Yankee

Cardinal Rift

Rhy̢thmia L̛ap̢şe҉u͘s

Moving through the Tower's wreckage

---

For a moment, neither thoughts nor breath moved through the two Lapeseans left behind in the broken bedroom. Melodia had gone through the portal - or what might be a portal but very well could have been some kind of miniature collapsed star that tore her molecule from molecule. Rhythmia and Vati stared at the dark void, speechless, before a distant scream from somewhere brought them out of their stunned bewilderment.

"My... my lady - !"

Vati made to jump in after his mistress but the remaining Lord of House Lapseus snatched him by the collar and threw him backwards into the room. She used a little more force than she'd intended, and the raven haired man was flung hard and landed among the busted furniture with a pained grunt. Without checking to make sure he was okay, Rhythmia looked back and forth between the portal and the vertical drop. Her body was tense and she breathed out hard through her nose, forcing herself to calm down. Her sister was alive. Even if she wasn't (she was), Rhythmia couldn't let Vati throw his life away, and she couldn't throw hers away either. It would be an insult to all the sisters had worked for over the years. It was worrying that Melodia didn't return, but it was alright - she was alive, somewhere. They were twins. She'd know.

Right?

"Lady Rhythmia!"

Ah, apparently Vati had climbed out of the pile of debris and was back at the doorway. He looked halfway between affronted and panicked, moving suspiciously toward the portal again. "We need to go after her! She-"

"No."

"But - !" His voice was pitched with emotions; disbelief, worry, obligation, even anger. Vati kept his eyes on the spinning black mist until Rhythmia clamped a hand on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. When he looked at her, she silenced him with her dark expression. He swallowed thick and stood down, giving Rhythmia a short nod.

"Okay. Hold on."

"What - "

Rhythmia shifted her gun onto her shoulder, a comical sight given how large it was when compared to her. Then, she grabbed the bodyguard and threw him over her other shoulder and stepped out of the room, plummeting down the corrupted residency hall. To his credit, Vati didn't let out so much as a gasp beyond his initial confusion. He clung to Rhythmia's back as they fell. Mercifully, the Tower being so disjointed meant that they didn't need to fall all the way down at once. The borders of rooms jutted out into the hall, and Rhythmia landed on cracked stone or crumbling wood before jumping down again and again. The final stretch was the longest - the Lapsean shifted into a more lateral fall and when the bottom of the tower came rushing toward them she landed hard on her prosthetic limbs, letting them absorb most of the impact. She could feel them creak as the stone below them split open, and the flesh-covering of her deep black arm was shredded, but they held. It would have been a surprise if they didn't.

On solid ground now, Vati let go of his impromptu ride and stood up straight at attention just before bringing a hand up to cover his nose and mouth. There were corpses everywhere, people that fell from the hall as it twisted skyward. Among them were survivors: some unconscious and breathing, others barely awake and writhing with sickness. It was horrible.

The duo didn't stop to tend to any of them at all. They stepped around the dead and suffering alike, not bothering to wake any that were unconscious, they'd die soon enough. Even crumbled, twisted and destroyed they could tell that the large area was the Grand Hall - or what was once the Hall, anyway. Outside where light was filtering in from, they could hear the shouting of others. Desperate screams and urgent orders. They ignored them, as their goal was still somewhere inside the tower.

As the two Lapseans turned away from the exit, the sound of scraping caught their attention. A large collapsed portion of a wall was pushed outwards and from behind it stepped a beautiful woman. In a crisis like this, Rhythmia would have probably ignored any mages, but something about the woman caught her eye: the bright red hair that was the tell tale sign of those born in the North. She was vaguely familiar, hovering around one Southern heir or another, but she looked as if she'd come from deeper inside the Tower. Maybe she'd seen something. With a jerk of her head, Rhythmia sent Vati over to her and followed behind him a bit, casting her gaze about for anything... well, everything was out of the ordinary, but she looked for anything or anyone that might have been the cause of the explosion.

"Hey," the bodyguard called over to the woman, intending on seeing what she knew, "where did you come from, what's going on?"

^@Meleck

Fate/Lost Epoch

_{<Really, is this guy an idiot?>}
Wandering through Shinto Town
^{_________________________________}

"Lair of sin," Berserker repeated, almost believing his master for a moment. After all, the feeling his magic radiated was the real deal even if his personality was... over the top. Hard to grasp. Super annoying. The Pharaoh's irritation was quickly building after his master smashed the glass and with every word he said after. To desecrate a grave right in front of Berserker while knowing his identity... a show of power or the actions of an idiot? Though in truth Berserker cared very little for the resting places of those other than his own citizens, it was still plain rude. When Markansas got to the part about a hell of his own creation Berserker couldn't quite take it anymore. He swiftly crossed his arms and give the man a look of pity before disappearing, taking his spirit form.

As a true invisible ghost, Berserker followed his master through the streets. He noticed a lot of little things about the town and the man before him, things that left him confused but didn't do anything to quell his annoyance. How could he get through to his fool of a master? His master who seemed in control of dark forces yet seemed glad to summon a child and leave a burial grounds. His master who acted an idiot yet had the foresight to make a body double? Markansas was as perplexing as he was exasperating. Berserker was loathe to indulge in whatever delusions he had going on, but...

...will I be able to see it? Berserker inquired. Though incorporeal, it was no issue to communicate through their master-servant bond. It was easy to note though that the Pharaoh didn't sound genuinely curious at all. That 'hell.' I am no mere mortal, Master.

As they went along, Berserker deemed it appropriate to continue with his earlier line of thought. Then, once back at his master's workshop they could properly think of a plan. Or at least, attempt it... he really didn't know with this man.

You already know my True Name. Now, I'll tell you about my power as your familiar. A curse is my Noble Phantasm, and my Noble Phantasm is my curse... He didn't mean it to come out sounding so much like something his master would say, and if he weren't in his spirit form Berserker would be rolled his eyes at himself. He'd never admit it would be a little fun to talk like that, even if it wasn't about the curse that he hated more than anything. Still, he went on, I see you worry not about drawing the attention of others. That is fine. The earlier I use my Noble Phantasm to lay that curse upon another servant, the easier it will be for us in the long run. Feed me your energy and keep me alive while the curse takes it's toll on whomever touches me. That's the only way for a servant such as I to succeed.

^@SSW

Root River: A Wonderful Life!

---

^{❀ Spring 1 • Year 1 ❀}
_{Location: General Store}

---

Xavier's small joy at seeming to catch the store owner in a good mood was quickly taken over by some other feelings. Confusion, fear. Definitely fear. "Oh."

He stared at Luna, taken aback at pretty much everything she said. The half-admission, the threat, the offer to show him a recipe - a very nice offer, but also, a threat? That was a threat, right? She looked away and Xavier laughed nervously, voice a bit higher pitched than he would have liked. Everyone in town could gather that Luna wasn't particularly happy with their little down, but for some reason she wanted to keep something she liked a secret?

"I don't want to go missing," he said. Yep, real smart. Still, his voice had gone back to normal and the tone of his statement said he took her words seriously. He wouldn't divulge her secret. At least not on purpose. He'd try his best. He didn't want to give her one more reason to hate Root River - besides, it'd make doctor's visits really awkward. Almost as awkward as this store clean-up was threatening to become. Xavier didn't think he could ignore the threat on his life quite as easily as the one who made it, but if she'd moved on already then best to follow suite... and think about some self-defense classes, maybe. "That would be good. I'm a more hands-on learner, anyway."

Xavier tried to keep his mind focused on the task at hand but after a little while his eyes wandered around the store. People buy it, the pink-haired girl had said. Were there any Abernova originals in the shop now? "...so you sell your own handmade things?"

---

^@Inkarnate

Reborn: Coming of Calamity

______________

A shiver shot through Orsender's spine when his eyes met the lady knight's. At first he was bewildered when she turned and faced him just when he was thinking about ways to fight her. After recovering from the initial surprised, Orsen glared right back, his eye twitching until she turned back around and continued answering the party's questions. That was really weird.

What the hell is her problem? he thought. Besides the obvious racism or whatever. Was that what they called a warrior's sixth sense? Either way it cemented the fact that he should play nice for now. Definitely no beating a trained fighter if he couldn't land a sucker punch first.

The inside of the manor was shockingly gorgeous. Well, not shockingly, after all one glance at the outside could have told anyone the inside was likely to be just as fancy. Expectedly gorgeous, then. The oni eyed the old man suspiciously, daring him to say anything, but he didn't. Good. Orsen didn't miss his hesitation though, and glanced back at the female oni in their group. He gave her a silent look that seemed to say: can you believe this shit? It was a look of solidarity. He didn't know any of the others well seeing as they'd all just fallen from the sky barely a few hours ago, but if worst came to worst maybe the two oni could band together. Anyway, first things first - food.

"Yesss," Orsen hisses, feeling his stomach grumble. He made to follow the old man when a different kind of stomach rumbling happened. Okay, food second, bathroom first. He headed down the left-hand hallway before slowly coming to a stop. Wait. What were the instructions again? God he was too busy being angry and suspicious to pay attention to Yda. Bathroom, left hallway. No, right - men's. It might have appeared to the others around that the giant oni man was malfunctioning before his face broken into a dangerous toothy grin and he pivoted on his heel to continue down the right hallway. He opened a few random doors until he came to the fifth one, just what he was looking for.

"I guess food'll be further down the hall, I'll catch up," he announced. He really would too, because he was hungry. He wasn't one to snoop in other's business much anyway. What he needed was some time alone in a small room to process a liiiittle more and make sure he definitely, definitely wasn't dreaming. Then, chow time.

Root River: A Wonderful Life!

---

^{❀ Spring 1 • Year 1 ❀}
_{Location: General Store}

---

Oh, a kind response! It was more than Xavier could have hoped for given the scenario. Pleased, he couldn't help the small grin that settled onto his face. He turned to more enthusiastically talk to her when a rag came flying from the young woman's direction and landed squarely on his face. When Xavier swiped the cloth away and remembered oh yeah, clean soot the smile was still in place.

"Cobbler or pie, hm? Good idea." The young physician started with the largest areas of the mess, wiping down the shelving with care. He may have been eager to get home and make something, but he wasn't about to do a half-assed job either, that would just be rude. As he worked and mulled over the benefits of a cobbler versus a pie, he figured he may as well continue getting advice from Luna while she was in the mood to give it. After all, though he had a sweet tooth and could cook a simple meal, he wasn't very well-versed in baking. He knew to stick to a recipe though.

"Do you bake, Ms. Abernova? A cobbler is simpler, right? I do like a good pie though... I'd like to try that." Xavier hummed, taking a step back to make sure he hadn't missed any spots before moving on to the next area to be wiped down. "Any recipe suggestions?"

---

^@Inkarnate

Fire Emblem: Ashes of Sacrifice [Fall of the Empire]

Belisendé
Daybreak | Fortress' South Side

That was all the enemies outside down, then. At least from her count - and Bel was pretty confident in her counting, thank you. She was in starting to get a bit more confident at this whole battle thing too, as evident by her arrows still sticking out of a few of the corpses scattered around. She had the brief thought to stop and collect them, but no, that would be left 'til the end of the engagement. Taking the fort came first, along with making sure herself and her allies came out of it unscathed. "Are we heading inside?" Bel found herself asking as she paused to collect herself. The question was quiet, more to herself than the others nearby but they would be able to hear it nonetheless. She gathered up as much of her courage as she could, staring into the fortress' entrance with bright, determined eyes. Her mount split his time between looking at the same entrance, and at the scaly winged creature close by. Sunbeam sneered at the wyvern, perhaps trying to intimidate it. The horse had an "alpha" personality, that much was certain... With a quick tug the reins, Bel brought her steed under control and both mount and rider focused on the fortress, poised to gallop inside as soon as her companions did the same. She wasn't sure how tight the space would be considering Sunbeam was rather large, but the animal usually found a way - either by destroying interiors or scaring any people away.

_________________________ Status: Alive Currently: Moving inside Class: Squire EXP: 60 Inventory: Iron Bow (2/3) Vulnerary (3/3) Stats END: E STR: E MAG: D DEX: C (+2) SPD: D DEF: E RES: D LCK: C Supports N/A

Fate/Lost Epoch

_{Early Morning}
Shinto Town, Canals
^{_________________________________}

"Gah!"

The seventeen year old student flopped backwards onto the grass dramatically, flinging his arms out in frustration. Around him on the concrete of the canal were many crudely drawn "magic circles," if one could even call them that. Jigen had just about run out of chalk, let alone hope that the thick intricately titled book at his feet was real. It was certainly an impressive tome - leather bound, engraved lettering on the cover, twice as long as any of his text books... plus an unknown author. So despite the name "Magic: it's real and here's how to do it!!" Jigen had thought hey, maybe it was real when he checked it out of the old library. It wasn't, but how was he to know?

The chapter on "summoning" made it clear that a perfectly drawn circle was needed to converse with a spirit, or angel or demon or youkai that would give him advice if he asked. Advice was definitely something he needed. If they happened to grant him some cool super powers, that'd be alright too.

"Don't give up, Saito-san," the boy whispered to himself in a voice slightly higher pitched than his own, "come on, you can do it!"

With a quick nod of his head Jigen sprang back up, but he winced as the first rays of sunlight started to peek over the horizon. Seriously? I've been out here this long?! he thought, Okay, I'll give it one more shot before I'll have to get going to school...

The student got to work painstakingly drawing another circle, doing his best to make it as neat as possible. His school bag was nearby with his uniform and notebooks inside, as well as his simple cellphone. The gadget had been purchased for him so he could better stay in touch with his parents, but it hadn't rang with the notification of a message since he got it - and it didn't ring now, even though he'd been out all night attempting to summon some kind of magical being. When he was finishing drawing, Jigen stepped back and wiped his hands on his clothes, getting chalk dust and dirt all over himself.

"Hey, this one actually looks pretty good!" he said to himself with a grin. Okay, what's next... oh, right, the actual spell! He picked up the book and read the incantation lines to himself again. They were... a little embarrassing. Okay, a lot embarrassing. Was it really supposed to rhyme? Still, he was alone out there by the river, so he quickly read the lines while focusing on his chalk circle.

"Here these words, here my cries, spirit from the other side, come to me who calls you near, cross now the great divide?"

The "summoning spell" hadn't worked the last few times, but he attributed it to his poor drawing skills. Surely this time...?

_@Breo

---

_{<Just what kind of Master has summoned me...?>}
Church Hilltop, Graveyard
^{_________________________________}

Astonishing. That he would be summoned back to Earth and met with this... "grand feast." That he, a Pharaoh, would be as a servant to... well, this odd fellow. Markansas Valdark Reschyshyn, as he'd proudly claimed. What a fool. TutBerserker really wanted to shout at the mage about what the hell he thought he was doing.

He didn't. Though it seemed to Berserker that Markansas was indeed some kind of jester - whether intentionally or not - he sensed something familiar about the man. Dark, hateful grievances swirled about him, though not from him. Curious, but also a little mortifying if they really did have some things in common. Perhaps it was best to get along for now...

"..."

Nope, he couldn't do it. He needed to keep his mouth shut if he didn't want to turn his master away from him not only on the first night, but in the first hour. They said fools had thick heads, but did they have thick hearts? Berserker stared hard at Markansas as if trying to burrow a hole through the magus' skull with just his eyes. He listened to his master speak but he would swear the man wasn't actually saying anything. After a few long, silent moments where it looked as if Berserker might just lash out with his words, the boy drew in a deep breath and held it. He gazed around the graveyard again since he'd been summoned, noting there was no one around save for master, servant and puppet. At least, none that could be sensed.

"Master," the Pharaoh began, already finding the word distasteful, "if you seek advice from me, speak plainly and I'll give it. As you can see, I am..." he paused, and raised his arms up with a shrug, "...not well suited to direct combat. For now I suggest we stay clear of powerful martial servants... or..."

A cursory look at Berserker's stats with his master's clairvoyance and Markansas would be able to tell that what his servant said was true. As the young king trailed off, he considered what he was about to say. If it was possible to land his draining curse on a powerful servant in the first night, it would be a major boon. The thought of using his Noble Phantasm gave Berserker a headache, but in the end it would only benefit them... he did have a personal duty to fulfill, but it was a really awful ability.

"Never mind for now. If you have a base like a magician's workshop, let me see it."

_@SSW

Root River: A Wonderful Life!

---

^{❀ Spring 1 • Year 1 ❀}
_{Location: General Store}

---

"But..."

Well, Luna's declaration wasn't exactly unexpected but... it still wasn't what Xavier wanted to hear either. This was his nice freshly cleaned Spring outfit! He supposed it wasn't the worst case scenario though, after all she could have been yelling or blaming him, and he did technically have a hand in spreading the mysterious soot around even if it was an accident. Plus she said "help," not "clean this up yourself." All in all, he got off pretty easily once he thought about.

"Okay," he sighed, depositing his small basket of goods on the counter for her with a weak smile. He'd get started while she was ringing him out to make the clean up go as quickly as possible. He still had to get home and actually make something for the potluck after all. Speaking of the event, Xavier wondered if the store would be open all day or if the young shop keep would be joining the rest of the town for the festivities. Xavier was pretty sure the mayor must have called everyone in town given how excited his message made him sound. He glanced back at Luna. She didn't really seem the "festive" type but everyone needed some downtime now and then right?

"...um, if you have any advice for the New Year's picnic," he started, figuring some kind of small talk to fill the space would be nice. At the very least it would be nice for him. "- I'd appreciate it. It's been a while, I'm kind of stuck on what to bring. I was thinking, well, ah, apples if it wasn't already apparent."

---

^@Inkarnate

Project Zasshu

Project Attacus aka Wèi Lái

Name: Wèi Lái
Age: 17

Archon DNA Donor: Kougou
Abilities: Flight, Strong Wind Force, Plant-Growth Effecting Spores

Personality:

Friendly and affectionate - Wèi Lái loves talking with people and getting them on her side. She finds human-to-human conflict interesting, but often times she acts as a mediator to prevent fights simple because that's the easiest way to get people to like her. When people trust her, it's a lot easier to take advantage of them.

Her cheerful nature isn't a facade, she really enjoys making friends and indulging in anything that seems like fun. However, though she may appear to be a ditz at first glance she thinks matters over seriously. She won't share her true thoughts on anything, preferring to play dumb when she needs to. Manipulating humans to do her bidding is her true passion, and when the time comes to connect with the Archon directly she plans to side with the Tenshi should a conflict break out. Humans are interesting, but she considers herself a being above them - and the Tenshi above her. Sometimes her superiority complex leaks through her bubbly personality, but she doesn't see anything wrong with it.

She's excited to finally meet the other Zasshu and see what they're like.

Backstory:

2089 AD, in the largest remaining city in China, a young woman gave birth to an infant covered in silky scales. After confirmed the child was alive and seemed healthy, it was separated from it's mother. That was fine with the young woman, who hadn't wanted to be a part of the project anyway. She herself was still young, having been pressured into it by her powerful family elders who wanted to use the fact that their family line gave birth to humanity's future hope as a way to secure themselves in whatever future mankind would have.

They named the child appropriately, and mother and daughter never reunited again.

Growing up, Wèi Lái had everything she could ever want. Her family guardians and the laboratory staff made sure her every whim and desire was met. It was a little like being a princess. On the rare occasion they didn't comply with her requests, she found other ways to get what she wanted. She eventually found that the human mind was simple, unlike the Tenshi she could so clearly hear. A human could be manipulated, and quite easily at that. The only thing she was never able to obtain was her birth family's "name." The surname of her family line was denied to her until the project proved successful in communicating with the Archon. Even then, they would forge a new name should that success actually happen.

Regardless, as the years went on Wèi Lái arrive at a certain thought: why are humans trying so desperately to find a weakness of the Tenshi to destroy them? Was the "Zasshu Project," she and the other children, a means to that end or were they really attempting to communicate peacefully with the Archons? If they used the Zasshu to find a weakness in the Archons, what would the humans do? It was clear to her that the Tenshi were a more advanced species.

If the humans' goal was to exterminate the Tenshi, she wouldn't go along with it. Secretly, she has a plan in her heart to betray mankind should it ever come to that.

Other: Her name is pronounced like "Way Lie." She doesn't mind going by nicknames and actually prefers to be called cutesy things like "Wei-Wei" or "Lai-Lai."

Project Zasshu

Project Attacus

Name: Wèi Lái
Age: 17

Archon DNA Donor: (n/a for now)
Abilities: (n/a for now)

Personality:

Friendly and affectionate - Wèi Lái loves talking with people and getting them on her side. She finds human-to-human conflict interesting, but often times she acts as a mediator to prevent fights simple because that's the easiest way to get people to like her. When people trust her, it's a lot easier to take advantage of them.

Her cheerful nature isn't a facade, she really enjoys making friends and indulging in anything that seems like fun. However, though she may appear to be a ditz at first glance she thinks matters over seriously. She won't share her true thoughts on anything, preferring to play dumb when she needs to. Manipulating humans to do her bidding is her true passion, and when the time comes to connect with the Archon directly she plans to side with the Tenshi should a conflict break out. Humans are interesting, but she considers herself a being above them - and the Tenshi above her. Sometimes her superiority complex leaks through her bubbly personality, but she doesn't see anything wrong with it.

She's excited to finally meet the other Zasshu and see what they're like.

Backstory:

2089 AD, in the largest remaining city in China, a young woman gave birth to an infant covered in silky scales. After confirmed the child was alive and seemed healthy, it was separated from it's mother. That was fine with the young woman, who hadn't wanted to be a part of the project anyway. She herself was still young, having been pressured into it by her powerful family elders who wanted to use the fact that their family line gave birth to humanity's future hope as a way to secure themselves in whatever future mankind would have.

They named the child appropriately, and mother and daughter never reunited again.

Growing up, Wèi Lái had everything she could ever want. Her family guardians and the laboratory staff made sure her every whim and desire was met. It was a little like being a princess. On the rare occasion they didn't comply with her requests, she found other ways to get what she wanted. She eventually found that the human mind was simple, unlike the Tenshi she could so clearly hear. A human could be manipulated, and quite easily at that. The only thing she was never able to obtain was her birth family's "name." The surname of her family line was denied to her until the project proved successful in communicating with the Archon. Even then, they would forge a new name should that success actually happen.

Regardless, as the years went on Wèi Lái arrive at a certain thought: why are humans trying so desperately to find a weakness of the Tenshi to destroy them? Was the "Zasshu Project," she and the other children, a means to that end or were they really attempting to communicate peacefully with the Archons? If they used the Zasshu to find a weakness in the Archons, what would the humans do? It was clear to her that the Tenshi were a more advanced species.

If the humans' goal was to exterminate the Tenshi, she wouldn't go along with it. Secretly, she has a plan in her heart to betray mankind should it ever come to that.

Other: Her name is pronounced like "Way Lie." She doesn't mind going by nicknames and actually prefers to be called cutesy things like "Wei-Wei" or "Lai-Lai."