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Post by Summer S. Invictus on Oct 12, 2021 10:07:13 GMT -8
Darkness still clung to the streets as Summer walked through, sandals clicking gently against the cobblestone streets. She'd left her chest back at the inn, she was on a hunt after all and couldn't exactly look after it out in the woods. As she walked, her gleaming eye watched the horizon, waiting for the rising of the sun but she knew it wouldn't help as much as she wished. The fog around the town of Mistshire was the reason this place had its name after all but there was something new lurking in the depths of the once gentle mist, something dangerous.
Summer closed her eye and ran through her usual list to make sure she had done all of the correct preparation. She had pulled her hair up into a bun, she had her blindfold and Jingasa on, she had brushed her teeth, applied her perfume, drank her tea; jasmine as was proper before the eve of battle, and she had oiled her blades. She tapped her bottom lip with a long finger for a few seconds before snapping her fingers, remembering what she had forgotten. While she had remembered to paint her nails, she hadn't had a smoke yet. The Samurai reached into her hakama into a secret pouch and withdrew her pipe and a small pot of tobacco. She put a good measure in and put her tobacco away before striking the pipe alight with the small sparkstone hidden in her ring.
She was in position now and stood tall, one arm folded across her chest, hand cupped to support her right elbow as she raised her pipe to her lips and took a deep breath. Cherry had been a good choice for today and it was mellow enough that it wouldn't distract her for later. Now she just had to wait for her companion for this hunt, she'd put out an open invitation among this town and the surrounding ones, it was better to have a companion after all than fight everything alone. Hopefully it wouldn't be a Shinkoku member however, that might end up... Awkward. |
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Post by Taigakai Shikotsu-Kriita'al on Oct 14, 2021 4:39:34 GMT -8
Taigakai skated over the cobblestone pathway, ice lining under his feet with minimal bumps between each brick, He was out to meet up with someone calling for a bounty partner. The name rang a bell and the silhouette of a woman became clearer as he closed distance. When he was finally grouped with the person, he knew who she was. Of course, that was part of his job to be aware of other schools and their staff. Though, because of his position, it’s less likely she knew who he was. The only hint that he had revolved around his bloodline, but lineage was often a reason to go to a school like one he worked at.
His outfit was simple, thin and dark fabric with sequins that sparkled like dewdrops covered his whole body. A pair of boots with blades of ice underneath blended into the fabric so it appeared like the suit melted into the footwear. Taigakai’s hair was entirely let down, falling over one side of his face and covering an eye, ears decorated with 3 metal spikes and two rings. His outfit didn’t appear to look like armour, but that only entailed that he wasn’t the close range type. [smear:#75daff]“Miss Invictus, I presume?”[/smear:#824dff:0], he started.[smear:#75daff] “My name is Taigakai, I’ve picked up the call for a partner in a hunting bounty around here.”[/smear:#824dff:0] The boy lifted the flier of the bounty itself so she could see.
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Post by Summer S. Invictus on Oct 14, 2021 13:09:05 GMT -8
Considering the layout of the surroundings, it was certainly interesting to hear the sound of skates on ice. Summer stopped for a moment, holding a lungful of smoke before tilting her head to the side to pinpoint the location of the sound. The mist around here would mess with sight but her hearing wasn't impaired. She blew the smoke out through her nose, the white tendrils vanishing swiftly into the surrounding fog. When the boy got closer, she turned properly towards him so that she could actually see him, her right eye was covered after all and she used the end of her pipe to tip her jingasa up a little.
He definitely didn't look like a frontline combatant but that was fine, it meant she wouldn't need to worry about hitting him. As her eye watched over him she became quite aware of how formfitting his outfit was and she looked away into the distance, taking another pull from her pipe to cover the momentary lapse in concentration. "Please, just call me Summer, we shall be fighting together after all. I imagine you know the details of this hunt of ours so I will not bore you by going over them again." Her voice was soft and sing-song and she gave a warm smile to the boy. "Please, tell me your name and if you so wish, a small amount on how you fight. That way I will be able to recognise your attacks over the foe's and deflect or dodge appropriately. I myself am a skilled swordswoman, though if you know my name then I believe you already know that much. I possess affinities primarily with War Magic and most of my skills come from such, though I am branching out." She gave a small laugh and nodded, tapping her pipe to put it out and stowing it away.
With that she turned and started to walk towards the nearby woods, waving for Taigakai to join her.
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Post by Taigakai Shikotsu-Kriita'al on Nov 19, 2021 15:53:00 GMT -8
[smear:#75daff]“Yes M- Summer.”[/smear:#824dff:0], he said. Trying to not be formal for the sake of being timely in a fight made sense. It was just a matter of keeping that in mind despite job formalities being drilled in.
[smear:#75daff]“My name is Taigakai Shikotsu-Kriita’al. But for the sake of time, Taiga for short works.”[/smear:#824dff:0] He ran a hand through his hair, flicking it back. “I’m mainly in charge of terrain management. The ground turns to a ruin of ice and lightning for the most part.” Surely she was familiar with clan abilities.[smear:#75daff] “My affinities match with lightning as well as ice and metal. Most of my ice will be infused with metal to attract lightning.”[/smear:#824dff:0], he explained.
To further show, a shard of ice formed in his hand and he tossed it to summer. It had a crystalline glint, but a close look showed flecks of metal glistening within the ice, some of the light bouncing as if the surface was more metal than crystal.
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Post by Summer S. Invictus on Nov 20, 2021 16:12:06 GMT -8
  [Refs]
The samurai kept her head tilted towards Taiga as he spoke, making sure he knew she was listening even as she scanned her eye across their surroundings. She did recognise the surname, she'd made sure to do her research of bigger named families and clans that existed around these parts. After all, anyone was welcome within the ranks of the Shinkoku School and she knew that there were clan members, even of the Kriita'al within the Rankers.
"I shall do my best to stay off the ground then, I only ask that you create or mark out safe areas so that I can touch down before I head back into the sky." She turned and caught the shard out of the air before looking at it closely, holding it up to the wan light that came through the mist around them. "Could make a fine blade out of this stuff, it's a shame that none of my abilities would benefit from such a weapon." She gave a soft laugh and tossed the shard back to him.
"I am not entirely sure of the hunting area of the beast we are searching for but anyone walking into the mists seems to get attacked by it, so we might as well just wander around until it deems us as food." Summer didn't seem bothered at all that she was going to be bait for this monster. "It's up to you if you want to keep close and fight at my side the moment it shows or if you want to take a further back position, maybe stay amongst the tree tops? That way the moment I get attacked you can swoop in to assist. The main worry is that the beast can hide amongst the mist... I will likely be able to see it anyway..." She reached up and tapped the eye hidden by her blindfold, "...But do you have any additional sensory mediums?"
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Post by Taigakai Shikotsu-Kriita'al on Jan 6, 2022 23:20:21 GMT -8
Taigakai made sure to take note of that. Summer would need to know what the terrain is and isn’t a hazard. That was fair to know. He caught the shard, the faintest squeeze between his fingers dispersing it back into a fine powder. [smear:#75daff]“I’ll make safe areas with growing ice clusters. Keep an eye out for those if you can.”[/smear:#824dff:0] An eye. Good one, she had one covered with an eyepatch.
[smear:#75daff]
“Ah darn. I’m afraid I don’t make great food. Stringy, little meat, cold. Hope it likes frozen dinners.”[/smear:#824dff:0], Taigakai said, giving Summer a grin. He gave a moment to think through his abilities. [smear:#75daff]“I unfortunately do not have much in terms of sensory. But if this beast is as big as the bounty says, it should have some kind of tell, yeah?”[/smear:#824dff:0] A mist stalker. [smear:#75daff]“I think I’ll keep close until it makes itself known, though. Don’t want to get plucked off too early.”
[/smear:#824dff:0]
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Post by Summer S. Invictus on Jan 22, 2022 18:41:05 GMT -8
Summer gave a soft laugh at the boy's remarks and started to stretch out her arms and back as she walked, though she kept herself fully aware as she done so. It wasn't long until both of them had walked far out of sight of the village, now wandering through thick banks of mist that stifled the air and muted sound as though the air was cushioned. The swordswoman made sure to stay close to Taigakai so that she didn't lose sight of him, that'd be the worst thing that could happen at the moment.
"We'll need a callsign in case we get split up, I don't want to swing at a shadow only to find it was you. My vote is Crystal. If you call out Crystal I'll be able to at least partially locate you and know that you are nearby, so I won't swing so readily." She turned and gave him a confident smile and a nod before reaching down to her belt and resting her hand on the hilt of her sword. With a low hiss of steel against leather she drew the long blade and gripped it with her second hand, angling it down so that the tip only barely didn't drag along the ground.
"Be on your guard from here, until this thing finds us... Or we find it... We are prey." Her voice was quiet, tight, her entire body on edge and waiting.
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Post by Taigakai Shikotsu-Kriita'al on Jan 22, 2022 23:55:42 GMT -8
[smear:#75daff]
“Sounds fair to me.”[/smear:#824dff:0]Hopefully this thing didn’t speak or emulate speech. That would make things messy. Maybe he was overthinking it. For his part, Taigakai did what he could to look around, but there didn’t seem to be anything else disturbing the mists. There wasn’t much of a sound outside of the two of them either, the silence felt heavy. Taigakai nodded quietly with her order, a silent ‘Right’ accompanied but not audible.
The lack of fauna making noise was unsettling enough as it is, and he made sure that he wasn’t overthinking things so that his mind played tricks on him. But the air felt strangely heavy. Perhaps it was the pressure of this creature’s presence that weighed in on the area? It was plausible.
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Post by Sparky on Jan 29, 2022 15:48:35 GMT -8
Dense fog embraced the forest, weighing heavily upon even the smallest of branches. Each tree held an eerie presence in the gloom of the early morning. Visibility was low, shapes barely discernable from a distance and foliage obscuring anything hiding in the undergrowth. The air was still. Oppressive. This early, this dark, even the birds were silent. Only the occasional snap of a brush or cry of distant wildlife broke the heavy silence. The only signs of life in a territory that otherwise felt dead.
Deeper in, trails became overgrown and obscured. Untended signs showed signs of rot. Signs of disuse were written everywhere. The language of abandonment. How long had these people been unable to safely travel through the forest? Hunters unable to journey to find food and pelts? Deeper still, signs were instead traded with different markers. Discarded armor, abandoned weapons. Corpses long dead and left in ruin. Rumors were that adventurers had attempted the hunt before. Here were their results. Age could be determined through the degree of rust and degradation on each piece of armor or weapon. Some were startlingly fresh. Breastplates ripped open like cans of food, bones picked clean.
As the duo entered the depths of the woods, they were not alone. Somewhere deep in the depths of the fog, something had picked up their scent. It followed them at a distance. Silently stalking Summer. Eyes studied the prey. While many of its prey were tough, clad in metals and leathers. She was soft, clad in cloth. Already the beast plotted out the best approach, the safest way to snatch her up. But she was accompanied by one other. This one was lithe, and looked built for speed. A difficult catch, but appearing just as fragile as its companion.
The beast picked its way across the undergrowth, steps light and careful. Barely a peep came from it. With each passing minute, the distance closed. Slow. Methodical. It was experienced with the two-legged ones. They put up much more of a fight than a deer. Silent until the last possible moment, the only signal of its attack was the sudden explosion of leaves and brush as a silvery-white form burst forth. Fangs bared and yowling, it launched forwards and snapped at Summer's throat. Dreadfully close, it's teeth cut through the fabric and grazed harmlessly against the woman's shoulder. A near miss.
Without time to consider the failure, the creature landed on the other side of the duo and turned towards them with a low hiss. Somewhere between a ferret and a viper, its opalescent back scales vibrated with irritation. Hissing and snapping it's jaws, the creature backed up into the wall of fog, shimmering and almost becoming translucent within. If at first it doesn't succeed, try again. Silence returned to the trail. The White Beast had vanished from sight.
The bastard had gone invisible.
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Post by Summer S. Invictus on Jan 29, 2022 16:50:23 GMT -8
Years spent training with real blades and fighting for her life among the Rankers of the Shinkoku School had bred a pretty powerful sense for danger into Summer. She stopped for a moment as she walked and tilted her head slightly, letting herself fall into a state of tranquility though she knew it wouldn't last. When the creature sprung out of the mist Summer shifted her weight and let it move past her though its teeth cut through the shoulder of her hakama. "Our foe is upon us and try as it might, it can't hide from me." The tranquility within her shattered and adrenaline pulsed through her veins like molten iron into a mould. She adjusted her stance, right hand down at her left hip, blade up and across her body as her left hand reached up and tilted her blindfold up and away. Beneath it her eye started to glow gold, the black sclerae unnatural and the golden iris giving off the light. The tattoo around her eye lit up and the world changed to her vision. The mist wasn't a bother anymore, instead she was able to hunt via mana and life signs, enabling her to pick up on the creature that danced in the mists.
She focused her vision in and gripped the hilt of her blade with both hands again before angling the blade down and dashing forwards. "If you can't see it, follow my lead and attack ahead of where I'm dashing, I'll do my best to move in straight lines towards it." She roared out, focusing her mana down and through her blade, a strange golden sheen coming over the weapon as she moved to the beast and slashed her blade diagonally upwards, aiming to not only cut the thing but explode the mana on her blade in order to open the wound even wider. If she made it start bleeding it'd be even easier to track. Spell name: Bewitched Arts: Black Moon's Eye
Spell Main Element: War[Cursed]
-Spell Sub Elements: Arcane
Affinity Strength: 5(Cast at 9)
Function: This spell takes the form of a series of tattoos around Summer's right eye, four Golden points at the cardinal directions and then jagged black lines connecting them all together. With the tattoo complete, this alters Summer's eye entirely causing it to take on a primarily black colour with a metallic golden iris. This spell is constantly active after being learned and can only be switched off by keeping the eye covered. While the eye is uncovered, it causes a constant mana drain every round dependent on Summer's affinity and every so many rounds based on her affinity it also drains 2 HP. The eye while uncovered is capable of seeing mana and life signs and at a glance can tell a person's primary affinity and how strong they are in it with subsequent rounds of intense study, meaning looking at nothing else, notifying Summer of another affinity the character possesses each round.
Affinity - Mana Drain per Round - Rounds before HP Drain
5 - 10 - 1
6 - 8 - 2
7 - 6 - 3
8 - 4 - 4
9 - 2 - 5
10 - 1 - 6
Spell name: A Scythe Through Wheat
Spell Main Element: War
-Spell Sub Elements: N/A
Affinity Strength: 2(Cast at 8)
Function: The second strike taught by the Shinkoku School is about how to break through unguarded flesh. This time the focus is on spreading mana out across the length of the blade, allowing even the dullest of swords to draw blood. Dependent on the affinity of the user, upon landing a blow they are able to twist the blade and spread the mana, causing the wound to open further causing the victim to suffer an amount of bleeding damage each round until either healed or a full turn is spent applying pressure to the wound.
Affinity - Bleed Damage
2 - 1
4 - 2
6 - 3
8 - 4
10 - 5 |
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Post by Taigakai Shikotsu-Kriita'al on Feb 22, 2022 7:48:30 GMT -8
Taigakai’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden spring by this creature. He was luckily off to the side so it darted past him, the rush of the creature there and gone in an instant with only particles of water in the fog swirling from its trail. [smear:#75daff]“R-right!”[/smear:#824dff:0] Taigakai called back, careful to watch where Summer was going and keeping a fair distance behind. He hoped he didn’t hit her, but she seemed wary enough that friendly fire was unlikely. Taigakai followed suit with Summer’s attack, forming long rods and throwing them in her general direction to either impale or somehow net the creature in with electricity. The rods themselves planted into the creature or the terrain around it and grew live with lightning. He’d stray to the side, keeping Summer within sight while getting another angle to snag the creature. 5 control rods created, cast at affin 7
Spell name: Control Rods
Spell Main Element: Metal
-Spell Sub Elements: Lightning
Affinity Strength: 1
Function: The caster flings or impales conductive rods into the target in any size they desire. Smaller rods are easier to hide, but require a larger amount embedded in flesh to do much while larger rods are easier to control and can be used in smaller amounts. The rods are charged with electrical impulses and make lightning and magnetic metals attract to the target faster. Additionally, due to the electric impulses in the rods, it may cause areas with rods in them to twitch spaztically.
Affinity - Amount of Effect
1 - Minor muscle spasms (hands)
4 - Muscle spasms (arms/legs), minor burns
7 - Full body shock, torso contractions, burns
10 - Full body shock, major burns
Availability: Open |
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Post by Sparky on Feb 23, 2022 20:49:06 GMT -8
Always comfortable in the shadows, the beast wasn't built for a direct confrontation. Unlike most wanton prey that entered its domain, the pink one knew. Within seconds, the predator was flipped instead to the role of prey. Before it could react, cold steel burrowed deep into it's flesh, drawing upwards and carving through it's throat. A gurgling hiss escaped only to be immediately silenced by an eruption of mana, further widening the wound.
Scrambling for purchase on the ground, the serpentine predator struggled for survival as a curtain of crimson bled from it. If it could escape, perhaps the creature could recover. Widened as it might have been, it was still only surface level. The creature writhed and turned its attention towards the depths of the woods. Towards the safety of its den. This prey was not worth the effort, and was instead actively expending more energy to catch. A poor trade off for a meager meal. Hissing pitifully at Summer, the creature backed down. Jaws snapped in a display frustration. The creature staggered, fell to one side, then turned to beat a hasty retreat into the brush.
There was safety in the dense foliage of the forest. If it used it's speed to outpace the hunters, then it could instead find a place to hide and lick its wounds. A crack of thunder caught it's attention from behind. Seemingly forgetting the threat of the pink one, curiosity took over. Silence. Moments later the creature's pupils narrowed as the fog bent and weaved as the multiple iron rods flew free.
From the edge of the woods a guttural cry echoed out.
Four of the five sparking rods had buried themselves in the ground or surrounding trees. As for the fifth, it too had found a new home. Through the fog, the White Beast was left pinned to a tree. Jaws agape. White hide now stained a deep, shocking crimson. Flesh surrounding the iron rod was scorched by the electricity. Otherwise, there was no movement. Not a hiss, not a blink, not a single breath. It's claws and head hung limp.
The whole ordeal had lasted mere moments.
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