Lugubrious

The Heroes of Beacon

The Irish Tree said
Uh...that's a bit of a problem since Undying Curiosity left.

Aw, hell.

That makes Undying and Poog definitely missing, with Schnabel, Flamelord, and Skyrtle borderline.

The Heroes of Beacon

Sho Minazuki said
Hmmmm.I'm having trouble deciding on what kind of design I want...Right now it's a standard circle symbol and using negative space to show twin lightning strikes hitting the same place.

Something like this?



I'm not sure I understood what you meant by negative space.

The Heroes of Beacon

Sho Minazuki said
No those are pretty good quality.What program are you using for it? I was planning on using Illustrator after sketching in SAI. Or just straight up SAI, because I am often lazy.

Time to come clean.
Heromachine 3. The same program I used for making the art for Abel and Mary. I use the 'background' section to give it a black backdrop, then head into the insignia section, find something that works, change the colors and size, and export it as a headshot. I'm still factoring in where step 4 (profit) comes in.

RWBY - Haze

Massive slumber party? Abel gulped slightly. He was rarely any good with people even in one-on-one circumstances; an entire ballroom's worth -and probably in their pajamas, nonetheless!- would present quite the challenge. Banishing his inane fears, he continued listening to the others. He tried to remain still while Maggie cantered around him, eying him up from head to toe. What a strange person. “I'm pretty hyped,” he ventured.

Abel followed Nevin's gaze into the crowd but, unlike him, he recognized no-one. Only the fleeing back of the long-haired coat-wearer, his staggered walk helping to distinguish him in a group, was familiar. “Sure, I'm up for exploring more before heading off to the ballroom. More exploring, I mean. “ His eyes discreetly roamed over Maggie's dark hair and white shoulders, returning her the favor of a quick examination. While not beautiful, this slightly crazy girl had a certain charm. Perhaps it was because he simply didn't know how to deal with her. “Where we headed?”

The Heroes of Beacon

In reply to Bridget, a loud exclamation best described as 'raaaagh!' sounded from the tree where Abel had situated himself. This articulation was followed by Abel himself, leaped straight from the branches down toward the Beowolves and his new partner. Having watched for a few moments while composing himself, he had found out that this girl -while incredibly acrobatic- really couldn't take a hit, so it was his job to do just that. In midair, he pivoted the Ampere so that the point faced down, and he landed with all one-hundred and sixty pounds on the Grimm that Bridget had stunned. The blade was driven through its black hide like a knife through butter, and the beast -like a water balloon poked with a needle- instantly vaporized into black smoke.

There was no time to waste, however. Two Beowolves remained, both of them on the other side of his teammate. Abel yanked his imbedded blade free of the ground and rushed past Bridget to place himself slightly in front of her. Faced with two warriors who had shredded their packmates in a matter of seconds, the two Beowolves still alive seemed reticent to attack. Clearly they were more intelligent than some of their more brutish brethren. One snarled gutturally, as if to say, 'We'll be back with more friends.' and the pair promptly cantered away into the forest.

“Ever heard of the phrase 'Mighty Glacier'? Anyway, that was pretty good. Wish I had your agility.”

A wiped a few spots of sooty ash from the Ampere's blade with his sleeve, making sure not to accidentally slide it against the edge. “Shall we?” Even though he suggested moving, he made no effort to start walking—he had quite forgotten which way he was supposed to be going. “Don't suppose you could lead?”

The Heroes of Beacon

No thanks; I'd rather make my own.




In order: Abel, Mary, Pan, Hansen, Gretchen, Paron.
Edit: Whoa, those pics were bigger than I thought.

If anyone else wanted me to do theirs, I could try those as well. I can't guarantee the same quality as Sho, but I can do it pretty quickly.

The Heroes of Beacon

Abel took an instinctive step backward. “Answers that,” he remarked, and considered joining his new partner in the trees. Her grappling hook trick had been neat, but wasn't something he could replicate. If this girl wanted to retreat and attack from afar, that sat fine with him. There would always need to be those at the front--the protectors.

The guardians.

Instead of fleeing into the scarlet grove, he hopped up onto the boulder upon which he had sharpened the Ampere. As he did so, he flicked his weapon's mechanism, and it transitioned smoothly into its staff form. From the high ground, he regarded the Beowolves, who were growling horribly as they fanned out to cut off as many routes of escape as possible. Standing sideways with the business end of the staff pointing outward, he waited until one Beowolf -the leader, judging by its size- came within twenty feet of him. Abel, having witnessed the Grimm from the walls of Vale for years, perceived its muscles tensing to spring.

When that happened, he allowed his pent-up semblance to surge through the Ampere. It erupted from the crystal at the staff's tip in a brilliant bolt of electricity, arcing between metal and monster instantly. Two hundred volts rippled through its body, causing its muscles to spasm and its lungs to constrict. In another split second, the lightning bolt was gone, and the pack leader lay still on the ground.

As the Beowolves howled in wrath, Abel swapped the Ampere back to its blade form, his face impassive. While his semblance was still capable of manipulating the polearm, he would need to wait a minute or two before he could use the lightning strike again. One of the other Beowolves pounced for him, but he brought the Ampere up in time for the beast's jaws to close around the metal pole rather than his throat. With a mighty heave he pivoted it down against the rock he stood on. With his weapon positioned awkwardly, he resorted to kicking it to encourage it to let go. The creature released its purchase and twisted away, trying to regain its footing. Abel took the opportunity to bend his knees and leap off the boulder toward the nearest tree. At the arc of his jump, he thrust the Ampere forward, and it lodged in the bark. Grunting, he pulled himself up onto a convenient branch. The jaws of the Beowolf he had defended against a snapped shut where he foot had been a second earlier.

“Hey,” he yelled at the leaves, oblivious to Bridget's exactly location. “I've got 'em distracted! Hit 'em with your scythe!” If she jumped from the canopy, he planned to drop down and join her in the melee.

Dungeon Keepers

Her human side is pretty much gone, relieving her of human fears and doubts and making her more unhinged. Let me add a compendium update.

The Heroes of Beacon

Bridget's jog came to an abrupt stop when her situational awareness picked up movement in the vicinity. Her semblance wasn't the only thing alerting her to the presence, however; from behind a copse of trees up ahead came the blood-curdling noise of steel scraping against stone.

---

Thirty seconds into his speedwalk in the general direction of the artifacts he was supposed to find, Abel realized that he hadn't checked to make sure that the Ampere was in top condition that morning. Cursing himself for failing to think about that -particularly since he had been so mind-numbingly idly on the airship ride here-, he brought his polearm close to his face for a quick inspection. Sure enough, the well-used blade sported a hint of grime and a less-than-ideal edge. A speedy pit stop was surely in order.

Abel scouted his surroundings until he found a suitable boulder in front of a bunch of strikingly scarlet trees. He hiked up the slight incline toward the rock and, once there, wiped the Ampere's blade against the grass to clean it before he set to sharpening it. As the steel first grated across the rock, Abel winced. The sound was sure to draw any students for hundreds of yards around and, almost certainly, bring a pack of vicious Grimm monsters straight toward him. Given the state of the Ampere, however, it was a necessary evil.

Only a few seconds before completing his routine, Abel was interrupted by the sound of swishing leaves directly ahead. He froze and scanned the trees for any sign of pitch-black fur or bony protrusion, muscles tense to spring back and point the newly-honed Ampere outward should a beast lunge for him.

Instead, a far more welcome sight greeted him. From between the russet-brown branches and vermillion fronds of the copse pushed a girl. Abel released his bated breath in a long sigh, even though the other students held in her hand a little chain scythe poised to attack. Clearly he wasn't the only one on edge. As he hoisted the Ampere onto his shoulder, he quickly sized up his soon-to-be partner. Her ultra-long hair, a very loud shade of cyan, stood out against the eternal autumn like a lump of coal in snow. After getting over that, he briefly took in her black cloak and pale skin before locking eyes with her. Abel felt her silvery eyes poring over him in the same way. Each felt it hard to believe that the total stranger they saw before them would become a friend, comrade, and teammate for the remainder of their days at Beacon.

“Well, I guess you'll do.” Abel broke the silence, trying to seem cheerful. “The name's Abel.” He made no move to shake, thinking that it might make out to be too keen.

Dungeon Keepers

Nona fell to her knees, whimpering. A blind, thoughtless fear consumed her. She was alone, helpless, without even the security of clothes. Simply being in the presence of Avak's manifestation was torture; when he spoke, spikes of suffering pierced her mind, causing agonizing pain.

The former Keeper took great pleasure in her torment. He approached, settling one colossal, pointed leg on the ivory-white ground of this plane one at a time. His leechlike mouth hung open, as if it were feasting on its victim's terror. After a few moments of this, the abominable being spoke again.

SEE HOW YOU COWER BEFORE ME? IT IS YOUR RIGHTFUL PLACE. YOU WERE NEVER MORE THAN A PAWN FOR ME, A MEANS OF RETURNING TO LIFE. YOU MIGHT HAVE FOOLISHLY THOUGHT YOURSELF IN CONTROL, BUT IT WAS I ALL ALONG. WHERE DID YOU THINK YOUR MAGIC CAME FROM?

Finally, the behemoth stood over the girl's body. It grabbed her with a single callous claw and lifted her up so that her last moments could be spent staring fixedly into his four cruel, vile green eyes. Up close Avak was even more hideous, and his telepathic influence all the more forceful, and Nona's mind was on the verge of shattering.

STUPID, TINY WORM. HOW DARE YOU THINK YOURSELF MY EQUAL—MY RIVAL. Each word was accentuated now, his reverberating, rattling voice dripping with contempt. YOU. DISGUST. ME.

The circle of fangs opened wide once more, and without any hesitation Avak's jaws snapped shut around Nona's upper body, severing it and swallowing it whole. He sneered and tossed the remainder of the corpse aside.

Avak then became aware that nothing was happening. The plane upon which he clung to life existed in the mind of the being called Clotho; with the death of her mind, he should have immediately awoken in control of her body. For the first time, an uneasiness came over the colossal insect, and after a brief bout of growling and hissing he settled down to ponder the situation. As he did so, he became aware of a slight noise. Further observation pinpointed the sound as a mad laugh—and coming from within him no less. As he irately considered the implications of this, the laughter grew steadily louder, until it was hard for the Swamp Keeper to think. A new ache began, but in his head now; as the laughter increased in intensity, the pain did as well. Finally it was so loud and so hurtful that he clasped his claws against his shelled head, wailing.

AAAAAAAAAAAAGH WHAT IS THIS MAGIC!? he shrieked, swaying back and forth on his crablike limbs.

A second voice came from within, barely audible through the mocking laughter. It was spiteful and terrifying, yet familiar. YOU CAN'T CONTROL ME.

The infinite whiteness in every direction began to collapse, and the bodies of the monster and the maiden swirled away into nothingness with them until all that remained was noise.

-=-=-

Wind whistled through the tears in the Heart Chamber's wall. Within, the Scorrow on the ground lay limp and still, yet alive. Next to her lay the body of a young woman, twenty years of age, wearing the clothes that had disappeared the day she had transformed.

Her eyes opened slowly, and she took her first breath. Her mouth twisted into a grim smile, and her eyes shone with yellow light. Clumsily but with determination the woman worked herself to her feet. She shambled toward her Heart, and fell into it. Around her the warm, soothing threads closed, wrapping around the human body more tightly than a clay mold.

A few minutes later she tore free of the cocoon and stepped out into the room's chilly, fresh air. Her avatar was more or less like the one that came before, with the exception of slightly improved armor and some green coloration. At that same time, the Scorrow regained consciousness to study the Keeper standing above her with bleary eyes.

“Are you free?”

Clotho looked down as if noticing the woman for the first time. She knelt, and as she did her new wings -four long, radiant ones, shiny green with yellow membrane- flared out into position. “Yes,” she whispered, a trace of throatiness in her voice. “The monster in my head is gone, and some of his power has fallen to me. Now I am nobody but me.”

The Scorrow breathed a raspy sigh. “I am glad.”

Clotho laughed maniacally. “You shouldn't be, scorps. The beast took poor little Nona away, and all that's rattling around up in here,” she flicked the side of her horned head, and her yellow eyes gleamed like stars, “is Clotho.”

Compendium Update
Clotho the Swarm Keeper - A low-born human girl called Nona was stung by an insect carrying the soul of a Keeper from an age long past, and the fusion of the two minds made her. A confrontation with the Keeper inhabiting her turned in her favor and has almost erased her human side. She is a tall, lithe physical fighter that prefers speed to brute strength and is a master of bugs. She is a foot taller than most men, with long arms and legs, and has a brown and green spiny, chitinous exoskeleton. Four gossamer rounded wings form into a cloak when not in use. A mohawk of sorts adorns her head, made of a rough, leathery material that resembles scales. Her favored weapon is a barbed sabre. Using the power from the Biomancers' Guild's amulet, she has improved armor and a needle-like protrusion from her arm called the Stinger. Her armor, though still slim and compact, was improved again following her experience with Avak. The Stinger is full of corrupted life magic, capable of injecting toxins as well as being a potent tool for exerting her will.