Zamokra41

[MachineSoul] - I, Ninja - [Zamokra41]

Wulfus seemed as excited as a child by simply watching the wolf stretch and getting used to the creation he just strapped into, seeing him like this brought a tiny smile on Syla’s face hidden by the helmet. Mentioning that he had forgotten a small detail, the hybrid approached Sylas with a rather peculiar device, demanding his right arm to which the wolf silently complied and saw a cable being inserted somewhere between his forearm and biceps. Wulfus proceeded to explain how the internal computer of the suit didn’t recognize Sylas as a “user” and how he was planning to install a system to remedy that in the future, explaining further what he was about to do all the while Sylas simply kept his peace and listened. The sudden grip that the suit enforced upon the whole of his body took the wolf by surprise, feeling how the very air from his lungs was being squashed out and his muscles and bones were being pressed against each other, thankfully that grueling process lasted only a few brief moments so no harm came to his whatsoever apart from having a brief scare. After that, Sylas felt even lighter, as natural as he felt before in the suit this sensation was far more natural. The wolf made a few tiny bounces on his toes to confirm weightlessness and gazed a bit at himself through the helmet’s interface. With the new found comfort it almost felt like he was wearing nothing at all. The robotic voice made him dart his gaze to the right and then to the left before realizing that it was simply the suit’s internal computer confirming that all was well. It would seem Sylas was just about ready to go outside and see firsthand what Wulfu’s creation was capable of.
The wolf nodded when Wulfus recommended using the hatch on the roof as an exit and gazed above to see an opening while the hybrid was still, apparently, mumbling some scientific lingo to himself. The hatch on the roof was pretty high but according to Wulfus, the suit’s capabilities should allow him to reach it. With a short deep breath, Sylas crouched, his gaze fixed upward at the hatch and then darted upwards. Just like that, Sylas jumped high above and stretched his right arm as the hatch was getting closer and closer to his reach.

He missed…

Only managing to brush the edge of the opening with his fingers, it appeared like he was about to suffer a rough landing. Luckily enough, the moment Sylas managed to stretch his arm just a bit further the moment he felt a miss and managed to grab the frame of the opening. Dangling from the ceiling, Sylas took a brief look downwards probably to confirm his altitude or to see what Wulfu’s reaction would be like, before he pulled himself up and crawled through the opening, emerging on the roof of the building. Standing tall and gazing at the horizon through the helmet’s interface, Sylas couldn’t help but mumble a “sugee..”. What amazed him more than the feat he had just accomplished was how natural it felt. Obviously he had never jumped so high before yet while he did it, grabbed on the edge and crawled though, he felt as if he had done it a dozen times before and it was all instinctively. He had rarely ever before felt anything similar to that. Perhaps this was a sign, a sign that he may be on the right track of finding what he was meant to do on this world. The feeling of excitement washed over him. He had to continue this experience.
Said and done, the wolf crouched again and with a rather unusually wide grin for him, he darted forward with surreal speed. Once reaching the edge of the building, he jumped high in the air once more and to his delight he managed to reach the roof of a nearby taller building. Not stopping to catch his breath, Sylas resumed his dash the moment he got a decent foothold. Without stopping, he ran ever forward, jumping on the roof of yet another building, this one roughly the same size as the one before. And then on another and another once again. Though he was probably running faster than he ever could and was jumping from roof to roof, it appeared that to him it was as easy as jumping over a small ditch. Sylas saw that the next building was rather high, probably about twice the height that the suit is supposed to allow him to jump. However, that didn’t seem to weaver the wolf. He crouched, flexing his leg muscles strongly and then darted as high as he could. It was obvious that he ha no chance on reaching the top from a single jump, yet he was not aiming at the roof just now. The wolf jumped just high enough to reach an emergence fire-escape balcony and used the railing as a stepping stone to dart further upwards. Reaching the edge of the roof with his extended hand, he grabbed and after a brief moment he pulled himself up with all his strength managing to push himself up a bit in the air to do a flip and land on the roof on his feet.

Sylas looked behind as if to confirm if he actually really did what he just did, then with a deep breath he walked forward steadily until he reached the edge of the roof and gazed at the sight. He was close to the downtown area and there were plenty of buildings to be seen on the horizon. Down below, one could hear the traffic, busy even this late. People wandering through the almost deserted streets and late-night locals brimming with busyness, all under the cloudy night sky with but a few rays of moonlight looking from up-high. The wolf took another deep breath, it was all so surreal and yet he felt more at peace than he ever did in all his travels. He truly felt like this was what he should…what he was SUPPOSED to be doing all this time. He was yet to understand what all this meant or to coherently think this through, but he knew for sure that he wanted more. Only then noticing the rain that was falling all over the city and its denizens, himself included. Sylas gazed at his right hand for a moment and then stretched it forward, examining as the rain droplets fell and crushed against his arm. The words “Ame ga futte imasu” came to mind along with a few pleasant memories from his past back home in the East. Heck, for a very brief moment he even felt a bit homesick. “Soo..” he mumbled and couldn’t help but chuckle. A concerning thought occurred to him just then. What if the rain would affect the suit? The wolf tried to recall if Wulfus had mentioned anything related to that but nothing came to mind. As tempted as he was to continue with his “test drive” he wouldn’t want to compromise the integrity of the hybrid’s creation, one could imagine that he wouldn’t be very pleased with any damage to come to it.
The wolf turned around and slowly started to head back to where he came from…yet the temptation overcame him. He stopped and pondered for a few moments. He was already this far gone though the rain and nothing seemed to be amiss. He felt alright and the suit didn’t show any signs of “usage” as far as he could tell. He wanted to extend the experience for as long as he could, besides, he has yet to see ALL the capabilities that this creation is capable of performing. He chuckled, shortly and lightly. “Gomenasai, Wulfus-san” he muttered shortly with his head bowed and his palms paired in a praying motion before turning around. With a quick turn on his heel, the wolf dashed towards the edge, vaulting high above. He braced himself to land on a smaller building close by, instead of ‘stomping’ his landing, the wolf shifted his weight and rolled upon touching the roof, not losing momentum and being far more discreet. He continued to run and jump from roof to roof, searching for a way to get on a high building again. He sighted one roughly as high as the one before but he didn’t see any emergency fire-exits he could use like before, so instead the wolf decided to try something else. He jumped as high as he could and then managed to grab on the edge of a window ledge. With a solid grip, he positioned himself properly and then vaulted upwards, grabbing himself on another one, then again and again, reaching closer and closer to the top. Just as he was close enough to reach the roof from one more vault, Sylas felt off-balance and soon found himself falling.

He slipped.

The rain had made the window ledges slippery yet Sylas managed to get a firm grip…until now. Just as we felt himself about to fall, the wolf instinctively reached with his other hand and just managed to grab on the ledge he had just slipped from, now dangling from above. After a brief moment of ‘processing ‘ the situation, Sylas grabbed on the ledge with his other hand as well and positioned himself akin to a monkey hanging from a branch with his feet pressed against the wall. With a grunt and a display of effort, the wolf vaulted upwards as much as the situation permitted him, luckily he managed to jump just high enough to land of his feet on the ledge of the roof. Sylas gazed back at the fall he was so close to suffering and couldn’t help but let out a short laugh out of relief. With a sigh he walked forward, until he reached the opposite edge of the roof and gazed once more over the cityscape. He then spotted what seemed to be the tallest building in the area, a skyscraper close to the Harris Bank building, as the great sign on its top floor indicated. Sylas was sure that the view from the top would be worth it yet he had to look around for a way upward, without having anyone see him, of course. The great building had a very modern design with nigh a single ‘deformation’ on its outer walls which would allow the wolf to scamper up as he did before. There were a few other tall buildings in its vicinity which were easier to reach yet none of those were nearly tall enough to help him get to the top…unless…
Close to the great skyscraper, the wolf saw a construction site with what would some time in the future be yet another tall building in the vicinity but for now it was nothing but the large “skeleton” of the building with plenty of railings, catwalks and other such structures around. Perhaps he could find something around there which would help him reach the great behemoth of a building close to it. Without a second to spare, Sylas dashed and jumped to the roof of a nearby building and without stopping he managed to eventually land on the top of a “chunky” office building close to the construction site. The distance between the building he was on and the structure where he was aiming to reach was rather large. The wolf kneeled and examined the environment for a while, estimating how bad it was raining, the strength of the wind and how humid and slippery the roof is as well as the scaffold that was spreading all over the unfinished wall of the building in front. The wolf sighed deeply. He wasn’t exactly sure but he knew that it would be risky, the chances of him not making it were real yet he was willing to challenge those odds as he has done in the past. He walked all the way back to the opposite edge of the roof and then crouched, his gaze through the helmet fixed at the scaffold. He took a few deep breaths and ten…

“Ikuze!”

With a strong spring of his hind legs, the wolf was in a mad dash going as fast as he could with the enhancements that the suit offered. In just a mere seconds he reached the edge of the building and with all his muscles flexed and tensed up he pushed himself into a long leap, not aiming on reaching height but covering as much distance as he could. For a few moments it appeared that he had failed and would end up falling down and crashing on the streets, even with the suits capabilities that Wulfus described, Sylas was sure that a fall like this would kill him if not at the very least shatter most of his bones. Yet against all odds, the wolf managed to just barely gab on one of the railings form the large scaffold and ended up dangling like a pendulum atop the dizzying height. Sylas hung like that for a few moments worth of catching his breath and calming his panicked nerves, no doubt the HUD display from the suit would show his elevated heart-rate which was slowly starting to steady. After that, Sylas gazed upward and then started to climb the scaffold aiming that the top of the structure. “Enjoying the show, Wulfus-san?” he muttered, knowing that the hybrid could see all that he saw but not sure if he could hear him. Soon enough he reached the top of the scaffold and just for show he jumped lightly upward, did a flip and landed crouching on the top of a metal crossbeam akin to a predator bird stalking his prey, in this case, Sylas was looking at the great skyscraper to his right.
Now that he was here, he needed to find a way upward but there was nothing he could grasp on the building, he had to become more….creative. The wolf looked upward and spotted a lonely automatic scaffold that window washers would use to traverse up and down the building. That would be perfect except the fact that it was too damn high for him to reach it. The wolf looked around, hoping to find something that could help him reach up to there. Jumping down from the crossbeam onto the unfinished concrete roof, he walked around for a bit before finding several discarded tools and construction materials scattered around. Sylas then had an idea, he took a roll of rope that the workers probably used to transport buckets of cement upward, tied one end tightly around a cut piece of steel bar to construct a very primitive grappling hook. Once tied, the gripped both ends of the bar and decided to see just how much his strength has been augmented. With a bit of effort, the bar was bended into an “Z” shape, Sylas couldn’t help but whistle in amazement to the feat. Now that he was equipped with his masterpiece, Sylas gave it a try, spinning the rope with the “grapple” at the end and then tried to put some force behind his throw. The “hook” virtually flew in the air, dragging lengths of rope after it. With a rather loud metaling *CLANKE* , Sylas was satisfied to realize that it actually worked. The bended piece of metal managed to lodge itself somewhere on the scaffold up high and now the wolf could climb the rope all the way to it. It took a bit of care not to crash on a window with the swing from the building but once that was taken care of came the hard part. Climbing a rope was not easy, especially from such a dazzling altitude AND on such harsh weather conditions. Luckily, Wulfu’s creation came through on this part as well and Sylas managed to find himself on the scaffold. Once arrived, he unclogged the “grappling hook” and gathered the rope so it wouldn’t just be left hanging like that. Deciding that perhaps he should hang on to it for a while longer, Sylas put his “invention” over his shoulder and then gazed upward. There was still a bit of height to cover before he could reach the top, he first thought that maybe he could use the scaffold itself to lift himself up but obviously it was shut off and there were no means of operating it at the moment. This time, the wolf thought of something even crazier.

…He was going to scamper up the thick metallic cables which would normally lift the scaffold...

With a tight grip on each of his moves, Sylas was intensely focusing on the climb, trying to not be concerned about the dizzying height he was currently at and kept increasing. The internal display of the helmet must indicate a high heart-rate yet the wolf appeared calm and focused in spite of that, steadily reaching higher and higher, with each motion he was pushing himself ever upward. The rain was now starting to hit at him from an angle, which indicated the stronger winds from up-high, what before was just a rather simple inconvenience had now became a battle against the elements as the weather was doing what it could to prevent the stubborn wolf from his course, as if the skies themselves were insulted by his attempt at reaching a place closer to them.

Yet the wolf was undeterred.

With each meter he advanced, his determination became stronger, his grips tighter and his movements swifter. He climbed in defiance to the elements around him. No wind, no rain not even gravity would hold him off. He was grinning. He hasn’t felt this excited in years and for the first time in his life he was absolutely sure of his intent and purpose. He would reach the top of this building and there was nothing that could stop him. His heart was racing and his mind was focused, moving ever swifter with each passing moment until he was practically “sliding upwards” the last bit of distance remaining. Once atop, he vaulted over the edge and with yet another flip he landed on his feet, crouching on the roof of the great skyscraper. He stretched his back, his neck and is arms, took a few deep breaths and waited a few moments for his heart to steady and his mind to cool off. He had made it. He had reached the top of the tallest building in sight, against all odds. He gazed forward upon the urban landscape, the view was stunning even in the dead of night with the strong wind and rain raging on as if crying in despair at the wolf’s success. Sylas was actually chuckling in sheer gleefulness without even realizing it. He felt great, amazing even. He felt at peace. He felt…like he belonged...

Reclamation {High-Casual-Fantasy-RP}

Bravo to the both of you, great characters :)
Needless to say, both are accepted :)

Reclamation {High-Casual-Fantasy-RP}

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Reclamation {High-Casual-Fantasy-RP}

Accepted Characters

IRONWOOD COMPANY - @5 free slots

Zamokra41

Sylas

Name : Sylas Greenbark

Appearance :

1,78m tall. A strong yet not bulky build. Long brown hair and a trimmed goatee. Dark brown eyes, slightly tanned skin and 2 scars, one on his left cheek and a smaller one on his lower lip.

Race : Human

Age : 24

Gender : Male

Side : Ironwood Company.

Title : Armsman

Abilities : Sylas is a skilled warrior capable of decently wielding almost any close combat weapon. He prefers to wear medium-weight armor which gives a decent protection while not being overly encumbering. He also prefers to carrying a shield which would indicate a fondness towards 1-handed weapons and a defensive stance yet he is known to be easily adaptable at wielding a variety of weapons.

Skills : Orientation, first-aid, playing the flute, decent cooking allowing him to quickly whip something up from whatever scraps he can find. He is a decent leader but there is place for improvement on that regard.

Gear : A simple brown tunic underneath a chaimail shirt with a light iron pauldron on his left shoulder and a light green cloak over that. A pair of hard leather gloves with some steel plating on the left one. A pair of light leather trousers with light plating strapped on the knees. A pair of hard leather boots. A steel longsword. A reinforced wooden kiteshield. A one-handed axe slung on his lower back. A simple gold pendant with no real value or magical proprieties.

Backpack : Food supplies for 1 person, a skin of fresh water, a skin of wine, a rolled up map, an old sleeping bag, a wooden flute, a pack of bandages, a vial half-filled with a pain-numbing potion, a book titled “Tales of Chivalry” gift from Hakon.

Personality : Sylas can be described as an ambitious and adventurous youth who probably bit more than he could chew by starting and leading his own mercenary company after only 3 to 4 years of experience in the field. However, he is not willing to give up and will do his best to lead the company to the best of his abilities. While willing to undertake all kinds of contracts he will struggle follow a code of honor and not lower himself to rotten deeds just for the sake of profit. A flexible sense of morality but with a kind heart, Sylas will bear the new responsibilities he was to the best of his abilities.

Bio : Sylas was an adventurous sort since he was a child, always playing outside with make-shift swords and fighting in make-belief battle against all sorts of foes. By the time he was old enough to even half-way wield a proper sword, he left the comfort of his simple farm-home in search for adventure and glory, certain that his fate has much more in store for him than farming. When he was 19 he joined his first mercenary band, a small group with people who were more-or-less alike to him. They did simple jobs and Sylas was capable of learning how to fight better each day. After only 1 year, this small band soon found themselves out of business and in the end joined forces with another small group of more questionable mercenaries. Thus, the Stoneborn were made. However, Sylas was starting to dislike his new companions more and more as they only seemed interested in profit and wouldn’t hesitate on doing the worst things that a sell-sword can do only for extra coins. Bribery, pillaging, even betraying their original employers in favor of a more profitable counter offer. After 3 years, Sylas had enough. He confronted the Stoneborn’s leader, Jarll the Bonebreaker, and after a heated argument he ultimately abandoned the Stoneborn and along with his good friend Hakon Ironside, started their own mercenary band which they called the Ironwood company. The company grew in the one year of their work, lead by Sylas and with Hakon as the 2nd in command, they seek to make a living carve their own destinies in the troubled times live in these days.

Hakon

Name : Hakon Ironside

Appearance :

1,82 m tall. A broad build even at old age. Short balding grey hair and a shortly cropped beard. Light hazel eyes. A stern, old visage.

Race : Human

Age : 48

Gender : Male

Side : Ironwood Company

Title : Ex-Knight

Abilities : As a former Knight, Hakon is a strong and skilled warrior with years of experience behind. He wears heavy armor for great protection and prefers to wield a two-handed mace yet he also carries a lighter one-handed sword in case of need.

Skills : Tactics and Leadership which he hopes to pass down to Sylas. Combat trainer. Vigilance and sharp instincts.

Gear : A simple linen tunic underneath a solid and used plated armor. A pair of plated gauntlets. A pair of leather trousers underneath the tasset of the armor. A pair of plated greaves. An old crimson cloak with the Imperial Guard’s golden shield emblem. A two-handed heavy flanged mace. A 1-handed sword sheathed at his hip.

Backpack : A small package with military rations. A skin of water. 2 torches. An old sleeping bag. Some rope.

Personality : An old knight with a strong sense of honor and loyalty to his friends and companions, Hakon is a man of traditions who keeps his feet on the ground and is always ready to share some wisdom about how the world works. With a young warrior spirit and a strong arm, the old knight considers that it is his destiny to fight for what he believes in until his back gives up and he won’t be able to wield a weapon anymore.

Bio : In his golden years, Hakon used to be a strong and valiant Imperial knight with plenty of victorious battles under his belt and a strong loyalty for the Empire. However, that loyalty started to run dry when his superiors demoted him to a lowly guard position the moment his hair started to turn gray. Although he protested and repeatedly claimed that he his arm was still strong he was still capable of doing his duty to the Empire, his words fell on deaf ears. After a few years of playing guard to the houses of the rich from the capital city, Hakon was feed up and ultimately cast away his guard badge and left with little more than his old armor and weapons. He started his new life as a mercenary which is how he met Sylas, an ambitious lad which reminded him much of himself in his youth. The two quickly became good friends and it was no surprise that when Sylas left the old group to start the Ironwood Company, Hakon was right there besides him ready to help him bear the burden. With years of experience in both combat and leadership to share with his new leader, Hakon is a valuable member of the company and is anxious to see what the future will hold and hoping that one day he will die the way he is meant, on the battlefield with a weapon in hand.

EASTERN WANDERERS - @ 3 free slots

Zamokra41

Saito

Name : Saito Wakeshima

Appearance :

1,80 m tall. A lean athletic build. Long charcoal black hair tied in a ponytail. Bushy eyebrows, green eyes, a thin beard and moustache, slightly pale skin.

Race : Human

Age : 28

Gender : Male

Side : Eastern Wanderers

Title : Samurai

Abilities : As a samurai, Saito is a warrior who values strength, speed and dexterity in equal measures. His armor is strong enough to offer proper protection especially against arrows and blades but is also light enough to permit mobility. Proficient with wielding a dai-katana with both hands as well as being a skilled archer.

Skills : Keen sight, orientation, high mobility, sailing, tracking, hunting, cooking, meditation, gardening, calligraphy

Gear : The armor of the samurai which mostly consists of decorated plated scales which serve for proper protection and mobility. Underneath it he wears a black silk shirt with white floral decorations. A pair of gauntlets of the same make as the armor. A pair of black cloth trousers. A pair of greaves of the same make as the armor. A dai-katana with the decoration of a golden lion on the guard. A longbow slung on his shoulder and a pack of arrows on his lower back.

Backpack : Rations consisting mostly of riceballs with various fillings. A few dried fish. A skin of water. A small bottle of a rice based alcoholic beverage. A rolled up map. A carving knife. Multiple sheets of paper. A black inkpot. A calligraphy feather.

Personality : Saito is a man of a strong moral sense, seeing the world mostly as black and white. A strong sense of honor which is characteristic for any samurai as well as a strong spirit and an iron loyalty to his land are his fundamental taints. He strongly believes in doing what is right and that any form of injustice must be punished appropriately.

Bio : Saito is the first born son of a prominent and loyal family from the distant eastern land of Taiyoku. From his youth he has been taught with a strict discipline about traditions as well as combat instructions. Ultimately, when he was of age he became one of the loyal samurais of the land, ready to serve and bring honor to his family. Saito quickly made himself marked as a particularly proficient tracker and hunter, capable of sniffing out any outlaws and runaways no matter where they would hide. These skills as well as his combat proficiency, were called into service multiple times in the past and for each of his victories he was commended highly. However, in the present Saito is dealing with a delicate situation. One of his samurai brothers, a close friend, Haruno Akimaru, has turned and betrayed both his brothers and his land. Haruno stole a relic of the royal family, a great and old sword known as Makoto and used to slay many of his samurai brothers as well as gravely injuring the heir to the throne before fleeing by boat. When Saito was briefed about the events he was in shock, not being able to fathom what could determine Haruno to commit such a heinous deed. Regardless, duty and honor demanded that Saito set out to find him and bring him to justice, as such he gathered a small party and after acquiring the information from the shinobi about the possible destination to which Haruno fled, he set sail and found himself on this strange new land.

IMPERIAL TROOPS - @ 2 free slots

Zamokra41

Markos

Name : Markos Helmshear

Appearance :

1.84 m tall. A strong frame with an equally strong body and a constitution to match. Bald. A short black goatee. Gold hued eyes. A scar across the dome of his head.

Race : Human.

Age : 32

Gender : Male

Side : Imperial Troops

Title : Knight Captain

Abilities : As a Knight Captain, Markos is a strong warrior with a strong constitution. Wearing the heavy armor of a knight and a strong shield, he is capable of holding his ground against the most aggressive and strongest of foes and his skill in wielding 1-handed swords is matched by few and his strong resilience and fiery spirit can inspire those around him.

Skills : Leadership, strong frame, vigilance, tactical and strategic thinking.

Gear : The heavy and gold-decorated armor of an Imperial Knight captain. A crimson undertunic. Strong plated gauntlets with decorations to match the armor. Black reinforced leather trousers. A pair of plated greaves decorated to match the armor. A one-handed longsword with a flat blade. A strong metal round shield decorated to match the armor set.

Backpack : A small package of military rations. A skin of water. A rolled up map. A whetstone. A skin of wine. A small golden badge denoting a high military rank.

Personality : A fiercely loyal and aggressive leader. Those would be the words that would describe Markos briefly. A man with a strong sense of duty and an unshakable loyalty to the Phoenix Empire combined with a commanding attitude and an iron will make him easily a strong ally to the Empire’s cause.

Bio : Markos was abandoned to an orphanage after both his parents were condemned to a life in prison, the boy caught the attention of a passing monk after overhearing that although he didn’t exactly know their crime, he was certain that they broke the Imperial law and thus deserved their fate. After reporting of what he heard to the rest of the clergy, Markos was adopted by a priest and with the help of others he was raised to become one of the most loyal subjects of the Empire and a great military leader in the future. When he was of age he was promptly signed up to the Imperial military where he practically dominated over his peers and gained the praise of his trainers. As a soldier, Markos won plenty of battles, dedicating his victories to the Phoenix Empire which made him the prime candidate to a promotion as Imperial Knight and later as Knight Captain. It was his pride that made him question his most recent assignment but his loyalty wouldn’t allow him to refuse. Markos was called by the Imperial Commander to lead an escort mission for a Priest of the Phoenix Clergy, to some remote place marked on a map he was given. When he asked about details, the commander only told him that he should treat this mission as seriously as he would treat any other and that the Priest was an important subject of the Empire may not come to harm. With the lack of information, Markos found himself unable to do anything but reluctantly accept and assemble a small squad to undertake the mission.

Englandlied

Muse

Name : Muse Engelke

Appearance :

The picture above with a few minor differences (refer to “Gear” and “Backpack”).

Race : Human

Age : 33

Gender : Female

Side : Imperial Troops

Title : Light Infantry

Abilities : As a light infantryman, Muse is often thrown into the midst of rush fighting and skirmishes. Therefore, she spent years developing the talents required for quick pace fighting, with her most prominent being horsemanship. In fact, she has honed her horsemanship to a point that one might say she fights on a horse better than she does on her own two feet. As for her swordsmanship, it is a tad lacking. While she may be able to hold her own against regular bandits and such, she would be at a significant advantage when it comes to other soldiers. Of course, she makes up for this with formidable agility and stamina that allows her to ware enemies down or take the heat off her allies. This correctly suggests she has some acrobatic skills and, while she may not be able to scale a wall or perform a back flip, she does possess the skills necessary to dodge incoming blows with simple modesty.

Skills : Strangely, Muse’s favorite hobby is basket weaving. She also has an impressive knowledge of geography and breaking horses, as well as caring for them.

Gear : Muse’s profession requires that she constantly be on the move. Therefore, it’s vital she dresses light. Her regular uniform consists of a red, sleeveless shirt that coils tightly around her person. To make up for the lack of sleeves, she regularly covers her arms and hands with bandages, making her hands more resistant to long-term combat. Her trousers are a tanned leather, making the motion of sliding across a rough surface more bearable. As not to get her trouser cuffs caught on something, she tucks them neatly into her boots. Above all this, she covers her body with a gold-colored cloak with red trim, though, this is mostly to denote rank rather than provide any combat advantages. When it comes to weaponry, she tries to pack lightly whilst making sure she’s armed with the vital tools. As such, her weapon of choice is a five-foot iron spear, a weapon that makes her lethal on horseback and able to keep a good distance from opponents on foot. The spear is typically strapped to her back with a leather sash.

Backpack : The backpack, in the form of a satchel strapped to her waist (under her coat) contains a roll of bandages, two skins of water, a small coil of rope, a wrapped up bread bun, and a small dagger not fit for combat. She also carries a few coins on her person for emergencies.

Personality : You may not think so from simple observation, but Muse is quite passionate about serving the weak and helpless. After all, she fully believes this is the sole purpose of a soldier, not to seek glory or amass wealth. Neither does she believe a soldier should just blindly follow orders, but rather act according to their own morals. Above all, she holds a personal distain for the needless sacrifice of others and especially for authority figures that do so. You might think these qualities make it difficult to cooperate with authority, and you’d be spot on; but, she does tend to make up for this with other traits. Among these redeeming qualities are her empathy (not to be confused with sympathy) and intuitive nature. This, evidently, makes her idea for team-work oriented combat in which tactics may be altered on a whim.

As stated, these are not personality traits that can be derived from mere observation, with the reason being a reserved demeanor explainable by many years of service to the Phoenix Empire. While she does not mean to come off as cold, she understands that it may be necessary to keep focused on assignments, lest it cost someone’s life. Other times, she may be just plain assertive in her opinions, often refusing to be ignored. In other aspects, she’s not very fond of humor and is easily agitated by immature behavior. On a few rare occasions, she may spare a grin if the moment is appropriate; and even more rarely does she deem something worthy of celebration, giving her the appearance of a workaholic.

Bio : Muse was born as the first daughter of a prestigious family, one whose ancestors are believed to have been one of the great heroes who helped liberate Crematia from the necromancers. While this prestige did not necessarily make her family beyond wealthy, it did put them in one of the safer areas of the continent: Calvion town, a humble and peaceful settlement with a long history to boot. Of course, this also meant it was found to be boring by many of the town's children, including Muse. Thus, she and many her age were notorious for their pranks, the most memorable being when they covered the town statute with manure (if you’re curious how it ended, they were all forced to clean it themselves). Home life was almost the same, except for her grandfather's stories of being a soldier in the Phoenix Empire. Indeed, the tale of how he defeated a nasty gang of thugs by himself was by far her favorite. Her father, on the other hand, found the stories quite irritating and often described the soldiers as, "People stupid enough to die because someone tells them to." Despite this, Muse knew from an early age that she wanted to be a mighty warrior, a hero of valor.

When she finally came of age, Muse enlisted into the military. Unfortunately, enlisting was the easy part. The training portion proved to be some of the most brutal years of her life but not because it was exceedingly difficult; but rather because she had not outgrown her immature attitude – an affliction that caused her to neglect much of her training. Even so, she passed, just barely. Shortly afterwards, she was placed into the light infantry division, specifically under Captain Louis's command. Captain Louis was a hardened man whose main concern was getting the job done at any cost, something he expected from his subordinates as well. As one might guess, putting Muse and Captain Louis next together was a poor choice. By the end of her first week under Captain Louis's command, Muse was cleaning the barracks with her own socks. That’s not to say it wall bad: she had quickly made a friend named Siliton, a man who covered for Muse’s wrongdoings on countless occasions.

For the most part, things stayed this way until, at the age of twenty-five, Muse along with Louis and a small group of men were sent to a minor fishing village to quell a group of rebels. The reason for this minnor revolt was ultimately due to a small group of bandits taking advantage of the village, which was ripe with disease at the time. Louis, however, had underestimated the number of enemies and was forced into a tactical retreat. Rather than inform his superiors of his failure though, he ordered the group to return to the village and burn it down. With a blind trust in their adamant captain, Muse and the group did just that. The village and its rebellious inhabitants were quickly consumed by the fire, ensuring a future celebration for the group; that is, until the cries of children came from within the fire. Those specific screams are the ones that would forever cling to Muse and break her fantasy of soldiers being heroes. Finally, the immature little girl had died and become a true soldier, one who knew the dark side of military life.

As it would turn out a month later, a portion of the bandits who started the revolt had escaped the village and set up small camps along the Deborah Mountains. Louis, afraid of any blemish on his record, responded with a plan to lure the bandits to an inescapable portion of the mountain. Siliton, ever the optimistic, volunteered to lure them. It would later become evident, however, that Louis had neglected to mention to Siliton that he too would be unable to escape. When Siliton had finally lured the bandit gang into the ambush point, he found himself without a place to retreat and was quickly outnumbered and ultimately died from a slash to the throat. When the last bandit had fallen, it was Muse who buried her fallen comrade. In a suspicious irony, Louis was found several days later in his own bed with his throat slashed…

Not long after, Muse finally began taking her training seriously, if not to an extreme. She was determined to become a great soldier. It wasn’t valor that drove her this time though, but rather a resentment to see innocents – comrades and civilians – die. It wasn’t long before she became a first lieutenant under Captain Zeigenbein. A relaxed (though skilled) individual, Zeigenbein proved to be the exact opposite of Louis. Beyond that, life was normal in Muse’s life for the next decade until she was specially selected by Knight Captain Markos Helmshear for a seemingly boring escort mission.

Other : FRAMPT

TeddyBearMafia

Rokanos "Ro" Seaborn

Name: Sergeant Rokanos “Ro” Seaborn

Appearance:

The picture above, plus descriptions in gear and backpack. Hair is a dark blue/black with very dark brown eyes. This is an action shot of Rokanos checking his wards, hence the observed paranoia and suspicion. (Full credit to WotC obviously).

Race: Human

Age: 32

Gender: Male

Side: Imperial Troops (FRAMPT!)

Title: Tactical Warmage

Abilities: though typically used in large scale engagements as a variety of specialist spellcasters, the role of “tactical warmage” in the Imperial army is actually much more flexible. When an expedition is not large or important enough to merit a the full coterie of an archmage, clerics, communications specialists, defensive spellcasters, and so on, the tactical magician is called upon to fill all of these roles. Thus, though Ro’s magical training was far more specific than the standardized training that Imperial warmages typically receive, it was further diversified and made very eclectic by his five years of small-unit operations.

• Spellcasting: Like all warmages trained at the Imperial College, Ro casts spells through use of the standardized IPGREL (Imperial Phoenix Geometrical and Runic Evocation Language). This style means that the raw magical ability of the individual is concentrated through precise drawings, gestures, and intonations which are clearly recognizable to allied spellcasters on the battlefield to avoid magical catastrophes. However, out of necessity (read: boredom) Ro began to experiment (read: improve) upon the IPGREL to the point where some of his spells are unrecognizable to his fellow warmages. His natural talent for maths and languages has helped him further utilize his raw magical talent and made him a great asset to whatever unit to which he is attached. It is important to note that though Ro is an apprentice in many traditional magical disciplines, he is a master in few to none. The one area in which he truly excels is in defensive spellcasting, particularly with regard to defensive abjurations, shields, and counterspells. Thus, despite his weakness in traditional offensive blasting and evocation, Ro has found his niche in small-unit tactical operations.


• Military Skills: Though he is certainly not an expert soldier by any means, Ro is not incapable of holding his own in a brawl. His swordsmanship is average by Imperial standards, his horsemanship is better than normal, and his physique leaves little to be desired. Despite his experience, however, Ro’s left arm was shattered in seven places during a battle four years ago and it was nigh impossible to heal correctly; the elbow alone was little more than pulp. This has meant that he is incapable of holding a shield in battle and rarely straws near the very front lines of an engagement if he can help it. Instead, he prefers to utilize his semi-autonomous position and extensive memories of enemy tactics to assist more capable soldiers in carrying out his commanding officer’s orders.


• Literacy: Finally, Ro speaks and writes a number of languages to varying degrees. Usually, if it is a language spoken somewhere in the Empire or by a major trade partner, Ro can be counted upon to at least know a formal greeting and a few basic sentences or have recorded them somewhere. As per Imperial warmage protocol, Ro makes detailed after action reports on all engagements deemed ‘noteworthy’ and submits them for review along with the observations of the commanding officer. Thus, he is a capable historian and adept at noticing details that might prove important later.

Skills: Ro is also knowledgeable in a number of fields seemingly unrelated to his work, as well as a few directly resulting from his hours spent poring over dusty tomes and carefully recreating runes. First of all, he is an adept sketcher and adorns his observatory notes with a number of sketches and diagrams of anything that he thinks is interesting or might even prove useful to his spellcasting; Ro gets many of his best ideas from nature. Secondly, he has an intensely (read: regrettably) deep knowledge of proper court protocol and fashion, drawn primarily from his aristocratic upbringing. Finally, he also enjoys carving, though it has become harder since the loss of his left hand, and he will regularly spend hours at a time working at creating runes or simply anything that catches his attention.

Gear: Ro does not carry much on him, by choice. As protocol dictates, he retains his family’s traditional high-collared black coat, but the family crest has long since worn off and Ro has seen no real pressing need to replace it. Thus, the coat is quite scuffed and worn, though in incredible condition for a near decade worth of service; the amount of magic spent keeping this coat together over Ro’s military career would likely save a dying man from death if released all at once. The only real ornamentation to be found on it are the quadruple silver crosses on his collar which signify his rank and the medal he received after having his arm obliterated by a mace while distracted by the task of driving an upstart bandit hedge-mage insane. Below the coat he wears practical and simple military fare: a half-body light scaled mail, studded greaves, and open-ended plate gauntlets designed by the Imperial College to keep a warmage’s hands or wrists from being easily crushed by a smart opponent. They cover only the lower arm and not the elbow or above, an oversight that Ro was sure to point out bitterly to the Imperial College medical mage who “fixed” his arm. Finally, though he doesn’t always need the use of it, his left arm is often in a tastefully designed sling that holds his arm in place; otherwise the sometimes terrible twitching from the irreparable nerve damage in his arm would drive him to distraction.

Spellcasting Gear: Ro has three implements that he uses for casting his spells. The first is the “book”, really a dictionary of the IPGREL that Ro has heavily edited and adapted to suit his own needs. This he keeps hanging off of his belt in a special carrying case – it is enchanted to be unusually light and flip to whatever page number Ro wishes when it is opened, which allows him to carry it in the crook of his mostly useless left arm when he is in combat. The second instrument that he uses is his sword: functionally a light steel thrusting sword which he keeps slung over his back, it is flexible enough to be Ro’s tool of choice when he starts to trace his geometric patterns in the air or the ground in order to release his magic. Though it is not necessary that he uses an instrument to do so, Ro enjoys the comforting feel of a sword in his hand and therefore regularly channels his magic through it when spellcasting. This has made the sword itself unnaturally resistant and strong, but also very reactive to foreign magic. Therefore, if caught in a battle with an enemy spellcaster, Ro will typically sheathe his sword and use his final tool, the “rune-weaver”. Actually an amulet kept tucked under his shirt, the rune-weaver allows Ro to store carefully pre-written patterns and runes that can be released individually, sequentially, or all at once. Typically, to avoid exhausting himself utterly each day when storing his magic, Ro keeps five or six key runes that might be needed almost instantaneously or when in battle with another spellcaster – this is already two more than the recommended maximum limit set by the Imperial College.

Backpack: Ro’s “backpack” contains standard travel fare: bedrolls, tent, rations, knives, a hatchet, and waterskins. If not mounted and carrying them in a saddlebag, Ro keeps these bare minimums for rough survival in a grey satchel on his back with an extra knife tied to the side of his right greave. Typically, he can also be expected to have multiple rolls of paper, ink, and other writing utensils as required. A small pouch of assorted round pebbles is also kept at his side at all times, mainly for the odd time that Ro is the only one in a group equipped engage in long-distance combat; these pebbles tend to find themselves embedded in the skulls of those poor souls not lucky enough to duck.

Personality: Despite the obscurity and complete illegibility of what he is doing to most of those who serve beside him, Ro is fundamentally an outgoing individual. He enjoys the regular companionship of others, and especially enjoys sharing stories with people who actually want to listen. Despite this, however, he has not escaped the hardening influences of constant travel, injury, and combat, and therefore can be quite dour and dark at times. Though he is not prone to breakdowns, he can get paranoid about doing his job correctly, sacrificing sleep to double or triple check the wards he has placed on the encampment. He relies on the familiar bustle of an army campsite to calm him during these periods, even if he is taking a moment to sit silently on the sidelines. When most distressed, Ro will simply delve into his work even harder, ultimately only succeeding in feeding his neuroses.

In combat or when facing a crisis, Ro is mathematical and systematic in his problem-solving. He is not overly brave but holds his own magical skill in enough esteem that he can often appear to be abnormally brave to those who serve alongside him. He also rigorously follows the chain of command when as it relates to overall objectives; when it comes to style and the manner of achieving those objectives Ro demands some flexibility. This reflects his desire to constantly prove himself and his skill at innovation and execution to some higher authority, whether that be his captain, his emperor, or his father. It would not be incorrect to label Ro a perfectionist, but that is more a side-effect born out of his constant drive for self-improvement rather than a quality inherent to him. In most other aspects of his surface personality, however, Ro displays qualities typical of a career Imperial soldier, and rarely if ever stops to ponder any pangs of regret he might feel for having chosen this life.

History: Ro was born into a wealthy aristocratic line in a major provincial city, but as the fourth son of his father’s second wife (ninth overall) he was almost completely invisible in his father’s eyes despite his exceptional academic aptitude manifested in early schooling. He was to be assigned to apprentice to a steward position in another noble house his father intended to make friends with, but found the silence of the balance books to be unbearable, even if the math came easy. After but a single year of that apprenticeship, Ro happened upon an Imperial captain who was being put up at the mansion in which he worked. After a few drinks, the captain opened up about his next assignment: he was to be deployed hundreds of miles away on the eastern front in the early stages of yet another border dispute. The tales he spun of gold and glory were undoubtedly exaggerated, but to a boy raised in a library for a sedentary and political lifestyle, they sounded romantic. To escape the bureaucratic heart of the empire that in the sergeant’s words had “lost its martial spirit” became Ro’s primary goal from that point on. The easiest way to do that and disappear was to join the army.

Ro did just that, shortening his name to the moniker by which he is now popularly known, and using a generic surname commonly used by those who wished to disappear. It was obvious to most around him that he came from wealth, but those signs were quickly washed away by the day to day life of the seventeenth Imperial legion. Ro was recruited as a legionnaire initially, learning to fight with sword and shield until his limbs could take no more abuse. However, he spent barely a single campaign in that role before his entire world shifted around him. It was during the infamous Battle of Norrington Hill (where half of the twelfth and a quarter of the seventeenth legions were wiped out) that his magic manifested. Ro’s battalion had been tasked with holding the rear of hill from the enemy assault when one of the warmages holding the magical shields around the soldiers failed to properly form one of his defensive runes and took an arrow in the neck because of it. With his shield broken, the enemy mages exploited the gap and proceeded to systematically eliminate almost all of the battalion’s Imperial warmages. With fire raining down on their heads, Ro’s flank collapsed almost immediately and left him almost alone and face to face with a tattooed and scarred barbarian druid. Ro doesn’t remember how, but from the stories that he was told after the event the druid tried to incinerate Ro and found his magic turned back not only upon himself but upon the advancing warriors behind him. This was hardly enough to win the battle, but it provided the nearby legionnaires with some courage and the rearguard held long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Though not the most auspicious display of magic, the story got out and Ro found himself suddenly removed from his military lifestyle and shunted off to the Imperial College for aptitude testing. With the elimination of so many of the limited number of trained warmages at Norrington Hill, the College was desperate to restore their numbers, and so Ro joined the first class of ‘tactical warmages’ drawn from all walks of life with the only requirement being a certain degree of raw magical talent. Previous to this, the College had been an elite institution for aristocrats and a few particularly skilled savants discovered by College recruiters. Thus, Ro joined a class of hedge-mages, witches, fortune-tellers, prisoners, circus-performers and a whole range of riff-raff that showed magical aptitude but had never been good enough to meet the standards of the College before. Learning from their mistakes, however, the College decided that they would sort these various ‘tactical’ spellcasters into divisions according to their strengths rather than rely on generalist warmages in large-scale pitched battles. It was no surprise that Ro showed particular aptitude in his testing for defensive magic, and so his three years of expedited training focused mainly on that before he was sent off to the Western Front to “learn practical lessons” and fight yet another border conflict as the Empire continued to try and secure its boundaries.

Throughout this period, Ro’s family continued to pretend that he didn’t exist. The military was not an inauspicious role for son ninth in the line for the head of the family, but with his enlistment as a private and not an officer, and with the recent changes to the College to make it less exclusive, he was regarded as having tarnished the family name. Thus, though Ro was required to wear his family’s colours (black and light blue) as part of ancient College tradition for aristocratic warmages, he did so with little joy and no further support. He certainly received little special treatment for his background – in fact, he was regarded as a second-class mage by most of the existing warmages. This is because the training for full offensive mages traditionally began in childhood and one would spend almost ten or twelve years honing their talent before being allowed to go out in the field. Though Ro had been trained heavily in one aspect of standard Imperial magic, it was still only one facet and not the multitude of options that full warmages had available to them.

Therefore, Ro ended up being used as a frontline ‘shield’ for years in wars of conquest. In this time however, he became part of a trend amongst the other tactical warmages of slowly expanding their pool of knowledge through practice rather than study. The haphazard and often impromptu ways that they innovated disturbed the College but was undoubtedly effective, so many were allowed to continue. For Ro, he began to develop a set of refined runes that deflected blasts of magical energy back upon their casters. Thus, after two more campaigns Ro became fairly well-known in his unit for his talent for assassinating enemy mages. He was moved to smaller-scale unit tactics as a result, typically operating in tandem with an offensive mage as part of commando raids. In this role he was effective though not extraordinary, and over time he managed to finally move up the ranks and gain some degree of autonomy. However, his rise was cut short after his arm was shattered in a raid on a bandit encampment (they had a tame bear honestly who has a tame bear).

Ro was forced to continue innovating after that point in order to accommodate his injury, and became a popular ‘jack of all trades’ for commando units... though he was nowhere near the best. Frustrated and feeling somewhat limited, Ro found himself serving escort duty more often than not, taking risks in hopes of finding an opportunity to prove himself worthy of the frontlines again. With the medal he received for his injury and his respectable rank, his family did finally take notice of him once more, and an offer was extended to return to the family fold. After all, a twice decorated warmage was a handy tool in the pocket of his father as he sought a senatorial seat in the capital. As feelings of uselessness continue to grow, Ro is ever tempted to finally return home and take on a mission that might actually make his father think of him as something more than just tool. On the other hand, he wants nothing to do with the manipulation and the politics of the city – he has internalized life in the legion and could not live without it. As such, when he was directed to serve as the tactical support for Capt. Markos Helmshear on another routine escort mission, Ro simply packed his bags and showed up on time for departure.

Reclamation {High-Casual-Fantasy-RP}

Welcome to the world of Lethania

Brief Basic Story

The action takes place in the land of Crematia, which is ‘officially’ ruled by the Phoenix Empire, humans who worship the legendary Phoenix Bird and everything related to it, such as the Sun, Fire, etc. The land however, is far from prosperous or peaceful, as it is full of dangers in many different forms. Bandits, savage beasts, rebels, so-called heretics, undead, famine, plagues, poverty and more. The Empire has a fragile grip on the lands and they cannot dedicate their whole time, troops and efforts to taking care of everything as they fear war and invasions from other lands. It is in these times where mercenaries prosper and would-be adventures leave home with a weapon in hand and dreams of carving their own glorious destinies.

The story takes place in different angles.
On one side, we have a band of mercenaries, seeking to make a living and end up being sucked into something far greater.
On another side, we have a company of loyal Imperials following the orders of their emperor on a crucial mission.
On another side, we have a small party of foreigners who ended up in this land seeking to bring a fleeing criminal to justice.

They will all collide and end up being involved in a story long forgotten and concealed by forces beyond. In the end, it will be their decisions that will shape the future of Crematia and all of Lethania.

Which side will you be on?

Detailed Story and History

In the ancient, long forgotten times, the world was savage and dominated by the laws of nature. There was but a single continent of colossal size where the wildlife prospered and dominated, a place where the legendary Demigods called home. These grand beings are said to be the defunct offsprings of the Gods, abandoned on a barren world, forgotten by their makers and left to wither away. However, these beings instead have turned it into a paradise, a place of prosperous and fertile lands, vast oceans and the most wondrous of animals, a place they called home. For eons they lived in peace, this until the new prosperity of the world caught the wrong attention. Demons. Infernal beings with an insatiable hunger have found their way to the Demigod’s home and such a world brimming with life was a true feast for them. Thus, a great war erupted, between the spawns of divinity and corruption, a war that lasted longer than any of us can imagine. After what seemed to be an eternal struggle, the Demigods have finally succeeded in vanquishing the Demons from their home, however….they paid a high price. The world remained scarred from that moment on and only a fraction of the Demigods remained. Further more, a new species was born amidst the struggle, small fragile creatures, born with both the purity of the Demigods as much as the corruption of the Demons. The Humans. While the wisest of actions would have been to exterminate these new beings, the Demigods instead spared them, nurtured them and found them a place in their world. The first Humans came to revere the Demigods, to them they were grand beings, immortal and with great power. So they built places of worship for them among their humble shelters and would pray to them to keep them safe from the savage world they lived in. All was well and the world was slowly starting to heal.

But nothing lasts forever.

Eventually, the humans grew tiresome of living in servitude and the Demigods were angry with their insolence. There was nothing they could do, while the Humans grew more numerous, the Demigods were still far to powerful and could exterminate their whole species should they try to oppose them. It was only until one Demigod, known as Arcturus, filled with ambition and greed, turned on his brethren and taught the Humans the secrets of magic. Arcturu’s disciples in turn shared their magic with more of their kin and when Arcturu’s treachery was discovered it was too late. The Humans armed themselves with weapons and magic, lead by Arcturus they managed to overthrow the rest of the Demigods, changing the world forever in the process. Many of their kin lost their lives in this struggle and the colossal continent itself shattered into pieces, separating the Humans into different regions of the world. In the end, Arcturu’s disciples turned on their master, seeing that they would live no better under his rule. The ultimate fate of Arcturus and his 4 disciples remains shrouded in mystery, all the while, the rest of humanity began to build homes of their own where they could live in the remains of the world.

This is how the world came to be. Or at least, this is the legend.

If any of these events are true than they happened an eternity ago as no one can say for sure nor can they fully deny it. But, most don’t bother with ancient history anyway. No, no. In these troubled times there are more important events to worry about.
What is known for sure, is that the world of Lethania is separated into different continents :

The largest of them all is Farstant, to the North. A vast land of mountains and plains covered in snow.

To the East lies the land of Taiyoku, a place filled with mystery and wonder, where nature flourishes in the rays of the rising sun.

The smallest of the continents is found in the South-West, Sham’aka, a chain of multiple large islands, some entirely covered in deserts in the overpowering heat of the sun and some prospering with exotic wildlife.

And close to the center of the world, lies the troubled lands of Crematia, where once a terrible curse reigned supreme and its remnants still haunt those who try to mind their own lives. It is also where our story takes place.

Crematia was once plagued by one of humanity’s greatest threats, the Undead. For many years, the vile Necromancers where holding a tight grip on these lands, seeking to cleanse it of all life and eventually expand to the rest of the world. Until they were stopped by brave heroes who hoped to turn Crematia in a prosperous home for their kind. They built what is today known as the Phoenix Empire and have been trying to secure their future for many decades. Today, the lands of Crematia are troubled by many dangers: plagues and diseases, famine, outlaws, rebels, wild beasts and even the constant threat of war from the other countries. It is in these troubled times where the decisions of potential heroes will unfold events that will change the world and the fate of its denizens.

In such times, mercenaries and soldiers of fortune prosper and roam the land in search for wealthy people with potential work. A particular group of sell-swords known as the “Ironwood Company” are about to finish their latest contract and unbeknownst to them, their next assignment will draw them in the heart of something grater than any of them.

In the distant lands of Taiyoku, some crimes deserve a penalty worse than death. It is such a crime that has forced a party, lead by a noble and respected warrior to seek out the perpetrator who has fled to the troubled land. Their noble task is to deliver justice, yet they will soon discover that the world is not all black and white.

With all the troubles and difficulties that the Phoenix Empire is facing, a veteran Imperial captain gathered a small troop of trusted Imperials to undertake what would appear to be a trifle assignment. Yet their loyalty will put to the task as they will discover that their Emperor has withheld certain secrets and there is more to this task than meets the eye.
Each of these potential heroes will collide and in the end it will be their decisions that will shape the future of Crematia and the whole of Lethania.

On which side will you be when that happens?

This…

..Is..

Reclamation

(Psst…if you read everything to this point, you are Awesome . Put “Frampt” in bolded letters somewhere on your CS so I will know to add you some awesome points :D )

Welcome to a my High-Casual RP, grab a seat, have a drink and have fun :)

Rules

1 – I am the GM, with all the perks and responsibilities that come with it

2 – Be friendly and respectful to your fellow RPers

3 – Please use decent grammar, I’m not a grammar nazi and mine own is not perfect, all I ask is that you do your best.

4 – Please post at least 2-3 paragraphs of text all the while respecting the “quality over quantity” rule

5 – Mature content is allowed but keep it under control, this is not a smut-film nor is it a steamy porno.

6 – This is intended to be a long-term RP. I have my own IRL affairs to deal with which preside over other things but I will eventually always return to RPGuild. That being said, do not be absent for a great amount of time without so much as a heads-up and if you need to abandon for good and then please, please tell us in good time.

7 – Last but not least, Have Fun !

General Information

This info is to help you create your character and make him/her(it?) fit into the setting. You may be as creative as you wish so long as you do not go over the top, so please do not look at the following as “character creation rules/restrictions”, they are there so that you can balance creativity with reason.

Firstly, NO overpowered characters. Call me weird but this is what I fear the most about upcoming CS-es (don’t know why). When making a character try to not go way over the top with his strengths. In this RP, no one is meant to be something like a “one-man-army”(there are certain exceptions to this but they are part of the story). We don’t start out from “zero”, your character can be a swordsmaster, a fire-wielding wizard or anything your imagination allows so long as you keep his/her ‘power levels’ in check. Its for the sake of the story.
This leads to the 2nd point

Team-Play
You will soon notice in this RP that none of your characters will start off solo. Anyone who knows me would know that this is a contradiction for me (I like solo gaming) but team-play is the point of the “power-restrictions” from above. In this world, if you venture off alone, there are very high chances that your character will end up dead…horribly. In order to succeed our characters must work as a team against the ‘environment’ ( which is controlled by me, hihi).

Races
You are allowed to be any race you wish to be so long as you keep a few things in mind : firstly, this is a “Human-dominated world”, what that means is that Humans are the most numerous and every other race is nowhere near to that level of population. Secondly, no ‘super-races’, by which I mean stuff like Drakonians, Dragons are the stuff of legend and there are few in this world who believe in their existence, further more if your character would be a half-dragon with all the perks that come with it then it would also break against the ‘balancing power-levels’ which I mentioned before. Also, no races that are ‘immortal’ or where each individual lives several hundreds of years. You are also not forced to stick to the ‘classic’ races if you don’t want to. If you want to make-up your own race then go ahead, as long as you explain your race first.

Classes
You just about the same freedom in classes as you have in races. No restrictions so long as you respect the ‘power-level’.

Tech
Needless to say, this is a medieval fantasy setting so we won’t be seeing firearms or the like. I may allow you some old technology on your characters such as really primitive steam-punk stuffs so long as you can make them in such a way as to make sense and not be overpowered.

Posting Settings
There won’t be any particular posting order, such as a “round by round” post. The story and action takes place in a ‘3-plan-way’ kinda thing so a “everyone posts once per ‘round’ “ won’t really work well. You can post whenever you wish so long as you allow other people to post themselves before you do again. Further more, when we go into action part of the Rp, namely combat, we will be posting in something I call ‘interactive post system’, by which it means that instead of playing out the actions of your character and the results yourself, you post the action your character takes in whatever situation he is and mention the REZULT you hope to come.
Example
“Jared sees the skeleton warrior in front and casts a fireball at it, turning the fiend into a pile a charred bones” - no-
Vs.
“Jared sees the skeleton warrior in front and casts a fireball which he throws at it, aiming to turn the fiend in pile of charred bones. Should that fail, he will draw his sword and meet the creature in close combat” -yes-

See what I mean ;) ?

Sides

As mentioned before, the action of the story takes place on 3 separate planes. Your character must be part of one of these planes.
Here are your options:

“Ironwood Company”
The Ironwood Company is a mercenary group lead by Sylas Greenbark, a young yet experienced soldier of fortune with decent sense of morality who decided to make and lead his own company of sell-swords after having a falling out with the leader of his previous company. Assisting him is his close friend Hakon Ironside, a former Imperial knight who sought the life of a mercenary after being forced to retire from the Imperial military. The Ironwood Company seeks to earn their pay in this troubled land.

“Eastern Wanderers”
A once honorable man committed an unforgivable crime in the eastern lands of Taiyoku. This criminal stole an ancient relic belonging to the royal family that rules the land, killed several royal guards and even wounded the heir prince before escaping by boat and ending up in Crematia due to a storm. Saito Wakeshima, a loyal and experienced samurai was charged with the task of hunting down the criminal, recover the artifact and deliver the appropriate punishment. He gathered a party of trusted people and immediately set sail. He and his party have only recently landed on the shores of this foreign land and must make a plan on how to find the one they seek.

“Imperial Troops”
The Phoenix Empire has trouble with maintaining their control of the land. Rebels, bandits, plagues and uneasy treaties being only a few of the problems they face. With that said, it was with much reluctance that Captain Markos Helmshear of the Imperial army, accepted to undertake a trivial escorting mission. His task consisted on escorting a member of the clergy to a certain place marked on his personal map. His superiors couldn’t stress enough that the subject of their escort is an important member of the clergy in spite of his appearances but they couldn’t tell him anything more. And so, he assembled a small troop which he deemed would suffice and set out, hoping to be done with this mission so he can return to more important matters.

CHARACTER SHEET

Name : the name and/or nickname of your character

Appearance : Image is great, description is wonderful, both is awesome

Race : Your character’s race.

Age : no younger than 18 and no older than 150

Gender : you know..

Side : Refer to the “Sides” section for this one.

Title : This is the “class” of your character. What your character calls himself/herself depending on his/her skills and/or abilities. For example, if you call yourself a “Guard” then you would most probably be wearing heavy armor, a shield and be good at taunting and supporting greater deals of punishment than others.

Abilities : These are the main abilities of your character which are tied to his/her “Title”

Skills : These are the ‘hobbies’ and “non-Title-tied” abilities that your character has. Things such as cooking, singing, dancing, etc. would have their place here.

Gear : The equipment that your character wears and uses. Armor, clothing, weapons and the like. No legendary stuffs, you can have something of a good quality but no “Grandmaster’s Fire-Great-Sword of the Gods + 100” bullshit.

Backpack : The items that your character carries with him and may use when needed. Things such as food, potions, books, etc. would have their place here. {protip : be well stocked but don’t overburden yourself ;) }

Personality : Tells about your character, what is he/she like?

Bio : You know what to do here. Be as creative as you wish.

Other : Anything else you would like to mention about your character that does not fall under any of the above categories?

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, no matter how simple, complicated or stupid they may be :D

Project A (A Human-Animal Hybrid RP)

Name: Alexei Novikov

Nickname: “Medved” – Russian for ‘Bear’

Gender: Male

Age: 49

Animal: Grizzly Bear

Appearance: Alexei is a burly man, standing 1,82 m tall and weighing 87 kg, with strong arms, broad chest and shoulders and a round, yet not oversized, belly. Some gray started to show on his short hair and beard and even slightly on the hair from his chest, belly and arms. He has small dark brown eyes and a few wrinkles on his face

Image

In his Half-Animal form, Alexei grows a larger frame doubling his weight, has much more hair covering his body, his hands and feet grow larger and his nails turn into small rounded claws. His teeth also grow slightly and his upper and lower canines become pointier. He also gains a strong sense of smell and a more resilient constitution.

In his Full-Animal form, Alexei becomes a larger than average Grizzly Bear, standing as tall as 3.5 m and weighing 460 kg.

Image

Personality: Alexei is a man of few words, he talks only when he feels he has something relevant to say and is not the kind of man to go beating around the bush and will almost never sugar-coat any remarks he may have to make. Due to this he is not really the sort of man whom one would turn for a soft-spoken word or a humor full conversation. However, he is a good man who cares for those around, especially if they are younger people with their lives still ahead, most of the times he will apply for the “tough-love” approach, meaning well but sometimes being a little too rough, age has taught him that the world is a hard place and one should be prepared for it. Not a coward, but he will highly disprove of risky or reckless approaches and will prove to have a stubbornness that few can mach. While strong and perfectly capable of some fierce fighting, he will hesitate to resolve to violence unless he can’t avoid it.

History: Retired Lieutenant of the Russian Army, the rest remains to be discovered in the RP

Other : Project A

EDIT :

FireHeartWolf said
wtf is that hyper wolf actually doing?! LL I'm watching you.... -_-

Thats a gimmick from Dark Souls, the giant wolf with a sword in his mouth will sometimes spend an unreasonable amount of time jumping forward right in your face only to almost immediately jump away and repeat the process, in those moments the only thing you can really do is stand there with your shield ready waiting for him to chill down and MAYBE find an opening before becoming a chew-toy :3

Project A (A Human-Animal Hybrid RP)

interested, would like to reserve a spot for a Grizzly Bear hybrid.

[MachineSoul] - I, Ninja - [Zamokra41]

Wulfus was very welcoming and hospitable, obviously he was probably waiting for guests to arrive yet there were none, Sylas had thought that maybe he would get to see Ray and Mia as well though it was not so and he found it a bit odd. Regardless, it felt nice to see a friendly face. Sylas followed his host deeper in the workshop filled with so many strange and technologically advanced machines that one would believe its brought from a SF. The wolf couldn’t help but gaze around these oddities, in his travels he had seen his fair share of advanced utilities and such but nothing like this. This place was a hardcore, technologically advanced place of science and he felt a bit overwhelmed but one couldn’t possibly tell just by looking at him. Wulfus relieved him of his bags and then offered a tool trolley for him to sit upon, assuring the wolf that its stable enough to bare his weight. When one of the drawers fell on the floor and its contest rolled all over the place, Sylas gazed at Wulfus and then chuckled faintly as the hybrid loudly exclaimed that "Now it's safe!". After they both chuckled, Sylas took the bottle of beer that Wulfus offered him and eagerly took a gulp. One would assume that the wolf would much rather prefer to drink some Sake but truth be told he much rather preferred the Western alcoholic beverages. He didn’t dislike Sake but after he first had a taste of beer he considered the traditional drink of his homeland to be more of a ‘ritual drink’ as part of his preparation for an upcoming challenge.

"I know, it's not the best place to arrange a supposed reunion, which has failed anyway... Ray said he was still working at his office, Mia will not answer her phone no matter what and my sister is most likely out with some of her friends or something like that. But, hey, I'm glad that you, out of all people, showed up! I'm not sure how you ended up in Chicago, but I am really glad you did, not to mention you made it just in time to celebrate my latest failure." Wulfus said bitterly, confirming Syla’s suspicions that he was expecting other guests but in the end none arrived. What truly caught the wolf’s attention was Wulfu’s mention of a ‘failure’ but before he could inquire about the nature of this failure, Wulfus drained a hefty portion of his drink and then wanted to hear about how Sylas has been doing and how he progressed in English. The wolf offered a feint smile and then spoke “Improving.” He said shortly before bowing his head a bit “My thanks again for teaching me, Wulfus-san. The books you offered me were most helpful and I have been improving with every day.” Sylas was indeed fluent in English though his Japanese accent could still be felt and betrayed his origins. Wulfus seemed happy with his progress and after a nod, Sylas proceed to telling him of his journey around the world. He spoke of his first experience with the outside world when he landed in China. The people there were sullen and silent and many seemed to be rather suspicious if not down-right bothered by the presence of an outsider. The country represented one of the strongest military powers and its people always seem to be on the edge as if expecting a war of sorts any day. They kept to themselves and Sylas had difficulty living in that country. He managed to rent a small room at a bed-and-breakfast in a small town called Xianning but he didn’t stay long, booking a flight as soon as he could to leave.

His next destination was the infamous ‘Mother-Land’ of Russia. Sylas had read and heard that it was supposedly a cold place, weather as well as people. The weather truly took him unprepared, in spite of his fur and winter clothing, the wolf was shivering. The wind cut through the bone and at one point he could swear one of his fangs turned into an icicle. They both had a laugh at that before he continued his tale. Although the climate was different, Sylas had a better time in Russia than China. He landed in a small town called Bolkhov where he meet a rather welcoming elderly family who offered him to stay in their spare guest-room in exchange for some manual labor side-by-side with their sons. His stay in Russia was a pleasant one and although the weather was cold, it warmed him to see a family so close as his former-hosts and not to mention that there is also where he had his first taste of a strong stiff drink that put him under the table.

Sylas continued to tell about his journey. From Russia to Finland. From Finland to Sweden and Norway. From there to Poland and then to Germany. From Germany to France and then Italy, Hungary and Romania followed by Ukraine and then all across to England. He traveled far and wide in these 2 years, taking on all sorts of small-time jobs, earning just enough to journey to his next destination all the while trying to learn what he could about the country and trying to find even the smallest of clues about what his destiny could hold for him. Wulfus was listening patiently to the wolf rambling on about his adventures taking sips from his beer every once and a while. One beer and a half later, the wolf finished his tale by stating “After such a long journey, I have learned much and more. I saw wonders that some people walk through life without witnessing them first-hand. I met many interesting and curious people who showed me the best as well as the worst of what their homeland had to offer.” He sighed “Yet after such a long journey, I have yet to find my place in this world. My…’raison d’etre’ as the French say.” And now I am here, still searching and hoping beyond hope to find even the slightest of hints. Were his thoughts but he didn’t voice them, rather he took another gulp from his 2nd beer. Wulfus was clearly feeling his drink get to his head as his appearance betrayed, Sylas couldn’t help but smile recalling that he was just about the same if not worse before he built up his tolerance in his journeys by sampling the local brew with every chance he was offered.

At one point, the hybrid stood up and chuckled almost as if pitying someone and throwing a grim gaze to the bottle before stating in a lame tone "Ya know, I never told you why I invited you here.”

“No, you didn’t” Sylas confirmed as if awaiting an explanation.

Wulfus continued with "There's been this... hm, competition-kind-like-thing, ya see. A design contest, if you - hm - will. There's this big, BIG Pee Em See running most of the West Coast security and with abroad activity, Dragon Super Star Troops and- wait. No. D-Dragon. Star. Echelon. Yeah. 'N they needed a new body armor design, a fresh kind-of-thing from anyone who's not engineering in their company. So, anyone could join, even small-time guys like me. And, after I studied real hard about their general activities, I thought they'd need, like, a body armor for scouts, recon - yaknow, sneaky kind of people. They have a lot of heavy-duty armors, some really basic stuff, experimental mech-like tank-thing. Heck, they have exoskeletons lined with artificial muscles that makes you stronger tenfold! But no recon... uh, things!" The hybrid burped and then continued while gesturing with his arms and spilling his beer around.

"So, I started to study and refresh my physics notions... with regards to, like, light spectrum, light absorption and reflection and the likes. I've made suits before, so I basically know how to make your standard body armor, but this... this was no ordinary body armor. Lined with a thin exoskeleton that enhances the user's entire skeletal muscle system hidden under an outer, thin layer of thermal and electrical insulant which is then covered with a thicker payer of buckypaper! You know, carbon nanotube aggregates, a tough-as-shit composite material; I wanted to add some graphene plating, but you'd get instantly electrocuted by anything, not to mention it would have costed me a fortune to procure. Oh, and, I've found this funky pattern to layer the buckypaper in which, not only it protects you from bullets, but it deflects them! “

Sylas threw him a gaze of disbelief

“I'm not shitting you, I made an armor that stops bullets and drops them on the ground! Not to mention that you can take a severe beating from a street gang and you'd still be able to walk it off with your insides intact!” Sylas couldn’t help but chuckle, he had his doubts about something like that being possible but he was certain Wulfus wouldn’t be making this stuff up. He remained silent and listened intently to Wulfus continuing to describe the properties of his project.

As the hybrid continued to describe the possibilities one could touch with his project, Sylas found himself more and more intrigued, his golden eyes widening, listening intently and giving a nod every now and then as is Japanese custom during a conversation to reassure that he was paying attention. Wulfus then invited the wolf to follow him with a wave of his hand up the elevated platform where one could notice three large objects covered with white sheets. When the hybrid pulled the cover off of one, Syla’s mouth gaped ever so slightly, doing his best to mask his amazement. He gazed at the suit, scanning and examining its every detail which betrayed the sheer amount of effort that Wulfus put into creating this out of this world apparition.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Took me five months of non-stop work. Heck, I moved here, as you can see. I wanted to deliver a finished product, not an useless sculpture. I mean, it's got proximity sensors: the moment your suit detects another person disrupting the light, undetectable electromagnetic field it creates, you will be alerted of that guy's presence AND it will point you to where he is! The helmet has multiple cameras embed into that hard material to simulate the world around you, but adding visual enhancements such as night vision, thermal vision, long range scanning; in fact, the helmet is kind of a computer, it's made so that you can talk with your squad, view a YouTube video while sneaking from one corner to another, all in the while you can monitor the integrity of your suit and yourself!"

Syla’s gaze never left the suit as he nodded and responded with “Wulfus-san. This is…simply amazing. I…I am at a loss for words.” Wulfus took another gulp from his beer, draining the remains of its contents before delivering an explanation to one of Syla’s unmentioned earlier curiosities.

"And guess what! Those motherfuckers refused it. They picked another exoskeleton design made by one of the C.E.O.'s grandson, a rudimentary and utterly crude thing it was. Plus, they wouldn't want to give away any money to a skinny, shady freelance." he said with a bitter taste on his tongue. "So, that's what we celebrate today. The failure I had yesterday. Cheers, to a road of success and everything implicated... in such things!"

The wolf was frowning “Baka-na” he muttered finding himself in disbelief how anyone could refuse this kind of a project . In a few moments Wulfus walked away to fetch himself another drink, no doubt feeling the need to drown his sorrows even further, leaving the black wolf alone with the now exposed suit. Sylas sat himself in the traditional ‘seiza’ style, still gazing at the suit and drinking it all in. For a brief moment there he felt…something…stir inside of him as he ‘crossed gazes’ with the helmet. He had never seen anything like it before, in all his journeys he had never seen something like this. He recalled how his grandfather once taught him how to forge a traditional katana, the great effort and dedication put behind it which ultimately forms a bond between the samurai and his weapon. He imagined that the same amount of effort was put behind the suit in front of him. He was impressed and it was one of the few moments when he felt humbled in front of the fruits of one man’s hard labor. In the end Sylas was broken out of his trance by Wulfus, tapping him on the shoulder with more force than one would usually use for such an action.

"Those motherfuckers didn't even consider putting it on for a test run. I think that model is actually your size, I reckon. Say... wanna try it out?”

Sylas darted his gaze at Wulfus akin to how a predator would shift his head to a potential prey only the wolf was giving the hybrid a look that screamed ‘You can’t be serious’

“Come oooooon, we both want it! I need to document some firsthand experience for it, you get to run around with the thing. Maybe I'll sell this suit elsewhere; sure, I'll get no money or copyright for it, but it's better than having my hand stuck up my ass. There should be a diagram there, showing you how to put it on... it's made so that everyone can put it on, even the retard next door with diaper issues! Or maybe not. Oh, and, once it's on, you hafta switch that large... knob articulation thing on the left of your head and you should be set. Careful, not the one on the right, that one opens your helmet!"

The wolf gulped and then rose, looking at the diagram which explained in great detail how to put on the suit. He shifted his gaze between the diagram and back to the suit and then to the diagram once more. Finally he took a short inhale and then turned his gaze at Wulfus.

“Wulfus-san, I have never before laid eyes on anything akin to this. If what you say about it is true, then you must be a great craftsman of considerable skill, akin to Goroo Nyuudoo Masamune from the tales.” The black wolf then gave Wulfus a deep bow and said in a solemn tone “It would be an honor to test the capabilities of your work” . Said and done. The wolf stripped of his street clothes as he assumed that the suit was designed to be as close to one’s skin as possible, he kept his boxer shorts on though. Following the diagram, the wolf managed to, eventually, equip the suit, though he had his troubles. Wulfus mentioned that it was made so that ‘everyone’ could easily put it on and about halfway in Sylas believed that it must have been a mere exaggeration as he felt awkward more than once during the whole process, sometimes afraid that some parts were probably to tight for his frame and might break if forced. However, at the end, to his surprise, the suit fitted him well…too well, almost like it was made for someone with his measurements, it felt like a second layer of skin… slightly encumbering, though Sylas was certain he would get used to it soon enough. To finalize the process, the wolf reached for the knob on his head, he almost reached for the one on his right but recalled that it should be the opposite one before touching it. Once switched, the wolf saw the world though different eyes,.

It was almost as if he was looking at a set of large TV screens that surrounded him completely. They all displayed what was currently in front of him, like looking through a window. On the upper right corner of the “screen”, the wolf noticed a tiny set of icons which most probably represented the extra functions which Wulfus talked about, such as thermal vision, night vision, etc. On the far left side, the wolf noticed a bright green figure resembling the suit he was wearing with small foibles indicating to different parts of the body, all saying “Active” , that must be the status display. It all felt surreal, Syals slowly rose and lowered his hands, flexing his fingers, took a few steps here and there, stretched and looked all around him. The ‘restrictions’ that this suit had as far as mobility is concerned was next to nothing, it almost seemed like it would adapt to how flexible the wolf was. After adjusting himself, Sylas felt eerie in a good sort of way, he felt stronger, faster, even though he didn’t actually do anything to demonstrate these facts, he ‘felt’ as if he could. The wolf turned his gaze to Wulfus, smiled ,though it most probably wasn’t visible though the helmet, then spoke, his voice distorted “This must be how Tony Stark feels like” followed by a chuckle.

After that, Sylas was anxious to see what he could accomplish, yet he only took a few steps away before turning back to Wulfus “Wulfus-san, can I go outside like this? What if anyone should see me? Or perhaps you may recommend a certain area of the city where I should go? ”

Dark Ties

I was waiting for Aegis to post before I do O.o

Aaaaaand it looks like thing may start get a bit slow

[MachineSoul] - I, Ninja - [Zamokra41]

"Attention all passengers, we are now landing at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Make sure you do not forget any hand-held luggage and depart in an orderly fashion. We thankyou for flying with..." Was all that he was interested in hearing before being the the first to stand up from his seat, picking up his backpack and heading for the closest exit. He wasn't fast enough though since he somehow found himself waiting behind an old couple who wanted to make absolutely sure they didn't forget anything on the plane, Sylas sighed when the old lady reminded her husband not to forget his change purse for the 4th time before finally heading for the exit with slow and sure steps. After he finally managed to bypass them, he swiftly went to the big airport building, where once inside he had to wait in line like everyone else at the checkout, when it was his turn a rather raggedy looking Goat who clearly was having a bad day asked for his files in a tiered tone. Sylas handed him a card without uttering a word, the Goat took the card, slid it on the side of a scanner attached to a monitor and then a number of information about the black wolf in front of him appeared on the screen. The Goat only briefly skimmed over the info before handing Sylas his card back and muttered a hoarse "Welcome to Chicago" before pressing a button which opened the doors for Sylas to pass.

Once through customs, Sylas headed through the airport lobby with his heavy backpack in one hand, outside he saw that the clouds were gray and it was raining. With a weary sigh, he searched through his backpack and managed to find a small black umbrella which he opened once outside. The wolf then proceeded to walk towards the nearest station. Chicago, many people say its a great city for tourist yet in these 2 years that he has been traveling, this is the first time this black wolf arrived here. So far it didn't make such a great impression, though Sylas hoped that it would change once he met up with some old friends, perhaps they would show him the sights, tell him a little about the city, nice and simple stuff. He couldn't help but chuckle. Sylas gazed up at the cloudy sky which seemed to be weeping, its tears falling on the hard concrete of the streets and tall buildings. Somehow, the sky reminded him of home. Of Tottori and its people. A small town near the coast, Sylas spent the longest part of his life there living with his grandfather, learning and studying all he had to teach. He recalled some of the other small children that he sometimes played with when not engaged in physical and mental training, he especially remembered of a cute Tabby girl who used to shout out 'Ame ga futteimasu' whenever it rained as to announce everyone around of the sensational event. How strange, he didn't seem able to recall her name, or the names of any of the other kids for that matter. Was it really that long since he last saw them? Or perhaps he didn't really know any of them very well to begin it. Possible. With all the training and discipline, Sylas could be a child only in his spare time.

He sighed, deeply. Not the time to be thinking about the past, 'learn from the past but do not dwell on it' his grandfather used to tell him along with some other teachings. Sylas picked up the pace, the rain didn't bother him but he was eager to get things done, to see if perhaps this place could offer him a clue about his destiny. So far in his travels he didn't achieve much, he saw a great many things and learned much but he still found himself hopelessly lost. If only he had at least the slightest of indications of what he was searching for. He managed to spot a taxi close to him, hoping in after the driver confirmed that it was vacant. Sylas then pulled out his phone and read the address he had saved as a text message. The driver turned on the taxing machine and they were of. On the road Sylas was gazing out the window, Chicago looked like a city that was booming with technology, he recalled reading that there were many businesses in this city and it was probably one of the best place if one planned to start a career in computer programming or anything else that had to do with the modern day techs. While he was starring out the window, the driver tried to do some small talk to pass the time, yet one could hardly describe this as being a conversation.

"So I'm guessing you're not from around here aren't you?"|

"No."

"Let me guess...ummm...a tourist right?"

"Yes"

Wondering how I guessed? he was obviously smiling yet Sylas didn't pay him any mind

No

It's the clothes. I mean I could have assumed that maybe you are on some kind of a business trip...

Mmm..

..But well, what kind of businessmen wear denim jeans, a dark blue hoodie and a black jacket over that, right? ehehehe

Mhm

Lots of businessmen around though. Mhm, both from outside and from around town use taxis. Quite often.

Mhm...

Yea. You know, quick travel and so. Good for business also, my business I mean, hehe

True.

And it went on like that for a while until they finally reached their destination. Right, my man. Here we are. Hmmm...quite away from the town center this place. Well anyway, enjoy your visit. Oh, that will be.. Sylas didn't wait for the driver to tell him the price and just handed him a 50$ bill and got off the car, he assumed it was more than enough since he could hear the driver cheering as he left. The wolf stood for a moment to drink in the surroundings. He appeared to be in a small, not very visited or populated part of town. Smaller buildings, mostly appearing to be large warehouses where one may establish a workshop of some kind. He checked the address on his phone again and then saw the exact number he was looking for scribbled on the side of one of those would-be workshops. He walked over, stepping over a small puddle that gathered in front of the fence gate which lead into the small concrete yard of the place. With quick steps he reached the main door and proceeded to knock on it 3 times. Nothing. After a little while he knocked some more and the door slid open on his last knock. Reluctantly Sylas pushed the door open all the way and muttered a Shitsureshimasu to apologize for his intrusion before taking a step in, taking of his sneakers on the welcome mat and proceeding inside. He now found himself in a tiny condo-like room with a messy 1-person bed, a pliant wooden table with a half-eaten breakfast and a small, old TV hooked up to a game console on the opposite end of the bed. Not exactly what he was expecting but he couldn't fail to notice that there was no-one there.

That's when he saw the door.

On the wall opposite to the entrance there was a large metal door which stood out from the whole room. No door-handles, no windows, no apparent way of access.....save for the small console on the wall right next to the door. Sylas inspected the console and saw that it was a numeric pad. He looked over his phone again and punched in the numbers he was given. After a few brief moments the console displayed "CODE ACCEPTED" in green and then the doors slid open. Inside Sylas saw the rest of the building, a large latest-year laboratory, filled with sufficient tech equipment to do some serious scientific research. Sylas was wide eyed as he passed through the door and after a bit of skulking and gazing around, he noticed a figure standing on a chair in front of a large computer screen. This person didn't seem aware of the presence of the newcomer but the wolf knew better than to think that he was intruding, he was clearly expected. Sylas walked a few steps closer until he was relatively close to the person and then with a faintest of smiles on his snout he greeted him.

Hello, Wulfus-san. Pardon my intrusion