ERode

Academia Abyssus: More Edgeyness and Despair than 13 Year Old Linkin Park Fans

I never denied it. I am at peace with my inner hentai, as you should be with your inner demon. But I guess not everyone shares the same level of Zen Buddha modu as I do.

Academia Abyssus: More Edgeyness and Despair than 13 Year Old Linkin Park Fans

Excellent. Finally someone who isn't already in three other RPs with me.

Hentai desu ka. Iie, ore wa hentai no ou desu!

Academia Abyssus: More Edgeyness and Despair than 13 Year Old Linkin Park Fans

Iie, omae wa akuma desu.

Academia Abyssus: More Edgeyness and Despair than 13 Year Old Linkin Park Fans

pls

why

always you people

stop la stalk

Academia Abyssus: More Edgeyness and Despair than 13 Year Old Linkin Park Fans

“Hello there, dead people! As you can tell from your totally vivid, traumatic, and obviously non-fabricated memories, you're already dead, failed to meet the criteria for going into Heaven, and have now fallen into Hell! You must think that sucks, right? Welp, lucky for you, you fell into the RIGHT part of Hell! I'm Luu DeSeras, Daughter of the Fallen Archangel Lucifer and Lady Death, and I have a proposition that you literally can't refuse~! Become a student in Academia Abyssus, the first and only School of the Dead in Hell, and train with all your soul in order to become a proud, powerful warrior of the forces of Not-Actually-Super-Evil Darkness! Now, you must be asking yourself stuff like “Oh no, how can I survive training meant for demons!” or “Aw shoot, but I'm not even that strong! I'll never pass!” Luckily for you, you're already dead! So even if you die again, you'll still be alive, and recover rather quickly! And if you don't want to be a muscular paragon of masculinity, well, you can always be a magic kiddie who hides behind brave berserkers and throws little fireballs around, hoping to hit things! Just like Lyss Beoch~

Anyways, I'd go on in detail about just how awesome the school is, but then...that's actually sorta boring. Just be polite, greet everyone that looks like they're older than you, give the janitor a nickel, and Lyss will do all the tour-guiding, alright? Have a fun and productive school life in Hell, you corpses~”

“...Yeah...I don't actually feel like giving you brats a tour as well, so just listen to the pamphlet or something.”

<<Tu tu ru~ You have received 'Speaking Pamphlet'>>

Academia Abyssus is a pretty cool place, you know? It's like...all big imposing final-boss-esque towers and buildings, constructed with black hellstones and covered with avant-garde works from our resident janitor, Laim Sleot! I would say that, roughly, school grounds cover a perimeter of ten kilometers by ten kilometers, but, you know, we have no walls, so technically, everywhere's the school, as long as you're a student! And that also means that you can never run out of school, so you might as well abandon all hope and sit through your classes like a good student!

Oh wait, actually, sorry, you won't be sitting much at all. You see, it's been scientifically proven that humans think better and learn faster when they're on their feet, doing hands-on training, so don't be surprised when most of the classrooms you see do not have the conventional chair-and-desk combination. Actually, don't be surprised if the classroom doesn't look like a classroom at all. Our Great Leader, Luu DeSeras, sorta has complete control over the school, so yea, reality is her bitch as well. While I don't really care whether your brain explodes when a door to a class leads to a desert, I'm a nice girl, so that's just a little bit of a warning~

Anyways, we don't really have an infirmary or a hospital, because if you're sick or injured, you should just jump off a building and resurrect-heal yourself, so it's a-okay~ You also don't need to eat, drink, or shit, so those are really just luxuries.

Luxuries that you won't be able to indulge in, since you only get money for those things by getting a job! Or getting loans. I wouldn't recommend loans, especially from the Rishei Hoard. They're sorta an edgy group of peeps, so make sure you never sign a contract with them! Even if they promise to make you a magical girl! So get a job, you useless bums~!

Anyways, lemme think about what else there is...

Oh yeah, right, basically, death will heal you, but it won't heal your clothes! So please, wash your clothing thoroughly every chance you get. As an alumni, I would say that detergent and a drying rack, as well as extra clothes, would actually be the most important items around. You wouldn't want to come to class stinking like a pig in bloodied, ragged human clothing, would you? Which reminds me! We have a tailor's shop, who'll fix all your clothing up for free. She's a bit of a witch though, so, you know...just so we're clear, 'free' means that she won't be asking for money. It's perfectly in her rights to ask about other things though. Just so we're clear~

Academia Abyssus functions as a city in and of itself, with most business establishments run by former students, with lots of part-timers being current students themselves. Your student card, which you'll get after you get into your dorms, will serve as your identification, dorm keys, money card, status menu, telephone, and pretty much everything else that's rad and hip. And it also has Angry Birds! Of course, if you lose it, you're fucked. Until the issue is cleared, you'll literally be able to do nothing at all. Yeah. It sucks...qq I crai every time I remember that...

Kssshhhbzzzkkkhhhh...

Well, sorry for that little interruption, underclassmen and women. Well, more like boys and girls...huehuehue...there's a few school rules you'll have to follow.

First off, killing people is alright, but if you kill the same person too often, that's called griefing, and you'll get your ass kicked by the janitor or the ferryman, whoever gets a student-beating break first. Why? Because it's not nice! You kill people to get stronger, not just for the fun of it!

Second, while stealing things isn't actually banned...I will find you, and I will kill you, if you steal someone's student card. Everything else is alright, of course~! Most items are protected in one way or the other though, so be careful, future Lupins and Kaitos~!

Third, sexual offenders are bad. Don't be a creep. Just because everyone's in Hell doesn't mean that there's no standards here. It's not like doujin-Japan or something. Same thing with imprisonment and slavery. Let's all be progressive and healthy-minded individuals here, alright? Not like those sa- ah, never mind!

Fourth, don't be a little bitch. Stop whining and man the fuck up. Don't take drugs, because most of those things do damage to you on a spiritual-level. Which means you can't recover from it. Which means that you'll be scarred4lyfe if you do that! Of course, there's those really expensive procedures in which you can cleanse your soul...but those are done by fallen angels, and they're a REALLY elitist bunch. 'cept for Lu-lu though. He's oh-so perfectly dreamy~ <3

Fifth...hm...oh yeah, right, when there's a sign that tells you not to go somewhere, please don't disregard. People who are too curious die. Perma-die. Yami-Yugi mind-crushed and soul-sucked die. Not a good way to die permanently, if I say so myself. Ah, but that's the one way you can drop out of school without going into other Hells though. So I would actually recommend it if you don't want to go through eternal torment at the hands of the less civilized peeps.

But yeah! Have fun, grow up strong, eat your veggies, and send me a picture of your face! Especially if you look like an animu or mango character, like everyone else in this part of Hell!

Da Acturu Ru-lus

This is light-hearted. So please die often and have fun with the fact that you can't perma-die.
This is High Casual, so it's two paragraphs or bust.
This is my RP, so what I say, goes.
This is me trusting you not to be stoopid. You should understand all the basic rules of Rping now.
THIS IS WHERE WE FIGHT. THIS IS WHERE THEY DIE. FOR TONIGHT, WE DINE! IN HELL!

Student Application

Image: A picture, preferrably animu/mango style.
Name: Normal human name, plox. You can have your character go super edgy and rename themselves like 'Razor Blade' or 'Dragon Child' in the future.
Age of Death: How old were they when they died?
Gender:
Appearance: Describe all the things that differ from, or are not included in the picture.
Personality: One paragraph, bare minimum. Also, at start, list off three 'negative' traits about them that they exhibit the most, such as lying often or procrastinating. Doesn't need to be super insanely serious.
Biography: What was their life like before they died? How did they die? How did the people close to them react AFTER they've died?
Theme Song: You should understand what this means.

Character List
Iphigenia Tsubame, Waltz of Scattered Roses
Wendy Wayne, The Blood-Sky
Kazami Takeshi, Blank in Black
Sorella, Personacentric
Ren Mato, Sovereign of Chains

Harvest Moon: Lily of the Valley

K, did a few relationship things. Still waiting for responses from WolfsRose and PerniciousIntent in regards to that though.

And it would be rather funny if Eli just started to draw Brent while he was bathing, as if he was simply part of the scenery. XD

Harvest Moon: Lily of the Valley Character Sheets

Brent Roless

Spring Time Exploration~!
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Birthday: Winter 10
Role: Though he could be considered by most as a homeless, jobless university dropout, Brent considers himself an explorer and a scholar, someone living off the land whilst he continues his goal of studying the supernatural beings that surround Lily of the Valley. Nevertheless, he's no caveman, and spends a sizable amount of time doing part-time work as a jack-of-all-trades freelancer.

Likes

Adventuring, Hiking, Backpacking, basically anything that involves going outside and walking.

Supernatural things and magic, anything that has yet to be explained by science.

Writing in his journal, which exists only digitally on a USB plugged into his laptop.

Camping, because that's what real adventuring men do.

Cold showers, which has led him to be quite a common sight at Fiora Falls...much to the chagrin of parents, who shield their children's eyes from the sight of some eccentric, young nudist.

Stews and soups, especially those that are meaty, yet not TOO meaty. His favorite dish is chicken congee, but, alas, he has yet to find someone in Lily Town who could make it.

The Harvest Goddess, because she seems to be one of the few 'gods' left in the world that aren't just mere bystanders.

Dislikes

Fishing. All those hotblooded fishing mangas and documentaries and novels he's read and seen in the past were lying when they described how exhilarating the experience was.

Milk and cheese. Lactose intolerance sorta does that to you. He still drinks three cups of soymilk a day though, and somehow, he still manages to enjoy pizza.

Mainstream music. Probably because he can't stand it when people repeat the same lines six times and calls it a 'chorus'. And because there's no manly music. Interestingly enough, he enjoys some types of rap, and was quite a fan of Linkin Park in the past.

Hot showers. He feels like he's suffocating whenever he takes a steamy bath.

Close-minded assholes in the scientific community, who think that just because it exists as 'myths' means that it can't be real.

The rich 1%. Because he wants them to share all the capital that they have. Q.Q

Personality

Brent Roless is vivid, vibrant, vivacious, a person who, to many, feels larger than life. He's a rare type of city-person, one that is overtly emotional and unafraid to reveal what's on his mind. To some, the young man is a contradiction, a person who prides himself in being a 'manly, fearless explorer', yet has no problems with breaking such an image whenever he tears up while watching sad puppy movies. Despite all this though, it should not be taken for granted that Brent is an honest person. He's someone who just does what he wants, a person who, in another age, could have been a famed explorer...or a lawless highwayman. Ultimately, it could be said that he enjoys living in the countryside because he dislikes the laws of society and wishes to do what he must for the sake of himself.

He is dedicated to his tasks, and has the motto of “if I have to do it, might as well have fun”. In that way, Brent's the type of person to climb up mountains with his head raised up high, smiling. He cares little for amassing large amounts of money, adopting the ideology that “the richest spend their money the fastest”. Indeed, he has many sayings that dictate his life, and with a healthy body, a sharp mind, and a pure soul, he's in no rush to achieve any goal. Though Brent is steadfastly devoted to his life-long goal, he'd rather enjoy the journey than try to go for record-breaking speeds. Many of his past employers had been initially confused by this. How could someone who's goofing off so much still get so much done?

He likes things that are interesting, and would rarely mask his enthusiasm. After all, his goal is to change this close-minded, superficial, boring-as-gray world, and he can't do that if he chose to hold back in any manner.

Background

Born in the big city, surrounded by steel and technology, Brent was the second son in a family that was composed of a doctor of a father, a journalist of a mother, and a perfectionist of a brother. In that big house on the top of a suburban hill, his parents slept in separate rooms, and his brother was always kept inside his room or at the library, most likely keeping up with their parent's expectations. And like his brother, Brent was subject to the same type of hard work that was expected of all members of the Roless family. His 'normal' childhood was that of school, tutors, and a twenty-minute scenario in which his family were all in one place, eating dinner. After that, his older brother would retreat back into his room, his father would start his night shift in the hospital, and his mother would go out with her fellow journalists, to de-stress after a busy day of work. A life in which everyone did what they wanted to do by themselves, as long as they did so to further their own careers.

The concept of 'family' and 'community' were things alien to him. He did what he had to do to get ahead of his peers, even as early as elementary school, in order to do what was the norm for those of the Roless family. One had no place at home if they weren't one of the best. And Brent was quite easily one of the best. Talented in sciences and math, all those things that were 'logical', he could have almost been a nerd, if it wasn't for the fact that he was physically adept as well. In a way, he was 'perfect', but in another way, that was simply to be expected from someone of the prestigious Roless family. He skipped a few grades in elementary school and got to high school early, and, naturally, excelled there as well. Though he wasn't as much of a sports ace, his skill with the scientific, the mathematical, and the clear-cut logical only blossomed further. He had many admirers, and many enemies, but no friends. It was hard to befriend someone who was younger than you, yet still superior to you in every aspect. It was harder when that individual made no attempts to hide the fact that he disliked everyone else.

Brent didn't pay any attention to those things though, not until he joined the Literature Club. It was an off-handed decision, made when one dinner with his family had his father mention that it would be nice if he participated in some more cultural clubs. Yet it was in that club that he met an individual. Tellizer was his last name. His first name was constantly in flux, the boy with the goatee always coming up with new nicknames. The oddity in the world that asked Brent a simple, grandiose, cliche question.

“What is the meaning of life, kiddie?”

Brent was logical, scientific and mathematical. Needless to say, he hadn't even considered such a question before. After all, biologically, life was just cells, fulfilling the functions necessary for survival in order to succeed in the basic instinct of reproduction. And yet, that brought out another question.

“Why do we reproduce, then, little genius?”

It was the first time that he experienced such an...interesting challenge, delving into a subject that he had no information about. One year passed in the Literature Club, a year that was actually, honestly, interesting. It was fun, researching things that had no scientific, logical basis. The next year, Tellizer didn't go back to school.

The goateed weirdo had graduated.

But enough of Brent's curiousity was ignited by then. Enough of his inquisitive mind was sculpted. And, in his senior year in high school, he realized the root of his apathy. The world was boring. There was no reason for him to constrain himself to the rules of a family that, according to countless real-life examples and books, was not even a normal one. There was no reason for him to interact with people who only did things to elevate their social position. There was so little reason for him to do what he did, that the pointlessness of it all had numbed him into not even thinking about what he studied before.

Studying what scientists had already discovered did not actually interest him. Doing the same math questions over and over again, just worded differently, did not interest him.

The construction of new knowledge, though, did.

He was sick of what people thought was the logical, the scientific, the mathematical, and the realistic.

Brent wanted to dream.

When he graduated from high school, attaining immediate acceptance to one of the best universities in the country, the boy had accepted. He took a student loan, lived on campus, and promptly spent his time doing anything but studying for his courses. His perfect grades plummeted as he joined as many clubs as he could, experiencing everything new that he had only seen as 'chores' before. And it was in one of those sketchy, borderline-questionable clubs that he found a goal, and a method of achieving such a goal.

In the Occult Club run by a third year who proclaimed herself as a modern-day witch (using money as a catalyst), there was a questionnaire that all new club members had to answer. One of those questions was as follows:

“If you had the choice, would you change the world? Or change yourself?”

Brent wanted to change the world, and he would do it, by finding irreputable proof that the supernatural DID exist, and then German suplex the foundations of thought that the current scientific community exists upon. After five months in the university meant only for elites, he dropped out, packed his bags, and got ready to go off to one of the few areas left in the world that housed the magical, the illogical, the mysterious.

On the platform of the train station, his brother appeared, smiled, and handed Brent a cheque.

Enough money to clear all of the dropout's debts.

“Go and make a difference, bro.”

It wasn't only Brent who sought to pursue his dreams, after all.

A month or so later, an up-and-coming author who shared the same first name as his brother started to be written about on blogging sites and newspaper.

Skills

Jack-of-all-trades – Brent had gained a great diversity of (mainly useless) skills during his time in university.

Happy Camper – Because camping is fun! And you have excuses to be whether you want!

1v1 Me IRL, Scrub – Though he's not exactly Mike Tyson or Bruce Lee, he can hold his own in a brawl. And he'll have fun while doing so.

Feed Me Jobs – In order to elevate his status from Camping NEET to just Camping Dude, Brent is pretty good at convincing other people to pay him to do things. Probably helps that he's willing to be paid in food or supplies, instead of cold, hard cash.

Courage the Coward – Like a true man, he's not afraid to show that he's scared of something. He's also not afraid to reach past his fears and do what must be done...granted that he's pushed hard enough.

Relationships

Alex Garnet – A semi-regular at the bar, Brent thinks of Alex as an intriguing person, if nothing else, though that's the extent of his curiousity. He finds it odd why she's so passive and socially unskilled, and makes no attempt to hide what he thinks of her mannerisms. Too...accommodating, as if she dislikes talking about what's on her own mind. Well, if nothing else, she's good at making those colorful fruit drinks that he enjoys.

Gaku Yamamoto – Having originally encountered the guitarist nearby the Fiora Falls during the autumn of Brent's arrival to Lily of the Valley, Brent admires Gaku's bluntness and honesty, seeing it as a trait that is far too rare back in the city. Of course, he also finds Gaku's work ethic to be less than respectable, and has, on more than one occasion, joked about taking his job from him. Except he was serious. Outside that, they'd often discuss music, sometimes getting into heated discussions regarding the differences between mainstream and underground. If it wasn't for that fact that the Inn Worker also enjoyed classical music, Brent would have most likely thought that he was a mainstream sheep.

Eli Stern – After their first...interesting meeting in Fiora Falls, and the discovery of each other's circumstances, Brent thinks of Eli as his junior, a fellow jobless runaway who has yet to master the art of selling herself as a good employee. He doesn't underestimate her, though, and sees her also as a rival, because everyone needs competition in order to achieve their true form. Her insults are fun as well, and he'd often note down the wittier ones on a notepad, to send to his older brother. And, like a true senior part-timer, he's always willing to drop her a message whenever there's a job for two. Teamwork is more fun than solowork, after all~

Isis Thorne – To him, Isis is a tad bit boring in her preference for calmer things. He likes adventure, she likes gardening. He likes cold showers, she likes hot baths. In the variety of opposites that they had, there's a certain distance between the two, but that was to be expected. It'd be sorta impossible for him to get along with everyone in Lily of the Valley, after all. However, they do have a connection in their interest in stories, and occasionally swap tales by the bar. Lately, Brent's been thinking about setting up a Book Club or something, in hopes of finding more people who have stories about the valley to share.

Izzie McKenzie – Originally introduced to her by her cool-as-jazz grandfather, Brent and Izzie hit it off quite well with their shared love for adventure and fun. Though she seems a little apprehensive about his interested in the supernatural, Brent's never thought about it much. It helps that he glosses over the true nature of his outings with cheerful headliners such as “let's go hike up Mount Edelweiss”, or “wanna go rowing to Witch Island”. She's also the person who brought him closest to death with her cooking. He survived in the end though, with enough presence of mind to smile and say that it had a very unique flavor. Afterwards, he couldn't eat cake for a week.

Rosemary Bates - Who? Brent had tried to develop a relationship with that quiet individual for quite some time, but despite his efforts, her transparency just makes her so hard to remember. He hasn't stopped trying though...at least not yet.

Alice Rems – Outside of seeing that girl a few times at Everett's place, blushing like a schoolgirl in the presence of her first crush, Brent doesn't talk to her often. He does, though, make the occasional attempt to give her situations in which she could get closer to the doctor, such as suggesting that she goes exercises with him, if she's so worried for his health. Little, prodding things like that. He finds it slightly interesting, watching a romance develop before him.

Others

He keeps a list of fears that he has yet to conquer, constantly updating it with a picture of the moment he DOES conquer such a fear.

Brent, due to his lactose intolerance, also dislikes cows, because they produce such products. Because of that, he sorta gets a funny, unpleasantly happy feeling whenever he eats beef.

He still keeps an e-mail correspondence with his brother, but has blocked every number that his parents could possibly contact him by.

His theme songs are No Pain, No Game and Fonte.

Harvest Moon: Lily of the Valley

Monday, Spring 1
5:00 AM on a Cloudy Day
~The Borderline of the Broken Storm~

It was a cloudy, windy, stormy morning, with the first day of spring announced with the exhilarating squalls of a springtime tempest. The wind howled in short intervals, rattling the budding branches of the forest that surrounded Fiora Falls. They sounded skeletons, waltzing to the tune of nature's cacophony. It was a wild expression of nature, but some of that charm was lost from the lack of leaves on the trees. There was no rustling that mimicked the rain that was soon to come, and only a cool morning dampness chilled the air. No heavy rain yet. Heaven's doors had yet to open upon the Valley.

Brent had been awake an hour prior, occupying himself with a combination of campfire tending and coffee-brewing. Lately, he'd been having trouble sleeping, and such a problem had brought him the much needed time to catch up on e-books in his backlog. Making good of a bad situation was his way of life, after all, and while his insomnia has dulled his senses and killed off his ability to think sharply in the morning, a cup of instant coffee and a cold shower in Fiora Falls was enough to set him straight for a day of part-time work and full-time research. But today was a storming day, and he'd always wanted to take a bath in the rain. After all, if he did that, the young man could finally say something along the lines of “I'm perfectly clean. Just took a shower during that morning storm~!”.

He snickered at that thought, as he began to assemble a tarp over the warm fireplace and second-hand lawnchair. Stretched out tightly by aluminum poles and secured with bright orange spikes buried into the soil, Brent made a small prayer for his roof not to be blown off with the wind, so he had a nice open area in which to dry off his sleeping bag and pillow. Winter was a bad season for him, ultimately. He hadn't expected the snow to fall that quickly, and before he'd known it, Brent had sprained his ankle and caught a fever, spending his time bundled up and sweating inside his tent for ten days. The sickness wasn't even some sort of Winter Spirit Curse, so it wasn't like he had anything fun to write about in his blog.

And after that, his sleeping bag had stunk for days.

Grinning away those memories, and enjoying another wild gust that scattered sparks and threatened to toss his lawnchair into the darkening skies, Brent took a deep breath of the refreshing volatile wind. The atmosphere was full of energy now, crackling with the tension that promised a dramatic bolt of lightning. He stepped out from the cover of his shelter, stretching out with a great big yawn as his kettle whistled. This early in the morning, the only things on TV and the radio would be weather, news, and infomercials. The first storm of Spring, though, that was some nice entertainment to season his coffee with.

And like that, on top of the mountain, heralded by the scream of banshees, a jagged blade of light found its mark on top of Mount Edelweiss, followed by an explosive boom, and then...the storm vanished, the clouds collapsing into a vortex and then disappearing. Not dissipating, but simply disappearing.

For a moment, Brent was silent.

Then he laughed, a mix of shishishis and hehahas, as the Harvest Goddess decided to show Lily of the Valley a warm sunrise instead of a spring storm.

A few minutes later, as he was sipping on coffee while soaking in morning rays, Brent realized that he probably should have at least taken a picture of what had just transpired.

---

6:30 AM on a Brightening Morning
~Ice-melts Water-falls~

It was still a bit chilly, but Brent wasn't a skilled kindler of flames for no reason! After spending thirty minutes vigorously washing his heavy winter coat and sleeping bag, he was finally ready to soak in the wintry chilliness of the cascading falls. With a smoldering fire nearby, ready to be ignited into a healthy blaze, as well as a good hour-and-a-half before he had to get started with finding jobs and maintaining connections, Brent was prepared to enjoy his Zen time as much as he could.

Everett would probably have more than a few words regarding his lack of fear of hypothermia, or ailments related to temperature, but the explorer was fine with that. He got a fever last time because he was careless. By next winter, he'll train his cold immunity until he could do a marathon out in the mountains, naked. That was his New Year's Resolution. He'll change his Ice Resistance into Ice Nullification!

Humored with another silly idea, the young man insured that the embers were still lively and smouldering under that tent of twigs, before promptly stripping off all his clothes and casting them dramatically aside, flinging them onto the rocks that circled the water falls. It was all in the atmosphere, after all. With the same lack of hesitation that he had with going full-nudist in the wilds, he then jumped into the lake, plunging himself into the near-zero waters.

For a moment, there was a numbing shock, as his mind was utterly white.

Then, in the next instant, it was as if he had been struck by lightning, a shock of adrenaline pouring into him. Blood rushed through his body, and his heart pounded madly as he kicked off the bottom of the lake and exploded outwards, a geyser of white water following him.

And then, the coldness settled in once more, but this time, it was a cold that only served to sharpen and calm him. His heartbeat slowed, settling into a regular rhythm, before, with deliberate steps, Brent slipped under one of the gentler parts of Fiora Falls, partially engulfed in the curtain of water.

Ice-melt cascaded over him.

White noise drowned out the material world.

Pulsating blows massaged his body.

Cold mist covered his eyes.

And, like a Buddhist monk, Brent achieved a state of almost perfect tranquility.

“The mind is everything...what you think, you become.”

“Well, actually, I'd be really damn happy if I could change just by wanting to change, but holy crap, this is way too painful to be meditative!”

And with that, he hopped out of the waterfall before anything really bad happened, settling for floating along the current instead, bobbing up and away from the white mist.

It would appear that Brent would require much more training before he challenges Fiora Falls once more.

Edged Horizon

He was hungering.

He had already eaten, but the cooked flesh of animals wasn't enough to sate him. Something inside him wanted Eldren to consume more. Not the consumption of the physical, but the consumption of the spiritual. His hunger was chewing at him from inside-out. Unpleasant memories was once again surfacing, followed by the words of the monster from within, the demon that told him that reprieve could only be found in destruction. His only solace was in the death of others. Tranquility could only be found in the silence brought by the deaths of everything around him. As he warped through the air, darkness constantly collapsing on him as he resummoned himself over and over again, accelerating through the air towards the Archipelago, Eldren gritted his death. Underneath his female body's skin, something was crawling, squirming, a malevolent force.

They were both using each other, weren't they? The demon who knew that Eldren wasn't its true master, and the warlock who knew that the demon only helped him because what he planned to do was 'interesting'. The monster that had become, and the monster that always was.

His power wasn't growing, but it was expanding. What was once a cloak had now become more of a mist, a shroud of the same miasma that surrounded Talze Utera. Against the pleasant sky, a storm of demons approached the Archipelago. The small, otherworldly creatures that once only peered through the surface of his cloak had now risen from it. They swarmed around their summoner, filling the air with the uncomfortable sound of giggles, screeches, and snorts. Cacophonic chaos was what Eldren had surrounded himself with, a storm in which his own monsters cannibalized each other while they waited for the order to attack, to lay waste on the next target.

Soon, they would be trying to eat their fill once more. They could smell it, the scent of more food. The beat of living hearts. The pleasures of consumption, so close.

In a final warp, that man in a girl's body took his first step onto the shores of Frelia, the sand crumbling under his feet. And then, his power expanded once more, the demonic aura rushing outwards. The day turned into night, a primal sense of fear falling over all civilians. They had not yet found themselves inside the artificial night, but they could feel like. The fear of the unknown.

He raised one hand, and with that, the horde rushed outwards, freed from their chains.

And then, they stopped.

“Morning. I'm catching up with one of my students here, so can you go leave this island?”

A casual remark, spoken by a woman with frost-colored hair, a hue that seemed to glow in the demon's night. No, not just any woman. It was Mirelle Keep, former Knight-Commander of the Astopolian Army, Hero of the Talentless Strife, Mother of Sword Styles, Slayer of the World-Eater, and the Six-Winged Knight. He had fought under her before, seen how much of a monster she was in battle.

And now that he was the same level of monstrous, he wanted to see how he would fare against her blade.

Gathering his power and forcibly erasing the survival instincts of his summons, he chopped his hand down. Like a surging wave, the monsters churned and rushed at the woman, a torrent of claws, fangs, and muscle.

“That's pretty small. Wynn, you wouldn't happen to know this girl, would you?”

With those words said, Mirelle disappeared after taking one step forward, reappearing in front of the man. Her clothes were suddenly shredded, hair gaining a divine vibrance, wings of blue light extending from her back.

She smiled, and then, the horde behind her was scattered asunder, a thunderous roar blowing the monsters apart. Blood rained from the skies, evaporating as it touched her skin. The blue-haired woman was burning, a volcano of magical energy.

“Actually, I do know her, Master, but she wasn't quite this strong before.”

Another voice sounded above him, and Eldren warped away the instant he heard it. Teleporting fifty meters above his past location, the man almost allowed himself to breath, before the distance was closed between him and Mirelle once more, followed by another thunderous clap as the sound barrier was broken.

Glancing below, he caught a glimpse of the attack he had just evaded, and at that sight, instinctively recalled all the darkness that he had originally spread outwards, the cloak now becoming armor. It was not a crater that resulted from the downwards strike. It was a penetrating blow that created a fist-sized trench, a strike that would have invariably pierced his defenses, if he were not cautious.

And then, he warped again, teleporting another fifty meters away, this time rightwards.

Yet even though he had three hundred and sixty degrees of movement, Mirelle appeared in front of him. There was never time for him to cast a spell. No, it was more like...if he started to focus on a way to attack her, he'd be dead. That was the amount of pressure that he felt on his shoulders, fighting against her.

It was...frightening.

And then, the demon that squirmed inside him laughed, and, for a brief moment, interrupted its host's flow of mana.

The next instant, the moment he didn't adjust his position relative to Mirelle's, he was blown apart.

Eldren died, a hole where his midriff once was, his corpse skipping across the ocean for five hundred meters, before sinking.

Another kick in the air sent Mirelle back to the island, a final thundering roar signalling the end of the one-sided affair. Her complexion, now, was pure red, in stark contrast with her hair. The scars on her back were vividly white, and with a deep sigh, she plopped onto the ground.

“That hard, Master?” Wynnara sat down beside her, nursing her bruised knuckles.

“I'd wager she could give Farnor a run for his money.” The former knight took another deep breath, before lying down on the cool sand. She veiled the worry in her eyes, and said, with a smile, “Been some time since I had to go all-out like that.”

Wynnara laughed with that, poking Mirelle's stomach. “You do seem out of shape, dontcha,” she teased.

Mirelle simply smiled with that, not answering.

That girl was a witch, but there was something else about her that bothered the knight. If this was what East ACTUALLY wanted her to not interfere with...that witchmother had to answer some big questions.

And under the sea, the demon woke its master up once more, its dark whispers stimulating the soul that was bound to Riley's body. Eldren awoke once more, and slowly, his magic began to reconstruct the body, regenerating lost flesh as a bubble of air was created around him, providing him with the oxygen necessary for him to survive underwater.

Even now, he wasn't the strongest.

But now, he knew his capabilities, as well as his limitations.

So, though he had died and then was resuscitated, it was all worth it.

He was now on a level that forced the Six-Winged Knight to use her full strength against him.

---

They really didn't know anything about what they were planning to do, huh? Well, if nothing else, people who didn't know anything were rather helpful in their own gullible, naive, stupid ways. With a twirl of his fingers and a showman-esque flourish, the butler produced another card, a Seven of Clubs held between his index and middle finger. Flicking it into the air, he clenched his right hand before snapping it outwards and opening it, causing the card itself to grow, becoming not a map, but a picture of a mountain. Or, it appeared, more like half a mountain. One side had a steep, sheer face, while the other side was a much more merciful slope. Almost as if someone had sliced a mountain in half, and took one of the pieces away.

“I do happened to know where Vance is being held, my lady,” Lenz replied, the vampire ever courteous, yet with a biting undertone that made it almost sound like sarcasm. “He's held on the mountain Hanzen, three kilometers east of Koestace, the capital of Astopol. That'll also be where reinforcements would come from if the original guards that were posted were annihilated. And just in case you wished to know, yes, I do also have the general location of Vance Warren's pit.”

“That being said, Captain, I'm a butler, not a soldier or one of those silly Battle Butlers. I would appreciate it if you figured out the combat part of this operation by yourselves. Of course, I'm more than willing to engage in combat if it's your personal request, my lady.”

---

For a month or so, Annette had lived her ideal, happy life. Aiv may have become busier with his job, but she had Neph now, and it was truly a joyous occassion.

But, that morning, when she woke up to see what Neph wanted to eat for breakfast, the witch realized one thing.

Her adopted daughter, the demon child of Musphelheim, was missing.

Harvest Moon: Lily of the Valley

@Discontent: By previous research, I mean that he's studied the cultural/religious history of other countries/ethnicities in the past, which include the Native American thoughts regarding Two-Spirits. But yeah, derped up in regards to the assumption that he would already know. It would probably be something that could come up later in the RP then? For now, he'd probably just be another semi-regular at the bar, perhaps one that asks Alex straight-up why she'd be a bartender if her social skills were so sub-standard.

@Liriia: Yeah, he'll definitely set something up like that. His choice of wording would probably be something along the lines of..."Let's go on a Witch Hunt!" Probably be something really impromptu as well. Just go to the bar and start recruiting during a weekend.

@Chezka: In terms of the whole grandpa thing...do you have a name for him and his friend?

And while I'm at it...

Rosemary Bates - Who? Chances are, Brent would try to develop some sort of friendship with Rosemary, but yeah...he'd forget her existence pretty easily. Something along the lines of 'losing track of her while he does his own stuff', seeing how she's just really damn quiet.

Alice Rems - I wonder...could something be done with the fact that Isis, Brent, and Alice all like stories and such? Something like a mini-Literature Club? Not really sure where to go from here, but that might be semi-interesting. Outside that, he'd probably never ever actually go to her shop, considering he doesn't care much in terms of perfectly-fitting clothing. Oh yeah, is her crush on Everett obvious?