NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 20: Character Dive! 7.0
Hello again folks!
I hope you all have been well and healthy.
I have been hard at work, writing up some juicy bits of story for you all. I hope the wait is worth it in your eyes lol.
I have for you today a batch of Character Dives that are probably a bit past due in all actuality lol, please pardon my lateness, and pardon more the fact that some of these characters are a bit late in their "introductions" I hope you all haven't forgotten that some of these people and beings exist lol.
I won't keep ya'll much longer!
Dive in!
I will see you on the other side!
-------------------------
"Blood. Leaf. Stone. Part 1."
Character: "Great Horn" Groutaxus. (GREW-TAX-US)
Species: Boer Goat.
Class: Alpha Male/ Chieftain.
Nation: Naeri Eastern Mountain range.
Age: 200 HLS.
Weapon: -Giant battering horns that curl around his ears and end in cruel, sharp tips.
-Needle-like bristle fur.
-Booming bray/voice capable of physically pushing objects with an astounding sound wave blast.
Origin:
The world shook and shattered.
Large boulders smashed into the sides of the cliff face all around the huddled and terrified goats. As the two clans of Giants raged on around them, they had no idea, and little care for the kids cowering in a small cave not far from their massive, trampling feet.
Groutaxus was the lone survivor of his family.
His mother and siblings all died in a rock slide that was triggered by the Giants.
Their bones were buried deep below the world's surface in a cavernous cave that had opened at the peak of the battle. Groutaxus pulled himself from the ruble, alone and afraid. He survived, and from that day on, he lived in and around the rugged and isolated mountains. After nearly 100 years, Humans and Humanoids began to slowly appear in and about what he had come to take as his territory.
Many he fought off.
All being drawn in by either the shelter of the cave itself, or more likely the legends told of great riches left buried deep somewhere in the mountain range by the warring Giants.
Many more he killed.
All being crushed to death in an instant by his great and terrible horns, impaled by their nasty points, or simply trampled on with ease by the hulking beast's stone-like hooves.
Although hundreds upon hundreds have either found or stumbled across the lone Boer who would come to be know as "Great Horn", only a handful of hardy Dwarfs have ever survived the encounter to tell the tale. It was in fact those very Dwarfs who would be of Roary's very own clan, who bestowed the terrible nickname upon the monstrous creature.
Being just over 200 years old, Great Horn Groutaxus is both proud and weathered. His pride would in the end be his undoing.
Abilities:
-Rolling Rampart: Groutaxus can roll around at high speeds with assistance from his massive horns. He uses the gained momentum to ram into and crush advisories.
-Heavy Set: Groutaxus can fully ground himself, making himself virtually immovable.
-Thick, bristle-like fur that can both shred skin, and perforate armor.
-Bray sound blast attack.
Stats:
Strength: 9/10.
Stamina: 7.5/10.
Agility: 8.5/10.
Dexterity: 6.5/10.
Intellect: 5.5/10.
Aether: 8.5/10.
Resilience: 8.5/10.
Resistance: High Magic: 6.5/10.
Low Magic: 8/10.
-------------------------
"Blade and Fang. Part 1."
Character: The Beast.
Species: Human/Werebeast.
Class: Knight.
Nation: Zentrum,Theodora.
Age: 32 HLS.
Weapon: Fangs and Claws.
-Breaking howl: sound based ability/attack that both intimidates and dispels some low-level Aether spells.
Origin:
He was a good man.
He had a loving wife.
A sprouting toddler.
A career as a Knight for the city of Theodora.
He loved his life.
He loved his city.
That city did not love him in return…
King Ketrel IV of Theodora could see that both the popularity and need for his grand Theodoran Knighthood was falling.
The times of peace and prosperity were stretching on for to long…
There was no need for such grand and opulent displays of protection and security.
The people began to wonder where their hard earn coin was going.
The people began to question the need to continue to pay the ever-growing taxes…
The desperate King created an answer.
An ongoing and never ending answer.
In the dead of night,
under the light of a blood-red full moon,
King Ketrel and his personal guard signed a pact with a coven of Skin-walker Witches.
The Queen of Beast had sank her fangs into her right palm, puncturing the thick skin. She extended the bleeding digit between herself and the human, palm facing downward so that her blood flowed into the soft dirt at their feet, forming a puddle.
Her voice seemed to roll across the ground and mingle with the land and liquid.
"To keep your Crown of Golden blood…
We shall trample the fields and stir the mud…
As long as not a drop shall fall…
The beasts shall come to haunt your walls…"
The King of Men had drawn his fine, bejeweled dagger, and slowly sliced his right palm, opening the skin nearly to the bone. He extended the bleeding digit between himself and the Witch, palm facing downward so that his blood flowed similarly into the dirt at his feet, slowly mixing with that of the women.
His voice seemed to roll across the ground and mingle with the land and liquid.
"To keep your Skin of Beastly prowess…
We shall strike false, we shan't repress…
As long as not a drop shall fall…
The knighthood shall fulfill the call…"
The King and The Queen bowed low, and spoke in unison:
"One for one.
It shall be done."
The pact had been set.
The agreement struck.
On any night that hosted a full moon the Skin-walkers would stalk the walls of the city and terrorize its inhabitants.
They would chase and howl.
They would scare the folk and destroy property in and about the sprawling city.
They would do so while never spilling a drop of human blood.
The King would have his Knights respond in turn, making sure that the battles seemed as real as was possible, while harmlessly chasing away the intruding monsters.
The Knights were always victorious in "driving away" the Skin-walkers who would only show up in the form of great and mighty wolfs, although they could take the form of any and all animals found naturally within Enverdolmal.
This was this particular covens totem.
When the night was done, and the battles won, the King would send a single rider, baring a single child to be taken away by the Witches.
This brings is full circle to The Beast.
His child had been chose.
He had protested.
He had been silenced and jailed.
He had escaped.
He foolishly went forward to rescue his child.
Somehow he had succeed in his mission.
The Skin-walker Witches had seen him.
They had let him take the child back.
They had let him break the decade-old pact.
They showed no mercy.
His curse was nearly immediate.
Halfway back to the safety of Theodora, with his child held firmly in his muscled and protective arms…
He transformed for the first time of many.
Into The Beast.
Halfway back to the safety of Theodora, with his child clenched tightly in his monstrously sharp and tearing claws…
He drained every drop of blood from the first child, the first human of many.
He would carry that memory for the rest of his days.
HE was no more.
HE became IT
On the middle-most hour of the night, on every full moon, He would transform into The Beast.
A massive and twisted Wolf-Man hybrid with little to no real control of its own animal-like actions.
Ever hungry.
Ever enraged.
The Beast would slowly consume the man with each transformation until the human that once was, was gone in full. At that point, It would mindlessly return to It's creators, and rightful owner, the Skin-walker Witches.
But alas, there was trapped inside of The Beast, a shard of the Man.
Of Him.
He still had time.
A chance.
If only he could find a way to lift the curse…
Or maybe even just pass it along.
It was this or find a way to fall upon a knight's sword.
Fate would have It cross paths with a tiny village on a strange, and nearly moonless night.
Abilities:
-Breaking howl: Can disrupt spell casting, and even dispel some low-level spells completely. This also can paralyze the body momentarily.
-Auto-regenerative powers.
-Strength of a healthy work horse, or approximately 10 top-form men.
-Fades into natural backgrounds when consciously unmoving.
Stats:
Strength: 10/10.
Stamina: 7/10.
Agility: 8/10.
Dexterity: 7.5/10.
Intellect: 8/10.
Aether: 6.5/10.
Resilience: 9/10.
Resistance: High Magic: 6.5/10.
Low Magic: 7.5/10.
-------------------------
"In the name of love. Part 1."
Character: Davien's personal Gatemen Automaton.
Species: Model TC/H-C4482 (Tinker Construct Human-Class Automaton experiment 4482.)
Class: B.C.D.F. (Bant City Defense Force.) Guardian-Class/ Escort-Class.
Nation: Suidelain. Bant.
Age: 23 HLS. Maximum estimated at 100 HLS.
Weapon: Full-body Combat.
-Davien's Gatemen focuses primarily on hand-to-hand combat.
-Can be equipped with, but not limited to: Spears, Lances, Swords, Bows, Crossbows, Shields, Axes, Hammers, Staffs, and an assortment of dual-wielding weapons.
Origin:
Designed and built by Jakon Automatons.
Owned and operated by Davien and Amoura Jakon.
They are both equal part owners and operators of the company.
Davien is the inventor, Amoura the patent holder.
Gatemen are designed to patrol and defend the City of Bant against intrusion from any and all outside sources.
The Automaton were built in the likeness of Davien and Amoura's lost teen-aged son, who was killed in a massive explosion in their first Automaton factory. For this reason, the Gatemen's presence alone is constant source of both pain and comfort for them.
Gatemen are beyond strong, build of locally sourced Suidelain Arcadia wood, treated metals from Klyptorin to the West, and ores mined from the Dwarven town of Onlyndebar. This is all cobbled together with a complex system of tubes, levers, bolts, and gears. The Automaton learn and adapt with time, and their personalities are based on a combination of the section of the city that they are tasked to patrol, and the types of people that they most commonly interact with.
Davien's personal Gatemen is more akin to a butler or servant in personality than a body guard, and thus prefers to go unarmed.
But it is no less just as vigilant and lethal as the common models that are assigned to the city. The Gatemen have been in service for just over 20 years, and Bant has been safer for them.
Sand Orcis, Ogres, and other threats are not quick to approach the gates of this city of science.
Abilities:
-Can leap long distances in order to engage combatants via their AFPS (Aethereal Flair Propulsion System.)
-Strength comparable to 2 horses, or approximately 20 top-form men.
-Programmed to rapidly access and adjust to combat situations and respond in kind to enemy tactics.
-Can project an Anti-Aether field.
Stats:
Strength: 10/10.
Stamina: 8/10.
Agility: 8/10.
Dexterity: 9/10.
Intellect: 8.5/10.
Aether: 8.5/10.
Resilience: 9/10.
Resistance: High Magic: 8/10.
Low Magic: 9.5/10.
-------------------------
"In the name of love. Part 1."
Character: Amoura Jakon.
Species: Human.
Class: Ex-Theodoran Knight. Current B.C.D.F Captain.
Nation: Zentram, Theodora/ Suidelain, Bant.
Age: 42 HLS
Weapon: B.C.D.F. Diamond Short Sword.
-Buckler.
-Dual boot knives.
-Rope and Heavy hook.
Origin:
Amoura was born and raised in the city of Theodora.
She met Davien just before her 20th birthday at the annual World Trade and Inventors Fair. Within a years time she was with child, and taking her as his wife, Davien would journey from Bant more and more often in order to see his family.
12 years later, she would choose to relocate to Bant permanently.
After this move, she would go on to assist Davien in his designing of the first Gatemen Automaton. It was her idea to craft their face plates in the likeness of their first and only child, whom by that point in time, had passed away in a tragic accident that destroyed their first factory. The very same accident and resulting explosion had cost Amoura not only her child, but her career.
The blast had thrown her into a wall lined with shelves.
The impact had had shattered her spine in two places.
The best Clerics and Medical Wizards had put forth their greatest efforts to no avail. Even the Mage Court of Theodora had little luck in fully healing the damages. She could no longer be a Knight, but she could and would go on to serve the city guard in many ways until she had made up her mind to leave the grand city of Theodora for the smaller, yet just as reputable Bant.
Amoura currently serves on the B.C.D.F (Bant City Defense Force.) as a staunch and loyal Captain, having traded in her Theodoran issue Quarts Core Sword for Bant's signature standard issue Diamond Short sword. She and her husband grew stronger and closer with time, and would go on to become very popular and respected among the peoples of both Bant and Theodora in their respective fields
Her life would be changed once again, and for good on that fateful day out on the trails when the band of Sand Orcis attacked.
Abilities:
-Expert Swordsmanship.
-Inspiring Aura: Can boost the confidence and combat prowess of fellow combatants in her immediate proximity by boosting their Aether reserves, and dampening fear.
-Can infuse the blade of her swords blade with Aether in order to sharpen it, dull it, or increase/decrease its weight.
Stats:
Strength: 6.5/10.
Stamina: 7.5/10.
Agility: 7.5/10.
Dexterity: 8.5/10.
Intellect: 7.5/10.
Aether: 7/10.
Resilience: 7/10.
Resistance: High Magic: 6.5/10.
Low Magic: 7.5/10.
-------------------------
Man that was a lot of transferring-from-paper-to-laptop lbvs.
I hope this is enough content to give you a good fill for a bit while I complete the next chapter for y'all!
I have a few more Character Dives to complete so that y'all can be caught up with your favorites, and I really want to help you be drawn in as much as I can. I for one happen to be a HUGE fan of extra content in any and all forms of media that I personally follow, so I know the feels lol.
I also hope that these Dives inspire y'all to go back and re-read some of the first chapters and get refreshed on the tales! Things will only get deeper from here, and the stories will start to blend together as we draw closer and closer to Part 2 Chapter drops!
I will see you all soon over in the world of Enverdolmal!
I hope you are all blessed and happy until we meet again.
As always my loyal readers:
I love you all, safe travels.
Stay Safe.
Stay Healthy.
Stay Vigilant.
-Redd.