Position Vacant: Soul Reaping - Graveyard Shift | OOC/CLOSED

[Sindrya]

Position Vacant: Soul Reaping - Graveyard Shift

A spinoff-sequel from an RP by Atlannia

IC

Soul [N]: The embodiment of a human spirit or life force.

Demon [N]: An entity that devours souls.

Reaper [N]: One who is tasked to gather souls.

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“--A great deal of ink has been spent speculating as to the true nature of the afterlife, or indeed, whether there is an afterlife at all and what precisely is the fate of the human spirit after death. For any curious individuals the answer can be found to be a loose parallel of the destiny of its corporeal form. Just as after death the body is broken down, decomposed and consumed by various organism in order to provide nourishment to the greater circle of life, upon separating from the body the soul to is consumed by certain organisms and expelled as loose particles which will eventually join together again in the formation of new souls, thereby furnishing in their death, life anew.
The organisms that consume souls and consequently provide for the creation of new souls and new lives are known to humans and refer to themselves, as demons.--”

-Ludwig Bactravier, Metaphysical Biology, an introduction (1950)

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“—Of particular importance to the cycle of death and rebirth are the demons that inhabit the physical plane and are called in demonic parlance reapers. Charged with collecting the souls of dead humans and sending them to Hell to be refined and distributed by the demon lords among their favoured subjects, Reapers perform a vital role for both human and demon worlds. Nevertheless they occupy one of the lowest rungs in the militaristic, feudal culture of demon society, the positions of wealth and influence being occupied by powerful warrior class demons who fight to expand the territory of their lords within Hell.
The main duties of the reaper are twofold. Firstly as stated above they must collect the souls of deceased humans. Despite great strides made in automation thanks to the invention of the magical construct known as a psychopomp, deaths that occur unexpectedly or in great numbers at once normally need the direct intervention of a reaper. Secondly it is the duty of a reaper to slay any monsters that develop within their territory.
An unreaped souls will eventually seek to re-attach itself to its body or, failing that, any other available host. Of course it is impossible to restore someone to life that simply and what is birthed in the attempt is known in human parlance as a monster. A monster, like demons, requires human souls to sustain its existence but unlike demons they are mindless, ravenous beasts who do not patiently wait for humans to die before consuming their souls, they attack anyone they can get their hands (or other appendages) on, endlessly feeding and growing stronger until they are killed.--“

-Mathew Clarke, Infernal Power Structures: A Study of Modern Demonic Society (2001)

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“--Of late however some mysterious phenomenon has affected the period known colloquially as the drift, the period of time a soul can safely float free of its body before attempting to find a new host. While in 1958 the average drift for a soul was 29 days and the lowest recorded drift was 14 days, in 2015 the average drift time has decreased to 15 days and drift times as low as four days have been noted. This alarming trend combined with the exponential growth of the human population and accompanying spike in total deaths has left the reaping industry unable to cope. Reapers in all sections are heavily overworked and failing to account for all souls in their areas of responsibility despite logging unprecedented levels of overtime. With the option of diverting more demons from our standing military force into the human world to assist with reaping being untenable given the current strategic position of our kingdom and the situation in the mortal realm rapidly deteriorating we are forced to consider somewhat unorthodox methods for responding to these developments.

Living humans, strengthened via an infusion of demon blood should prove capable of manifesting a scythe and performing the basic duties of a reaper on a part time or casual basis. With every currently operating reaper able to supervise several ‘part-time reapers’ at once if this plan is implemented on a wide scale the overall capacity of the industry should increase by three or fourfold, easily enough to cope with current levels.

-Xalthuzaahr, Chief Executive Reaper to Lord Groar of the Thirteenth Kingdom, A proposal regarding the state of the reaping industry

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All you want was just a part-time job.

Whether it was because you want to buy something and can't afford it, or because you have to pay your tuition fees, or you started recognizing the awful economic situation of yours, or you just feel like spending the incoming long holidays with working hard so that you can brag to your friends that you've done something when school starts again, or hell, maybe you just feel like it. Each of you had different reasons, all of you just want the same thing: a part time job. It shouldn't be too hard finding one in this little town. With just an area of 7.15 square miles, Hunter's Woods is not that big of a town, and there's only two high school and one academy, so competition, even though still a concern, is not really that big of a problem.

But somehow Lady Luck just wasn't smiling at you today. All the places you've been to either straight up rejected your applications or just gave you vague answers like "We'll think about it" or "I'll see what I can do". Right now you'd even accept a part-time job working at the town's sewer systems, though there were famous urban legend about people went missing from venturing into the sewers. In the middle of your desperation, you somehow ended up here, standing in front of a diner which looked like it could use some good redecorating, on the end of a rather short cul-de-sac in one of the less fancier neighborhood in town. The sign said "Glutton's Diner". In the slightly dusty glass door, you could see the sign "Yes! We are OPEN!" hanging. But what caught your fancy was the sign on the window with the same amount of dust clinging on it like the glass door.

POSITION VACANT

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Soul Reaping, Part Time
Working Graveyard Shift (20:00 PM - 4:00 AM)
NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY
Apply at Glutton's Diner, 13 Grim Pl.

Work alongside interesting coworkers in a challenging environment with room for advancement. Develop marketable new skills and valuable connections in a growing industry!
NB: All new employees to sign an N.D.A. and a liability waiver. Employers are not to be held responsible for any loss of life, limb, or property incurred during the course of employment.

Strange. No matter what, your mind screamed that this looked like a joke all around.

A very detailed and elaborate one at that.

In fact, if it weren't for the "Soul Reaping" part, you could pass it off as a legitimate "Help Wanted" sign.

You turned around, thinking how ridiculous that there was such a thing as Soul Reaping as a job. In this day and age? Soul Reaping? What a load of fantasy bull.

That's what you wanted to do, though.

There was some strange thing that nailed your attention to that sign. You don't know what that is. All that you know was that sign kept bugging your mind, trying to get your attention. You considered your options. For the whole day you faced nothing but rejections and uncertainties with your applications and interviews. And here is a job opportunity, for you, without any requirements for experience whatsoever. Why shouldn't you give a try?

Indeed, why shouldn't you?

Looking at the dusty establishment once again, you tried your hardest to fight off any kind of dread haunting your mind.

You took a deep breath.

You opened the door.

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Soul Reaping for Dummies: Part-Timers' Guide Edition

A small but thick handbook you found on one of the table inside as you make your way to the diner's owner's office for the interview. Aside from the dust that had accumulated since God knows when, you found some of the slightly yellowing pages stuck together at the corner by some crimson-colored stains. Judging from the place, it's probably tomato sauce or salsa. Probably.

If you are reading this, you are either a 12-years-old kid who was too curious for your own good about anything supernatural, or a newly-employed Soul Reaper who had just passed the interview. If you're the former, you'd better put this book back from wherever you found it. Seriously, kid, you don't know what you're getting into. If you're the latter, well, congrats. This handbook is one of the few default handbooks for someone who had just started a profession like yours. And a handbook is essential for a fledgling Soul Reaper. If you think I was lying, if you think that actually the scythe is more essential, you're already on your way to join the dead Soul Reapers. A scythe is a Reaper's primary means of combat, true, but knowledge about the foe your combating against is just as primary as the scythe. A Reaper with a scythe but no knowledge is a failed Reaper, and will end up dead. A Reaper with knowledge but no scythe is dead as well, though they usually die quicker, plus there's no such Reaper without a scythe.

Anyway, now that you probably get the basic importance of this handbook, there's no more reason for me to hold you back on the introduction. Onto the next part.

While full-fledged demonic Reapers perform a number of services as representatives and agents of their lords on the mortal plane, as a newly inducted part-time Reaper you will almost certainly be restricted to performing the two main functions of a Soul Reaper. As you may have supposed by now, one of those is collecting the souls of the deceased. Though great strides have been made in automating this process via the magical constructs known as psychopomps, unexpected deaths or a high volume of deaths occurring all at once can overload a psychopomps guidance systems, necessitating a manually performed reaping.

Doing so is quite simple, it requires manifesting one's scythe (refer to section two below for more details) and striking the errant soul with it. This will destabilize the soul into raw spiritual energy which can then be collected by a psychopomp as usual.

It is important that this process be performed during the period known as the drift. The drift is the length of time between when a souls is first separated from its original body to when it attempts to bond with a new host, forming a monster. The average drift time is around thirty days but can be as high as two months or as low as two weeks. In the event that a soul does become a monster then the reaper’s duties expand to include dealing with the threat and retrieving any souls the monster has managed to eat, a process that is again performed via liberal application of one's scythe

The personal weapons of demons and the most important tool in the arsenal of any reaper. Scythes are created by crystallizing some of the soul energy stored within the demon’s body into a physical form. Scythes are a reflection of the souls Demons have devoured, and those that have devoured many can manifest their scythe in almost any form they please, fluidly altering it to suit the tactical situation as needed. Part-time Reapers on the other hand have to rely on their own souls to furnish them with a scythe and hence their weapons have only one form, each scythe being unique to its owner. Despite being many times weaker than a true demon scythe a part time reaper’s scythe is still capable of performing its most important function of sending souls to Hell and is a powerful weapon in its own right. Scythes operate on the principle of soul wavelengths, the fluctuations of energy that control the flow of raw spiritual energy inside a soul and in living organisms help to synergize the soul with its living host. If a being can be likened to a computer then its soul wavelength is somewhat like the code that tells it how to operate. Scythes share the wavelength of their owner's souls so when a scythe cuts into a souls its own fluctuations interfere with the normal operation of the soul, destabilizing it and causing it to break down. To continue the metaphor they are somewhat akin to computer viruses that attack a computer by forcibly inserting their own, incorrect code into the system's normal operations.

Although scythes are all unique and possess an untold number of forms, the vast majority of them can be placed within three broad categories.

Striker: The most common and arguably reliable kind of scythe, Strikers operate by injecting their wavelength directly into an opponent’s soul, making them by necessity melee weapons. Popular forms include swords, spears, knives and of course actual scythes. Compared to other forms strikers are usually the most powerful in terms of the damage they deal relative to the amount of energy required to wield, their sturdy forms are also useful for blocking or parrying enemy attacks, making them versatile weapons for both offense and defense. The obvious drawback is that their low range leaves one exposed to counter attack or in the case of ranged or flying enemies sometimes unable to attack at all.

Emitter: The second most common type of scythe. Emitters, as their names suggest, operate by emitting a blast of spiritual energy imprinted with their wavelength, They can effectively deal damage from a distance but the trade-off is that every shot costs a certain amount of their wielder's energy, when fired too often they can leave a reaper exhausted and unable to fight. Popular forms of emitters include bows, firearms, crossbows and throwing weapons such as knives or javelins.

Familiar: The least common and arguably most unusual scythe. A familiar is a kind of magical construct similar to a psychopomp (Indeed early psychopomps were developed with familiars as their inspiration) but optimized for combat. Usually taking on the form of a kind of creature, familiars can respond to telepathic commands from their wielders and can attack enemies independently. They normally attack at close range in a manner similar to a striker type scythe but some familiars have been observed with emitter like abilities as well. In terms of sheer power, familiars lag behind both strikers and emitters as it is theorized their extra sophistication requires additional energy. However their unique utility makes them tactically useful and they have the advantage of leaving their user's hands free, a benefit of especial use to aspiring mages, who frequently require both hands free to perform more powerful spells.

The bane (and also prey) of Reapers everywhere, who regard them as farmers regard rabbits, monsters are inconvenient at best and outright dangerous if allowed to grow out of control. A monster is created when an unreaped souls tries to reattach itself to a host and its form is determined by the type of host it takes over, meaning there are millions of different forms possible however a few of the most common types are as follows:

Zombies.
Also known as ghouls, revenants and dozens of other names in other languages, zombies are by far the most common type of monster as they are formed when a soul reattaches itself to its dead body, which is usually the closest empty vessel available.
Fortunately zombies are also one of less threatening kinds of monsters, although resistant to most normal forms of damage, immune to pain and strengthened by the lack of mental limitations, zombies are inhibited by their decomposing bodies, which limits their agility and senses.

Beast.
Another extremely common form of monster, beasts are responsible for many of the myths and legends of the human world. Beasts arise when a human soul reattaches itself to a living animal. The resulting fusion increases the creature’s strength significantly but the two souls are constantly warring for supremacy, making the creature highly erratic and violent. The kind of creature possessed by the soul can greatly affect the strength of the resulting beast but generally speaking a beast is quite manageable for even part time reapers.

Golem.
Notably rarer, a golem occurs when an unreaped soul can find no suitable living host to possess and must turn to inanimate material, normally moulding it into a roughly human shape. Golems can be quite dangerous, as they are highly resistant to most forms of damage and can be quite strong without any of the resulting lack of agility zombies normally possess. Taking on Golems can be challenging even for experienced part-timers and it is recommended to use a team of at least three or four people.

Poltergeist
An odd cousin of the golem, a poltergeist forms when a soul possesses an inanimate object but, for reasons not entirely understood do not reshape the material but instead possess it in its original form. This means poltergeist can vary wildly in strength, a possessed set of keys for example, is unlikely to be much of a threat to anyone but there are stories of larger objects or even buildings being possessed and giving even experienced Reapers significant trouble.

Twilight Folk
Perhaps the most unusual of all monsters, the twilight folk refer to monsters that have devoured enough souls to acquire a new kind of sentience, through a process not entirely dissimilar to how demons give birth. A highly diverse group, the Twilight Folk are responsible for the legends of such figures as vampires, werewolves, the fae and other such stories, they are highly reclusive and have their own society. Diplomatically the Twilight Folk are on poor terms with demon society, although all Twilight folk develop a method other than outright consuming human souls to feed themselves many demons see them as little more than the monsters they originated from and many demons openly hunted them until the outbreak of the Twilight war and then the signing of the Treaty of Odense. Now demons are obliged to leave the Twilight Folk in peace unless they kill humans, thereby endangering the demons’s food source.

What do I mean by "Neutral Adversaries" are adversaries who aren't Monsters. Due to their statuses as "not-Monsters", Demons, and by extension, Reapers, are not allowed to interfere with their business, as long as they also don't interfere with ours. This rule was created through agreement by each Lord and Lady from the Thirteen Kingdoms of Hell. Most of the time, these adversaries are humans.

Hunters of The Church

"-And it is with great importance that I bellow unto all of you, my brothers, fellow Hunters of The Church, and all aspiring future Hunters, to take stand against the forces of demons and their machinations. In order to glorify the name of Our Lord and Savior and God, not only must we protect our kind and hunt the beasts - vile defective creatures created by tainted souls and demonic influence - that endanger men, lurking in the night and dark corners of the Earth unexplored by mankind, but it is also important to push back His enemies, so that our faith may not be soiled by their taint. Each hunt succeeded is one victory for God and our faith, and one push back to the demons. Let us pray for our next hunt, to be finished in victory in the name of God, His Son, our faith, and mankind!"

-Sir Ludvig of Prussia, Grand Master of First Generation Hunters of The Church, A Hunter's Codex (1440)

Full name: Order of the Hunters of The Holy Vatican Church. Also called "Church Hunters", "Vatican Hunting Dogs", "Modern-Day Knights Templar", or the more colloquially-used term, "Exorcists". A branch of Vatican's Catholic Church structure that actively hunts for beasts and demons through holy mandates handed down by The Pope since their formation in 1429. Supposedly, after their last Crusade, the Vatican recognized that they have a need to make them an official part of the Church. Since the beginning of time, ever since mankind acknowledged the existence of monsters, humanity had been fighting them back. The birth of various religions that demonize these beasts and the existence of demons (no pun intended) only give it more purpose. Christianity, in particular, had been actively sanctioning "holy hunts" against these beasts, usually using either a paid hunter, or a priest trained in hunting, whom also called as an exorcist. However, there were never a formal organization of their own hunters, until the formation. One of the standard rules of becoming a Hunter of The Church is must be a part of the Catholic Church itself, and passed the training course provided by the Vatican. Hence why most Hunters of The Church are usually clergymen, and all of them are called with the title "Father". The terms for passing the course was not only have to be fit in physical terms, but also in spiritual terms, because "Holiness makes the beasts cower". After passing the course, each Hunter will be tasked to various dioceses around the world.

During their Hunts, usually they crossed paths with Soul Reapers. Even though they don't have as much advantage as Reapers do, they're still physically capable toe-to-toe with some. Due to their particular views in magic, Church Hunters usually take advantage of "Trick Weapons", weapons with the ability to transform from one form to a second form - another product of human ingenuity - and firearms. Combined with their intense physical training, Church Hunters was one of the deadliest foes of Monsters everywhere.

Necromancers

Mages with the capability to raise, talk, and overall interact with the dead. They usually make use of their magical powers to create zombies. This factor makes them one of the indirect adversaries of Reapers.

Demonic society is staunchly militaristic and hierarchical, one's position within is determined almost entirely by combat strength and the rank of a demon is a good rough indicator of their power level. Demons establish picking order by constant struggles for dominance, using every ounce of cunning and raw strength they have to secure and defend their position.
Note that as Reapers dwell within the mortal realm they are generally not counted among the normal rank structure, most tend to be relatively weak, preferring to make their living via honest work rather than war, there are a few notable outliers however.

Husk: The lowest position within Hell. A husk is effectively an unemployed demon who has no duties or position. Consequently Husks receive no souls from a liege and are left in constantly starved, weak and near delirious state. In large scale warfare, husks are rounded up and herded in the general direction of the enemy, partly to serve as cannon fodder and partly just to keep their numbers down. Those few that survive are fed and promoted to the next rank. Husks appear as desiccated, corpse like figures usually marred by deformity and bizarre posture.

Grunt: The foot soldier of Hell. Grunts are employed in all sorts of menial tasks and form the bulk of demonic armies. They are fed infrequently which makes them aggressive and difficult to reason with but also relatively less powerful and strangely loyal as they are incapable of puzzling out alternative means of acquiring souls making them utterly reliant on their masters. In appearance Grunts appear as healthy and muscular humanoids but often with notable deformities or animal like features such as horns or snouts.

Reavers: The first rank of demons to be roughly of human intelligence. Reavers occupy low ranked leadership positions, generally charged with supervising packs of grunts as squad leaders or foremen. Reavers appear almost entirely human apart from a dominant feature from their time as grunts, often a pair of horns or a tail but more unusual features such as a forked tongue or scaled skin are possible as well, this appearance will generally solidify until the very upper ranks were demons start becoming monstrous once more. At the Reaver level demons first start exhibiting the self-interest and individualism demons are famous for, always on the lookout for schemes or corruption that they can turn to their own advantage. After all it is by scraping together through lying, stealing and treachery enough power that they can ascend to the next level.

Knights: The first level of the demonic nobility. Knights are accorded numerous privileges and are tasked with leading medium sized forces in war or enterprise. In addition Knights are normally granted a small portion of their liege's territory as well as the lesser demons inhabiting it. With these resources Knights are free to attack their fellow knights and raid into enemy territory to increase their holdings, a process the demon lords actually encourage to eliminate weak or stupid vassals. Knights do not change in appearance from Reavers although an air of menace is usually detectable by nearby lesser creatures.

Counts: Counts are somewhat unusual in that a Knight isn't promoted as such to Count, rather the process happens organically. When a Knight expands their territory through guile or conquest to the point where administering it becomes inconvenient or outright impossible they normally react by granting portions of it to unlanded demons in exchange for loyalty, creating new knights and making the first demon a count. As only the most powerful knights survive long enough and defeat enough enemies to become a count they tend to dangerous opponents indeed.

Dukes/Duchesses: The ambition of Demons never stands still however. As Counts demons may continue expanding their territory, often relying on their knights to do it for them however once they reach a certain threshold they are normally contacted by the Demon King whose realm they dwell in and expected to swear loyalty, becoming sworn vassals to the King. As Dukes and Duchesses demons are expected to provide the bulk of the King's army by levying their own vassals and are generally forbidden form waging full scale war with one another to avoid depleting the realm's manpower excessively. Dukes may however duel each other to settle disputes and negotiate between themselves to transfer territory or vassals between each other. Thriving as a Duke is therefore as reliant on diplomacy and cunning as it is on might and those Dukes who relied on brute force to attain their position often do poorly, sometimes even being reduced back to a count by losing territory and being forced to swear loyalty to another Duke. At the Duke/Duchess rank demons gain the ability to change their appearance at will and generally appear human although most tend to stay with one form for long stretches until something else becomes more fashionable.

The Sins: Another unusual rank, the sins are the seven dukes or duchesses within a kingdom's border understood to be the individually most powerful. Upon accepting this honour a duke or duchess relinquishes all of their land and vassals and serves the King as a personal retainer in exchange for glory and incredible wealth. Named for one of the seven great virtues by which demons prosper and grow strong (wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and glutton) the virtues serve the King as advisors, generals, bodyguards and most importantly as champions of combat.

Reaper: The name given to the demons who dwell in the human realm and collect human souls to feed the inhabitants of Hell. Reapers are looked down upon in demon society as cowards who avoid war despite their importance. Reapers must be at least Reaver rank as the task is too intellectually demanding for grunts but nominally a demon of any rank may elect to become a reaper and occasionally a higher ranked count or even duke may be ordered to become one as a kind of punishment.

Though magic is not the primary weapon of a reaper it can nevertheless be an effective tool. In addition, reapers often rely on the local magic community for vital exchanges of goods and services. Consequently a firm understanding of both the basic principles of magic and the people who practice it can be valuable for both the aspiring and experienced reaper alike.

Basic principles
Magic is essentially the principle of using the highly malleable energy known as mana to manifest some kind of noticeable change in the physical world, this process is what is typically called a spell.

More precisely each spell can be broken up into several stages, each of which is vital for a successful spell casting. In order they are:

The source
The source is where the mana that will power the spell is drawn from. Mana occurs naturally in a variety of places and can be artificially stored in others via the application of certain processes but the most reliable and readily available is typically the soul of the person casting the spell. Other favoured sources include naturally occurring minerals and plants and less commonly the souls of other people. Mana can also be granted by magical beings such as spirits and deities though typically stringent conditions must be met or certain services performed before such beings give out their mana. Demons are also capable of lending mana to humans and did so in the past however forming contracts with humans is now illegal in all of the demon kingdoms. Rumours of illegal contracts abound but remain unproven.

Drawing
Drawing is the act of extracting or drawing out mana from the source and preparing it for use in a spell. Usually this requires physical contact with the source (although advanced mages have displayed the capacity to remotely draw). The mana is pulled out of its source and concentrated in a small area, most typically the palms of both hands, where it appears as an eerie light that grows in intensity as more mana is drawn out until the spell is cast. The precise colour and other qualities of the mana can be indicative of both the source used and the quality of the spell about to cast and so analysing the drawing of one's opponent can be a deciding factor in magical duels.

Drawing is the first stage at which a mage's natural qualities start to tell as every living being has a sharply defined capacity for storing active mana. More mana must be drawn out at one time to perform more powerful spells however the penalty for exceeding one's capacity, known rather quaintly as mana sickness, can be quite severe ranging from dizziness, headaches and tiredness up to brain and nerve damage, insanity and death depending on how far the mage exceeds their capacity. Capacity can be increased via training however the disparity between natural capacities can be so great as to require decades more training focused exclusively on improving it meaning most mages refuse to take on students who do not have impressive natural capacity, indeed the difficulty in finding students with sufficient capacity is perhaps the primary reason for the declining numbers of mages and exceptionally powerful mages in modern times.

Drawing has often been compared to the process of a reaper manifesting their scythe and indeed they bear certain similarities. The key difference is that when a reaper manifests their scythe the energy they draw from their souls is converted directly into a weapon rather than first becoming mana, circumventing the need for a lengthy incantation required to form mana into a spell but losing the versatility that makes mages such dangerous opponents.

Incantation.
Once the mana is drawn out it must be shaped into a usable form, this is accomplished by incantations. Despite the name incantations can also be performed via physical movements or written symbols, technically any method of transferring information should be theoretically capable of being used to perform incantations. The renowned American warlock Dean Newicker performed several successful incantations over radio waves and telegraph services however experiments into electronic communications methods such as email or internet streaming have produced only puzzling and rather spectacular failures. As mentioned previously the purpose of an incantation is to shape raw mana into a useable form or phenomenon by essentially instructing it, telling it to form a certain shape or act in a certain way when certain parameters are met. However because mana has almost no structure to begin with and intense amount of information is required to properly shape it, leading to the primary limiter on spell power, incantation length.

Incantations are typically measured in tomes, a standard unit of measurement which describes an incantation written down in a large book. A tome is not entirely precise due to high levels of secrecy and the lack of cooperation in the magical community but generally speaking a tome is understood to contain around 360,000 words and to take an average person about twenty hours to recite aloud (most mages can usually reduce this to about ten through training and practice.) Even the most basic spells that are likely to be of use in combat, hurling a basketball sized fireball or summoning an normal bat to harass one's foe for example, usually require about one tome's worth of incantation and more advanced spells can require tens, hundreds or even thousands of tomes' worth of incanting. Obviously if even the simplest of spells required ten hours to cast magic would never be of any practical use in combat and would likely never have been studied to the depth it has. This is where the next step, compression, comes in.

Compression.
If a spell is to be used in practical situations something has to be done about the length of incantations, this process is known as compression and it is perhaps one the most important and poorly understood aspects of magic. Simply put the first time a mage uses a new spell they must recite its incantation in its entirety however once they have done this they can begin shortening the incantation by producing new words that represent or stand in for multiple words of the original incantation, thereby heavily reducing the amount of recital needed to cast the spell. With repeated readings and castings of the spell the process of compression can be repeated on the shortened incantation, shortening it even further. With sufficient study, recital and practice with the spell a lengthy, twenty hour long incantation can be shortened down to a short sentence or even a single word. One of the most popular and oldest methods is known as primacy, the first letter of each word in the incantation is taken and the results are strung together to form new words. What the new words precisely look like is up to the inclination of the mage in question and so even mages using the same method of compression on the same spell will end up with different compressed incantations.

It's important to note that while compressing a spell once takes only a single recital of the spell, subsequent compressions typically require multiple readings and lengthy meditation sessions, the time required to compress is exponential so the first compression which might turn a ten hour incantation into a five hour one will only take several hours of reading whereas the 49th compression which turns a five second incantation into a two point five second incantation can take months or even years of study and meditation. Despite this case of diminishing returns many mages do compress their spells to this level, especially combat focused mages as the scant few seconds can often be a case of life or death in battle.

While Compression is an acquired skill rather than a natural ability its also true that some mages acquire and master it more rapidly than others. A talent for compression is the second factor after mana capacity for deciding a mage's raw power and some schools of magic which emphasise rapid use of less powerful spells value it even more than capacity.

Targeting.
Perhaps the easiest to understand part of a typical spell, targeting is simply the process of designating what the spell in question is going to attempt to affect. Different spells have different targeting requirements, some need a trajectory or vector for a projectile or beam to travel across, others target a section of the ground or another surface while others still require designating a specific object, creature or person as the target. Targeting can be performed via a number of methods, pointing fingers or simply focusing the eyes are common methods but some spells require marking the target with some kind of symbol or designating an area with a magic circle or other device. Anticipating where a particular spell will land by reading the movements of a mage as they target it is an important factor in combating mages.

Execution
The final stage of casting a spell and the most passive from the perspective of the caster. During the execution phase the spell can no longer be altered or cancelled in any way, its effects simply play out as in accordance with the spells' incantation, fireballs fly through the air, golems assemble themselves out of any nearby components, magical snakes pursue and attempt to devour their prey. The precise length of the execution phase varies according to the precise nature of the spell in question and environmental factors can play a role. For example if the target is further away and the spell cast produces a projectile that must travel towards the target than the execution phase will naturally take longer, especially if the target is an opponent who takes evasive action. Because of the lack of direct control during this phase, the execution phase is the most vulnerable to counters, that is methods of dealing with an enemies’ spell, such as evading its effects or blocking or disrupting it with a spell of one's own.

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EMPLOYEE NOTICE BOARD

Announcements

By: Your Boss

Salutations. My name's Sindrya, but you can call me Sin. In case you haven't already noticed, welcome to my Atlannia-approved spinoff-sequel RP of Atlannia's own RP, Position Vacant: Soul Reaping, Part Time; Position Vacant: Soul Reaping - Graveyard Shift. If any of you have seen or even joined that RP before, welcome back. If not, you'd better go find it and READ IT.

I got off tangent.

Anyway, yeah. So I get the permission to revive this idea from the dead, and revive it I did. However, I use a slightly different premise and time settings for this one. This is somewhat of a continuation from the original RP, happening after the events that was probably never going to happen since it died so prematurely which was the reason I revived it and- shit, I got off-tangent again. Well, like I said, this RP happens after a certain events in the previous RP's setting (which I won't reveal until due time), and instead of a cafe, it's now a diner (who are we kidding here, it's almost the same). But most of the lore and start of the plot remains the same. You are a group of teenagers desperate for a part-time job, who took the sign in front of a unconvincing-looking diner advertising a position as a "Part Time Soul Reapers" as a real job by chance. Turns out, the diner was a front for a literal Underworld. Like demons and stuff, not mobs and drugs.

Quoting what Atlannia said, "This is a very anime-y shonen-y kind of a thing, influences include stuff like Bleach, Soul Eater and Lith's TKAG SO there'll be plenty of opportunities to have massive fights, train under mysterious sensei's learn a little something about friendship and maybe even something about love too".

I sincerely doubt about the last part, but whatever.

Oh, also, for players from the previous RP, you'd probably see Sunset Gates and anything from there referenced a few times. And I need to beg about this to you for the sake of the plot: Please use an original new character. I won't refuse if you ported your character from Atlannia's RP here, but for the plot's sake, please use a new one.

That's all from me.

Sincerely,
Your OP.

---

Current Co-OP(s):

• Atlannia: Loremaster, and The Senpai You Can Always Depend On
  
• North Arkana: Ultimate Senpai-Maker, The Returnee Haafu
  
• New Antonalia: Resident Brit, The Caffeine-Addict Senpai

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Glutton's Diner Employee Application Form

Code: Select all

[b][u]Application[/u][/b](delete everything in brackets)
[i]Personal Profile[/i]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b](15 or above)
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Sexuality:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] (You can use a picture from somewhere or describe them, whichever you prefer. Please ensure written descriptions are reasonably detailed.)
[b]Scythe Name:[/b] (What do you call your scythe? Usually this is of most importance to Familiar-type scythes, since even though they're just weapons, they still sometimes act like pets. Or whatever. Also naming your scythe makes it stronger or stuff, since it displays a degree of bond over your soul and your scythe, and your scythe is still a part of your soul. Whatever, just give your scythe a name.)
[b]Scythe Type:[/b](Is your scythe a striker, emitter or familiar? If you don't know what any of that means refer to the handbook. If your scythe has other unique properties you should detail those here as well.)
[b]Scythe Appearance:[/b] (A picture or a detailed description as above)
[b]Magic:[/b] (This is an optional secondary ability that some of your characters will learn and use at a later point of time, depending on your own decision. 

[i]Background[/i]
[b]Education:[/b] (Which one of Hunter's Woods educational establishments is your character attending. Refer to the Welcome To Hunter's Woods section for more details if you aren't sure.)
[b]Relevant Experience:[/b] (Your Character's biography )
[b]Personal Strengths and Weaknesses:[/b] (should be fairly self-explanatory)
[b]Goals:[/b] (What motivates your character? What do they aspire to?)
[b]Theme Song:[/b] (strictly optional, note that those who do not select a theme song will be assigned a random track from one of my shitty playlists. Nah, I'm lying.)
[b]RP example:[/b] (Post to an RP you've been involved with before, if you have nothing you want to link to then just write something, if you have no idea what to write about make it about dragons. If I've RP'ed with you before you can probably skip this.)(Also, please post links to a specific post rather than just a thread! It's not like I mind digging through, it's just that it's annoying.)

---

Cast

Manager

Kenneth Moria (played by: Sindrya)

Staffs

Giorno Arcobaleno (cook, Senior-Rank Part-Time Reaper, close-quarters-combat specialist)

Amelia Soleil (waitress, Senior-Rank Part-Time Reaper, magic specialist)

Arlan Risto (treasurer, Senior-Rank Part-Time Reaper, scouting expert)

Employees

Valeria Ardenus (played by: Imperial--japan)

Robert "Robby" Blair (played by: New Antonalia)

Silvia Cole (played by: North Arkana)

Sigmund Brandt (played by: Finsternia)

Nagasaki "Naga" Warren (played by: Altito Asmoro)

Lawrence Sinclair (played by: Kazarogkai)

Renee Reyer (played by: Wartaria)

Jonathon Creed (played by: Free Empire of the Low Isles) (On Leave)

Eden Forester (played by: Atlannia)

John Arlington (played by: The Land of Golden Blobfish)

Thomas Setyobudi Peterson (played by: Indo-pasif archipelago)

Jackson Yenn (played by: Hank J Wimbleton)

Thomas Cain (played by: Imperial Northern States)

Kegan Kruvok (played by: Nitom)

---

Rules:

• Be polite to fellow employees and customers. (Don't be a dick. At least not where it's inappropriate. Your character is free to be one if you want, however.)
• If the employees and staffs are cogs and gears, then communication is the lube that keeps them running smoothly. (Discuss anything you find confusing with each other. Just with each other, not me. I'm not "each other". Nah, just kidding.)
• Mind your respect to the senior staffs, supervisors, and your employer. (The OP and Co-OP(s) are Gods clause. Respect our authority, and we'll respect any rights you have in this RP, however insignificant that is.)
• Submit any feedbacks and/or ideas to the Submission Box. Yes, that dirty cardboard box over there. (Tell me about any ideas you have. Whether it was character developments, background fleshing out, new enemies, new arcs, any thing. There's little possibility I will listen to it, but it's still a possibility.)
• Wash your hands, keep your workstation clean, and maintain the overall hygiene of Glutton's Diner. (Keep this PG-13. Or at least however far we can go without touching R.)
• A happy employee is a good employee. (Remember to have fun, however small that is.)
• Failure to abide by these guidelines will result in a $30 fine, pay cut, getting put in probationary period, or firing. (Be prepared for consequences.)

[Sindrya]

Welcome To Hunter's Woods!

Hunter's Woods is a town that stands somewhere between average and small. It has an area of 7.15 square miles, with population of 3,227, according to last year's count. It has no popular landmark, save for the forest surrounding the town, which is also where it took its name from, and a river that ran alongside the town. Hunter's Woods was named after both the forest - sometimes also incorrectly referred to as Hunter's Woods by people from outside of the town - and the man who was considered this town's founding father, Samuel J. Hunter. There are two main entrance-and-exit to the town: First, through the main road that extends along the town and bisected it into two halves, the Samuel J. Hunter Main Street. The second one is through the Hunter's Woods Railway Station.

Due to the forest surrounding the town, the scenery as you go in or left the town is quite refreshing. For five kilometers, there are only a stretch of woodlands on both sides. The forest also allowed for carpentry industries to bloom in this town, which is regulated by the town's mayor. There are three carpentry industries, but the biggest one is Tanner's Woodworks Company. The other two are Nash's Milling, a small-time sawmill; and Wilbur Wale's Logging, a tree-cutting and timber-trading company.

And then there's the river that ran alongside the town, called Timber's Stream due to it being close to a timber mill of Tanner's Woodworks. The river is actually a branch of a bigger stream that starts at a mountain range far to the south of the town, about 200 miles from Hunter's Woods. This river is constantly being used by the timber mill nearby for various purposes, but the workers of Tanner's Woodworks always managed to keep the river clean.

In terms of religions, there are two churches in this town: one Protestant and one Catholic. Both are placed in the town's Residential District, and lately has started homeless caretaking programs.

There are three educational institutions in Hunter's Woods: one junior high school, three high schools and one academy. First is Hunter's Woods High School, the more famous high school in town. It is a public high school funded by the town, located in the northern part of Residential District. Most low and middle-class families sent their kids to this high school.

The second is Tanner Private High School, the more prestigious high school. Owned by James G. Tanner, founder, proprietor, and owner of Tanner's Woodworks, and funded by a ring of wealthy citizens of Hunter's Woods, only the more fortunate families could send their kids to this school. Safe to say, the students here are well-mannered, intelligent, and proud.

The third is Samuel J. Hunter Industrial High School, where some other families from the bottom rung sent their kids so they could get a job quickly after graduation. Located near the Industrial Ward. Due to almost all the students came from the poorer neighborhoods, adding the fact that almost 90% of the students are male since the female students their age prefer the public high school, the students from this high school are known for their rough-and-rugged personality. This played a major part in changing the school into an almost lawless state of delinquents, where school rules are disregarded, bonds between classmates replaced with the formation of gangs and factions, and treaties and agreements between them are the main rules. Despite all that, strangely the students still maintained some respect towards the teachers. This school has five division: Machinery/Mechanical Engineering, Automotive, Electrical, Carpentry and Construction, and Plumbing.

The sole academy in town is Florence Nightingale Medical Academy, a medical academy owned by Florence Nightingale Foundation. There are not many high school students that continued their education to this academy, mostly are students from Tanner Private High School, along with a select few students of Hunter's Woods High School. Most of the students who didn't immediately get a job at one of the carpentry industries or the town's power plant or anywhere, either moved out of town to find one or continue their education at another town.

However, no matter which high school they went to, almost all of them were students of Samuel J. Hunter Junior High School.

Aside from the foundation of the town documented during the year 1800, through the efforts of Lieutenant Samuel J. Hunter and the 4th Infantry Regiment in freeing the land from a native tribe, for European settlers to make a settlement that will grow to become the town known as the current Hunter's Woods, there were no documented major events. However, this town has long since popularized an urban legend about the town's sewer systems. Starting the year 1911, when the construction of the sewer systems began, there were continuous reports of people missing from time to time. After a plea sent by the mayor at the time, a unit dispatched from the infantry regiment stationed near the town. The number of missing people decreased, but there were still reports of them. After the construction finished, aside from the people tasked with the job to maintain and clean the sewers, there are no one allowed to go inside the sewer system. And yet, the number of civilians missing in the sewers keeps on appearing. Most of the townspeople will dismiss the issue as nothing but "urban legends", "folk story", or "superstitions". Yet the two churches held a mass prayer every two days to pray for the safety of the citizens.

The town of Hunter's Woods are divided into several districts:

• Governmental District
  Center of the city. All government buildings and offices are there. The Samuel J. Hunter Main Street runs across this district, almost perfectly bisecting it into two.
  
• Business District
  Center of all economical activities. Located north-western to Governmental District. In the center, offices of several companies, most of them are tied with Tanner's Woodworks Company, along with TWC's HQ itself, and Hunter's Woods Trading Center, the only mall in town, stood proud. Starting from the center, the quality deteriorates, all the way towards the western end of Samuel J. Hunter's Main Street, which separates the Business District with Residential District to the south. To the north is Hunter's Woods Railway Station. Along the Main Street, the shops are pretty much shoddy third-rate shops, Chinese sweatshops, small restaurants, cafes, and diners, all in all a low-class shopping area, due to the proximity to Residential District. This area, referred by the citizens as "The Fringe", are often avoided by higher-class citizens.
  
  13 Grim Place is located here.
  
• Residential District
  Where all the middle and lower-class families reside, which made up about 72% of the total population. Located south-western to the Governmental District. One of the town's high school, Hunter's Woods High School, is located here. From cheap housing to low-rent apartment, it's easier to get a place to stay here, if you don't mind the condition. The southern end of the district by far is the worst neighborhood, populated by homeless people and two criminal gangs. It is said that in this neighborhood the reach of the town's government fade and the "power of the people" began. This district is one big mixing pot of various culture; aside from the African-Americans, there are also the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Indians, Mexicans, and many more. Sometimes, cultural differences lead to some conflicts in-between citizens in this district.
  
• Industrial Ward
  Just as the name suggested, where all factories and industries are. Located eastern of Residential District. The nearby SJH Industrial High School often used the factories for study tours and internship. Other than the three lumber industries, there are also one power plant, one printing industry (Dowson's Printing Company), and one automotive assembly plant. Aside from those, the other buildings are normally warehouses, which often at night turned into hangouts by delinquent students from the high school.
  
  The three carpentry industry occupied another special area within the ward, called "Lumberjack's Ward", which is located right nearby Timber's Stream.
  
• Greenlands Housing Complex
  A massive luxurious housing complex, constructed via agreement between Hunter's Woods governmental body and Greenlands Housing Company. A complex that's massive enough to be considered as another district. Located eastern of Business District. The other 28% of the town's population, the wealthier ones, normally reside in this complex. Some of them are people who owned industries and factories in town, among them the most famous being the Tanner family, which now owned more business other than carpentry in this town. The Tanner Private High School and Florence Nightingale Medical Academy are located here. Tanner Private High is located towards the center, while the Medical Academy is located towards the more outer parts of the complex.

And lastly, there's the matter of transportation in-town. The townsfolk most of the time took advantage of the well-developed and properly-maintained road network. Aside from private transportation methods, such as by car, bikes, or else, Hunter's Woods government also provides public transports such as buses and trams. Both have the same operating hours, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. For those who prefers a more sophisticated and private transportation but does not have their own ride, Tanner Taxi Company is ready to service.

[Sindrya]

One question. Can the vampires sparkle?

Not inherently, I guess there's nothing stopping them from dousing themselves in glitter if they really want to though.

Edited my app.

By the way, why is it called a Scythe if it's just a familiar?

I mean, it's a little cat, not some giant badass fighting weapon with a coolcat blade.

It's a blanket term for a Reaper's weapon, I think. Plus the form of a scythe is said to be reflection of ourselves. Or something.

Scythes are tools for harvesting something whether they be wheat or, in this case souls. The original scythes are what demons evolved over time to help them feed on souls, before you can worry about defending yourself from predators or attacking something you need to be able to secure food. Regardless of what a particular scythe's appearance is its function remains the same.

This is also a good chance to note that familiar type scythes are not substantially different from emitters or strikers, they aren't separate life forms or identities, they're just weapons with limited programming. It's possible for them to exhibit personality traits but only in the sense that its possible to simulate a personality in a computer program like a chatterbot, the more complex its personality the less powerful it would be as an actual weapon.

How come everyone else can use a specific magic type like hemomancy and pyromancy even though we're just supposed to recite some shortened incantations derived from a book? I thought we were similar to wizards in that we can use almost any sort of magic, minus stuff that is "too powerful" or exclusively for some other species.

The broader your approach to magic the longer it will be before your study produces anything usable in a real combat situation. A good comparison would be martial arts. If you pick up one style and focus on that you can pick it up and be able to defend yourself reasonably quickly, if you try and learn eight styles at once you might eventually be a master of all eight but for a long time you'll be less effective than the guy who just mastered one thing and can do that really well. How does that quote go? "don't fear the man who has practised 1000 punches, fear the man who has practised one punch 1000 times"

Mages often benefit from a lengthy apprenticeship where they can study the basics of magic without the need to rely on it for self defence, some apprenticeships last decades. You guys on the other hand will be thrown in the deep end pretty much from day one. Have fun!

It's also worth noting that while magic overall has near limitless capabilities and flexibility individual mages often choose to specialise themselves to one form of magic in recognition of this principal. In general specialists are people who want to practically use their magic, often for self defence or other forms of combat while generalists are often academics interested in the underlying mechanics of magic. Mages who can use many varieties of magic at a truly masterful level are rare but extremely dangerous and often marked by the honorific of sage.

In modern times the generalist academic is more common, the specialist mage was often a product of a clan or group of mages known as a school who practised together and handed down their knowledge to the next generation. In modern times it's become increasingly hard to hide an entire group of people from prying eyes and the convenience of modern technology makes it an isolated life of quiet training and study less appealing so many schools of magic are on the verge of dying out.

I believe there is a specific magic type that is used in your tome, like hemokinesis, pyrokinesis, or the like.

The tome is a spellbook.

And the spellbook can only fit like, one fucking spell.

...

I know his scythe is a scythe. I don't have a problem with that.

It's the tomes that get me.

I thought only one incantation actually fitted in there? I mean, how can so many spell types be in just one book?

A tome in magic is a unit of measurement for incantation length, it doesn't necessarily refer to an actual book although actual books are often used to record incantations. So a particular spell might have an incantation that is one or two or three tomes long.
(Remember that this is before compression, if you practice it long ago you could shorten even an three tome incantation which would be thirty hours of recital for a normal person down to a few words).

The numbers for tomes, 360,000 words and twenty hours to recite, are based on the bible incidentally.

What? If it's an Emitter-type scythe it should only be able to shoot magical projectiles, right? Scythe types aren't just limited to form. It's also functionality and the Reaper's fighting style. Which is why I said "the scythe is the reflection of the Reaper's soul".



Ah. I see now. Then it's not allowed. Unless you want to make that as your magical capabilities later on in the IC, then I would have to say "No" to that.

Magic:
Noir: Demon Scythe, essentially channeling his mana through the book to form the scythes which he directs with his hands
Weiss: Prism Break, essentially using most, if not all, of his mana to form a hyper intense beam of magical energy that has the capability of clearing entire rooms of enemies in a single blow (has the possibility to be fatal depending on how hard he has fought)

Just to weigh in and clarify a bit, while it's fine to use your scythe as a kind of mental focus for magic, no scythe would have properties that make it especially useful for that purpose, by which I mean you could use an ordinary book and get the same results. It's probably more convenient to use your scythe rather than carry the scythe and a second book for casting magic out of around with you so in that sense its efficient. I guess you could also write down phone numbers and stuff in it and pull it out whenever you wanted. A book scythe is starting to seem pretty handy.

aaaaand to re state an earlier point, scythes don't have true personalities, they can talk but there wouldn't be an intelligence behind what they're saying that would be enormously inefficient.

In terms of sheer power, familiars lag behind both strikers and emitters as it is theorised their extra sophistication requires additional energy.

[/quote]

So to have full intelligence in your scythe you'd need even more extra energy, meaning there would be hardly any left for actual combat effectiveness, your scythe would be a technically quite impressive but functionally useless squeaky toy.
[/quote]

[Sindrya]

Aaaaaaaand it's open!

Glutton's Diner is open for business!

[Yovskor]

Tag, I guess.

[Imperial--japan]

Tag

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Tag, maybe...

[Sindrya]

Tag, I guess.

Tag

Tag, maybe...

Welcome, welcome, dear customers!

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Tag ho!

[Imperial--japan]

So I'll gladly keep my app saved, since the OP isn't complete with the list of educational facilities from what I can tell.

[Yovskor]

Um, Op where is the "Welcome To Hurnter's Woods" section? Not trying to be rude, but I would really like to finish up my app.

[Altito Asmoro]

Looks awesome.

Tag.

[New Antonalia]

Question, is this taking place months or years after the original, and how many?

[North Arkana]

I wanna just reuse my old character...

[Imperial--japan]

Um, Op where is the "Welcome To Hurnter's Woods" section? Not trying to be rude, but I would really like to finish up my app.

It isn't finished yet it seems. Honestly the only part I'm missing currently.

No matter, just gives me time to make revisions.

[Sindrya]

Um, Op where is the "Welcome To Hurnter's Woods" section? Not trying to be rude, but I would really like to finish up my app.

It's coming. I'm still half-dead, so expect it to be coming in 7-8 hours.

Looks awesome.

Tag.

Suh dud

Question, is this taking place months or years after the original, and how many?

Hmm.... I'd say about six to seven months.

I wanna just reuse my old character...

If you want to, discuss it in TG with me.

[Imperial--japan]

Application
Personal Profile
Name: Valeria Ardenus
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Bisexual
Appearance: See Right

Scythe Name: Justinian (Usually just referred to as 'Justin')
Scythe Type: Familiar
Scythe Appearance: Raven
Magic: Valeria reveled in the stories of Magic her father would tell her about, but she most enjoyed the tales of those who were able to summon magnificent beasts and bind summons to their will. Though she was always convinced they were nothing more than stories.

Background
Education: Hunter's Woods High School (Senior Year)
Relevant Experience: It was definitely a much different life than those of her peers, being the daughter of a hunter of the church. For so long, she had been set on following the footsteps of good ol' dad. He was everything she aspired to be, and he always made time for her when he could. Always teaching her morality, the sacred duty that Hunters have in defending humanity from the beats that lurk in the darkness. She longed for the day she could join her father on his hunts, and when they could become a duo to be reckoned with.

Of course not everything is so simple. The news came abruptly when two Hunters that her father had introduced her to arrived to deliver the news that would shatter her heart forever. Her father had been killed during his hunt. Valeria refused to believe that. Dad was the strongest most dependable Hunter she knew, there was no way some simple beast could overcome him. Whereas Valeria demanded answers, the Church provided none. The details of the Hunt for a non-member were classified. No exceptions were made for familial ties it seemed. To make matters worse, the Clergy had decided it was time for Valeria to begin her official training to become a Hunter. The Hunter-in-training could only take the mixed pity and glares for so long. Some saw her as desperate to make her late father proud, others saw someone too stricken by grief to be of use on Hunts. Regardless, Valeria threw herself into her studies.

Her devotion to her material and training were not for the reasons one would think. She researched as much about her father as she could in the archives and information she had access to. She knew her father was strong, what could possibly have bested him? Valeria studied all forms of beast and magical constructs, but without accurate information on her fathers manner of death, she was merely speculating. The secrecy was driving her slowly mad, and though Valeria was becoming a fairly decent scholar, she refused to sit back and let this case rest. Doing something she knew her father would disapprove of extremely, she decided to abandon the order in the middle of the night, packing lightly, but enough for travel. That was three years ago, and she has yet to willingly interact with the order since. Sometimes she wonders if the order even realized she was gone, what with how she didn't possess any dangerous knowledge, at least as far as she knew.

Since then, she settled down in Hunters Woods as she tries her best to keep an ear out for anything that might ever be related to her father. Valeria was nineteen now, and her various ventures to places where her father had previously been have amounted to nothing. Despite this, she hasn't given up, and always returns to Hunters Woods to recoup after a lengthy outing. Currently, she finds her fathers savings enough to live off of, but she knows it won't last forever, nothing a part-time job around town can't fix.

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses: Although she possesses a strong will and determined personality, she can sometimes have a one-track mind in search of her goal. All other situations cease to matter, and it can become easy to anger her if someone was to get in the way of her search. Despite this, she isn't particularly eager to throw her life away, not while her fathers killer is surely still at large. Valeria is also rather well taught on the subject of various Monsters that plague the human world, and skillfully manages to avoid them as she now lacks the protection of the church.
Goals: For years now, Valeria has put the church behind her in an effort to track down her Fathers killer on her own. While no closer than she was with the Church on her side, this hasn't deterred her any bit. If any, this has only managed to fuel her obsession for vengeance, but she hides it well enough. She acknowledges she cannot die until she finishes the Hunt she started, and the only hunt she'll ever see through as far as she's concerned. Once this is done, she is unsure what she'll do, but Valeria will burn that bridge when she gets to it.
Theme Song: My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.
RP example: So I believe we've RP'ed together in the past, but if you insist I can go fetch something.

[Atlannia]

Woooosh hype.

[Indo-pasif archipelago]

Tag for now

[New Antonalia]

Question? Can I bring back Mitch as a full fledged employee or no?

[WaRtArIa]

Just you wait, sucker.

[Imperial--japan]

Mary from Ib?

[Finsternia]

*slams hand on table* TAG!

[WaRtArIa]

Mary from Ib?

Yeah, she is. Cute character who is very similar what I imagine Renee would look like.

[New Antonalia]

Application

Personal Profile
Name: Robert "Robby" Blair
Age: 17
Gender: M
Sexuality: Straight
Appearance:

Scythe Name: Grimoire Noir (A cheeky, if not perverted book that speaks in a sultry, female British Accent) and Grimoire Weiss (a boorish and (probably) disturbed book that constantly wants to kill things if it isn't yammering on about Shepherds Pie and Haggis, he also speaks in a High Scottish Accent)
Scythe Type: Emitter
Scythe Appearance:

Nior is on top, Weiss is on the bottom

Magic:
Noir: Demon Scythe, essentially channeling his mana through the book to form the scythes which he directs with his hands
Weiss: Prism Break, essentially using most, if not all, of his mana to form a hyper intense beam of magical energy that has the capability of clearing entire rooms of enemies in a single blow (has the possibility to be fatal depending on how hard he has fought)
Background

Education: Hunter's Woods High School
Relevant Experience:


The kid brother of Mitchell Blair, Robert mostly remained in the background of his family scene. Unlike his brother, he was more academically gifted, something his father and brother gave him trouble as he possessed little to none of the combative abilities of his brother, and even though he a year younger than his brother, he had yet to reach the height and physical stature of his brother. Which isn't helped by the fact that he suffers from Vitamin D Deficiency to the point where his body outright rejects any and all forms of Vitamin D.

While Mitchell and Robert don't get along from time to time, the two show an unnatural knack for working together and at times, pulling off the biggest pranks Hunter's Woods has seen. But where his passions really lie are in the weird and occult. Robert founded the Western District Paranormal Society and has been doing a lot of research into the past of Sunset Gates, which is helped by his volunteer time at the Town Library. He would also go hiking in the surrounding woods, when he wasn't running from the other people who went to Western.

He felt he had a rather normal life, but when his brother got a part time job, his world changed. He felt at uneasy around his brother, and when he tried to tell his parents about it, they dismissed it as an overactive imagination and told him to grow up. He began to drift further and further apart from Mitchell, and became desperate to prove that there wasn't something right about his brother.

After his brother dissappeared though, his parents were devistated. His family began organizing searches for Mitchell but after months of fruitless effort, they gave up and moved to Hunter's Woods. There Robert did his best to pick up the pieces and kept his hobbies alive, trying to put roots down here, but he felt like an outsider. So he began spending more and more time alone in his room or in the woods outside of town.

It wasn't long after that he noticed a job advertisment for "Soul Reaping", and his curiosity was stirred. He ended up going to the Glutton's Diner and picking up an application, partialy for extra cash, and partially to try to find out what really happened to Mitchel.
Personal Strengths and Weaknesses: He cannot process vitamin D and so his bones are weaker than that of his brothers, he also has a limp from when he broke his leg as a child and suffers from mild Asperger Syndrome, he has an IQ that approaches 175, and can mentally process math equations, riddles, and sees patterns faster than any human
Goals: To be the first one in his family to go to college and earn his Masters in Economics
Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owru4FhtYVo
RP example: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=354069