Senpū Dojo [T|C|Invite]

[Flower]

[5/8 posts]

As the group came upon the crater, Valerys got down on her knees to inspect with the men. Many of them discovered broken shells, what must have been from eggs -- but the pieces were so large that Valerys could hardly believe it. "Eggshells?" Valerys asked. "It's a Quetzalcoatl nest," Tittlefeather explained, "They usually brood a nest of about three to six young at a time, having eggs like a serpent or a bird which take about a year to hatch. It seems that this one has not been visited for a long time, however." Many of the eggshells had been covered by the sand or blown away by the wind. Valerys looked on with surprise at the size of the nest, however, and the thought of the baby serpents looking up to their enormous mother. Valerys smiled. She made a mental note to learn how to look for these creatures at a later date. All of a sudden she knew that she had to have one of them and the thrill of finding it filled her.

[Flower]

[6/8 posts]

The group made camp at the nest for the night and showed her certain rituals that they performed to Rithal, the mother bird, when they came upon one of these nests. Valerys watched them and wondered at their faith, making sure to take note of it in case she ever came upon such people or beliefs again. They told her that nests were a special occassion and it meant that one of the flying serpents were near, what they had been wanting for a long time. Valerys asked them what they meant to do once they found one of the beasts. "We will ask it to judge us," Jalen explained, "And determine if we are worthy to go on." Valerys didn't believe that a Quetzalcoatl could determine the nature of a man any better than man himself, but she allowed them to think so. She slept with the nomads again that night and rose early in the morning, studying their prayers and th nests where she slept. The imaginary image of a flying serpent the size of a building laying in this spot sent shivers up her spine.

[Flower]

[7/8 posts]

As the group began their travels the next day, they told Valerys that there were getting close to their destination. Valerys asked them where that was and they said that it was an old temple dedicated to the Quetzalcoatl. Former zealots had made pilgrimages here and given sacrifices to the serpent gods. It was said to be covered in old ruins and possessed many old records and items. Valerys could not help but get excited, always one looking for secret and elusive information. She agreed to go with the nomads off her own course to study more of the Quetzalcoatl. They traveled the rest of the way and she learned many more small things from the group, such as what the flying serpents ate, how they spent their time, and what rituals they liked to acquire. When hours had passed and the group was sore from all their walking, Valerys could finally make out the top of some old stonework temple. A flying snake had been carved into the stonework over the doorframe.

[Flower]

[8/8 posts]

As they came upon the temple, Valerys looked it over carefully and paid attention to everything -- the stonework and the architecture, where the lamps were place, how large the corridors had been built. Indeed, the entire building appeared as if it had been constructed for a large beast (which, of course, it had been). As she moved through the halls Valerys found old feathers and bones, and wondered to herself if these had belonged to a Quetzalcoatl or its meal. When they reached the inner chamber of the temple, where various scrolls on the shelf contained knowledge that she was eager to get her hands on, the group stopped to say a prayer and hold a long ritual. All around them were the symbols of ancient Quetzalcoatl, which must have been their first gods. Valerys memorized all of the sigils and waited until her group was finished before looking over the scrolls. She spent much of her time among these words, learning as much as she could before she had to leave again. The group were in amazement, many of them having never been her before, and paid Valerys little attntion.

[Hamura]

That's plenty for me, Learned.

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

Lore, Creature (Special)
Rank: "E"
Skill: Academia Skill
Effect: This skill enables a character to observe the actions or habitat of a creature, interpret what is going on, identify the creature, and have knowledge on what yields the creature has.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Relevant Abilities: Intelligence Skill. Die Rolls: 5 Die Rolls. Check Requirement: Described. Characters with this skill can train 1 Region (declared when the skill is chosen) to gain knowledge of Creatures. A character may acquire additional Regions by choosing this skill again. This skill enables a character to observe the actions or habitat of a creature, interpret what is going on, identify the creature, and have knowledge on what yields the creature has. Actions show how dangerous the creature is, whether it is hungry, protecting its young, or defending a nearby den. Furthermore, careful observation of signs and behavior can even indicate the location of a water hole, herds, predators, or impending danger, such as a forest fire. Each Creature has an Identification Difficulty found in their description. User must beat their Difficulty in order to identify the Creature. If the user succeeds they know what the creature is and what yields they can produce. If the user fails by 20 or less they do not gain any knowledge of the creature and are unable to try again. If the user fails by 21 or more they will gain false information, like a different creature. Synergy: A user with Lore, Creature gives a +5 per Mastery Level Synergy Bonus to Animal Husbandry to the specific Region.
Limit: Must learn from Skills.

[0/40 tp] [1/8 posts]

Flashback Training...

As she sat inside of that old temple, Valerys thought back to when she had first heard about a Quetzalcoatl and about all of the creatures of special regions. It had been while she was staying in the Land of Earth under mentorship of her sensei, Gilbert, whose home was a cabin in the woods. There he had books on all sorts of plants and animals, although many of them without words, odd since he was blind. Valerys had been able to sneak around him one night in order to get into his room where he locked away some of his most secret texts. She gained access to an old, thick scroll which looked as if it had not been opened in years. As Valerys took it out and unfolded its length, she began to see all sorts of drawings of strange creatures and small descriptions beside them. The Beer lurker was the first creature she saw, a magnified drawing of a very small parasite that was said to lurk inside of beer. Afterwards the host experiences major internal pain, which Valerys took to mean that she could use its components for her alchemy with major effects.

[Flower]

[2/8 posts]

Next Valerys saw an image of a creature called the tempest behemoth -- a massive creature with 33 pairs of wings which were drawn so neatly on the scroll. Valerys looked upon its massive build and horror and had to grin -- she was so happy knowing that such creatures existed in this world. Happier knowing that she could find one. The beast could apparently use its wings to create storms and hurricanes, a fearsome sight Valerys was sure, and was known to tear apart old mountain temples. Valerys looked at the beast and tried to remember every detail in case she came across it in the wild. She continued to study its entry into detail, looking at the scales which it could hurl from its wings as well -- wondering if she were to see one how she would defeat it? After looking over the behemoth, Valerys unfurled more of the scroll stretching it out over the floor. Now she looked upon many pictures and descriptions, and the title of the book was scrawled atop the scroll in several languages.

[Flower]

[3/8 posts]

The Scroll of Forgotten and Ancient Creatures is what it read, first in common and then various other languages that Valerys could not determine. She continued looking over the images until she had seen almost all of them, trying to gain as much information as she could before Gilbert returned. However, she was not quick enough and soon enough he was coming through the door and knew that she was in the room. When he asked what she was doing, Valerys told the truth and explained that she needed access to this knowledge. Gilbert almost seemed proud of her and sat down to teach her about the creatures from special regions as well, making some mention about the author of this scroll and the many creatures he studied. Valerys asked about the beer lurker and the tempest behemoth, and Gilbert illuminated her more on both. It was as if he had actually seen and fought with these creatures before giving him a rare insight.

[Flower]

[4/8 posts]

The next creature that came up in this dictionary of beast was the Xenarth bulette, a landshark with an incredible ability. Valerys had not even privy to the knowledge of landsharks themselves, so learning about one which could secrete a type of acid from its skin was very interesting to her. These creatures, like Valerys herself, seemed bent on killing and destruction, often following people for miles before attacking. Valerys seemed to sympathisize with them and listened to Gilbert as he talked about their apperance and his experiences with them. He had harvested them for their poison at one time and described to Valerys how it affected a person's body. Looking upon the image of the bulette in this scroll, Valerys wondered if she would ever get the chance to see one in the flesh. Although Gilbert told her it would not be a good experience, Valerys thought that it would be incredibly thrilling.

[Flower]

[5/8 posts]

As the two of them were speaking, Gilbert took her into one of his back rooms and found a jar that he had been storing in one of his closets. He put it into Valerys hands and she looked upon a brown, murky liquid with tiny fragments within its liquid. "What is this?" Valerys asked, turning it over in her hand and watch the little flecks swurl around. "Those are beer lurker," Gilbert told her and she stared at them amazed -- a wonder that Gilbert had some right here that he was hiding. Valerys took it over to the alchemy table and looked at the creatures under the light, examining them but not being able to see them do to their size. Gilbert brought over a glass petri dish where she poured some of it out and held an antique microscope in front of the substance. She could see them, slithring about within the dish and stabbing and flailing at one another. In some ways Valerys felt like them to, flailing around through life, but couldn't look for long as their image became sickening.

[Flower]

[6/8 posts]

As Gilbert was taking the beer lurkers back to his closet, he took Valerys into the back room and let her look at many of the items he had. Many of them were parts of bodies and identification tables related to creatures from special regions -- the reason that it had been hidden from her. In the corner Gilbert showed her the husk of some insect that had been long dead but well preserved. "This is a lightning cockroach," Gilbert explained, "See the lightning markings on its body? Remember those when you go to identify one. These creatures are able to shoot lightning from their antannae so be careful." She got down on her knees and looked over the corpse of the bug, determing its characteristics in case she met it in the wild. While not a creature she'd want to own, perhaps it was one that she would want to look out for? It was a brown, ruddy color and looked like a larger version of the cockroach primarily. Not so hard.

[Flower]

[7/8 posts]

Suddenly Valerys noticed that there was some sort of cage in this room with a creature in it. When she walked over there she looked upon what appeared to be a dog locked up behind iron bars, menacing and thin from starvation. It was barking and chewing like mad at her -- clearly insane. "And what is this?" Valerys asked looking upon its cruel face and remembering its features for later use. "A caustic creeper," Gilbert replied, "They were bred by green dragons over many centuries for their acidic properties -- if one dies or is injured it will spray acid dealing damage to an opponent. You can think of it as a double edged sword." Valerys looked at the dog closer and could tell that it had lacerations in its side which oozed some sort of liquid that she could only assume was the acid. "Truly these are some fantastic beasts," Valerys said, "I see why you have kept it hidden. And what other creatures should I know about in your opinion, Gilbert?" He looked at her closely, seemingly trying to determine if she was ready.

[Flower]

[8/8 posts]

"There is perhaps one more creature you should know about," Gilbert said and took her over to a locked chest which he opened. He brought out an egg from inside of it, about the size of his entire forearm, and said, "This is a Quetzalcoatl egg that has never hatched. I took it from its nest if you can believe that. The Quetzalcoatl are giant flying serpents which have come from their smaller cousins, the Couatl. However, they are much more cunning, much more powerful, and possess rare and mythic powers. A Quetzalcoatl has been known to live up to 50,000 years -- longer than perhaps humans as we know them." Gilbert handed Valerys the egg who held it in her hands. It felt oddly hollow, probably since it had succumbed to death, but still bore the markings and resemblance of a true Quetzalcoatl egg. She studied it, hoping that one day she could acquire one of her own, and handed it back to Gilbert with reservations. "Thank you, Gilbert," Valerys finally said, "I know what I have to do now."

End Flashback.

[Hamura]

I'm not sure if "Special" is a thing. I've only ever seen people go about the specific zones in which people might find animals and AC's, but never something like this, so i'll need to run this by someone who's been here long enough to know. Sorry if that slows things down for you.

Edit: So I checked, and it is apparently a thing I never heard of. So, Learned. 

[Flower]

SPOILER: Click to show

Current Affairs
Rank: "E"
Skill: Academia Skill
Effect: This skill helps a character know the goings-on in the world around them.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Relevant Abilities: Perception Skill. Die Rolls: 5 Die Rolls. Check Requirement: Game Master/Normal. User tries to keep informed of all the latest developments in any region. The information obtained is always publicly available knowledge and never secret or classified information. With a successful Current Affairs skill check, the character successfully asks questions and learns information about the local area. On a failed check, people either don’t know or refuse to answer the character's nosey questions. Unskilled characters have access to local rumors as would be expected. Those with Average mastery should receive twice the ordinary amount of rumors while those of Expert mastery know all local rumors if they seek them out. In addition, those with Advanced mastery or above may check the veracity of any rumors they encounter by having a Game Master roll a [secret] skill check. If successful, the user identifies a single false rumor.
Limit: Must learn from Skills.

[0/40 tp] [1/8 posts]

[OOC: No worries Hamura , thanks for the quick reply!]

After thinking about her past and learning all that she could at the temple, Valerys left the nomadic group and traveled into the Land of Wind on her own. As she was walking about, she knew that she had to get better at engaging with the local populations if she wanted to be able to gain information in any region. Therefore, as Valerys walked through the desert she kept her eyes open for any person whom she could talk to and gather information from. Within the day she had come across a man walking on his own through the sandy plains and she asked him if he had a moment to speak. The two of them talked a little and he told her about some of the government bodies around the area, which Valerys already knew about. She asked the man if he knew anything about a nomadic group of travelers, and he told her that he had. The man told her about the group she had just been with and Valerys knew she had gained accurate information. After that she left the man, after asking the direction of the nearest city.

[Flower]

[2/8 posts]

Valerys got closer and closer to the city of Dunwich and she didn't know what to expect, but as she got closer she began to see more and more of the locals. She decided that this would be a great opportunity to train her skills and went to talk to the first girl she met. She was young, about twenty, and told Valerys some about Dunwich. It turned out that it was a strange little town and with not many people who knew much about higher level chakra techniques. She asked the girl for directions to the nearest bar and about the owner. She told her that the nearest bar was Dale's Ale and that the owner was, of course, named Dale. Valerys thanked her for the advice and information and went off in search of this tavern. Dunwich was indeed a small place, just as the girl had said, and Valerys found the bar rather easily. She entered Dale's Ale and immediately got herself a beer, hoping that there were no beer lurkers in her drink now that she knew about them.

[Flower]

[3/8 posts]

At the bar Valerys met a woman her same age, perhaps a little older, by the name of Haley. The two of them had a drink together and got to talking, and Valerys found that she liked the woman quite a bit. She was a bit rough and not too kind, just the type of woman that Valerys preferred. They got to talking and Valerys started to ask her questions about the city so that she could gather as much information as possible. "Who leads the city?" Valerys asked. Haley explained that a man by the name of Norman ran the city -- he was an odd fellow and not all of the townsfolk knew whether or not they should actually trust him. Valerys asked a few more questions about Norman, such as where he lived and what his interest were. It tuned out that he lived in a home on the hill that was rumored to be haunted and that it was said that he had a playful relationship with necromancy and the undead. Using her skills to figure out the current affairs of the area, Valerys had felt that she'd done well and got one more drink with the girl to celebrate.

[Flower]

[4/8 posts]

Valerys and Haley went home together that night, staying at her house, and Valerys pleased her and spent time asking her even more questions about the city before the two of them went to sleep. Lying in bed, unclothed, with one another, Valerys traced her finger down Haley's waist and said, "Tell me more of this place, dear. Is it truly as bad as everyone says? Are you run amuck with monstrosities and demons?" She smiled playfully. Haley didn't seem to know too much, but answered to the best of her ability which pleased Valerys (who was playing the part of her mistress). Haley told her that the city did have its fair share of secrets and lore which indicated some sort of evil which haunted the place, but as to its nature and type she was not sure. Valerys asked Haley to tell her some of these legends and she did -- detailing how several children and men had died at the hands of a great beast which was said to roam near the city. Additionally, some people were having nightmares of such magnitude that they had resorted to suicide.

[Flower]

[5/8 posts]

After learning all of this from Haley, Valerys and her fell asleep and in this way she had free boarding for the night. The next morning she went to seek out Norman's house, finding several locals around the hill before she reached it. She decided to ask around and determine if she could pick up any more clues about the man who she was searching for. There were several locals around the area, including a young boy, a couple, and an old man. Valerys approached each of them separately and started a conversation. The young boy told her that Norman had a secret hideout and told her where she could find it, and she stored this in her memory for later recall. The couple told her many of the horror stories that they had been told from around the city, clearly not happy with his leadership. Valerys found their love to be oddly sickening and walked over to the old man, who seemed to have the most to say about Norman Blackwood.

[Flower]

[6/8 posts]

The old man told her that Norman had come from a small city to the west of Dunwich and that he was not very familiar with the people here. He had come in, claiming to weild some great power, and took over many of the natives. His power turned out to be rather demonic and well-versed in fear and shadow effects, causing many of the villagers to resent his leadership. Of course, however, the longer he was in power the more Norman began to attract his own band of followers within the city. But the old man was still of the opinion that Norman should never have been there. Valerys took all of this information inside of her head and did her best to remember all of it, now that she was about prepared to address Norman himself. She made her way up the hill and toward the home -- knocking on the door which felt odd considering her plan. Soon enough a man opened it, appearing to be in his thirties with medium-length black hair.