...screw it. Here we go. Soldiers of Light Interest/Sign-Up Thread

[Raiden]

Some of you older peeps may have heard about a game I'd run every few years called Soldiers of Light. It follows a certain history that is pointed out below, and has kind of developed over time. It's been quite a while since I've run a PbP, but now that I have better access to the internet...fuck it. Why not.

The setting of the RP is a pseudo-Feudal Era Japan. While it has all of the same key points of Feudal Era Japanese culture (Empirical system, samurai and shoguns, ronin, etc), it is not the real Japan. Think Inuyasha with less flashbacks, or Samurai Champloo with poor writing. Yes I came up with this setting in late middle school. Anyway, the story is as follows (and totally not Copy-Pasted from the last time I ran this):

Over a thousand years before the current RP takes place, the Demon King Talkatz, Demon of the Seven Elements, decided that he no longer just wanted to rule the underworld and the demons which inhabited it. He wanted to rule the upper world of Humans and Kami as well. So, he and his army of demon soldiers moved into the human world and started to take over. Now, as could be guessed, the humans didn't like that too much. They fought back, but they were greatly unprepared and were already distracted from fighting each other. Enemies refused to work together, alliances were broken when one side became too weak, and in general the demons seemed to be well on their way to taking over the entire country. And they likely would have, had Talkatz's greed for power not done him in.

In the underworld resided a demon blacksmith, chained inside his workshop. He was being punished by committing a great and terrible sin of the underworld: refusing to fight. Normally Talkatz would have had him killed, but the demon was one of the greatest divine sword artisans that the demon world had to offer. As such, the demon king chained him to the forge and forced him to produce weaponry for the army.

One day, a human ronin named Daisuke Tama was wandering the wastelands, searching for any means to destroy the demon interlopers that had invaded his city and killed his lord. In his travels he fell into a deep hole and found one of the entrances into the underworld. He spent months searching and avoiding demons until he came upon the demon swordsmith. In their discussion they came to an agreement. The demon blacksmith would forge a sword of incredible power, the finest he had ever created, and Tama would use it to destroy Talkatz. Then, the human world would be safe, and the demon would be free.

After two years of forging, rune work, and searching for the rare materials needed, it was finished. From a mix of demon forge and human purification magic came the birth of the Raigaki, the Sword of Light. Tama took the sword, and began his crusade to end the tyranny of Talkatz. Along the way, he managed to collect a small group of followers, like anyone with a sword and a dream of saving the world has a tendency to do. When they reached the Demon King's lair, they had been expected. There was a large army of demons waiting for them. The entire army was slaughtered before the might of Tama and his followers. The problem was Talkatz's elite demons, the group known as the Weapon Altmas. They each specialized in a demonic weapon, and to get Tama inside to fight the demon king, his followers sacrificed themselves to destroy the elite demons. Once inside, Tama faced Talkatz in battle, and almost defeated him. Before he could be fully killed, Talkatz separated his soul from his body and escaped. In anger Tama cut the body into pieces, dragging them from the lair to scatter them across the country. He then returned home and hid his sword in a secret place, so that if or when the Demon King returned, the sword would be ready for its new owner to wield it. Well, it's a millenia later, and Talkatz is up to his old tricks again. And Daisuke Kurama, a distant descendent of Tama, is leaving home with an ancient blade at his hip...

A fun (objective) twist in this RP is that we have both a Light Side and a Dark Side. Players on the Light Side will be attempting to keep the Demon King from returning, with those on the Dark Side actively working for him.

A person can choose to play a Human, Half-Demon, or Demon. Humans are humans, you are one. Congratulations. While not having any inherently magical ability, humans have learned many forms of combat as well as how to communicate with the Kami; spirits of the elements. If a human wishes to use magic, they at some point have learned how to communicate with the Kami and either befriended them or found ways to exert their will over them. Demons are creatures who usually manifest in one of two ways. They're either created when an element or a concept has become incredibly tainted with corruption in an area (such as water demons forming from polluted rivers or a sword demon manifesting around a sword known for killing the innocent). These demons tend to be aligned with a single concept and have pretty strong power associated with it. The other way is through the mating of two demons, which can create a new demon that usually has a mix of the parents' powers. Half-Demons are individuals made when a human and a demon fall in love/lust/boredom and create a baby. While not as inherently strong as their demonic parent, they are able to manipulate Kami like a human which gives them an edge.

Being a human or a demon doesn't dictate what side you're on. There are demons who don't want the Demon King to return, and humans that are out for power. You can really pick whatever side you want.

Every player also gets two special abilities. Something they can do that the rest of the group probably can't. There are, however, a few restrictions.

Humans: Humans, lacking any inherent magic ability, must call upon Kami in order to use magic. However, humans are also often more resourceful in other ways as well, such as having skills that peak human abilities or are strange gadgets. Such examples may be: Powerful Cleave, Super Strength/Speed, Bomb Rain, Ability to see Demons, Sorcery, etc.

Demons: While humans get diversity, demons get easy access to magic. Demons are able to gain special powers related to their concept, such as a Fire Demon having the special ability to throw balls of flame or a Sword Demon gaining the ability to turn his limbs into blades. While their special skills can be a bit more magical, they're also pretty restricted as a demon's special abilities will have to either come from its weapon or its concept, so the Fire Demon from above likely won't have control over shadows.

Half-Demons: Half-demons get the best of both at weaker levels. A half-demon can claim access to its demon blood for a special skill, but it likely won't be as effective as a full-blood demon of the same type. Just as well, a half-demon is capable of talking to Kami like the humans can, and is able to be much more diverse in its abilities.

Sign-ups are as follows:

Name: (Using Japanese form. The first is your "Family" name, like your last name. The second is "Your" name, your individual name.)
Side: (Light (Working to destroy Talkatz)/Dark (Working FOR Talkatz))
Race: (Human/Demon/Half-Demon.)
Age: (Obvious)
Appearance: (Obvious)
Weapons: (What's he/she packin'?)
Special Skill: (Can he/she split into two? Can he/she shoot arrows tipped with explosives? A robotic arm? Very short distance teleportation? What?)
History: (What did he/she do before joining the team?)
Extra: (Anything else you want to add in.)


As an example, here's an NPC who will show up at some points during the game.

Name: Daisuke Kurama
Side: Good
Race: Human
Age: 23
Appearance: Long black hair that's tied back into a pony tail. Stands about 6'2", with a lean muscular build. Wears standard samurai clothing, but no armor. Wears sandals, and his sword hangs from his left hip. His sword has three runes on it's blade, and it's almost always glowing with a soft light.
Weapons: The Raigaki, an enchanted katana. If a demon even touches it, it will burn them.
Special Skill: Unlike the other characters, Kurama has no inherent special skills. Any skills he has come from the power of the sword. At the beginning of the RP, he has the following:
-Kama: Launches blades of light from his sword.
-Simpo: Kurama jumps high into the air, much higher than a normal human could ever hope to jump. Then, using the momentum of his fall, he points the tip of his sword down and pierces through a target.
-Dangik: Very destructive. Kurama swings downward with his blade, sending a very large, very powerful blast of light energy flying forth.
History: When he was around 5 years old, Kurama saw a ghostly figure. The figure led him to a hidden grotto, and it was there that he found an old rusted piece of metal that had once been a sword. When Kurama picked it up, the sword burned off the rust and shone like the day it first left the forge. After that, his life was dedicated to becoming a strong fighter, so that he could finally defeat the Demon King. Because of this, he didn't have a very eventful life up to this point.

[PyrosNine]

Note: improved version coming soonish.

Name: Wanderer Pyros
Side: Light
Race: Half-Demon
Age: 26
Appearance: WINGED SAMURAI JESU- Human looking, long brown hair, purdy face, brown kimono with blue sash, and left arm has shoulder pad and gauntlet that extends up to elbow, as extra armor. Oh, and white wingsticking out of his back.

Pyros' dresses in old shaman/mystic/priestly robes, as befitting a small obscure village in the northern regions of japan. However, the once white robes have now been stained brown with time and wear and tear, and patched with odd bits of cloth- not to mention the supporting pieces of metal and animal bone inlaid over the left arm, functioning as a kind of bracer armor, but also acting as a cast or a prosthetic attachment for a wounded limb. he wears a simple pair of grasscloth shirt and pants underneath the robe, and a pair of tabi, wooden sandals.

Pyros' hair is brown, a light chocolate, which hangs down to his shoulders freely, his head unadorned aside from the occasional straw woven fisherman's hat he will make for himself in his spare time- this hat is prone to getting lost or given away, leaving the highly unusual "fisherman monk" hatless for most of the time.

Pyros' face is an attractive, if feminine one, with a simple but content expression for the most part, calmly bemused by the wonders of everyday life, and happy to be a part of events. His ears are slightly pointed, suggesting as his otherworldly nature.

Hidden within the folds of his robes are a pair of large, white wings, stretching out at out at a wingspan of 6 feet. Pyros will typically conceal them except under duress or necessity, fearing unwanted attention from demon slayers.

Weapons: 7 foot long GreatSword called "Masamune", and Ofudas, spiritual paper.

Pyros wields a 7 foot long greatsword called Masamune, boringly plain and with a handle wrapped in cloth, created by an esoteric smith famed for creating immortal blades. The blade, though far from a perfect sword, was one of many experiments made by the master smith for the creation of a blade engrained with the essence of something- a blade of wind that cut with force of wind, a blade of flame that burned with the force of fire, a blade of a hero, that cut with the determination of man no longer in this world. This blade, created with some of Pyros' own hair, blood, and feathers, carries some of Pyros' own essence within it- while not a practical sword, and bound for a "reject" heap, was given to the young Pyros in exchange for services rendered, and the gift of the broken Konchuu Satsugai-sha, an insect demon slaying sword, broken in a battle.

The blade has few notable powers for one created by such a smith, being somewhat dull and awkward in battle, and not even being truly unbreakable. But like it's wielder with which it shares essence, Pyros's puts its pieces back together with both time and determination, and is only limited by strength of will.

Even as a pseudo-monk, Pyros is versed in rural Shinto traditions, and thus knows and can create the classic tools of that trade, including Ofuda, pieces of paper marked with divine symbols of command, which can dispel evil magic, disperse evil spirits, and paralyze physical demons. These Ofuda are more powerful than ordinary ones, as they are infused with Pyros' spiritual energy, which can be overwhelming to even master demons.

Special Skill:

Flies: Pyros can fly with his wings- this is both a magical flight and a physical one- with his magic sealed, he can still potentially glide or flap his way into the air, but in a vacuum he can move solely by magical propulsion. Having his wings out makes flying easier, flying with his wings concealed is shaky, and somewhat uncontrollable.

Pyrokinetic: Pyromancy. Pyros can create fire, control fire, and even shape it as he desires, and this includes snuffing out fires that are already existing. This power is fairly new and an unwanted one, seeing as fire often has only purely destructive and deadly qualities. Pyros mainly uses it to light smoking pipes, torches, and start campfires, but can draw flame in enormous quantities, and compress it into compact, white hot balls of heat.

History: Wandering pacifistic demon slaying guy. Also likes to fish. May have beaten up a Great Fire Kami and inherited his position by accident. Mostly tries to lay low, and avoid demon hunters, despite being an absolutely fabulous winged bishounen.

Despite his wandering, Pyros is new to the world, and the world is new to him, having grown up in seclusion and even imprisonment- bound in a demon sealing circle that restrained him since early childhood- Pyros grew up realizing he was different than other children, in that while they lived and learned and played, he could only watch and listen with a kind of spiritual hearing from within his prison. But with his youth, and curiousity, he did not know pain or suffering, but joy, in learning the facets of their life and understanding their ways- the priestly ways of the demon hunting village were loudest and clearest to him- and he learned them all, reverently, though he could not make noise or sound to respond. At an older age, when the other boys were having their coming of age ceremonies, Pyros found himself stronger, more resilient, able to test the limits of his bonds, all without anyone noticing. One day, when the head priest was gone, Pyros freed himself from the seal and walked for the first time on solid ground in the village, eager to see and feel the world.

The village reacted poorly, and Pyros was forced to flee, and with much tragedy, the head priest, the same one Pyros had reverently listened to, had wound up slain. Pyros found himself on the run, in a world and place he knew nothing about, with nothing but a sword and a pair of robes.

Living on the road, listening and learning all the while, Pyros had many adventures, such as visiting the Dragon Palace, wrestling a fire kami and inadvertently usurping his title, and a brief visit to china, but no matter where he went, he could not stay, unable to fit in, and fearing the coming of demon slayers.

Extra: Has an animal companion named Lobo. Is actually a girl wolf, but Pyros does not know this.

Extra Extra: Rewriting your teen years character's profile is both painful, and yet cathartic.

[Steel Shadow]

Well sure, let's give this a go. Our current game overlords have been suffering from DM exhaustion, so hopefully a little fresh air will brighten things up around here!

'Sides, I never got to play this guy properly when I made him all those years ago. Let's go give him another shot, shall we? ... Changing the name though, because anyone who plays the DnD game'll know why.

Name: Kita Ono Masaru

Side: Light

Race: Human

Age: 25

Appearance: In a word, scruffy. Slightly taller than average, with dark hair and blue eyes, he wears a perpetual grin on his face, seemingly confident even when the observer knows he has no clue what he's doing. Usually he wears a white kimono with a dark red hakama, which he moves easily in. Masaru also has a nasty looking scar on both sides of his right hand.

Weapons: The Hari No Meiro: A scythe with thousands of hidden blades all along its length, each one a different length and shape, each one retractable in ways that just plain aren't possible without magic, and all just waiting for the strange and almost nonsensical pattern of touches on it's grip to spring them out. Usually carried to look like a regular scythe or a walking staff. Occasionally the top blades of the thing catch alight, adding fire into the deadly storm of steel it already is, but Masaru still hasn't worked out how or why it does that.

Special Skill: Inhuman grace: Despite his bearing, build and personality, Masaru moves like the wind. As long as there's stable ground, he can keep his balance and wield his weapon. As long as he's not too distracted his reflexes are superb. And he's damn fast when he wants to be. He's even constantly improving this ability, since wielding the Hari in any style close to it's true potential without maiming yourself is close to impossible without decades of training, and even now he is still unlocking the mysteries of the weapon, hence more training.

Hami No Meiro Style: Wielding the scythe is hard. Grip it slightly wrong and you'll end up with a face full of needles. The style has been passed down for generation, but is still being improved upon even today, as Masaru discovers new uses for his weapon.

History:
"When it accepts you as its master, it will tell you in blood."
The Hari no meiro has been passed down Masaru's family line for centuries. Some say it is a divine weapon, given to their ancestors by the gods. Some say it was the work of a skilled magician. Most say it was the design of a madman. None the less, the family has passed the scythe down, along with their own unique style for wielding it.

Masaru was trained from a very young age in their family's style, ready for his role as it's inheritor, and he was a natural at it. His grandfather taught him everything he knew about the weapon, and once that training was complete Masaru was quick to learn there was more tricks to the Hami left to discover. Wielding the weapon was instinctive for him, and many a time, while he was deep in battle with whatever force he had decided to fight against this week, did he find some new hold on the scythes grip that unlocked a new blade, or some new use for a blade he'd long thought pointless. ?I wish I'd known that five minuets ago!? became the most common of his battle cries.

Still, he did not discover what his grandfather had meant when he spoke of the Hami accepting him as it's master, until he was in his early 20s, fighting a rather brutal battle against a bigger group of bandits than he'd been expecting. As he fought, he found these powerful men moving far slower than he had expected, their attacks easier to dodge or block than he'd ever seen, despite them actually being stronger than most opponents he fought. He began dispatching them with ease. It was then, in the middle of this battle as he beheaded the bandit's leader, that a blade shot out from the Scythe's grip, stabbing itself through his palm and sticking out the other side.

It was rather unpleasant.

Still while defeating the bandits had suddenly become that much more difficult, the Hami No Meiro had accepted him as it's master, and from that day on it almost felt to Masaru that the weapon was telling him how to use it, what blades to use for what, new techniques that were effective against enemies he'd never seen before, locations he'd never heard of. From that day forward, he and the Hami were almost as one being.

And yet he knew he still had much more to learn. Since then, Masaru has traveled the lands seeking evil to find and destroy, always seeking to improve himself, his mastery of the Hami, and in general, make the world a better place.

Extra: Still kind of debating a few things about the Scythe. It's a divinely blessed weapon, but the blades are breakable with enough force to, y'know, shatter steel. Said blades will replace themselves the next time they're activated, however.



... God, I'm now the same age as the character I made to be wiser/more mature than myself. Well past me, what I have learned is that age does not increase those aspects of a person at all.

[Astral Harmony]

Name: Mizuno Shizuka
Side: Team Rocket Dark
Race: Demon
Age: She looks to be in her late 20's, but is almost seven centuries old.
Appearance: A ravishingly lovely japanese woman with long dark hair and crimson eyes. She wears a red mini-yukata with a black spider design on the back and a large black obi. She completes her outfit with ninja-style bracers and wooden getas.
Weapons: Sacrificial Blade Kusabi ~ A dark blade that has never been used to kill, only to inflict as much pain and torment to a sacrifice before the actual sacrifice is carried out by a different method. The blade is only magical by means of its inordinate durability, making it difficult to break or dull even in prolonged conflict.
History: Shizuka-sama is the master of Mizuno Castle located in the Makai Realm where Talkatz of the Seven Elements used to hold supreme power. Ever since the death of Talkatz, she and her mother, Mizuno Saki, have had trouble maintaining order over their domain. Pretty much every demon that has at least some measure of power is making a grab for even more power and chaos reigns in the Makai Realm... y'know, even more so than usual.
Despite despising Talkatz and his ambitions, having the Makai Realm so encapsulated by out-of-control war and violence isn't good for anyone, be they demon, human or Kami, and Shizuka has begrudgingly volunteered herself to venture into the human world and recover the pieces of Talkatz. He will likely have to be slain later, but right now he is necessary to restore at least some measure of order.
Extra: This is the only Kimono, I promise.

Special Skills
- Gogyo Battou Style: A swordfighting style that involves rapidly drawing and sheathing her sword, allowing Shizuka to cut her target about six times a second. While this can lead to attacks an enemy cannot be fast enough to constantly defend himself from, the attacks aren't particularly accurate or powerful, and thus it isn't a good idea to use this to stop barrages of arrows or gunfire, or against targets with armor offering full body coverage.
- Appuru Bunkatsu Kata: For whatever reason, Shizuka can deliver far more powerful and accurate cuts when also slicing through an apple. She usually produces an apple from within her clothes (I'm sure you can imagine where), tosses it forward, and then draws out her sword after a brief moment of focusing. She can just split the apple (a single cut), or she can go nuts and inflict over a dozen slashes (apple slices styled like bunnies).

[Overcast]

Name: Aidas
Side: Light
Race: Demon
Age: If you had to venture a guess late 40's. But...
Appearance: In a word. Ugly. His height is short and crooked, his whole body is unnaturally gaunt and pale, scarred and burnt. His hair is long, thin and greasy and black with a hairline that seems to be retreating from the horror that is his face. His face seems to have too much skin, not in the same way as an old man has wrinkles, because it doesn't seem consistent. His nose is long and looks to have been broken at least a dozen times, his eyes too big for his head bloodshot at all times. His whole face is covered in boils and burns and scars. He wears a long ratty robe that for the sake of all hides his appearance behind it, and when he speaks it is a rasping sickly drawl that seems made of dissonance to harmony.
Weapons: Aidas: A long crooked staff of his past, mounted with a strange purple crystal on the head that seems a caricature of his own face. It is legitimately his true form and it augments his skills when he has possession of it, and serves as a capable walking stick.
Special Skill:
Aidas is a Raijin and has developed his powers thus.
Aidashields: Aidas's most infamous ability is summoning shields made of pure energy that not only look like his face, but also apparently talk and mock those who fight him. While not invulnerable they are very difficult to break with or without his staff, but luckily he cannot make a perfect dome of them and they can only appear in his line of sight. It is also incapable of harming someone.
Storm/Electricity control: Aidas is effectively immune to, can control and summon electricity. With his staff he can even manipulate already present lightning storms.
History: Long ago a horde of killers from across the sea brought a terrible relic that was said to summon storms of terrifying power in the hopes of dominating the empire of the rising sun. They were pushed back after a time, having underestimated the forces present, and lost the relic somewhere in the forests. A daemonic taint arose from the area, tainting the staff and gifting it with an even more terrible thing. Sentience. Its power manifested as the man Aidas. He found himself a tool in the already present war for the domination of Japan, and joined thusly. He was a brilliant creature using his control of the storms to lay waste to whole towns, ruin logistics, and just generally cause havoc.

Until he met a young girl. He had become separated from the greater army(as he had been known to do) so he could follow his whims to lay waste to another poor village. In it was a strange martial artist whom proved difficult for him to defeat, for the first time he found himself speaking with the ones whom he'd early on considered his enemy.

There was a sudden dissonance in his spirit, a question of exactly why he had been doing what he had. He'd been caught up in the wave of this war and had reveled too much in the usage of his powers, he'd never even considered how much he hated everyone around him.

But he found this girl to be much better company. He joined sides with the powers of light, and proved a just as capable enemy against the monsters he once served, and when Lord Kurama ended it all he decided to take a long sleep in the village that changed his heart, becoming by all strange accounts their personal guard.

He sleeps still in this village, awaiting the day any should threaten it.
Extra: Aidas despite being on the powers of light has never actually shed all of his I AM A VILLAIN tropes. He is also still unused to communicating with people in ways other than threatening them outright. Still he has a good heart, and wants what is best for people he likes.

So uh, make sure he keeps liking you.

[Krylo]

Well you can't have Alastor without Nanako, so I guess I'll play team good this time.

Name: Aherne Nanako
Side: Good
Race: Human
Age: 16
Appearance: An athletic, albeit somewhat slight, teenage girl with sun darkened skin, green eyes, and red hair cut in a cute half-bob. She normally wears a thick, partially armored, and sleveless short qi-pao modified for mobility (cut up both sides to the waist) with a tight open stomach sleevless 'ninja' top underneath (normally not visible) and matching leggings that provide her some degree of modesty.
Weapons: Weapons are for the weak.
Special Skill:
-Supernatural Martial Artist: Nanako has trained since childhood in martial arts, and trained hard. Extremely hard, resulting in superhuman agility and dexterity, but more than that she was naturally gifted with a force of personality and inner power that has driven her onward through it all, and which she uses in perfect concert with her own physical ability. Or in more direct terms: She uses her ki to augment her attacks instinctively, indeed she isn't even very physically strong but she fights with a spirit that can shatter stone, turn away blades with bare hands, and augment her physical abilities in a jiffy.

-Avatar of Hope: Nanako always looks on the bright side, always sees the best, and always strives to do what is right, but it is more than that. Her aura of hope radiates from her and inspires people around her. It's very difficult for those around her to be discouraged or lose their faith, and they tend to listen when she speaks. In addition, it seems to grant small abilities beyond even that which enhanced morale should, both to herself and those around her (mostly they're a little more likely to not die, but not any less likely to be grievously injured or knocked out)

History: Nanako's parents were happy once. Probably. They were foreign merchants who managed to secure a place in a bustling port town, which quickly made them rich from exotic exports and imports. But then they had a child. A beautiful daughter, and, well okay, they were probably happy for awhile there.

However she was an energetic child, but also gaijin, outcast, and not allowed to play the reindeer games, and so, after much insistence and struggles to pull her down from the bookshelves, her parents finally taught her to READ the damned things instead of climb them, and for awhile she did.

Now, normally, you would think this is where she becomes a great scholar or master of science, but you'd be wrong.

It turns out that all reading fantasy novels about heroes and demons and great martial artists does for energetic children is make them want to be a hero. And so Nanako did two things simultaneously--practiced fighting the bookshelves, and begged her parents to let her learn martial arts. At first, they refused, but by the time she was eight, and were running out of furniture without child fist/foot sized holes in it, they finally gave in.

After a fashion, anyway. They didn't really want her being a martial artist. She was supposed to carry on the family business. And so they went and found the harshest of masters they could and paid him a great deal of money to teach the young girl that the martial arts were not for her. Her master, being an old asian man, was both misogynistic AND racist, and so was all too happy to comply when it became obvious they didn't want him to ACTUALLY pass on the art to her.

And so he began demandin the impossible from her. Tasks he would reserve for his most advanced students. Meditate under this waterfall for two days, slap all the water from these thirty bowls, catch these thrown rocks while blindfolded.

She was beaten, bruised, and worked until her hands, and most places hit by rocks, bled, but she refused to stop, even as he told her to give up, that she would never master it. She shook her head, and refused. Insisted on one more attempt.

And. . . her master was not only harsh, but also a very skilled martial artist himself, and in time he saw that he could not break her. That she really could become fantastic, and so he began to teach her how to actually fight, though her hellish training never ended. A part of him did it only to see how far she could go, to see if she would surpass him, and by how much, until there came a day when he could no longer teach her anything more.

It was not that she knew all that he knew, but that she had reached a point where simple drills and instructions, even sparring, would not improve her ability. Perhaps with years they might increase her reaction times a fraction of a second, or improve her form ever so slightly, but such things were pointless. At best they would make her a copy of her master, at worst they would stagnate her skill.

For her to truly advance she would need to fight opponents of different schools, learn to incorporate new martial arts into her style, and learn to fight against those who meant to kill her. To discover her own style forged in the heat of battle.

And with this, he sent her off. Her parents hate it.

Extra: Loves fighting. Like a lot. Sees it almost as a game, and part of her training. It's a bit of a character flaw. Also has a thing for pure paladin of light/knight in shining armor type guys, but that's just a child hood crush deal from all those fantasy novels. She's really just more into whomever can give her a good brawl.

[PhoenixFlame]

For once, I won't play Koyuki. Shock, horror.

Name: Izuna no Kami
Side: Light
Race: Hengeyokai, Kitsune
Age: Indeterminate, at least 900

Appearance: A beatiful young woman with waist-length blonde hair, wearing a white-and-red yukata-and-hakama skirt affair that is scandalously cut. Appearance of fox ears and one-to-nine tails depends on if she's hiding them or not.

Weapons: The Sorano Sekai, a hefty ashwood and brass naginata with steel blade. Also carries a tanto.

Special Skill:
Energy Projection; Izuna, like most kitsune, can project her ki given physical shape, though Izuna takes a more martial bent than most given her station as a celestial magistrate. Eminating from her tails, which is the seat of a Kitsune's power, she can project and control many ball-like flames of energy to use as projectiles, a shield, or to classically inflict terror or charm. With effort, the Sorano Sekai and ninefold rakshasa method, this can be magnified to tremendously destructive effects.

Howling Bone-Wolf Style; Izuna's martial style is fast, aggressive, and focused on speed and leverage to apply a polearm's damage to maximum effect against stronger and faster opponents by exploiting their movement and center of gravity. It stresses thrust-feints to vital areas to cover strikes elsewhere, and forgoing blocks to instead threaten the enemy's striking hand with impalement if they follow through. In combination with the above, and sequence based striking method, Izuna can alter her spirit orbs into vengeful phantasm wolves.

History: Humans often consider 'demons', and in particular Hengeyokai to be wicked, amoral, or at best immortal hooligans who have little respect for the celestial order. This could not be further from the truth, but indeed, there is much evidence it is so. Izuna is a celestial magistrate, tasked by Inari Okami, her creator, to oversee the worldly success and prosperity of the human race in regards to demonic incursion. As a kitsune, chief among hengeyokai and with a shrine of her own, she could claim terrestial godhood, although to what end this matters is questionable.

From a young age she has overseen the sanctity of Fushimi shrine in Kyoto, either from a great distance or personally, understanding that the spiritual purity of the capital was paramount to inspire people the empire over. At the age of nine hundred she was recalled to heaven to take part in the myriad intrigue of the celestial bureaucracy. With the return of Talkatz, she has been sent back from Takamagahara to see he does not rise again.

Though even so high a station cannot fully tame something so capricious. For her own part Izuna is fun-loving, laid back, and self-confident. Like all of her peers, she is promiscuous and uses her supernatural beauty to her advantage, seeing as it is part of her feeding strategy. Physically, Izuna loves sweets, particularly sweet breads with a side of fried rice.

Extra: Depending on what's more interesting, I might go for a Korean Kumiho and be evil. We'll see.

[Arhra]

I'm going to be a catgirl, nyaaa!

Name: Hakeshi Masumi
Side: Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!
Race: Demon
Appearance: A tall, heartbreakingly beautiful seductress with long black hair, pale skin and amber eyes. Masumi dresses finely and usually carries a parasol. Typically affecting a cheerful, polite demeanour, she shows a completely different face when angered. Her true form is a giant, demonic cat.



Weapons:
Seven Lives Stolen: A rolled up bundle of seven swords, their hilts wrapped in human hair. Each one is the sword of a slain samurai, their furious, restless spirit bound within. On Masumi's command, they come alive, flying at her enemies. Knocking one to the ground immobilises it. She usually conceals the blades in her parasol

Cursed Seals: Enchanted paper slips that create an explosion or unleash minor curses on contact.

Special Skills:
Nekomata: Masumi is really a gigantic two tailed cat with the power to take on human form, create ghostly fire and reanimate the dead to manipulate them like puppets. Masumi does not care to show her true form often. She needs to eat flesh and drink blood to change back into her human form and the transformation is strenuous. She can let minor features surface, such as her ears, tail, claws, teeth and eyes, and they will if she gets careless.

Demon Mystic: Masumi has studied spiritual teachings to develop her powers to bewitch the living; toying with their minds and cursing their bodies. Much like a priestess, she can use her spiritual powers to use mudras, perform divination, create wardings, ofuda and seals and other such magical items. She is especially skilled at using necromancy to bind spirits.

History: A cat that lives too long can be infected with a profound malice. As she strays into ghostly realms, she grows to an immense size, her tail splits into two and she develops strange powers of fire, death and mysticism. Masumi is one such creature. Once just a calico cat, she wanders the land like a plague wrapped in a beguiling form distilled from countless deaths. She likes to worm her way into a trusted position and bring it all down around her.

Extra: Masumi can create the Coal-Wrapping Red Rags, which allow her to seal and safely handle holy objects. She has a pouch containing a handful of forlorn, mad ghosts. She can release one and artfully indicate how an enemy resembles the person they crave revenge against. Her catskin bag allows her to carry some things with her when she changes back to her true form.

Masumi fights like a buzzsaw but she is really something of a coward. If she becomes convinced she can't win, she'll back down.

[Steel Shadow]

Well the Light side seems to be getting more applications than Dark, and if Nanako and Al are already here... Alternate character!

Name: Kiel Zelenha

Side: Dark

Race: Human

Age: She looks to be in her mid 20s.

Appearance: Blond hair, dark eyes, sensibly armored clothing for someone who engages in melee combat frequently. The main thing that stands out about her is how freakin' tall she is, standing comfortably over 7ft tall at full height.

Weapons: She carries what some would term 'an excessive amount of swords', all with their own properties. In particular she relies on her favored blade, Sever - A thin sword made of metal fallen from the skies and enchanted to cut through magical and mundane protections like water. Or flesh.

Special Skill:
Magic: Zelenha is a battlemage, utilizing sword techniques combined with powerful magics from other lands to overwhelm her opponents. She has a few parlor tricks in her arsenal - minor illusions, magical light, that sort of thing - but her main focus is in battle. Offensively, she typically uses the fire element to reduce her foes to ashes, but when hard pressed she falls back to her true strength - destruction magic. Conversely she uses it defensively to cast herself in armor of fire and shields of void.

Bookworm: Zel is a knowledge sponge. Seriously, she just takes any info she finds in and never lets it out again. Hell, she actively seeks out new books and scrolls whenever she has time to spend on her own. Maybe her lack of a social life is more to do with that instead of the trail of doom she leaves in her wake? At any rate, she's a font of knowledge on the most obscure of subjects, and when she finds something new she's usually beyond tempted to find out more. Comes in handy for ancient rituals, navigating mazes, working out the mechanics of trapped rooms, understanding dead languages, planning ridiculous plans, and sounding like an all around know-it-all.

History: Zelenha has had a cruel fate. She was raised as a member of a proud noble family in lands faraway, where magic is forbidden. Alas, due to plan or due to chance, she somehow found herself in the possession of a tome of the dark arts at an impressionable age, and she discovered she had immense talent for them. Fascinated, she began to dive into this secret world, learning all she could. She thought she could keep it a secret. She thought she could keep it under control. She was, as any person with an ounce of sense could tell you, very wrong.

In short, she lost everything, and was nearly killed. Her family disowned her, and she was forced to go on the run, hiding her identity and losing even her name as she fled. It was a disaster, and only by falling in with a group of otherwise gifted individuals did she survive - an organisation dedicated to researching and exploiting magic for profit. She found herself a hired blade rather quickly - she'd always been good with a sword.

None the less, she decided to do what she could with what life had handed her, and attempted to conduct herself in a good manner, looking out for people, and conducting her work without harming anyone if it was possible. It worked, for a while. But disaster seemed to dog her every step. Wherever she went, alone or in a team, horrific things would result, sometimes by chance, sometimes due to actions she herself had unknowingly taken. Forests burned. Cities were wiped out. Entire islands were reduced to nothing. All in her wake.

It broke her.

After her attempts at morality and peace failed just by virtue of her own existence for the last time, she simply... gave up. If people were to die in her presence, so be it. She would not apologize for her existence. So long as she got what she wanted, what did it matter? So now she's in this far off land, and working for the lord of darkness. What does she care if he wipes out all life? So long as she's left be with her reward, the world can burn.

Extra: Vis & Asha: Zel's two familiars, a pair of fairies about the size of your wrist. Asha is a spirit of life, specialized in healing, forged from Zel's soul when she was still a noble spirit. She's a gentle and quiet thing, while absolutely loyal to Zel in whatever she does. Meanwhile Vis is a spirit of darkness, more prone to action and grandstanding. She has a punch like being headbutted by a Rhino despite being an expert at sneaking through shadows undetected. Both are rarely far from their master.

[Raiden]

Huh, disappeared for a long work weekend and come back to see way more responses than I was expecting. Shit, what do I do now. Ummm....

Alright. I checked the past threads, now I respond to everyone.

Pyros: Good to see you man. I see you on Steam a lot. Anyway, each character only gets two specialization skills. Flying, Fire, and Strength are three. Just pick two of them.

AB: Only one Kimono, eh? Looks good to me. Accepted.

Overcast: Accepted, though I'll need a little more clarity on the staff being his body. Does that mean if the staff is damaged than he is literally damaged? Or do they still need to attack the body? Otherwise it looks good.

Krylo: Go go combat monkey, approved.

PhoenixFlame: Is a foxgirl not, in a way, still a dog girl? Approved.

Arhra: Approved, on the condition that the cat can't use her ghost powers in her cat form. Only in her human form. Otherwise you're set.

Steel Shadow: I had approved you above and now I had to erase that witty approval to write this one. Six demerits from Slytherin. Though for your two specialties you'll have to be more precise. I think you said that your two specialties were Fire and Destruction magic but it kind of got lost. Tentative approval until you specify.