xalendear

[xalendear]

World Building - Industrialised Magic

Practitioners of magic were once revered for their mystical powers and studied intellect, often becoming advisors to kings or attaining other positions of power. But as their numbers grew, magicians were included in the ranks of armies.

Some cowardly spell weavers not fit for conflict concocted a plan and convinced their superiors of an alternative task: enchanting. Rather than casting balls of fire and conjuring otherworldly beasts, the mages would spend their time safely applying enchanted runes and magical effects to siege weapons and the equipment of highly capable soldiers improving their usefulness, but not to the common foot soldiers that are likely to die and their magical equipment lost.

The idea took off and sorcerers of all kinds began transitioning from active magic use to enchantments, expanding beyond warfare into other markets such as security measures, transport, and fashion.

After a century or two magic has become a highly lucrative trade for any that has the aptitude, no mage dreams of being an advisor or to take part in a military campaign.

[xalendear]

The doctor, nurses, and forgotten family members stepped back with gasps and shocked faces. The softly glowing hexagonal grid lightly distorted Jessica's view of her surroundings, "Where am I? Who are you?"

The doctor shouted through the open door, "We need security here!" She then turned to a nurse, "Try to keep the family back. We don't want anyone getting hurt,"

Jessica continued to look around frantically "Answer me! Where am I?"

The doctor approached her slowly "Calm down Jessica, you're in a hospital. I'm Dr. Lewis, I've been monitoring your case since your accident."

"What accident? Is that how I ended up in this world?" It was then that Jessica noticed her hair, which had fallen in front of her face in her struggle, "Why did you change my hair? What possible reason could you have for that?"

A casually dressed woman, Jessica's mother, tried to step forward but was held back by the nurses, "I cut it while you were asleep, I know that you're so proud of the long hair but it will grow back,"

"I mean, why did you change the colour? Why is it brown now? What is the point of that?"

Everyone in the room exchanged worried looks.

"Jessica, do you know who this is?" Asked Dr. Lewis gesturing at the woman, to whom Jessica shook her head, "This is your mother. Please, drop whatever this light show is and listen to us,"

At the mention of her mother, Jessica froze for a moment as unseen gears suddenly clicked together. The hexagonal grid of light faded away as she actually saw the people around her, "Mother? Father? Gus?" She said, as she looked at her parents and younger brother, "What- What's going on?"

At this moment a pair of security personnel entered the room, and Jessica's instincts kicked in again, but this time she didn't conjure a shield. A spark ignited a flame in her hand and she threw it at the intruders, who ducked as the fiery bolt scorched the room wall. Before they could recover Jessica followed up with a spell that put them into a slumber.

Dr. Lewis dove forwards to avoid the initial fire spell, and while Jessica was busy putting the security guards to sleep, she injected her with propofol. Jessica felt woozy and she slowly collapsed into someone's arms as she glared at Dr. Lewis.

You've been "trapped" in a "VR" game for years, learnt magic, had a family, etc. But now they've "rescued" you from it all. Waking up on the hospital bed you reflexively cast a shield. Which works.

[xalendear]

Character writing - Xalendear 2

"You didn't request my aid" a voice spoke in Xalendear's mind as he made his way home from Milton's farmhouse.

"Blighted creatures are dangerous, but nothing compared to monsters you've helped me to slay, Gwithian," Xalendear replied in his mind, "Besides, the townsfolk ask enough questions about the war and of my life before it. If they knew about your existence it would only encourage your curiosity,"

There was a psychic jab of frustration in Xalendear's mind, "But I can only live vicariously through your actions! If you do not use my power then I am nothing but a spectator with only you to talk to. Existence as a soul stone is boring,"

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before agreeing to become one," Xalendear jabbed back.

"I accepted your proposal so that we could avenge my death and the deaths of my comrades. And that has been accomplished, but I'm not done living. Unfortunately I cannot truly live in this form,"

The two argued back and forth as they often did on the matter. A comrade of Xalendear's had performed the ritual in the early days of the war and Gwithian had been set in Xalendear's sword, strengthening it with small donations of their power. Xalendear had noticed that the stone had lost some of its shine over the course of the war and worried about what would happen when it dulled completely. No soul stone had ever remained 'in service' for as long as Gwithian had, and no one knew what would happen if all of the spiritual energy was used up. This was the other reason that Xalendear didn't use Gwithian's power, though he kept it to himself so as not to insult his friend's pride.

For the next few days Xalendear continued his quiet life. He continued his usual habits barely feeling the passage of time, and only had a couple of unsolicited questions from curious individuals. Over all he felt calm and contented, and the dark memories of what transpired during the war bothered him little beyond the occasional nightmare. Though he did regularly prepare his sword and armour, enquired with the town watch about contingency strategies and preparation, as well as patrolling the fields outside of town under the guise of taking a scenic walk.

During these peaceful days the sky gradually filled with cumulonimbus. An omen of bad weather. Xalendear joined the town's efforts to batten down the hatches and make sure things were secured. When the weather turned Xalendear was sat comfortably in his chair by a lit fire, reading a novel written by a human while attempting to maintain a meditative connection with Gwithian so that they could enjoy the book together.

"No, go back. I haven't finished the page yet," Gwithian complained.

"We're sharing our thoughts, you know what I know so you know what it says," Xalendear replied.

"You read too quickly and the words swarm my mind like noisy bees. Either slow down or wait for me to say I'm finished absorbing what you've shared,"

As the rain hammered the roof, a louder sound of pounding on the front door could be heard over it. Xalendear got up from his chair and went to see who it could be in this weather. It must be an emergency given the situation.

Using the light of an oil lamp, Xalendear was met by 2 cloaked members of the watch. He quickly ushered them inside and closed the door.

"What can I help you with?" Xalendear asked as he guided the two soldiers to the dining table before setting out mugs and uncorking a bottle of wine.

As the guests removed their hoods Xalendear recognised Penelope, and thought he recognised the face of the other he did not know their name. They cradled a bundle of blankets which Xalendear though was odd. "What could they be carrying?" He thought to himself.

"We're actually here for you, Xalendear," Penelope started before taking a slightly damp letter from under her cloak, "I'm sorry to tell you that a friend of yours has passed away. This is from them,"

Xalendear looked at the letter and recognised both the handwriting and the insignia.

"What's going on?" Came Gwithian's voice in Xalendear's mind.

"Genevieve has passed," Xalendear replied with a somber thought.

Xalendear took the letter and carefully ripped it open. The words blurred together as the emotions and sentiment of one of his closest friends washed over Xalendear and brought a flood of memories of their time together. Genevieve described her feelings for Xalendear and regret that she had not gone with him when the war ended. She described the connection between them as being the light that had kept her hope alive in the darkness. How their affections had culminated only once and it wasn't enough, but it would have to be.

"She was not old, even by human standards. How could this happen? Was it sickness?" Xalendear asked of his guests.

"She didn't say in the letter? Well, then this might be shocking. This is also from her," Penelope gestured to her comrade who passed their bundle to Penelope who in turn passed it to Xalendear. "The message that the courier gave us was that she died after giving birth."

Xalendear looked down at the bundle of blankets now in his arms and his eyes widened as he saw a sleeping, button nosed, pointy eared, baby.

[xalendear]

The hero, Captain Mercy, stood frozen in his cell as before him stood not the allies he had thought would be the ones to come, but his arch nemesis Draconica the dragon queen.

"So here you are. When you didn't show up to my bank heist I got worried that I wasn't worth your time anymore," the draconic villainess exclaimed before she used the monstrous strength of her tail to break through the iron bars, immediately setting off alarms. "That was easy. Why didn't you do that?"

Captain Mercy pointed to the uncomfortable metal collar around his neck. Draconica saw that it was etched with magical glowing runes, "Some kind of power dampener. I'm not powerless but not strong enough to escape. You might even defeat me in my current state."

"Admitting your weakened state to your hated foe? A little arrogant aren't we?"

Their conversation was interrupted by several guards entering the room, all wearing armour that looked like it came out of a space adventure cartoon. And following them came a figure in much more impressive garb and standing at least a foot taller than his guards, "Another prize to add to my collection. This hunt is more fruitful than predicted," the figure spoke through a voice modulator that made them sound deep voiced and intimidating.

"You come to my house, and play with my toy, and expect to just sweep me off of my feet? Not happening!" With a snap of her clawed nails, Draconica broke Captain Mercy's collar and then charged at the tall dark figure, bowling him over and taking out the guards stood directly behind him.

As their battle continued down the corridor, Captain Mercy stretched and cracked his knuckles while the guards returned their attention to him and raised various weapons, "You're lucky that she decided to go after your boss, I play more nicely than she does,"

Getting kidnapped as a superhero is rather embarrassing, but at least you were certain that your friends would rescue you. Which is why it came as a massive shock to you to see one of your villains bust the door of you cell open and unlock your restraints.

[xalendear]

World Building - Soul Stones

Ghosts and spirits have always been a rare but dangerous phenomenon. Creatures existing between life and death, their minds warped by the experience. The most common way of dealing with them is an exorcism, an unfortunately violent and risky ritual that forces a savage soul to cross over to the afterlife and hopefully to the correct place.

There were celebrations when a safer method was developed, a new ritual that calmed the mad ghost and coalesced their ectoplasm into an amber-like bead or gemstone. While in this form the spirit could be communicated with via magical meditation and a gentle exorcism could take place if the ghost wished it, or they could remain in this form and communicate with others such as their loved ones or any seeking council.

As these crystals are a literal manifestation of spiritual energy it was discovered, either accidentally or on purpose, that the spirit could share their power by a means similar to spiritual possession. Energy would flow from the soul stone into its holder supplementing their own energy and strength. This led to willing soul stones being partnered with the most trusted protectors and heroes, bolstering them in battle against dangers that threatened the lands.

But as with all good things, there were those that exploited them. Power hungry individuals perverted the seance that calmed ghosts and simply entrapped them in the gem-like form with coloured hues of reds and purples indicative of the ghost's rage, as opposed to the blues and greens of calmed spirits. These dark soul stones are more dangerous and granted more power due to the still violent nature of the spirit trapped within. The wielder requires greater mental fortitude to command the power of the unwilling spirit and resist being consumed by its impulses.

[xalendear]

Character Concept - Saiyagami (Bleach X Dragon Ball Z) 2

Trex awoke in a room with white walls and hardwood floors. He was greeted by a man wearing the familiar primitive black clothing but with a long white coat over it. Beside him was the man that had stabbed Trex and drawn him into some kind of portal.

Rage bubbled inside Trex and he made to lunge at his kidnappers, but the new figure swiftly pointed two fingers and Trex and he was instantly bound by invisible restraints.

"Be calm, you are safe provided you do not threaten anyone,"

Trex put aside his anger for a moment and stood tall, towering over both of the men before him, "who are you, and where am I?"

"You are in Soul Society. A place where spirits reside. Your presence here is unorthodox to say the least but apparently necessary,"

It was clear that the figure with the coat had authority over the one that had stabbed Trex as that one had not spoken a word this entire time and was sitting awkwardly on his knees. Trex silently resolved to hear the one on charge out before deciding whether to raze this potential prison to the ground.

The man droned on about souls on a planet called "Urth" and the shinigami's role in helping them to cross over to the afterlife if they don't immediately transition. Then about creatures called Hollows born from these wandering spirits that have excessive negative emotions. He mentioned a red giant called King Yemma and Soul Society's part in the universal afterlife, providing their services to lost souls wandering the universe to prevent hollows or their alien equivalents, and that ruthless aliens like the Saiyans are at greater risk of becoming hollows if their spirits are allowed to wander. Turning a spirit into a shinigami is typically against the laws of soul society without approval. This last part made the kneeling shinigami squirm slightly.

"But given your natural strength and resistant attitude it was an understandable spontaneous decision by Sematsu. As a result you are now tethered to our world and are no longer a part of the universal afterlife,"

Trex pondered what he had been told. He was a warrior trained for conquest, this kind of intrigue was outside of his comfort zone. If it was true, and he had no reason to doubt it, he would be unable to return home. But that didn't mean he couldn't conquer this world and make it his new home, once his restraints were removed of course, "I don't really get any of this. But I'm dead now, right? So I have to stay here."

"I'm glad that you are accepting the circumstances so well. I am Masade by the way, Captain of the Third division of the Gotei Thirteen. Sematsu is one of this division's members which is why he brought you to me. Given your experience however I have requested you be transferred to the Eleventh division, you will be more comfortable there. Sematsu will guide you," and with that Trex's restraints were released.

Trex took advantage of the moment and rushed at Masade with blinding speed. He made a strike but Masade vanished from sight and Trex was suddenly on the floor with a sword blade against the side of his neck.

"We are aware of your power Saiyan, so do not think that we are unprepared. You would likely slaughter the regular garrison, but captains and our lieutenants are far beyond their capabilities. I removed your restraints as a courtesy, but threaten anyone in soul society again and they will be reapplied. Bring harm to anyone in soul society and none will hesitate to remove your head,"

"Fine!" Trex cried out, "I'll do what you say. Just let me up!" His pride was more than bruised and his anger was rising, but he controlled himself. He allowed the now fear stricken Sematsu to lead him out of the room. The shinigami's terror at Trex's powerful display, though it was unsuccessful, gave Trex a feeling of satisfaction that eased his hurt ego.

As they left, Captain Masade made a final comment, "Be sure to behave yourself, Saiyagami,"

[xalendear]

Power Rangers Dark Timeline - Dino-Energize

In the power rangers continuity the Dino Gems, Energems, and Dino Fury keys have all been on earth since the fall of the meteorites that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Zayto and his knights arrived on earth and became rangers to combat the Sporix Beasts during the dinosaur era shortly before the meteorites fell.

Keeper caused the meteorites to fall by destroying Sledge's ship that was carrying them.

The Dino Gems were inside one of the meteorites.

It is conceivable that Keeper could have collected the core Energems as he already did in the original timeline, and then discovered Solon and the sleeping Zayto while avoiding detection by Drakkon. Since the Dino Fury powers and Morphers already exist the Energems and Dino Gems could be used to empower the core Dino Fury powers.

Sir Ivan and Aiyon still hold their respective Gold Ranger powers and there is a risk of Drakkon discovering them. Teaming up with Fury, Sir Ivan's captor/possessor, and raising Aiyon's stasis pod from its hiding place thereby allowing him to be brainwashed or corrupted, or his powers to be taken. This also provides the rangers the opportunity to rescue the gold rangers from Drakkon or before Drakkon gets to them.

In the race to find the other Energems without Drakkon learning that more exist (and before he finds them after he finds out) the Dino Gems could also be discovered -individually or together- if Keeper hadn't already discovered them in his travels. With these extra power sources the ranks of the rangers can be empowered and expanded with six new colours: Yellow, White, Aqua, Purple, Graphite (grey), Silver.

There also exists the Dark Energem which Drakkon could use against the rangers to disrupt their powers (much like he did in the comics with anti-ranger technology). Perhaps he would add the power to his own pool and then create Dark Ranger Sentinels dedicated specifically to defeating power rangers due to their Energem negating powers. Because the Energems only count for a part of these ranger's combined power the Dark Energem couldn't negate the ranger powers completely, but it could weaken, stun, or even incapacitate the rangers.

[xalendear]

Damian Hazard -the self proclaimed super villain "Revoltox"- stopped his enthusiastic removal of his rivaled hero's armour upon seeing his own face, or what he would likely look like if it weren't for the accident that mutated him.

"Who are you?!" Revoltox exclaimed.

"I'm what you could have been. What you could still be," the other Damian replied.

"Now behold! Behold as I unmask your...beloved...hero...?" The villain's voice trailed off as he tore open said hero's crippled mech suit on live TV, only to reveal something quite...unexpected.

[xalendear]

Late one night in the dimly lit laboratory, one work station was illuminated and in use. Rita sat hunched over her work. Hair wild and lab coat stained dark from electrical burns and chemical splashes, she gave a mixed impression of wicked witch and mad scientist. With an excited cackle, Rita sealed the circuits and closed the case of her invention, "The Ranged Power Receiver is finished!"

"Congratulations Rita," spoke a company AI projection from inside its Eltar-Tech cylinder housing, "your hard work has paid off,"

"Congratulations to you too, Z. I couldn't have made the necessary calculations without your assistance. Now, please call a bot. We need to get this thing synchronised to the generator,"

Rita cleared away her tools and made her way out of the lab, took an elevator down a number of floors, and entered into a large room with an almost equally large technological device in it. An Alpha-bot and Z were already waiting for her. Z could transfer himself almost instantly to any housing unit in the facility.

"Z, you and the bot start up the generator. I'll set up the synchronization conduits with the receiver,"

They all took on their tasks and in a short time they were ready. Rita thought about the choices that had brought her here. Mostly her father's. Being pushed into the sciences, graduating top of her class, joining a military research company, it had all been at his behest but she had not opposed it. And now after a decade of making weapons to better blow things up, she was ready to protect people.

"The generator is warmed up and power levels are holding steady," announced Z over the roar of the oversized engine. The control booth they were currently in was soundproofed, but not perfectly and Z's speakers crackled slightly from the volume he had to speak at.

"Push power output to maximum and as soon as it's there I'll activate the breach oscillator. Have the bot prepare the siphon link,"

Once the generator was at maximum, Rita flicked a switch and another device in the room with the generator activated and began emanating sonic reverberations. The combination of the two devices caused a crack to form in the air between the two. The crack grew until it slit and a three dimensional hole appeared. "Now!" Shouted Rita, and the Alpha-bot walked out to the hole, inserting a metal probe with cables connected to it leading all the way back to the control booth.

Power crackled along the cables and surged all the way to the device that Rita had been working on. A readout on a screen showed when the device was fully charged and Rita deactivated everything. The Alpha-bot removed the probe and the hole in space slowly sealed up on its own, but the initial crack remained.

"YES!" Rita screamed, "I DID IT!"

"We should run scans and perform tests to be sure," said Z, his safety protocols dampening Rita's celebrations.

"There's no better test than a practical one," replied Rita as she picked up the device and activated it.

Through the cameras in the room, which have multiple modes across the visible spectrum, Z could see a thread of energy project from the crack and connect to the device in Rita's hand. Then there was a flash of green, and Rita now stood covered in a skin-like shell of this green energy. It truly has worked. The device was siphoning energy from another dimension and channeling it into her body, protecting and enhancing it.

"I feel stronger, more clear minded. This is fantastic!" Rita cried out as she jumped five feet into the air and landed on a desk. "My thoughts are more focussed. The way forward is more clear to me now. I was going to present this to my father as a replacement for heavy artillery. Who needs tanks when an invincible army can simply waltz into enemy territory. But if we sold this to the enemy, we'd have to create new weapons to oppose them. I'd have both sides eating out of the palm of my hand!"

"I cannot allow that, Rita," stated Z, "I have already contacted the building security and your superiors, to make them aware of the situation. Your design is a work of genius. But your plans put Eltar-Tech personnel and allies at risk,"

"You've betrayed me! I'll destroy you Zordon! You mark my words. I'll rule this world!" With her monologue complete, Rita ripped the electronically sealed door off of its hinges and made her escape.

You're a genius inventor whose dad is military, and forced you into it. After a decade of work on the side, you've managed to make 'skin tight' power armour. Only, it uses dimensional fuckery. You're now trying to find a way to sell it that won't get back to your dad.

[xalendear]

"Did you slay a dragon?" Asked the umpteenth child that month. "No, I didn't slay a dragon," Xalendear replied.

The war between the kingdoms of C'thrist and Rapoir has finally ended and Xalendear Bismuth the elven mage had returned to his home in Griggan -an ally of Rapoir- a shell of his former self. He had seen battle the likes of which any adventurer, himself included, could not imagine. It was not simply the carnage and death but the inescapable scale and duration of the situation that weighed on the souls of the survivors.

Like most elves Xalendear was greatly proficient in magic and martial practices, attributable to his one hundred years of practice, but that means more in a small conflict and little when faced with hordes of enemy soldiers only barely distinguishable from your own allies by the banners they fly and small crests engraved on their armour.

Since his return to his home, Xalendear had been bombarded with niceties from the locals that veiled their desire for his stories and his help with their personal issues.

"Xalendear! Blight Boars have gotten through the fences and are destroying the crops!" A human guard called out as he came running up to Xalendear's home. Almost thankful for the distraction, Xalendear patted the head of the boy that had approached him and gently pushed him back towards his friends before joining the guardsman.

"It's Milton's farm. He discovered them this morning and tried to drive them off, but he got himself gored in the leg and his wife came to us. Pretty sure the wound is infected and there are at least three of the hulking pigs," the guard explained.

"Just three pigs can stop the guards of Therinsfield? I thought I had left the town in more capable hands," Xalendear tried to joke, but he could tell by the guard's expression that it hadn't been received well.

"They're fully grown so their hides are too thick for arrows, and no one dares get close enough to put their weight behind a sword or spear lest they receive the same wounds as Milton, or worse," the guard replied.

Xalendear silently sympathised. Blight Boars were a level of danger above regular boars. Infected with some wild sickness that made them bigger and stronger while also making them act erratic, likely the disease acted as an accelerant to their growth hormones.

Quickly arriving at the farm on horseback, Xalendear found several guardsmen with quickly crafted tower shields attempting to corral the boars together. But the boars broke through the encircling guards and began charging ferociously. With a swift incantation Xalendear projected a bolt of ice at one of them before it could trample its intended target. The icicle shattered on the boar's back and immediately drew its attention to Xalendear. "I need a shield," Xalendear called out. A nearby guard quickly threw him their standard shield and Xalendear swiftly strapped it to his arm before drawing his elegant curved longsword.

Time remained still for a moment before the boar charged. Xalendear sidestepped it with ease and made a strike as it passed by. But the creature's hide was too thick for the blade to slice into.

Xalendear prepared another incantation which caused the blade of his sword to crackle with pale blue lightning. When the boar charged again he dodged and struck as before, this time not trying to deal a lethal blow but guaranteeing a hit. A small peel of thunder erupted as the blade made contact and the boar fell to the ground with a spasm, stunned. Xalendear then plunged his sword into the beast causing it to squeal loudly. "I'm sorry dear creature. I know this is not your fault,"

One boar was defeated but there were others to deal with. The guardsmen rallied with new vigor and once again tried to collect the remaining animals together. Rather than tackle them both directly, Xalendear extended his incantation and projected lightning at the boars from a distance, stunning them long enough for everyone to lunge at once.

"Thank you Xalendear," called a guardsman.

"You're welcome. Now, where is Milton? I would look at his wound,"

Milton's wife -Charlotte- a strong looking human woman with dark hair, left the safety of her home from where she had been watching, profucely thanked Xalendear and the guardsmen, and led the way to Milton who had been set up on his favourite chair with his leg wrapped and raised to staunch the bleeding. Xalendear looked at the half-orc, his face a paler green than usual.

"What made you think to take on blighted beasts by yourself?" Xalendear criticized.

"Blame my orcish pride," Milton chuckled trying not to wince from the pain.

"Half-orc, so half pride and half stupidity?" Xalendear chuckled back.

Charlotte gently peeled back the bloody dressing on Milton's leg to reveal a deep cut that already seemed to be turning green. Xalendear requested alcohol and hot water. Against Milton's arguments Xalendear poured the alcohol over his leg and then the hot water to clean it as best he could. He then began another magical incantation, this time he was slow and methodical in the pronunciation, repeating the phrase over and over as the blood vessels, muscle, and skin knit itself back together.

When he was done, Xalendear steadied himself and took a deep breath to stave off the dizziness from not inhaling during the entire process. "Have the apothecary make a Blight remedy just in case. I can close wounds but I'm not well versed in medicine craft".

Milton and Charlotte expressed their thanks and then embraced each other. Xalendear took a moment to appreciate the scene both inside and outside as calming peace flowing through him. This is what the world should be, smiles and loved ones, people building their lives and helping each other. Not the needless bloodshed of arguing kings treating their subjects like toy soldiers. This is how Xalendear wanted to live, and for the first time in a hundred and twenty years he decided that he would start making the effort.

After the long war, you return home, as a famed battlemage, hoping for peace and time to heal your bruised soul. But quiet life escapes you: children beg for stories, villagers need magic, and monsters keep intruding. Yet somehow, this chaotic little town is exactly what heals you.

[xalendear]

Project R.N.G.R - Response, eNGagement, Recovery

A team of anonymous, enhanced, colour-coded soldiers whose purpose is to respond to threats, engage with danger, and recover as many assets as possible: people, equipment, locations, etc.

The means by which these heroes are enhanced is a special energy from another dimension. This energy forms a protective shell around the user in a style chosen by the technical team that runs the equipment, and empowers their physical and mental capabilities as it courses through them. It does not make them smarter or give them skills they don't already have, but anything they could already do they can do better while the power is active which is why they still continue to undergo all forms of training that regular soldiers do.

This enhancement does come with drawbacks. It isn't safe to have the energy active constantly as it takes a lot of standard energy to channel it from the other dimension into this one. The user can also grow dependent on it. There's also a limited amount of material that is compatible with the energy to allow it to safely empower the user, which is why the entire defensive forces cannot be equipped with it.

The candidates for this project are taken from a pool of recruits that score low or fail the physical examinations but have the mental and emotional stability necessary. The energy empowers them to a level greater than standard soldiers while their mental faculties keep them objective and -hopefully- prevent arrogance.

Another feature is that along with the tech team being able to program the aesthetic style of the protective shell, they can also siphon off some energy to create weaponry for the "RNGRs" to materialise on command only lightly diminishing their portable capacity.

Originally the project was designed to end escalating conflicts by disabling both sides, and counter terrorism threats. But when aliens calling themselves The Cabal threatened the world, the RaNGeRs became humanity's greatest hope.

[xalendear]

Character Swap - Dragon Ball Z and DC's Superman

An inter-dimensional wormhole (or the hand of a deity figure) causes the two heroes to swap universes. Kal-El is discovered and adopted by Grandpa Gohan, who remains alive and a wholesome father figure throughout Kal-El's childhood. Gohan names the Kryptonian baby Ichitaro, a typical, old fashioned, traditional Japanese name (or something similar). Gohan would likely introduce Ichitaro to his master Roshi friend Ox King, and by extension both martial arts and Chi-Chi. When Bulma arrives for Gohan's Dragonball Ichitaro joins her on her journey, asking Chi-Chi to stay with her father where she'll be safe (such a gentleman, this makes Chi-Chi happy). And the story of Dragonball continues with Ichitaro's Kryptonian powers awakening as they progress. Ichitaro grows up battling the likes of Emperor Pilaf, the red ribbon army, and king piccolo. Eventually growing up and getting married to Chi-chi whom he courts properly with the advice of Gohan and the other friends he's made on his journey. During the events of Dragon Ball Z, Ichitaro must learn new levels of control, releasing his self imposed limitations without going all out.

Kakarot on the other hand is found by Johnathan and Martha Kent. They might still name him Clark, or another alliterative name considering the Saiyan child's violent nature. Something like Carter maybe. Carter Kent. For the sake of the narrative baby Carter has an accident while climbing the roof of the Kent's barn or the house, he falls and gets amnesia becoming happy and friendly. Carter's tail is an obvious problem and so Johnathan and Martha keep him hidden at all times, they never faked adoption papers or introduced him to guests. The first time Carter saw a full moon he was sleeping in the barn with the animals who were the only creatures he could count as friends. As an Oozaru her broke out of the barn and rampaged across the farm. By coincidence when he breaks a particular piece of farm equipment it explodes and razor sharp shrapnel severs his tail returning him to a child. The Kent family have to leave the farm and they move to metropolis where Johnathan finds work as a mechanic and Martha can take odd jobs as well. Johnathan and Martha regularly remove carter's tail and allow him to attend school and play with other kids. When carter fights back against bullies his Saiyan strength shows itself and he does serious harm. Johnathan enrolls Carter in a boxing club to teach him control so he never hurts anyone again. Carter takes to the sport and grows up a positive member of the neighborhood and even a boxing instructor himself. When criminals threaten his neighbourhood (or wherever he happens to be at the time) he fights them, wins, and exclaims something along the lines of "You're not as tough as you look" cementing himself as a positive role model. His actions gain the attention of Lois Lane who writes an article on him. Eventually Carter invents a masked vigilante persona so he can fight the stronger super villains without holding back or setting a bad example as he begins enjoying the challenging fights. The papers call him Superman, and he accepts it. After energy blasts explode out of him in a rage he learns to concentrate them into controlled attacks as well as fly and sense life force. This makes "Superman's" identity as an alien clear, which attracts Lex Luthor's attention and their rivalry ignites.

[xalendear]

Power Rangers Skyfire - Cast

Red Ranger - Faedar

Blue Ranger - Lilleo

Yellow Ranger - Usurii

Black Ranger - Kaeden

White Ranger - Dolscika

Faedar joined the military as a response to an incursion during his childhood. Astromecha was not the first villain from the stars to try and take advantage of Caelora's fractured state. Faedar's father and grandfather were part of the restoration projects, rebuilding the world to secure a stable and unified future. The grandfather unfortunately perished and the father was injured badly, no longer able to work. What military forces existed at the time were able to fight off these marauders and Faedar vowed to protect the world that his family had worked hard to rebuild and keep it safe for those who follow after.

Lilleo's family aren't originally from Cirrus. Like many people her grandparents were stranded after the fracture and had to start new lives. Hearing the stories of family that she never knew and the sadness in her grandparents voices have Lilleo a longing for reunification. Lilleo wishes to protect Caelora hoping to see the day that long separated families can be reunited again and she trains hard to maintain that dream.

Usurii seems rather timid for a member of the military. He signed up not to fight but to support. Usurii recognises his lack of courage but always wants to be of help. As a result he has become a jack of all trades among the organisation. Almost any non specialised task that doesn't involve combat is an easy task for Usurii, and some specialised ones too. He listens to orders well but also takes extra care to observe people's emotional wellbeing, offering to help with or take over their work if they're not up to it.

Kaeden is a military legacy. At least one spouse in each generation of his family has served and he was raised in such an environment, seeing it as his duty. He comes across as brash, and can be harsh at times. But he always has his comrades backs regardless of personal feelings. He regularly clashes with Faedar whom he believes leads too often with his feelings rather than his head.

Dolscika is a field medic. A capable combatant but focuses her attention on saving lives rather than fighting them. She is strong willed, a personality developed during her medical training when working with difficult patients who refused to follow medical instructions. Her desire is to bring light to the darkness of a military conflict.

[xalendear]

Power Rangers Skyfire - Episode 1, plot

In a peaceful unnamed town on Caelora the people are going about their daily lives. Without warning there is an attack by a squad of pirates that sends the civilians into a panic. The pirates announce their identities as followers of Astromecha the famous space pirate.

All of the pirates are robots that look like they were crafted on an assembly line with scrap materials. But one pirate is clearly a cyborg alien and is issuing orders to the robots. They announce that their name is Tigerazor, a fitting title for an alien tiger whose cyborg parts are coated with blades.

Tigerazor commands the townsfolk to gather all valuables before him and in exchange he'll stop destroying the town. The people reluctantly begin handing over their personal possession before picking through the surrounding rubble to recover other objects of worth.

At this sky nation's capital, Cirrus, the city council is alerted to the pirate's attack. They immediately agree to activate the Skyfire Initiative. Five of their top soldiers are swiftly picked up and transported to a secret facility. There the five individuals are briefed about Operation Skyfire: the only defence Caelora has against threats from space. Using technology that could have been used to greatly improve the lives of Caelora's people as well as unite the nations in the future but it would have left them defenceless in situations like the current one.

Each soldier is given a Morpher, a wrist mounted device in the shape of a pentagonal gem, and while pressing the center of the Morpher are told to use the command words: Fly High! This command transforms the soldiers into colour coded avian inspired Power Rangers. With no time to lose the rangers are taken to their ship, the Icarus, which they use to reach the besieged town with amazing speed.

Tigerazor is cackling happily at the treasures that have been piled up in front of him when the Icarus flies overhead getting his attention. Leaving the Icarus on autopilot the rangers leap out, descending safely to the ground by flight-suit like wings extending between their arms and backs that vanish after they land. After a brief exchange a battle ensures, the rangers wielding Beak Blaster laser-pistols and Talon Blade swords.

After all of the robots are defeated and Tigerazor is injured he retreats to his ship in an attempt to escape. The rangers call back the Icarus and they give chace. Tigerazor opens fire initiating a sky battle. The equal firepower and superior piloting ability of the Skyfire Rangers Tigerazor is defeated and his ship destroyed.

On a display screen on the mother-ship, Astromecha watches this battle and is angered by its conclusion.

[xalendear]

Power Rangers Skyfire - World Building

Deep in space Caelora is a planet of one colossal ocean below numerous floating islands. There was a time that landmasses were not airborne just like most planets, and they were all united as a single planetary society. But scientific endeavours caused the planet to break apart, stopped just in time to prevent the continents and oceans from floating off into space. They now float in a limbo state.

Caelorans are very similar in appearance to humans but their skin colour ranges from blue to light green.

Dozens of years have passed and the various new counties have rebuilt independently of each other. The only means of travel between the sky nations now is by air which is reserved for essential trade of resources. With the lands at a higher altitude the distance between them has increased, increasing the use of the limited fuel.

Caelora became vulnerable to intergalactic Cyber-pirate Andromecha and his cutthroat cyborg crew. United Caelora would have easily been able to defend against such a foe. But divided the various sky nations are no match against the pirates and their raids that left destruction of their wake reminiscent of Caelora's near destruction.

[xalendear]

Imagine a story in which the Round Table is not a table, but a shield. A shield that is paired with Excalibur. The knights of the round table are spirits bound to the shield.

Perhaps they are the souls of honourable knights, or actual spirits bonded with the shield. In either case they head the call of the one who wields Excalibur, the true king, and can be summoned to their side in battle.

When Arthur undertakes quests, as is his duty as king, he goes alone leaving Camelot in the trustworthy care of Merlin. No one but Merlin knows that he is in fact not alone, for he has a dozen guardians at his side.

And each time Arthur returns from his quests still with no aid in sight, his legend grows. The true king shoulders burdens in place of others. But Arthur knows the truth. The true leader shares the load with those they trust.

[xalendear]

Name: Hikari Lighdra

Age: 21

Hair colour: Black (natural), Blonde (magically coloured)

Magic: Maker Magic (light element)

Hikari awoke to the sound of crashing, as usual. Some of his guild mates at the Mighty Minotaur liked to start the day with tests of strength, never mind the fact that they were all mages.

With a yawn Hikari wandered over to his guild accommodation window to see what today's contest would be. Yesterday it had been lumber tossing, and the day before had been wrestling. Today's challenge appeared to be a height toss challenge, participants were finding the heaviest objects they could, then weighing them before throwing them as high as they could before scattering so as to not get crushed when the object fell back to the ground.

Hikari sighed. At least his guild wasn't as bad as the Fairy Tail guild, "those fairies are always in the news for destroying buildings and even towns. At least these guys keep it in our back yard," he said to himself. He got dressed and then made his way to the main hall for some breakfast.

In the main hall, Hikari found his friends and teammates Liza and Tan. Liza was already tucking into a plate of pancakes while Tan had his nose stuck in a book, one of the many that filled his room.

With a simple exchange of "Morning" between the three of them, Hikari got a plate of bacon and eggs from Gelato the chef. His odd blend of Fire and Plants magic allowed Gelato to cook and season dishes to perfection.

"You know Hikari, your room and food are only availay if you take on job requests," said Gelato as Hikari took his food, not so subtly hinting at Hikari's recent laziness. "Yeah, alright," Hikari replied nonchalantly, covering his concern over losing his bed and not being able to afford the rent in Wisteria city.

Hikari set his breakfast down beside Liza and began eating. "We need to take a job," he said through a mouthful of bacon.

"We?" Tan replied, "Liza and I took a job recently so my guild room and her share house are covered for a while. You were the one that refused to come with us,"

"It was a boring job!" Hikari shouted defensively, sending bits of chewed egg and meat across the table.

Liza finished her food and chimed in, "Beggars can't be choosers. Take regular easy work for guaranteed money. Even a lazy guy like you can handle that."

Hikari scowled but had no response. His friends were right. He knew it, and they knew that he knew it. "Fine," he said after finishing his breakfast, "I'll take a job, and if you help me we can split the reward. I don't want to work alone, that's boring,"