Rook Kingu

Sailormoon Genesis

Part I: General Information

· Name: Vince

· Email address: vincent.d.mcdonald@verizon.net

Part II: Character Information

· Character Name: Arden Lupus of Clan Sylvere

o Arden - comes from Latin for "great forest"

o Lupus - Latin for "wolf"

o Sylvere - Latin for "forester"

· Character Position: Hunter and tracker. Also the Soldier of Hunting and Woodsmanship, Rook Kingu. (Oh, I wanna be an Earthbound ranger....) ^.^;

· Age: 15

· Birthdate: June 26th

· Profile:

§ Zodiac Sign: Cancer

o From http://www.mooncatsastrology.com/ - Cancer is associated with the element of water and is ruled by the moon.

o According to http://www.parascience.org/Part3.htm - "It is a fact that the early Sumerians knew of the solar system. They knew that the solar system was made up of the Sun -a sphere- (Apsu) at its center and was circled by spherical celestial bodies. They knew of … the Moon (Kingu)…", and many sources quote that the mythological Kingu gave his forces "fire-quenching breath."

o The moon is symbolic of the hunter in other cultures (Diana - Roman and Artemis - Greek, for example). No, we're not going for a "Rook Moon" theme! o.o; It's tough to separate the concept of the moon from the idea of a hunter.

§ Physical Details:

o General Description:

Arden is a wiry young man, lean from day-to-day living and hunting. There's definitely strength in his frame, but his build emphasizes reactions and speed more strongly. His face is ovular, with a typical sized nose. His hair is light brown, with distinct areas of darker brown (picture leaves on the forest floor on a sunny day, partly masked by the shadow cast by the leaves and branches of the trees), which he wears bound with leather in a short ponytail in the back, scattered bangs in the front, and cut short most everywhere else. His eyes are brown, typically shaped for an anime male - i.e., almondish-shaped and not huge. His hands are quite rough, a result of their constant use. He walks with confidence and grace, capable of crossing the forest floor while making little or no noise or climbing the branches of a tree.

o Typical Clothing:

Daily wear for Arden isn't much different from that of the rest of the Sylvere, with the addition of hunting gear. He wears a deerskin tunic, laced down to the middle of his chest and up to his collarbone. The sleeves of the tunic are slit up to the elbow, held closed with laces in the winter and rolled up and tied to the shoulder in the summer. His pants and boots are likewise made of deerskin. A rope belt holds his pants in place, in addition to providing somewhere to hang his dagger, something he is only rarely without and couple pouches. The smallest of these pouches contains his most personal possessions. He also wears a thin rope necklace, from which hangs some small bones and teeth from forest creatures. In colder weather, he adds a cloak of salt-and-pepper wolf fur and leggings of a similar nature.

When armed for hunting, Arden also hangs a quiver of a dozen stone-tipped arrows from his belt, carrying his shortbow at his side. A larger quiver is slung across his back, this one carrying three shortspears.

§ Bloodtype: A

o Relevant traits from http://www2.justnet.ne.jp/~shozo_owada/index-e.htm: Considerate about everything, slow to trust people, observe social rules and customers, regard social order as important, restrain action and expression, apt to think conventionally, perfectionist (about himself only), endure continuous effort, weak at maintaining the status quo (not for lack of trying!), emotional wounds heal slowly, strong desire for transformation (boy, will he get more than he bargained for!), seeks one's raison d'etre, makes a distinction between right and wrong, attentive to one's own security. Only a few things do not match: Pessimistic about the future (he falls somewhere in between, leaning toward the optimistic side of "realist"), tries to be optimistic about the past (he doesn't usually think about the past much), weak at keeping continuous and intensive interest (he's dedicated once he starts a task, even if he isn't above asking for help).

§ Gemstone: Moonstone

o From http://www.dreamers-world.com/crystals.html - "Promotes intuition / feeling - brings flashes of insight. Creativity, self-expression - calm - diplomacy. Is used for protection in travel, for good fortune." Also for the obvious link to the moon.

§ Likes:

o Responsibility: Some people shirk away from duty, particularly when others get the idea that someone should be raised to be ready for a position of strong responsibility. For Arden, it gives him a concrete purpose. Even if he isn't "in charge," he treats himself as if he is - the group's failures are his own, and their well-being is his responsibility. He doesn't lord it over others, though - he can take instructions from someone else, but if there's no compelling reason otherwise (specific directions to not do so, being in the middle of a heated battle, and so forth), he will tell someone if a plan or order is a bad idea.

o Animals: Whether predator, prey, or simply one of nature's denizens, Arden likes animals. Go figure, between his sphere of influence and his clan's tendency to emulate the forest's inhabitants. Of course, this doesn't impede his abilities as a hunter - predators don't feel remorse for their prey, after all - and he never forgets to show proper gratitude for his quarry's "sacrifice."

o Parties: Arden may be quiet fairly often, but once one of the seasonal celebrations held by the Sylvere start, it's like he becomes someone else entirely. While he doesn't open up his emotions any more than usual, he does become significantly more outgoing, forward, and daring. Ladies beware, particularly when the drink starts flowing. o.o

§ Dislikes:

o Abuse of nature (and waste): Do not, repeat, do not simply abuse nature near Arden. It will get you one pissed off, uber-protective, silver-eyed lunatic after your head (see Powers/Attacks for explanation). Killing animals or damaging natural areas for "no reason" (sport, to clear an area for reasons other than setting up a home) are a surefire way to flip Arden's switch. As a corollary, typical of most of his clan, he dislikes creating waste. Nearly anything that comes from nature should either be used in some way, given to someone else who can use it, or returned to nature, whenever at all possible.

o Hand-to-hand combat: With the exception of wrestling, and then only for fun or sport, Arden does not like to mix it up when up-close-and-personal. Speaking in practical terms, the animals of the forest have too much of a natural advantage over a human when getting that close. Of course, this dislike goes right out the window under Lunatic Madness (see Powers/Attacks), since at that point it becomes his only effective method of combat.

§ Hobbies:

o Nature-watching: When his skills as a hunter are not needed, and there's nothing else useful for him to do, he'll sometimes head out away from the camp, hide in an ambush-worthy position, and simply watch nature do its thing all around him. Occasionally, if he's stressed out, he'll also do this to relax. His favorite time to do this is at night during the full moon.

o Games of strategy: Since he normally has a clear head on his shoulders (until someone threatens something dear to him), he's got a natural knack in strategy games, either "board" games or "live action" ones. In team games he's usually the captain of whatever team he's on, particularly for "hide and seek" and "capture the feather." (This came to mind primarily from a twisting of his senshi name - "Rook King(u)" => castling => chess. Please don't hurt me. n.n;;;)

o Picking on his sister: This is somewhat of a mutual "hobby," with a bit of a rivalry between Arden and Juniper as to who can get on the other's nerves more in the least amount of time. Depending on who he ends up with, this tendency might get shifted toward one of his companions, or it might simply go away.

§ Personality:

From http://www.mooncatsastrology.com/: "Cancer is the protective, caretaking force of the Zodiac. He soothes and consoles, understands and nurtures. Whatever lies within his territory is kindly and generously protected, with a fierce tenacity......children, home, friends, allies and possessions. Anyone who disturbs the close circle of Cancer's home will get pinched!

"The Cancer is a sensitive soul whose protective nature extends to his own carefully guarded feelings. Cancer needs to feel strong, because he is responsible for so much and so many. Any assault on his personal strength, character or integrity is considered a serious threat, and he may hide, or turn and fight with bitter words.

"Because the Cancer has a very deep intuition into the feelings and motives of others, he may detect hostility that is not readily apparent to others, or that is intentionally hidden. You may see or hear him strike out at a seemingly innocent person, but Cancer knows very well what lies beneath the surface.

"Cancer is sometimes called touchy and sensitive. There is much behind this sensitivity. Ruled by water, he is an imaginative, creative, flowing and maternal person. Cancer enjoys all things related with caring for others - cooking, tending to young ones, decorating, teaching, healing, and gathering food. The Ocean has a special calling to Cancer, and his moods change with the phases of the Moon. Cancer can be gruff and crabby, or a silly lunatic, but most importantly, he can always be counted on to love unconditionally and to care for his loved ones with all his heart."

OK, so Arden isn't as creative or imaginative as most Cancers, nor is he at all skilled at cooking or decorating (his bloodtype influences him more in these aspects). ^.^ Much of the rest of this fits him well, almost to a T. First and foremost, do *not* mess with someone in his care, or there will be hell to pay - this extends to his blood family, his clan, and any friends outside of this that he will eventually make. Even when he's not the recognized leader, he still holds himself responsible for the safety of those around him, a result of the teaching he's had to become the representative of his family or eventually a chief. He keeps his feelings to himself most of the time, but with those whom he's learned to trust, he shows a caring, fun-loving, sometimes raucous young man - though he shows even that more through his actions than his words. As long as his gut feeling tells him that someone is trustworthy, he gives that person the benefit of the doubt, but it can take time before he will open up. He does have his pride, too - insults to his ability to hunt or to lead can cause him to turn cold to trusted companions temporarily, or to lash out at an enemy if he doesn't immediately realize that he's being baited.

In the years since the harsh winters stopped, the Atlanteans have passed to an almost mythical place in the mind amongst the Sylvere. It's been so long since anyone in the clan has (knowingly) seen an Atlantean that they aren't even sure that the Sky-Devils still exist. Many of the younger folk, Arden included, believe the Atlanteans to be simply a tale that the old folks use to frighten people - besides, as a teenager, he knows more than they do, right? ^.^;;; How he reacts will depend greatly upon the Atlantean in question he meets, and under what circumstances, as that individual will greatly shape his expectations about the entirety of the race. Of course, he'll still be able to judge other individuals as individuals, whether for good or ill, once he has some time to interact with them.

§ History:

o Clan History:

Similar to Clan Yggdrasil (of Petal / Sailortammuz), other people also took to the forests when the long winters started. Their focus became not the trees themselves, but rather the comparatively bountiful game that was found within. When the winter abated, and Nature again shared its bounty with the Earthbound, the forests and their inhabitants flourished. Though the forest originally consisted of what few evergreens could survive the harsh winter, it soon became home to a wide variety of deciduous and coniferous trees. This encouraged the growth of many other types of animals, from chipmunks up through deer, that helped to provide for the clan's needs. Of course, where there's prey, there are predators, and the clansfolk soon learned how to protect their catches from foxes, wolves, and raptors (the birds - this ain't Jurassic Park!). They learned more than how to protect themselves from the predators, though, but also they learned from them, adopting many of their hunting tactics for their own use, including keeping somewhat mobile year-to-year within the forest to avoid over-depleting the prey animals in the area.

Over time, these people became known as Clan Sylvere. They maintain the semi-nomadic traditions of their predecessors, living in tents or, for those of influence, wooden huts that can be relatively easily disassembled and transported. In general, the clan changes locations once a year, or more often if the need arises as determined by the leaders.

o Clan Culture:

The leadership of clan Sylvere consists of five people: the chief, who holds the last word in most matters when necessary; the most experienced druid in the clan; and a representative from each of the three primary families: Lupus, Ursinus (from Latin "ursus" - bear), and Aquila (Latin - eagle). The chief is selected by the druid amongst a number of candidates from the entire clan, though most tend to come from these three families, based on individual skill and leadership ability, though he can be forced to make another choice if the three family representatives all say so. For decisions that allow time for discussion, decisions are made by vote amongst the three family representatives, with the druid advising and the chief breaking any ties. If a decision needs to be made *now*, the chief makes it and sorts the mess out afterwards. A chief loses his position either upon death, voluntary retirement, or unanimous consent of the other four elders. So far, all the chiefs and family representatives have been men, although there is no requirement barring women from holding the position. A number of the elder druids have been women, however. Further, more chiefs have been from the Lupus family than from the others, and the first chief was a Lupus.

Speaking of the druids: they tend toward the spiritual matters for the clan. There are usually anywhere between two and five druids amongst the clan at any one time. The choice to become one of the clan's druids is usually made in one's early teens, requiring the tutelage of one of the current druids. The Sylvere's faith tends toward animism - they believe that everything has a spirit, as well as a purpose. Prey exists to be hunted, and is to be thanked when its sacrifice allows the hunter and his kinsmen to continue. Predators exist to both teach the wise and harm the unwary. Hardships exist to strengthen the people in body and spirit. The druids delve into the more mystical side of this, in a manner - they look for signs amongst stars, animals, and plants in hope to foretell future events, and more practically, they advise the rest of the clan in many matters. Druids are literate, using symbolic pictographs for their language - they use this primarily to keep family records, since history is generally passed by stories. Both men and women can become druids, and they tend to be equally divided between the genders. Just because they're priest-types doesn't mean that they don't fulfill other duties as well - many druids are also hunters, gatherers, or craftsfolk just like the rest of the clan.

Bathing is actually a fairly common thing, particularly among the hunters. It's tough enough to sneak up on a deer without it smelling you coming, after all. Whenever possible, the clan always sets up within a few minutes of a source of water large enough to bathe in, whether a river, stream, or pool. Most individuals bathe either daily or once every few days. The Sylvere know how to make a primitive version of unscented soap, which they use only when absolutely necessary.

Marriage is a fairly simple thing amongst the Sylvere. Any couple can call themselves a family simply by living together and sharing familial duties. Actual marriage is simply a formalizing of this arrangement, and can be disbanded by agreement of the partners at any time. Despite the fact that the leadership of the clan tends to be male-dominated, both the family name and children go with the female parent (or her most recent partner in marriage, if she's no longer alive), and her current husband or partner acts as the children's father. Why? With marital fidelity an almost foreign concept (they don't understand the idea of "adultery" at all), it's much easier to track a child's lineage through his mother rather than through his father - particularly when it's not precisely clear who the biological father is. >.>; This "looseness" also lends the Sylvere to think little of nudity - while they don't go about the forest or their camp nekkid, neither do most bat an eyelash solely based on someone's state of undress. This could certainly lead to "misunderstandings" with outsiders, to say the least, though it makes it more convenient when a group of Sylvere ladies and a group of Sylvere men go to the same pool to bathe, which doesn't cause nearly the fuss it might in other cultures. And no, ecchi, they still take more intimate affairs in private.

Family names are all based off animals of the forest - the most powerful families have names representing predators or other powerful animals. The families are also large and diversified enough that a couple with the same last name would not be "keeping it in the family" overly close - something that the druids make sure is avoided using their records. A "divorced" man usually resumes using his previous family name.

Hunter, tracker, gatherer, tanner, weaver, herbalist, bowyer/fletcher, weaponsmith, and druid make up the major "careers" among the clanmembers. Most members perform at least one of these duties as their primary position, but can also perform a few of the others to a lesser degree of skill. While either gender can and does perform any of these duties, in general the menfolk do tend toward the more "active" and "martial" roles, while the womenfolk tend toward the more "sedentary" roles - this is just a tendency and not a rule, however. Those who have become too old to continue activity are cared for by the younger members of the clan, valued for their wisdom and experience. Those who are too old or infirm to continue with the clan at all, particularly when the clan migrates to a new location in the forest, usually leave the clan after a simple, solemn ceremony, to face their death amongst the woods which gave them life. The druids also perform a similar ceremony for those who die before they can leave themselves to the woods, and the body is left away from the clan's current location, returning it to the forest (while keeping predators away).

The clan, both as individuals and as a whole, prides itself on self-sufficiency. This is not to say that they avoid others' help, but everyone tries to pull their own weight so that they don't need to be helped. They do not avoid those from outside the clan, but neither do they generally seek them out. When they have surplus available, they are glad to trade for either necessities or luxuries.

Of course, this is not to say that life among the Sylvere clan is always peaceful. They are not alone amongst the forest - other groups likewise claim the forest for their own, and sometimes conflicts erupt. They also occasionally have to deal with natural predators competing for the same niche in the food chain. The Sylvere are quite capable of using their hunting skills against these opponents when needed.

Most of the Sylvere can expect, at most, to see about half a century in life if they are lucky. Many live much shorter lives than even that - the menfolk tend to fall to the perils of the hunt, while the womenfolk have their lives shortened by each child they bear into the world. Anyone over thirty is considered to be an "elder," not as the clan position but as in "respect your elders."

Children are not given an "offical" name until the spring after their first winter, as the wintertime is the most grueling and deadly time of year to be so young. The parents of a newborn usually come up with some "cute" form of referring to their child in the meanwhile. The naming ceremony is a simple yet joyous affair, where all of the clan's surviving infants receive their names, to be recorded by the druids.

After their fifth winter, children start to dabble with the different trades involved in daily life amongst the clan. By their eighth or ninth winter, most have chosen the trade that they will focus in, and start to receive detailed instruction by one of the members of that trade. A child's choice of skill does not always match that of someone in their family - the whole clan assists in teaching children what they need to know. By the age of thirteen, the children are given some type of test relevant to their skills, and once they pass the test, are considered adults of the clan. Children who fail at first are tested over and over until they succeed.

o Family History:

Along with the Ursinus and the Aquila, the Lupus family is the largest and most influential families among the clan. At the current, the Lupus family numbers at about fifty adults out of the three hundred or so in the whole clan, plus children.

The family was founded early during Nature's reprisal on the world by the man who gathered the people who would become the Sylvere and brought them to the forest. In addition to being a cunning leader, he was a ferocious warrior, and thus took the name Lupus for himself, eventually becoming the first chief of the clan. In fighting for their right to live in the shelter of the forest, many of the menfolk were killed, leaving their women and children with the clan. Of the bravest and most skilled of these warriors, Lupus took their immediate kin under his own wing - never let it be said that he didn't do his part to repopulate the clan. ^.^;; Of course, since he adopted the children as well, not all who bear the Lupus name are his direct descendants, and given the historical lack of marital fidelity, it's quite likely that many of the children born afterwards weren't sired by him either. From there, his name was passed along through female children from generation to generation.

Throughout the intervening years, the Lupus family has always displayed the most talent at leadership. Even the few chiefs who came from the Aquila or Ursinus families tended to defer to Lupus' advice, and most of those chiefs were rumored (if not confirmed) be descended from a Lupus somewhere along the line.

The one dark spot in the Lupus' history illustrates, despite the fact that chiefs essentially hold the power of life and death over the whole clan, why they are benevolent. Silas (Greek/English - wood) Lupus was the only chief in the history of the clan who was "voted out of office," so to speak. He became a cruel, possessive leader years after becoming the chief, and his cruelty eventually incited the clan to revolt against him. The leaders of the families, including of Lupus, were quick to chastise him when his cruelty became clear, and after he tried ordering them to death, the clan turned on him. Reputedly, Silas escaped the clan alive despite major injuries, and was never heard from again. That was fifty years ago. (Note - here's an opening if anyone wants to make a Dark Acolyte based off this, just run the concept by me before you do!) The next couple chiefs were from the other families, before Lupus again regained the position, which they hold to the current day.

o Individual History:

Arden was born fifteen years ago, during the full moon. The incessant howls of wolves around the clan's camp was an ill omen, or so many of the clan's druids thought. It would turn out that these omens represented the trials that Arden has yet to face.

Arden was the sixth child born to Erica Lupus, the second fathered by Hollis Lupus. He would not be the last, either, but he was the only one to survive the crucial and grueling first winter. Being the only child for most of his early life was somewhat of an oddity amongst the Sylvere, but he made enough friends amongst the clan that he'd never have noticed. Early on, Thorne Ursinus, a druid and Hollis' friend and cousin, could tell that Arden had a good feel for "taking charge," assisting the boy's father in nurturing that into a useful skill.

Up through his seventh winter, Arden mirrored his energetic mother, particularly with the ease in which he picked up friends. The next year, however, tragedy struck, and his mother perished in the forest. For a while, Arden was crushed, withdrawing into himself for a couple months. Eventually, his father helped him come to terms with the loss. Ever since learning that painful lesson, however, Arden has kept much of his feelings close to his chest, and even now it takes time before he will open up to someone new.

Within a year, Arden started learning the tricks of the hunt. At a similar time, his father took a new wife, Laura, who brought along her then-one-year-old daughter into the family. As little Juniper grew, Arden slowly became less and less enchanted with the little terror - but she was still his sister. Luckily, learning about hunting kept him away from her often enough for him to maintain his sanity.

The day before Arden's test - his task to lead a small group of other boys and girls also being tested as hunters - he found a strange stone. He showed the moonstone to Thorne, who advised him to keep a hold of it. The next day, the hunt went flawlessly well, affirming the teenager's position as an adult of the clan.

Since then, the strange stone and its possible significance has idly occupied Arden's mind. He'd love to find out what the significance is, not in the least doubting whether or not Thorne was correct in his intuition. Soon, he'll find out what it means, for better or worse.

§ NPCs:

o Hollis Lupus: (Hollis: English – holly)

Arden's father and the current chief of the Sylvere. A veritable bear of a man, with familial ties to the Ursinus family, he's nonetheless a gentle sort while possessing the typical cunning and skill typical of the Lupus. At forty winters of age, he's also one of the oldest members of the clan who's still able to get around on his own quite well, and still participates in hunting himself.

o Erica Lupus: (Erica: Latin – heather)

Arden's birth-mother was a strong-willed woman, feisty and fun-loving. She was a druid as well. The same age as Hollis, she married him while he was still the advisor of the Lupus family, just before he became the chief. Arden was her only child to survive past the first winter. Seven years prior, when Arden was 8, she suffered a snake bite while out hunting, the venom weakening her to where she could not defend herself from the forest predators. Arden gets much of his protectiveness from her.

o Laura Lupus: (Laura: Latin – laurel plant)

Hollis' current wife, fifteen years his junior, and thus Arden's adoptive mother. She's a more quiet individual, skilled at tanning. Arden gets much of his quiet demeanor from her. She has one more young child, a newborn not yet named.

o Juniper Lupus: (Juniper: English – the juniper tree)

Laura's 9-year-old daughter and thus Arden's adoptive sister. A prankster skilled at traps and snares, she and Arden don't get along well most often. The two tend to get on each others' nerves, sometimes to the point where Hollis and Laura need to knock their heads together. Despite this animosity, Arden comes down *hard* on anyone who tries to mess with her. "She's my sister to pick on, not yours," is his explanation. Similarly, though she'd never outwardly admit it, Juniper would be just as harsh on anyone who tried to hurt her big brother. You might think that they were husband and wife with how much they yell at each other (and, technically speaking, they're not blood-related - not that either would even consider such a pairing).

o Thorne Ursinus: (Thorne: Old English – thorn bush)

The clan's most experienced druid, nearing his thirty-fifth winter. He is Hollis' cousin and old friend. He possesses a strong insight - nothing supernatural, but his intuition is correct more often than it is not. Thorne has been as instrumental in developing Arden's self-confidence and leadership abilities as Hollis, and it was he that could tell that there was something special about the stone that a young Arden found the day before his first hunt.

Part III: Soldier Information

· Special Skills:

§ Hunting:

Wow, you couldn't see this one coming? ^.^ Arden is a skilled hunter, whether using snares, following tracks, or attacking prey directly. This skill also extends to fishing, either in the freshwater streams or ponds that run through the forest, or along the coast of the ocean at the border of the forest, though neither he nor anyone else in the clan are as skilled as people who live off life from the waters.

As is the case with most of his clan, his hunting skills also double as his combat skills. When necessary, he uses either a shortbow, shortspear or a sling to bring down prey, and if pressed, resorts to his stone dagger or shortspear if he can't get out of a sticky situation without close combat. He also knows how to maintain his weapons - sharpening, restringing, and so forth, though most serious repairs require the attention of someone more skilled. The only exception is in making arrows (provided he has some stone to chip and sharpen for the arrowheads, appropriate wood for the shaft, and appropriate feathers for fletching) and spearheads (again provided he has stone for the head and an already-made haft).

His aim is nearly flawless, particularly when hunting game - if he misses a shot, it's usually intentional to flush out the quarry so that one of his fellows can take the glory for the kill. He's confident enough that if all of them miss, his next shot can save the day. Outside of combat and once the prey is taken down, he's skilled in dressing the kill, including skinning, cleaning, and smoking. Don't ask him to cook a spectacular meal, though - he can make meat edible, but that's about it.

§ Forestcraft:

Here's another real shocker. Arden is a natural expert at forest survival, skills which also lend themselves well to use outside of the forest. He's skilled at using forest terrain to his advantage, such as to hide - something which he can extend to other similar terrains with some practice. He's a decent climber, used primarily to either set traps or to wait for prey to pass by. He can also swim enough to get across a calm, narrow river, though nothing fancy.

He knows how to identify plants - what is edible, what is poisonous, what helps heal injuries, and so on - this knowledge is more "learned" than "intuitive." In other words, presented with an unknown plant in its natural habitat, he may be able to deduce its edibility by using clues about both the plant itself and the signs of wildlife around it - show him another unknown plant on a table and he has much less to go on. Similarly, given enough clues to go on (such as traces of animal passage), he can find potable water - again, this won't help him much if handed a glass of water in a city, or if he's in the middle of the desert with nothing but sand around.

§ Mimicry:

A typical hunting tactic even in modern days, Arden can mimic the sounds of some forest animals, including deer and wolves (these are the only useful examples that come to mind right away). He could learn how to mimic non-forest animals with a few months of trial-and-error, but other human voices are beyond him.

§ Woods Sense:

Knowing as much about woodlands as he does, Arden can usually tell when something "isn't right." Part of this relates to knowing what kinds of clues to look for - shading on the ground, the noises of the wildlife, the smells in the air, and so forth, and this is all he would admit to (for now).

It actually extends to something of a sixth sense, allowing him to "feel" the general state of an area of forest, within range of at least one of his other senses (most often sight or hearing). For example, if approaching a glade tainted by Dark Acolyte powers, he'll know something's wrong when he hears the lack of wildlife from that direction, or when he can see the first of the trees that outwardly looks fine but inwardly carries a taint.

As Rook Kingu, this range extends to as far as he could see regardless of intervening trees and wildlife (but not things such as buildings), and if within normal sight and/or hearing, is more precise than just a "bad feeling" - he can sometimes pinpoint where the problem is, though not usually anything more detailed than that. Note that this ability is useless to detect things such as a single Dark Adept hiding in the brush, or the Atlantean construct waiting for some fool Earthbounder to wander near - it will, however, detect said Dark Adept's attempt to suffuse dark power (or magic power, for that matter) into the trees to animate them, or to notice that the destruction caused by said construct wasn't made by something natural or native to the area.

Likewise, this ability is not usually useful outside of a forest - but still, Arden is quite observant, and once he knows what cues to look for, he can still use mundane intuition.

§ Camouflage:

This "ability" is only available when henshined. When in the branches of a leafy tree (obviously it has to be large enough for him to climb, sit in, and be concealed by leaves), in a bush (at least twice his size), or amongst a grove or more of trees (at least half a dozen trees each within 5-10 feet of another, all of them at least as tall as he is), Kingu is well nigh impossible to find as long as he's making a token effort to hide. His uniform actually shifts in color to make a "cloaking" effect, and only the truly perceptive, magic (such as "detect human," "detect senshi" and the like), or a powered individual with an appropriate sphere (Mathematics, Divination, and Plants are good examples) have even a snowball's chance in Dante's Inferno to find him, and even then only if they're looking well enough or using the right abilities to get past his mundane hiding ability.

This power won't usually help once he makes his presence known, such as by attacking - people who watch him "fade" into the foliage aren't fooled by this camouflage, but if he can make an attack and hide again before someone looks his way, then it sucks to be them. ^.^

§ Trackless Step:

Forget about tracking Kingu while he's henshined, at least by usual means. He leaves no tracks that he doesn't want to leave in grass, leaves, dirt paths, or snow (all of which appear in forests - loose sand and gravel are beyond his ken). Even natural predators can't track him by scent once he's out of sight. This doesn't protect his companions, of course, beyond his mundane ability to hide a trail.

· Henshin Item:

§ A palm-sized, round, flat, white-and-peach moonstone. A dark spot in the middle looks like a crescent moon, though close examination shows a straight "handle" near one of the points, making the moon into a sickle.

· Henshin Sequence:

Arden cradles his moonstone in his cupped hands, the crescent of the sickle pointing up to the left. He then calls out, "Kingu Primal Power!" At the last word, the sickle starts to spin counter-clockwise, slowly at first, then speeding up. As it becomes too fast to see clearly, the sickle turns silver, and spins out of the moonstone until it obscures him completely.

Arden raises his arms out to the side, eyes shut, his whole body glowing with silver light and obscuring the fact that his previous outfit has ... um ... disappeared. A wind blows about him, scattering green oak leaves all about him at the same time as brown roots spring up from the ground under his feet, weaving about him and the leaves - between both, he looks more like a windblown tree than a person.

That's when the spinning silver sickle comes back into view, slicing a vertical line straight down the middle of Arden's entangled form, again disappearing from view. Leaves and roots split away, leaving him in the uniform of Rook Kingu, minus his wolf headdress. He opens his eyes and lowers his arms to his sides, the headdress in question quickly fading in with a silver light that fades out just as rapidly.

The spinning sickle returns once more, over his head. He raises his right hand up, and the sickle slaps itself into his waiting palm. Transformed and armed, he steps to his left, crossing his arms in front of him, holding the sickle much as it appeared on his henshin stone, the crescent of the blade angled up to the left (his right).

· Challenge Phrases:

§ “You who would defile the forests which are home to so much life - I will not allow it! I am Rook Kingu, and you are now my prey!”

§ “I am the soldier of the hunt and the woods, Rook Kingu! For your crimes against nature, I will bring you down!”

§ “The forest is a place of peace and of nature. You who would upset the balance of life in the forest, you now face Rook Kingu.”

§ "In the name of the moon...." OK, let's not get too carried away. ^.~

· Colors:

§ Primary: medium green (like a light colored leaf, similar to Jupiter’s primary)

§ Secondary: dark brown (like the color of oak bark)

· Symbol: A sickle, handle pointed to the lower left, with the point of the curved blade pointing upward to the left.

· Uniform:

Rook Kingu's uniform consists primarily of a tunic and breeches, despite their unusual appearance. The tunic is a medium green in color, appearing to be made out of the leaves of various trees, with some leaves slightly lighter or darker than others. The sleeves of the tunic are cut off with leafy edges at the bicep, and around each wrist is a simple loop of silver wire sporting a small white moonstone aligned with the back of his hands. On his hands are gloves patterned similarly to his tunic, covering half of his forearm and stopping in leafy edges. The tunic's bottom ends just below the darker green leather-like sash about his waist. A loop in the sash at his right hip provides a relatively safe resting place for the Forest Moon when he's not using it, the front-center of the sash frames about his henshin stone, and it is tied into a simple knot at his left hip. The breeches are the same oak-brown, including sworls and lines that give it a woodish appearance. These are tucked into his boots, similarly shaded and patterned which reach up to just below his knees. A torc of silver that looks twisted like a rope sits around his neck. Atop his head is what appears to be a pair of salt-and-pepper-furred wolf ears, part of a headdress that covers from the middle of his head to the nape of his neck, leaving just the end of his ponytail visible from behind; the headdress does not cover his own ears.

The most interesting part of the outfit involves the leaves that seem to make up the fabric of his tunic. Thanks to his Camouflage power, the leaves can actually shift both position and type. They normally only do so whenever he's using this ability, but it also guarantees that, even if they're not drawn the same way twice, it's still OK. ^.^

Sadly, the player falls into the "can't draw for beans" category. >.<

· Powers/Attacks:

§ Silver Crescent Harvest:

Kingu's typical ranged attack. This is a physical attack, where he creates and hurls a crescent-shape of coherent light at his target. This crescent is sharp and strong enough to cause some harm even to someone in iron armor, even though his sickle normally isn't.

The attack can be dodged by an aware opponent, though the spinning crescent will try to "track" its target by making small course corrections. It cannot be redirected, but it can be blocked - a shield is much more useful for this than trying to block with a bladed or hafted weapon, since the crescent will try to loop around an intervening weapon. Kingu can will the crescent out of existence if he changes his mind before the attack hits, such as if the target puts a hostage in the way.

Since this is not an overly powerful attack, he would have to be throwing these around for a couple minutes before it would start to tire him.

Lastly, Kingu does not need to have the Forest Moon in hand to use the attack - the crescent will appear in his hand if he doesn't have his weapon. Visually, I again draw from a certain late-20th-century senshi - on the receiving end, it looks like a silver version of one of the crescents created by the "Moon Princess Halation," sans the purple-pink shinies that emanate from the weapon and the amount of twirling needed to make the attack work.

o Stock footage: Kingu crosses his arms in front of him with his eyes closed, the Forest Moon in his right hand curving upwards. As he calls, "Silver ..." the blade of the sickle starts to glow with a silver-white light. His eyes open, and he draws the sickle up and back behind his head while turning his body to the side and reaching his left hand forward with his index finger and thumb extended - a shooting sight, as it were. He calls "... Crescent ..." once his left arm is fully extended and the sickle waits glowing beside his head, pausing for a brief moment. With the shouted declaration, "... Harvest!!" he slashes down across his body, leaning forward on his left leg - when the sickle crosses the center of his body, it flashes, sending a glowing crescent spiraling toward his target, as if he used the sickle as a sling and the glow was the stone he threw from it.

§ Lunar Madness:

This is, metaphorically speaking, opening up the 20-oz. can of Grade-A, 100% pure Whup-Ass. O.O The term "lunacy" comes from a word for the moon, and the mythological Kingu was the dragon of chaos - this ability brings some of that chaos and craziness to the Rook.

This power directly affects him, not his opponents, but they'll likely be feeling something from it. It basically sends him into a silver-eyed berserk frenzy, giving him much more strength and endurance at the cost of energy and tactics. Picture an alpha female wolf defending her cubs - that summarizes the tactics and ferocity that Kingu uses while under this power's influence. He's nearly impossible to control, even by himself, though he still retains enough of his normal self to differentiate between "friend" (protect at all costs), "foe" (destroy, destroy, destroy!), "neutral" (ignore as long as they don't harm him or friends) and "innocent bystander" (protect if possible, otherwise ignore). Anyone that attacks him or his friends is, barring unusual circumstances (such as needing to knock out one friend to protect others), immediately lumped into the "foe" category - even his friends (though he won't kill them without a good reason). The best that an opponent can likely do to control him is to make themselves appear like one of his friends, make one of his friends appear to be an enemy, or simply disappear.

Kingu does retain just enough sense of mind to be able to use the Silver Crescent Harvest, but will only do so if closing in for melee combat is not immediately possible. He'll even fight unarmed - clawing, kicking, and biting - if the Forest Moon is not at hand. He can also use simple tactics, usually wolf-pack tactics such as circling an opponent to hit from behind while the foe is distracted by an ally. He can talk as well, though he usually doesn't have much to say other than wolfish growls or his attack phrase, and he's not really capable of conversation.

His strength nearly doubles, as does his ability to handle punishment, though the latter will catch up to him when the power ends. He also doesn't tire at all for as long as the power lasts.

He can end the rage at any time, using his normal thinking ability to make that decision (such as if he's duped into attacking a friend and there are no other foes around). When the rage ends, his eyes return to their normal brown color, and he's almost always exhausted (unless the rage was really brief), and in any case he won't be able to use this power again without rest. Even using the Silver Crescent Harvest would be difficult after a short bout of Lunar Madness. If he maintains the rage for any more than a few minutes, he'll likely be so exhausted as to fall unconscious, perhaps even de-henshin if he'd expended a lot of energy. Yes, if he stays in the rage long enough, he could quite well kill himself through exhaustion. o.o

Neither gestures nor item are required to use this power. In fact, he can even use it outside of a combat situation if necessary. For example, if friends are trapped under a large tree, he could call on Lunar Madness to be able to get them out. Likewise, if he's holding up a large boulder to protect himself or his friends, and he starts to tire or give way, a bout of Lunar Madness could give him the edge to be able to get out of the situation without becoming a pancake.

o Stock footage: A very unhappy Kingu raises both hands above his head, the Forest Moon held in his right hand curved upward (if he has it). Through clenched teeth, he calls out, "Lunar ..." A twinkle of light follows the curve of the sickle from top to bottom, before the blade starts to glow with a silver-white light. Once it brightens almost to white, it starts to fill in like a waxing moon. As the light becomes a full circle, a wolf's howl sounds in the background, followed by Kingu shouting, "... Madness!!" The Rook's eyes begin to shine with a silvery light. Snarling with insane rage, he leaps to the attack!

The "visual effects" from the above stock footage still happen even if he doesn't have the Forest Moon at hand. Obviously, if his hands are occupied, the stock footage doesn't occur, save for the shouted activation, the wolf's howl, and the eyes glowing silver.

· Weapon: “The Forest Moon”

A silver sickle with a leather grip, with the symbol of the sickle engraved at the bottom of the hilt. Silver is not the hardest of metals, so it is not a match for iron. Damage to the sickle is repaired between henshins.

The silver sickle is a traditional ritual tool used by Celtic druids to collect holly and mistletoe. While Arden isn't a "druid" by title in his clan, Kingu draws much of his influence from druidic traditions. The sickle represents his role as the harvester, and also looks like the crescent moon, linking both to the hunter concept and to his Zodiac sign's ruling planet. Go me. And no, you won't see him trying anything like "Kingu Healing Escalation!" or looking for silver crystals, and the sickle doesn't detect youma or multicolored crystals like a certain unnamed senshi who won't appear in the world for quite a while. @.x

At least at first, Kingu's skill with his weapon is based almost entirely on natural soldier instinct, since he's always tried to avoid hand-to-hand combat where possible, and his training has been with daggers and spears. Once he learns about this, and his lack of having any other weapons when henshined, he'll practice with the sickle until he's got some knowledge to back up his Rookly instinct.

Part IV: Other Information

· Why you: Why me? Why me?! WHY ME?!?! WHY?!?!?!

Err.... ^.^;

I am well-experienced with a variety of M*'s, from the perspective of a normal player, a player of a feature character, and a member of staff. By comparison, I am quite new to PBeMs (the only other one I'm involved with is SMF), and though I've not yet been involved in any RP over PBeM yet, I'm eager to give it my best!

· Miscellaneous:

It's hard to write an application for a senshi with "woodsmanship" in his sphere without having some kind of overlap with the senshi with "plants" in her sphere. This isn't a gripe, but an admission of difficulty. Some of their skills are going to definitely collide - after all, what good is a woodsman who can't tell edible plants from poisonous ones! I've tried to keep this to a minimum, though, and where it's happened, I've tried to explain the differences or why they're similar. In general, Arden's expertise focuses on the "big picture" - how plants, animals, and humans all interrelate to each other.

I also almost put July 13th as his birthday - the 13th day of the month representing a "bad omen" - until I saw that Pelagia / Sailortiamat took it first! Oops. ~.~;

Part V: Writing Sample

Arden sat just underneath the shade of the closest tree to the coast as he can. Thirty yards or so ahead, glittering in the light of the sun, the ocean waves crashed against the shore before retreating back to the sea. Behind him, birds and other small creatures of the forest chittered their music. The cool wind that came in over the ocean confirmed that, indeed, spring was still in her early stages, even as that wind carried the scent of salt water over the beach and toward the edge of the forest. My thirteenth spring, thought the young hunter-in-training, and the day before I have my first chance to prove what I've learned.

The tradition of testing the skills learned by children once they reached the age of majority was supposed to be as old as clan Sylvere itself. Countless numbers of young people of the clan had already taken their tests in generations passed, if not the first time then in later attempts. It's not like this would be the end of his life if he failed, since he'd have a few other choices. Sure, he'd lose some face, with how much his family expected of him, but he'd overcome that, too.

Then what is this creepy sensation I feel? he thought. Try as he might, he couldn't shake the feeling that something ill was on the horizon.

Arden quietly reviewed the task ahead of him starting the next day. He'd be joining five others - three boys and two girls his age - in a cooperative hunt. Their quarry was a deer, any deer. Not the easiest prey at times, but not difficult in its own right. Arden was quite satisfied that he could take one down by himself. But, that was the trick: everyone had a specific task to do in the hunt, and Arden's own was to coordinate and lead the others. This wasn't unexpected either, since his father and the high druid had been cultivating his leadership skills for years.

But it still didn't make sense. He still had no clue what had him so worried, or why.

A sudden chill brought Arden out of his reverie. The sun had set, apparently quite a while ago. The ocean had advanced in much further up the beach, and instead of glistening with the golden light of the sun, the waves danced with the silver light of the full moon. It wasn't that he'd dazed off to where some predator could have killed him that worried him now, or even how quickly the time had passed, but instead that his feeling of foreboding had only gotten worse.

Wait... what's that?

Rising to his feet, Arden was sure that the glitter he saw wasn't a trick of his worried mind. He gave a cautious look about the beach, confirming that the coast was clear (pun not intended). Only then, did he cautiously approach.

As he reached the source of the glittering, he found it to be a stone on the ground, just barely having reached the grass from the beach. He crouched down - the white and pink stone was still wet, hence how it caught the moonlight from above.

A moonstone.

He picked up the stone, his curiosity piqued. He turned the stone over slowly in his hand as he straightened, looking over it. The mark on the other side was shaped like a dark crescent.

The moonlight picked up the crescent in the stone - and like a tentflap being opened to let in light from outside, the foreboding feeling that was bothering him all day passed.

"Well, this is interesting," murmured the young man under his breath, still as baffled as before, though not nearly as troubled. Placing the stone in one of his pouches, he started back toward the camp. He wanted to ask the high druid, Thorne Ursinus, about this before he bedded down for an early start the next morning.

...

About two years later, Arden stood on the same shore under the light of the full moon, examining the moonstone with the crescent-shape in detail once again. Even with what Thorne had told him the evening before his successful test of his leadership and hunting skills, he felt no closer to deciphering the stone's meaning than he was two years before. All he knew, based on Thorne's intuition, was that this stone held very specific significance to him, representing his inner self that he didn't truly know.

"Soon," he said to himself. "Soon, I'll know what all this is about."

Writer's note: The symbolism here relates to the mythological Kingu, who received his powers from Tiamat. Moonstones don't normally come from the sea, of course. However, ocean => saltwater => Sailortiamat => mythological Tiamat. ^.^