Elegy

Wares Powers etc

• Gotta set the mood!

• The abilities

  Below is a chart of Elegy's abilities, segmented into four tiers. Antumbra abilities are the weakest, and Void abilities are the most powerful. These will require explanation, and here that explanation shall be.
  
  Elegy is not a limitlessly-powerful character, and his powers tend to rely on several factors. He does not go by traditional charge-counters for all of his abilities except for a select few. His primary method of tracking is, instead, Reserves Count and Environmental Effect, again except for a select few. At the beginning of any kind of situation wherein abilities are allowed, a Reserve Count will be rolled at 5d10+5. An Environment Effect is then rolled as 1d10; 1-3 is high light conditions and increases Reserve cost of abilities by 2. 4-6 is mid-light conditions, and increases Reserves cost of abilities by 1. 7-9 is low-light conditions, and does not effect Reserves cost. 10 is dark conditions, and reduces Reserves cost by 2.

• Abilities Chart

  Antumbra	Penumbra	Umbra	The Void
  Antumbra Nightkiss (Offensive 1) Tolerance (Defensive 1, Passive) Cry of the Suffering (Offensive, Defensive 1)	Penumbra Vamixi's Bite (Offensive 1) Shadow Whip (Offensive 2) Resistance (Defensive 1, Passive) Obscure (Defensive 2) Dampen (Defensive 3) Howl of the Anguished (Offensive, Defensive 1)	Umbra Transfixing Passion (Offensive 1) Shadow Lash (Offensive 2) Taken (Level 1, Offensive 3) Resilience (Defensive 1, Passive) Cover of Darkness (Defensive 2) Absorb (Defensive 3) Scream of the Tortured (Offensive, Defensive 1)	The Void Embrace the Dark (Offensive 1) Shadow Slash (Offensive 2) Taken (Offensive 3, Level 2) Immunity (Defensive 1, Passive) Null-Zone (Defensive 2) Shunt (Defensive 3) Shriek of the Damned (Offensive, Defensive 1)

• Abilities Explanation

  Each ability, as you can see, has a corresponding numbering for it. This is for determining their place in the ability tree. The locations on the chart is for the level of the ability itself, usage of which which is also determined by the rolled environmental factor if the ability uses Reserves instead of Charges. The one exception to this is his passive Defensive 1 ability, which costs a Reserve point that corresponds to its place on the chart. It is also worth noting that if Elegy's Reserve count reaches a five-point threshold, depending on circumstances, he may abandon the fight. For RPing purposes, this threshold signals that Elegy is in danger of causing lasting debilitation to himself and intolerable, lasting vulnerability. Do not be surprised if, in an ability-allowed fight, he admits defeat once he reaches this threshold, even if his opponent is likewise incapable of bringing further abilities to bear against him. At this threshold, his physical abilities will begin to suffer as well; he will slow down, lose endurance and focus, and his strength will suffer as well. Hitting 0 on his Reserves count will essentially result in Elegy losing consciousness. If he is not taken to a dark environment, he is in danger of dying, and even if he is brought into a dark environment, he is likely to suffer penalties in future fights, including a negative modifier to his rolled Reserves, and possibly a higher penalty cost to each ability used.

• Offensive Abilities

  Offensive 1: Reserves 1 constantly per level, Environment (Costs base one point at Nightkiss, another point at Bite, another point at Transfixing), must always start at level 1, must be held to advance levels. Striking-range, induces poison-based status effects dependent on level reached.
  Antumbra: Elegy extends his venom fangs and sinks them into an opponent and delivers a quick dose of a painful neurotoxin that can cause numbing effects (two turns) local to the area bitten.
  Penumbra: Elegy holds the bite, pumping more neurotoxin into his opponent, causing increasingly intense pain and lasting numbing effects over a greater area (three turns). In smaller opponents, may cause penalties to focus and agility (one turn).
  Umbra: Elegy continues to hold the bite, now causing excruciating pain that spreads throughout the body and greater levels of numbness (four turns). Local paralysis will now begin to take effect (two turns). Larger opponents will suffer penalties to focus and agility (one turn), and smaller opponents will be suffering longer-lasting penalties to focus and agility (two turns).
  Void: Elegy's bite has been endured long enough that total numbness occurs (five turns). Pain is no longer felt, but loss of consciousness of opponent will be highly likely (Roll 1d3; 1 results in larger opponent's loss of consciousness, 1-2 for smaller opponents). Should they remain aware, they suffer higher penalties to focus and agility (large two turns, small three turns). Elegy releases the bite regardless of opponent's status and withdraws, suffering one additional Reserve cost to next ability.
  
  Offensive 2: Reserves 2 per level (Pen. 2, Umb. 4, etc), Environment, short to mid-range, induces laceration. Telltale: Elegy's fingertips will be covered in a thick, smokey substance that curls up his arm before manifesting.
  Penumbra: Elegy manifests a whip of shadow energy that he whips at an opponent. The whip dissipates where it strikes, resulting in steep triangle-shaped lacerations that can cut with varying thickness into opponent depending on range; close range induces deeper, longer cuts, end of range results in thin, short cuts. The whip can strike once, then dissipates entirely.
  Umbra: Elegy manifests a lash of shadow energy that he whips at an opponent. This lash dissipates slightly upon striking, and cuts deeply in long slashes according to distance. The lash can strike twice before dissipating entirely.
  Void: Elegy manifests a long, thick lance of shadow energy that he uses to slash at an opponent or multiple opponents. The lance can cut through armor and flesh with devastating results at range, and can cause extreme, possibly mortal wounds. The lance fades steadily upon striking, and has slightly greater range than other iterations of the attack. It dissipates after three strikes.
  
  Offensive 3:
  Level 1: Reserves 20, 5 per round held, both affected by Environment, LOS, Charge 2 rounds. Possession and/or Influence. Telltale: Elegy's form loses definable shape, though can still be stricken and interrupted with physical or magical means, eyes form into glowing red clouds and dull angry-red orbs begin to glow where his 'hands' are.
  Level 2: Reserves 30, 5 per round held, both affected by Environment, LOS, Charge 3 rounds. Possession, possible Corruption. Telltale: As above, eyes are brighter, energy clouds are darker red with black swirls. Utilizing this ability has lasting repercussions in future RPs.
  
  Level 1: Elegy's form loses coherency as he dumps his very essence into this sinister power. He is vulnerable while he charges it, and it can be resisted by opponents with strong mental prowess or magical defenses, though not without causing Confusion (2 turns). Elegy is incapacitated regardless of success (1 turn), and suffers engagement-permanent penalties to focus, perception, strength, and endurance, and cannot manifest Umbra or Void powers for the rest of the engagement. Success results in opponent becoming his puppet as long as he holds them in his grasp, attacking allies and friends with no control of their own. They are not aware of this, or anything else, their consciousness subverted by Elegy's will.
  Level 2: Elegy's form loses coherency as he dumps his very essence into this sinister power. He is vulnerable while he charges it, and it can be resisted by opponents with strong mental prowess or magical defenses, though not without causing Confusion (3 turns). Elegy is incapacitated regardless of success (2 turns), and suffers engagement-permanent penalties to focus, perception, strength, and endurance, and cannot manifest Umbra or Void powers for the rest of the engagement. Success results in opponent(s) (can control up to three individuals with this at same per-round cost as if one) becoming his puppet as long as he holds them in his grasp, attacking allies and friends with no control of their own. They are not aware of this, or anything else, their consciousness subverted by Elegy's will. After the connection is broken, they always will have some tint of Elegy's will influencing them until he releases them from it, if he ever does.

• Fighting technique

  Elegy practices eskrima; Philippine stick-fighting. For any reading who are not acquainted with this surprisingly practical, utilitarian, and immersive martial art, and who read "stick fighting" and laugh, let me stop your laughter with this fact; a properly-trained eskrima student can easily break your arm, dislocate your shoulder, crack two of your ribs, shatter your jaw, fracture your hip bone, impact your pelvis, and then crack your skull open with one strike each, in that order, within five seconds, using only one stick. Actual sticks, as in tree-branches, can be used, but the most common weapon is the "baston," a 24" long stick which, with proper practice, can strike with disabling force and lightning-like speed. Many other weapons can be used for this technique, including bats, knives, staffs, spears, swords, flails, nunchakus, and even handkerchefs, rags, rolled up newspapers, belts, ropes...all can be used in any combination in either hand, with even the improvised weapons becoming quite debilitating to be struck by.
  
  It is a technique that bases its entire philosophy around being able to work in and control any range needed in an engagement, and as such lends itself to usage of thrown weaponry and even handguns for ranged engagements as needed. It is also a system that places heavy emphasis on form, footwork, posture, and necessity. Footwork especially is quite important to master; virtually all systems of eskrima describe footwork using triangles as a basis of movement; the feet, planted, comprise two points of the triangle, with the next step being in direct correlation to maintaining the triangle that is always stepped into. This is to enforce the proper movement, teaching the student to never cross one leg in front of the other in motion, thus always maintaining balance and form, fluidity of motion, and denying the opponent the opportunity to flank or outmaneuver. It is taught that the triangle's size and shape must always be adapted to the current situation as opposed to a rigid distance of each step, so as to consistently maintain control over the situation. Cross-steps (not to be confused with crossing the legs across one another; think of a very flat triangle) are practiced very carefully so as to allow the student to deal with multiple attackers effectively. This is perhaps the most difficult part of the training, involving careful study of the situation; again, controlling the situation is paramount, and the number of attackers must not be allowed to become a factor. As one can imagine, maintaining such footwork in such a frantic but possible situation is difficult, but with practice, concentration, and dedication, a student of eskrima can effectively nullify or at least greatly reduce the advantage of numbers in close quarters.
  
  Sporting/dueling aspects of this martial art tend to rely instead on simpler footwork, directing focus towards a single opponent. The more lethality-minded forms tend to involve low stances, with one knee upon the ground, along with the more complicated maneuvers of the feet. This allows the student to strike low, a region often left poorly guarded, with the best defense being a terrific offense; both hands are employed offensively in this system, as are the feet themselves. Transfer of motion of the feet lends itself to allowing for quick, precise, and devastating low sweeps, hooks, or, more commonly, kicks; this technique is known as Pananjakman, literally "kicking." It is considered an art all on its own by some, and can be independently adopted readily by any wishing to incorporate it into their own martial art regimen, or who simply wish to learn Pananjakman alone, though it is obviously strongly advised to at least learn the footwork aspects of eskrima if this aspect of the art is the desired focus.
  
  Pananadiyak can be regarded as the study of leg muscles and bones and how they are connected, with the goal of either inflicting pain or outright breaking or dislocating the bones. Most striking techniques involve applying pressure to bend the target areas in unnatural ways so as to injure or break them. Such pressure may be delivered in the form of a heel smash, a toe kick, a stomp, or a knee. Targets include the groin, thighs, knees, shins, ankles, feet and toes. The upper body is used only for defensive maneuvers, making pananadiyak ideal for when combatants are engaged in a clinch. When used effectively, the strikes can bring an opponent to the ground or otherwise end an altercation by making them too weak to stand.
  
  Fundamental techniques include kicking or smashing the ankle to force it either towards or away from the opposite foot (severe supination or pronation, respectively), heel-stomping the top of the foot where it meets the lower leg so as to break or crush the numerous bones or otherwise disrupt the opponent's balance, and smashing the opponents knee from the side to break the knee (with severe supination and pronation as the desired result).
  
  As you may be realizing, this stick-fighting martial art, which once seemed such a silly notion, is in actuality no joke whatsoever, and to underestimate an opponent trained in this art will most often result in a world of hurt coming your way. Eskrima is also not a system that is taught delicately, nor does it allow for underestimation, though those going up against an opponent who supposedly "only" fights with "mere" sticks tends to cause others to come into a situation with dangerous underestimation themselves; arrogance is a deadly thing to suffer from. Eskrima techniques are generally based on the assumption that both the student and their opponent are very highly trained and well prepared. For this reason, eskrima tends to favor extreme caution, always considering the possibility of a failed technique or an unexpected knife, strike, or any other attack. On the other hand, the practitioner is assumed to be able to strike very precisely and quickly. The general principle is that an opponent's ability to attack should be destroyed rather than trying to hurt them to convince them to stop. Thus many strikes are aimed at the hands and arms, hoping to break the hand holding the weapon or cut the nerves or tendons controlling it (the concept of defanging the snake), but strikes to the eyes and legs are important. A popular mnemonic states that "stick seeks bone, blade seeks flesh."
  
  One of the early components of learning eskrima is known as Sinawali. Sinawali refers to the activity of "weaving", as applied Eskrima with reference to a set of two-person, two-weapon exercises.
  
  Sinawali exercises provide eskrima practitioners with basic skills and motions relevant to a mode of two-weapon blocking and response method called Doblete. Sinawali training is often introduced to novices in order to develop certain fundamental skills including: body positioning and distance relative to an opponent, rotation of the body and the proper turning radius, recognition of one’s center of gravity, eye–hand coordination, target perception and recognition, increased ambidexterity, recognition and performance of rhythmic structures for upper body movement, and muscular developments important to the art, especially, the wrist and forearm regions. It helps teach the novice eskrimador proper elbow positioning while swinging a weapon.
  
  However, do not think that an eskrima practitioner who has no weapon at all is suddenly at a disadvantage; Pananjakman is not the only part of the system that regards the body as a weapon; the entire striking system is based around this concept, for what good would the weapon be without the individual who wields it? Another component of the system is called "mano mano," and as you can guess, it pertains to the usage of the empty hands themselves as weapons, and is not just reliant upon striking! For good reason, this component has been dubbed "combat judo" in western cultures. Mano mano includes kicking, punching, locking, throwing and dumog (grappling). Filipino martial artists regard the empty hands as another weapon and all the movements of mano mano are directly based on weapon techniques. In eskrima, weapons are seen as an extension of the body so training with weapons naturally leads to proficiency in bare-handed combat. For this reason, mano mano is generally taught in the higher levels of eskrima because advanced students are expected to be able to apply their experience with weapons to unarmed fighting. In other words, if you are facing a practitioner of eskrima and they are willfully engaging in unarmed combat with you, you are likely going up against a highly skilled opponent who may not need any weapons to put you down.
  
  Because of this diverse style, it should come as no surprise that the "live hand" is just as much a part of the technique as any other. The live hand is the hand that accompanies the hand that is wielding the weapon if the individual is not wielding two weapons, and while it might seem strange that one would forgo the chance to wield two weapons, this is yet another technique that lends itself to the situation at hand. The live hand is the opposite hand of the practitioner that does not contain the main weapon. The heavy usage of the live hand is an important concept and distinguishing hallmark of Eskrima. Even (or especially) when empty, the live hand can be used as a companion weapon by Eskrima practitioners. As opposed to most weapon systems like fencing where the off-hand is hidden and not used to prevent it from being hit, Eskrima actively uses the live hand for trapping, locking, supporting weapon blocks, checking, disarming, striking and controlling the opponent.
  
  The usage of the live hand is one of the most evident examples of how Eskrima's method of starting with weapons training leads to effective empty hand techniques. Because of Doble Baston (double weapons) or Espada y Daga (sword and parrying dagger) ambidextrous weapon muscle memory conditioning, Eskrima practitioners find it easy to use the off-hand actively once they transition from using it with a weapon to an empty hand. Doble baston, and less frequently doble olisi, are common names for a group of techniques involving two sticks. The art is more commonly known around the world as Sinawali meaning "to weave."
  
  This technique requires the user to use both left and right weapons in an equal manner; many co-ordination drills are used to help the practitioner become more ambidextrous. It is the section of the art that is taught mainly at the intermediate levels and above and is considered one of the most important areas of learning in the art.
  
  In other words, the usage of the hand not holding a weapon comes at a point BEYOND dual-wielding weaponry; it has become an element of the technique that is superior to being "armed" in both hands. This, too, tends to lead to underestimation; unless one has had some level of experience fighting against an advanced practitioner of eskrima, one is highly likely to believe the unarmed hand to be a weakness to try to exploit, instead of realizing that it is actually the most flexible and dangerous component of the practitioner's technique.
  
  Eskrima could be considered an evolution of Jujutsu, Judo, Aikido and karate, as the early practitioners and educators of the art were black-belts in these forms of martial arts, and their techniques form of the basis of several of the techniques and components of eskrima itself. It is also not unheard of for wing chun, kuntaw, jeet kune do, and/or silat to be learned with, alongside, or in supplement to eskrima. In fact, Bruce Lee's martial arts system, jeet kune do, uses eskrima as its weapon-usage component.
  
  The system also has many striking techiques for the weapons themselves, of course, with the basic one being the San Miguel. This is a forehand strike with the right hand, moving from the striker's right shoulder toward their left hip. It is essentially eskrima-striking 101, and while quite basic in its application, its simplicity belies its effectiveness in causing pain and damage to the opponent, and tends to be applied in greater diversity as the practitioner grows in experience.
  
  Sinawali is the signature double-stick weaving movement associated with Arnis and Eskrima named after the woven coconut or palm leaves called sawali that comprise the walls of nipa hut dwellings. It is commonly seen in double-stick continuous attack-parry partner demonstrations.
  
  Another signature technique is the Redonda which is a continuous circular downward-striking double-stick twirling technique, which, while it may seem to be more style than substance, is anything but, allowing for a hailstorm of rapid strikes that, while not as potentially disabling as some of the other techniques, are quite effective at disrupting an opponent's stance, guard, and focus. A redonda (Spanish for "round") is an advanced strike that whips in a circle to return to its point of origin. This is especially useful when using sticks rather than swords, as such a strike allows extremely fast (and damaging) strikes but needs constant practice.
  
  An abanico (Spanish for fan) or witik is a strike that is executed by flicking the wrist 180 degrees in a fan-shaped motion. This kind of strike can be very quick and arrive from unexpected angles, due to the wide arc of motion. For example 90 degrees into the strike, the weapon can be whipped horizontally across the face, or at the limit of the arc it can be lashed into the side, under the shoulder, under the jaw, or the bottom of the arm of the opponent, with many possibilities being available for the strike, and due to the speed of the movement and the low profile of the weapon, gauging the direction for the strike can be extremely difficult, allowing the eskrima practitioner to choose where to strike based on the movements of his opponent in rapid order.
  
  Pilantik is a strike executed by whipping the stick around the wrist over the head in a motion similar to the abanico, but in alternating 360 degree strikes. It is most useful when fighters are in grappling range and cannot create enough space for normal strikes.
  
  Puño (Spanish for "fist") is a strike delivered with the butt of the weapon. It usually targets a nerve point or other soft spot on the opponent but in skilled hands, the puño can be used to shatter bones.
  
  In conclusion, this is a highly adaptable system, and I think I am right in thinking that anyone who scoffed at the idea of "stick fighting" now suddenly has a much healthier respect for this diverse, precise, fluid, and unpredictable martial art! As far as Elegy's own techniques and skill level go, I still have yet to peg this down, but be assured that even if I determine he is merely a novice, you will still find a match with him to be engaging, challenging, and rewardingly intricate!

• The goods

  Here will be a charter with, again, four tiers. This time, they will be of the products and services he provides, and will be listed according to their overall value, which is calculated by a number of factors, such as price, quantity needed for desired effect, rarity, and/or addiction potential. Additionally here will be the descriptions of each product or service and the amount provided for the good/price listed.
  
  TIER 4
  1: 1-liter for standard thujone levels - 1 liter for increased thujone levels (enough for hallucinogenic effects to become noticeable)
  2: 1/8th oz. middies - headies
  
  TIER 3
  1: 1/8th oz. (caps are always dried, expect higher amount of caps than if they were fresh, no detriment to trip)
  2: 1/8th oz.
  3: 1/8th oz.

• Products/Services Chart

  Tier 4	Tier 3	Tier 2	Tier 1
  Tier 4 1 Absinthe: $250-300 2 Marijuana: $50-70*	Tier 3 1 Liberty Caps: $30 2 Blue Meanies: $20 3 Gold Tops: $35

• Exceptions

  *Price for constant customers is $30-55