From the Ashes: Prelude to Victory [OOC: Open]

[Sunwolf007]

From the Ashes: Prelude to Victory IC

Prologue:
It was the Christian religion that said: The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The Saviour's coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die.

Where the bible was vague was on how the nonbelievers would die. Jesus returned on January 1, 2012 and from that point everything changed. All the believers were suddenly taken from this world to live in heaven while all the ones who believed but had sinned too much were imprisoned in Tartarus with Satan. That left all us nonbelievers and those of other religions. Soon the other major religions had their apocalypses. What the bible didn’t talk about was the fact that before the fall of Roman Republic the Greek gods ruled. They knew the Christian God as the Creator who dipped behind the curtain of the cosmos for a time. Now that He has returned the Greek gods have 1,000 years to rule the world. Most of world’s population was lost during the Second Coming of Christ. That wasn’t all as the end of the Hindu and Buddhist religions also removed more of the world’s population. We who were left called it the end of the big five (the five religions being Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.) All that was left were the agnostics and atheists.

With the release of the Greek gods came the Greek Titans. The Titans were responsible for releasing large amounts of monsters from Greek and Roman mythology. The monsters were the worst part as the world was not prepared to deal with them. Bullets and explosives only work on some while blades and arrows work on almost all. It was a costly lesson as most of the world’s military force was lost in learning what works. Most small towns were wiped off the map as they were indefensible. This compounded the population loss from the end of the big five. Now what’s left of the world’s population is centered where the large cities used to be. It makes it easier on us, the only ones able to fight the monsters. We are the ones who are favored by the Greek gods, the ones who have been granted use of the Greek god abilities. We are all marked with the symbol of our patron deity or deities as the lucky ones have two patrons. In the days of old we were called demigods but now we are the only hope of what’s left of humanity.

It’s been 25 years since the end of the big five but somehow we are still surviving. Technology has been stagnant for the last generation but the good news is that with our demigod abilities we have regained the use of much of it. Cities are now more self-sufficient than they have been for a long time, although there are certain things that can’t be made and must be shipped from other cities. The major cities formed Legions to defend the citizens and all of the demigods who volunteered to defend the city are place in the first cohort. It’s a tough and dangerous job but if the demigods don’t do it, who will?

Basic Idea:
This is a post-apocalyptic style Greek mythology RP. It will take place in what is left of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Michigan has few major cities and as such has suffered greatly from the Titan attacks. The whole Upper Peninsula has been taken over by beasts and the bridge connecting the two peninsulas has been destroyed. Now the Titans are looking to take the Lower Peninsula and the only thing that stands in their way is the handful of cities that are defended by the demigods. Lucas has been given command of the third squad of the first cohort. His first mission is to find out what happened to the supply convoy that was scheduled to arrive yesterday. All the demigods that are player characters will belong to squad 3 of the first cohort.

If you need a crash course in Greek mythology here is a good place to start: List of Greek Gods and Titans

From the Ashes: Unknown Crisis aka Chapter 1
Lucas meets with some of his new squad in the morning after getting orders to investigate why a convoy was late. While they were gathering for breakfast Lucas got a chance to sit down and talk with Sophia, who he had an instant connection with as well as send out Glaukos (her owl) to scout. Cohort Commander Eric Montgomery gave a short mission briefing with little information and forced Lucas’ fire-team to leave before properly scouting the mission area. Lucas named Sophia his second in command in case something happened while they were out on the mission. Once they left the city they were instantly spotted by a Gryphon. During the fight Lucas was injured but the healing ability of Brenden helped him get back to battle ready status. At this point Glaukos returned with the location of the convoy. Adelphos received a vision from Apollo which foretold of the death of a Legionnaire once they reached the crash site. Adelphos told only Lucas about this vision. Once they got near the crash site Lucas gave them a short break and sent Brenden to scout the crash area. Once there Brenden sees personal guards of the General of Grand Rapids Legion talking about returning to the crash site. Brenden runs back and informs Lucas of this. While Brenden was away Lucas got to know his squad a little better and bond with them. Glaukos also seemed to be fond of Lucas as he sat on Lucas’ shoulder. Once informed of the situation Lucas leads the team to the crash site. He splits his forces into three groups for combat; himself to fight Theia, Sophia and Adelphos to fight the Nemean Lion, and Brenden and Julianne to help the wounded and the General. Lucas fights the Titan but was unable to beat her so he instead makes a deal to kill the General in return for safe passage back to Grand Rapids. Meanwhile Sophia and Adelphos defeat the Nemean Lion but are wounded. Brenden heals the injured enough to travel. Lucas tells the general that he will use his spear which is cursed to kill the general. The team losses faith in Lucas after they watch him kill the General because they don’t understand Lucas’ plan. They are silent on the way back to the city. Upon arriving at GR they are sent right to Commander Montgomery. In his office Brenden and Sophia confront Lucas about his actions but before he can explain himself the Commander shows up. Lucas confronts the Commander about the mission and the team learns it was a black ops mission that was designed to get the General back at all costs. Because Lucas use his Pelican spear there was a way to revive the General but it would cost Lucas his life. Lucas says his goodbyes and revives the General. Hades appears and takes Lucas’ shade, killing him instantly. After watching the death of her commander Sophia goes crazy with emotions and is sidelined from missions. Brenden, who declined to witness Lucas’ death, was also sidelined because he didn’t cope well with losing his commanding officer.

Marks/Demigods:
Marks are awarded by winning the favor of the God or Goddess. The mark is a symbol of the God or Goddess that is never able to be removed from the skin. It is a permanent tattoo showing to the world which God or Goddess you belong to. These marks were activated after the end of the big five and are only found on those left on earth. One person may have two marks but no more than two. The marks of the Gods or Goddesses grant the mortal abilities that the deity rules over. For example: a mark of Zeus could have control over the weather, air, lightning and has super strength while a mark of Poseidon could have control over water, can manipulate weather while on a body of water, intuitive GPS while on a body of water and can cause earthquakes. If you have any question about which god or goddess has what abilities PM me and I will help you out (basically if it could be vaguely applied to a god or goddess I will allow whatever ability you want). All Gods and Goddesses need marked people as this is what keeps them alive. If all of their marks are killed then they could die.

Divine Weapons:
Each Demigod is given a set of weapons and armor forged by Hephaestus. They look like very day items like watches, necklaces and rings but once the owner wills it they appear as weapons forged to take down the monsters that run loose. When damaged and returned to their normal item state they repair themselves. (Example: If you use a spear and break it, return it to the normal item state and it will be fixed in a few hours).

Legendary Weapons and Armor:
Legendary Weapons and Armor are the weapons and armor used by the heroes of mythology that have special abilities. For example Achilles’ Armor and shield is impenetrable, Paris’ bow never misses its target, Heracles’ bow always shoots deadly poisoned arrows, and etc. If you want to make up a legendary weapon or armor with abilities based on something in mythology please PM me about it.

Legion Headquarters:
Because this could get confusing in my first post I am putting an easy to find description of the Legion Headquarters here. The map and description in the spoiler tag will help you get a feel for the location.

Spoiler:

Character sheet:

Code:

[b]Name: [/b]

[b]Age: [/b](18 or older)

[b]Appearance: [/b](You may use photo or a short paragraph)

[b]Powers/Abilities: [/b] (Must be from Olympian patron)

[b]Weapons and Armor:[/b]

[b]Brief history:[/b]

Player Characters:

Lucas Brandis (Sunwolf007) (Commander of Squad 3 of the first Cohort)

Spoiler:

Brenden Norwall (Ruu)

Spoiler:

Sophia Vakros (SilvanArrow)

Spoiler:

Dante Martek (Digital Muse)

Spoiler:

Sapphire Olson (Digital Muse)

Spoiler:

NPC Characters:

Alexander Bennet (General of the Grand Rapids Legion)

Spoiler:

Eric Montgomery (Commander of the Grand Rapids Legion First Cohort)

Spoiler:

Angelena Bennet (Messenger in Cohort 2)

Spoiler:

Former Player characters that are now NPCed:

Mercedes duMonte (Moon Ray)

Spoiler:

Adelphos (Bird of Hermes)

Spoiler:

Julianne Aster (AppleMistress)

Spoiler:

[Ruu]

Here's mine. Please tell me if I need to change anything.

Name: Brenden Norwall

Age: 18

Appearance: Brenden has hair the color of spun gold, and striking sky blue eyes. He has a lean, wiry frame but not without some muscles. He is average height for his age, about 5' 10. His skin is slightly tanned. His hair is somewhat long and slightly curly.

Powers/Abilities: Brenden is marked with the sign of the god of light and healing, Apollo. As such, he can manipulate light and has supernatural healing abilities. He is immune to the effects of poison, but can cause disease with his arrows to infect his opponents. He also inherited Apollo's skill with a bow and is extremely accurate.

Weapons and Armor:
Luminous Bow: It is a normal bow, but Brenden has the ability to infuse his arrows with light to smite foes of darkness, or disease to strike down enemies with illness. It is disguised as a simple pen light. If lost, it will reappear in his pocket in a matter of minutes.

Trojan Buckler: A small, light, yet effective shield. It is made of a lightweight yet durable material. It is decorated with Apollo's celebratory laurel. The shield hides as a small coin he always has in his pocket. The coin will reappear in his pocket if dropped or knocked away.

Short Sword: Just a normal short sword for use with close combat, though Brenden prefers to use his bow and arrows. It is concealed as a locket around his neck.

Body Armor: Brenden wears little armor so that he has increased mobility. He prefers to use his speed rather than rely on armor to bear the brunt of the blows. He wears a light steel jerkin and durable leg greaves.

Brief history: Brenden was born after the prophesied end of times. He was an only child, and his parents tried to shelter him from the harsh realities of the new world as best as they could. His parents had once believed in Christianity, but a tragedy during the course of their life had turned them away from the church. Only too late did they realize what the impact of their decision would be. They felt somewhat responsible for the world their child grew up in, and his father joined one of the legions defending the city, blessed by Demeter, goddess of growth. Unfortunately, Brenden's father was killed in battle around his eighteenth birthday, and Brenden decided to take his father's place. His mother strictly forbid it, but he was able to sneak from the house. With the mark of Apollo, he was very resistant to disease and injury, and therefore was able to prove to be a great asset to the legion.

[Sunwolf007]

Your character is coming along great Ruu. Just two things; one the appearance part needs a little editing and if you read it back carefully you will find what I am talking about and two, what are your intentions with the light manipulation. I have a power-set in mind because I made my character to have the same ability and want to make sure we are on the same page (you may PM me your responses if you want to keep your abilities a secret from other players). Other than that it I was impressed with the character dude. Once we get those two small things straightened out you'll be set.

[Talas]

Name: Marek Callis

Age: 28

Appearance: Marek is 6'5'' and a solid 240 lbs. He has hazel eyes and black hair. He once had defined and hawkish figures. His nose is hooked down and has a scar across the bridge that traces across his right cheek. He has three parallel scars running diagonally from about the corner of the left eye down towards the corner of the jaw for about an inch. Marek has no other noticeable sacrs on his face, but his body is lined with marks of hard fought battles. Marek's skin is a weather beaten olive color, and might have been considered handsome before all the scars.

Powers/Abilities: Marek carries upon him two marks: Ares and Hades. He has a few minor powers, like a better sense of cooking for a campaign, but these things aren't incapable of being gained without experience anyway.

Ares - Supreme Body: Ares enhanced Marek's already superior body, enhancing his strength, speed and durability. He has increased regenerative powers (unless you cut it off, it will regrow eventually) and resistance to poison, illness, and the elements.

War Mastery: Marek is a one man army, gifted with an innate knowledge of weapons, tactics and strategy. If you show him a weapon or planned tactic, Marek can use it, but the knowledge is mostly theoretical without practice. After twenty years of war, however, Marek has amassed a considerable sum of practical experience.

Hades – Eye of the Dead: Marek lost his eye when Thanatos became distracted, and decided Marek would be a fun toy, so Hades has replaced it. The eye has several uses. It's primary use is to note those marked by Hades for death or destruction, whether it's an errant shade or a poor fool who angered the Lord of the Dead. With increasing effort and time, Marek can see the glow of magic, who cast it, and what it does. Marek can see spirit of the recently deceased and with effort, pillage their memories. The more the abilities of the eye are used, the harder it is use the eye or its abilities. Effects are cumulative and require recovery. An eye patch is used during this time.

Curse of the Dead – A malevolent aura surrounds Marek, slowly draining vitality, color and beauty from everything for those afflicted within a ten foot radius. Using the aura saps the warmth and vitality from Marek at a slower rate. If physically touched, one can be afflicted with the curse of the dead. Newborn restless shades without the tole to pay Charon will attack the cursed individual relentlessly in exchange for Marek paying the tole for them. The cursed individual is easier for the shades to locate at night. The effect lasts until the individual is slain, Marek is unable to pay the tole, or a new moon rises.


Weapons and Armor: Marek is a walking armory.

Heart of Slaughter - This massive sword is a gift from Ares. Its design is elegant in its horrifying simplicity. The blade itself is six feet long, a foot and quarter wide. The blade is two inches thick at its widest point. It is made from an unknown dark alloy. Blood shimmers with an odd iridescence on the blade, which it also seems to absorb. It is extremely heavy. It does not have a more convenient form in which to be carried, and has to be reforged by Hephaestus periodically. It appears to be cursed, and the nature of the curse is only known to the Fates. Atropos smiles when asked in a way which chills Ares.

Classic Greek Spear – This spear is 8' in length, with a 6'' inch titanium tip. The spear is made from high quality jatabo wood, and is capped at the base with a conical high grade steel counter weight. It is concealed as a gold lined steel ring on the right middle finger.

Pilum – Classic Roman pilum: it is 6 feet in length, 1/8 of an inch thick. It is the light version, only weighing about 6 pounds. It can be used about four times a day, and is concealed as a silver lined titanium ring on the left middle finger.

Gladius – Made longer than standard, it is two feet, four inches long. Concealed as a titanium ring on his right pointer finger.

Scutum – Classic Roman legion shield: rectangular in shape and curved; four feet high, with a chord of two and half feet. The shield is constructed similar to plywood, and this one is layered with a mixture of high quality dense woods. It is bound in steel with a rectangular boss with a spike, made of high grade steel. It is concealed as titanium ring on his left pointer finger.

Morningstar - Made from high grade steel, with wicked points and serrations towards the points. Three feet long in total, counter weighted with a ball at the end of the handle. Four pounds in total. Concealed as a titanium ring on his left pinky finger.

Tomahawk - This is made from high grade steel. It is weighted for combat, but balanced for throwing. It is concealed as titanium ring on his right pinky.

Combat Daggers - Twin kukri daggers made from titanium. The reverse edge is sharp until the curve. Concealed as titanium rings on both ring fingers.

Throwing Knives- These weapons are not divinely forged, although they are of precisely balanced and made of high quality steel. The are approximately four inches long all together. He carries ten slung on a leather holster across his chest.

Repeating Crossbow- Carefully crafted by Hephaestus, the small hand crossbow packs a powerful but short range punch. It can shoot ten bolts in as many seconds by pulling the crank attached to the side. The bolts are pre-loaded into a box, and can easily be reloaded during a lull in combat. The initial bolts are divinely forged, and replace whatever is in the box once a day at dawn. Regular steel tipped bolts are found in a closed quiver hanging off right hip, and the quiver tops off at forty. It is normally found in the form of metal bracer on his left forearm.

Greek Fire - Fun for the whole family: napalm-substitute in small glass vials. He can carry a maximum of five in a metal lined webbing across his waist. This is easily detachable. Marek generally has to make it himself when he has the chance, and uses it sparingly. Effective even on monsters, because nothing enjoys being lit on fire.

Cowl of Hades - Based on Hades' Cap of Invisibility, the cowl can shroud its user in deep shadows, making the wearer difficult to see, but not invisible. The Cowl can also exude an inexorable feeling of dread. Cloaking one's self in shadows saps the user's strength; the aura of dread saps the body's warmth. While Marek normally wears it out with activating its effects, it transforms into a pendant if damaged enough. It looks like a black cape made from high quality wool, although the ends are a bit ragged and frayed. It is as tall as the wearer, and the frayed ends trail on the ground.

Armor : Marek's armor is a bit mismatched. He has heavy articulated plate running from his right shoulder down his right arm which attaches to a heavy gauntlet. He wears heavy cuirass and the left shoulder guard is also articulated plate. Light chain mail runs down his left bicep. His waist and upper leg is also covered in articulated plate. He wears light greaves and steel tipped boots. All the armor is made from titanium, but is colored black.

Brief history: Marek Calis was born on February 13. Marek knows nothing else of his family but rumors, as they both were gone after the big five. Whether it was faith or death, Marek knows nothing else of his parents or his past. What he does know is Frank Calis, a former Ranger picked him up and cared for him. Frank ran a rag tag group of former army buddies, survivors, and other misfits. Formally, they were still part of the army; realistically, they were mercenaries.

Marek grew up with war, and killed his first man at the tender age of eight years old. He fought along side the slowly diminishing group of survivors, too bitter and hard to go down easily whilst they fought to carve a place for themselves. There were two failed attempts to etch out a new settlement as they traveled across the continent and both failed within the year. On the bright side, Marek killed his first monster at the age of twelve, using a K-bar, some salvaged napalm, and some ingenuity. It didn't last forever, and at the age 13, Marek was the only survivor left after a disastrous battle. He limped away in mismatched armor, carrying Frank's gladius and new batch of scars.

Marek was fifteen when he earned his first mark. The traveling caravan he hired on to guard had successfully made it to a struggling, but surviving city without a single incident. It was a miracle that was too good to last, but it wasn't monsters that made Marek infamous. A city of five thousand people came together in a riotous orgy of death and destruction, and only one person walked out alive, covered in blood that was mostly not his own. The only thing he gained from this new catastrophe was a blade larger than he was and an encounter with Ares.

Marek earned his second mark the next year after successfully surviving yet another massacre, this time of the monster v. human variety. Once again, Marek was the only man left standing, or in this instance crawling, out of another charnel field. Marek had achieved a great feat of might and will, escaping a battle with Thanatos alive. Hades was intrigued by the iron will and sheer cunning that allowed a man, even marked by the God of War, to survive an encounter with his pet demon. Hades replaced Marek's right eye and blessed him for his courage. Marek has been walking, limping, and crawling off battlefields for most of his life, earning a well deserved reputation for professionalism, lethality, and a black temper. He has also collecting whatever weaponry that interests him from the defeated for years.

[Sunwolf007]

Character accepted. Very nice work!

[Ruu]

~Okies, I've edited my profile. I saw what you meant about the appearance section.

As for the light powers, I can go a couple directions. It can be basic light manipulation like lighting up dark places and creating beacons. It could be the ability to create illusions by manipulating light. Or could be using intense light beams as a form of attack. Whichever would least conflict what you had in mind for your character is fine with me.

[Bird of Hermes]

I am working on editing Aldephos. He would have marks of Apollo and Artemis again. I wanted to check and see if it was fine with you if my character had the same mark as another (I am planning to use Apollo's gift of prophecy).

[Sunwolf007]

Ruu - I was checking on the light manipulation to make sure we used the same abilities since Apollo got his association with the sun by being merged with Helios. Therefore it would make sense that a mark of Helios and a mark of Apollo would have the same light abilities. Since you plan on doing the same thing I am we are good. Got a question though, your first appearance sentence starts with "Brenden has hair the color of spun cold," I want to know what spun cold is. Is it a typo or something else?

Bird of Hermes - Its fine with me if you want to use Apollo as a patron god. In fact I was toying with the idea of making Grand Rapids a patron city of Apollo. Looks like I will do that now.

[Talas]

Ahh shit, looks like Marek will be lonely and somewhat ostracized. It's time to bump the asking price!

[Ruu]

Oops, it was supposed to be spun gold. I was looking at a different typo. Now both should be fixed. And that sounds good with the light abilities!

[Sunwolf007]

All right, character accepted. I do dumb typos like that a lot too so don't feel bad Ruu. Hey Talas maybe Marek should buddy up with Eric and chat about being Hades demigods.

[Bird of Hermes]

Name: Adelphos

Age: 26

Appearance:

Powers/Abilities:
Mark of Apollo: Grants the power to predict the future through prophecy.
Mark of Artemis: Grants the power to commune with animals.

Weapons and Armor:
The Bow of the Sun and Moon: A bow blessed by the twins Apollo and Artemis that grants the user great skill in marksmanship. Disguised as a cane.
The Golden Fleece: Protects the wearer like armor and can shine as bright as the sun on command that will blind onlookers for a few seconds. Disguised as a fur-lined coat.
The Eye of the Graeae: Grants the user sight that can see farther than a human, but can only be used for four hours a day. Disguised as glasses.
Pan’s Flute: Can be used to call allies and can be heard anywhere. Disguised as a radio.
Dog of Selene: Can transform into a large white canine. Disguised as a seeing-eye dog.

Brief history:
Adelphos comes from the Gemnaeus line, a family known for its dedication to the defense of the city and his parents were architects. Given dual marks, you would think the child would excel among the ranks of those left behind rather quickly. Yet, the boy was largely written off because he was born completely blind for what use could he be against the Titans. This all changed soon after he prophesied an attack on the city which allowed forces to defend the city in time. He was soon given a chance to aid in the fight and, with the help of a few smartly used relics, Adelphos became a valuable member of the third squad.

[Talas]

First, I would like correct something; Cerberus is basically Hades', so he would be more like the second. Also I know it says brief history, but I really would like a little more explanation for taming Cerberus, as it parallels the Twelfth Labor of Heracles. Among the attendant obstacles are: entering and leaving the land of the dead (Greek hero status); subduing Cerberus (only Heracles); and obtaining Hades' permission to abscond with his loyal watchdog.

I have no issue with you doing this, as one of the things Marek does is track down errant shades, and this provide plenty of business on that front, but some things need to be further explained. First, what Cerberus look are we going with, the classical three-headed dog look? (I don't care who clarifies this one, but this is also explained in the link.) Second, what replaced Cerberus as the Guardian to the entrance to hell? Third is for my own clarification; Marek is going to be highly curious on this front, so whose magic has turned Cerberus into the equivalent of one of Hephaestus' items, Hecate?

[Sunwolf007]

First, I would like correct something; I am the GM of this RP and as such am the only one who can make Players change aspects about their characters. This point is non-negotiable. At most you (as a player) can ask another player to explain how some aspect of the player's character works.

Secondly, Hell is a christian concept. Cerberus does not guard the entrance to Tartarus (Greek equivalent of hell) but guards the entrance to the entire realm of Hades (Hades is the name of the underworld and the name of the ruling god).

Thirdly, I will PM Bird of Hermes and discuss her profile with her. There are a few things that need to be clarified.

[Bird of Hermes]

I made changes to the profile. I just scraped the idea for Cerberus.

[Sunwolf007]

Alright. Character accepted. I am going to start working on a first post soon. As in like tomorrow or the next day.

[Silvan Arrow]

Hey all, Sunwolf asked me a few days ago to make a female character to round out the cast. I finally got my creative juices flowing on it, so the character sheet should be posted tomorrow.

[Silvan Arrow]

Here is my character sheet. Please let me know if I need to change anything, Sunwolf. I tried to include limitations on the aegis so she wouldn't be ridiculous or anything, but it was just such an iconic feature of Athena that I wanted to give it a try.

Name: Sophia Vakros

Age: 23

Appearance: Sophia stands 5’9” tall with an athletic build. She has black hair, which falls in loose curls past her shoulder blades, and dark brown eyes. Her skin is moderately tanned from spending so much time outside training or fighting, and her facial features are striking and well-defined, with high cheekbones, a narrow nose, full lips, and artfully arched eyebrows that frame her eyes. She could be considered beautiful if she wore anything other than her armor, helm, and combat clothing all the time.

Powers/Abilities: Sophia bears the mark of Athena on her forehead, which grants her abilities related to warfare, tactics, courage, and wisdom.

Weapon Mastery: Sophia has a natural aptitude for learning new fighting styles and can quickly learn how to use any new weapon. While she has dabbled in weapons ranging from crossbows to knives to staves, she prefers the spear and sword. To aid her in wielding these numerous weapons, Athena enhanced Sophia’s strength, speed, and reflexes far beyond that of a normal woman.

Wise Tactician: Sophia also has a gift for strategy and tactics in battle, such as where to position troops to have the best advantage or spotting weaknesses in either her troops’ strategies or her foes. As such, higher-ranking officers often consult with her before proceeding with a battle plan. That said, since Athena is the goddess of wisdom, Sophia tries to figure out strategies to avoid or resolve conflicts before resorting to violence.

Courage of Athena: Simply put, Sophia does not feel fear. Or rather, she does not experience the crippling effects caused by fearful emotions. Her mind registers fear when facing monsters as a warning to be careful, but it does not cripple her emotionally. Also, when certain monsters, such as the undead, cast spells to induce fear, they do not affect Sophia.

Communion with the Sacred Owls: The owl is Athena’s sacred animal, and as such Sophia can communicate with them, gleaning images and basic thoughts from their minds. Any owls that nearby tend to gravitate towards Sophia, and she can summon them to her hand at will. While this ability has no offensive benefit, she can use the owls as her eyes and ears to scout enemy territory or to deliver handwritten messages.

Weapons and Armor:

Spear of Athena: Forged by Hephaestus, this is identical to the spear that Athena always carries into battle. It is eight feet long, made of a lightweight but durable metal alloy, engraved with intricate patterns of olive trees, and has an eight-inch leaf-shaped razor tip for slashing as well as stabbing. The spear is normally disguised as a silver ring shaped like olive leaves on Sophia’s left middle finger.

Hand-and-a-half sword: Sophia also carries this sword for closer-range combat and speed when the spear is not an option. She can wield it one-handed or two-handed, depending on if she needs her shield. Hephaestus also engraved the blade of this sword with patterns of olive leaves and vines as symbols of Athena. The sword is disguised as a delicate silver ring bearing a small piece of cubic zirconium on her right middle finger.

Aegis of Athena: Easily the most valuable and precious of Sophia’s weapons, Athena allows Sophia to use the legendary shield which was praised and feared in the Iliad. Homer described the aegis as “ageless and immortal: a hundred tassels of pure gold hang fluttering from it, tight-woven each of them, and each the worth of a hundred oxen.” As Virgil also describes, it is “a fearsome thing with a surface of gold like scaly snake-skin, and he linked serpents and the Gorgon herself upon the goddess's breast—a severed head rolling its eyes.” It is disguised as a gold belt buckle engraved with owl eyes. When Sophia shakes the aegis, the sky becomes cloudy, thunder rolls, and her enemies are afflicted with fear. As a shield used by both Athena and Zeus, it cannot be broken. However, Athena decreed that Sophia can only summon the aegis for up to two hours a day so that she would not grow complacent or greedy in using its powers.

Plumed Helm: Disguised as a delicate silver circlet on Sophia’s forehead, this helm resembles the one Athena wears to battle and protects her head and face.

Body Armor: Since Sophia cannot rely just on the aegis for protection, Hephaestus forged a set of body armor and a shield that she can always use, which includes a lightweight metal breastplate, gauntlets, greaves, and a titanium shield engraved with the image of Athena. The armor is disguised as a string of pearls worn around Sophia’s neck.

Glaukos: While not exactly a weapon, Athena gifted Sophia with a little brown screech owl companion when she was one year old, further identifying her as a demigoddess. Since Athena’s owl has no name, Sophia’s owl is named Glaukos, which is a Greek proper noun meaning “owl.” Created by Athena herself, Glaukos possesses a much higher intelligence than normal owls and will live as long as Sophia. She often uses him as a scout or to deliver messages, especially in dangerous areas where she would not trust a normal owl. She is very fond of Glaukos and tries to keep him out of excessively dangerous situations, even though she knows Athena would not let him die.

Brief history: Most demigods earn their marks through valor in battle or some other way of pleasing a god or goddess. Since Athena is a virgin goddess, however, she chooses her female marks at birth, reminiscent of the way she was born from Zeus’ head already grown and equipped for battle. Such was the case for Sophia. Born to unmarked, lower class parents, her family was shocked when she emerged with the mark of Athena already on her forehead. Her parents wanted to protect their only child and baby girl from the brutal, male-dominated reality of war, but as she grew and demonstrated an aptitude for weapons and tactics, they finally turned her over to the legion for training when she was five.

Sophia has been actively serving in Cohort 3 since she was sixteen and has experienced both the hardships of battle and those inherent with bearing Athena’s mark. Men tend to treat her differently, shying away and keeping her at a distance because a virgin goddess has marked her. Athena has never revealed explicitly if Sophia must always remain a virgin, but generally men don’t want to take the chance of offending the goddess of war. Since the legion mostly has men in the fighting ranks, Sophia has precious few female friends. A part of her always longs for the loving companionship that her parents enjoy – after all, if they’re all living in a doomed world, might as well not be alone. Most of the time, however, Sophia concentrates on fulfilling her duties in Cohort 3, advising her superiors on tactics, and making sure she doesn’t die in battle.

[Sunwolf007]

Great character! No need to change anything. Time for me to finish my first post so we can get this thing started!

[Sunwolf007]

Ok got the first post pretty much done. It turned out to be a co-op post with Silvan since her character had a very useful ability for a plot point. Also determined that Lucas was in squad 7 before being promoted and given command of squad 3. All we are waiting on is for AppleMistress to put the finishing touches on her character and we are ready to go. I have a feeling this is going to be starting soon so keep an eye out for the IC thread. I will post a link when it happens.

Edit:
From the Ashes IC
Also added AppleMistress' character, an NPC character, and a description of the Legion HQ to the first post. Silvan and I co-oped the first post so consider it both of our first post. Sorry its so long!

[Silvan Arrow]

Hey, Sunwolf, I got a question. Angelena is Eric's daughter, right? So if Angelena is 17 and Eric is 30, then that means she would have been born when Eric was 13. I...am confused. Am I missing something really obvious here?

[Sunwolf007]

Damn. My poor math skills strike again! Hang on a sec. I'll fix it.

Edit: I figured out what happened. I didn't scroll up far enough on my NPC character list. I grabbed the wrong name. She is Bennet's daughter not Montgomery's. Alex is 17 years older and it totally makes sense now like I wanted it to.

[Sunwolf007]

All right I figure its time for an update. All we are waiting on is for Bird of Hermes to post. I figure that since Talas hasn't logged in since last year that we shouldn't wait on him. I also figure that Bird is close to being done with her post (hopefully). I figure as well that I am using figure too much and sounding like a southerner. I figure I should stop doing that since I am from Michigan.

[Silvan Arrow]

Sounds good to me, Sunwolf. Have you PM'd Bird of Hermes to make sure she's still on board with this role-play?

[Sunwolf007]

Twice. Once Monday and another today. I am trying to stay on top of this RP since I really like it so far. Haven't heard back from her today (obviously, since I did it 30 minutes ago). When she replied Monday she said she was working on it. So yeah that's all I know and now everyone knows so we are all on the same page.

[Sunwolf007]

Sorry, didn't mean to disappear over the weekend but I have been busy. BoH said I could go ahead and post without her posting first, which is nice of her, but I haven't written my post yet. I will get it up in the next two days but first I have lots of reading for class to do so I will see you guys later.

Edit: Alright, got my post up. I tried to move the plot along so we can get into the combat portion quicker. So we should have another round for character interaction before we head into the danger zone.

[Ruu]

Is it okay for me to post, or should I wait for Silvan Arrow to post first?

[Bird of Hermes]

I will have my post up tomorrow.

[Sunwolf007]

Ruu you can go ahead and post if you like. As far as I know Silvan doesn't need you to wait. And BoH that is great news! I look forward to seeing your first post!

[Silvan Arrow]

Go ahead and post, Ruu. Right now I don't need to wait on anyone. And who knows, it may give me something to react to, since all Sophia is going to do at the moment is get in the car and worry that Glaukos will get confused that they left early.

Poor sad little owl...

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