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[Dermonster]

"Yo." Derek waves to the group halfheartedly. "Derek Talbot, I like stories and games. Don't expect me to hold a decent conversation. Can't say expected anything like this to happen in my lifetime, really. Some sort of shonen magical girl thing I'm guessing. Oh well, my life was a tad boring anyways. What are your names?"

[Tiruin]

((Is finished. Sheet.))

[Nirur Torir]

"Hi! I'm Fifrilbus, and this is Clair. I grew up in the forest with the elven Lightkeeper Order. You're all so big ... I'm sure we'll all be good friends, and-
Your fur looks so soft! What's your name?" Fifrilbus fearlessly attempts to pet the badger.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Faith," Faith responded absently as she studied the little cutebold. It really was kind of cute, although she wished she had some black, red, and purple dye on her. She could make the creature's fur look absolutely wicked, maybe style the stuff on top into a mohawk. "There's no way I'm going to remember Fifrilbus, so I think I'm going to call you Fifi. Sounds about right to me anyway," she said to the cutebold as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket.

[Dermonster]

Derek quietly analyzed his newfound companions. 'Looks like the beginning of a quartet... possibly a five man band...'
He glanced at the little alien creature. 'Definately Sanguine personality, Optimist... possibly the team pet or tagalong kid... could be The Smart Guy depending.'
'Faith... Team chick? Nah, doesn't seem to be 'caring' type. Melancholic, possibly Cynic. The Lancer? Hmm...'
'Big guy looks to be Choleric? He's hard to place without retreading ground. Definitely fits '"The Big Guy" though.'
'Which leaves me with Phlegmatic, 'The Hero' and Realist. Bah, I wanted Melancholic and Realist doesn't fit all that well... Maybe Faith can be Phlegmatic.'


(The above are thoughts.)

[IronyOwl]

Prologue

"Hi! I'm Fifrilbus, and this is Clair. I grew up in the forest with the elven Lightkeeper Order. You're all so big ... I'm sure we'll all be good friends, and-
Your fur looks so soft! What's your name?" Fifrilbus fearlessly attempts to pet the badger.

The honey badger, perched high on the big person's shoulder, wriggles forward a bit, falling off and plopping into your arms on her back.

"Hiiiii, I'm Clancey. Nice to meet you, Fifilbrus."

She is soft! Warm too.


A glow of white light appears and builds up for a moment, humming with tension, before a woman and a small wolf appear in a flash of said light.

Tiruin

Well. That was certainly strange.

"It seems we are late," Kira says, in her usual soft tone. "Don't mind us, we were enjoying some scenery first."

"Thaaaat's fiiiine."

"Hmph. We have a schedule to keep, you know."

"Indeed."

"Heheheheh. Dawdlers come in last, you know. Heheheheheh.

"Heh. Well, unlike the rest of you, I actually care about the lands we're protecting," Kira replies good-naturedly. "I take it introductions have already concluded?"

"Eh."

"Kiiiind offff..."

"Ah, another shy group. Well, working together will be better for that than talking ever could be. Should we get started, then?"

"Heheheheheh. Why not, eh?"

"Indeed. The process should prove most informative."

"Right then. Lan, these are your friends. You just don't know them yet." She appears to be smirking at that last bit. "Follow me to the training room, we'll get to know them as we get to know ourselves."

Training Room?

Seracus leads you to a room floored in large grey stone tiles. Most of the rest of the structure is red with gold trim, as expected, and the carpet appears fairly plush and soft.

On the far end of the wall are several dummies that look vaguely like black-armored torsos on sticks. They appear to be arranged archery range style, complete with "lanes" of darker grey stone denoting each one's slot.

"Alright, first test. You'll need to transform.

Transforming is a statement of will. Not Will, which we will address later. Well, they're comparable, but that's not important right now. What is important is that you harness the power to begin harnessing power. It's awkward without examples or motivation, but we have none of either, so you'll just have to go through it slowly.

Your first transformation will be incomplete, as you have nothing you're transforming into. However, it is a necessary first step. Focus the power within you, feel it, and express it, boldly and loudly. Shouting a word that signifies power or change will help with that."

Training Room?

Clair directs you to a grey room, almost like a very orderly cave, and tells you to put down Clancey. Awwwww.

Specifically, she directs you to one wall, where there's a bunch of armor or scarecrows or something. Clair quickly focuses your attention elsewhere, though.

"The first step, little one, is focusing your power. You have great power inside you, but you need to bring it forward. Think about that power, think about releasing and using it, and then shout excitedly! Think of it as your friend trying very hard- the harder you want them to win, and the louder you let them know you believe in them, the better they do. Specifically, I'd recommend shouting a word that represents power, change, or something you enjoy or would like."

Training Room?

Wimbley leads you to a grey stone tile room with some target dummies or something along one wall.

"Heheheheh. Alright, fun part. Should be easy for you- you ever get tired of being what you are? Magic's gonna fix that. Well that desire for change up inside- and then release it by shouting somethin' you care about. Somethin' you want to be or do or have. Easy, right? Like if a stylist could see inta your heart, but needed that one defiant word to make sure you're sure. Heheheheheheheh!"

Training Room?

Kira leads you to a dark-tiled room with armored target dummies along one wall. They look a bit sinister, but you don't think they'll fight back or anything.

"Now comes the difficult part. In order to truly harness your powers, you must transform. But without any powers to harness, there is nothing to transform into. A curious problem, and one that may only be addressed one bit at a time.

The first step is transforming regardless; though you have nothing to acquire, your transformed state will nonetheless allow you to acquire. You will have to focus deep within yourself, and will yourself to change. Will yourself to become better, more, different. Then, when you believe you are ready, when you know what you want, shout loudly a word of power. A word of power is any word that holds power to you- anything representing change, power, what you like or want to be... it's the cracking of the seed, if you will."

Training Room?

The tiny thing gives you back Clancey, whom you plop back on your shoulder. She then directs you to a dark grey room with some targets like twenty feet away.

Clancey seems to spark up, losing her sleepy drawl and propping herself up with her front paws. "Alright, this is important. I know you can fight, but you can't fight the way you need to. To do that, you'll have to focus within. Desire change, feel the power welling up inside you, and release it with a yell! But not just any yell- a word of power, change, or desire. When you shout to the world what you feel deep within, it becomes reality- but in this case, rather more spectacularly than normal."

[Dermonster]

"Kinda like getting the password to a computer to access the files. Power, eh? Let's see..."

Derek closed his eyes. and sought inside himself the power his cephalopod companion spoke of. He frowned as he detected something. Flexing his mental muscle, he tugged on it experimentally, and then with greater force as it held fast. He felt it resist as if it was trying to stay where it was, but he would not let it, this was HIS and he would be damned if he would not gain what he had dreamed of for so many years! With a great cry, he summoned his full strength against it's weight.

"Annihilation!"

[Nirur Torir]

"A word of power or something I want ... I want to protect the world."

"Safeguard." She nods hesitantly, then thinks back to the dream. Forests burning; everyone crying. She nods again, more sure, despite a few silent tears escaping her eyes. She would do anything to keep the world from burning. "SAFEGUARD!"

[SeriousConcentrate]

(Just letting you know ahead of time I expect I'll end up looking like some fusion of The Crow and Lulu. XD)

Faith thought about Wimbley's statement. What was a word that meant something to her? Not many did. She didn't think of words often. They were just tools, like a wrench or a screwdriver, only instead of creating or repairing the physical they created or repaired the social. Hmm... It's like finding a strange seed you've never heard of before. It could be anything. With so much to choose from, how do you pin down the one thing you want to be? Faith made a little grunt of frustration as she thought about it. Perhaps just things or sounds I like. Black, darkness, abomination, vampire, werewolf, nosferatu, chainsaw, chain, axe, metal, shadow, blood, vengeance, piety, dragon, punch, raspberry...  I think I have it.

"Ritual!"

[IronyOwl]

Prologue

"Derek closed his eyes. and sought inside himself the power his cephalopod companion spoke of. He frowned as he detected something. Flexing his mental muscle, he tugged on it experimentally, and then with greater force as it held fast. He felt it resist as if it was trying to stay where it was, but he would not let it, this was HIS and he would be damned if he would not gain what he had dreamed of for so many years! With a great cry, he summoned his full strength against it's weight.

"Annihilation!"

There's a short, intense burst of power, which you feel carrying a short distance around you, and a brief sensation almost like weightlessness. You're pretty sure you can do even more than that now also.

...though, you don't think your clothes were this frilly before. Have they gotten lighter? Hrm...

"Very good! Your first test is complete. Now, you must learn about your strengths.

We divide strengths based on two separate axes: Power and Ability. Power is simply the source you use- it is the lens through which your efforts are focused. It is what is important to you, and what gives you strength. Your next goal is to determine what your Power is.


Often the easiest way to do that, however, is to witness that Power's realization through Abilities. Ability is how your Power is expressed and what it is guided towards. There are three of them.

The first is Strength. Strength is raw power and toughness. Blunt and mighty, it covers any overt, overwhelming use of force to achieve your goals.

The second is Skill. Skill is speed and precision. Quick and accurate, it covers any rapid, precise use of ability to achieve your goals.

The third is Will. Will is the alteration of things to your liking. Fluid and specific, it covers any overt, specific use of power to alter things to your will.


Unlike Power, Abilities are rather fluid. It is possible to have mastery of one and no ability whatsoever in others, or to be evenly skilled at all three. This, too, must be decided or realized, but will be built up slowly."

A training dummy slides across the ground, the black dome that makes up its base moving over the stone with a soft sliding sound. It stops around 15 feet away.

"It may be best if you attempt to combine your Power and Abilities now. Simply focus one through the other- know what is important to you and what gives you strength, and know what it is you want to do with that power."

"... I want to protect the world."

"Safeguard." She nods hesitantly, then thinks back to the dream. Forests burning; everyone crying. She nods again, more sure, despite a few silent tears escaping her eyes. She would do anything to keep the world from burning. "SAFEGUARD!"

A feeling of slight power runs through you, accompanied by a clear bell-like sound. You open your eyes in time to catch what looks like a purple bubble fading from sight around you. It worked!

"Very good. Now that your power is awakened, we must focus on some more specifics.

Specifically, we need to determine your Power. Your Power is the source of your strength from within- it is what is important to you and what gives you the will to fight. Fortunately, there's an easy way to test for Power, if you don't already know the answer."

One of the training dummies slides forward, stopping around 10 feet away. Its arms shake a bit from being moved around.

"In addition to Power, we need to determine Ability. If Power is what you want to accomplish, Ability is the tools you have. There are three of them, and like anything else, one might be equally skilled at all, focus solely on one, or anything in between. They are Strength, Skill, and Will.

Strength is raw power, either offensively or defensively. A good example of Strength would be lifting a heavy object, or being struck by an attack but not flinching, or creating a mighty blast or shield of energy. Any time you want to do something directly, that's probably Strength.

Skill is finesse and speed. A good example of Skill would be shooting an extremely precise beam of energy, or moving rapidly to avoid an attack, or striking rapidly. Any time you want to do something very precisely or in a hurry, that's probably Skill.

Will is overt manipulation. A good example of Will would be creating a shield of fire, or creating a pattern in stone, or turning the ground to mud beneath an enemy's feet. Any time you want to do something specific and arbitrary, that's probably Will.


If you'd like, you can try to discover a bit of both areas by trying to combine them. Just attack the dummy, using whatever you can think of, and you'll probably learn a bit more about yourself."

Faith thought about Wimbley's statement. What was a word that meant something to her? Not many did. She didn't think of words often. They were just tools, like a wrench or a screwdriver, only instead of creating or repairing the physical they created or repaired the social. Hmm... It's like finding a strange seed you've never heard of before. It could be anything. With so much to choose from, how do you pin down the one thing you want to be? Faith made a little grunt of frustration as she thought about it. Perhaps just things or sounds I like. Black, darkness, abomination, vampire, werewolf, nosferatu, chainsaw, chain, axe, metal, shadow, blood, vengeance, piety, dragon, punch, raspberry...  I think I have it.

"Ritual!"

There's what almost feels like an updraft of power, and what you could swear was a sound almost like rushing wind or something powering up. It worked!

"HAHAHAheheheh! Ritual, I like that! Well done, well done!

Now, next on the list is Power. You like Power, right? Well, gotta figure out where it comes from. Inside, turns out. Something's important to you, something gives you strength. That's what you've gotta focus on, because deep down, that's your Power.

There's more to it than that, though. In order to use that Power, you've gotta channel it through Ability. Fancy word for how you fight. Strength, Skill, Will; more or less, brute force, finesse, and arbitrarily changing things.

More specifically, Strength is raw power. Physical, magical, don't matter. You're blowing somethin' up or meeting an attack head-on, probably Strength.

Skill is finesse and speed. You moving around fast, whole thing or just parts of you, or even just your attacks, or being real precise with any of the same, it's probably Skill.

Will is changing things outright. You thinking to yourself you'd really like something to happen and it does, and it's not something simple like knocking down a door or not missing with an attack, it's probably Will.

So."

A training dummy slides forward. It stops around 15 feet away.

"Let's get started, eh? Easiest way to do this is usually to just go for it. You try to attack the dummy, you tend to draw on whatever your Power is and do whatever your favored Abilities are. No need to figure out all your Ability all at once, either, so don't feel like if you run over and punch the thing you'll be stuck doin' that forever. Just do what seems natural and you'll figure it out."

[Dermonster]

Derek simply nodded. he liked the sound of Power and Will. Skill, he decided, was important, but accuracy was void in the presence of enough Dakka and speed could be curtailed by distractions. He hesitated. What was important to him? 'The power to crush those in my path?' No, what use is pure destruction, what goal could that attain? 'To protect others?' He had never been particularly close to anyone. A brief flash of his immediate family came to mind, but that was about it. It came to him then. Those rushes of adrenalin when he had a particularly fantastic idea. The wonder he felt when he saw something new and exciting. The news that he would not be held down by ordinary bonds. That is what drove him, he decided. Curiosity, knowledge, and freedom.

He focused on the dummy now. What could he do with it though? Burn it? Crush it? An idea occurred to him. He mulled it over for a bit, then shrugged. "I wonder..." he muttered to his companion. He raised his hands, gathered a clutch of power, and envisioned his inspiration. "Tell me, what do you know of chemistry?"

Attempt to dissolve the dummies molecular bonds.

[IronyOwl]

Prologue

Derek simply nodded. he liked the sound of Power and Will. Skill, he decided, was important, but accuracy was void in the presence of enough Dakka and speed could be curtailed by distractions. He hesitated. What was important to him? 'The power to crush those in my path?' No, what use is pure destruction, what goal could that attain? 'To protect others?' He had never been particularly close to anyone. A brief flash of his immediate family came to mind, but that was about it. It came to him then. Those rushes of adrenalin when he had a particularly fantastic idea. The wonder he felt when he saw something new and exciting. The news that he would not be held down by ordinary bonds. That is what drove him, he decided. Curiosity, knowledge, and freedom.

He focused on the dummy now. What could he do with it though? Burn it? Crush it? An idea occurred to him. He mulled it over for a bit, then shrugged. "I wonder..." he muttered to his companion. He raised his hands, gathered a clutch of power, and envisioned his inspiration. "Tell me, what do you know of chemistry?"

Attempt to dissolve the dummies molecular bonds.

You... can't quite... get a grip on it? It's strange- you can feel the power, and you can even sort of sense the dummy, but you just... can't quite affect it.

"Hmph. Enough to know that annihilating its very essence is a fair bit above you. Try to think less of the process and more of the results- tugging on a string is all well and good, but when the string's aim is just to topple everything, you may as well be trying to pound it into powder, mmm?

Also, focus more on your Power if possible. It's quite natural to do things that have absolutely no bearing on it, but until you become more accustomed to it, focusing on how your action achieves your goal more directly can be useful."

[Nirur Torir]

Aren't I doing this to save the world? For mom, for dad, for all my friends, for everybody? Wouldn't that be my power? I think so.
How do I do this? If that thing wants to hurt me, I should be trying to stop it. Maybe I could block it somehow.

Create an energy shield in front of the dummy, then shove the barrier forward to knock it over.

[Dermonster]

"Eh, worth a shot, right? Maybe later. Lets try a classic then."

Magic Missile!

[mcclay]

Rodrick looks at the group of children he would be making not dead. "Hello moertals!" he bellowed "I am Rodrick Jelly, manliest man alive!" He turn back to Clancey "Wprds! Paf, I'll show you words!" Before turning to the training dummy and yelling "HEYOOOOOOOOO!"