Kusunoki
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- Yamamoto Tsunetomo, The Hagakure.
Bushido |
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♦ Vampire' Fame- "Father Cross has been hunting vampires for almost 50 years. Solo. Sometimes entire Coteries at once. It has been rumored he has retired from the work, but he still is seen and heard roaming the streets at night keeping the peace." ♦ Master- "Are you a Mage? If you haven't been living under a rock, and have any ears in the community, you've heard about the old man and St. Benedicts Shelter. Anyone that wants tutelage just needs to ask it of Cross." ♦ St. Benedicts Shelter- "Have you seen the place? Oh man, free private rooms, free food, free everything! All you have to do is lawn work, or kitchen work, and have a meeting with the old man!"
♦ Horatio "We are the same under different banners, I can work with ye." ♦ Gwydion "The best student I've had. A good man.." ♦ Eloise "I'm glad she is around. Does a good job with that chantry." ♦ Arec "Where have I seen those hands before? Good man, with a good heart. I'm glad to have him around." ♦ Cherazart "Too soft for your own good. I can't always be there to watch over ye." The Fallen ♦ Andrea "Well, that was real stupid o' ye." ♦ Ven "Trust me. It is better this way." ♦ Garan "Ye knew better then to test me." ♦ Marion "It was only a matter of time." ♦ Zuri "Spat on the second chance. No thirds."
This old wizard has been a beacon of hope to the helpless and a constant source of fear to the dishonorable. He has become the easiest reference to point to when schooling neonates on the Silence of Blood. A friend to me when I had none and an example of honor when I wanted to burn it all down. Allah guides his path. The peace between our people will endure. --Faqirah "Father... You are the light. The greatest of lights. In you even I feel the Divine at work. Through you I can once more feel his love and forgiveness. Forgiveness... Such a powerful word for one such as I. You are a treasure and you must survive at all costs. You must continue to be what you are and no sacrifice is too great. I will lay down my life and even my eternal soul for you. You represent something far greater than I will ever be. You represent hope for this world. You must stop pushing others away. You need to bring others into your fold. Teach them your ways. Teach them the beauty of the God that lives within Man. Maybe then Light can truly return to Darkness." -Unnamed Fallen Angel Leila isn't budging this time. "Of -course- I wasn't joking. One of these days, you're going to be out fighting vampires, and your pants are going to just disintegrate around you, and then you're going to feel silly, slaying vampires with no pants on." Cross stared at her, "Lass, I've killed more o' them then I care to count in varying states o' naked, many times without pants, or with pants around my ankles. It ain't a fault o' the pants, they do what they can. And they are tied on damn good. I don't need new pants.' Leila "An old man with one eye reminds me of an old Lion that ruled a Super Pride; he has wisdom of years, the strength and power of those years but cannot risk one misstep. Loyal, to a fault." - August "As for that other point, I can't rightly say as it bothers me one way or another. I refer to him as that out of respect for his age and his greater knowledge. What the Church would call him or a member of any other fringe faith matters very little to me." - Gwydion Leila smiles. "If you ever want to learn to use a light sword so it'll look cool, I'd be happy to teach you want I know. Father Cross is better than I am, though. By a lot." She shifts her gaze to the sleeping old man. "... I've always had a problem with people saying that he's just starting out as a willworker, that he's brand new to it. He's not. He did... what's it called? The other kind of magic. Static magic? -- He did it for decades." She looks back at Horace. "Someone who's just starting out is diving in the ocean, barely knowing how to swim and hoping they don't get eaten. Father Cross has been swimming in a vast, dark, deep lake that's full of monsters for something like half a century. When he dives into the ocean, a lot of those skills have got to transfer over. Not just the lore or the experience. The mental discipline." Leila "Oh no. Look what I've done. There are 144 episodes of this show. If you watch even one more, you will be hopelessly hooked forever and you'll be doing the sing along and before you know it, you'll be watching Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and crushing on Felicia Day. It will TOTALLY happen." Typhanie Leila lays beside him on the soft grass, gazing up through the clear night at the stars overhead. "... You make it special. You made it so green and vibrant. And safe. And then you took several blocks in the worst part of town and made them green, and vibrant, and safe, too. I feel like... Like it flows from you, like a spring. Like in a few years, this whole run down neighborhood will be one giant park. And rich children and poor children will all be able to play there together." The warm breeze that blows through the May night dries the tears from her face. "While the shapeshifters hide in the forest and talk about holding the line, you walked into one of the bleakest places in the city, and you made the world right again." Leila
Cross developed into a Mage mid-July of 2012, and has since been adjusting to his role. I have never played a mage before, and much of the learning curves for Cross ICly were learning curves for me as well, which made those scenes extra special to play out. He needed to learn that he was no longer a big fish in a small pond, but was now a big fish in an ocean of enemies, many of them only perceived NPC threats. Paradox, Umbral spirits, and the ever lurking presence of the technocracy coming after any large and vulgar displays of magic. And the final major alteration to the perceived plan of Cross was the introduction of a wraith named Leila. Cross, for the first few scenes involving Leila, actually had no clue she was even there. It was when another character ICly brought it up to me that I OOCly even realized I was being 'haunted'. A chance encounter between two characters, and indeed two players, that had never planned their alts to be together has led to one of the best pair-ups I've ever had the pleasure of playing with. It has shaped Cross far from where I expected him to be, and given him a depth that I rarely get to enjoy in my PCs.
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