Timeskipper

"I imagine all of you must be eager to go back home and celebrate your admission", the knight cut in, indirectly answering Dahlia's question. "I came here to introduce myself, and hoping to get to know you better. But I realize it's arrogant of me to ask more of you if you would rather be with your loved ones, or rest". She bowed politely, stepping back towards the exit, still facing the room.

That title sounds like a dick joke. I approve.

The blonde woman in knight's garb recoiled slightly, a bit overwhelmed by Dahlia's barrage of inappropriate remarks. Her perfect smile seemed to crack a little, but she quickly regained her composure and offered her a polite handshake, serenely replying to her in hesitant keigo: "Hello, miss Dahlia. I must ask you for forgiveness, but I have not heard much about you prior to you joining the Cup, so I fear I'm at a disadvantage here. Still, you seem... full of energy. I cannot wait to cross swords with you on the track. Maybe I will be able to prove you wrong... but I definitely hope it will be a duel for the ages!". Without even waiting for a reply, she stepped into the room and politely bowed to the rest of the competitors. "I know I have already been introduced, but I feel it would still be extremely improper for me not to greet you all. Thank you for the kind welcome, ladies and gentlemen. I am glad to be among the best duelists in the world, and look forward to being able to measure myself against you, and give our audience a show to remember". She was about to see herself out, when suddenly, a slow clap was heard coming from the last row of seats. It was, of course, Roxy. "Great speech, great speech", she proclaimed sarcastically. "So, now that you're done with the bowing and scraping, care to tell us what's the real reason you got in here?". "I, ah, beg your pardon?", the Frenchwoman replied, slightly confused. Roxy growled and started slowly, menacingly walking towards the new arrival, angrily barking at her: "What, did I fucking stutter? I ain't stupid, miss fancy frenchie. This is shady as shit. What duelist on the face of this fucking earth just up and leaves right as they made it into the Fortune Cup? I don't buy it. Nobody with a brain buys it. How the fuck did you get in here? Everyone in this room fought to get here. We all worked our asses off! And you get to waltz in with that pathetic excuse just because you've been a champion in some backwater circuit for a few years?" The freestyle duelist stepped in front of Lydia, pointing an accusing finger against her chestplate, but the French duelist didn't back down. "Well, since everyone is too much of a pussy here to say it, let me be the one to: you ain't welcome here. And I won't let you get away with waltzing in on some technicality while so many good duelists who have worked for this spot are left out. Stay out of this cup, cupcake". Before even getting a response, she turned around and angrily stomped out of the hall, leaving the other participants speechless. Veterans of the dueling circuit and fans alike knew she was known for her fiery temper, but that was the first time they had seen her so angry. Even her rivalry with Vivian Craft had always had a playful kind of respect to it. But this... this was pure venom. In the general astonishment, almost nobody noticed what Lydia murmured in a low voice as Roxy slammed the door on the way out: "I feel your pain, Fujiwara..." Immediately, she picked herself up and calmly addressed the others. "I thank you all for your welcome. Please, do not think badly of your fellow duelist for what just happened. I know in her place, or yours, I too would feel suspicious. But I intend to prove to you all that my heart is true, and that I'm worthy to be a part of this tournament alongside all of you. I just hope this will not compromise our future relations". She closed her eyes, and bowed again. ---- Meanwhile, outside of the stadium, a livid Roxy was walking out of one of the exits and was immediately plunged in the loud chanting of the tens of thousands of protesters that had gathered outside the stadium, surrounding it almost entirely. Her entrance was behind the barriers protected by the police, but she could still see them. "Guys...", she muttered to herself, "I'm sorry... I should be with you today..." She turned around and dropped her hoverboard on the ground. It still felt awful, to be on the other side. She could've circled the protest to try and join, but... as much as she felt she should, all she wanted was to go have lunch, and then go home...

After two fucking months of wait, for which I honestly have very little excuse, I finally have the joyous announcement to make: THE IC IS UP! THE RP IS STARTED! ANYONE WHO HAD THE PATIENCE TO STICK WITH ME AND NOT SEND A CRUISE MISSILE TO BLOW ME UP HAS MY SINCEREST THANKS!

The eye opened, the world coming into sharp focus for the first time. Unfamiliar, grey and blue and brown and white. Then, it picked up a sound. "Hey, Hiroko, are you ready? Can we roll?" The world came into sharp focus, revealing the face of a young woman with short, black hair and a black hat. A pin on it said "PRESS". "Yeah, just make sure you can see the crowd in the background", she replied. "Alright. Roll... now!" The woman gripped her microphone and put on a smile, before starting to recite to the camera: "Good morning Neo Domino, Hiroko Kirigami here with Neo Domino News Network. Today we're covering the massive protest march organized by Satisfaction in occasion of the ending of the qualifiers for the Fortune Cup, and as you can see behind us, the crowd that has gathered all along the Daedalus Bridge is absolutely immense. We don't have any specific numbers, but that is, regardless, an impressive show of support for these protests." She paused to let the crew focus on the crowd. It stretched from one end to the other of the Daedalus Bridge, and even longer behind. "Satisfaction has officially declared that their intention is to reach the Unity Stage, and occupy the entirety of Unity Square, to take advantage of media attention surrounding the last qualifiers of the Fortune Cup. Their demands remain the same: shutdown of the Momentum Grid, and requalification of the abandoned and decaying building of the city center. This morning, at almost the same time, both Satisfaction and Anthem have diffused to the press communications from their leaders, Kyoji Kurama and Vivian Craft. According to mr. Kurama, Satisfaction intends this protest to be fully peaceful, and that they will comply with the police's warning not to enter the stadium itself for safety reasons. Both leaders have expressed their intention to prevent clashes between the police and the movements, although, miss Craft has noted, she can't ask her supporters not to defend themselves if "someone" decided to commit some undue aggression... seems pretty self-absolutory to me, folks, but you know me already..." She smiled cheekily to the camera before continuing her diatribe. That's when... the connection suddenly cut. And the world was darkness once again. Names: "Kyoji Kurama" and "Vivian Craft" recorded. Attempting reconnection. Connection failed. Restarting connection. Connection failed. Restarting connection... Connection succesful. Live feed available. Connecting... The world came into focus once again. This time, it was the inside of a large stadium. The tribunes were absolutely crowded with spectators, and two people were racing on the track: one riding a three-wheeler with a bubble around its seating, and the second wearing a showy red and yellow costume with a couple of bizarre epaulettes. The stats displayed on the right of the video showed two names: Roxy and Blue, with their Life Points represented underneath, 1200 and 2000 respectively. Audio feed not found. Correcting. The audio suddenly cut back in, displaying the thunderous cheers and applause of those inside, as well as the crowd outside's protests. A voice from the loudspeakers suddenly cut in: "Oooouch, folks! This Battle Phase really didn't turn out how the wild rider of Center expected, did it? It seems the duel is almost decided. Unless Blazing Roxy pulls an ace from her sleeve, loss is guaranteed for her next turn!" The camera centered on one of the two riders, the dirty blonde riding the hoverboard, who despite her seemingly disadvantageous situation, was wearing a cocky grin. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, audience! Don’t blink or you’ll miss this one! I activate Battery Charger!” The hologram of the card materialized in the air, draining 500 of her remaining 1200 Life Points, represented by a massive spark going from Roxy to the device. Unfazed, she bent her knees to assume an aerodynamic position, speeding towards her opponent. “I’m calling back from the grave Batteryman 9 Volt, and I use its effect right away to add to my hand Batteryman Capacitor, and I immediately use its effect!” She discarded the card she had just added to her hand, and the duel disk produced three more. With a smirk, she grabbed them and showed their backs to her opponent. “Pick your poison, buddy”, she told him with a smirk. “The third one!”, came the reply from the duelist on the bubble bike, and Roxy smirked when he said that. “Thanks. I needed that one” She slapped the card on her Duel Disk and cheekily proclaimed: “I Summon Batteryman Resistance! And you know what comes next… I tune Batteryman 9 Volt with Batteryman Resistance!” A green ring of light formed in the sky above her, and 9 Volt disappeared in it, becoming a line of four twinkling lights. “The secret trick that leads to victory! Come down, Batteryman Memory Cell!” A giant chip with eyes, looking like a sort of electronic spider, appeared floating high above the track. The holographic display showed that it had 0 attack AND defense ratings. The rider in the bubble bike looked on it, worried about what its effect might be… “Now, dear audience… take a good look. I use the effect of the Batteryman Resistance I used to Synchro Summon Memory Cell. When I Synchro Summon a Thunder-type monster with it, it brings back one of the non-Tuners I used in face-down defense position. And I’ll need the little guy for the next trick.” The crowd roared when they realized what was coming next, recognizing one of Roxy’s oldest comeback tricks. “I know you’re a smart guy, Blue, so no doubt you noticed I haven’t used my Normal Summon yet. Well, I will now! I Summon Batteryman Manual, and use its effect immediately to change the position of my face-down 9-Volt!” Chants of “Shock him! Shock him!” resounded from the bleachers as a batteryman looking like a small dynamo appeared on the field, and turned its crank to make 9-Volt reappear. “Manual can negate 9-Volt’s effect to use it himself, even if it wasn’t just summoned, and then negate that of your Phantom Beast Dracossack. And I use that effect immediately to add Batteryman Fuel Cell to my hand, and summon it immediately thanks to its effect, because I still have Memory Cell on my field!” The combo was now in place, and Roxy had one last step to commit. “And now… I use Memory Cell’s effect. I tribute it, to add to my hand… SHORT CIRCUIT!” She dramatically drew the card and showed it to the public, making it erupt in a roar, then 9-Volt flew in front of her, placing itself on the track at an angle to act as a ramp. “You know what comes next! Hiyah!” She immediately turned to take the makeshift “ramp” created by her holographic monster, and flew high in the air before slamming Short Circuit on her disk. Fuel Cell shot a rain of small electric orbs, letting her bounce off of them, charging her with energy with every bounce, while her opponent tried to sway his bike to make it harder for her to aim. With a wild shout of “SHOOOORT CIRCUIT!”, she dived towards her opponent, sparks flying all over around her, until a giant explosion wiped out his entire field. “And now…”, Roxy proclaimed, emerging from the smoke, headed towards her opponent, “Fuel Cell! Finish him!”. The battle was over in a flash, when the lightning orbs in the sky above Blue rained down on his bike, forcing him to stop. "Aaaaaand it's over!”, the announcer proclaimed. “The match is over, with an astonishing comeback from the crowd's favourite, Blazing Roxy! And with this, the final match of today's Fortune Cup Qualifications has finally come to a close, and I must say, nobody expected it to end like this!" Sure I wish that idiot would shut up, Roxy muttered to herself as her board also came to a still. He's stealing my moment. "Remember, folks! After this match, all that's left for our winner is the Fortune Cup! From here, all of her road will be uphill, but I'm sure she's not scared of the challenge!" "That's right, folks!", interjected Roxy. "This whole cup's been rad, but I'm going back to the higher leagues. I've been there already, and this time I'll conquer them, ya'll see!" The announcer continued: "As you see, our winner is very sure of herself, people! In fact, I've heard sponsor offers have already started pouring in. They say that even Kaiba Corporation has offered-", but was cut off when Roxy interrupted his speculations: "I was still talking, shithead. So! As I said, I'm going to conquer the Fortune Cup. It ain't gonna be easy, I know. Everyone else at the Cup has went through the same qualifications I did. Some of the best duelists of this country will be runnin' for the title. But y'all know this has never stopped Blazin' Roxy. I won't be stopped this time. Not by the best duelists of this country, not even by the Anthem b****. Keep your eyes open, Neo Domino! Blazin' Roxy will conquer this city!" Her crude jab at Vivian was met with a mix of jeers and cheers, but it was enough. No more relevant information could be acquired, so the eye turned off once again. This time, it opened in a large, white room, where a small crowd was watching the screen placed directly under the eye’s point of view. Identification needed. Audio feed included. There were about twenty people in the room, all of them in Turbo Dueling gear, watching the screen intently. The participants of the previous qualifiers. All of them turned towards the door when another blond-haired woman made her entrance, but she wasn’t Roxy - facial recognition parameters were different, and she was wearing... armor. Shining armor lined with golden reliefs, and with a massive fleur-de-lis emblazoned in the center of the chestplate. The woman opened her mouth to talk, but before she could, another voice came from outside the eye’s viewing range. “Thank you for your patience, competitors. As the qualifiers are already over, I would normally announce who of you ended up in which bracket, and close the qualifiers officially. But today there is a special announcement I must make. See, one of the competitors has retreated from the race, and their place has been reassigned. The lady who has just graced her with her presence is madame Lydia Maupin, representative of the dueling circuit of Paris. She had initially intended to be only an observer in our Cup, but she has graciously accepted to fill in for the disappeared ms. Kotodara. Normally, we wouldn’t accept such an arrangement, but madame Maupin has already proven her valor by holding onto the championship in the European circuit for various years in a row already, so we gladly accepted her presence among you. I hope there will be no problems here”. The woman politely bowed in front of the incredulous room… and the speaker walked out.

Hey, sorry for the delay, sadly I've been a bit sick recently. I'm working on the opening post, and it should be ready tomorrow. Until then, I've approved everyone that still needed it, and since there are enough open places for all the characters that are vying for a spot in the Fortune Cup, there will be one for everyone.

It's okay, you will be able to join later if you need.

No, only when you Pendulum Summon them. And you need to click the eye button (if you mouse over it it should say "spoiler") in the top bar in the post editor. By the way, we have a Discord server, it's not obligatory to join it but I recommend doing it so you can get answers from me faster if you have a question and chat with the other players. https://discord.gg/9aXXFP5

Since the holidays are almost over, I've decided to set the deadline for character apps to January 14th. This should give you still enough time to work on your ideas. So far, I'm liking what I'm seeing.

Either is okay. Sharing the same post is a bit tidier in my opinion, but do what you want.

Considering it's holiday season, I'm gonna be lenient for now. If I see that no new players are joining and not everyone has already finished their app in the next week, I'll put a deadline, but for now don't concern yourselves with it. It definitely is part of one's dueling style, I confirm what Yui said.

Nope. You will get your Signer Dragon in-story, and when it happens you will get to design its effect to make it fit your deck.

So, to celebrate the official opening of the OOC, I'll post here the major NPCs. I'll take this occasion to remind you that you can submit more than one character (though I won't make more than one character from the same player Signer. It wouldn't be fair). Blazing Roxy

From an original concept by Zai Brought back from the dead by Timeskipper And with the kind assistance of Void who provided the kickass logo ~~ Discord server: https://discord.gg/9aXXFP5 IC thread: RP and character app rules Character app skeleton Accepted apps Chaos Sonic - Itsuki Amano (Satisfaction) Void - Asaka Yukio (Satisfaction, Church of the Celestial) Arkars - Aster Granduchi (Anthem, Gran-D Wheel) JPAlpha - Arabella and Sinclair Valentia (Anthem) ChampionZERO - Ryu Kikai (Anthem) Saiba Aisu - Dahlia von Blum (Satisfaction, Neo Domino Pro Dueling Circuit, Black Clovers) Merry Nightmare - Hiroko Kirigami (Neutral, nominally) Database After the defeat of Z-ONE and subsequent disbandment of the now headless cult of Yliaster, the city had seemed to finally have freed itself from the chains of injustice holding it back: the reconstructed Daedalus Bridge once again connected Center and Satellite, ushering a newfound sense of renovated community among all the people of the city and eliminating the previous strict, police-enforced class system. The Yliaster-controlled Sector Security was also disbanded and in its place, the brand new and much scaled back in power and means Neo Domino Police Department was instituted. The municipality had been given over to a democratically elected city council and mayor, who would also perform the job of vigilating over a now much more transparent Momentum project, the new leader of which would be Yusei Fudo himself, who would go on to implement the Fortune program, the continuation of his father's life work, allowing for the ultimate stabilization of the Momentum Grid. This had enormous consequences for the city's fortunes: with the Grid finally stable and growing, able to use Momentum energy for safe, clean and almost free energy production on a previously unseen scale, Neo Domino had quickly grown to be a true leader in the region's energy production and drawing scientists and businesspeople from all over the world. This economic boom allowed for the massive expansion of the city and growing interconnection between the Center and Satellite with the creation of massive suspended roadways slithering above the waterfronts and buildings alike, dubbed Skyways. The distinction between the city and Satellite entirely disappeared, and new urban expansion projects on the outskirts of the city: entire floating "paradise neighborhoods" who came to be collectively known as the Satellites, taking over the formerly disparaging name given to the district to which the poor in the old city were relegated to. The Skyways also had the unexpected effect of strenghtening the already famous dueling circuit of the city, pushing the Fortune Cup to worldwide fame and spawning a number of smaller "entry level" circuits and even underground dueling rings, effectively making Neo Domino's championship the highest aspiration of pro duelists worldwide. However, with this sudden growth and expansion, the division and classism that had plagued Yliaster-ruled Neo Domino slithered back in the life of the citizens through the back door. The wealthy were quick to grab their spots in the new neighborhoods, turning what should have been the vision for the future in another walled garden for the rich while the poor languished in the city's center, who started to slowly slink back into disrepair due to the neglect to the old, still crumbling buildings that hadn't yet been fixed by the municipality endured once politicians and civil society, in their enthusiastic pursuit of the golden dream of the new Satellites, cast the people still living in the Center out of their sight and out of their minds. Slowly, the city full of hope for the future and care for each other slowly began to sink back into its old habits, this time not because of conspiracy and police oppression, but because of complacency and consumerism entrancing the minds of its inhabitants, turning the city into a monster, swallowing new land, constantly growing and expanding and leaving behind a trail of forgotten people that had no place in its golden dream. And worst of all, for the longest of time, the people of Neo Domino didn't even notice, dazed from the momentary high of the prosperity and breakdown of the rigid social hierarchy that had existed previously. It was then that disaster struck: a few years after professor Yusei Fudo had retired from public life, all but disappearing from the public eye to the point where nobody knew whether he was even alive at all, the inhabitants of Neo Domino were woken up by what to some had to have felt like a nightmarish past coming back to haunt them: a ghostly light covered the sky entirely, and the deafening roar of all four towers of the Momentum reactor going critical at the same time. Against what everyone would've thought possible, a second Zero Reverse had happened, taking with it a significant chunk of the old city. The death toll numbered in at least a hundred of thousands, with even more people displaced as their houses had collapsed or become ininhabitable from the shockwave. This terrifying event was the spark that ignited the long-slumbering ashes of class conflict in the city: a movement, born of the various grassroots protest groups, nonprofits and even some of the Center's "street justice" gangs, quickly assembled under the name of Satisfaction, in honor of the old gang of Robin Hoods to which Yusei Fudo himself belonged. This movement, led by until then relatively unknown underground duelist Kyoji Kurama, a charismatic figure that had been at the front of many public demonstrations even preceding the formation of Satisfaction, argued that the new Zero Reverse was proof that the Momentum Grid was still dangerous and the companies that had taken advantage of it so far hadn't given a fraction of the wealth they gained from it back to the people. They demanded for the grid to be shut down to prevent a new disaster, and for the Satellite projects' expansion to be scrapped until the people of Center, many of which were still displaced and homeless, living in tent cities, were resettled and provided with what they needed. On the other side, a countermovement, dubbed Anthem, was formed by a group of important pro duelists, with support coming mostly from the Satellites and parts of Center that were still intact, to protect the Grid instead, demanding an investigation into what led to the Zero Reverse instead of an immediate shutdown that would lead to the evacuation of the Satellites, as they would've been unsalvageable without the Grid's activity, and only creating more homeless. They fired back at Satisfaction's accusations of being bought by the energy companies that had interests in Momentum by pointing out how beneficial for the environment that clean and almost endless energy source had been, unlike the return to the past that Satisfaction (which had been using vehicles powered by electricity created via makeshift generators powered by either powerful condensation batteries or even, in some cases, old-fashioned gas) proposes, likely with kickbacks by "traditional" energy companies. As predictable, clashes soon ensued between the two movements, resulting even in violence which the underfunded and weakened NDPD was unable to deal with. It's in this atmosphere of explosive tension that the yearly Fortune Cup was about to start, and with the current reigning two-time Duel Queen, Vivian Craft, being a vocal supporter of Anthem, this was promising to be the most polarizing and politically charged Fortune Cup in history. And underneath the open hostility and struggle, another, more silent but just as vital struggle was starting to manifest in the shadows of Neo Domino City. ANOMALY IN MOMENTUM REACTOR OPERATIONS DETECTED... ENTERING DIAGNOSIS MODE... SYSTEM SCAN RUN...100% CRITICAL ERROR DETECTED... RESTARTING SYSTEM... ... CANNOT ELABORATE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM... RESTARTING SYSABORT RESTART CRITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES DETECTED BOOTING FORTUNE EMERGENCY PROGRAM... ... "EMERGENCY SYSTEM ACTIVATED. NEW OBJECTIVE: LOCATE SKYBOUND DRAGONS AND SIGNERS. MAXIMUM PRIORITY... ENGAGED"

Hey, I will no longer be the cohost of this RP.

This cannot possibly end well.

As soon as she entered the hut, the smell of dozens of different foods, still hot and appetizing, assaulted Zaita's nostrils. As much as she had tried to keep her chipper attitude, she had to admit she was tired, cold and VERY hungry. And now, she would rectify that. She ignored the discussion that Sifu and Okita seemed to be having next to her, and immediately started circling the table, grabbing one of the long dried palm leaves that were at their disposal to use as food trays, instead of one of the marble plates for the more traditionally-minded students from the mainland, and, holding it with one hand, piled more and more food on top of it. Bread cakes dripping with oils and emanating an exotic, nutty scent, fish that had been cooked to the point where their meat was tender and their skin slipped right off, dressed in zesty and hot sauces, tons and tons of rice, grilled vegetables, exotic and familiar meats, even some caviars and shellfish. She grabbed here and there, making sure not to pass up on anything the feast had to offer, before hauling her heavy leaf with both arms and dropping it on the big table. "Hey, everyone... Have a blessed dinner, as they say back in Moga Village! DIG IN!", she loudly announced before grabbing her fork and starting to pluck from the piles of food on her tray, until her mouth was entirely stuffed. She was halfway through her meal, when finally, the cook came back and whispered something to their guide. "Hey, Tyr... I think it's better that you announce who the partners are now. It's getting very dark out, so it's better if your students don't hang out here for long after dinner..."

"Our story starts a long, long time ago. Back when there were no pokèballs or trainers other than rudimentary artisanal devices, when pokèmon were more like wild animals and occasionally pets, and set in the region of Palmyra, a land of deserts, rivers, mountains and sea. The peace enjoyed by the various city-states of the prosperous land for decades ended abruptly when two neighboring kingdoms grew interested in seizing it for themselves. They schemed, pulled strings and sowed enmity between the people of Palmyra, until finally war broke out. The kingdom of Fresia called on the people of the coast, leveraging their status as their former citizens and their envy towards their rival city of Marmara. The kingdom of Miklagarth encouraged the expansionist efforts of Miah Ramiqa in the neighboring valley to the detriment of the Surya people, turning what was a friendly relationship of neighborhood into open hostility. When they retaliated, Marmara supported them. Friendships crumbled, love turned to hate, caravans were replaced with weapons. Three years, the Tripartite War lasted, until finally, the exhaustion, famine and unbearable losses forced all of the parties involved to call for a ceasefire. Over the first week from the proclamation of the ceasefire, numerous incidents are already threatening this fragile peace. Former friends still look at each other with suspicion, and the three contenders cannot agree on anything, even the seat for the peace talks. To solve this precarious situation, they have finally agreed to call upon a renowned foreign diplomat, Sirafina, famous throughout the known world for her wisdom and even-handedness. Sirafina accepted, but before presiding over such an important event, she needed to know more about this foreign land ravaged by conflict. So, she enlisted a group of young, promising talents to be hes eyes and ears, as well as her security, and aid her to untangle the complicated maze of ancient grudges, political equilibria, love, friendship and death that is Palmyra. Those young agents... are you." Welcome everyone! This is my first attempt at hosting a RP of my own, and I chose a pretty ambitious project for that, too. As you can read, this will be a rather nontraditional pokèmon RP, as it's set in the Pokèmon world equivalent of the Middle Ages, and will deal with the themes of war. I intend this to be a mature RP that will deal, although as tactfully as I can, with some rather heavy themes surrounding the realities of war, diplomacy, politics and cultural and ethnic conflict, as well as the process of rebuilding after a war. Expect to have mysteries, investigation, talking to NPCs and some cloak and dagger, and battling should be considered a last resort only. View this as a kind of... nontraditional, Pokèmon-themed D&D campaign. I intend to give the players a lot of freedom when it comes to their characters and their appearance, backstories, etc, and if you think there's a particular element that would be great to include in your character's backstory and characterization that isn't yet present in the setting, let me know and I'll be glad to try and incorporate it as best as I can.

Once the students were finally assembled on the pier, a figure emerged from the sea mist. A tall but burly man wearing a Jyuratodus raincoat, carrying a lantern on top of a stick. His face was shadowed by the heavy, wide-brimmed rain hat, but the four could still catch a glimpse of his bearded face. "Well arrived to Alcoria, students", his voice resonated under the roaring of the sea and thunder. "Follow me. You'll be cold and hungry by now, if I know Tyr. Come, I have already prepared your dinner", he announced. He turned and gestured for the students to follow him along the pier. At the mention of food, Zaita perked up and followed the man with a spring in her step, licking her lips already at the thought of getting some warm food... ... The group walked under the rain until the end of the long pier, apparently ending against a rocky cliffside. There seemed to be no way from which the man could've come... but appearances were deceiving. The man jumped on an unassuming rock near the cliffside, and revealed with his stick that there was a hidden cavity in the rocky wall that led them inside a tunnel, illuminated by the sole light of the torch carried by the man. After a few minutes of walking the slowly climbing tunnel, a lightning in the distance shone a light through a (natural?) window... showing the students a glimpse of what was outside: a solitary bridge, as long as a day spent hungry, ran through the entirety of the canyon's width, oscillating slowly in the wind and rain. As quick as the sight came, it went away, as the students were once again plunged in the near total darkness, immersed in the sounds of the raging sea and rain around them and a new, mysterious smell that still felt strangely familiar to the gathered teens, as if half-remembered from a dream or childhood memory. "We're almost there", the giant cook announced, before stopping in front of a steel door barely big enough for him to pass through, with a strange lock resembling the valves of a trumpet instead of a handle. He fiddled with the valves for a short while, and as he pressed them, low notes lit up the silence in the tunnel, until he finally unlocked the door and opened it. "Here. Careful where you step, young hunters", he warned them, "wouldn't want you to fall in the river. Long fall, see" As he moved away from the door, the students could finally see what his frame was obscuring: in the vast gorge through which the World River's estuary ran hung a large number of manmade bridges, mostly of rope and wood, one of steel. Wooden buildings capped with large canvas covers that protected them from the pouring rain, forming little waterfalls in the process, clung to the sides of the canyon, dotted as they were with windows that were clearly carved into the stone, light coming from some of them, implying a network of rooms and habitations carved into the rocky cliffs, decorated with various symbols. In the middle of the river, upstream, stood the statue of a Rathalos, made of steel, wood and canvas, glaring silently at the small settlement clinging to the sides of the gorge with its austere gaze. "Well then, greenhorns... welcome to Rath's Peak Academy. Pick your jaws off the floor and get moving!", their instructor chimed in.

The howling winds, pouring rain and rocking of the ship in that nightmarish weather Didn't seem to bother Zaita one bit as she stood unmoving on the rolling deck with a self-assured smirk on her face. Yep, you could read on her face, this was just like back home. At the start of the voyage, she was worried about the long voyage - she wasn't very used to those, after all. And now, she was almost sorry they were about to make landfall. One last latecomer emerged from below decks, harried on by a crewmember, as their Hunter guide stood with her same sureness in front of the ship's bow, to everyone else a pillar of strength and sureness in the blowing storm, to her a funny memory of that time her uncle Gyera tried to prove he could brave the storm even when drunk off his mind on mushroom liquor, and somehow managed to do it, too, until he comically turned around, accidentally bashed his head against the mast and fell in a basket of crawfish. The ship hit a particularly big wave, and she noticed a tall, lanky girl dressed up like the nomads in Loc Lac City awkwardly stumbling into a lower stance, trying to mimic the Hunter, and she had to hold back a giggle. She looked so silly like that, like she was a child trying to scare the waves. Zaita's attention was drawn back to the Hunter in front of them when she heard her feet beating on the planks. She expected her to give them a speech, but instead she just shouted: " "Prepare to jump!" and turned, ran towards the railing, her steps thundering before she effortlessly leapt past the parapet and landed perfectly on the pier. The boy next to her seemed traumatized by the sight, first repeating the woman's words in disbelief, then muttering "Ah...so this is where it ends for me...", clutching his sword. She wanted to giggle. To her, this was literal child's play, and yet... She gave him a pat on the back, telling him "Ah, come on! It's easy! Follow me!", then, before even waiting for his answer, clutched one of her bone hatchets in her teeth and grabbed him by the hand, dragging him along, following the tall nomad girl in the big jump. "LAST ONE TO JUMP IS A DEAD PRAWN!" she shouted, surprisingly clearly through her clenched teeth. As soon as she got her foot onto the railing, she let Slate's hand go and jumped, flying through the air... before missing the pier by a hair and narrowly managing to get into diving position to avoid an impact. Underwater, her instincts kicked in, letting her easily find her way to the surface in the space of a few seconds, breathing through the nose to not let the hatchet go as soon as she surfaced, and grabbing the pier's pylon and quickly climbing it with the help of her hatchet, and reaching the other two on the pier, smiling radiantly despite her gaffe. "Watch where you're steppin', kid. You do that in the field, you'll be the dead prawn, no second chances!", the Hunter commented, sternly. Zaita's only answer was an embarrassed grin.

Name: Zaita Age: 16 Gender: Female Appearance Biography Personality Weapon: Bone Dual Blades

Hello there, I'm gonna be the cohost!

Already gave my interest on the Discord but now that I'm finally in possession of my laptop again I can post here too.