Animation Source Forums

[Quick post, nothing major. Just synchronizing the time.]

Sissmuth gave a wide yawn and shifted into his cloak, staring off at the horizon. His slitted eyes contracted a little in sensing the first rays of the morning sun beginning its rise of a new day. And he suddenly felt very tired. Leaning heavily on his staff, he pressed his body for a ba-ugan pod and growled a little in realizing that he'd given the last one to Akari. He would've liked to rest for a few hours, but those by the time he'd woken up, they'd be half-way to Desdon by then.

He shook his clouded head. Too much thinking. Rubbing his eyes some, the gleam of the topazes on his armbands soon faded away.

[EDIT: Please disregard the time reference in this post; the time is roughly a couple hours past mindnight, so we're actually well into the dark.]

As Jollanel left the scene, Akari turned to face the others. "C'mon guys, let's get moving," he said, motioning his head towards the direction in which the muggers were headed, which was where, as he saw, the first large divot in the ground was located. Jogging towards the divot, Akari saw that, sure enough, the divots were in-line enough to see that they were part of the footprints, each divot was located where the right footprints were supposed to be. Akari snapped his fingers, causing his matchlight flame to appear on his right index finger, illuminating a small area around him in an orange-yellow glow.

"These guys should be easy to follow until that guy's leg thaws out," Akari explained, "If we hurry, we should be able to catch up to them before that happens! Let's go!"

With that, Akari snapped his fingers on his left hand, and jogged off, following the tracks, and holding his lit index fingers out to his sides, creating the same distinct visual as he had used back in Asper for the others to follow. It was fortunate for Akari that the matchlight technique, even when used on both his hands, used up a minuscule amount of energy, since it was the technique he found to be the most practical, therefore the one he used the most often. Had that not been the case, he would've had to resort to making a torch, finding a flashlight, or some other light source that he didn't have time for at the moment, since using even a minor amount of magical energy while doing strenuous physical activity is usually a bad idea if you don't want to deplete your energy quickly.

For now, Akari only hoped that he and the others could find these muggers before they got to their safe haven. Hopefully, if everyone could keep a steady pace, that could happen.

Role-player’s Name: Regulus...
General Information
Name: Oden
Nickname: N/A
Race: Human
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Dominant Side: Right
Description: Oden is an ex-military elite from the city of Desdon. Oden was part of an elite private army named Maiesta and he has been enlisted in Maiesta since the age of 18, working his way up to be a Colonel in the field of Spec Ops with command over his own squadron. However, Maiesta has been hired by the ASRH. Oden rejects the morals and views of the ASRH and openly protests its anti-anthro activities. Oden is a quirky, very caring, and a father like figure; however he tries to hide this due to traumatic experiences during combat (explained later). Oden is 6’3, heavily tanned, with a very tough and muscular build. His head is shaved bald due to an ingrained habit from the military. Oden excels in firearm combat. He has earned his “expert” in every class that is available in Maiesta, except for sniper. His preferred weapons of choice are sub machine guns, sharpshooting rifles, and pistols. Oden is also competent in the level of hand to hand combat taught to special ops members. However, all of this is offset by other areas: He is very inexperienced and is very awful at the art of swords. Also, he cannot understand magic in any form; he simply cannot wrap his head around it. Besides the fact that he is human and can’t use it anyways, this leads to him having difficulty when trying to plan tactics for combat with magic wielders, and also puts him in the unknown while fighting magic wielders face to face.

Personality: Oden is very friendly and caring, and treats his comrades like they are his own children. He was often reprimanded for becoming too emotionally attached to his soldiers. He has a very strong sense of trust, which often gets him in trouble with dishonest people. Oden has a core drive to always do what he feels is the moral thing to do, he never accepted missions that he felt were inappropriate or unnecessary, or if they contradicted with his moral standings. Oden places a high value on the lives of his comrades, but also his enemies. He has always been a very quirky individual. He has odd routines and habits, as well as often thinking out loud and talking to himself. He is very... “crafty” as a result of his lack of home, he is able to manufacture useful items out of otherwise worthless junk. Oden has a very generous nature despite his very poor financial situation (or lack thereof), and is always willing to help anyone who needs it. Oden only takes a life if it is necessary for the success of the mission, or for the survival of him and his men. If non-lethal force is an option, he always tries this before resorting to lethal force. However, he is emotionally distraught due to the loss of all his soldiers, and the disappearance of his son, this causes him to be outwardly awkward towards others due to his conflict of emotions.

History: Oden joined Maiesta at 18. He is an orphan, raised in a Desdonian orphanage. Because of his friendly nature he was very much accepted by the other orphans, but for no known reason he was never adopted. At 18, he was legally allowed to leave the orphanage. He decided to join the military as a way to start his life with a sound foundation and to start earning money and an education for himself. However, during his enlisting process, he discovered the anti-anthro policies of the ASRH and quickly withdrew his application. He then stumbled upon a newly founded private mercenary army named Maiesta. Maiesta was an overall better opportunity for him, and better fit his moral standings. He then discovered his natural talent in firearms and tactical combat and strategy. He quickly rose through the ranks and became a Colonel in the Spec Ops field at the age of 25. Here he was given the responsibility of managing his own squad. Oden carefully handpicked all the officers of his team. He took only those who were not only the best at their craft, but were best fit mentally and emotionally. Most importantly, he only took people who really needed the spot on his team for personal reasons like he had when he joined. The product of this was an 11 person team consisting of 8 men and 3 women, all of which Oden took time to get to personally know. He became a father to them, leading them through many personal issues as well as a being an extremely competent leader in Spec Ops operations. His squadron was nick-named O-Comp (short for Oden Company) and was famous in Maiesta for its great success in its missions. Oden was offered a surplus of promotions; however he had built too strong of a bond with his company and refused to leave them.
After leading his company through 11 years of flawless operations, he discovered distressing news. Maiesta was being forced to merge with the ASHR. Oden was faithful in his team and did not abandon them prior to the absorption. Instead, Oden and his team openly protested the actions of the ASHR and tried their absolute best to ignite a spark of reform, all to no avail. During this time period, Oden refused to activate his company for operations that he felt were immoral or unjust. This refusal went unpunished and unquestioned for around a year. Then on January 5th, O-Comp was deployed on what was supposed to be a POW rescue. Oden was given very few details on this mission, and had a bad gut feeling... but if he refused another mission, him and his loyal companions would be tried as traitors. (The following would normally be revealed later in the story’s progression, but for the sake of the co-writers’ understanding in this RP, I will post the story here. It is core to Oden’s current position, his personality, everything, so I think it will eliminate confusion before it can start. )

-During the operation, Oden ordered 6 of his units to enter the lone standing farm house where the POW was being held. As his team was invisibly approaching the farm house, Oden and the remaining units split up and set up a perimeter, keeping a very close watch on the house. Oden’s intel had told him there would be little resistance, but he was always fond of being over prepared. As his 6 men crept closer to the barn, all of their communications were cut. Oden knew right away that this couldn’t have been the work of the hostage holders, but he was too late. The farm house exploded in a massive ball of fire that covered an acre. Guns starting roaring in the night from all directions, Oden sprinted to the location of his nearest comrade, barely dodging rounds intended for him. He repeatedly cried out to his comrades over his com, even though he knew it was cut. Oden regrouped with only 3 of his men, they were surrounded from all directions by a small army that had been completely invisible on his satellite scans he was provided with. The only option they had was to make a desperate run. In mid sprint, one of his soldiers took a burst of rounds that were shot at exactly the points where they didn’t have protective gear as if the shooter knew everything about their equipment. Although it went against all common sense he ordered his two remaining men to continue their dash as he rushed back to grab his fallen comrade. As soon as he lifted the soldier on his shoulders, a wall of force and heat threw him into the tree line. Utterly dazed and confused he fell into a small wash, and slipped into unconsciousness.
Oden awoke sometime later, wounded, and stumbled around to find absolutely no evidence of the attack or his men. The only evidence he had was his own wounds. He was emotionally crushed at the loss of all his men, he limped around the attack site in hope that maybe one of his men had survived.... during this time, Oden had time to think about what had happened, as he thought it became blatantly obvious who had attacked. Every weapon he heard, every action he witnessed, every strategy that was used against him, was all ASRH. It had been the ASRH who had silenced his team, he knew it was...
Oden spent the next year in hiding from the ASRH, taking on the disguise of a homeless man, which wasn’t far from the truth. Oden had no chance of returning to his home, which had most likely been revoked. He carried everything he owned in his trench coat that he acquired from a generous rich man walking on the street who had noticed him shivering. Oden devoted himself to finding out exactly what happened to his loyal friends and comrades, and to avenge their deaths handed to them by the ASRH.

Clothing: Atop his head he usually carries his military grade NVHD goggles as one would carry sunglasses on top of their head. Oden wears a thick brown, but worn out, leather trench coat in which he stores his private arsenal of weaponry. Due to his experience, Oden is able to easily conceal several full sized weapons in his coat, concealed in a jumble of holsters that disappear in its shadows. Because Oden is AWAL and cannot return to his home, he literally lives out of his trench coat. He stores all his personal possessions in hand made pockets in the inside of his coat. These pockets are made with random articles of cloth; these makeshift pockets occupy the entire interior of his coat. He wears a tactical Kevlar suit that covers his torso to his thighs underneath all his clothing as a nervous precaution.

Equipment:
-G36KV (assault rifle) with an AG36 grenade launcher
- NVHD goggles (night and heat vision)
- Silenced MP3
- Two Desert Eagle pistols
-Several combat knives
-A large collection of extra clips and ammo shoved in the pockets and holsters of his outfit.
- A grenade strap including; fragmentation, flash, and smoke grenades.
- A seemingly random assortment of personal items that are stashed in his pockets.


Note!!!: Despite the fact that he seems heavily equipped/overpowered, be aware that this equipment is ALL HE HAS. No friends, no home, no money. Just guns and his ability to use them. He’s no Neo from the matrix, and is not a walking army, just a single talented and seasoned SWAT guy as far as gun skills are concerned. He can’t run into a room and kill ten guys, but effectively takes out targets one by one, very cautiously. So as far as balance is concerned, there shouldn’t be any objections, as he would not fare well vs. a magic user. Unless he was very far away…

[Just a post to bump this up. I can't wait for Oden to make his entrance!!]

Sissmuth sincerely doubted that anyone was in any condition to make the long trek to Desdon. On foot, it would take at least a full day of walking. But of course, he supposed that didn't mean they couldn't stop for rests in between. Aside from their mental and physical conditions, Sissmuth also wondered where he guards were that blocked the road to Desdon, since the footprints Akari was following seemed to lead in that general direction. The very air around them hung heavy with the smell of trouble, and Sissmuth wasn't so sure he was ready [or willing] to take on that kind of adventure. Yes, he did leave his village in the hopes of finding a life and place to better suit his boring life... but this wasn't at all what he had in mind.

Then again, the fates worked in strange and mysterious ways. Perhaps if he just let it take him wherever it wanted, he'd find the answers and lifestyle he was looking for. That, and he also had already given Jollanel his promise that he'd escort the others safely to Desdon.

He supposed one more favor wouldn't hurt, since he thought Asper was much too crowded and noisy for someone of his preference. But he swore to himself, once they were secure inside the walls of Desdon, he would ditch them and leave on his own pilgrimage immediately.

Yes, he thought. This, I will do. Having some direction and plan in mind was a huge comfort, and Sissmuth gradually began to feel better about the situation as he shook his head free of the complex, worrisome thoughts, and gestured for the others to follow as he trailed behind Akari.

Rusty took after Akari and Sissmuth, following the ice divots left in the dirt on the road into the darkness of the woods. He trailed just inside of the light provided by Akari’s flame. Though he was capable of generating his own flames to provide more light for the group, he kept his magic away, saving every ounce of it for those who deserve to feel the burn of his magic when the chance came. He was determined to get his necklace back.

Despite the intensity of the mood, the pursuit hadn't gone without its share of suppressed raccoon-chuckling from behind Akari. With his arms pointed at his sides, it was as if he thought himself a jogging, glowing christmas tree preparing to pounce it's victims up ahead.

Cyrus had little idea of how Akari had established a tracking method, though by overhearing previous conversation he understood it to concern a frozen leg in one way or another. Despite a gripping curiousity, he decided to keep his inquiries to himself for the time being, in the interest of stealth. He told himself mentally to focus on the task at hand, that people get their legs encased in ice all the time; as mundane an event as breakfast. Follow Akari, he knows what he's doing.

He hoped.

His predictions had told him that he needed to go to Desdon sometime before midnight of the next day. So far the group had been on the same track as he, which gave him plenty of reason to tag along. However, the choice wasn't without its pains. Cyrus winced at the thought of the fatigue and throbbing feet that would follow the trek.

Despite this, Cyrus couldn't hold back his excitement for the change. A two hour taxi ride to the city would have sucked anyway, and now he was already doing something significant, with his path in sight.

Akari had paused up ahead at the nearest hillcrest, his head darting about. With a pang Cyrus realized the reason. A melting ice block can only be so for so long.

He treaded up through the tall grass of the hill until he approached Akari's shoulder. "So, what's the status?" he asked quietly.

Akari jumped a bit when Cyrus spoke, but quickly regained his composure. "Apparently, these guys aren't stupid," he replied, waving out the flame on his right hand, "although the patrol guy probably made the ice really thick, and ice doesn't melt nearly that fast, they must've built a fire or something to decrease the size of the ice..." Akari trailed off, his eyes noticing something: a shield. Much like the riot shields the Asper Milita used in some of the training exercises Akari had watched on local TV news reports. There were two things wrong with this shield in front of him, though: One was that this shield was not being held by anyone in the Militia, and the other was that the shield had two bullet holes in it.

That was when Akari realized that they were probably near the Asper city limits. These sorts of guards, according to accounts of various people in the crowds Akari had heard during the pre-Trials ceremony, were stationed at every entrance and exit to the city for an unknown reason, preventing everyone from going in or out.

Akari crouched down and held up his left index finger, still bearing a flame, near it. Dark liquid was spotted around the bullet holes in the shield. The scent of blood filled his nose. "They've been here, all right..." Akari muttered to himself. The body to which the blood belonged to was nowhere to be found; Akari guessed that the other guards must've dragged it away after the muggers fled, thus explaining the lack of their presence. Akari stood up, took in a deep whiff of the air, and picked up something new: ashes. These guards had a campfire going, seeing that this was a forested area inside the city limits with no food stores in sight. That also answered the question of how the ice melted so fast: the muggers used the already-built and lit campfire to melt off a good deal of the ice, probably by just setting the frozen leg in the fire, then allowing the other two muggers to lift that guy up in such a way so he wouldn't make any more tracks with his leg.

"These guys are still really dangerous," he explained to Cyrus and whoever else was listening, "and I must be honest, I can't track them as easily as I could with the divots in the ground. However, even if we do lose their trail, the best thing we can do is just head to Desdon, and hope we find them along the way. Rusty and I can use our noses to an extent, but that's about the best we can do. C'mon, guys, let's keep moving!" Akari exclaimed, snapping his right fingers again to re-illuminate it, and continued down the hill.

Sissmuth shook a chill down the end of his tail and tapped the ground with his staff. He couldn't hear any suspicious vibrations around, which was more of a relief than anything. Stiffling a wide yawn, he exposed the small, sharp teeth that lined his mouth before flicking his tongue out in the air. Then he turned to the distant horizon, his eyes contracting a little to the faint rays of light beginning to peek over the hills. It would be dawn soon, and without any time to rest and rejuvenate their strengths, even if the bandits were caught, no one would be in any condition to fight.

Even so, he thought with an inward sigh, if they believe they can go on, let them. He suddenly frowned at the slight rumbling in his stomach. A drink would be nice about now... ale, as usual. He wouldn't mind sinking his teeth into a medium steak either... His mouth began to water, and Sissmuth was so engrossed in his daydreams, he didn't even really notice Akari and the other stopping to examine the clues left on the road.

Rusty followed the group closer to the center of the lit area from Akari’s flame. The scene they had just past spooked him a little.

The thieves couldn’t have had their run-in of this camp not too long ago, yet why does everything here seem barren? No one was in sight and not a scent was trailing away from the initial conflict area. What really got to Rusty’s nerves was the fact that not even the body of the militia member who had been shot through his shield could be sensed, not by sight or smell.

What happened?

Alert, he kept on scanning the black walls of the forest that started from the edges of both sides of the road, convinced that someone was hiding there. He was telling himself that if anyone was hiding, they would be back around the camp, be it one of the militia members who had found cover under the trees to lick his wounds… without leaving a visible trail of blood or the thieves, but he could help but just stay on the lookout.

But there was one thing he didn’t see coming.

He veered closer to Sissmuth without realizing it and walked into the staff Sissmuth was swinging rhythmicly with his steps, tripping over it. A couple of awkward hops and a whirl kept Rusty from falling flat on his face.

“Sorry about that,” he said, embarrassed.

Akari stopped at the bottom of the hill. "Hey, guys!" he called out, "If we head this way, we'll make it to where the Astran River forks off into one of its tributaries. From there, we can follow the Astran River all the way to Desdon," he explained.

Turning back to see if the others were there, he saw that Sissmuth was lagging behind. He was clearly in need of rest. Rusty even managed to trip over Sissmuth's staff. After thinking for a minute, he didn't blame them. The sun was about to rise, anyway, which meant that all of them had been awake for around 20 hours. Akari himself had managed to stay awake that long without the assistance of caffeine, before, but he always felt tired the next day. If they were going to continue to pursue the muggers, they'd have to be well-rested. Akari himself didn't feel tired, being all pumped up by the chase, but he knew that continuing on through sunrise would not be such a good idea, knowing how tired he might be come mid-day.

"How's this," he offered to the two, Sissmuth in particular, "once we get to the Astran River, we'll make camp. Once we're well-rested enough, we'll continue on to Desdon by following the straight line created by that river. Sound good? It should only take us a couple more hours to get there, I'd imagine..."

Sissmuth shifted inside his cloak and grunted with a stiff nod of his head. It wasn't the idea of trekking over long distances that annoyed him -- he'd traveled from Valter to Asper in less than a day, as he was inwardly prideful that this was a feat only most lizardfolk could do -- but trekking over long distances with an empty stomach and sagging eye sockets and two gems that were now flickering with a dullish glow. A little meditation would be nice, he thought to himself, but he supposed he could make it to the river before crashing.

He yawned again, keeping his thoughts to himself, and continued on, assured by the idea that once he found rest, he'd be less in a bad mood.

[Like the actual animal, lizardfolk get rather sluggish without heat or energy.]

[Looks like I'll be joining you! Hi =3

Role-player’s Name: Lux, The Janitor

General Information

Name: Anayu De’Teirm

Nickname: n/a

Race: Anthro

Species: Dhole

Age: 18

Gender:Female

Dominant Side: Ambidextrous

Description: She’s quite tall, ranging about 7ft in height and she appears to be quite physically strong, but one could probably not judge her strength accurately from how she looks (although she looks quite muscular). Her fur is red, but her chestfur (from her lower jaw, down the inner arms and thighs) is white.
Her eyes could reveal her as a strong-spirited person to those that can read such things, and her face is beautifully formed, although it's got the occasional ragged fur – perhaps she doesn't take good enough care of her fur.

Personality: Inwards and reserved, but often very determined. She’s not a person that could smile with ease. Anayu loves to use her magic, though, and is very passionate about training.
If she is confronted in a battle, she will usually fight back, but she rarely starts a fight. She prefers to fight from a distance, which is what she has specialized in, but she wouldn’t run from a melee fight if it would come to that. She would, however, try to gain some distance and then take care of her opponent from range.
She often uses her gender to get what she wants or to succeed in something.

History: Anayu was born in Desdon, but spent most of her life alone, as her parents died from disease. Noone had figured out what disease it was or why her parents were the only ones infected by it. This happened when she was six years of age, and she learned to live on her own quickly.
It did not take long for her to discover her magical ability and she began practicing her Terrakinetic power when she was seven. She wasn’t particularly familiar with the laws of Desdon at her age, but after she was caught once, she became more careful and picked her locations wisely. Not that she ever broke any law with that, though; she later learned that it happend only because people wanted her gone.

At the age of 12 she learned that she could store magical energy in gemstones and began looking for one that she could use. With money she had earned by doing small jobs, she bought a small emerald and within a few days, she had charged it and was using it. As the years passed, though, she decided that her current gemstone was not big enough to suit the energy requirement of her more powerful abilities, but she could not afford an upgrade. So when she was 14, she travelled out of Desdon to look for another type of gemstone to store her powers in. She never found herself looking back to Desdon, though she sometimes missed the city. She travelled to the mountains north of Aldo and stayed there for three years. She found herself another gemstone – a rather large one which was the about the size of 3/5 of her fist.
During those three years, she taught herself some very powerful – and dangerous Earth techniques. Some of them had great repercussions for herself, some had not, but that never really deterred her from practicing.
Three years later, on her way back to the area a little north of Desdon again, she stole a metal staff from a travelling merchant. She spent some time using her earth magic to form a handle of rock, and she imbued her gemstone in that handle.
A few days later, after her 18th birthday she found herself north of Desdon, a little less than a day’s march away. She sighed a little, looking toward Desdon’s direction for the first time in years, but she turned her back to it and began walking toward Asper. But noises in the distance had her hiding up in a tree.
There were a bunch of humans passing below her, heading toward Desdon. Apparently, they were in a hurry. Anayu frowned slightly.
She chose to rest in that tree for the night and then see what they were running from.

Clothing: Simple clothing. She is bare-footed and wears an earth-coloured piece of clothing strapped around her waist. It goes down in front of her legs and behind her legs, covering up the most important things, at least. She wears something that looks like bandages around her chest.

Equipment: A metal staff with a rock handle, imbued with a large gemstone.

Ability Information

Magic
---Genotype: m^E m^E
------Elements: Earth
---Stones: A large emerald
---Techniques:
(all techniques requires Anayu to at least be able to move her arms and legs. Should she be incapable of doing so, her magic will be ineffective.)

(1)Rock throw (offensive/defensive, lower level technique, effect occurs instantly) – Lifts a nearby rock into the air and hurls it forward. Energy requirement varies with the size of the rock. Can also be lifted straight up and not thrown as a defensive move.

(2)Strength of Earth (beneficial, offensive/defensive, medium level, effect occurs 3 seconds after cast) – Increases the weight and the strength of the caster by pulling minerals from the earth to bind around her. This ability protects her from physical harm and some magical effects. While under the effects of this ability, the caster does not control the minerals bound around her body with her body movements, but with her mind. This means that the strength of her physical attacks are as strong as she wants them to be – but there are limits to that. If the strength of her attacks become more than her body can handle, she will risk breaking her own body in the process. Additionally, she cannot use this ability if she is not allowed to focus on maintaining it. Because of this, she can use no other skill while under the influence of Strength of Earth. This ability drains energy over time, and the more movements made under its influence, the more energy is required.

(3)Rock Sphere (defensive, low level technique, effect occurs instantly) – The caster summons rocks from below the earth to shield herself in a sphere shape. Energy requirements depend on how long it is maintained, but initially it requires little energy. This ability can be used for preparation to perform a combo.

(4)Rain of Stones (offensive, combo, low level technique, effect occurs instantly) – After protecting herself with Rock Sphere, the caster can begin shooting sharp rock spikes from the sphere. This skill weakens the sphere gradually until all of the Rock Sphere is consumed. This is a channeled technique that drains energy over time.

(5)Earthbound (offensive-defensive, trap, low level technique, effect occurs instantly) – The caster attempts to trap her target with earth, raising it around the target, making it attempt to grab its limbs to immobilize it. Requires a medium amount of energy.

(6)Fissure (offensive, high level technique, effect occurs 3 seconds after cast) – The caster invokes a fissure in front of her, covering about 30+ yards. The more energy spent increases the length of the fissure. This ability requires a high amount of energy to invoke and a medium amount of energy to enhance. Energy depletes over time as the skill is maintained.

(7)Landslide (offensive/defensive/beneficial, high level technique, effect occurs 4 seconds after cast) – Allows the caster to push the ground below her in any direction, causing a landslide. She can use it to attack opponents, or she can use it to gain distance. She can also cause a landslide below herself to allow her to ”surf” on it for quick travels. This requires a low amount of energy to begin with, but requirement becomes larger as it is channeled.

(8)Weapon of Earth (beneficial, medium level technique, effect occurs instantly) – Allows the caster to bend rock and other earthly minerals into the form of blunt melee weapons. This ability requires almost no energy.

(9)Terrakinesis (beneficial, high level technique, effect occurs instantly) – Allows the caster to move minerals at free will without using a specific technique, such as rocks and the like. This ability does not require much focus, allowing her to use Terrakinesis with another ability to create a variety of combinations. This skill requires almost no energy, but it slowly depletes over time. Terrakinesis can be used to lift a very small area off ground level and move it freely about in the air, which is useful for travel. This ability can not be used offensively over long distances, as the effect weakens the further away the controlled item moves away from the caster. Lifting a piece of the land itself in this manner causes strain to the body and magical energy to deplete rapidly.

(10)Earthquake (offensive, ultimate level technique, effect occurs 10 seconds after cast) – Anayu’s most powerful ability. It combines Terrakinesis, Landslide and Earthbound into one technique that takes hold of the earth plates far below the surface. Once this contact is achieved, Anayu’s body will become one with the Earth, allowing her movements to create earthquakes around her. This ability, however, is a two-edged sword. It uses up all energy inside the caster and inside the Gemstone to initiate and then feeds on the life energy of the caster, which – in Anayu’s case – will allow it to last a maximum of 7 seconds before it must be stopped. Overuse of this ability will kill the caster. Additionally, once the effect ends, the body will be immobilized for a varying amount of time, leaving the caster vulnerable.

(11)Rock Fists (beneficial, low level technique, effect occurs instantly) – The first thing Anayu usually casts when going in a close-range battle. It causes rock to form around her feet up to her thighs and around her hands up to her elbow, protecting those parts of her. It also adds weight to her, making her hit harder at the cost of some agility. Requires little energy.

]

I reviewed Lux's character, and yes, she does seen a bit overpowered. I think we can trust Lux, however, to know how to balance his own character out, though. Indeed, even I had to admit, I can see this being somewhat of a problem for Sissmuth, who believes that the earth should be disturbed as little as possible. I'm intersted to know how she'll make her entrance and what role she plans to play in our little group.

About EO, I had a few vague ideas, but they could use some touching up. I was sort of thinking something really far-out... such as geokinetics altering the earth's electromagnetic field, and aerokinetics sort of "push aside" the atmosphere to allow a brief discharge of solar winds forward, but that sounds too complicated... not to mention suicide. XD I dunno.. I'll try to htink of more later, but ill be extremely busy this week and next, so my availability will be limited until then.

[ Yes, I know she seems that way, but I've been trying to balance it out by giving her the limitations mentioned in the bio. I might still add some more limitations as we progress if she needs balancing. Among the existing limitations is that she can't use Elemental Overdrive, as she needs to be physically moving in order to use her magic ().

And indeed, it will be interesting to see how her presence would affect Sissmuth.

Btw, Rex. Skype me! I've been trying to add you D:

[edit] It's not yet time for her to make herself known to the group, but I'm going to make her first post soon. Just waiting for you to get a bit closer before I unravel my schemes. *muaha* *cough*]

[sorry, my skype is down right now. I'm cleaning up all my accounts on websites I don't use and am starting fresh on my new laptopzzz!! :] So I got a new name I'll relay to you guys once I get this thing going.]