Don't overestimate the budget of a 'local gang' - it's highly unlikely that they could afford an Arms Master that could do what you're describing. It's far more likely that they would have low-end Arms Masters of their own. Also, there's law enforcement to consider. If some local gang of ruffians have Arms Masters, then what would the police have?
In the end, most Arms Masters that have Noble Arms that are worthy of note (i.e, destructive, capable of mass destruction) would rather avoid using their powers so conspicuously.
Noble Arms. A mysterious power that surfaced during the twilight of World War II - a fact that even today have made many sigh in relief; for the power that Noble Arms lent to its master would have undoubtedly made the already destructive conflict so much more terrible. At present time, institutions have been founded in order to control the rapidly surfacing ability to summon powerful weapons - weapons that could, to the bafflement of scientists today, disregard the laws of physics.
Noble Arms are tools that are innate in the users mind, and summoned by their will into reality. For reasons that still cannot be explained despite years of research, Noble Arms only take the form of weapons from before the First World War, however, despite the antiquity of these forms, the power they bare to the battlefield is unlike anything modern technology has been able to produce.
The ability to manipulate the elements to the users will.
Force that can reduce matter down to atoms in seconds.
The strength to withstand the explosion of a nuclear missile.
All of these powers and more still have surfaced along side Noble Arms, and the ones who bare them, the Arms Masters, are sought after by countries all around the world. Where once the strength of a country was decided by the technological strength of their Army, it is now judge by the power of their Arms Masters.
It is now 2015, and the tradition of Arms Masters has been deeply established in society. There are academy's, school's, and programs dedicated to advancing the abilities of Arms Masters for the sake of their country. Truly, there can be no doubt as to the influence that Arms Masters and Noble Arms holds in today's generation.
Focus now on the Trinidad Noble Arms Academy; based in the Philippines, Trinidad is an international school known for its low standards and high graduation rate. It is a school that produces second-rate and mediocre Arms Masters, with no notable achievements save one: it was the Academy that produced the Hero of 1987, Angelito Jaime who single-handedly ended the war between the ASEAN member nations and China before it had even begun.
Now, though its reputation is tattered and its results unspectacular, Trinidad remains a highly populated Academy, boasting of a population of over 2000 students. This is due in part, to Trinidad's unique scholarship system that allows the lower class, who normally are unable to enroll in an Arms Masters Academy, to enroll. However, this year, things have changed; the director had suddenly passed-away, and another one has taken his place. This Director is driven, determined, and powerful. He has announced that he would be remaking the Academy into a first-rate producer of Arms Masters around the world, and he would take that first step by announcing the schools participation in the Noble Arms Summit - an international meet for all Arms Masters, and the main event is the Noble Arms Summit Student Tournament. The Director will achieve this goal by all means; even if it means culling down hundreds of incapable students.
What path will you take on the dawn of this sudden revolution?
Noble Arms: Noble Arms take the form of weaponry that were created before World War I; each Noble Arm posses powerful abilities beyond normal human capacity, however they can only be used if they are released into reality by their user. Noble Arms exist in a kind of 'hyperspace' that is unique to its user and can be called from there - in essence, an Arms Master is always armed. Noble Arms have an astonishingly versatile ability pool, from calling down fire, to strengthening the body, etc., and more often than not, possess more than one ability. However, similar to physical activity, using a Noble Arm is draining physically and moreso mentally - extended use of ability is much akin to overexerting yourself on both fronts, and as such, so much more fatal to overdo.
Noble Arm Ratings: Noble Arms are rated according to how valuable they are, and that value is determined using to factors: Rarity of effect, and military usage. The strength of a Noble Arm is thus determined by how many military and police countermeasures are in place. The rankings go from F to A. There exist Noble Arms that change strength depending on the situation, and are added with the additional "+" symbol.
Examples of determining rank and its effects is:
A Noble Arm Capable of strengthening its user is common, and can easily be countered by police officers with proper ordinance, and thus, merits an E rank, its user is not notable to the government and subsequently ignored.
On the other hand, a Noble Arm capable creating explosions in the atmosphere is uncommon and dangerous, as such, the user must undergo a government registration form and placed under mild scrutiny. The Noble Arm in question will merit a C or B rank.
Finally, there are Noble Arms that can achieve effects akin to nuclear explosions. Such Noble Arms are both rare and extremely dangerous to countries at large. Its user will be under constant surveillance and limits will be placed on the usage of their Noble Arm. Such Noble Arms are always rated A.
Trinidad Academy
Trinidad Academy is located in the Philippines, near the coast of Manila. It's funded by several important banks and a few military organizations and as such, its curriculum matches that of its investors. In this sense, Trinidad is both a school and a military academy. While the students are generally treated as normal students, those in the 11th and 12th grade go through the C.A.T - Citizen Army Training. While this is mandatory in most schools, for Trinidad which is an Academy backed by the military and the country's prime educational facility for Arms Masters, the military has a direct hand in the CAT's.
The academy has a myriad of high-tech facilities available to its students. Most can only be used during classes and can only be used outside of them if for club activities and with the permission of the director, or otherwise if reservations were made - however, reservations cost per-hour of use, making it a non-option for most students.
The Academy uses a ranking system that works on two fronts: 40% on your academics, 40% on your Noble Arms testing grades, 10% conduct, and 10% on honors brought to the academy. Students that enter the top 50 in rankings are given scholarships that include discounts to the school cafeteria and facilities, and a 40% cut of their tuition. Students in the top 20 are given more benefits, such as consideration for special trips - such as overseas training or special vacation spots courtesy of the schools backers - and a 50% cut in their tuition fee. Students in the top 5 have a 100% discount on tuition, a stipend of 5000 PHP (roughly 105 USD) every month, and free use of the schools facilities, however permission is still needed from the director, given reservations in several special training programs - some of them overseas - and vacation spots. Lastly they are exempt from being late for regular classes so long as they remain in the top 5.
Student rankings are evaluated every end of semester, with the first semester rankings being determined by the last semester of the previous years rankings. This system has been in effect since the schools inception, and the new Director plans to take full advantage of it - particularly, by increasing the number of incentives given and increasing the standards of the ranking evaluations.
The Academy has dorms that can be rented for roughly 5000 php per month.
The greatest gathering of Arms Masters in the world. Taking place only once every two years over a period of one week, the Noble Arms Summit is both a show of force and a sharing of information and abilities of Noble Arms, and is meant to progress research into the mysterious power. While older Arms Masters generally attend the summit in order to scout out potential apprentices and to update themselves on current developments, students that attend are generally only here for one thing: The Noble Arms Summit Student Tournament. The tournament is the Summit's main event and draws the eyes of the whole world. Winners of the tournament are the prime targets of sponsors, advertisement and admiration; they are practically guaranteed a good life. Eligible participants of this tournament are those in the seventh grade to college students up to the 3rd year only.
The tournament is split into two divisions: Team and Individual. Participants in the Individual Division can participate in the Team Division, however, most schools avoid doing this and usually choose to focus on one division. The require number of students in the team division is 6, and the total number of Arms Masters a school can choose to represent their school is eight. Also, there can only be 3 participant schools per country, meaning that unless a certain standard has been met, as long as those standards have not been reached, a school will not even be considered by the government body of that country.
The current Individual's champion is the USA's Joshua Bannings, and the current runner-up is China's Cuifen Jiang-yi. The current champion of the team division is Japan's Shin-Sakura Gakuen, with its captain Tomoyo Sakuragi being a previous Individual Champion three years ago.
An organization bent on pushing the importance of Noble Arms and Arms Masters, and is the chief backer of their rights globally. Many of its supporters are wealthy and well known, however, they often face strong opposition from non-Arms Masters due to the agenda's they push and the number of benefits they desire for Arms Masters.
An organization determined to limit the use of Noble Arms and the suppression of Arms Masters. Their main goal is to abolish schools and facilities dedicated to Noble Arms and to limit the occupation of Arms Masters to the military only. Often, they are supported by many labor unions and social media outlets.
A terrorist organization bent on creating a world were Arms Masters are the rulers. Their ideology is that Arms Masters are not, in fact, human, but a new superior race that deserves to be in power. Current number of members is unknown, however they have 2 confirmed A ranked Arms Masters in their ranks, a fact that worries many countries.
A terrorist organization bent on erasing or otherwise oppressing Arms Masters. Their ideology is that Arms Masters are not, in fact, human, but a race of monsters born with nothing but the ability to bring misery and destruction and as such must be culled or otherwise strictly controlled. A cause that many have joined and more have supported, and because of the support they have garnered from the masses, they are able to move through countries and city with relative ease.
[center][b]Appearance:[/b] (Picture preferred, although written descriptions are good too. Also, please included miscellaneous information such as height and weight.)[/center]
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[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Nationality:[/b]
[b]Noble Arm Name & Appearance:[/b]
[b]Noble Arm Abilities:[/b] (No maximum number, however, try and be sensible about this. Just because you [i]can[/i] doesn't mean you [i]should[/i], also be as detailed as you can, especially on its strengths, weaknesses and effects)
"In a few days time, evening in the Whompping Willow," answered Karen easily, "and they ought to know that no movement can last very long with only Purebloods. After all, Half-bloods make up more than half the population of magical Britain. If they truly have the mind to discard people like us, then they are much, much more foolish than I suspected."
Watching Elliot stand up, Karen smiled and shook her head. "You go on ahead, I think I'll be taking a short walk around the grounds." It was nearly ritual for her to take walks besides the lake, maybe go for a skinny-dip if she was so-inclined. It was too early for that now, though.
So she watched him leave and spent a few more minutes in the Great Hall, before leaving herself for the grounds after dark.
Aah, Defense Against the Dark Arts, one of Karen's premier classes. When they had something to do of course. Sometimes Karen found herself spending an hour doing nothing whenever Belfree got on one of his unusual tangents. Thankfully, the class for today seemed to have been planned out.
Well, she'd see how long that would last. Plans and outcomes generally don't match well with each other, especially in a classroom. Seeing as the lesson had yet to begin and quite a few people were still not present, she decided to offer a quick prayer for the day. Clutching the rosary hanging from around her neck, she closed her eyes and tuned out the mundane sounds around her, in favor of her inner voice offered in worship to the Lord.
Most would see this as unusual, but then again, how many people would be paying attention to her anyway? Besides, while it may have been unusual to those that did not know her, it was nothing new to those that did -- and many of them also knew that trying to disrupt her in a rude manner would end up terribly for them in the long-run.
"I won't dissuade you from going," said Karen, "but if there's one piece of advice I think I can give, it's to listen to what they have to say. If in fact, their message is just and true, then by all means, I encourage you to join them. The opposite also holds true; if it turns out that they're nothing more than delinquents and radicals, the turn your head away from them."
The Cloaks, despite their infamy, were still a relatively mysterious group. The things they stood for, while clear on paper, were actually vague when put under scrutiny. Perhaps there was a ring of truth to their cause, and perhaps it might even be for the betterment of society that their strength grows. Karen didn't know. What she did know however . . .
"I will be doing the same, but not after I properly chastise them for their inexcusable conduct on the train," she said, her calm demeanor belying the vicious glint that shown in her eyes at the word "chastise", "to say I was not impressed is an understatement of the greatest measure."
Pausing her little rant for another bite, Karen sighed. She was probably going to hold on to this annoyance on her chest until she met the Cloaks in person.
Looking at Elliot, Karen said with a smile: "Of course, I hope you'll inform me of your decision when the time comes. I rather like knowing where my friends stand on the ideological scale.."
Nic returned her blank stare with one of his own and held that expression for a considerable amount of time. Then, his face split into a grin, and he began laughing.
"Pft, hahahaha!" he said, his hands dropping to his sides. Staring at her incredulously, Nicodemus said, "Hahaha, that was hilarious. People like you are way too easy to read. You said exactly what I predicted you would say, in the same manner I thought you'd say it, and all because I was twirling a crowbar." He couldn't help laughing. She was just acting so serious, despite sounding exactly like petulant child that was trying to justify its mischief.
Shaking his head, Nic smirked, a little triumphant. "Calm down. I know exactly why you did that, and my "girlfriend" is fine, so I've got nothing against you." He stretched out his hand as a greeting. "I just came here to welcome you to the pack, for however long that's gonna be, anyway."
In the distance, Nic heard Nikki and frowned. He'd have to get on that soon. He wasn't even sure if they had antibiotics, and Moses and the others haven't returned from the pharmacy yet. -- @Wick
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