Sutoratosu

k then. An explanation as to the "Keepers" Well, I think it's about time for Ethic to actually be informed as to how to use his power over the arcana. I'm planning for each of the 22 major Arcana to have a "Keeper", a human who has been selected for certain reasons to govern the aspects the cards represent. over the next few chapters, I intend to introduce the "Keepers" to show Ethic just how much power the Arcana trully has, they will have such a control over there respective Arcana that it'll make what Ethic does look like complete child's play, which it really is in comparison. As to whether or not Ethic can even dream about possibly thinking about perhaps hoping to hone his abilities to such a point eventually... well, I wouldn't go placing any bets on him just yet...in fact, just keep your money in your pocket, it'll probably get lost either way if you gamble. Hope this is alright with everyone...

"What the hell are you doing? ANSWER ME WORM!!!" Ethic heard the shade call. Ethic could sense the shadows attacking him, the lesser arcana acting as he had ordered them, automatically defending him. He stopped stalling and unleashed what he had been storing. "Number 1: The Magician!" then the barrier broke The Card blazed in a scarlet light as it grew in heat. Four tendrils of fire extended from the cards surface, under Ethic's command. Hit with a sudden surge of power, Ethic was forced to Focusing all his mental capability. he managed to send them at the shadows surging towards him and kenny now, destroying them in an ethereal blaze, also destroying a few books on the floor yet somehow leaving the shelves unscathed. He could feel the energy he had pooled for the invocation slowly draining, and knew that soon the reserve he'd set up would be gone, and that he would have to use energy directly from himself to continue the Evocation. it was time to get to business. He redoubled his effort to control the fire, and felt as if someone were supporting him mentally in this endeavor... There are many tricks one can do with the flame, allow me to assist you in one... then he felt another power beside his controlling the fire, this one was far more experienced at it. the flame drew back towards the card, the fires it had started withdrawing as well. it congealed into a massive sphere before them. he noticed that he and kenny were now somehow standing atop a bookshelf. he aslo noticed Ixidor's presence nearby. he heard Kenny yell. "NOW, ETHIC!!!" Yes, let us end this! He called out, his voice combined with that of the Arcana of the Magician. "You want me to answer you, shade!!!!?????" The sphere grew in shape and lengthened, growing a head and a set of wings, along with feet... "Fine then, hear me now!!!! I answer with FIRE and Without mercy!!!!!!!!!!" the Ball had now fully transformed itself into a wrym made of pure ethereal fire "My answer to you is the Drake of Fire and Blood: Thead!!!!!" With that, The Dragon was released from Ethic's control by the assisting force, swooping down on it's fiery wings and spewing hot, licking flames, destroying many book shelves and heading straight for the shadow. He could feel that the reserve had completely emptied, and braced for the toll that would carry over to his direct supply of energy. but to his suprise, it did not. he looked beside him, and saw a young man in red and grey robes standing beside him, a sword at his side and a staff in his hand. he spoke, and Ethic knew this was the Keeper of the Magician Arcana. "Not this time... I will take care of the excess toll this time... You must remain strong...." He rose his staff, which glowed blood red, the heat gathering around it. He yelled. "FINISH HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The Fire drake roared as it swooped ever closer to the shade, it's wings glowing with blinding light and even more flames spewing out of it's mouth...

Ethic watched as his cards were repelled by the bullets fired, being sent back through the air and landing at his feet. he heard as the shade cried out. "I am killing you this time, My pride forces me too. HAHAHAHAHA." Focusing, he shifted the lesser arcana from standby to acting as a barrier to defend him and Kenny, the cards moving in front of the two and spinning as tendrils of power drew out and connected them. They burned with a bright light as the two bullets bunched off them, but Ethic could feel a welt of pain growing in his fore arm, rolling up his sleeve a little and saw two red welts there. "You bastard... couldn't just stay away huh?" He returned the cards to preparation for offense, effectively taking down the barrier they had formed. "Fine then!" He said. "As I told the judge, I won't hesitate to bring lethal force against those who endanger myself or my friends!" He concentrated on the Magician Arcana. he had a hunch that it would answer back now, he knew they could after the meeting with the Keeper. What can you do? he asked mentally He saw a quick flash in his mind along with the voice of the Magician Arcana This is my power... what I can offer in assistance... the power of cleansing and destruction and creation... I hold sovereignty over the flame. Ethic's vision was returned to the battle as the vision ended. He pooled as much residual power as he could, which there was alot of thanks to kenny, and began focusing it on the Major Arcana, giving the lesser a directive to respond as necessary while he worked...

Kenny had appeared out of nowhere and began assisting Ethic, which he was grateful for as he felt a torrent of strength flow through him. Kenny had even gone so far as to take care of the smaller shadows, but Ethic could tell that the other young man could probably use a bit of time to recover from the toll of doing so. He looked over at him. "Thanks for the help man, but I got this. You go recover a little." With that, he faced the twisted shade. "So, is this would happened to Shotgun McGee?" He chuckled a little to himself. "you know what, it doesn't matter whether or not this is him...this thing isn't human..." He directed a torrent of his power to a few cards of the lesser arcana, causing them to blaze with white energy, like before. "And I've fought an even larger one not long ago." He watched as the shade knocked down some more books, calling forth more of his unholy brethren. "Now, that's not very nice, trying to stall me from facing you?" he paused for a moment, counting the new shades. nothing to bad... He smirked. "I think not!" With that, he released his command, sending out the cards he'd selected in a blazing chain of Arcana flying downwards through the air, aimed straight at the creatures head...

^just as I thought you would do...

Ethic leapt back upon hearing the book fall, and took out his Tarot the moment he saw the twisted shade, pooling his power and circulating it through the entire deck, the cards Flashing with white silvery light as they responded to the young Invokers will, flying out of his pocket and hovering in the air, encircling him. "Well guess Ix can wait for a little while longer... seems to be alright for now." With that, he began circling around the Shade, deciding for once that he would take the predatory role...

google holds the answer for those who are confused... Google search: MOS army or AIT army

By specialties, I mean in combat and the battle field, a specific job you are trained to do in the military. In other Words, This is the equivalent of AITs, or Advanced Individualized Training, in order to prepare a soldier for their MOS, or Military Occupational Specialties. But seeing as how this RP is taking place a good fifty years in the future, the procedure will difer somewhat from how it is currently in the U.S. army. but more on that bit later. for example, the training to become a special forces soldier. (Everyone will be receiving this cause ya'll are special like that, but you also get another, secondary AIT/ MOS selection) more info will come as I ask God, I mean, Google, more about the topic...

Now now bibarel, There will be plenty of time to break Base protocol later on... :Kappa: Speaking of which, what does everyone think of specialties?

"Ethic! What happened?! Where was I?! Where were you?!" Ethic looked around, unsure where the voice had come from. It sounded alot like kenny... He saw a familiar burst of blue and ran over to the area, spotting a massive wolf retreating from something. He looked after she had gone and saw that Kenny, the young woman and girl from before, as well as another man he didn't know, were what she had retreated from. He was about to approach them when he heard something like a croak off in the distance... A rather loud croak... he looked off in time to see a huge frog hopping into another Aisle, a familiar form on it's back... "Ix... Didn't he learn anything from the bone horse incident...?" With that, he took off after the giant frog he had just seen.

How about something like the effects of this Supernovae: http://godofwar.wikia.com/wiki/The_Amulet_of_Uroborus Maybe have him be able to restore things to a previous state of being like you thought of above, along with the ability to cause things to age to the point of Ruin (Like Ethic using the Tower Arcana, but to a far greater degree.) Maybe a cost could be something involving the biological age of himself or something? I dont know... it's late, I'm getting some sleep now...

I'm alright with it, but I don't make the final decisions. Anyways, that new ability actually looks a little... Under Powered. Kinda impractical if you ask me, what with all the barriers, though Mr. Taylor having a time based ability could be very interesting I think. maybe reexamine the restrictions though?

Ethic found himself standing in an Aisle back in the Library. "Well, now that that's done for now..." He looked around, trying to find Ixidor. heard... screaming, wails...Inside his pocket, His Cards were at complete DEFCON 1. the 22 arcana flew out around him, encirling him in a white glow, glyphs burning in the air around him and strange whispering voices in his mind. the power radiating of them was so palpable that it nearly chocked the air. Ethic tried to order them back into their places in the deck, but they refused to respond, apparently set protecting on protecting the young Invoker from an unknown threat, even if he ordered them to stop. the voices were mainly unintelligible, but Ethic caught a few of them... Judgement... Judgement... Judgement... Final... Judgement... The Arcana was blazing the brightest of all, hovering in the air as the other cards stayed static. it send out tendrils of white energy, connecting to the cards and creating some type of... for lack of better description, a Matrix Sheild, the grid like by the white energy and the Cards completely surrounding Ethic. Something was completely revoking his control of them. "What is this!?" He called. The Screeches and wails retreated, shrinking back in seeming terror at the raw Power of the Arcana. It was only then that he Ethic fought to look behind him... He turned around, noticing hundreds of Shadows standing there, watching him, holding back... he looked around the floor. Open books littered it, along with the decrepit wreckage of a book case, it looked like it had given out from old age... Damn... that was an awful Idea in hindsight... Just then a single shadow leaped forward, claws outstended, only to be caught in two in the apex of it's jump. it faded to nothing as the two halves hit the floor. A man in a hood materialized in front of Ethic, a wheel in his hand.he looked familiar.... He stood staunchly between Ethic and the shades, his very presence acting as a barrier between him and them. He turned and looked at Ethic, and the only thing the young man could see in the hooded mans face was a pair of empty, milk white eyes, they had a faint glow to them, just like the cards. Ethic realized who this was. "You're the hooded man from that rainbow colored space, the one that said something about me being worthy or something..." The man glanced over his shoulder at the shadows. "That's right Ethic," He said "I am the man from the rainbow colored space. But my proper name..." The wheel in his hand expanded to several times it's size, Ethic could see that it had carvings in it at every point where a spoke meet with the outer rim. Each of them was a carving exactly the same as the images on the 22 major arcana cards. "...Is the Keeper of the Wheel." The shadows were acting strangely, moving backwards and then surging forwards towards them, only to stop themselves and repeat the process. The Keeper taped the Chariot carving on his wheel, causing both the wood and the card to resonate in blue light. "Get him away from here." He said. For the very first time, at that moment, Ethic actually heard the Arcana speak. he looked at the Chariot hovering in the air, and could see the faint outline of a man dressed in roman armor with a winged helm. "Yes, my Lord." He had no time to react, the moment after the chariot spoke, he was standing in a completely different section of the library, the transportation had been so swift that his mind hadn't even registered it. He heard the voice of the Keeper in his mind. "Everything shall be explained in due time, Ethic. I shall release the Arcana back to you now." With that, the cards immediately lost their bright glow and fell out of the air around Ethic. A tingling sensation came to Ethic's hand, then left. He sent out his will and connected with the cards. they didn't respond at first, but gradually Acknowledged his power, rising slowly back into the air and hovering. After a few minutes, he could feel them fully responding to him again. he ordered them back into the deck. "The keeper of the wheel..." He muttered silently to himself "what he did with the Arcana... Will I be able to do the same eventually?" With that thought in his head, he again began the search for Ixidor, walking down the Aisle.

Ethic thought long and hard about this... His entire life flashed in memories through his head... He answered confidently. "Your Honor... My Biggest Flaw... is That I'm too loyal. I'd probably risk the entire world to save a single person I cared about. but what redeems me for it is my devotion and determination." He awaited the verdict.

No lol I didn't mean that in order to have him take part in the wolf fight, I just didn't want him to be pretty much stuck in limbo for a week.

*Shots Rose in the back with a harpoon gun* "Not today." King :Kappa:

Sure thing. but could we wrap up Ethic's trial also?

*Calls homeland security in Shady seprpent.* "Yes, that's right, he just blew up the castle." *A bunch of FBI and CIA agents descend on the hill and take shady serpent into custody.* "Have fun in Guantanamo!" I climb back on the hill and begin watching the setting sun once more. (King :Kappa: )

"All right, everyone, Into the Transport, time to head back!!" Erick looked up at ray, then glanced at his own watch. "Well, guess it is around that time..." He looked down at Virtue. "You hungry?" She nodded. "Well, so am I. Let's get going." He got up from the tree and started walking over to the truck, the young Ralts following behind him. But something in the Bushes caught his attention. he looked over again and saw a familiar face: The same sudowoodo from before. But instead of fighting this time, it did something entirely diferent. Ethic watched as several small blue colored berries about the size of a ping-pong ball rolled out of the bushes and to his feet. He picked them up, and when he looked back at the bushes, the sudowoodo was gone. "Well, guess we get a victory prize." he handed a berry to Genisa, she took it and stared at it curiously. He stowed the rest in his pocket and continued over to the truck, deciding to ask ray what they are when they got back to base, though he didn't think they were poison.

welcome back kenny. Don't get killed by the shadows... There's alot of them around the library nowadays... what with people destroying bookshelves and the like.

(^^Least graceful regeneration ever... but whatever, Welcome back, man.) Ethic looked into the judges fiery eyes. Thinking about the question deeply. Finally, he answered. "Sir," He began "I stand by my word. I value trust and loyalty above all else, despite my wealthy upbringing, my grand father taught me that friendship will always be worth far more than gold." He stepped closer to the podium, still making sure to keep a respectable distance. "I would not dare to strike down a friend or ally in the hypothetical situation suggested, even if I was so close to my goal that I could practically taste it. .Betrayal is amoung the worst things that men can do to each other, and nothing in this world has enough value to even come close to justifying such actions. I will not sully my name with the crime of betrayal, not now, not then. not EVER. I will fight to the very end if it means I protect my friends by doing so." "You're honor, to me, Gold turns into lead when in comparison of the Bonds that tie people together." He patted "Man Without Honor" as it hung at his side. "However, for those who endanger myself and my friends, for those who murder others and feel joy about it, whose only friends are greed and self-interest, I would not hesitate to use lethal force against them if or when necessary. I will not stand by and watch as someone else suffers at the whim of others. And I know that people like what I have just described are trepising about this place even now." He stood, truly believing every word he just said, and waited the judges decision.

Walks up to the hill. "Well, I'm back." Stands on the hill, looking out over the vast horizon as the sun sets.