The Shaping of Man

Do Cyborgs Dream of Electric Sheep?

[dangerouswit]

Baiting the Predators

The arcane blast had devastated the remaining undead situated at the ruins. Pyre and Parasite made their way back to the forward camp shortly after Pyre felt something that might have been a soul hiding itself. Only 5 minutes later, a sinewy man, wearing all black with golden highlights, in what appeared to be a jumpsuit of some kind materialized out of thin air. He wore a mask that covered his nose and mouth. The mask was mechanical, and wrapped around the length of his head to also cover his ears. He looked around the area briefly as he walked in. He knelt down to one of the bodies. He said no words, but he raised his left hand and began to count each body he saw using his hands. He gave a thumbs up to a nearby tree, and out from the top of the branches a stocky man of average height landed on the ground. The man had blue skin and black hair. His well built muscles rippled as his yellow glowing eyes surveyed the area. He spoke. “No survivors. A lich was here.” He had a faint Elonian accent. The one with the mechanical mask nodded to the blue skinned man. “Sarn, look through the bodies, I will find a trail.” Sarn glanced to him. “Very well, Gremlin.” Gremlin vanished from sight once more to search the area. Sarn began to look through the bodies, and on one of them he discovered a ring, and on another, a necklace. It wasn't until he found the necklace, that his eyes narrowed at it. There was a faint arcane scent that he recognized. He frowned deeply and growled in a grating manner. “Damn it Jericho.”

[dangerouswit]

The Rise of Jericho

It was a quiet day on the mountainside. The winds were calm, the snow was soft, and inside his home Jericho was sleeping on the floor. It wasn't that he was too lazy to find a bed, but his home was a special one. The floors, the walls, and the ceilings were all lined with expensive pillows. He had been told to stay in his home, and he had absolutely no problem with that. It was noon, and he was taking his second nap of the day when he heard a knock on his door. Sometimes traveling merchants would find his home and try to sell him something, so this was not the most unusual occurrence. Jericho ignored the knocking for about 10 minutes, but then his eyes opened slowly. His sharp violet eyes slowly shifted to look at the door. He sighed softly and willed himself up. He looked through the peek hole in the door, and didn't see anyone. He sighed more irritably before he turned around and began to walk away.

Then he heard a horrible cracking noise, and before he could think to theorize what it could be, he felt a very large, gauntlet covered hand grasp his head, and yank him backwards. The force was so great that Jericho felt his body rip through his hardwood door and blow it off its hinges. Jericho found himself tossed into the snow so hard that he left a crater and hit the rock hard ground below the snow. He found himself staring up at what had to be a Norn in completely black armor, and the helmet had glowing red eyes that stared down at him. Jericho heard him speak. “You had one task, Jericho Tseng. You have sorely disappointed me.” It spoke with a deep tone that sounded like it came from someone speaking from within a closed space. Jericho couldn't see his face, but he narrowed his eyes and stood up to face this man.

“I've had a lot of tasks, you'll have to b-” Jericho was cut off as he noticed he could not activate his phase mobility drive so he could shift positions. There was only one person he knew who had that ability. The override had the signature of one man: Modestus. Jericho's eyes widened. “Modestus is that… oh man what did they do to you? Why?” Modestus spoke. “I am here, now, to lead my people. And you have failed in the final order I gave to you.” Jericho shook his head. “That couldn't be. Ephedra ordered me to… stay here. For some reason. She said things were going to get messy, or something.” Modestus shifted his head a little to the right. Jericho knew he needed to do better or he was going to die right here and now. “Ephedra was dealing with the Bloodseekers I think, and she did something that she thought would put me in danger, so she ordered me to stay in my home until she gave a signal.” Modestus threw a necklace at Jericho's feet. “Does this look, like a signal to you?” It was Ephedra's catalyst. Jericho stared at it. He knew she'd never willingly take that off and leave it somewhere. Jericho spoke in a morose tone. “Where did you find that?” Modestus stretched his right hand, and raised it to tap the left side of his helmet. “In the carnage left behind by a lich. She may be yet alive, as we did not find her remains… I think it's time, you rectify this gross lack in judgement, Jericho. You were ordered to follow her orders, but you made an oath to protect her. That was the agreement, the one sealed to your codex memory. If you fail in that… you have nothing left to live for. I know you, Jericho. You are my lost and bored son.” Jericho kept staring at the necklace. He kneeled down to pick it up, and as he stared at it, his hands shook slightly. Modestus noticed the tremoring, the slow raising of anger that had long evaded Jericho. Modestus kneeled down. “The people you consider close to you, are gone. And you have no idea what happened to more than half of them… is it not time, you put down the boredom, and find your duty once more? Let this be your time to commit to unstoppable action. Don't let uncertainty taint your legacy, Jericho. You never went after the one who took Menai… it's time for you to become a soldier again.”

Modestus stood up, and offered Jericho his hand. Jericho's right hand clinched on to the necklace and his other hand took Modestus' hand. Jericho's eyes had hardened, and his pupils had transformed into red targeting reticules. “I think I have just the gun for the job.”

[dangerouswit]

[Informational] Don’t Say Goodbye

She hated sleeping here. Even though Nera’s eyes were closed and she lay in the strange bed unmoving, she felt as if everything was moving all around her. She knew she only felt this way because of her earth affinity. Someone was always awake in this place, and that caused her to be awake. She was sleeping in the Axis overnight solely because of Vincent’s surgery. She was ordered to be close at hand should anything go wrong. It was the same with almost all the medical staff. This surgery had risks that no one was talking about. Nera quietly worried about these risks. The risk of a more-or-less unknown substance on human flesh. Things had gone alright thus far, but yesterday they already had some trouble keeping him stable. She felt of so little help even in that circumstance. What could she do if something truly unexplainable occurred? She felt the lull of the dream pulling her into its embrace. A loving shadow waiting for her to hide in. Suddenly, her linkstone blew up with messages from both Twilight Smiles and Shadewalker Herman.  [Herman] “Aura we’ve got a problem. I need your help immediately.”

[Smiles] “Sorry if you were sleeping! Hound is no longer in stable condition.”

Nera got out of bed and immediately made her way to the medical room. Her hair was slightly frazzled, but this was business. She only realized she was in pajamas as she entered the hallway. She didn’t stop. Nera rolled her eyes at herself, but this was no time for looking nice. 

When she entered the medical room, there were 8 people there including herself. She took a medical frock from a nearby rack and practically jumped into it and put on a mask as she spoke. “Herman what is going on?”

Herman didn’t have his shades on, which meant he was in the most serious personality mode he had. He spoke in a no nonsense tone. “Not sure, but his vitals are all over the place and almost all of his organs are failing.” The rest of what Herman told her was a string of medical jargon that essentially meant that their patient, Vincent, was dying.

For the next 10 minutes, Nera helped Herman as much as she could, but she wasn’t trained primarily as a surgeon. Her knowledge of anatomy is the only reason she was in this room. Herman was the expert, and he couldn’t stabilize Vincent. Herman slammed his medical razor down and shouted. “Damn it! Everyone start getting the stasis agents to prepare him for stasis.” Almost as soon as Herman shouted, Vincent’s body began to convulse. Herman shouted again. “Hold him down! He’s seizing!” The medical assistants ran over to Vincent and tilted him to lay on his side while holding him down. 

Herman linkstoned Nera: [Herman] “Do you think we should call Death do help us put him in stasis?”

[Nera] “It will give us time, but only a limited amount. We have to discover a solution in that time. If we can’t, Vincent will die.”  [Herman] “I’ll have a medical staff meeting. Notify Smiles while I get Death in here. Fuckin shit...” Herman walked over to near the bed to watch Vincent. Vincent’s seizures had not stopped. The assistants were focused on their task, but there was worry in some of their eyes. Nera didn’t know why Vincent’s body appeared to be totally shutting down, but she quietly begged him to keep fighting. She had seen so much death, and if he died because of this, she’d never forgive herself for being one of the people to okay the procedure. 

There was suddenly quite a bit of noise and what sounded like crashing equipment. Nera looked up to see Shadewalker Occam tossing the Medical Assistants aside. Nera’s eyes widened in surprise. How did he get past the guards at the door? It didn’t matter now, because Occam was screaming at them to get out of his way. Herman, who Nera knew as quite a strong Asura, grabbed Occam’s arm and tried to bodily yank him away. Occam appeared to be in some sort of hysteria and screeched at Herman before putting a hand on Herman’s face and violently kicking him in the chest. Herman fell to the ground and rolled backwards with a grunt of pain. Nera tilted her head. There was no way she was going to try her hand at taking Occam out. 

Occam leaned over Vincent’s body, and seemed to take several things out of a little bag he was carrying, and injected Vincent several times with something before he grabbed a nearby defibrillator and shocked Vincent twice. Vincent’s body gradually stopped convulsing, and laid still on the medical bed. 

The door burst open in that moment and two Shadewalkers came in. Abyss and Terror. They grabbed Occam’s arms and bodily dragged him out. Occam didn’t struggle against them. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he opened them again. Before Occam was through the door he looked directly at Nera, and Nera met his gaze.

In Occam’s gaze, Nera didn’t see compassion. She didn’t see worry, concern or fear. She noticed his single red eye was faintly glowing. He looked determined, and his expression said “get out of my way”. Nera shuddered. Sometimes, the people in this family of hers scared her more than the enemy.

[dangerouswit]

Prologue: [_______]

The air had a distinct chill to it. Issac made his way across the rocky terrain in the dead of night. He had little trouble seeing in the dark. He finally found the location. There was a singular black rose growing under a rocky outlook that was perfectly blended into the shade. He smiled broadly after spotting the Black Rose. He stepped over the rocks and arched a brow as he spotted the black rose in the darkness. He knelt down, and reached into his tunic and removed a bottle. Within the bottle, there was a swirling, silver substance that seemed to spin around very quickly inside the bottle. He focused his ancient magic on the bottle, willing the power inside to be contained as he opened the bottle with his other hand. The substance spilled out, and he held it over the black rose. His eyes began to pulse with intense magics that flowed through every part of his being. The black rose suddenly began to grow. Taller, taller, wider and thicker. Finally, the contents of the bottle were empty. Issac placed both of his hands on the treesized stem of the flower and began to utter ancient words of arcanic potency, and continued to focus his energies on controlling the potency of the magic within the bottle that was now within the odd plant. Finally, he reached into his tunic and removed a piece of chalk. He drew a door upon the stem, and a door knob, along with several symbols

The door began to glow, and fluctuate before it grew taller and seemed to open. A hazy green sky presented itself with a bright moon and rocky terrain that mimicked his current surroundings. “I will return, my Champion.”

Issac Howler stepped through the door, and it closed behind him.

[dangerouswit]

Chapter 8: Eternity Blade

In the darkness of the dojo's meditation room, Gorian felt a hand upon his right shoulder. He didn't jump or open his eyes. He was taught to feel the aura rather than use his senses to gauge the intentions and nature of the person near him. Are they tense? Calm? Alert? He had learned the foundations of sensing auras during his time among the masters of the dojo. 

Master Nax's familiar blue head band came into sight when he opened his eyes. He was not surprised. Master Nax, who had previously identified himself by a different name, knew that Gorian's name was not Hawk. As such, he did not trust Gorian with his true name until Gorian had been able to pass a test of character. 

Gorian opened his eyes slowly. He blinked once. Master Nax nodded and then departed from the room. They had exchanged an unspoken acknowledgement that he was ready to begin his final test among them. The perfection of a harmonic technique. 

Gorian stood up and made his way to the chamber of trials. There, the 4 Asuran masters of harmony were waiting for him. Master Nax spoke in a calm tone. "You are ready to begin upon a new path. You have touched the foundations of harmony within yourself. Your task from this day forth is to increase your own harmony within the world around you. To demonstrate your knowledge of harmonic principles, take up your blade, and use your inner power to strike us without physically harming us."

Gorian closed his eyes, and took up a new stance. He drew strength from the darkest part of his mind. The one that held his nightmares. Instead of looking at the nightmare, he drew upon his feelings of courage in the face of the nightmare. He's never run from what he feared. He began to exercise the 7 principles of harmony taught to him. He reasoned them in his mind to be the disciplines he had already learned. 

The first principle, Flow, is elegance. The fluidity of his movements must coincide with the rise of his inner strength. He gripped his blade and drew it slowly as he felt his inner power rise. The second principle, Recon, is extrospection. The art of analyzing his environment, and finding his true target. Where is the enemy? Gorian looked upon the four masters and recognized that they were a wall he had to break through. The third principle, Concept, is Introspection. What is his relationship with the target? He recognized the masters as his instructors that expected things of him. Nothing more, nothing less. The fourth principle, Feint, is immutability. The cave faded away from his view and he only saw the 4 masters. He recognized that the only thing that existed, in these moments, was himself and his target. The environment could not change him, he was the master of both his own fate and the fate of his target. The fifth principle, Blend, is oneness. Gorian's energy began to resonate into his blade, transforming it into the purest white light. An aura visibly appeared around his body that hugged his skin. Part of the aura looked like it was dripping from his arms and hands like blood dropped to the floor and vanished. He is to his target as his target is to his blade as his blade is to himself. The sixth principle, Strife, is intensity. He held his blade horizontally, and held it up so that to his eyes, the Asura's were separated by the blade's edge. He focused, allowing his aura to condense slightly, then he focused the power inside of his body to the point where he felt as if his insides might explode before releasing his aura with the intent to harm. He moved his blade so fast that a normal human eye couldn't see it. The blade swept through the air and caused light to bend around his arm and his blade that left a trail of pure darkness that stayed in the air for two seconds. The seventh principle, Fade, is Disengagement. The ability to turn away from the enemy. Gorian inhaled slowly and exhaled before he sheathed his blade. In the absence of light there was darkness. In the absence of darkness is where his energy resided.

A sonic boom reverberated throughout the cave as an intense thin stream of focused harmonic power echoed from the aftershock of his assault. The attack smashed into the masters. Three of the masters stumbled back, except for the master with the yellow head band, who anticipated the exact moment the assault would strike and managed to cut the blast with his right hand. 

The masters all nodded in approval. Master Nax spoke. "Very good. You are ready to begin your journey."

[dangerouswit]

Chapter 7: Superstition

Gorian found himself laying on a gray couch that was rather soft. He looked around, and his eyes met with Master Zagg's. Master Zagg was sitting in a meditative posture. His legs were crossed and his arms were resting upon his knees. 

The silence was deafening. Gorian remained totally still. His eyes wandered away from Master Zagg's and he looked towards the darkness of the cave ceiling. Finally, Master Zagg spoke.

"You are in battle, Hawk. Compared to your knowledge of waging war, life outside of it must seem disappointing. Is it not?"

Gorian inhaled slowly. "Sometimes."

"Most of the time. You dread losing a comrade, because they are soldiers like you. Yet... only on the battlefield. When most normal people put their weapons away and come home, you weren't given such a luxury in your past. You knew people, based on how they performed on the battlefield. You trust people based not on how kindly they treat you or what they say, but what they do in times of danger. You trust precious little, if anything else."

Gorian didn't speak. The silence washed over the entire cavern, and the room was as quiet as death. 

"Your spirit, is as a scared rabbit. Your mind has fed it so much horror that it is no longer a pure thing. There is a great fear. Fear leads to anger. Anger, leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering, and there is much fear in you, Hawk. Your knowledge of war does not translate itself for you outside of the battlefield."

Master Zagg closed his eyes. "You're not afraid of people. You're afraid of them not being soldiers. You fear that they can't comprehend what a soldier is, nor the unwavering loyalty of what fellow soldiers share in combat who have trained side by side. You don't think others are capable of expressing that loyalty as you do. Your mind calls them weak, perhaps even pathetic. Your spirit, on the other hand, fears them. You fear weakness, even having it near you makes you feel in danger."

Master Zagg opened his eyes and sighed softly. "You are physically strong, mentally crippled, and spiritually dark. Your spirit strengthens your crippled mind, but the crippled mind corrupts your spirit. You cling to the hope that you do whatever is necessary. Your mandate is protecting others, yet you..? Who protects the protector except the one he trusts the most? No one else is trusted enough to do anything for him. The protector is so used to being outcast from those he protects, that he fears emotional and mental proximity of them. In the back of his mind he thinks the protected are protected because they cannot protect themselves. So why should he rely on them to do anything useful for him? Why should he be close to the weak? He believes, it would offer him nothing. Because... like his father, he too craves power. Physically, he forces himself to not shrug away even a simple pat on the shoulder... from those, he protects." 

"We are done testing your limits. They are known to us. You will have 12 hours a day outside of the Dojo from now on. Your training with Master Tagg will begin tomorrow. Go now, and I will see you another day Hawk."

Gorian looked away from the ceiling back to where Master Zagg had been sitting, but Master Zagg was no longer in the room. 

[dangerouswit]

Chapter 6: When You're Smiling

Gorian found himself in what looked like a market, but something was wrong. He felt anxious and fearful. There was an impending dread no matter what direction he looked. So many people, dozens of them, all milling around with various goals in mind. Gorian felt the urge to run. Unable to process his own decision, he ran. The only feeling he felt was one of impending harm. Surely, one of these people would hurt him. 

Gorian found a quiet corner near a wall that no one seemed to look towards. He nestled himself into it and faced outwards. Watching for any people. He suddenly heard a voice. "Gorian?"

He jumped, and looked up. A young woman with flowing brown hair and kind green eyes with a fair complexion stared down at him. Gorian shifted his head to the right slightly. His suspicion rose of this person. A soft haze seemed to slowly form around the woman's body. Distorting her figure ever so slightly. She smiled at Gorian. 

Immediately, Gorian felt on guard and he felt confused. Why was this woman smiling at him? What did she want? His suspicion grew to the point where he began to back away from the woman. He furrowed his eyebrows, and at that moment he turned away from the woman and his heart jumped in his chest. All of the people in the market had stopped what they were doing, and they were staring at him with gentle smiles. 

Gorian reached besides his hips for his daggers, but found nothing. Suddenly, the crowd began to move towards him. They were walking normally, but it made Gorian steadily more wary until he felt panicked. He turned away from the crowd, but there was the woman who was peering at him earlier immediately in front of him. He raised his hands as if ready to fight, and the woman threw herself at Gorian and wrapped her arms around him firmly. 

Gorian felt nothing but panic as he grabbed the woman's arms, but before he could push her away, he felt more people hug him from behind, and the sides. He felt himself lose control. He was desperately trying to rip people away, but their collective grips were too tight. He felt the strength draining from his body the longer they held him. His entire body quaked in fear and his vision faded with the maddening thumping of his own heart.

Gorian woke with a start and his eyes were wide in terror. "NOOOOOO!!!" He screamed from a couch. He looked around. He was still in the Dojo of Harmony. 

[dangerouswit]

Chapter 5: Sightless Spirit

Gorian entered the dojo late. His four hours were up nearly two hours ago by the time he found his way into the dojo. Master Zagg was waiting.    "Late. What happened?" Gorian didn't smile, and spoke plainly. "The business of my people." Master Zagg nodded slowly. "Very well, Hawk. Today, I will be removing your perception of friend and foe. By doing this, we will see how well your spirit can determine these things without the use of your mental processes to guide you." 

Gorian only saw Master Zagg smile deviously. Gorian felt a sudden bad feeling as Master Zagg raised both of his hands, and he felt an intense desire to stop the Asura. He had so many questions. When would it be over? Would it be an illusion? It was too late. Gorian's eyes were plunged into darkness. 

[dangerouswit]

Chapter 4: Beautiful Mind

Gorian had spent two days undergoing intense physical stress until Master Zagg was satisfied that Gorian's physical limit could be measured accurately. The next day that Gorian arrived in the Dojo, Master Zagg stood in front of what appeared to be an operating table that was adjusted into a sitting position. Gorian hesitated, and looked at Master Zagg with an unmistakable confusion. Master Zagg smiled slightly. "Today, I will test your mental limit. Sit down, Hawk." 

Gorian made his way to the operating table and sat down. Zagg began to hook electrodes to his head. Gorian was very still, and a small spike of worry formed in his mind. Master Zagg pressed a button, and metal restraints moved around Gorian's chest, hands, ankles, and his neck. "You appear so calm, always. But it is always the calm before the storm and not the true peace that results from contentment or happiness. Your calmness is a facade, that must become real. You've learned to pretend to be calm for those you serve, but in order to achieve harmony, there can be no pretending. You must be real." Master Zagg spoke with a tone that implied something was going to be done about it. As he spoke, he circled around, and placed his right hand over Gorian's forehead. Master Zagg closed his eyes. "Show me the storm."

Gorian closed his eyes and attempted to resist the intrusion he knew was coming, but Master Zagg held far too much experience to be denied. Gorian's mind began to fill with all of the images he had resisted for so many years. Like a holographic movie being played back before his eyes, he saw his first friend he had ever made being struck down by Risen minions at an outpost that the Bloodseekers failed to protect. Training where he wasn't allowed to sleep but forced to run or else his own teacher would gut him terrified him. He saw himself become more of a machine than anyone he knew, because incident after incident of his emotions causing him to stumble in missions or even lose control. He saw himself being dragged away from a skirmish after trying to dive into a horde of undead to save another friend. He missed them so much, he didn't want to live without them. Dying to save a friend was easier than living without them. 

Gorian writhed in the chair and screamed, not in pain, but in sadness and frustration as he saw these things and could do nothing. Finally, he saw his final test. During the surgery, for the first time in Bloodseeker history, he woke up just after being put under and attempted to escape. He saw his teacher, the Charr, give permission to have Gorian's emotional regulator turned to its maximum setting. Gorian remembered nothing else. Only waking up to look at the world and feel... nothing. No happiness, no sadness. Thinking of traumatic experiences no longer held any emotional value. 

Master Zagg did nothing but watch Gorian writhe and scream in the chair. Suddenly, Gorian went still. Tears welled up in Gorian's eyes, and slowly began to fall freely down his face in the dead silence of the chamber. His eyes were now wide open. Master Zagg spoke in the way a teacher would speak to a student. 

"It has been 6 hours since we began. Do your convictions remain?" 

Gorian shuddered and blinked tears out of his eyes. He felt tired. Tired of everything. Tired of fighting, disappearing friends, and the consistent need for it all to happen again. 

As he looked around the chamber, Gorian felt weary and tired. Suddenly... he saw eyes. Eyes that beckoned him to never give up. They were full of conviction, and held a familiar love in them. 

Tenderness you slay me.  I hate the way you make me rest. I hate the way you make a mess.  Kindness you set me free.  I hate the way you make a mess.  I hate the way you make me dress.  Love, your love, makes me see.  I do not dress to impress the rest.. I protect the free to avoid me. Heartfelt mess that I am. Forever you will love me.

[dangerouswit]

Chapter 3: Food for Thought

During the night, Gorian went home and slept, but that dawn, he was back at the dojo of harmony in his disguise. When he went into the chamber that he talked to the masters in originally, everyone was gone save for the Asura with blue headband. The Asura, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back, nodded to Gorian and directed him to sit down. Gorian sat cross-legged on the dirt floor 10 feet in front of the Asura. The Asura looked calm, composed, and his bright gray eyes seemed full of wisdom.  "You are the first of your group to dare venturing to us. Today, you will be tested concerning your limits. In order for my brothers and I to train you, we must know where your limits lay. My name is Zagg, and I am the master of limits."

Gorian nodded to Zagg. Zagg walked up to Gorian and extended his right hand, palm up towards Gorian. Immediately, Gorian felt an intense faintness overcome his body. Weakness creeped through the organic portions of his body, and his mechanics began to compensate. A soft blue aura formed around Zagg's hand. Zagg spoke calmly. "Your strength is quite intense, but you rely on its physical parameters to define your power. Reach deeper, and overcome my limiting aura that I've extended over you." Gorian attempted to stand up, but the aura compensated for the strength of his leg muscles and the mechanics attempting to enhance them and he collapsed to the ground. Gorian clinched his fist and began taking deep breaths in and out at a notably rapid pace. He felt heat in his chest, legs, and arms. His head slumped down as he slowly lifted himself from the ground. He felt the machinery seem to be the only thing holding his tired body up. A metal skeleton forcing him to stand. 

After he stood up, he closed his eyes, he felt the intense pounding of his augmented heart. There was no sweat, or smell from his body from the exertion. Zagg looked unimpressed, and nodded slowly. "You stand from weakness. Good..." 

Before Gorian could react, Zagg exhaled sharply, and a strong wind blew Gorian off his feet and he flew back 5 yards before landing hard on his back. Gorian gritted his teeth against the pain as he heard the words. "Do it again."

[dangerouswit]

Chapter 2: A Question of Heart

Gorian found himself facing four Asurans. Each of them wore different colored headbands. Red, Blue, Yellow, and Orange. The Asura with the yellow headband stepped forward. "You are lost?" The Asura asked with notable curiosity in his eyes. "No. I seek to learn." Gorian replied. He was safe, he knew, because he was disguised as a Sylvari. His expression held only a placid calmness. The Asura with a yellow headband smiled faintly. "Ah, you seek the way of harmony?" Gorian blinked 3 times consecutively at the Asura. "I don't know what the way of harmony is." 

The Asura with the blue headband nodded. "This must be one from the Covenant. Are you here to learn from us?" The Asura tilted his head up and peered intensely at Gorian. Gorian bowed his head respectfully. "I am Azure Hawk, of the Covenant." He spoke firmly. He knew it wasn't his true name, but an alias to mask himself. No one could know he had come here. 

The Asura with the red head band sneered. "Bitch ass, thinks he can just learn harmony because he showed up." The red headband Asura was silenced with a hand motion from the Asura with the orange headband. Finally, the Asura with the yellow headband spoke. 

"You will be known as Hawk, here. Welcome. You will be allowed 4 hours outside of this place every day. You must return, and for 3 months you must devote your willpower to our teachings. We begin at dawn." 

[dangerouswit]

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

Gorian made his way into the Shiverpeaks late into the night. Ephèdra had only just gotten home, but it was much later than he anticipated. Once in the Shiverpeaks, he traversed the dark and cold night towards the secret entrance of the well hidden Dojo. Discovered on a mission sometime ago, the masters of the dojo pledged to train any Covenant member who came to them. It was ironic to Gorian that at one time he had requested the destruction of these masters. Only to beseech their aid over a year later. 

Gorian found the entrance. What appeared to be a solid wall of rock, but he knew better. He searched along the wall and found a rocky switch. He pulled the switch, and the door to the mountain dojo opened. He walked inside, and remembered the mission report. A long hallway presented itself, with hanging torches on either side to light the way. He walked up to a particular torch on the right, and then grabbed it firmly before he moved it down. 

He heard a soft click, and the floor beneath him shifted downwards and he fell through. He slid down a slippery tunnel for a few seconds before he was spit out and hit some sort of trampoline. He careened through the air and barely managed to land on his knees. There was nothing but silence, and when he looked up. Dozens of eyes stared at him with a soft green hue in the darkness.

[dangerouswit]

To Think, or to Feel?

That, is the question. 

[zhao-lingxien-blog]

Asian nerds… (Ailin, Sakurako, Izanami) Cool asians, (Zhao, Misaki) Varsity jocks, (Clayton, Kallor, Tormbar) Unfriendly black hotties, (Fiona, Fahd, Gorian, Kensa) (i know she’s a sylvari but shut up ok) Girls who eat their feelings, (Salem, Dani) (souls) (they eat souls) Girls who don’t eat /anything/, (Parthena, bc she just drinks wine all day) Desperate wannabes, (idk i don’t wanna be MEAN) Burnouts, (Alicia, Fhon Gai) (ilu) Sexually-active band geeks, (Vince, Nora, Saya) The greatest people you will /ever/ meet, (Catticus) …and the /worst/: Beware of the plastics.” (Sereaux, Sereaux, and Sereaux)

[fumblingstuttering]

TMC in a nutshell.

[linnisvolken-blog]

No Linnis, but <3 it anyway~

[dangerouswit]

Gorian is totally friendly!

[dangerouswit]

Seal of Silence

I hold a secret. The light, and the darkness within me. I feel the desire to tear people apart, but I also disapprove of unnecessary violence. I know where the line is, but sometimes I must cross it without hesitation to protect my Covenant. 

In my silence, I am the watcher. When trouble comes, I am the barrier that breaks even the strongest of weapons. Silence is power. A power that hides the merciless monsters inside my cold mind.

[dangerouswit]

Things the Covenant Would Know

To help people understand Gorian, I think this might be of interest!

Memories: 01: A memory from your character's childhood Falling asleep to the gentle humming of his mother. 02: A memory from your character's teenage years The death of his brothers, and his initiation into the life of a Bloodseeker to keep his parents safe.

03: A memory from your character's career Guarding a noble woman who might have fallen for him if she hadn't gotten married. 04: A memory that your character cherishes Atticus being pied in the face by Ephèdra after following a floating coin. 05: A memory that your character wishes to erase The inevitable words of his former commander. Modestus Morsus. Emotions: 06: Something that makes your character angry Betrayal. 07: Something that makes your character happy Crafting weapons. 08: Something that makes your character laugh Pranks on people who aren't expecting it. 09: Something that frightens your character The Undead. 10: Something that turns your character on Only one person can do that. People 11: Describe your character's childhood friend He had several among the Bloodseekers. The closest was Theo. Theo was a light hearted ascalonian boy who supported Gorian's spirit of non-violence. He and Gorian also perpetrated many pranks together. 12: Describe your character's parents His mother is calm, and gentle. She uses her gentle nature to hide devious and cunning undertones. She dislikes violence, and enjoys talking around a main idea until there is a deeper conversation. His father is serious, and blunt. He is arrogant of his abilities, and a show off. His word is his law, and he would commit to any atrocity if he felt it necessary. His life is a morally gray area.  13: Describe your character's former lover A delusional purple colored Sylvari with a weak self-esteem.

14: Describe your character's present best friend She has been his friend since nearly the beginning. He saw her as someone worthy of his respect. Eventually, it grew to become more than that. 15: Describe your character's worst enemy Modestus Morsus was his worst enemy. Now that Modestus is dead, he has none.  Activities: 16: What your character does on a day off He doesn't know the meaning of the term. 17: What kind of books your character reads He likes books that teach him how to better communicate with people.  18: What kind of music your character likes Something gentle and thoughtful. 19: What your character does when they wake up Checks his weapons and cleans some of his equipment caches around Tyria before obtaining food. 20: What your character is like at social events Quiet, observant, and only speaks when necessary. He always has an eye looking for danger. 

[dangerouswit]

The Shaping of Man

AT THE AXIS: The Obsidian Betrayal

Gorian looked around the remains of the Axis with a grim look on his face. Bodies lay strewn across the front yard, and the broken doors of the Axis told of a bitter struggle where one side stood and another had to fall. Gorian was called there by the Immortal, urgently. When Gorian arrived, the scene was chaos. The gates to the Axis were torn asunder like an army of wild Ettins brazenly rammed through them. There was fighting in the front yard, and the reserve were desperately trying to protect their Covenant. 

Gorian jumped into the fray immediately, and fought his way to the Immortal. Eventually, they led the reserve in a final push, and cleared the Axis of all enemies. 

Gorian's eyes surveyed the front yard before he made his way down. He didn't have his helmet anymore. It was smashed off by a mace earlier, and the rest of his armor was falling apart. It had taken explosions and magical assault. His face had rather grotesque injuries. Though they didn't even bleed. He was covered in the blood of his enemies, and there was a gash on his face that revealed a metallic sheen underneath, but that was covered in the blood of his enemies too. 

Gorian inhaled deeply, and thought to himself in a silent way as if to speak to his own mind.  "No more will our enemies come to us with hope in their hearts. For I will face them.  No more will our enemies bear arms with our own weapons. For I will take them.  Justice will be mine when they bow before the might of the Covenant. For I will make them."