Saph's new RP; Join in if you want.

[Snips]

In a dying land, legend has it that a chosen one will rise and save the people. This land is Sylvarant, suffering from mana shortages. Everywhere, Desians capture humans and enslave them in "Human Ranches" apparently just for their own enjoyment. Due to the shortage of mana, there are restrictions on how much uber magic people can cast, and there are droughts and famines everywhere.

In the town of Iselia, the chosen prepares for the journey ahead. With the usual prayers to the Goddess Martel, the chosen prepares to to accept the oracle from Cruxis, for today is The Day Of Prophecy. Today is the day that marks whether the chosen is accepted as the savior or denied the privelage and honor of saving the world... to end the mana shortages and to seal away the evil desians once more


SE: Jason: (seer)
Kratos: (NPC) (Guardian to the chosen)
Chosen: (not chosen as of yet, preferably a PC)
(anyone else who wants to join's names will be put here as well.)

(The base idea is taken from Tales of Symphonia, but this happens a long time before the actual game, probably at least a generation, or up to 100 years)

My character, Jason, is in the RP cards.

Jason pulled himself off the floor. How did he get here? As someone who loved funny things, he saw no humor in where he was. All around him were these serpentine-like things, wrapped around a humongous dias suspended in mid air. The surroundings were a ghastly green, and when he looked over the side, He saw coffins... hundreds and hundreds of coffins. He took a few steps back in fear, before bumping into someone. He jumped with a start, and spun to face the mysterious stranger.

Jason: Who... who are you!?

Jason realized he was face to face with an angel, his wings were pink and translucent. He had a feeling he'd seen him somewhere before... in his dreams, maybe?

Angel: Oh, come now, do you really need to ask? You know who I am....

That is when Jason knew for sure what all this was about. All his dreams were real, and he must be a seer. He swiftly nodded and, unaware of what to say, spoke anyways.

Jason: Just Checking, Mithos Yggdrassil.

Yggdrassil: Do not call me Mithos! It's Lord yggdrassil! Only my Former Companions may call me by that name!

Jason: Whatever. I take it I'm here in regards to the chosen's journey? The 6th's chosen, if I remember correctly?

Yggdrassil: Yes. What have you foreseen?

Jason: I don't tell the future, lest it be changed. Only I may change the future, so if you want the future to be secure, I shall accompany the chosen, if that's okay with you.

Yggdrassil: I was already planning on sending someone.

Jason: I shall pretend to be his apprentice. I know who you will be sending, and I think that ploy would fool anyone.

Yggdrassil: Very well, who was I going to send, oh seer? (Jason didn't like Yggdrassil's sneer but went on anyways.)

Jason: A certain Kratos Aurion, last I dreamt.

Yggdrassil: I am convinced. Do your best.

Jason grimaced. he needed more power for the journey ahead! He had no exsphere to amplify his power like Kratos would, and he certainly didn't have the power of a cruxis crystal!

Jason: Perhaps you can help me, to start. I am still too weak for the trials I have foreseen. I require more power.

Yggdrassil: Fine!

Yggdrassil Threw Jason an exsphere, Key crest, and a necklace.

Yggdrassil: That necklace will allow you to absorb all forms of mana and use it to your advantage. Make use of it. Begone!

Jason awoke the next morning, outside the village of Iselia.

[Pinkie Pie]

I'd like to join in on this, but I'd appreciate it if I had a bit more info on what the plot direction is going to be before I start in.

[Snips]

Good point. I'll update the first post wth more info...

Done, is that more helpful?

[Pinkie Pie]

Yeah, that's better. Now I at least have some idea to what's going on. ^^;

My character's in the RP cards, but I'll repost the more relevant parts for this, since he'll be at a certain point in his storyline.

Name : Orochi Kusanagi
Race : 3/4 Yokai, 1/4 Human
Age : Unknown, appears around 19
Height : 6'
Gender : Male
Element : Ki

Appearance : Short blond hair. He typically wears loose-fitting black jeans, and a hawaiian shirt. He wears the Kusanagi clan band around his head, and his eyes are blue. When he unlocks his Yokai nature, however, his hair turns jet black and his eyes turn crimson.

Personality : Orochi is usually incredibly laid back. He's a goof-off at times, and is very slow to anger. He also can be a very confusing person, as his ideals tend to directly contradict themselves often. For example, he tends to feel very detatched from everything that goes on around him, not caring too much about the context, yet he'll obsess over one thing or another. He's indifferent to killing, that is to say that he takes no joy in taking lives, yet doesn't really seem to care much if he does wind up killing his opponents. He's usually friendly to just about everyone, even his opponents, but he won't go out of his way to help anyone if he doesn't feel like it. As is typical of a Kusanagi, he can usually gauge his opponent's skill accurately and easily, and, also typically, tends to fight even knowing he'll lose.

Story : Orochi joined the Kusanagi clan, an organization of mercenaries (more or less) when he was 16. He feigned his own death to detach himself from his family, something that never sat too well with him. Nevertheless, he thoroughly enjoyed his work with the clan, and quickly rose to a high rank because of his excellent fighting skills as well as his calm demenor during missions, which he mostly goofed off during while still efficiantly completing.


Move List : "Going My Way" Blast - A two step attack. The first half involves a rushing forward punch at the center of the opponent's body. Once that has connected, the user unclenches their fist and fires a concentrated blast of energy at extremely close range. Can cause an incredible amount of damage because of the force emitted at such close range.

"Going My Way" Feint - Orochi's variation on his own move. Identical to the original, except that the strike to initiate the move is pulled, with the intention of catching the opponent off guard. Once their guard is lowered, the second stage of firing the blast is carried out. Lacks the added strength of the initial punch, but is still extremely damaging, and has a much higher success rate. Needless to say, it becomes more or less useless after the first time of using it against an opponent.

"Full Metal Jackhammer Kick" - Orochi's variation of the "Insei Kyaku", which is a flying forward kick. Other than simply being renamed, the only difference between the two is that there is an added downward hammer kick after the initial strike.

"Mighty Wind" Blast - Orochi's variation on the "Oni-ken", which is the traditional Kusanagi (and Yokai in general) projectile move. A large blast of energy is formed and thrown from the hand. Other than the name, there is no difference between the two attacks.

"Uncivil Action" - For some reason, Orochi renames the rename of his own attack. Variation on the "Shin Oni-ken". A larger, more concentated ball of energy formed with both hands. Once again, other than the name, there is no difference between the two attacks.

Assimilation - When faced with death, Yokai can infuse their souls to an inanimate object, which, when wielded by someone of their choosing, will merge with their soul to gain their abilities and a mix of thier personalities (For those in the Kusanagi clan, this object is nearly always the Kusanagi band that the members wear). Physically, the person will not change much, save for some minor appearances such as hair or eye color, which will change to match that of the Yokai. Usually in this case, this fused warrior can use a hybrid of new abilities as well as their original ones. This is a very temporary ability, and the Yokai's soul will pass from the object within several hours.

Kusanagi Data Ressurection - Constant data is kept on clan operatives, and in the case of one dying, they can usually be brought back to life in a perfect clone. Extremely specific and accurate data must be kept up on them to ensure that the soul of the operative will be compatible with the new body, and thus, most clan members are under constant survaillence by Loki, the clan's data specialist.

(As an important sidenote, the Kusanagi Clan HQ exists outside of space and time, and thus may have much more advanced technology than the setting of the RP. As a rule, however, operatives are not allowed to bring any technology more advanced than the world on which their missions take place with them.)

-------------------------------------

Inside the Kusanagi Clan HQ briefing room, Orochi shifted in his seat. He had always suspected that they purposely selected the chairs that were least suited for actually sitting in to place into the meeting rooms. He hadn't worked out the reason for this yet, but he was working on it. Shortly, Loki, the informations specialist, walked into the room holding a clipboard.

Orochi : *grinning* So, I finally get briefed by you for once instead of those idiot lackies of yours? Guess I can rule out another pointless game of fetch they've been giving to me.

Loki : *clears his throat* You could say that. I'll spare you the introduction and just get right to the point.

Loki handed Orochi the clipboard. On it were details about the world he was about to be sent to. He skimmed it briefly, then set it aside.

Orochi : So, what's this mission about, exactly?

Loki : You'll be updated on it regularly. This is a much more complex mission than what you've been sent on recently. But to start out with... Our scouts on this world were contacted by a man who's hiring us to rescue his daughter from one of these camps that these Desian people have set up. After you do that, you'll be given the next part of your mission to carry out. Other than that, you can do as you see fit there. You'll be there for a while.

Orochi : *shrugs* Fair enough. When am I set to depart?

Loki : You have an hour to get ready. Meet me at the departure room then.

Orochi stood up and stretched, then walked out the door. He made his way to his room and walked in. His bag, which had been lying on his bed empty, was now full. Looking through it he found clothing, money and food from the world his mission would be on. He looked through the clothes distastefully, threw them out and replaced them with his typical jeans and shirts. He closed the bag, picked it up and walked out the door. He started out towards the departure room. Most new operatives were surprised by the simplicity of the room. Most expected some sort of advanced teleportation technology, or complicated magical runes, but it was simply an empty room with a locked door on the other end of the entrance. It looked much less like a room in which operatives were sent to other worlds and more like a hallway which led to such a room. Orochi walked in, finding Loki standing there waiting. He looked slightly annoyed at Orochi's choice of clothing, but said nothing, only nodding. Those with sharp eyes would have been able to make out very faded and illegible symbols flashing before Loki's right eye. Orochi knew it was the nanocomputer that Loki had fitted into his eye, one of the things that made his job as an data collector easier on him. There was a loud click as the door Orochi had just entered locked, while the door on the other side of the room simultaniously unlocked.

Loki : Well, here you are. Good luck.

Orochi : *nods* See ya, pops.

Orochi opened the door and walked through it, finding himself outside near a town. He grinned, stretched and started walking towards it.

-------------------------------------------------

P.S. : I've never played TOS, so if I get anything dreadfully wrong, please let me know and I'll try to fix it.

[Snips]

On the topic of Ranches, let me point out something else you may want to know. There are multiple, of course, each of which is led by one of the Desian Grand Cardinals.


It's okay, this is set in a different time frame so it's flexible, and there is a ranch near Iselia, so that's perfect. (Just be wary of the Grand Cardinal of the ranch. You'll need a full team to bring that guy down) I'll just do a bit more so you and anyone else who wants to join in has a better idea of what's going on.


Jason was still exhausted, but a voice shook him to his senses. It was the voice of a young man, but also the voice of one who had shouldered an eternity of guilt and suffering. Jason rolled over to see Kratos standing over him. Kratos wasn't as tall as Jason, but he looked intimidating from the ground.

Kratos: You're supposed to pretend to be my apprentice? I don't like the idea of being a mercenary with a lazy apprentice, you'll ruin the whole cover... this isn't a field trip, and children need to stay home.

Jason laughed. He knew Kratos was like this, for he has seen it in his visions, but he had never actually expected kratos to use those exact lines.

Kratos: What's so funny?

Jason: As far as children go, you might be a lot older, but I look older.

Kratos: How so?

Jason: I need to shave.

Kratos: I noticed.

Jason: Ah... well, I've had a better night's sleep before but I suppose we really should be going...

Kratos: We must hurry, the chosen might already be at the Martel Temple by now.

The two sprinted off as fast as their exsphere-strengthened bodies could take them, until they arrived at the bottom of a long flight of stone steps. They had gone straight past the village and were now at the base of the temple. Jason nodded.

Jason: Yeah, they're definately fighting up there?

Kratos: Who's fighting?

Jason: The Priests are protecting the chosen from... do I need to tell you?

Kratos: Very well. Let us go, then.

Jason and Kratos jumped right over the priests and placed themselves in front of the Desians. Kratos turned back to look at the priests as Jason faced the enemie.

Kratos: Get out of the way.

Jason: Ooh, looky here, 1, 2, 3, 4 wizards! Master Kratos, may I take them on myself?

Kratos: Do as you will. I shall go for the leader.

All the wizards sent a volley of fireballs at Jason. Using his necklace from Yggdrassil, He absorbed all the mana and whispered "sharpen" to his dagger he just pulled out of his sock. He then lunged and killed them quickly, as Kratos was having an epic duel with the leader but had already landed 4 great blows. The leader finally just gave up and fainted from the loss of blood.

The priests all stood aside and the two were able to see the chosen for themselves.


Now is the time for anyone who wants to be the chosen, or else I'm throwing in an NPC....

[Gamerlen]

Ok... Guess I'll get started then.
My characters are Sabre and Unilop (both unique to my own stories, see their character sheets for their info.)

A forest somewhere on the continent. Two creatures are standing near a broken machine of some sort. One is a tall feline humanoid with large bat wings coming out of her back. She is covered by ash gray fur and wearing a loose fitting purple hoodie with black jeans. The other is a rabbit like creature standing about two feet tall. It has brown fur and a large horn growing out of its forehead. It is currently messing with the instruments of the machine, which is emitting sparks and puffs of smoke every couple minutes. The machine, for some odd reason, looks like a gigantic purple cat.

Sabre: Unilop, I swear to whatever god exists in this place... If you can't get us back home I'm going to fucking make hassenpeffer out of you.

Unilop: Now jes' ca'm down Sa'bre... *Unilop speaks with a lisp owing to the two huge buckteeth in his mouth* 'Ow was ah ta know th' intradimensinal ch'sire cat mach'ne woul' break d'wn s' easy?

Sabre: Oh, lets see... Maybe because you built it? I still remember how you teleported us to Romania and we wound up a hundred feet in the air... If I couldn't fly we'd all be dead right now you realize.

Unlop: Well... ye'h dere wuz dat 'un... *he tapped his fingers on the controls in embarassment at the memory*

Sabre: ... and the time you built an everlasting battery for Stephanie's game boy that blew up and sent it into orbit...

Unilop: Ahright, ah gets th' point... *as he lowers his ears in annoyance*

Sabre: ... and the time you fed Biggi that growth enhancer that turned him into a giant tentacle monster and he almost destroyed half the town...

Unilop: Sab'... *beginning to look annoyed*

Sabre: ... and lets not forget that time you 'repaired' the shower and I got covered in lime Jello...

Unilop: ALRIGHT! *very angry* Ah gets th' point!

Sabre: Well whatever, it looks like we're going to need help on this one... I guess we'd better see about finding a place to stay.

Unilop: Yeh yeh, whatevah... *He pushes a button on the console of the machine and its appearance changes into a large boulder. Then he and Sabre set off to find a place to stay for the time being*

For the record btw, I've never played ToS either... so I'll probably mess up the storyline if I haven't already.

[Snips]

Okay, my file that had what I was writing next got deleted, and I've been SOOO busy... I guess I'll start over. Sorry for the delays....

Since no one claimed being the chosen, I'll make one myself.

Pulling herself off the ground, the chosen looked at the two emmisaries of Cruxis. "Um... I'm not sure how to say this, but thank you...." she said, timidly. "My name is Faye... Faye Brunel. Who might the two of you be?"

"I see." Kratos said, "So this girl is the next chosen. I am Kratos, a mercenary, and this is Jason, my apprentice. For as long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of guarding her. Any objections?"

At this, the head priestess stepped forward. "Well, given how a good number of the priests were slain, it would not be unwise to accept your offer. Come over here so we can discuss your payment. Your apprentice, does he require payment as well?"

"I live off what I can find." Jason replied, as he looted a few Desian corpses. Everyone was aghast. Jason grimaced. "Macabre, I know, but living on my own with no one to guide me taught me that sometimes the only way to get by is to take what is no longer needed. The dead can't take their weapons with them."

There was much murmering amongst the clergy members. Jason finally finished. "That means I require no payment. I live for adventure, which is why I joined Master Kratos here."

"Very well." The high priestess said. "Faye, do you accept these two guardians?"

"Yes, grandmother." She told her. "Well, we should be going. I have to accept the Oracle in this temple here."

"I sense an evil presence radiating from inside this chapel" Jason and Kratos both said at once, and they glared at each other, understanding the looks to mean "I wanted to say that!"

"Yes." Faye told them, "There's monsters in there as part of my trial to see if I become the next chosen or not."

"We'd better get moving." Kratos told her. "Stick between us and don't lag behind."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" she asked him, picking up her flail off the ground. "I've trained for this journey my whole life, I was just knocked off my feet by those clumsy priests!"

"We really should get going, though." Jason told them. "If you're too late, the oracle may reject you."

"Ah, I never thought of that!" Faye gasped, and sprinted off into the temple without the other two.

"This is going to be a nuisance." Kratos muttered, and he took off after her. Jason turned to the high priestess and told her that he staked his very life upon this journey and that he would protect her granddaughter no matter what the cost.

They arrived insie only to find the way to the oracle sealed off. "The altar should be over there." Faye told them, "I guess we need the Sorcerer's ring, spoken of in the Texts of Martel. It should be in this temple somewhere....

Little did they know the temple had a small catacomb of a journey ahead of them....

[Pinkie Pie]

Orochi was completely lost. His detour into the town had proved fruitless, as the town's inhabitants seemed either unaware of the "camp" that he was looking for, or unwilling to tell him, perhaps out of fear. He had shrugged it off and had just decided to wander for a bit. After all, his mission had been to get this girl out of the supposed camp. He had no orders as to how quickly he was to do so, or to prevent her from suffering at all.

That had been all well and good a few hours ago. Now, however, he was getting bored. Having not seen any sign of anything he could remotely call a "camp" for a while, he felt the whole trip as being rather monotonous. He had been hoping to see at least some monsters, or some creature resemblant thereof, to kill some time and to lose his boredom, but none had approached him. He figured that he was either still too close to the village, or that the wildlife in this world could possibly sense his ki and was scared off by it. He sighed, and plopped down onto the ground, lieing back to rest.

It was then that he noticed something that he hadn't before, most likely because he had spent the past few hours of his life with his head either studying the color of the grass or locating things to kick. To the side, back a small distance towards the village he had left was a large building, something that resembled a temple.

Even in his boredom, he was having a hard time caring, until a bursting vibe rushed through him. He had just sensed a powerful ki, stronger than any of the practically non-existant that the idiots back in the village had eminated. Just after he had felt it, however, it weakened greatly, almost disappearing. He'd felt that kind of energy before, he knew the pattern of that frequency. This world obviously used magic, the same as that psycho Kashu had back when he first joined the clan. Truthfully, he hadn't really paid that close of attention to the report, but he was pretty sure that it hadn't mentioned that... He knew the advantages and disadvantages to fighting magic users, that their ki rose phenominally during the casting of spells to produce catastrophically dangerous and destructive attacks, but that they could not keep this level of power constantly, having to generally utter words to produce such power, and that in general, they understood little about the nature of ki on the whole. Still, the knowledge that some of the stronger spells he had encountered in his lifetime were easily two or three times stronger than anything he could hope to produce gave him a mixture of both nervousness and giddyness. This might not be so boring after all. He jumped to his feet and hurried off towards the temple.

It didn't take him long to get near enough to realize that the temple had been bigger than he had thought at first. How he had missed it entirely on his way out of the village didn't make any sense to him until he realised that he had either had his back turned to it or had an inconviently large village blocking his view of enough of it to gain any interest for the large portion of his time on this world. As he came closer, he noticed several bodies on the ground, humans... or humanoids... at any rate, they weren't Yokai. He very much doubted that his own race existed on this world. He didn't have to get close to the bodies to know that they were not among the living. He grinned. If there were fights breaking out around here, hopefully he could still catch some action. Looking up at the entrance to the temple, he noticed an old woman with her back turned to him, facing the temple. She turned to look at him, but did not look at all surprised to see him standing there.

High Priestess : So, you are the source of the evil presence I felt as those with my grandaughter entered the temple.... what purpose to you seek in this world, demon?!

Orochi sniggered at the mention of his "evil presence". As he had guessed, the inhabitants of this world had no grasp of ki aside from what they considered to be aligned with "good" or "evil".

Orochi : So, granny, was that burst of energy from you? Or maybe those other three you mentioned are the ones I'm looking for?

The woman stepped in front of the entrance to the temple, blocking Orochi's path.

High Priestess : You will not disrupt Faye's quest to see the Oracle!

Orochi : Tch! Like I care who I fight! Let's hope that energy really was from you, grandma!

Orochi entered his fighting stance, smirking. The woman stood firm, holding her staff in front of her. Right as Orochi threw a punch, he heard her mutter "Barrier" under her breath. A green sphere appeared around her, which Orochi's hand wound up hitting rather hard. He pulled back, his hand throbbing.

Orochi : Gah!

He shook his hand briefly, not taking his eyes off of his opponent. His smirk became a goofy grin for a moment, which completely failed to faze the woman.

Orochi : Good, I was worried that'd be too easy! Wonder if that shield can hold up against me if I'm actually trying, though?

Orochi held out his hand, his face returning to a smirk. A ball of energy was quickly gathering in his hand, but the woman seemed confident in the defensive power of her shield.

High Priestess : You're quite mistaken if you believe that a small spell such as that will pass through the holy protection my shield provides, demon.

Orochi : Heh, figured you fools wouldn't be able to determine ki from magic... Here, I'll give you an example. Mighty Wind!

The small ball of energy that Orochi had been forming shot out at amazing velocity and collided with the shield. Much to the woman's surprise, the shield shattered as if it was material, vanishing before it hit the ground. The small remainder of energy hit her, knocking her to the ground. As she sat up, she saw Orochi passing into the temple, grinning and waving at her as he passed.

Orochi : See ya round, grandma! Hope I didn't scare you too badly!

Orochi didn't wait to listen to her protests, and continued down the path into the temple. There was a sealed door in front of him, the durability of which he was just about to test when he heard voices and footsteps coming from another direction. He grinned. The old woman could not possibly have been the source of that energy, or at least not the only one. Admittedly, he thought, he may very well have been feeling the ki from multiple fighters simultaniously. Still, that woman had not had the energy he had felt, not by far. Whether he'd find someone to fight in here, or someone to lead him to a fight, he didn't care. The Oracle, the old woman had said. The people in here were looking for him... her... it... well, whatever it was, it sounded important. Something like that, he hoped, would be pretty heavily guarded. And that sealed door...

Orochi's smirk deepened as he walked towards the noise. He had a feeling this trip's boredom was over with for the moment.

[Snips]

Since she'll be such an important NPC I'll be aking a character card for Faye as well. I just thought of this now.

Jason turned around. "What... what was that surge of energy I just felt?" he wondered to himself. "That was no magic, or my necklace would be resonating... Master Kratos, did you sense that?"

Kratos made sure Faye had waked on ahead and turned around to grab Jason's throat. "Because of the angelic powers of the Cruxis Crystals disguised as exspheres, we have heightened senses. Now shut up before you ruin the mission!"

"What...? Have my visions been wrong?"

"Your visions mislead you!? What was Yggdrassil thinking, sending a fool like you along!?"

"No, it's that I did not forsee these being Cruxis crystals, and I did not forsee that energy. perhaps it is merely my lack of sleep. I dream most of my clearest visions."

"Humph...."

However, the echoing of voices that followed was even heard by Faye. She turned around and asked if either of them heard it. They both suggested they hurry on, as it may have been more desians. As if sensing Jason's visions being off again, Kratos turned to him. "Those attackers...."

"Regenades." Jason told him, "Looking like Desians to kill the chosen. The real Desians don't want the chose dead, they just want to put her in danger to awaken her dormant powers."

"Good, just checking."

They had come to a large square platform, with a pale blue translucent surface with 9 square openings in a set pattern, much like a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. Faye had already been engaged in combat by a Golem, and she was losing.

"Chosen!" Kratos called, jumping between her and her attacker. Jason stayed behind the golem and hefted his greatsword over his head. As he started to swing it down, he heard a cry of "Sonic Thrust!" and panicked as the golem flew right into him.

He flew over the edge, falling into the darkness of nothingness. "Why did I have to miss the platforms beneath?" he asked, before cluing in. If he was really equipped with a Cruxis Cystal... he had retaratable wings! As long as no one but Kratos, who had them as well, ever saw... well, he assumed he could use them to save his own neck at least this once. A green light shone from his back as he floated up just high enough to grab the platform below the fray and hold on.

Above, Kratos had defeated the Golem. Faye looked down through the floor. "What was that green light just now?" Jason chuckled.

"That was me. I managed to cast an air spell to fling myself to safety. I almost fell down into that bottomless pit. Just don't ask me to do it again, Wind isn't my forte...."

"Jason? Where are you?" Kratos asked.

"Your clumsy thrust knocked that rockhead right into me, and therefore, sent me over the ledge. Now, before the next golem appears, help me up, my grip's slipping!"

"ANOTHER!?" Faye gasped. "And how do you know so much of this?"

"I'm a seer, and I'll see to it that I haunt you if you leave me to die! Help me before I..." he stopped for breath, "I'm going to fall...!"

Before he had a chance to fall more than a foot, Faye's flail caught his arm. She had injured her leg falling from the platform above, but she knew it had to be done. "I've got him! Kratos, didn't you have some sort of...?" she began, to ask for a healing spell.

"Of course I do." he said, plain and simple, and muttered a quick incantation. another green glow appeared, this time surrounding her, and she pulled him up.

"Hu... huh... I thought I was...."

*SLAP!*

"Ow!" Jason yelled. "Faye, what was that for!"

"Only the goddess Martel can give the gift of foresight, and she doesn't give it to those who desecrate the bodies of the dead! You heathen, where did you get that power?"

"The goddess Martel is inside everyone, Faye, you go around telling everyone else that. She also forgives all people's sins and encourages wrongdoers to make amends. How am I a heathen? Is this a test of faith? If it is, I think I pass."

"Indeed. Sorry about that." Faye almost whispered. "It's just that she has a purpose for everything, and I highly doubt that you have yor gift just to help me."

"It's saved my neck countless times before." Jason told her. "Even if not for you, at least to keep me alive long enough to help you. Now, I don't believe in fate or destiny or whatnot, and the future can take whatever form we give it today, but I feel like I live to help people, and you're a person who needs my help."

"Heh, it seems you needed my help more just now."

"These things happen." He answered. "Just a minute Master Kratos, we'll be right back up in a second."

"This puzzle is easy to riddle out, push the block that appeared when we killed the golem here, it falls into place, another appears. It'll only take 3 blocks. You see that pedastal over there It's the ring. We've almost got it!"

Sure enough, within minutes the Sorcerer's ring needed to open the door to the Oracle was on Faye's finger. They were climbing back up the stairs to the upper floor when they saw an unfamiliar figure moving towards them.

"I sense darkness!" Faye gasped.



It seems that our characters meet at last....

[Pinkie Pie]

Did you make her card yet? I didn't see one... >.>

Just a few quick points I wanna make before I start again regarding our characters.

- Orochi's attacks are ki based, not mana based. In other words his attacks are generated from his own life force (commonly known as "chi" or "ki") instead of from a magical force. In all likelyhood Jason would not be able to absorb his attacks, though I'll leave his ability to do so up to you since it's your character.

- In the case that he can absorb Orochi's ki attacks, he would be unable to fire the same attack back at Orochi. The reason being that he would have to state the actual name of the attack, which Orochi doesn't use and therefore, Jason wouldn't know what they were. If he attempted to use Orochi's "made up" attack names, the attack would fail to form.

Whether or not our characters even wind up fighting is yet to be seen, but I wanted to point those out. >.>

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Orochi smirked as he saw the three turn around. Took them long enough, he'd been watching them for a while now. The two men had stepped in front of the woman, seemingly to protect her. So... she was either important or weak, he didn't know enough to assume which she was, so he decided to keep an eye on her. The two men had been the ones fighting those monsters, and he had felt their ki fluctuate throughout their fight, but neither one showed the same burst of energy that he had felt earlier. He was starting to think that it probably had been a simultanious attack he had felt, unless....

His eyes darted to the girl. Could she....?

The shorter of the two men stepped forward.

Kratos : So, you're the source of that dark energy... Who the hell are you?

Orochi's smirk stayed firmly in place.

Orochi : Saw you fight those golems. That wasn't too bad a job.

The taller of the men was looking him over cautiously. Orochi raised an eyebrow at him, but his expression was otherwise cemented to his face.

Jason : This is... odd. I'm getting a definate dark vibe from him... but it's... different. I can't sense the goddess in him at all...

The shorter man raised his sword. He shot Orochi a defiant look, challenging him.

Kratos : What do you want with us?

Orochi laughed.

Orochi : Aw, after I came all this way to see you guys you're gonna be rude to me?

The two men exchanged confused glances. The shorter one kept his sword raised. Orochi was toying with them, checking their reactions. Honestly, he still didn't know what he wanted to do with them. A part of him was just aching for a real fight, after that old lady he'd bested at the door. On the other hand, despite the low amount of power he felt from these two, there seemed to be more to the group than met the eye.

His curiousity was winning over his combative instincts. He'd put off fighting with them for now. He wanted to see what they were capable of, and he could feel an air of purpose about them that might prove to be more fun than a short battle with them. Who knows, he thought, they may lead me to something much bigger than a simple time waster.

Besides, he had yet to find out anything about his current mission, and they might be able to help. And if he accidentally wound up killing them he'd be right back where he'd started, bored out of his mind.

The taller man seemed to be getting tired of the stand off, and walked a bit closer to Orochi. He looked to be the weakest of the three, but Orochi knew better than to rely on appearances.

Noticing that the man had his hand upon the hilt of his weapon, Orochi realized the minor flaw in his reasoning. He'd made the decision to follow them around already, but he had failed to make any plan to convince them that he should come along. Like just about everything he did, he decided to wing it.

Jason : So... seriously, who are you and why are you here?

Orochi took a breath. He'd have to hope for his luck to pull him through this. He was about to think up some story about being a lost prince marooned on an island by a band of ravenous refridgerators, thinking that if he convinced them he was half-mad they might not think him a threat, but realized before saying a word of it that it was a completely idiotic story, even by his standards. Ah, what the hell, worst case scenario was that he'd have to fight them. He'd planned to do that originally anyways. He shrugged.

Orochi : Well, honestly, my boss sent me on a mission, I got sidetracked, and out of boredom noticed you guys. You caught my interest, so I came to see what was up.

This didn't seem to satisfy the shorter one, who's eyebrows were raised as high as his sword now.

Kratos : Mission? Who do you work for? What are you talking about?

Orochi grinned. This one would be fun to mess with if he could pull this off.

Orochi : I bet you'd like to know, wouldn't ya?

A vein in the man's eye twitched. He'd obviously irked him, but the taller man seemed to be chuckling to himself silently. The shorter man shot him an angry glance, and then returned his gaze to Orochi.

Kratos : Fine. At least tell us this. Are you with the Desians?

Orochi : The who?

He was genuinely confused for a moment, but then thought back to the briefing sheet. It'd mentioned a group like that, they'd apparently been the ones running the camps. So were these people their enemies, or were they themselves part of that group? He'd have to take a guess.

Orochi : Oh, those guys. Nah, my mission's got to do with one of those camp things. Supposed to break out a girl named Kara.

The shorter man looked at the taller one, as if for confirmation. The taller one shrugged. Orochi was stiff with anticipation. He'd had a 50/50 chance of getting that one right. Had he made the right choice?

Kratos : Should we believe him?

Jason : Well....

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I'll leave it to you to pick up from there. >.>

[Snips]

Here's just a quick one. To get the characters out of the temple.


[i]Jason shrugged. "If it is, then there's no real reason for you to be here. The place you're looking for lies in the Iselia forest. It's back out the other side of the town. It is understandable that you got lost, as Iselia isn't exactly well-situated, such as Luin."

Faye, however, was bored, anxious, eager to get her mission over and done with, and above all else, sick of waiting. She decided to take the matter into her own hands. "If really, if you were evil, you'd have attacked me already. Why do I sense evil coming from you?" Before Orochi could answer, Jason interrupted.

"Light and Dark can blend to make shadow. Law and Crime, white and black, all can swirl into a grey shade. Perhaps it is the same with him."

Kratos then proceeded to smash Jason over the head with the flat side of his blade, knocking him out. "You really should learn when to shut up and let me do the talking." Kratos told him. "Anyways." He said to Orochi, facing upwards once more, "We have business here. I suppose we could lead you to the ranch once we're done. If you'll wait by the sealed door, we'll catch you on the way out."

Orochi, as well as Jason's unconscious body, remained there as Kratos and Faye went to accept the oracle. Whey they returned, Orochi noticed a red gemstone with a golden ornate pattern surrounding it at the base of her neck.

"It was successful." Faye told him, seeing a look of confusion, "Now I have to leave on a journey around the world...."