Fayde Howe-Rivers Human F
Bloodletting Siren
Skills:
- Sword Mastery
- Sound Manipulation
- Blood Manipulation
- Companion Pact
- Enhance
- Blood Curdling Shriek
Fayde’s new skill, Blood Curdling Shriek, created a place in her throat for her mental and physical energies to feed into. While her Sound Manipulation skill relied on mostly mental energy and Blood Manipulation relied more on physical energy, she could feel the new skill was a more even split of both. It was interesting with skills. She could tell what resource pool they would draw from and how much, as well as have a basic understanding on how the skill works. With Blood Curdling Shriek, she would let out a yell while activating the skill. The mental energies would alter the pitch up to an ear ringing tone and volume while the physical energy used the sound as a carrier. As the sounds of her voice impacted and moved through some living creature with something that would be considered blood, it would slow the flow of it, acting like a coagulant. It would disrupt their ability to use physical energy directly, which would have some impact on mental energy, and would take a short while to wear off. She hadn’t gotten the chance to use the skill yet but anticipated that she could also potentially blow out something’s ear with the sheer volume of the skill as well.
Lith Howe-Rivers Human F
Primal Shaman
Skills:
- Martial Arts Mastery
- Companion Pact
- Enhance
- Rake
- Mending Touch
- Cleansing Balm
- Encircle
Lith’s new skill, Encircle, took root on the soles on both of his feet. Lith could feel the skill form with more mental energy than physical energy, much in the same way that Rake would draw from his mental energy to form the construct claws of the skill. However, he could feel that the draw of mental energy in particular could be adjusted for greater effects. As for what the skill actually did, it would create construct doppelgangers of himself, although they would be energy constructs for the most part. Compared to the semi translucent claws of Rake, the constructs of Encircle would be completely indistinguishable from Lith visually. He felt that the skill would only allow two constructs to form, and that he could switch positions between them with the expenditure of mental and physically. However, if the constructs were hit by an attack they would dissipate as the energies were disrupted. A smile crept onto his face as he realized that the skill turned him into a one man pack.
Trevor Howe-Sharp Human F
Black-Fire Swordswoman
- Sword Mastery
- Fire Manipulation
- Shadow Manipulation
- Endure
- Burning Shadows
Trevor’s skill, Burning Shadows, formed near the base of her spine. It took in almost no physical energy as it formed, composing itself of primarily mental energy. She could feel aspects of her manipulation skills flow into it as it formed. Shadows made up the majority of its composition, with small motes of flames seeming to emerge from it before falling back inside. When the skill finished forming a small of influx of knowledge flowed into her mind. The core of the skill would cause shadows around her to catch fire. In the hilly grasslands they found themselves, causing shadows to create fires would lead to a brushfire that would quickly spread, but she knew that her skill would allow her to decide who or what the shadows affected. She assumed that the skill would focus on using the target’s own shadows against them. She would have to test it out more when they encountered the next batch of wolves.
Enki Summers Human F
Range Master
- Bow Mastery
- Gun Mastery
- Dagger Mastery
- Light Manipulation
- Archer’s Eye
- Amplify
- Camouflage
Enki’s skill formed around his solar plexus. The skill, Camouflage, formed primarily out of mental energy with aspects of his light manipulation skill. It would create an effect much like that was observed in science fiction where he would become essentially invisible and what was on the other side of them from the perspective of the viewer would be seen. His Range Master class was turning out to be a stereotypical stealth archer, heavy influenced with sci-fi tropes. He wasn’t upset by that fact. It was actually encouraging. He could imagine himself sitting on a high tower, building, or other vantage point, looking down the sights of his weapon, picking off enemies while they ran around trying to find cover. No one would be able to find him.
Matia Howe-Rivers Human F
Pluto’s Defender
- Spear Mastery
- Hammer Mastery
- Ice Manipulation
- Stone Manipulation
- Gravity Manipulation
- Martial Arts Mastery
- Meteor Spear
- ???
Matia’s Meteor Spear skill formed in her right shoulder. All of her manipulation skills and energies went into the formation of the skill. It functioned much like how she currently used her skills. She would form the weapon with stone and ice, compress it with gravity until the ice covered it enough to hold in as a solid mass. The fact that skill seemed to use something she could already do was confusing until she focused on what came after. The skill required her to throw the spear up into the sky. The spear itself would be imbued with a bit of her gravity manipulation, making it completely weightless. She had no idea just how high up the spear could or would go, but at a certain point, it would flip, gravity amplifying and exerting itself on the spear causing it to reach terminal velocity immediately. She could direct where it landed as well. Thinking back to one of the strange stories her father told her, the skill reminded her of “Project Thor” or “Rod of God”. Even if the weapon broke on impact, the force of it would certainly be more than most could deal with, even the Alabaster Wolves.
Guidry Howe-Sharp Human F
Storm Dragon Tamer
- Martial Arts Mastery
- Lightning Manipulation
- Water Manipulation
- Companion Pact
- Enhance
- Storm Dragon Fist
Guidry’s skill formed in his right forearm, taking in both of his mental and physical energies and manipulation skills. The skills itself was rather straight forward. It took advantage of his only mastery skill and forced water and lighting to take the form of a raging storm dragon that rushed forward to impact, drench, and discharge into an enemy. Guidry smiled as he raised his right fist to his face.
Matia looked at her card with confusion.
“What does three question marks mean?” she asked.
“Maybe it’s the cores you keep eating.” Guidry suggested.
“I’m not eating them.” She argued. “Mother fucking stupid ass cores! I better not start growing rocks from all over the place.”
“Aye-yay. Language.” Her father scolded.
“But..”
“You’ll be fine.” He reassured her “If you start growing rocks, we’ll just pluck them like eyebrows, and I’ll heal the wounds.”
She stared at him with rage in her eyes. It was a really bad joke. They spent time talking about their new skills and how they could use them in combat before moving on to the next hill.
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Vincent opened his eyes to a white room wondering what the fuck was happening. He was just stocking the shelves at the retail store he was an assistant manager at, and now he was in a white fucking room. He knew the job and position was a dead end, but did it really kill him? Surely not. This couldn’t be the end. He had so much to live for.
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“Hello” said a voice coming from behind him.
“Ah Fuck!” he shouted, immediately turning around. The air was tinged with thing red whisps that seemed to come from his own body. Behind him stood a humanoid white void, somehow distinct from the white room around him. “What are you? An angel? Am I dead? Is this heaven?”
“Relax human. I am not an angel, and you are not dead. This room is a holding area as you are welcomed into the multiverse. You are currently having minor impurities removed from your body. During this time, you are allowed to ask questions, although I may not be able to answer all of them.”
“Multiverse? That comic bull shit is real?”
“Yes, the multiverse is real. You, as well as the rest of the beings on your planet are being prepared to .”
“Why is this happening?”
“Your universe has grown to the point that it can withstand being integrated into the Multiverse without collapsing.”
“Can I travel to other universes?”
“Inter-universe travel is possible, yes.” Vincent was about to ask another question before the thing continued. “Initial refinement process is complete. Please, select a class.”
Three cards appeared before him. The first card showed a man with a smile waving his hand and surrounded by a crowd. Lettering above it said Mentalist. The second card showed a man in plate armor wielding a shield and sword, his helmet wreathed in a crown of light. Above the image was written Crusader. The third card showed a man laughing as he whipped a person tied to a post, blood spattering after the impact. The name of this card was Sadist. He didn’t bother turning the cards over.
“Can you tell me about the classes?”
“The time for questions is over. Please select a class.”
“You’re fucking kidding me. I’m supposed to just make a decision without any information?”
“The classes are fairly direct in their depiction. Please select a class.”
“Ugh. Fine. Whatever.” He said as he loved over the cards. Thinking on the mentalist card he was brought back to all the times he had to kiss some one’s ass or come up with a convincing lie to get out of trouble. It was almost second nature to him now, but was that who he wanted to be moving forward into a multiverse? He looked over to the Sadist card. It exuded a desire for power and appealed to something inside of him, the thoughts her kept buried down and only posted online to anonymous forums. He could be who he truly was if he chose this card, but what would others think? Would he still be ostracized if he let these hidden desires become his outward presentation? He turned to the middle card, the Crusader. It was inspiring to look at. A brave knight wielding sword and shield, light cascading around him. It was inspirational, powerful, and positive. Something that would draw people to him as a bastion of salvation and security. He grasped the card with longing. This is who he wanted to be. He wanted people to want him. As he held the card to his chest it dispersed into motes of light that flew into his body. As he looked around at the lights and for the card, a suit of armor appeared on his body, a shield in his left hand, and a sword in his right. He immediately dropped them both as he grasped his head and chest while dropping to his knees. Both were causing him pain. He yelled in agony before the pain subsided and his mind was graced with foreign knowledge. He had two new abilities. Sword Mastery which took root in his head and Light Manipulation which took root in his chest. He laughed raggedly and he put his hands to the ground. Finally, he was a knight chosen by God to bring light to the world. He was a Crusader. He grabbed the sword and shield he had dropped, sheathing the sword in the scabbard on his right hip that came with hos new armor. Vincent stood and looked up to the nameless white void being. It had no eyes, so it was impossible to tell what it was looking at, if it were capable of looking at anything. Vincent was about to ask it another question before another parchment appeared in front of him. Two lines appeared on it, almost like someone was actively writing on it, but there was no writing instrument in sight.
Assigning Trial
Please Wait
“What the fuck is a trial? Did I break a rule or something?”
The figure stood there in silence, not moving in the slightest, before becoming completely indistinct from the room.
“Hey!” Vincent cried out. “Answer me! What the fuck is going on?”
The writing disappeared as new writings appeared on it.
Tial Assigned
Destination:
Tower of Tumult
Vincent was about to yell into the white void again before he found himself amidst a mass of people. Looking around, all he could see was people shouting and yelling, seemingly just as confused as he was. Beyond the mass of people were two things, an incomprehensibly large silver tower and an even larger dust storm that seemed to surround them. Heat and dust pelted him through the crowd of people.
“Hey!” he said grabbing the white robes of a young black man next to him. “What is…”
He was about to ask what was going on before the young man shoved his hands against Vincent’s chest, pushing him away and almost making himself and the people behind him fall.
“Get the fuck off me man.” The young man said taking a few steps back.
Vincent let out a grunt as he ignored the pain of the impact from his chest which was surprising because he still had his plate armor on.
“Chill man. I just want to know what’s going on.”
“You don’t have to grab me to ask a question.” The young man responded. He had backed further away from Vincent, some of the crowd starting to impose themselves between them. “And why would I have any idea what the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t know. Look, I’m sorry I grabbed you. I…” Vincent started to say. He had noticed that the crowd forming between them was comprised of all melee classes like himself. Each of them had their hands resting on their weapons. At the uttering of his words, he noticed that some of their grips laxed but remained on the hilts or pommels of their weapons. What was their problem? He was just trying to get some information from someone he thought might have done something to go to a trial. Surely, they had more insight on what was going on than he did. He was innocent after all. More than innocent. He was a Crusader. He might just be here to punish those on trial. The kid probably stole and hid something in his baggy clothes at a convenience store or something.
He went to put his hand on the hilt of his longsword. The tough and mean looking men with their unkempt hair were staring daggers at him and who knew when their violent tendencies would make them lash out. He stopped as he saw the men tighten the grips on their weapons again. None of them had drawn their weapons yet but it was only a matter of…
“What’s going on over here?” Ask a gentleman from behind him. The voice sounded calm and rational but disgruntled at what he was seeing. He looked behind him and saw a tall gentleman with clean cut blonde hair and blue eyes. He seemed to be unfazed by the current situation they were all going through. Maybe he had answers.
“Just keeping the peace.” Answered a man from the other side. He was as tall as the man behind Vincent, but with long, dark, dreaded hair and an unkempt beard. The man’s voice seemed calm, but Vincent could see a ferocity behind his eyes. He held a spear and an odd, tall ovoid shield that came to sharp points on the top and bottom.
“That your boy?” asked the blonde man.
“Does it matter if he is or not?” the dark man replied.
“I suppose it doesn’t. Just make sure he stays out of trouble.”
“Don’t start any trouble and there won’t be any trouble.” The dark man was smiling now, and rather insincerely too. He was instigating the blonde man behind Vincent.
Vincent was about to speak up before the blonde hand put a hand on his shoulder.
“Why don’t you come with me, son.”
“Umm, sure.” Vincent said as the blonde man led him away from the other group of people. Turning around, he noticed that there were just as many, if not more, people standing behind him. They exuded an air of superiority, in Vincent’s opinion, their armor shining under the two suns of the world they now found themselves upon.
“What’s your name.”
“Vincent, Vincent Peirce sir.”
“Nice to meet you, Vincent. My name is Nathaniel Jackson.”
“Nice to meet you too Mr. Jackson.”
“Oh no.” he said with a smile as they made their way through the crowd. “You don’t have to call me Mr. anything. Call me Nate.” Nate put his hand gently on Vincent’s shoulder, which caused him to look around them. They were being followed by several of the men from Vincent’s side of the divided conflict.
“Oh, alright Nate.”
“So, tell me, Vincent, what happened over there?”
“I was just trying to figure out what is going on. I was grabbing him to get his attention, and he just pushed me in the chest and started yelling.”
“So uncivilized.” Nate said, shaking his head. “It’s only fair that people would be confused with all of us being sent to this trial. Yet those people are so quick to revert to their primal instincts.”
Vincent nodded his head in agreement. He still had so many questions, and Nate seemed to be more amenable than the group they just walked away from. “Do you know what’s going on here, Nate?”
“From the questions I got to ask before being sent here, I’d say we’re here to grow stronger. We must be strong enough to keep others in check and protect our way of life in this new universe.”
Vincent continued to nod in understanding. Truly, he was lucky to have Nate happen upon him and that precarious situation. They were now heading towards the tower, flanked on all sides by a group of tall blonde men that escorted them. He could see a lines of hot orange metal forming on the door. He was too far away to make out what they turned into, but shortly after the orange lines disappeared, the doors opened into a wide, almost canyon like hallway. Red pulsing lights and blazing braziers lit the seemingly endless hallway.
“We will have to grow fast if we want to avoid falling into an archaic society run by those people.” Vincent said as he led their group into the tower.
They spent minutes walking in silence, Nate occasionally calling one of his men over and whispering something that Vincent couldn’t hear. Eventually they came to a large open room full of robots called Allum. One of them approached him and presenting him with something called a ‘Bonding Pendant’, which made the Allum his own personal servant. Finally, he had someone to do every tedious and bothersome task so he could focus on the important things. He didn’t know what those important things were at the moment, but he was sure that Nate had an idea of what they should do.
The Allum led them through the room to a large open area, big enough to build a city in. His Allum explained to him that this was called First City and was a safe zone where they could rest between their journeys through the floors. Each ten floors they cleared would allow them to move up the tower to the next city safe zone, which had new amenities for them to enjoy, like shops, training areas, and parks. Vincent made it his goal to get to the Second City as quickly as possible.
People had been moving out through the city, some having their Allum summon a home close to the entrance while others moved closer to the portal in the center, and a house that was already constructed right next to it. They weren’t the first group to pass the Allum hallway into First City, but they didn’t see many other people rushing towards the center like themselves. All of the houses they had passed on their way were still rising in their construction process too. Just how had someone made it this close to the portal and finished a home for themselves before them?