[OOC] Four Winds

[Scio]

Four Winds

Hider

Four Winds was founded by Jasper in the late nineteen-forties following the devastating second demon war. During the reconstruction of magical world, Jasper spent a great deal of time in the countryside helping to rebuild the nation he had played a role in destroying. Guilt was what moved him to start up his institution in the remote mountain valley but it quickly changed over the years. Jasper recruited his old friends to help teach and began to scout out the gifted individuals in the world.

Why? That is a question that has been asked for years. The official reason is said to be Jasper’s desire to help preserve and protect the greatest humanity has to offer and to provide for them an environment that allows them to expand their abilities to that of their full potential. Indeed, over the years many excellent individuals have come from the hallowed halls of what became known as Four Winds. However, there have also been numerous graduates that have gone on to do horrible, monstrous things. They all also thanked Jasper’s academy for their training.

Four Winds is an institution for those with exceptional talents and eccentricities no matter their moral standing or family background. They take in people from all walks of life no matter their history or skill set. It is for these reasons that the institute has another name. The Zoo. A place for misfits, oddities, monsters, and exotic beasts. Have no fear though, for whatever you arrive as you most certainly will leave as something more.

Abilities

Hider

Magic is the life energy produced by all living bodies vital for survival. Magic from all parts of the body has a tendency to flow together, producing one mass of energy. This happens without the individual's awareness, typically resulting in a slow leak of magic continually escaping the body. However, there are a select few who are capable of expressing their magical energies which, in essence, allows them to create a special and unique ability.
There are six types of magical energy; every individual is born having one of these six different magic types.

• Enhancement refers to the use of magic to increase the natural abilities of an object or one's own body.
• Transmutation allows users to change the properties of their magical energy to mimic something else.
• Conjuration on the other hand, grants the ability to create a physical, independent, material objects out of one's own magical energies.
• Liberation deals with the controlling and deployment of their magical energy while separating it from their body. And lastly,
• Manipulation allows the control of living or non-living things in certain ways depending on the conditions and means set by the user.
• Specialization is any magic that doesn't belong into the other five categories, being referred to as the vaguest of all types of magic.

Most abilities are based on one's individual magic type. Though it is possible for one to develop abilities outside of his primary magic type, one is typically less proficient at using those abilities. By creating an ability that one isn't suited for, one risks stagnating their potential by overloading their capacity for using magical energy.

There will be approximations to indicate just exactly how efficient one would be at using their magical abilities that one is not born into. Starting at one's own aura type, one has the potential to be 100% efficient at using abilities based in that category alone. Then looking at the category chart above, one has the potential to be 80% efficient at using aura types adjacent to one's primary type, 40% efficient at the opposite or farthest category, and 60% efficient in the two remaining categories. Specialization is typically unusable for non-Specialists because it is impossible to partially use; one either can or cannot use Specialist abilities. However, Conjurers and Manipulators have 1% efficiency potential of becoming Specialists due to being adjacent to it.

Application Form

Hider

Name: What you want people to call you.
Age: We accept those between age 13 to 18.
Appearance: An image would be amazing.

Personality: What are you like?
History: Include as much or as little of your background as you feel comfortable sharing. Just don't forget to mention the events that led to your discovery of your abilities. This shall be kept strictly confidential.

Skills: Before we go into you gift, I'm sure you have something that you're good at.

Magic: You've been blessed with an ability.

• Name:What's it called?
• Type: Pick from the six categories.
• Description: What can you do with it?

Inventory: Anything significant on you right now?

[GreenGoat]

Well now. I'll get a cs up in a jiffy.

[January]

CS App:

Nico Lehmann

Name: Nico Lehmann
Age: 17
Appearance:



Personality: Nico is a cowardly asshole. No one would think so on initial observations, or even a few subsequent observations, but Nico would be the first to admit it. Lazy and unmotivated, but still desiring all the fame and glory that a typical 17-year-old wants, Nico’s way of coping with the disparity between his impossible dreams and his reality is by belittling others—mentally. He doesn’t have the guts to start confrontations nor does he have the courage to assert his opinions, so he puts on a friendly, agreeable face for everyone. In his own words, he’s “the worst kind of person.”

With no motivation to change for the better and no significant talent to cultivate, Nico’s growing resentment of himself manifests as a palpable discomfort with social interactions, particularly friendliness. Even with his veneer of neutral amicability, most people instinctively find Nico somehow displeasing. Perhaps because his words and smiles never reach his eyes. He can’t handle the sparkling socialites (because he wants to be one, but can’t manage that kind of charisma), and he loathes the sniveling sycophants (because they remind him too much of himself).

Change starts with one’s own self, but Nico doesn’t even know where to begin changing. He has too much self-awareness to blissfully affix someone else’s motivation to the void where his should be, but has too little self-confidence to seek out his own. Knowing this, Nico’s daily mantra as he curls up in bed is a succinct “I hate myself.”

History: Nico grew up in a family of success and expectations. His older brother, Elliot, graduated early from a prestigious university and went on to pursue a doctorate in experimental particle physics with such notable success that he’s already been accepted into several large teams working with the Large Hadron Collider. Nico’s younger brother, Lucien, was a child prodigy with enough potential to surpass even Elliot, having already entered one of the country’s top universities at the tender age of 12 with a major in neuroscience. His parents, while not boasting astounding achievements like two of their three children, were both successful surgeons in one of the largest hospitals in the world.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Nico attended the local public high school while maintaining a GPA of 3.5.

In his family of ridiculous people, Nico stuck out like a sore thumb. All attempts by his parents to wring out any sort of exceptional talent in their middle son had ended in failure, and, by the time he was 14, they had all but given up hope. On a calm summer evening, as a 14-year-old Nico ate his dinner quietly, his father had suddenly announced that they would cease all tutoring sessions and extracurricular programs that involved only Nico.

“You can still participate in the ones you share with Lucien, though,” his mother had added as a consolation. “If you want.”

And that was that. Suddenly, all the expectations and subsequent disappointments were gone and Nico felt, with an alarming clarity, precisely how normal he really was.

After that day, no one was ever cruel to him. No one ever neglected him. No one ever said anything bad about him. But that only made his inclusion in their lives all the more difficult for Nico, who could never forgive himself for not being someone exceptional, too. Around this time, Nico learned how to block out his internal screaming.

The day Nico discovered his abilities also happened to be the day a fire hydrant blew up. He wasn't aware of it at the time, but the pretty girl he was staring at intently and following with his eyes as she crossed the street was a mage. He figured those glowing red circles on her hand were just some sort of glitzy decoration. She probably wasn't aware of the circles, either, because when a drunken driver veered dangerously close to the crosswalk, she had screamed and instinctively put her hand out, letting loose a blast of fire so huge it spanned the width of the street and licked at the porches of the nearby houses. In his panic, the driver veered in the opposite direction, crashing into a fire hydrant that quickly erupted into a geyser.

Several things happened in this moment: Nico turned and ran, the movement bringing his left hand into his peripheral vision where he finally noticed the sigil gleaming bright red on the back of his hand; the driver wobbled out of his car and collapsed; the girl screamed for help; and Nico clapped his right hand over the sigil and ducked into the nearest alley, suddenly realizing he was exhausted and, more importantly, somehow involved in that accident.

He wasn't sure how he felt it, but a lurking sensation throughout his body hinted he had something to do with that massive burst of fire, even as he tried to tell himself that the mark on his hand didn't look anything like the mark on the girl's hand. And as the sounds of panic and fearful whispers grew more prevalent from the growing crowd in the area, Nico quietly slipped away, feeling a tinge of guilt at leaving the mess behind, but also relieved no one had noticed him.

He told no one of the incident and had to leave the room when the local news came on, mentioning that a freak accident had occurred on a nearby road leaving one person badly injured. Hoping to bury the event in his memory, Nico suffered through his panic and confusion alone in his room until he convinced himself that everything must have been just a really insane trick of the light.

And then the letter from Jasper came and Nico choked on his dinner.

Skills: Nico is incredibly talented at making friendship bracelets. Potentially other arts and crafts in the same vein, but he's never tried his hand at anything other than thread/yarn bracelets.

Abilities: Galvanize (amplify). Debilitate (diminish).

Nico’s magic falls under the Hatsudo class, though the “material” he can alter is actually the abilities of others—and only the abilities of others. He can strengthen and weaken a target’s ability by a large degree for as long as he can maintain the immense concentration required to upkeep the spell. The further the distance from the target, the more energy the spell consumes per unit of time and the more demanding the concentration required. At the moment, Nico can only manage this on one target in close proximity for a short duration.

The indicator of his ability in effect is a bright, red sigil of ten hair-thin, concentric rings that appears on the back of Nico’s left hand and the back of his target’s right hand.

Inventory: Two hand-woven friendship bracelets of the same color and pattern on his left wrist. They’re chevron-patterned linked by a centered diamond pattern. The outlines of the diamonds and the chevrons are silver, the diamonds are red, the left sides of the chevrons are black while the right sides are white.

[Scio]

@January That gave me a good laugh, but I forgot to mention, it would be nice if you mentioned how he discovered his abilities. Sorry for that, my bad.

Everything about the ability is fine. I can see Nico as either an excellent support-type character or some sort of duelist. Since your ability is centered around both buffing and debuffing abilities, maybe you could give it a different name? Something like Harmony and Discord. Well, only if you want to.

[January]

@Scio

Haha, glad you found it amusing. Making changes immediately.

Edit: Changes made.

[RoflsMazoy]

I've been playing dmc for about 6 hours straight now X_X

I'll get a character done before I sleep, though

[GreenGoat]

Just cobbled this together.

Junko

Name: Junko Adevelt
Age: 16
Appearance:

Personality: One could say she was a silent loner, and not have been wrong in summing her up with those words. Junko tends to keep to herself, and as a result rarely says anything or speak to anyone unless she feels the need to. It was not to say that she was antisocial or hated people, for she has no real aversion to crowds or people. But she simply prefers to be alone, and considering how people had treated her once, it was not without reason. She has a calmness around her that many of her age lacks, a stillness of mind preventing her from sudden outbursts, irrational episodes or anger.

History: For as long as she could remember, this ability had been with her, a part of her that was always there. Time and time again, she had moved from place to place, her father assuring her each time that it will be different. No matter where she went, no matter the people, no matter what she did, those stares remained the same.

The devil child.

Cursed girl.

Monster.

Heavy fog rolled around her, wherever she went. No matter what sort of weather it was originally, fog will follow her. It didnt matter if it was raining or sunny, and it was especially worse during winter, with a freezing fog that never went away. Every time she moved to a new place and school, it would always follow a distinct cycle, one she had learned to recognize well. At first, the declaration that they will never judge her for her ability. Soon after, typically after a few weeks, annoyance will have set in, apparent in their voices and how they looked at her. After that, outright contempt or thinly veiled hate.

She did understand how they felt. After all, high moisture indoors tend to bring a lot of problems, like rot or mold. Outdoors, fog would ruin good weather and makes bad weather worse. Foggy rain was no one's favourite weather after all, and having a bright sunny day on the beach ruined by fog was bound to make people angry.

By the time someone with knowledge of magic came along, the damage was already done. Even with the gas mask suppressing her ability, she remained... unpopular, to put it lightly. It didn't bother her anymore, for she had long accepted the fact that no one will ever like her.

Abilities: The ability to disperse and manipulate fog. Note that she cannot turn off this ability; fog will spread around her regardless of her wishes. She can only make the fog thicker not thinner normally. With a focus like her gas mask, she can thin it to a thick mist instead. Sure it was still rather thick, but at least she could finally see more than a just a several metres ahead. However, nothing she can do will turn it off permanently. Junko can control the fog to an extent, moving it around and about however she pleases, though she will always remain enveloped in it. Color changes are possible as well.

Inventory: A gasmask, with several filter cartridges. The gasmask is nothing special, but it acts as a focus she can use to suppress her ability somewhat. A red raincoat, galoshes and gloves that she wears almost all of the time.

[Scio]

@January Excellent story telling, I enjoyed the read. I'm expecting a lot of fun from Nico.

@GreenGoat Interesting ability. Not quite sure what your planning, but I'm eager to find out.

Both of you are accepted.

[Ayemdar]

I'll work on a character throughout the day and hopefully have it posted by tonight!

[Scio]

@Ayemdar No rush, buddy. But good to hear.

[Ayemdar]

Oh, also are there any age limits for the characters?

[Scio]

@Ayemdar Yup, its in the character sheet. 13 - 18.

[January]

@Scio

Thank you!

Ah, Nico. It'll be good to make you suffer.

[banjoanjo]

@Scio Do all the abilities have visual indicators, like the runes that appear on Nico's hand?

[GreenGoat]

Alrighty! Do I post it over at the Char tab now?

[Masaki Haruna]

Kyou

Name: Kyou
Age: 15
Appearance:

Personality:
To sum it up short, Kyou for K and all for K as K is for kindness. Kyou is positive in all things she is about, always releasing the hyperactive kid within her which can be both a pro and a con as people would either be irritated with her chatterbox nonsensical jokes or laugh along with it. She is also ambitious which to an extent points to her naivete and arrogance, as for one having plenty of goals and unable to finish one yet still makes sure to finish it.

Her logical approach comes in many forms anything but sense since it is all bundled with her eccentric nature and assertion in social. She likes to think abstract and achieve things with her wits and trickery. Kyou has a knack of pulling pranks as well and surprisingly it is useful in a fight for setting up traps.

Lastly, the happiest person are the ones that have hidden depths. There is more to Kyou than just being a hyperactive youngster.

History:
Kyou grew happily adopted with her Kung Fu Teacher and that alone is enough for her since there is nothing like a touch of spar that once can feel. She devoted all her life into martial arts and cling to a belief of what sets her free as she sees Bai Xing her fighting form that is clear as water a way of life, a way of harmonizing. She is happy but not joyful, she smiles but not really smiling because she isn't free at all.

She strongly believes that one could only achieve the true joy and not happiness since it is temporary. The true joy is something that surpasses everything and is equal with love. The past is something that continuously haunts her, and that is from her childhood prior to even meeting her Kung Fu teacher. Kyou despises demons and criminality. One day, she went hunting in the woods with her Kung Fu teacher and slayed a fox for dinner.

After eating the fox, strange things began happening to her body and that is the day that marked her new age.
Skills:
Kyou is a Kung Fu student of her late Shi Fu, Xin Yan. She dedicated her entire life in perfecting her fighting form Bai Xing.

Bai Xing means; A Hundred Stars. It is a fighting form that is both deception and precision, why a hundred stars? The legend behind it is that the starlight blinds when put together like a ray of the sun which rains down a hundredfold hits.

To put it in an easier term. It is a fighting form that comprises of feints and an animal motif which is unorthodox developed by Kyou herself.

"Kung fu is anything and everything. You wash the dishes, you are doing kung fu. You treat people with respect that is still kung fu. Bai Xing is the form you have created, Kyou. A hundred stars that makes up the sun. I understand that most people brand animals like dragons, crane etc but it's surprising to me that of all animals you chose the fox."

-The Fox Motif. Instead of following the cliche 12 Zodiac animal signs of China. Kyou invented a Bai Xing that is about the fox.

Abilities:
Her abilities would fall on Igyo Class. As a result of eating kitsune meat, her eyes became blood red and formerly her hair being naturally brown turned jet black. While not having any kitsune magical spells yet and what the not. Kyou is more of a melee fighter and having her powers for less than 4 months, she tries to get accustomed to the changes around her. At best she is that of having kitsune-like senses and augmenting its kitsune physical prowess, she only has one tail.

Inventory:
Lollipop collection. Just to munch! This explains her hyperactive nature.

There, I have lots of ideas but I'll only focus on the important ones. Mentioned 13-18 right... I wen full loli on this one^^ Unless loli with boobs like Hestia

[Scio]

@banjoanjo All abilities should have a visual medium. Element-based one don't really need one since those things are obvious but abilities such as telepathy or telekinesis would require one. Be as creative as you like.

@GreenGoat Go for it.

@Masaki Haruna Everything is fine. My only comment is her ability. Since you chose an igyo-class, she just has fox traits. Nothing Kitsune-like just yet; if the fox she consumed was magical in a way, that would give her potential to learn kitsune-like magic, but for now, I can't let her have that, buddy. At most, she can have another ability which is her martial arts. Since it'll be weird if she didn't know how to fight given that she grew up under the guidance of a martial artist. Also mentioned no to weapons in the interest thread, but I guess she can have it given her backstory.

[Vox Angelis]

Here goes, hope it is acceptable:

Akasha Amaechi

Name : Akasha Amaechi
Age : 16 years old
Appearance:


Personality:
Akasha is a very light-hearted girl. The way she acts is purely out of innocence and mean no real harm to anyone or have any devious back thoughts. She is very playful, love to pull pranks on people and a good soul in general. She is a cheerful person; it is very hard to make her upset, to the point her good mood seems to spread to others.

However, she gets very serious when bullying and physical harm is involved, either towards herself or at others. Her survival instincts kicks in when she is personally targeted, turning her into a ball of fury. When it comes to friends and family, it’s her protecting nature that drives her to kick offenders’ ass. Even though she is a good-hearted person, she does not shy from fighting, as her animalistic instincts are what makes most of her personality.

History:
Akasha is a child of the jungle, raised by amazons and toughened up by the beasts that inhabit the harsh environment of the jungles. Her childhood was spent by learning how to survive in the wilderness, how to hunt for food, how to become strong to defend oneself and what is dear to her.

But there came a day when she was but a mere 13 year old child, that would change her life. Akasha’s tribe had for many generations a ritual to teenage hood, to celebrate one’s first steps to becoming a warrior. This ceremony was to leave the child alone in the jungle for an entire night. Many would not come out alive of the jungle, but those who did would be renowned as future warriors, and ensuring their place into the tribe. Akasha never was that strong to begin with, and even cried on that fateful day. She feared the night, and what might be lurking in it. It was with dread that she was left all alone in the night of her 13th birthday.

During that night, she was visited by predators of the night. Panthers, hyenas, snakes, scorpions, all kind of beasts that would mercilessly hunt her and eat her. But each time an animal came to her camp, they would only circle around the child, and eventually go back from where they came from, as if they had lost the will to prey on the young amazon.

It was but when morning came, that the truth would be revealed as to Akasha’s survival during that night. The amazons did not expected the young one to actually survive; they knew she was too weak of a girl to make a warrior. But when they saw the young girl curled up, asleep, black feathery wings on her back, fluffy feline ears sprouting up from her hair and a black thin tail curled up underneath, the tribe realized that she had survive because the animals treated Akasha like she was one of their own. While many feared the young girl’s strange powers, some were actually fascinated, and started praising the teenager as “Gods’ Gifted”.

Skills:
Akasha is well-versed in survivability in the wilderness. For what she does not know about modern civilization and technology, she makes up for making a living in areas left untouched by humanity. Her survival skills include hunting (restricted to easy preys, such as deers, antelopes and such), gathering plants and herbs (mostly edible wild fruits and mushrooms), making fire without accelerant and lighter, basic navigation in forests and constructing temporary shelters and camps.

Abilities:
Being of the Henkei class, Akasha’s ability is to transform herself into an animal. Becoming an animal, Akasha loses the ability to talk, as she will make the sound of the animal instead. However, she gains traits common to the animal, such as improved scent, touch, hearing and/or sight, as well as their method of moving around.

As she does not fully understand her powers and how they work, Akasha is only able to have a full transformation. However, there have been hints in history that she could be able to get a “hybrid” transformation in order to gain an animal’s power and still remain in human form, but she does not have enough control to use that degree of ability. At best, Hybrid transformation happens unconsciously in dire situations.

Since Akasha just recently discovered about her power, she can only transform into what her tribe would call her "Spirit Totem", which is the panther. Despite not being the strongest and largest of the large felines, the panther is one of the sneakiest predators to hunt in the jungle. Transforming into a panther, Akasha gains improved smell, hearing, night-vision, enhanced agility (panthers are superb tree climbers and quick), stealth in dark areas (with their pitch-black fur) and silent.

[Scio]

@Riffus Maximus Akasha's an oddity, but I mean that in the best way possible. My only issue is with her ability. I'm glad that someone chose the Henkei-class, but maybe you could limit the number of animals she can transform into? Maybe we can start with 1 then work our way to more?

[Scio]

@January@GreenGoat@Masaki Haruna@Riffus Maximus I decided to add another section in the character sheet; a skill section. Basically the things your character is good at.

Not sure what Nico and Junko would have but Kyou has her martial arts and Akasha has her survival skills.