VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

While Sir Renar's blunt attitude wasn't the most reassuring, at the same time at their core his words had managed to get through in some respect.

Sir Rickert shouldn't have died. That much was certain. That much couldn't be forgotten going forward.

But at the same time, at the very least, he died for a cause. He died fighting to defeat ruthless, murdering bandits and protect the people of Thaln.

Fanilly took a deep breath, glancing down towards her wine for a few moments a she did. If a knight had to fall, at least falling for the sake of their homeland was a meaningful death, no matter how brutal. She wasn't sure if she found this entirely comforting or not, but at the same time perhaps Sir Rickert was the sort of person who would have wanted to die for such a purpose, if he had to die.

She couldn't say for certain, but somehow it felt as if it may have been true.

"... If nothing else, the goddesses will look upon him warmly for his deeds," she said, finally, before taking another small sip of her wine. "And the people who may have suffered without him, too..."

Fanilly inhaled deeply, then exhaled, feeling some of the tension in her slim frame dissipate.

She wasn't entirely prepared for the change of topic, but it only took her a moment to collect her thoughts and respond.

"I've had my maids organizing paperwork for me to look through," she answered, "It's tedious, but it hasn't been so bad. I think the senior knights mostly did a fine job of keeping things in order, though I guess there's still a few things they're looking for. I'm thankful to my tutors, I wouldn't have been able to handle any of this without them."

Even with the lessons in administration she'd received, that side of handling the order had seemed just as daunting as the military and symbolic parts of her role. But the paperwork had thankfully been easier to understand then she'd feared, and there were other officials within the order who were there to assist with communicating the necessary information to her, such as the order's Treasurer.

@Psyker Landshark@Rune_Alchemist

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Ah, they'd ended up here already...

Fanilly was of course aware Candaeln had a wine cellar, but she certainly hadn't expected to be down there so soon. Just drinking alcohol now, was it really okay?

Still having yet to remove her armor, the Knight-Captain shifted awkwardly as she watched Dame Cecilia simply open a cask and begin drinking in a rapid-fire fashion.

At the very least Fanilly knew that definitely wasn't what she should be doing. It was a few moments later that Sir Renar retrieved a bottle and poured some for her as well. It was red, and while Fanilly's knowledge of alcoholic beverages was very limited she at least had a vague idea of what that meant.

And, thankfully, she knew what to do with wine before drinking it, swirling it briefly before taking a sniff. She had absolutely no clue how to interpret the scent, but at least she knew this was what someone was meant to do when drinking wine.

She listened to Sir Renar for a moment, still idly swirling the glass of wine as she did.

Wasn't it her job to keep control of the battle as much as she could?

It wasn't as if she could fully control everything. She'd studied military strategy, been tutored in warfare in preparation for her role. She knew that much was entirely impossible. But at the same time, these were the Iron Rose Knights, weren't they? Against bandits...

The monstrous figure of Jeremiah loomed in her mind. Her neck felt a little sore again, and after a moment's hesitation she took a sip of the wine.

It was sweeter then she expected, easier to drink then the last and only time she'd had wine prior.

"... I know," Fanilly said, quietly, after a pause, "I know it's impossible to control every element of the battlefield. Even Saledrin of Talderia wasn't able to do something like that. But..."

Her gaze drifted downwards.

"... Sir Rickert shouldn't have had to die..."

@Psyker Landshark@Rune_Alchemist

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

They thought she did well? Even though one of the Knights had died under her command?

She couldn't believe it. Not really. Even if she was told as much, there was no way the Captain of the Iron Rose Knights should be losing anyone to bandits.

Was there?

Fidgeting slightly on her feet, Fanilly averted her eyes. She was still in her armor. She hadn't even taken it off yet, not when she'd gone right to the shrine.

It was undeniable that they'd prevented many more people from suffering by crushing the Bandit King and his troop. The man would not have stopped, and would have claimed many more lives then that of Sir Rickert. But could she really feel happy about a victory when it cost the life of one of her knights?

She was pulled from her thoughts once more when Dame Cecilia went so far as to put an arm around her, nearly jumping with surprise. The poke to her cheek didn't help, either.

"A-a toast?" Fanilly questioned in surprise as she suddenly found herself being dragged from the shrine before she had quite the presence of mind to put up a resistance, "Ah, but surely there's business to attend to...!"

She'd only ever tasted minimal amounts of alcohol before! Surely the Knight-Captain indulging during the day like this would be unbecoming, wouldn't it?!

@Rune_Alchemist@Psyker Landshark

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Sir Renar hadn't done more then an exaggerated, half-joking cough. The Knight-Captain had to be made of stern stuff. Thus, she couldn't let the spice keep getting to her. Fanilly took another deep breath, attempting to close out the lingering burning sensation as best she could. She hadn't spoken up in time to prevent Sir Renar from falling victim to the prank pastries, but at the same time she didn't seem to have needed to.

Coughing slightly in a bid to clear the spice again, she took a deep breath. By no means could the Knight-Captain go around distributing these spicy pastries. It just wasn't appropriate!

On the note of the prior mission, however, the petite blonde's mood sobered once more. The spice was fading, and even if it hadn't it couldn't serve as an effective distraction from the matter any longer.

"The Bandit King is dead, but none of our number should have fallen," she responded, "Sir Rickert should have been standing among us today."

She had to perform better next time. She had to.

@Psyker Landshark@Rune_Alchemist

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

@ArkmageddonCat: In that case, feel free to ask as many questions as you like, my co-GMs and myself will help in any way we can.

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

... Had she done something wrong?

Her intention was to further their cause. By taking this Fomorian, physically unimposing as she was, as a prisoner. Surely, the information they could learn from her would be valuable, wouldn't it?

And yet the Queen's reaction...

Not that Fio cared if the Queen was angry at her or anything like that! Far from it! Besides, her nature still wasn't completely confirmed! And...

Fio clutched her fists at her sides, taking a deep breath.

What's done was done. She had already come this far and taken this prisoner back, there was no backtracking simply because of Sorcha's reaction.

Besides, she had preparations to make.

The most concise manner of reaching her goal involved water. While the stars could also be of assistance, and would have been her preferred method, given the prisoner's position in a tightly-sealed dungeon it was far easier to get water down there then starlight. Then she had to spend some time purifying it, ensuring its quality was high enough for what she intended.

Then it was a matter of getting some assistance to bring a huge, shallow container of purified water down into the dungeon. She obviously had no way of doing it on her own, after all.

This wasn't even halfway through.

Next came the chalk. First, the circles around the prisoner. Carefully, carefully drawing them out, taking advantage of the fact the Fomorian was so restrained she couldn't move to construct her elaborate ritual symbol. Then, the same process once again, this time surrounding the water. Needless to say, she was thankful this type of chalk was resistant to liquids.

This process was dangerous. But it also meant that lying was virtually impossible. Their prisoner would have no ability to hide the truth from her.

Navigating to find said truth, on the other hand, would be somewhat more difficult.

Next was what she had to do to prepare herself. The cursed nature of a fomorian made this process dangerous. But counteracting that curse before it even had an opportunity to potentially affect her would be the ideal countermeasure.

As such, Fio's next path was to remove all her clothing but her undergarments(demanding no-one enter the room once she had) and painting purification sigils directly onto her skin. Using a mirror, she painted them everywhere she could manage. Her arms, her legs, her belly... the only place she couldn't reach effectively was her back. Her belly especially tickled, but she managed to keep herself under control.

Then she had to let it dry, as to ensure the water wouldn't wash it away.

Now for the final step.

The petite witch stood beside the water. She glanced at the heavily-restrained prisoner, then took a deep breath.

"Sura."

The blade materialized in the air above her head, floating and glowing with blue light.

"Oh deep pool, may I sink into the memories of another. May I be immersed in past thoughts, past feelings. May I see the truth that lies in what I have never seen. But she has."

The light from the blade began to shed, falling into the water below, imbuing it with a similar glow...

"... Submerge."

With that, she stepped into the water, lowering herself until she lay down, feeling its coolness against her skin...

She had taken every measure she possibly could, but she still had to be careful.

Fio would see everything she possibly could within the Fomorian's memories.

@Rune_Alchemist

Echoes of a Moonless Night

Well, this was certainly amusing. A cavalcade of beasts, largely native to this land but a few notable foreigners like herself. The succubus was of particular intrigue, but the hulking demon man was certainly not uninteresting as well. Mina regarded them for a few moments, cocking her head with a small sigh as Sanae introduced her.

Still, she didn't bother to introduce herself once it was already done, preferring instead to regard those around her. The assortment of contracted people... it was a shame she couldn't get a taste of that girl with the demon man. She had a distinct impression she would have particularly delicious blood, but at the moment there was little chance of such a thing occurring. Thankfully, she did have a source of quite delicious-scented meals already.

If Sanae wasn't going to drink while they were united, then she had to bear the consequences.

The fact that they were already going to perform a job, the tall woman dispensing her order to come along without the slightest respect for Mina's status, was somewhat frustrating. But on the other hand, the pallid little girl did feel this was an opportunity to perhaps push Sanae into being less of an utter fool.

If they had to be contracted, the least she could do was that much.

The fussing over putting her seatbelt on was something Mina could most certainly do without.

"Have you forgotten so swiftly that I'm not a child?" she commented, cocking her head to one side, "Or were you just eager to lay hands on me once again? Are you perhaps lonely?"

Mina's lips curled into a smirk.

"Regardless, you'll be getting a demonstration of what I am once again soon. You so clearly need one, after all."

@RolePlayerRoxas@Raineh Daze@Zeroth

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

@ArkmageddonCat: I think you should be good as long as you keep this stuff in mind? Sorry for the late response!

Echoes of a Moonless Night

Kawano Akane

Sometimes she regretted helping her partner set up for streaming. It clearly made the gashadokuro happy, no matter how expressionless she usually seemed, but sometimes it was a problem.

This was one of those times.

They had a job. They had work to do. And yet she'd scheduled a marathon stream, starting the previous day, that had run all the way through the night and still wasn't over when she had looked in on Higasha today. It was madness. It wasn't as if Akane was completely unfamiliar with the concept of a marathon stream, but why did she have to do it the day before they went into work? How long was she planning on going for?! Akane had things to do, and those things didn't involve sitting around waiting for her partner to stop streaming!

When she'd barged into Higasha's room she'd been attempting to shill merchandise that didn't exist.

It took literally dragging the slim, pale girl away from her PC to get her moving. The chat seemed to be enjoying the experience at least. Akane had even glimpsed a few superchats come up during the intervention.

She didn't pretend to know why.

Still, it had taken considerable effort to even make Higasha budge from her streaming schedule, and in the time it had taken to do so, they were almost certainly late.

"Of course."

The tomboyish girl sighed heavily, glancing back at the pale figure walking along behind her as they reached the doors.

"You better apologize with me, you know."

With that, she made her way inside, bowing apologetically immediately as she entered(and grabbing Higasha's head to force her to do the same).

"Sorry we're late, there was a-"

She paused for a moment. How to put this? Her partner's ridiculous behavior was the entire reason they weren't showing up to work on time.

"... scheduling conflict," she said, glancing towards Higasha again with a heavy sigh.

It wasn't just a job. It was her potential path to finding out what happened with her older sister. So screwing up like this really really wasn't ideal.

@RolePlayerRoxas@PKMNB0Y

Echoes of a Moonless Night

Mina "Tepes"

• Name: Mina "Tepes"
• Race: Vampire
• Age: 556, appears about 10 currently
• Appearance: "The fact you think this would be satisfying for me isn't amusing." She is around 4'3 or 129 cm in height.
• Personality: Cruel. Capricious. Cold. All of these words describe the vampire who goes by Mina Tepes. She is unconcerned with human life, and far more driven by her own amusement. Killing the enemy? It comes naturally. And there's hardly a reason to concern herself with the average person, is there? In fact, if they can prove valuable as a meal, why not take a drink? Indeed, Mina Tepes is a cruel and callous girl who sees those around her a meal, or a tool for her amusement. Or at least, that's how it was not so long ago. Her recent defeat has left her severely weakened. While she is still capable of some forms of fighting, it is nothing compared to her prior power. She has begrudgingly acknowledged her need for a contract to reliably sustain herself. It can be said that, in a clinical manner, she is quite protective of her contracted human, if only to ensure her own survival. She also seeks venegeance on the one responsible for her loss of power. In spite of her circumstances, she remains high-handed and arrogant, and prone to mocking others, though she can be perfectly personable if required. Perhaps it is due to her upbringing as a noblelady. She bears a sadistic streak, and finds her partner's unwillingness to kill(or even drain) others while they are Resonant quite irritating. Still, in spite of all this cruelty, this cold demeanor, can it truly be said there is nothing else to the vampire? That she bears no other feelings in her heart but her own self-interest? Certainly, she acts as such. However...
• Abilities: Even after losing much of her personal power, Mina Tepes is highly dangerous to the average person. She is stronger and faster then she appears, traits which are imparted to the girl who shares her contract. As a vampire, her body can regenerate from significant damage. But after losing much of her power and much of her body, she is far more reliant on Ether(and fresh blood) to maintain this healing ability and continue to survive. As a monster of human origin, her resistance to the corruptive and parasitic nature of Grudges is more akin to a human being's as well. If not for her severely depowered state, she would not require a contract to fight them. When in Resonant state, due to the constant flow of blood and ether, the united form of both contracted girls manifests unrestricted healing ability as long as the brain and heart are at least half intact, similar to the abilities she once possessed. Her primary form of offense is the use of blood, her own or that shed by others, to form projectiles and weapons that she may wield. Due to the high levels of ether she once possessed due to frequent feedings over hundreds of years, she was also capable of firing her magical energy as a "Moonlight Cannon", in an offensive form akin to a laser. This is no longer possible for her, at least currently. Finally, there is a discrepancy in her blood, ever since she was defeated, that she cannot put her finger on. Whatever its nature may be, she has yet to discover...
• Skills: Due to her upbringing and her long life, Mina is well-educated and versed in a variety of subjects. However, she is not very likely to share knowledge without being prompted, as watching others struggle to figure something out she already knows amuses her. Her practical skills are woefully lacking due to a lack of necessity.
• History: Once upon a time, a little girl was born very sickly. Her parents, no matter how their riches, how much power they wielded, were unable to prevent her condition from worsening with each passing day. No-one expected her to make it beyond her tenth birthday. She could no longer leave her bed, and every hour her breathing grew more shallow, more painful. They had prepared long for this. They had already purchased a coffin. But then, a miracle occurred. An implausible, impossible event.
  A mysterious stranger offered to save their daughter's life, to cure her illness. He didn't even ask for payment.
  How could they reject such an offer, even if it was a fool's hope?
  As it turned out, his promise wasn't empty. After only a short time with their daughter, her breathing suddenly became better. She was able to sit up and talk again, and soon she could even get out of bed.
  But something was different. The sun hurt her, she described it like it was burning her. Her eyes were red. Her teeth, her canines specifically, had become sharp. Like a pair of fangs.
  The stranger left without explaining what he had done, but her parents were soon able to figure it out. Their beloved daughter had become a vampire. Her life was saved by twisting her into a creature of the night. But they didn't reject their daughter. Instead, they embraced her, and tried to build a life for her. Tithes of blood from their subjects became commonplace, and servants were made to serve as her meals, given benefits for keeping quiet about their role in maintaining her life. Among them was a young servant girl from a local family, of the same age as their daughter. Not merely a provider of blood, but a companion for a girl who couldn't step outside during the day.
  There was a revolt. Perhaps it was because the people had discovered their their daughter's nature. Perhaps it was because of mismanagement of their lands and people. Perhaps it was both. Regardless, their home burned, and the girl's parents were slain before her eyes as they called her a monster. When her companion tried to defend her, she was slain too.
  They cut her. They burned her.
  A monster.
  They murdered her parents. Her friend. They caused her so much pain. And they called her a monster?
  Then she'd be a monster.
  The girl was stronger, faster, then even an adult man. Her injuries mended in seconds, no matter how severe. She didn't need skill to overpower the rebels.
  They were all dead by morning. Every single one. The town was empty of all life, except for the girl.
  She was a monster now.
  Hundreds of years passed, and she was a monster throughout them. If that was how people thought of her, then she would simply fulfill their expectations.
  A Living Curse was what they called her, and it was a title she came to embrace. While she could not grow naturally, by the manipulation of ether she was able to obtain an adult form, and she killed those she pleased and drank from anyone she desired.
  Those who tried to hunt her were killed, too.
  It was when, on a whim, she came to the land of Japan under a year ago, that all of this changed. A figure wielding a strange eastern blade found her one night after she had drank her fill, and attacked her. Their fight was long and intense, but in the end the blade cut her effortlessly, and when she attempted to regenerate she was cut again and again. Entire sections of her body became useless, destroyed, and she nearly faced true death. However, she managed to drag herself away, the figure having mysteriously vanished while she was unconscious, and regenerated what little remained of her body. She was weakened. She couldn't recover fully. Her adult form had been destroyed, returning her to childhood.
  It was quite recently, in a particularly dire situation, that she forged a contract for the sake of her own survival, targeting a girl in a desperate situation.
  She'll have her revenge.
• Other: N/A

Kawano Akane

• Name: Kawano Akane
• Age: 18
• Appearance: "Is she streaming right outside the bathroom...?" Akane stands at about 157 cm/5'2.
• Personality: Outgoing and confident, Kawano Akane has a tomboyish disposition with a mild interest in sports and a tendency to dress in more boyish clothing. A straightforward person whose personality is reflective of a common sense approach to reality, even in spite of the fact she is surrounded by the unreal. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why she is an ideal match for the cloudy-minded and unusual girl who happens to also be a giant skeleton. While there is no denying she cares about Shiroyama "Higasha"(could she have tried to pick a real name at least?!), she often finds the girl exceptionally exasperating to deal with. Still, she's never had a single thought of making her leave. Even before they formed a contract. Akane is often at odds with people who appear to display a lack of common sense, in spite of her contracted yokai being precisely one of those sorts of people, and isn't about to hesitate to express her feelings in such situations. The straightman, some would say. Still, Akane isn't without her quirks. She has a secret adoration of adorable things, one that embarrasses her deeply if it's ever pointed out.
• Abilities: Her contract with "Higasha"(why is it so bad?!) permits Akane several exceptional abilities even when they are not in Resonant form. Her physical abilities are greatly enhanced, allowing her to deliver powerful blows and move very rapidly. She has o actively turn this off in order to actually engage in normal physical activity. She is more durable then she would appear, though does not receive any specific healing abilities. When in their Resonant form, Higasha becomes a somewhat smaller, spectral version of her skeletal self, acting as an immensely powerful melee attack that follows Akane's movements. She can also fire Higasha's fists off at range to strike more distant targets.
  Additionally, a Gashadokuro being "always hungry" translates to being able to eat a lot and never gain weight when contracted. Who knew?
• Skills: Akane is an agile and athletically capable girl even without the benefit of her contract. She's also more capable with technology then one might expect, having assisted "Higasha"(why?!) with her streaming setup. She's not sure this was a good idea.
• Equipment: Nothing out of the ordinary.
• History: Akane's life has been largely seemingly ordinary. She was born to a fairly normal family, the younger of two daughters. Her older sister, Hinako, was a friendly and good-natured person to whom Akane looked up to. As she grew older, she pursued the track club when she entered high school. Nothing particularly strange happened, though on one particular occasion she was forced to sit out due to a twisted ankle, deeply frustrating her on the day her entire family had shown up to watch. That was the last time she would see her elder sister, as well. After that, she seemed to vanish without a trace, and it was only recently that Akane discovered her elder sister had contracted a yokai and been doing some form of mysterious work. It was not long afterwards that she met a certain scantily-clad girl wandering in the cold during winter, and learned she was a gashadokuro.
  
  Soon enough, they had formed their own contract, and Akane pursued a line of work she hoped could lead to finding out more about her disappeared sister. Perhaps she'd even find out just where she was.
• Other: N/A