Night Kaleidoscope: The Enigma World

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Red Revolver

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In the world of Mantua, a magic runs deeper than the blood bonds themselves.

This world, dictated by a primordial aether called mana, cycles the energy within it's landscapes and people, granting them the ability to grow in ways not known to those of the normal eye. Magic exists in the forms of spells and curses, making the impossible all too possible with a little dicipline and knowledge. Within this almost perfect world that houses the most unique of flora and fauna....this world of sapient serpents of the sky that can turn into the forms of humans at will....this world where everything is eternal, such promise of eternity is threatened by the unimaginable.

In a dimension far from Mantua, a years-old experiment went awry. A group of humans trapped within a dimension that spawned whatever they pleased miscalculated when one human introduced it to the concept of "god". The dimension, not knowing the implications of a deity or how it can break the rules of reality and life, glitched out and spawned an aberration of what it thought was the definition of "god." The aberration gained sentience and strength overtime and escaped the dimension. And 20 years later, has come to Mantua....seeking to recreate it's world under it's own image, threatening the already present one.

Tarma Susumu, a native born Euthoran (a planet far away where Mantua colonized), is at the forefront of this unexpected and unexplainable phenomena. Son of an Admiral and a Vampiric Huntress, this boy may as well be called "the one who was born lucky." His mother is a well known huntress and warrior, skilled in the art of swordplay and archery. Due to blood rites, she passed down to Tarma the knowledge of her family and their gift of manipulating blood itself. The vampires of her kind were invincible to sunlight, had unparalleled strength, and their blood held magical properties unique only to those of certain lineages. In Tarma's case, his inherited blood gave him the ability to combust his blood. Therefore it gave him a fighting chance.

Joining the Navy to follow in his father's footsteps, this young man meets a woman from Celaflora...who will change the landscape of his life and his world forever under this time of uncertainty.


Tarma Y. Susumu: A young, confident and sometimes arrogant sailor hailing from a family of humble beginnings. He is the son of the Marshal Admiral of the region and an ex-famed mercenary and master combatant. Eldest of three children, he is the seed of a beautiful union of two worlds, two cultures, and two kinds. Tarma wears the badge of his heritage with pride. (Susumu Tarma Yuichi) [Played by @Red Revolver]

Koran Ari: An enigmatic, funloving woman from the planet Celaflora. Mistress of all nature, she is about to change the worlds of many by her arrival to Mantua. [Played by Penance]
 
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A good fighter is hard to come by.

The ocean's chants of waves hitting against the pointed ends of mana crystals drown out the conversation between two sailors on board a destroyer war ship. Both were tanned and bore simple appearances and faces filled with a mix of worry with a strange sense of irony. Under the beautiful rays of light illuminating the vast sky scrapers to the west and the rain forests of the north, the port in which a nearby space gate stood sat on top of many worries but with many magical and cultural wonders found in various trade cities nearby.

Upon laying their eyes upon the danger filled sea, upon the sight of the uncertain oceans and distorting vista, a mere pair of sailors accustomed to dangers in the maritime world had their concerns. However, a simple cough followed by a loud clacking of shoes hit the boarding deck, cutting off their train of thought.

The two sailors stopped their chat and turned their eyes at the man who had interrupted them. "Oi, koso. What’rya standing there for?" one sailor asked, voice accompanied with an exasperated sigh. His partner crossed his arms and awaited the young man's response.

As if the winds had any sense of scenic timing, they blew against the young man's towering form as an answer and sign of arrival. The style of the young man’s dark brown hair was unwavering against the calls of the wind hitting it. Sea green eyes squinting ever-so slightly, legs slightly apart as his midsection slightly prodded forward while his hand slinged up a bag over his shoulder. The young man responded. "I'm Susumu Tarma. I’ve just been assigned to this ship this morning."

“Oh-ho, a new one!” The other sailor said, stroking his chin. He soon walked down the ramp as a couple of tourists and stood next to the young man who seemed to have been at least in his late teens. The sailor had his age shown with the slight wrinkles under his eyes and forehead which only wrinkled more as he observed every inch of the boy. The young man known as Tarma stood tall with his careful eye observing the sailor’s every move and defensively placed his hand on the handle of a rapier sword he had strapped to his side.

“Eheh, you must be a farmboy if you got that sword there.” The sailor said. Tarma gives a slight uncomfortable grumble. “I’m an Iyoza*, actually.” (*Mantua’s variant of a Japanese) he said, flashing his eyes directly at the sailor. “And you gotta know a little detail about me: I never leave without my sword.”

The sailor paused and stepped back, clearly taken by surprise with Tarma’s frankness and sense of self. The young man, already draped in the typical sailor uniform, didn’t look like a farmboy. Maybe he was wrong? Sighing, the other sailor waves his hand. “Alright, Susumu. Since you’re new here, we’re gonna have you take care of the tourists coming on board. There isn’t much of them today, but make sure they don’t fall down on the ramp, on a rock, or in the damn ocean. You think you could do that?”

Tarma hands the bag over to the sailor next to him and positions himself on the side of the ramp. The nerve of that guy talking to him as if he weren’t capable. He could greet people, right? Something about this guy’s tone irked him, but alas he couldn’t do much. Instead, the young man began tipping his head in greeting to the incoming tourists coming on board.

“You could learn a lot from me and not waste your time talking to me like that, private.” Tarma jokingly but says with a slight hint of an unreadable emotion. This was his first day. "I am the Admiral's son, you know." What sort of work and wonders will he see in the profession he had dreamed of since he was a little boy?


He could not wait as he observed the tourists starting to board the ship.
 
Koran was standing atop a building as she watched people board the ship. There was a bit of a crowd so getting through them was proving troublesome for her. She watched with her hand over her eyes to block out the light "hmm lets see....."

She looked up and saw the mast of the ship and smirked evilly. A vine suddenly grew out of, the roof, wrapped itself around her waist, and threw her like a slingshot.

Koran flew through the air yelling happily until she hit the pole of the mast face first "a-a bit rough on the aim there buddy....." She groaned as she slide all the way down to the main deck

Once she got there koran laid on her back and sighed "and that's how you avoid crowds~"
 
"Right, hi, welcome to Mantua and have fun sailing on a floating metal weapon." Tarma's hand shook and took passports and boarding papers from each tourist. Pearly whites flashed with polite smiles, to which of course was protocol for the every day gentleman: smile. Tourists from the sister planet of Celaflora amassed by the dozen with young children clinging to their mothers and loudly pointing out the massive 12.7cm cannons on the bridge and the communications tower. Tarma took a moment to look behind him to observe the warship's cannons with awe. "So surreal...I can't believe I'm on a war ship just like dad was when he was young....like really young.." he whispers to himself, then turning his head back and looking at the port more closely.

It wasn't much. The port was a concrete-lined beach with various decks for ships to load and unload trading goods coming from space shuttles nearby. The island and the region itself was normally very humid and decorated with a vast amount of colorful birds and vibrant green oceans of rain forest, but during this time of year the distant darkening clouds hinted of a shower. Of course, rain showers in Mantua were incredibly mind blowing. Every once in a while, it would rain mana....ethereal blue energy. Upon hitting the plants of the world, the plants would glow blue and red among other colors as they absorb the energy that may as well be called the energy of life. With the clouds creeping over some volcanic mountains up ahead, Tarma knew another mana storm were to come again. And this was why the tourists, all sporting their hats and complicated gadgets, were there on his ship.

Tarma placed his hand over his eyes in order to see more clearly with the wind and sunlight both hitting against him. Just as the last of the tourists got on, he was about to say something before spotting the figure of a young woman-- or rather hearing her yells of enjoyment, firstly--- and widened his eyes in alert. The young man stiffened and instinctively put his hand on his sword to pull it out, eyes following the girl closely and then squinting almost painfully as she hit the mast. "..tsssss....oooh...." his face contorts slightly, then snaps into attention. The girl took quite a hit! She must be hurt! This was Tarma's chance to making himself look favorable to his new crew on his first day. Tarma runs up the ramp and quickly dashes through the crowds and arrives at Koran's location, barely catching what she last said.


Who was this girl? Tarma's attention mutes out the yells of the masses who witnessed such a stunt to make room for Tarma's observations of the girl. She didn't seem like she was from around here judging by the clothes she had and those wide eyes. Tarma crouches down to her level. "Miss!..Y'don't mean to tell me you launched yourself on here yourself, did you? " he says. Tarma's face shifts into one of not understanding, and partially trying to not laugh. He then shakes his head upon realizing he shouldn't have opened up with a question. "I mean-- what I meant to ask is if you're alright after hitting yourself there."
 
Koran looked up at him smiling "yes no yes." She said as if that made complete sense "I did launch myself here except I didn't because my vine threw me and yes I'm fine! That's nothing.....you should've seen my 13 birthday......" She shudders a bit at the memory "the neighbors still send me therapy bills....."

She quickly jumped up and brushed some dirt off and held out her hand "Koran ari! Permission to come aboard mr....?"
 
Tarma suddenly broke the professional demeanor of any sailor and reached out for a soft handshake, letting off a slight smirk. He prodded further into what Koran meant about the vine, though. "E-Eh? A vine? Did something attack you on your way here, little lady?" Then it clicked. There wasn't any living vines around here....at least as far as he knew of.

She snuck on here.

Tarma felt the presence of another sailor press down on him with authority as he checked on the girl himself. "A problem here, private? Madam?" the sailor inquires, causing Tarma to stiffen up and immediately retract his hand. "No sir, I was just confirming her credentials to board the ship." Tarma clearly lies to the officer with a straight and stern face. The officer gives a content nod "Alrighty then? We'll be setting sail in three minutes. You best get comfortable and you--" he points to Tarma. "--Make sure people aren't complaining." and walks off, letting Tarma relax a little and continue on listening to Koran's explanation.

Therapist? Huh. She seemed a little energetic in a positive way. Not minding the injuries she may have sustained, which impressed Tarma a little on how tolerant to pain she was. Way better than he is, though of course he wouldn't openly admit it. Tarma looks to his sides to make sure no other sailor was observing him, then with a low voice said. "...you're already on board so why not. Today's my first day on the job and if the captain finds out you jumped on here like nothing, I bet even I will get the blunt end of it. So keep that between us, ne?" he sternly says, though showing a slight hint of uncertainty in his sea green eyes.

Once giving her the terms of boardage, he steps back and composes himself into a professional feel, giving a salute to the girl. "Sailor Susumu Tarma, nice to meet you."

A moment of silence, then Tarma follows up with some confusion. "...what do you mean by "my vine", by the way..?"
 
She chuckled at him "what a boss.....anyways vine? Not sure.....maybe you should tell me flower boy~" she said giving a small giggle

Tarma's hair was suddenly in neat little braids with colorful flowers on the ends "I LOVE your hair~"
 
The young girl quickly threw back the question on him. Weird, Tarma thought. The sailors all mobilized as the ship jerked forward slightly without warning, but Tarma did not pay much mind. "Flower...boy?" questioned Tarma without having the faintest clue about the flowers spawning all over his slick hair with particles (or sparkles) of mana escaping their surface momentarily. Since they were crafted by mana itself, or even summoned from another place by using the energy, they glowed faintly among the darkening skies. Then Koran gave out a compliment which stopped Tarma cold in his tracks. "Oh...uh-- Ahem, sure of course my hair looks nice." Tarma puts his hand on the handle of his blade and leans back slightly, smirking with a daring expression. "I've always had the idea of looking presentable in public...of course as a gentleman."

Tarma was rather....proud. He valued self confidence and put appearance (in both a physical sense and making a good impression to strangers) on top of many things. Tarma felt time slow down slightly as he thought back to this morning while he struggled for an hour to find a suitable hairstyle for his first day. Thankfully, though, someone noticed. Although...

"Private Susumu!"

Tarma jerked to attention and saluted. "Hup!" He awaited the order from a slightly different decorated officer. "You're out of uniform."

Quite literally, Tarma looked down on his clothes and patted himself down, giving off a confused look and then turning straight at the officer with a condescending stare. "No, nup. I think I'm in uniform here."

"Your hair, I mean. It's breaking regulation. You aren't supposed to have accessories on it...'specially flowers, kid."

Then Tarma widened his eyes, understanding the trick and looking at Koran with a slight scowl. "I...swear, sir....I am not that kind of man. I follow the rules well." Tarma sternly says.
 
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Koran smiled and patted tarma's hair "don't be modest! You asked me to SPECIFICALLY do that~ doesn't he look lovely??" She said smiling at the officer "the pink roses really match his eyes......"
 
Tarma almost sounds off at the girl but holds his tongue halfway and puts his finger down, then putting them behind his back. The officer tilts his head at the strange sight and narrows his eyes a little. "Look, kiddo...I know you're the Admiral's son and all, but listen here: You're gonna have to follow the rules like everyone else on this ship. Your little status isn't going to help you in the navy."

Reddening at the statement with embarrassment, Tarma sighs. "..Yes sir, It won't happen again." How embarrassing. He could have sworn that the navy would be a serious place where he could really carve out his imprint on the world with harsh back breaking labor and robustness. But the reality of messing up on his first day and letting a girl put him in that situation made him narrow his eyes. The young man mentally chastised his foolishness as he looked away, then spotting the boat beginning to retreat itself from the port.

Without any horns to announce it's departure, the ship jerked forward and finally began pushing against the waves on it's way to the next destination: Taihou Island. Tarma felt the warm sea breeze brush up against his hair right after Koran messed it up, finally calming himself down a little before controlling his enjoyment. "..What was that for? The flowers on my head?" Tarma whispered to Koran. "Didn't you learn a thing or two about messing with strangers? Especially important ones?"

Tarma crosses his arms and bites his lip momentarily. "Not like I didn't notice you doing that, of course. I allowed you to play your little trick there."
 
Koran simply laughed at him as she hung dangerously on the edge of the railing "that's just it!! People, like you, who are up tight can't ever enjoy what's fun in life.....so I try to help them whenever I can~"

A vine slowly climbed up the side of the boat and into her palm where it bloomed into a beautiful purple flower "and sure ya did sailor. that's why you're face went red too huh?" She said with an evil snicker
 
Tarma observed the girl going dangerously over the rails and quickly sped walked over to Koran, placing his hand on the back of her shirt and lifting the girl up and off the railing with little to no effort whatsoever. "Hey-- HEY! Ship protocol clearly states you're forbidden to lean over the rails, little lady!" He growls, then cuts himself off and follows up with another statement "You're no good to us dead"

Strength was an easy asset for Tarma to exploit when needed. Part of that trait was genetics alone, being of the tall and rather bulky type of person who's family has fought demons and monsters for generations. Another part of it was his blood, literally. Each drop of sanguine wonder held special chemicals and mana that activate upon stimuli of pain or in some cases, anxiety. And clearly Tarma was feeling anxious with this unpredictable girl. His eyes dart towards the flower she creates and it clicks. "Oh...you're a plant manipulator...that makes a lot of sense....but-- hell, that doesn't give you an excuse to give a sailor a hard time" he says and looks away. "It's my first day."
 
The exact moment he looked away she had hooked the flower behind his ear "there. That's me saying sorry for earlier.....now may you please put me down?" She said swinging her feet childishly "pweeeaassseee stwong sailor man?"

She made the most innocent puppy dog eyes at him that'd make hard boiled people crack
 
Tarma blinked with the display Koran slipped behind his ear. That purple flower....No, no. He couldn't let his guard down. Though he couldn't help but feel his lips uncontrollably quiver as they want to smile. Tarma had to keep himself professional. The words of his warrior mother echoed in his mind

"When in a difficult situation, son, the way of the tundra warrior is to clear all useless thoughts and noise and listen to their inner fire. Then, with purpose, one can kil--"

and then the voice of advice from his much more relaxed father pushed into his thoughts like a train hitting a car.

"When people try to call you, pick up. Be charming. Be warm. Be a Susumu Man. Charming is in your blood, boy~"

Tarma shook his head once Koran gave him those puppy dog eyes. Those eyes....those pools of--

Sighing, the young sailor puts Koran down and takes a bow. "...Erm, thank you for the flower...and I accept your apology...and accept mine for being so stiff... First day and all...and I do want to do my best if I ever want to climb up the naval ladder." he says with a slight hint of insecurity, to which he quickly covers with a change of topic. "You've got quite the energy. For both our sakes, lets just sit down? Don't want you breaking anything important on this ship for the next hour or two. Taihou Island isn't too far from here." He says, then motioning to a couple of chairs out on the deck. "Everyone's crowding themselves inside the lower bowels, so don't go jumping and leaping on me to avoid crowds-- there's none."
 
Koran squinted at him and shrugged and skipped circles around "that's a nice sword you got there sailor" she said changing the subject "my cousin's uncle's daughter used to have one~" she said taking a seat and tapping her feet cheerfully
 
Tarma blinks and steps back at Koran's odd behavior. Goodness, she was more hyper than anyone he's met. There was a strange feeling of cautiousness within Tarma, but he knew that fighting it would be of no use.

The sailors on the top observation tower observed the oceans ahead and their darkening skies. It was just about hitting 4PM as the warship cut through the seas to their next destination. From afar, the observers can see slight flashes of blue-- mana storms. And with determination in their eyes, they kept observing the far away storm with their binoculars.

Tarma, not really knowing how to process Koran's energy, gives off a low chuckle of pride upon the girl bringing up his sword. "This here...I never go a day without it. It's my pride and joy--"

" It's no ordinary sword for the ordinary man-- I made this myself AND It's called a rapier." Tapping the handle of it, his voice grows lower as he smirks. "I am a swordsman of high skill. Completely above those petty knife wielders and gun slingers. They're nothing to me."
 
Koran chuckled at his sudden pride "oh? So you mean to tell me that big guy right there would NOT wipe the deck with you...?" She said looking past him even though no one was there
 
"Nonsense, I can thrust and stab without any effort--" Tarma spits out. A faint thought in his mind advised him to not let his cockiness get too in his head, but Tarma pushes the thought aside as he slaps the handle of his blade. "Trust me, Ms. Ari. If I wanted to, I would forge a hole in anyone within a blink of an eye."

Suddenly, another passerby sailor calls out. "Quit actin' all tough and get over to the lower deck. We got some surveillance duty to do you douche."

Tarma snaps into attention and then bites his lip. Maybe he was going too far with those claims. "Well, I guess I'll have to demonstrate some other time. You should head down to the lower deck too. Could be dangerous up here if we're on a warship and surrounded by huge cannons." he motions to the weaponry decorating the top deck, his voice then turning towards a care-filled tone. "You best don't get yourself in some situation where nobody could help you."
 
Koran waved him of and laughed a bit "oh yes and what would i do without my big strong sailor to protect me" she said joking and stood up to stretch "welp i guess i'll go down with you. I get the feeling the other crew wont be as fun....."
 
"Don't patronize me!" Tarma says with an annoyed voice, then begins walking towards the hatch leading to the lower deck. "Downplaying potential danger just begs for things to go wrong. I don't...and won't have anyone getting hurt under my watch while I'm in the navy." he says with his eyes shining an unwavering, determined gleam. It was his dream to be great.

Meanwhile on the observation deck, the sailors were keeping their eyes on their sonars and AA radars carefully while some other sailors were observing the brewing mana storm ahead. A decorated female officer stood behind her crew with arms crossed and a slight smile. "What do you see, private?~" she says with some regality but with a hint of a laid back attitude. The sailor responded while putting down his binoculars "Mana showers straight ahead, Jasumi-Sama." The woman known as Jasumi closes her eyes and smiles, running her hand through her soft red hair. The sailor continues with a request. "Shall we intercept?"

Jasumi opens her yellow as the sun eyes and snaps. "If you believe the tourists would love the show, do go ahead~ Crew, set sail north east, full speed ahead. And you, alert the sailors on the lower pavilion holding deck to be on guard for further orders. If the tourists come for beautiful vistas, then they boarded the right ship."

"Yes, Captain Jasumi-Sama!"

Tarma opens the hatch and puts his hand forward as if to signal Koran to go in first. Her comments about him being a "big strong sailor" felt incredibly embarrassing to say the least, however...she was a tourist, and he was a worker. He had to indulge the guest's strange requests and behaviors. However, he did feel a pressure on his chest by those words, but he tosses that aside. "I can understand why you wouldn't want to hang out with the other crew. You like fresh meat* (*referring to the fact that Tarma is newly employed) that takes bait like free bread. I know your game"
 
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