The Swan Dragon

Just realized that I was supposed to do the feds as well, before they died. Oops. How you did it was great, Winter. Again, I won't be home until later, though I might try to type something up on my phone. Re: Pocket sand. Sand in the manner of Hoid in Warbreaker? If yes, wholeheartedly agree.

Richard pulled out his ringing mobile, hitting the "accept call" button. He wasn't sure what it would be this time. As far as he knew, the most recent rebellion had been fully squashed. Phytomagnet's voice came over the line, sounding tense. "Get at least two squads moving to the old Toyota dealership. Someone just took out 8 government officers. Sounds like at least one epic is there." His face, already naturally pale, drained white. "On it, boss. What should I tell them to expect?" Richard said, starting to jog towards his barracks, his mind racing through different possibilities. "Epoch's busy elsewhere right now, so all we know was from the vidfeed the government sent. Some dude grabbed one of the officers and burned him to a crisp." Phytomanget returned, sounding harried. "I'm going too. I'm going to stop on the way and redistribute our scouts. We'll be too far to keep them armored, so activate an extra squad for guard duty." With a soft beep, the call ended. A short moment later, Ironwood burst into his barracks. "Move it, trees! I want squads four and five up and moving on the double! Squad seven, we'll be out of armor range so you're on backup for security!" "Yes sir!" they called out, leaping to their feet. They've learned to not hesitate when Ironwood is running. 20 Minutes later "Sir!" one of the trees called out, his quiet voice carrying to Ironwood through his earpiece. "I can see them. Three guys and a van." "Great," Ironwood replied. "Phyto, you on the line?" Ironwood could see them through the small copse his squads were hiding in, as well as the eight dead bodies around them. "Yeah, loud and clear. I'm walking in, gonna see if I can figure out what's going on. Epoch told me the cyclists were following the van after its occupants broke into a research facility. I'm going to stall until we have more information. Armor me up." "On it, boss." A wave of bark sprung up around Phytomagnet, instantly hardening as he combined their powers and strengthened the bark. He had already done the same for the rest of the trees, guaranteeing that even though nearly thirty people were armored, they would all have the full benefit of its protection. Ironwood watched as Phyto strolled out from behind the actual trees on the side of the highway, calling out jovially to the criminals. "Alright guys. Remember, Phytomagnet won't have time to give us a warning if he needs to pull us in, so be ready to engage at a moments notice," Ironwood murmured, his team hearing it through their own headsets.

@Hemalurgic Headshot How do Riley's powers work? I can't find his bio. EDIT: Ironwood and Phyto post up, this time from Ironwood's POV. Next one will be Phytomagnet interacting with Riley, Liam, and Kokichi. I'll leave it up to you if they notice Ironwood hiding or not. He and his troops are about 150 ft. away from the altercation, hiding in some trees.

I have a friend who regularly does drawings as her D&D group progresses. I could ask her if she'd be interested.

If possible, would it work to hold off on escalating much with Impact until I have Phytomagnet and Ironwood discussing plans? Though I could also do it as a "5 minutes before" or something.

The rank? Ah yes. Two of the many titles of Matrim Cauthon. Also called The Prince of Ravens, the Gambler, among others. A slightly more serious version of Hoid. One of the three ta'veren from Two Rivers.

Yeah I have this stupid grin on my face now after reading that.

Sure. I'll start putting some ideas together. Right now Ironwood and Phytomagnet won't be actually moving towards either situation, but they'll be informed about them and trying to get security and such organized. I might try and work in the plant structures, that could make the chase interesting.

I could, though I won't be home with my laptop for several hours. That could actually work nicely though, since I could immediately Segway into Ironwood prepping backup for now potentially two major situations (Red/Impact & Kokichi&Liam).

What's the relationship between Epoch and the government again? I'm thinking about the Kokichi/Liam situation. Because that's something I could see Phytomagnet/Ironwood being involved in.

Of course! Welcome to the RP.

Post it here to start, that way we can all take a look at them. Right now only the What Happened in Edmonton thread is active. That's a way to identify easily which character someone with multiple is writing for.

I think I'll wait a couple posts, see how things go. I might have a post with Phyto prepping security for Ironwood's potential absence out later, if that seems reasonable.

Yes! What questions do you have?

I think the governor-ish one would work better. Along the idea of largely independent but still subject to Epoch's rules/commands. Ironwood wouldn't be able to leave any "trees" behind due to his range restriction...actually, where is the event taking place? Depending on the speed corridors, it might not be a sufficient issue. There was also mention of someone (I don't remember who) who was thinking about hiding in the Sherwood Park area.

Should I send Ironwood in on the Red situation as Epoch's "enforcers?"

"Don't worry, totally all of this adds up. Nothing missing from the flashback, nothing relevant."

xD They will, if the ERA has anything to say about it! :-P (Go ahead though! I want to have more stuff to write for Phyto and Ironwood :-D)

I believe they do, the report Coma wrote seemed to indicate a level of normalcy. Sherwood Park is definitely better off. I'd say things get worse the farther West you go in the city, though the center is the worst off.

Where is the checkpoint that people've been using? Like where in the city?

Out of curiosity, what was the word she used?

I don't know about shelter, but they might be able to hide out in the Sherwood Park Natural Area. While the plant structures there aren't super extensive, they'd probably confuse people chasing after. And that could also lead to Phytomagnet interacting with them.

Ruled over by the epic known only as Holy Bovine. Edit: Kokichi is me from 10 years ago if that me was 19. I love them. Does that actually make sense to anyone but me?

Phytomagnet intro is up! Hopefully I didn't misuse Firebrand too much

Eight Days Ago - Suncor Energy Edmonton Refinery Petrol, while not as glorious as trees, is still important I suppose, Phytomagnet thought to himself as he perched one of the massive vats. It’s getting kinda late though. Ironwood should be able to han--Phytomagnet’s train of thought ended abruptly at what faintly sounded like a scream. Are you ser--KABOOM!!!! One of the vats exploded violently, setting off a chain--BOOM!! KABOOMOOM!!! At least it’s not boring anymore. Phyto stood and started running towards the explosion, his years of military training combined with epic-enhanced body allowing him to quickly make his way across the endless meters of pipes. The twilight sky was suddenly aglow with flaming orbs, which came crashing down, causing more explosions. Ah. Firebrand. Figures. Phyto quickly dialed his mobile, Pick up the sparking phone, Ironwood. “Yeah, boss, I see ‘em. I’ve got two squads already in place, one distracting him and the other on damage control,” Ironwood’s voice crackled over the phone. “How hot’s the fire?” Phyto roared over the sound of the flames. “Hot enough, boss. They won’t burn, but they’ll start to roast if you don’t get their soon.” “Almost there, tree.” This last statement was punctuated with a *beep* as Phyto hung up, clearing the remaining meters between him and the revolutionary’s onslaught. Unslinging his shield, Phyto deflected a fireball back towards its creator. Firebrand turned, eyes wide, and the blast winked out of existence before it connected. “We knew you were coming, Firebrand!” Phyto bellowed, continuing to sprint forward. “You can’t stop us, planter!” the fire epic countered, sending three smaller globes of fire towards him. He raised his shield, blocking the flames but not the heat that seeped past. Yeah, Ironwood’s right. We can’t hold out for too long against this heat. Phytomagnet focused for a moment, and pulled a studded wooden board towards him. The boards had been placed around the entire facility three nights before, when his vigil had started. Now they were proving their worth. The board flew past Firebrand and into Phyto’s hand, and he sprung forward, swinging it with all of his might. Firebrand dodged back, readying another sphere. One of Ironwood’s trees took this opportunity to take a swing at Firebrand, and hit him in the upper back with a bark-enhanced fist. The hit knocked him forward, but didn’t seem to hurt him as much as it should’ve. Firebrand looked around, and seemed to realize that he was now nearly surrounded. Shaking his head, he called out, “I’ve done enough damage for now. Time to make my escape.” The air around Firebrand was suddenly full of fire, the globes all-but making another sphere out of themselves, though hollow enough for Firebrand to walk through. The wall of flames sprinted away, and Phyto breathed a sigh of relief. He tapped out a simple message to Epoch, "Firebrand attacked Suncor. Fought off. Damage reports pending."