Tor's Intro

Tor shielded his eyes from the sun with his left hand as he looked up at the clear sky, looking at the white clouds moving across the blue canvas as uncertainty flashed in his eyes. He was standing outside the Rune Knight Headquarters, a place where he would have steered clear if he was still who he was two weeks ago. Originally a key figure in the Red Eagle triad, Tor was given a new lease on life by Shane Stern, a Rune Knight who had joined the triad as an undercover. The one-man operation had taken him six months to build up to the climax, where he had single-handedly ripped apart the criminal organization into shreds, taking down the top echelon of the group from power and effectively sealing off all of their assets to prevent them from ever rebuilding.

Throughout the same length of time, Tor had unknowingly proved to Shane that he was a person of good character and despite years of being molded by a harsh environment, Tor was still capable of making a change in his life for the better. The revelation of Shane being a Rune Knight had caused a shift in Tor’s perception of the world, and the trust that the Rune Knight had in him made him want to prove to the Rune Knight that he hadn’t judged Tor wrongly.

And that trust had been materialized into a sealed envelope that Shane had told Tor to bring with him should he ever wish to join the Rune Knights.

Doubts and uncertainty filled Tor’s mind as he nervously clenched and unclenched his fists in front of the Rune Knight HQ. The conviction that had steered him out of bed and drove him towards this place was suddenly waning, as though cracks appearing on a wall.

However, the look of uncertainty in Tor’s eyes cleared up in an instant as he let out a huge breath and lightly thumped his chest with his left fist.

“It’s just applying for the Rune Knights! What is there to be afraid of?” the twenty-year-old said to himself with an air of confidence. With a brazen smirk on his face, Tor walked right up into the Rune Knight HQ.

“I would like to apply to join the Rune Knights, please!” Tor spoke up in a firm tone as he approached the front counter.

[395 words]

Tor’s eyes were roaming around after exclaiming his purpose to the empty desk, hoping to catch the attention of anyone who might be in the office behind when a loud bang suddenly caused him to skip back a step away from the front desk in surprise. His eyes widened when he heard a string of curses from a feminine voice from the most unlikely of places. Under the table. A raven-haired girl soon appeared from under the desk. Tor mostly watched with a quizzical expression on his face, one of his eyebrows raised as he waited for the girl to brush herself down.

When she had finally explained her reason for being under the desk, the first thing that Tor thought was the curses she had spouted earlier.

“You were giving yourself that with the pen? No wonder it hurt,” Tor asked with a blossoming smile before exclaiming.

However, even as he was acting like an idiot, Tor’s eyes glimmered as he discretely looked at the stunning beauty in front of him. At least, he hoped he was being discrete. Joining the Rune Knights might have been the wisest choice he had ever made if the Rune Knight was filled with beauties of such caliber. The way her features were arranged perfectly, how her hair seemed to give her a delicate frame, the curves on her body hadn’t escaped his attention but Tor needed to rein it in. He was applying to be a Rune Knight, this wasn’t the time for that.

Private Kadokawa?

Something clicked in his mind as he remembered something and then exclaimed again with surprise. The features and the name matched everything he had been told.

“I know you! You are Lilith, right?” Tor asked exuberantly. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to already know someone he had been told about.

“My name’s Toril Fulgur. Everyone calls me Tor,” the blonde youth said with a grin.

[323 words]
[Total WC: 1032]

They twins had been in middle of a strawberry and chocolate milk break when the harsh and ever shrill voice of Lillith had come through the speaker of the radios each of the Rune Knights had on them tuned to the channel for Generals. Their office was, for lack of a better word, doubling as a storage for blueprints, half finished machines, and one rather overfilled trash container with papers. Their desks were pushed together and was overflowing with it's contents. Paperwork regarding past dues to the many suppliers, concoctions of their own design that were still in the formulating process, and much, much more. Jellisha would lunge for the radio hidden in the great pyramid of field reports ready to be filed away. "General Sinclair here. We're on our way for the newbie, over!" Grappa appeared most chipper from the idea of being the first to greet an incoming new person into the guild. It had felt like an eternity since they had been in their shoes, being welcomed into such an amazing home. Granted, their entry was Seri and Mythal stumbling across their egg, hidden in the storage with only a spare heater to keep them alive, but that was besides the point. "Wow, I can't believe we get to initiate a person! I wonder how hard it'll be. The others make it look so easy." Jellisha opened their office door in the workshop and would lead the way past the other members of the EC, busy running around in their multiple projects as always. Grappa followed behind her as their feet moved in tandem. Because of the short length in distance, the two would make it to the entrance hall in practically no time at all. Around a minute or so as their forms would reveal a pair of Exceed, speeding through the hallways of the main building before coming to rest by the door to the main hall.

As the door was opened, the twins would reappear in their normal forms: a pair of identical twins who look incredibly similar to the Marshal and Field Director respectively. Their eyes were the only thing to tell each apart from one another, dressed in the uniform for their division rank. Each twin's arm held a rather large console with a screen which danced with patterns and lights every so often. One thing Tor also might notice would be their difference in age, as the the twins were about half his own give or take. They walked forward towards Lillith and the new recruit as their eyes danced around his form. "Sorry for being late. We were just..." The crimson eyed girl would lock gazes with the newbie as she couldn't help but become curious about this guy. He looked so mysterious and badass. Like he had a super tragic backstory and was a bad guy but not really a bad guy bad guy. Did that make any sense? She paused for a moment, long enough to catch that she had trailed off for a while and shook her head to clear her ever troubled mind.  "Looking at some new things..." Grappa would be the first to offer their newest recruit into the ranks, standing at attention and offered Tor a respectable curtsey that she had seen their mother perform back during the ball. It probably wasn't the best time or place but she wanted to make an impact at least.

"On behalf of the Rune Knights, we hereby welcome you to our home. We're Generals Sinclair, not to be confused with Field Marshall Sinclair." It was an important point that lots of people probably had already assumed now, though would need to be stated for those that were just coming into the fold, such as this guy here. Jellisha even would snap out of her daze long enough to follow her lead. "So were you interested in joining us then? We're always happy to accept more able bodied recruits into our ranks. May we ask your name, sir?"

WC: 670 // Twins' Total WC: 670 // Total WC: 1702

Tags: @Lilith @Tor

Tor didn’t have to wait too long after the girl that had introduced herself as Private Kadokawa, who he suspected to be the Lilith he had heard about, had made a call through a walkie talkie for one of the generals to process his application. It was a strangely familiar process, not very different from how he had first been inducted into the Red Eagle group. Back then, the top guys would give him a lookover, ask him why he wanted to join them and then just take him into their fold. Tor had expected a long stringent process that might have included a background check, but he was equally glad to not have to go through that.

A door to the side of the main hall would open, and a pair of young girls would walk through them. Tor merely gave them a quick glance through the side of his eyes. They were too young to register in the young man’s eyes, which had quickly returned to Lilith. Tor wasn’t paying attention even when they spoke, just blurrily taking in the words they were saying until he suddenly perked up. His eyes went wide and goosebumps seemed to rise from his arms when he slowly turned his head around to look at the twin girls again.

Generals Sinclair? Welcome?

The realization that he had just given the twin girls, no, two Generals of the Rune Knights the cold shoulder dropped on him like a bucket of cold water. But he quickly shook off the sudden stiffness, and looked at them proper with a smile.

“General Sinclairs, good to meet you. Yes, I’m here to join the Rune Knights. My name’s Toril Fulgur. My friends call me Tor,” Tor quickly introduced himself, speaking in a formal manner to the twins despite their younger age.

“I have a recommendation letter from one of your colleagues. He’s called Shane. Do you know him?” Tor continued speaking, extending his right hand in the direction of the twins with the sealed envelope from Shane. Tor only knew that Shane was from the Rune Knights, and from the recommendation letter he had written for Tor, he just assumed Shane was one of the middle levels in the organization.

[373 words]
[Total WC: 2075]

Well, he was pretty spirited, so Grappa had to give him that. He made the classic mistake that many people had made only seconds after noticing them inside of the Rune Knights own home. The two were walking proof that anybody of any size could be a mage or hero if they worked hard enough. Or in their case, if they had enough beli in the Knights' account to make their dreams and weaponry a reality. Money was just a different kind of magic, really. Just one that made you happy. Jellisha was still staring awkwardly at the boy in front of them and would have likely continued into the morning had it not been for Grappa elbowing her sister in the side hard enough to shake her back awake. "Y-Yeah, um, nice to meet you and all..." The girl looked away awkwardly, pretending to notice something amiss with the curtains and their lower than usual thread count from afar as Grappa would take the mantle of the welcoming committee. Lillith had been very proactive in keeping conversation going though her language was anything but professional. Of course, they didn't really care one way or another in private. The other Generals would have punished her seven ways for even referring to them as "hottie" in passing. But this was one of those times where she would be glaring daggers into the Private. He introduced himself as Toril, Tor for short. In his hand was a sealed letter from Captain Stern. He handed it over towards the girls with Grappa surprised to see that it was, in fact, an actual piece of stationary written by the one and only. Jellisha even pulled herself back into the conversation to gaze and Stern's handwriting.

"Yeah, that's the Captain's handwriting alright." Jellisha said, her sister smiling back up at their aspiring little recruit here with eyes full of intrigue. Lillith spoke up again just as they discovered that Shane had some amount of contact with Toril, and likely was the reason for the boy ending up on their doorstep. Calling the captain her usual flirtatious word of choice. Honestly, Grappa had a good mind to just tell one of their bosses that she was slacking on work or something. Why was this girl acting so weird? And how come Jellisha wasn't her usual, serious and grumpy self?

"Yes, as Lilith put in her... unique way, it seems you have a recommendation from the captain himself. We don't give these out all that often, so you should feel proud. But first, we need to ask you a few questions. Nothing personal, just things to get to know you." Grappa paused, pocketing the letter while then offering a nod towards one of their own division members who had just walked in, Kyra, before continuing on.

"First, why do you want to join us? Did the Captain have a word with you regarding us? Maybe you want to fight evil and save people like all of us?~ And then, do you have any outstanding warrants or things of note regarding your legal status in Era?"

WC: 518 // Twins' Total WC: 1188 // Total WC: 3236

Tags: @Lilith @Tor @Kyra Forte

The short reply from Lilith to his first remark hadn’t gone unnoticed. It was a surprise that a stunning girl such as herself would hold a conversation with him for so long, despite his thuggish demeanor. And his remark had even gotten a short laugh out of her which to Tor at the moment, sounded like the laugh of an angel. The blonde mage put on a smile that he had hoped was full of charm and winked at her with his left eye. “Mmm, well if you ever need a hand, just ask. I will be most glad to help.”

What he did not anticipate was the sudden excitement that he could see on the girl’s face when he had mentioned Shane. Her description of the man was also quite apt, as he thought back to his chiselled appearance, his broad shoulders, the bulging muscles and his sculpted frame. Tor shook his head quickly, not wanting to plant any seeds of doubt regarding his own sexuality, before looking back towards Lilith.

The twins were slightly more subdued in their reaction but they had acknowledged Shane’s status in the Rune Knights as well. Hearing them call him Captain had verified his expectations of the man’s rank.

However, when he needed to explain how he had gotten to know him, a cloud of gloom seemed to have appeared above his head as he tried to figure out a way to explain it to them. He was tongue-tied for the first time in a while as he tried to speak out, but after a few failed attempts, Tor decided to just come clean. A simple background check from an organization as huge as the Rune Knights would just easily spill all the dirt on him anyway.

Holding in his breath and then letting it out in a long sigh, Tor looked at the two girls that were waiting for an answer.

“I’m actually a member of the Red Eagle organization. Shane infiltrated the organization to bring them down from the inside. That was how I knew him,” Tor answered truthfully. The full story would be too long so he just spoke about the key points. As he spoke, Tor had begun to feel that the chances of him joining the Rune Knights were probably dropping. However, the gloom had came about because it affected his application. It had nothing to do with his past. For an orphan that had grown up on the streets, Tor was proud of himself for having made it this far and that was something that no one could take away from him.

“Shane has told me quite a bit of stories while we were both in Red Eagle. That’s how I came to identify Lilith,” Tor continued to speak, turning towards Lilith as he spoke.

“I don’t know what exactly happened or what he said to me, but after knowing him, I began to see things from his point of view. He also encouraged me to break away from the norm, that street rats like me aren’t destined to just be useless bums or lawbreakers. He believed that I would make a good Rune Knight, hence writing this recommendation letter. If you were to ask me honestly, I don’t really know if I want to fight evil and save people, but I do know that I want to change myself and my future for the better. I want to do my part to contribute to society, with the same sense of righteousness and justice that Shane had.”

His tone had originally been on the soft side but as he spoke, Tor’s strong will was slowly being ignited and his voice and tone began to carry a conviction that he never knew he possessed. At this moment, his eyes were completely clear and void of any doubts regarding himself as he looked at the twins.

[647 words]
[Total WC: 3883]

"Oh, get a room, you two..." Jellisha murmured to herself at Lilith and Tor's continued flirting but not actually flirting but also probably flirting at one another. She did seem annoyed though likely not for the reason that both were assuming was. Grappa sat on the couch and listened to the tale that Tor would spin for her in regards to her questions. Sure, they'd give a background check just like every person who marched in here and wished to join, but it spokes quite well for a person that they answer truthfully instead of hiding their past instead of coming out fully to them. For that, both girls would find themselves looking up to Tor in a very positive light. As he spoke, Jellisha would shuffle around a bit out of discomfort while her sibling stuck to just listening intently and remaining upright. There were bits and pieces of him that reminded the girls of their former Captain friend, their little hearts aching to see him gone so soon and hoping he would return, even if to just say hello. As he finished, the two looked at one another before then turning back towards Tor and the ever lovely Lilith.

"So if what you said was true, then you're coming from a pretty bad place." Jellisha commented. Oh, he was a bad boy trying to turn good. Gods above, he was just like those cool, edgy heroes from her stories and games. Grappa would nod in agreement. "I think it speaks well about your character that you came here. I can see it in your eyes." she smiled a bit, leaning back. "Even your answer has impressed us. Many people think that we simply live to rid the world of evil. We joined thinking that way ourselves. But to become a Rune Knight isn't about glory or service. It's about progress of self and mind. It's pretty biased of the Engineering Branch to say that, but it doesn't make it less true." A few small chuckles escaped from the emerald eyed twin's mouth while gazing back towards Lilith, then to Kyra, and finally back towards Tor. "But that doesn't mean that you're turning a blind eye to those in need. At the end of the day, taking down threats is just part of the job."

"Anyway, enough of that boring stuff." Jellisha butted in again, crossing her arms again. "Everything looks good so far. A letter of recommendation from Shane is a pretty good step in your direction. I don't think we'll be seeing any difficulties unless there's something drastic you're not telling us. So..." The two looked at one another and gave a stern nod.

"Welcome to the Rune Knights." The twins said in unison. "We'll see to it that you'll get a uniform, a bed, and everything else, Private." The crimson eyed girl would look over towards some of the banners on the north wall, displayed prominently so that even a single step inside would reveal their imagery to the entrants. SHe motioned for Tor to follow her vision, hand pointing towards them. "I'm guessing you and Shane talked about the Rune Knights already. Did he tell you about the 3 Divisions yet? If not, we can just give you a quick briefing of each. Or if not, you don't have to choose one right this second."

WC: 560 // Twins' Total WC: 1748 // Total WC: 5,899

Tags: @Lilith @Tor @Kyra Forte

There had actually been another girl that had been listening in on the whole conversation, hidden slightly by the large doors behind the twins. Tor had seen her when he was speaking to the twins, and while he could only catch a glimpse of her, he could recognize another beauty when he saw one. Even if partially. However, before he could try to make any eye contact with the silver-haired beauty, he was pulled back to the serious conversation at hand by Jellisha’s comment.

Tor could only give an awkward smile and a nonchalant shrug when Jellisha commented about his origins. There was nothing he could do about it anyway. The other twin would nod as well, but she had more to say than her sibling. Tor seemed to nod along with her as she spoke, curious to know their actual age, judging from the depth she was showing through her words. He knew of many people whose appearance wasn’t an accurate reflection of their age. And from the looks of it, he could see that Jellisha was the no-nonsense and rasher one of the two as she swept away her sister’s comments.

All in all, the two of them didn’t find any problems with Tor’s application, especially with Shane’s recommendation in hand. For the letter from Shane, a Captain as they had referred to him as, to hold so much weight that the Generals had more or less waived their misgivings about his background, Tor was beginning to suspect if Shane’s background was as simple as he had made it out to be. Of course, of all the things that Shane had seen fit to share about the Rune Knights, he had made sure to not spill any sensitive information to Tor. In hindsight, he had also hidden a lot about himself.

Tor could feel his heart finally dropping back into place as he breathed out a sigh of relief when both Generals welcomed him to the organization. He had passed the interview, or whatever he assumed this to be.

“The three divisions? Shane gave me an overall briefing about it, but I will be following in his steps. I would like to join the Special Operations division please,” Tor replied with a beaming smile. His originally tense shoulders had been relieved of a huge burden. Shane then turned towards Lilith and gave her two finger guns in her direction while smirking, “I know Private Kadokawa is in the Spec Ops too, if Shane’s info wasn’t wrong.”

[418 words]
[Total WC: 6317]