I am going to upgrade php and wordpress.  Things might break.

Wordpress has some maleware on it

Hey all. On a whim I invented two monsters. We will probably blame Kaelan for their creation once I get around to putting it in game. Or we can say that its something he's already done; maybe even back at his previous job before he came to Paragon so they can get established. Whichever you all think is best.

Nyxarach - a spider/human hybrid. They bear some physical resemblance to spiders, such as their white eyes with large sky-blue irises and black pupils, crusty skin and long nails. They have enhanced speed, agility and strength. Their vision is split into multiple lenses, but are generally near-sided. They are invulnerable to bullets and fire. They can regrow limbs if one is severed. Their bite can inject venom. Females have a second type of venom they can use to can change other humans into one of their species. They can create webs to wrap up their victims, which they slowly digest and consume. One victim can feed a Nyxarach for a month. They can only be killed by decapitation.

Fluugravien - a fly/human hybrid. They live in nests of communities held together by pods of goo. Everything they touch leaves a pheromone scent behind that only others of its species can track. Ultimately, they will form very large hives that if they swell beyond their food source, will begin to consume themselves until the survivors leave to form a new community. They can move very swiftly. Their hands are sticky. They are very strong. They cannot fly but they are agile and can jump or parkour over and around objects. They can be killed like any normal human.

Late last night three campers were found mauled to death just south of Tropikana Park (Tропикана Парк) northwest of the City of Moscow.  Locals say they haven't seen nor heard of anything strange and no wild animal attacks have happened in the past ten years.

Wildlife enthusiast claim they've never seen claw marks quite so large before.

Gods would be the undoing of us all.  And now the bastard who killed Stephan was highlight his talents in the most viral way possible.  Doing stupid shit.  Some moron he was.

Henrik had been waiting for him to make a mistake and he pounced on it.  The Red Light district was hardly a h ard place to infiltrate.  At least it hadn't been.

It seemed anytime Henrik got close to the Burlesque club Kallisti a bothersome drone started pestering him.  Like just the other day, Henrik went down looking for a girl, crossed too close and it shot little fucking missiles at him.  One beamed him right in the ear.  Hurt like a mother...  Bleed for days too and Henrik was hard pressed to hear anything from it for days.

And god forbid you try to hit the roof of any building with in line of sight of the entrances to the club.  The drone not only annoyed you it blared the 1812 Overture at the highest volume possible alerting everyone in the neighborhood. It was fucking annoying!

This was going to be harder than it sounded apparently.  First thing to do was shoot down the fucking drone.

[[ ooc: this out of Nox's timeline and future ish for him but showcasing what his security system is doing and also setting up a future rp ]]

Having a sample was excellent.  Now if only the boy god would join them.  He was illusive.  Though a new name popped up on his kill contract.  Jacob Dean was merely a face and a name and very little information.  But clearly Atharim, or he'd not have been able to enter into the system.  Personally verified, an American Atharim.  Old school American Atharim even generational family, much like Durante himself.  What little they could pull from the American records merely indicated an account and years upon years of kills being paid out.  The American's were so unorganized.

Though maybe this man would meet his match.  So far no one had been able to lull the boy into the ground.  Attacking him seemed a mistake.  Though he was becoming obvious now.

But this critter was more than enough to keep Angelika busy.  It was unique.  A creature like none other.  Drawing blood drew upon the parasite that gave it it's abilities.  An endless supply of contamination if handled properly.  It was chupacabra like, yet it mutated the victims in a way that was not.  There was rougarou mixed into the DNA.  The protein markers found in the boys blood coursed through the creature feeding and controlling the body of the host.  

Scans indicated the parasites congregated in a specific part of the brain and other areas of the body changing and arranging and providing instructions for the body.  The rougarou DNA pushing for flesh and it didn't seem to be specific to its own kind, more like it didn't care as long as it was raw and bloody and the fresher the better.  Very much like the fictitional zombie, but the creature was very much alive.

There were still so many tests to run.  And there was so little time.  

Angelika awaited her order of lab rats and other creatures.  If she were so lucky she might even get a young human to test upon -- a criminal who deserved far worse.  No need to sentence them to death, they'd suffer enough at her hands.

After the tunnels, Allan spent his time between the Ascendancy's study and training.  The book he couldn't leave with pulled at his attention.  The things the gods of old could do was astounding, and they didn't even have half the power of the Ascendancy himself.  These recordings were of the end of their civilization, they were a dying breed, thanks to the Atharim.

There were curiosities among it.  Traveling instantaneously from one place to another, using devices that teleported you to different timelines, a fucking multi-verse of realities.  It was like reading the most base sci-fi and fantasy book alive and yet these cultists believed it to be true.  And to be fair Allan believed them. They were barely scratching the surface with the nine.  The Ascendancy shared his knowledge to a degree, but they were all stumbling in this new found era of power.  Floundering and fumbling.  One day they'd reach those heights and be worshiped again.  But there were dangers out there -- the Atharim being one of them, creatures like the Ijiraq too.  They needed to be hunted to extremes and eradicated like they had eradicated these so called gods.  Turn about was fair play.

Something about these traveling gateways pulled at Allan.  He had no idea why, or how or even what it meant, but he was drawn to it.  How would one even begin to think about such things?  Teleportation via science was just theory in its most base form -- a baby thought even.  It still was impossible.  But this wasn't science.  But with the power and science, maybe they could create something?  Wasn't the consul working with programs and scientists and defining things with the utmost care.  Surely someone would have a thought.  A skill -- a talent for such numbers, equations.  Or maybe the ability itself reborn.

Allan set about the facility looking for intrigued fellows.  It was a big place. And lots of faces.  But the labs, they'd be his best bet.

Jacob Dean
American Atharim Hunter
Age 67

Jacob was Noel Durante's (Nox's grandfather) best friend and like an uncle to Bryan (Nox's father). He hunted with the Durantes on a regular basis. Nox and Aurora grew up calling him Uncle Jake despite no blood relaltion.

Jacob was there when Bryan's father died and was the one who relayed the news to the family. They all felt the loss.

Jacob has been unable to get in touch with Bryan since Cleo's passing. He's been looking for the family friend on and off again for years until he finds the recording of Nox that's gone viral of the kid he once knew and a reborn god getting the shit kicked out of him.

Jacob takes it upon himself to hunt down the entirety of the Durante family and kill them all and heads to Moscow to take out the reason he has to kill his family.

Growing up Atharim

Jacob was born into the Atharim. He knew nothing else. His father before him knew nothing else. And so it would be until the ends of time. Or until Jacob died childless and without heir. The Dean line would die with him.

The road was harsh. His education lack luster, though through the good graces of the law homeschooling was easy in nearly all 50 states. Though they hailed from Colorado most of the time. Their base high in the rockies, where they called home, if it were a home. It had been where Jacob was born. And where his father had died. His mother had left his father when Jacob was 10. She'd had enough of the life. It had been surprising at all that she'd stayed.

Jacob's education revolved around killing monsters. He knew how to read and do the basics of everything else -- enough to pass the GED when he was 16. His life was all about killing monsters. It was rough, never had a roof over his head for more than a day at a time. The stars were his blanket during the summer, and in the winter they huddled in the truck and kept themselves warm by sheer will.

Hotels were expensive, shit motels too. Money better spent on food and gear, than sleeping in style. There were safe houses scattered across their territory, but all matter of scum hit them up too. Men who were in it only for the money -- or worse yet the thrill of killing a beast. They weren't in it for the cause -- for the innocent lives saved. They weren't Atharim -- just fucking cowboys looking for their next adrenaline rush and payday.

Darkest Secret

It wasn't long after Jacob turned 16 and his father let him venture out on his own that he met Noel Durante. A year or two older than himself, already married with a kid on the way. Doing his duty early he said. Loved his wife who stayed in the mountains not far from a safe house. She knew the game, but she choose to be a resource instead. Finding the jobs, relaying information. Not one for the hunt, which was good for the kid they were about to bring in.

Jacob tagged along with Noel at first. Their friendship blossomed over stories of their travels alone. And even more so when they found themselves picking up the same mark and taking it out together. It was simple, and easy. Until it wasn't.

Noel's boy Bryan was two when things changed. The friendly handshakes turned to soft touches. Back rubs after a hard fight became a thing. Shared showers to save on water -- not that they were paying for it. A room with two beds became one shared between the two of them. It was slow and secret even to them. Neither man acknowledged the shift in their relationship, it just was.

In public it was two best friends hanging out, having a good time. Friendly ribbing, names being called back and forth, fights and feuds. It was everything it should have been. But in the quiet darkness of a hotel room, it was more. And that's how it would remain until the day they both shared the earth one last time and found peace among the stars. Maybe one day they'd meet again. But not anytime soon if Jacob had his say in the matter.

Black Viper

Noel wasn't the only secret Jacob hoisted on his soul. There were others. Many others, but only one was kept in the same regard the identity of the Black Viper. One would think it was a family heir loom, but it wasn't. It was handed down from worthy hunter to worthy hunter. The gods had just reemerged in the day and age, they were kids, but Jacob had been The Black Viper for the past 8 years. His predecessor having found him worthy when he single handedly wiped out a nest of sin eaters above a brothel in the Texas desert. The brothel no longer existed, but those lovely ladies, they found new residences -- better accommodations too without those fucking leeches draining everything in sight.

When the gods returned Jacob took it upon himself to push the bounds of the Black Viper, taking whatever cases he could and downing godling after godling and nothing could touch him. His reputation preceded him in the Atharim way. And sometimes he even got a call to do a job. Gotta be sure, was usually the answer. But Jacob found that most of them were cowards. These were kids after all -- who wants to kill a kid. It wasn't a great gig, it was hard on the head. There were nightmares, faces in is dreams. He'd never not see them dying, but he didn't shoot them in the head like the others -- no he watched the light go out. He'd remember the children he took.

Worst Day Ever

Every hunter knows they are going to die. It's burned into their soul from the moment they pick up a weapon. They aren't going to see the sun one day. And that one day is likely gonna be sooner rather than later. Every hunter knows it will happen. And they see it happen every day -- see a hunter die to a monster who just got the upper hand.

It's a sad day. But it's a horrible day when it happens to someone you know -- someone you care about.

When that day arrived for Jacob he wept for three days at the mangled corpse of his best friend. No food, no water, and two dead bodies stinking up the air.

The oni was by far the biggest one Jacob had ever seen. Noel too. Thick as fuck grey armor plating for skin. Even the soft spots were hard. The eyes were small and it was massive in size.

The two days before it had killed two grizzlies and a bobcat. Nearly pulled them apart from the look of the corpses they'd buried deep in the caves where it called home.

It caught them unaware. Stealthy mother fucker -- which was typically not the case of big hulking creatures, but this one was smarter than most. It grabbed Noel's shoulder and ripped his head clean off. There wasn't a scream. No sound except blood pumping through the remnants of the body that a second ago had been his best friend.

It was a close call. Hardest kill he ever had to make while tears streamed down his cheeks. But the bolt flew true and the Oni collapsed on top of Noel's body. It had taken a day to retrieve his friend from the mass for a proper burning.

It took Jacob a week before he returned to Noel's family and told them of his death. Nox and Aurora had been three. They never got to know their grandfather, and Jacob took up the mantle, telling them stories and teaching them as Noel would have done. Nurturing the hunters in both of them. The boy was eager to please, Jacob saw himself in him. And she was a spit fire -- keeping the whole family in line and smart as a whip. He fostered her love of learning and insured she could protect herself and her brother. He gave her her first computer against her father's wishes. Girl needed more than a fight. Needed purpose -- a reason to keep on the fight. She found it and boy did she do wonders with it.