Valvatorez (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
arcadianvampire) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
daybreakacademy2019-02-21 04:26 pm
arcadianvampire) wrote in daybreakacademy2019-02-21 04:26 pm
Entry tags:
The Hunt Is On!: I HAVE YOUR FACE!
Who: Valvatorez, Tatsumaki, Yuya Sakaki, Jade Harley, Minako Arisato, Kohaku, Lie Ren, and a whole host of important people to them... or so it seems.
What: Hunting a Doppelganger
When: Midterms Week
Where: In a small town in the countryside.
With the visions of the seers signalling the dangers of a potential threat to the French countryside, the call went out for student volunteers to hunt the creature before the damage could get bad enough for people to start asking questions. Valvatorez quickly agreed to lead a hunt, finding it a useful exercise for his practical class... and even for students not enrolled in it. Knowing his foe, Valvatorez was more than prepared to deal with it if need be, but was more interested in letting the students who volunteered a chance to flex their muscles. Again. Even after the Ballroom Blitz, there was always more to be done, so those who had the thirst for another adventure were in for it.
Before departing, Valvatorez rounded up his volunteers in a small classroom, and started wtih a short lecture.
"Students. I thank you for signing up for this endeavor. I know the timing of this couldn't possibly be worse for some of you. Between the battle at the dance and now your week of midterms, this is a packed period of time. As such, I have taken the liberty of speaking with your teachers whose midterms are coming up, and you will receive temporary deferments in having to take them, and if you perform well out there, I will pass word on to them about it. Your retakes may not come at convenient times, but rest assured, I will see to it that we can accommodate you as best we can."
The vampire walked to the white board and produced a black marker from his cape. "Now, onto brass tacks. It's time to tell you what we're going to be hunting." Uncapping the marker, he drew a large question mark on the board, and next to it he wrote a word that might be intimidating to those who know their Outland lore: "Doppelganger."
"That's right, a Doppelganger," he stated, pointing to the diagram. "A creature that absolutely none of you should take lightly, even if you have experience. Doppelgangers, are of course, Outland creatures with the ability to shapeshift, taking on all manner of different forms to confuse and prey on the unwary. These creatures are wily, cunning, and clever, and will rarely stand toe-to-toe against a threat unless their backs are against a wall. No, they much more prefer to play mind games, and they will almost always stalk solitary targets first.
Their usual modus operandi is to attempt to read your thoughts and shift into the person you care or desire to see the most. This will often make its prey drop its guard, upon which the doppelganger will devour them, and claim their form as their own. They will use whatever means they have to attempt to mentally disarm you in this state. Do not let them. They will happily take the face of the people you care about to make you hesitate swinging your weapon." He turned back and scribbled notes on the board about this.
"Now then, you must be not only physically ready, but you must be mentally prepared for this fight. This battle will not only test your physical mettle, but your mental resolve. Know that if confronted with the doppelganger, you may well be facing the person you love the most. And you have to be prepared to hurt them, or worse. Now, how can you deal with this? Shielding your thoughts with the proper magics, either by spell or by Runic enhancement, will do wonders. If the creature can't get a read on you, you are less vulnerable to its mind game tricks. And importantly, stay together. Unless you are acting as bait, do not allow yourself to be caught out anywhere alone. And if the Doppelganger tries to take on one of the forms of your fellow students, or even me, have a code phrase ready. Like in those spy movies. It's more effective than you'd think."
Again, he wrote more notes up on the board.
"You might now be wondering how we deal with this creature. Don't let its proclivity toward skullduggery fool you. A doppelganger can be a formidable combat foe as well, once exposed and injured. Any form it has stolen by eating a victim can be used to fight with. Expect animals, people... even daemons or other Outrealm creatures. Never underestimate how dangerous they could be with any of them. Be prepared to face anything from a dog to lower tier daemons stupid enough to fall for its machinations. It may cycle through many forms the more wounds it takes... you will have to deplete its reserves of forms to bring it back to its true form, where it will be effectively helpless."
He stands up straighter, and flings his cape out to the side dramatically.
"However! There is more than one way to skin a cat. And there is more than one way to deal with a doppelganger. Doppelgangers, due to their very nature, have a very tenuous grasp on who or what they really are. Confronting them with their reflection, either by a mirror or any sort of reflective surface, may confuse, disorient, and even injure them. Without hyperbole, a hall of mirrors could be a psychological deathtrap for them. Even better still, is if you manage to capture a sight of the doppelganger's true form: a photograph, for example, will work even better. Even without a photograph, even telling it what its true form looks like may overload the creature into a state of weakness... even incapacitation, if you are skilled enough.
...But that requires you to see the creature's true face. And doppelgangers have a nasty habit of rarely using their base form, except between some of its transformations... and when it is at rest. But even that, is no promise that you'll be able to catch it that way."
More notes on the board followed, and he stood and a rigid attention.
"Our objective is to either capture or eliminate this doppelganger that has been reported in the French countryside. I will leave it to you to decide which is more viable, but we will have the means on standby to do either. A cage or a body bag for this monster, I do not care how we remove it, so long as it no longer can prey on innocent lives.
I will help oversee your planning. If you cannot come up with a sound plan, we will do it my way... but you would all be better served to devise something. I cannot be around to protect you forever. Learning to stand on your own two feet is an important part of your time at this institution. Remember, you must determine how you wish to deal with the creature, how you intend to draw it out, and how you intend to protect yourself from its tricks. Know that I will be in the field with you to protect you if the need arises, but again... you must be ready to stand on your own. If you can defeat this creature without my direct aid, so much the better. Before we proceed to planning, I will answer questions. Are there any?"
What: Hunting a Doppelganger
When: Midterms Week
Where: In a small town in the countryside.
With the visions of the seers signalling the dangers of a potential threat to the French countryside, the call went out for student volunteers to hunt the creature before the damage could get bad enough for people to start asking questions. Valvatorez quickly agreed to lead a hunt, finding it a useful exercise for his practical class... and even for students not enrolled in it. Knowing his foe, Valvatorez was more than prepared to deal with it if need be, but was more interested in letting the students who volunteered a chance to flex their muscles. Again. Even after the Ballroom Blitz, there was always more to be done, so those who had the thirst for another adventure were in for it.
Before departing, Valvatorez rounded up his volunteers in a small classroom, and started wtih a short lecture.
"Students. I thank you for signing up for this endeavor. I know the timing of this couldn't possibly be worse for some of you. Between the battle at the dance and now your week of midterms, this is a packed period of time. As such, I have taken the liberty of speaking with your teachers whose midterms are coming up, and you will receive temporary deferments in having to take them, and if you perform well out there, I will pass word on to them about it. Your retakes may not come at convenient times, but rest assured, I will see to it that we can accommodate you as best we can."
The vampire walked to the white board and produced a black marker from his cape. "Now, onto brass tacks. It's time to tell you what we're going to be hunting." Uncapping the marker, he drew a large question mark on the board, and next to it he wrote a word that might be intimidating to those who know their Outland lore: "Doppelganger."
"That's right, a Doppelganger," he stated, pointing to the diagram. "A creature that absolutely none of you should take lightly, even if you have experience. Doppelgangers, are of course, Outland creatures with the ability to shapeshift, taking on all manner of different forms to confuse and prey on the unwary. These creatures are wily, cunning, and clever, and will rarely stand toe-to-toe against a threat unless their backs are against a wall. No, they much more prefer to play mind games, and they will almost always stalk solitary targets first.
Their usual modus operandi is to attempt to read your thoughts and shift into the person you care or desire to see the most. This will often make its prey drop its guard, upon which the doppelganger will devour them, and claim their form as their own. They will use whatever means they have to attempt to mentally disarm you in this state. Do not let them. They will happily take the face of the people you care about to make you hesitate swinging your weapon." He turned back and scribbled notes on the board about this.
"Now then, you must be not only physically ready, but you must be mentally prepared for this fight. This battle will not only test your physical mettle, but your mental resolve. Know that if confronted with the doppelganger, you may well be facing the person you love the most. And you have to be prepared to hurt them, or worse. Now, how can you deal with this? Shielding your thoughts with the proper magics, either by spell or by Runic enhancement, will do wonders. If the creature can't get a read on you, you are less vulnerable to its mind game tricks. And importantly, stay together. Unless you are acting as bait, do not allow yourself to be caught out anywhere alone. And if the Doppelganger tries to take on one of the forms of your fellow students, or even me, have a code phrase ready. Like in those spy movies. It's more effective than you'd think."
Again, he wrote more notes up on the board.
"You might now be wondering how we deal with this creature. Don't let its proclivity toward skullduggery fool you. A doppelganger can be a formidable combat foe as well, once exposed and injured. Any form it has stolen by eating a victim can be used to fight with. Expect animals, people... even daemons or other Outrealm creatures. Never underestimate how dangerous they could be with any of them. Be prepared to face anything from a dog to lower tier daemons stupid enough to fall for its machinations. It may cycle through many forms the more wounds it takes... you will have to deplete its reserves of forms to bring it back to its true form, where it will be effectively helpless."
He stands up straighter, and flings his cape out to the side dramatically.
"However! There is more than one way to skin a cat. And there is more than one way to deal with a doppelganger. Doppelgangers, due to their very nature, have a very tenuous grasp on who or what they really are. Confronting them with their reflection, either by a mirror or any sort of reflective surface, may confuse, disorient, and even injure them. Without hyperbole, a hall of mirrors could be a psychological deathtrap for them. Even better still, is if you manage to capture a sight of the doppelganger's true form: a photograph, for example, will work even better. Even without a photograph, even telling it what its true form looks like may overload the creature into a state of weakness... even incapacitation, if you are skilled enough.
...But that requires you to see the creature's true face. And doppelgangers have a nasty habit of rarely using their base form, except between some of its transformations... and when it is at rest. But even that, is no promise that you'll be able to catch it that way."
More notes on the board followed, and he stood and a rigid attention.
"Our objective is to either capture or eliminate this doppelganger that has been reported in the French countryside. I will leave it to you to decide which is more viable, but we will have the means on standby to do either. A cage or a body bag for this monster, I do not care how we remove it, so long as it no longer can prey on innocent lives.
I will help oversee your planning. If you cannot come up with a sound plan, we will do it my way... but you would all be better served to devise something. I cannot be around to protect you forever. Learning to stand on your own two feet is an important part of your time at this institution. Remember, you must determine how you wish to deal with the creature, how you intend to draw it out, and how you intend to protect yourself from its tricks. Know that I will be in the field with you to protect you if the need arises, but again... you must be ready to stand on your own. If you can defeat this creature without my direct aid, so much the better. Before we proceed to planning, I will answer questions. Are there any?"
no subject
no subject
[Jade’s at least willing to try if it will help them.]