ERode

Neo Sorairo

That's a lotta Strikers.

alsolotsaswordplebs

Altera: Of Departures and Deliverance

The night passed on.

To grip a branch harder while relaxing was an impossible task. To silence one’s breathing while so thoroughly exhausted only drained him further. Matteo slipped between wakefulness and unconsciousness, his head snapping up many times during the long, long night, his heart bursting out of his chest when he realized how close he was to falling off his perch.

Muu found things much easier, nestled against the denser branches on top, her body weight distributed between many branches. It wasn’t comfortable, having many thin branches press against her back, but her leather armor, scant as it was, served her well there, dulling the pressure somewhat. But the cold night woke her up as well, sleep elusive even as her head ached from lack of rest, food, and water.

And as for Ash…

---

The night passed on, and sunrise took its place.

When the unlucky trio came to, the silver wolf was gone, leaving only rabbit bones in its wake. A strange omen, but the immediate situation was safe. Matteo and Ash, both so heavily injured the day before, had to be helped down. In the bright light, the thief’s head pounded even worse than yesterday, some sort of hangover-esque effect manifesting and causing him untold pain. The damage on Ash’s leg was becoming unbearable as well, the inflamed injury a clear sign of the beginnings of an infection. She knew from her master’s lessons how bad it could be, but they were all in the forest as well, only one of their members still mobile.

There was no time to look for natural remedies. While they could still run on the last vestiges of their strength, the trio had to move on.

Muu proved herself indispensable in this moment, the small girl managing to carry Matteo on her back even as Ash had to use her as a crutch. Slow going. Always slow going. The Bladedancer’s own fist was beginning to burn with an unpleasant feeling, a sharper ache that sapped at her entire arm’s strength. But she pressed on. They pressed on. The light helped them see the surrounding mountains once more, and they pressed on.

How long did they travel? How many times did they fall? How many times did they hide, breathing in the rot of their own body?
The world did not care. The world did not reward suffering.

But Gods do.

Slowly, the forest opened up, exposing the wide plains, the well-travelled road, and further down, the blue ocean, Andeave shining like a bastion of security and civilization. And, though it hurt, though it hurt more than ever before, the trio pushed themselves one last time, towards the gate they had left a day ago, an eternity ago.

Before the guards could even say a word, they all fell, collapsing only inches away from the gate.

The long night had ended.

Neo Sorairo

And I'm guessing students can't take their Armaments out of school grounds? Is there a similar lock in place for their psychic powers?

Neo Sorairo

Got it. And is there some sort of limiter thing that prevents the activation/usage of Armaments without authorization (such as busting it out during a bad break up), or does the Academy trust the students not to use their privileges for evil?

Neo Sorairo

Oh hey, quick questions. Do all humans more or less have a Psychic Drive of their own right at conception? Or is it something that is attained only through the training that Academies provide? Does the Academy give out Armaments for all accepted students that are without such weapons, or is it expected for the students to procure them through their own means?

In terms of peace and all, how messed up is the world right now anyways? Is there like, active large scale conflicts vs the invaders? Or is it only small scale attacks by single digit number monsters?

Altera: Of Departures and Deliverance [Looking for 1-3 New Players]

It's a new year, but the search for a priest continues~ Anyone wanna step up to bat?

Neo Sorairo

• Name: Tian-Gui Jian
• Age: 18
• Gender: Male
• Class: Striker
• Nationality: Chinese
• Appearance: Tian-Gui stands at an impressive 6’5, the broadness of his shoulders augmented by his muscular build. He sports a light tan that serves to make his turquoise eyes stand out, and the Chinese youth prefers to keep his hair short, never longer than three inches in length. Though his angular face makes him appear more like the member of a boy band or whatever, his hands are heavily callused, and his body is filled with small scars from accidents on the fields.

• Bio: Born in the technological metropolis that was Shanhu, China, Tian-Gui probably would have lived a normal life if his single mother hadn’t died in a fire at her workplace when he was two years old. Thankfully, though emergency services weren’t competent enough to save her life, they were capable enough to locate his grandparents, who were more than happy to take in their late daughter’s son and raise him with the same affection she would have raised him with. And, just like that, Tian-Gui found himself relocated to the Japanese countryside, living with expat pensioners who had a cute little farm they toiled on to feed themselves.

He was raised wanting for nothing, and he was too young to remember his mother to begin with. His father was nothing more than a phantom in his genetics as well. His warmest memories were folding dumplings with his grandma and learning how to prune persimmon trees with his grandpa. He enjoyed hearing stories about his mother in her youth, a brash child that wasn’t anywhere near as obedient and reliable as he was, and being one of the young people in a community filled with the elderly, Tian-Gui quickly began to pick up odd jobs in every which direction. One Monday, Sawamura might need help with shingling on his roof. Another Thursday, and Cho’d want him to help with relocating the jars of kimchi. Weekends were spent helping one neighbor or the next with their flea market or farmer’s market stalls, chatting with newcomers and regulars alike. And homeschooled as he was, Tian-Gui spent the rest of his free time studying, becoming the helpful and refreshing, if not slightly bland, human being he is now.

Tian-Gui probably would have lived a normal life if he hadn’t caught the eyes of a recruiter during the National Center Test in Neo Kyoto. Thankfully, though the offer was a surprise when it landed on his doorstep, it also wasn’t an unwelcome surprise either. He hadn’t managed to score a spot in the university of his choice, after all, and his grandparents did have some particularly inspiring anecdotes about how his ancestors played some role or the other during the Second Genesis, so, well…

There he is now, one of the oldest newbies to be admitted to 2nd Tactical Arts Academy.

• Armament: Final Red is an armored suit that unravels from a red amulet worn by the wielder, transforming Tian-Gui into an imposing 7’5 behemoth clad in scarlet and gold plates, with a white mane stretching out from the back and pauldrons fashioned in the likeness of lions. The entire armor set is designed to be highly resistant to all forms of damage, but is especially resistant towards energy attacks, capable of absorbing them, storing them up within the suit, and then unleashing them as jets of flame. Final Red also works as a bludgeoning weapon in general, the additional mass added to a body making a Striker’s punches and kicks even more destructive than normal.

• Psychic Drive: Tian-Gui is able to create temporary psychic constructions made of a material he calls ‘Flamestone’, largely due to the fact that it sounds cool. Golden in hue and crystalline in property, he can use this to augment his defenses and quickly make a variety of simple structures or objects, from medieval weapons for smacking people with to walls and pillars that others can take cover behind to coffins meant for locking enemies inside of. Though these constructions must originate from himself, they can reach out to a fair distance and do not need to stay in contact with him afterwards. Unless he wills an early destruction or constantly repairs it, Tian-Gui’s Flamestone structures last around five minutes.

• Extra: Tian-Gui is practically immune to spicy foods, and has impressed quite a few restaurants with how much he could put away in his stomach…at least until they banned him afterwards.

Sample Post

“Wew, that’s a big one.”

Neo-Kyoto, for the old-school charm that reconstructionists tried to preserve or replicate, was still the new capital of Japan, after all, and amidst buildings that looked like they came out of a photograph two centuries ago were towering feats of architecture that frankly made no sense. Wasn’t it a hazard to have what amounted to a massive axe-head shaped building suspended in the air only by a bunch of thin-looking pillars? Having stepped out of an old-timey train station to see this clashing sight, Tian-Gui couldn’t help but tilt his head to the side, his phone flipping open to take a couple shops of the contrasting cityscape. Some streets were cobblestones, others were smooth pavement. Rickshaws drew foreigners down to streets were young girls with painted faces trained to be patrons of a centuries old tradition, while right beside them, a nuclear-powered convertible with AI-drive assist transported a slick-looking business dude down to the ritzy downtown core, his muffler roaring in a way that made it indisputable some modifications were made.

Tian-Gui narrowed his eyes. Farm vehicles could be noisy sometimes, but this was on a whole other level of inconsiderate.

But nuclear-powered convertibles produced in Italy with a horsepower of twenty bajillion were what they were, and he definitely wouldn’t be able to catch up to that dude and give him a piece of his mind either, so with a shrug and a half-apologetic, half-empathetic smile at the frazzled maikos on the side of the road, the broad-shouldered youth went on. For all his grievances about the apathy of big city folk, he was still trying to become one of them, after all, and if the upcoming Center Exam went well…that eight figure salary in the food sciences field might not be such a dream after all! First Neo-Kyodai, then the rest of his life. Marry young with the financial stability granted by his career, get two cute kids for his grandparents to dote over, and then live a happy and fulfilling life as someone who makes sure everyone else eats better.

He clenched his fist, tightened the straps of his backpack, and picked up his pace, heading towards that grand and architecturally unstable building off in the distance. His future was calling!

…

His future, it seemed, also had other plans.

Neo Sorairo

Cool. Just so I have a better understanding of how my character's backstory will function, could you go over how people get into the 2nd Tactical Academy to begin with? Are there standardized tests for psychic power shenanigans out there? Does the government go around detecting the mutations of babies when they're born and slap them with some sort of psychic potential grade?

Neo Sorairo

Blippity bappity bop.

This hand of mine glows with an awesome power!

• Name: Tian-Gui Jian
• Age: 18
• Gender: Male
• Class: Striker
• Nationality: Chinese
• Appearance: Tian-Gui stands at an impressive 6’3, the broadness of his shoulders augmented by his muscular build. He sports a light tan that serves to make his turquoise eyes stand out, and the Chinese youth prefers to keep his hair short, never longer than three inches in length. Though his angular face makes him appear more like the member of a boy band or whatever, his hands are heavily callused, and his body is filled with small scars from accidents on the fields.

• Bio: Born in the technological metropolis that was Shanhu, China, Tian-Gui probably would have lived a normal life if his single mother hadn’t died in a fire at her workplace when he was two years old. Thankfully, though emergency services weren’t competent enough to save her life, they were capable enough to locate his grandparents, who were more than happy to take in their late daughter’s son and raise him with the same affection she would have raised him with. And, just like that, Tian-Gui found himself relocated to the Japanese countryside, living with expat pensioners who had a cute little farm they toiled on to feed themselves.

He was raised wanting for nothing, and he was too young to remember his mother to begin with. His father was nothing more than a phantom in his genetics as well. His warmest memories were folding dumplings with his grandma and learning how to prune persimmon trees with his grandpa. He enjoyed hearing stories about his mother in her youth, a brash child that wasn’t anywhere near as obedient and reliable as he was, and being one of the young people in a community filled with the elderly, Tian-Gui quickly began to pick up odd jobs in every which direction. One Monday, Sawamura might need help with shingling on his roof. Another Thursday, and Cho’d want him to help with relocating the jars of kimchi. Weekends were spent helping one neighbor or the next with their flea market or farmer’s market stalls, chatting with newcomers and regulars alike. And homeschooled as he was, Tian-Gui spent the rest of his free time studying, becoming the helpful and refreshing, if not slightly bland, human being he is now.

Tian-Gui probably would have lived a normal life if he hadn’t caught the eyes of a recruiter during the National Center Test in Neo Kyoto. Thankfully, though the offer was a surprise when it landed on his doorstep, it also wasn’t an unwelcome surprise either. He hadn’t managed to score a spot in the university of his choice, after all, and his grandparents did have some particularly inspiring anecdotes about how his ancestors played some role or the other during the Second Genesis, so, well…

There he is now, one of the oldest newbies to be admitted to 2nd Tactical Arts Academy.

• Armament: Final Red is an armored suit that unravels from a red amulet worn by the wielder, transforming Tian-Gui into an imposing 7’3 behemoth clad in scarlet and gold plates, with a white mane stretching out from the back and pauldrons fashioned in the likeness of lions. The entire armor set is designed to be highly resistant to all forms of damage, but is especially resistant towards energy attacks, capable of absorbing them, storing them up within the suit, and then unleashing them as jets of flame. Final Red also works as a bludgeoning weapon in general, the additional mass added to a body making a Striker’s punches and kicks even more destructive than normal.

• Psychic Drive: Tian-Gui is able to create temporary psychic constructions made of a material he calls ‘Flamestone’, largely due to the fact that it sounds cool. Golden in hue and crystalline in property, he can use this to augment his defenses and quickly make a variety of simple structures or objects, from medieval weapons for smacking people with to walls and pillars that others can take cover behind to coffins meant for locking enemies inside of. Though these constructions must originate from himself, they can reach out to a fair distance and do not need to stay in contact with him afterwards. Unless he wills an early destruction or constantly repairs it, Tian-Gui’s Flamestone structures last around five minutes.

• Extra: Tian-Gui is practically immune to spicy foods, and has impressed quite a few restaurants with how much he could put away in his stomach…at least until they banned him afterwards.

Sample Post

“Wew, that’s a big one.”

Neo-Kyoto, for the old-school charm that reconstructionists tried to preserve or replicate, was still the new capital of Japan, after all, and amidst buildings that looked like they came out of a photograph two centuries ago were towering feats of architecture that frankly made no sense. Wasn’t it a hazard to have what amounted to a massive axe-head shaped building suspended in the air only by a bunch of thin-looking pillars? Having stepped out of an old-timey train station to see this clashing sight, Tian-Gui couldn’t help but tilt his head to the side, his phone flipping open to take a couple shops of the contrasting cityscape. Some streets were cobblestones, others were smooth pavement. Rickshaws drew foreigners down to streets were young girls with painted faces trained to be patrons of a centuries old tradition, while right beside them, a nuclear-powered convertible with AI-drive assist transported a slick-looking business dude down to the ritzy downtown core, his muffler roaring in a way that made it indisputable some modifications were made.

Tian-Gui narrowed his eyes. Farm vehicles could be noisy sometimes, but this was on a whole other level of inconsiderate.

But nuclear-powered convertibles produced in Italy with a horsepower of twenty bajillion were what they were, and he definitely wouldn’t be able to catch up to that dude and give him a piece of his mind either, so with a shrug and a half-apologetic, half-empathetic smile at the frazzled maikos on the side of the road, the broad-shouldered youth went on. For all his grievances about the apathy of big city folk, he was still trying to become one of them, after all, and if the upcoming Center Exam went well…that eight figure salary in the food sciences field might not be such a dream after all! First Neo-Kyodai, then the rest of his life. Marry young with the financial stability granted by his career, get two cute kids for his grandparents to dote over, and then live a happy and fulfilling life as someone who makes sure everyone else eats better.

He clenched his fist, tightened the straps of his backpack, and picked up his pace, heading towards that grand and architecturally unstable building off in the distance. His future was calling!

…

His future, it seemed, also had other plans.

Neo Sorairo

• Name: Tian-Gui Jian
• Age: 18
• Gender: Male
• Class: Striker
• Nationality: Chinese
• Appearance: Tian-Gui stands at an impressive 6’3, the broadness of his shoulders augmented by his muscular build. He sports a light tan that serves to make his turquoise eyes stand out, and the Chinese youth prefers to keep his hair short, never longer than three inches in length. Though his angular face makes him appear more like the member of a boy band or whatever, his hands are heavily callused, and his body is filled with small scars from accidents on the fields.

• Bio: Born in the technological metropolis that was Shanhu, China, Tian-Gui probably would have lived a normal life if his single mother hadn’t died in a fire at her workplace when he was two years old. Thankfully, though emergency services weren’t competent enough to save her life, they were capable enough to locate his grandparents, who were more than happy to take in their late daughter’s son and raise him with the same affection she would have raised him with. And, just like that, Tian-Gui found himself relocated to the Japanese countryside, living with expat pensioners who had a cute little farm they toiled on to feed themselves.

He was raised wanting for nothing, and he was too young to remember his mother to begin with. His father was nothing more than a phantom in his genetics as well. His warmest memories were folding dumplings with his grandma and learning how to prune persimmon trees with his grandpa. He enjoyed hearing stories about his mother in her youth, a brash child that wasn’t anywhere near as obedient and reliable as he was, and being one of the young people in a community filled with the elderly, Tian-Gui quickly began to pick up odd jobs in every which direction. One Monday, Sawamura might need help with shingling on his roof. Another Thursday, and Cho’d want him to help with relocating the jars of kimchi. Weekends were spent helping one neighbor or the next with their flea market or farmer’s market stalls, chatting with newcomers and regulars alike. And homeschooled as he was, Tian-Gui spent the rest of his free time studying, becoming the helpful and refreshing, if not slightly bland, human being he is now.

Tian-Gui probably would have lived a normal life if he hadn’t caught the eyes of a recruiter during the National Center Test in Neo Kyoto. Thankfully, though the offer was a surprise when it landed on his doorstep, it also wasn’t an unwelcome surprise either. He hadn’t managed to score a spot in the university of his choice, after all, and his grandparents did have some particularly inspiring anecdotes about how his ancestors played some role or the other during the Second Genesis, so, well…

There he is now, one of the oldest newbies to be admitted to 2nd Tactical Arts Academy.

• Armament: Final Red is an armored suit that unravels from a red amulet worn by the wielder, transforming Tian-Gui into an imposing 7’3 behemoth clad in scarlet and gold plates, with a white mane stretching out from the back and pauldrons fashioned in the likeness of lions. The entire armor set is designed to be highly resistant to all forms of damage, but is especially resistant towards energy attacks, capable of absorbing them, storing them up within the suit, and then unleashing them as jets of flame. Final Red also works as a bludgeoning weapon in general, the additional mass added to a body making a Striker’s punches and kicks even more destructive than normal.

• Psychic Drive: Tian-Gui is able to create temporary psychic constructions made of a material he calls ‘Flamestone’, largely due to the fact that it sounds cool. Golden in hue and crystalline in property, he can use this to augment his defenses and quickly make a variety of simple structures or objects, from medieval weapons for smacking people with to walls and pillars that others can take cover behind to coffins meant for locking enemies inside of. Though these constructions must originate from himself, they can reach out to a fair distance and do not need to stay in contact with him afterwards. Unless he wills an early destruction or constantly repairs it, Tian-Gui’s Flamestone structures last around five minutes.

• Extra: Tian-Gui is practically immune to spicy foods, and has impressed quite a few restaurants with how much he could put away in his stomach…at least until they banned him afterwards.

Sample Post

“Wew, that’s a big one.”

Neo-Kyoto, for the old-school charm that reconstructionists tried to preserve or replicate, was still the new capital of Japan, after all, and amidst buildings that looked like they came out of a photograph two centuries ago were towering feats of architecture that frankly made no sense. Wasn’t it a hazard to have what amounted to a massive axe-head shaped building suspended in the air only by a bunch of thin-looking pillars? Having stepped out of an old-timey train station to see this clashing sight, Tian-Gui couldn’t help but tilt his head to the side, his phone flipping open to take a couple shops of the contrasting cityscape. Some streets were cobblestones, others were smooth pavement. Rickshaws drew foreigners down to streets were young girls with painted faces trained to be patrons of a centuries old tradition, while right beside them, a nuclear-powered convertible with AI-drive assist transported a slick-looking business dude down to the ritzy downtown core, his muffler roaring in a way that made it indisputable some modifications were made.

Tian-Gui narrowed his eyes. Farm vehicles could be noisy sometimes, but this was on a whole other level of inconsiderate.

But nuclear-powered convertibles produced in Italy with a horsepower of twenty bajillion were what they were, and he definitely wouldn’t be able to catch up to that dude and give him a piece of his mind either, so with a shrug and a half-apologetic, half-empathetic smile at the frazzled maikos on the side of the road, the broad-shouldered youth went on. For all his grievances about the apathy of big city folk, he was still trying to become one of them, after all, and if the upcoming Center Exam went well…that eight figure salary in the food sciences field might not be such a dream after all! First Neo-Kyodai, then the rest of his life. Marry young with the financial stability granted by his career, get two cute kids for his grandparents to dote over, and then live a happy and fulfilling life as someone who makes sure everyone else eats better.

He clenched his fist, tightened the straps of his backpack, and picked up his pace, heading towards that grand and architecturally unstable building off in the distance. His future was calling!

…

His future, it seemed, also had other plans.