Ataraxy

“I hope you don’t want a treat, because I ate all the food here while I was waiting. And now I'm gonna get you, trick!” [Michael] What a patronizing asshole. A quip she would have responded with had it been anything less than a death match. Although Joanna wasn't one of those meta-humans with super hearing more sensitive than a dog's, that didn't mean sound was a completely useless tool to her. Michael spoke long and loud enough for her to pinpoint his general location: he was more or less in front of the wall that was in front of her. For a split second there may have even been a direct line between the two of them, though since all she had to go off of was his general location she'd deduced. But that wasn't enough. Sometimes in a fight you just had to trust your gut and go with it. Which is exactly what she did. Waving her hands forward slightly, it was more of a quick jerk than a wave really, one of her masks shot forward. The wall between them, not having been originally that thick was no doubt dilapidated like the rest of the house and the rotting structures lacking the durability to truly put up much of a fight. The first hit the wall with a violent thud, exploding on contact. The blast radius was approximately seven meters though it extended forward just a smudge more for the mask's original momentum. Michael, who had just walked toward the rubble on the other side would be well within the explosion's reach. But, because of the nature of the explosion, it would be much more than a simple boom of fire and propulsion. Wooden shards would also be launched in Michael's direction, though not necessarily on at him specifically. The heat from the mask exploding would also set of an electrical explosion produced from the fire sparking high energy into the exposed wire's electrical arc. The mixture of the chaotic electricity, flames of exploding dark energy, and the gas from that electrical breakdown would no doubt result in a fairly bombtastic BOOM (1/2/3/4). Joanna, as the mask collided into the wall and exploded, rounded back into the first room she'd been in; where she'd have a direct line of sight to the potentially injured Michael. A mask perpetually 2 meters in front of her. An angry looking bastard. It's crazy, empty eyes peering out at what looked like wiggling black mold growing from the ceiling above the table Michael had been sitting at.

I mean that's cool and all but a broken leg doesn't really help anyone find you lol My advice would be to have a few NPC paramedics arrive on the scene and bring him to Palgard General (the hospital). That's where a lot of the other characters are headed. Would make more sense for them to meet that way imo Also just to keep it consistent with the theme of secret identities, you should probably refer to Naomi as "Wraith" since Jonathan would actually know her real name. I'm not overly concerned but just a note for the future or if u wanna go back and edit that, that's cool to 🙂

Round 2 Your seven days start..... NOW! GO GO GO GO!!

Right Turn The roar of the crowd, however loud it was, had long since been drowned out by the increasingly deafening drumming in her ears. Nerves. It was always nerves with her these days. Teresa shook her head and pushed her palm into her ear a few times, trying to rid herself of the blocked feeling. The steady thump thump thump of her adrenaline fueled pulse slapping in her head was giving her a headache. After her rather... unfortunate loss in the Hell's Gate MOBS tournament, Teresa was ready to do almost anything for the win. Though the maze was less combat orientated it presented no less honor. Perhaps even more honor when in Ursa Madeum. In preparation for the Maze, one of her servant's had braided her hair in the traditional fashions of the Warrior Archangel's of home. A symbol of strength for Teresa alone. Following her people's get up, Teresa had drawn black battle lines starting from under her eyes to above her ears. She'd obviously removed the impractical Renovation dress from earlier, choosing instead to sport flexible brown trousers and a black leather top. Armor wasn't advised for a speed focused competition, but a little bit of protection against the Maze creatures definitely wouldn't hurt. "Princess, I would like to once again express my extreme concern with this endeavor," her head guard Matthias said, still urging her against running in the Maze. "Oh relax," she said with a dismissive wave. "My father put up restrictions against death and fatal wounds. What's to be so concerned about? What can go wrong?" He groaned. "Those are the last words of many dead persons, princess." Teresa scoffed. "There are so many dead people Matthias. I'd be surprised if there is a phrase that is not the last words of many dead people." To that he could say nothing, simply bowing with a pained look on his face. Able to do nothing as his charge prepared to race into a maze of monsters and nobles. In all honesty, Matthias wasn't entirely sure which one he feared most for his princess. "Let the Maze Games, begin!" Emperor Demetrius announced. Without a look back Teresa charged into the forest without a sound; if silence could kill then at that moment Teresa could massacre a village. It wasn't long before Teresa came across the first fork in a road, though this fork had six different directions she could take. Not that she hesitated. She took the third turn. She didn't spot any hints or have any real knowledge of the maze. It was simply the first turn she saw when she'd spotted the fork. The turn opened up to a large open field, multiple exits and entrances spilling into it from every direction. Then the ground started to rumble. To tremble. An opening in the ground not thirty paces from her slid open as if electronically engineered. Rising from its depth was a large troll seemingly dancing upon a platform. Or, at least Teresa thought it was a platform, but it looked exactly like the grassy land it had just swallowed. A second and third troll followed, each armed with a variety of weapons. The first two trolls sniffed at the air and wandered off into the maze. The third troll, however, lifted its nose into the air and snapped its head in her direction before charging. "Oh Creator's Mistake," Teresa swore. "I am so fucked."

"Princess, your father is a newcomer and you are a minor. The longevity of your line is far from guaranteed; for all the rest of the world knows, your power won't last a century. If you'd like to prove my lack of faith is unwarranted, you know where to find me. Ciao!" [Caeceila] It was certainly possible, even likely, that Caeceila's barbed warning would have cut deep into Teresa's insecurities or fears had the daughter of House Glasmann been correct. While the Veluriyam Empire was a relatively new construct, the Demetrius Clan had been a ruling family of Angel City for generations. Divine and royal blood ran through her veins, as it had her forefathers for eons. So instead of an equally cold retort or the chucking of a heavy object, Teresa opted for a glare. She snorted at the warning and waved the woman off, even if Caeceila couldn't see the wave as her back was turned. Good riddance. The people of House Glasmann are either incredibly stupid or seriously under staffed if this is who they send for diplomatic negotiations, Teresa thought, full of derision. What do I care if she lacks faith? That probably the least worrying of things she lacks. "Please excuse Caeceila's brash mannerisms. She has good intentions, but she has difficulty distancing herself from the battlefield. Terrenus is in a bad way, as you well know, and the suffering of its people weighs heavily on her soul. She is worried the Veluriyam Empire will misuse its considerable power and become the sort of entity this project is designed to check. I can't say her position is untenable given that the Veluriyam Empire has requested full disclosure regarding House Glasmann's proprietary, mission-critical designs, but she really ought to be more tactful than passionate in these situations." [Nines] A pause from the Drow. And then- "Would you like to take some time to collect your thoughts or are you ready to dive in and hash out the details of this bargain?" [Nines] "Of course, of course. I don not mind," Teresa responded after another brief moment. With the first word out of her mouth, his expressions were instantly pleasant once more. Gone was the frown and derision, replaced by a seemingly genuine smile and kind eyes. "War can indeed stir strong negative emotions in even the best of us." She nods. "I can certainly understand that worry. But it can be equally applied to House Glasmann. How do we know you won't use it for purposes we find... distasteful? The issue, then, is of trust. Blind trust is, of course, not a politician's first choice tool, but it is nonetheless what we must forge between our two parties. Furthermore, I can assure you, that if my father, Emperor Titus, wished to force darkness onto Terrenus, the means have been at his disposal for many years." With a smile, she clapped her hands and nodded for the second time. "Yes, let us begin. Veluriyam has already been quite clear in what we wish to obtain from this deal: the blue prints and a future favor. The definition of favor can be discussed until it is agreed upon. In return, Veluriyam is willing to aid House Glasmann in the building of their construct: the HGS Silver Vision. The specific nature of our aid has not been detailed, though there is little Veluriyam will not be willing to offer." Very little.

Actually I'm under 30 and am constantly confronted with the question: when do I not want to go to sleep? So rather than old, maybe just introverted lol

I mean we could basically just go "over the past couple years a trend of Heroes and Villains has become popularized and is now the norm in Palgard." No need to really get over specific yet. Just imagine Detroit or something, minus the Fed gov's overhead.

1. Yup 2. Yes on the local government front. Supernal has granted me limited GM rights over Palgard since it's in disuse. Essentially so long as Palgard remains how we've framed it, we can do what we want (that's there cause I'm not supposed to be conquering it or anything. Which I agreed to lol this role-play is in Valucre, but should be treated as a relatively isolated area. For now, anyways). So yeah, "local government" exists, but it's corrupt and basically just acts as a public front for the villains, gangsters, etc. 3. Yes 4. Not necessarily. I don't think there's a canon requirement that we don't meet. It's more about whether we want to or feel a need to. I didn't really plan to canonize any of it, but that doesn't mean we won't eventually.

Though Ankou reacted angrily to the armored man's action, Lilith merely snorted. Derision clear in her expression. She didn't particularly understand what he meant by "she-devil" but from context Lilith assumed he was calling her a title equivalent to the Witch-King. Which in turn summoned a mixture of emotions, most of which were quickly devoured by the ancient voices of past Lunar Daughters swirling around in her mind. When a few of the vines lashed out her way, Lilith merely glared at them and the living shrubbery erupted into black flames. A necromantic fire that quickly ate away at the essence with a vengeful force of will. The fire, however, was quick to die down. As we're the consequential attacks that Lilith attempted to skewer them with. At the seemingly growing impotence of her powers, the lines of her lips thinned and their ends dropped into a deep frown. Her brows creased as the hatred and anger in her eyes roared with rage. She would not be rendered powerless. Not by Zengi, not by Gaia, not by anyone or anything. Unsheathing Deathbringer in the direction of the Nightmares, the creatures Mercury dubbed Whatever-The-Fucks, Lilith growled loudly. The gears in her mind sped up, reliving everything she'd thought or felt in the few moments since arriving in the Marsh. Then she pointed to the left of the Nightmares. "To the left! Run left toward the soul stone. I think it's absorbing our soul energy. We need to go. GO!" Running over to Mercury, Lilith lifted up the little vampire and shoved her toward Cerin to lead the blind necromancer. "Khaki, you and the other Black Spear Paragons stay with me to protect the rear." Grabbing the collar of a smaller cartel Paragon Lilith pushed her away. "You. Go to the Vanguard. Let move. NOW."

No worries lmfao I'm a bit late too. So long as we both do everything y tonight tho, I can start round 2! ❤️ make friends with Teresa 🙂

She only nodded at Shane, though it was a nod signifying her approval of his choices. Much as a god might make to its worshipers. So when Shane reached out to grab her hand, Lilith returned the action. The instant their hands clasped, Shane would feel the same rush of energy as Vetiver. And then the same vanishing of said energy in response to the roaring of his own energy. The main difference, however, would be that Shane's new energy would burn. As if lava crawled through his veins, sought to leak from his eyes and burn his skin. Like a fire it would cackle and flare from within, filling the young man with heat enough to melt the wills of weaker men. Finally, Lilith smiled. It was faint and tinged with annoyance at the delay, but a smile nonetheless. She turned to the djinn with a wave of her hand beckoning toward Shane. "And now, we have our Pyromaniac." Technically the term was pyromancer but the word seemed to underplay the chaos she could feel boiling in his core. "Man Who Burns," she said looking at him, "Your task is to start a fire that burns everything but the skin of living beings. That is it. Though, if you wish, you may... help the city burn a little faster." By which she meant set more fire. With a look at the djinn to send them out of the room, the wish granter would likely snap his fingers or do some other low movement action that would portal them from the room. She could have simply busted the barrier down and walked out, but figured she may as well allow the djinn to save them a few minutes of time. "Start the fire," she commanded once they were outside, gesturing to a nearby dilapidated housing structure in elbow distance to others of its kind. Then she turned to Vetiver, her eyes bouncing between her and the Pyromaniac. "Tell me your names, my new Paragons. Simply being called the Man Who Burns and Oracle is beneath your new statuses as Paragons."

The fog and Samael's reflection vanished the instant his fingers penetrated skin, thinning and evaporating into the surrounding environment. As if time had paused everything but Samael, the young boy collapsed surrounded by stillness. Not a single breath or movement, not a brush of wind nor an insect's laugh could be heard above the drowning silence. Even the dust under his little body was disturbed when he fell upon it, almost as if glued to the planet's very core. With an approving, albeit faint, smile, Lilith walked toward his crumpled body. Her steps were neither reverent nor casual, though they did appear to be almost... solemn. Like she was at a funeral, mourning for the death of someone she once knew. Though mourning wasn't exactly it either. It was more of an acceptance. A solemn acceptance that weakness must be dealt with lest it act like a parasite and kill its host. When she reached Samael, Lilith gently knelt by his side and pulled Deathbringer from his grasp. Little fingers clenched the hilt firmly but in their uncontrolled state were easily pried off the powerful weapon. Then, reaching over to her hip she unsheathed Heartbane and plunged it onto the dirt a small distance from his body. With her other hand she yanked the fingers from his chest and released them by his side where the hit the ground with a soft thud. Standing, the necromancer straightened herself and looked down at the boy. "It's time to awaken Samael. My Lunar Soldier." @vielle

Roll for maze