Tenth Anniversary User Royale: Voting

Intro[]

The door hisses shut behind Saturos as he enters a small hallway, barely a few strides across. He stands still there, as usual, letting his eyes grow used to the dim light before stepping forward and opening the other door. His boss, the one known as "Leo," stands on the other side of a mess of desks and computers, staring out the window of his office. His usual orange mask rests on the table behind him, which is likely why he didn't turn around.

"I assume you called me here for something," the Proxian says, making his annoyance known.

"Document on the table," Leo replies, giving Saturos the questionable honor of being the first warrior to hear his real voice. The blue man picks up the document, looking over it as Leo grabs and dons his mask, the device hissing as it adheres to his face. Saturos looks up, meeting the eyes of the mask; the technology within prevents others from noticing anything about Leo's head aside from the mask covering it.

"Wait, does this mean..."

"Yes," Leo says, the familiar distortion back, "The Babel Division is going to be real. You and I are no longer the sole members of the DFederal Security Bureau. Since you are, naturally, going to be part of it, do you have suggestions?"

"Part of, but not leading?" Saturos asks, waiting for Leo to nod. "In that case... Menardi, naturally, but not Agatio, Karst, Felix, or Jenna. Should probably have numbers easily divisible by two, three, and four to have an easier time splitting things into teams. Should I add that one Adventurer named for you?"

"No, not him. He'll stay as a decoy. Your thoughts match my own, so there'll be twelve of you to start with. You, Menardi, and an additional ten the pair of you hand-pick."

"I assume you're going to give command to that girl who's image you use? Carol, I think."

"Once she arrives, yes."

"Very well. I'll see which ten fellow fools would be best to join us. Anything you want us to start with?"

"Yes. While I distract people with the Tenth Anniversary tournament, split them into three teams of four. I have long considered South University's new state an eyesore. You are to take two teams and prepare to round up the OCs on my signal. Place them back in OCity."

"And the third team?"

"Something odd is happening in the Slums, the Sewers, and among the homeless. The Illegals in the waiting rooms at the gates might be affected, too. They are to find the threat and assess whether we need to step in or have a bit of fun watching it play out."

"Those are simple enough missions. Should have known you wouldn't let me retire peacefully," Saturos says, prompting Leo to wave him out. As the Proxian leaves, a few keystrokes brings up the statistics for 18 denizens of OCity

The Combatants[]

Arete Kasamata was a citizen of Sanzar, a smallish country in Nosul hanging onto its neutrality by the variety and power of its magical systems. She was one of the preeminent faculty in the Magistarium as well as one of the youngest. She was in charge of dissecting and standardizing the various magical systems that its researchers created, performing her task with impeccable precision despite having no ability to do magic herself. Her inquisitive nature and lack of magical abilities led her to discover and practice the only forbidden school of magic: contract magic.

In addition to the worldwide wars, Nosul is also under the threat of invasion from the semi-deitic Fafashun, each of whom have enormous power and most of which want to either raid the world's resources or just fuck around with humanity for their own entertainment. Contract magic, as the name states, involves signing a contract with one of these beings, swapping body parts to weaken the barriers keeping them out.

As this magic is fairly noticeable, Arete was quickly found out and turned into a pariah overnight. Expelled from the Magistarium and forbidden to be interacted with, she left Sanzar and made her living as a mercenary. Her abilities left her in near-constant demand, though she changed employers rapidly as none were willing to assist in her revenge against her former country.

Sanzar's leaders, knowing of her grudge, frequently sent assassins after her. She eventually failed to defend herself against one of them, and died at the age of sixty.

She will be thirty in this match, a 5'8" human female with tan skin. She has taken care to remain lean, and has her red hair in a ponytail to her mid-back. Her natural eye color is yellow, and her left eye and arm have taken monstrous forms as detailed in the next tabs.

Arete's contract with Gaiza allows her to manipulate photons at will, allowing her to manipulate light. She can manipulate all parts of the photon, whether as a particle or as a wave. She can bend light around an object, make a light change color, dissipate lasers, and even halt the motion of photons to make physical constructs. It should be noted, however, that because the photons are halted in the physical constructs, they are invisible. Even to Arete herself. She cannot create light, and is limited to manipulating light in the environment.

The price of this contract was her left eye, which is replaced by Gaiza's. Gaiza's eye is visually distinctive, as a compound eye with dark blue tridecagonal and red triangular ommatidia. This organ allows her to perceive the entire electromagnetic spectrum, which puts some strain on her mind, giving her frequent headaches.

Arete's contract with Pihatu allows her to generate fire. From a spark to a towering column of flame, she is able to create fire of any shape or size. She is not able to control any currently-present fire, however, and cannot control or maintain her flames after release, either. Further, the origin point for her flames must be within ten meters of her person.

The price of this contract was her left arm. From 3 inches above the elbow to her hand, it has been replaced by Pihatu's. It is nearly identical to its human counterpart, excepting being covered in red scales and terminating in a four-digit claw. Further, this arm alone has supernatural strength, enough to powder a pig's skull with grip strength alone.

Her contract with Rudhira allows her to utilize autohematic transposition. What this means is that she can swap the positions of anything with her blood on it. She can do partial transfers if she wants, but only of the parts where her blood is. e.g, if she gets a drop of her blood on a stone and on a tree, she can either swap the stone and the tree or swap the single point of stone & tree where her blood is. Partial transfers also transfer depth, but only to the point of the thinnest object.

The price of this contract was her heart, which has been fully replaced by Rudhira's. While she has not physically seen it, she has verified that it generates and utilizes mana to beat instead of electrical impulses like a normal heart. While this mana generation has allowed her to utilize her other contracts more easily, removing range limitations on Gaiza's and allowing Pihatu's contract to freely generate flame rather than sparks, the human body isn't built to process mana. It rejects it, in fact, and as such the contract causes her immense, constant pain, which only lowers in intensity when she utilizes her magic.

Before leaving Sanzar, Arete swiped a tunic and a pair of pants made by one of the nation's best runecrafters. The threads are woven in arcane geometries, giving it the hardness of steel when in the presence of mana. Other runes sown within make the cloth self-cleaning, as well as providing limited first aid.

The clothes are dark blue in color, with red threading to make the runes.

Aside from her contracts, Arete's main armament is her trusty custom-built shotgun. It does not feature a trigger, and is instead fired by utilizing Pihatu's powers to directly ignite the gunpowder in the shells.

Two feet of triple-barreled steel and wood from muzzle to stock, she loads 12-gauge slugs in the right barrel's tubular magazine, a propeitary blend of her own crystalized blood, napalm, and magnesium in the left, and buckshot in the lower. Each magazine holds four rounds, and packs enough recoil to require Arete to utilize Pihatu's arm. She carries one extra magazine of each in addition to the three loaded into her shotgun.

Highly Analytical: As a magical researcher, Arete is extremely efficient at analyzing situations, magic, and people. She can typically figure out the precise workings of a magic style after seeing it twice.

Vengeful: Arete dislikes being stymied, ad will seek vengeance on any and all who try. She can get a little obsessed with this pursuit.

Stealth Proficiency: she is quite adept at utilizing Gaiza's contact for stealth purposes, either bending light to create a new face or simply going brute force and making herself invisible.

Charismatically Challenged: Despite being skilled at analysing people, her blunt nature and vengeful side forestalls utilizing that for manipulative purposes.

Sergei Dolour is an assassin/spy for hire with a 20 year career which started when he was 18. Owning to his unique set of “skills” Sergei has been highly successful in his field and has worked for criminal organisations, terrorist groups and even the occasional government such as REDACTED and REDACTED. Sergei is 5’10, weighs 180kgs, has short brown hair, brown eyes and his skin is a light olive colour. Sergei has no distinguishing physical features and his clothing is simple and unnoteworthy.

Sergei has an unusual magical quirk whereby anybody or anything he encounters forgets about him as soon as he is out of their sight. They forget his name, appearance, personality and any information given to them by him although they will remember having talked to somebody, they just won’t remember who or what the conversation was about. Similarly, if they have been attacked by or are currently engaged in combat with Sergei and he is out of their field of view, they will know that they are under attack but again will not know who is attacking them or for what reason. This amnesia only lasts while they do not have visual contact with Sergei, if he encounters them again, they will remember previous encounters as well as any information shared for as long as he is in their sight.

Bonebreaking is the ability to break and fracture the bones in a person’s body. This power is contained within the fingertips of Sergei’s left hand and whenever they touch a person it breaks whichever bone it touches the severity of which depends on the contact applied. If the touch is only slight then only the actual bone being touched would be broken but prolonged touch will begin to break every bone in a person’s body, eventually leading to them exploding entirely. The bone breaking may not be lethal in of itself but as the bone shatters if it is protecting a vital organ (such as the heart or brain) the shattering bone can splinter into the organ to do lethal damage. The obvious downside is that this power can only be transferred through the fingertips of Sergei’s left hand and Sergei cannot control the bone breaking, meaning any bone he touches, including his own, will automatically break.

In order to contain his power, Sergei wears a magic nullifying glove on his left hand. This contains the Bonebreaking ability and prevents it from activating while it is worn so he can interact with people safely, requiring him to remove the glove to have access to his Bonebreaking. As an added bonus it is also able to nullify the magic of other mages as long as it is in contact with the implement of the magic. For example, if Sergei was the grab onto the hand of a person who can shoot fireballs from his hand, he would be unable to use his magic while the hold was maintained, although he could still shoot fireballs from the other hand. The glove has no effect on his Amnesia Magic.

As Sergei’s magic requires him to get up close and personal in order to use, he also carries a gun for dealing with an opponent from afar. His choice of firearm is the MP5 which comes with a 30 round magazine of 9x19mm Parabellum bullets. Sergei carries 5 spare ammo magazines on him at all times.

Whenever he needs to make a quick escape or cover his tracks, Sergei uses Smoke Grenades. He carries 10 of them with him all attached to his belt.

Combat Averse: As an assassin/spy Sergei is not a fan of direct combat and will try to avoid it at all costs. Should he be forced into combat he’ll always be looking for the first opportunity to bail, making use of his smoke grenades and amnesia magic to do so.

Charismatic: Sergei is naturally charming and is able to put people at ease, get people on his side fairly easily and defuse potential conflicts.

Skilled Actor: Tying into his charismatic personality Sergei is also a good actor, able to portray himself as just a normal everyday person. He is fond of pretending to be meek and frightened when faced with adversity, to either lull potential opponents into thinking he’s weak or further convince them he’s nothing more than a regular person.

Ruthless: While his outward personality would make him seem like a normal harmless person, Sergei is a ruthless killer and is more than willing to kill someone if he feels they are a threat. Should he get the opportunity to eliminate an unsuspecting opponent he’ll take it without hesitation.

Paranoid: With his job involving a lot of espionage and treachery Sergei has become a very paranoid individual. He is constantly on the look out for any potential traps or suspicious individuals and if he feels something is not right, he is quick to bail. Any alliances he makes are likely to be short term and only for as long as Sergei feels he is at an advantage.

Champie was a man eating Bengal Tiger in life but that part isn't relevant to what happened after her demise except that it was the reason she, a British lunatic, and three American numbskulls were brought back to life by the U.S. military and a man who went by the name of The Astrologer when he was out killing people. The Astrologer betrayed the military who wanted a super weapon and apparently hadn't seen any fictional works involving this same tactic which resulted in four ressurected psychopaths and one gaining the power of souls to off even more people. It was after that mayhem and several more deaths that led to a weird tiger-colored cat helping a moronic detective beat the Hillbilly Necromancer and his hordes of the living dead and demons, if only because he gave her something tastier than raw deer.

In between eating entire stockpiles of fast food and being the most exotic house cat ever, they worked together to bring down The Astrologer and his minions who decided to take over the state capital and cause rampant chaos while the military tried to figure out a suitable cover story. Tophat Alcoholic was trying to make the most hard core renditions of classic horror plays imaginable while sometimes personally "acting" and the Edgelords Two were trying to make a militia cult formed around themselves before Champie turned all three of them into slightly less obnoxious piles of meat sauce. Things were going great even with the detective contributing the bare minimum of help and they moved onto the ringleader who decided to fight near some random highway as it had sentimental value to him or something...

Unfortunately being the strongest ressurected killer didn't prepare her for The Astrologer's bag of tricks which included the spirits of his and the others' victims which filled her with crippling guilt and his soul-seeking bullets brought her to the brink of redeath. Luckily that detective boy managed to use Hillbilly's spell book to undo The Astrologer's control of the spirits who were much angrier at him than her and promptly tore his mortal body to shreds before dragging his soul down to Hell. Champie lived happily in a four-star apartment after that until one day, the detective wasn't there and she was left with a ransom note that led her into another stupid conflict...

As for her appearance, it varies from a tiger colored house cat, 30 inches long and 9.9 pounds, to an eleven foot tall and 550 pounds bipedal Wendigo combat form that has a skull head that looks like a tiger's skull and black fur with gray stripes covering the rest of the body with bones and organs in the same places as they would be in a human. Her teeth and claws on her hands and feet are pronounced in this form and her eyes have slit vertical pupils along with her being able to walk on all fours for stalking purposes.

Champie's preferred weapons still haven't changed much despite her new looks as she's still got two rows of sharp teeth in her mouth and hooked retractable claws on her hands and feet that can tear through flesh or scratch lines in stone.

Champie's most formidable ability is possibly her roar that enables her to drive people insane with paranoia and make them think they're in the jungles of India along with making her appear as her Bengal Tiger self. She can only use it once every ten minutes and it ranges in max power at ten feet to becoming moderately debilitating at twenty-five feet to no effect at fifty feet.

Champie can switch from her eleven foot tall Wendigo combat form to a regular house cat with tiger colored fur in ten seconds to blend in and generally be more maneuverable as her smaller size enables her to go in vents and similar places or balance more effectively although it can be used for combat...

Champie isn't just a ravenous beast, she's more than capable of basic strategies like stalking and disabling foes with her roar along with some more clever moves like closing a fire-breathing demon's mouth to avoid getting burned, batting an explosive back at the Edgelords Two, and crawling inside Tophat Alcoholic's wound as her cat form before turning back into her Wendigo form although her basic fighting style is still start carving up and smashing her targets until they don't move anymore.

As a cat, she's just that but as a Wendigo, she gains more power than even her Bengal Tiger form had in being easily able to smash through building walls and crush cars, surprisingly faster than regular humans, enhanced hearing to pick up on nearby sounds, and can shrug off most physical attacks of her power level. The problem comes with magic and similar powers as she has no protections against that and was almost killed by The Astrologer after he shot her twice with soul-seeking bullets that ignored durability which took her a week to fully recover from. However weaker magic that doesn't bypass durability won't be as devastating, it still is twice as effective against her than conventional weapons and physical force.

Stealth Hunter: Champie is still a Bengal Tiger which means that she prefers taking her time and hiding before committing to any conflict and she's surprisingly still good at it with careful management of her forms.

Mental Instability: Champie struggles with guilt thanks to her past life and finds it hard to kill anyone who's decent or a fellow feline although she will still use enough force to incapacitate anyone who gets in her way or attacks her friends.

Solitary Nature: Champie is better on her own than in a group and while she's willing to team up if there's food in it for her, she still goes with her own strategies in combat as they've mostly worked out for her.

Protective of Friends: On the flip side, Champie is still fiercely protective of those who have earned her trust and will take hits for them or personally tackle their attackers to get them focused on her.

Vengeful Personality: Champie's known for holding grudges against those who mean her or allies harm and won't hesitate to completely anhilate anyone who is a wanton murderer or other form of complete scumbag as they remind her of herself and her hated brethren.

Markus to say the least wasn't known for having a good childhood. In fact, to be blunt, it was rather appalling the amount of mistreatment he received. Markus was born into a deeply religious family in Olive Branch, Mississippi, more specifically within the Jehovah's Witnesses. A shy and inquisitive child, he would frequently be rebuked and ridiculed for his seemingly heretical questions. At first his parents tried to guide him onto the correct path, but it didn't take long before they gave up and But unlike most other religious organizations that would simply intensify their teachings to children, the Elders here handled things in a much more abhorrent manner.

Daily beatings and public humiliation(often instigated by his parents, who appeared to be completely unemotional)were the norm, as Markus continued his rebellious behavior, which now included blatant truancy, constant disrespect to others, and general apathy towards scripture. And to top it all off, it became increasingly clear to the congregation he held attraction to the "wrong" people. After trying and miserably failing, he was eventually outed as bisexual by his own parents, which immediately resulted in him being disfellowshipped from the organization at just age 16.

Markus was understandably bitter from this experience, and from this point forward, held a deep disdain for the religious and anything he perceives as authoritarian. But for weeks he could do nothing except live on the streets and wander around until he scraped just enough resources to get by. That was until a mysterious man gave him a card with the company name LiberationCorp.

Heading to the address provided he was quickly integrated into the company. LiberationCorp is a massive underground private military company which makes use of both scientific enhancements and a versatile magic system which uses symbols known as Glyphs. After giving a crash course on the building, the requirements (i.e. training regiments, physical ability, mindset etc.), Markus only had one question.

"When do I start?"

As it turned out, Markus would begin his training immediately, showing an aptitude for sniping, and stealth related Glyphs.It made sense as he would frequently have to hide to escape further punishment back in the JW. As such he became a mercenary sniper, putting a bullet in skulls to whoever was the highest bidder.

From political leaders in various South American nations, mechanically enhanced soldiers in the Middle East, even peaceful dissidents across the world, it hasn't mattered to Markus in the decades he's worked for Liberation. His only exception to this rule is children. He becomes temporarily traumatized if forced to bring harm to a child, and therefore is not assigned to any mission relating to children.

Despite his persistent callousness on the field, Markus is actually quite different off the job. His coworkers note him as an extremely flirtatious (though not flamboyant) man to almost anyone he meets, and can charm the pants off of them too.

But be careful, cross too many lines with him, and you'll quickly find a hole through your skull or chest.

Markus is in his mid-40's, with dark red eyes, black hair, and is around 5ft 9 inches in height, with a notably skinny frame. He's almost always wearing the LiberationCorp's standard issue uniform, which is an all black suit with a facemask

Markus' only weapon is one of LiberationCorp's finest standard issue weapons, the Sniper Pistol. As the name implies, it can both function as a long range powerhouse sniper, boasting a 13mm explosive cartridge that can blast through concrete walls and can blow off limbs like nothing. And if things get up close and personal, the sniper can become a pistol, outfitted with 9mm rounds, to emphasize magazine capacity and sustainability over outright power.These two weapons in one drive from different ammunition sources, and can even fire special Glyphs(which will be discussed in greater detail in that section), though this is taxing on Markus' body and can only be fired one at a time.Markus will come with at least five 7 round Sniper magazine and four 15 pistol magazines.

The second and final piece of technology LiberationCorp provides to Markus is known as the Detection Ward. A small orb like machine, it acts as a sort of motion sensor which is connected to a small watch Markus wears that immediately notifies him of someone's presence. The radius in which it detects a person's (or non-person's) presence is about 1-2 meters and cannot be moved after being placed. They can be destroyed rather easily by a single bullet, although this will also alert Markus to their presence(as if the noise of its destruction wouldn't already)Markus will have three of these with him.

LC doesn't just deal in science, they train their mercenaries in magic as well. Glyphs are a symbol based magic in which a user implants these symbols on their body to use in battle.Most Glyph users including Markus, do this by squeezing their midsection and focusing the symbol's power into it.There are hundreds of Glyphs at any user's disposal, but obviously Markus cannot and would not use them all. Markus has a shield shaped Glyph which grants him hardened skin (think iron or steel) for 10 seconds, a ghost shaped one which gives him invisibility for 20 seconds, one that looks like wavy air lines, that bestow onto him superhuman speed for 5 seconds, a passive glyph shaped like an eagle's eye which provides him sharper vision to take down targets easier, and a bullet shaped glyph which extracts his energy to create a singular bullet. With the exception of the eagle eye Glyph, Markus cannot use more than one at a single time, nor can he spam them. He requires a cooldown based on how much energy he has expended (from 15 seconds to about 3-4 minutes at his worst). Markus is also incapable of using offensive Glyphs, making him completely reliant on his defensive powers.(They also cause anyone who use them to develop extremely dark red eyes)

Years on the job as a professional sniper, along with the assistance of his eagle eye glyph has made Markus a crack shot, able to pick off foes from incredible distances, while also dealing with various obstacles and other people around his targets without fail.

Also befitting of a sniper is Markus' great ability to avoid conflict and combat, with various stealth techniques. Even without his stealth glyph, Markus has avoided entire squads of soldiers searching for him with these techniques, making him extremely hard to detect. Though this wouldn't fully apply against those with enhanced senses or animals who can sniff him out, which have both occurred in the past.

Detail Oriented: Markus is incredibly analytical, which is necessary for his job. He will notice changes in a person's expression, movements, and any changes in the space around them, which he uses to form a better understanding on how to take them out.
Deep Hatred of Religion: Developed from his abusive childhood, Markus instinctively despises anyone religious, spiritual or people who tries to assert religious beliefs onto him or others. He is only willing to even keep them alive as "allies" if he absolutely needs them to finish the mission.
Pragmatic: Markus is willing to do just about anything (besides harm children) to complete his mission. Betray allies, manipulate/maim/kill innocent, make himself be on high alert for days on end,even sacrifice parts of his body to escape in an attempt to keep fighting.You name it, he's probably willing to do it to win.
Unemotional: While on the job, Markus is again completely focused on the task at hand, which often manifests as a lack of emotion, with a blank face that often deters others from speaking to him. And though he's not resistant to charisma, he still keeps this face and demeanor no matter what.
Protective of Children: Markus' biggest weakness is his soft spot for children. He is totally unwilling to harm them, and will stop at nothing to keep them safe from others, and is the one thing that will distract him from his mission whether it's to get them to safety or kill the person threatening them. Even if it's an opponent faking him out with shapeshifting or anything of that nature, this still applies.

“

I was either really lucky or really stupid to be out at sea when it happened.

— Aiken Demetre

”

Age: 30

Gender: Male

Appearance: 6 foot 6 inches. Tall, lean/slightly muscular. Fit but not buff. Polish Ethnicity with slight tanning.

The apocalypse happened, and Aiken was an absentee.

Starting a routine fishing trip in near-coastal waters, Aiken witnessed blinding flashes of light from the horizon, after hearing about an escalation of threats, the assassination of the president, and the imminent nuclear exchange. Still, thinking mutual annihilation was unrealistic, he continued his daily activities until this event. Having no coast to dock back to, his ship was caught in an unexpected storm, and sent into the open ocean for a period of weeks before landing on Monument Island.

Despite its isolation, civilization as he knew it was absent from the island, and he soon came to the realization that everything alive left was either a mutated abomination, insane, or both. Through luck, he managed to stumble through an abandoned campsite located in the island's cave system, discovering an entrance to a military base, which while nearly entirely empty, made him aware of the Monument Project, a secret underground city locked miles in the earth. The keys, however were scattered across the island, hidden in crypts, caverns, vaults, and the radioactive remains of the island's only major city.

Over a period of years, Aiken managed to scrape by, scavenging weapons and armor to dive deeper into the mystery behind Monument's destruction.

“

Of course some rich tech company was hiding this hundreds of meters under the surface. Don't have a clue how it's still working after their vault exploded, but I'm not complaining.

— Aiken Demetre

”

Experimental technology that was abandoned by Futuren for use in personal defense. A handheld device that latches onto the user's hand, shaped like a blue, oval gem.

Provides a localized forcefield with a single charge around the user, in a form-fitting fashion that doesn't interfere with the gentle usage of tools and weaponry. However, in response to extreme forces, such as bullet impacts and blunt force trauma, it hardens to a degree similar to that of Kevlar, minus the weight.

However, this hardening can only occur once per 'charge'. Once used up, it's as good as nonexistent. Seeing as the tool uses fusion cells exclusive to Futuren facilities, usage should be made sparce. Regardless, the benefits of negating potentially fatal wounds outweighs the limitations.

Aiken has three cells, and the process of exchanging cells takes around ten seconds. A cell can recharge with a day's worth of direct sunlight.

Template:Quoute

Even with all the hidden technology Futuren developed, this is certainly an oddity. The weapon is a seemingly hollow tube that can be held similar to a rifle, with no openings whatsoever barring an a hollow opening on the front.

When a button is pressed on its side, the weapon begins humming more and more intensely for a period of one second. After this occurs, a high-frequency sonic emission is shot from the front, in a cone initially a meter across that spreads more as it travels. This emission drastically decreases in potency at longer distances, however.

At a close enough range (< 5 meters), this sonic burst can burst eardrums, shatter bullet-proof glass, and cause internal organ damage that can be fatal if untreated. Very few can stay conscious if hit by such an attack. At longer ranges (10-15 meters), it can cause involuntary movements and intense pain in the ears, although nothing fatal. After 14 meters effects are negligible.

It strangely consumes no ammo, beyond a slight wind caused by an intake of air. However, it cannot be used in a rapid-fire rate and can only fire once every 5 seconds.

“

With half of Monument Island still feeling the kickback from that nuclear meltdown? You wear this or you're dead.

— Aiken Demetre

”

Scavenged initially, but maintained and upgraded over a period of years will help of the remaining army quartermaster. A full bodysuit with gas mask that protects against extreme temperatures, ionizing radiation, and airborne toxins. Described as "a small step behind an Astronaut suit" in terms of coverage. Lenses in the gas mask also protect from intense light.

It has been outfitted with carbonfiber plating that, while it doesn't provide much sustained protection, can reduce impacts that would shatter bones to severe bruises. Plates cover the chest, head, and kneecaps.

“

Don't stare too long at the blade. You'll go blind.

— Aiken Demetre

”

What appears on the surface to be a rudimentary, albeit sleek folded-steel sword shortsword, with a half-meter-long blade. The handle, however, has been retrofitted with modifications that can increase the temperature of the blade to such a degree that it degrades into plasma with the press of a button. A small, but intense magnetic field around the weapon keeps this superhot sludge in place, allowing it to still be used as a melee weapon.

The weapon glows an intense, neon blue when used, and can transfer enough heat on contact to instantaneously turn the likes of lead to molten goo. However, the sword must be used continuously when active, assimilating more material into its blade, and if it doesn't strike a compatible material (i.e. metals) within 15 minutes of being activated it will shut down for several hours.

Strangely enough it incurs little negative effects to the user despite close proximity, so long as they don't directly touch the blade themselves.

Survivalist: Aiken has survived for years on a nearly-deserted island through scavenging, exploration, and hunting. As such, he can operate in the wilderness entirely independently, and knows how to make rudimentary tools and find sources of water/food in a variety of environments and circumstances. He does know how to track, although this is more limited to wild animals than people.

Brawler: Former boxing champion from highschool, turned into a glorified barfight enthusiast. While he isn't comparable to a martial artist, he will probably surprise most with his quick thinking in close combat. Somehow gets better at this while intoxicated.

Everyman: Aiken was a regular civilian, a sailor, prior to nuclear annihilation. As such, he doesn't benefit from a life of conflict and combat, limited only to his years exploring Monument Island. As such, he has no formal training, has average intelligence, but can make fast connections and alliances with similar individuals.

“

Who would have thought that the *dogs* were the only ones left at the base after the Army bit it? They're fierce, but pretty lonely. Those teeth rip through mutant flesh better than half my bullets, though.

— Aiken Demetre

”

While any traces of a military presence on Monument Island have been reduced to crazed stragglers or well-armored mutants, a lone Canine Unit, used to guard the grounds of its primary military base, remained waiting for masters that would never return.

Miraculously, the dogs took well to Aiken, perhaps mistaking his scent as close to that of one of the soldiers lost looking for the White Core. Regardless, they listen to his commands as closely as they would any soldier above him.

They are a cross-breed between Gray Wolves and German Shepards, and coordinate with each other as a pack to track and detain prey. For this tourney, Aiken is only accompanied by his personal dog, Westler, who the muscular alpha-male of the pack.

Westler attacks through biting attacks, slashing attacks, and blunt force attacks through tackling. While other members of the K9 unit possess an equal mix of dog and wolf traits in this regard, Westler has a bite strength, fang size, claw length, and tackling strength identical to an above average, fully-grown male Gray Wolf.

Training: Westler has been specially trained in attacking and piercing vital arteries in the neck and legs, alongside biting around gaps in armor when possible. He attacks to cripple first, while also aiming to cause eventual death without serious medical intervention. Unlike the other members of Aiken's K9 unit, he is capable of operating entirely on his own when given objectives like "Kill" with visual confirmation or an example of scent.

Enhanced Senses: Like most other dogs, Westler has a superhuman sense of smell and hearing, however he has been specially trained in tracking and stalking. Even loose pieces of clothing and footprints are enough of a lead for him to track continuously for miles, unless interrupted by a body of water, or special preparations. If prompted by Aiken, he can both track and kill targets with the tenacity of an apex predator.

Born as a son of the powerful and influential Aurelius family, Gaius Cassius Aurelius was a Red Dragonborn and was naturally born into a rich and powerful Dragonborn Family. He was the youngest of 3 brothers, all of which were raised by their parents to be great and powerful. While his elder brothers Marcus and Titus became great warriors and military leaders (Marcus becoming a Paladin of Bahamut, and Titus become the captain of a mercenary company), Cassius was born different. He was with innate powers from a distant Dragon ancestor, and had great magical powers. At a very young age, his parents sent him off too a local wizard, a man named Zoltan Smith. Under Zoltan, he learned how to harness and control this power. Along with this, he grew a great knowledge of history, Arcana and ancient religions. He would eventually become a professor himself, teaching classes on ancient histories, Religions and mystic arcanam. He would through this time keep a correspondence with Zoltan, often giving the him council in times of need. But one day, he was sent a letter by Zoltan, talking about a certain stone tablet he found in an unknown language, which he believes he found made a cipher too. He also said that he intended to investigate the location were this tablet was found. This was the last thing he ever heard from Zoltan. After hearing of Zoltans death on this journey, he made up his mind that he wouldn't let his old friend die in vein. So, he took out some of his great tomes, took up a copy of the tablet and the cipher, and has taken too traveling the land to find ancient knowledge, possibly finding were is old friend met his end.

Cassius is a pretty standard Red Dragonborn. He has no hair, but instead has 2 short and twisted black horns. Being a red Dragon born, he unsurprisingly has vibrant red scales. His eyes were yellow and cat like, his purples being black slits. In terms of clothing, Cassius wears a set of bright blue and floppy robes. He also carries a small satchel on his hip, and wears a pair of half moon glasses.

A simple wood stave with a brass knob at the end. The weapons is his main spell casting focus, but it is also his main weapon in close combat. Is has the ability to do a solid amount of damage, being able to crack open Goblin skulls with single swings. The main function of the staff however is its native magical charges (3 charges), allowing it to fire off bursts of magic missiles (heat seeking darts which chase targets). But if he burns through all these charges, then the staff permanently looses these properties.

A small stick ball of glow green acid around the same size of a tangerine. This Cantrip spell is his basic attack spell, mainly due to it being a cantrip. The Acid can damage armor and melt flesh, though it has a limited range of only 30 feet. Being a cantrip, this spell doesn't burn through any of his stamina to use.

Basicially a magical flash bang (D&D fans, this spell is a homebrew varient so its not the spell from the monster manual). in an area 45 feet around him, a blinding flash of light of multi colored blairs. Anything looking upon this is blinded temorarily and is stunned for a few seconds. This spell takes up only a small amount of his stamina, though its effects are fleeting.

Basically a form of burning flame thrower. This blast of fire is very effective against large groups of enemies at close range, it fire out a wave of fire forwards from his hands out 15 feet from him. This ability is devastating, but it comes at a cost. Unlike the color spray, sustained uses of this spell burn through his stamina like a hot knife through butter, so he uses the spell sparingly.

Cassius has a thick layer of scales and hide on his body. These scales are able to very effectively turn incoming attacks. It is able to turn the cuts from most bladed weapons, withstand thrusting attacks and even to a degree bullets, but doesn't hold much resistance against bludgeoning.

Highly curious: As a master of Arcanic knowledge, Archeologist and life long teacher, Cassius has always been insanely obsessed with the promise of knowledge and information.

Capable melee fighter: While Cassius personally considers Melee combat to be a tedious affair, he isn't above getting in close and smashing in the heads of Goblins and Orcs when he has too.

Vast Arcanic Knowledge: As a university professor and teacher of Arcana and ancient Religions, Cassius has an incredibly knowledge of Arcane.

Maria Black is a human employed by the Hunters Guild, Maria is a monster hunter whose job is to track and capture/eliminate any mythological beings that make themselves a public disturbance. As one of the senior members of the Hunters Guild, Maria is a adamant believer in the Greek pantheon that sponsor the Guild and also looks upon the creatures of mythology with xenophobic superiority.

When Zeus and Odin formally declare war against each other, the Hunters Guild firmly supports the Greek pantheon. Maria leads the spearpoint of the Hunters' offensive, where her disregard for life and ruthless tactical skill made her a dangerous adversary. She comes into contact with the series' protagonist, Fenrir, when she blows up a temple filled with members of the Magi Guild as bait to trap their patron Loki, whom she kills alongside the Hunters Guild's goddess Artemis.

While Fenrir gathers up a small band of murderers for his quest for vengeance, Maria continues her onslaught against the Magi Guild and Nordic mythology. She serves as the mastermind of the Werewolf Genocide, eradicating the entire population, and was present during the Battle for Oslo, where she first encountered Fenrir under the command of the dwarf Major Concordian, where she will assassinate Concordian and kills two of Fenris' party members, the berserker Ervgard amd the mage Helgi

The series culminates in the Battle for Rome. With Thor and Ares both leading the armies of their respective pantheons to battle, Maria was tasked with assassinating Freya. Fenrir, whose group had enlisted with the Norse as the vanguard. There, she is eventually defeated and brought to trial after the Norse manage to take Rome and sue for peace with the Greeks.

After her trial, it is learned that she escaped her prison in Jotunnheim and has been waging a terrorist war against the giants populated there.

Height 5'7". Lean. Brown hair, with blue eyes. She wears her hair in a ponytail beneath a black brimmed hat. Her attire consists of a black leather duster jacket, brown pants, and a tan button-up shirt. She wears silver bandana around her neck with the insignia of the Hunters Guild on it, an eagle flying over a drawn longbow.

On her back is the magical rune for Nimble. It's abilities will be mentioned later. She also has a tattoo of the Hunters Guild's insignia under her left eye, a tattoo of the rune for "Return" on her left hand, a tattoo of a stag on her left bicep and the Greek translation of "To Live is to Kill" on her right. She has a tattoo of her birthday on her left wrist.

A magical revolver, the Wolfsbane is Maria Black's primary weapon of choice. It chambers six .44 Colt revolver rounds, and aesthetically looks similar to a Colt 1860 Army revolver. It is made from indestructible Uru metal and cannot be destroyed by most normal and magical attacks, such as explosions, but certain magical spells with enough potency could render it useless. It is double-action and not blackpowder, because magic bullshit. She is a master marksman with pistols in general, and especially the Wolfsbane.

Inscribed on the Wolfsbane's grip is the ancient magical rune of "Return", which matches the rune tattooed on Maria's left palm, her shooting hand. Should the Wolfsbane be thrown from her grasp, Maria can trigger the rune on their hand to have the gun magically returned. This incantation requires use of both of Maria's hands and a decent amount of concentration.

In their bandolier they holds 24 rounds, plus the six chambered in the Wolfsbane and 16 elemental cartridges.

The elemental cartridges are enchanted cartridges that were forged with the same mystical metal that the Wolfsbane was. Each type of elemental cartridge is inscribed with a special rune, which are activated when Maria exclusively recites their incantation and are triggered when they impact the target. Maria will have four rounds of each of the following types:

Flame - Sear Thy Foe: An incendiary round, these cartridges will explode into a controlled, small explosion of fire when they impact their target. Pretty basic explosive round.
Winter - Freeze Thy Enemy: A cryokinetic round, these cartridges will liquidize and refreeze to the same temperature of liquid nitrogen upon impact. Although the area of impact is relatively small, the damage it does will likely be extensive and brutal
Tempest - Winds of Thy Fury: A aerokinetic round, these cartridges create a temporary vacuum of air that will launch an opponent with the same force of a category 2 hurricane.
Thunder - Spark Thy Wrath: A lightning round, these cartridges contain small batteries of pure electricity that are released into pure energy once they impact a target. It's a lightning bullet- because magic bullshit. Told you I'd get my lighting gun, Leo.

Maria Black's primary and only spell is an ancient incantation of invulnerability. The degrees and effects of this incantation vary on the exact wording, which will be described below. All forms of these spells are not automatic, thus requiring Maria to be aware of danger in order to activate it properly.

Protection - Shield Thy Body: The simplest, least exhausting version of this spell. Maria projects a green aura in the direction of the attack she wishes to block. This spell will protect from basic, conventional weapons such as firearms, blades, arrows, etc., but will prove ill-effective against damage from explosions, magic, or other indirect forms of damage, as well as enchanted weapons and projectiles.
Protection - Fortify Thy Resolve: The most versatile version of this spell. Maria projects a purple aura in the direction of the attack she wishes to block. This spell will protect both from basic conventional attacks and magical forms of attack, such as offensive spells or enchanted weaponry.
Protection - Safeguard Thy Being: The most powerful and exhausting version of this spell. Maria projects an all-encompassing red aura, the only version which will protect them in their entirety. The spell provides total invulnerability, and can be maintained as long as Maria requires it to to survive. The recharge of this spell is ten minutes, and activation requires kneeling and at least ten seconds.

A simple Kukri knife, magically forged in Uru and lined with quicksilver. A 45 centimeter knife with a 38 centimeter blade, with a notch just above the grip designed to prevent blood from pooling onto Maria Black's hand or to catch other blades mid-combat. The quicksilver that lines the edges of the blade makes it especially effective against supernatural creatures such as werewolves, vampires, ghouls, etc. She is a master knife fighter, although prefers her kukri above other knives.

A natural gift due to the rune tattooed on her back, Maria Black possesses impossibly superhuman reflexes. Her ability to react and dodge danger is to such a degree that she is capable of perceiving, protecting, and countering virtually any threat within a moment's notice. This is where most of her superhuman levels of agility also factor, allowing her to perform acrobatic feats that would be impossible for normal human beings to do. Feats of her agility and reflexes include engaging in hand-to-hand with a giant by dodging all of his attempts to subdue her, shooting an arrow when she saw it was fired at her, catching and rethrowing a knife when it was thrown at her, and protecting herself from gunfire by flipping over a car to hide behind it for cover.

Her agility and reflexes should not be confused as superhuman speed, however. For example, while she is incapable of actually dodging each individual bullet from automatic gunfire, her reflexes are fast enough for her to avoid or block in the direction of the gunfire while simultaneously countering with precision. Much like her protection spells, this power is most useful when Maria Black already knows the threat, and cannot truly react to danger before knowing where it is coming from.

Despite her preference for knives and revolvers as her primary weapons, Maria Black is a skilled user in all forms of conventional weaponry. Swords, bows, spears, staves, rifles, shotguns, and anything else can be wielded with expert skill to defend herself with, although once again she prefers to use pistols and knives more than anything else.

Well-versed in Arcane Arts: Although Maria Black's magical prowess is limited to her protection spells, she is highly knowledgeable when it comes to recognizing and countering magical threats. She is well-versed in runic magic, incantations, curses, enchantments, and any other such magical forms of attack, and has strategies prepared to counter them accordingly.
Skilled Tracker: Maria Black's profession as a monster hunter makes them particularly skilled when it comes to tracking. Their analytical and creative approach to hunting makes her equally skilled at being difficult to track.
Creative Against More Powerful Opponents: Maria Black's experience against monsters is primarily aimed at foes of much greater skill or power levels. Her ability to adapt to and overcome such significant disadvantages are her primary strategy, making her very capable against magical or superhuman foes.
Distrustful: Maria Black prefers to work alone, and while not entirely incapable of working with others will work very hard to ensure she can trust someone before actually cooperating.
Situational Awareness: Due to a majority of her powers and spells requiring her to actively know the source of a threat, Maria Black has become especially adept at observing and taking notice of her environment.

Little is known about Madame Cavorite besides a few information which she had shared with her fallen victims. Described as a young beautiful blonde belle, she is said to be of American origins hailing from the Florida. Left as an infant by her parents, she grew up in children's villages and foster homes. For much of her growth from childhood to her teens, the girl who would one day be known as Madame Cavorite was noted for her high scientific and interpersonal intellect. She was a multiple science awardee from her school, and reigned as school president for much of her high school. In her adult life she become a scientist specializing in quantum physics, as well as a popular and beautiful woman of whom many men have fallen for.

As an example of her genius, she found what she called a "life hack" to the laws of gravity. She found tiny rifts in the law that allowed her to control, or at least screw up, gravitational fields. This allows her to do extraordinary things with the use of gravity, and it was praised so much by the scientific community that they added her discoveries in the text books as "The 4th Law of Gravity".

However, what people does not know about her was that she was a hardcore clinical psychopath. Although she appeared as a genuine, fun and loving person in her civilian life, and is known by many as that "beautiful female scientist who wanted to make the world a better place", deep down she hated humanity and take pleasure manipulating and destroying her opponents emotionally and physically. While working for her doctorate in spatial-quantum dimensional studies, she made an interesting discovery. She found out that there also existed other super powered beings besides her on Earth. But what really piqued her was that with the right manipulation and control of these superhumans, she can cause a global war that could pool so much energy in the planet, to potentially mess with the space-time continuum and finally create another big bang, effectively destroying the world.

Wanting to finally destroy this universe and kill everyone, she then donned a mysterious identity to find these other superhumans. She took up the name Madame Cavorite after her favorite H.G. Wells character, and the fact that she can control gravity similar to said character.

Powers, Abilities and Weapons: By discovering the Rift Theory in the Gravity Law, this gives her partial control of gravity. She also created weapons for her war against the world.

Since she can control gravity, she can manifest powers that can be basically described as telekinesis. She can lift objects of any size and shape, although the speed of her ability to lift also depends on the weight of the objects (so the heavier the object, the slower her lifting). But at most, she can hurl a 1 ton car the same way one can throw a baseball. There is no limitation of how many she can lift. She can lift almost any number of people or objects with her telekinesis. Madame Cavorite can also be creative with her telekinesis:

By focusing all of her gravity powers on a single person, she can effectively not only lift him/her, but also immobilize said person. The person immoblized cannot use any of his abilities, and even think for that matter (since electric impulses and the brain in general is also immobilized).

After immobilizing a certain enemy, she can then use a technique she made known as "The Crush", where she apply pressure to that person's bones, organs and blood vessels. By applying all of her energy towards that enemy, she can make him/her explode, in one gory finale.

However, her powers also has a weakness. The more she uses her powers, the more strain it puts on her body. When she executes her most powerful attack, the Crush, this causes her body to weaken to the point that she needs to retreat to a safe place. She also cannot use her powers in this state.

Using her gravitational powers, she can create a telekinetic and invisible force field that is powerful to block small arms fire, explosions, energy attacks and even magical and psychic attacks. The barriers are not only active but also passive, as it can also block sudden, stealthy and even invisible attacks. However, continuous and much more powerful attacks can potentially break her barrier. And if this happens, she need a 3-second delay to create a new one. However, her powers also has a weakness. The more she uses her powers, the more strain it puts on her body. When she executes her most powerful attack, the Crush, this causes her body to weaken to the point that she needs to retreat to a safe place. She also cannot use her powers in this state.

By controlling gravity, she can levitate upwards to the Earth's troposphere and basically fly, although only at speeds of 25 km/hr. However, her powers also has a weakness. The more she uses her powers, the more strain it puts on her body. When she executes her most powerful attack, the Crush, this causes her body to weaken to the point that she needs to retreat to a safe place. She also cannot use her powers in this state.

She wears an armor and a cape that is golden in color. Her armor consists of a form similar to a knight's armor but it is made of "cavorium" a special metal she has created that by compressing all the molecules in an ordinary steel to the point that there is no space left and results in a super strong almost indestructible metal. She also wears ankle-length golden cape that is a sign of her superiority, and she doesn't wear any helmet or mask because she wants people to see her beauty. Although tough, there is a weakness to the armor. The fact that the molecules are tightly compressed makes the stuff more conductive. This meant that its vulnerable to electric and sonic attacks.

A fully automatic Glock 19. Although Madame Cavorite doesn't have any training with marksmanship, she doesn't need to because with her telekinetic powers, all bullets its spew with hone in on its target. Her gravity powers also doubles the penetrating powers of these bullets.

High IQ: Since she was a child she has been born with a very high IQ. Her brain can process faster than a normal human, has a very keen observational skills and photographic memory. She graduated with multiple honors both in high school and college, had numerous master's degree, and is currently an expert in quantum physics and mechanics. Her genius allows her to use whatever machines, objects and environment for her advantage.
Master Tactician: Ever since the emergence of other superhuman beings like her, Madame Cavorite has shown great interest in observing and studying their powers and personalities. With enough observation, she can think of a way to deal with said superhuman foes.
Cunning Manipulator: As a clinical psychopath, Madame Cavorite would appear as a friendly and kindhearted person to many. But deep inside she's a ruthless killer. She can trick other people into thinking that she's either a good person to be allied with, or a harmless goody-two shoes that they can lower their guard to. She can also manipulate them into helping her or doing things for her.
Non-Gullible: Her genius and manipulative ability also allows her the ability to detect other equally manipulative foe. She can see through lies and deception, making it hard to trick and manipulate her as well. When this happens, she would then focus her intellect in taking out these high-level manipulators.
Lack of Physicality: Madame Cavorite is the perfect example of a traditional comic book villain, and as an evil genius, all she ever did was focus on her intellect and nothing much else. This meant that physically, she's not that strong, fast or tough, making her a glass canon. Once her barriers and her armor are taken care of, there's little way for her to physically defend herself. As you can see in her moveset, she also lacks any skill or weapons when it comes to melee and hand to hand fighting.

Hailing from an alternate dimension where cracks in the space time continuum and magic ran rampant, Eddie is a clone of the late Audie Murphy. He and his predecessors were created to try and make the perfect soldier, and he was put through a series of tests and injections that enhanced his physical and mental abilities. At the age of 18, the program that created him lost their funding, and he had no where to go. He would eventually join up with a group of paranormal investigators, choosing to protect instead of kill like he’d been trained to. While he struggles at functioning in society, he is nonetheless one effective fighter.

His general appearance is that of a buffed up Audie Murphy. Height of around 5’11” (180 cm). When not wearing armor dresses in a black bodysuit worn under tan trench coat with leather gloves and loafers.

Eddie has the ability to sense and communicate with others in a 50-foot range. While he’s unable to control anyone, he can sense intentions and whether or not he’s in danger.

Eddie’s primary weapon is a custom made electromagnetic rifle. Using kinetic energy, this gun is able to get through almost anything. While not able to penetrate magical barriers, it does require a great strain on the user to protect against, and will be able to punch through given enough time depending on how powerful they are. It fires in semi-auto only, and has a sharp edge near the end of the barrel that acts as a improvised bayonet

As befits a futuristic soldier bred for combat, Eddie wears a specially-made suit constructed of a variety of metals. It can tank both melee and firearms, but holds no protection against elemental attacks and enough damage will render it ineffective. In addition, the eye slot is weaker, and can only handle handgun rounds. For reference, his armor resembles that worn by the Doomslayer, but with very light limb armor (think elbow and shin padding).

As a super soldier, Eddie has gone genetic modification to improve his physique. He is able to fight creatures and beings that can easily kill a normal human being, and tank normally fatal blows. He is not invincible, however, and if his vitals are damaged he’s in trouble

Obtained from his partners, Eddie has had special wards tattooed onto his body. These protect him from both mental effects and telekinetic attacks/effects, put in place to make sure he’s always prepared psychologically and physically. However, these only apply to him, and will not suppress his opponent’s powers.

Mission-driven: Due to his indoctrination, Eddie prioritizes his objective first and foremost, succeeded only perhaps by the protection of his teammates (who won’t be in this battle).

Perceptive: as he works to solve mysteries, Eddie has gotten acustomed over the years to constantly analyze a situation, often going over strategies and ideas in his head.

Hatred of injustices: As his new “family” of sorts is a group of vigilantes, Eddie has a stoic anger towards criminals, often prioritizing immobilizing them over all else, and when that doesn’t work, eliminating them completely. That said, he won’t rush into things recklessly, it’s more accurate to say he prioritizes their downfall above taking out a more dangerous (but relatively neutral) foe

PTSD: While it doesn’t effect him in a fight, Eddie is most uneasy when interacting with civilians, and is actually always on edge when not working. He prefers to be in the field either solving problems or practicing his combat techniques.

Team-oriented: Despite everything, Eddie is still able to make connections and if given the chance, work with others towards a common goal. While not the most trusting, if you’ve shown sincerity towards him, he’ll have your back till the very end.

Born in a small Norse village no one expected great things from the little Helga, with many assuming she would step in her father's footsteps and become a simple trader. Fate, however, seemed to have different plans. After getting into an argument with her parents, she angrily ran from home into a blizzard. When the snow settled the villagers send out a hunting party to find her with little success and were eventually forced to give up, assuming that she had been devoured by wild animals or died from the cold. However, something miraculous happened.

Helga's unconscious body was carried into the village by a wild boar who returned to the woods after dropping her off. The villagers saw this as a blessing from Freyja, the goddess of war, beauty, and fertility, who is often associated with the creatures. This belief soon started to take hold and strengthen as Helga grew up to be a beautiful and able-bodied young woman who towered over the village's men. Her reputation eventually allowed her to join the men raids as a full-fledged Viking instead of a shieldmaiden.

With each raid, Helga's wanderlust began to grow. One day she requested the village elder's permission to leave. Though reluctant, he agreed. Ever since Helga has wandered the Earth eager to discover its secrets and bring glory to her people. Recently, she has pledged loyalty to Vivien Everstone, a female mage who shared her ideas of strength, pride, and beauty, and has started to learn how to use magic.

A 176 cm long double-headed axe. Though heavy, Helga is able to wield it with ease thanks to her physical strength.

As the results of personal training and 'Freyja's blessing' Helga possess almost superhuman physicality, being able to lift boulders, run fast enough to keep up with wolves for hours and take blows that would knock most of their feet.

Being a disciple of Earth magic, Helga has learned the ability to change the shape of any metal she touches. While this is a very simple and basic ability, it is also very versatile and able to affect large surfaces with a simple touch of her hand. She often uses this ability to turn her axe and pieces of her armor into different weapons.

A loyal giant boar the size of a horse she met during her adventures who she views as yet another of Freyja's blessing. Helga often uses him as a mount.

Originally wearing a typical mail shirt and iron helmet, Helga later upgraded to a set of mithril armor, which his harder than titanium, but much lighter than steel. It resembles a typical suit of armor worn by knights (including a great helm), but decorated with carving depicting scenes in Viking history and mythology. Underneath the armor she wears gamberson and chain mail made out of normal steel.

Animal Lover: Helga loves animals and often tries to befriend them when she sees one. While she sees the need to hunt and to harm animals, its something she tries to avoid.
Simple Minded: Despite (or perhaps because of) her rather simplistic mindset, Helga is very differen to succeed in order to bring glory to herself, or her people. As a result Helga typically tries to play the long game and is willing to make allies and backstab when needed, though she does (foolishly) warn people she likes of the latter half by stating the exact point of when she plans to 'duel' them.
Prideful: It is very hard to get her spirits down. As one 'blessed by Freyja', Helga believes that the gods are on her side and is thus very set in her ways. Even if she should die in battle, she believes that the gods will welcome her with open arms. She also has a tendency to flex during conversation.
Oath Abiding: Though she has already pledged to be Vivien's protector, this doesn't stop her from making similar oaths to other people if she considers them friends and will always abide by them to the best of her ability. However, when she discovers that someone has broken or intends to break their end of the bargain or plan to betray her, she will consider the oath to be no longer valid.

“

I have no interest in ending the world, love. I've still got so much that I'd like to do.

— Damien Marcato

”

Damien Marcato is the end result of a centuries-long conspiracy to create "The Catalyst", a child of great power who will usher in a new aeon and bend the world to his will. Unfortunately, the plot failed when, upon discovering the truth on his 18th birthday, Damien fled, refusing to fulfill his destiny. For decades, Damien instead travelled the world, becoming an adventurer and fighting in several conflicts for various factions in hopes of preventing anything that may advance the prophecy before settling down into a career in rock music and starting a following of his own. In modern times, Damien spends most of his time in hedonistic seclusion, searching for ways to prevent his true purpose from ever coming to pass.

Damien is 5’11 and somewhat skinny, though he maintains the youthful appearance of a man in his mid-20s. He has pale white skin and crimson red hair alongside having one brown eye and one green eye. He is often wearing a teal blue suit with no tie and leather gloves.

An enchanted blade resembling a rapier given to Damien by the cult on his 18th birthday, the Moonsword is unbreakable and can cut through magical shields or protections with no trouble.

Damien possesses a limited telekinesis that enables him to move small to mid-sized objects with his mind. The power has it’s limits, as Damien is strained if he has to lift anything larger than a television, though Damien is well-versed in it’s limits and does his best to avoid pushing them.

Damien has a level of control over fire, as he's able to generate it from his fingertips to do feats like throwing them as fireballs or shooting traditional jets of flames, though he can also create small flames to use a light source or to light cigarettes as a party trick. As an off-shoot of this ability, he can generate lightning bolts as well, stemming likely to an ability to separate the negative and positive energies of the heat before shooting it from the fingertips. Damien is less-concerned with the actual logic of it and more how it looks cool.

Decades of combat have gifted Damien with immense skill in wielding the Moonsword, and he’s trained under a variety of accomplished masters in his travels to form a style that combines the finesse and strategy of fencing with the speed and intensity of filipino eskrima. In a particularly impressive bender in occupied Paris, he once defeated a dozen armed German soldiers in close-combat with no injury.

While he’s not properly immortal, Damien is extremely long-lived, speculating that he ages one year for every normal human fifteen, and he’s capable of surviving and healing from wounds that would kill a normal person such as gunshots or stabbing, thanks to an enchantment placed on him at birth, though he will still be killed by a thorough enough wound such as decapitation.

Charismatic: Damien is extremely charming and easily capable of making friends or allies out of enemies, owing to both his naturally friendly demeanor and his angelic beauty. Part of his survival and his success as a rock star has owed largely to his ability to win people over to his side.

Expert Manipulator: Damien’s other trick to surviving the last century is his ability to play off of people’s insecurities and weaknesses, which he can easily pick up from limited interactions with them.

Pacifist: While he’s not afraid to fight and kill, a lifetime of bloodshed has made Damien much more averse to combat than he once was, and he often prefers to talk his way out of a fight or form an alliance against a different threat than to charge into battle.

Backstabber: The downside of the immortal lifestyle is that Damien has regularly loved and lost, convincing him against forming true attachments. His romantic relationships regularly flame out after a brief period of passion, his friends are discarded once he finds them uninteresting, and his alliances tend to crumble the moment he realizes they’re weighing him down or putting him at risk for being hurt.

Flamboyant: Damien’s style of dress and performance is part of his general demeanor, and he’s often willing to make himself the center of attention as long as it isn’t putting him at risk.

The origins behind the goddess are shrouded in mystery, but the general idea was that she was a little girl who had stumbled upon the goddess of flowers, who had gifted her her godly form after watching her defend the flower fields of her home from dangerous animals. Though she perished in her quest to protect the flowers, she was brought back as the new Goddess of Roses and Thorns. Though not exactly the most expansive domain, she's humbled to have received her position nonetheless.

While generally you'd think a minor goddess wouldn't be incredibly relevant, Surrexia served as the flower goddess' bodyguard for a long time afterwards, being the first and even now one of the only minor goddesses the flower goddess has created. Because of this, she had defended her superior from various mythological threats, being granted several gifts, and having several battles because of this.

We could go on about the about the stories that Surrexia has been a part of, but that would take quite a while. I'll only hit the relevant ones. Once upon a time, when Surrexia was granted a land of her own to govern, a kingdom of roses, she was met with immediate resistance. Word had gotten out of a forest full of exotic trees and plants, that would make for a good area for a King's private garden or getaway. Surrexia watched as a king, complete with a small army and spaces, had approached the forests and began to take down the trees for building materials. She had asked them nicely to leave, that she owned the forest, but the king merely laughed in her face. So, she had to get aggressive.

Long story short, over the course of the next week, Surrexia has skirmish after skirmish against the king's army, meeting them with unmatched aggression as she cleared through their ranks with a wrath backed by Mother Nature. Within a week, the king left her home, and she was left alone in peace, finally.

She never got in a battle so widescale afterwards. Normally she'd protect her goddess from beasts, men and demigods alike. She was even in a minor duel with the goddess of poppies, a woman far older than her, but she bested her with ease. While she's been protecting her goddess for a long time, she has not had to force her hand in combat as often as one would expect.

A young girl, looking to be about thirteen years in age. She has blonde hair, with a green crown consisting of vines on top. She has bright, brilliant blue eyes and a clear complexion, complete with a tanned skin tone. She wears a dress, mainly, black With splotches of red mixed in. Wears simple sandals, also made out of plant material. Stands at about 4'9.

This special bow and arrow is something that Surrexia is capable of creating whenever she wants, so it's not a problem if it gets destroyed mid combat. Created out of vines, Surrexia wields a bow that has long since been her trusty companion. Her arrows, which are designed to look similar to roses, aren't anything special when simply glanced at, but show their true selves when they embed in someone's flesh. Once an arrow hits itself inside of its mark, thorns grow out of the shaft of the arrow, embedding itself into the flesh of the user. While these arrows can, theoretically, be removed, the thorns would make that far more painful than it would be, with the victim having to yank away their own flesh. Her quiver rests upon her back, and is packed full of arrows.

Similar to a rapier, the sword isn't exactly anything special. It is smaller for the girls shorter stature, about three feet in length, hand has a circular hand guard which protects the entirety of her hand when in combat.

What kind of goddess of roses would she be if she didn't have the ability to control roses? Surrexia, after many years of experience, holds a domination over her domain, allowing her to manipulate every aspect of the plant in question, including size and length, and direction of which it grows. This allows her to do varying things such as create a barrier in front of her to protect her, to manipulate roses that can easily grow to the size of a house, given time, to entrapping people in an orb of vegetation. She's also capable of forcing them to grow in places where they shouldn't, such as inside houses or in dark caves

A capability which doesn't exactly match with her domain but is useful nonetheless. Surrexia can "communicate" with the grass, meaning that she can figure out things that are happening in a certain radius around her, nulling stealth on the ocassion that she is outside. She can also tell who has passed through a specific area with this ability and where they ran off to.

A normal goddess is a powerful force, capable of wreaking devastation to entire continents. Unfortunately...Surrexia is not this. She's a minor goddess under the control of another somewhat minor goddess. Because of that, she's very low on the power scale when it comes to sheer strength. She's only somewhat more superior than a demigod, though that's nothing to scoff at. A normal demigod is capable of shattering large rocks, and keep up with a horse when it's at a full sprint.

Animal Pacifier: A trick that she had picked up from the goddess of animals, Surrexia is capable of somewhat communicating with animals. In the way that animal trainers can talk to animals. This allows her to pacify an animal and make it calm down. This doesn't really work if she did something to hurt the animal, however. That's just...yeah that won't work.

Guerilla Warfare: As a minor goddess of nature, Surrexia is capable of using land layout to the best of her abilities. She can quickly memorize the layout of her environment and formulate the best ways to prepare ambushes and hide when she absolutely has to.

Untrusting: This is one of her personality flaws. Surrexia has grown to become distant from others, and because of this she's unable to really...trust anyone. This includes forming teams. Even if she agrees to forming a team she does become paranoid at the idea of someone stabbing her in the back. This can...take her mind off important things

A bit Unpleasant: Generally speaking Surrexia has poor people skills in the first place. She comes off cold and uncaring, and at some points rather cocky. Because of this it's hard for her to get along with people even if she wants to. She's certainly not convincing anyone to join her side through sheer personality, that's for sure.

Emotionally Sound: Surrexia has a firm grasp over her basic menta and emotional state, and she's fairly skilled at keeping her emotions in check and not bursting out in emotional breakdowns. She's also generally able to clear her mind of annoying, alien influences, though this resistance is only minor at best.

Julia comes in the form of a normal tennis ball. However, a small symbol of upside down cross can be found on it.

June 29th, 1980, a woman by the name of Julia Murphy was killed in a ritualistic murder conducted by a local cult in the outskirt of Atlanta. Tormented and fueled with vengeance, her spirit attached to a tennis ball nearby, and from then on she set off to travel around the globe as a cursed object, bringing unfortune and eventual death to most of her owners.

Anything that can be done to normal tennis balls will have the same effect on Julia. Therefore, it is quite easy to destroy it by cutting it in half or burning it to ashes, which equals to eliminating Julia. Julia is also debarred from communicating with others, at least in conventional forms. However, being a tennis ball isn’t all that bad, for Julia has no need for food or resting.

Julia’s mean of transportation is flying. As long as her powers have not been nullified, Julia can levitate up to 20 meters and fly at a maximum speed of 13 meters per second, although normally Julia sticks around 1 to 3 meters per second.

When someone is less than 2.5 meters away from her, Julia is able to sense their presence and read their minds. Although she cannot inflict any harm on her targets, she is free to use the information she gained to help her create illusions to torment those targets. She is also able to sense the presence of beings of great power from afar.

Julia is able to choose to increase the aggression level of humans and animals that are less than seven meters away from her, sending them into a blind rage that attack any living being they come across viciously and ferociously. She can only focus on no more than two people at a time. But since animals’ minds are less complex than human minds, she can focus on multiple animals. However, if individuals get out of the range, either by themselves or forced, they will instantly become normal and have no recollection about their murderous rage. Through using this power, Julia has managed to orchestrated several murders around America in which families and groups that had been harmonious murdered each other.

Julia is able to cast illusions. She uses this ability in two ways. Firstly, she is able to cast illusions to environments around her that can bee seen by everyone, these illusions mainly revolve around animals, injuries, abnormal weather conditions and ghostly figures designed to distract or unsettle others. Once Julia gains access to someone’s mind, she can create illusions that are specially designated for that person and cannot be seen by others as long as they remain within 10 to 20 meters. These illusions are designed to taunt and torment the targeted individuals, usually revolving around their past regrets, fears and nethermost desires. These illusions, when casted properly, may drive someone into a mental breakdown or distract them from dangers around.Her illusions seem particularly real and have the?most devastating effect on the simple minds or individuals with psychological issues such as mental illness or unhealthy obsession.

Master of Stealth: Julia is a tennis ball, therefore it should come as no surprise that she is very stealthy. She is a master of hiding, ambushing and blending into the environment. It is safe to say that it is extremely hard to notice her.
Psychological Warfare: As evidenced by her powerset, Julia is excllent at tormenting others psychologically,disrupting allies and making people fight each other with her illusions and mind reading.
Patience: Julia is not the type of cursed object that roams around to seek for preys.Julia operates passive-aggressively, hiding from powerful foes and only striking out when she is sure that things are mostly under her control.
Prey on the Flawed: Julia enjoys tormenting those that she deems flawed, including individuals that are in weak physical condition or are unbalanced mentally. She particularly favors individuals that overly desires to win regardless of methods or costs.
Water Purifies Everything: Being submerged in water can’t harm Julia, but it nullifies her powers, rendering her as a normal tennis ball temporarily. Her powers slowly recover when she is dragged out of water. Therefore, she tends to avoid water.

Jordan Welby, occasionally mockingly called "The Last Gunfighter" by his colleagues, and rarely as "Dylen Cupper" is a man who has lived several lives, none of them being pretty. His first birth year was 1835, to a poor southern family west of the Mississippi River. In 1862, he answered the call to arms, donning the yellow-brown butternut of the Confederate States until 1864 and his desertion. He drifted to the quoted "lawlessness" of the American West, where news of he end of the conflict just seemed to pass him by, unnoticed. Soldierly experience was in demand out west, but not something he was willing to do. However, as a man who was tall and imposing his presence was desired by the unscrupulous, who made him into little more than an armed thug and steps down from the soldierly duty of years before; and he earned quite a reputation in intimidation and busting skulls when need be, a work that died out as law and order imposed it's grip. This was not a transition easily made by Welby, resulting in a series of stints in prison for drunkenly attacking and discharging his guns at passerbys. Going clean was not an easy journey either and the tail end of that life was, other than a stint in Hawaii as a hired gun for some plantation owners, spent mostly at the back of bars indulging in strong whiskey and raving madly about how things were much better in the days of black powder smoke and empowered individualism. Those who saw him could tell that ever so slowly, this poor older gentleman's mind was on the decline, as the more days in the back of bars and the stories became less about exploits, fame, and powder; and more into paranoid ramblings of how the ghosts of the men whose lives he'd taken were out to get him and how maddening it was that he saw them everywhere. This culminated in the early 20th Century when one day Welby, made a random and mad dash into the streets outside the bar, stumbling out in the sunshine on the pavement in an industrialized town he no longer recognized. This fit of madness was, perhaps by a stroke of luck, cut short. Having sensed a presence coming up behind him rapidly, Welby had turned and drawn his old Colt .45 and discharged two rounds before being struck dead by a car attempting to avoid him and the gunfire.

Quite frankly, it should have ended there; but in a year he did not know, his spirit was violently pulled from his suffering in the afterlife, awakening in an unknown body and in unfamiliar surroundings, filled with men who's faces he could not see. His suffering however, did not end here. The violent ripping from the after life had degraded his mental state even more, and much to his horror the spirits who'd haunted him in life coming back to join him as well. This led to a violent attack and his quick termination.

Even better, this stint being dead was pretty short, and once again he awoke a body not his own and under the extremely irritating glow of lamps, except this time it was different. Yeah, the ghosts where there; but they instead looked at him not with vengeance... well, some still looked like that, but most of them seemed to have replaced their glares with looks of almost a pity. He felt a bit younger, a bit more springy... but his head was screaming almost violently, but the voice in his head was definitely not his own, at least one of them wasn't. He was also restrained. For a long story short, once again he'd been ripped violently from the afterlife, only this time instead of a body built specially for the process, they took the body of a poor younger man in his mid-twenties. For a Long Story short, some genius figured the best way to to prevent his violent episodes was to just... give him another voice in his head. This voice belonged to the body he was now camped in; Dylen Cupper was a small younger man with feminine features with a love for flowers and brighter colors, and the "science" behind it was that Dylen would attempt to provide a calming aura for the frantic and borderline-lunatic mind of Welby, which partially worked... but not often enough to make Welby, the "main personality" stable enough to count as fully sane.

Turns out there wasn't a purpose for Welby's continued and pained existence either. Turns out a group of renegade scientists were attempting to find a way to find and pull the essence of people who had been lost, and sell the tech to the highest bidder. Therefore, they needed to test the various effects of what would happen. Their testing yielded the results they needed, and each time they adjusted accordingly. The evidence of mind damage from being ripped from the after life was not so much covered up, but instead downplayed with claims that their "mind balance" technique was perfect. Plus, all tests had been conducted on someone who'd been uh, ressurected multiple times, so a successful first time would not exhibit any of the same symptoms. So, what do they do witht their probably first successful experiment... they trashed him and through them out in the streets. Welby's personal theory for why he wasn't terminated was so that they could watch him endlessly, and in the end Welby had to wind up relying on the Dlyen's small voice in his head for survival and navigation, and despite the fact they're like complete oppossites, they have learned to forcfully trust each other. In the end, in order to have a steady income Welby resisted all the urges of the pacifist Dylen he once again became basically a thug for the powerful and the underground. Granted, it took a while for organizations to take them seriously due to Welby's new statue, voice, etc that totally didn't match his own personality. As such, despite resistance from Dylen, Welby has fallen back into this old ways... though quite strangely, some things he once enjoyed he finds himself unable to stomach...

Of course, this has resulted in a really strange fashion sense. Welby's Old Western Fashion sense has melded with the brighter colors with of course, a bit more of a futuristic look, including a very nice pocketwatch that Welby totally didn't take of of someone he'd clobbered. He claimed that it complimented his slight frame and fiery hair.

The "Crossbreed" as it's popularly called by populace, is an older weapon known for it rather large frame and it's ability to fire both conventional "solid rounds" (in the 10mm size) and newer "energy bolts". Originally designed for military until transition to a full energized military, many Crossbreeds found a new home on the civilian market, and then eventually the older weapons market. Called an X-Frame due to it's size, the weapon was given a "Revolver Shape" for a bit of Old World Class, and features 24 rounds: 8 "solids" and 16 "bolts," both housed in the same cylinder with the Larger Soldis ringing the outer cylinder surrounding the smaller interior ring bolts. The weapon possesses two barrels atop each other, the upper longer barrel for Solids, and a lower shorter barrel designed for bolts. Due to their weight, Welby carries less "Solids" than "Bolts," especially since with some knowhow and tinkering, bolts can be safely reused... for the most part. The Size of the frame and weapon, however, makes it's incredibly unsteady in untrained and weak hands, and Welby spent a good while both strengthening his arms and finding ways to counter the weapons weight. Also, due to it's age compared to other weapons, the weapons possesses less punching power than other guns, but as they say, in capable hands anything is deadly. An upside of the weight however is that thanks to it's shape, weight, and durability, the weapon can be used as a slightly ergonomic club for busting skulls.

TimeKeeper was always a funny name for a defense contractor, but the system was designed as an alternative for armor to enable an agile warrior rather than a tank. When activated, the TimeKeeper DRS projects an energy shield that shimmers in the light about an arms length from the user all around the user. The Timekeeper DRS however, does not function as a true "shield" in the traditional sense. While the shield is capable of absorbing blasts this is not recommended. Instead, the DRS redirects energies away from it. High-Velocity bullets and blasts upon impacting the shield are redirected away from the impact site, giving a false impression of "bouncing". However, this system was easily exploitable, so the Mark II was designed to allow high-velocity rounds and bolts registered to it's frequency to exit the shield, but not enter the shield in an attempt to prevent registered weapons from being used against the owner. The DRS was designed to protect from high velocity however, as such slow moving objects such as grenades (but not their shrapnel) are capable of slipping right through, as are stationary objects such as claymores. This also means that melee weapons for the most part are also capable of slipping right throught he shield, though should the melee weapon be made of energy it should be... interesting to say the least. The system as two pieces from which it projects, one located on her belt, and one located inside her hat. The Shield can function with only one projector, though naturally it will then work at 1/2 power.

Hijacking: No, not the hijacking of someone else, but Welby hijacking himself... well, Dylen "hijacking" himself. After a period of being stuck as a minority voice in his own head, Dylen eventually found a way to "backdoor" himself back into control of his own body, at least for temporary periods. Periods when Dylen takes control over tend to suffer from his personality, leading many to think that Welby has a split personality, which is... technically right, although Welby, the more dominating personality, is actually an invading rather than a figment of Dylen's imagination. This of course also works for Welby, who to his credit is able to take control back much easier than Dylen can... though despite missing a few wits, Welby recognizes that there are some situations where having Dylen in control is actually quite beneficial.

Perhaps as a sign of his debilitating mental state, Welby claims to be haunted by the spirits of the of people's who's life he'd caused to end, something that he didn't begin to experience until near the end of his life, and he saw them everywhere. Very rarely, do other spirits that he hasn't interacted with come to haunt him. Perhaps what he sees is helpful... or perhaps they aren't, most of the time the recently dead are panicking and not very coherent, the long dead, like the ones that tended to follow Welby everywhere, are more coherent and understandable. Or at least Welby thinks so. Most people just took one look at his declining mental health and told him he was insane, though then again, if Dylen can also see them does that make them both mad?

While not an official name, it's the name Welby and Dylen has assigned to the phenomena that occurs under incredibly stressful situations. As far as they are both aware, neither of them is truly in control of the situation, in fact neither of them seem to actually recall much about the situation after wards. Their minds literally melt together, brushing all the fog and insanity away and leaving both clarity and a really cold calculating mentality that rapidly attempts to take in as much information as literally mentally possible before exploding into action that usually ends in violence and abnormally heightened senses and skills. It sounds pretty good, and would be except for the extreme mental anguish it causes after a period of time, and suffering too long generally causes them to black out an cease function for a while. Who's handling the reigns when they re-awaken is anyone's guess... the rare occasion when they don't black out results in a rather painful separation of the minds, the result is crawling on hands and knees and a brief inability to breath accompanied by seemingly incoherent babble about their past or something, though this is more quickly recovered from than blacking out.

The Lunatic Fringe: The Lunatic Fringe is the term assigned to Welby's slowly decline mental facilities. It has lead to erratic behavior and sometimes confusing demeanors alongside his normal demeamor. This mental decline was caused by constant ripping from the afterlife upon being died; but this phenomena is also why they decided to continue having Dylen inhabit the body as well, since it was believed that Dylen's opposite demeanor would provide a calming or balancing influence on him. However, either his influence isn't nearly as powerful as they thought, or the mental decline is much sharper than they thought.
Unassuming Form: Due to his small, slight form; many people find it incredibly hard to take Welby seriously as a "little firecracker" and nothing more. This has also led to what could be considered a minor napoleonic complex to develope in his personality, and an intense tryhard personality seeking to prove he isn't just a small-wannabe hotshot.
Unapologetic Jerk (Welby): Welby is... extremely uncouth, blunt, and not so much a nice guy. He's extremely stubborn and tends to speak in incredibly foul language, and he does it entirely with very little shame.
Pacifistic Demeanor (Dylen): Dylen has a cute, little demeanor that was designed to placate and slow the decline of Welby's facilities, but of course that came with the conflict of Dylen's aversion to violence, which has caused many inter-mind conflcits that Dylen usually loses thanks being kept a minority voice within his own body.
Alcoholic: A holdover from his days as a wildin' varmint, Welby enjoy drinks... a bit too much. Thanks to a couple mind melds, Dylen has also kind of been tainted by this. Thanks to the new, slighter body, they are much more of a lightweight than they were prior.

Age: 17 (Cause cool number),
400 (Jon’s Soul)

Marshal Umber was raised in a small orphanage never having known his parents, he always desired to escape the confines of his original dwelling and join up with the Wardens. The old order of warriors that served to protect the realm and weak & innocent and would finally get that wish fulfilled at the age of 14 as his city was at the center of a major battle. In the ensuing chaos, Marsh would come upon the half dead Jon, a legendary Warden, sitting down and leaning on a small tree surrounded by half a hundred dead enemy troops. Not wishing for his soul to be continuously used in another cloned vessel to continue the cycle, Jon knighted Marsh and gave him his soul as the man passed on.

Given the circumstances and unwillingness of the Warden leadership to execute the boy and wishing to continue the Warden's wish of training a new generation, Marsh was given access and privileges of being a Warden. From this point he was handed off to Loghain, the former shield brother of Jon and was expected to raise the boy to a proper warrior because for all the experience and wisdom that was passed onto him, he still was expected to master it as an individual. Through a series of rigorous training and adventures, Marsh and Loghain grew close to each other as a father-son duo. Marsh's optimism and hope giving renewed vigor and joy to the old veteran, while he taught the young boy the ways of war, duty and creativity in the arts of combat from his centuries of amounted experience.

Marshal and Loghain have adventured all across the planet and beyond fighting off various beasts, fighting in the wars and operations that were called upon by the Warden Order and serving to the best of their abilities. Having gone from an orphan to a full fleged warrior was a difficult transition, but he continues to persist in hopes of being truly worth of the mantle of responsibility placed upon him by a weary and old warrior and the others who gave their lives to make up the entrity of his new soul. and to restore hope in the lives he touches. In a cruel and complex world, a true Knight works to persist and serve his duty to the people, a conviction that Marsh will hold true for him, Loghain and the dozens of others that reside in his heart.

Appearance

Marsh comes with a head of messy black hair cut short with a pair of dark brown eyes and light skin. Standing at a height of 6'1 and lean build

Sleek armor designed for defensive capabilities beyond that of traditional Warden armor. Maintains the same sleek suit design with angular portions on the helmet, that conforms to the user’s body and head; made from a composition of layers of spider silk and for added protection a metal similar to that of Vibranium capable of absorbing the energy and deflecting it. Visor on the face to ensure that user can see surroundings. The portions of Vibranium-like metal are located on the vital areas, legs and shoulders. As Sword units are typically partnered with Shield units to draw most of the initial heat, Marsh’s outfit have been outfitted with an active camouflage enhancement to conceal his presence.

Manipulation of metal objects from a distance, upon absorbing the soul of the previous Warden, Marshal has gained the ability to control and manipulate objects with any form of metal within or externally on opponents. Used to potentially break limbs, contract armor pieces, destabilize shots, or detect nearby metals to be manipulated. Maximum range 100 meters to sense or manipulate possible metal in the area.

The heart and soul of Warden abilities comes the Soul Transfer, when a Warden is slain in combat, their essence travels into the nearest Warden on the field. Transferring all knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences and weapons to their companion. Along with comes the negatives of the previous holder along with the positives, but ensures that even if numbers fall in battle, that the remaining count of warriors remains consistently powerful and more elite than the previous generation. If one of them dies, the survivor’s gains the fallen’s armor enhancements, traits, experience, and skills.

Whispers: Due to soul transfer, Wardens can ‘call’ upon knowledge of the previous wielders of their souls. This typically means they can gather advice or previous knowledge; the soul that he gained was a skilled combat tactician and thus he’s gained in-depth knowledge on combat. He suses this to study the field or opponents and alongside Loghain's understanding of trajectory can use it to reflect attacks or angle them using his magnetism.
Enhanced Perception: Due to the ability to manipulate metals and detect them, Marshal is extremely perceptive to any nearby changes in the environment and can react to them at breakneck speeds or involuntary react to them.

Age: 500 (Composed of the souls of tons of young men who have died in the line of duty to ensure that Loghain The Legend is still around)

One of the oldest members in the Wardens, Loghain is a man who has celebrated a long and storied history in the military. Having joined at an early age, Loghain has fought in the dozens of campaigns across the world and beyond. As is common of a Warden of his 'age', Loghain has lost numerous companions along the way, even if their sacrifice has made him stronger through the absorption of their skills, experience and knowledge, he is a man that is hard to read or get close to as a result. In order to prevent the loss of Loghain, the Wardens worked to recreate his body so that if his death ever occurs they can bring him back, which is why he maintains the appearance of a man in his 40s despite nearing nearing a century in age without the negative qualities, the current vessel is a clone of his original appearance.

Loghain recently has taken on Marshal as his new sword brother following the death of his previous Sword brother, Jon, of twenty years. Loghain at first resented and disliked Marshal for what he believed to have committed an injustice by taking away his closest friend's soul, but later came to terms and understanding after discovering that Jon simply wished to rest and desired for his will to continue on in that of a new Warden. Loghain in the past years has come to see the boy as a son of sorts having never gained a family of his own and has taught him skills and how to work in tandem with him and how to master his Magnetism. During this time, Loghain and Marsh have traveled the planet campaigning and adventuring for the cause, whether this be in warfare, infiltrating arena fights to defeat a conspiracy, slaying giant monsters, the two have seen much and desire to continue their adventures for years to come.

He deeply honors and respects those who have died for him and travels to their respective homes when he gets the chance alongside Marshal, to pay his respects for the old and young that make him the man he is.

Appearance

Dark brown hair that has been shaped into that of a buzzcut and beard with hints of grey in it, has a pair of grey eyes standing at 6'8 with a large muscular build and tanned skin from years of active duty. Biological body that of a man in his early 40s due to the transfer of soul taking precedence into a new host body.

Sleek armor designed for defensive capabilities beyond that of traditional Warden armor. Maintains the same sleek suit design with angular portions on the helmet, that conforms to the user’s body and head; made from a composition of layers of spider silk and for added protection a metal similar to that of Vibranium capable of absorbing the energy and deflecting it. Visor on the face to ensure that user can see surroundings. The portions of Vibranium-like metal are located on the vital areas, legs and shoulders. Shield armor units have attached with large armor gauntlet plate shields made of the same metal to deflect on coming attacks in their systems, upon wearer’s death, this shall be transferred over to the survive Warden partner

The heart and soul of Warden abilities comes the Soul Transfer, when a Warden is slain in combat, their essence travels into the nearest Warden on the field. Transferring all knowledge, skills, abilities and weapons to their companion. Along with comes the negatives of the previous holder along with the positives, but ensures that even if numbers fall in battle, that the remaining count of warriors remains consistently powerful and more elite than the previous generation.

Indomitable Will: The centuries have not been the most kind to Loghain, but it has served to make his will iron clad in its convictions to serve and protect to the best of his ability. While serving to resist elements that seek to conquer his mind and maintain his composure in the hardest of situations. He will fight and serve to the last for both his and Marshal’s sake and wishes to impart these lessons that even in cruel world a true knight persists.
Whispers: Having taken on numerous souls during his tenure, Jon is one of the most experienced commanders in the Wardens and serves as an invaluable Shield Brother and Mentor to Marshal. His whispers relying on understanding trajectory and ‘sensing’ where objects are heading whether it be coming directly at him and he’s focusing on Marshal’s own ability to aim and help him focus his shots. Or might just be good at geometry.
Lie Detector: After centuries of experience have been put into him and his own centuries worth of body hopping and transference, Loghain has a natural acuity with detecting hints of betrayal in the voice of others, almost as if a second sense, likely due to the souls of one of the previous Wardens injected into him or being a career soldier. Can use this to help Marsh and plan out accordingly to surprise those who attempt to betray them or take them by surprise.

Scenario[]

All combatants are released in a wide area, resembling a deserted Renaissance-era castle town. They have to hunt each other down until no one else is left alive. Manipulation, stealth, and alliances are the key to victory; anyone treating this as a direct fight will most likely get slaughtered. There will be eight supply caches scattered throughout the town, containing food, water, and all kinds of ammunition. There will also be wildlife in the area, as well as ready-to-harvest crops. There is no time limit, but the supply caches will not replenish themselves, nor will the animals or crops respawn. The caches are enough to keep one warrior fed for a week, and there is enough wildlife and crops to feed all eighteen for two.

The contestants will be notified of the following:

Win/loss conditions
The presence of the caches
That wildlife is in the area
That the are ready-to-harvest crops in the area

They will be notified en mass, so they also know that everyone else knows these things.

Voting[]

The battle is not a straight-up fight. Any votes treating it as such will not be counted.
Please rank the warriors/teams by who you think will survive the longest. Ties are allowed for any point in the rankings if you think two warriors are equally likely to lose.
- Please give at least two sentences on why you think the warrior will rank where they do.
Any votes that are constructing scenarios will not be counted.
I will be counting votes on this blog and on this blog only. Not in a Discord PM, not on my Talk. 99% of the "Wikia eating a vote" is solvable with simple and easy-to-replicate steps, the first of which is to not have a comment box open for long periods of time.
Usual rebuttal rules apply, and if done to someone who is in the tourney will further reduce their placements by half as well.
If you think I should not count a vote or that I chose to not count a vote that should be counted, contact me via Discord.
Voting ends 23:59:59 Eastern on May 30th.

Scoring[]

Each vote will give a warrior/team a score based on how highly they place. Last place is one point, second-to-last is two, etc.
The total points from votes are then multiplied by the amount of characters/teams each creator has placed in their own votes. This is their score.
- The placements need to be done to the point where they would (theoretically) count as a complete vote for this to happen.

The highest score wins. This means that even if a character places first in all votes, if their creator does not vote then that character will have a score of zero.

Battle[]

Prologue: Those Who Don’t Vote[]

A castle stands deserted, the great stone edifice imposing itself on the tiered town below. The rooftops flowed down to a wall, before bursting into a swath of farmland, ready for the harvest but with no hands to work the fields. A wolf stalking the wheat fields perks up, and flees at the sudden appearance of a tennis ball.

Julia lifts herself off the ground and starts to float, moving in a random direction and happening to wander into town. By chance, she senses the presence of another.

Cassius Aurelius jumps, having heard what sounded like his old friend and teacher, Zoltan. He follows the voice inside a hut, barely having time to look around at the ramshackle interior before being hit hard in the back of the head by a small, round object. He gets knocked off balance and trips, falling under a conveniently-placed shelf.

He feels an impact on the back of his head again as he rises, knocking his face back to the floor. The feeling is repeated, the light shoves starting to become painful. Julia bounces rapidly between the back of the dragonborn’s head and the shelf, keeping her prey immobilized.

Nearby, a small housecat wanders through the streets, before hearing Cassius’ cries and smelling his blood. Drawn by the prospect of scavenging an easy meal early on, she slinks close to the small hut, hearing an odd, wet tapping sound as she gets closer. A small rivulet of blood trickles out the door, and the cat hesitantly laps at it, checking its flavor.

She stops, hearing the steady drip and splash of liquid. Julia floats out of the home, covered in blood and gore which continued to fall. Half a second later, she has infiltrated the cat’s mind and read its deepest fears. A couple precisely formulated illusions drives Champie mad with rage, and she transforms into her monstrous wendigo form, letting loose a roar from her skeletal head as she does so. Julia, unnoticed, finds herself a perch in the animal’s fur, and uses the drying blood and gore of her first victim to adhere herself.

Nearby, Maria Black hears the wendigo’s roar. Just far enough away for it to heighten her paranoia, she turns and draws Wolfsbane and points it where she was sure a foe resided. She grimaces as the fit passes, recognizing the effects of magic. The damage, however, was done: the quarry she was tracking noticed her movements.

“Come out, little rat!” Madam Cavorite yells, using her power to yank the corner of a building out from in front of Maria. Thinking quickly, the huntress leaps into the air and off a wall, riding the soaring piece of masonry to hide her position. She leaps off as it soars over her flashy golden foe, snapping a shot off as she does so.

Cavorite uses her gravity powers to bat the bullet aside, and thrusts her arm out at Maria. A wave of force sends her flipping back.

“Protection, Fortify Thy Resolve,” Maria mutters, projecting a purple shield to absorb her landing. She follows this with a green one in the direction of Cavorite, catching the spray of bullets from her automatic Glock.

“You really think you can fight with that bag of tricks weighing you down?” Cavorite smirks as she blocks another shot from Wolfsbane. In response, Maria simply sighs and draws her Kukuri, slipping a bullet into one hand. She charges in swinging, which Cavorite deflects with one arm. A kick forces the villain’s other arm away, leaving her chest exposed. Maria aims a palm strike at it, which Cavorite stops cold with her telekinesis.

“Protection, fortify thy resolve,” Maria mutters as Cavorite sneers, preparing to gloat, “Flame, sear thy foe.”

At that, the bullet in her hand explodes, sending them both flying. Cavorite crashes through the façade of the building behind her, while Maria simply rolls with the blast and lands lightly in the street.

“Looks like you have some bite after all,” Cavorite says, bruised as she pulls herself out of the rubble. Her next taunt is cut short, however, as a gunshot rings out and a man falls from the rooftops, dead.

Near the castle itself, Markus Flynn sets his firearm back to pistol mode and holsters it, making a quick getaway after sniping Jordan Welby. That shot was likely heard by most of the city, and he needed to get out. Fast.

True to his fears, a woman sitting in an alleyway takes note, her left eye following the trail of heated air back to his original perch. She bends the light around her, slipping invisible through the streets. A reasonable precaution, at least until she eliminated the sniper. Arete lived and died by cautious action, and this would be no different.

Elsewhere, a man stretches and smiles, also making towards the high ground. A sniper to cover his back would be a valuable asset in this situation. He struts through the streets, making no effort to be hidden. For Damien, confidence was the best armor; if you acted like you were untouchable, you would be so in truth.

“Hey, Skulker,” Cavorite says, turning towards Maria, “I guess he wasn’t your work?”

“No,” Maria replies bluntly, trying to keep an eye on her foe while searching for any indication of the sniper’s position.

“Then let’s call a truce. Fall in together, at least until we deal with whoever did this.”

“Once they’re dead, so are you.”

“Only if I don’t crush you first, dear,” Cavorite says, “The name’s Madame Cavorite. Yours?”

“Maria Black,” the huntress says, sheathing her knife as Cavorite holsters her Glock, “A gravity user will come in handy.”

Chapter 1: Gone Mad[]

Champie crashes through the fields, trampling the crops without a care. The vegetables and fruits squelch underfoot as she rages, searching for someone – anyone – to take out her rage upon. Her growls and snarls are cut short upon the appearance of a young girl, all of thirteen, wearing a black dress speckled with red, though whether the pattern evoked blood or petals she was in no state of mind to determine.

“So the intruder is a mindless beast,” Surrexia scoffs, her eyes filled with contempt.

Champie takes a swipe at the girl, who simply leaps out of her range. Champie rears back for another strike, but quickly finds her arm wrapped in thorns. The Wendigo growls in pain before her other arm is caught, too. Surrexia makes the roses shrink towards the ground, pulling Champie into a faceplant. Fear rules the Wendigo’s mind as Surrexia gives a mocking curtsy before another rose grows in from behind her, its stem curled around a rapier. The girl draws her sword, winding up and lunging in the blink of an eye.

And skewers the tennis ball on Champie’s back. A flick sends the sinister object flying into the air, and she forms her signature bow as she slides the sword back into its sheathe. She plucks an arrow from her quiver and draws, letting loose as the ball comes back into view. It hits, and its thorns mutilate Julia from the inside.

Champie lies on the ground in a daze, the rage that fueled her suddenly snuffed out. The eyes in her skull roll towards the pair of sandals approaching her, growing larger as their owner approached. The sandals were suddenly replaced by the blonde-framed face of the girl she was fighting earlier, though Champie found it hard to focus on anything other than the girl’s eyes. Their bright, otherworldly blue, almost luminous, drove all other thoughts from the wendigo’s mind.

“Ah, you poor thing,” she says evenly, “That ball drove you mad, didn’t it?”

Champie nods, feeling the girl’s words worm their way through her skull.

“Yes, so it’s not entirely your fault. You just had some bad luck in choosing an owner. But don’t worry; serve me and I will give you the treatment you deserve. What’s your name?”

“Champie,” the wendigo says, feeling a paradoxical mixture of fear and calm as the words slide deeper and coil around her brain.

“Good, Champie. Now be mine,” she says, giving an insincere smile. The calming power in her words had taken hold, and coupled with a few psychological tricks ensured her new minion would never think of betraying her. She unbinds the Wendigo, who gets up and nods at her. The massive beast picks up the smaller goddess and, placing the woman on her shoulder, walks off.

Halfway across the town, in the raised, wealthier district, Damien sweats nervously, his prior confidence vanishing. Both Arete and Markus caught on to him, and now he has a pistol being waved in his face. Not the most comfortable of positions, though he also has his Moonsword at Markus’ throat. Markus, however, seems more worried about the large, triple-barreled shotgun the woman was pointing at him, while Arete’s eye stared at both of them, shotgun in one hand and a metal sphere with arcane-looking scribbles in the other. She, in turn, keeps a wary eye on the flame Damien holds in his fingers.

“You know, we were told to be the last left alive, not to kill each other,” Damien says, projecting as much confidence into his voice as he can, “So might it not be better to be the last three and kill each other then? Rather than now and we all die?”

He holds a nervous smile, trying to communicate that he’s in as much danger as they are; his healing abilities can give him an edge, but there’s no reason to reveal that yet. The hostility slowly leeches out of the other two, and Markus drops his arm, letting his pistol fall to the floor as Damien’s sword traced its way down his body. Arete also lowers her shotgun, resting it against her leg and tossing the metal ball to her non-human hand. She crushes it and tosses it back; the gesture didn’t mean anything, as the ball was a bluff, but so long as they didn’t know how her magic worked she didn’t see a need to inform them.

“I’ll be watching you,” Markus says, staring at Damien.

“And I you,” the other man says.

“Kiss later and move away from the window,” Arete says, doing as she says. The two men duck, just in time for a metal bolt to rip through the air and embed itself against the wall.

“Well, there’s our first target,” Markus says cheerily.

Farther away, Maria and Madame Cavorite walk down the street. Not exactly together, as they were on opposite sides, but in the same direction.

“I’ve never understood you justice types,” Cavorite sneers, breaking the silence, “All that bitching about what’s ‘right’ and refusing to get your hands dirty.”

“I’m not the ‘justice type.’ I merely put down rabid dogs,” Maria says, noticing the glint of an axe peaking out from behind a building, “I don’t get them, either.”

“That’s a shame,” Cavorite says, sounding truly put out, “I enjoy corrupting any of those that enter my orbit”

“Could you stop with the gravity puns? Please?”

“Oh, why I never!” Cavorite says, looking at Maria in true disgust as Helga charges towards them, “Do you have no idea of propriety?” she asks as she uses her telekinesis to hold the berserker in place.

“I do, thank you very much,” Maria says, drawing Wolfsbane and shooting Helga in the face, “and propriety means not annoying everyone around you.”

“I’ll have you know my puns are incredible. They pull you in like no other!”

“Oh Hera save me, she actually thinks she’s funny,” Maria says, melodramatically rolling her eyes as the pair continues bickering down the street, leaving Helga's corpse behind.

Chapter 2: The Bore Boar Bores[]

“Shh, Westler,” Aiken says, patting his dog on the head. The animal gives a whine, but is mercifully silent afterwards. After how casually the two women walking outside the coffee house he had taken shelter in had killed the third, he didn’t want them to notice him. He stroked Westler’s head, calming his companion and himself, when he stiffens. He has a split second to curse before one of the walls bursts in, revealing a boar the size of a horse.

The beast charges as he unsheathes his plasma sword, all pretenses of subtlety forgotten. The boar charges him, and is intercepted by Westler tackling it from the side. After finally igniting the blade, Aiken is abruptly yanked through the wall, pulled by Cavorite.

In a daze, he turns to look at the gold-armored woman as she slowly, deliberately draws her pistol. She similarly takes her time aiming, looking Aiken dead in the eyes, wanting to savor his despair. As she finds only annoyance, she pulls the trigger without further theatrics. She turns away, posing towards Maria with the pistol.

“Took you long enough,” Maria says as she walks to Aiken, drawing her knife, “And you couldn’t even finish the job.”

She stabs him through the throat, his Wave Emitter no longer able to defend him. The two look up at the destroyed coffee shop, seeing the large boar walking out with blood on its tusks.

“I’ll take care of this,” Cavorite says, and utilizes her gravity powers to yeet the boar the fuck away from them.

Across town, Arete leans against a wall, across from Damien and Markus. The other sniper was in a bad position for them; he was hiding in a knot of wooden homes, and the steadily sinking sun was at his back. At the very least he didn’t seem to have put much distance between them.

“Seven-fifty meters, is it?” Damien asks

“Aye, give or take a few,” Arete says.

“In these conditions, one of you’ll have to flush him out for me,” Markus says.

“Get me within… five meters of the block he’s hanging out in. I can light a fire under his ass from there,” Arete says.

“I’d need to be a bit closer than that...” Damien says.

“Then you can bait him while Arete and I do the actual work.”

“Then please be fast about it. I’d rather not take a bullet with my beautiful face.”

“I wouldn’t like that either,” Markus says, “So lets do it as quickie… quickly as possible,” Markus says, and the three split up. Markus spots a used fireplace and uses a nearby bowl to scoop up some ashes, using some spit to make it into a paste to coat his sniper pistol with. Now confident it won’t glint in the sunlight, he makes his way up to the roof.

He spots Damien trying to bait a shot, and tenses his abdomen to activate Eagle Eye. With his enhanced vision, he scans the area, waiting to see where their hidden foe would fire from. After a few minutes, a shot came from the direction of the same nest that Arete had identified earlier. It missed Damien, but cratered the street a few meters next to him.

A few seconds later, a massive gout of fire erupts around the wooden nest, silhouetting the man trying to hide within. Eddie #165 runs out, fleeing the flames, and Markus’ lips curl in a smile. He lines up the shot, taking care to ensure his aim is true.

Then a boar the size of a horse falls out of the sky, crushing his mark under its weight.

Wasting no time, Markus double-taps his target, and fires a pair of bullets into the boar’s skull.

He watches Arete approach the dead animal and lift it up with her four-clawed red arm, the woman carrying it effortlessly back to their hideout.

Once there, Damien draws his Moonsword – the sole edged tool between the three of them – and gets to work skinning and dressing the boar. “I’ll make dinner,” he says, “Make up for not doing much in the fight.”

“Thank you,” Arete says, nodding at the younger-looking man, “We watch in shifts?”

“Sure. I’ll take first,” Markus says, wiping the ash paste off his pistol.

“I’ll take last,” Arete says, “Assuming we can keep dinner down long enough for it to matter.”

Chapter 3: Two Men Being Dudes (At Night)[]

A pot of stew bubbles over a dim fire, the twigs and grass barely making enough heat to cook with. Marshal slides in a few more cubes of deer meat, the skinned and gutted carcass a few feet away from the fire.

“Don’t add too much,” Loghain says, “We’ll have to finish it all tonight.”

“And what do we do with the rest of the meat? Seems like a waste not to cook it.”

“Hasn’t Jon’s soul taught you anything? We dry it, smoke it, and take it with us. If other people are short on meat, we can use it as a bargaining chip.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Marshal says.

Loghain sighs, the pure, innocent admiration in Marshal’s words dissipating his irritation. “You’ll learn, kid. You’ll learn. Make sure you stir the pot, and scrape the bottom.”

“I hope so,” Marshal says, doing as instructed. He stiffens partway through, turning to look outside their camp.

“Someone coming?” Loghain asks.

“Yes, I can sense some metal moving in our direction… how’d you know?”

“Jon did the same thing. Let’s see who our guests are.”

Loghain and Marshal grab their helmets, putting them in easy reach so they could be slipped on if they’re attacked. A multitude of small, red shapes appeared in the darkness surrounding their camp. Marshall tenses; if a pack of animals was using metal tools, it might be a tough fight.

The shapes are swiftly revealed to be the design on a black dress, covering the body of a young girl.

“Well, a human sensing my presence,” she says, clapping, “You’re a credit to your species. I’m passing through, and saw your fire.”

“I… see,” Marshal says, unable to look away from her otherworldly blue eyes, “You’re…”

His words are interrupted by Loghain, who hits the pot with one of the branches being used for kindling, The sharp sound makes Marshal jump, heightening his wariness.

“What… what was that?” he asks, in a state of confusion as his suppressed caution comes roaring back.

“A distraction,” Surrexia says, a cruel smile twisting on her lips.

Without warning, a pair of claws wraps around Marshal’s head, digging into his eyes and face. The hands wrench his face upwards, and the last thing he sees is a row of teeth, glistening with saliva.

Champie bites, tearing into her victim with gusto.

Loghain’s face twists in rage under his helmet, feeling Marshal’s soul flowing into him. He glares at the wendigo, having felt traces of the boy’s final moments. He launches himself at his killer, utilizing the dead boy’s magnetism to compress the edges of his shields. Champie leaps over him, dodging his strike. Loghain kicks behind him, catching the monster in the back. The wendigo falls face-first into their campfire, screaming in the heat.

Loghain plants his foot on her back, and punches her face back down into the embers. He slowly, methodically punches her in the neck, utilizing Marshal’s magnetic powers to create a blunt edge on his shield.

A final punch rips through Champie’s throat, decapitating her. He gets up and turns to face Surrexia. Based on what the girl had said, she was working with the creature that cut his partner’s life short. Again. He feels a splitting headache, but grimaces through the pain.

He opens his mouth, intending to condemn the girl for the inhuman act, but freezes for a moment when he sees her smile. His headache intensifies, before he feels blood running down his face. He hurriedly pulls his helmet off, but it was too late. A rose bursts forth from inside his skull, the deep, winelike red of the flower mixing in with the dead man’s blood.

Surrexia sighs and turns away from the scene, searching for a place to sleep. She wasn’t likely ot find any more pawns at this time of night.

Chapter 4: Staying for Breakfast[]

Arete throws as many logs as she can find on the fire, building it up to a blaze as Markus and Damien walk out of the sleeping room, adjusting their clothes and trying to fix their hair.

“Get your things, we’re moving.”

“Why?” Damien asks, genuinely confused.

“With how loud the two of you were I think everyone else knows we’re here.”

“Ah, shit, thought we were being quiet,” Markus says, making a visual check to ensure he has his stuff.

“A pig being skinned alive makes less noise,” Arete grumbles, shouldering her shotgun as the fire spreads.

“I’d kind of like to know why you know that,” Markus says as Damien leads the way out the door, followed by the zap of electricity and a shrill cry of pain. Markus and Arete run out, looking to see what’s wrong. They stumble upon the unconscious body of a young girl, still twitching from Damien’s lightning.

“She should be out for a bit. What do we do?”

“Kill her,” Markus suggests, his face hardening

“Agreed,” Arete says, wasting no time in leveling her shotgun at Surrexia’s face. Damien nods, looking queasy, and she uses her powers to fire the lower barrel, sending a spread of shot through her head. Arete swaps the shotgun to her right hand, and throws the girl into the building.

“So, since we’re burning the evidence, where should we go?” Damien asks, looking around.

“Let’s try to head up to the castle. Can either of you reinforce your bodies? I might have trouble breaking a gate with my left arm alone.”

“I can harden my body if you need extra muscle,” Markus says.

“That explains why you lasted so long,” Damien smirks.

“Flirt when we’re safe, please.”

“Yes, this isn’t really the right time to fall in love,” a voice comes from behind.

“Athena save my mind, I actually found that funny,” another one replies as the three turn around, facing two women staring at them.

“And I think I’ve found our target,” Cavorite says, and clenches her fist.

Markus’ head implodes, crushed by the force of gravity.

“You know, Arete, about our alliance…” Damien says, turning to her.

“Yeah, figures,” she says, as a thin red line forms at his throat, “Betrayal happens.”

Damien barely has time to gasp in surprise as a thin line of photons slices through his neck, decapitating him.

“Oh, and about ours, dear,” Cavorite says, turning dramatically towards Maria, freezing as Wolfsbane’s muzzle enters her field of vision.

“Thunder – Spark Thy Wrath,” the hunter says, and fires. The bullet bursts, releasing a lethal current through the other woman’s armor. Arete and Maria look at each other for a second, followed by a sigh from each of them.

“Can’t help it, can we?”

“Nope.”

Chapter 5: The Obligatory Final Battle[]

Maria levels Wolfsbane at the other woman, and pulls the trigger as darkness suddenly veils her vision. She rolls diagonally, barely dodging the gout of flame that melted the stones where she had previously stood, and comes up kneeling.

“Protection, Shield Thy Body,” she mutters, throwing the green shield in the direction of her foe. As the shot bounces off, she fires her revolver at her foe. Arete halts photons in the air, deflecting the bullets away. She manifests another column of fire at Maria’s position, sustaining the sun-hot flame for a few minutes.

A sharp pain in her head forces her to stop, wincing at the massive increase in light around her. She closes her left eye, trying to block out the immense volume of information. Had she done so sooner, she would have noticed Maria still kneeling in the middle of the flames, body surrounded in a read aura.

The hunter drops her strongest shield and charges, leaving the slagged Wolfsbane in the molten stones. She draws her Kukri, slicing across Arete’s abdomen as she does so. Arete’s blood splatters out, hitting the ground and splashing on Maria’s neck.

“You need new tricks,” Maria says, looking down at her dying foe.

“Who says you’ve seen them all?” Arete replies, giving a vicious grin. In the blink of an eye, she activates Rudhira’s power, switching the stone floor with the chunks of flesh her blood had hit. Maria dies almost instantly, and Arete soon joins her.

Across town, Sergei yawns as he finishes cooking up breakfast, utilizing the bacon he had found in a supply cache. As the savory smell hits his nostrils, time halts. He’d won, unaware.

Epilogue[]

A few keystrokes cut off the broadcast, removing Sergei’s face from the monitors. A few more disable the warriors and transport them back to OCity, and a final click clears the Battledome. Leo stretches as he gets up, smile hidden behind his mask. It felt wrong to admit, but Beast’s Battledome seems to be a success, as well as a clear improvement over the clunkier, outdated arena system. He traces one of the blue lines on his mask as he walks towards the door, boosting the misdirection technology within to make others unable to notice him at all.

A few quick strides takes him to the entrance hall, where he is nearly blocked by a massive knot of warriors and users. A quick glance tells him all he needs to know; they were all gathered around Wassboss, congratulating him on his entrant’s victory.

“Godspeed, Wass. This is your show now,” he mutters under his breath while navigating through the throngs of people trying to brown their noses on the de facto ruler of DFederal. The man himself wore an expression of annoyance, likely wondering why he accepted the role in the first place.

He throws the double doors wide, utilizing the powers Users can access to connect it to the outside of a convenience store in the blue collar district rather than the building’s actual exit. Five minutes of weaving around people and the rubble still remaining from Tarot alike, he slips into the DFederal Police Department’s headquarters.

He dials his mask’s obscuring technology down to its usual level as he heads towards the back of the building, ignoring the occasional exclamation of surprise as some of the more observant members started to notice him again. He stops before the back entrance, checking to make sure no one is around before he presses one brick in the wall. Swiftly authenticating him, it opens to reveal an elevator that takes him down to a small, lounge-like meeting room. As if on cue, a black sphere materializes as he steps into it, shrinking again to reveal a girl in a mouse-eared hoodie and another girl wearing a poofy dress.

“We found something,” Parcel says without preamble.

“We managed to get a photograph of some of the people inciting things,” Hanakamakiri says, conjuring the item in question from one of her sleeves and laying it on the table. Leo slides it towards himself as she continues, “Joker and Nathan are tailing them as we speak.”

The photograph shows a trio of people wearing wolf masks. At the sight, Leo lets out a laugh, startling the pair. He then points at the photograph, sending a thin bar of imitated Balefire at it. It hits, and the photograph inverts colors before vanishing. Confirming the retroactive destruction of evidence, he looks back up at his subordinates.

“We wait and see for now. Feel free to defend yourself or others if attacked, but otherwise let it run its course. Shouldn’t amount to anything major. Tell Joker and Hale.”

“And if they do get out of hand?” Parcel asks.

“Well, I’ve destroyed the Wolves before. Maybe I’ll be more thorough this time.”

Parcel nods, satisfied, and creates one of her black spheres, presumably teleporting the two girls to wherever the other two were. Confirming once again that he is alone, he steps back into the elevator. A thought activates it, sending it even farther down to his office.

He stretches as he looks out the window over the city, his office somehow suspended high above the skyline. As one of the few who has mastered the eldritch environs of the city

He turns the fake window off once he arrives, taking the chance to rest his eyes before Saturos, Menardi, and their hand-picked crew return to report on cleansing South University of rogue OCs.

Rankings[]

Rank 14: Jordan Welby and Cassius Aurelius, score 0
Rank 13: Julia, score 225
Rank 12: Helga Eriksdottir, score 615
Rank 11: Aiken & Westler, score 1035
Rank 10: Eddie 165, score 1215
Rank 9: Champie, score 1365
Rank 8: Marshal and Loghain, score 1530
Rank 7: Surrexia, score 1845
Rank 6: Markus Flynn, score 2115
Rank 5: Damien, score 2130
Rank 4: Madame Cavorite, score 2475
Rank 3: Maria Black, score 2550
Rank 2: Arete Kasamata, score 2565
Rank 1: Sergei Dolour, score 2745