Eisenhorn

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

<<Here I thought I wasn't going to need that extra credit after all. Good copy Vulture, recommend letting the more battered take center, taking up rearguard position.>>

Rhino kept to the 7ths private comms when replying to Vulture, monitoring their surroundings as the rest of the group filtered in. Rabbit complaining like normal, Hex had made it back in spite of the damaged comms, and with everyone falling into formation, Rhino stayed true to his word and brought up the rear. Compared to those who had taken damage, he could basically confirm that nothing had gotten through the multiple layers of defenses and armor, though replacing armor would still take time and effort. Fortunately the Field Repair Suite would make short work of that, odds were his frame would be one of the last to go through refit and repair since it was practically designed to be rebuilt from near total failure conditions. All that being considered, it was going to be a long, boring march, but at least they weren't slogging it on foot like the infantry had to. He didn't envy them one bit, especially since he got to sit behind thick, sturdy layers of armor, reflex shielding, and some of the biggest weapons MAS units could typically deploy with.

---

Rhino was humming to himself, having silenced the comms as to not annoy the rest of the 7th, as their collective MAS units marched along. It was an old song that commemorated an ancient wreck from before humanity crossed the stars, if his family was to be believed, but regardless of how exaggerated that was it was damned catchy. Kept him alert, too, since that meant he wasn't just idling as the 7th continued to march. Though once they had eyes on the hidden encampment deep in the not quite megafauna forest, room for the lighter frames to fly and maneuver if need be. Secutor, though? That'd be the monster tearing through the underbrush, relatively speaking, though given the amount of effort going into keeping everything from being detected that should not be necessary for the immediate future. Unsurprisingly Rabbit and Hex had first go at the repair trailers, and he crouched Secutor low to allow the netting to be put into place. As the systems dropped into standby, he made sure to keep the Field Repair Suite warm and exhaled, allowing himself a few moments of quiet to relax before putting on his usual face and dismounting.

Lowering down to the ground, Johann dropped down onto the ground proper, stretching and giving the tech beginning to survey and log what needed changed and altered.

"Revenant FRS is warmed up when Secutor is next for the shop, munitions are the main concern by my estimate. Especially the CIWS, Coalition was determined to get their money worth out of their missile systems today."

Johann let the technicians and support crew do their work, instead noting that the other pilots were already disembarked. Boss was waylaid by the lead technician, probably getting an ETA on when they should be ready to deploy again. Given the nasty beating that Rabbit and Hex took, they had time to get some rest in. Still, the teasing from Sabine had already started in earnest, about Leah being bailed out by their ranking FNG. He chimed in as he walked over, already eying up the supply tent, mainly for its purpose as a mess tent, and he had every plan to go get himself a cup of coffee before trying to catch a few hours sleep. Not like he would get the luxury that easily, but he could at least try.

"Talking a lot of shit for having clipped wings Sab, found the most recent gimmick the hard way out there. Going to go grab a cup of coffee and kick my feet up, someone give me a shout if something comes up, yeah?"

Johann would make good on his word, turning and making a beeline for the mess tent. One would think coffee wouldn't be the most conducive to getting some rest, but the Secutor's pilot would disagree. At this point the stuff didn't even get his pulse going at all, a near constant preference for the stuff made the levels of caffeine in the coffee practically a non concern, it was a minor comfort at this point. He would know the war effort was well and truly fucked if coffee became unavailable, everything ran on coffee whether folks admitted it or not after all. It was never good, mind you, but it was there and that was all that mattered to Johann as he went to hunt down a cup, hell he'd brew it himself if he had to. After that, well, the one thing that everyone learned how to do eventually. Get in some rest where he could, at least before someone decided 'something coming up' meant literally anything and interrupted every few minutes.

Moonlight and Witch's Work: An anime and JRPG-inspired Witch RP

Carina Rodericka

---

Why did criminals always have to go stomping about at night?

It was a rhetorical thought, mind, but it kept Carina's mind entertained for a moment while the hastily assembled group was walking along, following their lantern to the location of their goal. Some idiots playing at fae poachers, tempting the wrath of both Witch and Wild, lucky them the former chose to get involved first. Trying to trade in fae dust by exploiting the smallest of their kind, which would have been reason enough to go make some heads roll without even considering the breach of diplomatic gestures between those of a civilized nature. It didn't make her terribly happy to be stomping about as the sun set, and the insects began swarming even more than usual, the humidity practically sinking in between the gaps of her armor and making her painfully aware that her current attire would serve her very poorly in a sufficiently warm environment, a quiet huff of annoyance at the feel of a trickle of sweat down the back of her neck as she walked with the vanguard of the group.

It was a fitting place for Carina, given she was the only one of their number to have any sort of armor, though she was not the only one armed with more than a wand and a broom. Her armor, a black that settled into the night nicely, matched her robes well, giving her an uncanny ability to blend into the shadows should she stop stomping along for a few moments. Of course, the amount of black steel, the heaviness of her footfalls, and large sword slung across her back all indicated that she would be about as stealthy as a beast of burden turned loose in a shop of fine wares. Her thoughts were interrupted by the ramblings of one of her fellow witches, one dressed even more heavily than she was, though rather than armor it was all thick cloth and woven headwear. How could she stand to be running around in something like that with how humid it was right now? Whoever had trained her hadn't thought to train her how to speak plainly, though, even if she didn't seem to be wrong.

"They damn well better be close, wouldn't call anything the daft bastards are doing as stagnant though. Rotten sure, but didn't sound the kind to just sit around sucking on their thumbs."

Carina was impatient at this point, sure she had been put through an accelerated training regiment to catch up compared to some of her peers that had been proper Witches their entire lives, but that just made her that much more eager to actually do something beyond study and train. Hard to see how much she improved if all she had to beat up on was a training dummy or the off hand comments of spectators and teachers. Now was about damn time to prove she could be just as useful in the field as anyone else, even if she was among peers of similar experience. Whether they had the drive or not was another matter completely, but if nothing else they could attest to her own capabilities. More importantly, they had fae to rescue, so the fact it was taking this long to find the criminals was even more frustrating. Worst of all it was boring stumbling around in the mounting night, so the sooner they could get to doing something the better.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan

---

"Cowering is, at the moment, a fast way to a long drop and sudden stop. Besides, would you rather have a half considered praise now, or more thought out praise at a later point?" Rolan wasn't looking at Gertrude as she shot him that displeased look, operating at a level of compartmentalization that left him fairly deadpan, given the generally unpleasant nature of everything going on with the Wild Hunt currently. While he couldn't exactly pay attention to every fight going on, given the need to focus on putting down hound after hound, the literal light show that started from the duel between Tyaethe and Rozenalt forcing his attention due to the almost blinding amount of light, even from this distance. Wincing briefly as the column of light and deafening screeching finally faded, only to be replaced by the paladin's laughter.

"At least she is having a good time, and to think I wasted quality poison on him..." Glancing back down in time to see the Houndmaster drench himself in the blood of his own pack, and begin to come apart at the damned seams. Oh, great, more wretched abominations that the forsaken woods seemed determined to spit out at them, he was getting quite tired of each nightmarish amalgamation of flesh, shadow, and sinew trying to outdo the last in an effort to take its place in his impending nightmares. Continuing to stitch its own wounds together, or ignore them completely, as previous wounds showed no signs of even impeding its newfound grotesque power. Being relatively safe from on high was cold comfort, reaching towards his alchemical bag as the Captain shouted her orders, confirming what he intended to do. Cripple the beast, slow it down, and open it up for the killing blow. Suited him fine, if the thing wanted to keep healing, he would just have to use something he had been saving for armor but should work just as well on flesh.

"...As you order, Captain. Shall we, then?" A pointless question, but his voice carried between the noise enough to alert the Captain her orders had been heard, and gave him a few moments to prepare. A flask of acid, an evolution on the experiments he had been conducting before they departed after seeing the effects of aqua regia on metal, and while it was intended for armor, flesh would likely feed the reaction just as well. Regenerating flesh? Well this was a rare luxury he supposed, since testing on meat was not something he could casually carry out. Aiming and watching for a moment that the beast was in no position to evade, he launched a bolt at one of its hind legs, aiming to shatter the flask across its joint and embed the bolt, at least until the bolt was eaten away by the acidic payload it carried. Once loosed, he resumed his steady rate of fire from before, making a mental note that he was running increasingly low on crossbow bolts, and pretty much entirely out of offensive alchemical mixtures, with the lengthening conflict only making the issue that much more dire. Each shot was aimed at joints, tracking the erratic and hurried movements, confident that while he couldn't kill it, a joint locked up with a crossbow bolt would slow it for however long it took to break the bolt loose.

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

Rabbit was as cheerful as ever, in spite of her wings getting clipped by the most recent Coalition toy, which at least meant she had bounced back fine. Good, it would tilt the balance against the two urban Skollr units in their favor even more. One of the dangers of career Heavy pilots was getting overrun, it was too easy to get so used to shrugging off 'small' munitions that overextending became second nature. Given the collapsing resistance against the Helldogs and himself, they were clearly too tunnel visioned to break off or reposition. They could have done some damage to the main frontline if given the chance to freely engage, but they were too busy to even consider that. Their funerals, Rhino thought, as the frontline finally buckled. Fenrir and Garmr units finally broke and ran, or threw down their arms if they couldn't run. He had his 30mm trained on the Fenrir that threw down its arms, pausing as the cockpit swung open and pilot stepped out making the same gesture. Only then did he turn the weapon away, doing a sweep. Dead, fleeing, or surrendered, losses seemed relatively light for those who had actually made it down to the ground, at least for an orbital assault on a fortified planet. The damaged Helldog seemed impressed at least, and he gave the Helldog the offered fist bump after retracting the 30mm into its internal housing.

<<Couldn't do it without you folks providing backup. Good work out there Helldogs, we'll leave the ones smart enough to surrender to you.>>

Commie finally saw fit to chime in, strain at the edges of his voice, at least playing nice for now and reporting the capture of Coalition tech to turn over to R&D. That and the recent influx of combat data should keep them plenty busy for a few days at least, see what toys they could come up with for field testing. Rhino had to admit to some enjoyment of trialing new and experimental kit, old habits died hard he supposed, though there was going to be plenty of time to talk shop over incoming experimental kit later. For now he composed himself out of the habits he had briefly adopted leading the Helldogs, chiming in now that things were, at least for a moment, more secure than they had yet to be.

<<Commie, Rhino, good copy. Trying to single handedly keep R&D busy for while we are planetside? Rook, Rabbit, once you three are done playing with your food, recommend escorting Hex back. Need to get that comm situation sorted out sooner rather than later.>>

Rhino kept an eye out for any further incoming trouble, though he was already getting the Secutor's Revenant Field Repair Suite programmed and spooled up. He had soaked a good amount of incoming fire, and while his armor was far from compromised, he was not keen on letting it just sit idly and twiddle his thumbs waiting. Getting the Field Repair Suite programmed and on standby for when they were ready to return to wherever ended up counting as base camp for the immediate time being would save him time down the line. Plus, if some Coalition diehard made a rush on them, just having the FRS on standby wouldn't impact his ability to fight or respond. Until then he kept eyes and ears open and alert, no time to relax until off the metaphorical line. Helldogs should have prisoners handled, so that put him on sentry and watch standing duty until the everyone regrouped.

Moonlight and Witch's Work: An anime and JRPG-inspired Witch RP

Carina Rodericka

• Name: Carina Rodericka
• Age: 23
• Gender: Female
• Appearance: Carina is a tall woman, a little under six foot with a generally imposing demeanor to match, at least until she opens her mouth. She is a lean woman underneath her chosen attire, a mix of armor from her older brother's smithy and more traditional witch's garb beneath the armor. Her blonde hair is usually unkempt, clean but otherwise not kept in any particular style, allowed to come to rest however it sees fit at any given time. The only time this changes is when expecting conflict, where she will tie it back to keep it out of the way. Under the armor, her dress runs down to barely above the floor, wearing rather plain boots that are mostly kept out of sight, finding them better suited for the exploration and adventuring required of her as a newly minted member of the Moon Circle Society.
• Personality: Carina is an incredibly stubborn woman, who's refusal to back down once she has dug her metaphorical heels into the ground has both gotten her this far, and gotten her into trouble in equal measures. Perhaps to spite the expectations put on her, she tends towards being crass and loud, though friendly enough towards people who haven't gotten on her bad side yet, having little patience or interest in being coy or subtle. She approaches everything in life with that same loud, stubborn energy she keeps up in her life, keeping it up as a proofed armor against the world. She wants nothing to do with the nobility of her family lineage, and gets defensive whenever it is brought up in any sort of light, good or ill, preferring to stand on her own accomplishments and capabilities over even acknowledging the stronger place she started from thanks to having come from more noble birth.
  
  Carina has an intense drive to improve herself, something that is often overlooked due to her general demeanor, and she often times spends every waking moment driving herself in her chosen fields of study and practice. She can get frustrated with herself rather quickly when she can't figure something out, becoming slowly more obsessed with figuring out what she is struggling with, which can create a feedback loop of obsession given her normal stubborn pride. Still, it is a matter of pride in what she chooses to do, something she will never apologize for, assuming you could convince her to even begin to apologize for anything to begin with.
• Abilities: Carina uses a mixture of White and Black Magic, having almost actively shown a disinterest in all things related to the realm of Evocation.
  
  Her White Magic is almost exclusively in the realm of barriers and protection, knowing a basic single action healing spell or two for emergencies. Mend and Cure being the two that most obviously come to mind, Mend closing wounds and staunching bleeding while Cure can deal with natural toxins and the like, though magical afflictions are beyond the capabilities of either spell. Of more impressive note is her barrier spells, being a mix of Double-Action and Triple-Action spells, though (uniquely to her as far as she is concerned) most of the first actions in her spells involve varying stances with her inherited sword, usually some form of guard or parry, while the second action being to incant the spell in question. She is continuing to practice and improve on the effectiveness of her barriers, currently having to choose between what she was guarding against (Magic, mundane, ranged, melee, ect ect) meaning it takes a lot of fast thinking during a fight.
  
  When it comes to Black Magic, she focuses on debilitating anyone she is targeting with her magic, and has begun dabbling in direct curses. Unlike the stance mixing of her White Magic, her Black Magic is reliant on more conventional casting, using her wand in her off hand to go through the formal motions. As such, she tends to either open an encounter with one of these, or when she has a chance to weave them in between foes. Currently, debilitation is limited to the physical (reduced strength, agility, and the like), though each spell currently only focuses on one aspect of her opponent's abilities.
• Skills: Carina is fairly well trained as far as a novice Witch is concerned, at least for mundane life. She was expected to follow in the line of professional soldiers, and was raised and trained with that idea in mind. She is a competent swordswoman, though once she discovered her magical talents she has not pursued dedicated swordplay nearly as consistently as her family might have preferred. Still, she retains a level of swordplay that few could be ashamed of, though her preference for her particular Witch Arm has forced her to forgo effective thrusting attacks.
  
  Beyond combat, Carina is a fairly competent chef, knowing how to make even fairly bland and unappealing meals at least palatable without the use of magic. She enjoys cooking more than she cares to let on, if stuck traveling for long durations she will often take to preparing enough food for the group she is traveling with. Recognizing what is safe to eat and what isn't comes with the skillset, though she has no particular skill in tracking and hunting, she can safely direct someone who does have such skills to ensure that any group she is with beyond safe walls at least eats better than one might think.
  
  Carina has also learned a variety of gambling games, be it with cards, dice, or other forms of games of chance. She finds it a good way to unwind and pass the time, even if nothing of value is wagered, seeing how someone handles a game of chance is a good way to learn about them as far as she thinks. She has a preference for dice games, though her older brother made sure she knew the various games of chance she might come across. She enjoys teaching other witches the same games, especially when they have no idea how to actually know when to hold, when to fold, and when to bluff.
• Equipment: Most of Carina's person belongings can be carried with her on broomstick at any time, though the most standout items are her armored clothing and her Witch Arm. Her deep black dress was reinforced with armor that her older brother made for her, using a dark steel to give her as much protection as he could without slowing her down or impeding her ability to use magic, and while she was offered a helmet, she chose to go with a more stereotypical witch's wide brimmed hat. She also owns her wand and broomstick, both things with pragmatic, sturdy designs over more elegant or fanciful ones, things that could take a sharp drop or knock without breaking.
  
  Silverlight - A Witch Arm made out of the family heirloom sword, and Carina's pride and joy of a weapon. Originally based on the heavy executioner's sword of her family, Silverlight has had its edge tempered with the namesake silver, while being reforged has imbued the the blade with the ability to retain immense levels of mana. Carina has discovered two uses of the Witch Arm currently, both requiring channeling intense amounts of mana into the blade to manifest. The first allows her to strike foes from a distance, though rather than manifesting as beams of energy, the manifested mana simply 'extends' the effective length of the cut, a phantom afterimage betraying the true reach of each swing. The second use requires time to channel and focus, pouring risky levels of mana into the blade, charging a single stroke of catastrophic levels of destruction, at least in theory. The amount of time it currently takes to charge, plus the current limits on how much mana Carina can actually pour into the weapon, limits its power but she has yet to find the Witch Arm's limit on either effect.
• Brief Backstory: Carina Rodericka, of the minor noble house Rodericka, has had family going back generations in Lumiere, and have been staunch detractors of the Moon Circle Society in their notable history, championing that faith, steel, and steam could accomplish anything a Witch could, without the dangers and risks of another Witch of Calamity rising up. They maintained that having to rely on a Witch to stop one was only asking for trouble, and put their effort into avenues and efforts that would empower those without magic, or at least those who could not challenge a Witch, while resisting having to rely on them whenever possible. Carina was the second of three current children in House Rodericka, her older brother Maximilian several years older, and a journeyman smith that dabbles in the modern steps of technology. Her younger sister, Cynthia, is a few years younger, and seems interested in medicine more so than anything else, in no small part due to her weak health.
  
  Carina, much to the immense fury of her father, had an innate knack for magic and channeling mana. The Moon Circle Society had originally approached her father when she first manifested her magical aptitude in public, purely on accident after a heated argument, but was swiftly rebuked. Count Rodericka was not going to let anyone of his lineage serve in the Moon Circle if he had a say in the matter, and made sure that Carina was drilled and trained to take after her grandfather, a skilled professional soldier who had recently passed away, having spent many years in the military. Upon her eighteenth birthday, she was offered a choice among several military and law enforcement academies, which she refused all of. While her father was unaware, Carina had been in secret talks with sympathetic witches in the Moon Circle, and upon her birthday received a formal invitation that did not require her father's approval, as she was considered an adult now.
  
  While both her siblings were happy for Carina, who had shown repeated interests in magic and had been forced to suppress it while in her father's sight, it was only through the combined efforts of the rest of the family that she was not disowned outright then and there. Maximilian had been forging her armor in his off time, as well as working with the Moon Circle to have the sword she was given as inheritance made into a Witch Arm. Her younger sister had already been documenting any necessary physical conditions and well being to allow the formal invitation to the Moon Circle Society, under the guise of training for her own medical career. Count Rodericka had little recourse in the matter, and while not formally cast out, the two were no longer on speaking terms.
  
  Carina would spend the next several years getting caught up on everything she had missed, the absolute basics that would have been covered when she was younger, while blending what she had been forced to learn into something useful. She was fascinated by the exploration of Notte's Labyrinth, the idea of exploration and adventure capturing her imagination rather intensely. She had rough patches during her training, often times disagreeing with some instructors but proving to be a capable Witch in training. Eventually she would be able to start properly heading out and assisting with the duties and responsibilities expected of a Witch, something she thought was long overdue but glad to finally see happen.

Moonlight and Witch's Work: An anime and JRPG-inspired Witch RP

Most excellent indeed.

Carina Rodericka

• Name: Carina Rodericka
• Age: 23
• Gender: Female
• Appearance: Carina is a tall woman, a little under six foot with a generally imposing demeanor to match, at least until she opens her mouth. She is a lean woman underneath her chosen attire, a mix of armor from her older brother's smithy and more traditional witch's garb beneath the armor. Her blonde hair is usually unkempt, clean but otherwise not kept in any particular style, allowed to come to rest however it sees fit at any given time. The only time this changes is when expecting conflict, where she will tie it back to keep it out of the way. Under the armor, her dress runs down to barely above the floor, wearing rather plain boots that are mostly kept out of sight, finding them better suited for the exploration and adventuring required of her as a newly minted member of the Moon Circle Society.
• Personality: Carina is an incredibly stubborn woman, who's refusal to back down once she has dug her metaphorical heels into the ground has both gotten her this far, and gotten her into trouble in equal measures. Perhaps to spite the expectations put on her, she tends towards being crass and loud, though friendly enough towards people who haven't gotten on her bad side yet, having little patience or interest in being coy or subtle. She approaches everything in life with that same loud, stubborn energy she keeps up in her life, keeping it up as a proofed armor against the world. She wants nothing to do with the nobility of her family lineage, and gets defensive whenever it is brought up in any sort of light, good or ill, preferring to stand on her own accomplishments and capabilities over even acknowledging the stronger place she started from thanks to having come from more noble birth.
  
  Carina has an intense drive to improve herself, something that is often overlooked due to her general demeanor, and she often times spends every waking moment driving herself in her chosen fields of study and practice. She can get frustrated with herself rather quickly when she can't figure something out, becoming slowly more obsessed with figuring out what she is struggling with, which can create a feedback loop of obsession given her normal stubborn pride. Still, it is a matter of pride in what she chooses to do, something she will never apologize for, assuming you could convince her to even begin to apologize for anything to begin with.
• Abilities: Carina uses a mixture of White and Black Magic, having almost actively shown a disinterest in all things related to the realm of Evocation.
  
  Her White Magic is almost exclusively in the realm of barriers and protection, knowing a basic single action healing spell or two for emergencies. Mend and Cure being the two that most obviously come to mind, Mend closing wounds and staunching bleeding while Cure can deal with natural toxins and the like, though magical afflictions are beyond the capabilities of either spell. Of more impressive note is her barrier spells, being a mix of Double-Action and Triple-Action spells, though (uniquely to her as far as she is concerned) most of the first actions in her spells involve varying stances with her inherited sword, usually some form of guard or parry, while the second action being to incant the spell in question. She is continuing to practice and improve on the effectiveness of her barriers, currently having to choose between what she was guarding against (Magic, mundane, ranged, melee, ect ect) meaning it takes a lot of fast thinking during a fight.
  
  When it comes to Black Magic, she focuses on debilitating anyone she is targeting with her magic, and has begun dabbling in direct curses. Unlike the stance mixing of her White Magic, her Black Magic is reliant on more conventional casting, using her wand in her off hand to go through the formal motions. As such, she tends to either open an encounter with one of these, or when she has a chance to weave them in between foes. Currently, debilitation is limited to the physical (reduced strength, agility, and the like), though each spell currently only focuses on one aspect of her opponent's abilities.
• Skills: Carina is fairly well trained as far as a novice Witch is concerned, at least for mundane life. She was expected to follow in the line of professional soldiers, and was raised and trained with that idea in mind. She is a competent swordswoman, though once she discovered her magical talents she has not pursued dedicated swordplay nearly as consistently as her family might have preferred. Still, she retains a level of swordplay that few could be ashamed of, though her preference for her particular Witch Arm has forced her to forgo effective thrusting attacks.
  
  Beyond combat, Carina is a fairly competent chef, knowing how to make even fairly bland and unappealing meals at least palatable without the use of magic. She enjoys cooking more than she cares to let on, if stuck traveling for long durations she will often take to preparing enough food for the group she is traveling with. Recognizing what is safe to eat and what isn't comes with the skillset, though she has no particular skill in tracking and hunting, she can safely direct someone who does have such skills to ensure that any group she is with beyond safe walls at least eats better than one might think.
  
  Carina has also learned a variety of gambling games, be it with cards, dice, or other forms of games of chance. She finds it a good way to unwind and pass the time, even if nothing of value is wagered, seeing how someone handles a game of chance is a good way to learn about them as far as she thinks. She has a preference for dice games, though her older brother made sure she knew the various games of chance she might come across. She enjoys teaching other witches the same games, especially when they have no idea how to actually know when to hold, when to fold, and when to bluff.
• Equipment: Most of Carina's person belongings can be carried with her on broomstick at any time, though the most standout items are her armored clothing and her Witch Arm. Her deep black dress was reinforced with armor that her older brother made for her, using a dark steel to give her as much protection as he could without slowing her down or impeding her ability to use magic, and while she was offered a helmet, she chose to go with a more stereotypical witch's wide brimmed hat. She also owns her wand and broomstick, both things with pragmatic, sturdy designs over more elegant or fanciful ones, things that could take a sharp drop or knock without breaking.
  
  Silverlight - A Witch Arm made out of the family heirloom sword, and Carina's pride and joy of a weapon. Originally based on the heavy executioner's sword of her family, Silverlight has had its edge tempered with the namesake silver, while being reforged has imbued the the blade with the ability to retain immense levels of mana. Carina has discovered two uses of the Witch Arm currently, both requiring channeling intense amounts of mana into the blade to manifest. The first allows her to strike foes from a distance, though rather than manifesting as beams of energy, the manifested mana simply 'extends' the effective length of the cut, a phantom afterimage betraying the true reach of each swing. The second use requires time to channel and focus, pouring risky levels of mana into the blade, charging a single stroke of catastrophic levels of destruction, at least in theory. The amount of time it currently takes to charge, plus the current limits on how much mana Carina can actually pour into the weapon, limits its power but she has yet to find the Witch Arm's limit on either effect.
• Brief Backstory: Carina Rodericka, of the minor noble house Rodericka, has had family going back generations in Lumiere, and have been staunch detractors of the Moon Circle Society in their notable history, championing that faith, steel, and steam could accomplish anything a Witch could, without the dangers and risks of another Witch of Calamity rising up. They maintained that having to rely on a Witch to stop one was only asking for trouble, and put their effort into avenues and efforts that would empower those without magic, or at least those who could not challenge a Witch, while resisting having to rely on them whenever possible. Carina was the second of three current children in House Rodericka, her older brother Maximilian several years older, and a journeyman smith that dabbles in the modern steps of technology. Her younger sister, Cynthia, is a few years younger, and seems interested in medicine more so than anything else, in no small part due to her weak health.
  
  Carina, much to the immense fury of her father, had an innate knack for magic and channeling mana. The Moon Circle Society had originally approached her father when she first manifested her magical aptitude in public, purely on accident after a heated argument, but was swiftly rebuked. Count Rodericka was not going to let anyone of his lineage serve in the Moon Circle if he had a say in the matter, and made sure that Carina was drilled and trained to take after her grandfather, a skilled professional soldier who had recently passed away, having spent many years in the military. Upon her eighteenth birthday, she was offered a choice among several military and law enforcement academies, which she refused all of. While her father was unaware, Carina had been in secret talks with sympathetic witches in the Moon Circle, and upon her birthday received a formal invitation that did not require her father's approval, as she was considered an adult now.
  
  While both her siblings were happy for Carina, who had shown repeated interests in magic and had been forced to suppress it while in her father's sight, it was only through the combined efforts of the rest of the family that she was not disowned outright then and there. Maximilian had been forging her armor in his off time, as well as working with the Moon Circle to have the sword she was given as inheritance made into a Witch Arm. Her younger sister had already been documenting any necessary physical conditions and well being to allow the formal invitation to the Moon Circle Society, under the guise of training for her own medical career. Count Rodericka had little recourse in the matter, and while not formally cast out, the two were no longer on speaking terms.
  
  Carina would spend the next several years getting caught up on everything she had missed, the absolute basics that would have been covered when she was younger, while blending what she had been forced to learn into something useful. She was fascinated by the exploration of Notte's Labyrinth, the idea of exploration and adventure capturing her imagination rather intensely. She had rough patches during her training, often times disagreeing with some instructors but proving to be a capable Witch in training. Eventually she would be able to start properly heading out and assisting with the duties and responsibilities expected of a Witch, something she thought was long overdue but glad to finally see happen.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan

---

The recoiling and retreating tendrils from the Bloody Lord tempted Rolan to give the bastard a very rude gesture, but given the current situation he had plenty enough to keep him busy without taunting Rozenalt from on high. Mainly that the gigantic worm had not been fully dissuaded from continuing its assault on the flying duo, though he took some satisfaction that it was very much not enjoying the experience of a maw filled with alchemist fire. Seemed Gertrude had a plan, though, and he clung to the broom for his life as she shouted some spell, Meteor Light, and spun them around far faster than he could ever imagine any living steed manage to do. Never mind they were flying which narrowed down 'rideable steed' quite significantly, but he kept himself from tumbling off the broomstick, which set him up to see the devastation wrought upon the worm. Right, that was that he supposed.

"A pleasant distraction, but alas, back to work."

Rolan doubted he could have chosen a less fitting word than pleasant, at least at the particular moment, but since they had clear skies, at least for a moment, he could refocus his attention below. Tyaethe and Rozenalt were in such a bloody mess of a duel he wasn't sure another bolt would even register to either of them, he had already created an opening which had invited retaliation. His part in that duel was done, not that he needed to give her more of a reason to tell him off later. Ser Fionn was grappling with his foe, a cloak of daggers forming that made things complicated but anything he loosed would risk Ser Fionn as well, mulling over his options as he analyzed the battlefield while spanning and loading his crossbow. Ser Renar was forcing an actual engagement, such as it was, while Ser Gerard seemed to have actually gotten some response from his foe .The Captain and Ser Fleuri, however, were in danger of being overrun by the sheer number of hounds. Shouldering his crossbow, he fitted a vial of the caustic smoke to the bolt and loosed it towards the edge of the woods, right where the hounds were coming from. From there, Rolan didn't bother with any more alchemical tricks, not now, and focused instead on volume of fire, though he preferred to do this on solid ground he didn't have the luxury now and would have to trust Gertrude and her broom.

"Hold us steady, the Captain is overextending herself..."

The steady thrum of his crossbow reached the fastest rate that Rolan could maintain, picking off beast after wretched beast, focusing on clearing the flanks of the Captain and Ser Fleuri. He could only maintain this kind of volume of fire from a stable position, cradling his crossbow with one arm and using the other to span and load in one smooth motion, before loosing with the hand that was in the ideal position from the cradling of his crossbow, and repeating. The normal musings were clamped down on, the repetitive drilling of span, load, inhale, aim, exhale, loose, repeat being the only thing on his mind while engaging in this particular crossbow drill. He wouldn't match a bow, but he could keep up in a pinch, even if it would be taxing after awhile.

Falling Skies

Lieutenant Commander Johann "Rhino" Von Brandt

---

<<Vulture, Rhino, good copy, assuming Squad Lead. Allied elements, keep up the good work, walking fire across the right flank, bound up on my mark. Mark!>>

Rhino had shifted from focusing on his own efforts and piloting to organizing the counteroffensive properly. Properly, of course, meant naturally integrating the Helldog's preferred method of shorter, clipped call outs and more focused on just getting the point across. He chimed in naturally, moving forward at a steady pace, making sure to never outpace the Helldogs and friendly infantry support. It was good to see the hostiles buckling proper, infantry scattering or just surrendering outright while return MAS fire was becoming more of an obligation rather than anything heartfelt. Didn't mean damage couldn't be done, however, as one of the Helldogs fell back to use the Secutor as cover, and he retracted the 20mm to provide both a stable firing position for the rifle, and an unobstructed view to work with, syncing his frame's steps in time with the damaged Sentry to minimize any obstruction of outgoing fire. Rabbit ID'd the mystery frame trying to tango two on one against Skollr units, Hex but no outbound comms, probably took a nasty hit. Explained the radio silence at the very least, and he was cool and professional over comms, even as he worked between callouts and coordination with the Helldogs.

<<Rook, Rhino, coordinate with Rabbit to support Hex.>>

Rhino swapped to a direct line to not clutter the squad comms, and to not put the rookie on possible blast in front of everyone. Fighting Heavy MAS was a dangerous gambit, even in another MAS, and he could hear the overconfidence in Rook's voice after performing reasonably well so far after touching down, especially compared to the space engagement. He was still calm, but more direct in tone compared to the squad wide tone he adopted once being tapped for temporary lead.

<<With comms down you can't assume anything, work around what you see. Heavy MAS like those only need to get one good hit in to do critical damage, especially if kitted out for urban warfare. Go for joints, optics, feed mechanisms, the small things that can't be armored easily, and work them over from there.>>

Rook wanted reinforcements, and rightly so, but until the Coalition MAS units stopped fighting, Rhino couldn't simply go chasing after the next biggest target, and he had Rabbit heading that way from the looks of it to help work over the Skollr units. Ideal world he would be deploying to help bring them down, but until the Helldog front was secured, he couldn't leave them in the lurch. Even if one wasn't using him as cover, which they were, it came with the duties of squad lead. Vulture, squad lead actual, had diverted to make room for Rabbit to get clear of her crash site and re-engage, while Commie was busy hunting the Coalition toy that had grounded Rabbit to begin with. Sending another burst of 30mm into a Coalition MAS that tried to poke out to lay down suppressing fire, forcing it back with damage along its side.

<<Center right ducking, bounding up to the wrecked APC!>>

The Secutor advanced, though 'bounding' might be optimistic. Compared to the dueling super frames and the rest of his squadron, Rhino was practically plodding. Even compared to the Helldog Sentry frames, they could readily outpace him if they so wanted to, it came with the territory and it was something he was used to. Sparing another glance at the duel in the sky, and ignoring the rattle of 35mm across his frame as he subconsciously shifted to shield the Helldog behind him from further incoming fire, he spotted the explosion of a weapon's platform, though the duel was still going fierce. Well Rhino assumed so, any attention directed that way set his optics and sensors on the fritz, not even a firm smack of the console seemed to resolve it. Hex, Rabbit, and Rook were dancing with the two Skollr, he was still tied down on the Helldog front, and Commie was alone on high. He opened a channel to Vulture between confirmations and chatter with the Helldogs, given Rabbit had taken good advantage of the danger close run to get free of her crash site.

"Vulture, Rhino. Commie nailed the Jaeger's weapon but optics are acting fuzzy trying to track what's going on beyond that. Recommend making all good speed up there to help, rest of us are pretty firmly grounded or too entangled to disengage and assist."

As novel, and amusing, an idea as it was, a flight capable Secutor would lose almost all the advantages the frame had currently with fairly limited gains at best. Something would have to go, the combined weight of every modification, weapon platform, and support system would kill nearly any conventional flight system capable of gravitational work. Rabbit was down, Hex was comms down, and he wasn't about to suggest Rook make a hard turn and go get into a whole new kind of trouble. Rattling fire across his armor refocused his attention, another burst of 30mm chewing away at the cover of the offending Coalition MAS, encouraging the pilot to either run or keep their head down, covering gaps left by the Helldog angles of fire as they called them out. No sense giving the already broken enemy a chance to get any more serious hits to force the Helldogs to spend more time in repair after the LZ was finally declared secure enough to establish a base of operations.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan

---

"Either or. Fortune willing sufficiently flammable to not appreciate what it is about to start being forced to catch."

Rolan was tempted to take some pride in landing the shot on Rozenalt, given the distance and relatively small target he was aiming for. Even better, though better was tainted with the fact that whatever was inside the armor was confirmed, beyond a doubt, to be utterly inhuman, the bolt was broken off inside the armor rather than than removed completely. That meant the poisoned bodkin tip was still inside, though given how the bolt was broken off, well, he wasn't exactly going to hold his breath it would work as he hoped. It did seem to create an opening for Dame Tyaethe to continue focusing her unrelenting assault on the Bloody Lord. Unfortunately, that was all thanks to the split attention sending...vein like tendrils hurtling up towards them, and as he had just finished spanning his crossbow, he reached for the bag full of his steadily dwindling alchemical creations.

"Well he didn't take kindly to the interruption, maybe this will dissuade him from interfering in return..."

Uncorking the vial and flicking his arm in a single motion, Rolan sent a spray of clinging, sticky alchemical fire directly in the path of the oncoming tendrils. He had to trust that Gertrude would handle evasive action, given his lack of agency in maneuvering themselves around above the battlefield. He didn't have time to analyze how the others were doing either, given the onset of two things. One, the source of the black arrows made themselves known, and he would have been wrong had he muttered a name as to who was interceding. Nithyr, maybe not on their side exactly but most certainly opposed to Rozenalt. A hand raised to return the greeting from the one shouting, all he could spare given the rumbling revealed itself from the north at last, continuing to mutter to himself as he readied himself for what was coming.

"...We got the numbers, they got the size...."

A massive, winged, worm like creature with a toothless maw that could probably swallow an entire mounted charge in one fell movement. Rolan wouldn't lie, he missed his time spent bounty hunting every time some new, fresh abomination came lurching into his life and, by extension, awareness. Loading a bolt and locking his legs together tighter to brace for having to no doubt evade again, Rolan fetched a bottle, one that had been taking up a significant amount of space in his satchel. Too large to fit to a bolt (unless he were to wield a siege weapon like a personal one, but that was beyond him anyways), and too unwieldy to do more than throw a short distance. He had been keeping it to top off new vials but had another plan now, seeing the large maw bearing down on them. Hurling it with all the strength he could muster, before shouldering the crossbow and pausing for just long enough for the tumbling bottle to be squarely in the toothless void of a maw before loosing his bolt. The bolt would break the bottle and send the flames hurtling into the abomination, that had so kindly set up a relatively easy shot, and fortune willing would not take kindly to having a maw and inside that was now not only on fire, but stubbornly so.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Rolan

---

"Well done, I'm sure the Captain appreciates the effort even more than I do."

Rolan had, after a glance confirmed nothing would fall on his fellows below, loaded and loosed a bolt tipped with a vial of Alchemist's Fire to sort out the pack that the Astral Lance had not accounted for. The dense, choking cloud had worked like a charm in scattering the impending charge, leaving two clumps vulnerable to the attacks of both mage and knight, though it was never easy enough to simply deal with one wave of abominations. Still, the low pass gave him a moment to observe where his bolts were needed next while Gertrude slung another spell completely, this time not simply incinerating everything that offended her. So she could learn after all, there was hope for them all yet. The Captain looked to be directing other members of the Order, one group peeling off to intercept a flank from the left by Siheyar, and he only hoped that they got all the pain and misery they deserved, wretched things. Two more knights, those he was far less familiar with, struck out to keep the ranks of the Hunt from reorganizing and interfering with the duels going on.

Rolan envied none of his fellow knights, least of all Dame Tyaethe, no matter how much she enjoyed facing down Rozenalt, plenty of blood being shed but no signs of the pitched fight slowing down yet. Ser Gerard seemed to be in quite the, relatively speaking, civilized duel with the pale one, a blow left an interloper dead by the, nominally, Hunt's own hand. He'd have to be certain before interfering, no telling how far her reach truly was. Ser Renar met a trapper's cunning with force, and more than enough of it to splinter wood and lash out with a clever trick with concealed powder being hurled. He'd have to offer his fellow a more varied selection of mixtures to mix up what he could surprise his enemies with, a later consideration. Ser Fionn was show boating, not the best plan but given all they had to do was slay Rozenalt, keeping attention might just work better than a fast kill, fortune willing it worked in their favor. Ser Fleuri was the most beset, and Rolan was making ready to lend his bolts in the beleaguered knight's fight when two things came to his attention.

One, the Captain was making all due haste to assist Ser Fleuri, which was good for the long term. More irritatingly, however, the oncoming swarm was only growing. The screeching vulture crones were coming up in greater numbers, and he was reaching for another bolt of alchemist fire when they suddenly faltered. Sharp eyes spotted the black arrows felling vast numbers of the crones, a sharp glance towards where they were coming from was all he could spare as a previously agreed upon opportunity arose. Rozenalt had forced a gap between Dame Tyaethe and himself, blade raised high as it channeled some sort of mad power, and he plucked the bolt he had prepared specially for the Bloody Lord, the most potent paralytic he could make coating the bodkin tipped bolt. He spoke just loud enough to be heard by Gertrude, already shouldering the crossbow and taking advantage of the moment, however brief, the hail of black arrows bought them. He dared not guess names while in such a pitched fight, but black arrows stuck clearly in his memory for who might have loosed them in the Knight's favor.

"Steady us for a moment..."

Breath in, take aim, breath out, and Rolan loosed the poisoned bolt. He could be chastised later, and the constant shots raining down from above had hopefully let arrogance set in for Rozenalt, that not even the crossbow wielding hedge knight dared draw his ire despite range and height allowing him to. The shot was aimed right for the armpit of Rozenalt, where the armor would be least effective and was most exposed from the raised blade, and where the bolt could bury itself most deeply. Then, fortune willing, the poison would tip the scales in the favor of their vampire even further. Did he have confidence that Tyaethe could prevail? Certainly, but as was agreed upon prior, better to ensure the victory, after all this was no tournament fight, it was a pitched battle for life or death. The rustling from the north was worth noting, loading and readying another bolt for what was about to come from the treeline.

"Fortune willing that works, though we've likely more trouble from the north. Shall we see how many of them we can make die?"