(Also posted
here!)
>Wake up.Ow. Ow. Ow. Fucking OW, your arms HURT. Your arms... you still have arms? Why do you still have arms? Wait, why
wouldn't you have arms? What the hell happened? God this HURTS. And why are your arms so blotchy?
"Mornin', sunshine. Sleep well?"
You try to spin around, before realizing that a) you're tired as all hell and b) you're lying on your back, so you merely roll over onto your stomach to find the voice. A bald old (old?) man appears to be sitting in a rocking chair by the window over there at the other end of the room. His skin is wrinkled, and covered in the same kind of blotching that adorns your arms. What you can see of it, anyway - everything but his face and left hand is concealed by a trenchcoat, and he's wearing heavy-looking boots.
You try to push yourself upright, but your arms give a sudden burst of pain and give out. You fall to the floor, smacking your chin for good measure.
Ow."Don't try that again for a while, kid. New arms take a while to get used to."
You look at him questioningly, too tired and sore to speak.
"Found you out in the Boneyard, arms torn off and surrounded by a pack of Hunters. They already ate them, by the way, so I made you some new ones. Those Hunters won't be needing that stuff anyway," he says, in a low, gruff voice.
You look at him questioningly again, willing him to hear you think
What stuff?.
"Alchemy, kid." Your eyes widen. "Well, I call it alchemy, but I dunno if anyone else would. Basically, what I do is break up and reform objects to and from elemental states. Your arms took the standard stuff - oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, carbon, iron, everything found in a normal human arm. Sorry about the fingernails, but I never really got the hang of those." He grins, as if it's a joke.
You open your mouth, desperately trying to form words. However, you're too thirsty to speak. The bald man seems to understand, and he reaches into his coat pocket, withdrawing a flask. He walks over to you - he appears to have a slight limp. He kneels before you and helps you drink the water.
Refreshed, you try again. Your voice comes out hoarse. "...how...alch...my?"
The odd man, still crouched in front of you, shrugs. "Hell if I know. I just sort of think it and it happens." He taps your forehead. "But since I used it to fix you up, I think you might be able to do it now. Some Powers work like that."
He limps back to his rocking chair. "And now there's two of us." He turns, flops down, resumes the pose. "You got a name, kid?"
You think.
...
...
...
"...no."
He sighs. "Yeah, thought so. Hunters like to eat memories. Well, whatever. People around these parts call me Carver." He allows himself a small smirk. "'People around these parts' being you, me and some Hunters, that is."
...
"Your arms stopped hurting yet?"
>_Choose Stat Set:HP: 25
PP: 20
STR: 3
POW: 7
DEF: 4
MNT: 8
SPD: 3
PCS: 6
HP: 35
PP: 10
STR: 7
POW: 3
DEF: 8
MNT: 4
SPD: 6
PCS: 3
HP: 30
PP: 15
STR: 5
POW: 5
DEF: 6
MNT: 6
SPD: 4
PCS: 4
HP: Health.
PP: Power Points. These determine how many times you can use Powers before replenishing your energy.
STR: Strength. This determines your physical power.
POW: Power. This determines how effective your Power use is.
DEF: Defence. This determines your physical resistance.
MNT: Mental. This determines your Power resistance.
SPD: Speed. This determines how quickly your body can move.
PCS: Processing. This determines how quickly you can think, and therefore how quickly you can use your Powers.
Alchemy
Break down objects into their component elements, then combine and reconstitute those elements into new forms.