That AWFUL Guy

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

Sorry about the lull in activity. It won't happen again.

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

736 The flight to on the griffin had been fairly uneventful. In fact, the griffin seemed to not even acknowledge 736, briskly leaving at its first opportunity. It came as somewhat of a shock that no one reacted to 736's arrival. His appearance usually elicited some form of disgust or fear, but not so here. 736 was careful to note that, in fact, this place seemed to be much more cosmopolitan than the backwoods village he had once orbited. Truth be told, he was far from the strangest thing there. The message on the loudspeaker relayed the information to the student body, though it took its damn time about it. In addition, 736 was slightly taken aback. “What a paragon of consummate professionalism” he muttered in a deep, raspy voice. Only upon entering the designated facility was 736 struck by precisely the verisimilitude of the student body, seeming to pull the oddest outliers from every corner of both worlds. As 736 saw it, they were a perfect cross-section of extremes, ready to be observed and tested. 736 probably would have even smirked slightly, seeing the opportunities he had been granted to learn about the human condition, if his facial nerves hadn't been so sloppily assembled. On the subject of bizarre people, the figure that loomed over the crowd was no exception. Something about the child irritated 736, yet he couldn't help but find him intriguing. 736 made a mental note to inquire further. At Ier-Briar Thorn's request, 736 reached below his seat. There, he found a slip of paper (and around 80 dead spiders). The paper was slightly crumpled, as if it had been used for something else, a theory further supported by what appeared to be a crude drawing of 1/3 of a rabbit on the corner of the paper. Still, the largest detail was, naturally, the number 09, written hastily in pencil.

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

736 Morning preparations had never been a massive priority of 736's. The crack of dawn signaled little change in the isolated lab he called home. There was no need to make a bed. Flesh Golems do not sleep. There was no need to make breakfast. Flesh Golems do not eat. Hygene was of minimal concern. The caustic alchemical substances that spread their fumes through 736's bizzare, decrepit hovel made conventional bacteria a non issue. The building, the experiments and 736 himself eternally smelled of formaldahyde. There was little that could be done about it. In most cases, 736 wouldn't even notice the progression of the cycle of life outside. The sun rises, the sun sets, the people of the nearby villages wake up to whisper their gossip about the strange shack in the forrest that had been vacant for 3 years, but still belches forth a plume of smoke at seemingly random intervals. And 736 continued his studies. There were tests to run, books to read, notes to be organized, samples to be grown. There surely would not be enough hours in the day for him, had everything not seemed like one continuous day. That was not the case today. 736 remembered the event clearly. 72 hours prior, some sort of corvid had delivered to him a letter, informing him of a most fortuitous oportunity for further research and testing: enrolement in a program to train Gatekeepers. In his studies, the Gatekeepers had always caught 736's attention. They and they alone were the wardens of the Black Gale, a bridge between worlds, hosting strange fauna and governed by alien natural principals. 736 had a fair amount of academic knowledge in the way of psychology. Thus, he could identify his response to this prospect as "excitement". 736 had been cognisent of the fact that he could not transport all of his test subjects to the Academy with him. After being provided sufficient time to ponder, 736 determined that all that he really required were the basic supplies for testing: scalpels, microscopes, slides, etc. He would also need Blitzengiest, though 736 did not think of the amorphous green symbiote as luggage, or even a weapon. More of a pet, really. In all 6 years of his life, the curious little life form was the closest thing that 736 had ever had to a friend. Finally, 736 donned the cloak provided to him. 736's practical knowledge of society, limited though it may have been, made him aware that many of his peers would find the sight of a 2.5 meter tall, iron-studded mass of reanimated flesh disconcerting at best. Thus, he found it pertinent to obscure his rather aesthetically offputting form as best he could. Leaving his abode for the first time in recent memory, 736 found himself face to face with a creature that resembled a mish-mash of parts almost as arbitrary as himself. The beast in question was none other than a griffon. 736 knew that the Academy, prestegious establishment that it was, would provide some form of lavish transportation. After resigning himself to the fact that no, he did not have time to perform behavioral tests on this rare and spectacular creature, 736 mounted the griffon with little hesitation. Tests had shown that Blitzengiest could become a servicable flight membrane, should the need arrise. And with that, the beast let out a screech and began to ascend.

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

I believe that I speak for everyone when I say that the prospect of following up Jedly is rather daunting.

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

So, does this mean we should be figuring out partners/teams?

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

Alright, just spitballing here, but how about: ~ Lucis has 13 moons, each corresponding to a zodiac sign. ~ There are different kinds of afterlives for different species/cultures, each with their own designated guide (Valkyrie, Dullahan, Shinigami etc.) ~ Attempts to map the Black Gale have all failed ~ Earth's moon hosts only abandoned colonies ~ There is at least one Ancient Egypt-esque lost civilization in Lucis

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

Hmmm... kinda quiet around lately. Mind if I try to do some more worldbuilding?

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

I'm with Noster. Thanks! :)

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

Name:Experiment 736 Nicknames: 736, Rikhard Gender: Male Age: 6 (but with enough memories to function as an adult) Year: 1 Birthday: November 1st Sign: Scorpio Species: Flesh Golem Class: Fleshwarper: Uses alchemy and minor magics to create and alter organic matter. In effect, this makes him functionally a kind of combat engineer, but with grafts, viruses and homunculi instead of guns, bombs and turrets. In addition, he is capable of creating ichors to alter the biology of living things, (essentially mutagens), though his homunculi are the only things genetically unstable enough to use them. Unlike other, less specialized alchemists, he cannot concoct explosives or alter inorganic material. Weapon: Blitzengeist: A biologically engineered symbiote of 736's own design. Capable of generating electric shocks and transforming into various weapons. Has it's own animalistic intellect. World: Lucis Biography: Created by an Alchemist dedicated to understanding the spark of life, Experiment 736 spent his "childhood" as the favored creation of his "father", as he demonstrated the intelligence that his kin lacked. Upon his father's death at the hands of one of his own spawn, 736 took up his mantle to continue his work. Personality: While blessed with true sentience, some would even say brilliance, 736 reminds most who meet him quite quickly that he is not human. If he has emotions, he certainly doesn't display them in any way and cannot detect them in others. Though he attempts to do what he believes is right, he has no inborn sense of morality. Due to this, he will often say things that others find disturbing, albeit politely and articulately. He often makes references to the past lives of his body parts in conversation (thus why few people end up talking to him.) Weaknesses: As far as can be told, 736 does not possess an actual soul. Given his rather massive frame, he is also quite clumsy. Having spent more-or-less his entire life in his father's laboratory, he has no real concept of friendship and many people find his appearance and behavior more than slightly disturbing. Though he doesn't show it, perhaps the strongest emotion he has ever felt is the fear that his existence will turn out to be inconsequential and that he has no place in either world. Partner: None yet Strange Attributes: Causes unprotected electronic devices to go haywire in his presence, due to a combination of Blitzengeist's electricity generating powers and leftover magical interference from his own creation. All things considered this is fairly inconsequential, as most devices would have to be fairly cheap or badly damaged to be affected. Theme Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ksNWDKeBX4

Academy of the Arcane Artes [Reboot]

Alright, you make a fair point NW. I've altered his mutagens so that they only affect his homunculi.