Gengorio stood in front of the window, his expression contemplative as his mind ran through the events of the trials. Each year tended to bring its fair share of surprises and disappointments but it seemed as if this year had brought a surplus. Many of what he had thought would be surefire successes had been flipped on their heads.
The Fire Mage in particular had been a stroke of misfortune, one he had in no way seen coming. The boy that had bested her had been firmly in his ‘potential’ category, someone who would likely turn into a powerhouse in the future but needed some time to grow.
When he had suddenly started throwing out Weather mana like he was born with it Gengorio nearly spat out his tea. He knew that Druids were capable of using higher tier mana through their attunement skills but most were unable to grasp the knack enough to use it in battle until well into their third tier Class. The fact that the boy could do it already was incredible.
His twin brother was just as amazing, though in a completely different manner. When Gengorio saw young Torin enact the Headless Chicken maneuver Gengorio had actually cheered. He loved it when a Rogue did something crazy like that, they always promised plenty of entertainment. Torin certainly delivered, the way he won his final match had Gengorio in fits of laughter, but the old man noticed something that he doubted many others did.
Despite his seemingly reckless behavior the boy had an fierce intelligence hiding under that reckless exterior. Despite the trap layout being different each time Torin nevertheless managed to memorize it within seconds. When another participant beat him to the treasure most would have panicked and chased after them, yet Torin managed to keep his calm and deal with the surprise in the best way possible.
“Mr. Gengorio sir?”
Gengorio turned, ready to flay the person who disturbed him, but was pleasantly surprised to find his personal assistant, Frederic.
“Yes Frederick, what is it?”
“The candidate reports sir, they’re ready.” Frederic held out a sheath of papers which Gengorio quickly took.
“Ah, perfect! Just what I was waiting for. Please ensure I am not disturbed under any but the most dire circumstances for the next 2 hours. I’m talking ‘imminent destruction of the city’ dire.”
Frederic nodded. “I will see to it sir, but what am I to do about Lord Dominial? He has become increasingly clamorous about meeting with you.”
Gengorio smiled a smile that was in no friendly and said “Tell him that he has two options. He can either meet with me in two hours or he can meet with me right now as long as he signs a waiver relinquishing his right to not be brutally dismembered within this office.”
Frederic smiled. “So, the standard response. Very well, I’ll get right on that.”
With that he left, leaving Gengorio with the reports. Along with a full page, or sometimes two, detailing the complete history of the candidates it also contained an introductory page with an overview of each of them.
Rogues
Torin Alltud
Class: Ranger
Race: Elf/Elemental (Favoring Elf)
Quick with his feet and quicker with his mouth. Torin shows little respect for authority but is incredibly loyal towards friends and family, especially his twin brother Johann. When presented with challenging or dangerous situations Torin shows incredible strategic capabilities and an intense focus. Will make for an excellent adventurer and a terrible spokesperson.
Kuài Antuadii
Class: Rogue
Race: Vishkanya
Quick, effective and talented but ultimately unreliable. Kuài leverages her paralyzing blood through throwing daggers and short swords with excellent effect, making most battles effortless for her. When faced with difficulty Kuài often gets frustrated and has shown preference to quitting rather than working hard to find a solution. Will make for an excellent adventurer in the right circumstances but unreliable in others.
Norman Ysgeler
Class: Burglar
Race: Human
What Norman lacks in fighting skills he more than makes up for in trap work, sneaking and acrobatics. Throughout the Trials Norman has not directly harmed a single monster, preferring instead to use traps or the environment to do damage when necessitated. Will make for an excellent Rogue, outside of fights.
Ranged Attackers
Snaddum Tikrus (Gnome)
Class: Tinkerer Apprentice
Race: Gnome
Discarding the usual peaceful inclinations of his heritage Snaddum has bent his Gnomish ingenuity into creating unique weapons of war. His use of one-time weapons such as his ‘grenades’ makes his combat ability proportional to his preparation. Will make for an excellent adventurer if given access to plentiful resources.
Johann Alltud
Class: Druid
Race: Elf/Elemental (Favoring Elemental)
Polite and law abiding, Johann is the almost polar opposite of his twin brother Torin with the exception of a loyalty towards friends and family that rivals his twin. Despite entering with little hope of succeeding Johann showed incredible amounts of talent and tenacity and secured a spot in the final three after a fight that left him with cracked mana channels. Will make an excellent adventure if provided the time and resources to properly mature into his power.
(Added note) Healers have diagnosed Johann’s cracked mana channels and believe that they should recover on their own within two months but will be unusable in the meantime.
Juya Tianlong (dragonborn)
Class: Lightning Mage
Race: Dragonborn
Little is known about Juya. Appearing seemingly from thin air Juya has shown incredible power and skill but has also shown a complete disregard to everyone whom he sees as below him. Notable inclusions to this category are; everyone. Will make an excellent Ranged Attacker if he can prove capable of working with others.
Melee Attackers
Arashi Sado
Class: Augmenter
Race: Kappa
Stoic and strong, Arashi is steadfast and reliable but lacks social skills. After losing his parents at an early age Arashi grew closer to his uncle Ben before losing him in a tragic accident a year ago. Since then Arashi has been training with a level of drive rarely seen outside of fanatics and guys trying to get laid. His determination is highly commendable but his singular focus could lead to emotional instability. Will make an excellent adventurer but therapy is recommended.
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Henri Gut-Koch
Class: Warrior
Race: Human
Henri has been described as a kind of idiot savant. Specifically, the kind where he is a savant when it comes to fighting but an idiot in every other aspect of life. This is not quite true, he’s just clumsy, socially inept, directionally challenged and easily distracted. His actual test scores, when he remembers to take them and doesn’t get lost on the way to the testing location, are exceedingly high. Will make an excellent Melee Attacker as long as he doesn’t trip and fall off a cliff along the way.
Boldrath
Class: Berserker
Race: Orc
At first glance Boldrath seems like a stereotypical Orc, a thick skull and a vocabulary comprising largely of grunts certainly doesn’t help matters. Behind the ugly mug and surly speech lies a sharp mind and a will stronger than steel. In complete ignorance of the usually aggressive nature of a Berserker Boldrath fights in a calm and calculating manner. Will make for an excellent Adventurer.
Healers
Mary Llidaceae (Anthousai)
Class: Healer
Race: Anthousai
Having grown up in a commune outside the city little is known about Mary. Like many Anthousai Mary has an inborn attunement towards Plants yet has chosen to forgo a more Plant aligned Class in favor of healing. Despite the odd class choice she has shown excellent healing abilities as well as an admirable amount of perseverance. Will make for an excellent adventurer but should be monitored for possible
Muir Langhangi
Class: Student
Race: Satyr
Quite possibly the definition of the word bookish. Muir looks, acts and sounds as if he was born to be a head librarian or a distinguished lecturer. Whilst the world of the scholars may have lost a future paragon the world of adventuring has certainly gained a valuable asset. Viewing fighting as a topic for study Muir has taken to swinging a sword as if he were born to it. Will make for an excellent adventurer despite his looks.
Robbie Briars
Class: Healer
Race: Seelie
Sugar and spice and all things nice; that is what was used to make Robbie Briars. At least, as long as you believe a nest of vipers and a bundle of flaming swords to be nice. Robbie Briars is a wonderful person and an exceptional healer, but get on his bad side and he transforms into a demonic creature capable of ripping your heart in half with a smile on his face. Will make for an excellent healer but conflict resolution classes are heavily advised.
Tanks
Gloria Megrathin
Class: Warrior
Race: Rakshasa
Like most Rakshasa Gloria lives for the thrill of a good fight and spends most of her days either seeking battle or training for battle. Unlike most Rakshasa, Gloria seems relatively stable, having had a the same home, friends and face for most of her life, a truly remarkable thing considering she was abandoned by her parents whilst still a baby. Gloria will make for an excellent adventurer but a deeper investigation is recommended.
Micahel Oaldir
Class: Paladin
Race: Human
Prim, proper and pedigreed, all descriptions that fit Micahel to a tee. With a lineage as legendary as his it is no wonder that Micahel plowed through the trials as if he was taking an evening stroll. That being said, Micahel is perhaps too trained, leaving the young man overqualified yet inexperienced. Will make for an excellent adventurer as long as he learns a bit of humility.
Rosa Pankhurst
Class: Warrior
Race: Human/Dwarf (Favoring Human)
In any other group of people Rosa would be a star, her beauty and demeanor attracting attention and her personality keeping it. Sadly for her, the fourteen crazies that make up the rest of the list have done the impossible and made her seem inconsequential. Keep an eye on her though, her skill coupled with her graceful personality will undoubtedly make her one the most reliable adventurer of the group, and when the chips are down and your staring down the snout of a ravenous dragon, reliable is exactly what you want in a teammate. Will make for an excellent adventurer.
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Excerpt from Bartrums Guide to the Classes:
Augmenter
Augmenter is an unusual and highly rare class as it requires three things; physical and magic stats above twenty, high affinity in exactly one element and a trait that boosts the bodies attunability. As might be expected, whilst the first two requirements aren’t exactly unusual, the last is.
The reason for its inclusion in the list of prerequisites is extremely obvious though, thanks to the classes main skills. Beyond the automatic skill of attunement to the Augmenters element most of the class skills available to them involve boosting or altering the body through a direct infusion of elemental mana.
The stress that this would put on the body of someone without the trait would be enormous, especially if the person was trying to attune a higher tier element. With the trait though, the benefits of the class are immense. Rock hard skin, lightning fast reflexes and near immunity to an element are just some of the skills an Augmenter can bring forth.
Despite this, there are some disadvantages to the class, one of which is made obvious by the name. Augmenters augment what is already there; i.e. the body. It gives them both a lack of range as well as a lack of technique skills, leaving most firmly in the melee category with many even choosing to fight bare-handed.
Augmenters are also heavily reliant on their elements. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on the element as well as the Augmenters surroundings. The element Terra for instance would give an Augmenter a significant boost when in an underground tunnel but would leave them acutely disadvantaged in the open sea.
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Atria strolled through the corridors of her sanctum, her flicking tail betraying the deep annoyance she was feeling.
“Those fools! Bloody heartless moronic bastards the lot of them!”
Atria had just returned to a council meeting that, to put it lightly, had not gone well. She had been so certain going in that she would be able to easily convince them. The evidence was all there, plain to see, yet the buffoons failed to see it. At least, Atria hoped they were blind idiots. The alternative, that they did see but just didn’t care, was far worse.
Atria had gone into the meeting with plentiful evidence of Chaos’ workings. Earth had just been the latest, and loudest, of their actions. Once Atria started investigating she had uncovered so much evidence of Chaos’ actions. Three planets and eight sapient species had already fallen just in the last century.
Yet the council refused to accept it. There had always been bad integration's, where species failed to adjust to the new world and instead simply imploded, yet never this often or this badly. The council didn’t agree with Atria, even going so far as to suggest she should retire and let someone else take on her duties.
That had been the last straw, Atria storming off in fury. It was clear to her now, if she wanted to stop Chaos’ advances, she would have to find irrefutable proof of their working, something the council couldn’t simply brush off. Fortunately she already had a plan in motion.
Which brought her back to the humans. Or rather, half-elf half-elementals. Atria shook her head; that planet was a mess. Ever since they went through the Babel event where they were given the option of changing their race the planet had become a wild mishmash of races. Granted, it was a lot more entertaining, and Atria would certainly admit that the experiment had produced interesting results, but it had also made it far easier for the forces of chaos to infiltrate.
It was why Atria had tricked the two humans into choosing the planet. Yes, it had been entirely their choice, but it was her suggestion that led them to the planet. She may have also fibbed somewhat. Both humans had wanted a fairly simple if exciting life far from the deadly chaos of Earth but, even though Terra had fit the criteria at the time, Atria knew that the two of them appearing on the planet would be bait that Chaos would never ignore.
Chaos may seem like it wanted everything to be chaotic but it rarely liked having things not go the way it had planned. Atria knew that someone who had thwarted Chaos’ plans three times over would be top on the bastards kill list. So she placed the human on a world with plenty of chaos, lower case c, and boosted his trait to such a degree ensure that he would undoubtedly attract plenty of attention.
From there it was simply, just watch and wait.