Bear with me, it's late and my knowledge of the game world is a bit light as yet.
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All I need is Love, Little Dragon.
Age 5
Masaru sat playing in the grass with his friends. It was no secret that he had many friends, though only a few of them could see each other. In the way of children this wasn’t odd to Masaru, but his mother worried that he spent too much time alone. Wind would often play tricks on her, much to the amusement of Fire, though Water didn’t think it was very funny and Earth watched silently. Little Dragon was his favorite though, she knew the games the other children played and helped him to understand that Father wasn’t angry with him, just jealous that he had so many friends.
Age 10
Masaru brought Father another beer while he lectured on about Masaru applying himself in school. It was always Father, never dad, and never a kind word. Fire sometimes looked like Father, especially when some of the more beefy human kids picked on him. He did well in school, but sports was another matter. Few of the extracurriculars emphasized his lanky elven build, and he had no patience for those that did, like Archery. Father just didn’t understand, the other kids were nothing like him and they mostly just wanted to prove how much better they were because they were stronger. Father didn’t want to hear about his real friends, or what they had showed him about the Place he saw while dreaming. Talking about his friends, or the Place, was a good way to get a beating
Age 13
Mana poured through Masaru like liquid sunshine. Mother had passed the previous winter, and as Masaru withdrew in his grief his friends had shown him new tricks of The Place, which he had recently learned was Astral Space. Father would not hear of sending him to school for awakened children, but Masaru had found some information in the matrix, along with a tutor willing to give him hints in exchange for simple jobs. He didn’t know why unpacking and assembling a few drones was so important to Mikuzume, but if she was willing to give him access to the online library for following simple directions, he was happy to do it. Now it came easily to him, and sometimes Little Dragon would even come into the world for a short while and ask him to read to her. She loved all kinds of stories and seemed fascinated about why people did the things they did.
Age 16
Little Dragon wasn’t so little any more. Neither was he. Father hated her, but Masaru didn’t care, the old drunk could go drink himself back into a ditch. Father and his friends hated the Awakened, which Masaru thought was hilarious since Father was an Elf, and Magic part of who they were even if Father couldn’t tap mana at all. Mikuzume had finally told him about herself, or rather itself. The AI needed friends like him to see the world, and was willing to trade favor for favor. An old school friend, Shenji Kenshiama, had also recently returned from some time away. He was awakened too, and while his parents could not afford a school to teach him either, at least they didn’t hate him for being a Mage. They even seemed to take it in stride that he had gotten into a bit of trouble trying to teach himself, and had fallen in with the Yamaguchi. Masaru had managed to steer clear those troubles himself, mostly because Mikuzume and Little Dragon helped him at least as much as the shady talismongers and spell weavers of the street. It wasn’t a formal education by any means, but it did let him cut a few strings that would have bound him to the gangs that preyed on young talent.
Age 18- Yesterday.
Masaru wandered the streets, his bloodied eye swollen shut. Father found out why Little Dragon was now called Tatsuo. It had taken Masaru years and not a little help from every resource he could manage, but his Little Dragon was now a permanent part of his life, gifted a piece of his very soul to call her own. Mikuzume had seen it as an interesting puzzle, Kireina of the Kokoro Temple had put him in touch with a few knowledgeable parties with a less academic interest, and even Little Dragon herself had helped fulfill his dream. Now after 6 months of her being around all the time, Father had finally realized something was different. He could not hurt her, so instead Father kicked him out of the house, breaking a bottle over his head to hammer his point home. With little more than a basic camping kit, his commlink and a few less legal supplies obtained with the help of Shenji he was on his own with his Little Dragon by his side. Shenji had given him some couch space last night in his squat, and he didn’t know where his next meal would come from nor where he would sleep tonight… but he knew it didn’t matter, because Little Dragon was with him, and Love is all he needed. All else was just details.
Physical Description:
A tall oriental man with long black hair wearing a bulky full length coat studded with Psedo-fetishes, most with a sinuous dragon motif. At his side is a beautiful oriental woman wearing a pearl white gown with a dragon print climbing around her. The dragon is lit from under the cloth, and where her skin is visible a tattoo matching the dragon on the gown glows faintly.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All I need is Love, Little Dragon.
Age 5
Masaru sat playing in the grass with his friends. It was no secret that he had many friends, though only a few of them could see each other. In the way of children this wasn’t odd to Masaru, but his mother worried that he spent too much time alone. Wind would often play tricks on her, much to the amusement of Fire, though Water didn’t think it was very funny and Earth watched silently. Little Dragon was his favorite though, she knew the games the other children played and helped him to understand that Father wasn’t angry with him, just jealous that he had so many friends.
Age 10
Masaru brought Father another beer while he lectured on about Masaru applying himself in school. It was always Father, never dad, and never a kind word. Fire sometimes looked like Father, especially when some of the more beefy human kids picked on him. He did well in school, but sports was another matter. Few of the extracurriculars emphasized his lanky elven build, and he had no patience for those that did, like Archery. Father just didn’t understand, the other kids were nothing like him and they mostly just wanted to prove how much better they were because they were stronger. Father didn’t want to hear about his real friends, or what they had showed him about the Place he saw while dreaming. Talking about his friends, or the Place, was a good way to get a beating
Age 13
Mana poured through Masaru like liquid sunshine. Mother had passed the previous winter, and as Masaru withdrew in his grief his friends had shown him new tricks of The Place, which he had recently learned was Astral Space. Father would not hear of sending him to school for awakened children, but Masaru had found some information in the matrix, along with a tutor willing to give him hints in exchange for simple jobs. He didn’t know why unpacking and assembling a few drones was so important to Mikuzume, but if she was willing to give him access to the online library for following simple directions, he was happy to do it. Now it came easily to him, and sometimes Little Dragon would even come into the world for a short while and ask him to read to her. She loved all kinds of stories and seemed fascinated about why people did the things they did.
Age 16
Little Dragon wasn’t so little any more. Neither was he. Father hated her, but Masaru didn’t care, the old drunk could go drink himself back into a ditch. Father and his friends hated the Awakened, which Masaru thought was hilarious since Father was an Elf, and Magic part of who they were even if Father couldn’t tap mana at all. Mikuzume had finally told him about herself, or rather itself. The AI needed friends like him to see the world, and was willing to trade favor for favor. An old school friend, Shenji Kenshiama, had also recently returned from some time away. He was awakened too, and while his parents could not afford a school to teach him either, at least they didn’t hate him for being a Mage. They even seemed to take it in stride that he had gotten into a bit of trouble trying to teach himself, and had fallen in with the Yamaguchi. Masaru had managed to steer clear those troubles himself, mostly because Mikuzume and Little Dragon helped him at least as much as the shady talismongers and spell weavers of the street. It wasn’t a formal education by any means, but it did let him cut a few strings that would have bound him to the gangs that preyed on young talent.
Age 18- Yesterday.
Masaru wandered the streets, his bloodied eye swollen shut. Father found out why Little Dragon was now called Tatsuo. It had taken Masaru years and not a little help from every resource he could manage, but his Little Dragon was now a permanent part of his life, gifted a piece of his very soul to call her own. Mikuzume had seen it as an interesting puzzle, Kireina of the Kokoro Temple had put him in touch with a few knowledgeable parties with a less academic interest, and even Little Dragon herself had helped fulfill his dream. Now after 6 months of her being around all the time, Father had finally realized something was different. He could not hurt her, so instead Father kicked him out of the house, breaking a bottle over his head to hammer his point home. With little more than a basic camping kit, his commlink and a few less legal supplies obtained with the help of Shenji he was on his own with his Little Dragon by his side. Shenji had given him some couch space last night in his squat, and he didn’t know where his next meal would come from nor where he would sleep tonight… but he knew it didn’t matter, because Little Dragon was with him, and Love is all he needed. All else was just details.
Physical Description:
A tall oriental man with long black hair wearing a bulky full length coat studded with Psedo-fetishes, most with a sinuous dragon motif. At his side is a beautiful oriental woman wearing a pearl white gown with a dragon print climbing around her. The dragon is lit from under the cloth, and where her skin is visible a tattoo matching the dragon on the gown glows faintly.