Avalux Kesterven
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 106 
Age: 42
Appearance: Avalux is quarter elven which makes his age slightly hard to guess. His hair had turned a silvery blonde when he was quite young and most of the signs of age on his features are due more to squinting to read in candlelight than his years. He is on the tall and lean side but not to an excessive degree. Perhaps a hair's breadth over six feet and with enough meat on his bones to be healthy. His features are angular and they have a slightly severe cast as his habitual expression is a frown of thoughtful consideration.
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Equipment: Utterly insufficient for the task he has been presented with but he has the essential. A fresh notebook, a pen enchanted to replenish its own ink over time, a rune scribes etching tool, his glasses, and various crystals for creating apparatus.
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Skills and Abilities: Avalux is a magical engineer (Artificer if you wish to offend) and researcher. He specializes in the creation of devices that use magical power to power mechanical designs. He tackles magic with the scientific method trying to quantify something that most people believe to be unquantifiable. His drive and determination to do so often make him overlook certain things.
Registered: Nov 14, 2021 12:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Avalux Kesterven on Feb 24, 2022 21:24:46 GMT -5
"You know, I am noticing that many of our conversations involve downplaying the others faults while lauding their accomplishments. Who knew the best thing for your mental health could be meeting someone else who holds themselves to impossible standards."
Avalux said with a chuckle as he watched her throw the fish. Honestly, he wasn't sure who was more surprised. Jun at successfully hitting her target, the fish who'd been hit, or himself who'd jumped when she'd bellowed as she had.
"Well, it seem congratulations are in order. You were a better shot than you thought."
With that he looked out knowing he was exactly as good a shot as he thought himself to be. Still, even if his legs were burning and his body exhausted from the workout it would be a shame to not at least try and actually hit a fish. So he readied his own spear thrower, took aim as best he could at a decently sized fish figuring the bigger target would be easier to hit and he threw.
(Avalux with disadvantage, the fish with advantage.)
Avalux: x_u8tIQT1-201-20
Fish: 1-201-201-20·1-20·1-20·1-20
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Avalux Kesterven
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 106
Age: 42
Appearance: Avalux is quarter elven which makes his age slightly hard to guess. His hair had turned a silvery blonde when he was quite young and most of the signs of age on his features are due more to squinting to read in candlelight than his years. He is on the tall and lean side but not to an excessive degree. Perhaps a hair's breadth over six feet and with enough meat on his bones to be healthy. His features are angular and they have a slightly severe cast as his habitual expression is a frown of thoughtful consideration.
-------------------------
Equipment: Utterly insufficient for the task he has been presented with but he has the essential. A fresh notebook, a pen enchanted to replenish its own ink over time, a rune scribes etching tool, his glasses, and various crystals for creating apparatus.
-------------------------
Skills and Abilities: Avalux is a magical engineer (Artificer if you wish to offend) and researcher. He specializes in the creation of devices that use magical power to power mechanical designs. He tackles magic with the scientific method trying to quantify something that most people believe to be unquantifiable. His drive and determination to do so often make him overlook certain things.
Registered: Nov 14, 2021 12:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Avalux Kesterven on Feb 24, 2022 21:26:29 GMT -5
As he'd anticipated his shot missed and he reeled back a spear bereft of fish.
"Honestly, glad I missed. I might have fainted if I'd managed to hit by some fluke of luck."
The man said with a slight self deprecating chuckle.
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Jun of the Celadine
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 305 
Age: 33
Appearance: Jun stands at about 5’ 4”, with a willowy, slightly rectangular build. Her tawny olive skin has lost its flush from constantly wearing cloth armor, and she is dotted with small scars, including wrinkled patches of old burns on her left arm. She has deep brown, slightly hooded eyes and not quite straight dark auburn hair. Her face is still youthful and strong, though her gaze suggests she’s seen way too much for her age.
Equipment: An emerald, muddy long coat-style gambeson. A chrome blue longsword with a rusty hilt. Rusted shackles on her wrists ending in broken chains, giving a false impression that she had been a prisoner; the bracelets are easily removed.
Skills and Abilities: What remains of Jun’s power is a mix of animal friendship and elemental control. She can communicate with and control weaker animals, like insects, and request the help of larger, sentient animals (though they are not compelled to obey her). She can perform subtle manipulations of fire, water, earth, wind, and other “elements” like light and shadow. Her most unique ability is to imbue elemental magic into other life forms and channel her spells through them.
She is a decent cook and survivalist and has a solid academic understanding of agriculture and ecology. She is also a decent sword and hand-to-hand fighter.
Biography: Jun of the Celadine was a stereotypical hero of legend. She was one of Isra's mightiest spellcasters, had gone on dozens of adventures, possessed several powerful artifacts, and helped bring peace to the world on many occasions.
A notorious overachiever and workaholic, Jun had driven herself to near madness pursuing powerful magic. In standard fashion, it was the power of friendship that kept her sane.
Now Jun must cope with the fact that much of the world she helped protect has been lost, and that most of the magic power she had accrued over the years has stopped working.
Her family (whose whereabouts are unknown) was a clan of farmers and gardeners. Her tribe lived in peace and harmony in a mostly forested region. Every two hundred years or so, their people produced a powerful mage and master of all elements. Jun was not this chosen one, but rather her grandmother was. Still, Jun's (somewhat unhealthy) obsession with keeping up with her ancestor made her a pretty close second.
Jun has no regrets about her journey, though she sometimes wishes she had spent more learning other skills, like cooking and dancing. She also feels she made a poor lover, though it's likely her old partners passed away in the floodwaters anyways...
Registered: May 25, 2021 13:33:31 GMT -5
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Mar 7, 2022 22:09:42 GMT -5
"Heh, well, it makes sense that patching a wound on your face is easier when you have a mirror to look at."
As Jun lugged her fish into a nearby basket, she chuckled. "I didn't wanna admit this, but I'm kinda flattered that I made you faint. Never exactly saw myself as the epitome of feminine wiles."
An eerie, high pitched wail drifted from out in the ocean to the beach. Jun turned and focused on the horizon. The wail sounded again. It was echo-y, and its pitch went up and down rather abruptly. It wasn't a distressed sound, but instead rather... inquisitive?
Jun's countenance of alarm quickly turned to wonder and glee, as a shimmering black flipper broke the surface of the water in the distance.
"I forgot that not all the behemoths of these lands are horrible creatures." She stood upright and leaped up and down, waving frantically as the flipper descended back into the water. "I wonder if it's the same one that saved my life when I arrived here at the-"
She herself almost fainted when three more flippers broke the water's surface and splashed down. Then, feeling energized, she decided to pick up a spear and turn back towards the fish swimming around the boat. "Now if that isn't a good omen I don't know what is."
She took aim, and shot.
Jun's roll: n8GAIn|B1-20
Fish's roll: 1-20 1-20
1-20·1-20·1-20
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Jun of the Celadine
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 305
Age: 33
Appearance: Jun stands at about 5’ 4”, with a willowy, slightly rectangular build. Her tawny olive skin has lost its flush from constantly wearing cloth armor, and she is dotted with small scars, including wrinkled patches of old burns on her left arm. She has deep brown, slightly hooded eyes and not quite straight dark auburn hair. Her face is still youthful and strong, though her gaze suggests she’s seen way too much for her age.
Equipment: An emerald, muddy long coat-style gambeson. A chrome blue longsword with a rusty hilt. Rusted shackles on her wrists ending in broken chains, giving a false impression that she had been a prisoner; the bracelets are easily removed.
Skills and Abilities: What remains of Jun’s power is a mix of animal friendship and elemental control. She can communicate with and control weaker animals, like insects, and request the help of larger, sentient animals (though they are not compelled to obey her). She can perform subtle manipulations of fire, water, earth, wind, and other “elements” like light and shadow. Her most unique ability is to imbue elemental magic into other life forms and channel her spells through them.
She is a decent cook and survivalist and has a solid academic understanding of agriculture and ecology. She is also a decent sword and hand-to-hand fighter.
Biography: Jun of the Celadine was a stereotypical hero of legend. She was one of Isra's mightiest spellcasters, had gone on dozens of adventures, possessed several powerful artifacts, and helped bring peace to the world on many occasions.
A notorious overachiever and workaholic, Jun had driven herself to near madness pursuing powerful magic. In standard fashion, it was the power of friendship that kept her sane.
Now Jun must cope with the fact that much of the world she helped protect has been lost, and that most of the magic power she had accrued over the years has stopped working.
Her family (whose whereabouts are unknown) was a clan of farmers and gardeners. Her tribe lived in peace and harmony in a mostly forested region. Every two hundred years or so, their people produced a powerful mage and master of all elements. Jun was not this chosen one, but rather her grandmother was. Still, Jun's (somewhat unhealthy) obsession with keeping up with her ancestor made her a pretty close second.
Jun has no regrets about her journey, though she sometimes wishes she had spent more learning other skills, like cooking and dancing. She also feels she made a poor lover, though it's likely her old partners passed away in the floodwaters anyways...
Registered: May 25, 2021 13:33:31 GMT -5
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Mar 7, 2022 22:13:14 GMT -5
Jun snorted as her spear missed by a solid meter.
"Well, I can always pretend that if it hadn't been for the whales, I would have missed by two meters."
Actually, thanks to the friendly apex predators' presence, more fish would be fleeing towards the shore, giving Avalux and Jun more targets to aim at.
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Avalux Kesterven
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 106
Age: 42
Appearance: Avalux is quarter elven which makes his age slightly hard to guess. His hair had turned a silvery blonde when he was quite young and most of the signs of age on his features are due more to squinting to read in candlelight than his years. He is on the tall and lean side but not to an excessive degree. Perhaps a hair's breadth over six feet and with enough meat on his bones to be healthy. His features are angular and they have a slightly severe cast as his habitual expression is a frown of thoughtful consideration.
-------------------------
Equipment: Utterly insufficient for the task he has been presented with but he has the essential. A fresh notebook, a pen enchanted to replenish its own ink over time, a rune scribes etching tool, his glasses, and various crystals for creating apparatus.
-------------------------
Skills and Abilities: Avalux is a magical engineer (Artificer if you wish to offend) and researcher. He specializes in the creation of devices that use magical power to power mechanical designs. He tackles magic with the scientific method trying to quantify something that most people believe to be unquantifiable. His drive and determination to do so often make him overlook certain things.
Registered: Nov 14, 2021 12:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Avalux Kesterven on Mar 10, 2022 8:55:36 GMT -5
"An apt metaphor I think."
Avalux said laughing lightly at the description and the irony of it all when she made a comment on her wiles. The laugh turned into a strangled noise and a bit of colour entered his pale cheeks, a light blush that tinged them pink.
"Yes, well, I, er, didn't think I was that prudish but evidently... well, here we are."
Honestly, there were quite a few things he could blame his reaction on. His society was rather conservative and he'd spent the better part of ten years in a Citadel where the dress code was heavy robes for everyone. Which certainly played a part but he was studiously ignoring one possible explanation. Thankfully the arrival of the whale caught Jun's attention and he looked out at the waters as well.
"Oh my."
Avalux murmured in quiet awe at the creatures. He'd not actually seen a whale before outside of textbooks, so while he recognized it the difference between a picture and what was out there was hard to fully explain. It was the sense of scale he now had that he'd lacked before, even if they were still at a distance.
"At the very least, it's an amazing sight."
Then she cast her spear again and he decided to follow suit though he knew the results wouldn't be much better.
Avalux: 6cU6Up7j1-20 1-20
Fish: 1-20 1-20
1-20·1-20·1-20·1-20
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Avalux Kesterven
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 106
Age: 42
Appearance: Avalux is quarter elven which makes his age slightly hard to guess. His hair had turned a silvery blonde when he was quite young and most of the signs of age on his features are due more to squinting to read in candlelight than his years. He is on the tall and lean side but not to an excessive degree. Perhaps a hair's breadth over six feet and with enough meat on his bones to be healthy. His features are angular and they have a slightly severe cast as his habitual expression is a frown of thoughtful consideration.
-------------------------
Equipment: Utterly insufficient for the task he has been presented with but he has the essential. A fresh notebook, a pen enchanted to replenish its own ink over time, a rune scribes etching tool, his glasses, and various crystals for creating apparatus.
-------------------------
Skills and Abilities: Avalux is a magical engineer (Artificer if you wish to offend) and researcher. He specializes in the creation of devices that use magical power to power mechanical designs. He tackles magic with the scientific method trying to quantify something that most people believe to be unquantifiable. His drive and determination to do so often make him overlook certain things.
Registered: Nov 14, 2021 12:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Avalux Kesterven on Mar 10, 2022 8:57:25 GMT -5
True to form his spear landed in the sand. This particular cast was worse than his first as it barely made it a few feet from the boat. His mind was still a bit scattered it appeared as he slowly drew his spear back.
"Tragically, I think I would have missed no matter what so I can't even blame it on the whales."
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Jun of the Celadine
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 305
Age: 33
Appearance: Jun stands at about 5’ 4”, with a willowy, slightly rectangular build. Her tawny olive skin has lost its flush from constantly wearing cloth armor, and she is dotted with small scars, including wrinkled patches of old burns on her left arm. She has deep brown, slightly hooded eyes and not quite straight dark auburn hair. Her face is still youthful and strong, though her gaze suggests she’s seen way too much for her age.
Equipment: An emerald, muddy long coat-style gambeson. A chrome blue longsword with a rusty hilt. Rusted shackles on her wrists ending in broken chains, giving a false impression that she had been a prisoner; the bracelets are easily removed.
Skills and Abilities: What remains of Jun’s power is a mix of animal friendship and elemental control. She can communicate with and control weaker animals, like insects, and request the help of larger, sentient animals (though they are not compelled to obey her). She can perform subtle manipulations of fire, water, earth, wind, and other “elements” like light and shadow. Her most unique ability is to imbue elemental magic into other life forms and channel her spells through them.
She is a decent cook and survivalist and has a solid academic understanding of agriculture and ecology. She is also a decent sword and hand-to-hand fighter.
Biography: Jun of the Celadine was a stereotypical hero of legend. She was one of Isra's mightiest spellcasters, had gone on dozens of adventures, possessed several powerful artifacts, and helped bring peace to the world on many occasions.
A notorious overachiever and workaholic, Jun had driven herself to near madness pursuing powerful magic. In standard fashion, it was the power of friendship that kept her sane.
Now Jun must cope with the fact that much of the world she helped protect has been lost, and that most of the magic power she had accrued over the years has stopped working.
Her family (whose whereabouts are unknown) was a clan of farmers and gardeners. Her tribe lived in peace and harmony in a mostly forested region. Every two hundred years or so, their people produced a powerful mage and master of all elements. Jun was not this chosen one, but rather her grandmother was. Still, Jun's (somewhat unhealthy) obsession with keeping up with her ancestor made her a pretty close second.
Jun has no regrets about her journey, though she sometimes wishes she had spent more learning other skills, like cooking and dancing. She also feels she made a poor lover, though it's likely her old partners passed away in the floodwaters anyways...
Registered: May 25, 2021 13:33:31 GMT -5
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Mar 23, 2022 18:50:31 GMT -5
Jun chuckled, both at her own failure and at Avalux's. There was something very sweet about them failing together. "Well, something tells me the whales won't judge us too harshly. We're clumsy land lubbers after all." She put a comforting hand on Avalux's shoulder and decided to take a moment to watch the whales again. The cold air, the exertion of fishing, the exciting of seeing some old friends in the water, it was setting her heart alight and forcing up a lump under her throat. It so was rare to feel this excited outside of combat.
Her throat was becoming cold and coppery. She hoped she didn't catch a bizarre island cold. The thought suddenly reminded her of something. "Oh, Avalux, I wanted to give you something. I almost forgot." She walked over to a linen sack placed inconspicuously next to their fishing supplies. She bent down and pulled something out of it. In the low light of twilight, with only the moon, stars, and small fires to illuminate the deck, it might take a second for Avalux to discern what it was.
"Put it on!"
It was a long coat, thick and padded and charcoal grey. The design was similar to Jun's except tailored for his height and build. The material and stitching suggested Usquean make, although traces of magic implied that Jun had a slight hand its creation too. It was a fine enough piece of clothing, but the padding was also thick enough to deter glancing blade strikes and resist penetration by sharp canines. It was no substitute for metal or leather armor, but not to be underestimated either.
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Avalux Kesterven
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 106
Age: 42
Appearance: Avalux is quarter elven which makes his age slightly hard to guess. His hair had turned a silvery blonde when he was quite young and most of the signs of age on his features are due more to squinting to read in candlelight than his years. He is on the tall and lean side but not to an excessive degree. Perhaps a hair's breadth over six feet and with enough meat on his bones to be healthy. His features are angular and they have a slightly severe cast as his habitual expression is a frown of thoughtful consideration.
-------------------------
Equipment: Utterly insufficient for the task he has been presented with but he has the essential. A fresh notebook, a pen enchanted to replenish its own ink over time, a rune scribes etching tool, his glasses, and various crystals for creating apparatus.
-------------------------
Skills and Abilities: Avalux is a magical engineer (Artificer if you wish to offend) and researcher. He specializes in the creation of devices that use magical power to power mechanical designs. He tackles magic with the scientific method trying to quantify something that most people believe to be unquantifiable. His drive and determination to do so often make him overlook certain things.
Registered: Nov 14, 2021 12:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Avalux Kesterven on Mar 26, 2022 17:15:39 GMT -5
"I suppose not. Perhaps they fear how clumsy we'd find them if they were on land."
Avalux chuckled at the absurdity in that thought as he hefted the spear once more. He was debating taking another throw which surprised him somewhat. While he wasn't having much luck he was finding a simple catharsis in the act of throwing and retrieving the spear. Partly because the second toss had felt a bit easier, once he'd let go of some of his tension he'd been able to focus on what Jun had been trying to teach him.
"Give me something?"
That was all he managed to get out before he found the object being offered to him. It takes him a moment to suss out what it was but it soon becomes apparent as it is spread out. After only a moment to take it in, noting the stitching and faint glow of magic he tugs it on. It was a bit large on his rather lean and thin form but he didn't really think that was a bad thing. Indeed, he found that it was helping with the chill sea breeze which was rapidly cooling the sweat on his skin that they'd wicked up earlier.
"I'm touched, I can't remember the last time I received a gift thank you Jun."
The man offered her one of his small but genuine smiles. The long coat actually suited him quite well, though it would fit him better if he put on some more weight. Thankfully, he actually had been managing to do so since he was no longer rationing his food, he also found working with Jun led to him building more of an appetite than he'd had in the past.
"I only regret the gift I am making for you is not yet finished."
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Jun of the Celadine
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 305
Age: 33
Appearance: Jun stands at about 5’ 4”, with a willowy, slightly rectangular build. Her tawny olive skin has lost its flush from constantly wearing cloth armor, and she is dotted with small scars, including wrinkled patches of old burns on her left arm. She has deep brown, slightly hooded eyes and not quite straight dark auburn hair. Her face is still youthful and strong, though her gaze suggests she’s seen way too much for her age.
Equipment: An emerald, muddy long coat-style gambeson. A chrome blue longsword with a rusty hilt. Rusted shackles on her wrists ending in broken chains, giving a false impression that she had been a prisoner; the bracelets are easily removed.
Skills and Abilities: What remains of Jun’s power is a mix of animal friendship and elemental control. She can communicate with and control weaker animals, like insects, and request the help of larger, sentient animals (though they are not compelled to obey her). She can perform subtle manipulations of fire, water, earth, wind, and other “elements” like light and shadow. Her most unique ability is to imbue elemental magic into other life forms and channel her spells through them.
She is a decent cook and survivalist and has a solid academic understanding of agriculture and ecology. She is also a decent sword and hand-to-hand fighter.
Biography: Jun of the Celadine was a stereotypical hero of legend. She was one of Isra's mightiest spellcasters, had gone on dozens of adventures, possessed several powerful artifacts, and helped bring peace to the world on many occasions.
A notorious overachiever and workaholic, Jun had driven herself to near madness pursuing powerful magic. In standard fashion, it was the power of friendship that kept her sane.
Now Jun must cope with the fact that much of the world she helped protect has been lost, and that most of the magic power she had accrued over the years has stopped working.
Her family (whose whereabouts are unknown) was a clan of farmers and gardeners. Her tribe lived in peace and harmony in a mostly forested region. Every two hundred years or so, their people produced a powerful mage and master of all elements. Jun was not this chosen one, but rather her grandmother was. Still, Jun's (somewhat unhealthy) obsession with keeping up with her ancestor made her a pretty close second.
Jun has no regrets about her journey, though she sometimes wishes she had spent more learning other skills, like cooking and dancing. She also feels she made a poor lover, though it's likely her old partners passed away in the floodwaters anyways...
Registered: May 25, 2021 13:33:31 GMT -5
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Apr 19, 2022 19:28:22 GMT -5
Watching him put on the coat, modeling it in the moonlight, a peaceful night, at least one fish in the basket, singing whales in the background...
Life, was, good.
"I'm not even going to ask. I'm sure it'll be absolutely perfect."
Jun almost forgot that they had a mission of sorts to attend to. Catch more fish. Exhaust one's self. Test out healing runes. Their mission objectives floated distantly around her head as she gazed almost absently at Avalux and the starlit horizon. Then slowly she bent down and picked up another wooden spear and slipped it into her atlatl. It was time to get back to work, though it really didn't feel like work anymore.
A few minutes went by as Jun and Avalux would continue to launch their spears and maybe bag a few more fish. The coat would help keep Avalux warm as the temperature dropped. Jun was in a content trance, and she seemed to be performing a bit better with every spear throw. Presumably Avalux would show some degree of improvement as well, and Jun would be there to answer any questions.
Then, a little longer into their excursion, Jun had the thought to share something about herself.
"You know, Avalux..."
As soon as the words escaped her mouth, she suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Oh well, she was committed.
"I've always been scared of becoming a mother."
She threw another spear. This one missed.
"Going around being a hero, I guess a part of me was afraid of leaving an orphan and widow behind."
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Avalux Kesterven
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 106
Age: 42
Appearance: Avalux is quarter elven which makes his age slightly hard to guess. His hair had turned a silvery blonde when he was quite young and most of the signs of age on his features are due more to squinting to read in candlelight than his years. He is on the tall and lean side but not to an excessive degree. Perhaps a hair's breadth over six feet and with enough meat on his bones to be healthy. His features are angular and they have a slightly severe cast as his habitual expression is a frown of thoughtful consideration.
-------------------------
Equipment: Utterly insufficient for the task he has been presented with but he has the essential. A fresh notebook, a pen enchanted to replenish its own ink over time, a rune scribes etching tool, his glasses, and various crystals for creating apparatus.
-------------------------
Skills and Abilities: Avalux is a magical engineer (Artificer if you wish to offend) and researcher. He specializes in the creation of devices that use magical power to power mechanical designs. He tackles magic with the scientific method trying to quantify something that most people believe to be unquantifiable. His drive and determination to do so often make him overlook certain things.
Registered: Nov 14, 2021 12:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Avalux Kesterven on Apr 20, 2022 9:32:15 GMT -5
They returned to fishing and time went by. The most notable thing to happen was he finally managed a few decent casts with the atlatl. He still didn't hit any fish but he managed the smooth motion that Jun was doing and actually hurled the spear a decent distance. It felt good to actually perform the action correctly and he was getting a feel for how to repeat it. It wasn't something he'd ever expected to enjoy but the right company could open you up to new things it seemed.
"From the sounds of it, it wasn't an unfounded concern."
Avalux replied when she brought up her concerns over becoming a mother. He was in the middle of reeling in his spear so he didn't have to look her way. Which was good, he wasn't quite sure why she'd brought up the subject but it had made his cheeks flush slightly despite himself.
"I never had a family either but I suppose my reasons could be viewed as more selfish. My parents expected me to wed someone and sire an heir for the Kesterven bloodline. An expectation that only grew as I expanded the family fortune. However, their attempts to play matchmaker always involved a woman who I had no shared interests with. Considering I was already disinclined to pursue romance in favour of research, well I am sure you can gather what I did instead."
If she had learned anything about it him it must surely have been that the man could be an absolute workaholic. It was easy to see him spurning the company of some vapid young noblewoman in favour of study. Though, Jun had been able to almost effortlessly get him out of his lab and on top of it to do spearfishing of all things.
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Jun of the Celadine
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 305
Age: 33
Appearance: Jun stands at about 5’ 4”, with a willowy, slightly rectangular build. Her tawny olive skin has lost its flush from constantly wearing cloth armor, and she is dotted with small scars, including wrinkled patches of old burns on her left arm. She has deep brown, slightly hooded eyes and not quite straight dark auburn hair. Her face is still youthful and strong, though her gaze suggests she’s seen way too much for her age.
Equipment: An emerald, muddy long coat-style gambeson. A chrome blue longsword with a rusty hilt. Rusted shackles on her wrists ending in broken chains, giving a false impression that she had been a prisoner; the bracelets are easily removed.
Skills and Abilities: What remains of Jun’s power is a mix of animal friendship and elemental control. She can communicate with and control weaker animals, like insects, and request the help of larger, sentient animals (though they are not compelled to obey her). She can perform subtle manipulations of fire, water, earth, wind, and other “elements” like light and shadow. Her most unique ability is to imbue elemental magic into other life forms and channel her spells through them.
She is a decent cook and survivalist and has a solid academic understanding of agriculture and ecology. She is also a decent sword and hand-to-hand fighter.
Biography: Jun of the Celadine was a stereotypical hero of legend. She was one of Isra's mightiest spellcasters, had gone on dozens of adventures, possessed several powerful artifacts, and helped bring peace to the world on many occasions.
A notorious overachiever and workaholic, Jun had driven herself to near madness pursuing powerful magic. In standard fashion, it was the power of friendship that kept her sane.
Now Jun must cope with the fact that much of the world she helped protect has been lost, and that most of the magic power she had accrued over the years has stopped working.
Her family (whose whereabouts are unknown) was a clan of farmers and gardeners. Her tribe lived in peace and harmony in a mostly forested region. Every two hundred years or so, their people produced a powerful mage and master of all elements. Jun was not this chosen one, but rather her grandmother was. Still, Jun's (somewhat unhealthy) obsession with keeping up with her ancestor made her a pretty close second.
Jun has no regrets about her journey, though she sometimes wishes she had spent more learning other skills, like cooking and dancing. She also feels she made a poor lover, though it's likely her old partners passed away in the floodwaters anyways...
Registered: May 25, 2021 13:33:31 GMT -5
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Apr 20, 2022 15:31:21 GMT -5
While not exactly the same issue Jun had, she felt she understood. It certainly tracked with what she knew about Avalux. But of course, the reason Jun had brought it up was because, for at least the briefest of moments, she had begun reconsidering her stance. Not that she was anxious to become a mother. It was entirely plausible she could be content the rest of her life as a sort of career woman. But that was the problem right there; she had never thought about it much before. Not starting a family out of anxiety and insecurity was just the norm; she had taken it for granted. The very thought of actually settling down, or choosing to not settle down, was unexplored territory.
She almost felt guilty that the post flood world had actually given her enough respite to contemplate such things.
She pulled up her spear and got ready for another throw.
"Do you... still-"
BANG!
The ship shook slightly, and long ripples of water emanated from all around the boat, shimmering in the torch light. Something had impacted the hull.
"What the-" Jun gripped her spear tightly and carefully went to examine the waters on the side of the boat behind them. Little static-y bolts of mana glowed eerily in the darkness along her atlatl, a definite sign of her alarm.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Multiple impacts.
Jun paused over the edge of the water and stared wide-eyed at the source. "Umm, Avalux? I think we may have some rival fisherman."
groooooooOOOOOOAAR!!
Calling them sea lions would have been an understatement. The beasts (there were at least three) were closer to the size of elephant seals, which was to say they were large and powerful enough to tip horse carriages over. Their bellows, deep and and warbling, began at intense volume and crescendo'd to deafening levels. At the apex of their cries, they brought their massive, fatty torsos down against the ship's hull (BANG!), then rose up and started doing it all over again.
As with most of the creatures of the isles, there was something perverse about them. Their skin was too rubbery, their eyes were too large and bright, and their canines were the very definition of overkill.
Jun leered at the beasts and gripped her spear tightly. "I think I can take them." Jun's gambeson rippled with more static-y bolts, giving her more of an eerily blue glow in the night. "I know my limits. But I'm pretty sure I can still handle three-"
Two more fierce heads rose up out of the water, several meters behind the trio. They bobbed up and down towards the boat to join their other miscreant friends, violently splashing along the way.
Jun sighed. "Fuck."
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Avalux Kesterven
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 106
Age: 42
Appearance: Avalux is quarter elven which makes his age slightly hard to guess. His hair had turned a silvery blonde when he was quite young and most of the signs of age on his features are due more to squinting to read in candlelight than his years. He is on the tall and lean side but not to an excessive degree. Perhaps a hair's breadth over six feet and with enough meat on his bones to be healthy. His features are angular and they have a slightly severe cast as his habitual expression is a frown of thoughtful consideration.
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Equipment: Utterly insufficient for the task he has been presented with but he has the essential. A fresh notebook, a pen enchanted to replenish its own ink over time, a rune scribes etching tool, his glasses, and various crystals for creating apparatus.
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Skills and Abilities: Avalux is a magical engineer (Artificer if you wish to offend) and researcher. He specializes in the creation of devices that use magical power to power mechanical designs. He tackles magic with the scientific method trying to quantify something that most people believe to be unquantifiable. His drive and determination to do so often make him overlook certain things.
Registered: Nov 14, 2021 12:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Avalux Kesterven on Apr 20, 2022 16:31:23 GMT -5
Fortunately for Jun and Avalux, the flat bottomed boat was extremely sturdy even with the seals banging against it they weren't rocking too much. However, they were clearly doing damage to the sides of the hull, the heat-treated wood clearly straining under each crash of their heavy bodies. It wouldn't be long before it bowed, cracked, and eventually splintered at which point the ship would be unrepairable with what they had available.
"This seems less than ideal yes."
Avalux noted as he joined her at the side of the boat. Despite the fact that they were extremely close to some clearly dangerous creatures he remained calm. Not because he had any particular confidence in his ability to resolve his situation he just saw panic as being unproductive.
"I was going to wait until I got out of the prototype phase but I am going to go get your present."
With that, he rushed back toward the porthole that led down into the main hull of the ship. A coordinated attack from the seals outside damn near sent him sprawling to the ground as he made his way to his work desk. Everything was in disarray which irked him mightily. He'd left a few things loose instead of stowed tightly away because he was beached, the boat wasn't supposed to be rocking like this.
"Where is it?"
A slight edge of worry entered his voice as he tried to figure out where the box he'd stowed the prototype of her gift was. This wasn't the intended use of it but it could easily be used to scare off the seals in her hands.
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Jun of the Celadine
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 305
Age: 33
Appearance: Jun stands at about 5’ 4”, with a willowy, slightly rectangular build. Her tawny olive skin has lost its flush from constantly wearing cloth armor, and she is dotted with small scars, including wrinkled patches of old burns on her left arm. She has deep brown, slightly hooded eyes and not quite straight dark auburn hair. Her face is still youthful and strong, though her gaze suggests she’s seen way too much for her age.
Equipment: An emerald, muddy long coat-style gambeson. A chrome blue longsword with a rusty hilt. Rusted shackles on her wrists ending in broken chains, giving a false impression that she had been a prisoner; the bracelets are easily removed.
Skills and Abilities: What remains of Jun’s power is a mix of animal friendship and elemental control. She can communicate with and control weaker animals, like insects, and request the help of larger, sentient animals (though they are not compelled to obey her). She can perform subtle manipulations of fire, water, earth, wind, and other “elements” like light and shadow. Her most unique ability is to imbue elemental magic into other life forms and channel her spells through them.
She is a decent cook and survivalist and has a solid academic understanding of agriculture and ecology. She is also a decent sword and hand-to-hand fighter.
Biography: Jun of the Celadine was a stereotypical hero of legend. She was one of Isra's mightiest spellcasters, had gone on dozens of adventures, possessed several powerful artifacts, and helped bring peace to the world on many occasions.
A notorious overachiever and workaholic, Jun had driven herself to near madness pursuing powerful magic. In standard fashion, it was the power of friendship that kept her sane.
Now Jun must cope with the fact that much of the world she helped protect has been lost, and that most of the magic power she had accrued over the years has stopped working.
Her family (whose whereabouts are unknown) was a clan of farmers and gardeners. Her tribe lived in peace and harmony in a mostly forested region. Every two hundred years or so, their people produced a powerful mage and master of all elements. Jun was not this chosen one, but rather her grandmother was. Still, Jun's (somewhat unhealthy) obsession with keeping up with her ancestor made her a pretty close second.
Jun has no regrets about her journey, though she sometimes wishes she had spent more learning other skills, like cooking and dancing. She also feels she made a poor lover, though it's likely her old partners passed away in the floodwaters anyways...
Registered: May 25, 2021 13:33:31 GMT -5
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Apr 22, 2022 15:15:55 GMT -5
Jun nodded. "Well, if I can beat three, I can probably stall five."
As Avalux went to retrieve his prototype, Jun zero'd in on her target. And her posture changed.
In a way she was lying. She had to to use the word "probably" for the benefit of their research-oriented minds. And she also didn't want to sound like an arrogant prick around Avalux. But in reality, she knew she could stall five. There was no probably about it. This was a side of her she was glad to hide from Avalux, however.
Her spear sliced through the air with a faint whistle. Then it slipped into the water in front of the approaching seals like a needle through flesh, barely rippling the water. What ensued was eerily quiet violence. A ghostly white flash erupted from the underwater spear, followed by a cascade of smaller flashes. Then a layer of bubbles and steam floated to the top of the water. A few seconds later, two large grey lumps broke the ocean surface and bobbed there, oddly still.
Yep, that's about what she expected. She had thought about naming it, Lightning Art: Auroch Killer, in honor of her naive younger self who was so fond of naming her attacks. But there was no time to observe her handiwork; in all likelihood they were just stunned for a minute or two.
Her atlatl fell onto the roof with a clatter and her hands were already on her bolas. There was no waste in her movements. She spun the bolas. Gradually the stones turned red hot, painting a crimson circle of light in the night. Then she released. Here she had to pause a little and grin as they conked the lead seal right on his monstrous skull, making a wet thump sound. She had calloused her fingers and accidentally bonked her squishy parts far too much to not revel in her greatly improved accuracy. The seal, which was about to slam into the hull again, paused. It stared up at Jun and gave her an unmistakable look of are you stupid, because while that had certainly hurt, two rocks weren't going to interrupt an alpha male made of 4,000 lbs of blubber, muscle, and hatred for very-
"Get'em."
A torrent of hot sparks shot out of openings on the "stones", frying the seal's eardrums on both sides. Then they launched towards his flanking buddies, circling around them and scalding them like living roman candles. Now she had the seals' attention, and they bellowed in anger and fear. More importantly, they were no longer striking the hull. Instead they were shaking their heads and had even started thumping into each other to try to get the flying flaming nuisances away from them.
The bolas were actually angry barnacles. They were some of her first test subjects when she had been testing her familiar empowerment circles.
Alright, all five seals were stalled, exactly as she had calculated, based on the size of the targets and how much mana she had. She was already thinking ahead, taking stock of her resources and abilities to plan for the next few seconds. She was also glad to learn that sufficient combat power to kill/incapacitate three monsters could easily be stretched to stall five. It was a cruel sort of math that Jun had become very good at over the years. It felt a little strange returning to this mindset after playing domestic researcher for so long. But no matter how much she distanced herself from it, and no matter how much she valued peace and friendship, violence would always fit her like an old glove.
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Avalux Kesterven
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 106
Age: 42
Appearance: Avalux is quarter elven which makes his age slightly hard to guess. His hair had turned a silvery blonde when he was quite young and most of the signs of age on his features are due more to squinting to read in candlelight than his years. He is on the tall and lean side but not to an excessive degree. Perhaps a hair's breadth over six feet and with enough meat on his bones to be healthy. His features are angular and they have a slightly severe cast as his habitual expression is a frown of thoughtful consideration.
-------------------------
Equipment: Utterly insufficient for the task he has been presented with but he has the essential. A fresh notebook, a pen enchanted to replenish its own ink over time, a rune scribes etching tool, his glasses, and various crystals for creating apparatus.
-------------------------
Skills and Abilities: Avalux is a magical engineer (Artificer if you wish to offend) and researcher. He specializes in the creation of devices that use magical power to power mechanical designs. He tackles magic with the scientific method trying to quantify something that most people believe to be unquantifiable. His drive and determination to do so often make him overlook certain things.
Registered: Nov 14, 2021 12:43:02 GMT -5
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Post by Avalux Kesterven on Apr 22, 2022 20:21:57 GMT -5
There was quite a lot of banging around outside accompanied by a fair amount of bellowing from the creatures. Which did little to improve Avalux's ability to effectively search through the turmoil of his lab. But suddenly the rocking stops which makes life a bit easier as he finally finds what he is looking for underneath a stack of loose notepaper. The simply carved piece of wood is snatched up as he scrambles back up onto the roof.
"My word."
The man said when he saw the group of angry creatures trying to swat a flaming pair of something. She had indeed managed to keep them busy the fact that she was still capable of such feats even with her power capped really was a marvel. The man wondered, not for the first time, what she must have been like at full power. Certainly capable of giving any archmage from his world a run for their money.
"Here."
Avalux extend the rod to her as he remembered what he was doing. He'd been distracted for a moment but the seals had managed to swat one of the barnacles out of the air which reminded him they didn't have an infinite amount of time.
"It's a spell focus. Double-ended. Press it to a surface or body of water and one end will instantly freeze any water or moisture, it can find. The other end will instantly boil it. Based on what you told me about your experiments I imagine it will be a fairly effective weapon."
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Jun of the Celadine
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 305
Age: 33
Appearance: Jun stands at about 5’ 4”, with a willowy, slightly rectangular build. Her tawny olive skin has lost its flush from constantly wearing cloth armor, and she is dotted with small scars, including wrinkled patches of old burns on her left arm. She has deep brown, slightly hooded eyes and not quite straight dark auburn hair. Her face is still youthful and strong, though her gaze suggests she’s seen way too much for her age.
Equipment: An emerald, muddy long coat-style gambeson. A chrome blue longsword with a rusty hilt. Rusted shackles on her wrists ending in broken chains, giving a false impression that she had been a prisoner; the bracelets are easily removed.
Skills and Abilities: What remains of Jun’s power is a mix of animal friendship and elemental control. She can communicate with and control weaker animals, like insects, and request the help of larger, sentient animals (though they are not compelled to obey her). She can perform subtle manipulations of fire, water, earth, wind, and other “elements” like light and shadow. Her most unique ability is to imbue elemental magic into other life forms and channel her spells through them.
She is a decent cook and survivalist and has a solid academic understanding of agriculture and ecology. She is also a decent sword and hand-to-hand fighter.
Biography: Jun of the Celadine was a stereotypical hero of legend. She was one of Isra's mightiest spellcasters, had gone on dozens of adventures, possessed several powerful artifacts, and helped bring peace to the world on many occasions.
A notorious overachiever and workaholic, Jun had driven herself to near madness pursuing powerful magic. In standard fashion, it was the power of friendship that kept her sane.
Now Jun must cope with the fact that much of the world she helped protect has been lost, and that most of the magic power she had accrued over the years has stopped working.
Her family (whose whereabouts are unknown) was a clan of farmers and gardeners. Her tribe lived in peace and harmony in a mostly forested region. Every two hundred years or so, their people produced a powerful mage and master of all elements. Jun was not this chosen one, but rather her grandmother was. Still, Jun's (somewhat unhealthy) obsession with keeping up with her ancestor made her a pretty close second.
Jun has no regrets about her journey, though she sometimes wishes she had spent more learning other skills, like cooking and dancing. She also feels she made a poor lover, though it's likely her old partners passed away in the floodwaters anyways...
Registered: May 25, 2021 13:33:31 GMT -5
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Post by Jun of the Celadine on Apr 23, 2022 14:36:19 GMT -5
Seeing Avalux return also caused Jun to somewhat revert back to domestic researcher. And so she felt a pang of guilt as Barney ran out of magic and was knocked into the waters. Knuckles continued to fight, its plasma-laced feeding feathers leaving burn marks with every attack run.
Jun took the staff, taking a split second to admire its construction. The rod itself was just a stick, but she could sense the jewelry-like craftsmanship of the actual spell work.
Like a magician, Jun shook her sleeve, causing a mana seed to fall out and land right in her palm. A faint wave of blue static passed from her whole body into the seed, and it quickly began to sprout. A long tendril, a vine, grasped the staff, and the other half coiled around Jun's arm. Using her extra limb, she lowered the rod into the water in between the seals and the ship.
Knuckles stopped spurting fire and launched itself towards deeper water, as if evacuating from what was coming.
White slush poured out of a bubbling mass of white water on one end of the rod, and it began crawling up the hull, forming a protective wall. On the other end, similar white water billowed out, but this created a rapidly propagating cloud of steam. The hot water reacted with the cold such that the expansion of fog was downright violent. It came off like a smoke screen. Ice meeting the heat crackled and popped violently, though the ice shield quickly regenerated.
The seals did not like being blinded and boiled, and finally they decided to retreat. They flailed and splashed in a panic, but generally moved away from the danger. They moved towards their stunned fellows, were were starting to come to.
Perhaps it was a little premature, but Jun clutched her chest near her collar bones and gasped in relief. What a terrifying incident!
And fun.
When it seemed like the seals had learned their lesson, Jun started to pull the mighty stick out of the water. She side-eyed Avalux.
"Damn. That's a pretty impressive stick you've got here."
Her face froze slightly.
Did I just make another goddamn innuendo around Avalux $%&@ $^?> @<{#...
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