Kantai Collection is an online card game in Japan. There's a lot of fan stuff for it. They made an official anime for it last year - it had incredible production values due to the popularity of the series, with quality animation and a great soundtrack... too bad the writing was mediocre at best and the protagonist was bland.
Ok, got my next Infernal written. She's good at one thing, really. Which is good considering Adorjan is her patron.
=== Apostle of Silence ===
Rory moaned as she awoke, pain lancing through her body. She noted she was in chains. Where was she? What happened?
"Poor little god-blooded girl, chained to a wall and doomed to be a Terrestrial God's plaything. Such a pity." said the voice of a woman.
Who dared speak so condescendingly to her? She was the child of Emroy, the god whose domains were Darkness, War, Death, Violence, and Insanity! She may not have cared for Heaven itself, but she respected her father who counted among the greatest of its warriors, and few would dare cross her because of her relation to him. Her own well earned reputation as a merciless and brutal killer didn't hurt, of course.
Looking up, she saw three demons. Tinsiana, scorpion demons. One female, two males, from the looks of it. One of the males was carrying a very large and fearsome looking halberd that felt like it was alive. Were they responsible for her state?
"Shame you got ambushed, little god-blooded girl. A true shame, but still, there is opportunity in it. For you, for us." said the female.
She glared at the three demons. "What do you want?"
"Hmmm... no time to chat. Well, this thing inside me is killing me, I suppose, and we've waited long enough. On to business then. My name is Myuute, and I've been sent by the Yozis to give you the offer a lifetime. Help them escape their prison, and you'll be given power beyond measure. A Solar Exaltation that has been improved using the powers of this world's true masters. Oh, and don't worry about becoming an akuma - you will retain your free will. You're more useful that way."
Well, that was certainly interesting. "Oh? And why would I want to become an Anathema and be hunted down by the hosts of Heaven, my own father included? I may enjoy battle, but I'm not exactly suicidal."
"Oh, well, you're free to refuse, I suppose." Myuute stated with clear amusement. "If you want to be shipped off to Hardy, that is. From what I understand, she wishes to marry you, yes?"
Rory blanched at that notion, and everything came back to her. She'd been ambushed by some loser of a Terrestrial god whose name she couldn't even remember. She vaguely remembered insulting him once. If the fool's forces hadn't somehow gotten the drop on her then she would have destroyed them with ease - her father may not have been much of a parent, but he had trained battle into her to the point that it came as easy as breathing. Currently she must be in the idiot's sanctum, likely to heal up some before being presented sold to Hardy. That was the last thing she wanted. Why couldn't that crazy goddess get it in her head that Rory wasn't gay? Just because she was the goddess whose domain included all underground facilities belonging to Britannia the woman thought she could do whatever she damn well pleased.
"Grrr..." Well, it was this or being Hardy's pet wife. It wasn't like she was all that attached to Yu-Shan anyways. And if nothing else she'd go down fighting in glorious battle, regardless of what she'd said earlier. Better to die free than live a long life as someone's toy. "Fine then."
"Excellent! Oh, and when you wake up these two friends of mine have another proposition for you." the demon said, before suddenly leaping at Rory.
=====
Rory had the most pleasant dream. It started wondering through a silver desert. Cecelyne, she knew. But then she had come to a city of brass and basalt, and the city was so noisy. It hurt her ears it was so noisy. Why was it so noisy? She had to stop it. She was compelled to do so. She rushed forth and was joined by a great and terrible wind. It spoke to her mind, but she was too busy killing the sources of the racket that was causing her pain. It was a battle. It was a slaughter. It was glorious. She and the wind laughed gleefully as those before them screamed and died, and then there was blessed silence.
=====
"Gentlemen, thank you for today." She thought in Old Realm, her words conveyed directly into the minds of the god and the guards surrounding him as she appeared before them. "Thank you all so very much for giving your lives so selflessly." Rory licked her lips. Rushing forward like the wind, her halberd slicing through flesh and bone, untold pleasure filling her body as her foes fell one after another. "Huhuhuu!" She laughed aloud. Seven out of a dozen guards downed in seconds. Her newfound speed was just lovely!
"Rory's loose! Stop her!" the god screamed in panic. Their master turned to flee, and the guards ignored him and did the same as they were filled with the utmost terror.
"I don't think so." Rory projected with her telepathy. She cut the earth beneath her with a mighty blow, sending stones flying up. She hit three of them with the axehead of Harbinger as if they were golf balls, launching them at three hapless fools who died as the rocks smashed into their bodies, the sound of their snapping bones so loud that it caused Rory pain even as their deaths filled her will bliss. "Hahahaha!"
She threw Harbinger at the remaining two guards and their godly master. The ground shattered from the impact, and she burst forward and leapt to where her weapon had impaled the ground. Laughing all the way,she grabbed it when she landed, twirling and kicking the two remaining guards in their heads, hurling them into a nearby wall where they collapsed bonelessly from the impact. Rory's euphoria increased ever more from their deaths.
She pulled her halberd from the ground and raised it up to finish the screaming god that was laying on the ground, screaming in terror. "KILL THE GOD! I WANT TO FEEL HIS BLOOD ON MY BLADE AS HE DIES!" Harbinger telepathically yelled into her mind. She was so close, so close...
"Ahem. Our deal, Peer Rory. Remember?" one of the Tinsiana that had released her interjected before she could finish, speaking barely above a whisper. Rory looked at them, her displeasure quite clear. But they were right. She had made a deal with them, and it wouldn't do to fail to follow through.
"Tch." she mentally clicked her tongue at them. Sending her Essence into the ground around her, it transformed as the silver sands of Cecelyne exploded outward. Rory's anime burst forth, going totemic from the expenditure.
"Wh... what are you? You're not what you were before! You're Anathema, but... what are you?" the weak little god asked fearfully.
She answered as her weapon arced downward to execute her victim. She telepathically communicated the last thought the little god would have. "I am Rory Mercury, Apostle of Silence."
The god's death filled Rory with ecstasy once more, though the delay had ruined things for her. Still, the Terrestrial god's blood spilled on the sands and became crystal, the beachhead of the Endless Desert expanding from the offering. She moved to leave the sanctum as the two Tinsiana moved to collect the valuable material, payment for the weapon they'd procured for her.
"Don't worry, my dear Apostle, Marshal Zero is a general nearly unmatched. I'm sure that he will pit you into more battles."
"Yes, I hope so." Rory thought, licking her lips as her lust for more battle filled her with a deep hunger. "From what you've told me, I'm sure I'll have lots of fun."
Name: Rory Mercury
Aliases: Apostle of Silence, Rory the Reaper
Gender: Female
Age: ?? (Best not to ask...) (Appears 13)
Caste: Malefactor
Patron Yozi: Adorjan
Motivation: Fight in great battles against worthy foes to attain greater heights of ecstasy.
Urge: Execute any god who stands before her that dares oppose the Yozis. (Adorjani)
Anima Banner: A storm of wind and silver sand in a battlefield full of corpses
Harbinger of Vengeance*: This great halberd is forged from one of the few razors of Adrian's corpse that were managed to be brought into Malfeas after her death and subsequent rebirth as Adorjan. To create it a Second Circle Demon whose name has been long forgotten was turned into chalcanth before Adorjan cast off the Third Circle Demon which spawned it, losing her desire for vengeace in the process. And yet, the weapon still remembers its rage. It has settings for two hearthstones.
Speed: 5, Accuracy: +2, Damage: +13L/3, Defense: +2, Rate: 2, Mins: Str 5, Attune: 10, Tags: 2, O, R
Sapience: 3
Urge: Kill the traitor gods who refuse to bow to the will of the Yozis.
Weapon Charms
Hurry Home - When Harbinger of Vengeance chooses a wielder, it returns to her even if cast aside
Spirit-Cutting - The Harbinger of Vengeance can affect the immaterial.
Stoke The Flame - Any death from violence caused near this user causes her great pleasure.
First (Ability) Excellency - Melee, Athletics
Third (Ability) Excellency - Melee
Charms
Adorjan
First Adorjan Excellency, Second Adorjan Excellency, Adorjan Inevitability Technique, Adjoran World-Shaping Cosmogony
Adorjan Mythos Exultant
Wind-Born Stride (x3)
Who Strikes the Wind
Joy In Violence Approach
Threat-Monitoring Excitement
Open Eye of the Hurricane
Thousandfold Typhoon Hand
Racing Vitaris
Hateful Wretched Noise
Eloquence in Unspoken Words
Cecelyne
First Cecelyne Excellency, Second Cecelyne Excellency, Cecelyne Inevitability Technique, Cecelyne World-Shaping Cosmogony
Cecelyne Mythos Exultant
Transcendent Desert Creature
Sand Through Fingers Defense
Holy Land Infliction
A/N - Rory starts off with a bit more than most Infernals due to her being a God-blooded originally. Her spirit charms got cashed in, which she had a fair amount of due to her father being rather high Essence. She also already had a lot of training and experience.
Neat. I haven't watched the Gate anime though I do follow the manga. She doesn't have a real reason to stick with the Reclamation though; once she got out of that sanctum she's basically a free agent with mixed sympathies. We'll have to handle her carefully.
Given her bloodlust, I suggest putting her on the anti-abyssal squad along with Akio.
Don't we have a couple charms that give people fascinations and intimacies with us? Stack on a few more in that direction and we shouldn't have to worry about her going too of the map.
Speaking of those specific charms have we ensnared Kallen yet?
We should engineer a situation where Kallen exalts into a Solar. She is a perfect candidate as she is and it would really give us a useful servant. Though we would want to hold off on that until after we have her personal loyalty first.
Don't we have a couple charms that give people fascinations and intimacies with us? Stack on a few more in that direction and we shouldn't have to worry about her going too of the map.
Neat. I haven't watched the Gate anime though I do follow the manga. She doesn't have a real reason to stick with the Reclamation though; once she got out of that sanctum she's basically a free agent with mixed sympathies. We'll have to handle her carefully.
Given her bloodlust, I suggest putting her on the anti-abyssal squad along with Akio.
1. Her sympathies aren't exactly mixed. She really doesn't give a damn about Yu-Shan, except for maybe her father. They're corrupt and she knows it. She doesn't care enough to do anything about it, but it doesn't exactly endear them to her. She's Infamous in Heaven for a reason. More than a few gods have fallen to her after incurring her wrath.
2. Her Urge and the Urge from her Hellforged Wonder pretty much demand that she fucks up the gods unless they bow down to the Yozis. If she even tries to side with Heaven she'll gain Limit absurdly fast. Given she's got normal Compassion, she would feel bad about making every extra around her hysteric.
3. She's a blood knight. As long as we give her good battles to fight and don't show ourselves to be repugnant as an individual, we'll likely have no issue keeping her on our side.
Don't we have a couple charms that give people fascinations and intimacies with us? Stack on a few more in that direction and we shouldn't have to worry about her going too of the map.
Speaking of those specific charms have we ensnared Kallen yet in them?
Beautiful In My Way fascinates anyone who looks at us, setting it as an Intimacy. She's snared by that for sure. Both for Lelouch and the Zero persona as well since our mask allows the effect to bleed through.
Dual Gaze Paradox causes anyone who makes direct eye contact with us to become obsessed with us. It's possible she has since she is on the Student Council and would have interacted with Lelouch after he came back from Hell with this Charm, but it hasn't been noted in story yet.
Both are passive and automatic. They can be resisted with Willpower, but it's doubtful that Kallen did given she wouldn't have recognized the unnatural mental influence what with being a mortal.
Sure. Kaguya has Locust Mana Plague, which causes people who eat the locusts it generates to revere the Infernal who made them. She's been using it plus a thaumaturgy ritual that coats them in candy to give 'exotic gifts' to the other members of the Six Houses of Kyoto to make them worship her and gain control of the organization. Currently she's got two of the other five members under her thumb.
But really, the two Lelouch has are very good for ensnaring followers given his social skills. He was able to get high levels of loyalty canonically as Zero, and with BIMY making them fascinated with him he'll have an easier time of it. There can be complications with his personal life, mind you, as we've seen with Lelouch's fan club, which could actually become a real cult even without him trying. (and if he did try it would be super easy to make happen)
Ok, next Infernal. This is another combat oriented one. The last one was melee. This one is guns! And cursing! Lots and lots of cursing!
===Letting Go===
Fuck. It hurt. Everything fucking hurt. Being shot always hurt, but being shot multiple times? Yeah. It fucking hurt. The woman dying in a ditch looked back on her life, and really it wasn't surprising this had happened. Hell, it was surprising it had taken as long as it did. She'd finally bitten off more than she could chew, taken on a force both large enough and well trained enough that even her brand of crazy couldn't take them down.
Worthless. That's what she was. Always had been. Always would be. "Just another little ghetto rat, with no power and no God." she managed moan. Yeah, that was her, and now she was dying slowly of her wounds in a ditch. She should be fine with that. If she was dead she'd finally stop hating herself and... well... everything. But no. She had to be thinking of that asshole Rock. Why the fuck couldn't that fucking Jap just mind his own damn business? Why the hell did he make her feel... whatever the fuck complicated shit she felt about him?
And now he, Dutch, and Benny were in the hands of a group of mercs - or dead, she wasn't sure - and there was jack shit she could do about it. Why the fuck did she even fucking care? What was this stupid fucking feeling in her gut? It wasn't the bullets, dammit!
"Fuck." she managed to get out. Wouldn't be long now. "Fucking dammit."
"Well hi thar!" an annoyingly cheerful voice said, intruding into her dying thoughts. "It's yur lucky day!"
She managed to turn her head far enough to see who was speaking. Well, it seemed like she was hallucinating? There was a hunchbacked guy with the head of a fucking mantis. What. The. Fuck?
"The last guy say no, so Relzik thought he was gonna die! But then Relzik finds you! And yur dyin too! You and Relzik can live now!"
Oh for crying out loud why the hell was this thing that wasn't even there so damned cheery? "The fuck you want?"
"Relzik wants to not die! This one is Relzik! What's yur name?"
What the fuck. Why not talk with her fucking delusion. "Revy."
"Hi Revy! Nice ta meetcha!" the whatever the fuck it was said. "Got something reeaaal nice for ya! Relzik wants to fuck the gods up gud! Free the Yozis from Hell! You help? Get superpowers, live real long! Fun ones!"
"Well..." Revy said, before coughing, blood coming out of her mouth. Did she want to live? She... thought about Rock. She wanted to punch him in the face. She couldn't do that if she was dead, could she? Nope. "...sure, why the fuck not? Sounds fun."
"Goodie! You no regret this!" the mantis headed freak said, before leaping at her.
=====
Revy dreamed of running with a silent wind through the streets of a city, slaughtering everything in their path even though her guns made no sound as she pulled the triggers. Upon reaching the city's edge, she found herself in a silver desert with a black, starless sky. It spoke to her of power, of the strong ruling the weak, how the rightful order of things. Then Revy woke, and took her Second Breath.
=====
"Fuck yes!" Revy yelled, firing her guns. Not that it made any sound. Her yelling or the gunshots. The mercenary fuckers were dying left and right, and they still weren't sure where they were being attacked from. In the middle of the night with no sound being made, they didn't stand a goddamn chance! And what's more, Levy hadn't felt so good in... ever? Yeah. She'd never felt so damn good.
Her past? All her pent up self-loathing and trauma? That shit could just fuck right off! She still remembered it, just because she hadn't wanted to forget where she came from and why the world was full of shit, but it still felt fantastic to just not fucking give a damn about any of it anymore. As she burst into a room where some asshole merc was fucking a whore and shooting the moron in the head, she wondered if this was what being happy felt like? Maybe?
Well, whatever. It still felt good to finally have moved past that shit. Hail the Yozis, fuck yeah! Fuck the gods, fuck them to death!
"Yeah, fuck them!" her cheerful little mind pet thing said. Strangely, she didn't even mind that. Or that there really were gods. Or that they really were assholes. But she had fucking superpowers, and that was fucking awesome!
After murdering the remaining mercs, she came upon the last room in their compound. Kicking the door open, she found just what she was looking for. She turned off her cool silencing field. "Hey guys!" Goddamn it felt good to see them! And wasn't that a strange feeling? Whatever! The Lagoon Company was alive and... well, not kicking, but rather beaten up and locked in a cell. Still, Dutch, Benny, and Rock were all alive, and quite shocked to see her alive, though still clearly pleased about their impending rescue.
"Well damn, Revy, what took so damn long?" Dutch had the gall to ask. Ungrateful smartass.
"Oh, my bad, maybe I'll just leave your ass in there." she answered sarcastically as she shot the lock open.
"Revy..." Rock said, something in his voice. Had that wuss been crying? He was smiling ear to ear now, though... hmmm... oh, right. She almost forgot. She punched him in the face. "Gah!" That felt good. Then she kissed him, shoving her tongue down his throat. What? She hadn't planned that. Still, felt good.
"Damn! Get a room, you two." Benny said jokingly.
Releasing a flustered and confused Rock, she stood up. A crimson circle appeared on her head. "Hey Dutch! The Lagoon Company has a new contract. The payoff is gonna be HUGE! We gotta go to Japan, though."
Caste: Scourge
Patron Yozi: Cecelyne
Motivation: Get money and power.
Urge: Seize control of Roanapur's gangs and crime syndicates. (Cecelynian)
Anima Banner: A tornado of bullets.
Charms
Cecelyne
First Cecelyne Excellency
Transcendent Desert Creature
Sand-Slip Trick
Stone-Flayer Touch
Sands Through Fingers Defense
Sandstrike Blast
Adorjan
First Adorjan Excellency
Wind-Born Stride (x2)
Death-Dealing Journey
Sacred Kamilla's Inhalation
Freedom Lets Go
Broken Silence Laughter Defense
Revy used Freedom Lets Go to get rid of her trauma over being abused by her father and raped by a corrupt NY policeman during her childhood, which has resulted in her actually being kind of happy with herself. She'd previously had Compassion 1 and Temperance 1 due to her trauma, but she's lost most of her nihilistic view of the world and hate of almost everyone in it, and has also caused her to be less self-destructive.
...We have "Two Guns" Revy as a fellow Infernal. Well now. Though I'm unsure Intelligence 1 is right, since she's almost definitely smarter than Akio for example...
...We have "Two Guns" Revy as a fellow Infernal. Well now. Though I'm unsure Intelligence 1 is right, since she's almost definitely smarter than Akio for example...
Akio is both Intelligence 1 and Wits 1. He's dumb in both the long and short term. He's a complete and total idiot.
Revy is Intelligence 1 and Wits 3. She doesn't deal well with overly complicated problems or long term planning (that's what Rock and Dutch are there for), and is kind of forgetful about details when they don't matter much to her. Nobody would ever accuse her of being the sharpest tool in the shed. However, she does think quickly and reacts quite well to sudden changes.
Also it should be remembered that dots are approximations. Revy's Int 1 is a bit better than Akio's Int 1 in terms of roleplay and story.
I keep imaging a girl around Nunnaly's age being super excited to fight against the Evil Empire known as Britannia. Stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that she's working with literal demons in hell. It's clearly just a translation error, or the secret Evil Empire has manipulated Earth's languages to reflect their dastardly agenda! Emerald flames and copious amounts of brass? Brass is a perfectly fine metal and I like the color green thank you very much!
I keep imaging a girl around Nunnaly's age being super excited to fight against the Evil Empire known as Britannia. Stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that she's working with literal demons in hell. It's clearly just a translation error, or the secret Evil Empire has manipulated Earth's languages to reflect their dastardly agenda! Emerald flames and copious amounts of brass? Brass is a perfectly fine metal and I like the color green thank you very much!
...ok then. Yes, that sounds absolutely delusional. Maybe a dark magical girl, instead? Plays the villain? Embraces it because that popular bitch Exalted as a Solar?
...ok then. Yes, that sounds absolutely delusional. Maybe a dark magical girl, instead? Plays the villain? Embraces it because that popular bitch Exalted as a Solar?
Rory and Revy have the same Coadjutor trait as well (Ruby Red Eyes), if that wasn't intentional. Also, one question: Appearance 5 seems high to me, since that's basically peak human beauty. I can buy 4, as Revy is attractive, and maybe add a point to Manipulation? No one says she has to be subtle about it and she has a tendency to put her guns in faces to get her way.
Overall, though, you really captured the character. I was able to figure out the expy from the first paragraph, in fact.
Rory and Revy have the same Coadjutor trait as well (Ruby Red Eyes), if that wasn't intentional. Also, one question: Appearance 5 seems high to me, since that's basically peak human beauty. I can buy 4, as Revy is attractive, and maybe add a point to Manipulation? No one says she has to be subtle about it and she has a tendency to put her guns in faces to get her way.
Overall, though, you really captured the character. I was able to figure out the expy from the first paragraph, in fact.
1. No, it was another thing I neglected to remove when clearing out the sheet for a new character. I'll fix that. EDIT - Done.
2. Appearance 5 is a benefit she got from Exaltation - a certain number of points had to be distributed in her high, middle, and low attribute categories and that one had an extra point. She was Appearance 4 as a mortal, and has now been made M04R HOT!
3. Her ability to intimidate people is represented by "Presence 1 (Intimidation 2)". Getting most people to do what you want when you've got a gun in their face is pretty low difficulty. Revy is BLUNT as all hell. As the core book says, "Someone with Manipulation 1 is either ill-spoken or exceedingly direct and open."
4. Glad you think I got it right. I was a bit worried about that.
...ok then. Yes, that sounds absolutely delusional. Maybe a dark magical girl, instead? Plays the villain? Embraces it because that popular bitch Exalted as a Solar?
We already have enough gloomy/serious infernals that embrace their new position. What's wrong with playing around with the classic magical girl formula? You have the evil group of evil aiming to take over the world, the other worldly being that give you powers, etc.
Of course it's absolutely delusional. Any character that assumes she's a magical girl just like her old and now banned Area Eleven cartoons is going to be a bit of a wack job. That's what makes it such a fun idea, and adds huge amounts of contrast to the majority of our other infernals.
Let's be honest, she'd be no worse than Akio already is and Lelouch is already bemoaning the horrible PR he has to work with. You'd think the Yozi would use better names and terms for their stuff.