In the scalding desert of Ibinia, one could barely make out the figure of a man and a beast traveling in the golden sands.
The man was covered fully in embroidered armor that gleamed in the sunlight. As if that wasn't enough, he carried weapons and other miscellaneous items all on himself.
*Growl*
"Yeah, the weather's scorching hot today. Think we should stop and rest?" The man asked to the horse-sized wolf by his side whose body was unnaturally green from the back and black from the front.
*Whine*
"Yeah, the food at that inn was bad. Now, why don't-" The man was cut off mid-sentence as his pointed ears picked up on a sound.
The wolf beside him growled to express his disappointment.
The man didn't say anything to his companion but instead unloaded his 6' bow from his back and pushed its bladed end into the sand. The man was still a bit taller than the bow.
*5 Minutes later*
Moments passed and the sands shifted, a group of five ragged humans appeared on top of a dune directly in front of the man.
"We need help, kind sir!" They shouted and tried their best to look pitiful as they ran towards the young man who did not answer but instead took out a silver arrow from his quiver and loaded it into his bow.
"Fuck, he's not a green bean." The men cursed as they slowly took out knives from their boots and armpits. One even held a blade beneath his teeth.
They were bothered about the wolf at first but then remembered the growing conflict. Small fry like them would have no place in these lands after a few weeks and the man seemed to be gleaming with money. If they could just get him then they could run off from here.
"We've struck it, rich boys! An elf and a skin pelt." The leader of the group, a burly, hairless man holding a bastard sword said and the others around him seemed to have also noticed the heavy bag by the man's side.
"7,6,5…" the young man, however, was counting the number of steps they were taking.
"Hey, hand us that gold pouch at your side, and no one gets hurt." The bandit leader said, stepping closer.
*Whoosh*
*Splat*
An arrow flew into the leader's eye and half of his body ended up buried in the sand.
The others seemed put off but one of the remaining four bandits took the leader's sword and rushed forward.
*Whoosh*
His head ended up separating from his body.
The others now tried to run but three arrows ended up burying them into the sand in various proportions.
The man let out a long breath and mounted his bow on his back.
*Growl*
The wolf seemed aggrieved and held out his paw. The man took a look at it, not bothered by the massive claws, and saw it was covered with a few drops of blood from the humans.
*Whine*
"Hey, you know if I started shooting earlier then they would've been too far away. I don't like to walk in these sands." The man wiped the wolf's paw with a cloth and then moved to collect loot from the bandits' remains.
As he looked around the bandit leader's corpse the golden sand shifted and suddenly a snake latched onto his arm.
The man didn't seem disturbed though and merely held out his hand and the snake dropped a blue scroll on it.
"Good work." The man seemed pleased by the snake and fed it a piece of meat as the snake's tail rattled indicating its joy.
*Scree*
The man looked up. An eagle landed on his shoulder and dropped a red scroll into the sand. It seemed ready to fly away but the man offered it pieces of meat which it happily accepted.
After a while, the creatures returned back to wherever they came from and the man finished looting the bodies of the bandits and returned back to his companion with the scrolls held in his hand.
The towering wolf peered above his shoulders to look at the scrolls and the man unfurled both of them.
"Lycus." They were both addressed to him but their tones couldn't be any more different.
The man read through the scrolls and then burned them. He seemed to be in deep thought.
After getting tired of waiting the wolf nudged the man almost making him topple into the sand.
"Which one should I choose?" The man asked more to himself in the middle of the desert. The choice should be clear yet something inside him was hesitating.
*Whine*
He looked back and noticed the wolf vomiting a bit of blood on the ground. It tried to hide it using the sand but the man could easily see the black in the golden sand.
He didn't have time for choosing. Wherever his teachings may have lied, his companion was more important.
"I would be done with my journey faster." The man reassured himself and decided to fight for Arc Trading.
The wolf seemed to notice and started to give a low whine.
"I know Fef. I know." The man patted the huge wolf and tried to calm him down.
His golden eyes glowed like gems. He was going to fight.
"Let the Hunt begin."
Character Overview
Name: Lycus (Not his real name)
Author: ASHARA
Allegiance: Sage Coalition
Age: 57
Race: Blood Elf
Bio: "Perfect." If asked about his past that is the only answer Lycus is used to giving, though even getting that much from him is an accomplishment. Born in the islands near the country of Albion, Lycus was unlike any other of his race. While most elves hold the 6 virtues in high regard, Lycus only gives a blank stare or a growl if they were ever mentioned.
Healing his companion was the only reason for him to travel so far out to a place such as Ibinia which also meant he wasn't an adult. At least in elven terms. He didn't care about it though, he may have ran away from his home but only because of his duty and that was something he was going to fulfill even if it meant the end of him.
Key Personality Traits:
- Reserved: Doesn't like to talk too much to anyone other than animals and will only speak if he feels inclined to do so. At the same time, he doesn't hesitate in expressing his opinion.
- Old Man Syndrome: Dislikes all species with a lifespan of less than 200 years. "I close my eyes and their towns are ash."
- Rules of the Forest: Honour died years ago, the only beast in a forest is either a strong one or a dead one. He will not hesitate to put up facades if that meant his opponents will end up with an arrow in their skull.
- Flute Master: Carries a crimson flute on himself all the time since it helps calm down his companion enough for them to get some sleep. Suffice it to say he's an experienced user.
- Slow Travel: Wishes to travel as much as he can with his companion. Before death or his past catches up to him.
- Mine!: Hates leaving behind anything he's owned since the forests are so far away and those are his only memories.
Abilities:
- Perfect Sense: "Unfair? How?" Possessing a body most mortals could only dream of, Lycus had his senses so enhanced with mana that he can pierce a housefly with a toothpick with his blindfold on or feel the movement of his opponents in his blindspot just from sensing the air around him.
- Inscription Arts: One time mana charges that can be placed on any surface that Lycus touches with his hands and can be detonated upon his will, creating a blast of steam that clouds the opponent's vision and burns skin. (5 of them can be maintained together or a single one with more power)
- Blaze Arts: Born with an affinity for fire magic, Lycus reworked the Inscription Arts into Blaze Arts. Mana runes that can only be placed by hand on any surface Lycus touches. The area with the rune burns with small flames until Lycus wills those flames to burn his opponents, where the flames will burst forth in waves going 4 meters into the sky before receding. (Any amount of them can be placed and they don't become unusable until Lycus maintains them.)
- Heart Star: Born an elf, Lycus stores vast amounts of mana in his heart that gives him rapid regeneration and vast stamina. (Can heal fatigue two times but a time limit of 15 minutes is placed on him after the 2nd time after which he collapses.) Weakness: His blood is his life force as much as it is his strength. If he bleeds from his chest then his mana regeneration goes down by a lot.
- Luminous: "The Goddess is kind." An ability that can be maintained for 2 minutes at most which gives him precognition on an enemy and a 90% hit rate with his bow. Weakness: Brings his hit rate down to 70% after use.
- High Elf: (Can't use) A hunter needs his companion to achieve perfection. Unfortunately, Lycus had a companion that was on the verge of death making the High Elf transformation impossible.
Weapons:
- Sun Ray: A bow with an eagle feather attached to one end that is used to adjust aim and a short blade attached to the other for times of desperation. The bow itself is old and weathered but the bowstring appears quite new. Gives an 80% hit rate to his arrows which can put a dent on a metal armor.
- Surplus: A quiver that always has more arrows left. +1 Arrow every 20 seconds. Lycus also carries three types of specialized arrows, but they're limited in number compared to the normal kind and have strengths and drawbacks.
- Vriska: Arrowheads dipped in spider lily juice and toad poisons. These can never be put together with the other arrows and are thus held in a pack on Lycus's waist. (Effects: Causes paralysis and extreme pain in humans in 7 minutes but faster the heartbeat of the opponent and the sooner they'll fall.) (Weakness: Need to be tied into an arrow shaft using thread for usage. If not used fast enough it'll eat through the rope and become useless.)
- Persephone's Hate: Made from a material called godswood, these arrows follow anyone they've been fired upon for 30 seconds. (Weakness: Only follows the target in a straight line and can't be controlled by Lycus.)
- Damascus: Better described as trebuchets, these arrows can easily puncture through 2-3mm of the best steel armor easily and can knock most opponents off their feet in a single shot. (Weakness: Causes numbness for 30 seconds in the hand used to fire the arrow. Good thing Lycus is ambidextrous.)
- Bright: A longsword strapped horizontally on Lycus's back. It happens to be his least favorite weapon to use. Despite him being extremely quick to draw it out when needed, he also doesn't have experience in it which he makes up for with it being the only weapon to have a Blaze Rune on it making it burn with flames for 5 minutes.
Appearance: With a frown on his face wherever he goes, Lycus is never the most welcome of guests in bars, but with enough silver to pay off a lifetime worth of karma he is always accepted. His frown cannot hide his beauty though as his sharp nose and golden eyes with his slightly blue skin and lean but muscular body makes him look less like a hunter and more like an unfortunate prince. Preferring to wear light silver and black colored armor, the only part he leaves unarmored is his face which is covered by his long straight black hair that flows like a waterfall down to his waist.
How they got recruited: Lycus was sent an invitation by both of the groups looking for fighters for the secretive matches, the Sage's shell company Arc Trading and the Ibinian Nova Ordo branch. He ultimately decided to fight for Arc Trading, believing it to be the more valuable option towards attaining his goal of healing his companion.
Hooh this lineup has a lot of powerful bois! I wonder how Jova and Hiram are going to fare
he seems like link with all his weapons and powers. very cool