Member
Xaltwind
Izurich
Animal
Alby47
Punished GN
ThatLostDude
Lewascan2Here's my Master! Let me know if anything here should be changed or removed.
"Oh geez, are we gonna have a philosophical debate while we fight? Listen I've done this song and dance before, can we skip to the part where you sell me your eyes or I kill you?"
Name:
Iris Macinban
Title(s):
Deputy Macinban, Retina of the Rail
Gender:
Female
Age:
26
Alignment:
Lawful Evil
Objective for the Grail:
"A Rainbow-Ranked Mystic Eye. That is all I desire."
Command Seal:
A simple sphere, tapering off on the side to give an almost crescent moon shape. Two smaller spheres reside within, the larger of the two overlapping the primary sphere. The smallest is the only sphere that doesn't have a break in it. with the massive quantity of tattoos covering her entire body, it is a bit difficult to pinpoint where her Command Seals are located - and with her Tattoo Magecraft, she is more than capable of moving the physical location of her Command Seals on her body.
Appearance:
Iris stands at 5'10 and weighs 145 lbs. Her hair is a muted brown, cut short to prevent it from getting in the way during combat. Finding bare flesh that isn't covered in tattoos is difficult, and if you are particularly attentive, one may see the designs slowly shift and move across her body.
Her time on the Rail Zeppelin and traveling around Europe seems to have hardened her somewhat to the cool climate of Japan, as she sticks to long sleeve shirts rather than jackets. Formal wear is her preferred style of clothes, but in combat, she sticks to outfits that reveal her skin - this allows her to more easily release her familiars.
Personality:
Iris is cheeky and manipulative, quick to push others into positions that benefit her. Loyalty, tradition, honor - none of it has any meaning if it can't be used for her own benefit. She would much rather force or trick someone else into doing the working or fighting for her, only to swoop in after the fact to snatch up the rewards. Because of this and her approach to magecraft, her main combat style is to chip away, use underhanded tricks, and strike when someone least expects it.
Most of Iris' personality stems from her hangup on her own Magic Circuits. Iris has a very traditional view of what a Mage is, and what defines a successful magus: If someone is born with good circuits, they will always be a better magus than someone born with worse circuits. And because she was born to a young family, Iris would never be a good Mage. If she was lucky, her grandchild might be decent - all she'd ever achieve was a small stepping stone in her family's history, inevitably forgotten.
But the Rail Zeppelin, with its ability to transfer Mystic Eyes from one person to another, shined like a beacon of hope to Iris. Even if she couldn't have perfect circuits, she'd at least be able to have something that few other Magi could aspire to possess. This idea led to her obsession with Mystic Eyes - both acquiring them, as well as hoarding them.
Greed and materialism are what drive Iris to action. If you can't attach a price tag to something, then there isn't really that much point in working for it is there? Reaching the Root is meaningless to Iris, as doing so would mean leaving behind everything that a Magi family has worked to gain and hoard over dozens or even hundreds of generations. This outlook is what separates her from the average Mage - while most Mages merely covet wealth in order to progress their research, Iris wishes to have it for the sake of holding onto that wealth and to give her a sense of fulfillment. While Magic Circuits can only be built generationally, a massive amount of Wealth can be generated over an incredibly brief period of time, given the proper conditions.
On most topics she seems to just be along for the ride, throwing out generic responses or whatever she believes will make someone feel a connection to her. Being respected is almost as useful as being feared in the world of magecraft, so Iris is careful to avoid burning bridges unless absolutely necessary. But when frustrated or pushed, she will quickly snap back, her hostile and abrasive nature boiling to the surface.
Iris struggles to build close bonds with those around her - interacting so much with Mages has led her to assume the worst in anyone she meets, and her line of work had seriously crippled her empathy. She isn't a sadist that gets pleasure out of seeing people hurt - she just couldn't be bothered to care. "Why would it matter if someone I don't know gets hurt?" is all she would say.
It is because of this apathetic nature that she is more than happy to accept surrenders or alliances - even if she is aware that an alliance in a Grail War (or in life) is short-lived, the end result will be a single opponent rather than six - much better odds. Of course, if someone could convince her to join their side with something more valuable to her than the grail, they would gain a powerful and 'loyal' ally.
As far as Servants are concerned, Iris is incredibly laissez-faire in their treatment - she rarely gives orders or limits her Servant's actions, only stepping in when they blatantly put her at risk. She views the war as a waiting game - why get into a bunch of fights and burn through her magical energy, when you can just let them kill each other? But just because she is not willing to crack the whip does not mean she is the submissive one in the relationship - she is perfectly happy to waste Command Seals forcing her Servant to obey her rare few requests, and will only restrain herself when brought to her last one. Iris has a fondness for younger Servants and Lilies, and she will reveal a softer and more maternal side to those that remind her of her brother. While she would normally be restricted to very weak Servants thanks to her poor circuits, she is perfectly fine with letting her Servant consume the souls of humans to gain energy, so she functions well with those of an Evil alignment.
Iris' wish for the Grail is simple. Mystic Eyes are all that she cares for, and having a truly unique pair would make her a truly unique Mage. She would need the best Mystic Eyes possible - those of the Rainbow rank. It didn't matter what it actually did - only that it was powerful, and people respected her for having them.
Bio:
The Macinban family is a very recent family, barely a century old at this point. Their founder was a tattooed freak, who learned of magecraft from the man that ran the carnival that he worked for. The Macinbans had since laid their roots down in Ireland, hoping to be as close to the Clock Tower as possible while still avoiding the financial costs that came with living in London. The progress they've made in their short existence is notable, but trying to reach the Root by scribbling on your skin is absurd, to the point that the Macinban are laughingstocks even amongst the new families.
Iris is from the fourth generation of her family, and while her youth was a lot less rigid compared to most older families, she still spent most of her time as a child either studying magecraft, or strapped to a chair as a needle prints new designs on her skin. Despite this, she was a relatively happy child, and the birth of her younger brother gave her someone who she felt that she could confide in and protect.
When Iris turned 16, her family had scraped together enough funds to send her to the Clock Tower to study. It was here that Iris was finally exposed to the hazing and discrimination that newer families face - hypnotism that made her act out in classes, worse marks on her papers, and even theft of her precious few mystic codes. Iris would spend 4 months in the Clock Tower before eventually leaving.
Her brief but formative time at the Clock Tower made her realize that no matter how hard she tried or worked, she would never accomplish the goal of her family. At best, she might marry a better mage, produce an heir with better circuits than her, and pray that dozens of generations later, someone will finally succeed in reaching the Root - or at the very least, adjust their Magecraft to a more likely path.
Iris did not want to waste her life researching and placating the upper echelons of the magic world, only to risk not even accomplishing her family's goal. She had already lost her chance to become a skilled mage - no matter how hard she trained or studied, she would not be able to safely acquire more Magic Circuits. The only way to be a potent mage without proper circuits is by being born with a special ability - a psychic power, a unique bloodline.
A Mystic Eye.
Upon learning of the Rail Zeppelin four months into her study at the Clock Tower, Iris immediately dropped out, using the funds that should have gone towards her tuition instead to gain a position on the train. After a year of hard labor as a cook and waitress on the Train (and having successfully convinced one passenger to sell an eye), she was promoted to being a Deputy - someone who enforces the peace on the Rail Zeppelin, and searches for new Mystic Eyes to add to the Rail Zeppelin's stock.
She did this job for nearly a decade - searching Europe for strong Mystic Eyes, attempting to convince the holder to sell, and killing them if they refused. Her reputation as a hunter of Mystic Eyes grew to be widely known in the Association, to the point where many who crossed paths with her simply offered to sell a single eye in order to avoid being killed. She grew incredibly wealthy off of the commission she got from these eyes, which in turn she used to pay back her family and win new Mystic Eyes at auction. She believed that eventually, with enough searching, buying, selling, and killing - after she got enough money, after she got a strong enough eye, she'd eventually be a good mage.
And she'd fill that void in her life.
But every year, the options in Europe grew slimmer and slimmer. Eventually, the Deputies had to widen their search - the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.
And in 1990, after rumors of an exceptionally potent pair of Mystic Eyes of Distortion were discovered in Japan, Iris was quick to follow.
When Iris arrived in Japan, the nation was in despair - earthquakes and floods decimated the population, and you couldn't walk far without seeing the sick or dying. It was perfect - many Mystic Eyes mutated during life-and-death experiences, and Iris was sure to find at least a few potent ones before reaching her target.
But during her initial research in the area, she uncovered something that she had only heard in passing back in Europe - a great ritual constructed by three mage families and held in the city of Fuyuki, the winner of which would be granted a wish.
Reaching the Root or a True Magic was not something that Iris cared for - She knew just from hearing of the ritual that was the intention the mages had for it. A way to cheat centuries of research and reach their goal in only a single generation. But something deep in her gut pulled at her. If she could wish for anything, maybe she could skip all of this hunting and just get the Eyes she needed right away. Nothing would prove that she was a better mage than winning a war among mages.
Spending a sizable portion of her fortune on a proper catalyst, Iris made her way to Fuyuki. She was confident that she could handle the opposing Masters - she had fought mages for years.
But the Ghost Liners - the Servants. That would be an issue.
Magic Circuit Switch:
The feeling of a hot needle piercing the eye.
Number of Magic Circuits:
D
Quality of Magic Circuits:
D
Elemental Affinity:
Water
Origin:
Staining
Magecraft:
Tattoo Magecraft:
The art of inscribing one's own body with ink, utilizing various patterns in order to draw out the conceptual meaning behind the shapes inscribed on the user. It is based on the runic tattoos that Berserkers and Vikings were adorned with, which were designed to grant strength and courage in battle. The Magecraft could thus be described as an overspecialized mishmash of Runes and Reinforcement.
In essence, it focuses on creating spells that are permanently etched into the body, which can be activated by pouring energy into rather than reciting a Chant or using a Mystic Code. For example, the tattoo of an Eye could be activated to grant increased visual acuity, a bear could grant increased strength, or a flame might function like a lighter. The larger the tattoo, the more potent the effect - a small fire on the thumb might work like a lighter, while an entire sleeve of flames could shoot out short gouts of fire, provided they receive enough magical energy.
The main limitations of Tattoo Magecraft are the prep time involved, and the incredibly weak strength. While versatile and capable of a wide array of effects, only something large like a back tattoo would grant a supernatural edge over a normal trained person. And for their weak effects, the tattoos require quite the investment of time - even the simplest designs take dozens of minutes, while large and actually combat-applicable tattoos take up massive portions of the body, limiting the total number of tattoos and taking days to fully etch out.
With her limited magical energy and lack of training in her Magecraft, Iris almost exclusively uses Tattoo Magecraft in the creation of her Familiars - instead using her Mystic Eyes to combat others. Still, it's a fun party trick to make your tattoos dance and move around.
Familiars:
Because she left the Clocktower before acquiring a proper education in Magecraft, the only aspect of General Magecraft that Iris is capable of is the creation and maintenance of Familiars. However, in conjunction with her Tattoo Magecraft, collection of Mystic Eyes, and specialization, Iris is in possession of a number of potent Familiars.
Rather than create Familiars the most traditional way, by stuffing leftover human thoughts into an animal's corpse, Iris instead uses the tattooed animals and plants on her body as a vessel. While much more fragile and weak due to not having a physical form, these familiars are also exceptionally fast and stealthy. Iris uses them for reconnaissance, seeing through their eyes and stalking her prey before eventually attacking them for their eyes.
The most notable attribute of these Familiars is their ability to be 'equipped' with Mystic Eyes from Iris' collection. While weaker at using them thanks to their limited Magical Energy, this effectively allows Iris to use over a dozen Mystic Eyes at any one time... so long as she is willing to risk losing the eyes if a familiar were to die.
Since she forms these Familiars with her Tattoo Magecraft, the Familiars that Iris creates must adhere to a 'surface' - slinking along the ground or walls like graffiti, or flittering on a piece of paper through the air. As a result of this and the ink that forms them, Water is both an impassable barrier as well as an easy method of killing them.
Crest:
N/A.
The Macinban family Crest was not passed to Iris due to her abandoning the research of her family Magecraft in favor of being a Spellcaster. Instead, it was given to her younger brother. Not a tremendous loss, considering the youth of the family.
Weapon:
Mystic Eyes:
Occasionally, a person's Magic Circuits will mutate and congregate in the area around the eyes, resulting in eyes that are capable of manipulating the world and casting spells through sight alone. These organs, Mystic Eyes, are very rare as they only manifest after extreme circumstances or the user is born with them. Mystic Eyes even come with their own Magic Circuits, allowing even a weak mage to have a hidden advantage over their opponents. Normally a person would only be able to use a single eye or two at most, but thanks to her unique application of her Magecraft, Iris is far stronger the more eyes that she has access to.
As one could expect from a Deputy of the Rail Zeppelin, Iris is in possession of a wide array of Mystic Eyes. Many of these were acquired from her own missions abroad, the occasional eye slipping into her possession or bought at the auctions that the Rail Zeppelin organizes. While she is only able to have two eyes at any time and must undergo surgery to replace them, her use of familiars in conjunction with them has led to her being a very intimidating Spell-caster to face.
While on the move, Iris keeps her Mystic Eyes in enchanted, hermetically-sealed vials - which she usually keeps in her belt pouches or pockets. While it is technically possible to implant these eyes in another being without the advanced techniques and facilities of the Rail Zeppelin, it would require some exceptional quality of the recipient - for example, the Eroding Detachment ability possessed by some Mixed-Bloods, or the Self-Modification skill.
She has brought the following eyes with her to Japan:
Panoptes Lens:
A tattoo design that covers the entirety of her arms, chest, and back. The hands taper off into crescents which when brought together form a large eye. This is a kind of Mystic Code that Iris had developed over her years working for the Rail Zeppelin, basing its function and design on the Mystic Eye Projector utilized by the train. By holding a Mystic Eye (or the transparent containers that Iris carries them in) and activating the Mystic Code, Iris is capable of utilizing the Eye at 10x the normal power, at the cost of burning out the lens and rendering it blind (and therefore, useless).
While it lacks the raw power that its progenitor is capable of, the Panoptes Lens can be deployed nigh-instantly and is 'carried' on her person at all times. It is her trump card, the last resort when stealth and subterfuge have failed to kill a target. The fact that she was able to make something like this when her magecraft had such a weak foundation is a testament to her obsession.
Familiars:
A large number of Tattoos litter Iris' body - Chinese dragons and flowers, birds and wolves, countless eyes whose nerves split into wings or legs - all manner of lifeforms cover her flesh. With a command, she is capable of animating these as fragile familiars, which leap off of her body and slink along surfaces. Some, like the bird tattoos, are even capable of controlling how a paper floats on the wind, allowing a poor imitation of flight.
While weak enough that even a normal human could scratch and wipe one or two away, their ability to use Mystic Eyes and provide intel is invaluable in a war. And in a pinch, a large enough number could be used to drown someone in ink.
Normally around 10 can be animated at any time without strain to the user, but depending on the maintenance cost of her Servant, the actual number of familiars that Iris can keep active may be far lower.
A Gun:
A simple handgun - a Beretta Mod 92, to be specific. While Iris is far from being a master marksman like the many Freelancers in the world of Magecraft, she values its raw efficiency and the countless mages who underestimate a firearm.
"Oh geez, are we gonna have a philosophical debate while we fight? Listen I've done this song and dance before, can we skip to the part where you sell me your eyes or I kill you?"
Name:
Iris Macinban
Title(s):
Deputy Macinban, Retina of the Rail
Gender:
Female
Age:
26
Alignment:
Lawful Evil
Objective for the Grail:
"A Rainbow-Ranked Mystic Eye. That is all I desire."
Command Seal:
A simple sphere, tapering off on the side to give an almost crescent moon shape. Two smaller spheres reside within, the larger of the two overlapping the primary sphere. The smallest is the only sphere that doesn't have a break in it. with the massive quantity of tattoos covering her entire body, it is a bit difficult to pinpoint where her Command Seals are located - and with her Tattoo Magecraft, she is more than capable of moving the physical location of her Command Seals on her body.
Appearance:
Iris stands at 5'10 and weighs 145 lbs. Her hair is a muted brown, cut short to prevent it from getting in the way during combat. Finding bare flesh that isn't covered in tattoos is difficult, and if you are particularly attentive, one may see the designs slowly shift and move across her body.
Her time on the Rail Zeppelin and traveling around Europe seems to have hardened her somewhat to the cool climate of Japan, as she sticks to long sleeve shirts rather than jackets. Formal wear is her preferred style of clothes, but in combat, she sticks to outfits that reveal her skin - this allows her to more easily release her familiars.
Personality:
Iris is cheeky and manipulative, quick to push others into positions that benefit her. Loyalty, tradition, honor - none of it has any meaning if it can't be used for her own benefit. She would much rather force or trick someone else into doing the working or fighting for her, only to swoop in after the fact to snatch up the rewards. Because of this and her approach to magecraft, her main combat style is to chip away, use underhanded tricks, and strike when someone least expects it.
Most of Iris' personality stems from her hangup on her own Magic Circuits. Iris has a very traditional view of what a Mage is, and what defines a successful magus: If someone is born with good circuits, they will always be a better magus than someone born with worse circuits. And because she was born to a young family, Iris would never be a good Mage. If she was lucky, her grandchild might be decent - all she'd ever achieve was a small stepping stone in her family's history, inevitably forgotten.
But the Rail Zeppelin, with its ability to transfer Mystic Eyes from one person to another, shined like a beacon of hope to Iris. Even if she couldn't have perfect circuits, she'd at least be able to have something that few other Magi could aspire to possess. This idea led to her obsession with Mystic Eyes - both acquiring them, as well as hoarding them.
Greed and materialism are what drive Iris to action. If you can't attach a price tag to something, then there isn't really that much point in working for it is there? Reaching the Root is meaningless to Iris, as doing so would mean leaving behind everything that a Magi family has worked to gain and hoard over dozens or even hundreds of generations. This outlook is what separates her from the average Mage - while most Mages merely covet wealth in order to progress their research, Iris wishes to have it for the sake of holding onto that wealth and to give her a sense of fulfillment. While Magic Circuits can only be built generationally, a massive amount of Wealth can be generated over an incredibly brief period of time, given the proper conditions.
On most topics she seems to just be along for the ride, throwing out generic responses or whatever she believes will make someone feel a connection to her. Being respected is almost as useful as being feared in the world of magecraft, so Iris is careful to avoid burning bridges unless absolutely necessary. But when frustrated or pushed, she will quickly snap back, her hostile and abrasive nature boiling to the surface.
Iris struggles to build close bonds with those around her - interacting so much with Mages has led her to assume the worst in anyone she meets, and her line of work had seriously crippled her empathy. She isn't a sadist that gets pleasure out of seeing people hurt - she just couldn't be bothered to care. "Why would it matter if someone I don't know gets hurt?" is all she would say.
It is because of this apathetic nature that she is more than happy to accept surrenders or alliances - even if she is aware that an alliance in a Grail War (or in life) is short-lived, the end result will be a single opponent rather than six - much better odds. Of course, if someone could convince her to join their side with something more valuable to her than the grail, they would gain a powerful and 'loyal' ally.
As far as Servants are concerned, Iris is incredibly laissez-faire in their treatment - she rarely gives orders or limits her Servant's actions, only stepping in when they blatantly put her at risk. She views the war as a waiting game - why get into a bunch of fights and burn through her magical energy, when you can just let them kill each other? But just because she is not willing to crack the whip does not mean she is the submissive one in the relationship - she is perfectly happy to waste Command Seals forcing her Servant to obey her rare few requests, and will only restrain herself when brought to her last one. Iris has a fondness for younger Servants and Lilies, and she will reveal a softer and more maternal side to those that remind her of her brother. While she would normally be restricted to very weak Servants thanks to her poor circuits, she is perfectly fine with letting her Servant consume the souls of humans to gain energy, so she functions well with those of an Evil alignment.
Iris' wish for the Grail is simple. Mystic Eyes are all that she cares for, and having a truly unique pair would make her a truly unique Mage. She would need the best Mystic Eyes possible - those of the Rainbow rank. It didn't matter what it actually did - only that it was powerful, and people respected her for having them.
Bio:
The Macinban family is a very recent family, barely a century old at this point. Their founder was a tattooed freak, who learned of magecraft from the man that ran the carnival that he worked for. The Macinbans had since laid their roots down in Ireland, hoping to be as close to the Clock Tower as possible while still avoiding the financial costs that came with living in London. The progress they've made in their short existence is notable, but trying to reach the Root by scribbling on your skin is absurd, to the point that the Macinban are laughingstocks even amongst the new families.
Iris is from the fourth generation of her family, and while her youth was a lot less rigid compared to most older families, she still spent most of her time as a child either studying magecraft, or strapped to a chair as a needle prints new designs on her skin. Despite this, she was a relatively happy child, and the birth of her younger brother gave her someone who she felt that she could confide in and protect.
When Iris turned 16, her family had scraped together enough funds to send her to the Clock Tower to study. It was here that Iris was finally exposed to the hazing and discrimination that newer families face - hypnotism that made her act out in classes, worse marks on her papers, and even theft of her precious few mystic codes. Iris would spend 4 months in the Clock Tower before eventually leaving.
Her brief but formative time at the Clock Tower made her realize that no matter how hard she tried or worked, she would never accomplish the goal of her family. At best, she might marry a better mage, produce an heir with better circuits than her, and pray that dozens of generations later, someone will finally succeed in reaching the Root - or at the very least, adjust their Magecraft to a more likely path.
Iris did not want to waste her life researching and placating the upper echelons of the magic world, only to risk not even accomplishing her family's goal. She had already lost her chance to become a skilled mage - no matter how hard she trained or studied, she would not be able to safely acquire more Magic Circuits. The only way to be a potent mage without proper circuits is by being born with a special ability - a psychic power, a unique bloodline.
A Mystic Eye.
Upon learning of the Rail Zeppelin four months into her study at the Clock Tower, Iris immediately dropped out, using the funds that should have gone towards her tuition instead to gain a position on the train. After a year of hard labor as a cook and waitress on the Train (and having successfully convinced one passenger to sell an eye), she was promoted to being a Deputy - someone who enforces the peace on the Rail Zeppelin, and searches for new Mystic Eyes to add to the Rail Zeppelin's stock.
She did this job for nearly a decade - searching Europe for strong Mystic Eyes, attempting to convince the holder to sell, and killing them if they refused. Her reputation as a hunter of Mystic Eyes grew to be widely known in the Association, to the point where many who crossed paths with her simply offered to sell a single eye in order to avoid being killed. She grew incredibly wealthy off of the commission she got from these eyes, which in turn she used to pay back her family and win new Mystic Eyes at auction. She believed that eventually, with enough searching, buying, selling, and killing - after she got enough money, after she got a strong enough eye, she'd eventually be a good mage.
And she'd fill that void in her life.
But every year, the options in Europe grew slimmer and slimmer. Eventually, the Deputies had to widen their search - the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.
And in 1990, after rumors of an exceptionally potent pair of Mystic Eyes of Distortion were discovered in Japan, Iris was quick to follow.
When Iris arrived in Japan, the nation was in despair - earthquakes and floods decimated the population, and you couldn't walk far without seeing the sick or dying. It was perfect - many Mystic Eyes mutated during life-and-death experiences, and Iris was sure to find at least a few potent ones before reaching her target.
But during her initial research in the area, she uncovered something that she had only heard in passing back in Europe - a great ritual constructed by three mage families and held in the city of Fuyuki, the winner of which would be granted a wish.
Reaching the Root or a True Magic was not something that Iris cared for - She knew just from hearing of the ritual that was the intention the mages had for it. A way to cheat centuries of research and reach their goal in only a single generation. But something deep in her gut pulled at her. If she could wish for anything, maybe she could skip all of this hunting and just get the Eyes she needed right away. Nothing would prove that she was a better mage than winning a war among mages.
Spending a sizable portion of her fortune on a proper catalyst, Iris made her way to Fuyuki. She was confident that she could handle the opposing Masters - she had fought mages for years.
But the Ghost Liners - the Servants. That would be an issue.
Magic Circuit Switch:
The feeling of a hot needle piercing the eye.
Number of Magic Circuits:
D
Quality of Magic Circuits:
D
Elemental Affinity:
Water
Origin:
Staining
Magecraft:
Tattoo Magecraft:
The art of inscribing one's own body with ink, utilizing various patterns in order to draw out the conceptual meaning behind the shapes inscribed on the user. It is based on the runic tattoos that Berserkers and Vikings were adorned with, which were designed to grant strength and courage in battle. The Magecraft could thus be described as an overspecialized mishmash of Runes and Reinforcement.
In essence, it focuses on creating spells that are permanently etched into the body, which can be activated by pouring energy into rather than reciting a Chant or using a Mystic Code. For example, the tattoo of an Eye could be activated to grant increased visual acuity, a bear could grant increased strength, or a flame might function like a lighter. The larger the tattoo, the more potent the effect - a small fire on the thumb might work like a lighter, while an entire sleeve of flames could shoot out short gouts of fire, provided they receive enough magical energy.
The main limitations of Tattoo Magecraft are the prep time involved, and the incredibly weak strength. While versatile and capable of a wide array of effects, only something large like a back tattoo would grant a supernatural edge over a normal trained person. And for their weak effects, the tattoos require quite the investment of time - even the simplest designs take dozens of minutes, while large and actually combat-applicable tattoos take up massive portions of the body, limiting the total number of tattoos and taking days to fully etch out.
With her limited magical energy and lack of training in her Magecraft, Iris almost exclusively uses Tattoo Magecraft in the creation of her Familiars - instead using her Mystic Eyes to combat others. Still, it's a fun party trick to make your tattoos dance and move around.
Familiars:
Because she left the Clocktower before acquiring a proper education in Magecraft, the only aspect of General Magecraft that Iris is capable of is the creation and maintenance of Familiars. However, in conjunction with her Tattoo Magecraft, collection of Mystic Eyes, and specialization, Iris is in possession of a number of potent Familiars.
Rather than create Familiars the most traditional way, by stuffing leftover human thoughts into an animal's corpse, Iris instead uses the tattooed animals and plants on her body as a vessel. While much more fragile and weak due to not having a physical form, these familiars are also exceptionally fast and stealthy. Iris uses them for reconnaissance, seeing through their eyes and stalking her prey before eventually attacking them for their eyes.
The most notable attribute of these Familiars is their ability to be 'equipped' with Mystic Eyes from Iris' collection. While weaker at using them thanks to their limited Magical Energy, this effectively allows Iris to use over a dozen Mystic Eyes at any one time... so long as she is willing to risk losing the eyes if a familiar were to die.
Since she forms these Familiars with her Tattoo Magecraft, the Familiars that Iris creates must adhere to a 'surface' - slinking along the ground or walls like graffiti, or flittering on a piece of paper through the air. As a result of this and the ink that forms them, Water is both an impassable barrier as well as an easy method of killing them.
Crest:
N/A.
The Macinban family Crest was not passed to Iris due to her abandoning the research of her family Magecraft in favor of being a Spellcaster. Instead, it was given to her younger brother. Not a tremendous loss, considering the youth of the family.
Weapon:
Mystic Eyes:
Occasionally, a person's Magic Circuits will mutate and congregate in the area around the eyes, resulting in eyes that are capable of manipulating the world and casting spells through sight alone. These organs, Mystic Eyes, are very rare as they only manifest after extreme circumstances or the user is born with them. Mystic Eyes even come with their own Magic Circuits, allowing even a weak mage to have a hidden advantage over their opponents. Normally a person would only be able to use a single eye or two at most, but thanks to her unique application of her Magecraft, Iris is far stronger the more eyes that she has access to.
As one could expect from a Deputy of the Rail Zeppelin, Iris is in possession of a wide array of Mystic Eyes. Many of these were acquired from her own missions abroad, the occasional eye slipping into her possession or bought at the auctions that the Rail Zeppelin organizes. While she is only able to have two eyes at any time and must undergo surgery to replace them, her use of familiars in conjunction with them has led to her being a very intimidating Spell-caster to face.
While on the move, Iris keeps her Mystic Eyes in enchanted, hermetically-sealed vials - which she usually keeps in her belt pouches or pockets. While it is technically possible to implant these eyes in another being without the advanced techniques and facilities of the Rail Zeppelin, it would require some exceptional quality of the recipient - for example, the Eroding Detachment ability possessed by some Mixed-Bloods, or the Self-Modification skill.
She has brought the following eyes with her to Japan:
Binding: Nine. The most common Mystic Eyes, to the point that skilled mages are even capable of artificially reproducing them. The Mystic Eyes of Binding casts a disabling spell on anyone who looks into them, limiting their ability to move.
While one or two uses may be ignored, Iris' primary tactic is to swarm opponents with familiars containing these eyes - they will either look into them and be crippled or forced to look away and create blind spots. Either way, it allows Iris to shoot them with minimal risk. Despite the simple strategy, it is overwhelmingly effective on the unprepared.
It should be noted that the effect of these eyes on Servants is minimal at best. And even with that, the lowest ranks of Magic Resistance can allow these eyes to be entirely ignored.
Iris doesn't even remember where she got all of them from.
Piercing: Two. Mystic Eyes that are capable of seeing through deceptions and figments, such as Illusions or Shapeshifting. Even a Servant that is in their Spirit Form can be observed. These eyes see only the truth that is present before them and rejects lies, but they only penetrate visual illusions. Auditory or physical illusions are still just as effective at deceiving the user of these eyes as any other target.
They are superficially similar to the Pure Eyes, but those are more of a psychic ability rather than true Mystic Eyes.
The eyes were gotten from two separate individuals, who Iris convinced to sell to the Rail Zeppelin.
Keen Sight: Three. Capable of easily picking out details from long distances, with all three eyes being able to easily read a page from a book that is over 30 meters away - and 10 meters in near-total darkness.
Iris stole one eye from a mage in New York City, blackmailed an Aristocrat from the Clock Tower into buying the other for her at a Rail Zeppelin auction, and convinced an Iranian boy to sell one of his to the Rail Zeppelin - the funds from which he used to pay his tuition to the Clock Tower.
Flame: Two. One of these has replaced Iris' left eye. By pouring magical energy into them, a target that the user can see is instantly ignited, regardless of flammability. While relatively cheap to activate, they guzzle mana to maintain and will quickly dip into the user's own reserves, so Iris mostly limits its use to setting flammable objects ablaze before immediately cutting the flow of energy.
While igniting a mage's flesh is impossible thanks to their natural magical resistance, affecting clothes is well within this eye's power, and Iris finds it to be nearly as effective.
The first was taken from a Spellcaster that Iris drowned in ink, while the one she had implanted in her body was traded with an eccentric Aristocrat for a particularly rare vintage of wine.
Remote Viewing: One. The sole Gold-ranked Mystic Eye in Iris' possession, and the one that replaced her right eye. By focusing on a target who she can remember the face of, Iris is capable of viewing both the target as well as their immediate surroundings. She can do this at a range of dozens of kilometers, and switching between targets is as simple as blinking. A Bounded Field or a Caster's Territory is able to alert the target to this occurring, and stronger ones can even block the viewing from taking place.
But if Iris was able to obtain an item connected to her target (like their clothes, a pendant, or even their blood), this eye would be able to pierce nearly any barrier. The distance this operates at is given a similar boost in potency, with a strong catalyst allowing viewing of a target from a hundred or two kilometers away. Only an entirely separate world, like a Reality Marble, would be able to hide someone's location at this level - though exceptionally camouflaged or invisible opponents may be able to hide, only revealing their surroundings.
It is easily Iris' most treasured Mystic Eye, and as a result, it can serve as an excellent bargaining chip if one could somehow acquire it.
She does not share where she got this eye from.
While one or two uses may be ignored, Iris' primary tactic is to swarm opponents with familiars containing these eyes - they will either look into them and be crippled or forced to look away and create blind spots. Either way, it allows Iris to shoot them with minimal risk. Despite the simple strategy, it is overwhelmingly effective on the unprepared.
It should be noted that the effect of these eyes on Servants is minimal at best. And even with that, the lowest ranks of Magic Resistance can allow these eyes to be entirely ignored.
Iris doesn't even remember where she got all of them from.
Piercing: Two. Mystic Eyes that are capable of seeing through deceptions and figments, such as Illusions or Shapeshifting. Even a Servant that is in their Spirit Form can be observed. These eyes see only the truth that is present before them and rejects lies, but they only penetrate visual illusions. Auditory or physical illusions are still just as effective at deceiving the user of these eyes as any other target.
They are superficially similar to the Pure Eyes, but those are more of a psychic ability rather than true Mystic Eyes.
The eyes were gotten from two separate individuals, who Iris convinced to sell to the Rail Zeppelin.
Keen Sight: Three. Capable of easily picking out details from long distances, with all three eyes being able to easily read a page from a book that is over 30 meters away - and 10 meters in near-total darkness.
Iris stole one eye from a mage in New York City, blackmailed an Aristocrat from the Clock Tower into buying the other for her at a Rail Zeppelin auction, and convinced an Iranian boy to sell one of his to the Rail Zeppelin - the funds from which he used to pay his tuition to the Clock Tower.
Flame: Two. One of these has replaced Iris' left eye. By pouring magical energy into them, a target that the user can see is instantly ignited, regardless of flammability. While relatively cheap to activate, they guzzle mana to maintain and will quickly dip into the user's own reserves, so Iris mostly limits its use to setting flammable objects ablaze before immediately cutting the flow of energy.
While igniting a mage's flesh is impossible thanks to their natural magical resistance, affecting clothes is well within this eye's power, and Iris finds it to be nearly as effective.
The first was taken from a Spellcaster that Iris drowned in ink, while the one she had implanted in her body was traded with an eccentric Aristocrat for a particularly rare vintage of wine.
Remote Viewing: One. The sole Gold-ranked Mystic Eye in Iris' possession, and the one that replaced her right eye. By focusing on a target who she can remember the face of, Iris is capable of viewing both the target as well as their immediate surroundings. She can do this at a range of dozens of kilometers, and switching between targets is as simple as blinking. A Bounded Field or a Caster's Territory is able to alert the target to this occurring, and stronger ones can even block the viewing from taking place.
But if Iris was able to obtain an item connected to her target (like their clothes, a pendant, or even their blood), this eye would be able to pierce nearly any barrier. The distance this operates at is given a similar boost in potency, with a strong catalyst allowing viewing of a target from a hundred or two kilometers away. Only an entirely separate world, like a Reality Marble, would be able to hide someone's location at this level - though exceptionally camouflaged or invisible opponents may be able to hide, only revealing their surroundings.
It is easily Iris' most treasured Mystic Eye, and as a result, it can serve as an excellent bargaining chip if one could somehow acquire it.
She does not share where she got this eye from.
Panoptes Lens:
A tattoo design that covers the entirety of her arms, chest, and back. The hands taper off into crescents which when brought together form a large eye. This is a kind of Mystic Code that Iris had developed over her years working for the Rail Zeppelin, basing its function and design on the Mystic Eye Projector utilized by the train. By holding a Mystic Eye (or the transparent containers that Iris carries them in) and activating the Mystic Code, Iris is capable of utilizing the Eye at 10x the normal power, at the cost of burning out the lens and rendering it blind (and therefore, useless).
While it lacks the raw power that its progenitor is capable of, the Panoptes Lens can be deployed nigh-instantly and is 'carried' on her person at all times. It is her trump card, the last resort when stealth and subterfuge have failed to kill a target. The fact that she was able to make something like this when her magecraft had such a weak foundation is a testament to her obsession.
Familiars:
A large number of Tattoos litter Iris' body - Chinese dragons and flowers, birds and wolves, countless eyes whose nerves split into wings or legs - all manner of lifeforms cover her flesh. With a command, she is capable of animating these as fragile familiars, which leap off of her body and slink along surfaces. Some, like the bird tattoos, are even capable of controlling how a paper floats on the wind, allowing a poor imitation of flight.
While weak enough that even a normal human could scratch and wipe one or two away, their ability to use Mystic Eyes and provide intel is invaluable in a war. And in a pinch, a large enough number could be used to drown someone in ink.
Normally around 10 can be animated at any time without strain to the user, but depending on the maintenance cost of her Servant, the actual number of familiars that Iris can keep active may be far lower.
A Gun:
A simple handgun - a Beretta Mod 92, to be specific. While Iris is far from being a master marksman like the many Freelancers in the world of Magecraft, she values its raw efficiency and the countless mages who underestimate a firearm.
