[hider="Laid-back Loose Cannon"][b]Name:[/b] Joseph Bartholemew "Joey B" Albion

[b]Age:[/b] 25

[b]Physical Description:[/b] [img]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/crossoverrp/images/3/3f/Arcobaleno_Colonello_Cheveux_blond_Bandeau.png/revision/latest?cb=20130622000616[/img]

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[b]Important Items:[/b] [i]Multi-Tool and Credits[/i]

[b]Weapons:[/b] [hider=Customized Pistols][img]https://www.breachbangclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/images_Manly%20Innovations%20Breach%20Bang%20Clear%20magazine%20bayonet%204.png[/img]

Joey has a plethora of lasers pistols, designed to look like 9mm glocks, around his belt. However, in addition to the design, he also customized the magazines of each one with a sharp dagger blade at each bottom. This way he can not only use these guns for mid-range combat, but should the situation arise, they can be his close range weapons as well.[/hider]

[hider="Mickey"][img]https://img1.cgtrader.com/items/706803/021d857243/lowpoly-sci-fi-rifle-peacemaker-3d-model-low-poly-obj-3ds-fbx-mtl.jpg[/img]

Joey's Pride and joy, and his signature weapon. A military standard Peacemaker plasma rifle personally customized by Joey himself by fiddling with the energy core and adjusting the scope and barrel, he crafted a multi-purpose high-powered plasma rifle capable of leaving dents in particularly strong military grade armors. The scope of the weapon was replaced with a sniper-grade one with the barrel capable of extending outward to generate the necessary reach of a sniper rifle. In addition, the once single-barrel was now three interlocking barrels that could spread outwards, producing pseudo-shot gun effect to the plasma bullet, albeit in only three directions as opposed to larger range of a normal shot gun. The three barrels, when interlocked, can give way to a more powerful plasma bullet than one would expect of a rifle, as the additional energy's needed when for the longer range in sniper mode.

Of course, there's a reason this kind of weapon has never been official military despite its power far exceeding that of the military norm. The fiddling of this gun provided a number of drawbacks, the most concerning one being that larger exhaust of plasma energy, regardless of which mode, causes overheating immediately upon firing, allowing only one blast to be fired at a time. There's also the possibility that the largr amount of energy generating larger amounts of heat could potentially cause internal damage to the gun. To reduce this possibility, although they're all connected in the same way to the same barrel, only one "Mode" can be used at a time. In normal mode, the blast is more powerful, but is mid-range and the cooldown takes a little time. In Sniper Mode, the range is longer and the blast is still powerful, but the gun will need much longer time to cool off, so every shot has to count. In shotgun mode, the range in length and power are nothing impressive, but the width range is superior and the ventilation from multiple barrels allows the cooldown to go much faster.[/hider]

[b]Character Traits:[/b]

[b][i][u]Weapons Expert[/u][/i][/b]- As a former soldier of the Ascendancy, Joey has had military-grade training in all manner of weaponry a soldier could carry on them. After the standard training however, Joey spent his time extending his training further to other sorts of weapons, while also gaining knowledge of weapons he's normally use from said military training. Rather gifted with a gun, he got to a point where he could customize military weaponry on his own, much like he did with "Mickey", and has used that specialty to help enhance his crew's weaponry to be more efficient. His skills with the gun were of such high quality, that when his Captain was finished with her own standardized weapons training for the Ascendancy, she turned to him for further training on how to best wield a gun.

[b][u][i]Martial Artist[/i][/u][/b]- As a former soldier, Joey also had standardized training in martial arts combat in the event that he is in a situation without his weapons. While not nearly as gifted or capable with hand-to-hand combat as he is with the guns, he is still about as skilled with close quarters combat as any soldier. In addition, Joey self-trained himself in "Gun-Kata", essentially a martial arts that allows the use of guns - specially pistols - to mix close and mid-range combat together into one.

[b][u][i]Archaeologist[/i][/u][/b] - One of the most important things - and one of the only things - that he was taught as a member of the Albion family was the ancient languages, teachings, and ruins of the worlds. Supposedly, it was to help better prepare religious traditions that would cater to any race and perspective one would think of. Joey may not have had an interest in those traditions and lore, but he certainly learned about them regardless, whether it be by force or actually taking an interest in some ancient ruins of other worlds. He may not necessarily know every single possible ancient language or ruin - the family abandoned him before they could teach him everything they knew - but it's rare to find an Archaeologist who would know more about this sort of thing than he.

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[b]Short Bio:[/b] Joey Albion was born to a rather large family, assumingly somewhere in one of the middle-ring systems of the Ascendancy. It doesn't [i]appear[/i] to be very large, he only has two brothers, a sister, and a father with the Mother nowhere in sight, presumed deceased. However, what makes it large is that his direct family has practically a plethora of relatives, mostly cousins both close and distant that practically lives with them at their home.

The entirety of the Albion family's a very devout one, often traveling to across the Ascendancy for every gathering of the religious for every occasion, something everyone of them, save for Joey, dedicated themselves to. From the moment they are born, they are raised to respect their patriarch, and protect the sanctity of the Ascendancy's religions, often learning ancient languages and writing to undergo whatever ritual was necessary at the time. Some of them even went as far as supporting the religious extremists and templars in their protection and negotiations of said religions. But they are never to interact with people directly, and [b]never[/b] involve themselves outside their religious activities, less they be ex-communicated and disowned.

Good thing then, that Joey was always considered something of a black sheep for not being as interested in religion as the rest of the zealous Albions. Laid-back, and not nearly as interested in the religions that his family adores, nor the apostles support. Instead he was interested in the general life of a person: Social activity, learning, training, friendships, technology, the kind of things his family would disapprove of getting involved with. Most of the family were not supportive, but were tolerant so long as he chose only to learn and not get involved with these things.

Which is why interacting with a woman not affiliated with the churches, and instead affiliated with the military of all things, was the last straw that stripped Joey of his inheritance and ex-communicated him from their life. Needless to say, Joey wasn't exactly shedding any tears for them, and decided to take part in the Ascendancy's military. Though he was a bit old when compared to others who joined the military academy, and his family restrictive teachings did not help him in the slightest, what he lacked in general academics and military knowledge, he made up for with a fascination with military weaponry as his primary focus. He found guns to be far more effective and convenient than what little training his family forced him on with more traditional weaponry, and so he got to knowing more about them, what makes them tick, and ultimately became interested in outright upgrading his weaponry for more firepower than it was originally designed for. It helped that he seemed to have a keen eye for marksmanship, becoming a very skilled sharpshooter during the training.

He got separated from the woman that got him to that point after he was assigned to the Xuanxang to be under the orders of another woman: Captain Natasha Zhang. The relationship with his captain was...complicated, The one thing he could never get used to in the military was someone who claimed to be higher in rank and better barking orders at him - it reminded him too much of what his family was like for most of his life - and so he hardly ever actually listened to Zhang whenever she commanded him to do something on her ship. Instead he often marched to the beat of his own drum and ignoring whoever yelled at him for it - usually the captain. Still, it wasn't as if he wasn't listening nor aware of the troubles of the ship, and so he often came up with his own solutions to whatever problems they appeared to be having at the time, even when it's against protocol. Not all of them worked, there were even times where he was very close to getting court marshalled for what was deemed to be recklessness. However, never once did he not try to make an effort to help his crew regardless.

After the Battle of Proxima, however, Joey got tired of the Military's chain of command. He knew the orders were something he had to bear, but it was becoming too much like his past life for his liking, especially when Zhang was being blamed for something she could not have possibly helped. That strict merciless attitude reminded him too much of his own father's attitude towards him, and so he followed his Captain into resignation from the military.

But that's not to say he completely followed her though. Ever since leaving the military, he often got into fights with Zhang on how to do things regarding how to progress from there. it was during one of them that he began to realize that, for all of his want of freedom, for all his wanting to learn about others and learn about the ways of the universe...he never truly became free. He was born to take orders from his Father, he then left to take orders from a military's commanding officer, and he now left only to take orders from someone he began to think of as a friend, especially after surviving the Battle of Proxima together. He realized he needed to be truly free to do what he wants in life, and that leaving the crew was his chance at doing so. Therefore, he stripped himself of whatever medals he earned in his military career, took a fighter, and left the Xuanxang to go where the nebula road takes him. (A play on "where ever the wind takes him.")

That said, he did truly care about the Captain and her crew, and so while reveling in freedom, he never stayed outside the Xuan-Gang for very long. As such, every now and then he finds his former crew and comes back to them, to hang out, to sleep, to help them out on whatever's needed at the time, before jumping on his ship and heading back out again. The ship became something of a small home he knew he could always go back to at the end of the day.

[b]Theme Song:[/b] [hider="Diamond Eyes" ~ Shinedown][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj_hApbc5qg[/youtube][/hider][/hider]

[hider="The White Flame Soldier"][b]Name:[/b] Alan Mortigal

[b]Age:[/b] Supposed to be 17 physically, but the attitude and knowledge he holds suggest a much older age.

[b]Physical Description:[/b] [img]https://img.webnovel.com/bookcover/11193549106287505/300/300.jpg?coverUpdateTime=1560740878418[/img]

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[b]Important items:[/b]

[hider=Crystal Rose][img]https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0242/6142/7280/products/the-timeless-rose-crystal-rose-other-latest-aesthetics-284800_800x.jpg?v=1590537747[/img][/hider]

A memento of his Mother. There's not much to it as far as he knows, just a pretty jewel in the shape of a rose. However, he is very protective of it, keeping it on his person at all times.

[b][i]Multi-tool[/i][/b]- Your standard multi-tool, not much to say here.

[b]Spell List:[/b]

[b][u][i]Mana Flare (High/World)[/i][/u][/b]- Alan's signature spell. The Raw mana generated from the Kaisoken dust within his body combusts into a powerful white flame, with which he can use to various effects from simply being a source of light to being a powerful fireball he can throw at his enemies. While it appears to be a world-class magic, in actuality, it is the pure magical energy of a High-class magic in the shape of a flame. As such, it can be used in the general applications of High-class magic, such as fueling magitech or enchanting items. However, he has not learned to draw from sources beyond his own dust, and as such, is prone to taking energy from himself to generate the white flame, exhausting himself from overuse as a possible result.

The following two are not separate spells, but rather, different applications of Mana Flare usage.

--- [b][u][i]God-Hand (High/World)[/i][/u][/b]- By concentrating the white flames around his arms and legs, they become enchanted by the mana and allow him to become physically enhanced all-around for a short period of time. 

--- [b][u][i]Magic Thruster (High/World)[/i][/u][/b]- By concentrating his magic, he can make the flames burst out from his feet as rocket thrusters hovering him off the ground. combining this with erupting the flames from his hands as secondary thrusters allow him the capability of flight for a short period of time. As it is fueled by the mana in his dust like any application of Mana Flare, it can extinguish and exhaust him considerably.

[b]Character Traits:[/b]

[b][u][i]Hand-to-Hand Mastery[/i][/u][/b]- Despite being a Star Marine, Alan focused less on the training his magic, and more using it to help him in physical combat. For many years since his time in the Star Marines he trained himself to be a hand-to-hand fighter, for one reason or another abhorring weaponry of any kind. During the Star Marines' stay with the Rau've after their "capture" he found a particular female Rau've that was a master of close-quarters combat, and begged her to be his mentor and instruct him how best to discipline and temper his physical capabilities. As a result of that training, Alan's skill in a fist fight has been honed and mastered, especially when combining it with his magic.

[b][u][i]Swift as the Wind[/i][/u][/b]- Alan's always been the small agile sort ever since he was a kid, but further training with his Rau've master allowed him to compliment it with his hand-to-hand skill.

[b][u][i]Symbiosis[/i][/u][/b]- After his resurrection during the injection process of the Dust, said dust seemed to move on its own, as if still alive within him - a feat that should be impossible for Kaisoken in such a state - to protect his mind and body from harm, creating both a physical and mental resistance to attacks. That said, because of said dust-like state, the Kaisoken within can only do so much in both cases.

[hr]

[b]Short Bio:[/b] There was not much to say about Alan's life before being taken as an experimental test subject other than that it was the typical life of an Orphan living on the streets of a run-down world in the Ascendancy's outer rim. He doesn't remember how long he's been like that for; it felt like all of his life was lived in broken down alleys of an otherwise crappy town feeding off what's taken from more fortunate people, doesn't even remember what his parents look like or how they died. Maybe they never died, maybe they just abandoned him on the side of the street to get rid of him, or sold him off to someone for a quick cash grab and he just happened to be left out in the dirt after that. It really never mattered to him how he came to be like this, he was never the type to focus on how he got there, it's not like talking about it or thinking about it's going to change a damn thing about his predicament. All that matters is that he was there, alone and unrelying on anyone but himself, a little thief self-taught on how to steal and be quick on his feet from the successful survival-necessary thefts and twice as many failures.

At some point in his life things finally changed for him, as he got captured and rather than placed in some small holding cell, he was instead taken off planet by some sort of black-suited individuals, the guards calling it a 'transfer to a more suitable facility'. At first, Alan thought that it was just a case of them finally having enough and sending him off to rot in some federal prison of the ascendancy, or getting executed, or just moving him off the planet just to get rid of the little thief once and for all.

...If only it was so simple.

It seems someone high-up on the Ascendancy food-chain caught an interest for the little boy for one reason or another, likely due to his physical quality as a thief, and selected him to take part in a science project of sorts, supposedly to make him and other children like them some sort of super soldiers against the Coalition of alien forces the Ascendancy was warring with at the time.

Supersoldiers... out of [i]children[/i]... Alan was far from educated but even [i]he[/i] couldn't help but chuckle at how utterly insane and stupid it sounded.

Regardless, he was a prisoner - albeit a misdemeaning one - he may as well be held at gunpoint when they told him to take part. He didn't fight for most of his childhood just to get killed off because he said no to the wrong kind of people, and so he cooperated in taking part in this insanity. Besides, at least they'd have food and shelter prepared...hopefully.

So they went to some remote location off the radar and he was injected with the Kaisoken dust like the rest of the children. ...Unlike the rest of them however, there was a complication during the surgery. The dust seemed to react violently to the boy and as a result, his heart stopped. Fortunately, the doctors managed to get it beating again, but for about 5 minutes, Alan was dead. The fact they managed to get his heart pumping again after that long a time was nothing short of a miracle; to this day, it's believed the dust may have had a hand in Alan's revival.

Ever since the surgery Alan seemed to change a little bit... His memories became hazy and while he was still aggressive and more likely to talk shit than most, he was also calmer and more rational than his life before then would have you believe. The theory the doctors have for this change is euphoria experienced as a result of his near-death, and brain damage due to those five minutes where his heart wasn't pumping blood to the brain. By all accounts, he should be brain dead at least, but it's likely the kaisoken dust somehow kept the damage to a minimum as well.

It didn't take very long afterwards for Alan, or this memory-hazed Alan, to get a grasp on the situation and begin his training with his new magical power, pure mana erupting into a white flame around his hands and feet. Although it was something he never experienced before, something only a handful of children in this facility has ever felt in the whole of the human race for as far as he knows, it felt...natural for him. That being said, researchers picked up immediately that it seemed he only had one actual spell, and while he found many applications for it, it still made him far less varied and multi-purposed than any of his peers. To top it off, they noticed that he was instead focused more on training his body than anything, often seen punching and kicking the air, trying to get a feel for hand-to-hand combat. It was...an unusual reaction to observe to say the least. He has magical white flames, and yet he's focusing more on how to fight physically? Perhaps his awareness of his own situation was lacking... Regardless, they shrugged off this anomaly, chalking it up to a mental defect caused by his surgical complications, and continued with their observations. At the very least, he seemed aware of who is friend and foe, and so they sent him off on missions alongside the other Star Marines.

Indeed, Alan did his part alongside everyone else. Undergoing covert missions in the Ascendancy's name against the coalition of aliens, up until the Battle of Proxima where he, like others, were captured by the Rau've and 'imprisoned' once again.

But this time, there was hospitality to be had, he has seen what being a prisoner was like, and he felt nothing of the sort while with the Rau've.

In particular, during his stay at their planet, Alan found a particular female Rau've, living as a hermit far from her people. Unlike the other Rau've, this one - known in the human language as Belladonna - was a particularly aggressive outcast among them, who did not welcome these children with open arms like every other, who preferred they died for what they did to her people. Not as if Alan could blame her, regardless of their age and circumstance, the fact is that the Star Marines killed off many aliens during their time. The Rau've on this planet lost family and friends because of them. If anything, the fact that they're welcoming these same little killers of their kind's a fortunate oddity.

But something about Belladonna spoke to him, the 'Hellfire Rose' as the Rau've called her is someone outcasted by the rest of her society for something she had good reason to have opinions on, just as he was outcasted for being a little survivalist.

Splitting off from the rest of the Star Marines, he followed her to her humble abode in some distant desert away from the bountiful forests of her society, and asked - nay, [i]begged[/i] her - to take him on as an apprentice. For Belladonna earned that title of 'Hellfire Rose', being formerly one of the most aggressively brutal of the Coalition against the Ascendancy, complete with actual fire magic of her own - fire magic considerably stronger and more potent than most with dust from a world-class Kaisoken. Naturally, she refused at first. The fact her people were sheltering and showing hospitality to their enemies were bad enough as it was, but for one of them to ask her to essentially be made stronger by her is adding insult to injury. However, something about him reminded her of her son, whom the Ascendancy caught and killed in the early days of the war. Seeing her son in this boy, she eventually caved in and accepted to train him...brutally.

Which beings us to now. Alan has been training with Belladonna both in how to use magic - he may have had high-class magic, but that didn't stop him from adapting her lessons, shaping his magic to become flames of white light - and how to properly fight hand-to-hand, all the while strengthening his body.

Trained and built up, albeit late to the party he was - the others left to stage their own rebellion against the Ascendancy - he left to stand by his fellow Star Marines against the government, not necessarily for revenge or for any kind of justice, but simply because the Star Marines were the only real companions he ever had in his life; a very simple reason for committing acts of terrorism against humanity, but his entire life has been driven by simple reasons...

Why stop now?

[b]Theme Song:[/b] [hider="You ain't Ready" ~ Skillet][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw4P5ei7btU&ab_channel=SkilletLyrics[/youtube][/hider][/hider]

[hider="The Broken Witch"][b]Name:[/b] Maria Wilhelm

[b]Age:[/b] Physically, she should be about 16 by now, but she still looks the age she was when she was first seen in the experiments: 10.

[b]Physical Description:[/b] [hider=Appearance][img]https://img00.deviantart.net/df86/i/2014/103/5/8/wallpaperxrender_dark_anime_girl_by_2001sofianeto2001-d7e9goz.jpg[/img][/hider]

Partly because of her age and partly due to unknown reasons, perhaps a lack of exercise or maybe the implant stemming growth, she stands at a measly 2'5" and weighs about 23 lbs. It should also be noted that he eyes lost their shine long ago, giving her an eternal look of apathy and internal death. 

[hr]

[b]Weapons:[/b] [b][url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/42/d8/f0/42d8f0d511da2e6ecdf00e2db84329aa.jpg]Circe's Hand[/url][/b] - As if to essentially embrace her magical nature, Maria possesses a staff with which to channel her magic through. Apparently she tore off a metal pole in the building they were all in via telekinesis and fashioned it up to look like a typical staff a wizard would use. Said staff is a bit big for her though, standing at six feet tall, almost 3 times larger than she herself and weighing about five pounds - likely due to the metal itself, possibly perfected electrum. Despite the size, it's useful not only as a channel of her mind magic, but also as a blunt weapon in and of itself. That said, while she can use magic without the staff, she'd be less able to properly control said magic without it; attacks would be less precise, and mind magics would require more concentration.

[hider=Spell List][b]Arcane Shot (High)[/b]- Maria has the ability to harness the magical energy within herself, and shoot it outwards as silver projectile of light. While she can fire those bullets from her index and middle finger in their strongest state, she can also fire a multitude of weaker magic bullets from all of her fingers in rapid succession. In addition, while she can concentrate it into a powerful beam, she can also concentrate a lesser powerful beam from all of her finger tips, concentrating all beams into one or two larger and more powerful ones as a result. The implant valve can be turned to increase the power and potency of her shots.

[b]Flight (World)[/b]- While in her case, it's more used for levitation than anything, Maria can harness her magic to be granted the ability to fly. While it's considered World magic, it's possible that all she's really doing is moving her own body into the air using her telekinesis.

[b]Telekinesis (Mind)[/b]- One of the most basic of psychokinetic abilities, Maria can carry and move things of the physical plain by the power of her mind alone, and throw them at decent enough speeds to be considered an attack. While normally there is a limit of how large a thing she mentally grabs can be, specifically about 100 or so pounds, her implant allow her to increase that limit with each turn of the valve, making her able to carry even a fighter ship with her mind if she turns it enough.

[b]Illusion (Mind)[/b]- A mind ability of intermediate skill, Maria is able to tap into the minds of others and generate illusions based on what she sees to trick her opponents, need it be of a loved one, perhaps they fear, and is even capable of casting illusionary doppelgangers of herself to trick them to thinking she's either somewhere she's not or multiple versions of her to make tracking her more difficult.

The illusions are a trick of the mind, however, and so have no physical manifestation, making them more akin to holograms you can go through. Furthermore, one could break through whatever illusions she creates if they have the eyes for it.

That being said, if she turns her valve to regulate the implant in her brain, she can enhance the quality of these illusions temporarily, making it harder to break through even with good eyes, and even giving them a physical, solid existence, as if they were real.

[b]Telepathy (Mind)[/b]- The other most basic form of Psychic abilities, she can mentally contact and talk to people from afar. This is usually used as a form of invisible channel of contact for the Xuangang, an effective method when any other form of contact is shot from, say, an Electro-magnetic pulse. The turning of the implant valve extends her range the more times she uses it, but the longer the range, the less time she has to cocieve a thought to send before the cooldown hits. As such, she reserves exceptionally long ranges telepathic communications for an emergency SOS.[/hider]

[b]Character Traits:[/b]

[b][u][i]Cybernetic Brain Implant-[/i][/u][/b] It is unknown what the reason was behind this, perhaps something went horribly wrong in the procedure for her in particular, but it is revealed that she has a cybernetic plate of some kind implanted directly into her brain, a valve of some kind sticking out of her head behind her left ear as a way of regulating and controlling it. Gruesome as it may sound, it seems the implant acts as a mental shielding unit, resisting and shielding her from mind magic and other methods of brainwashing, hypnosis, mental dives, and mind-reading. To top it off, She can use the valve behind her ear to temporarily enhance her own magic for a short time, though after which a cooldown process shuts down brain functions for a time resulting in paralysis or outright unconsciousness. The more spins of the valve she makes, the shorter time she has in using it, the more time it'll take to recover from the cooldown. There has been a case during the war where she span the valve too much and while releasing considerable magic power against her Coalition enemies, it ended with her in a coma for about a month.

However, while this seems like an upgrade, in actuality, its more like a life-support system. She [i]needs[/i] this brain implant in order to stay alive. According to her medical/experiment records, the removal of this implant will result magical berserker-like state where her magic goes beyond her limits, matching if not outright surpassing the power of Kaisoken themselves, followed by death. Moreover, if the mind magic is powerful enough, it may be able to bypass the resistance it provides her mind. The removal of the implant, it goes without saying, also would effectively negate said resistance altogether, in addition to the above-mentioned berserker state and subsequent death.

[b][u][i]A skilled Pole-woman[/i][/u][/b] - There may be a case in time where she is unable to use magic, something she has been heavily reliant on ever since gaining it. Not wanting to be completely defenseless in her ways, she trained herself in the art of polemanship, using her staff as the pole with which to defend herself. While she's hardly a master, she has trained enough to where she can at least defend herself in such dire times where her best weapon, her magic, is unavailable.

[b][u][i]Prodigy[/i][/u][/b]- Born a prodigal child, Maria had a gift of being able to quickly learn about whatever subjects she was interested in at the time, quickly absorbing information like a sponge. As a result, she is quite knowledgeable despite her age, (both her appearance, and her real age.) and seems to know more than her silence suggests. While she is smart, her body and mind are still that of a child's, and whatever was done to her mind did not help in the slightest. She needs plenty of time in order to properly learn about a subject, and she can only hold so much information at a time.

[hr]

[b]Short Bio:[/b] From the moment she was born, Maria was expected - destined some would even say - for great things. Born a prodigal daughter of a rather noble family - highly influential to a point where family members were also members of the Ascendancy Government - her parents put her through a ringer at an early age of her life. Feeling happiness was an award of success to her throughout her early life, only coming out of her home in order to properly learn about the outside world as part of her curriculum, never truly having friends outside of perhaps the servants in her home and the specific fellow students of her curriculum into the family business. By the age of ten, her intellectual gift placed her in a position of potentially being the youngest to ever attempt at the "family business".

Of course, being a prodigious learner that she was, she made for a perfect target for the kidnappings that have been going on throughout the Ascendancy during the wars. In spite of those familial connections - or perhaps because of them - Maria was indeed taken in and eventually brought to the Black Site of the Ascendancy like other kids, to become Star Marines, the first magical child soldiers of their kind.

Unlike most kids, however, it seems she was one of the few who chose take part in this voluntarily; it is likely the decision was influenced by those in her family who were aware of this project and wanted her to take part in it, perhaps as a want to use the power she would gain as a further influence of power.

But also unlike most kids, Maria suffered a terrible accident. What exactly happened on the lab table no one knows - it's likely some were even kept shut about it - but the reports indicate something went wrong in the injection process of the Kaisoken dust. The surgeon in question messed up the injection of Kaisoken, too much dust having a collective negative reaction causing outright cellular mutation in certain parts of the brain. The process was stopped, but the damage to the brain was immense, the raw magical power of the dust constantly in a state of perpetual growth using the brain as an engine. The pain was immense, the sound-proof walls barely contained the sounds of her cries of agony as the energy slowly ate away at her mind. If nothing was done, the resulting magic power would be immense, equal to higher-ranked Kaisoken, and constantly growing... but it would be the end of her life. As such, The Professor at the time halted the magic through a special cybernetic plate made of perfected electrum implanted onto her Cranium, sealing off this energy within her mind.

The plate managed to do its job, saving her life and preventing a potential catastrophe - the surgeon responsible was found and immediately terminated - but at a cost greatly limiting her ability to emote. While circumstances at her house were not the greatest, she knew of joy, of sadness and frustration, and knew how to emote them properly enough, having experience most of the emotions a child would. She still has these emotions, but emoting anything beyond a blank apathy is difficult for her. In addition, the energies within her mind combined with the implant caused a stunt in her growth; so matter how old she is or how old she becomes, she will appear to be a 10 year old child for the rest of her life. To top things off, the incident that brought to this, that pain, that fear, continues to haunt her dreams even now...

Still, the plate was not entirely bad, and the Professor in question also implanted a way of controlling the restrictive nature of the plate in order to use that energy against her enemies. in addition, the combination of both the plate and energy made become essentially immune to most if not all Mind Magic spells.

From the moment she was able to join the rest of the kids, her lacking emotions made her rather an uncomfortable child to be around, and she in turn kept to herself. Never in her days did she expect her parents' lessons and expectations would lead her to this, a glorified prison/boot camp building magical child soldiers. Her life up to that point gave her a disadavantage when it comes to socializing with others like her, and seems the only ones she could even see herself around were those who were more mature and disciplined.

In particular, it seemed she struck a fancy for the Star Marines' "big brother", Tarak. Out of all of the Star Marines who were with her at that site, he was one she was seen around most of all. Whether that was because he was indeed seemingly the most mature and disciplined of them all, or because she never had a big brother in her life is unclear, but like the little sister to her "Onii-chan", where Tarak went, she followed as a member of his "Army of Demons", alongside the likes of the Twins, Samuel and Iris.

...This of course included the Battle of Proxima that most felt she may not have been ready for. But who could have been ready for the events that transpired that day, their capture, their betrayal, and of all things, the hospitiality of their Prison of War. Yes, the Rau've was indeed a kinder group of souls than the Ascendancy led her to believe, and while she could not express her gratitude like others around her could, she made clear through her actions and her choice of words, rather than the empty emotion behind them, that she was grateful to them for taking care of her and her "Big Brother" in particular. Unlike most, she didn't cry over his chest over this confusing frustration, she [i]couldn't,[/i] and while she was nowhere near as charismatic or as capable of gentle feelings as Tarak was, she tried her best to comfort who she could in order to help ease the burden on his shoulders.

The Rau've then gave them an offer of a home among them, now that a treaty was made the war was essentially over. Deep down, there was a part of her that considered the offer. Since the day she left her home, Maria's world was more of a hell than it was anything else. The nightmares, the pain from her mind, everything she went through in her short life was something she would not wish upon anyone, and a chance to escape it was right there in front of her, a chance to finally have some degree of peace.

...But that would betray them, It would betray everyone who was there for her throughout that time, everyone who stood by her, and who she stood by her brothers in arms, her big brother, and the experience and scars she made throughout her brief time of living would be in vain. No amount of peace or happiness would ever let her forget all the pain she has been through nor betray everyone who made an effort to help her through that pain.

And so, like the others, she refused. When the others suggested to rebel against the people who brought them that pain and suffering, Maria was quick to show her approval once her "Big Bro" Tarak showed his.

However, she did not join them right away, Tarak gave her a special assignment of which she was quick to accept. Tarak was told before Proxima of her family and their connections, and so he thought she'd be able to use those connections to their advantage as well. Needless to say, while doubtful, she accepted the task given to her.

Thus, when the time came to leave the world, Maria parted ways with her allies, on a separate ship to parts unknown...

Hoping, very soon, that she will be able to reunite with them once again.

[b]Theme Song[/b][hider="Whisper" ~ Evanescence][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0z7z6xnfws[/youtube][/hider][/hider]

[hider="The Holy Arm of Kherol" (NPC)][b]Name:[/b] Kotaro Winterborn & Paragon

[b]Age:[/b] 24

[b]Physical Description:[/b] [img]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/skiesofarcadia/images/6/63/Ramirez.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080321052004[/img]

[hr]

[b]Important items:[/b] [b]Multi-tool[/b]- Being an Ascendancy soldier, it's only natural that he'd have one as well. Not much to it beyond the standard functions.

[b]Weapons:[/b] [url=https://preview.redd.it/rwb7fxs41hl31.png?auto=webp&s=e9e9978a8c9a8ca8dca9b86fc1c4eaaea601271f][b]Paragon[/b][/url]- The Ancient sword of the Winterborn family, but in actuality, an old High-Magic Kaisoken reaggregated from death, reshaped into the form of a sword and passed down from parent to child of the Winterborn family as their partner and guardian. Being a Kaisoken, the sword is made of crystal instead of metal, and as such is immune to magnetic abilities. More importantly, because it is actually a Kaisoken, Paragon is a magical sword, and is capable of spells that its wielder can harness, one in particular being the sharpening of its edge to create a monomolecular one. However, like most magical swords of ancient lore, it is a weapon that chooses its wielder, and can cause bodily harm via those same magical abilities should someone it doesn't like tries to wield it.

[b]Commander-issue Projectile Pistol[/b]- Although it is a side-arm, it is useful to have should he ever be without Paragon at his side, or in need of a long-range weapon that does not require Paragon's Mana. It's old-fashioned compared to lasers, but it packs a hell of a punch against energy-shields and most standard armor platings.

[b]Spell List:[/b] (Note: Technically this is not Kotaro's own magic, as Kotaro technically has no magic to speak of. All Spells here belong to his Kaisoken Sword, Paragon. Should he be without Paragon, Kotaro is no longer capable of any of these spells.)

[b][u][i]Guiding Hand (High)[/i][/u][/b]- As Paragon is actually a Kaisoken in the shape of a sword, it is sentient and capable of movement. The experience it had as a sword wielded by others made it able to learn a variety of swordplay from the classics of the knight and samurai of yore to the modern day soldiers of the Ascendancy. Using some of his energy as a Kaisoken absorbed into the arm of the wielder, Paragon can effectively guide the wielder's hand and direct it to defend or deliver precise blows. It takes a lot of strain and energy to keep control over the arm for the duration of a fight, so he often takes momentary control every now and then to make offensive blows or defensive positions more accuracy.

[b][u][i]Penance (High)[/i][/u][/b]- Just as Paragon can help guide the hand of the one worthy of wielding him, so too can he direct energy into the host body offensively by discharging his mana into the wielder at high enough intensities to create pain and damage into the person from the inside out. Unless held for a long time, the energy isn't enough to kill the wielder, however, it generates an incredible shock of pain in the arm and eventually the whole body until they let go of him, like a blast of plasma moving through your bones and muscles.

[b][u][i]Flight (World)[/i][/u][/b]- While this was an ability he lost when he first fell to earth, eventually overtime Paragon regained enough mana to be able to fly again like any Kaisoken. Because of how unnatural it is for a Kaisoken to be shaped and used like a sword like he was, despite his knowledge of Swordplay he cannot wield himself like a ghost sword, save perhaps for a straight-on thrust in an attempt to pierce the enemy. However, he can use this ability to fly as a way of returning to his wielder's hand should he ever be separated from him.

[b][u][i]Excalibur's blade (High)[/i][/u][/b]- By focusing his mana onto a majority of his body - that being the blade of the sword - Paragon creates a white coating upon that enhances both its durability and its sharpness. With this charged state, it's able to cut through all but the strongest of materials, and can even pierce through magic itself. Even Perfected Electrum falls before the holy blade. The downside is that it takes time to charge up, and can only be used for a limited time before Paragon exhausts his mana.

[b][u][i]Silver Wave (High)[/i][/u][/b]- By focusing mana at the tip of the blade, Paragon can create a wave of offensive high magic at a target like a projectile when Kotaro move him in a slashing motion. Said energy has a sharp edge akin to the sword itself, but because it is done by using Paragon's mana, there's only so many Silver Waves he can throw before the sword tires itself out.

[b][u][i]Paladin (High)[/i][/u][/b]- By spreading its mana throughout Kotaro's body, the mana bursts outwards and crystalizes into a suit of crystal armor Kotaro Wears. In addition to the Armor being exceptionally durable as is, it also uses the mana that created it to physically enhance Kotaro's body overall for a considerable period of time. Combining this with Excalibur's Blade, while dangerous for the both of them considering just how much mana and energy it can exhausts, generate an ultimate form as a Magical knight, harboring the physical enhancements of Paladin and the ultimate power of Paragon through Excalibur's blade, becoming a one-man army as a result.

[b]Character Traits:[/b]

[b][u][i]A Master Swordsman[/i][/u][/b]- While Paragon is indeed capable of moving Kotaro's arm to help him fight his battles, Kotaro had no intention of relying on his family sword and be a burden to it. Mentored by Paragon, Kotaro trained himself to be a master swordsman worthy of wielding the holy sword for most of his life. As a result, Kotaro has become essentially peerless in the art of the sword, being capable of using Paragon to go so far as piercing through magic itself. The downside of this, of course, being that a sword is a close-range weapon, and while he's not necessarily defenseless against long-range attacks, distance does create a disadvantage.

[b][u][i]A Soldier[/i][/u][/b]- While nowhere near as much focus on it than with his sword, as a military officer who went through the academy, Kotaro did learn how to properly aim and fire a gun. While he is fairly decent at it, because his focus was elsewhere, the lacking of training and experience in comparison makes his gunmanship unreliable, being more likely to miss with a gun than he would with sword strikes.

[b][u][i]Well-educated[/i][/u][/b]- To reach the heights of his big brother Kherol, Kotaro studied as hard as he possibly could at the Academy, and as left the school as a Valedictorian as a result. While he's nowhere near the level of Genius as Kherol, he has enough knowledge of things overall to use to his advantage for any case where strategic thinking, such as using environments against an opponent, are necessary.

[b][u][i]A skilled Commanding Officer[/i][/u][/b]- While he is indeed inferior to Grand Admiral Kherol, he would not have been assigned to be his Vice-Admiral on his swordplay and his relations to Kherol alone. As Vice-Admiral, Kotaro is to serve as a Commanding Officer to a fleet of thousands, and command them to where ever and to do whatever his Grand Admiral commands of him, separate from him. Should anything happen to Kherol, Kotaro must take the reins of the armada in his place and fulfill his will in substitute. Kherol recognized Kotaro as being capable of leading others to victory which is what led to his promotion to his side.

[hr]

[b]Short Bio:[/b] Kotaro's story begins centuries ago with his ancestors.

The Winterborn has a legend that has been passed down from generation to generation about the history of their family business. Around the Medieval times of the ancient planet of Earth, in the midst of the brutal feudal era of Europe, a white sword of holy light descended from the sky and landed blade first into the grounds of Britain. The legend goes that God, saddened by the state of Europe at the time, ordered his son Michael to send his sword to them, that one worthy of becoming its savior and ruler would take up this holy weapon and become the enforcer of his will, the giver of his love, and the instiller of his wrath. The Winterborn family found that sword, and was deemed worthy of holding it, but chose not to rule as monarch of Europa, instead vowing to wield its might to protect the world and humanity with it from any forces that may spells its end. The sword was a torch passed from parent to child, from generation to generation, remaining hidden in the shadows as thankless guardians of humanity.

The truth, however, was far less epic than the legend perceives.

In reality, the "holy sword" was not a sword at all, but rather a sentient crystal, a Kaisoken, that was exiled from the worlds from which it was born and happening to land on the planet earth by pure coincidence. Because of the peculiar shape of it, its body being lengthy but thin and its hole near the top being a perfect size and shape for a hilt and handguard, the Kaisoken was mistaken for a rapier and was pulled out by Winterborn, who just happened to be at the right place and the right time. One can only imagine what must have been going through the human's head when they heard a voice echoing through their mind and a shock of electricity coursed through the arm. Yes, the first to wield this sword was deemed unworthy himself, though not because of his deeds, or his morality, merely because of he happened to stumble across an alien that was unfamiliar and scared.

For the Kaisoken was broken and drained, only barely able to reaggregate itself to become what it is now, had not the power to break through this planet's gravitation, barely enough to even float. The Winterborn man had soon realized that this object wasn't some ordinary sword, that it was alive, and while it did scare the superstitious mind of a medieval peasant of Britain, the white light it gave off, combined with it falling from the heavens, suggested that it was some kind of holy weapon, an angel perhaps in the form of a sword, and that it was given onto humanity from God. Deciding to treat it as an angel that perhaps lost its way as it fell, the man took up the Kaisoken, which used the opportunity to peer in and learn the language of the planet it was on...well, one of them anyways.

People thought him mad when he came onto them with this crystal sword and swore that it was given to him by god, madder still when he talked with it as it communicated with his mind to further adapt to his new environment, and it did not take long for the superstitious to start coming to conclusions of evil and insanity, striving to put an end to him for the good of their society. As much as it did not want to stay for much longer, it still could not move on its own, and did not want to be constantly thrown around and used for others benefits. Thus he mustered what magic he could to help the man defend himself using it, protecting his only source of knowledge and transportation.

The man named the sword "Paragon", a name often attributed to benevolence, excellence, and example, (Coincidently also happens to be the name of a Perfect diamond of a 100+ carats.) and a deal was struck between man and sword. Paragon would use the man for transportation, knowledge, and for his own ends of gaining energy for itself, and in return, Paragon would protect him, his family, and he would be allowed to use the Kaisoken to be strong. This in mind, Paragon shaped himself to give a cutting edge to his slim body so that it may be used as a weapon.

It was unknowing just how small a time humans have to live, and he was quickly realizing as his "partner" grew older that he would need to switch hands to someone more able to use him and be used. Thus the tradition was suggested, that the sword be passed from generation to generation of the family.

Thus, Paragon live on earth throughout the ages, watching as the world changed around him, learning more about the humans, gaining energy from what little mana could be found upon the planet, until finally they were at a point where they could take him to space once more.

As the years rolled by and the Commonwealth becomes the Ascendancy of Man, Paragon grows stronger and stronger as he returns closer and closer to his own people.

Leading us to today with his current partner, the young master Kotaro Winterborn.

Born to Matthew Winterborn, a man who managed to let the Ascendancy recognize his family as nobles and became Governor of one of its planets, Kotaro was born to a life his ancestors before him could only dream of. He was raised to the traditions of taking up the sword of his family, and being a guardian of humanity, and an enforcer of peace.

If Kotaro would be honest, however, he wasn't necessarily focused on such an old tradition, and Matthew could understand why. The Ascendancy was the very epitome of human negativity and corruption, it was filled with the vain, the power-hungry, but most especially the xenophobic. So afraid of what they don't understand, that they have been ready to destroy creatures simply for existing, including Kaisoken, as Paragon learned.

The two were in agreement that humanity has become so full of itself as it became the Ascendancy, that the vows of ancient to protect them, no longer seemed viable. They were willing to try, to be kind, optimistic, and sincere to others as an example of how humans should be, to be helpful and charitable and hope it could change even a small thing in this cruel life. But deep down, both of their hopes were waning.

But there was one person that changed that for him. One person that made him convinced that maybe there were still people truly worth dying for after all, that maybe, just maybe, things really can change for the better. That person was his brother, an older boy at the time who his father took in and adopted, Alexander Kherol.

Kotaro admired Kherol; although they may not be bound by blood, he was his older brother nonetheless, and Kotaro always listened to how he viewed the way things are and the way they should be. It felt as if he and his father were the only people who made any sense in this insane universe, and so it was through them that he could keep his hope alive. Likewise, while Paragon has been interested in the future Grand Admiral as a person of potential, a rarity in the many many humans he has seen in his life on Earth.

When Kherol was sent to learn at a Military Academy, Kotaro followed suit. He may not have wanted to follow a corrupt government's orders, but if he could be of any help in Kherol's eyes, nothing would make him happier.

His grades in the academy were nothing like Kherol, however his experience with Paragon, the exceptional want for leadership and the experience he held at being one, plus his usefulness as someone with a "magic sword" earned him position after position from captain to admiral, until finally, he rose up to his dream job as Grand Admiral Kherol's Vice-Admiral, his second-in-command. In this position, he could be of the upmost help to Kherol's goals, as well as be there to protect him the way Alex has been there for him.

He was there at the Grand Admiral side, when it was revealed the sickening experiments that were happening to children, when the Battle of Proxima failed, and he continues to be at his side to this day.

For only through Kherol, can this universe find peace and benevolence.

[b]Theme Song:[/b] [hider="Winterborn" ~ The Cruxshadows][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5UHP9VuPcQ[/youtube][/hider]

[hider="All is for my Lord" (Main Theme)][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_BOlhP2S1w[/youtube][/hider]

[hider="Human Legacy" (Kind Theme)][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NzlDUeS1U4&ab_channel=IvanTorrent[/youtube][/hider]

[hider="A Duel of Souls and Swords" (Battle Theme)][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2ZABhD0sFc&ab_channel=NewBrawlgamemusic[/youtube][/hider][/hider]