“Sage”
Race: Kitsune (Nogitsune kyuubi)
Age: 32 (given), unknown actual
Speech Color: "Blue"
Gender: Female
Preference: Female
Occupation: Business Owner (Café and Curio Shop)
Relationship: Basil (sibling, younger. Declared)
History:
Sage, formerly known as Ran Yakumo, is a nine-tailed fox girl. She was once the strongest shikigami of a sukima named Yukari Yakumo, while Sage herself was an omyouji of various other shikigami. She had fulfilled her roles and had put up with her master’s antics for decades. However, it was because of her former master’s antics that she had been put in the situation she is in now. Sage back then was sent through a dimensional tear in one of her master’s “temper tantrums”. As unfortunate that was, the problem was that in that particular instance, the Yukari from the dimension she was thrown to had also opened a dimensional tear, which by sheer coincidence, engulfed Sage the moment Sage fell through into that dimension. Due to this fiasco, her “original master” could not fetch her from her predicament. Since then, Sage has been travelling the dimensions, in a vain attempt to return to her dimension, an attempt which was finally halted a decade ago.
During her travels, she has been through many iterations of the land she came from, “Gensokyo”, and in several instances, have been exposure to varying degrees of civilization. She had seen it all, including worst-case scenarios (thankfully she never experienced a dimension where there’s no oxygen). There were instances where she noticed that there was no “Ran” or “Chen”, sometimes both. The common constant she has seen however is that she had lost a good portion of her power (as she had been disconnected from her shikigami contracts). Because of this, Sage decided to use more efficient means of using her now diminished mana storage. Travelling through extremes and multitudes of dimensions have changed her personality from once hence, having had also cast aside her old clothes as well.
What is noted is that Sage had has thought of multiple methods of doing so. By traversing dimensions, she had lost all concepts of space and time. There have been moments she had actually seen other versions of herself (this does not include how she was long ago), who have had different philosophies.
This is currently one of them, one who has decided to utilize what remaining magic to act as a shield. Like many of other versions of her, Sage’s mindset is garnering power through knowledge and wisdom; her realizing that both are wasted if not shared. Thus, she finds herself “selling magic” so what she learned is shared in good use.
Behavior:
Sage is an amiable person, keeping a small smile on her face when she can. Behind her façade however is a woman who has seen hell and hardship. She goes through each day with her mind fending off the thoughts of once before, something she has gotten good at. In truth, she does at times miss those days; however she is already resigned to her face.
In this uncommon instance, Sage is with Basil, who was formerly known as “Chen”. Basil however is not the same Basil from Sage’s parent dimension, which the two of them found out early on. Sage is unsure if the Basil from her own dimension looked for her, but seeing Basil everyday does put a better smile on her face, knowing that even if they’re not the same, they still have the kinship as if they were. Her relationship with Basil however is not like how it was before; rather Sage treats Basil as a little sister.
Abilities:
Magic scroll creation (card):
A non-combat ability. Sage had dabbled more into the arcane arts, and has been able to transcribe magic she’s seen into a scroll form for easy dispensing. This has the advantage of also being able to “sell” spells to people who are not particularly proficient in a spell. Limitations of magic scrolls do apply (all scrolls are one time use). She had refined the process of creating a magic scroll, with her knowledge of the magic from her previous “existence”; her scrolls are in the form of cards, about the size of a standard playing card.
What Sage ascribes into the “spell card” is all the strengths and limitations of the spell. She effectively makes a person able to cast magic that they couldn’t be able to.
Sage also cannot “steal” a spell in battle; she needs time and concentration to be able to transcribe the spell into a spell card. Of course, she never tells that, which gives her a bluff in battle with magic. Her process of creating spell cards is done behind closed doors, so she never reveals her secret.
Sage REFUSES to transcribe spells that are known to be able to kill a person without any common means of counter, or spells that cause disability. Spells also that can summon are also not created, due to both her personal preference, and her consideration for the summon as well (as she was, basically a summon herself).
Spell analysis:
Sage had focused on analyzing spells that she sees. She can understand how a simple spell with one single element works just through a single observation; complex spells that utilize 3 or more elements, or spells that have a “charge time” to them require longer periods of observation. She does not have her vast analytical capabilities from a time before, which would’ve allowed her to be able to understand concepts in a quicker instant and in more strenuous environments. However, her wit and mental capacity is more than enough for her to gather the concepts if she is presented with it outside of combat and casually observing.
Sage has adopted the creed of a merchant; although she is PERFECTLY CAPABLE of understanding any spells she sees, she REFUSES TO TRANSCRIBE A SPELL WITHOUT THE CONSENT of the owner of the magic. This is so that she mages would not feel that Sage has been stealing their magic, and so that Sage controls which magic is being sold.
Defense Magic Specialist:
Sage adapted more her magic to be purely defensive. Her use of protection spells and illusions make good mix in defending against most magic (anything less than something that can cause a local calamity).
The drawback of this is that she can only defend herself; she would have to act like a shield if she were to defend someone else.
Her offensive capabilities are hampered by this fact, with use of offense-oriented magic non-existant.
Weapons proficiency (daggers and throwing weapons):
Sage had been able to carry her old combat style with her, using throwing needles now instead of kunais. Instead of kunais, she uses two tanto; single-bladed combat daggers, kept on her waist. Coupled with her keen sense of sight and hearing, she is able to deflect arrows with them (deflecting bullets is a myth and she herself has no intention of attempting it). Her favorite technique is the parry-and-counter; by setting herself as suddenly lax, she can perform a parry, with a counter slice to the abdomen. Those proficient in battle may see through her ruse however.
This puts her main range of combat in short and medium distances. She is unrestricted in the amount of throwing needles she has, having hid a very large supply of them in her sleeves.
Poison Expertise:
Sage, over the years, garnered the knowledge of using poisons (her favorite is the foxglove). With the years of using (and experiencing) poisons, she had built up resistance to almost all poisons (otherworldly exotic poisons may affect her). Also, her throwing needles have a core of foxglove concentrate, which may confer “Foxglove Poisoning” (Sudden stamina decrease due to forced palpitations). The amount is not lethal and carries a transient effect that is resisted if someone has moderate poison resistance.
FN P90 5.7x28mm DU x 50 (9):
Realizing that there is a need to be updated with the times, Sage had cleverly hidden a P90 inside of one of her right tails, and 9 magazines for it in her left tail, with her tail fur meticulously adjusted to keep the weapon hidden.
The weapon itself has no special characteristics; it is a normal P90 which you can see with Special Forces. The bullets however are non-standard, depleted uranium armor piercing rounds. No special enchantments have been placed on the gun or the bullets. The bullets themselves are capable of piercing through grade IV body armor.
Having decades of experience with throwing weapons under her belt, she is able to dampen the recoil of the gun by herself.
Unfortunately, the weapon was designed for close-range combat, so it and the bullets are ineffective at attacking from long range. Sage has a limit to her ammo capacity, requiring her to resupply once combat is over.
Dexterity and Agility:
Sage is a kitsune first and foremost. Her senses are heightened because of this. She has no problem moving around, whether in battle or outside of combat (there have been rumors about her in the past about being the same yokai who had caused trouble in three countries, a rumor she does not confirm nor deny). She can however be overwhelmed, as it had happened on some occasions.
Illusions and Diversions:
Sage is able to use a mix of physical diversions and magical ones, via smoke bombs and illusion magic. Her methods include fake rounds being fired from a layer of smoke, fake grenade explosions. In essence, her mindset is to use “smoke-and-mirrors” to the fullest. Sage even prepared some “fake” spell cards and studied how to make illusionary copies of the spells. Her illusions extend not just to sight, but sound, taste, and smell as well.
(Innate) Kitsune Skills:
Being a kitsune, Sage has mastered her species’ abilities. She can transform at whim, taking the form of someone just by looking at them (of course, she needs to be able to act like them. That takes time for her to figure that out)
She still has access to “foxfire”, a non-elemental magic that is cleverly disguised as fire magic. The flames she give off are a standard reddish-yellow which give off heat.
*Note: Although she is clearly quite capable of using the spell cards she made, as a merchant, it’s a given rule to her to NOT USE her merchandise. She can however demonstrate her wares as she pleases.
Weakness:
Long-range combat:
Sage is ineffective in combating opponents at long range. If she encounters someone who priorities long range attack, she can defend, however without any real means to counter if the battle continues to stay at long distance, she will lose. Long range specialists are her bane.
Contest of strength:
Sage, when it comes to combat, is fragile. She is much stronger than an average weight-lifter due to being a monster, however if she fought someone whose focus is on strength, she will lose. Strong blows from strong people can trip her off-balance, and leave her in a precarious situation.
Too keen senses (hearing):
Keen senses can be both a boon and a bane. She will become disoriented if she fights someone who can manipulate sound waves (she had met people in her past that can use this, which at the time she only overcame thanks to her shikigami contract).
Inability to sustain spells:
Having a diminished mana reserve has hampered Sage’s abilities. SHE CANNOT MAINTAIN DEFENSIVE BARRIERS. Her defense magic operates as a burst of mana manifesting as a strong burst of barrier magic to defend against magic-based attacks, akin to how a tank’s reactive armor works. This depletes her mana in an instant. Even with quick mana regeneration, she cannot recover her mana instantaneously, causing her to have a period where she cannot utilize magic, reflected in role play as 1 post.
