Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Patch 3.0

[Teal Mage]

Hello again Forum, it has been a while. I've been taking a break from this game for the past few months, and, after speaking with my players, have decided that I'd like to return long enough to at least finish up the last scenario. Interest among my old group of players remains strong enough to do that much, at least. After that - well, we'll see.

My break has given me some time to re-evaluate the old system and make some modifications - mostly in the name of streamlining, simplifying and, in general, de-systemizing. The game had gotten a bit too rigid before. Anyway, rather than rewriting the extremely long Second Set-up, this update's in Patch-note form. As this is mainly aimed at my old group of players, who are all familiar with the system, I don't expect that to be much of a problem.

If there is interest from new people who've never read this before though, uh, you should probably contact me through this thread. I'll expand on some areas and give you a run-down of where the game is now. Still, be warned, I'm near my maximum capacity of players I can handle. This was part of what prompted my break before, so I don't intend to make the same mistake.

General:

Guns are lethal.
Let’s not kid ourselves, there won’t be a one-week-per-turn rule. You’re lucky if the game moves once every two-weeks.


Amaranth & Ansidor:

The precise number of students within the school is unknown – even to the faculty. Only Headmistress Amaranth herself might have the actual numbers.
Students do not need to live on campus – they may live in Ansidor city, if they desire. However, campus-life is all-inclusive – the basic needs of all students are covered by Amaranth. The precise definition of “basic needs” is directly tied to a students grades – with the school’s rare A+ students living like kings. Off campus, the school doesn’t attempt to support students – they’re always welcome to come to the dorms, after all.
Part time jobs are also available on Campus for students who want some money. Its perfectly fine to go job hunting in Ansidor too.
All dorms are fully customized to the dweller. Most students will end up sharing a dorm with two other students – unless they’re declared a danger to the safety of others. The school does rarely puts Awakened and Sleeping students together in the same dorms.
Landry probably has all your dorms bugged.
Most supernatural groups are uncomfortably aware that Amaranth’s true motivations and purpose are not clear. Still, the school has been useful for a long time…
There are sister schools to Amaranth scattered the world over. Each of them appears to have a different agenda.


Amaranth Sophia: The school's mysterious and shadowy Headmistress. While few students are actually able to describe her, most have in fact met her in some form or another - the Headmistress personally conducts interviews of all students to be admitted to the school, at some point in their lives. Or at least, so the rumors say. She is also rumored to wander the campus in disguise, observing classes and to have a shadowy network of janitor-spies. But such rumors couldn't possibly be true. Few people know anything about Amaranth Sophia - though they can see paintings of her predecessors in the hallway leading to her office on the highest floor of the tallest building in the campus's center. The family resemblance is uncanny.

The Guilds

Due to changes within the mechanics of Awakening, the internal structure of the Masquerade, as well its approaches to enforcing the Masquerade, have been changed. What is most important for players to remember is the cardinal rule of “if it shouldn’t exist, don’t do it in public” remains in effect. Breaking it might lead you being killed.
You may disregard the Guilds as they’re discussed in the Second Set-up. Supernatural Organizations aren’t terribly important to this game. The main thing to remember is that virtually every magic-user will be connected – in a loose and decentralized way, usually – to a larger supernatural organization. If you want to discuss your character’s connection to a Supernatural organization beyond their immediate master, I’m willing to do it on a case-by-case basis.
Historically, the Wizards and Witches had entirely different – nearly opposed – approaches to magic. Wizards emphasized control, skill and practiced a large array of time-tested spells, usually revolving around ‘common’ elements – with Earth, Fire, Wind and Water being the most prominent. Witches emphasized risk-taking, power, creativity in spell-design and the use of unconventional elements (like love magic) in their practice. Now, because the historical reasons for these approaches are largely irrelevant, the two classifications exist on a spectrum – Witches on one end, and Wizards on the other. Most mages are somewhere in the middle.


Magic

Magical disciplines beyond this primarily differ in regard to the elements of magic they have a preference toward.
All reference to spell colours may be disregarded. Aura colour reflects something about the caster, not their spell-selection.
Black auras are now clear – they cause a slight warping of the light around the user, to the Awakened. Those who possess them are referred to colloquially as Sleepers. Powerful sleepers have Black auras – like Professor Landry. Sometimes referred to as Dreamers, it is nearly a universal truth that Awakening a Black is a horrible idea.
The magic of Sleepers and Dreamers functions the same as Black Magic – it’s a subtle, instinctive and beyond their control. It frequently corresponds to their talents, and usually involves some degree of reality bending and perception warping. It’s never overt.
There’s no longer a half-Awakened category.
White Magic occurs when someone is Awakened through inappropriate means – usually involving great stress. Because the Awakening was not proper, their powers eventually turn on them, denying their very existence and killing them. Consequently, while Whites are enormously powerful, their lifespan is very, very, short. Many of them are utterly wiped from history and the memories of those around them when this happens. The Awakened can also become Whites.
White Magic users are no longer insane.
Greys don’t exist anymore.
Magic remains hard, but it is slightly more fluid. Its possible to use multiple spells at once – but similar to trying to draw a circle with one hand and a square with the other, it is extremely hard. Certain spells – notably “super-mode”-style buffs – are an exception to this, and usually contain explicit provisos against the use of additional spells while in this form.
Free-casting is easier now – most spells work off a base elemental manipulation/creation ability, which, though slow and rather unimpressive without a spell to work from, is reliable. It just requires a fair amount of time to work. Spells are much faster and more powerful.
Spells no longer are graded. They’re also slightly more flexible – it is easy to increase or decrease their power (but easier to decrease than increase), and a little creativity can go a long way with them.
As magic is intimately linked to the user, spells may shift in rapid and dramatic fashions, or slow and gradual ones, as the character undergoes development. Spells which become vestigial – no longer see frequent use – may also cease to function. Characters are not always aware of when these shifts occur.
Awakening requires a ritual of some kind now – for those who live in magical fringe communities, this can be as simple as growing to a certain age. Most of them still use an official rite of passage to formally complete this Awakening. For most Sleepers though, Awakening is often a long process of study, meditation, training and hard-work – it is a very difficult task which can often take years. Faster rituals are far more dangerous, and may fail in rather spectacular ways, though they exist. The Guilds place very strict rules over the circumstances in which people may be Awakened – and to save the life of the Awakened, or the Sleeper, is not one of them.
The Guilds usually permits parents to Awaken their children.
As a general rule, it is not possible for someone to Awaken on their own. Some outside force, usually an Awakened one (but not necessarily so) needs to intervene to assist them.
…though if it were possible, expect such people to become Whites.
Research suggests that there are more Awakening rituals than there are stars in the sky – and that there is no specific formula to any of them. Consequently, an Awakening ritual can take virtually any form. Even entirely mundane lives can easily led to an Awakening.
Oh, also there are demons which hunt the Awakened at night. Sleepers and Dreamers are totally safe, unless they happen to be really close to the Awakened…


Will: Will is this world’s analog to Mana. Supernatural phenomena may be invoked by expending it – but there is a catch. Will is also what sustains the physical bodies of everything that exists and enables to act normally. While all beings possess some Will in surplus, using it to fuel magic means diverting it from its primary purpose; keeping you alive and functioning at your best. Doing a bit of this is safe, but the more this is done, the more side-effects the caster experiences. Fatigue, headaches, loss of coordination, hallucinations and, finally, hemorrhaging from the pores are the typical stages – the last of which can, become easily fatal.

Will is now expressed as an abstract concept, not as a number out of 50.



* * * * *


Anyway, to the new Profile format! There is also some new information in here, so please read.

Name: Your character’s name. I recommend it being a realistic one! Unless you’re from fantasy-land. …this is not impossible.
Race: Demon, Human, Half-Demon or Mixed Demon, followed by the specific type in brackets. More important for Demons than Humans, since this determines the mythos they can draw on for their Demonic Powers. Mixed Demons are beings whose parents are both demons of different species – Half-Demons are half-human.
Class: A thematic title encompassing your character’s abilities and magic. This is important!...but might take a few tries to get right. For non-humans, your specific race should probably be part of your class, as your race will have a large influence on your potential powers. Class will change as your character develops.
Age: How old you are.
Aura: What colour your character’s aura is. This is a personal decision, meant to reflect something about your character. Black and White can’t be taken, but their auras may be very close to both, if they desire. Auras are all solid colours.
Gender: Male, Female or Herm. We’re not dealing with sexual orientation, just your parts.
Appearance: Describe how your character looks. Height, build, hair-colour (and typical style), skin-tone, eye-colour, etc. Clothing will probably vary by day, but mention any themes if they exist.

Abilities: By far the most complex section of this. Abilities may be divided into two general classes – Abilities and Techniques. Abilities are the broad basis for your character’s techniques, and will often be extremely adaptable and broad. Techniques, on the other hand, are specific applications of the skillset reflected in the ability, usually with powerful results. Abilities may be magical (Ice Magic) or mundane (Swordplay), as may Techniques. Please note, however, that with Mundane Abilities, only remarkable skills need to be listed.

Some examples, with the Ability in Bold and the Technique in italics.

Ice Magic – The character can create and manipulate temperature and small quanities of ice, near themselves. The effects are rather minor and slow, without a spell to draw on.

Ice Beam – The character fires a concentrated ray of freezing energy, encasing whatever it strikes in ice.

Swordplay – The character is remarkably skilled with a sword.

Deathblossom – In a single instant, the character strikes everything within the range of their sword.

Please note that not all Abilities need techniques, and there is no real limit on Abilities (though I may say that a particular character has too many, and require you to scale back and focus more). Techniques on the other hand, being more powerful, should number between 5 and 7 – depending on how many Abilities a character has, and the strength of their techniques.

Players should probably include a single amalgamated ability describing their character’s background, and the abilities they may have picked up there, if their upbringing provided them with a particularly advantageous skill-set, rather than trying to list all their Abilities as short, one-line, sentences. In fact, where you can, please do amalgamate. Only Abilities with discrete Techniques really need their own headings.

For Demons (Full, Half and Mixed), they will also need to outline their racial skills and advantages in an amalgamated ability, which should also reference their weaknesses. Additionally, Demons possess a taint of some kind within their magic. The default assumption is that Taint is Life-elemental - which covers a very large totality of things. Some demons have a different sort of taint - death is a common alternative. Regardless, this taint explains why demons live longer than humans, have more mutable body-structures and are more resistance to disease - they contain more life in them than a human. Spells drawn from pure Life magic emulate aspects of living - growth, eating, dying, etc - and concepts associated with life, such as love and power. This means that everything they create with their magic will act as though it is alive - in some regard or another.

Most demons combine this taint with one element or another - such as Ice in Jo's case, and Ice and Death in Sean's case. Often, the proportion of this combination is as important as the number of elements involved (in Sean's case, Death dominates). Opposed elements - like Life and Death - do not cancel each other out, though. They simply make for a very unruly and hard to control form of magic.

Bio: A brief description of your character's history. Include why they're in Amaranth - if the reason's special - how they were Awakened (if they were), and justification for their abilities.

Classes: A list of your character’s extra-curricular clubs! Amaranth has a lot of them. They’re fully equipped and stocked with the intent of allowing geniuses and beginners to train and master their talents. Basically, anything’s fair game. Please note all students are free to use any number of facilities without joining the clubs, but the clubs offer lessons – and also affect your grades. Theoretically, students don’t need to be in any clubs, though. Also, new PCs won’t be in Professor Landry’s class (Love and Fightiology), they’ll being in Professor Silverstein’s class (Style and Stratagems). For now, anyway.

Relationships: Here's where you outline the NPCs you want created. By default, you're responsible for using them - though I reserve the right to take over them as the story dictates. Include a brief description of their powers, if they have any. If they enter combat, I may require a full bio. These may be friends, rivals, club-directors who your character has a special relationship with, enemies, parents…etc.

If you want examples, most of my pre-existing players have already had their bios approved, and I expect them to post them below. I might have some tweaks to make, but largely, they’re fine for models.

Students! Please post your bios so Teal can begin writing the new scenes!

[Aldurin]

The Guilds usually parents to Awaken their children.

Usually what? Encourage or discourage?

I like the more abstract and fluid approach to casting and will, and eschewing that grey area between passive and aware magicians. I'll be thinking up a not-shit character to throw here tomorrow.

---------- Post added at 12:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:08 AM ----------

Really my big issue is that my main on-hand idea totally rips off of the characters from the Moonlight Bay trilogy, and it makes other ideas hard to think. I'll have something.

[Arhra]

What ho, once more into the breach!

Name: Johanna (Jo) Imirsdotter
Race: Demon (Frost Giant)
Class: Jotun Witch
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Aura: A light, desaturated purple, like the evening sky
Appearance: The first impression Jo gives is one of sharp contrasts: black and white. She's very pale and her hair is white. Her irises are dark brown, which blends into the black of her pupil. She usually wears her hair in one or two braids. Jo is just above average height - 5'6" - and has fairly broad shoulders and hips. She had a very lean, spare build on first coming to Amaranth but she's bulked up somewhat since then, from a combination of strenuous exercise and overindulging her sweet-tooth in this newfound land of plenty (i.e. Canada?!?!).

The pressures and understated disapproval of the Fashion Club have made Jo abandon her old hoodie as her casual outfit, usually replaced by a button up blouse and a bolero jacket.

Abilities:
Jotun: Jo is a frost giant. Her inborn abilities reflect their tie to winter, influence over the natural world, and their great strength and stamina. Jo is resistant to cold but more affected by heat. She suffers heatstroke easily and becomes dehydrates quickly as she sweats profusely in hot weather. Her blood is cold to the touch and freezes solid a few seconds after leaving her body. Jo's true form is much larger - 8'9".

Ice-Shapeshifting: Jo is effectively living ice, which she can manipulate and sculpt at will. Her normal application of this power allows her to turn parts of her body into ice and grow them into monstrous forms. This can be used to armour that section, provide crude bandaging or to immobilize a broken limb, but cannot reverse any damage suffered before the transformation. She also used this to shrink to the size of an ordinary schoolgirl, though she has to periodically revert to her true form for a while.

Ice Talons: Jo can transform her limbs below the forearm into monstrous icy claws, her fingers strengthened and lengthened into icicle-like foot long daggers. She can tweak the approximate size and shape with relative ease, but any significant deviation is difficult. It was developed partly due to the fact that Jo's clones are unarmed when she creates them.

Mist Form: Niflheim is the land of mists and Jo has learned how to become one with them. She transforms into a cloud of chill vapour, able to drift about and travel through narrow openings. While she can effectively fly, she's not any faster than her normal form. She remains vulnerable to anything that could affect her cloudy body, such as heat-based attacks. Being broken apart unwillingly by wind would be unpleasant, but not lethal or damaging. She does need to be able to come back together to reform, though. A specialized variation of Ice-Shapeshifting, emulating sublimation.

Soul of Winter: To escape a curse, become something it can have no hold over. Jo reinforces her basic nature, momentarily becoming a thing of deadly cold and ancient darkness, winter's desolate purity scouring away foreign magic affecting her.

Fate Magic: Magic that grants Jo limited influence over the fate of things. Weak and slow without a structured spell. Usually requires contact with the object. Good for buffs/debuffs (Making someone stumble, etc).

Leap of Inspiration: A spell developed to help Jo design costumes for Fashion Club. A good way to be creative is to cheat. Focusing on the things around her, Jo opens her senses to take an unfocused glimpse at the future, to pluck ideas for what she might do with them. It's essentially a creative shortcut.

Jo is Legion: As a twin, Jo was arguably in two places at once. She's improved on that considerably. By training her ability to multitask and learning how to project her spirit to a limited degree, she was ultimately able to fuse these disciplines with ice and fate magic to create clones of herself. She can control two clones at once without too much difficulty, but anything past that is risky.

Snow Clone: Using a blend of spiritual projection and fate manipulation, Jo creates a body out of snow and ice, sends a portion of her spirit into it and then writes 'this is Johanna Imirsdotter' onto the amalgam's fate. This creates an identical body that she controls and can use the senses of. Jo struggles coordinating multiple complex actions at once, so she tends to rely on staggering or mirroring complicated moves. The fate link means that injury to any one will affect the others sympathetically, the psychic shock sapping the real Jo's stamina. When damaged beyond the capacity of the fate link, the spell is broken and that clone collapses into snow and ice that swiftly melts away.

Ice Diamond: A gift from Jo's mother. Jo can summon a small ice crystal with a red rune meaning 'Niflheim' carved into it. It fits easily in the palm of her hand. When she crushes the crystal, her body is flooded with the essence of her home. She becomes immensely strong, tough and fast and she reverts into a form closer to how she appears in Niflheim, becoming close to seven feet tall. However, it also drives her berserk. She cannot cast any other spells, is unable to tell friend from foe and attacks anything she sees. This continuously drains her energy and does not end until she runs out.

A Viking We Go: Jo has some skill in fighting unarmed, honed from a young age by indulgent older family members and sisterly aggression, and knows the basics of swordplay. She's also a skilled enough shot with thrown objects and slings to hunt smaller animals. A lifetime of chores and wandering monster and ghost haunted arctic tundra has toughened Jo up considerably, and she's been working hard on improving her strength and coordination since her fight with Shin.

Clever Hands: Jo has very good hand-eye coordination and a knack for making things, as she's sewn, cooked, carved and played with fiddly things from a very young age.

Background
Jo is a frost giant from faraway lands. She was born and raised in Niflheim, a land of eternal winter. It is small and provincial compared to the modern era, with its few modern conveniences carefully imported and jury-rigged to work.

She, along with her twin sister and her mother and father, lived in a small village. Her father was something of a tinkerer and handyman, so they had an unusual number of relics from the world outside, and her mother was a highly respected witch.

Jo always dreamed of going on great adventures, devouring the books and other items of the human world provided by her father. She tried to explore the lands around her home and stick her nose into various mysteries.

There weren't many other children around the the Imirsdotter girls' age, so Jo and Jes did a lot of things together. As they got older, they started to fight. Jes wanted to try and go her own way more, didn't like Jo's clinginess and found Jo's self duplication off-putting. They eventually had a major falling out and Jes left around two years ago.

When the opportunity to study at Amaranth came along, Jo threw herself at it wanting to see more of the world.

Clubs
Jo enjoys the elaborate dress-ups, costume design and focus on presentation that the Fashion Club has, and lends some assistance to the Drama Club. She regards Home Economics as being her hobby class, as she's already quite proficient in many of the skills but is enjoying the opportunity to try foreign cuisine and modernise a little. Jo found the aftermath of her fight with Shin gave her a rude awakening about how unfit she'd become since leaving Niflheim and so she joined the Fitness Club at Claire's urging. Being an explorer by nature, Jo enjoys the all terrain wandering of the Strolling Club. Jo is a peripheral member of the Book Club, mainly sitting in to find out good books to read.

Relationships
Claire Bicks - An energetic, athletic tomboy with a competitive streak a mile wide. Jo enjoys a spirited friendship/rivalry with her, the two egging each other on to levels that can get out of hand if no-one's there to defuse the situation.

Sean Castevet - Jo's room-mate. The two of them don't always see eye to eye. Jo has trouble resisting tweaking his nose - she thinks he needs to lighten up a little.

Jackson Hall - Jo's boyfriend and classmate. God himself could not sink this ship!

Shinchou Meguro - I don't know what's happening here yet and neither do you!

Jeslanna Imirsdotter - Johanna's twin sister and enemy. The older of the two, by half a minute. How she got to Amaranth is a mystery. Wants more individuality and wants Jo to stop copying her, since she's the oldest. Has schemes and at least two distinct identities - only one is real.

Nikola Orlov - A lonely, easily forgotten ghost haunting the pool complex that Jo met one night in her nocturnal wanderings. They share outdated reference pools and a few common interests. Jo's spent a decent chunk of her time trying to improve things for Nikola. She's one of the few people that Jo confides in.

Ashley Terata - A second year student who was assigned as Jo's mentor in the Strolling Club. Believes in the sink or swim approach. Almost certainly a killer robot. Existential crises about the nature of the soul, free will and consciousness seem to have made her sulky and cranky.

[Dracorion]

Name: Jackson Hall
Race: Human
Class: Wind Seer
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Aura: Cerulean
Appearance: At eighteen, Jack stands at 5’10’’, decently built, if perhaps a little slender. He has green eyes and messy black hair. He wears jeans, sneakers, a blue shirt and a brown leather duster.

Abilities:
Spell Reading - By focusing on studying an ongoing spell, Jack can gradually discern its effects. While doing so, Jack's eyes glow with the color of his aura. Minute mental strain while it's active.

Elemental Augmentation - A handful of spells Jack developed to infuse both himself, and others, with hints of elemental magic. He learned the basics from his parents, though recent snags in his relationship inspired him to experiment further. Truly, creating spells to get laid is the best use of magic.


Cold Touch - A simple spell which makes Jack feel cool to the touch - though offers no protection against heat or chill-based attacks. Can be maintained near indefinitely. Little combat utility.
Warm Touch - A simple spell, which, when placed on a target object or person, causes them to feel pleasantly warm to the touch for a reasonable length of time. Jack needs to touch the target and focus for a moment to apply the spell. Little combat utility.
Joybuzzer - Jack wraps his fists or feet in electricity, adding an electric jolt when his blows connect. The shock causes quick, sharp pain compunded with the pain of the hit. Tiny arcs of electricity can be barely seen around the affected extremities. Minor drain while the effect is active, builds over time.


Wind Magic - The ability to manipulate air, taught to Jack by his mother, and his main recourse for combat.


Air Bolt - Fires a bolt of compressed air from Jack's palm. Damage is roughly equivalent to a punch. Jack's not very accurate with this. Minute mental strain on the user.
Wind Screen - A spell which fills the air directly in front of Jack with magic, hardening and strengthening it into a barrier against physical attacks. Normally, it's a few inches taller and moderately wider than he is, size can be modified. The barrier is only visible to the Awakened. Moderate mental strain while the barrier is active.
Wind Messenger - A spell that carries a recorded message from Jack on the air to another target who he can name and picture. The message can travel a fair distance, though traversing past obstacles can extend the time it takes to deliver. Minor mental strain.


Brawler - Seeing Jack was rather prone to getting his ass kicked, his parents saw fit to train him in unarmed combat before he entered Amaranth. Knowing this himself, Jack sought to develop his skill by entering the Mixed Martial Arts Club, though so far all it's gotten him is a lot of bruises and a dislocated shoulder. His extracurricular lessons with Ashley haven't been helping.

Bio: Eighteen years ago, a baby was found in a basket outside an orphanage, with a silver locket and a note that said “Jackson Hall”. Since there was no one in the orphanage by that name, it was assumed that it was the baby’s name. For most of his life, Jack was bounced from foster home to foster home, never staying with one family for more than eight months. Most reports were that he was unnerving - a handful specified 'something in his eyes'. That aside, he was decidedly withdrawn and uncommunicative; he was classified as having a developmental disorder, eventually.

At thirteen, he was finally adopted by the Carters - both members of the Witch's Guild. A short time later, the Carters awakened Jack to magic. He began to study martial arts and the basics of magic around the same time.

Clubs: Archery Club, Chemistry Club, Strolling Club, Band club (Guitar), Mixed Martial Arts Club.

Relationships:
Nathaniel Carter: Jack's latest and longest-lasting adoptive parent. Nathaniel is a human and a member of a Paranormal Organization. He can be somewhat stiff, but is still kind to his adoptive son. He and his wife trained Jack in being a Wizard before shipping him off to Amaranth.

Kendra Carter: Nathan's wife Kendra is Parahuman and a member of the same Paranormal Organization as her husband. She's a kind woman who is more lax than her husband. She genuinely loves her husband and son.

Dean Hunter: Jack's roommate. Scottish. Has a pet dragon called Filia who keeps marking her territory on Jack's stuff. Dean himself doesn't give a shit. Yeah, Dean's an asshole.

Ashley Terata: A second year student who was assigned as Jack and Jo's mentor in the Strolling Club. Believes in the sink or swim approach. Almost certainly a killer robot. Existential crises about the nature of the soul, free will and consciousness seem to have made her sulky and cranky.

Natalie Valeth: Jack's Chemistry lab partner. She keeps showing him up. He thinks she's creepily quiet, except when she opens her mouth to be a jerk. Jack doesn't care for her, and the feeling is probably mutual. She's also in Home Ec, and is supposedly not a terrible cook, and maybe even actually decent. After much begging, Jack convinced her to help him out with something and now owes her an unspecified big favor in the future.

Roscoe Danvers: Jack's Guitar teacher. Looks and acts pretty zany. Is surprisingly skilled at guitar-fu. Rumor has it that students who diss guitars within earshot of him disappear. Jack suspects he may be a serial killer who decapitates people with guitar strings. Jack also suspects that he may be Professor Landry in disguise. Jack's made a mental note to ask about guitar string serial killers at the Ansidor police station sometime.

[Girasol of Chaos]

Name: Shinchou Meguro
Race: Demon (Oni)
Class: Oni Delinquent/Scaredy-Cat Oni
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Aura: Pale Peach
Appearance: As a Japanese Ogre goes, Shin is on the small side. Alongside her classmates the 6'2" tall girl is rather well-built and more squared off than usual. Or rather, she was until she got her right arm chopped off. Still an intimidating figure, her onyx strands are less often in her preferred mohawk shape than before, whatever is left behind tends to hang a little past her shoulders. Depending on the personality, her true skin color will be a bright crimson or a cerulean blue with matching eyes. Framing her face are two large horns sprouting from her forehead and two modest tusks. Typically found wearing outfits comfortable for athletics.

Abilities:
Demonic Lightning Magic - Lightning magic, tainted by Shin's demonic nature and heritage. Wilder and more destructive, than pure lightning magic, spells drawn from this force are well suited for battle, but are not easily - or painlessly - applied to beneficent ends. Lacking a structured spell, Shin's control of this force is extremely limited.


Fear Aura - Drawing on both demonic and natural forces, Shin can strengthen her presence in the immediate vicinity and create a frightening aura with little effort. This aura instills fear and intimidates anyone who looks at the oni and lasts until dispelled. If caught off-guard, the sudden wave of demonic power will stun onlookers upon activation. Moderate strain.
Summon Club- A spell which allows Shin to summon and dismiss her kanabo in a flash of lightning. Normally stored in a small shrine in her room.

Shadow Technique - Oni are traditionally portrayed as brutes, but are also supposedly the original ninja - Shin's not so in-touch with this side of herself, but Chou is! She's a natural sneak and is an expert free-runner. She's not so good at the combat-side of being a ninja, alas.


Human Disguise - A simple illusion which can be used by both Shin and Chou, allowing them to as a normal human. Almost always active, this spell causes their horns and tusks to vanish and makes their skin a normal color. This disguise can be broken, especially under exhaustion, but has little strain associated with it.
Beneath Notice - A stealth technique that makes the user's shadow vanish, causing other's gazes to slide away from them, while making the user's steps both lighter and more surefooted - even on difficult terrain. them Middling magic and physical strain. Prevents the use of other magic while active.

Oni: Japanese Mountain Ogres by definition, Shin is part of an ancient race of Yokai that have been known to terrorize humans. Their lifespan is roughly twice that of human's and they age appropriately slower. Shinchou is carnivorous and can become ill if she eats too much 'rabbit food,' though vegetables are fine in small amounts. Muscle tone is easier for oni to develop and keep in addition to simply being stronger than humans and many other races. Their skin, hair and eyes are naturally bright in color, with darker and more intense hues viewed as more attractive. These colors seem to reflect personality, though it's not sure which is reflecting on the other. Oni will also show a variety of horn and tusk types, helping to identify their genetic line and region. All oni dislike the smell of sardines and find soy products repulsive. Shin specifically has a green tea phobia.

Strength Surge -Sending a surge of demonic energy into her muscles, Shin strengthens her body beyond normal means in order to outmaneuver or overpower her opponent. Highly versatile, but puts great strain on her body. The outer-limits of this ability are easily enough to demolish stone.

Demon Smith: Growing up Shin was instructed at the forge on the properties of the metals and the importance of being spiritually bonded with their craft. Though by no means a master, the training still influences her methods - and her grades. She puts extensive effort and care into each piece, as she believes it will charge the object with her energy. Recycled materials are more valuable than others, as they accumulate their energy over time.

Brute Strength- Fighting comes as naturally to an oni as breathing, their own style develops as they grow and mature. Shin's style is very brutal and full of cheap shots to the head and vitals, but will sometimes show a little more technique.

Dissociative Identity - The disorder is not entirely like DID in humans, having a visible physical effect on the oni. Shin or Chou alternate control over the body, though are still the same person. Just don't tell them that. Their abilities change slightly according to whichever personality is active.

Bio: An oni with a long list of Expulsions from various schools, the delinquent was placed in Amaranth as a forceful measure in an attempt to get her to behave. The carnivore has a new set of rules here and for once has been put in her place amongst potential food. The normally proud creature has been slightly skiddish as of late and seems to be recovering from the loss of limb.

Clubs: Out of the gates Shin found her strength and freedom in Mixed Martial Arts. Since the loss of limb she is recovering, but still attempting to train with a single hand. She also participates in metalworking with some assistance, uses Swimming to maintain herself and has been attempting to get into meditation. Chou prefers the Book Club, but due to her lack of screentime, she rarely gets to participate.


Love and Fightilogy (B)
Book Club (D)
Meditation (-) - Hasn't been graded yet.
Metalwork (A+)
Mixed Martial Arts (A)
Swimming (C)



Relationships:
Azure "Kit" Fabre - Shin's Kitsune friend and roommate. She hasn't treated him well in the past, but is coming around and making an effort now. DM controlled!

Teanne - Shin's other roommate. The one she is terrified of. May or may not be a robot princess. Uses Tea as her primary weapon. DM controlled!

Melissa Curphy - Metalworking Professor. Has taken quite a shine to Shin and her passion, as well as Chou's designs. Probably a more sane Professor than Landry

Sao - Shinchou's closest friend, one of the few shared by both personalities. The undine is a great healer and is part of the super secret No Dianas Allowed group Shin is in.

The Librarian - Chou is on decent terms with the receptionist that Shin ticked off. Not much communication going on, but it's notable that she doesn't drive the oni out of the library when Chou is active.

Deimos Whelan - Assigned partner in metalsmithing to assist the handicapped ogress. These two aren't particularly close at this moment.

[Zoological Uncertainty]

Name: Cassandra Hayden
Race: Human
Class: Blind Enchantress
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Aura: Spring Green
Appearance: 5'2'', average build, wavy pale blonde hair reaches halfway down her back, dusty blue eyes and Caucasian. Her clothing is nothing special, usually jeans and a blouse. Except she always mismatches colors or wears odd outfits based on what's comfortable and not on what looks good. She wears sunglasses over her eyes when she goes out and carries a white cane.

Abilities:
Sight Theft - Wanting what she can't have, Cassie developed the ability to transfer her sight with someone else's. This is limited solely to body functions related to eyesight, and the victim is cut off from sight. While active, Cassie and the victim can hear each other's surface thoughts. This spell requires direct, skin-on-skin physical contact to activate, and ends when that contact is broken or Cassie consciously turns it off. Headaches are a common side effect of this spell. Cassie can't control her body well while using this technique. Moderate mental strain while it's active. Cassie's ability.

Love Magic - Cassie's not a proud person. She is perfectly aware of her disability, and is willing to ask others for help. Or she's willing to inspire their generosity (or just getting them to drop their guard so she can steal their eyes), if they're having trouble bringing themselves to help the poor blind girl. Without a spell, Cassie can still manipulate Love in many, though weak, ways - provided she's close to her target. Her most common trick is to make her voice more attractive for the Choir Club.


Charm - A touch-based curse which charms the victim to make Cassie appear more attractive to them. Last for a reasonable length of time.
Alluring Aroma - Cassie can conjure an invisible strawberry-scented mist of love magic, making anyone who smells it think she's cute. The effects wear off eventurally after some time away from the scent. Minor mental strain while active.


Cat's Ears - Being blind, Cassie relies heavily on her hearing to get her bearings and, consequently, has a more acute sense of hearing than most - even without magic. With a simple spell though, Cassie can improve her hearing to decidedly supernatural levels, allowing her to locate objects easily and hear sounds from further away, though it does make her extremely sensitive to loud noises. Moderate mental strain.

Blind Fencing - As a former fencing champion, Cassie's father saw fit to train his daughter to fence with a saber, so she could be safe in the perfectly normal halls of Amaranth, using her modeshift to actually enable her to fight. Furthermore, he taught her an improvised style using her cane, in case a saber wasn't always handy.


True Strike - Magic gently guides Cassie's attacks, making sure she's not swinging at thin air. This is not enough to assure a hit if the target moves, but it ensures her attacks are actually heading the target's way. Mild mental strain.
Expected Pain - It is said to be written in the ancient law of the world that great power only comes at a great price. Equally ancient is the belief that, those who lose their sight gain the ability to see in a different way - into the future. For Cassie, this power is manifest only in battle. Whenever Cassie herself is directly imperiled by an attack, this spell activates immediately before it is launched and grants her instinctive knowledge of where it comes from and - roughly - what it is. Rather unfortunately, there's never enough time for her to do more than react. Minor mental strain - though in prolonged battles, that can be quite a problem.


Bio: Cassie was born premature, and suffers from Retinopathy of Prematurity, a severe case which resulted in her being completely blind. Cassie's parents, both members of the Witch's Guild, were somewhat overprotective of their daughter because of this. Her mother, a school teacher, got jobs at Cassie's schools so she could keep an eye on her daughter. Though Cassie understood their concern, she harbored some resentment and wished she could see. Still, her parents didn't keep her sheltered, and Cassie led as full a life as she could.

Her parents awakened her at thirteen, hoping it would make her life a little better. They trained her for years, partly out of overprotectiveness, so she could go to Amaranth. Though Cassie's parents didn't stop her from going to public school and having a social life, her parents still worried about her magic and how she handled her blindness. Though Cassie loves them, she rebelled by against both her parents and her condition by fully embracing her social life.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Cassie became more and more obsessed with sight as she grew up, and developed a fairly active sex life with ulterior motives, telling her parents she was sleeping over with friends. After her partners fell asleep, she would borrow their sight and just stare through their eyes all night. Most of them wouldn't hook up with her again, due to weird dreams that creeped them out. Cassie finally enrolled in Amaranth when she turned eighteen.

Clubs: Choir, Fencing, Meditation, Veterinary

Relationships:
Timothy Hayden - Cassie's father, a member of the Witch's Guild, who works as a real estate agent, and was a fencing champion in his youth. He still sees his daughter as a helpless little girl, much to her chagrin, though he tries to avoid that sort of thinking and let her take care of herself. Specializes in physical reinforcement - he taught Cassie to fence.

Jennie Hayden - Cassie's mother, also a member of the Witch's Guild. She's a school teacher, and would take jobs at Cassie's schools, teaching Cassie's classes if she could, to keep an eye on her daughter. She shares her husband's views about Cassie. Surprisingly progressive in her magic practices - she uses contemporary Witchcraft, which is nearly identical to Wizardry.

Evelyn Hayden - Cassie's Awakened grandmother, appears to be a kindly old woman, but is rather creepy and eccentric.

Nate Adams - one of Cassie's friends, who attends his first year at Amaranth. A younger boy who has a hopeless crush on her. Cassie's aware, but doesn't return his affections and simply considers him a friend. He's a Black, and is in Fencing Club with her. He's something of a child prodigy, being younger than the usual admittance age in Amaranth and having good marks in all his classes.

Penelope Lega - Sean's girlfriend and Cassie's roommate. Penny is quite pretty, with rather thick blonde hair and wide blue eyes, but is also rather absentminded. Despite her somewhat ditzy nature, she is a very talented musician and singer, playing the harp in the school band. Unbeknownst to Sean, Cassie or herself, she is a siren and a rare example of an unawakened demon.

Matthew Sawyer - Another first-year student, one of the best students in Fencing Club, and kind of a jerk. He has no problem teasing blind girls, but Cassie doesn't really care about him.

"Bob" - Issued by the school to help Cassie with her school activities, to help her keep up with the other students. Cassie doesn't know his real name, so she calls him Bob. Bob might be a different person every day, but each one sounds exactly the same.

[Teal Mage]

Usually what? Encourage or discourage?

Permit. The Guilds permit families to Awaken their children - particularly if they do so with the intent of passing on their traditions to the next generation. However, the Guild still requires that these children be tested, to ensure they're responsible enough to possess magic. Amaranth is one of the possible testing grounds.

That said, Awakening your children actually puts them in danger:

Will Bite Your Face Off: When the sun sets and darkness falls, things start to appear. Shadowy, misshapen and obviously inhuman, these demons - called Hunters - appear from nowhere, and seek out the Awakened with single-minded obsession - and try to eat them. Special wards are known to halt them, but the only sure way to deal with one of these...creatures is to kill them - or wait for night to end. Whatever these creatures are, they're far from weak. They also never attack a Sleeper - unless they happen to interfere with an ongoing attack on one of the Awakened.

Understandably, some families hesitate to Awaken their children. Also, even without Hunters, magic isn't totally safe. But, the guild would officially still like all Magic-users to transmit the knowledge of their magic to at least one other person - they just don't press too hard on this front.

Soul of Winter: To escape a curse, become something it can have no hold over. Jo reinforces her basic nature, momentarily becoming a thing of deadly cold and ancient darkness, winter's desolate purity scouring away foreign magic affecting her.

I'd like to see Jo's eyes to turn totally black or white, as a side-effect of this power. Should also be noted that this ability has applications beyond anti-curse - attempting to read Jo's mind while she's using this power, for instance, would be an incredibly painful experience. Her presence will also change noticeably when she invokes this power - she does become a being of deadly cold, ancient darkness and desolate purity, after all.

Anyway, I think I need some bios for Ashley and Jes. They're both in this tournament arc. So! We'll need to get their powers figured out. Claire's a Sleeper, so she doesn't really need more elaboration, but she's also slated to appear. Might be worth taking a look at her too, though.

Jack's fine.

Brute Strength- Fighting comes as naturally to an oni as breathing, their own style develops as they grow and mature. Shin's style is very brutal and full of cheap shots to the head and vitals, but will sometimes show a little more technique.

This is more of an Ability than a Technique.

Otherwise, fine.

Love Magic - Cassie's not a proud person. She is perfectly aware of her disability, and is willing to ask others for help. Or she's willing to inspire their generosity (or just getting them to drop their guard so she can steal their eyes), if they're having trouble bringing themselves to help the poor blind girl. Without a spell, Cassie can still manipulate Love in many, though weak, ways - provided she's close to her target. Her most common trick is to make her voice more attractive for the Choir Club.

After watching Cassie in action, I'm positive this power should have shifted to Lust magic by now. There's nothing pure or innocent in how she applies her Love magic, after all. Main change to the Ability itself is that it won't work well in Choir Club - she can make her voice more seductive, but that's not likely to directly correlate to better grades. Technique-wise, Charm also has the side-effect of turning the victim on. Alluring Aroma makes her appear sexy or hot to the victim, rather than cute.

Otherwise, she's approved.

Edit: Removed some stuff.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Sean Castevet

Race: Half Demon (Part Yuki-Onna)
Class: Demonic Cryokinetic
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Aura: An angry crimson

Appearance: There are two things that will stick out to people looking at Sean: that he works out and that he is very pale. Averaging a bit above 6 feet tall and with a heavy frame and broad shoulders, Sean is very athletic and well-built. His skin is as white as snow and his black hair is cropped short. In spite of his imposing stature, Sean generally gives off a polite and approachable appearance, usually dressed in semi-formal attire such as a collared shirt or slacks unless he’s engaged in some sort of physical activity. He is of mixed race, his father being white and his mother Japanese. His facial features are mostly rather smooth and rounded, with few blemishes, which help add to his disarming demeanor.

Abilities:
Yokai Physiology - These are powers Sean learns directly through his inhuman blood and parentage. The Yuki Onna is a violent and powerful figure of Japanese folklore. Having died in the cold, ice and snow have nothing left to harm her with. To a degree Sean has inheirited this resistance to the cold, and his body temperature does seem a few degrees short of a healthy individual. However, Sean is also repelled by some of his mother's weaknesses as well. He is vulnerable to heat and sunlight, staying away from fires and often found indoors on a hot summer day. Items that repel the undead can pose problems as well at times, but not to the extent that they would have on an actual ghost.


Ice Blood – Sean’s body heals from minor wounds and shallow cuts with surprising speed. Deeper wounds or more serious injuries take longer to fully heal, but still cease bleeding quickly and rarely scar. Diseases, infections, and curses are quickly frozen and killed when they enter Sean’s body. Lost limbs do not regenerate. Normally, the drain is minimal, though particularly significant wounds, diseases or curses will exact a toll on his energy.


Demonic Ice Magic - The ability to manipulate temperature and generate ice, snow and cold. Limited and slow without a more structured spell to draw on. Sean's Ice magic carries his mother's demonic taint - death dominates - predisposing his magic toward the killing-aspects of ice and winter.

[
I]Blizzard [/I]– a pulse of demonic power surges around a focal point – usually Sean’s hand - and jagged shards of ice and a cloud of snow begin to form. Onc ready, Sean can make this maelstrom of ice and snow rocket towards a target of his choosing in a shotgun-like blast, cutting them apart and knocking them off their feet. Power and size of the blast can be altered with a little focus. Normal form exerts high physical and mental strain.
Snow Woman’s Ire – Drawing further from his demonic heritage, Sean can inflict a curse on a target with a glance. Those who are affected usually feel an initial rush of cold, as though they have been coated in ice, that leaves them stunned for a few precious moments. After the first few seconds though, the sense of being frozen dissipates, and the victim is left with a lingering chill that can harm their finer motor skills.
Cold Trail – A spell which invests a person or object with ice-elemental demonic magic, slightly lowering its temperature. Once the applied, Sean becomes able to track the target through a psychic link. More than one may be active at once. Minor mental strain, which builds over time. Multiple applications of this spell may be active at once.


Time in the Penalty Box! - Don't be mislead by his disarming demeanor - Sean is no stranger to fights or violence. Be it a particularly rough hockey game or a fight/spar with his cousin Nick, Sean can handle himself in a fight.

Athletic Intensity - Magic courses through Sean's being as he activates this spell, greatly enhancing his physical and athletic ability. Anger radiates from him, washing over those who are within his proximity. Renders him incapable of using other spells and carries a high physical strain the longer it remains in use.


"Be Prepared" - An active guy, Sean enjoys the outdoors quite a bit. Hiking, Camping, and other such excursions all catch his interest. He has many skills in this regard, pathfinding, tracking, identifying certain types of wildlife, etc. Furthermore, with some basic Druidic training from his father, Sean has a knack for fairly simple yet broad manipulation of nature to assist his survival skills.

Bio: Born in Japan and raised in Ontario, Sean’s a seemingly normal – perhaps even boring- young man with a moderate circle of friends who enjoys hockey, archery, and the outdoors (also he pretends to like books to impress a girl he likes). Appearances are always deceiving though, and Sean comes from a notably large family of magic users, his father and stepmother being researchers and agents for the Department – a Canadian government agency that investigates and finds practical uses for magical phenomena.

While Sean’s father Paul is a druid, his mother is a Japanese snow spirit known as the Yuki Onna (who apparently is known to some as Oyuki). She and Sean’s father met while Paul was working in Japan some 20 something years ago. The circumstance of their relationship and break-up are shrouded in quite a bit of mystery, and Paul is quite reluctant to give details about their time together, even Sean knows exceedingly little his mother, having only seen her picture and hearing her name a scant few times – possibly without his father’s knowledge. Sean lived in Japan for only two years of his infancy, and was raised in his father’s home country of Canada.

He has put up with his father’s reluctance for many years now, and he hasn’t sought out his mother’s identity on his own because he wants to know that his father trusts him with the information. However, Sean is 18 now, and being at Amaranth is likely fostering stronger feelings of independence. Sean Castevet may very well lose patience with his father, assuming he even survives long enough in Landry’s classroom to reach that point.

Clubs: A guy who likes sports and the outdoors, Sean is most commonly found with the Hockey Team or the Wilderness Club. While his reading habits are admittedly modest, he joined Amaranth's earlier in the year as an excuse to hang around his girlfriend Penelope. He also seems to enjoy target shooting, as he devotes some time to the archery club (albeit with a rifle and not a bow).

Love and Fightilogy (C-)
Archery Club (C+)
Book Club (D+)
Hockey Club (B+)
Wilderness Club (B+)


Relations
Nicholas Bell - Sean's cousin of roughly the same age, Nick is also a student at Amaranth. The two are surprisingly close to one another, and had a bit of a rivalry while growing up (much like Sean's father and Nick's mother once did). This rivalry does still persist to some extent, but Nick seems more eager to pursue it than Sean most of the time. Very much a contrast to Sean, Nick is athletic but thin and wiry - more acrobatic than Sean. His dark brown hair is usually a mess, his clothes are faded and often wrinkled, and his eyes a wild orange. He has inheirited rather potent pyrokinetic abilities from his mother, and he takes a lot of pride in his skills, many of which are self taught.

Penelope Lega - Sean's girlfriend, a pretty girl with thick blonde hair and wide blue eyes whom he met during the first few weeks of orientation. Penelope often comes off as a bit of an airhead, and thats probably because she sort of is one. Sean is rather obviously smitten with her, and joined the book club as an excuse to spend more time with her. Despite her tendency to ignore her surroundings, she is very talented in the realm of music, being a great singer and a decent harpsit. Unknown to both herself and Sean, Penelope is an unawakened Siren, a rarity amongst magical beings. Also, Nick doesn't seem to like her much at all.

Johanna Imirsdotter - A Jotun who is also Sean's roommate. The only thing they seem to share is a fondness for cold, and they were likely paired up to save on air conditioning costs. Sean seems to be very impatient towards her shenanigans at times, but he doesn't really hate her. He just hates some of the things she does.

[SinrXIII]

Name: Kohana Akecheta
Race: Demon
Class: Wolf God Wannabe
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Aura: Dusty Forest Green

Appearance: 5'10" tall, with straight black hair that falls to the middle of his back. Black, fur-covered wolf's ears top his head, and are normally hidden under a black and white patterned bandana which keeps his hair out of his amber eyes. His skin is deeply tanned and gives him away as a member of a Native tribe; this is made painfully obvious by his habitual removal of shirts, should he even be wearing one. He always wears a pair of loose cloth pants, dyed black and covered in white patterns similar to those found on his bandana. These same patterns are tattooed on his back and arms. Around his waist is usually seen a very fuzzy black belt; though lately he's taken to simply stuffing his tail into his pants. His feet are usually left uncovered as well; if he owns a pair of shoes, nobody else knows about them.

Abilities:
Alpha Hunter: Kohana's village relied on a group of hunters to provide meat and skins; this has not changed much over the years. As the Wolf's chosen, Kohana was eligible to lead the hunting party from an early age. A seasoned tracker and survivor on the plains and in the forests, Koh learned very quickly to keep tabs on those he deemed pack-worthy, and is capable of tracking such people by magically attuned senses. Only affects people Kohana actually likes. Current pack-mates are Adeline, Diana, Hie, Landry, Sao, Sean, Shin, Sieg, Twitch

Hunter's Step:Koh grew up in heavily wooded areas, and continues to visit the woods near the Amaranth Institue. He's developed a method of moving through the woods quickly and quietly, making him both fast and difficult to see while in wooded areas.


Armsman: Koh is proficient in all of the weapons of his people, as is expected of the Guardian of his village. Knives, shields, javelins, and the bow and arrow rest comfortably in his hands, but his twin tomahawks are his pride and joy. He is a master-class fighter when using them, and generally attempts to adapt them to whichever style of combat he's studying.

Summon Axes: Koh has enchanted his axes so that he can summon and dismiss them at will, for a minimal mana cost per summon/dismissal.
Deflection: Koh's axes, now magically enhanced, can be used to parry and deflect most spells.


Brawler: Koh can throw a punch when unarmed, and is pretty scrappy when he needs to be. His work in Caporeia has really only enhanced this; he now fights in a stylized form of caporeia that mimics the movements taught by his instructor with some of his own flair. Has grasped the basic forms of caporeia, and is slowly adding his own axe-based fighting style into them.

Strong Legs: Koh is a powerful kicker, and has enjoyed being one for many years. His time training in caporeia has enhanced this, giving him the ability to boost the power of his kicks much higher; high enough to break walls, and shatter bones.


Spirit Conduit: Koh can open himself to the spirits around him, making minor powers and abilities his own while using templates to bring more powerful spells to bear. As a basic ability, it also only affects that particular spirit's domain; channeling Sao's power would only allow Kohana manipulation of the Amaranth waters, not water in general.

Materialize: Kohana can, via touch, put a spell on spirits that gives them - or rather, forces them into - a physical form for a short time. Previously this has been used to exorcise spirits from inanimate objects, and theoretically can work on Artificial Intelligence; though you would have a fun time explaining what that means to Kohana.
Spirit Sense: To Kohana, each spirit exudes a particular scent, one separate from humans. The presence of nearby spirits also makes Koh's ears and tail bristle.
Wolf Boost: The spirit of his people's Wolf God resides inside of Kohana, granting him the ability to enhance spirits and overcharge their powers when channeled through Kohana's body. Doesn't affect spells that originate from the Wolf.


Upheaval: While the Wolf God is a creation deity for Koh's people, Kohana himself can't make things out of thin air and dreams. He can, however, manipulate the Earth his patron created; sand, rocks, dust, minerals - the forces of the Earth are at his fingertips. Can be combined with other elemental manipulations drawn through Spirit Conduit for impressive Nature spells. Cannot be enhanced by Wolf Boost.

Bio: A young man from a remote Native village in the U.S., Kohana Akecheta took up the mantle of Wolf Shaman at a young age; likely because his mother, the previous Wolf Shaman, died giving birth to the boy. At only a few years old, he was deemed (apparently) worthy, and suddenly found himself learning to be the next Wolf Shaman. This change, naturally, made Kohana something of a jerk to be around; after all, if you grew up with a God inside you, the power would go to your head too. He was eventually sent (forced) to Amaranth as a means of both getting his feet wet in the real world and cool his heels, and as a chance for everyone in his village to breathe easy for a little while.

After the nightmare about the Field of Honor, and Koh's utter conviction that these events actually transpired, he has done just that; training has taken the forefront of his thoughts, and he is determined to become an exemplary Wolf Shaman.

Classes:

Love and Fightiology (A+)
Archery (B-)
Birdwatching (A+)
Caporeia (B+)
Soccer (C)


Relationships:
Sieglind Tressel - A young violet eyed boy who Kohana met three years ago, and was caught up in the incident concerning the rogue Magic-User. Sieglind is Katherine Tressel's younger, much quieter, brother, an extremely talented Shaman in his own right, and questionably human. Currently, he attends Amaranth, and has Kohana sharing (what should be) his single occupancy dorm. He seems to look up to Kohana - who (out of concern?) has bonded him using their blood.

Katherine Tressel - Sieg’s, equally violet eyed, over protective, and much racist sister. Like Sieglind, Katherine met Kohana at the outset of the incident three years ago, back when she still owned a bar. Now, she's the CEO of her (deceased) parent's weapon's company, and works part-time on the Amaranth Campus, instructing students in the use of fire arms. She also dabbles in Wizardry.

Wanagi Wiyohiyanpa - A Shaman from Kohana's home, and the first member of Kohana's tribe to attend or work at the Amaranth Institute for the Gifted. Like most of Kohana's associates, he was involved in the incident three years ago. He currently runs the birdwatching club, and periodically mentors Kohana, Sieglind and Hie in the Shamanic Arts. He’s usually found on the roof of a school building, though its not clear if he's awake, or just staring at the sky. Kohana created a bond with him, using their blood, before he left the reservation a year ago.

Hie Mica - Kohana’s cousin (not by blood) and fellow Spirit Vessel. Perhaps as a result of the spirit possessing her, the Trickster God Coyote, Hie delights in tricking and frustrating people, but has little patience for long hours of study. As a result, she takes her Shaman training even less seriously than Kohana, and to date, has only learned abilities to frustrate and compete with her cousin. Even so, she has proven to be a capable magic-user, and participated in the incident three years ago. She enrolled herself in Amaranth (perhaps against the elder's wishes) so she could stay close to her main source of entertainment, Kohana.

[krogothwolf]

Is a player who had to leave suddenly welcomed back? Can I fix my old character up?

[Teal Mage]

Slept on it and a few other concerns, and yeah, Krogoth, if I don't get any more sign-ups, you can join up again (I've already been notified by two other people who've expressed interest; so any more sign-ups on top of them). If I do, you'll have to compete with any other interested parties. But I have a sample of your writing, so that's a point in your favor.

...uh, just checking, but you won't be dropping suddenly again, right? Because if that's in the cards, then the answer becomes a definite no. Sorry.

Anyway, if you wanna pick up as Dean, you should be aware that he's made the odd NPC appearance since you dropped. Was a bit of jerk! Also, due to events that are not worth expanding on (because they did not happen as far as everyone else is concerned! :D), he was never in Landry's class to begin with. Was in Shuyin's!...which is now Professor Silverstein's. I haven't updated his powers canonically at least, so that works in your favor. Less favorable is the amount of work you'll need to do where updating is concerned, but I guess any character you make has that issue. He's had two months to develop from his initial iteration!...while going to school. I'll try to help as much as I can, and the players on the pad (http://edupad.ch/utWD6aU2Aq) might be able to offer some advice. Joining this game is usually something of a trial - but I suppose a simplified system might make it easier. Maybe. You'll find out!

...that is, if you still want in.

Sean and Kohana are both fine. I've rethought the secondary taint I added to Jo and Shin's characters and removed references to that effect. Shin just can't use Without a Shadow. Chou may struggle with the Demonic Lightning magic too, since it draws more from Shin than her. But otherwise, only Cassie was significantly changed. If Love > Lust is a serious change, anyway.

[Krylo]

I guess I'll stop being lazy for a few minutes and take care of my obligations here, as you guys can't just not have Dalbhach.

But still mostly lazy. Copy paste of the one we did on the pad:

Race: Fae
Class: Faerie Trickster
Gender: Male
Age: Old as shit.
Aura: Gold
Appearance: Beautiful. More specifically, he's got pale skin with black hair and green eyes. He's thin, and a bit wiry. Generally dresses pretty well.

Ability List:
Glamour - Dal is Glamorous! Also, this is the name for FAERIE ILLUSIONS, which Dalbhach Nuada is quite the skilled practicioner of, though, due to his shitty seal, these powers are difficult to use away from his actual personage, and only truly easy for him when used on himself. Fear his illusory ways.


Human Form - An illusion which allows Dal to appear as a pretty-looking, normal, human. Completely hides his supernatural characteristics. He has a great deal of control over his appearance, thanks to this illusion. Little to no strain.
Camouflage - Dal makes himself invisible with ILLUSIONS leaving only a faint, and subtle, outline of his aura. Moderate strain, makes it more difficult to cast other spells.
De-Synch - Dal creates an illusory version of himself, which generally simply moves slightly faster or slower than the real Dalbhach, making it harder for an opponent to predict, or react to, his movements. However, with some concentration, Dal can control his illusory double, allowing it to move up to a few feet away from him. Optionally, Dal may also use Camouflage to vanish while his double is out. Minor strain normally, increases slightly while Dal is invisible and increases greatly while controlling the illusionary double. Increases the difficulty of casting other spells.


Dream Weaving - The faerie courts practice this ancient and respected art of pulling dreams and emotions into physical reality and then forging them into items of power. Such items are general ephemeral unless somehow given permanence through ritual or other magic, and Dal isn't particularly skilled at it, but he has learned a trick or two.


Form Rapier - Dal crafts a pretty silver sword outta dreams and emotions and stuff. May summon or dismiss reflexively.


Faerie - Dal is a sidhe fae, a member of a proud and noble race renown for their magical abilities and incredible egos. As a result of his lineage he's more lithe and agile than a normal human being with finer, generally considered 'more beautiful' features, at the cost of being physically weaker and more fragile, however, this lighter profile also allows flight with his wings. The fae are a noble and powerful race, but have a harshe weakness to cold (pure) iron, which burns even at a touch; sometimes a necessary precaution for mortals around this trickster race, as they feed upon powerful human emotions and are known to incite them for the rush of a good feeding.


Dream Eater - Dal can convert the emotions he devours into a secondary pool of magical energy to be used at his discretion. He continues to be affected by any fed upon emotional energy, however, until he expends the energy it provides him (empties his secondary pool). Makes his aura flare brighter than usual.
Speed Burst - With a flare of magic, Dal can strengthen his wings to launch himself in a powerful explosion of speed. He tends to stab people when he does this. Moderate strain.


Trickster - Dal is practiced in the art of deception, and flows through conflicts, social and otherwise, with no small amount of tricks, lies, distractions and just plain flat out cheating--and he's good at it. People believe him when he pretends he's acting in their best interests. He (almost) never fails to take advantage of an opponent's--or friend's--weakness. And when he does, it's usually merely because he has something even bigger planned.


Unbound Gaze - When Dal's eyes meet yours, you find it hard to keep yourself from being overcome by emotion. Literally. This spell makes it much more difficult to subdue your emotions, and much easier to drive you to emotional extremes. Most victims aren't aware of the effect. Minor strain.


Swordplay - Dal is an expert in the art of swordery. Not quite a true MASTER in all caps and all that, but still exceptionally skilled. Dal prefers not to augment this ability with magic, specifically, however, and his skill is au naturale.

Bio: Sentenced to high school, for a crime he. . . okay he did commit it. And many others. Blah blah past less masquerade blah blah fuck the masquerade, blah blah no fuck you, blah blah prison for a bajillion years, blah blah Amaranth as parole.

Clubs: Fencing, Writing, and Anime. He also drops by other club meetings when he has time and as amuses him. Drama and music clubs more often than others, but he's not really a member.


Love and Fightiology (B+)
Anime (-) Not graded!
Fencing (B+)
Writing (C-)


Relationships:


Robin Goodfellow - He's goddamn Puck. Lets not even bother pretending otherwise.
Morgan Ig Nuada - She's probably a corpse. Rest in pieces, dear cousin. DM controlled.
Mandy R. Quinn - Dal built her out of Shuyin's magic, tainted by Landry's field. She is something like the daughter of Dalbhach Nuada, Professor Landry, and Professor Shuyin. That poor girl. DM Controlled.

[Teal Mage]

Between waiting for some contact with the other three apparently interested newbies (Krogoth was one), working on my summer-classes and just, generally, sitting on the fence as to whether or not I wanted to restart the game, I appear to have let more than two-months pass without much in the way of comment. That's not a good sign, in my mind!

While I can't say I've completely lost interest in this project, I think DMing something of this scope is a bit beyond me still. So, I'm gonna formally abort the restart (such a surprise, amirite?) and take a long break from RPing (at least, as a DM). I'm sorry about making you all re-write your bios for a 3.0 that didn't actually happen. Hope everyone had fun! I know I did. Might even revisit this game at some point, but I doubt that'll be soon.

Anyway, I know some of you really wanted me to make an Omake thread (bit late, obviously), but if you want to, feel free to leave some completed ones here. Also, if you have any lingering questions, you can ask me them here.

...not that I'll promise to answer them honestly. That would be completely out of the spirit of the game. In conclusion!

"Students!"

"...you performed acceptably. Yes, even you Jack."

[Girasol of Chaos]

Amaranth Campus West Dorm - Shin's Room

Evening had settled on the grounds of the Amaranth Institute for the Gifted. In a stark constrast to its usually immaculate and well groomed state, with the Halloween Festival fast approaching, the grassy meadow which surrounded the educational complex was littered with the signs of construction. Wooden beams, brightly coloured bolts of cloth and flimsy paper decorations were arranged throughout the grounds, in varying states of completion and order. It would certainly be something when everything was said and done.

But, in the meantime, life remained relatively unchanged for the students who lived in the Institute. In one particular Dorm, life was the picture of normal. The common room was filled with the scent of cooking food, and heat wafting from the stove in its north-east corner - currently unattended. At the south-end of the chamber, the Teanne lounged on one of the room's sofas, wrapped in a white bathrobe. Her long dark hair still damp from her recent shower, and bound carelessly back into a ponytail. In one hand, she held a delicate cup of green tea, and the other, a textbook on Arabian culture. As usual, the TV was on - but Teanne was ignoring it.

Door creaking open, the residential oni emerged from her dimly lit room. It was late enough that she had changed into a black T-shirt, adorned with a stylized nue, and her hair was down for the night. It seems she didn't change her pants, though. Shin was taking it easy, attempting to mentally prepare herself for tomorrow. Course, her mind was occupied with the aromas from the kitchen, stomache growling in response.

Glancing around, she did not spot her lovely cook. "Hey naked, seen the fox around?" With a stretch she approached the couch and inspected the TV, boring as usual. Her gaze moved to Teanne's sketchbook-also boring.

"He's finishing your costume." Teanne replied, in her usual distracted and disinterested tone. A sip of tea later, she added, "In his room."

"Oh, right." She had entirely forgot about the whole costume today, even though Kit had been working with her for a while. Oops. "Thanks Teacup." Turning Shin approached Kit's door, offering three strong knocks before opening it, not waiting for a response. "Hey Kit, how's it comin along?"

A moment later, Kit's usually cheerful voice replied, "Almost done!" From the sounds of it, he'd turned into a girl tonight.

Poking her head in, Shin grinned, "So does that mean we get dinner soon, too?" She did take the time to inspect whatever part of the costume he was working on at the moment. She wasn't entirely convinced that wearing a skirt was going to be fun.

Surprisingly, Kit was not at his - her - sewing machine at the moment. The kitsune knelt in the middle of his room, before a series of white-chalk lines arrayed in a seven-pointed star and filled with japanese script. Candles of seven colours burned brightly around the chamber, pale blue flames crowning each of their wicks dancing wildly, as if blown about by a strong wind. Orange-tinted supernatural power filled the chamber in clouds - eminating from the kitsune in the chamber's center. Spread neatly at the center of the chalk array, was a school-girl's outfit. The magical power appeared to be pouring into the outfit.

With so much power swirling around the small chamber, it might have taken Shin a moment to realize Kit was naked.

Having expected him making the elaborate wig or something, the tall youth stood in the door for a moment to analyze the situation. Stepping into the room she closed the door with a quiet click. Spinning on her heel she took a couple of steps into the orange clouds, enjoying the simple pleasure of them enveloping her. Her eyes focused on the ritual symbols, the candles, and finally her roommate.

Upon noticing Kit in his birthday suit, Shin snorted, "Oh, so you and Tea lady having a naked party and didn't invite me?" Careful not to interfere with the spell, Shin slowly circled the scene with curiosity. "Well, can I at least watch?" At what was deemed a 'safe' distance the ogre crouched onto her haunches, eyes filled with mild awe. It had been a long while since she'd seen a demon casting a non-combat related spell.

The shifting clouds in the room seemed to halt, as Kit cracked a brilliant blue eye to stare at the Oni. Her illusion had fallen away when she'd entered the clouds of sacred magic. "I would," Kit stated, tensely, "prefer you not." Her aura was now clearly visible among the magic of the ritual - it seemed to be straining.

Waving a hand she stood up again, "Alright." Circling again she made her way towards the door, trying to give him as much distance as the room allowed. "Just lemme know when you've got some pants on at least." Opening the door, she quickly disappeared, sealing the room with a click agai -

A loud explosion, like hundreds of glasses shattering, sounded from the room behind her. There was a muffled cry, then a dull impact beyond the door a moment later.

Eyes wide in shock, Shin immediately snapped her attention towards the robed figure on the couch, throwing her arms up in the air. "I didn't do it!"

Aside from the sounds rising from the TV - Teanne had changed the channel to a cartoon when Shin wasn't looking - there was no reply. Teanne merely sipped from her mug of tea, and calmly continued reading her Cultural club homework. It appeared that whatever Shin did or did not do was irrelevant to the girl.

Not bothering to cast her illusion again, Shin rested the back of her hand on the center of the door. Cool. Slipping away from Kit's area the nervous oni joined Teanne in watching cartoons, sitting in another couch and keeping an ear out for her probably now-unhappy friend.

In truth, it didn't really matter what was on the screen, she was just trying to cover her own ass while remaining concerned. At least she wasn't so hungry at the moment.

About a tense minute passed, before the knob on Kit's bedroom door opened. The kitsune stepped out of - limping noticeably, as she shot a glare toward Shin. She'd thrown on a loose white kimino - unnervingly similar to her outfit when Shin had sparred so many weeks ago in the Mixed Martial Art's club dream room. Countless small lines of red showed through the kimino, and the backs of Kit's hands were dripping blood from gashes that covered them. The Kitsune's orange hair looked hacked, and more of the same cuts littered his cheeks, forehead and feet, leaving small spots of blood on the carpet in his wake. Miraculously, the space around his eyes was untouched.

"Thanks for keeping her out Teanne." Kit called, voice sharp.

Teanne waved blandly from her book, as the Kitsune limped over to the stove, grumbling something softly that very likely was not complimentary in the least.

Hearing the door open the oni glanced over her shoulder-and the couch, to view what disaster she had wrought. Teanne probably wasn't paying attention to the cursing that was uttered under her breath.

Face contorting in mental pain, Shin enveloped her eyes with a single hand and turned away. Why did she pick that of all outfits? Stewing in her self hate for a moment her ears picked up on the sickening, limping thump as Kit made her way towards the kitchen. Dammit.

DAMMIT.

She knew she was a fuckup, but she wasn't going to stand for letting Kit-who had shown her immense tolerance, at the very least - deal with this shit. The regret returned in full force, and this time, with a bit of anger. Activating her human disguise, Shin stood up with a stomp.

"Nuh-uh, get outta the kitchen." Working her way around the couch and across the room, Shin opened the door leading out of their dorm room. "We are going to the Nurse." Whatever calm the oni had attempted to exert she had failed, her voice deepening with anger. Standing between the exit to the kitchen and the main room, she blocked the area to ensure the only easy path was out. "Now."

"No." Kit replied, flatly. He was stirring something on the stove, briefly. "I'm fine. The cuts aren't deep. Once I eat, I'll just repair my body with a shapeshifting spell." With a sigh, the kitsune returned the lid to the pot, then slid down onto the floor, resting her back against the unused oven. "The protection spells kept the damage to a minimum. If it wasn't for your damned Oni magic getting mixed in, it would have been illusory glass, not real shards anyway." She yawned, "Nothing to worry about. I hate coming up with excuses for Dr. Lane."

Narrowing her eyes Shin inspected Kit closely, not fully buying the explanation. "Yeah, okay. So am I gonna hafta carry your bleedin' ass over there or should I have her share dinner with us?" The living wall wasn't budging either.

"Ugh." Kit sighed. "Shin, don't make me use magic to shut you up, please." She sighed again, before reaching behind her head. Her aura flickered faintly, and a trickle of blood flowed down from her fingers, as a small hairband shimmered into existence, bringing her dishelved hair into a loose ponytail. "Because I will turn into a limping fox and run away if you try that." She added, deadpan.

Teanne chuckled softly from her place on the couch. She was sitting on her knees now, peaking over the couch's back and watching the scene unfold with a smile. This was far more interesting than Arabian culture.

With a frustrated exhale Shin rubbed her eyes with one hand, pinching towards the bridge of her nose in thought. After a long moment, she regained her composure long enough to yell over her shoulder. "Teacup!" Her glare returned to Kit as she addressed the observer, "Make sure Kitten doesn't do anything stupid. I'll be right back."

Ignoring the fact that she was barefoot and wasn't prepared to appear in public in general, she checked her keys in her pocket and shut the door behind her, breaking into a full run down the dorm hall.

She wasn't going to risk Kit fleeing, so she'd have to ask the Nurse or Sao to come back to the room.

Shin's bare feet pounded the light brown hardwood flooring that ran down the arrow-straight, door-lined, hallway of the Amaranth West dorm. White lights shone down from the ceiling above her, giving the corridor a bright and cheerful feel - a sharp contrast to the East dorm, the few times Shin had visited it. Decorative plants and smooth brown stone walls blurred past her, as she hurried toward the elevators - the quickest way to the mainfloor from her dorm room. As she might have expected, the hallways were deserted at this time in the evening. Not entirely surprising, since even Shin knew that most of the dorms were unoccupied in the West and East dorms.

Shin found herself standing in front of the mirror-like double doors of the elevators before she knew it. There were three, set into a small recess in the dark-coloured hallway. A pair of bright red tiles on the walls, stylized in the lightness of 2-D paper lanterns proclaimed the floor number: 5-W. Two identical panels with up and down buttons were set on either side of the elevator doors. A causal glance at the reflective doors revealed that she appeared flushed from the short run - perhaps she shouldn't have skipped supper after all.

Five floors, the elevators were slower than she'd like. After glancing at her winded form in the reflection, Shin turned away from the metallic doors and forced herself to jog to the stairs. It'd be faster and she could catch her breath a little on a landing, if she needed to.

The door to the stairs was only a short distance away. Shin arrived in moments, and moving nearly on instinct, the Oni's hand closed around the door-knob. Her bright red hand -

...

Her hand was bright red.

A brief moment of panic swept through her mind. Concentrating, she backed up a step and attempted to put her illusion back up. She didn't need to get in any more trouble. Shin's aura flared a dusty yellow around her body, and her skin-tone began to pale. Then, dull yellow smoke began to rise from her skin and fill the air around her - the illusion wasn't working.

The alarm intensified. "Fuck." Something was terribly wrong here and she didn't know what, and there was absolutely zero chance of her being able to get help here. Steeling her nerves, Shin let loose a roar, pouring more energy into it (the spell fizzled instants after her panicked casting, echoing loudly in her ears, but little else), attempting to try a new illusion with the aura - a monstrous one (the illusion met a similar fate - shattering instants after forming and falling to the ground in a tickling of glass). With the battlecry she grabbed the knob and turned, slamming her body against the door and immediately turning to bound down the stairs.

((Shin Will: 40/50))

Her mind was now in full panic mode, and she couldn't afford to stand still.

The door swung open on silent hinges, and Shin found herself standing in the landing of the stairs. The ambient lighting was dimmer here than in the hallway she'd just left, but the floors were the same light gold-brown hued varnished wood, and the walls the same dark brown stone. The area was empty - the only sound, the pounding of her heart.

Growling, the ogre shook her head with the noise, but the unsettling fact that her illusion didn't work remained. With a leap she began to jump down the stairs a few steps at a time, arm hovering over the center bar in case she began to fall. A mantra formed in her head, attempting to reign in her wild emotional state, clearly she was just upset at Kit still. Gotta get Sao.

Gotta get Sao.

Gotta get Sao. With a thump she arrived on the fourth floor landing, turned, and continued at that speed.

Heart thundering in her ears, Shin flew down the stairs. The world seemed to have shrunk before the Oni's eyes, as she fled from whatever nameless terror was behind her. Had she heard a door swing open above her? The pounding in her ears seemed too loud to be her heart. Was someone here? With a gasp, Shin heaved herself down to the main floor, landing with - what felt like - a bone shattering crash.

The white painted wooden door was in front of her.

Shin hesitated at the door, the sinking feeling hadn't gone away, but the frustration turned into anger. Whatever the hell was bothering her needed to leave her the fuck alone.

Determined, turned her head and bellowed up the stairs, "Stop following me you dumb fuck." The ogre's aura attempted to re-activate at this time. Shooting a glare up the dim stairwell she turned her attention to the white portal before her.

With a determined slam she swung the door open, ready to run down the hallway and try to shake whatever visitor she had acquired.

Glaring whiteness met Shin's eyes, as she flew through the portal. A shock of frigid cold shot through her bare feet as they landed on snow. Behind her, distant mocking laughter floated from the door - the instant before it slammed shut with a click of finality. The noon sun filled the clear sky - it took Shin a moment to adjust to the new light. A pine forest rose on all sides.

With a chill, she realized she knew where she was.

The barrier field in the Mixed Martial Arts club.

She tasted blood in her mouth.

Laughter echoed in her mind, mocking her. A little too late she realized that it was a trap. The taste of her roommate's blood in her mouth pleased and sickened her simultaneously. Snarling, she inspected herself, trying to ignore the growl her stomache let loose. Although she appeared normal, there was one significant change.

Blood, everywhere, it stunk of the poor Kitsune. Guilt-ridden and enraged, Shin proceeded a few steps in the snow, towards where the center of the barrier field would be.

Yelling to the sky, the oni summoned her Kanabo,"What the fuck do you want from me?"

In a blink, the sky was obscured by dark grey rolling storm clouds. The forest fell into a shadowy gloom. Darker patches of inky blackness appeared at the edge of the Oni's vision, only to vanish when she turned to look at them. An icy wind swept up, whistling through her ears. A whispered voice, vicious with glee, filled her mind.

"Gotta find Sao."

Glaring upward, Shinobu shouldered the club, battle-ready but puzzled by the events going on around her. A shiver-not from the wind, though-rattled through her body for a brief instant, as it seemed to whisper in her ear. Her pupils pinned at this in anger, was that a threat?

"Yeah, well I was gonna go get her to help Kit, dammit." Continuing the gaze she proceeded to the top and center of the clearing, scanning her surroundings for whoever, whatever was doing this to her. "Who the hell are you?"

A rattling behind her caught her attention. The door knob was...shaking.

Her face contorted, fangs bared and head tilted so her horns gleamed in the little light that remained. "Is that a threat, you fuckhead? Are you after Sao?"

Stomping towards the door she approached it, too furious to understand that she was out of her league at this point. Voice deepening she raised the decibles as she continued, "Because if you are, I'm gonna fucking eviscerate you, crush your skull and eat your fuckin bones."

Her bare feet had carried her through the snow, much closer to the door now. Bringing her club down and tensing her muscles, she prepared herself. "Bitch, no one touches my pals without getting through me." Crimson eyes glowing with absolute fury stayed fixed on the door, prepared to swing at whatever emerged.

"You're so stupid." The voice whispered, a presence suddenly close behind her. It felt as if someone was leaning over her shoulder, then -

- a sharp stabbing pain shot through her club wielding shoulder. Blood blossomed into the air, painting the door before her in red splotches.

With a blood curdling roar Shin poured her strength into a surge, blinded by pain. Channeling her energy she tore her injured shoulder in front of her and pivoted, slamming her back into the door with all of her might. The weight upon her would now-if still solid-be pinned between her surge and the door.

Had it shuffled off of her, she would now be facing it. Her back needed to be against the only wall. Due to sheer determination or her death grip, the oni still held the Kanabo, but could not immediately swing it. The door needed to stay shut, and she needed to face her opponent.

Wood cracked. The white face of the door buckled inward, against the force of her slam. Shin thought she heard a gasp over the howl of the blizzard-like wind that now filled the shadow filled pineforest around her. Blood leaked perfusely from her wounded shoulder, she was losing feeling in her fingers.

And a pair of white, glowing, eyes watched her.

A vortex of swirling darkness filled the clearing. Shapes - she thought she could make out shapes in that mass - flickered, slashes of white against the black background. The voice filled her ears again. The laughter was almost maddening now and trimuphant. Pressure seemed to be pushing her back into the door - it was getting hard to breathe.

"Gonna get Sao!"

Blood leaked profusely out of her wound, causing her voice to pitch in a non-threatening, teenage boy-like manner, "Not while I'm still here you aren't, douchebag." The shapes filled the clearing, taunting her as they approached. What sort of nightmare had she walked into, she wondered, glaring at the shapes and the eyes before her. Gasping for air through her clenched teeth, she fought to grin. "Did that hurt, you little bucket of dicks?" Voice cracking, she steadied herself, " Is this door a trick too?"

Pouring another strength surge-this one almost impossibly strong- she slammed her working left elbow against the center of the door. "C'mere and face me, you weak-minded coward!" The last of her words fought in vain against the wind, but she knew it had heard her.

"Yes!"

The door shattered behind her, and Shin fell backwards suddenly. Her head struck wood - and something white flashed before her face. A maddened howl erupted before her, as hands closed on her shoulders, hauling her backward - through the door.

Stars burst into Shin's vision, as one of the hands closed on her wounded shoulder. Pain exploded and, out of instinct, the Oni bit into the arm holding it - tusked fangs digging deep into soft flesh. A torrent of blood filled her mouth, and there was a pained cry behind her. The hand on her injured shoulder released her, as a mad cackling floated out of the winterscape beyond.

"Damnit Shin!"

Morgan.

She'd just dug her teeth into the arm of a dark haired Fae girl in a summer dress. After a moment, Shin realized she wasn't sure who the girl was - just that her face and dress looked like those of her classmate's. "Morgan" was bent over her, a pale aura flared around her body and a face a mask of pain, still trying, unsuccessfully now, to pull the Oni back into the stairwell of the Dorms. A gasp of shocked pain erupted from the Mixed Martial Arts field in front of her, just before a bestial bellow of triumph. A sickening series of crunches followed.

"If you don't wanna die, help me you idiot!"

Instantly recognizing Morgan from class, the oni's crimson eyes widened. Spitting the Fae's bloody hand out from her maw, red dripped out from between her tusks. Almost breathless now, she yelped her quick apology, feeling light-headed. Using what was left of her strength she rolled over her injured shoulder, wincing and shamelessly letting out a pained cry.

Right arm numb, she planted the kanabo with an unheard thump and pulled herself up, no longer feeling pain in that area. More blood gushed from her wound, but slower now. A whisper in the back of her mind told her she wouldn't be able to use her arm much longer. Pulling her legs underneath her to propel her as well, left arm reached to grab Morgan's uninjured one, or even her side. Time seemed to slow for the oni.

Her ears could pick up nothing but the crunches, she was so damn close. Morgan's face was beginning to blur - she lost a lot of blood.

A litany of curses escaped Morgan's lips as she pulled the Oni away from the door with a heave. "Don't pass out, don't pass out, don't pass out." She hissed, as she finally got Shin clear. On the otherside of the broken portal, the crunches suddenly stopped - with what sounded like a gulp.

There was a flash of light, and the white door was suddenly whole.

An echoing scream of rage exploded throughout the stairwell, as the door began to bulge inward. Whatever was on the other side was trying to get in still. "Hurry." Morgan hissed, leaning down to try and hook Shin's uninjured arm over her shoulder, and haul the Oni to her feet.

Breath wheezing through her teeth she accepted Morgan as a crutch and stood. With each exhale a little more of the blood sprinkled out of her jaw. Numb, and no longer usable, her right hand relinquished the grasp of her club, it landed on the floor with a heavy thump, but vanished immediately afterwards. She didn't need it right now.

With her heartbeat rattling her brain, Shin concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, left arm clinging to the girl who was a stranger to her. Bare feet hit the wooden floor, the shockwaves reminding her to stay awake, to stay alive. Her pupils fought to stay focused as she did so, her mantra returning, weak compared to the cacophony in her mind.

Gotta get Sao...

"J-just try to stay awake." Morgan whispered. This close, Shin could tell the girl was trembling. She set her foot on the first of the flights of the stairs. "...fuck it's far away." She whispered, looking up. A small flicker came from the girl's aura, and a feather - white and fluffy - fell from the girl's wrist. A small winged bunny appeared behind the two.

The door was splintering.

Nodding, Shin concentrated-she was holding the poor girl back. Between steps, she exhaled strongly, "Thanks, but run." Loosening her grip with her left arm, Morgan would be able to duck out from under her and flee at any time.

Gotta get Sao.

Focusing on the steps before her Shin channeled a weak amount of energy into her legs-a weak surge, to try to boost her up the stairs. Each step felt as if someone cast cement shoes on her.

Gotta get Sao.

The first story was clear, but they weren't going nearly fast enough. A dull sense of dread began to overcome the oni again, she fought hard to shake it off. Her footsteps echoed in her mind.

Gotta get-

* * *

[Girasol of Chaos]

Somewhere on Campus

Thick textbooks were piled atop one side of the many delicate, white-painted, decorative benches scattered around the Amaranth campus. A slim figure sat opposite the stack, light aqua-blue hair hidden beneath a blue bandana, as was now her custom. Another large textbook lay spread open before her crystalline hazel eyes – she was reading it. A medium sized dog, covered in fluffy white fur, lay curled around her feet. Warm golden hued light flowed from a lamppost of beaten and delicate silver, placed nearby.

Above, the sky was colored a deep blue-purple – a bright three-quarters full moon shone down in from the clear starry sky.

Marking her place with a stamped leather bookmark, Sao set aside her current text and reached for another. She hesitated mid-reach, pausing to surreptitiously glance over her shoulder. Hermes didn’t alert her to anyone nearby, but she felt something. It wasn’t the familiar sensation of a passing ghost or enchantment, so what was causing this feeling?

Everything was silent.

The air was heavy, tense with anticipation. The quiet companionship of chirruping birds and the wind in the grass was absent – everything was deathly still. Sao stood, extricating her feet from beneath the Pyrenean’s comforting weight. Her arm unconsciously covering her heart, the healer concentrated on the rogue sensation. Motioning for Hermes to remain where he was, Sao walked forward a few steps. Was it stronger in this direction?

Sao.

The very air around the Undine seemed to tremble. At her side, the light from the street-lamp grew pale and cold. The sky and grass seemed washed out, as if some measure of their life had been drained away. At the edges of Sao's vision, spots of pitch blackness formed - only to vanish if she tried to focus her eyes on them. A new sound rose in her ears - a racing heart that was not her own - it was frightened.

Sao.

Shin?

Thoroughly confused, Sao turned, trying to assess where the heartbeat was coming from. The sound seemed overly loud in the otherwise silent park. She didn’t expect an answer, but... “Shin?” She called out, voice wavering with uncertainty. Whoever’s heart this was, it was beating much too fast for the healer’s liking.

Her eyes fell on a door, in the middle of the greyed out white stone path which she now stood on. A gold doorknob glinted in the cold and washed out light of the streetlight at her shoulder. It was painted white.

...Sao! The voice was clearer, louder in her ears and desperate. With a chilling jolt, she realized Shin was beyond the door - and...terrified.

Fear for her friend coursed through her. Sao took off for the white door, compelled to act despite the strangeness that surrounded these events. She had no time to rationally judge the facts – Shin needed her. Stumbling to a halt, she grasped and turned the golden handle in one motion, pulling it open with a jerk.

Darkness surged out from the door, enveloping her in the blink of an eye. The silence was shattered by a cacophony of sounds - wood splintering, great bellowing roars, gasped breaths, a door clicking shut, then locking at her back, and, finally, as color returned to the world - "Sao!?" a shocked cry in a familar voice - she was in a stairwell on the campus.

Green eyes wide, Morgan stood one flight of stairs above the Undine. As usual, she was clad in a sleeveless white summer-dress, which extended to her knees. Her features were narrower and more aqualine than before - and four flimsy dragonfly-like wings extended out of her back. Pointed ears peaked out from her long black hair - she was a Fae, like her cousin. By her stance, she was planning to bolt.

On her right, Shin staggered to the landing the Undine now stood on. The girl was wobbling and clutching at the railing - one of her arms hung limply at her side. Blood - so much blood - covered her, from a deep and narrow cut in the shoulder of her limp arm. Even under her bright crimson skin, the Oni looked pale. Her aura flickered fitfully, filled with wisps of darkness. Crismon eyes widened as they fell on the Undine.

At the bottom of the stairs - two flights down - the center of a white door exploded. White painted wood sprayed outward, as a long clawed talon of blackness grasped through. A shriek dripping hatred and outrage assualted their ears, shaking the very stairs. The sounds from the base of the stairs grew more frenzied, as the door bulged inward - blackness seeping through the edges.

"Run!" Morgan shouted, throwing herself at the railing opposite them. Her arm was bleeding.

"Sao..?" The wheeze was barely audible, her crimson eyes wide with horror as the undine seemed to step from nowhere. Her mind screamed in frustration and rage. No, it's after you! Run! Gritting her teeth, what was left of Shin drew upon the strength that remained and lifted her feet faster, staggering up the steps towards the third floor.

An explosion down below announced her pursuer was now upon them, roars shaking the chamber as it clawed its way into the stairwell. Hissing, misted blood spraying from her maw, Shin lurched upward, now trying to use her still-active arm to pull herself up with the rail.

"Run, dammit!" Voice hoarse, Shin's bellow tailed at the end into a loud whine.

Dizzy trying to process the sudden influx of stimuli, Sao wavered on her feet. Snapping to, she dove around to the oni’s less injured side, ducking to hoist the meaty, red arm over her shoulder. “Lean on me!” Command infused her voice, leaving no room for Shin to argue with her.

Brilliant yellow light poured off the healer as she moved, her pastel green blouse sporting large, darkening patches. It stuck to her skin as a thick, clear liquid soaked through it – her Healing Gift. As much as she wanted to properly assess Shin’s wounds, the terror in the voices of her friends told her she simply didn’t have the time.

As soon as Shin’s weight settled on her shoulders, Sao started pulling them both up the stairs. She didn’t bother looking behind her - the roars and dry snap of splintering wood told her that it was already much too close.

Leaning on her smaller friend, the oni continued clenching her jaw, forcing her legs to move even though she shouldn't even be conscious. Although Shin couldn't feel the healing efforts at this point, her feet, her body felt lighter, a glimmer of hope? The air that hissed through her teeth barely formed audible words in the pandemonium. "Fifth.....floor."

The pattering of feet on the stairs met their ears. Morgan was back suddenly, and taking Shin's other side - injured or no, Sao wouldn't be able to hold the Oni up when she lost consciousness. "Seventh floor." Morgan corrected, pale aura flowing out of her's to mingle with Sao's. "They're all white until then."

...the bottom of the stairs had gone eerily silent.

"Hurry." Morgan added, as they started to move drag the semi-conscious Oni up the stairs.

She nodded in response to Morgan, not knowing or caring if she could see. “Thank you.”

Absently, Sao could feel Shin’s shoulder wound resist her will. The spirit shuddered involuntarily – she knew that oily, bruised feeling all too well. Her legs, Diana’s back, and now Shin. Angry and scared, Sao redoubled her efforts to haul her friend away from this place. “Stay with us, Shin. We’ll get you out of here, just st -”

The door on the may level exploded inward with a massive blast of concussive force. An uproar of laughter filled the three girl's minds - as they staggered up the stairs.

"Sao!" The voice crowed, as streams of darkness flowed into the main level. Mad laughter echoed endlessly from the darkness beyond the now shattered door.

The lower edges of their ears were wet.

Now supported by Sao and some sort of fairy woman, Shin couldn't help but smile weakly, despite the blinding pain and her light head. "Fucking snow-shadow," a mutter is all she could manage at this point. "We can...outrun it..." Was she delirious at this point? After a breath, a deeper, quiet growl, filled with whatever hate the brute could muster, escaped from a sickly grin. "Eat..this..motherfucker..."

Knowing she was no longer useful to her companions her now slacked left hand tilted as attempted to summon her club a small distance behind the trio. Her aura flared - the colour washed out and diffuse. Shin's magic slipped through her fingers like water; the spell failed. The trio had staggered to the third-floor landing - as Morgan said, there was another White Door there.

At the bottom of the well, the darkness had built to fill the entire space. The cackling in their minds had softened to a distant chuckle - puntucated by an almost baby-like coo. "Sao...Sao!" A giggle followed, as wisps of whiteness began to spread outward - narrow tendrils extending from the swirling darkness filled with flickers of white slits and jagged shapes.

“C’mon Shin, don’t tire yourself out more.” Sao’s voice was firm. “It’s good that you’re still here and fighting, just concentrate on moving.” She didn’t know if Shin could even hear her – she hoped the message came through regardless.

A chill ran down her spine as the… thing called her name. Panting with the effort of climbing and helping carry Shin, she wished she had her counterpart’s strength. Carrying a bodybag full of rocks night after night didn’t seem to have cut it.

From below, a high pitched squeal exploded into the hot and choked air of the hallway. The giggle in their minds grew louder - and it felt as though something hot had splashed their fronts. They'd reached the fourth floor. "...fuck." Morgan murmured, as her aura flared again - and a new feather fell from her hand.

A tabby cat appeared on this stair.

"...that's my last summon." She whispered.

Of course, when she needed it most, it didn't come. A weak laugh shook through Shin's prone form. Even if she didn't hear Sao, even her thick skull understood there was nothing more she could do. Her whisper likely wasn't audible, her speech broken, "Sao... if we make it, remind me to tear Kit a new one."

A damn skirt wasn't worth this.

Unfortunately, Sao couldn’t hear what might be her friend’s last words. Below their feet, she could feel something forming – it felt close, and gained speed rapidly. A spell, laced with hatred and malevolence, was gunning for her.

“Jump!” She cried, slipping out from underneath Shin’s arm to leap desperately onto the next landing. She turned in midair, keeping her grip on the Oni’s wrist, jerking her away from where she thought that spell would land.

"Wai -" Morgan cried, arm reaching after Sao, but too late to stop her. The Undine's dive brought her to the landing half-way between the fourth and fifth floor - and dislodged her bandana in the process. The blue cloth square flew from her head, revealing her aqua-blue hair to the stairwell, even as her hand found Shin's. Sao jerked her forward -

- a black blur exploded from the center of the stairwell. Air pressure slammed into them, as boards and stone sprayed wildly outward. Morgan cried out as the two of her wings tips shredded into coloured ash and she staggered into Shin's side. Weakened still, the Oni toppled to the wooden stairs - jerking Sao's arm painfully in the process. The dark haired Fae girl narrowly managed to avoid falling on top of the crimson skinned demon - she struck the stairs beside her instead.

For a few moments, everything was quiet.

Click...

Then, the footsteps started.

...clack.

They echoed wildly around the wooden interior of the stairwell. Seemingly from all directions at once.

Click...

"Sao..." The name whispered into their minds like a caress. An impression of brilliant white smile blossoming between a pair of perfect pale lips followed. "I'm coming for you..." A pair of white, hollow, circles appeared in their minds - surrounded on both sides by pools of inky blackness. Eyes. A bright red tongue slipped past the pale lips, gliding lazily over a mouth - suddenly filled with jagged white teeth.

...clack.

"...and then..."

Click...

"...you'll scream."

...clack.

Morgan was sobbing.

Calmly, Sao popped her dislocated shoulder back into its socket. That, at least, was a familiar motion. No point in wasting energy healing it off – the soreness would fade on its own when they got out of there.

Click...

She didn’t let herself think it was an ‘if they got out of there’.

...clack.

A slow calm had spread over her, an icy sheen on the lake of terror and rage that was her emotions. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, threatening to push her into either extreme. She kept her head, as much as she wanted to give in to that voice, to scream until nothing of her remained. At the very least, she could keep the illusion that they still had a chance.

Click...

Picking herself off the landing, Sao moved with a confidence she didn’t quite feel. Bending at the waist, she hoisted the featherlight Morgan off the stairs and set her on her feet. “It’s not time to cry yet, come on.” Her voice was gentle, cajoling. “Help me with Shin, we’ve got to keep moving.”

...clack.

Muscles straining, Sao hauled the injured Oni upright with a grunt of effort. She stood under that red tower of flesh, taking most of the weight and - started walking. She acted like there was no question that Morgan would take the other side and help the duo resume their flight.

Click...

Sao's determination allowed the oni to steel her own emotions. Inspired, Shin helped push herself forward, feeling a little stronger than a moment ago. Unfortunately, pain shot through her form with each step. Wincing she continued up the staircase, supported by her best friend and a kind stranger. Now was not the time to worry about pain.

...clack.

Amid the crazily echoing din of footsteps in the stairwell, Sao shouldered the weight of Shin and forced her own aching body to resume her slow plodding escape. “Sao…” Morgan whispered, seemingly awed, between hiccupped sobs as she rubbed viciously at her luminous green eyes. She’d taken a step forward from where she’d collapsed – but didn’t seem to be able to keep going.

With effort, the aqua-haired woman turned to smile at the flagging fae. Internally, she fumed at the delay. They needed to go. She kept the irritation out of her voice. "Let's go!"

"I..." The Fae girl began, wincing at the words. Her lips thinned to a white line, before she jerked a quick nod. "Tabby!" She twisted her head to the side, snapping out a command. A meow answered, and a second set of - faster and clearer - footsteps hastened up after them. Morgan quickly moved forward, slipping under Shin's other side. "...sorry." She muttered - Shin could feel her trembling still.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped.

The three girls, numbers bolstered by a tabby cat, reached the landing between the fourth and fifth floors. A chuckle filled their minds – amused by their struggle, perhaps. Morgan bit her lip and glared at the floor. “Shut up…” She muttered. Together, the girls began to ascend the next flight of stairs – as Morgan had said, the door Shin had come through had been replaced with another white painted one, identical to all the others.

By now, the silence in the stairwell hung almost oppressively thick. Each breath they took seemed impossibly loud – as did the thumping of their hearts. They pressed on, ascending another flight of stairs, passing the white door and turning their gazes to the next unoccupied landing.

"The little dove..." The voice began, speaking in a slow lazy whisper.

Steps. One, two...

"...was right to weep." The cruel white smile was back, spreading wide in their minds.

The steps were from above.

A faint outline waited on the sixth floor. An aura - easy to miss. The shade was pale and sickly. Slowly, a figure shimmered into existence before the white door on that platform. White high-heeled boots, extending to calf-height. A patch of alabaster pale skin. White loose robes, over an equally pale pleated skirt, hung low from delicate pale arms. Overlong fingers, shaped in the likeness of cruel, jagged, crystaline talons - covered and dripping black viscera - extended out from the sleeves. Stands of raven hair framed a hooded and shrouded face. Only the lips, set into an alabaster face, were visible - a pale, purple-white set of lines.

Which split into a perfect smile of greeting.

"Hello," the voice whispered, "...Sao."

A drop of viscera touched the wood below. A small swirling vortex of black ash rose from the point of contact.

Sao froze, her foot on the next step upward. Having passed the landing between the fifth and sixth floors, she had a clear view of the horror before them. The young woman fought the instinct to take a step back – she would not so easily surrender the ground they had covered.

Sao tried to fix it with an unconcerned stare, but petered off as she failed to find eyes under the hood. Her heart quailed, and the urge to run screaming back the way they came welled up, sudden in its urgency.

Inhaling, she took another step upward, toward that grim figure. She swallowed, throat suddenly dry. Her flinch as it said her name was genuine. Another dogged step. On the verge of hysterics, she opened her mouth to return its greeting.

“Hello, Spectre.” Sao’s voice wavered. But there was no call to be rude, now was there.

"So..." The voice whispered, tone chime-like in its amusement, "...polite!" The smile spread as the being tilted its head back, ringing laughter filling their minds.

Shinobu used the pause to catch her breath, each inhale stinging of needles along with the rest of her muscles. They were so close, they had to make it past this thing. Sao's steps were shaky, but continued at this point. Shin gave a gentle squeeze to both of her companions, to reassure both they and herself.

"Snow-shadow." The growl was quiet, but audible. Scanning over her foe, now that it had a tangible form, she shivered. Something about it drew her attention to the dripping claw, causing a weak shudder. Continuing, the oni's gaze wandered until it settled in the abyss where the eyes should be. Under the hood and above the sickly lips she kept the glare steady, despite her mind screaming to run. Another deep breath, and she continued, "Nice trick."

That only made the being laugh in earnest.

Gripping Morgan with her hand the red-skinned demon offered the little reassurance she could to the fae. Her muscles trembled, fighting to withstand the agony. Shin leaned forward and began to take another step, indicating that she wanted to close the distance. Her face stayed in a flinching glare, refusing to make her pain audible. Crimson eyes remained fixed on the void, even as her blood ran cold.

Morgan's hand shot forward, to grip the Oni's injured - ow - arm in a vice. "What are you doing!?" She hissed, tugging the staggering demon back with a sharp jerk - she was stronger than she looked. Unsurprising for a Goddess of War, really.

A hiss leaked through Shin's fangs at Morgan's tug, trying desperately to keep what little composure she had. That fucking hurt, pixie. Her thoughts were interrupted by the figure before her.

"Such hate!" The creature crowed. Her grin remained wide and mad. "Yes little dove, prolong her terror!" Lazily, the creature reached to its side and flicked a jagged nail over the surface of the door, to its right. In its wake, a thin line of white paint exploded into black ash. "It..." A bright red tongue slid lazily out over its lips. "...pleases me." A pair of hollow white circles - where the eyes should be - shimmered to light within its hood.

Morgan's jaw tightened. Though she paled visibly at the words, she did not let go.

"Sao..." The voice's gaze fell upon the Undine again, the darkness within its hood absolute again. Feelings of tenderness and love saturated the words - sending a shiver down Morgan's spine. "...how would you like," a chuckle rolled in their minds, as the smile spread once more, "to make a deal?"

"No!" With a sudden lurch, Shin attempted to pull away from Morgan. Unfortunately, the fae was even stronger than she had anticipated, causing the Oni to yelp, and instead, only stumble forward another step. Footing regained, Shin seethed in the creature's direction. "You're not gonna use Sao as your toy, fiend." Her snarl intensified, spitting in disgust.

Despite her bravado, the wall of red muscle was shaking visibly. It was hard to tell what amount of it was caused by rage, not fear. Her working hand clenched tightly in a fist. Had she more strength left, her own claws would be digging into her palm, oozing blood. Pupils searching for the irises she caught a glipse of, Shin tilted her head down slightly in a silent, and likely pathetic-looking, threat.

Shin’s anger was another familiar sense in this barren, hostile tower. Reflexively, as she had for the past few weeks, Sao patted the oni’s uninjured arm with her free hand and murmured, “Calm, Shin.”

“Morgan,” she hurriedly sought her classmate’s attention, “can you carry Shin past it by yourself?”

Sao raised her voice, trying to play for time. Revulsion simmered below her confident tone. “What kind of deal, Spectre?”

"..." Morgan didn't reply. Her grip on Shin's arm had loosened, somewhat.

The mocking smile of the white garbed being had not slipped during Shin's outburst. If anything it had grown wider. The creature fluttered its talon-like fingers before its hooded face, in a gesture of dismissal. "Wisdom. Sao does not disappoint." It stated, tone between gleeful and business-like. A slow and lazy gesture toward Shinubo followed. "Our deal, little sprite, shall be thus."

The grin grew huge.

“Leave the big one for me, and you and the dove may fly away.”

Sao smiled – a tight, self-mocking grin. “I’m hurt.” She took a step forward, placing her foot on the first stair past the landing, still gamely carrying her half of Shin. Her voice had a hard, bitter cast to it. “Here I thought it was me you wanted.”

Another step, forcing Morgan to either let go of Shin or step up with them. She squeezed Shin’s wrist warningly – the oni was not going to ruin all of Sao’s hard work like this.

The sickening voice had wanted her the whole time. Shin's mind went numb with simultaneous horror and relief. Her brain could barely process what was happening, except that she wanted Sao safe. Sao took advantage of the oni's silence and reached her decision.

Whatever eruption that was prepared to leap from Shin's maw was swallowed with Sao's small comfort. Although the squeeze hurt a bit, it served as a reminder-they were still alive. They-the others- could make it. Rising out of despair, she concentrated on picking up her feet as fast as her aching body let her. She wasn't sure if she was going to make it, but her breathing, and heartbeat, began to slow from the breakneck speeds they were at. Sao was going to be okay. She would make sure of it.

Everything hurt. For now, she kept climbing, hoping the more intelligent individuals of the group had a plan. As she began to slip from the fae's grasp, Shin's hand offered a tug around the wrist, and would release if Morgan didn't keep up the pace.

Morgan's hand fell limply from Shin's arm. Crestfallen, the Fae followed slowly after the two girls. She looked perfectly miserable - even her wings were dragging in her wake. By contrast, the shadowy creature at the top of the stairs took a step to the left – placing itself in the center of the platform. The characteristically cruel smile remained in place on its hooded face, as it stared unflinchingly into Sao’s eyes. Confused imagines and sounds filled the Undine’s mind – black claws scything into flesh, screams and panicked cries for help, mercy, death. A bestial maw chewing, accompanied by sickening crunches, sprays of liquids and shrieks of pain. A gulp – ending in a bloody smile.

Before starting over again.

"Ah, the cries of your prey..."Shin began, a weak smile forming on her face. "Is that why you want me, Snow-Shadow? Because I might scream the most?" The wails that were meant to have chilled her were none she recognized, but they blended in with her own memories. To her, pleasant ones. Her steps were more solid now, her hand trailing on the side Morgan had abandoned, waiting to be taken up again should the Fae wish to. Shin hopes that she will.

Soft laughter rolled into their minds.

"You don't want the meal...you want the chase." Shin regained more composure, the tears and cries that repeated in her mind were not as threatening as they should be-they were a part of her own existence. "You want their flesh in your throat, hot as hell and still crying." She just hadn't had the chance to frenzy in a long, long while...Her heart ached guiltily for a moment at that.

Louder now, accompanying the images of carnage and pain.

Holding her head a little higher, Shin's face relaxed from a glare, regarding the beast above them now with fear-laced respect and curiosity. "Or am I just competition you seek to eliminate, so you can have the tasty snacks to yourself?"

The smile that bloomed on the creature's face was impossibly wide - and wild. The girls would soon arrive in arm's reach of the being. “You?” The voice whispered, amidst the mental carnage. “You are a fool.” The images slowed and changed – white snow, covered in red blood. Deep red fluid covered the lower half of a face. Orange hair lay strewn on the snow below, attached to a pretty and aquiline face – from which two brilliant blue eyes stared sightlessly.

"...ah." Suddenly, the being raised one of her hands, in a gesture for them to stop. The girls were mere inches out of the hooded figure's reach. "...a thought occurs." She fluttered her talons in a gesture of dismissal. "Sao...I will give you one gift." Another short chuckle. "...your heart burns for power." The voice in her mind dropped to a whisper, as a glow suddenly came to its irises. "Your wish..." She grinned widely. "...I will grant."

“A gift?” Sao cleared the grisly images from her head with a shake. She had seen worse in Veterinary Club. The screams… those would be harder to leave behind.

A laugh burst from Shin, protective anger sparking with confidence in her friend. The red demoness shook her head, onyx strands dampened by sweat and oil. "If you can catch the bastard."

Her voice vibrated with resolution, the pain no longer mattered, her nerves hardened. "You're right, I'm a dumbass." They were on the landing at this point, there was no going back. There really never was.

Sao glanced up at her, and caught her eye. Shin was grinning now, mirroring the malicious smile of the monster. The girls nodded at each other, trust written in their every move. "But my friends make me stronger."

In a practiced motion, Sao ducked from beneath the Oni’s arm and dashed off to the side – seemingly toward the stairs up, and freedom. “Morgan! Run!” Her voice carried in the otherwise empty tower.

The being's hooded face bowed, features vanishing completely into shadow.

Using the reserves of her energy, Shin lept at the fine figure, lashing out her left claws towards the porcelain face. If she was fast enough, she'd gouge his eyes with a thumb and her four fingers on either side of whatever nose it might have. She wanted to tear its pretty mask of flesh for threatening her friends. She wanted that gaze to haunt them, to haunt Sao, no more.

An aura flared, and Shin's hand slammed into an unyielding wall of air. The being's head raised a fraction, its wild smile suddenly all the wider - and raven hair changed to a bright orange-red. The shadows in the hood disappitated, revealing blue eyes. White tendrils lanced into the air from behind the creature's back -

Spinning on her heel, Sao threw her momentum forward, arm set before her. She aimed at its side, just below the spectre’s upraised arm, intending to force it into the wall. Just as they had prepared these weeks before Hallow’s Eve, they would strike in tandem. The girls never imagined that they would have to use the techniques they had practiced with the other members of the team so soon – Sao was grateful to Dalbhach for the suggestion. It looked like it was about to save their lives.

As Sao's arm slammed into its side. The being gasped and staggered back a pace - then twisted, turning the unbalanced stagger into a spin and throwing the hood off. An off-white aura coiled around its being, as magical power surged to Diana's legs.

A small feline roar of rage intercepted it, as a grey streak launched itself at the girl's face. The power dissipated in a flash, as the white garbed figure leg out a shriek, clawed hands snapping up to its face. Blood blossomed, as black claws tore into Morgan's summoned cat, and, with and inhuman roar, the young camera-girl tore the cat away, hurling it into the wall with a magically borne burst of strength.

Pale cream coloured flames licked around Shin's body - a massive pyre, compared to what had been there a moment ago. Her pain and exhaustion drained away. "Shin, now!" Morgan cried, surrounded by a similar maelstrom a few paces back. A healing spell?

“Shin!” Sao’s voice echoed Morgan’s, her tone all command. “Run! Now.” She would brook no insubordination on this point. She started to leave herself, when a whisper trickled through her mind. The voice sounded so familiar… Skoteinos Okeanos, what was that?

The cat slammed into the stairwell wall with a sickening crack. Blood spurted, painting a dark splotch on the plaster surface, as Diana, irises suddenly white in an ocean of black, spun toward Sao. A spell circle now surrounded her - four arrows, one to each cardinal direction overlaying a perfect circle of magical light.

Invigorated, Shin picked herself up, holding head high. Sao shouted, no, ordered her to flee. It will be done. Immediately after the command, Shin bolted for the stairs, powering her legs as fast as they would carry her. Mind focused she concentrated on the steps before her, the pounding of her feet on the wooden steps quickened, faster than she's ever ran in her life.

Behind her Sao began chanting, an eerily comforting sound. You can do it. Beads of sweat formed on her renewed muscles. Kick its ass, Sao. She had full trust in the Undine.

With a roar, Diana launched herself toward the Undine. Tendrils of white energy swirled around her body - tips all directed at a point in front of the girl, where Sao's heart would be.

It was all coming back to her now! "Skoteinos Okeanos," Sao repeated, turning back toward the white figure, arms upraised.

There was a great crash in the stairwell, as a comet of whiteness slammed into the demonic redhead, throwing her into the wall adjacent to the White Door. Morgan, surrounded by an even brighter pyre of white energy, had intercepted the attack. Diana screamed with rage.

She spoke along with the whispers, instinctively knowing the right words. The cadence came to her as naturally as her own breath. "Sygkrafeas ek zoi, pairno oi dynami pou therapeia,"

"You!" Blackness surged from within Diana's robe, carrying over Morgan's pinning arms and her front. The Fae let out a pained cry, but only redoubled her efforts to hold the girl down. "You will die for this!" The voice shrieked, as the front of her body erupted in a mass of jagged black spears.

“Mou symmacho. Kalo Tethys, oi nero ek kolasi katecho flebas mas. Erebos -"

Morgan gasped, as the weapons slammed through her chest.

"- kai Hyperion enonomai. Genno oi -"

"P-payback." The Fae girl whispered, nails digging into Diana's arms, even as coloured ashes began to raise from her body in a massive swirl. The white light around the pair had, if anything, intensified. Shafts of energy began to erupt from her back and arms. "Th-this spell c-can h-hurt you."

The voice shrieked with rage.

"- bledygmia pou epidiorthosi oi sarka gia na therapeia,” She remembered (or was it just the vision?) it being painful, the last time she spoke these words. This time, they flowed off her tongue with ease, letting her speak the last two words in full confidence.

”Basanismenos Sotiria!"

Thunder without sound exploded into the stairwell.

And blood blossomed from Sao's skin.