King Cosmos

Night of the Hunt - a Bloodborne RP

Posted. And in my defense, one of the first things Joseph looked for was a doctor or someone to explain what was going on.

Night of the Hunt - a Bloodborne RP

“Hey!” Rushing forward, Joseph moved through the narrow alley between cots to where the other man stood, one hand on the door as he sought to open it, and grabbed him roughly by the shoulder. He tried to pull the stranger back, away from the door before he could throw it open and let whatever was outside come inside, dooming both them and the dozens of other people in the room. “Are you mad? One beast is still enough to kill all of us!”

The cry had been some distance away, not close enough to be an imminent threat, but Joseph didn’t trust the assumption that it was merely a lone beast; something was drastically wrong with the current situation, which was as big an understatement as Joseph could ever make, and something in the air told him Yharnam was rife with all manner of beasts tonight.

At the foot of the door, one of the tiny creatures wailed pitifully against the barrier as if trying to break it down, trying to open it as the stranger had like a child miming an adult. The… things, whatever they were, unnerved him, but something told him they weren’t a threat somehow; they had made no move against them and they would have had ample opportunity to while they were asleep, but it was instinct rather than logic that told him they were safe to be around.

“Gather your senses. I’m sure there’s a hunt on tonight, I can feel it in the air. We need to stay here, stay safe until this is over. They wouldn’t leave all of us here without incense, help me find it so we can ward off whatever made that cry.”

@Habibi359

Night of the Hunt - a Bloodborne RP

I'll post tonight. Not quite sure what to do since the door is locked and I want to do something more productive than just react to things.

Pokemon Chrome: The International League

Henrietta Durand

Arsenic Island

Arsenic island truly was a sight to behold. Such an abundance of wild Pokémon in such a small area; Henrietta had barely been here an hour and already she had seen a dozen or more different varieties of Pokémon. It wasn’t just that the area was kind to Poison-types in general, it even had differing locations that supported different kinds of Poison Pokémon; Water-types, Grass-types, Flying-types and more could all coexist in the same place. Henrietta had heard that this place was specifically set up to be a home for these Pokémon and the results were apparent in the diversity she was seeing now.

It meant that she had her choice of opponents when it came to training her Pokémon, which was lovely but left her spoilt for choice. Atlas was still raring to go and the Salandit or Toxicroak would be a good challenge for him but she also wished to train her other Pokémon, especially her Gligar who had yet to take part in any battles whatsoever. The Budew or Oddish would probably be best in that regard, but there were so many of them and the Roselia might take exception to her trying to battle them. In which case, perhaps a double battle was called for?

Retrieving another Pokeball from her bag, Henrietta released her youngest Pokémon from its confines, the resulting flash of white light fading to reveal a small, pink Pokémon with features of both a bat and a scorpion. Upon appearing the Gligar took a moment to take stock of his surroundings, looking curiously at the trees and Pokémon, before spotting Henrietta; with a smile on its face the Gligar jumped up on Atlas’s back and used the Mudbray as a stepping stone to then jump into Henrietta’s arms, leaving the other Pokémon to look somewhat affronted. The trainer caught the young Pokemon easily, having expect the reaction, sparing one hand to pat Atlas’ head reassuringly. “Are you ready for your first battle Gregor? Atlas? Do you think you can keep an eye on Gregor while taking care of your own opponent?”

Both Pokemon nodded, Gregor enthusiastically and Atlas with a slow assuredness, leaving Henrietta to smile at them both. The trainer held her arms out in order to give the Gligar a jumping off point to reach the branches above them, the Flying-type spreading its arms to glide further. Pointing towards the small group of Budew and Oddish and the dancing Roselia, Henrietta directed her Pokémon into battle. “Okay Gregor, Poison Sting. Atlas, be ready to intercept.” The Gligar opened its mouth and shot forth a spray of little purple needles in the direction of his trainer’s pointing finger, more spread out than the concentrated stream the Nidoran had used earlier and missing more shots than hit.

Definitely unused to battle, but this would hopefully help change that.

@Sho Minazuki

Fate/Lost Epoch

Technically an Assassin

Name: Spring-Heeled Jack

Title(s): The Terror of London

Class: Assassin

Gender: Male

Attribute:

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Personality: An enigmatic individual who hides his face behind a mask and his intentions behind a veneer of madness. At times a giggling madman whose thoughts only extend to how best to cause mischief and terror, unpredictable and wild, and at other times a man with a surprising amount of intelligence, cunning and intuition, someone capable of careful planning and trickery.

It is worth remembering that the individual known as “Spring-Heeled Jack” was just a costume and a mask, an invention of the newspapers and the populace. There was once a man under the mask with his own goals and motives, whose use of the costume was only to accomplish those goals. Whether Assassin takes on the guise of the myth, the man behind the myth or both seems to vary from moment to moment. Or perhaps it is all an act and Assassin’s true nature lays yet one layer deeper.

Objective for the Grail: The Grail is less important than his own amusement. The Holy Grail War is the perfect playground.

Biography: A mysterious individual that first appeared in England in the 19th century, “Spring-Heeled Jack” conducted a series of attacks over the course of several decades yet not much is known about him. The first sighting occurred in London but sightings were eventually reports all across the United Kingdom with most reports sharing common elements; a person able to leap incredible heights and distances, a demonic appearance often including glowing red eyes and a set of claws or the ability to breathe fire and leave people in a state of senselessness.

His identity, his true name or even whether or not he truly existed was never determined and the fantastical nature of his sightings led to much speculation as to whether or not he was even human. Some consider him to be the product of mass hysteria, an urban legend that took on a life of its own, or a single incident that went on to inspire several copy cats; the latter would help to explain how Spring-Heeled Jack could continue to appear over eighty years after the original incident. However others considered him to be supernatural in nature, an alien visiting our world or a demon summoned either on purpose or by accident to name just a few of the theories.

The truth of the matter is far more mundane than either demons or aliens, yet would be equally unbelievable to the average person. “Spring-Heeled Jack” was nothing more than the creation of a bored Magus with too much free time on their hands and a particular disdain for women; the glowing red eyes and devilish appearance common to many of the accounts were a simple illusion, the ability to leap over tall walls or buildings beyond human ability was a case of simple self-reinforcement and the blue fire that induced blindness and fit, though somewhat sinister, was also nothing but a minor curse produced via magecraft.

Originally a way for a man with a macabre sense of humour to amuse himself the story of “Spring-Heeled Jack” took on a life of its own; several of the attacks that were attributed to Jack were not conducted by the Magus at all, being either the actions of copy cats, unrelated incidents blamed on the phantom attacker, or complete fabrications. The legend of “Spring-Heeled Jack” was alive and well and survived longer than the man who created it, with new reports and sightings appearing long after the Magus had died.

Weapon: Clawed hands

Parameters:
STR: C
END: C
AGI: A
MGI: B
LCK: C

Class Skills:
Presence Concealment C – The capability to hide one’s presence as a Servant. Assassin was not one for stealth and subterfuge, only concealing himself long enough to get close to his victim so that he could attack or surprise them in order to cause terror and mayhem; as such his rank in this skill is low for an Assassin.

Personal Skills:
Disengage A – The ability to withdraw from the battlefield in the midst of combat or reset the battle conditions. Unlike most Servants that fall into this class, Assassin was known to terrify or harass his victims before fleeing rather than killing them, always escaping without harm or capture; his true identity was never discovered.

Protection From Arrows C – An increased defense against projectiles through exceptional means. Assassin’s supposed immunity to bullets, despite being fired upon by guards or soldiers multiple times, gave credence to the theory that he was a demon or super natural entity.

Spring-Heeled B – A skill that allows Assassin to easy surmount obstacles and barriers that would otherwise bar their way; can move while jumping over all kinds of obstacles on the field, including enemies, and can explosively improve his mobility by emitting magical power, raising his overall offensive power as a result. The very name by which Assassin is known, “Spring-Heeled Jack”, is a reference to the inhuman leaping ability that they displayed that allowed them to escape pursuers by jumping over walls and buildings.

Noble Phantasm:

Name: Baleful Hellfire
Title: Madness Inducing Glimpse of Hell
Rank: C+
NP Type: Anti-Unit
Range: 1-15
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Description: One of the key features of Assassin’s myth and one of the abilities most responsible for the theory that “Spring-Heeled Jack” was a demon; what was once a minor curse meant to disable and terrorise his victims had become truly demonic in nature. This Noble Phantasm grants Assassin the ability to breathe gouts of blue and white fire which, rather than burning whoever it touches, instead assaults them with a form of mental-interference effect; those touched by this flame are rendered temporarily blind and can suffer violent fits as their bodies are racked with seizures. Both of these effects can be resisted using the MGI stat, but the blindness is much harder to resist than the seizures.

The effects of this Noble Phantasm are increased when Assassin is using his “Terror of London” Noble Phantasm.

Name: Terror of London
Title: The Very Image of the Devil Himself
Rank: B
NP Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Range: N/A
Maximum Number of Targets: N/A
Description: Once a man believed to be a demon, this Noble Phantasm allows Assassin to become a true demon in the sense of a Phantasmal Species; his eyes glow like balls of fire, the metal claws on his hands become a part of his body and his inhuman and grotesque mask becomes his real face; a man becoming the monster he portrays himself as. In this form his physical stats are greatly increased to the point where he can even contest a Servant of the Knight classes for a while, with STR ranking up twice to A and END ranking up once to B; meanwhile his “Baleful Hellfire” Noble Phantasm is also empowered, producing longer lasting effects and being harder to resist.

Huang Lanfen - Gu Practitioner

Name: Huang Lanfen

Gender: Female

Age: 38

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Rank:

Objective for the Grail: To increase the wealth and power of her family

Personality: Lanfen is a patient and methodical person, someone who understands the value of taking their time to ensure things are done properly, but this is due to a surplus of restraint rather than being her natural state; it is against her base nature to hold herself back and to take things slow but these are the values that she was taught and she has enough self-control to abide by them.

She is greedy, naturally avaricious and covetous, but not so much as to let it affect her actions. She is one to set her sights high and always aim for the biggest reward possible, but is able to let an opportunity pass if pursuing it would put herself at risk.

There is a cruel streak running through her that shows itself on occasion. Lanfen does not actively seek to do harm to others, but if she must harm others to reach her goal then she will not hesitate to do so and will even do so with a hint of eagerness at times. There is a mocking note to her personality that she is not always able to hide.

Biography: The Huang family has existed in some form or another for over 1000 years, although anti-sorcery purges and changes to the political climate in China mean that they have undergone several transitions during that time. Hailing from Southern China they are a group of Gu practitioners who used their abilities to quickly acquire a vast amount of wealth and power, using curses and poisons to eliminate rivals or prominent individuals and claim their fortunes as their own. However, such growth attracted attention and during one of China’s many purges of Gu practitioners and witches they were discovered and nearly eradicated; their work was destroyed, their members nearly wiped out and their fortune lost. Some of the family managed to survive, by luck or by design, and were able to rebuild from the ground up.

This story repeated itself several times; a swift rise and an even more abrupt fall as Gu practitioners were hunted and eradicated by whoever was in power at the time and all eyes turned towards those families who had no good explanation for where or how they had obtained what they had. All progress lost and all fortune scattered as the Huang’s were left to pick up the pieces and start again. Hard lessons were learnt along the way and a subtler, more careful approach was adopted; a slower accumulation of wealth, less obvious grabs for power and a lot of care given to staying in the shadows and giving people no reason to notice them.

They learned the hard way that growing too fast tends to attract attention and all the power in the world meant nothing when the might of the Emperor was directed against them. Patience and a slow and steady solidifying of their foothold would mean that they would outlast any Emperor that sought to eradicate them, or any other threat for that matter. The last purge they fell victim to was 400 years ago and because of their new approach they were one of the last groups of Gu practitioners to be discovered, giving them the time they needed to hide and secure most of their assets and even avoid the destruction of the most powerful of the Gu creatures that they had been cultivating over the last 200 years, preventing the loss of their magecraft.

This is the Huang family as Lanfen was born into it; careful, methodical and subdued. They yearned for the wealth and power they once achieved at their height, though they were not lacking in either, but restrained themselves and focused on slowly and steadily cultivating both in a manner that would benefit future generations more than themselves. Always with an eye to the future, the Huang family grows and grows and grows without exposing themselves to the world at large. Even so, they could not resist the allure of the Holy Grail War; they know they are taking a risk in sending a representative and exposing themselves, but what they stand to gain if they claim the Grail is potentially greater than what they might lose. After all, it’s not like they haven’t rebuilt themselves several times before and the loss of a single Magus is hardly comparable to the purges of the past.

---

Magic Circuit Switch: The image of a snake coiling around a rat

Number of Magic Circuits: A

Quality of Magic Circuits: C

---

Elemental Affinity: Fire and Earth

Magecraft: Although she has never attended the Clocktower, Lanfen is as versed in the basics of General Magecraft as any graduate of the Clocktower would be, having received a comprehensive education from her family. Aside from this she has a strong foundation in formal craft and cursing technique, both of which are geared towards working with her family’s specialty of Gu magecraft.

Gu magecraft utilises the practice of sealing several venomous creatures, such as spiders, scorpions, snakes and so on, in a container and waiting for them to devour each other; the poisons and grudges of those creatures are concentrated into the surviving creature and this creature is then used as a source of power or as a charm to perform various acts. The creature can either be used in its entirety or its poison can be extracted and used instead, depending on how much power is required.

As a type of magecraft that is very well suited to cultivating magical energy into containers, which can then be used by any Magus and not just the one who cultivated it, Gu magecraft has a good synergy with Formal Craft. The magical energy produced through Gu is also inherently negative, meaning it is well suited for use in cursing techniques; Gu practitioners often use their art either to accumulate wealth, usually at the expense of others, or as a means of enacting revenge and are well acquainted with curses as a result.

Magic Crest: The Huang family does not possess a Magic Crest in the traditional sense; they instead pass their knowledge down through more traditional means and instead cultivate power in a different way from Western Mage families.

For the past 600 years the Huang family have invested significant time and resources into cultivating a single Gu creature, one whose poisons have fuelled their magecraft for generations. The efficacy of Gu magecraft greatly depends upon how much magical energy has been cultivated and as the focus of the Huang families efforts this particular creature has consumed tens of thousands of poisons and grudges. This creature, rather than a crest, is the backbone of their magecraft.

Equipment:
Concealing Umbrella – A mystic code capable of concealing the magical energies of a person by creating a weak effect not dissimilar to a bounded field. The effect does not reach very far, covering the person holding it and perhaps a couple of others standing in close proximity. The effect is more easily bypassed than that of a bounded field, but it works well at preventing detection from those who are not actively looking to find someone.

Magic Opium Pipe – A pipe used in order to spread poisonous vapours over a wide area. When packed with a form of solidified Gu poison and lit the smoke produced by this pipe can be controlled and directed by the Magus holding the pipe.

A dozen minor Gu creatures – While the Huang family may possess an extraordinarily powerful Gu creature, every Gu practitioner should regularly cultivate a number of their own creatures for their own use so as not to be tied to one location and so as not to be dependent on others. Lanfen has in her possession twelve minor Gu creatures that she keeps with her at all times to act as fuel for her magecraft when her family’s creature is not readily available. They are strong enough as to be able to shapeshift into different animals and Lanfen likes to have them take the form of blood-red butterflies, but they are able to take on more subtle forms if need be.

Exceptional Benefit: Superior Mystic Code

Night of the Hunt - a Bloodborne RP

Joseph’s head tilted down, eyes dropping to the ground as he digested the man words. No doctors, no clerics, just the dead and dying men and women in the cots that filled the room; people like him, lost and confused with no one around to provide answers or explain what was going on.

The other man tapped the door with the tip of a sword and Joseph’s head snapped up at the noise; he hadn’t noticed that the man was armed until now and the sight of the weapon sent a chill racing up his spine, his body feeling alert and energised in a way that he had never experienced before in the face of a potential threat. The man, Joseph still didn’t have a name for the stranger, walked over to a barrel full of weapons and picked out one at random; he inspected it for a moment, before turning back to him and tossing the weapon lightly through the air.

Joseph started at the action, jumping as the sharp implement was thrown his way unexpectedly, body reacting in a haphazard and uncoordinated way. He reached out to grab the weapon on reflex, when under normal circumstances he would have moved to dodge, and was surprised to see his hand deftly snatch it out of the air by the handle, his arm moving almost with a mind of its own. No, it was more like he’d imagined grabbing the axe and his body moved exactly as he needed it to with more precision and coordination than he had ever displayed before.

It was an alien feeling. In fact his whole body felt alien, different from what he remembered. Maybe part of that was due to the illness he had been suffering from; if he had I fact been cured then his body would feel healthier than it had, but it felt like more than that. He had been weak in the moments after he had gotten up from the cot only for his strength to quickly return, but it hadn’t stopped at just that. He felt stronger, lighter and more alert than ever before.

Was this what it felt like to be a Hunter? Had he been changed? The man before him and all of the people laying on cots around the room, they were all Hunters?

Why so many?

The stranger was preparing to open the door, to leave the room and find answers. Before Joseph could decide if he was going to follow him, if he was ready to follow him, a chilling, blood curdling cry sounded out. Though muffled by the walls and distance, not nearly enough distance, any Yharnamite would be able to recognise a cry like that.

In the long seconds following that cry the only movement in the room was that of the small creatures as they dispersed. Even they were terrified by that noise it would seem as at least half of them disappeared somewhere. The only thing to break the silence was a single crow’s cawing.

“Is tonight a Hunt? Are there Beasts and Hunters roaming the streets again?”

@Habibi359

Fate/Lost Epoch

Technically an Assassin

Name: Spring-Heeled Jack

Title(s): The Terror of London

Class: Assassin

Gender: Male

Attribute:

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

Personality: An enigmatic individual who hides his face behind a mask and his intentions behind a veneer of madness. At times a giggling madman whose thoughts only extend to how best to cause mischief and terror, unpredictable and wild, and at other times a man with a surprising amount of intelligence, cunning and intuition, someone capable of careful planning and trickery.

It is worth remembering that the individual known as “Spring-Heeled Jack” was just a costume and a mask, an invention of the newspapers and the populace. There was once a man under the mask with his own goals and motives, whose use of the costume was only to accomplish those goals. Whether Assassin takes on the guise of the myth, the man behind the myth or both seems to vary from moment to moment. Or perhaps it is all an act and Assassin’s true nature lays yet one layer deeper.

Objective for the Grail: The Grail is less important than his own amusement. The Holy Grail War is the perfect playground.

Biography: A mysterious individual that first appeared in England in the 19th century, “Spring-Heeled Jack” conducted a series of attacks over the course of several decades yet not much is known about him. The first sighting occurred in London but sightings were eventually reports all across the United Kingdom with most reports sharing common elements; a person able to leap incredible heights and distances, a demonic appearance often including glowing red eyes and a set of claws or the ability to breathe fire and leave people in a state of senselessness.

His identity, his true name or even whether or not he truly existed was never determined and the fantastical nature of his sightings led to much speculation as to whether or not he was even human. Some consider him to be the product of mass hysteria, an urban legend that took on a life of its own, or a single incident that went on to inspire several copy cats; the latter would help to explain how Spring-Heeled Jack could continue to appear over eighty years after the original incident. However others considered him to be supernatural in nature, an alien visiting our world or a demon summoned either on purpose or by accident to name just a few of the theories.

The truth of the matter is far more mundane than either demons or aliens, yet would be equally unbelievable to the average person. “Spring-Heeled Jack” was nothing more than the creation of a bored Magus with too much free time on their hands and a particular disdain for women; the glowing red eyes and devilish appearance common to many of the accounts were a simple illusion, the ability to leap over tall walls or buildings beyond human ability was a case of simple self-reinforcement and the blue fire that induced blindness and fit, though somewhat sinister, was also nothing but a minor curse produced via magecraft.

Originally a way for a man with a macabre sense of humour to amuse himself the story of “Spring-Heeled Jack” took on a life of its own; several of the attacks that were attributed to Jack were not conducted by the Magus at all, being either the actions of copy cats, unrelated incidents blamed on the phantom attacker, or complete fabrications. The legend of “Spring-Heeled Jack” was alive and well and survived longer than the man who created it, with new reports and sightings appearing long after the Magus had died.

Weapon: Clawed hands

Parameters:
STR: C
END: C
AGI: A
MGI: B
LCK: C

Class Skills:
Presence Concealment C – The capability to hide one’s presence as a Servant. Assassin was not one for stealth and subterfuge, only concealing himself long enough to get close to his victim so that he could attack or surprise them in order to cause terror and mayhem; as such his rank in this skill is low for an Assassin.

Personal Skills:
Disengage A – The ability to withdraw from the battlefield in the midst of combat or reset the battle conditions. Unlike most Servants that fall into this class, Assassin was known to terrify or harass his victims before fleeing rather than killing them, always escaping without harm or capture; his true identity was never discovered.

Protection From Arrows C – An increased defense against projectiles through exceptional means. Assassin’s supposed immunity to bullets, despite being fired upon by guards or soldiers multiple times, gave credence to the theory that he was a demon or super natural entity.

Spring-Heeled B – A skill that allows Assassin to easy surmount obstacles and barriers that would otherwise bar their way; can move while jumping over all kinds of obstacles on the field, including enemies, and can explosively improve his mobility by emitting magical power, raising his overall offensive power as a result. The very name by which Assassin is known, “Spring-Heeled Jack”, is a reference to the inhuman leaping ability that they displayed that allowed them to escape pursuers by jumping over walls and buildings.

Noble Phantasm:

Name: Baleful Hellfire
Title: Madness Inducing Glimpse of Hell
Rank: C+
NP Type: Anti-Unit
Range: 1-15
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Description: One of the key features of Assassin’s myth and one of the abilities most responsible for the theory that “Spring-Heeled Jack” was a demon; what was once a minor curse meant to disable and terrorise his victims had become truly demonic in nature. This Noble Phantasm grants Assassin the ability to breathe gouts of blue and white fire which, rather than burning whoever it touches, instead assaults them with a form of mental-interference effect; those touched by this flame are rendered temporarily blind and can suffer violent fits as their bodies are racked with seizures. Both of these effects can be resisted using the MGI stat, but the blindness is much harder to resist than the seizures.

The effects of this Noble Phantasm are increased when Assassin is using his “Terror of London” Noble Phantasm.

Name: Terror of London
Title: The Very Image of the Devil Himself
Rank: B
NP Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Range: N/A
Maximum Number of Targets: N/A
Description: Once a man believed to be a demon, this Noble Phantasm allows Assassin to become a true demon in the sense of a Phantasmal Species; his eyes glow like balls of fire, the metal claws on his hands become a part of his body and his inhuman and grotesque mask becomes his real face; a man becoming the monster he portrays himself as. In this form his physical stats are greatly increased to the point where he can even contest a Servant of the Knight classes for a while, with STR ranking up twice to A and END ranking up once to B; meanwhile his “Baleful Hellfire” Noble Phantasm is also empowered, producing longer lasting effects and being harder to resist.

Pokemon Chrome: The International League

Henrietta Durand

Arsenic Island

Regarding the Nidoran with curious eyes, Henrietta watched as the little Pokémon tried to steel itself for something. It was still afraid, probably more than ever now that her knight had been defeated, but there was something else in its eyes now that hadn’t been there before that caught the trainers interest; a kind of muted determination hidden underneath the fear, that existed in spite of the fear, that was different from the grit and spirit the male had shown her. The Nidoran took a tentative step forward, or tried to at least, only to turn and run without making it any further as her courage failed her.

Had it been her imagination, or were there tears in the little Pokémon’s eyes are it turned away? Perhaps she should have felt bad about that, for scaring her and for capturing her friend, but battling and catching wild Pokémon was what a trainer did; she would raised and care for the Nidoran she had caught and that was the best she could do. Maybe she could have caught the female as well so that they would not be separated, assuming there was anything ties between them in the first place, but the fact of the matter was she didn’t have a need for a Pokémon who was too fearful to battle.

That might have been a cruel stance to take, that certain Pokémon were worth less to her if they weren’t able to battle, but wouldn’t it be equally cruel to force a Pokémon into a life of battles and training and challenges if they weren’t suited for it? The male she had caught was a fighter, she could tell, and would likely adapt well to being a trainer’s Pokémon. The timid little female would not.

But perhaps she would surprise Henrietta in the end. That look in the female Nidoran’s eye before it had fled, the spark that was not quite determination or courage but was something close to it; perhaps she would see the Nidoran again before she left this island and perhaps Henrietta would catch her after all, if she had found her spirit by then.

But these were thoughts for another time. She had but a week to prepare for her upcoming Gym challenge and she had four Pokemon to train now if she included her new friend; there was no time to waste if she wanted her team to be battle ready and capable of winning against this islands Gym Leader. “Come on Atlas. I want to fight a few more battles before we stop for the day; let’s see what we can find.” Turning away from the bushes where the Nidoran had disappeared, Henrietta began to walk away with Atlas at her side. She would travel deeper into the forest and see what she could turn up that wasn’t a Flying type or a Grass type that would serve as a good opponent for her current team.

@Sho Minazuki

Pokemon Chrome: The International League

Henrietta Durand

Arsenic Island

Disappointingly, rather than stay and face up to the challenge she presented most of the Nidoran instead chose to scatter and flee. A single individual did stay behind, but not in the way the young trainer had hoped; a small and timid looking female had remained, apparently paralysed in fear and certainly not displaying any desire to fight.

Henrietta couldn’t help but feel a little dejected at the result, her usual smile falling away and a slight frown creasing her brow. She supposed that was to be expected when dealing with the younger examples of the species; a Nidorino or a Nidoqueen would have like stuck around to fight off an aggressor and to defend their territory, while for the younger Nidoran it made more sense to run. Nonetheless she was hoping to find at least one among the bunch who showed the spirit and vigour of their larger brethren.

Then, as if in response to her wishes, another Nidoran appeared to stand between her and the female; male, small like the other one was, but certain not timid. It had a few small marks that she could see, perhaps scars from previous fights, as It stared down her Atlas with exactly the kind of determination that she was looking for. “Bien. Very good. A knight comes to defend the fair lady; such valour should be rewarded. I guess it’s up to us to play the villain, hmm, Atlas?”

Battle!

The Nidoran made the first move, charging towards the Mudbray in small bounds as it rapidly closed the distance between them, leaping once it was close enough and driving its horn into Atlas using its Peck attack. The Mudbray recoiled, tossing his head and braying loudly as the pain set in.

“Atlas, use Bulldoze.” The Ground-type reared back, forelegs rising off the ground before slamming back down, the Mudbray repeating the action again and again as it stomped the soft dirt under his feet flat. The Nidoran was caught in the middle of it all, alternately trampled under the heavier Pokémon’s hooves or battered by the shockwaves the heavy footfalls produced, before eventually managing to break free and run some distance away.

Now looking bruised and beaten, yet still with a defiant look in its eye, the Poison-type Pokémon charged in again. This time he leapt sooner, jumping higher and flipping over in the air to point his hind legs towards Atlas; the smaller Pokémon collided with Mudbray with one foot extended, the heel impacting with Atlas’s forehead, before using its other leg to both deliver a second kick and push away from his opponent at the same time. The Double Kick left Atlas looking dazed, but he shook it off a moment later and held his ground.

“Good work, Atlas. Finish this with Strength.” Now it was Atlas’s turn to charge, lowering his head and breaking into a gallop towards the Nidoran. The Poison-type didn’t seem to be able to move out of the way in time, perhaps too injured by the Bulldoze to do so, and the Mudbray crashed bodily into the smaller Pokemon and sent it tumbling and rolling through the dirt. It came to a stop and despite being clearly hurt by the attack it still tried to stand again, lifting itself up on shaking legs and turning towards Atlas again. Just as Henrietta was about to call this fight to a close, the Nidoran opened its mouth and fired several glowing purple darts in a stream towards Atlas, catching both trainer and Pokémon off guard. “Dodge it!”

The Mudbray dove to the side, throwing himself to the ground a moment too late to completely avoid the Poison Sting as a few of the purple needles dug into his skin and the dirt behind him. The poison did not take hold, fortunately, and Atlas rose back to his feet not much worse for wear. “Use another Bulldoze; end this.” Rushing forward again, Atlas this time leapt towards the weakened Nidoran before coming down on top of it with both forelegs soon followed by both back legs as well. Rather than continue the attack, the Ground-type pulled back, moving out of the way to reveal a clearly unconscious Nidoran.

“That’s enough Atlas. Come back.” Henrietta didn’t return her Pokémon just yet, instead calling him back to her side as she walked towards the defeated Nidoran. It had fought well, but the difference in size and weight, the type disadvantage and the fact that Atlas only grew tougher with each hit served to make it something of a one-sided arrangement. Nonetheless she wore a wide smile as she approached the fallen Pokémon, crouching down as she neared its side, and reached out a hand to stroke along its side. “You fought well little knight. A knight who will one day become a king. I’ll have to think of a suitable name for you.”

Reaching into her bag Henrietta pulled out a Pokeball and pressed it to the Nidoran’s side. The Pokémon turned into red light in an instant and was sucked inside the device, the ball shaking three times in Henrietta’s hand as a light in its centre pulsed intermittently before both shaking and pulsing light ceased. Still with the smile on her face the trainer stood and turned towards the female Nidoran, who was still frozen in fear in the same spot as before. It was unlikely to be feeling any less afraid after witnessing the battle that had just taken place.

“Run along little one. Go back to your friends.”

@Sho Minazuki

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

The sounds of combat penetrated the dirt and rock shell around Oberon and let him know that the Goblins had begun to fight the goat as Digbie intended, but without a line of sight or some other clue he wouldn’t be able to tell how the fight was progressing or say exactly what was happening. Not knowing, and therefore not being able to act or react to what was happening, left the Sprite with an uneasy feeling; it wasn’t that he disagreed with Digbie’s plan, or that he didn’t trust Torrent and Ash to be able to handle things if need be, but being left in the literal dark was not a good state to be in.

“I’d rather go further into the forest than into the mountains; more hospitable and we’re not putting an impassable obstacle to our backs.” If anything Oberon wanted to go beyond the forest, out past the trees and into whatever lay beyond. It was probably impractical given their current situation, but a part of him was hoping to return to something approximating civilisation. With everything they’d experience so far it was clear the forest didn’t have that.

Digbie explained that the book he had found was a prayer book for one of this world’s deities; Oberon wasn’t much one for religion in his own life, but since they were now living in what could probably be described as some form of afterlife he wasn’t about to dismiss the idea. With everything they had experienced he felt confident in saying that gods and demons existed in one form or another here and that there was probably some real power to be found I worshipping this Jehanne; like a Cleric or Priest character. He would have to ask to read that book later, out of curiosity if nothing else.

“You have a quest? From a system message?” That was an interesting idea and it made sense that they would happen given how closely this world seemed to follow video game tropes and logic, but it raised a few questions. Namely, who or what set the quest? Jehanne in this case it seemed, but could anyone do it or just the powers above? If he asked Digbie to do something, gave him a task and promised a reward, would that trigger a quest or was it something that only certain beings could do? Did it imply that Jehanne and other gods had some kind of control over the system itself? Up until now he’d half believed the system was something that they only had because the Demon King had given it to them, even though he said he wasn’t giving them cheat skills, but if this Jehanne was setting quests then it might be something that was just part of this world. “I’ll help you with it later, after we deal with these Goblins. In return, can you let me read that book?”

With that little mystery solved, and a much larger one put in its place, Oberon turned his attention to the fight happening outside. With the opening of the cave sealed and the both of them bathed in darkness there wasn’t much the Sprite could do but listen and try to interpret what was happening outside. It would be nice if he had some way of sensing what was going on the way Digbie and Torrent seemed to be able to with their Earth magic; he had a couple of skills like Air Read and Mana Sense that may let him do the same but they were both far from complete. Air Read might not even work since he was sealed into this cave but if he could sense the Mana of the Goblins and the goat he would at least know where they were.

How did that work anyway? He had probably gained experience in that skill during his experiments with the various elements, particularly the way he kept trying to extend his senses outward to locate Mana of a particular flavour in the midst of the ambient Mana around him. When he meditated he could feel the Mana around him entering his body, when he’d practised Aqua Sphere and Wind Break he’d felt the Mana in the water and air respectively and brought it in to the Mana Orb; could he expand his senses in the same way and feel the larger amounts of Mana that existed inside living creatures?

The Sprite closed his eyes and let himself enter the kind of empty minded state he used for meditation. He opened up his senses and tried to feel the ambient Mana in the air around him but rather than try to draw it in or open himself up to let it in naturally he tried to just feel it, imagine that he could see it like a light fog that filled the empty space of the cave around him. He tried to stretch his reach further, to see further, and imagined the fog reaching further. If this was working then he should soon start to feel and see differences in the fog; he should see a difference between the wind Mana of the air and the earth Mana of the dirt and rock walls, he should see a denser mass of Mana that was Digbie next to him.

Could he see them? Or was he just imagining that he could?

Action Report

Attempted to sense Mana as a way of mapping surroundings and locating other living creatures.

@Gardevoiran@Zeroth