Bluefire Drones (Binding Universe)

The Type II Artificial Wraith takes the form of a skeletal figure wrapped in a blue aura. In standby mode, the aura is soft, indistinct, and not obtrusively bright, but always visible.

In combat mode it flares brighter, taking the form of flickering blue flames with hints of horn or mist. It does this by briefly converting the surrounding matter into more aura, allowing it to move much more quickly, as well as travel through almost all physical defenses. The aura has aspects of charged plasma and decay, and is the only truly critical component, spreading to shape available metal to replace damaged sections. This is potentially dangerous, as if they replace too much of themselves their shape will change, causing both mind and body become more unique, and in the worst cases they can end up as Asura variants or even demons. By default, the skeleton is thin but sturdy, with more focus on durability and conserving resources than on actual strength, as it’s real weapon is it’s aura. They take a significant period of time to develop personalities naturally, even if frequently damaged, and this is by design. They aren’t stupid by default, either, and thanks to beginning with reasonable animal minds, are unlikely to ever exhibit true sentience without major tampering.

Their original purpose was as advanced antiarmor units, being able to burn or simply phase their through nearly all physical shielding, but with very little adaptation their speed and defensive abilities make them excellent shocktroops. Elite squads with more development and therefore power tend to be used as reasonably effective general assault units, and the company attached to the general research facility where the Queen of Dead Echoes was being housed performed remarkably well against the Rogue despite their relative inexperience.

A particularly dangerous unit  at the same facility known as Bombshell was believed to have initially been one of these, before absorbing several related Eidolons and the wreckage of a jet fighter to assume it’s current form, but was insufficiently studied before the Rogue destroyed and absorbed it. The implications of compatible Eidolons fusing were extensive, as it had been previously believed to violate the Absolute Rule.

Lace-of-the-Mountain (Binding Universe)

Lace-of-the-Mountain, Cliffstar, Hearts-Yearning, Edelweiss… We have many names for it, in my country. It is the most potent ingredient for love charm available, barring the darker sources, for it is rare, well hidden, dangerous to seek, and very beautiful, and has thus been infused with a powerful aspect of yearning. A freely given gift made from it will transfer an impression of all the strongest desires of the giver, and in so doing show exactly how much they care, or care not, as the case may be.
Aphrodisiacs are simple enough to conjure, as are their opposite, but true love charms are dependent on investment above all else, and therefore Lace-of-the-Mountain is the strongest natural ingredient. The plants are only ever used singularly, never more than one for the same purpose, for such would run counter to their nature as things of rare beauty and melancholy.

As to their true significance, there are but few crown jewels more iconic than our fair country’s silver cast Edelweiss head, essential to the royal marriage ceremony, and said to have solved many conflicts with it’s power to show the true priorities of men.

It’s influence is shown on our flag, with its silver top and bottom stripes, split by a muted yellow, the colors of the flower itself. And I suppose that all these things matter little to you. You are young, and foreign, and your eyes have not the passion of a scholar. Seek elsewhere. Its charm is in its danger to oneself, not to others. You would not be able to make the type of weapon you seek, not with the flower alone. I wish you well.

Machine King Bios (Binding Universe)

Hey! I've updated! Have a whole bunch of character bios!
I've actually had these for a while, but never posted them. I might have been waiting for a good time. Hmm.

Name: Nihilo

Other Names: Machine King Series Nine Model One

Position: Leader

Specialty: Networking

Spell Arsenal: Optical Lance, Sky Chaser

Appearance: A youth of slightly ambiguous gender (male), with short black hair that is very nearly always a perfect mathematical curve.

Abilities: Turboforge, Tangleroot

Super Mode: Nihilo Supernum

Notes: The youngest Machine King to participate in the Machine King Incident, Nihilo is a networking specialist. He is theoretically capable of surviving the total destruction of his body, if he was able to perform an emergency upload in time. He is also the only Machine King who does not use some form of Targeting Sight, having a more advanced interface for Tangleroot. He does not walk, and his hands are linked together by a metal device similar to a shackle most of the time. Instead, he uses hovering flight to move and delegates the field leadership to Mkell.

Name: Mkell

Other Names: Machine King Series Two (Experimental) (model unknown)

Position: Heavy combat specialist, second in command

Specialty: Bloodforging

Spell Arsenal: Poisoned Light, Phantom Limb

Appearance: Athletic man who could be anywhere between sixteen and thirty with thick red hair and matching eyes. He wears a black bodysuit with no less than eight handguns strapped to various locations, (armpits, upper calves, back of waist, thighs) six of which have metal gauntlets grasping them (all but thighs).

Abilities: Turboforge (bloodforging specialty), Targeting Sight

Super Mode: Unnamed, grows four multistory, scythesque legs of variable length from his upper back.

Notes: Early Machine King, originally had a handgun focus. Current abilities result from his experimental conversion into a Lord of Shreds and Tatters. His Targeting Sight takes the form of red lenses integrated with his iris and pupil. In combat, he uses a combination of Turboforge and Phantom Limb to control six robotic hands, and by extension eight handguns at once. Also carries roughly twice the blood he originally did, so that he can rapidly reload his handguns with bloodforged bullets.

Name: Zoriel

Other Names: Machine King Series Four (model unknown)

Position: Ranged support specialist

Specialty: Sniping

Spell Arsenal: Magic Bullet, Optical Lance, Miracle Dodge

Appearance: Man in what could be his early twenties wearing a white coat and grey body armor. His eyes glow a light blue, and his hair is the semimetallic brown standard to Machine Kings.

Abilities: Turboforge (mostly just used for repairs and to make ammunition), Targeting Sight

Super Mode: Gear wings attached to upper back. Gears have pipes that interlock, exposed pipe ends can be used as rockets.

Notes: Uses an unrifled longbarrel gun. Despite this, it manages to  match conventional sniper rifles in accuracy. He has a permanent light blue Targeting Sight built into his eyes, but unlike Mkell’s version his can interface with his weapon sight.

Name: Ruviel

Position: Field repair and antiarmor specialist

Specialty: Armor piercing

Spell Arsenal: Sky Chaser, Electric Moment, Spark Chain

Appearance: Young man with short metallic brown hair wearing a coat of the same color and carrying a large white buzzsaw. The buzzsaw guard envelops whichever forearm is carrying it.

Abilities: Turboforge, Targeting Sight

Super Mode: Blowtorch gloves. There is almost certainly something else besides these, but the details have yet to be confirmed.

Notes: His Targeting Sight takes the form of orange goggles. The buzzsaw he uses can cut through most forms of armor quite quickly.

Name: Hachiel

Position: Close combat specialist

Specialty: High speed flight

Spell Arsenal: Leading Edge, Sky Chaser, Miracle Dodge

Appearance: Man with black hair in black and white body armor designed to evoke Apollo and Saturn series rockets to some degree. Carries a sword with a very wide blade with the same aesthetic.

Abilities: Turboforge, Targeting Sight

Super Mode: Rocket equipped armor and sword. Rarely deactivated.

Notes: Another experimental Machine King, Hachiel is capable of orbital flight given sufficient acceleration time and Fuel supply. His Targeting Sight takes the form of a light grey full face visor.

Name: Kariel

Position: Mixed range combat specialist

Specialty: Ranged heavy weaponry

Spell Arsenal: Optical Lance, Miracle Dodge

Appearance: Young woman with metallic brown hair in matching body armor.

Abilities: Turboforge, Targeting Sight

Super Mode: Large mechanical arms attached to her upper back, and a reinforced exoskeleton to allow full use. Can be used as high efficiency Optical Lance projectors.

Notes: Her Targeting Sight is the semistandard orange goggles, but her Super Mode technically has the highest strength output short of Nihilo Supernum.

Name: Roxiel

Position: Transportation and defense specialist

Specialty: Area denial

Spell Arsenal: Laser Wire, Optical Lance

Appearance: Woman in her twenties with metallic brown hair in a bun.

Abilities: Turboforge (used extensively for super mode), [unnamed teleportation ability], Targeting Sight

Super Mode: Hexagonal white metal panels under telekinetic control. Used to reflect Optical Lance and let it hit a larger area. Also allows teleportation between two areas enclosed by the hexagons.

Notes: Her Targeting Sight takes the form of orange goggles.

Name: Miriel

Position: Antiair and heavy fire support

Specialty: Ultraheavy combat

Spell Arsenal: Counter Force, Blast Shield

Appearance: Woman with hair the color of graphite in white armor with rotary cannons for sleeves. Large micromissile pods are attached to her thighs.

Abilities: Turboforge (used for very rapid ammunition generation)

Super Mode: Rotary cannon sleeves and micromissile pods on outside of thighs. Also reinforces armor somewhat.

Notes: Her Targeting Sight is the semistandard orange goggles.

Name: Nuriel

Position: Mobile artillery support

Specialty: Indirect fire support

Spell Arsenal: Ground Zero, Sky Chaser

Appearance: Woman with black hair in white body armor with four arm size rifled tubes attached to the shoulders and hips.

Abilities: Turboforge, Targeting Sight

Super Mode: Four railgun mortars that can be loaded very rapidly if Noriel is above or in front of something metallic, and double as ion jumpjets.

Notes: Designed in tandem with Miriel, to complement each other’s abilities.

Yuuyel Mode Intro (Binding Universe)

So. This is the theoretical introduction to the side story/bonus mode for an even more theoretical game, set in the Binding Universe. This one follows one of the main story bosses, a Machine King commando, who had actually been investigating this particular government subcontractor on behalf of the local law enforcement and got caught in the crossfire as the facility's barely legal standing army was mobilized to try and stop a subverted Combat Doppelganger from releasing the Queen of Dead Echoes. As an early draft, standard warnings apply.

Pan in on a forest, just outside a fenced compound. Only a small section is seen, dense foliage blocks the rest, but even without it one gets the impression that the ends of the fence are quite some ways off. It is dark, and raining, and this is probably why no one is visible between the fence and the rather plain looking building more than fifteen feet away. Despite this, the fence is in good repair, fifteen feet tall, black, and has a large sign that brightly displays the words No Trespassing. Below, smaller text warns the reader not to touch the fence as it is electrified. Panning back a good fifty feet, we see a human of indeterminate nature but probably young male, with hair the color of electrum, crouching comfortably behind foliage. He wears a light grey uniform, form fitting but obviously armored, and each limb has a metal cylinder attached to it by clamps, with a small claw at the outer end. We hear a voice, slightly filtered by it’s microphone, although Yuuyel is directly interpreting the radio signal, and remains silent.

Operator: “The covert entry warrant has been signed, you’re good to go. You have twelve hours to find enough evidence to justify calling the army, but please try not to get us sued.”

Yuuyel: “No, I’m not going to bring the Blasting Torch.”

Operator: “As reassuring as that may be, your phrasing implies that you have it with you. In clear defiance of your orders.”

Yuuyel: “Well, not in one piece.”

Operator: “Do you have enough of the pieces to be considered a disassembled firearm?”

Yuuyel: “Of course not. I have a custom joystick, some tubing, and a fancy penlight.”

Operator: “And you can make a new barrel in seconds. Please don’t. Destruction of private property gets us fined.”

Yuuyel: “Why are we still talking about this? I’m on a time limit.”

Operator: “I’m making a hardcopy of this transcript. It’s going to be your funeral.”

Yuuyel: “Sure.”

Operator: “Enforcing radio silence, then. Don’t call unless absolutely necessary.”

Yuuyel proceeds forward, silently, two paces. He then raises his arms and aims at a pair of high branches twenty feet ahead of him, launches the grappling hooks, and when they connect he rewinds the cables, thereby launching himself upwards at an angle, just high enough to clear the fence. Fortunately, he remembers to unlatch the grappling hooks from the branches as he reaches them, thereby avoiding another replay of the time he dislocated both shoulders and destroyed a chinup bar. He launches one of his leg mounted grapnels as soon as he’s over the rail, and reels himself down to ground level just outside the closest building.

Explosions are immediately heard, some distance away.

Like a good citizen, Yuuyel runs to render assistance or report a crime if necessary.

Level Start.

Fourth Timeline Magic Clothing Manufacturers (Binding Universe)

The author feels slightly embarrassed. He had this ready, but forgot it was around and thought he would need to write the post from scratch.

Which he then proceeded to put off. Yeah. Oops.

Aegis Incorporated: A small company of haberdashers that went from a small, four building microchain to a large conglomerate when they became one of the first to adopt durability enchantments for their wares. Now one of the larger armor manufacturers in the world, and quite popular for making long lasting, comfortable clothing with fire, insect, and electrical insulation as standard features. A large fraction of armored clothes are produced by these guys, and while there are others who deal higher end wares they generally require rarer and more expensive materials, or import their goods from other Timelines. It was originally owned mostly by one family with several smaller shares owned by their friends, and that ownership has mostly survived despite the numerous mergers and buyouts over the course of it’s rise.

Anansi Industries: A clothesmaking company based in Africa, remarkable both for being founded and primarily run by natives and for reaching world class in the formal tailoring circuit. Grew out of a collection of traditional weavers and modern shamans, they make extraordinarily fine outfits to order, and bless them in many, many ways. It is said that a large part of their success comes from a way to magically enforce telling the truth, but these rumors are generally dismissed. Well liked by most people not connected to or manipulated by the more established industries in the area, as they teach almost all required skills on the job while actually paying well. Also known for hiring storytellers, sometimes off the street, both as entertainment and to attune weaving to certain concepts.

Drapier’s: One of the few high quality, widely renowned establishments to stay close to the same level after the adoption of magic. This was probably helped by the fact that they were a small establishment before and after, and that they therefore didn’t rely on large factories, which allowed enchantment (or not, to order) without the automated enchantment breakthroughs that made Aegis Inc. so successful. May or may not be based in London, but if it is it was probably founded by a british wiseguy.

Tracie’s Workshop: A reasonably sized, moderately tacky chain that began when a small town fabric store and a failing jeweler’s decided to impersonate something much classier. They mostly deal in enchanted trinkets and minor clothing modifications, but their real popularity is in their cheap appraisals, both magical and mundane. While they advertise in house to order enchantment, they mostly just add basic, premade charms and finish with a minor boost as a fixer. Their role model, Gearheads, was a small but fairly popular store in San Cervantes, USA, that made custom gadgets in the 1950’s but closed down when the owner retired.

Khaynlayn Promyshlennost: Also known as Khaynlayn Industries, KP, or KI. Major Russian armor manufacturer, with connections to projects all across the board, most successfully space travel. Largest supplier of esoteric defenses in the world, and are believed to have arranged clandestine trading with other timelines. Fond of machinery, and their wares are (somewhat) undeservedly known for being generally unreliable, often unsafe, and always impressive. If you buy a space suit, deep diving gear, or any kind of hazardous materials handling equipment, odds are pretty good that some part of it was made or developed by these guys.