TaroAndSelia

✧ Talrae ✧ (LOOKING FOR CO-GM)

Health: 300/500
Mana: 1128/1600

Attributes

Strength: 2
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 18

Skills

Linguistics: 14
Unarmed Combat: 30

Items

Cloth Armor
Cloak
Air-Walker’s Sandals - Grants user the ability to take up to 5 steps in the air.
Clothes (Cheap)

Reylan's order was to attack the boss. Truthfully, Alisea had some sharp misgivings about that. She wasn't sure how many other people had heard him, but Herald had just announced a violent distaste for magic users. Given where she was at, Alisea wasn't eager to draw his attention.

She wasn't eager to have yet another new face, either. Especially not such a noisy one. But the girl(?)'s antics did present a smooth chance to opt out of going after Herald just yet. When Lahariel--already closer to the front line than a typical mage--began a dark magic spell, Alisea caught on to her intention. It was a crazy intention--but in the best way possible. Sure enough, the newcomer tugged her prey a few steps closer and took a swing with an axe. Then she pushed him off again.

Alisea was ready. At the same time Lahariel cast Nether Push Alisea invoked Nether Pull. The wolf veritably flew over the ground, never a chance to regain his footing. As he reached Alisea she cast Ice Lance and shoved both hands into his body. Ecstasy flowed up her arms as the ice pierced the beast's hide. She smiled a sincere smile that tugged just the corners of her lips up. She met its eyes and let it see the ice in her gaze. 'Howl for me,' she thought, giving the icicle buried in its stomach a twist before it disappeared. Drawing back her right hand, Alisea struck the wolfkin with a Palm Strike and a Stunning Punch in rapid succession, savoring the sensation of impact with each blow.

Whatever repercussions she faced for drawing the wolf close, Alisea had no complaint. Chari had the right idea; battles weren't meant to be sober. Even now she was unrepentant; rather than step back from the wolf, Alisea began invoking Fire Burst. From this close, she couldn't miss. In stark contrast to the noisesome, white-haired mage, Alisea didn't say a word. Her thoughts remained unvocalized, but her grin said much. 'You hold us captive?' she thought derisively. Alisea wasn't sure if what she was feeling was anger at their hubris or pity for their ignorance; in either case, the wolf was a prime target. And after that, the boss it died serving was the next candidate.

And the last of her first set of spells had just finished its cooldown. Alisea's grin deepened.

---

Summary:
Nether Pull on Wolfkin Guard 1 (chained off Lahariel's Nether Push)
Icicle Lance on Wolfkin Guard 1
Palm Strike
Stunning Punch
(suffer retaliation if that wasn't enough to incapacitate the wolf)
Fire Burst on Wolfkin Guard 1('s corpse if others have contributed damage)

✧ Talrae ✧ (LOOKING FOR CO-GM)

Health: 300/500
Mana: 1368/1600

Level 5 Mage

Attributes
Strength: 2
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 18

Skills:
Acupuncture: 4
Linguistics: 14
Smithing: 9
Unarmed Combat: 30

Equipment:
Cloth Armor
Cloak
Air-Walker’s Sandals - Grants user the ability to take up to 5 steps in the air.
Clothes (Cheap)
Wooden Talisman

---

While the first visit to the dungeon had been a disappointment, this raid was glorious. As they explored each new area and fought each new wave of wolves, Alisea grew more and more excited. Thus far she had maintained her outward composure, but with each battle her urgency to move to the next had grown. Not even the appearance of the two strangers and the brutality of their psychopath was enough to damper her excitement now. Near now to the final area, as Karma gathered the party for a mass heal in preparation, Alisea pulled out her talisman to replenish her all-but-depleted mana. Even keeping up on her Chakra Magic had barely brought her this far. And she had relished every spell cast on their enemies along the way.

Now prepared, the party followed Reylan into their final battle, an impatient Alisea right on his heel. They were met by three wolves. Wolf-kin, rather; they were bipedal, though the magess didn’t doubt they could move frighteningly swift were they to drop to all four legs. Even more interesting, though, was that they spoke. A flash of fascination flew to Alisea’s eyes, but was quickly tempered by the knowledge she wouldn’t have a great deal of time to study this.

A tremendous roar cut the thought off entirely. Ice raced through Alisea’s body, reaching into her very core with such intensity it burned. For a moment she dared not move; shivers shook her frame. Once the damage was done and the effect passed, a burning anger replaced the chill. ’How dare you.’ Her eyes narrowed in a glare just as cold as the spell the lycan had cast. ’How dare you utter such absurdities. How dare you challenge me. Us.

Reylan was giving orders. Everyone was jumping to it readily, dividing off this way and that. Alisea’s were simple: destroy the wolf to the right. But before that, she had a bone to pick. ”Someone must learn to keep his mouth shut,” Alisea spat, conjuring a Frost Bite. If he liked ice so much, surely he would like this one. She projected her magic straight at his grinning maw, trying to force the ice into his jaw.

Either her spell did nothing, or the wolf had so many hitpoints the effect wasn’t visible; either way, his health bar didn’t move a millimeter. Alisea felt a little better for having done it, though, and now her task was to unleash every fury she held upon her designated minion.

Paralyze had already waded in, his terrific mace flying with abandon. Shiba was circling wide, letting the marauder take the brunt. That Alisea could agree with; she herself stayed several strides back, and the more hits their psychopath took, the merrier. She had a brief internal debate about which she should help: Paralyze, or the wolf. But a desire to clear the dungeon won out, and she summoned first ice, then fire to her hands.

”Do try not to get hit,” Alisea whispered, far too quietly for the marauder to actually hear her. Her magic plunged in, then Shiba, then a spell again—all the while Paralyze slugging away, seeming happy to trade blow for blow.

---

Summary:
Cast Frost Bite on Fenrir’s Herald
Cast Icicle Shot at Wolfkin Guard 2
Cast Fire Strike at Wolfkin Guard 2
Cast Chakra Magic on Alisea

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

So... There is magic in this world. Would that mean there are magic creatures? I understand that heading covers a wide bracket: there might be some monsters that have an inherent ability to use small forms of magic (a troll's regeneration, say); there will be some that simply evolved in a magically-charged environment and so have unexpected features (like gryphons, for example); and there could even be a few extreme cases of monsters that melded with the magic and discarded their physical form altogether (such as ghosts or other spirits).

In that vein of thought, would it be fair to say a night outside a city has more dangers than the African Savanna? Or is this area civilized enough that most of those monsters stay far away? I realize this is a big question; if people still live in fear of monsters, they aren't truly masters of the world. But that may only be in the small villages here on the outskirts where the church doesn't care enough to do anything to help. On the other hand, if monsters have almost entirely been driven out of or extinct in the nation's borders, the people will indeed rejoice in their church and feel no need to rely on Magi anymore. The story will have more difficulty finding dangerous scenarios between cities, but the culture will be more prone to infighting.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

Sounds exciting. Can I charm you into revealing any teasers?

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

Name: Freya Cattail
Race: Muran
Age: 26

Appearance: Freya stands at 5' 2", small and light. She has hazel eyes and a bright smile. Dirty-blonde hair hangs down to her shoulders, often pulled back into a ponytail to be out of the way. Her clothing is very plain: she'll usually wear a simple, modest dress made of cotton, her favorite being of a soft blue hue and without design or ornamentation; as the weather turns cold, she'll switch to a wool dress.

picture

Magic: Sensing, coupled with amplification or interference. Aunt Helen also shared her knowledge of wood magic--enough for Freya to have a green thumb but still be inconspicuous.

Sensing - reading the flow of magic in the world. Every form of life has a flow, that is, its own connection to the magic in the world. Freya has been taught how to identify organisms through the magic--up to a certain range, irrespective of physical barriers such as walls.

Amplification - though she hasn’t learned many spells of her own, Freya knows how to channel her flow into that of another, enabling them to cast stronger spells.

Interference - conversely, she can channel her flow against that of another, weakening the spell or even cancelling it if it was comparatively weak to begin with.

Green Thumb - Freya is good with plants. She can spot disease, and often cure it; and she knows how to give plants a little push in their growth.

Gear:
Traveling Staff - a sturdy, straight stick of yew, wrapped in leather at the middle and capped with steel weights at both ends. Freya uses it interchangeably (and proficiently) as a walking stick and a weapon.
Traveler’s Pack - A leather bag with shoulder straps and a sash that ties around the waist to keep it in place. It has good volume, as Freya essentially lives out of this bag while traveling from one town to the next. Currently it contains:
two changes of clothes
a lightweight pot
a canteen
a compass and map
soap
two candles
a half-filled notebook and three pencils
two apples and a loaf of bread.
a small spray bottle filled with concentrated Donotate juice--pepper spray, essentially.

Brief History:

A short time ago

”Aunt Helen! I’m home from the market!” Freya called happily into the small cottage.

“Oh?” called a voice from the small kitchen. Soon the owner of that voice appeared--Aunt Helen, the woman who had raised Freya. Her features were sharp and graceful, a proud reflection of her Ydran mother. From her Muran father--Freya’s Great Uncle--she had inherited straight hair as black as the raven. Even past her fiftieth birthday, Helen was beautiful. Freya had always thought so.

”They just received a new shipment of medicines from the capital, so nobody offered much for the herbs. I sold only enough to buy the flour and butter.” So saying, Freya untied the sash around her waist and slipped the pack from her shoulders. First she handed a small box containing the butter to her Aunt, then she heaved a twenty pound bag of flour out to carry herself.

“Goodness, dear. Did you walk all the way back with that on your shoulders?”

”Yes? I’ve carried a lot more than this between towns, Auntie; just coming back from the market is nothing compared to the three days to Crevice.”

“Young people have so much energy. You will make a wonderful wife, I’m sure!”

Color pressed itself into Freya’s cheeks. ”I don’t… I’m not… Not right now, Aunt Helen! I don’t have anyone like that!”

“No one? But you’ve been to so many different villages, I thought for sure you would have seen a man that caught your fancy.”

”Nope,” Freya denied, adding a small ‘hmph.’ ”None of them. I’m going to live with Aunt Helen forever.”

A moment of silence passed as Freya watched her Aunt. Helen was staring at her, her eyes full of.... What? What was that expression? “You know you can’t stay here with me forever, Freya. You’re young; you still have a long future ahead of you. I promised your parents I would care for you, raise you up to be a fine young woman. Now you are, so it’s time you decided where you will go from here.”

Freya bowed her head. ”I… I know that. But for right now-!”

Helen smiled. “For right now, we’ll make dinner. After, you can show me how much you practiced while you were away.”

* * * * * * *

Freya sat cross-legged on a stump, her hands resting calmly on her knees, fingers lightly gripping the fabric of her skirt. Eyes shut, muscles relaxed, she drew slow, deep breaths. Physical senses faded away until Freya was observing the world only through her magic.

And what a wondrous world it was! Rivers of energy flowed beneath, circling the earth in an endless round. The tree roots tapped into it, diverting the life-flow, drawing strength into themselves. The ferns, the grass, the moss--each in turn drew on the energy of their mother earth to continue their growth.

Swarming around those tranquil streams were thousands of pinpoints of charged energy. Some crawled along surfaces; some buzzed through the air around; some even burrowed deep inside. All of these insects, in one way or another, were drawing their energy from the plants they gathered to. It wasn’t quite the same as the flow the plants held; rather, each was its own small cycle charged with energy, only appearing to interact with the main flow at certain times--sometimes packing energy into their tiny forms, sometimes releasing their seemingly overcharged magic back into the world.

So often Freya watched this beautiful world. She saw it as an elegant dance, connecting each life back to its mother earth. The insects, their small forms bursting with energy; the plants and their small, serene flows; the soil, housing a current as strong as life itself. And atop it all sat the forms of two humans, each so filled with magic that even by proportion the insects could not compare.

This was where Freya saw her aunt as most beautiful. The woman’s presence radiated with energy, with vitality--so much so that her very presence glowed in Freya’s mind. And despite the intensity of the life in her, Aunt Helen’s flow was the definition of tranquility. Hips, navel, chest, throat, head, and sky--her magic flowed continuously, unperturbed, unbroken, filling her with such life and majesty that Freya felt she was gazing upon a queen.

Then that flow began to move. To change. It shifted, swayed, gathered a tremendous energy from in and around her body to her chest, then burst forth all at once. Freya mentally reached out to the magic, pushing it, diverting it, pulling some of it away and into her own stream. She worked as quickly and efficiently as she could so that, by the time the conjured wind swept over her, what had been a powerful blast to knock Freya from her perch was only a strong wind, whipping her hair and pressing her gown against her.

“You’ve grown so much,” Aunt Helen commended. “I can still remember you as a young girl falling of that stump time and again.”

”I have the world’s greatest teacher,” Freya answered modestly. She knew her own magic wasn’t half as powerful as her aunt’s. Doing even this much had taken two decades of practice and learning.

“You and your flattery. If Baldur hadn’t his own child to care for, I would send you to him to learn. I can show you the Current, but I have nothing more to share than remedies for plants.”

“But those are all I need, Auntie. If I learned any larger spells, they would be noticable. The Church would-”

Aunt Helen cut her off with a sigh. “The church would hire you as an apothecary. I still wish you would at least consider it. For your safety and my sanity.”

Freya pouted and looked away. ”I won’t do anything those heretics tell me to.”

Helen clapped a hand over her face. “You’ll break my heart, dear. I tremble now when I think about what I have taught you. We can’t speak so critically of the Church.”

”But it’s true! And nobody is here to listen anyway.”

“I want to see you find happiness, Freya. Marry a good man, raise a family, live in peace. Trying to rebel against the Church will ruin all of that. Please, just keep yourself safe.”

”Even though what they do is wrong?”

“The Current will reward every man his due; Mother Earth will see to that. You focus on doing what is right--not on what someone else is doing wrong.”

* * * * * * *

Freya was seething, but she held it in long enough to march home and slam the door shut behind her. ”UGH! That damnable preacher! May his flow be scattered and rejected by our Mother!” she screamed at the room.

“FREYA!” Helen called from her bedroom. “You should never wish such a curse on any man!”

”But he stands at the pulpit and screams hate!” Freya protested, stomping to her aunt’s bedside. ”What have we ever done that people should hate us? Despise us? You’ve only ever tried to help the people--and Baldur and Amira, as well!”

Helen reached out and cradled Freya’s cheek in her hand, wiping a tear away with her thumb. “I know, dear. I know. And I have tried to show that to everyone--to George and Amanda, to Hans and Vivian, even to Byron and his mother. We can’t expect people to think well of Magi if we scream hate back.”

”But it’s not right!” Freya protested, breaking down into small sobs. ”You do so much--for me, for them! He can’t-! Say those things!”

Helen leaned forward and reached her arms around her beloved niece. “I know,” she cooed soothingly, holding Freya tight. “I know.” They stayed like that for some time, until Freya’s tears slowed. “Freya, I want you to remember: I’ve never worried what others may say about me. Just knowing my Freya loves me this much, that’s more than I could ever have asked for.”

Freya nodded weakly. Wiping away the tear streaks on her cheeks, she smiled at her cherished aunt. ”Sorry, Aunt Helen. I should be taking care of you right now, not the other way. Are you feeling better?”

“Much better than last night,” Helen answered readily. “The fever broke quickly; you should thank Amira for me next time you go into town.”

”I will, for both of us.”

Helen opened her mouth, but hesitated a moment. Freya cocked her head to the side. ”Auntie?”

“I should be all better by this afternoon. It’s time you started toward Ridcully.”

”Are you sure? I might be gone for a month; waiting two more days won’t cause any harm.”

“Oh, posh, child. I’m certainly able to care for myself. There are people out there who need you more than I right now. Come; let’s pack your bag and set you on the road.”

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

Don't be silly, Shy; you could pop 'em out all season.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

That's a cynical, miserable way to view life Kent has. He have a vendetta against Rosemary and Sage?

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

@shylarah *waves back* Good to see you, too, Shy. One, because you're awesome. Two, because while reading the premise I felt excited and drawn in, and seeing you here means I have good taste. I need that assurance sometimes.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

Howdy, howdy! And a happy holiday season to all. By way of introduction, please call me Taro--unless you prefer giving me a nickname to go by. Nicknames are cool. Like this RP. Can I join?

I beg your pardon, but I had a few questions I wanted to ask.
1) Do you have an approximate timeframe for events? How many years have Hunters been active now? It sounded fairly recent, particularly on the fringes of the kingdom.
2) When you say Magic is fading, do you mean that magic is weakening (the power is lessening)? Or do you mean its place in society is dwindling?
3) Are you concerned with gender balance? I can see Freya fitting really well into this party--especially if Adrian(na) could be persuaded to take her on as an apprentice healer--but if Ethan needs a bro, I have a Divined in mind.
4) Do all the races have approximately equal life expectancy?
5) What is the monetary system?

More might be pending as I keep filling out a sheet. Thanks for reading this far. I promise, I cause most of my trouble right at the start like this. If you'll have me anyway, I would like to join in with you all.

✧ Talrae ✧ (LOOKING FOR CO-GM)

Health: 400/400
Mana: 1250/1600

Level 2 Mage

Attributes
Strength: 2
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 18

Skills:
Acupuncture: 4
Linguistics: 14
Smithing: 9
Unarmed Combat: 30

Equipment:
Cloth Armor
Cloak
Air-Walker’s Sandals - Grants user the ability to take up to 5 steps in the air.
Clothes (Cheap)
Wooden Talisman

---

Alisea waited for Reylan to finish issuing orders before speaking up. "Reylan," she stated firmly to draw his--and the others--attention. Catching him by his arm yet again, she lead him away from the group. "A word please?" The magess guided their guildmaster back to the entrance, out of earshot of the rest of the party.

Reylan turned his attention to Alisea, a faint smile on his face "Yes?" Silver-eyes looked at her expectantly, offering no resistance when she took his arm and pulled him away. From her tone, he knew it had to be serious.

"Paralyze is a psychopath," she averred in a harsh whisper, wasting neither time nor tact.

Reylan winced at her straight-forward statement "I know. He's carrying one dangerous demon." He reluctantly said, "What do you suppose we do?"

"We never speak with him to begin with," Alisea answered, then sighed in resignation. "The only safe option is passed. The last thing we want is to cut him loose, then have him come back swearing revenge." Alisea fell silent a moment to think over possible courses. "I see two options: if he proves passive toward players, we can use him against the mobs. In that case he stays, but somebody keeps an eye on him."

Reylan sadly nodded in silence, there was little he knew about Paralyze. He wanted to trust that Paralyze wouldn't do such a thing but he was left unsure, and he had to protects everyone. His brows were furrowed in deep concentration as he listened without a word until at last he spoke "He has helped us so far." Reylan stated firmly hoping that one day Paralyze could confide in him. "and the second option?" he asked.

Alisea gave Reylan a hard stare. Her eyes held no more mercy than a butcher eyeing cattle. Though she didn’t say a word, the message was clear. Reylan felt nothing short of the wrath of god in her stare, a cold shiver going down his spine. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that. "We keep ourselves sa-"

"Uh hi, my name is Shiba."

Alisea just about jumped out of her skin. What had a moment ago seemed only hills and shadows cast by the sun had spat out a man. Both of Alisea's hands came up and she was ready to burn his hide before she even noticed him raising his hands in a show of peace. "Don't attack me I can't stress that enough. I accidently came in with you and I wanted to see if you were accepting new members?"

The magess was still shocked; now she had to add disbelief. Her mind raced as she tried to decide if that was a lie, if it was plausible, if it was even possible to 'accidentally' join a dungeon raid without being a party member--nevermind the six hours he must have been following them to be at that entrance. The only certainty Alisea had about this man was that he had not, despite their unguarded state, attacked Reylan and herself. But if he had been meaning to, and thus been 'accidentally' identified by the system as being a part of their party...

It was Reylan who spoke first. His heart nearly forced its way into his throat and body jolting at Shiba's sudden appearance, though he didn't draw a weapon like his companion. After he spoke and a few deep breaths, Reylan was ready to reply "We are but we're kinda in the middle of a dungeon. Since you're already here, why not help us out? If you do well, I'll have no problems with you joining the Legion of the Wolf." Reylan spoke happily disguising his suspicion.

A spark of inspiration struck Alisea. She lowered her hands and placed a smile on her face. "My, this game is full of surprises. Yes, please join us, Shiba. Reylan can set you up with a position in the formation and a buddy," Alisea turned to face Reylan as she finished, "because nobody should be alone while on an expedition." She paused a moment to be sure the Guildmaster would know those words were for him far more than for Shiba. "You can pair up with a marauder so you can watch his back and be his damage-dealer." she explained, turning back to the rogue.

"With that said, I need to catch up to Chari. Reylan will introduce you to the others." Alisea turned to go, but paused to say something more to Reylan. "We can finish that business later. Keep an eye on Aster for me," the magess concluded with a wink.

Leaving Reylan to handle the newcomer, Alisea slipped past the party and joined up beside Chari. "That looked like a wonderful ride--though you may consider conserving some mana for later," she joked in a friendly tone. Reaching out, Alisea rested one hand briefly on the rogue's shoulder. "Chakra Magic," she commanded, restoring 18 MP to her. The magess lowered her hand. "That will cool down in a few minutes; then I can cast it again. For now we should scout the side path." It wasn't what Reylan had ordered before, but Alisea just brushed that off with a smile. "No going off alone in a dungeon. You have to bring me with you," she explained.

_{@Ithradine@Jangel13@Haruhi43}