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It is a time of knowledge, a time of enlightenment. A time of magic, a time of science. This is an age of glorious inventions and wonderful discoveries, an age where the people prosper and live. It is a time of quiet troubles and heightened tensions, when peace is balanced on a knive's edge. Forget the mysteries you were promised, forget your hopes and dreams. Something is wrong and it is up to you to change it. Welcome to Irun RP.

I can't believe I'm doing this..

The world of Irun is a land ruled by three nations, each waiting uneasily for who knows what. Magic flows throughout the earth, but there are thick pockets of tainted magic deep beneath. When the drills of the Technocracy dug deep and pierced through the crust, the taint was released and spread outwards like a curse. Now blotches of warped land are left as a testament to the folly of men, animals changed beyond all recognition, flora and fauna alike under an evil shroud.

The Technocracy is a magic-abhorring totalitarian regime filled with wondrous mechanical beasts of burden, airships floating in the sky, a steel and concrete urban jungle dedicated to the discovery and progress of science. Railroads, turbines, such technologies are commonplace in the Technocracy and people are often seen with metallic grafts upon their flesh. Some even choose to forgo their organic form and completely transfer their entire being into a mechanical shell.

The Republic is a considerably more agrarian country controlling a greater span of land, a place quite the opposite to the Technocracy. With a focus on the arcane arts and a relatively lower level of technology, the Republic relies heavily on its magi to supplement its forces against the Technocracy. The summoning of Animi was pioneered by the Republic and so the usage of Animi is ubiquitous, even to the point of using them within everyday household objects. Furthermore, magical experiments have resulted in organic augmentations, as opposed to the Technocracy's grafts which restrict the flow of magic.

There were those who disagreed with either side, viewing each as being too extreme. The Brotherhood of Unity believe that perfection can only be attained by a blend of magic and science, perceiving that neither art was in contradiction to the other. As such, they fled from their respective lands to form the Brotherhood. Lacking the overwhelming martial power of the Technocracy, nor the spellcasting might of the Republic, the Brotherhood resorted to the creation of mechanoids, robots which were powered by steam, driven by an Anima and directed by a pilot. Both Republic and Technocracy were disgusted with the desecration of their magic and technology respectively, but with the power of these machines, the Brotherhood managed to carve out its own territory.

Now, each of the three hold their armies still, bound by an uneasy truce. Neither wishes to break it, yet tensions are rising and all know that war will break out soon.

You are a common person of the Brotherhood, called forth by virtue of your past adventures to serve in a discreet mission. Who are you?

Class Categories:

Close-type
-encompasses fighters, close-ranged mecha pilots, rogues, etc

Range-type
-encompasses archers, long-ranged mecha pilots, offensive casters, etc

Support-type
-encompasses engineers, healers, trappers, defensive casters, etc

Character Sheet:
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Class-type: (elaborate on class)
Weapon(s):
Backstory:




Notes:
Magic has not advanced to time-stop levels.
Necromancy is frowned upon. Harshly.
The typical gun is the musket and flintlock-type, but the Technocracy has some gas-loaded rifles.
Mechas are usually ponderous and slow.
Anima are spirits summoned by magi. There are many types of Anima, each one unique. Many are sentient, though not all are. The strength of an Anima is dependent on the summoner's magical strength at the point of the summoning.
Apart from the use-and-throw-away Animi, there are Personal Animi. These are spirits who are repeatedly summoned by their casters and a bond is developed between them. Such Animi are summoned with a thought, not needing ritual circles and such. If your character has a Personal Animus, please describe it in your character sheet.

Attached are the terms and conditions of summoning Animi, as decreed by the Republic and the Brotherhood.


Animi Accord:
I. All summoners are to be registered to a Joint Animi Coordination Board (JAC-B) upon first initiation within a period of no more than ten days of the First Rite. Any and all candidates training to be a summoner are to have their particulars submitted for recording and evaluation.
II. All Animi summoned must be bound with the appropriate spells as befitting the Animus or Anima's temperament. Animi are not to be bound with any spells designed to deliberately or inadvertently denigrate, derogate or diminish the Animi's dignity and pride.
III. No more than one Animus or Anima is to be summoned within a period of no less than twenty-four hours inclusive of rest and sustenance on the part of the summoner and any assistants present. Personal Animi are exempt from this statute.
IV. Summoning circles are strictly compulsory when summoning Animi. Only personal Animi are exempt from their third successful summoning onwards.
V. All summonings must be open to scrying. A permit must be obtained to do otherwise from the JAC-B. All such requests will be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis.
VI. The environment and area in which Animi are summoned must be cleansed and reverted on a regular cycle of no lesser than once a month, at which point no more summonings are to occur in that area in a radius of fifty metres for a minimum of twelve days.
VII. Any damage caused inadvertently or otherwise by Animi are to be paid for by its summoner, unless the summoner is directed to do so in a willing, binding and legal contract not in contravention or contradiction with any official law established by the Republic and the Brotherhood of Unity.
VIII. Animi summoned and directed to commit acts directly or indirectly in violation, contradiction or contravention of Republic and/or Brotherhood official law will be summarily banished and the summoner will be hung on a thirteen-metre pole publicly as a warning.
IX. Personal Animi are required to have their characteristics and particulars recorded and sent to the JAC-B, information to be kept confidential until such time as deemed necessary by the JAC-B.
X. A merchant selling pre-summoned Animi must obtain a permit from the JAC-B. Selling pre-summoned Animi without a license or purchasing pre-summoned Animi from an unlicensed merchant is an offense punishable by death in the former and a heavy fine ranging from five thousand coins to eight thousand coins for the latter.
XI. Objects imbued with Animi on sale are to have their nature clearly stated to any potential purchaser.
XII. Upon summoning, the preceding statutes must be educated to the Animus or Anima, as well as full knowledge of any and all consequences of breaking any statute of the Accord.
XIII. No Animus or Anima may be bound into a mechanical body.
Point XIII in dispute and henceforth removed from the Accord.

...okay, so four new RPs are imminently entering the action phase. Coolz.

Character Sheet:

Name: Alexander "Sender" Taraumda

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Class-type: Range-type-- offensive caster

Depending on the level of the spell (which is contingent upon how much of "himself" he puts into it), he can craft anything from confusion, discord, unconsciousness to illusion, madness, or even death.

After crafting any spell to the size he wants it, he has to "deliver" it-- for Sender, this usually means shooting it with the slingshot-- to his desired target, where it will affect everyone within its range.

The fewer people affected by a curse, though, the more specialized he can make it; individual curses are smaller, more like a butterfly than a bomb, and he can just blow it across his hand to the target.

(Required Secondary Powers: Alexander is immune to the effects of his own curses-- otherwise, they would damage him every time he handles them in their raw form, which he has to in order to create them.)

Weapon(s): He carries a sling, though it's as likely to be loaded with a curse as with an actual rock. He also has a dagger, which is primarily to facilitate his magic, not for use in a fight.

Backstory: Alexander was born to a loyal Technocracy family. Josiah Taraumda's first son, from a previous marriage, was a Technocracy soldier, complete with a number of grafts and mech parts. But when little Alexander showed signs of having innate magical ability, his parents, instead of disowning or killing him like proper Technocrats would, they encouraged him to follow his abilities.

Josiah Taraumda uprooted his family and moved to the Brotherhood, where both his sons would have a chance at a good life. Alex's brother was a fighter; he joined the Brotherhood army out of lack of other options, while Alexander pursued his own, less militaristic goals. But after Mair's tragic death, Sender resolved to fill his brother's empty shoes in the army, and make sure that his death will not be meaningless. He managed to secure his brother's former position, and while he initially struggled to cope with the unfamiliar mores and routines of the military, he has an understanding CO and friendly fellows in his unit, who all helped him to adjust.

Alexander believes strongly in the balance of magic and science that the Brotherhood represents. Alexander is quiet, but friendly, with a wicked sense of humour. Watch out for Dissonant Serenity, though-- he's generally at his calmest when he's crafting one of his deadliest spells.

Name: Tamsin

Gender: F

Age: 25

Class-type: Engineer.

Tamsin constructs and maintains vehicles and armor that can be used for battle. She would prefer to focus on things for day-to-day use, but her talents lie in creating things for battle, and there's enough demand for such things that she hasn't had time to focus on anything else. The things she creates are entirely technological, though if she has the cooperation of a magic user they can create a technical/magical hybrid.

Weapon(s): A big ol' wrench.

Backstory: Tamsin grew up in the Technocracy. She loved it there. Technology was everything in her life, and she'd never known anything else, didn't realize that there was world outside her city, or how beautiful magic could be. As soon as she was old enough she had her consciousness transferred to a sleek, shiny mechanical body. She was as happy with her life as she could be.

Until she discovered magic, and fell in love with it. She had a new dream, of studying and using magic to create new and beautiful things. However, with her mechanical body, that was impossible. There was no way for her to manipulate magical forces; they were completely incompatible with her current form.

Realizing what the Technocracy had cut themselves off from, she left her home and found the Brotherhood, where she can at least witness magic and interface with its practitioners, though she is forever cut off from the possibility of using it herself.

Alright, finally took the time to read this in depth. I am now firmly convinced Agora has direct access to my mind whenever I start brainstorming, whether he knows it or not.

Still making a character, though. ^^

Character Sheet:
Name: Vegras Isincar
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Class-type: Support Summoner
Weapon: A small dagger he always keeps on his belt
Backstory: Vegras is what one might call a genius when it comes to all things involving healing magic, even from a young age able to heal people of very horrible illness's with ease. What interested him most through was summoning. He always dreamed of summoning a healing type creature to help him power his healing so he could fix the worst things. The only problem was that he lived in a villages that was technically in Technocracy's protection, so while his natural affinity for healing arts might not have been frowned upon wholly he is gently pushed away by the village leaders to not try and advance any further in his art.

He decided this was unacceptable and bought some books from a traveling salesmen. He figured that if he could at least summon a creature then he could run away from home and join in a Republic summoners college when they saw his advanced art. He tried for months with little to no success reading the books by candle light every night and attempting it at least once a day. Finally on a night like any other he managed to summon a spirit of pure light. It was beautiful beyond words and spoke of the good they would do together. He said he had waited so long for someone like Vegras to summon him, and would be pleased to be his partner.

But then tragedy struck. A nearby drill hit a vein of taint and it exploded across the area tainting everything close to it. Which included the newly summoned creature and its summoner. They were both twisted by the event.The boys face had become badly burned and no amount of magic could heal it. He decided to wear a mask to forever hide his scars. He left his village that day and traveled to the Republic college like he planned but was thrown out for his freakish appearance and monstrous summoned creature. He traveled lost and confused for some time after that until he found a group of bandits attacking a Unity village. When the soldiers arrived all of the bandits had disappeared and the boy claimed to have done helped them. The villages didn't argue... or talk about it, ever. He was brought before the leaders of Unity and despite his young age he was allowed to join them. When he showed his summon to the board that did such things in Unity they where still skeptical about allowing him a licence. But they figured as long as they kept an eye on him he would be a valuable asset.

He now works as both a healer and an adventurer under the control of the Brotherhood of Unity, doing whatever is needed to protect the peace of the people who allowed him to achieve his dream.

Animus: Friend


Once a powerful healing spirit when it was hit with the taint it was twisted from its natural form into a more demonic form. It reflects the damage caused on Vegras. No one knows if the creature that was once a being dedicated to healing has a mind anymore, it appears that Vegras can talk to it but no one else can hear its replys. It seems to have the ability to teleport as long as it isn't being looked at and can appear anywhere. When it needs to fight it seems to spawn a multitude of blade like limbs from its body and can change other aspects of his form as well. It also appears to be able to create a pure black fire which is hot enough to melt stone just by touch alone. It can also create a mist around it to hide itself but will rarely use this ability in combat. The longer it is out and the more it uses its abilities the greater amount of strain it puts on Vegras, even going so far as to knock him out. When Vegras falls the creature disappears until Vegras is strong enough to summon him again. He can also boost Vegras's healing powers, but should only be used in serious situations. No one knows if using healing magic powered by a taint inflicted creature will cause ill effects in the long run.

Character Sheet:
Name: Jaxon Sidower
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Class-type: Healer/Doctor (+Mechanic?)
Jaxon can cast moderate curative spells, and basic healing rituals. He also has enough skill as a regular doctor to diagnose, patch people up, or perform moderate surgeries. He has had experience repairing people who made themselves entirely mechanical.

Weapon(s): The most he can consider a weapon would be a scalpel he uses during surgeries and a syringe 'gun' he uses for fast injections or injections of viscous liquids. It doesn't shoot syringes, he explains. It only helps in injecting liquids. Oh, and of course, his walking stick.

Backstory: He was born and raised in The Republic. His father was a very experienced mage, and his mother was a healer. He was always facinated by his mother's healing magic, and went ahead to learn that school of study, instead of learning the basics of attack magic like his father wanted him to. After learning only up to intermediate spells and basic rituals to cure sicknesses and wounds, he couldn't take his father's constant chatising him about his specific school of magic. Before dawn the following morning, he left his parents and siblings at the young age of 15 with naught but a walking stick, the clothes on his back, and what allowance he had saved so far, leaving nothing but a note stating where he was going - to the Technocracy as a wandering healer, to seek the greener grass on the other side.

He managed to rent a house, and, in secret, got a neighbouring doctor to teach him how to heal people without magic, in exchange for teaching him how to heal people with. In the meantime, he also got a small job as an assistant to a repairman who fixed up people who had their beings transferred into a mechanical shell. He got another small job two and a half years later at a nearby hospital, and learnt more from there.

His experiences within the Technocracy allowed him to become a rather efficient doctor, substituting healing for sewing people up during surgeries, and opting for injections and pills over cure spells for when the patient merely needed a placebo, or when he was being watched. Alas, the grass wasn't nearly so green as he had hoped. After the first three years living in the Technocracy, he started longing for the large green fields that he used to run around on, the forests he would go to to collect ingredients to practise his healing rituals, and the magic used to give the place a wondrous feel. And of course, his family. Or at least, his mother and siblings. His father would always condemn him in his letters, constantly saying he 'betrayed The Republic' and 'he had better come back as soon as possible'.

Five and a half years after he went to the Technocracy. Jaxon was toying around with the idea of going to the Brotherhood of Unity for quite some time now, and he finally went ahead to ask the same neighbour who taught him medical practices about the Brotherhood, about how life was like there, and about their philisophy. Needless to say, Jaxon supported its ideals. Immediately, he wrote to his parents, informing them of the situation, quit both his jobs, bid farewell to everyone close to him, packed up, and left for the Brotherhood. He found work as a military doctor, and has been working for them thus far.

Character Sheet:
Name:Reagar
Gender:Male
Age:24
Class-type: Shield mage (support)
Weapon(s):Mace
Description: Average height, lean body with a somewhat slim face and dark hair
Backstory: Reagar is an interesting individual. His parents are fine, his friends are fine, the most loss he ever experienced was his dog dying. Despite that Reagar only see others as valuable if their lives are of use to him. He is quite evil and has no illusions about it. He is pretending to play nice with the Brotherhood for now but it is a temporary situation at best. He is working on turning shield magic into an offensive style. The results will no doubt be horrifying.

Animus: Zagost

A defensive spirit who takes the form of a golem made from iron. This spirit was once much kinder but ever since it has met Reagar it has become dark and cruel. He can communicate through low groans which are understandable with enough time and effort. Zagost will emerge from under the ground near where his master is standing and will act as his personal guardian.

Name: Dolk November

Gender: Female

Age: Twenty-three

Class-type: Assassin, with a significant amount of experience in covert operations. Really, her combat capabilities are defined by her weapons more than anything else.

Weapons: She is equipped with the latest in technology, much of it grafted onto her body. She also possesses a cloaking device, a noise-canceller, and many other things aiding in her cloak-and-dagger specialty.

When forced into combat, she is quick and decisive, striking with her paralytic daggers, which kill painlessly and quickly, using a paralytic effect derived from Technocracy tech. Dolk November also is trained in the use of firearms, when her daggers prove useless.

In addition, she possesses an experimental holographic projector, which allows her to pass for non-augmented - though she prefers hiding in the shadows to plain sight, as the projector is experimental and can occasionally malfunction.

Backstory: Dolk November is not a name - rather, it is a designator. November was an orphan, abandoned on the streets of the Technocracy, where she was picked up by the government. As she was growing up, she was allowed to grow - at first. The moment her athletic talents and natural agility started to show, she was taken by the Technocracy's bureau for Intelligence, and trained. Grafted with metal augments, she earned the designator Dolk - the designator of those Technocracy agents whose specialization lay in subterfuge and assassination. November was merely to discern her from the others.

The young November made her first kill at the age of sixteen, in an assassination mission against low-ranking Republic officials. Noted for her talent, at quick, clean kills, and silent retreats, November was used again, and again in multiple missions - even leading some missions at the age of eighteen.

This all changed, however, on one fateful mission. November was on a reconnaissance mission conducted on the Brotherhood, trying to spot the weaknesses in their defenses, when she saw a young couple stumble on a clumsy agent's location. That agent proceeded to brutally kill the young man and woman, with none of the professionalism that Technocracy agents were supposed to conduct their assassinations. November...reacted strongly to this. Still somewhat emotionally unstable from her repressed childhood, November killed her fellow agent...ostensibly for failure, but actually due to a visceral, emotional response to the murder of the two.

On that day, she began to feel. One variable the Technocracy did not count on.

The seed of doubt planted in her mind flowered when the Technocracy razed that town to the ground, leaving no survivors, under the guise of a magically - induced natural disaster. November questioned some tenants she held - asking, is this right, for the first time in her life. She thought about it for almost a month...

And she defected.

She removed the tracking device on her, and quit the Technocracy for good. She hopes the Brotherhood will welcome her, although she knows she will be mistrusted.

November is not, socially, the most adept person. She was trained to kill, not to interact. She still respects positions of authority and is willing to defer. Others see her as a somewhat "cold" person, although that's more an inability to express herself than anything else. She wants to be kind, but is unsure she can, given what she's done in the past.

Took me long enough. :P

Name: Miles Espen
Gender: Male
Age: 33
Class-type: Engineer (designing, building, fixing, and modifying magitech)
Weapon(s): whatever he’s currently carrying in his toolkit
Other equipment: magitech neural implants and artificial arms to help with coordination/processing/work in general; an airborne Animus-powered droid used as an all-purpose assistant (that looks suspiciously like a Sentinel from the Halo series)
Backstory: Miles started designing magitech in his late teens, having taken classes in arcane mechanics for years prior. He now works as a designer and crafter for one of the more prominent companies in the business, SourceLink Incorporated, and considers his personal assistant droid, the Version-22 Multipurpose Adjutant Drone (nicknamed "Livid"), his magnum opus.

(NOTE: not entirely sure what the full range of powers for the v22-MAD should be, but they probably aren't gonna be offensively based. Gonna stick to tools one would expect from a droid that helps with building and fixing mecha and other magitech, which may or may not be able to be used as attacks- I'm looking at you, soldering lasers- as well as some basic things, like a flashlight and audio-video recorder. Also, it can fly. ^^)

(...also, four summoners and no mecha pilots? Really? You guys aren't giving me much to work with, y'know.)

All character sheets in by Friday! ... That is, Friday morning for most of you I may delay and get the GM post on Saturday morning though. (Your Friday night. But just get it all in asap ^^)

I'm really happy that you guys are responding to my RP ^_^ Sappy thanks aside, a quick note. I intend for this setting to be created by YOU, the players. That is, for example, I will not be detailing the locations, etc except for major points of note. The rest is gonna be written in by you guys. Here's to hoping this works out. Cheers!

agoraoptera wrote:All character sheets in by Friday! ... That is, Friday morning for most of you I may delay and get the GM post on Saturday morning though. (Your Friday night. But just get it all in asap ^^)

>.>

<.<

I'm extremely busy this week, I'm not sure I'll be able to make a sheet until Friday

Name: Aeolus Blackwind

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Class-Type: Ranged. Specializes in assassination, sniper support, tracking, infiltration, and long ranged nuking tactics, as well as high-speed ranged assault.



Weapon(s): Enlil and Ea, a pair of custom built, high-caliber guns. The former is a short-barreled, ornate silvery rifle, and the latter a large, jet-black revolver. Both are powered by his magic, and can be supplemented by his Personal Anima. As such, they need not be loaded, as his magic creates its own bullets out of air compressed beyond the limits of possibility, forming literally solid rounds that are then propelled by a concussive burst of air in the chamber that occurs at the same time as the creation of a vacuum extending far out from the barrel and along the path of the shot - a sort of wind tunnel, if you will - with the air around this vacuum caused to rotate like a tornado, which in turn causes the slug to spin even faster than a normal bullet, while at the same time accelerating it tremendously and lining up the shot perfectly along the intended course. This causes Aeolus' shots to be immensely destructive to biological targets when they hit - think on par with anti-material sniper rifles at the highest levels, and high-calibur revolvers more normally - tremendously accurate, and fearfully fast. Even more formidable is his ability to control the course of the bullets mid-flight, changing the direction of the shot at the least, and at the most, actively homing in on a target to eliminate it. Or, if he wishes, he can change the attributes of a given bullet. For example, he could fire a shot that splits into countless short ranged projectiles over a wide spread, like a shotgun round. When he fires, it normally appears as a sort of faintly shimmering gray vortex, as pictured above. Additionally, due to the bizarre nature of his Anima and of his contract, Aeolus can actually create and fire bullets, even without actually having his Anima imbued into his weapons. Her power can be channeled through Aeolus at will. In turn, he channels this power through his weapons. See Anima and Powers for details.

Enlil: Aeolus' main long ranged weapon. This short-barreled rifle, pictured below, sacrifices the number of shots of its companion weapon, Ea, for power, and forgoes that gun's rate of fire for precision. Despite its appearance, it can actually exceed the firing range of most sniper rifles, and is frightfully accurate, even at tremendous distances. Its strength relies around the power that it can charge into a single bullet, but, at the same time, it also has several more subtle abilities. Using Aeolus' power to conceal his presence, the weapon can actually sacrifice a large amount of the shot's speed and power to mask it completely from the perception of others, like a silencer. Magical senses, vision, smell, and hearing are all obstructed as an almost untraceable shot is created, masked by the very air that also propels it (a la Saber's Invisible Air from Fate/Stay Night, if that helps), its concealment varying based on the amount of power it gives up in the process. Although these unseen bullets don't do much damage unless prepared extensively - and even then, they're greatly weakened, and cannot be guided mid-flight - they can serve another purpose. Namely, by simply sticking a particularly weak concealed bullet to a target without using enough power for the target to even feel the impact, Aeolus can create a tracer of sorts that allows him to track the location of his target, and to lock on other attacks to that location. At its highest level, this allows Aeolus to use Enlil's maximum power capacity to fire a single-shot ability that uses enough of his own existence to almost surely cause him to die immediately after shooting. This ability, Storm of Enlil, locks on to a target, then takes control of every last bit of air within the surrounding half mile and focused it on the location of a given tracer round, then, all at once, causes all of this air to implode down to a single point, creating a reverse sphere of destruction that literally crushes everything within the target area down to the point where it no longer exists. But, as said before, this puts a tremendous strain on Aeolus' life, making it a lethal attack to use.



Ea: Aeolus' favored short range weapon. This gun's practicality comes from the speed at which it can charge attacks, and the fact that, being a revolver, it has six barrels, allowing him to fire again even while charging attacks in the barrel he just used. Although its shots are slower and shorter ranged than Enlil's, he has a much greater degree of control over their courses because of this, and can fire them much faster, creating showers of homing attacks that are truly staggering in their effectiveness. A favored strategy of his is to lock on to a target via Enlil, then to rain attacks down from Ea that the target is no longer able to avoid. In a pinch, he can also use his more precise control to scatter a shot across a single plane, creating a wall of pressure and magical power to block attacks.



Powers: Summoning and manipulation of air, basic field healing ability that converts the air to a healing salve that stops bleeding and seals wounds, and a passive ability that allows him to almost completely mask his magic energy signature, making him nigh impossible to detect, even by the most sensitive mages or Anima. This power can also utilize the air to create a sort of shroud, and to conceal his physical form, and can block out most traces of sound or smell he leaves. However, the more he uses the power to actually hide his physical body instead of just masking his spiritual presence, the more quickly he becomes fatigued, making its duration somewhat limited. This stealth ability is, without a doubt, however, his most formidable power. As these powers are all derived wholly from his Personal Anima, she shares all of these abilities, and, on the flip-side, when he uses the abilities, they're on the same level as when she employs them. Although his control is nigh-peerless, Aeolus has almost no magical energy of his own. Consequently, he must use the roundabout method of drawing on the power of his Anima. This power is, however, actually fused with his body, and at this point is indistinguishable from his own life. Despite the fact that it's almost like his Anima has been imbued in him like one might place an Anima inside a physical object, however, his Anima is still actively capable of assuming physical form, and of staying in this form even when her power is simultaneously being siphoned for his own use. The two each draw on the other, and, by pooling the power of their mutual existences, have created a self-sufficient store of energy, allowing his Anima the power of a sustained existence while also allowing him access to her abilities. This isn't without repercussions, however. Any wound dealt to the one is instantly inflicted upon the other, and if his Anima were destroyed, he himself would surely die. See Anima for explanation.



Anima: Kamaitachi, or Kama for short. In addition to her abilities as an Anima, described above in Aeolus' powers section, possesses a Human mind, and a perfectly Human form and body. Despite this, her body also functions on the level of that of an Anima, and paradoxically possesses a tremendous level of speed and strength far beyond that of a Human. And yet, unmistakably, she's as Human as they come. A unique Human Anima, her contract is somewhat different from that of the norm. Actively fusing her own energy with her contractor's existence, she becomes one with her contractor's life itself. When her contractor dies, she uses this link to copy their body in its prime and their life experience, creating a Human body and identity for herself, into which she then incarnates. She has had one master already, and is now a perfect replica of that master's body. It has been speculated, however, that now that she is already incarnated in one body, any future bodies copied and incarnated as a part of her spiritual existence would maintain their old minds, with their old existences fused to her own, which would then form an endless feedback loop between the two Anima, creating a pair of self-sufficient, perpetually existing Human Anima that would not need to make a contract with a summoner to exist within the world.

A very quiet, submissive individual, she is nonetheless unshakably faithful to her master, Aeolus. Calm, polite, and yet fiercely devoted, there seems to be absolutely nothing capable of shaking her loyalty to her contractor, even now that she has gained complete Human sentience. She's stoic but passionate, and, with a resolute, single-minded mindset, a confident bearing, and a mind that accepts both the merits of subterfuge and the enjoyment of battle, she's a perfect and elegant servant on a level above most, if not all Anima.

Her weapon of choice is a masterfully crafted Wakizashi. A largely straight-bladed, medium-length weapon, its lack of a crossguard and simple, unornamented design nonetheless suits her and her battle-style quite well, as it is a light, razor-sharp weapon that fits her usual tactics of high-speed death of a thousand cuts and assassination. Perfectly balanced and with a durable yet wickedly sharp blade, it's certainly a fitting weapon for Kamaitachi.



Backstory

Early Life: Born to a renowned family of mages in the Republic, from a young age, Aeolus was expected to be a prodigy. But, what his parents anticipated and planned for him and the reality of things were two very different things. As it turned out, despite his immense magical talent, his reserves of energy were so weak as to make even the most rudimentary of spells nigh impossible for him. Although his family bore with his failures up until his adolescence, it at last became clear that he was to be a failure. And so, he was summarily disowned, banished from the household in disgrace, and replaced by one of his younger siblings.

Living on the streets was difficult, but, as it turned out, he was far from alone in his plight. Magus families had a tendency to abandon heirs they felt were useless. And, in turn, those heirs had a tendency to find each other in the rough and tumble world outside their luxurious and shattered lives. Soon enough, Aeolus himself was found by just such a group of misfits, and swiftly, he came to agree with their ideals: namely, the absolute annihilation of the ones who had spurned them.

Backed as a guerrilla unit by the Technocracy and supplied under-the-table with rations, arms, ammunition, explosives, biological weapons, and anything else they might possibly need to cause absolute mayhem while at once seeming completely disconnected from the Technocracy's support, the group of failed mages now turned into a group of mage killers, dangerous assassins who targeted important political figures through any underhanded means they could manage, usually causing vast amounts of collateral damage. Viewing the Republic's government as corrupt, and at the same time seeking revenge against their own families, these terrorists thought themselves freedom fighters, striving against an oppressive nation to achieve justice. In reality, most of the casualties of their attacks were just innocent civilians. They were hired to cause chaos, and chaos is exactly what they caused. Although for the first few years of his activity as a terrorist, Aeolus truly believed that what they were doing was right, as their attacks became more and more widespread and caused more and more indiscriminate collateral damage, killing thousands of innocents "for the greater good," Aeolus slowly became jaded with both those he'd thought of as companions, and with the world itself. At last, he finally grew disgusted with everything he stood for, and, seeing the Brotherhood as a potential haven of truth amidst the lies by which he'd lived for so long, he abandoned his comrades. Backstabbing those who had kept him alive for so long on a critical mission, disarming a bomb they'd set, and killing all of his closest friends in the name of true justice, Aeolus abandoned the Mage Killers and appeared on the doorstep of the newly established Brotherhood territory, a badly wounded, cynical wreck of a person who knew only how to kill.

Due to his war crimes, he very likely would have been put on trial and executed despite his defection. However, he just so happened to come across a stroke of good fortune. He collapsed upon the doorstep of a wealthy family backing the Brotherhood, but one that was also very individualistic, and had plans and goals of its own. As fate would have it, someone like Aeolus was absolutely perfect for their objectives.



Contractor

Recently, one of that family, the Blackwind clan's soldiers, a young woman named Ciel, had died in battle. However, to the surprise of the family's elders, her Anima had lingered even after she had died. Curious, they had collected this unusual entity to study its continued presence, only to be astounded when it abruptly assumed a perfect replica of the deceased Ciel's form. Analyzing it with magic, they realized that this entity had somehow managed to become Human. Surviving off of the remnants of Ciel's existence, the Anima, Kamaitachi, had lived in a Human body for more than a week. And yet, she was unmistakably fading. Without a source of energy from which to draw, the first ever Human Anima would soon fade. To the Blackwind elders, who were greatly interested in the research of magic, this was something that could not be allowed to happen. And yet, due to the manner in which Kamaitachi's past contractor had been seemingly absorbed, they themselves were very reluctant to contract with her, fearing that they'd be consumed like the last master had been.

And so, they were searching for a test subject. They needed someone with a natural skill at precision in magic, but they also needed someone who had no power of his or her own. They needed someone who would die without their help, someone they could force into complying with them. They needed someone whose only purpose in living was to grow stronger, someone who, despite his lack of concern for the world, yet wanted to live. Someone to whom the risk of ceasing to exist would mean nothing.

And so, when a broken man who met all of these criteria appeared on their doorstep, they were naturally quite pleased. They agreed to nurse Aeolus back to health under one condition: if he would make a contract with Kamaitachi, undergoing a special, intensive ritual to literally fuse his existence to her own energy. At that point, he would be an official member of their house, but would be able to live and do largely as he pleased. Aeolus, who had envied mages and now saw an opportunity to become like one, naturally accepted without hesitation. And so, he bound himself to Kamaitachi, allowing a seal to be grafted upon his forehead in which her power was stored, a connection between his existence and hers. Then, combining his newfound power with hers, he healed his wounded body, and emerged from his misfortune not only alive, but a powerful artificial mage with a peerless servant.

Adopted as a son of the Blackwind family, he was essentially allowed to go and do as he wished, so long as he continued to sustain Kamaitachi's existence and did not reveal her true nature to the Brotherhood as a whole. And so, searching for a purpose in his continued existence, Aeolus began to wander the territories of the Brotherhood as a pilgrim, always accompanied by his newfound comrade, the Human Anima Kamaitachi.

Unfortunately for the Blackwind family's plans, with strife on the horizon, they were expected to send their heir to serve in the army. Now that Aeolus had been officially adopted, that duty fell upon him. And so, reluctant to part with their prized research subject, they called him to the front, and he, reluctant to part with his newfound freedom, had no choice but to return to the field of war once again. Although Kamaitachi's ability to mask her presence allowed her to fake just being a servant, Aeolus found his secret jeopardized. If it were discovered that he was actually a terrorist, and the contractor of an unheard of Human Anima, then he himself would very likely be executed, and Kamaitachi taken away to be experimented upon. Not wanting to surrender either himself or his new partner, Aeoulus was determined to conceal the truth, no matter what. And so, faking Anima within his weapons, he managed to fool the authorities into believing that the power he drew upon came from anywhere but Kamaitachi. And yet, he realizes this deception will only work for so long...

Something I've realised but I didn't say earlier on. Okay, the timeline of the Brotherhood splitting off is circa 50 years prior to current setting. That is, the Brotherhood's been established for some time and the wars ended one, maybe two decades ago. I'm saying it now because I realised some of the backstories didn't jive with my internal timeline which, in all honesty, I should have shared, so I'm at fault.

Sorry.

On a side note, you guys have up to Friday night (slight extension) to get the sheets in. No, it's not because I'm lazy, it's because I'm gonna be exhausted tomorrow night and probably won't be in the right mindset to pick those who get in. Yes, some may not get in and for that I am deeply sorrowful, but we have more players than I originally expected. ><

Name: Michael.
Gender: Male.
Age: 23.
Class-type: Close Type ~ Dragon Knight. Melee swordsman, with a dragon familiar.
Weapon: Apocalypse. A black bladed katana.
Animus: Mouse. The Ice Dragon in the pic.
Powers & Explanations:

• Regarding Michael ~ Martial arts and a sword. That's all. He's a swordsman. A good one but nothing magical, nor any tech implants or anything of the sort. Summoning Animi takes a chunk of your normal spellcasting power... Well, turns out that summoning a frikking Dragon completely eats it away. He has no magic other than Mouse.
• Regarding Mouse ~ Hugeass Ice Dragon. This means he's proportionally strong, can fly and has some Ice powers, namely freezing breath. He's not sentient. So, while loyal to Michael and reasonably smart enough not to eat people on a whim, he's closer to a dog than to a human.
• Regarding Apocalypse ~ The sword is a sword. That's it. It doesn't convey any mystical powers or anything of the sort, however, it is unbreakable and can hurt Animi, because it was forged with imbued Animi, which is why the blade turned out black. But again, it's not a magical catalyst or a miraculous anti-animus deal. It can hurt them, but only if properly swung at them... In other words: It treats humans, mechs and Animi the same way, if you whack it, you'll cut it, but it is dependent on you whacking it. As for the name, that's lore. >:D
• But you're so OP! ~ Yup. Open field against me? I pray that you have a way to run, because Mouse is really powerful. However, due to all the accords and stuff, I can't just summon him anywhere. He's too big to fit indoors, and even if I summon him in a Town Square, for instance, the collateral damage he'd cause would be way too problematic. So, in reality, I'd have to leave him out every time we're indoors or in a settlement area unless everything already went to hell, and even then I have to consider the space otherwise there would be no safe spot even for me when he started attacking. So in day to day, I'm a guy with a Cool Sword and that's it.

Backstory:
Michael was born on a Republic family of martial artists. Men and women who learned the way of combat without relying on mechanical abominations and only after masters were allowed the right to attempt to commune with the Animi.

While still young, one of the child's games most popular around his area was the exploration of an old scrapyard, a graveyard of all the remnants from the Republic's confrontations with the Technocracy. One day of such exploration he managed to find a sword, unusual to such place but familiar to him, as one of the tools his household used in training. The blade was black, contrasting the silver colored ones in his family, and the rusty metal plaques around the scrapyard. Michael decided to take it home keep it to himself as a trophy.

Years later, at age 21, he was deemed ready to start the path to learn the use of Animi. Young for that generation, but nowhere the youngest on record. His first summoning attempt nearly destroyed his home village. The creature he summoned wasn't an common Animus, it was instead an unique manifestation of Primal Ice, in the form of a Dragon. The creature, Primal as it was, bound to no control and had to be banished by other summoners overseeing the ritual. While he was never punished for the event, he was shortly sent into the army, untrained in the arts of Animi with the full expectation of death. Taking only his black blade and armor with him, he joined one of losing skirmishes against the Technocracy.

Being there and watching death, he decided to once again summon his Animus. The tides turned with a fleeting victory as the Technocracy retreated at the sight of the creature, no doubt to bolster their forces and attack again, as it was the drawn out game of the two rival forces... His own allies now under the gaze of the fierce spirit. He made his choice as the summoner. Once he was dead, his Animus would soon disappear and so he drew his black bladed sword in defiance.

Bloody and exhausted after the fight, Michael laid over one of the, now calm, Dragon's claws, the onlookers stunned at the fight they witnessed and at the young man who earned the respect of such a feral spirit. That night, they feasted.

Curious about the nature of his weapon, after seeing it cut through an Animus in the same manner it could cut through an human, Michael took it to a proper armsmaster. His reply was simple: "Metal and Animi, forged into one. This blade is abominable as a herald of the end of days!"

At that moment, Michael learned the name of his blade and set off into the Brotherhood to look for it's origin, even though it looked like it had been forged long before the dawn of said Brotherhood. Perhaps by one of it's founders, he wondered, or from some other force long before. But, there was little use to wondering about it. He would simply keep his journey going until he was able to find out.

Character Sheet:

Name: Chain
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Class-type: (elaborate on class) Mech-sniper; She has bio-tech grafts that increase speed, agility and intelligence.
Weapon(s): A gun that can shoot rocks at incredibly high speeds, she is also equipped with a mech eye that can see infrared as well as act as a scope for her gun. She is capable of seeing long distances when the mech eye is active. The eye glows a blue fire when she activates her only animus implant, an intelligence animi named Spark. The implant acts as a dictionary, giving her information about her surroundings, and acting as a guide when she gets lost.
Backstory:
She doesn't remember much about her life before now. She assumes she was a trained assassin, but she has no remembrance of the events that took place before she woke up 6 months ago in a Brotherhood correctional facility. After it became apparent that she had no knowledge of use to the brotherhood, she was transferred to a rehabilitation center in order to become a functioning member of society. Chain was offered this position as a way to make use of her talents and abilities, and as a way to test her loyalty to the Brotherhood.

*Does the 'I have NO idea what I'm doing and have forgotten where I left my skillz' dance. It's an ancient and noble artform. From Jersey. Trust e on this, guys.

Name: Ghost
Gender: Male
Age: Physically 16 years old, in reality in his late 30’s
Class-type: Support Summoner: Ghost comes in handy for distracting enemies due to his strange nature and appearance and is skilled with a musket. Ironically he’s also skilled in minor healing methods.
Weapon(s): Flintlock musket, rarely used because it keeps freezing up.

Powers & Explanations:

• Atmosfear: The presence of Ghost’s anima has an immediate effect on the environment around him for an approximately six foot radius. The air around him becomes freezing cold, and anyone within the field feels immediately emotionally drained and upset. Ghost can also charge this effect up in order to freeze his environment, although this takes time.
• Death Wish. They say that when you hear certain creatures calling at night, it means somebody you know is about to die. If you hear Ghost’s Animus screaming, then that somebody is probably you. At the very least you’re about to be hit with a powerful shockwave that has the potential to stop your heart if he’s mad enough. Lucky for his allies, Ghost is very good at focussing this one.
• Essence Shield: Can make himself intangible if he focuses hard enough. However he cannot make his Anima intangible. He tries not to think too hard about what that might mean.

Backstory:
Quiet, polite, restrained... the kind of guy you’d offer a post as secretary basically, if weren’t for the disturbing... not quite alive-nessof his appearance (and the fact that he would cost you a fortune in firewood trying to heat the rooms). Ghost is quite different to how he used to be. He once served as a member of the Republic’s magic-based militia, bonded a personal animus... Unfortunately, fate has the tendency to throw curveballs, especially at arrogant teenagers riding too high on their success to pay attention to that blatantly illegal object lying on the ground...

Twenty five years ago, Ghost was investigating a deserted town on the border between the Republic and the Technocracy when he came upon The Artefact. It’s unclear whether it was intended as a weapon, but it appeared to be an early form of magitech. It was also deadly. More than deadly, in fact: the artefact, which looked like a simple silver medallion, caused a fluctuation of power which did more than kill: It shattered Ghost’s soul and tore his newly bound Anima to shreds. That should really have been that: without a whole soul, Ghost should have been cursed to wander as a Wraith forever. Except then the artefact did something rather weird.
A fragment of Ghost’s splintered soul took on the essence of the Anima he was originally bound to. The remnants of Ghost’s animus, and his fractured spirit were then bound together by the Artefact. Basically Ghost’s anima is only slightly anima at all, it’s mostly consists of his own... well, ghost, hence, it looks exactly like him, minus the eyes. His being is anchored to the world by the Artefact, which he now wears around his neck. He didn’t appreciate the treatment he got by his own side after the accident, and his research into a possible union between magic and technology afterwards eventually lead him to the Brotherhood.

Ghost is generally quiet, and would be unobtrusive if it weren’t for how utterly disturbing he looks. He remembers little of his life before the accident and has trouble relating to people for several rather obvious reasons. His animus, effectively the last part of his soul, seems insentient, appearing and responding only on command. For all intents and purposes, this apparent adolescent is a shadow. It’s only when called to battle that he does something other than float about making the air cold and everything in his vicinity taste like dust. Ultimately, Ghost seeks two things from his alliance with the Brotherhood: ironically, one of those things is a union between the very technological and the magical arts that destroyed him. The other is freedom from his own condition, even if there only seems to be one possible escape... and for a person with a fractured soul, that escape is far worse than mere death.

The character list has been finalised. The decision was not wholly mine, but also that of an external IRL friend whom I had worked with in the creation of this setting. Since he doesn't know you people, there's a reduction in any personal bias I may or may not have.

Nine have been selected.

Qara: Alexander "Sender" Taraumda
Xana: Vegras Isincar
H2O: Jaxon Sidower
Shane: Reagar
RT: Dolk November
Sicon: Silas
Pixel: Michael
Eli: Chain
Scarab: Ghost

The first GM post will be up soon.

Well, on the one hand, yay I got in. On the other hand, I'm going to have to erase a chunk of my bio, because Mimsy doesn't exist and my character is now out of a job until something comes up. :/

Welll... sadface-because-no-Mimsy.
On the other hand, I think first GM post means we've got a new job.

...whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Not me? D: whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy~

Damn. Maybe I should have tried Qara's strategy. It seems to have worked. 0.o

Ah well. Guess I'll save the Aeolus/Kamaitachi duo for something else. It was worth a try, I suppose.

I see no issues with the scale of that dragon, Pix. it's about as big as I expected, and slightly bigger than Susanowo.

Yo Qara. Good to see you are back. Should I wait and stay up till you arrive fully, or is it going to be tomorrow before we can talk about the post for this? Your call.