"I am a monster. I am the Sin of Gluttony...little would have already stopped me from going down that road."
The Countess' words kept replaying in my mind. For once in my life I was actually far more quiet than my friend. The words had felt like they should have been cold and unforgiving. But they weren't, at least not to me. Maybe she could have devoured me like she devoured that plague maiden. Almira probably could wash the grounds in her blood and shadows and end my very existence. I didn't doubt it. But she didn't. And that to me, was what counted. Each and every one of us had the capacity to be monstrous. Lady Kaminae taught me that much. I know that most of the world looked at her with fear and hatred. I too saw her capacity for 'evil'. When unfortunate Mer got on her bad side and their entire family were obliterated, labeled as dissidents and forgotten in time. I was there when she summoned leviathans to unleash their fury upon sailors treading the wrong waters. That wasn't her all the time though. No one else was there when she anointed me as one of her Queensguard, blessing me with a touch of her power and love. It was our choices that defined us. Until Almira decided I was next on the menu I wouldn't see her as anything other than my friend.
Hopefully she saw me the same way.
Passing in to Kusana had been easy enough. The army here seemed entirely overwhelmed with this mysterious plague they hardly paid attention to someone walking in. I tried to take everything at once and honestly it was a little overwhelming. Through this mist splashes of color were everywhere. I had never even seen so much green before in my life. It wasn't until I brushed up against some giant leaves that I noticed just how dead they were. It just crumbled against my skin, dust floating away in the wind. "It will not take long for this entire land to be consumed. If nothing is done the people of Kusana will suffer the same fate; dust blown away in the wind." I felt queasy. It was definitely because it had been awhile since I last ate something. The Countess' crew had been kind enough to pack a lunch for me but I had eaten it right away. I couldn't help myself, I'm a nervous eater. My nose led me to the nearest food place. "We should head to biggest tavern we can find. That's where I'd go for some information from the locals. We can mingle and hopefully learn a few things, maybe eat. To blend in. Of course." That was how we wound up in the Sleepy Hallow. When I saw the clever name etched in intricate lettering on the sign I laughed for maybe ten minutes straight. Sleepy Hallow, like a hole in a tree. Haha! So clever!
The place was packed like sardines in a can. Despite the many people nursing their drinks there was little jubilation happening. I entered with curiosity in my eyes and an awkward smile on my face. This was the very first bar I was going in. I had always been under the impression that it would be a memorable even, filled with good tasting drinks and wild parties. People just looked depressed here. Judging from the way gazes glossed over me and landed on the Countess I probably fit in a heck of a lot easier. For the most part I didn't look too different from an elf. The only thing particular interesting about my chosen attire was Cypress, though his head was back and my face was easy to see. Almira just looked like she was important. I was merely her sidekick to these people.
Mosying over to the bar I squeezed in between two sad looking men in uniform and hailed the bartender. "Hi, yes! One 'absinthe' please!" I had no idea what any of these drinks meant but that one looked funny. While I waited for my drink to be crafted I turned and spoke in the common tongue. Hi! I'm Nae. You guys live here? Crazy weather we're having, right? I figured it was best to make some friends before asking direct questions like 'Hey, do you know of any plague maidens harassing the good folk?' and what not. I turned to the Countess and winked while giving a thumbs up.
"Oh, heeeeeere we go."
Energy 390 Stats 8/10 Equipment Passives • Seashores The Mer are hyper-aware of everything around them, their five senses deeply active. They feel the light touching their shoulder, the running about of the small creatures, everything. They're very perceptive, moreso than most races. Furthermore, when listening through a conch (many Mer carry one everywhere), they can hear things for two kilometers around them.
• The Deep Blue Water, blessed by Kaminae, lives to do battle for you. You can manipulate it very precisely, and water manipulated by you is stronger than steal at base. Mer armor and weapons are made of water, and they weigh almost nothing, yet defend better than the armor of others, and attack better than any other spear. The water can indeed slice as if it were a blade, defend as if a shield even in liquid form. Specifically, this hardness scales with the energy you put into it: Novice - Titanium
The amount of water you can manipulate also increases with rank:
Novice - 100 Gallons
The water you are manipulating in its entirety retains that hardness, and the energy buffing the water lasts for four posts.
Technique
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2016 1:51 am
As the pair moseyed along, Almira had the bounce back in her step. Her stride was graceful in an impossible to understand way. Each step carried her a distance that was not congruent with the length of her stride, and in the foggy, dreary weather it was even more fantastical. The very shadows crawled at her feet, drawn to the Bloodmoon Queen like moths to fire... no like thralls to their master, groveling. Of course, to her, the only shadow that held the key to her attention was Orobouros, and he was beside himself with gloom. "No, Countess. I am not disappointed, as I have watched you kill many for far less than the unending hunger you find no solace from," he almost whined. "I just..." he thought blocking the words. Almira, oblivious to the way she must have looked to Naeal, to the elves they passed, passed an emotional inflection to her servant and he caved. "I just really like dragons." Almira stifled her giggle down to just a grin, her eyes falling on her shadow, barely keeping up with her. Eyes crossed over the many faces, finger in her mouth, teeth clenched at the edge. The now normal red crystals fixed on Naeal, hearing her thoughts via the telepathy as well. She looked over the girl, over her armor.
Dragons were indeed cool.
To the girl, Almira thought clearly as if speaking before they reached the Tavern. The tone was softer than her voice usually was, a projection of sorts with the soft feeling of velvet, and in the tongue of Meritian. "You know, on the [surface] it's common knowledge that the Sea Witch was the bad guy. The worst in fact. Like... I once fought on the side of [Vaet Nocturnum]... suffice to say we were the bad guys." Some of the words she had stumbled on, or messed over from lack of practice, but the general idea would likely hold. "You were her Queensguard huh? You and the mighty Dragon? Interesting." She would smile at the girl, eyes still fixed in place on the girl's form. "You look [quite strong], and in your blood I taste that power she 'gave you.' Something tells me that it wasn't a power given, but rather a power awoken." She would turn her eyes away, ears pinning back as she smelled something that piqued her interest.
Neael spoke of hunger, and Almira nodded. "I concur, my fishy friend. Food and wine sound quite divine," she spoke rubbing her stomach. Hunger pains were easy to ignore, like all pain, for a knight. Following her nose, Almira led the girl to a large, ornate building. RIght in they would have strolled, but Naeal had a panic attack level laughing fit at the sight of the name. Almira crossed her arms, initial amused by the girls... amusement? Mania? But at minute nine, her grin faded, and, like people passing, she was wondering if she needed to get the girl help. Oroborous had manifested, scratching his head. He, too, began to laugh. Almira looked at him hoplessly, but when he put his hand on her shoulder, she too began to laugh at the silliness of the situation. When finally they entered the building, the vamplettes spirits had risen just a bit more. There was no question now. This girl was too bright a light to snuff out by eating it, at least for now. Her tattoo seemed to burn, the bright blue light fading from it slightly but this, like most things, was forced below her notice.
If they hadn't had a good laugh before they pushed in they wouldn't have ever gotten it. Oroborous sunk back into Almira's shadow, uncomfortable at the closeness of such drab and dirty individuals. "I stick out like a sore thumb. But I'm no more important to them than the person beside them. They're staring because I'm a vampire, pretty far south from Nocturne. That and a few of them probably saw my brand." she broadcasted to Naeal and her companion. She snaked through the crowed behind Naeal, letting her take the lead. Analytic, quick bouncing eyes glossed from face to face, committing them to memory and deciding who looked interesting, who didn't. Mostly due to her being a vampire, Almira couldn't help but notice through all of her senses that these people were all dreadfully depressed. She smelled it, heard it, saw it. Naeal with her heightened senses likely could feel it too. All but one person, who kept Almira's attention by gazing at her, smirking almost. He was at a table alone, which was odd because the room shouldn't have had a table for four with one person present. Weirder still, he was in the middle of the room. Whoever he was, he had some kind of pull.
Before she could inquire to her comrade, she heard the absolute worst order ever. "Uh... Naeal. Absinthe tastes like someone died mixing poisons and then their decaying flesh became a part of the mixture." Almira looked the bartender over, then at his liquor bottles. Her eyebrows raised inquisitively, then she looked around. Everyone had one or two full glasses in the room. Even the weirdo, playing with a gold coin in his fingers now, had a full glass of... Whiskey? She looked back at the stock. Full. The man hadn't left the bar in a while, as she could see from the fact that most of the glasses not in use were freshly washed. He'd been extremely busy, as she could tell from his sweat and stressed aroma coming from the CO2 he breathed. "Uh, sorry. Whiskey Sours, two please. And... Vodka cranberry, yes two. A pitcher of whatever the lightest beer you have on tap is... um... oh and a glass of dry wine." She looked to Naeal. "Start her with a screwdriver. Yeah, blonde girls go nuts for that s**t in Nocturne," she'd said, speaking better Elven than she did Meritian to the man, a hearty looking elf. He seemed put off, but nonetheless got to work preparing everything. Almira listened to Naeal making small talk, not intervening immediately but laughing a little at the wink and thumbs up.
All the while, her eyes didn't often leave the general direction of the oddball sitting by himself, two chairs waiting, with an open space beside him. The men responded to Naeal curtly. "Yes, we live here. The weather has been par for the course for nigh on a year so no it isn't crazy. What do you live underwater?" the first man near her responded. It was still loud, but their area was starkly quieter. A quick glance told Almira he was a sick elf. He wasn't dying, not quite yet. but the dark bags under his eyes and the way he was slumped over told her what she needed to know. He hadn't realized he was infected yet. Another man spoke up, this one closer. "You don't hear the accent? She be a Mer, or a Siren, and with a rather cute vampire associate." He smiled at Almira, and when she looked to see she squinted. "Friend, you're barking up the wrong tree." He laughed a little. "Hard to get? I like it." Almira smiled at Naeal, then turned to look at him. "Not hard, impossible. But you wanna play this game, we can. Djinn are always so eager to lose games, I find. And always so unsatisfying..." Almira licked her lips, and her pitcher of beer arrived. She took it, passed it to him deftly, and winked. "Set your sights a little lower next time, friend, and enjoy the alcohol with your friends. Rough times for you all down here," she said. "Drunk men like to talk," she tought to Naeal as the man offered his hand. She took it, unbothered by the dirt.
"Names Ely, I run the mines around here and Yuran. What brings you around these parts? Must be far from home, haven't seen you around," he said passing the pitcher to the table with the sick elf and his friends. Almira sat with them, still eyeing the friend. "You know," the man cut her off with a nod. "Everyone is infected, darling," he said sitting down. "Doctors say that it's latent and we're all carriers. Works somewhat like benign tumors. You're no more in danger from being near him. And I hear vampires are slow to be taken." Almira looked at Naeal with concern. "Actually.. that's what brought us inland. Curiosity, initially, and then the moment I made land I was attacked. Some kind of ghostwoman throwing bile and locust at me. Familiar?" The men all seemed off put. "I see you are.""She came for you... and you lived? She be a plaguemaiden, and her intentions, her whereabouts, her reason for being here is, at most, anyones guess. Boys been talking like the plague is her fault, she comes and people die. She comes and the plague gets worse. Been that way for months, and she's been keeping the doctors from curing the plague. She comes, and it changes, gets worse, mutates. If it came for you... and you lived..." A betraying smile crossed her lips. The men leaned in. "Allow me to introduce myself. Almira Herakk. Countess of Crasta Granak." The men leaned back, hurriedly. "The demon!""Call me Queen, call me demon, water forgets the name of the drowned, ground the names of the buried. I'm far from here to murder all of you, despite my reputation.""Excuse him, he's kind of a p***y. Real jumpy. But... you killed one?" Almira deadpanned. "One?" she asked incredulously. "More of them exist?" The men nodded. "We seen a bunch of them, multiple at once, always bringing death, always taking someone with them, usually someone trying to help people. And the fog, it always keeps us from seeing them for long. They come, then with the fog they are gone. Makes it impossible to fight one of them!" Almira caught a snicker, and her head snapped to the man, laughing to himself as he downed his cup. Almira turned slowly back to Ely. "Who's that? Why can he hold a whole table to himself." Ely opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anythign a loud bang sounded out, and Almira watched in stunned shock as a bullet tore passed her head, heating the wind as the bullet passed by her, and cracked into the man's skull, scattering his brain all over the wall. In just a second, the fog took voer again and the doors and windows slammed shut. A sound like a hundred thunder claps sounded, and then the mist blew away, revealing the whole bar riddled in bullets, corpses everywhere around Naeal and Almira. The man in the middle of the table cleared his throat, and ALmira stood to her feet. "How the-" a bullet hit the wall beside her. The man was finishing his drink.
"Don't be rude, come have a seat before you address the God of Crime." He eyed her again, this time giving of an aura of power she could not deny weakened her knees. He pulled the hammer back on his revolver, decaled with skulls and flowers. Almira sensed imminent danger, and so she walked over and took a seat, urging Naeal to follow.
Whether she did or not was on her, but the danger in the room was extreme. For some reason, however, the bartender continued making Almira's drinks as if nothing had happened. Curious indeed.
• Regeneration This is passive meaning it does it on its own. At different ranks you may regenerate your wounds. Trainees can only deal with cuts, by novice deep cuts, Adept rank you wont bother with a broken bone, masters can deal with an entire sword going through your body, and you can deal with a removed arm or leg, as well as internal damage to the organs.
• Telepathy A skill that simply allows vampires to communicate with other vampires or those they have bitten within a week, letting them discuss strategy or simply have a discussion. The range of how far one must be from the other is vast, to be able to communicate one must be within the same country as the target. However, to be able to speak with them they must know each other. In the case of a progeny and a creator, they can talk to each other from across the world. The creator can also physically effect their progenies from anywhere, making them feel a longing to come to the one who turned them.
• The Rite of Blood Upon obtaining expert rank, you may use this ability only twice, so choose wisely. If someone has died and not yet rotted completely, you may bring them back as a vampire. The ritual is simple; shove a liter of blood down their throat, and then bring them somewhere with no light. Not even moonlight. If this is done before rotting gets too grim, after a few hours they'll rise up, as your progeny. Being a progeny has benefits and losses. The one who turned you into a vampire will always feel the desire to protect you, and will not do harm onto you. Similarly, you will feel the same protective instinct, preventing you from harming them as well. You literally can't find it within you to hurt them. The one who turned you can get you used to being a vampire; to the life of bloodlust, avoiding the sun, whatnot. However, you will always be connected to them in a way some may not like. Their words will influence you, and greatly. While they cannot simply 'command' you, they can make you want to do things that you wouldn't ordinarily do, and could almost certainly make you do things that you would ordinarily do. You want to impress them. They're like your rolemodel, and your mind can fall under the mercy of their will. This is the benefit of owning a progeny.
• Every knight has the ability to ignore pain in battle, even ignoring the pain of severed limbs for a certain amount of time.
• Sunder: If using an attack and the opponent conjures up a barrier, the user may shatter the defense if it is two ranks below them. If the barrier is one rank below them, they can stagger the opponent with just sheer force, causing them to be so distracted with their next post that only one skill can be used.
• Blood at Dusk: Passively blots out the sun and moon whenever combat begins. As combat progresses, darkness begins to reign from the black orb, stretching across the sky as if a visibly corrupted night was poisoning the sky. At the same time, the black orb slowly becomes stained more and more red. After five posts, the entire sky becomes an eerie black, and the bloodmoon glows a bright red in the sky. This not only cancels any annoyance caused by the sun in combat, but it allows her to project her shadow magic from the murky darkness in the sky. After the five post timer completes, a separate resource bar called the Berserk meter begins to fill itself as well. Each post in combat, attack used, and/or attack sustained adds 10 points to the bar, which has a maximum of 100, and upon filling Almira gains a temporary +1 to her potency, but loses any form of friend or foe identification. It also augments her skills used from the subclass, but only lasts for 4 posts. Afterwards, she cannot enter the berserk state for another 4 posts.
Technique
___youwillknownihilism Captain
Offline
A faint smile
Dedicated Friend
Offline
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2016 6:22 pm
It's hard for me to hear that we were the bad guys. I mean, I never really thought of myself as aligned with the wrong side. It made me feel really guilty to think that not once did it occur to me that Kaminae was wrong. It wasn't my place to think on things, only do what was expected of me. The thought kept pushing in to my head no matter how hard I tried. What if the goddess hadn't gotten killed? Would I have grown up to be exactly what she wanted; a mindless drone ready to kill for her without question and die without hesitation? "No, you would have always had me. Our destiny was to cross paths. Thank your Lady for allowing you life while she did but you do not owe her anything.. You would never have become that. You are too full of life." I could feel the begrudging admittance of something akin to warmth coming from Cypress and I couldn't help but smile. Another presence within me and Almira's satin voice spoke from within. Being frank, I kind of enjoyed sharing this connection with her. The first time she did it I hadn't felt uncomfortable or concerned in the slightest. I already shared everything with Cy, this wasn't any different really. It heartened me to think that Almira believed there was something in me that was special. I beamed at her, a thankful smile plastered on my face.
Energy 550 Stats 8/10 Equipment Passives • Seashores The Mer are hyper-aware of everything around them, their five senses deeply active. They feel the light touching their shoulder, the running about of the small creatures, everything. They're very perceptive, moreso than most races. Furthermore, when listening through a conch (many Mer carry one everywhere), they can hear things for two kilometers around them.
• The Deep Blue Water, blessed by Kaminae, lives to do battle for you. You can manipulate it very precisely, and water manipulated by you is stronger than steal at base. Mer armor and weapons are made of water, and they weigh almost nothing, yet defend better than the armor of others, and attack better than any other spear. The water can indeed slice as if it were a blade, defend as if a shield even in liquid form. Specifically, this hardness scales with the energy you put into it: Novice - Titanium
The amount of water you can manipulate also increases with rank:
Novice - 100 Gallons
The water you are manipulating in its entirety retains that hardness, and the energy buffing the water lasts for four posts.
Technique
WIP
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2017 11:25 am
It's hard for me to hear that we were the bad guys. I mean, I never really thought of myself as aligned with the wrong side. It made me feel really guilty to think that not once did it occur to me that Kaminae was wrong. It wasn't my place to think on things, only do what was expected of me. The thought kept pushing in to my head no matter how hard I tried. What if the goddess hadn't gotten killed? Would I have grown up to be exactly what she wanted; a mindless drone ready to kill for her without question and die without hesitation? "No, you would have always had me. Our destiny was to cross paths. Thank your Lady for allowing you life while she did but you do not owe her anything.. You would never have become that. You are too full of life." I could feel the begrudging admittance of something akin to warmth coming from Cypress and I couldn't help but smile. Another presence within me and Almira's satin voice spoke from within. Being frank, I kind of enjoyed sharing this connection with her. The first time she did it I hadn't felt uncomfortable or concerned in the slightest. I already shared everything with Cy, this wasn't any different really. It heartened me to think that Almira believed there was something in me that was special. I beamed at her, a thankful smile plastered on my face.
I had been leaning on the bar counter, thoroughly engaged in conversation with an elf who apparently was on the city guard. He was regaling me with tales of his adventures in the surrounding forest. "You can never really tell if Mother Nature is your friend, or your foe. One day the trails are familiar and kind to you, the next they are twisting and winding and leading you astray." He flipped his lustrous hair behind his shoulders and lifted up his shirt, exposing much of his entirely sculpted abdomen. Across his torso was a shallow scar, no bigger than a few inches. "Yeah, got that one rescuing a baby dragon from poachers. As you know dragons aren't entirely friendly. Had to fight off the mom and dad. Barely made it out alive." I raised my eyebrows and nodded my head, throwing in a totally convincing 'wow'! for good measure. I could feel Cypress' rage pressing up against the back of my head. His tail flickered in annoyance at this elf. "So how's about I buy that drink for you?" He pointed at my absinthe which had been promptly delivered. That was when Almira cut in. "Wow! I had no idea." The lovely Countess prattled off the list of drinks, leaving me with something called a screwdriver. The bartender looked at me expectantly and I pointed at the elf who had been chatting me up. "He said he was buying my drinks. These are all mine. How nice, am I right?" I shrugged my shoulders and collected both the decaying death poison drink and the swirling orange mixture and turned to find Almira. She was engaged with a colorful man. Like vibrantly colored he was so adorable! My eyes grew wide in excitement at his exotic appearance. "Djinn, a culture that breeds violent men. Based on who can hit the other hardest." Much of the conversation was missed to me but Almira seemed smug. So I winked at the guy as I stationed myself nearest the mistress.
She had this whole socializing thing down packed. I mean, not that I didn't know how to let loose and party. Eighty percent of Meritian culture was dedicated to festivities and straight partying. Every month was chock full of fairs and made up holidays. This was so different. It was like she was bartering, the beer for information. The men seemed readily willing to give it up, so I made myself comfortable and sat in the nearest lap as most of the chairs were taken. The man tried to place his hand on my hip and lean in to talk to me but Cypress was quick to swat at him. "Shh I'm trying to listen!" I whispered enthusiastically, shifting in place so I could get a better view of the goings on. I gingerly lifted the absinthe to my nose and took a sniff. Eugh. Revolting. Looking left and right I noticed an untended drink, so discreetly I poured it in and tossed the glass to the side. The screwdriver tasted exquisite though. So I sipped on that while Almira introduced herself in such a fancy way. Maybe the etiquette came with being a Countess. Maybe she had to take a class called 'how to be super fancy or perhaps 'royal titles and you'. I decided I should pipe up and introduce myself, since a few people were looking at me. I guess they noticed us walk in together. I figured it would be best to avoid letting it out that I used to work for Kaminae. I didn't really have any sort of cool way to let myself be known. "I'm Naëal. That's it, nothing more. Just Naëal. Nice to meet you all!" I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. Just as everyone turned back to Almira I raised a glass to my mouth and a bang went off. I flinched and raised a hand to cover my ear facing the sound. Confusion crossed my face at Cypress' inaction at instant protection. He hadn't shifted in to the full set of armor, instead it was like he was dormant. Mentally I prodded him, though he didn't respond.
Almira seemed unwilling to fight. I wasn't sure what to do but I knew this situation was very close to being deadly. God of Crime? What the heck was up with this place? Tenderly I rose, smiling awkwardly at the man with a gun larger than both of my hands as I walked over to join them. ''Watch your tongue, Naëal. We are dealing with someone far beyond our capacity to take down. Just listen, and play your cards right. Follow Almira's lead." I could hear the unspoken words. Do not die.
What an interesting first time on land this was shaping up to be.
Energy 550 Stats 8/10 Equipment Passives • Seashores The Mer are hyper-aware of everything around them, their five senses deeply active. They feel the light touching their shoulder, the running about of the small creatures, everything. They're very perceptive, moreso than most races. Furthermore, when listening through a conch (many Mer carry one everywhere), they can hear things for two kilometers around them.
• The Deep Blue Water, blessed by Kaminae, lives to do battle for you. You can manipulate it very precisely, and water manipulated by you is stronger than steal at base. Mer armor and weapons are made of water, and they weigh almost nothing, yet defend better than the armor of others, and attack better than any other spear. The water can indeed slice as if it were a blade, defend as if a shield even in liquid form. Specifically, this hardness scales with the energy you put into it: Novice - Titanium
The amount of water you can manipulate also increases with rank:
Novice - 100 Gallons
The water you are manipulating in its entirety retains that hardness, and the energy buffing the water lasts for four posts.
Technique
A faint smile
Dedicated Friend
Offline
___youwillknownihilism Captain
Offline
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:36 pm
Almira swallowed hard, stiff as a board which was incredibly unlike her. Fearful orbs of red and black fell upon his features, a bandana forming a mask over the bottom of his face with a skull decall, circular black shades blocking her from seeing his eyes. An all black coat hung from the back of his chair, long to the dirty floor below, but with her keen eyes she could see that the jacket itself was the source of the floors grit around it, even though he seemed to be the picture of cleanliness. The man claiming to be the god of Crime wore an expensive looking suit, a bow tie and fedora to match. His blazer was open, revealing a black vest lined with silver over an impossibly slick platinum shirt. A quick flick of her eyes saw shoes crafted from the hide of something... otherworldly. The man looked positively delicious. But... something too sinister was writhing within him, producing an aura that Oroborous shook and stirred from simply being near. The shadow shrunk close to her feet, wrapping at her ankles. His condition made hers even more shaken.
The man pulled his extended arm back, the one holding his gun, and gave a flick of the wrist. The weapon spun impossibly fast, his attention not yet shifted towards them. His free hand pulled the mask free, letting it fade into smoke, along with his hat revealing finely kept hair, neat and short cut. His blazer, finally, fizzled to dust and revealed a pair of suspenders, serving a purpose in fashion and as holsters. A masterful, practiced motion saw the gun in it's place, and the man finally angled his head towards the pair of them. When he spoke, his voice was both velvet and guttural. Inviting and pointedly askance all at once somehow. "Now, don't be so serious children. I didn't come here to kill you all. That'd be below me and a tremendous waste of time." As he said that, she saw his tongue, slippery and silver like his shirt. What had she stumbled into... She inhaled and blood filled her nostrils from the massacre around her. It was beginning to pool at their feet, but he was not concerned for the shoes he wore. "Since the cat's got yer tongue, allow me to begin, my dearies. The names Scythias. Scythias is what I'm called, now anyway." He smirked, chuckled in a melodious tone like an organ at a funeral. "Ah, here we are," he spoke as a tray was placed beside Almira, startling her as the bartender, unbothered by everything, brought her drinks, along with a case of cigars. Scythias looked over the selection, rubbing his chin seeing something more than she, who had never seen much pleasure from smoking. He grabbed one with his gloved hands, and the bartender chopped it for him. He snapped his fingers, laying his eyes on Naeal which suddenly shined through each lens where his pupils should be, and a fire started at his thumb. With the blue, warm fire he lit the cigar, deeply inhaling the first puff, allowing white smoke to rise from his mouth and nostrils like a man's soul escaping. Fitting, considering everything. "This here's my right hand man. Call him Woolfe, if you call him. Please, don't hesitate. Get your money's worth." Almira eyed the drinks wearily. He took another hit, the glowing pupils now set on her. "I won't suffer through too much more of the pussyfootin, now. Drink, relax. Don't worry about the bodies. I cant have their ears listening in. They ain't dead yet. Though, if you don't take this hospitality I might have to end them, and that's more blood on your hands, miss 'Coutness of Crasta Granak,'"he warned. Almira, wincing at the way he chided her title like it didn't matter, reached for the Whiskey Sour. He nodded and smiled.
"Now, we may begin," he said. "Begin what?" the vampire inquired after taking the whole first drink in kind. Scythias motioned to the window, thick fog... thicker than it had been. "You see darlin, that fog that rolls in when the maidens come, and stays until they leave isn't some sort of supernatural curse. Nah, nothing quite so special, though no less cool as far as I'm concerned. That fog is my... calling card as it is anyway." Almira cocked her head to the side, sitting down her glass. "You're the one behind the plague?" He laughed again, shaking his head before taking another deep hit, shining those white dots behind his shades, letting more smoke free. It smelled like chocolate and money. It smelled repulsive. "No, not quite. That wasn't that far of a jump, logically, but no. I don't make curses and plagues, dear girl. I'm the God of Crime. I kill, I steal, I manufacture the best s**t on Axiom if you wanna get ******** up, or maybe ******** someone else up, but I don't make people sick. Not like this. However, I do make some things happen behind the scenes if something's in it for me, you see. The fog is just a bit of fun to me, something little I can do to make life difficult for people coming after my boys. Apparently, someone took notice of it, and brought me in on a little scheme. A scheme to make the people sick, weaken the power the gods have over Yuran and Kusana. I'd be a damned fool not to want them out of the picture. No gods means less laws, and lawlessness is where I thrive." The man smirked at Naeal, seeing her mer blood, then back at Almira. "What plan? What does this have to do with me?" Scythias hung his head back, letting more of the smoke free from his mouth and groaning with pleasure as a slight headrush set in. "I watched you kill that maiden. It was impressive seeing the sin of gluttony going nuts again. I remember the first one, back in the day when Julie was just settling into her own as Lust. I saw you kill the old girl, watched you do it with relative ease too. Figured it might be time to play a hand of my own. Now, remember what I said about somebody wanting the gods weakened and the people over in good ol'Pronta and Kranilla dead? Well, this specific plague isn't something natural. I couldn't break it down in a lab for yah, well I could but I won't. It's what you all know as Divine. I wonder what kind of divine being has the power to engineer something of this sort..." he said taking Almira's second Whiskey Sour for his own.
"Catherine?" Scythias shook his head. "That old bat has too much going on in her head to engineer anything. Try again." Almira dug deep into her knowledge of religion. An idea popped into her mind, and she looked at the man, still wary to keep her voice low. "Sevastiana." He downed the drink and knocked a finger against the table. "Ding ding, we have a winner. That's right, Lady Virulence, Maiden of Disease herself is behind this plague. Recall Dominus's body being flung across the world, Maria's body stuck in suspended animation in the Great Ocean? She's a key player. Twas she who bought my services with a promise." Almira looked at Naeal, information streaming into her mind about Sevastiana, who she was, what she did in the past, the works. "W...why are you telling me this? If you're allied with her... are you..." she trailed off as the room's shadows began to shift in direction to face Almira. His expression, what of it wasn't blocked by his shades turned grim. She didn't blink and still nigh on missed the movement he made.
The table flipped, drinks flying everywhere. Almira broke it with a deft punch, scattring would everywhere with the thrust of her arm. In the second he broke their visibility, he already had the revolver, brimming red and black with energy, trained on her eye, giving her a clear view of the bright yellow bullet itching to be freed. He was dragging the Cigar with his head hung low, standing tall with those glowing dots taunting her. The bartender, too, had glowing eyes and a submachine gun trained on Naeal from across the room, brimming with the same energy. On his hand a brightly shining silver Cat was visible. "Don't get hasty, little girl. I already said you ain't gonna die today," he warned. The threat was powerful, the words poking into their ears and hearts alike. "Now, let's assume you're both not small fry, such as you is. Assume you're both Sages, full powered dragon at your side, shadows bending like Johana Miras herself to your whim," he spoke sing song to them both. His accent, Demonica clear, along with intonation similar to what you hear from South Fraxonites speaking the language. It was remnant of Southern. Games were done in his mind, and the present danger was steadily rising. "Even then, you're gonna piss off a God? Sure, you might kill my boy Woolfe, and that'd piss me off. You might land a few hits, destroy this bar and let the fog in. And then..." a loud sound like a metallic foot crashing into the ground sounded out. His eyes glowed even brighter than before. "Then you'd get to meet my friend. It'd get ugly, fast. And just so we are clear, I don't miss and neither does Woolfe. Just so we are clear, you aint even Masters yet. You don't even hold the keys to your own potential, so neither of ya better step wrong. I came here for reasons that are my own. I don't owe you any answers, letting you live is a choice I don't have to make. I just thought you may wanna know what it is that you're up against. Sevastiana makes her home in the east through Val Ghast. You'd die long before you got there in your current state, but a rat told me that you aint the only pair of jackasses drawing her ire. Target the maidens, seek friends in Pronta, in Nocturne maybe, grow your strength and maybe you'll see me again, maybe not. Either way, this all ends favorably for me." Almira swallowed her pride, holding her eyes on the gun, then nodding at what he said. Again the weapon spun aroud his finger in the trigger box. He tossed it into the air, catching it with his other hand and continuing the motion as he started walking towards the door, his cigar still lit and burning and the glow in his eyes still. The bartender holstered his gun and started pouring some kind of solution on the bodies. The God of Crime lokoed out the window, seeing clearly through the window as the silver liquid began healing the head wounds on all the bodies. The smoke of his Cigar, collecting at the ceiling began to finally dissipate. "Alrighty, this was fun. Let's do this again sometime, my venue next time though. Good luck with the maidens, kiddies." A giant metal hand crashed through the wall, wrapping around Scythias who flicked the cigar away. Woolfe waved courteously before leaping to catch the mechanical hand by the little finger. As he was pulled away, Almira heard heartbeats start up all around her. Ely was the first to wake, and he just barely missed the sound of three massive footsteps. The fog cleared, mostly, and the man was gone just as hastily as he had appeared.
• Regeneration This is passive meaning it does it on its own. At different ranks you may regenerate your wounds. Trainees can only deal with cuts, by novice deep cuts, Adept rank you wont bother with a broken bone, masters can deal with an entire sword going through your body, and you can deal with a removed arm or leg, as well as internal damage to the organs.
• Telepathy A skill that simply allows vampires to communicate with other vampires or those they have bitten within a week, letting them discuss strategy or simply have a discussion. The range of how far one must be from the other is vast, to be able to communicate one must be within the same country as the target. However, to be able to speak with them they must know each other. In the case of a progeny and a creator, they can talk to each other from across the world. The creator can also physically effect their progenies from anywhere, making them feel a longing to come to the one who turned them.
• The Rite of Blood Upon obtaining expert rank, you may use this ability only twice, so choose wisely. If someone has died and not yet rotted completely, you may bring them back as a vampire. The ritual is simple; shove a liter of blood down their throat, and then bring them somewhere with no light. Not even moonlight. If this is done before rotting gets too grim, after a few hours they'll rise up, as your progeny. Being a progeny has benefits and losses. The one who turned you into a vampire will always feel the desire to protect you, and will not do harm onto you. Similarly, you will feel the same protective instinct, preventing you from harming them as well. You literally can't find it within you to hurt them. The one who turned you can get you used to being a vampire; to the life of bloodlust, avoiding the sun, whatnot. However, you will always be connected to them in a way some may not like. Their words will influence you, and greatly. While they cannot simply 'command' you, they can make you want to do things that you wouldn't ordinarily do, and could almost certainly make you do things that you would ordinarily do. You want to impress them. They're like your rolemodel, and your mind can fall under the mercy of their will. This is the benefit of owning a progeny.
• Every knight has the ability to ignore pain in battle, even ignoring the pain of severed limbs for a certain amount of time.
• Sunder: If using an attack and the opponent conjures up a barrier, the user may shatter the defense if it is two ranks below them. If the barrier is one rank below them, they can stagger the opponent with just sheer force, causing them to be so distracted with their next post that only one skill can be used.
• Blood at Dusk: Passively blots out the sun and moon whenever combat begins. As combat progresses, darkness begins to reign from the black orb, stretching across the sky as if a visibly corrupted night was poisoning the sky. At the same time, the black orb slowly becomes stained more and more red. After five posts, the entire sky becomes an eerie black, and the bloodmoon glows a bright red in the sky. This not only cancels any annoyance caused by the sun in combat, but it allows her to project her shadow magic from the murky darkness in the sky. After the five post timer completes, a separate resource bar called the Berserk meter begins to fill itself as well. Each post in combat, attack used, and/or attack sustained adds 10 points to the bar, which has a maximum of 100, and upon filling Almira gains a temporary +1 to her potency, but loses any form of friend or foe identification. It also augments her skills used from the subclass, but only lasts for 4 posts. Afterwards, she cannot enter the berserk state for another 4 posts.
