Vanq

Staring Back With Chrome Eyes [Vanq x HeySeuss]

She had thought it would feel great too. Now, as she sat in the cafeteria, picking at the nearly untouched food in front of her, with the news blaring, it didn't feel so good. It hadn't felt so good in the moment either. Thinking it would end without so much bloodshet had been a foolish thought on her part. So far, she had kept it together, in line with the rest of her team. Saria had never been one prone to long fits of despair, she buried it, turned it into fuel for rage.

At least the girl was alive, that was something. Perhaps this Christine Haynes or her family would not think so at the moment, but life was a success. The endless images of the deputies, the outpouring of anger at those who hadn't taken their lives, it was like daggers. How often had she felt the same for hunters whose lives were lost or those of the innocents taken as game.

It was hard to meet Marco's eyes. She did not want her resolve to appear weak as it was. "It did at first, at least." She paused, forehead creasing. "We proved...we proved the impossible. We got revenge." But. Marco's words hung heavily, the sentiment he chose to leave unsaid. "We will find a better way." If not for morality's sake, having to take out groups of thralls would not be tactically sound. Which reason the others chose to find a better way would be their own. Saria struggled to justify it, her life in danger against foes who did not choose their violent bindings. And she thought of Nima, if she was an Eternal, like Saria so absolutely believed, she had not chosen that fate either.

She cleared her throat, willing her tension away. "So what now? Do we get any rest before the rest of hell breaks loose?" Her half smile faltered, they had started a long road. Rest was, luckily, not something their bodies required as much of anymore.

-----

"It's impossible. Surely this was a rival staking a claim."

Far from Tennessee, a couple argued. "Don't be ridiculous. You may not have been one of us long, but have you ever seen a territory dispute leave such a mess in its wake?"

The man was tall, muscular, and very angry. His normally meticulously groomed hair was astray, his meticulous clothing, disheveled. The woman, his companion, positioned herself on the far side of the room. Tall and trim, her body's curves and perfect face had secured her fate. She had been with Paul for several years now. She had never heard him speak such nonsense.

"But-"

"No, our orders are final. We will look into this further, and you are essential to this matter. You came from a family of hunters, if there was information you kept from us during your...initiation, now would be the time to share it." Paul lunged from his chair and was upon the female in moments, her skin giving in to his grasp. He had chosen her, he had wanted her and claimed her. She had been his since the day she was taken. He had molded her, shaped her in her new life.

Nima blinked once, slowly. "There is no way in hell that even a large group of hunters would have been able to take on three of us. Especially not one as old as Giorgio." She cut him off before he could lash out further. "But of course, I will lend my expertise on resolving this."

Paul's grip relaxed. "We leave tonight."

@heyseuss

Abaddon - Apoc Mystery/Drama

A Prologue

X

I was in line at the bank. Three people ahead of me, the tellers behind their protective glass windows. I wasn’t in the best part of town, then again, I rarely was. The economy was bad, I was stuck in the ghetto working a shit job for shit pay. Some weeks it seemed like it’d be easier to not pay the gas to drive to work, to just sit home and collect welfare. But I couldn’t. So there I was, standing in line, waiting to cash my meager check and knowing they’d tell me I’d have to deposit it since I didn’t have enough in my account to cover it.

I’d give anything to be back in that line, awaiting my known fate. Anything.

Chaos broke out in an instant. Around us, about a quarter of the people waiting or working in the bank disappeared. Just gone. One second there they were, the next, all that remained was their clothing that seemed to fall in slow motion to the floor, as if it remembered that it had been wrapped around limb and body. The security guards drew their guns, aiming at all of us, confused and angry and...It wasn’t horror yet though, that took some time to sink in.

No, that came as the days passed with no explanations. The tv networks, the radio stations, those stayed functioning for a while. Who knows, maybe there’s a place where they still are functioning. It’s been two months, and all we know in our section of the world, in our quiet dot on the global map, is that hundreds of millions, maybe even billions, of people disappeared just like I saw that day. I never was able to get in touch with my family, I don’t know if they’re here or dead or...I don’t know. Key services I had gotten so used to having, a cell phone, internet...it’s not reliable anymore.

What I do know...well there is some that I know, before the blackout hit. There’s a lot of theories going around. The religious sort say it’s the Rapture. The End Times. The Church called to heaven, the unbelievers left behind. I know the stories, I can’t believe it’s true. Other people say it’s the Russians, or the Chinese, or both. Last I heard though, there didn’t seem to be a nation on earth unaffected. The conspiracy theorists are all over the map. Aliens seem just as likely, but if it’s aliens, I don’t know what they’d be playing at. No one’s seen anything. No spaceships, nothing else since people disappeared from in front of our very eyes. Just silence, and life adjusting. It’s amazing how quickly you can adjust.

The President is still around, though it doesn’t look like government had an easy time of keeping power. Here in Buffalo, well, the police didn’t last long against the gangs. I bet places like Detroit didn’t fair much better. I keep my head low, avoid causing too much of a commotion and they leave me be. Can’t help thinking I should head out of town soon though, before it gets worse. Food is getting harder to come by, money doesn’t mean much at the moment, and everyone keeps talking about some war brewing. How any nation can be coordinating such a thing, I don’t know. Maybe the chaos has died down for the most part. But Buffalo would be one of the last places to feel the effects of that.

OOC Information

• About 1 year previous to the start of the rp, approximately 2 billion people disappeared. All that was left was anything non human, clothing, fillings, medical devices, etc. By all accounts, every single person missing disappeared at the same time, and according to witnesses, quite literally in the blink of an eye. Although hard facts are hard to come by, it also appears as if the disappearances were random. Rich, poor, religious or non, young or old, every nationality...But, again, hard facts are hard to come come by. Your char will not know much, similar to the brief prologue above.
• Starting off in Buffalo, NY. Mostly because I am very familiar with the area. Home of the Bills, the Sabres, and the Bisons, creators of Buffalo Wings, only region to find a Mighty Taco. Next door to Niagara Falls and Canada. Winters are rough, the area was dying long before the start of this, and the people, well….it’s the Rust Belt. There’s a good dose of cynicism in most people, but with that comes pride as well.
• Advanced standards apply. I don’t require more than 3-4 paragraphs per post, more is welcome but don’t feel pressured. You’ll also notice a different CS template than typical. I’m looking for ways to not only create more solid and real characters, but to get a better read on them via a CS. Feedback is welcome on the structure of it.
• As another note on characters, I will be picky. Don’t create a character that has no reason to interact with the group. Feel free to create a character with hidden motivations, or is morally gray. But do not create somebody who clashes with the very premise of the rp.
• General plot will follow our group uncovering what’s happened to the world. What’s happened to loved ones and friends, what caused the world-wide disappearances, and how to put it all back together.

Character Sheet Template

Hider

Name:

x

Appearance: (img/description/both)

x

Previous to the day of the Rapture, what was your character’s worst day?:

x

What was their best day?:

x

Who was their first love? What came of it?:

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What’s the one thing they would redo in their life if given the chance?:

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What was their first job and how did they feel about it?:

x

How about their family? Who’s still around, what’s the dynamic?:

x

Favorite game? (Of any sort):

x

What were they doing on the day of the Rapture?:

x

Ever have any legal problems?:

x

Do they believe in a god? A religion? A belief?:

x

As a kid, what’d they want to be when they grew up?:

x

What was their occupation before the Rapture?:

x

Code

[b]Name:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]Appearance:[/b] [i](img/description/both)[/i]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]Previous to the day of the Rapture, what was your character’s worst day?: [/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]What was their best day?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]Who was their first love? What came of it?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]What’s the one thing they would redo in their life if given the chance?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]What was their first job and how did they feel about it?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]How about their family? Who’s still around, what’s the dynamic?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]Favorite game? (Of any sort):[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]What were they doing on the day of the Rapture?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]Ever have any legal problems?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]Do they believe in a god? A religion? A belief?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]As a kid, what’d they want to be when they grew up?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]
[b]What was their occupation before the Rapture?:[/b]
[indent]x[/indent]

Staring Back With Chrome Eyes [Vanq x HeySeuss]

She should have known better than to insinuate they would leave a bunch of helpless people to deal with detoxing thralls, but neither Saria was not eager to see how they would have to deal with deputies. She glanced back towards the damaged Eternals, a reminder of how far all of them had come. She hoped they felt the same sense of dread so many mortals had felt, she wondered if they could fully fear true death.

PDA in hand, she pulled up a map of Dukewater.

_{I don't suppose crossing jurisdictions means much to the deputies.}

It was only sent to Marco, and regardless of it just being an attempt at banter, she followed his lead in leaving the vamps in the dark as much as possible. With a different thought, she changed her search. Permanently closed business. There was a list, restaurants, mom and pop stores, not the kind of place she wanted to guide them towards. Her eyes lit up further down the list.

_{About 15 minutes out from an closed warehouse. Relatively empty industrial park.}

Seconds later she sent out the coordinates to the group. The route would take them closer to the city, a calculated risk. Saria doubted the thralls would want other police departments to engage, given their cargo. She flexed, stretching her arms and legs, one by one in the limited space allotted her. They might have to kill the deputies, she knew it and kept the thought in the back of her mind, preparing herself. But it wouldn't be their first resort, or at least it wouldn't be hers. Much like Marco had taken the poor prom girl out with a tranq, Saria shuffled to load up on some non-lethal options. Equipment was certainly not a scarcity with the Vigil.

The warehouse had surely once been one among many such facilities, a few decades ago. Once it had been a paper mill, and like so many others, had struggled along, cutting workers until it was barely a shell of what it once was. Back in the day, the jobs if offered would have given an average Joe a decent wage to lead a mediocre life. It had been abandoned completely for some years, boarded up with no trespassing signs littering it's entrance road and building. The county and state didn't have the funds to tear down all of them, especially when ownership remained up in the air. It remained fenced off, but between kids cutting it to sneak in for urban exploration or parties and more nefarious sorts using it as a place to dispense with business, the fence was not well maintained. It wasn't difficult to enter, and the sprawling, dilapidated parking lot with out buildings made it a prime location for the impending showdown.

As the vehicle came to a smooth stop, Saria took a deep breath. "Time for the not-so-fun part, hm?"

@heyseuss

Staring Back With Chrome Eyes [Vanq x HeySeuss]

"Holy shit, it worked." Saria was breathing heavily, a mix of exertion and the remaining adrenaline in her system. Giorgio was dead, decapitated. Anna and Mullen were incapacitated. While she had not accepted that this would be a suicide mission, there was still a healthy dose of skepticism she retained.

"So far. Trenton and the others arriving in 10." Kramer joined in, eying the situation up close. "They're going to be pissed, it's Anna they're bound to."

The former hunter glanced sideways at the woman. Pathetic, her abdomen was mangled. Both of the incapacitated Eternals snarled against their restraints. Thralls in withdrawal would not be pretty for Dukewater. How long the withdrawal period would last seemed to depend on many variables, and this trio had set up their territory in the town for a while now. Saria pressed her lips in thought. Regardless of their decision, they did not have long to clean up and clear out. She wiped her face against the back of her hand.

"Hey, new girl. Get the van?" Morgen, spoke up. "We'll need to move the bodies out before Deputy Dickie shows up with his posse."

Saria rolled her shoulders in annoyance, she was frustrated to not finish off one of the vamps. "Trust me with the keys? You're sweet." She caught them easily, and jogged off to where they had parked their main transport.

A few minutes later, and with a few minutes to spare before the deputy should be arriving, Saria returned with body bags slung over her shoulder. They would finish disposal of the bodies later, where they wouldn't be disturbed. She glanced towards the others before setting herself to the task of getting Giorgio into a bag. In the distance, she could hear sirens. The others would be able to as well, undoubtedly. That made her nervous, thralls could be dangerous, especially those fully armed.

"We getting out of here?" She asked, the now heavy bag hefted over her shoulder.

@heyseuss

Staring Back With Chrome Eyes [Vanq x HeySeuss]

@heyseuss

Of course, no problem-o.

Staring Back With Chrome Eyes [Vanq x HeySeuss]

She was surprised it worked, that it was working. Her past with a hunter group chafed at her, the urge to grab a stake and drive it through the cruel creature's heart. She knew that had been her way, though she had never had a chance to do so herself. That training still felt instinctual, not the simulations they had been put through. This was reality, this was vicious. The need for revenge clawed from her gut to her throat and mixed with the thrill that, for the first time in her life, she was equipped to be the danger.

Though she dragged the girl away from the brutal beating, after Marco had slit at Mullen's wrist, she struggled to take her eyes off of his brutal attack. Vigil training was fresh in her mind, and though the temptation to revel in the initial success was there, she pushed through. Mullen was no longer their target and she let go of her focus on him, felt out instead for Anna and Giorgio. There was still much to accomplish to get out alive.

"Really fast." She muttered in agreement as she dropped to the ground. She had the special alloy restraints pulled out in seconds. Saria tossed one pair at Marco and used the other to bind the vamp's ankles herself. With Mullen secured, she grabbed her pistol. The other two would be arriving soon and she needed to be ready. Saria felt high, charged, her muscles ached for release of the pent up energy.

A new report blinked across her vision, Anna and Giorgio had been spotted closing in. They were heading from the opposite direction, behind her and Marco. The male may have been the one with advantage from his age, but it Anna who really made her blood boil. For a creature with so many advantages over humans, it was unnecessary cruelty to groom a generation of girls for their kinds' advances.

Night and darkness was no longer a hindrance, a disadvantage. She could see them in their fast approach. She took aim, leveling the gun straight at the bitch's chest. It wouldn't hurt her much, probably wouldn't even slow her down. But it would enrage her, and enraged vamps didn't think. They usually didn't have to. Saria took the shot, and heard another shot meet it's mark - Morgen most likely. "Fucker."

Saria had hit her mark and shot again. Square in the chest. She took off, feet propelling her quickly to take Anna head on.

@heyseuss

Staring Back With Chrome Eyes [Vanq x HeySeuss]

Much like the high school they now strolled by, full of kids who - according to pop culture at least - struggled to find their place, Ria wrestled with her new role. If she was completely honest with herself, she would admit that while the others intimidated her, Marco terrified her. Between the whispers of his past and glimpses of the extreme augmentations, she was not sure what exactly to make of him. Her brain had seemed to instantly assign fear as the appropriate response, a response she tried to ignore.

It had nearly been sensory overload when her own implants had been completed. As her eyes flicked to catch the incoming messages, she felt with the other neural implants. She could feel them, the vampires, in a way, pulsing in such a way as to provide a spatial recognition of their location. Their main target, Mullen, was inside the school. Saria felt it before the message had crossed her vision. She kept her sense of him her main focus but felt out for any other hot spots. Tonight, there would be no ambush except their own.

She had not cared for the plan. Bait. The word had been tossed out like it was nothing. Some teen girl, thrown to an apex predator. She knew her own past clouded her judgement, but at least Nima had known what they were up against. It had clearly not been her place to disagree, and hopefully the look of disapproval had been wiped off her face before anyone had noticed. She didn't need anyone thinking she was weak.

Marco's request sent a dose of adrenaline through her body. "Yea." She slid her arm out from Marco's, uncertain exactly what she was going to do. Giorgio and Anna weren't confirmed yet, but she could feel them being farther away than Mullen.

Boots against payment, she headed in their target's direction, along the school. Quickly, she formulated a plan, a shit plan, but something that the oh so dreamy Eternal would need to act on. Saria caught a glimpse of the duo ahead of her and broke into a full out run. Then nearly gagged as they came into full view, it looked like he was halfway down her throat, pressed up against the building.

"Hey! Excuse me!" She raised her voice just enough to carry to the preoccupied duo. A false panic welled within her, and she urged it on until tears formed in her eyes. "Please...I need your help. S-some asshole just hit my dog and I don't have my phone, and she's so heavy I just can't move her. Please, do you have a phone?" She rubbed at her face, her voice coming out strained and scratchy.

"Oh no!" The girl seemed genuinely concerned as she broke away from Mullen. Without further prompting, she fished a slim cell from the top of her dress. Saria watched it turn on and the girl's face scrunch. "I don't have any reception." The girl looked up, her admiration for the monster was repulsive.

"I didn't bring my phone." He spoke softly, but Saria was certain of the edge to his voice. Frustration.

"Maybe it'll work closer to the street," she offered, looking back towards her phone, "or Rick can help...right? At least get him out of the street?"

Saria eagerly agreed before Mullen could counter, "Thank you so much, thank you. I just didn't know what I was going to do. Thank you." She hiccuped.

^{*Heading towards Marco, target and girl with me.}

"What's his name?" The girl asked, walking next to Saria. In her peripheral, she could still see the girl's fingers intertwined behind her in Mullen's hand.

"Her, hah, Marcie." She sniffled.

^{*You ready?.}

Saria was ready, with the girl on her right, she could get her out of the way. She had to.

@heyseuss

Staring Back With Chrome Eyes [Vanq x HeySeuss]

Saria

Name: Saria “Ria” Manzur
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Ethnicity/Nationality: Arab-American
Physical Description:

Ria takes after her father, dusky skin and broad. At 5’5” and 140lbs, she is fit and toned with a layer of muscle, not curvy. Her near black hair is cropped close. She has strong facial features - pronounced cheeks and nose, with a sharp chin. Her dark brown eyes frequently have bags beneath them, and make up barely registers as a thought. Her body is scarred and frequently bruised. There are two thick scars that run from her right shoulder nearly to her mid back.

Skillset:

Skills: Tracking, planning
Training, Knowledge & Education: Vampire lore, her family’s hunting history. Training started a young age with trips to a gun range, as well as hand to hand training. “Normal” studies were attempted, but traditional book knowledge was never a priority. Ria also speaks English and Farsi fluently, and can get by as needed in Arabic.
Talents:Preternatural sense of vampires, including a pulling feel towards a specific individual.

History

Though she came from a family of hunters and had a network of family “friends” and acquaintances in the same line of business, it wasn’t until she was nearly twenty that she was party to a real hunt. For much of her childhood, her father would train her and her sister, Nima, and occasionally disappear with friends for a week or two. He would come back, nearly always injured.Nima was a few years older and started to join their father while Ria was a teenager. In those days, it fell to Ria to put together plans and contingencies. She played a peripheral, albeit important, role.

As she neared adulthood, she joined her family on their hunts. A string of suspicious disappearances when Ria was 19 spurred the small group into action. Ria’s plan was foolproof, at least for getting out alive. Nima would play the bait, pretty and similar to the girls already taken. Ria hadn’t counted on there being two of them or that they had indeed been baiting the hunters. Though she had an immediate bad feeling as they sprung their own trap, it was too late for Nima. Ria watched her sister disappear, unable to do anything but run. Her father, overwhelmed with grief, took his own life a short month later.

She buried her own grief, grief that turned into rage and near obsession. Leaving behind the others in her group, she set out on her own to track her sister. What she would do when...if...she found her was a question Ria could never quite answer to herself.

It took years to get any sort of definitive idea as to where Nima had gone. She ended up in Vancouver, sneaking aboard a yacht in the marina. Ria was certain she could feel her sister’s presence, but it was not Nima who confronted her. The handsome vampire sneered cruelly. His attacks mixed with feints, like a cat playing with a mouse before devouring it. Ria was no match, especially not on her own. Her head slammed into the railing, and she was certain she heard Nima’s laughter from a distance. In the moment her attacker paused to savor the moment before the killing blow, she flung herself overboard in the dark, cold embrace of the water.

There was no up or down, no moon to cast an eery glow in the water. As she flailed in the water, her lungs desperate for air, Ria saw Nima flickering in the water. She kicked towards her, pushing, clawing through the water.

She woke up in a hospital, banged up badly but alive. Not long after waking up, she was offered a chance, a real chance, to hit back.

Psychological Profile:

Ria is motivated nearly entirely by a desire for revenge. Watching her sister be taken and likely turned and her father’s suicide in quick succession pushed a young woman over the edge into blind despair and rage. Working largely on her own for a few years taught her extreme self reliance. A more fragile mind would have cracked. At the end of the day, a chance to hit back is worth the chance of becoming monstrous herself.

Modifications: (The ones already listed are standard issue for all characters)

• Communications suite, HUD and neural-computer, all standard issue – Vigil agents are able to text by thinking it among each other on a heavily encrypted wireless network. In fact, the computer works off brain impulses and is easily one of the most sophisticated and useful implants they have; what's more, its capabilities have yet to be fully exploited. The downside of this implant is that it includes a cortex bomb with an anti-tampering device. A captured agent can set it off, destroying the hardware inside, or a signal from control can do the same. This is to prevent the enemy from learning the capabilities of implanted agents.
• Internal air supply and aerial toxin filter -- this also has the added advantage of making the agent immune to vampire pheromones, as some types of vampires are known to use this to seduce their prey.
• Blood/liquid toxin filter -- the obvious is at work here -- vampires use their blood as a means of controlling mortals, and this system (and everyone, even non field agents, in the Vigil organization have this implant) screens out one of most subtle weapons a vampire has, rendering them functionally immune to being controlled through ingested blood the way mortal thralls of a vampire might be.
• Eye augmentation; a HUD showing all sorts of system data, such as the status of implants, as well as allowing for low-light and ultra-sound modes of vision, the latter being thought to be more effective than thermographics when dealing with vampires, who tend to run cold if they haven't fed lately.
• Implants in her right arm and hand to restore feeling and full function
• Neural implant to strengthen her preternatural sense of vampires and tracking of an individual

Equipment: (The items already listed are standard issue.)

• Mimetic Camouflage (Predator) coat, though this is designed to look more like a trenchcoat -- no doubt some project engineer with a penchant for the dramatic, or an interest in fashion design. The coat is actually stylish, which serves a dual purpose as vampires tend to dress stylishly and surround themselves with the stylishly dressed. This allows Vigil agents one more edge. Of course, they call it the Predator Coat. Because the engineers are geeks. (This is a standard issue Vigil item)
• Modular, caseless assault rifle/carbine. Bullpup, caseless ammunition, synched with existing implants and capable of mounting a variety of accessories including a 25mm grenade launcher whose munitions range from conventional high explosive to nano-guided scattered mines. It also syncs with HUD implants for improved accuracy in a mechanism similar to a bluetooth link. The trigger is electric and the weapon includes a biometric security system; anyone but someone authorized to handle it and it will blow; that is a standard feature on most any weapon the Vigil has in service with its teams. (This is a standard issue Vigil item)
• A number of electronic accessories, including a PDA tablet and other items to assist in making physical connection with computer equipment. (This is a standard issue Vigil item)
• Grenades, mostly white phosphorus. The organization has designed a 'grenade' that involves a strobing UV light that damages vampires -- it is known as 'the disco ball'.
• Other items as you see fit.

Vanq's Vault - Character Sheets and Ideas

ASoIaF

A Song of Ice and Fire
Death’s Vision

Prior to the Doom, the Valyrian Freehold had prospered for some five thousand years. Overnight, millennia of history and knowledge was lost. A terrible, horrific event that scarred the land and the psyches of those who witnessed the tragedy from afar.

The last of true Valyrian blood, a minor noble house and a handful of pauper houses had fled the Freehold a century before the cataclysm. On the small, scattered islands in the Narrow Sea, the last who could claim royal blood waited. Nearly another century passed, and a cry for assistance came from the newly formed Free Cities. The handsome Lord Aegon, his ravishingly fierce sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, hesitated. Westeros was ripe for conquest. Their home, a home they had never seen and would never truly know, cried out for their return.

On dragons’ wings and a quick fleet, the Targaryens returned to Essos. In the Stormlands, Aegon married his bastard brother to the Storm King’s daughter, Argella. Stories and rumors abounded from Rhaenys’ detour to the land of sun and sand before turning Meraxes towards their ancient lands.

In the years that followed, the Free Cities were unified under Targaryen rule. Lands were freed from Dothraki incursion, including the former colony of Essaria. The crowned King Aegon made his new capital in Volantis.

While Essos recovered and rebuilt, Westeros too underwent a time of strife. Less than a decade after the Targaryens unified the Free Cities into a new Freehold, Queen Visenya returned with a fleet of men ready for war - in alliance with Queen Argella and her consort-king, Orys. With their might combined, the ironborn were pushed back to the Iron Islands. Westeros was left to battle for the liberated lands.

Skirmishes and open warfare ensued in the aftermath. While the Riverlands were disputed, Dorne nipped at the heels of the Stormlands and the Reach. For nearly a century, Westeros remained at some level of war. It was not until the Citadel warned of a great winter approaching that a great meet was called to end the battles once and for all. While all but the Ironborn gained some of the Riverlands, some gained more than others. A peace was nevertheless cemented before Westeros plunged into a five year long winter.

Decades passed, and nearly three hundred years after the Targaryens’ conquest of Essos, the cracks long developing fractured open. A civil war erupted pitting sibling against sibling. A bastard line allowed to flourish now threatened to topple the Freehold. Dragons, which once granted overwhelming force, were dead or dying. In Westeros, alliances sealed a century past felt a strain. And in Dorne, a young woman traversed the Narrow Sea with dark visions.

---

Westeros and Essos may have diverged from the path intended, when Aegon and his sister-wives decided to conquer Essos rather than Westeros. Fate cares little for the decisions of mortals, and without the events set in motion by the unification of Westeros, the fate of the world is unknown.

There are seven kingdoms in Westeros, each ruled by an independent regent. Although the continent has been relatively at peace after the signing of the Great Accord, a century ago, the nobles of the land itch for glory and gold. The Grand Tourney of Westeros, held every five years to bring together the seven kingdoms in common spirit and celebration, helps to assuage some of that yearning. Held at Harrenhal, a desired castle that changed hands countless times in the past centuries. Tradition from the Great Accord resulted in a (tenuous) joint venture and use of the castle for each of the seven kingdoms.

Our story starts as the tourney comes to a close. In the final days, riches have been made or fortunes ruined, for some, lives forever changed by injury. While all tourneys present ample opportunity for gossip and rumors, it has been particularly true for this tourney. After a decade long summer, the people of Westeros brace for winter to begin. Oldtown has been oddly silent on the matter and disturbing whispers from the Night’s Watch have reached the southern lands.

---

The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros

• King in the North, House Stark
• King of Mountain and Vale, House Arryn
• King of the Iron Islands, House Hoare
• King of the Reach, House Gardner
• King of the Rock, House Lannister
• King of the Stormlands, House Durrandon
• Prince of Dorne, House Martell

Essos

• The Targaryens control western Essos, essentially the Free Cities in addition to some lands reclaimed from the Dothraki
• The rest of Essos will look similar to canon

---

House Martell

The Princess - aged woman, ruled for twenty some years, married to a Dayne who passed some years previous - did not remarry but took a paramour
The Heir - youthful and dashing, living in denial of his mother's failing health, accomplished in the field and intelligent but without a sense of purpose, he dreams big dreams but rarely puts the work in to achieving them
The Visitor - from across the Narrow Sea, her travels brought her to Westeros before her family's feud spilled into open warfare and now could not return even if she wanted to, in danger both known and unknown

The Authoritarian

Works across multiple settings/periods, male or female, a young/rising star in a dystopian political scene. Hides their less than illustrious past and origins. As a rebel movement grows, A must confront their past to decide their future. Blah blah, cliche, blah.

To be expanded upon into actual character information.

Hunted Hunter

Name: Saria “Ria” Manzur
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Ethnicity/Nationality: Arab-American
Physical Description:

Ria takes after her father, dusky skin and broad. At 5’5” and 140lbs, she is fit and toned with a layer of muscle, not curvy. Her near black hair is cropped close. She has strong facial features - pronounced cheeks and nose, with a sharp chin. Her dark brown eyes frequently have bags beneath them, and make up barely registers as a thought. Her body is scarred and frequently bruised. There are two thick scars that run from her right shoulder nearly to her mid back.

Skillset:

Skills: Tracking, planning
Training, Knowledge & Education: Vampire lore, her family’s hunting history. Training started a young age with trips to a gun range, as well as hand to hand training. “Normal” studies were attempted, but traditional book knowledge was never a priority. Ria also speaks English and Farsi fluently, and can get by as needed in Arabic.
Talents:Preternatural sense of vampires, including a pulling feel towards a specific individual.

History

Though she came from a family of hunters and had a network of family “friends” and acquaintances in the same line of business, it wasn’t until she was nearly twenty that she was party to a real hunt. For much of her childhood, her father would train her and her sister, Nima, and occasionally disappear with friends for a week or two. He would come back, nearly always injured.Nima was a few years older and started to join their father while Ria was a teenager. In those days, it fell to Ria to put together plans and contingencies. She played a peripheral, albeit important, role.

As she neared adulthood, she joined her family on their hunts. A string of suspicious disappearances when Ria was 19 spurred the small group into action. Ria’s plan was foolproof, at least for getting out alive. Nima would play the bait, pretty and similar to the girls already taken. Ria hadn’t counted on there being two of them or that they had indeed been baiting the hunters. Though she had an immediate bad feeling as they sprung their own trap, it was too late for Nima. Ria watched her sister disappear, unable to do anything but run. Her father, overwhelmed with grief, took his own life a short month later.

She buried her own grief, grief that turned into rage and near obsession. Leaving behind the others in her group, she set out on her own to track her sister. What she would do when...if...she found her was a question Ria could never quite answer to herself.

It took years to get any sort of definitive idea as to where Nima had gone. She ended up in Vancouver, sneaking aboard a yacht in the marina. Ria was certain she could feel her sister’s presence, but it was not Nima who confronted her. The handsome vampire sneered cruelly. His attacks mixed with feints, like a cat playing with a mouse before devouring it. Ria was no match, especially not on her own. Her head slammed into the railing, and she was certain she heard Nima’s laughter from a distance. In the moment her attacker paused to savor the moment before the killing blow, she flung herself overboard in the dark, cold embrace of the water.

There was no up or down, no moon to cast an eery glow in the water. As she flailed in the water, her lungs desperate for air, Ria saw Nima flickering in the water. She kicked towards her, pushing, clawing through the water.

She woke up in a hospital, banged up badly but alive. Not long after waking up, she was offered a chance, a real chance, to hit back.

Psychological Profile:

Ria is motivated nearly entirely by a desire for revenge. Watching her sister be taken and likely turned and her father’s suicide in quick succession pushed a young woman over the edge into blind despair and rage. Working largely on her own for a few years taught her extreme self reliance. A more fragile mind would have cracked. At the end of the day, a chance to hit back is worth the chance of becoming monstrous herself.

Modifications: (The ones already listed are standard issue for all characters)

• Communications suite, HUD and neural-computer, all standard issue – Vigil agents are able to text by thinking it among each other on a heavily encrypted wireless network. In fact, the computer works off brain impulses and is easily one of the most sophisticated and useful implants they have; what's more, its capabilities have yet to be fully exploited. The downside of this implant is that it includes a cortex bomb with an anti-tampering device. A captured agent can set it off, destroying the hardware inside, or a signal from control can do the same. This is to prevent the enemy from learning the capabilities of implanted agents.
• Internal air supply and aerial toxin filter -- this also has the added advantage of making the agent immune to vampire pheromones, as some types of vampires are known to use this to seduce their prey.
• Blood/liquid toxin filter -- the obvious is at work here -- vampires use their blood as a means of controlling mortals, and this system (and everyone, even non field agents, in the Vigil organization have this implant) screens out one of most subtle weapons a vampire has, rendering them functionally immune to being controlled through ingested blood the way mortal thralls of a vampire might be.
• Eye augmentation; a HUD showing all sorts of system data, such as the status of implants, as well as allowing for low-light and ultra-sound modes of vision, the latter being thought to be more effective than thermographics when dealing with vampires, who tend to run cold if they haven't fed lately.
• Implants in her right arm and hand to restore feeling and full function
• Neural implant to strengthen her preternatural sense of vampires and tracking of an individual

Equipment: (The items already listed are standard issue.)

• Mimetic Camouflage (Predator) coat, though this is designed to look more like a trenchcoat -- no doubt some project engineer with a penchant for the dramatic, or an interest in fashion design. The coat is actually stylish, which serves a dual purpose as vampires tend to dress stylishly and surround themselves with the stylishly dressed. This allows Vigil agents one more edge. Of course, they call it the Predator Coat. Because the engineers are geeks. (This is a standard issue Vigil item)
• Modular, caseless assault rifle/carbine. Bullpup, caseless ammunition, synched with existing implants and capable of mounting a variety of accessories including a 25mm grenade launcher whose munitions range from conventional high explosive to nano-guided scattered mines. It also syncs with HUD implants for improved accuracy in a mechanism similar to a bluetooth link. The trigger is electric and the weapon includes a biometric security system; anyone but someone authorized to handle it and it will blow; that is a standard feature on most any weapon the Vigil has in service with its teams. (This is a standard issue Vigil item)
• A number of electronic accessories, including a PDA tablet and other items to assist in making physical connection with computer equipment. (This is a standard issue Vigil item)
• Grenades, mostly white phosphorus. The organization has designed a 'grenade' that involves a strobing UV light that damages vampires -- it is known as 'the disco ball'.
• Other items as you see fit.

Game of Thrones: The Long Night

Still a WIP

House Lannister

of Casterly Rock

Hear Me Roar!

House Lannister of Casterly Rock is one of the Great Houses of Seven Kingdoms, and the principal house of the Westerlands. Their seat is Casterly Rock, though another branch exists that is based in nearby Lannisport. Their sigil is a golden lion on a field of crimson. Their official motto is "Hear Me Roar!" However, their unofficial motto, equally well known, is "A Lannister always pays his debts." The Warden of the West is a Lannister by tradition.

Fair-haired, tall, and handsome, the Lannisters are the blood of Andal adventurers who carved out a mighty kingdom in the western hills and valleys. Through the female line they boast of descent from Lann the Clever, the legendary trickster of the Age of Heroes who tricked the members of House Casterly into giving him Casterly Rock during the era of the First Men.

The Lannisters reigned as Kings of the Rock until they fell to the Targaryen conquest, but were allowed to remain the liege lords of the westerlands.

Green or Black: Green
Recent History: Much as the war ravaged Westeros, the Lannisters were dealt their fair share of loss. Jason was slain by Pate of Longleaf in the Battle at the Red Fork which left Casterly Rock in considerable disarray. While his widow was left to defend the Westerlands from the Greyjoys, Tyland fared little better. Appointed master of coin by Alicent Hightower, he seized the treasury for safekeeping, including sending a quarter of funds to Casterly Rock. Although a staunch supporter of Aegon II, he surrendered with the Dowager Queen to Rhaenyra in 130 AC. He was tortured to uncover where the treasury had been hidden. Blinded, gelded, and mutilated, he did not break. With the war recently over, Tyland has positioned himself to regain a role in the small council. House Lannister has been broken by war, their new lord known as wastrel and little else. Although Tyland vies for a position of power in King’s Landing, Casterly Rock and the Westerlands teeter on the edge of losing it all.

Family Members:

Name: Lady Johanna Lannister (Westerling)

Appearance

Age: 46
Biography:

Far from a weak woman, Lady Johanna is left tightly gripping what little control she maintains over her son and House. Her husband's death during the Dance left Casterly Rock and the Westerlands shattered as control passed to their eldest son, Cerion. While the Kraken remain an ever present threat, Cerion threatens to destroy all that was built from within.

As the days pass, her control has weakened. Lord Jason had been a fair ruler and husband, yet few trusted the Westerling woman to rule while three healthy sons of age remained. She has relegated herself to the background, to meeting privately with the lords of the westerlands. Rumors, perhaps even stupidly started by Cerion, that her secret meetings are in fact affairs, have damaged her reputation.

Grief and stress have taken their toll. Once a vibrant and robust woman, Johanna has become withdrawn, even from her dearest daughter and niece. The more intuitive members of court worry what will become of the House if she were to let go completely.

Name: Ser Tyland Lannister

Appearance

Age: 55
Biography:

Name: Lord Cerion Lannister
Age: 28
Biography:

Name: Ser Lyman Lannister

Appearance

Age: 25
Biography:

Name: Lord Tion Lannister
Age: 23
Biography:

Name: Lady Cerelle Lannister

Appearance

Age: 18
Biography:

Name: Lady Alysanne Westerling

Appearance

Age: 17
Biography:

Lady Alysanne came to Casterly Rock at the tender age of eight namedays. Her aunt thought her a perfect playmate to her young daughter, Cerelle. Most of Alysanne's memories - bad and good - are from her time among the Lannisters. The eldest child of the Westerlings' youngest son, her place beside the Lannister girl was seen as another boon for a family of dwindling fortune.

Without a doubt, Alysanne received much more with the Lannisters than had she remained at her family lands. Lady Johanna ensured her niece never went without. Yet all was not well. Cerelle's devious nature, her temper, was used like a weapon against Alysanne. From the earliest days of her time at Casterly Rock, the girl learned to hide the abuses she suffered. Ridicule became a daily occurrence, and as Cerelle's closest friend, there was barely a day that passed without needing to be in her presence.

The bright glimmers of hope came far and few between. Sometimes her aunt would join them for the day, that would bring a brief respite with harsher punishment when Cerelle could again be herself. Flowering into adulthood brought other problems, largely in the form of Ser Lyman. Alysanne was completely besotted. Instead of Cerelle's cruelty, in Lyman, Alysanne found grace and kindness. She once mistakenly uttered her dream of marrying the brother to which Cerelle promised on her life would never happen.

At seventeen namedays, she knows her family and aunt seek to find a suitable match. Alysanne finds herself relieved at perhaps finally being free of the abuse, but heartbroken at the truth that she will never be Lyman's wife. The fears of a foolish summer child. The war touched Alysanne, the death of Lord Jason came as a hard blow to her aunt and cousins. Her own close family was not left unscathed, yet she was shielded from the worst of war, confined to the daily battles of living as Cerelle's plaything.