people with his gear without his supervision. Matija shrugs at his suggestion but she found it comforting. “Ain’t got nothin’ to do before we get there, anyway. I’m still waitin’ on more intel if there’s any.” She gestured at Benny to place her armor back in its crate before closing it and awkwardly drumming her fingers on top of the lid. “Ya… cain’t really see how it works unless it’s worn, you know… Er… I-if it’s for Koren... well, I guess I won’t... mind puttin’ it on,” she said with her voice weakening with every word while avoiding eye contact.

Benny found himself momentarily surprised by her suggestion, before slightly blushing upon realizing she was offering to be examined to study the suit. ”O-oh… Uhh… I guess that would help a lot with the data… Would take a lot less simulation and calculation…” He said turning away from her. ”I’ll uhh… give ya room to change then?” Matija tapped her fingers on the lid again before nodding. “Yeah. Get out,” she said finally with a smile.

The rest of their “day” aboard the ship was spent with the trio of Benny, Matija, and Koren, running tests and simulations of movement in the lab, taking advantage of the large containment chamber in the middle as it seemed to have various scanners in place within it for examining any organism that may have been contained inside, using it to see how her body and muscles reacted to the suit, and taking notes on how they could emulate it with the jetpack design. Benny decided it was best not to call Harrison for this as Matija was not on good terms with them either, and Koren’s presence was probably the only thing that was keeping her cooperative with the various tests they were running.

The research continued til the next day, and between the two of them, they seemed to already have a working simulated model of an improvised jetpack design that wouldn’t fuck up their bodies at high speeds and sudden turns. All that was left was to construct it, and, if there was enough time before the mission, test it out.

Harrison showed themselves to be particularly useful in helping cobble together their designs using anything that was on hand, and with all 3 of them working on it, they managed to make a functional model that could be tested in the cargo bay. Naturally, Matija was the best candidate for it, given her natural agility. Harrison volunteered very eagerly to try it out, and while Benny and Koren weren’t opposed to potentially seeing their chattery crewmate fly straight into a wall, they figured Matija would be able to give the most useful test results from her better body control.

Surprisingly, the harness worked well enough, though the thruster controls had a bit of response-lag, but it was understandable given its improvised nature. It would at least serve the purposes of short-term flight which was Harrison’s original idea and purpose for the gadget. Using what was left of the week, they quickly created 4 more identical copies of the jetpack, one for each person who contributed to the device, even Matija. ”Neva’ know when ye’ll need a quick getaway in that undercover op o’ yers”

With most of their gear now in order, they made their last minute checks on their roles and missions, studying data on the location of their operaitons along with potential threats as the day of the operation closed in

ONE WEEK LATER...

Benny was putting on his armored suit and securing the locks on it within his room. The week had been a lot more exciting and productive than he had thought. He glanced at the ramshackle-looking jetpack in the corner of his room and grinned, thinking back to all that they had gone through to make that shitty-looking thing. Once his suit was one, he grabbed it, and secured the harness around his body, moving around a bit to get used to the weight of it. He had tested it out a bit in the cargo bay along with the others after Matija’s successful flying, just to make sure he wouldn’t be flying wild when he did have to use it in the field. He was glad he did because the feeling of individual flight was disorienting as Hell, but yet the thrill of it made him feel giddy in the air.

With that secure, he began packing his chosen explosives for the mission. He had around 4 high-power charges for things that just really had to go up in smoke, while carrying around a dozen small-time explosive charges to make noise and cause havoc. Get one of these next to an ammo stash or fuel reserve and I can cause some real damage… he mused, causing a wicked smile to form on his face upon imagining the catastrophic results.

He had already planned and marked potential areas as good spots for setting off charges based on the rough satellite map data of the military depot in order to maximize confusion. So long as they weren’t detected by the guards before things started exploding around them.

Due to the amount of explosive ordnance he was carrying, he had little room for grenades to carry. He grabbed 2 Incendiary grenades and 2 EMP grenades as his throwables, mainly for temporarily suppressing and removing potential threats in the mission, while he packed only 4 HE grenades for his rifle’s underslung grenade launcher. To free up space for these, he only carried 2 extra magazines in spare ammunition for his gun. He was hoping his allies would do most of the shooting for him while he took care of turning the military base into a blasted wasteland.

With his arsenal packed and secured in his equipment pack, his grenades and spare mags attached to the front of his torso, his helmet in one hand, and his RWC-BR7 in the other, he jogged outside to join up with the rest of his assigned team in the ship’s shuttle bay to get ready for the drop. He hoped to pass by Matija or maybe Koren on the way, to get a few parting words with them before they all went off to unleash their own brand of mayhem across this sorry planet.

Sure as shit hope the rest of these bastards prepared for this as much as I have, or I’ll kill ‘em myself…

Tags

Not sure if I missed any @iTem @superservo27 @BKburke @TheEvanCat @Strange Rodent

The Fallen Goddess - A Journey of Heroes

@Mistress Dizzy In the original version of this story, I had made this desert kingdom as part of the origin story for my set of characters. I was thinking of keeping it the same in this version so if you'd like, we can either have 2 separate Desert kingdoms, or combine our ideas into one. We can discuss more in PM if you'd like!