Mascot & Magic: Revival

[X] Plan Plot Hook Follow Up
-[X] Recruitment Drive: Go after an Ember of Magic and try to Recruit the person it’s attached to towards the cause. Can select the same option multiple times.
--[X] Southeast Hoseki (4 Embers)
-[X] Patrol: Go out on patrol for Dregs, or even other supernatural problems. Chance to Encounter Dregs. Chance to Encounter ???
--[X] Northwest Hoseki
-[X] Investigation: This city and the island it was on is a little strange. Maybe you should investigate deeper.
--[X] Pawn Shop Robbery: A Pawn Shop in the Northwest of the city was robbed while you were training Kuuhaku and Yoru, and it was likely to be related to the Ring business you were here to handle. But why did they attack this shop, and why take so much stuff?

---

You flew once more over the Southeast section of the city, seeking another champion to add to your growing team. Now that the enemy was making moves that you could further investigate, and you had an idea of where a number of Rings were, you were going to need to build up even more. Your senses quickly picked up the locations of the remaining four Embers in this part of Hoseki city.

A red haired boy was walking down the street, now clad in bandages, with another boy walking close behind him. The red head must have won that fight. A closer look made it clear that he certainly had a fighter’s physique. Perhaps he could have some tips for how his teammates could improve on hand to hand or physical conditioning? The tag-along might make approaching him difficult, you didn’t sense an Ember in them so they were a mundane human, and the candidate might take issue with not being able to protect them.

There was also a girl with white hair and gold eyes that seemed very familiar to you suddenly. A closer look at a safe distance showed the ethereal strings of light and dark linking her to Yoru, and her Ember seemed… different somehow, like it was being used somehow even in its dormant state. The girl was currently making her way to school, specifically South Hoseki Academy. Given the apparent manifestation of the bond, her Ember would likely develop into Light based magic and abilities.

Then there were the two brothers, both of them possessing Embers. You recall that siblings that have Embers usually have abilities that compliment each other or are in some way connected. Though it seems they were going in different directions. While the younger and energetic was heading eastward towards East Hoseki Academy (a classmate of Kuuhaku and Yoru perhaps), while the older sibling was heading up north with the weird tank-treaded motorcycle thing, and he looked like he needed a gallon of coffee. So, you’d have to approach them individually this time if you wanted to recruit one of them.

You’d need to choose carefully, you were planning on doing a patrol after this and in a different part of the city, the one diagonally opposite to this one in fact. So, who should you seek out to recruit?

Choose One

[ ] The Red Haired Fighter: He looks like he knows how to at least brawl and could help train the others, but he does have that extra kid who’s following him around.

[ ] The Golden Eyed Girl: She’s already linked with Yoru and could be a good source of stability for the Darkness user, and probably has a Light based magic.

[ ] The Energetic Little Brother: The kid is heading towards where your other two Champions go to school, so maybe you could rope them into helping recruit the kid.

[ ] The Tired Older Brother: The guy looks like he needs lots of sleep or lots of coffee, but he might know something if he was heading up north, and he clearly has some kind of mechanical know-how if he can make that thing work and fix it.

---

Short one, got a new job recently, three 8 hour workdays.

 

[X] The Golden Eyed Girl: She’s already linked with Yoru and could be a good source of stability for the Darkness user, and probably has a Light based magic.

---

You decided to go after the golden eyed girl that seemed to be connected to Yoru. Besides, having some foothold in the southern academy could only help you potentially find more potential recruits, since it takes from both from southwest and southeast parts of Hoseki.

The girl paused in her travel as you approached, looking around as she appeared to have detected something. “What is this feeling?” She asked, before turning just in time to see you after you had landed. “Oh, hello there.” She said as she knelt down to look you over. “No collar, or vest? Then how are those wings staying on?” She muttered to herself as she examined you, the faint thread of light coiling around the more visible darkness thread flickering brighter for a few precious seconds as her eyes glowed just a little bit. You felt a very, very weak sensory effect wash over your body. Light, just like darkness, had a connection to Perception, revealing while the other obscured. It was honestly fascinating that this bond between her and Yoru was letting her do this, you wondered how it would manifest once her Ember was kindled with Sparks.

The girl with golden eyes blinked as she leaned back, having gotten something from that accidental scan. From the expression she was making, you bet that she couldn’t actually understand what she now knew. It was actually a fairly common problem for sensory powers when used without something to filter the data they received in a way that the brain could actually process. A scan as weak as that, and one that was made on accident, was bound to give her some information that was a bit scrambled and unintelligible.

“Well, seeing as I don’t have an owner, a collar would be rather misleading.” You spoke up, catching her further off guard and ‘staggering’ her mentally. “Greetings, I am Do-Gi. And you are a rather special young lady.”

“My name is Jihi Kagayaki, it’s nice to meet you.” She introduced herself, standing up and giving a small bow along a small gentle smile. It seemed to have been something she did almost completely on instinct. Also, the same name you got from when you tapped the strings that connected her to Yoru, but this time translated into your preferred order for names. Interesting, what was so different between when you said it and when she said it? “Um… what do you mean when you say I’m ‘special?’”

“You, like a few others in this city that I know of, are gifted with an Ember of Magic. A remnant of an age long lost to human history.” You said, wings stretching out. “Thus, you are one of the few who have the potential to become a Champion, and defend your world from the evils and destructive forces that would bring forth calamity and woe to humanity.”

“This sounds like something Fushigi-Chan would say…” Jihi said, and looked back at you. “Um, Do-Gi…San?” She looked at you with an uncertain look as though she couldn’t figure out something. “You mentioned that there were others in the city who had these ‘embers’, does that mean you already have a few Champions?”

“Indeed, I have two.” You said, looking her straight in the eyes. “Kuuhaku Chinmoku and Yoru Fushigi are the Champions whose Embers I have already kindled.”

The moment you mentioned Yoru, Jihi tensed up and her eyes widened by a fraction. “She would jump at the chance…” She muttered to herself after she regained composure, a myriad of emotions having flashed across her face in the few moments of vulnerability. She looked over at you. “You… want me to join too. How dangerous will this be? Why do you need us?” She asked.

“While I can fight on my own, I am only one person. Even my ability to fight is in itself an exception to how things normally go.” You explained. “As for how dangerous… it will certainly not be easy to deal with, especially if we lack numbers. The enemy is already making moves that I have to investigate.”

Jihi seemed to think to herself for a moment. “…You say that you are going to investigate something, the only thing I can think of is that dreadful robbery up north that ruined that poor old man’s pawn shop. But I don’t understand why they would want all that stuff...” She then appeared to drift off in thought, an expression of concern on her face. Eventually, she turned back to you. “If I accept… I would be able to use this magic to help others, right? I don’t just have to fight do I?”

“Hmmmm, normally it’s preferred that the supernatural be kept to a minimum. Best way to keep these kinds of incidents from disrupting human civilization too much.” You said. “However… It's not uncommon for Champions to use their magic to help others in subtle ways. Perhaps I can allow similar leeway as long as you can keep it from being obvious.” Honestly, it wasn’t all that uncommon for a Champion with a particularly high level of altruism to use their powers to help others.

“Then… if I can help… I have to. I can’t just stand aside when someone needs help.” Jihi said, and you really couldn’t believe your luck. You really were getting three Champions in such a short amount of time and with minimum haggling. Hell, you technically haven’t even busted out any real incentives to do so beyond the case with Kuuhaku, which was still a bit of an odd one.

“So, you agree to become a Champion?” You asked her, and when you saw her nod, you flew up and hovered in the air in front of her. “Alright then, I’ll have to make this a quick one since you do have school still. Just relax and… think calm and happy thoughts just in case.”

“Wait, what do you-?”

Time Stands Still

A golden flame with a white core was held in your paws, bright and brilliant like a miniature sun. Pushing your senses, you could see that her starting Magic would be the opposite of Yoru’s. Where hers obscures herself with darkness, Jihi’s reveals an enemy’s weaknesses with light. And her weapon was… an odd one. Where your previous two Champions have a ranged weapon each, Jihi’s was a form of lantern that doubled as a focus for magical energy. This made it a form of Mystic Armament, and added some variety at least.

You gazed deeper to see what you could do, while making note that you had 65 Sparks to work with, five more than the others. You noticed that the extra seemed to have come from the bond that formed between her and Yoru, the same amount you had used to establish it.

Interesting…

---

Starting Magic: Revealing Light. Exposes weak spots on an enemy in the form of points of light.

Spoiler: Magic Upgrades

[ ] Radiant Sight: The user can always see as though they are in a well lit room, even while there are no actual light sources so long as they are not in magical darkness. (5 Sparks)
[ ] Revealing Sight: The user can now see past illusions and disguises, allowing them to see what's really there. Doesn’t work on True Invisibility. Requires Radiant Sight. (10 Sparks)
[ ] Solar Sight: The user can obtain a Bird's Eye view of an area as long as it's in sunlight, with all previous bonuses and limits. Requires Revealing Sight. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Eyes of Truth: The user can now see past Magical Darkness and True Invisibility, along with being able to ‘see’ lies and falsehoods when someone is speaking. (20 Sparks)

[ ] Light Ray: Shoot a single beam of Light at a target, not very powerful but is very accurate and fast. (10 Sparks)
[ ] Piercing Ray: The Light Ray gains the power to pierce through defenses, especially magical ones. Requires Light Ray. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Rapid Ray: The Light Ray can now be fired three times in a single Turn, rather than once. Requires Light Ray. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Sunbeam Barrage: The Light Ray is enhanced with Sunlight, and fired in a six shot burst. Requires Piercing Ray and Rapid Ray. (20 Sparks)

[ ] Light Weaver: The user can manipulate light to form visual illusions, creating images and words that aren’t really there. These illusions are fragile and easy to break, and lack complexity. (10 Sparks)
[ ] Solid Weaver: By using Hard Light, the user’s illusions are given more durability and can to a degree interact with the world as physical entities. Requires Light Weaver. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Intricate Weaver: The user can make larger and more complex illusions, including illusions of people. Requires Light Weaver. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Land of Illusions: The user can cover the battlefield in a complex and solid visual illusion, even creating illusionary enemies. Requires Solid Weaver and Intricate Weaver. (20 Sparks)

[ ] Dispelling Light: Revealing Light can now remove illusions and obscuring effects on an enemy, along with exposing their weak spots. (10 Sparks)
[ ] Blinding Light: Revealing Light can now temporarily blind the enemy it’s used on, lowering their ability to defend and attack. Requires Dispelling Light. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Solar Judgement: The power of the sun beats down upon the battlefield, dispelling all enemy illusions, invisibility, while also blinding and exposing all enemy weak spots. (20 Sparks)

[ ] Radiant Body: The user gains strength and durability while in light, and can move slightly faster as well. (5 Sparks)
[ ] Radiant Mind: Immune to Fear, Charm, and Telepathy. Enhanced Reflexes, and can Detect when someone is under Mind Control. Requires Radiant Body. (10 Sparks)
[ ] Radiant Heart: Immunity to Possession and Resistance to Spiritual Attacks. Can transform into a Light Elemental, gaining light speed movement and can take two actions per turn and a bonus to attack and evasion. They also become immune to non-magical attacks. The transformation lasts for 2 Turns. Requires Radiant Mind. (20 Sparks)

Spoiler: Champion Upgrades

[ ] (Special) One’s Own Sun: A miniature orb of golden light will follow the Champion around while transformed, passively lighting an area around them in sunlight. It can fire off small beams of sunlight at enemies who attack the Champion. Alternatively, it can be consumed to supercharge one ability, and comes back in three turns. (10 Sparks)

[ ] Additional Armaments: Most Champions only have one weapon, but by investing some Sparks, additional weapons can be given. Can be picked up to two times. (5 Sparks).
-[] Melee: A weapon like a sword, a hammer, a spear, or an axe as examples.
-[] Mystic: A weapon meant for channeling the user’s Magic. Staffs, Wands, Talismans, and Emblems all fall under this category.
-[] FIST!: Not technically a weapon, this rather gifts gauntlets or brass knuckles like items that can enhance the unarmed physical blows of the Champion.

[ ] Reinforced Outfit: While certain outfits have armor on them, not all of them tend to be. So, you can invest some Sparks into boosting the defensive abilities of the Champion’s outfit. Can be taken up to three times. (5 Sparks.)

[ ] Enhanced Masquerade: While Champions possess a minor form of perception filter that protects their identities, but by spending some Sparks, you can make it so that even if they saw the Champion transform in front of them, they wouldn’t be able to form a connection unless outright told by the Champion. (10 Sparks.)

[ ] Environmental Protection: You know what would be nice? If you Champion didn’t have to worry about things like radiation, poison gas, or a literal vacuum. With this, those are worries of the past. (10 Sparks.)

[ ] Impact Change!: Sometimes, you need the bad guys to back off while transforming. With an investment of Sparks, you can make so that any Dregs close to the Champions are blasted away when they transform. The Champion will also find their first attack after transformation will be much stronger. (15 Sparks.)

[ ] Emergency Reserve: With some investment, you can make sure that the Champion will have a backup supply of magical energy to call upon once their main source dries up. (15 Sparks)

[ ] Encore Mode: Sometimes, the first showing isn’t enough. Sometimes, you’re spent and the enemy just won’t go down. Sometimes, you need to go beyond your limits. Encore Mode is what most would call a Super Form. For 4 Turns, the Champion can access Encore Mode, boosting their Magic and physical abilities. Once those 4 Turns are up however, the curtain falls and the Champion reverts to Civilian form and can’t transform again for the rest of that Day. (20 Sparks.)

Spoiler: Civilian Upgrades

[ ] (Special) Dawn and Dusk: Where there is day, there is night, the cycle of the sun and moon. And even in the darkest night there is light… (5 Sparks)

[ ] Favor of Chance: Games of chance, the roll of a dice, the luck of finding some cash on the sidewalk, or meeting someone who could be important in the future. By investing some Sparks, the Champion is blessed with an odd sort of good luck. (5 Sparks.)

[ ] Favor of Fate: Destiny seems to have taken a liking to the Champion, or maybe it’s the Sparks you’ve used to bribe the cosmos. Either way, you never have to worry about accidents or bad luck inconveniencing your Champion while they work with you. (10 Sparks.)

[ ] Ignition of Friendship: A bit of an odd one, the Champion seems to attract those who could become genuine good friends with them. They’ll come to them instead of just leaving them alone, in the vein of an extrovert basically adopting an introvert if the Champion isn’t the most social person. The Champion still needs to work to maintain those friendships, but it does handle the initial meeting. (15 Sparks.)

[ ] (Special) Jolly Cooperation!: Whenever the Champion works alongside those they consider friends, both the Champion and friend will benefit from a bonus towards whatever they are working together on. Increases in potency the more friends they work with. Requires Ignition of Friendship. (10 Sparks)

[ ] Blessing of Wealth: Well, you were sure that this might be technically illegal, but hey it’s all for the sake of saving the world. The Champion will wake up each day with the equivalent of $100 USD in the local currency, stored in a convenient pocket space. (15 Sparks.)

[ ] Blessing of Sorcery: Normally, a Champion can only access their Magic when transformed, but this will let them use their Core Magic while in Civilian form. (20 Sparks.)

 

[X] Plan: Lightshaper
-[X] Light Ray
-[X] Light Weaver
-[X] Solid Weaver
-[X] Radiant Body
-[X] Radiant Mind
-[X] Dawn and Dusk
-[X] One's Own Sun

---

You pushed the Sparks into the Ember and kindled it into a proper flame. Golden and white flames covered Jihi as the transformation took shape. When the flames faded, the girl was then clad in an elaborate outfit that resembled priestly robes colored ivory with gold trims and solar imagery. In her hands was a silver and gold lantern that shone with a brilliant but calm light that seemed to illuminate the area in ways that made things seem clearer. A miniature sun floats gently over her right shoulder. Finally, you noticed that the formerly faint thread of light that represented her half of the bond with Yoru was now bolder and more solid. The light and dark threads dance around each other and twist together, and you see a bit of each girl’s respective magic move across the bond.

“What an incredible feeling…” Jihi said as she lifted the lantern and looked it over. “A lantern? How do I use this?” She asked before blinking and making a face of realization as though the information popped into her mind. “I can shoot a laser?”

“That is one of your powers. You can also form solid visual illusions. Nothing particularly complex, but you could make a fake wall and have it feel like one too.” You explained, while you were curious just what the bond would do now that both ends had their Magic awakened and had Sparks fed into it.

“Illusions, I wasn’t expecting that. I wonder what Fushigi-Chan can do-“ Jihi stopped suddenly as her eyes suddenly had a distant look to them, and you saw the light and dark threads of the bond pulse. Curious and somewhat concerned, you reached out to the link and gently tap-

‘Kagayaki-Chan, what do you mean Do-Gi made you a magical girl!?’

‘Well, I don’t think he actually used the words magical girl, but he did give me magic… or, unlocked what I already had?’

‘I can’t believe this!’

‘Are you upset, Fushigi-Chan?’

‘Yes? No? I don’t know, I wasn’t expecting him to do this the day after he made me a Champion!’

‘Well, is it really so bad? This way, I can help more people in ways I never could before. I’m sure if we work together then everything will work out.’

‘Kagayaki-Chan… I guess it’s not so bad… Wait, what’s this feeling? Who’s there!?’

-it. Oof, you now had an ache in your head after you were forcibly ejected from the telepathic meeting. Jihi blinked as she came back to the physical world. “Oh, that was unexpected.” She said, looking somewhat troubled.

“Indeed, I apologize for the intrusion but I was concerned when you suddenly went silent and had a thousand yard stare.” You explained. Jihi nodded, accepting your apology rather quickly.

“I understand.” She then looked at herself and had a panicked look. “How do I turn back, I’m going to be late!”

“‘Showtime, Cut’ is the de-transformation phrase.” You answered her question, and she let out a sigh of relief when it worked. “I’ll have Kuhaku pick you up through a portal when the time comes to patrol. Have a good day at school.”

“Thank you, I’ll be ready! I look forward to working with you and the others.” She said, giving you a small bow and walking off to school. You took off to the sky soon after, flying off as you reviewed what else you had learned from your brief moment interacting with the link.

From what you could tell, beyond the telepathic link, there were also some other benefits from the bond. Yoru and Jihi both got a boost when they were near each other, and certain limits to their powers were lifted. Yoru could hide even in a well lit room and Jihi could get a physical boost even in a pitch black Darkness as an example for powers both of them had access to. You were sure there was something else, but it felt locked and you weren’t able to see what it was.

Ability Revealed

A Shadow’s Light: Yoru has a telepathic link with Jihi, and gets a boost to Magic when near Jihi. Certain limits are lifted. ???

Dawn and Dusk: Jihi has a telepathic link with Yoru, and gets a boost to Magic when near Yoru. Certain limits are lifted. ???

---

When the time came, you watched as a portal opened up and out of it came all three of your Champions in their transformed states. Yoru was gushing over Jihi’s outfit. “..Just saying, give you some healing powers and you’d be just that girl from my favorite game!”

“Brought them.” Kuuhaku said as she walked up to you. Her mask was on and she had a small baton made of Void Matter in one hand. “Where are we going?”

“We’ll be patrolling Northwest Hoseki, around where the robbery occurred. I plan on investigating the scene after the patrol to see what clues I could find.” You said, explaining your plan to the girls.

“I’ve never been up there before, so this is a new place for me.” Yoru said, looking around. “Huh, it’s kind of funny. I can obscure stuff and Kagayaki-Chan can make illusions, so we can probably do some real sneaky stuff.”

“I could probably cover us all in an illusion to hide us, and if we stay close to Fushigi-Chan, we could probably move without drawing any attention.” Jihi said. “Though, I’m not sure how much ground we could cover…”

“I guess we could split up, but we could end up without backup if we do run into anything.” Yoru said, looking unsure. “And while me and Chinmoku-Chan have some training, It seems risky…”

“What do you think?” Kuuhaku asked you, and you thought about it. With the four of you split up, and especially with your ability to fly, you could cover a lot of ground. But if you were all on your own, then you might leave yourselves vulnerable to ambushes. Plus, you might draw attention to yourselves if you’re not careful. If you're together, Yoru and Jihi could use their powers to hide your group and be together if you run into something. But you probably won't cover as much ground as you could. You could also split into two groups of two.

What do you suggest?

---

[ ] Split Up Gang!: You agree with splitting up to cover more ground, even if it was risky.
[ ] Safety in Numbers: You suggest they all stick together so that your group would be safer, even if it limits how far you can go.
[ ] Buddy System: The middle ground, suggesting that you split into two pairs to cover more ground.
-[ ] 1st Pair
—[] Write-In
-[] 2nd Pair
—[] Write-In

 

[X] Safety in Numbers: You suggest they all stick together so that your group would be safer, even if it limits how far you can go.

---

“Let’s all stick together for now, while I have an idea for how we could cover more ground, I think it would be best for us to go as a single unit on our first real patrol.” You said, to which the three girls nodded at your words.

“Alright, better to play it safe for now I guess, and it is only the four of us, so our group isn’t that big.” Yoru said, before she activated her shrouded while Jihi weaved the light around the group, together theMagic of Light and Darkness completely obscured the four of you from the sight and made your presence almost undetectable by your reasoning. “Huh, this feels… kind of funky.”

“There is something odd about this.” Jihi said as you all watched the dancing of ethereal light and shadow around you from the inside of the cloak that covered the group. It was somewhat mesmerizing actually. Thankfully, you could still see out of the cloak, so you won’t accidentally run into someone.

“Let’s move.” Kuuhaku said bluntly as she started to go forward, yourself floating next to her while the light and dark duo followed close behind and maintained the cloak. The four of you would walk around, cutting through the passages and alleyways between buildings when you could, navigating the paths of the northwestern part of the city. While you could possibly use this chance to do a passive scan of this section of Hoseki, you had other things to worry about as your thoughts drifted to the report of the items stolen from the pawn shop. The objects taken from the pawn shop could easily be turned into Dreg Golems. The ones that worried you the most would be that deck of tarot cards and the grandfather clock. Dreg Golems did gain abilities that were related to what they possessed, and the kind of abilities those two items could grant would be… problematic if you had to face them. Tarot cards were used in a form of divination to read the future, while you didn’t need to even guess at what kind of powers a grandfather clock could give. Thankfully, even if Dreg Golems are more intelligent compared to Dreg Beasts, they aren’t necessarily smart or clever. You and the girls would just need to-

Spoiler: Patrol Encounter?

1d100=10

An explosion going off on a nearby street shatters your train of thought as the sounds of people screaming fills the air. “Move!” You shouted as you took to the sky. You arrived first to see something that confirmed one of your fears. And yet when you reached out with your senses, you felt your mind screech to a halt as you felt the flickering of a familiar kind of flame.

Spoiler: ERROR

The entity stood next to the burning wreck of a car that had been thrown into a storefront, giggling to itself while a scythe floated over next to it, a deck of cards set into the head of the scythe with what looked like three slots for cards on the blade itself. Standing next to them was a humanoid being resembling a knight with their armor covered in mirrors, even wielding a large one as a shield. The fury of Aetherius burned at the sight of the mirror knight as your senses told you that they were a Dreg Golem. But the one that looked like some evil jester… you felt an Ember in them.

“Whoa!” You heard Yoru exclaimed as she and the other girls arrived at the scene. “What the heck happened here!?” You barely notice the fact that they were no longer concealed, and so failed to respond in time before the jester turned to see your Champions and started to giggle louder and louder, turning into a deranged and cacophonous laughter that could only be made by something inhuman. The jester took a step towards the girls who prepared themselves for battle, but the Mirror Dreg Golem stepped in front of the jester and shook its head at it. The jester stared at the Dreg Golem for a moment before they casually backhanded it into a building. Giggling all the while.

“Uh, Do-Gi? Do we have a plan here?” Yoru asked, as all of you suddenly realized this was not a foe you could take lightly. Jihi was trembling while Kuuhaku pointed her gun at the jester and pulled a knife made of Void Matter from her vault.

You know, given the situation, you should probably…

[ ] FLIGHT! (Flee through a Void Door back to the Southeast section, will auto-cancel Investigation Action)
[ ] FIGHT! (Start Boss Battle: The Fallen Fool)
-[] Plan of Attack (Write-In)
[ ] Write-In?