Apocalyptic!

[Steelfist]

Sure.

[MikeW781]

OOC: What about the guild leaders bit? I'll probably start my story at HQ, so its seems important

[Mad]

Name:Ferrex
Gender: Male
Race :Human
Class : Psy Fighter
Affinity: Pyro
Faction: The Republic
Bio: Ferrex was born in The Great Forest where he learned how to burn things later on he singed up for The Republic where he became part of a attack group. He spends his free time gambling and burning things.

Weapons: Halberd and Bow-Gun.
S. Skill: Ferrex can heat up his arrow so it could not only kill you but burn you. He can also make small infernos rise below people's feet.

Team: Ferrex's team is one of the Alpha attack groups of the Republic.

Matrik: The group leader focuses mostly on keeping the team's spirit up and close range combat. He carries a shotgun and a combat knife.

Nigel: The Long-ranged specialist in the group. He's usually quiet and very serious. He carries a pistol and sniper rifle.

Bert: He is the team's solitary machine expert, he's pretty friendly, though. He carries a pistol and a tool kit.

[Steelfist]

Mike: Fine; do whatever!

Mad: Nice profile, but I'm not sure about the lava waves. You can't manipulate rock, after all. but you could heat rock under an opponent; you probably couldn't make lava, but it would burn their feet.

[Duskling]

OOC: So... I guess I'll be the first official story-starter?

IC: He looked to his left, nothing. His right, still nothing. Good, he thought, I thin- he couldn't even finish his thought before his head exploded. The (Great) Forest was quiet after that, nearly silent with the stench of death in the air. As Misad took a look at his target, he could tell that this was another job well done.

...

The man was a double agent working for the Alliance against the Republic, and was to deliver information critical to the Republic's downfall. He never made it, as the Republic had caught whiff of this treachery and sent Misad after him, sealing his fate. As Misad was burying the spy's body, he heard birds chirp in a stranger way than usual. Taq could see that they were awair that someone died in their habitat, and that they were worried; he couldn't care less. Nobody would find the double agent's body, the assassin hid it pretty well, and masked the body's odor with dead squirrels.

"It's paycheck time," Misad said to himself.

...

A Republic official had covertly transferred a payment to Misad, so as to conceal any evidence of the assassination from the public eye. The Republic had enough problems already, what with the public statements of evil-doings coming from civillians, and incidents similar to the one only a few hours ago with the double agent, they were worried, and needed proffesionals to get their jobs done. Misad Taq happened to be on their list of proffesionals, fate had it, and Misad was stuck with most of his contracts coming from the Republic. Those contracts included: loud-mouthed civillians, spies, and anyone in the Republic capital that didn't support the Republic; easy, boring jobs, but whatever helped him gain a living and spared him from the life of sitting around and waiting for contracts, he'd have to do, even if they weren't the most exciting of jobs, or jobs that required skill, he didn't have anything else at the moment. Until one day...

OOC: That is set up for whoever wants to hire Misad; kind of like "calling dibs."

[MikeW781]

Guild leader of the Night Brothers is known only as The Dread Father. Nobody knows his true name, he is adressed as "lord" or "father". It is believed he is human, but nobody can be certain due to his powerful mental shielding, black cloak, and the fact that he rarely ever seen by anybody other than his guards. His bodyguard is comprised of a twenty assassins of prodigious skill. Only five of them are on duty at any time, as they usually act as team leaders in the Dark Brotherhood. All of the Chiefs act as bodyguards, and the guards who are not Chiefs are next in line for the ranking. On serious occasions, usually when the Brotherhood has to eliminate a serious threat, the Chief departs headquarters with his guards, all of whom take their respective teams. It is known as the Hunt, a team of 81 fighters that few who see it survive.

The headquarters of the Brothers is located in the deepest recess of the Deeper Downs. Those who somehow find their way in, despite the thousands of spiders and mechanical creatures left over from past conflicts and the vast size of the maze-like section of caves will find a heavily defended fortress of assassins determined that none who find the Sanctuary will live to tell the tale.



Jyada was on guard duty at the time. He was talking to his friend and fellow Chief, Buven. They were both watchful, despite the conversation and lack of need for security- they were at the Sanctuary, after all.
Jyada asked his friend: "What do you think of the new Guard, Gundur?"
Buven responded: "He seems to jumpy for the job, but when it comes right down to it, he is the strongest fighter and assassin by a good margin."
Jyada said: "Agreed. His nerves will fade, far faster than the other canidates could reach his fighting skill. I have never a fighter able to use the sword and dagger at such skill."
Buven replied: "Yes, one who can win fights face to face and assassinate targets will go far. He will reach the rank of Chief within two years."
A messanger came to the two Chiefs, eager to complete his year as an Apprentice of the Brothers, but nervous about needing to talk to the Chiefs.
"Your honors... the Great Father has requested your presence at the assignment room, with the other current Guards," the messenger said in a shaky voice.
"I will leave immeadiately. You have delivered your message well, Apprentice. Dismissed," Buven said.

The five guards sat in a semicircle. Jyada sat on the far left, the postion of highest seniority. Buven was to his right, followed by Pryx, Mekus, and Gunder. Only Gunder amoung them was not a Chief. As usual, the Father sat at the head, on his throne. The throne was a fearsome sight; it was made of the bones of the Father's victims, molded together by heat. In his deep, raspy voice the Father said: "My Guardians, we are about to recive the honor of visitors from the Alliance. These pitiful fools are claiming to help others, when in reality desire power above all else. Like us, they believe they should have acknowledged control over their territory, but unlike us they want more. They wish to rule the whole of Cera Bella. I know this from established sources: Boreta here acted as my spy in the Alliance for three years" . He gestured to a human female, who looked to be an assassin due to the collection of knives on her belt. Father continued, saying "They have said that they will wipe out the threat we pose, once and for all. They have sent a force of one hundred soldiers to the Deeper Downs. Our goal is to ensure that none of them survive the attack. Here is our plan: At the conclusion of this meeting, Pryx, you will take your team to the outskirts of the Downs, and eliminate all who aim to retreat. Buven will partol the area leading up to our entrance and attempt to get behind the enemy, Mekus will take the left flank, and Gunder will take the right. Jyada- you will take your regular team and all of those who are on duty to attack the center of the attacking force. They will be here in three hours. Does anybody object?"

As usual, nobody had any objections. The Father had chosen their roles according to their skill, experience, team memebers, and common tactics, and done so accurately. Even if anybody had an objection, it was highly unlikely that they would voice it anyways.

The Guards left to take their postitions, and Mike gave the order for all of the Sanctuary to prepare for battle and be at the main hall immeadiately. This was going to be a quick battle, but they would have to do something about the Alliance soon. They could not take an attack like this without getting revenge........

OOC: So... I guess I'll be the first official story-starter?

IC: He looked to his left, nothing. His right, still nothing. Good, he thought, I thin- he couldn't even finish his thought before his head exploded.

OOC: I'll come back and add more in like an hour, have to go somewhere.

I think I started first. Just a guess based of post length  :P
Sorry about the double post, I didn't think it mattered because of my first post's length and the fact that forum game posts don't coun't

[Steelfist]

That was a lot of Oblivion references! Oh, and you double posted.

[Kindle]

One hundred soldiers. One hundred lives in danger.

Move now.

This army had no subtlety. Their thoughts screamed out, a hundred voices filled with worry. Anyone with the Gift could hear them from miles away- a Psy Knight had an even easier time.

Stay concealed.

The last column of soldiers, about twenty in number, were close enough for the Knight to see.

Use caution.

Behind the large gray rocks that littered the area around the Deeper Downs, the Psy Knight Sigrun hid. They had been following this army ever since they had picked up their whispers. The army's mission intrigued them. For a long time, the Psy Knights had wished to infiltrate the Deeper Downs. Now, Sigrun had the chance.

Time to come out.

Sigrun moved from behind her rock and cleared her throat. "I mean no harm!" she shouted. The twenty soldiers all turned around, their weapons drawn and ready. "I mean no harm!" Sigrun repeated. She raised her hands, showing that she herself was unarmed(not that it meant anything). "I am a member of the Psy Knights! I wish to join you in this attack!" Sigrun looked at the men, hoping they believed her. "How do you know about our assault?" one of them, a bowman, demanded. "I have the Sight." Sigrun replied. All of the men looked at each other, unsure. "An army like this has a purpose. Tell me what it is, I can help you." Sigrun said. "We're attacking the Night Brothers. Our army is going to enter the Downs and purge the organization for good." the bowman said.

One of the men seperated from the group and approached Sigrun. "I am Commander Kheil, leader of this platoon. Why are you following us?" he demanded. Sigrun cleared her throat again. "A few days ago, my team and I were ambushed by a group of Shadowlings while scouting this area. There were too many, so we fled. Fortunately, I Scanned one of the Shadowlings while I was fleeing. He was thinking about taking slaves, and he mentioned that a group of Spriggats from the Night Brothers were building an army in the Deeper Downs. If that's true, I have to stop them." she explained. "And how did this lead you to us?" Kheil asked, growing impatient. "One of my teammates, Katenka, picked up on a large concentration of minds, a lot more than are normal for the region. We were curious, so we followed the thoughts into this area." Sigrun said. "You mentioned your team. Where are they?" Kheil asked. Sigrun's face fell. "We got separated. I'm the only one left." she said. Kheil looked back at his soldiers, then at Sigrun. "This mission is extremely dangerous. We know almost nothing about the area, the number of battle-ready soldiers on the enemy side, or how prepared they are for us." he said. "I am ready." Sigrun replied. Kheil shook his head. "We intend to wipe the Night Brothers out. For good. Perhaps you should know that." Sigrun frowned. "I can't think of many organizations more deserving of a purge."

Revenge?

As Sigrun joined the formation, her mind drifted to the coming battle. Her odds of survival were, realistically, low. But she had to keep her head up straight. Sigrun took a piece of black cloth from her pocket and used it to tie her straw-colored hair back into a bun. The formation marched faster, trying to catch up with the other four. Sigrun felt somewhat embarrassed for slowing them down with her introduction, but that was necessary.

[MikeW781]

OOC: First, the Night Brothers are multi-racial, not all Spriggats. Second, please edit your post so that you need ask them to find out why they are attacking the Deeper Downs. People have the idea that we live in the Deeper Downs, but nothing more specific. Also, we will win this battle. The Alliance are attacking a stronghold that they do not know the specific location of, and will be swarmed by all of the creatures, especially bugs, who inhabit the Deeper Downs. Finally, we outnumber you, and have the advantage of knowing where everything is, so we will surround you. Added to the fact that we have guards partoling outside the Deeper Downs, intending to block retreat, your character will die. I meant to use this battle as an intro, and chose the Alliance because they had no members, and believed the attack would involve no characters. You can still join the fight if you want, but you will die. I'll give you some time to edit the post, PM me or write here if you want to attack anyways.

IC: Jyada adressed the crowd below him: "Fellow brothers!"
He waited for silence, which quikly ensued.
"We about to be attacked by the Alliance! They have sent one hundred soldiers, in a pathetic attempt to destroy us! We will, under my command, take the front of the assualt. We have little time, and must organize quickly. Remember- kill all our enemies. Take no prisoners! Let none who have seen us survive! Now then, all amoung you who use bows and crossbows, find your way to the front of the crowd. You will man the towers spread out through the cave system. Now, we will have a single fighter to protect each bowman. Chose quickly." After a mere few minutes, those arrangments had been made. Jyada continued. "The rest of us have a simpler, but no less difficult task. We will bear the brunt of the assualt, so that our Brotherhood may continue to exist! To arms, my brothers! Assemble at the head of our cave! We will destroy our foes!" After a short cheer, the brothers moved out, and Jyada's team assembled around him.
"Do you have specific plans for us?" Khernon asked.
"Yes," said Jyada, "We will take point."

One hour later, the arrangments were in place. The majority of the bowman we scattered around the upper reaches of the cave, with a cluster directly behind the main force. The forces that would flank their opponents were hidden, but Jyada had faith in his fellow guards. They also had a secret weapon, known only to the Chiefs. A team of thrity incredibly skilled Psys coordinated obfuscation and Scanning, Contacting the current head Chief when needed. Jyada would, in turn, contact his troops.

Forty minutes after the troops were mobilized, the enemy army appeared. They must have had a scanner with them, for they seemed to have suffered very little from creature attacks. Nonetheless, they were outnumbered and surrounded. As they came into sight, Khernon handed Jyada a horn. He took it, and blew a small series of ascending notes. In responses, arrows rained down on their foes. With the next blast, they charged, and the troops aiming to flank the enemy began to approach, still staying out of sight. Jyada, Hycea, and Khernon sprinted towards the fight, avoiding full speed so Khernon could keep up. Denzan followed close behind. Jyada opened up with a shadow vortex, felling many who were already weakened by arrows, and weakening others. Hycea lept and landed in the middle of many foes, and used a Cyro Cross. Using Mind Blasts, Shadow Blasts and Sword attacks respectively, Jyada, Denzan, and Khernon charged to catch up with him. Denzan healed them quickly, and they began to hold an arrow shaped postion. Jyada recived a Contact from their obfuscation team Jyada! A lava burst is coming! It will smite or foes, but you aswell. Fallback! Jyada contacted his troops with the information. He shouted to his team "We will cover the retreat. Hold untill I say!" His team fought valiantely, hurling blast after blast at their foes. The lava erupted, far faster and stronger than they expected. As Jyada was drawing the breath to shout "retreat!" Denzan stepped forward, and created a shield in front of them, but this shield looked different. It had a red tinge, and the lava seemed to crash against it.

Thirty minutes later, the battle was over. The Scanners had worked with Pryx and ensured than all were dead. Wait! There is one left alive, to your left! One of the scanners shouted in Jyada's head. He leaned down, and saw a Knight unconcious nearby. She must have been shielded by Denzan from the lava, tought Jyada. He grabbed the Knight, and had Denzan heal her. He dragged the Knight to their prison. He recognized a Psy Knight when he saw one, and wanted to know what this one was doing.

OOC: The Knight is Sigrun. She better tell us everything he knows :P

[MikeW781]

Whoops. Btw, dibs on hiring Misad. He'll be a well paid spy.

[Duskling]

To "call dibs" you have to write a part in the story.

[MikeW781]

I know, but I can't move on with my story untill Kindle posts!

[Duskling]

Ah, I see. A message is in order, methinks.

[Kindle]

OOC: Sorry for holding y'all up.

IC: It had all been such a blur. One second they were marching, and the next...just chaos. Sigrun had barely done anything before the whole army was blown apart. She had been preparing a mind shield, but then everything went black. She must have been one of the first ones out.

Sigrun's eyes forced themselves open. Her head felt horrible, and something just felt wrong. As her eyes adjusted, Sigrun realized that something was, indeed, very wrong. She was in a prison cell, and she could feel the presence of another. She looked up and recoiled slightly. A Shadowling.

"Whatever you want with me, you should know now that you will not get it." Sigrun spat. "I am sure you have other prisoners to interrogate, Shadowling. Occupy yourself with them, I am sure they will be easier to draw information from." Sigrun's eyes were sharper than daggers, and now more than ever, she wished for destructive powers. She stood up, fortunately the cell was large enough to accommodate that, and stared at the Shadowling. "I have nothing more to say." she snapped.

[MikeW781]

Jyada walked away, and whispered to the guard a single word. Uncoorporative. It was a code for their most basic procedure. They would give the Knight a drug that sapped her Psy power, and prevented her from regaining it. It would take one dose to last for five weeks. Then, they would pull a lever that put a stone wall down, isolating her from the world. She would be without food, light, or human contact. Her only sustanance would be a cup of water every four hours. She would break down. They always did. And when that time came, they would leave her for a single day more. Then, she would be greeted by a cheerful, kind looking human with plenty of food. And they would talk over the meal. Faced with being put back in her cell, for an even longer period of time, she would tell them everything. She might even come to work for them, but he doubted it. The chance was high that she would refuse, and be killed.

Now that the prisoner had been delt with, Jyada returned to the assignment room. They sat in the same positions as last time, and the Father began to adress them. "Well done. None of the Alliance survived, except for a prisoner that Jyada captured. He was away, dealing with this. Now then, Jyada, would you care to explain? I had given orders for all to be killed"

Jyada responded calmly, despite the fear he was fighting: "The captured is a Psy Knight. She was fighting with the Alliance, and it is vital to know why. If the Alliance joins with the Psy Knights, they will outnumber and outpower us. We cannot let this happen. She has been given the solitary treament, and will tell us all she knows soon. I apoligize for disobeying you, but I felt that this was an exception. Our contact within the Knights went silent last year, and I know she could prove invaluable. If she refuses, she can simply be killed."

The Father replied, "Excellent thinking. I will personally oversee this end, and inform you of its results. Now then, on to the important matter at hand. We must exteminate the Alliance. All of you will be given early leave from your shift as Guardians, and assigned missions vital to the elimination of the Alliance. Pryx, you will go to remove several of the Alliance leaders and negotiators. Buven, you will destroy a band of Alliance soldiers traveling to the dead lake. Gunder, you will go to the outskirts of the Downs, and attempt to find and elimenate scouts looking for news to the soldiers. Mekus, you will join him, as the area you need to cover will be immense. Jyada, you will travel to the Great Forest and see if you can negotiate with the Shadows for an alliance to wipe out the Alliance. Also, be noted that if any time you encounter mercenaries, both for spying and fighting, they should be sent to the Deeper Downs, and told to wave a red flag in order to be let in.

OOC: The Shadows are on the faction list twice. The Shadowlings one could be renames to the Dark Ones or something. When I said Shadows, I meant the "powerful Psy group dedicated only to themselves"

IC: Jyada wandered to the Great Forest, half listening to Dezan talk with his brother about how he was developing a Pyro affinity. He had worked on his Pyro Blast in the off-time they had gotten after the battle, and planned on seeing a trainer the next time he was at headquarters. As they neared the Forest, he told them to be silent. Following established procedure, he began to scout ahead while the others moved carefully forward, with Khernon bringing up the rear. He spotted a lone human, with a slightly used shovel on his back. Jyada contacted his team, and they spread out in order to avoid an ambush. Jyada was hiding still, and noticed a blast of shadow flying at him just in time to counter with one of his own. The blasts met in the middle of the ground between them, collided, and canceled each other out. His team lept from cover, brandishing their weapons. Denzan thew up a shield around them, Jyada prepared another Shadow Blast, Khernon drew his sword, and Hycea's hand sparkled a whitish blue as he prepared to blast the stranger with Cold. "You are outnumbered human! Fight, and you will perish!" Khernon shouted.
The man stood down, looking as though he were ready to flee at any moment.
"What is your buisness here?" Jyada inquired.
"I am a mercenary," replied the stranger.
"Mercenary, would you like to work for the Brotherhood? You would be sheltered, fed, and well paid."
"That sounds... intriging. What would I be doing for the Night Brothers?"
"Eliminating our foes, both in and off the field of battle."
"I accept. What must I do in order to become emplyed?"
"Travel to the Deeper Downs, bearing a red flag. You have my sacred word that no harm will come to you."
"I shall be on my way," the mercenary said.
"Wait. I will send my loyal fighter, Khernon with you. He will ensure that you do what you promised."
"Uneeded, but understandable," the mercenary replied in an even tone.
"I shall see you later....." Jyada paused upon realizing that he did not know the name of the new recruit.
"Taq. Misad Taq." Misad turned, and left with Khernon following close behind.

OOC: There you go Dusk, you can use Khernon for a while. Don't mess with him, and keep in mind his description. Have some quality chats with him about that stuff. Go the the Sanctuary. Talk to people. Make up assignments, etc etc.