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London Universe Race: The Darkfire Clan (Update)
By: Zorbak the Ebil Moglin Date: May 28, 2022, 9:23 pm
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Community Special Race: The Darkfires (London Universe Version)
"The Darkfires aren't known for their raw power, but for their
ability to regenerate. Inflict whatever damage you like, we will
simply heal until you tire yourself out." - A Darkfire against
an enemy
Swordsmen Darkfires Theme: Warriors Suite "Last Attack" (
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y9ZNOe5RjI
)
Assassin Darkfires Theme: Fade to Black B07a (
HTML https://youtu.be/fACdDCn1wnU
)
Main Bio: At this point, most of London has become aware of the
Darkfires, thanks to Darkfires like Kindron, Hei and Kendrix.
The Darkfire clan is one of the clans descended from the
vampire, Cain, through Qrow Darkfire (The one who established
the Japanese Darkfire clan) being the son of Cain. For a very
long time, Qrow's Darkfires have been based in Japan, and the
Darkfires are mostly Japanese in nature due to this (Unless
outsiders are adopted or married into the clan, which does
happen). The Darkfires started out as simple vampires just
trying to find places away from the Sabbat vs Camarilla sects,
due to the fact that the Darkfires saw both sides as short-sided
and not able to see the entire issue at hand when it came to how
vampires should interact with humans. On the one hand, the
Darkfires understand that vampires eat humans to survive and
agree with the Sabbat's view that they should rule over their
food, and that fact should never be ignored, just as humans rule
over their food. However, the Darkfires also don't think that
tyrannically ruling humanity is the right way to establish
dominance over them as they also agree with the Camarilla about
it being possible to live alongside humans peacefully. The
Darkfires are known for being a middle of the road clan, who see
both sides of the issues separating most vampire sects from each
other, and opted to remove themselves from that argument because
they believed everyone was both right and wrong, but believes
they are foolish for not seeing their own short-comings and
faults that prevent them from being able to unify sects.
The Darkfires, when they started out in Japan, faced very heavy
competition, due to another clan who lived there to get away
from the other sects as well. This clan was the Hazeldine Clan,
back then known only as the Miura Family, who controlled the
country's leadership. In return for protecting the people of
Japan, the leaders would provide people for the Hazeldines to
eat, usually criminals who are "executed" but then fed to the
Hazeldines after appearing to be publicly executed. The
Hazeldines didn't like the idea of being tyrannical rulers of
humanity as they felt ruling through tyranny was a sign of
weakness in personality, not strength, but also felt the
Camarilla was too weak to understand humans and vampires cannot
live together in peace and not strong enough to make the strong
decision to rule humanity in their own way. After the Darkfires
arrived in Japan and started setting up, the Hazeldines saw them
as a threat, and intruders on their territory. Because of this
the Hazeldines and the Darkfires fought for years, including
being the true cause behind one of the most well-known wars in
Japan, the Meiji Revolution after the Darkfires tried to set up
a new government under their control and overthrow the old
government ruled by the Hazeldines. Over time though, the
Darkfires and the Hazeldines made peace, after Hei Darkfire and
Alice Hazeldine became friends and opted to have the clans work
together after the last war almost wiped out both clans. Both
Alice Hazeldine and Hei Darkfire saw that if fighting continued
or another war broke out between the clans, both clans would
likely perish together. Later, Hei Darkfire and Alice Hazeldine
saw opportunity in Hei's heavy influence in London, and his
attempt to create a global organization that the Darkfires and
Hazeldines would rule over.
The Darkfires live mostly in Japan, but some have come to London
for various reasons, whether it's to support the Darkfire's
endeavors, or some that have come to help certain Darkfires like
some who have allied with Hei Darkfire, and even some who have
allied with Hellsing. The Hazeldines and the Darkfires have
started working together, most of them now working for Hei
Darkfire, or trying to keep the government of Japan operating.
The Darkfires, in battle, are known for two things: Their
elemental abilities and their regeneration. Many think the
Darkfire regeneration was based on the regeneration of a
phoenix, but many Darkfires will testify that phoenixes being
creatures that regenerate using fire is just a myth. The
Darkfires are typically made of two types of Darkfires that both
have their own code to operate by: The older samurai era
Darkfires, and the newer assassin era Darkfires. The Darkfires,
similar to the Hazeldines, have specific codes when it comes to
eating humans. After working with the Hazeldines, the Darkfires
and the Hazeldines agreed on the code of feeding between the two
clans to prevent issues that plague the Camarilla and Sabbat
sects. There would be two options for vampires of both clans to
feed. The first is that they survive on animal blood (which many
would be surprised that animal blood can sustain vampires just
as easily as human blood can). The second is that they will only
eat major criminals and those in prisons that have been
convicted of life sentences or death sentences.
Social Structure and Moral Code
- Family comes first: Many who know the Darkfires know exactly
what this means, and just how far the Darkfires will go for
their family. In the Darkfire family, they consider family to be
the most important thing in their lives. The Darkfire family is
about unity and sticking together, and usually even those
considered adopted are still respected as members of the family.
Some Darkfires have even considered close friends as family as
well. The Darkfires will retaliate against anyone who hurts the
family, as they see attacks against the family as the equivalent
of declaring war on the family. Because the Darkfires are mostly
not accepted in most vampire cultures, they stick together.
However, after the Hazeldines made peace with the Darkfires, now
the Hazeldines and Darkfires have considered each other family
and will help each other if one family is in trouble. This
aspect is perhaps the most known part of their social structure
for good reason. The only times Darkfires won't retaliate
against someone is if the family member who is attacked or hurt
did something to provoke the attack. For example, a Darkfire who
appeared to be killed by the Hazeldines in order to frame
Rantoul Hazeldine (better known as Lunae Liberi). The incident
almost sparked another Hazeldine/Darkfire war, except for the
fact that the Darkfires and Hazeldines worked together to
investigate the incident. However, this has led to one of the
big weaknesses of the clan, and that is family members that
manipulate others into doing what they want. There are some
members of the family that use this aspect to their advantage,
and will seek to ways to use the clan's main social aspect to
their advantage. And it's not just people inside the clan, as
others who know the Darkfires have also tried to deceive them
into attacking others. Thankfully, the Darkfires have gotten to
a point where they will investigate incidents with the Darkfires
before taking action, making sure to understand the whole
situation before they attempt to retaliate. This has led to many
Darkfire even becoming great investigators. And this has also
led to the fact that the Darkfires will take responsibility for
any incidents their family will commit, as Darkfires in the clan
have often financed repairing damage their family may do in
battle, or they may allow justice systems to arrest members of
the family that commit crime (such as one Darkfire who was
arrested in the US for killing innocent people and the family
allowed the Darkfire to be arrested as the Darkfire had
willingly killed innocent people).
- The Clan is not to hurt innocent people: The Darkfires are
very strict about this for a few reasons. In the Darkfire clan,
it is known that many of them are killers in some aspect,
whether it is swordsmen or the assassins of the clan. It is
often known that the Darkfires walk in dark thoughts, and must
learn to control these aspects of their mind. The Darkfires have
a very strict code on who they are allowed to kill and who they
are not allowed to kill. This is more for the assassins of the
clan, as the assassins are more likely to kill than the
swordsmen. While the swordsmen do kill enemies at times, they
have the very strict Bushido code that helps guide them and
often acts as a guide to when fighting or killing is the only
option left to them. Meanwhile, the assassins don't have quite a
strict code, and instead have to make their own code. The clan
has strict rules on who is allowed to be killed and who is not,
due to the fact that the clan seeks to avoid its own members
becoming mindless killers. Thanks to their mental discipline and
training, most Darkfires will not hurt innocents, and know that
if they break this code, it will be punished. The Darkfires will
not hesitate to enforce this code, as it is extremely important
for the mental health of the Darkfires. The Darkfires will only
kill those they feel deserve death, which usually means they
will usually only kill criminals they see as dangerous, such as
killers and dangerous convicts. Many would think the clan would
be divided because the assassins and swordsmen of the clan have
two differing codes, but the two groups still respect each
other's codes. However, this does also lead to a major danger of
the clan, and that is when they do kill innocents, it leads them
down a dark path. If they start crossing lines, the clan will
step in and discipline them, with the punishments possibly
ending up in exile from the clan if the person keeps killing
innocents.
- Servants and turning humans into vampires: When it comes to
turning humans forcefully into servants, the Darkfires tend to
find forcing human servants to be distasteful, and see it as a
sign of weakness to require servants to do everything for them.
Typically, the only time turning a human is acceptable is if the
human is marrying into the family and agrees to be turned into a
vampire. It is very rare for Darkfires to forcibly turn humans
outside of people marrying into the family. The Darkfires also
see turning people into servants extends their family
unnecessarily, and they refuse to extend their family secrets to
those that are not absolutely loyal to the clan. As such, it is
very rare for Darkfires to allow humans or servants into the
family. However, there are exceptions to this, where some humans
who have served the Darkfire family as human butlers and maids
may eventually be turned if the butler or maid wishes to be
turned by the family. Because the Darkfires respect others and
most times butlers and servants eventually are seen as members
of the family, servants to the family may decide they want to
stay with the family and give up being human. For the most part,
servants of the Darkfires are not usually vampires or forced to
serve the family. For the most part, the Darkfires use humans as
servants, and treat them with respect for the services they
provide. However, Darkfires will never force humans or even
vampires to serve the family, and instead hire servants to the
family similar to how humans would. The Darkfires provide for
any servants in exchange for services, such as a butler will
live with the Darkfires and serve the family by doing their job
while also being paid for their services (whether it's with
money or if the servant just wants to live with the family).
While this does mean the Darkfires do have master/servant
relationships with those that serve the family, the Darkfires
don't really consider them servants, but more as extensions of
the family (though Darkfires are very careful about who they
allow to serve the family, which also leads to stronger bonds
when they do accept others as servants). In terms of turning
humans, it is a forbidden thing to do unless the clan supports
the decision (such as a human marrying into the clan and is
turned into a vampire, more on that later).
- Vampire Feeding Options: Unlike the other clans, the Darkfires
try to avoid eating humans. They are one of the few vampire
clans that tries to avoid making problems with humans. There are
a few reasons for this, but, besides the main one of not
attacking innocent people, the Darkfires do this as a way to
reduce encounters with supernatural hunters who might come after
them. Since the Darkfires avoid attacking innocents, and they
don't kill humans for blood, it is rare for supernatural hunters
to want to attack the clan (especially if they know how the
Darkfires respond to people attacking the clan). In the Darkfire
clan, there are three acceptable ways to drink blood. The first
is the more common, where Darkfires will negotiate to get blood
bags from hospitals or blood banks, so that they can drink human
blood without having to attack humans. This is a good option for
Darkfires who want human blood but want a safer way to get blood
that won't get them into any trouble (and helps them follow the
clan's morals of not attacking innocent people. The next is
mostly for Darkfires who prefer to drink blood directly from the
source, in which Darkfires can hunt down and kill criminals for
their blood. Instead of finding innocent people to attack, they
will instead focus on finding criminals that they would normally
kill and then kill them by drinking their blood. This is more
for the Darkfires who don't like artificial options for blood.
Thanks to connections with the Sabbat thanks to Hei Darkfire,
this has become more popular among Darkfires in recent years as
they sometimes will kill murders in jail with life sentences as
food. The last and most used option in the clan is that they
don't drink human blood at all. In what has often become known
as "Vampire Vegetarian Culture", some vampires choose not to
drink human blood and instead go after animals instead. While
it's common for some werewolf tribes to eat animals instead of
humans, vampires are usually not interested in going after
animals. However, the Darkfires found that feeding on animals
gives them more nutrients than humans. The downside to this
though, is that while they do get better fed on some forms of
animal blood, vampires who drink animal blood are rarely ever
fully satisfied. Of course, those that do live on animal blood
have to practice mental discipline even more in order to avoid
letting their hunger get out of control, due to the fact that
some vampires who survive on animals have been known to more
easily go into hunger induced rages when smelling human blood.
This has also become very popular, not just in the Darkfires,
but is becoming more popular among vampires due to the fact that
this often helps them avoid problems with supernatural hunters.
It is also known that the increased nutrients in animals
compared to humans also means the vampires will be better fed
and go longer without having to feed as well (even if they may
still be hungry due to animal blood not being as satisfying).
- Views on outsiders and marriage to those outside the clan:
Unlike some vampire clans, the Darkfires are not opposed to
their members marrying outside the family. The Darkfires have
often been a bit more accepting of outsiders than other clans.
While the Darkfires don't necessarily share their secrets with
every outsider, it is easier to earn their trust if the person
understands and is willing to operate based on their codes. This
has led to Darkfires not only marrying other vampires, but has
also led to some Darkfires may even marry humans, or in rare
cases, even werecreatures depending on the case. For example,
Qrow Darkfire married Kina Darkwolf, and the Darkfires even
befriended the Darkwolf clan before the Darkwolf and Darkfire
clans were manipulated into fighting each other. Normally,
humans or vampires would be introduced into the clan if they
want to marry into the clan (usually to test to see if they will
operate according to the family's standards), and any humans who
are accepted into the clan would usually be turned into vampires
by the clan. Darkfires are a lot less strict, but due to some
incidents that have happened, the Darkfires have become a bit
harder to gain trust from due to certain incidents in the past.
However, the clan is a lot more accepting of outsiders than
other clans would normally be. Normally, outsiders that don't
fit into other clans/tribes or groups are often more accepted
than others, since the Darkfires tend to understand those that
are outsiders like the Darkfires have been in the past. However,
as mentioned earlier, outsiders accepted by the clan must be
willing to live by the family's code and those that don't will
suffer the same punishments as the family would if the family
breaks the code.
- Family who break the rules/Punishments of the clan: For those
that break the clan's codes and rules, the family will retaliate
as they are very strict about enforcing the rules. The rules are
not just for the benefit of the individual, but also of benefit
for the entire clan. Because of this, the clan is very strict.
However, the clan is also a lot more forgiving than some other
clans. If an incident occurs and the Darkfire shows they are
willing to repent for whatever crime they committed, the
Darkfires will often forgive (as long as it's not too big of a
crime against the clan). For example, accidentally killing
someone during a fight that they didn't mean to is something
that can be forgiven as long as it is clear that it was an
accident and not something that was done on purpose (as if the
evidence points to a purposeful killing, the Darkfires will act
accordingly). While the clan doesn't have a jail or something
for those that break the rules of the clan, they will watch the
clan members who break the rules, and they will act on the
family members. The Darkfires are a believer in making sure the
punishments fit the crime. For example, a Darkfire that
constantly kills innocent humans will receive more retribution
than a Darkfire who had accidentally killed someone they didn't
mean to (which does happen in the heat of battle sometimes and
does happen more often than one might think). For the most part,
the mindset of the clan member committing the crime is the most
important thing to consider when considering punishment. The
Darkfires may attempt to lock away members who keep breaking the
rules as punishment for minor offenses. While the Darkfires do
not believe in death penalty, they will resort to it if they
feel it's the only acceptable punishment (which they have
executed a few members of the family who become killers and
eventually give into their own blood-lust without caring about
changing their ways). Usually, execution is the last option, and
before that, it is more likely the Darkfires will choose exile
before killing a member of the family committing a crime. In the
Darkfire's eyes, an exile can always be overturned if the
Darkfire learns their lesson or may have been done in error, but
an execution cannot be undone (unless Death or someone who
brings back dead people intervene). Of course, this view has led
to some enemies of the clan being made, such as groups that may
break off from the clan (such as groups like the Whitefire clan)
if they don't like the Darkfires methods. Since the clan doesn't
like executing criminals, this has led to them making enemies
out of those exiled from the clan. However, the clan still
maintains that execution is only to be a last resort if no other
methods work.
Race: The Darkfires are their own race of vampires. Darkfires
are mostly like other vampires, and are known for their
elemental abilities due to the Darkfires all specializing in
elemental training. Most of the Darkfires are Japanese, due to
the clan mostly being in Japan. There are exceptions to this
though, as there are plenty of people married into Darkfire
clans, and plenty of adopted Darkfires, including adopted
Darkfires who became vampires by being turned by other Darkfires
who accept them into their clan. The Darkfires are all at least
part vampire, with a few hybrids here and there depending on the
parentage of the Darkfire in general. Typically, the Darkfires
vampires don't belong to the Camarilla or the Sabbat (unless
they work for Hei Darkfire) due to the fact that most Darkfires
don't fully agree with either side, so most are only expected to
be loyal only to the clan, and to the partnership with the
Hazeldines. The Hazeldines and Darkfires are friendly rivals
though, so they do typically pair a Hazeldine with a Darkfire to
act as a friendly rival that will help both warriors grow. It is
worth noting that those vampires born into the Darkfire Clan are
day-walker vampires, who are not limited by only traveling in
the night like most vampires. While adopted vampires may or may
not gain this power depending on if they are turned by a
Darkfire, it is known that the main Darkfires do have this
skill.
Weapons:
- Vampire-made Japanese Supernatural Weapons: As one might
expect, the Darkfires and Hazeldines have plenty of blacksmiths,
and this means that the Darkfires and Hazeldines have plenty of
access to weapons. In addition to basic attack weapons, most
Darkfires can either choose basic weapons to use, or they can
have specific special weapons made for themselves. Most
Darkfires either frequent assassin weapons or they will frequent
katana swords depending on whether they are assassins or
samurai. These weapons are usually designed to fight other types
of supernaturals, with the weapons being designed to take on
mostly werewolves and vampire threats due to the Darkfires
having to fight other vampires and werewolf combatants to
protect themselves and their clan from other sects and tribes.
Though after the alliance with the Hazeldines, the Darkfires can
also have the Hazeldines make them special dark arts or magic
enhanced blades, as the Hazeldines and Darkfires now share their
resources. This also means things like the Hazeldine spell-books
that are used to store spells, or other Hazeldine enchanted
items are available to Darkfires as well, just as the Darkfire's
own resources like special elemental weapons or specific
elemental enchantments can be given to the Hazeldines. This
makes it so that it's hard to describe every weapon option, due
to having quite a few options available. Of course, while each
weapon and item may have strengths, each does have its share of
weaknesses as well. For example, most weapons can be broken in
some fashion, and those with special abilities can have their
abilities countered by other abilities (Such as a weapon with
lightning could be countered by water).
- Darkfire Item: Dust Crystals: This is something that aura
users developed that became popular among other aura users like
the Branwen family. The Branwen family is able to develop dust,
whether in the form of crystals or powder that house elemental
crystallized energy. Typically, this is created for battle
situations (though it can be used outside of battle as well),
where aura users create crystals and powder using elemental
energies by focusing their aura around elemental energies and
then crystallizing it. When used in battle, the crystals or
powder are activated with aura or by using some sort of energy
catalyst, where the elemental energy released allows a user to
release the elemental energy within this substance. Depending on
the elemental energy that is crystallized, one can crystallize
any elemental energy with the process of creating dust. For
example, a fire dust crystal would house crystallized fire
energy, whereas an ice dust crystal would house crystallized ice
energy. When these are activated, the energy is released and the
user is able to then use the crystals elemental power depending
on what is used. For example, dust crystals can be thrown at
enemies with the dust exploding on impact or dust crystals can
be used to blast elemental energy at an opponent. Meanwhile,
dust powder is often kept in vials, or can even be sewn into
clothing. This elemental energy is great for elemental users, as
they can manipulate the elements within these crystals, or this
can also be used in weapons to grant weapons certain elemental
power by using dust powder cartridges. While mostly used by aura
users, anyone can use dust, as it just requires a little energy
to activate (even if it's just kinetic energy from being thrown
at an opponent). However, the downside is that dust has to be
made in advance, and it requires a complicated ritual that isn't
too well known except among certain people that use it, a major
example being the Branwen family. Also, these elementals can
still be countered like normal, and some enemies may even be
able to take control of certain elementals if one is not
controlling the elementals themselves. Also, once crystallized,
the elemental energy cannot be changed to a different element
(for example, a red crystal is a fire crystal and cannot be
changed to another element).
Darkfire Customized Clothing Options (Optional):
- Darkfire Custom Combat Clothing: When it comes to clothing,
the Darkfires have customized their clothing a lot over the
years to optimize it for battle, which has led to the clan
having many options for custom clothing. Some Darkfires do it
themselves, while others may seek out other Darkfires to do so.
When it comes to customization, there are a multitude of
factors, and depending on the materials available and the
knowledge of the Darkfire, the Darkfire can take many things
into account when customizing their outfits. For example, the
Darkfires often try to make their clothing as flexible as
possible, in which they use flexible material to not hinder
their agility and flexibility in combat. The Darkfires can
customize their clothing in multiple ways, from the material
their outfit is made of, to lining their clothes with special
materials. Some examples of materials include the steel thread
lining that Darkfires use to make their outfits bulletproof,
which is sewn into the fabric as a lining that acts as defense.
Another option is adding elemental dust to their outfits, sewing
it into the fabric as well, which allows Darkfires to store it
in a place where they can easily activate it with their aura.
The Darkfires can also make weighted clothing to help them
train, usually adding weight into the lining or making it out of
material they can manipulate to be far heavier than normal. For
the most part, Darkfires don't wear the clothes they do to be
fashionable (even if they could start a clothing line if they
wanted to), but wear the clothes they do to be functional in
combat. With all the options available, it is up to the Darkfire
to figure out how they want to customize their outfits. However,
while there are many options, not every option is optimal, and
some options may conflict. For example, flexible fabric and the
steel thread do not go well together, as the steel thread is not
flexible enough, and may hinder the flexibility of the fabric.
Also, some materials may be more difficult to put in, such as
trying to put fire resistant substances into clothing may be
difficult. This requires knowledge and adaption for the
Darkfires to create clothing, and they must often figure out how
they want their clothing before preparing it. Also, while it is
possible to prepare different outfits with different attributes,
this must be done outside of battle, as preparing custom outfits
takes materials, time and a lot of preparation.
- Darkfire Clothing Aspect: Weighted Clothing: Those familiar
with how Hei and Kendrix have weighted clothes will be familiar
with how some Darkfires will use weighted clothing to help them
train. This is meant to weigh down Darkfires, so that they can
adapt to the weight and eventually learn to move normally even
while wearing the weights. When they do finally adapt, they use
the weights as restraints, which hold back their true physical
abilities, or they use them to simply keep training. When
removed, the Darkfires then are able to fight unrestrained (if
they are able to remove the weighted clothing, of course), often
to the surprise of their enemies who may not expect it. Most
Darkfires will constantly wear these weights, as their adability
can be a double edged sword at times (meaning that Darkfires
adapt to the weights, but they may also adapt to the weights no
longer being there if the weights are not worn enough). When a
Darkfire needs to move without the weights, they simply need to
remove the weighted clothing. There are a few ways to prepare
this. The first, and most obvious, is to sew weights into the
clothing's fabric, which will allow the fabric to hold the
weights. The other is that some Darkfires can change the
molecular makeup of their clothing with things like earth
manipulation, making it possible for Darkfires to customize
clothing using their abilities if they have the right abilities
to do so (and Darkfires can also have other Darkfires with the
right abilities help them if they can find the right Darkfires
to help). However, the downside to this is that Darkfires will
always be hindered as long as they wear these weights, and
cannot go too long without, unless they want to risk their
adaption adapting to not having the weights. Also, it is
important to mention that the fabric cannot handle certain
heavier weights, so there is usually limits to how much weight
can be put into the fabric, even among the earth manipulation
Darkfires. This means that there is usually a top weight that
can be reached before no more weight can be added (meaning this
training hits a plateau at some point). And while this is useful
for training, enemies who know they wear weighted clothing can
stop Darkfires from removing this weighted clothing by keeping
them on the defensive in combat and not giving them time to
remove the weights in their clothing.
- Darkfire Clothing Aspect: Weapon Pockets: As one might
imagine, clothing can have a lot of pockets that can be useful
to the Darkfires, especially the assassins in the clan. If one
wonders why some of the Darkfires wear such long jackets,
pockets in the jacket would be the reason why. When making
custom clothing, Darkfires typically like to be able to store
weapons on their person (usually depending on the Darkfire). So
when keeping this in mind, many Darkfires often want to have the
right amount of pockets to have all of their stuff. This is
especially important among the assassins in the clan, and those
that like to keep small weapons on them. These pockets can store
things like weapons, dust crystals, or many other things. This
depends on the Darkfire and their particular clothing, as some
have different preferences when it comes to where they store
their weapons, and some can get very creative. For example, some
Darkfires may hide small knives in their socks, and some female
Darkfires have been known to wear dresses while strapping
weapons to their thighs for emergencies. And of course, there
are also Darkfires who hide weapons up their sleeves, sliding
them out when they need to attack someone. Depending on the
creativity of the Darkfires, they can handle this in a variety
of ways, and depending on the outfit, many Darkfires will often
have outfits with many pockets to store the things they wish to
carry on them. Of course, there is limits to how much stuff one
can carry on them, even among the Darkfires. If they carry too
much on them, they will add additional weight to their clothing,
or they may hinder the flexibility of their clothing if too much
is stored in their clothing. While this can be somewhat
countered by using flexible fabric to make more room in the
pockets, some make steel thread pockets for stronger pockets
instead. This depends on the Darkfire, and every choice has both
positive and negative consequences. And the form of the clothing
matters too, as certain clothing may not allow for storing
weapons (IE not wearing as much clothing means less pockets to
store things). But for the Darkfires that do not carry many
items on them, they can still choose normal clothing.
- Darkfire Clothing Aspect: Flexible Clothing: This is an aspect
of Darkfire clothing, in which Darkfires almost always try to
get the most flexible outfits for combat so that they will not
be hindered in their speed and agility. This is one of the
clothing options that Darkfires have, in which many customize
their clothes for combat. Darkfires make their combat outfits
out of special material, which is developed by the clan, or
could be taken from other sources (since flexible fabric has
been used in certain clothings). When used, this makes the
outfit the Darkfires choose to customize flexible so that they
can move easily in their clothes. This makes it so that the
Darkfires do not hinder themselves by the clothes they wear. And
since there are multiple types of flexible fabric, some of which
the Darkfires develop themselves (usually modifying known
fabrics). When worn, these fabrics allow the Darkfire to move in
any outfit they wear with this fabric, without having to
sacrifice any mobility and flexibility. As such, this makes it
so that the outfits the Darkfires wear don't hinder them, and
makes sure the Darkfire can be as comfortable as possible. This
can also be combined with other customization aspects of the
Darkfire's clothes, such as adding things like dust to the
lining of the clothes, or even adding additional lining into the
clothes. This can add additional benefits, while mostly still
keeping the flexible nature of the clothing. However, Darkfires
do need to be aware that not all linings work well with the
flexible fabric, as not all linings are as flexible. This means
that adding other linings will often reduce the flexibility of
the fabric. Also, while this fabric is flexible, it can still be
pushed to a breaking point and tear if not cared for properly.
Different types of fabric have different levels of flexibility,
and this flexibility is usually determined by the fabric itself.
And even though this sounds perfect, not all flexible fabric
will allow for all ranges of movement, as some outfits may be
restrictive depending on the outfit. And as one might imagine,
without any other linings, this outfit doesn't really do
anything for defense or attack, other than allowing the Darkfire
to move unhindered in combat (meaning they retain most of their
natural agility and flexibility when using this fabric).
- Darkfire Clothing Aspect: Elemental Clothing modification:
This is another aspect of the Darkfire's clothing that they
customize depending on the Darkfire. Depending on the Darkfire,
they will often make modifications to their clothing based on
their elemental abilities. There are two ways to go about this:
Defensive or Offensive modification. For defensive modification,
Darkfires will modify their clothing so that they can more
easily defend against counter elements. They do this by
creatively adapting their clothes, usually sewing substances
into the fabric or using specific types of fabric. For example,
a water or ice user that wants to defend against fire attacks
may line their clothing with a fire resistant substance to help
them defend against fire attacks, or those vulnerable to
lightning may make their clothing out of a non-conductive
substance. For offensive modification, Darkfires will adapt
their clothing to more easily utilize their elements. For
example, a fire user may make their gloves out of a substance
known as ignition cloth that develops sparks when rubbed
together, or they may make an absorbant outfit to absorb
moisture if they are a water user, or lightning users may make
their clothing out of material that is easily able to generate
static electricity. This is the opposite of a defensive
modification, and lets users develop their outfits to work
better for them. This depends on the Darkfire and their
creativity, as there are many modifications one can make,
whether it is for defense or offense. Whether it's using a known
method to modify their clothing, or using a unique method,
Darkfires can modify their clothing in a multitude of ways
depending on the stuff they have access to, and there nothing
saying Darkfires cannot modify more than one outfit (Such as
some may have specific outfits outfitted with specific elements
in mind, but modify others with different elements in mind).
There is the option of sewing dust powder or crystals into the
outfit as well (See Dust Sewn Outfits for more info). The
downside is that this means Darkfires actively choose specific
ways to modify their clothing, and this does take preparation
outside of battle. While it can be changed, Darkfires have to
change their outfits outside of battle, since this takes careful
planning and preparation.
- Darkfire Clothing Aspect: Bulletproof Steel Thread Lining:
This is another option among members of the Darkfire family,
mostly used among those that become assassins or have assassin
training. Many Darkfires can have custom clothing made using a
special steel thread that is developed by the clan (made mostly
among the earth user Darkfires who use their power to change
metal into the right form to make this thread). While some use
the steel thread for attack power, the main use of this thread
is that it is sewn into clothes, which adds a defensive layer to
the clothes that this is sewn into. One of the main appeals to
this is that, when wearing this, Darkfires don't have to wear
heavy armor over their clothes, and this allows them to maintain
proper mobility in combat (thus not hindering their combat speed
and agility). This defensive layer uses the steel thread to help
block attacks, making it able to dampen blows that the Darkfire
may take in battle. While there are different levels of this,
this defensive enhancement of clothes is great for defense
without being too restrictive in movement. The other advantage
to this is that outfits with this steel thread lining are
bullet-proof, which is another of the major appeals of wearing
clothing with this lining in it. For the most part, this is
another case of the Darkfire's preference of functionality over
fashion. This works best usually in long jackets and cloaks,
where some Darkfires (most notably those like Kindron, Hei, and
Kendrix) will wear longer clothing to cover themselves and allow
the defensive nature of their cloaks to protect as much of their
body as possible. Different Darkfires have different
preferences, so depending on the amount of steel thread used,
the exact amount of defense added is different depending on the
Darkfire. However, while useful, Darkfires do have to keep in
mind that this thread is not perfect defense, and even with
options like armor and defense enchantment among magic users,
the defense can still be broken. Typically, this is broken by
stronger attacks that can overpower the steel thread, or by
strong projectile attacks that may be too strong for the steel
thread to protect from. While this does protect the user
somewhat, it doesn't completely protect them as much as heavy
armor would (but heavy armor would sacrifice movement and
agility for defense).
- Darkfire Clothing Aspect: Dust-Sewn Clothing: Many Darkfires
and Branwen users utilize dust powder/crystals, made using aura,
in combat to generate elemental energy. And there is one trick
that has been passed along among aura users for a very long
time: One can store dust in their clothing easily by sewing it
into their clothing. As such, aura users and others who use dust
can learn to sew dust into their outfits, which allows them to
keep the dust for battle. After careful preparation, the dust
can be sewn into the clothing, and the clothing will not look
any different from how it did before. However, the difference is
that now, when a Darkfire activates the dust in their clothing,
their clothing will light up with dust as they utilize the
elemental energy. This may be as simple as just normal lighting
up, or some Darkfires may sew certain patterns into their
clothes to make their clothing look better when it lights up
with the energy of their dust. This is great for the aura users,
and for those that use dust, since it lets them secretly keep
dust on them without anyone being able to take it from them.
Darkfires especially can utilize this in battle, which allows
them to use dust to generate quick elemental energy that they
can then use or absorb, making it great for their elemental
power. This is dependent on the Darkfire, and how the Darkfire
handles the customization of their clothing. Since the Darkfires
typically customize their clothing, this is a great option that
doesn't hinder other aspects of the clothing like flexibility of
certain fabrics, or the steel thread of certain outfits.
However, the downside to this is that only so much dust can be
sewn into one's clothes, so there is a limit to how much dust
one carry on them. Also, this dust does not replenish itself
when used, so eventually Darkfires will run out of dust and have
to sew more into their clothes. This is a lengthy process that
requires time, preparation, and a lot of dust. As such, this can
only be sewn in outside of battle, and Darkfires must be careful
about when to use or not use the dust hidden within their
clothes. The dust still has the same weaknesses as well, such as
fire dust being weak against other weaknesses of fire.
Base Darkfire Training (What powers are used depend on the
Darkfire's training, affinities, and how they want to use their
power):
- Darkfire Elemental Affinity/Elemental Manipulation: In the
world, few supernaturals have such an understanding of
manipulating elements as the Darkfires do. The Darkfires would
hone this elemental power over the years they've been alive, and
develop techniques and abilities that would help them to be able
to best use their elemental power to battle their opponents in
much the same way clans like Lasombra would perfect their use of
shadows. In battle, Darkfires utilize elemental affinities they
are born with to manipulate elements. The Darkfires learned a
lot about elementals from their training, and learned even more
when the Darkfires have studied how other supernaturals use
elemental powers. The Darkfires are among the top elemental
users in the world, and have had many years to practice and hone
their elemental power. The Darkfires are known for their
elemental powers above all else, and most are able to utilize
their elemental powers in unique ways. The most unique way of
using this is through spirit mastery training that the Darkfires
use to create new elementals using their positive and negative
spirit energy. Of course, the Darkfires do also have their
physical combat training they are also known for (such as
swordsmen training or assassin training depending on the
Darkfire), but the elemental power they possess is what the
Darkfires utilize in training just as other vampire clans train
their abilities. However, not all Darkfires have the same
affinities, and some may even develop unique affinities, such as
some Darkfires who might not be able to create holy or dark
elementals, but instead create combined elementals (like one
Darkfire who combines fire and ice instead of a spirit-based
elemental). Some Darkfires with unique abilities may even
develop certain unique affinities over the years depending on
their abilities, such as a demonic Darkfire may gain demonic
elementals. For the most part, the Darkfires main power is
elemental manipulation, and even with some elements being unique
and having unique effects, the elements are still countered just
like one would expect. When used, most elements are used in
specific ways, and those with enough knowledge of how elements
work can use their knowledge their advantage to counter certain
elements (for example, a wind user could counter a fire user by
creating a vaccuum environment around flames to put them out).
- Darkfire Spirit Mastery: In order to train in the Darkfire
elemental abilities, a Darkfire must first master their own
spirit energy, as their positive or negative spirit energy are
usually vital in creating Darkfire elementals. Before training
can even begin, the Darkfire must learn a few different things.
The first is that they must learn how to tap into their positive
and negative spirit energy, and the second is that they must
learn how to manage their own unique balance. Most Darkfires
must learn this before they can move on to other abilities.
Depending on the Darkfire, Darkfires will often have varying
amounts of soul energy, as well as having different balances,
making it imperative that the Darkfire trains and learns about
their own spirit. By tapping into their spirit, they eventually
learn to utilize their negative spirit energy to create dark
elementals and their positive spirit energy to create holy
elementals by combining their spirit with their elemental power
to create their Darkfire elementals. However, it isn't just
about creating elementals, as Darkfires learn to focus and
balance their spirit during training in order to help master
their bodies to train them for battle since the Darkfires also
use this to help focus their mind and body as well. This
requires heavy meditation, and the ability to focus inward.
Thanks to this training, Darkfires typically are very inwardly
focused, and learn to master their spirit as the first step in
their training. Depending on the Darkfires, every Darkfire
typically has a different balance, so each Darkfire must find
that balance, and learn what affinities for combinations they
have. Depending on the Darkfires, there are some that are
special cases, such as Father Hei who had only positive spirit
energy after his holy purification, or Kendrix Darkfire who has
mastered turning his spirit into angelic and demonic elementals
as a result. Depending on the spirit energy, some elementals can
have different effects depending on the spirit energy used. Many
Darkfires who advance in this can also sometimes start learning
spirit user abilities if they so desire, depending on if they
can find a teacher who will teach them how to use spirit user
abilities. Typically though, most Darkfires don't become spirit
users, if only because most understand that they must master
their own Darkfire power first before seeking new power. This
requires focus and discipline, much more so than any other clan,
so the Darkfires are usually very controlled and able to control
their emotions more easily in order to avoid unbalancing their
spirit.
- Darkfire Positive/Negative Spirit Balance: In order to train
in the Darkfire elemental abilities, a Darkfire must first
master their own spirit energy, as their positive or negative
spirit energy are vital in creating Darkfire elementals. Before
training can even begin, the Darkfire must learn a few different
things. The first is that they must learn how to tap into their
positive and negative spirit energy, and the second is that they
must learn how to manage their own unique balance. Most
Darkfires must learn this before they can move on to other
abilities. Depending on the Darkfire, Darkfires will often have
varying amounts of soul energy, as well as having different
balances, making it imperative that the Darkfire trains and
learns about their own spirit. By tapping into their spirit,
they eventually learn to utilize their negative spirit energy to
create dark elementals and their positive spirit energy to
create holy elementals by combining their spirit with their
elemental power to create their Darkfire elementals. However, it
isn't just about creating elementals, as Darkfires learn to
focus and balance their spirit during training in order to help
master their bodies to train them for battle since the Darkfires
also use this to help focus their mind and body as well. This
requires heavy meditation, and the ability to focus inward.
Thanks to this training, Darkfires typically are very inwardly
focused, and learn to master their spirit as the first step in
their training. Depending on the Darkfires, every Darkfire
typically has a different balance, so each Darkfire must find
that balance, and learn what affinities for combinations they
have. Depending on the Darkfires, there are some that are
special cases, such as Father Hei who had only positive spirit
energy after his holy purification, or Kendrix Darkfire who has
mastered tuning his spirit into angelic and demonic elementals
as a result. Depending on the spirit energy, some elementals can
have different effects depending on the spirit energy used. Many
Darkfires who advance in this can also sometimes start learning
spirit user abilities if they so desire, depending on if they
can find a teacher who will teach them how to use spirit user
abilities. Typically though, most Darkfires don't become spirit
users, if only because most understand that they must master
their own Darkfire power first before seeking new power. This
requires focus and discipline, much more so than any other clan,
so the Darkfires are usually very controlled and able to control
their emotions more easily in order to avoid unbalancing their
spirit.
- Darkfire Branwen Family Aura Connection: Because of the head
of the Darkfire clan (Qrow Darkfire) marrying the head of the
Branwen family (a family of thieves and bandits), the two clans
have trained together in the past, and Raven Branwen has even
taught the Darkfires about how to use aura, a mix of body and
spiritual power that grants special abilities. Like the
Darkfires, the Branwen family was also having to fight
supernaturals, and they developed their own techniques (though
their technique skillset isn't as expansive as the Darkfire
Clan). Since the Darkfires and Branwens have mostly merged
together over the years while Qrow Darkfire and Raven Branwen
were married, some of the Branwen skills have been worked into
the Darkfire skillset to develop newer skills. This has also led
to some Darkfires even being able to become aura users as a
result of their training. For the most part, many Darkfires only
have basic knowledge of aura, as they just learn enough about it
to learn how to create it, and how to tap into certain aura
abilities important for certain skills (like using the Branwen
art of shapeshifting to learn the Darkfire elemental
shapeshifting skill). For the most part, this is only a basic
connection, and helps teach the Darkfire how to tap into their
body's energies and spirit energies in order to teach them how
to draw out energy. When using this connection, there isn't much
battle potential for this, as it is mostly used to learn other
techniques (unless the Darkfire learns aura user abilities).
Those that do have the ability to use aura abilities (through
training or through inheriting certain aura abilities), will
find that aura manipulation still works the same way as it does
for most races, with aura being able to be used for things like
defense and to do things like unlocking unique semblance
abilities (though Darkfires only gain one semblance power,
either through vampire elemental semblance training or aura
semblance training). This also means that it has the same
weaknesses, in that aura can be overpowered by other energies,
or aura breaker weapons can break through aura manipulation
completely. Much like any other energy manipulation, aura can
only be used as long as the user has energy, and once they run
out, they cannot use aura until they recover their energy.
- Darkfire Nature/Spirit Connection: This is the second
connection that Darkfires gained during the time the Darkfires
spent among the werewolf alchemists. Similar to other creatures
with a strong nature connection to the world, the Darkfires
specialize in their connection to both nature and spirits, as
they learned to tune to the spiritual realms despite their dark
natures. Through their training and diving into spiritual power,
they eventually developed a strong connection to the world's
elements through their nature and spirit connections. Thanks to
this, the Darkfires are able to not only sense the planet's life
energy and the life of what's around them, but all Darkfires are
able to sense spirits as well, similar to moglins and those with
special spirit sense training. This allows them to see and
interact with spirits, in which some of the Darkfires have even
learned spirit arts from spirits. These spirits are normally
invisible and not able to be interacted with by most people,
even most who think they know all the spirits often find they
don't know how just how deep the spiritual plane goes and how
many spirits live in this world. This may seem simple, but this
lets the Darkfires connect to the world much more than most who
connect to nature (though most nature connections may be
stronger than theirs, as the Darkfires aren't that strong in
their nature connection as other creatures like werewolves), as
they aren't just connected to nature, but are able to also
interact with those spirits for another way to interact with
nature. Darkfires that have this connection understand the
importance of the world's forces, and can see not only the flow
of the planet's life energies, but also how the spirits impact
that balance. Darkfires trained in this learn this aspect in
some way and apply this to their elemental abilities in order to
enhance their knowledge of the elements. This can eventually
lead to Darkfires learning spirit arts, to which some have tried
to learn spirit arts that could benefit their use of elemental
powers, as there are plenty of spirit arts that are elemental in
nature. While this isn't a necessary power for the Darkfires,
many do still learn this ability as a means of enhancing their
knowledge of elements, as spirits can grant special knowledge.
There isn't too much offensive use of this in fights, as this
training is more about learning new things about elements. The
best this can do is help Darkfires come up with new ways to use
their elemental abilities.
- Darkfire Elemental/Spirit Balance Mastery: The Darkfires
create their elementals by using elemental and spirit power,
which they must find their balance by figuring out their
affinities. For example, many Darkfires start out with an
affinity for dark flames. Once a Darkfire figures out their
affinities, the first step is to balance their elemental power
and spirit together, where they are able to fuse these
elementals passively. This is the next basis of the Darkfire
training after learning elemental and spirit power, in which a
Darkfire has to then fuse both sets of knowledge together to
find their own balance. Not only does this teach them how to
make their Darkfire elementals, but this also balances their
power to strengthen their abilities. Through discipline and
focus, a Darkfire uses this to keep their power in balance so
that their power can be more effective, as balance is necessary
in order to keep one's power flowing properly. And as Darkfires
practice this balance, they will often find ways to do this that
will increase their elemental and spirit power, as maintaining
this balance effectively can lead to the Darkfires gaining
stronger elemental and spirit power over time as the Darkfire
hones their mastery of this aspect of their training. Different
Darkfires have many ways of focusing, but using their
disciplined mind is often the most common way Darkfires use to
maintain this, and is why the Darkfires are among the most
mentally disciplined despite some of the Darkfires being darker
in nature than other groups or clans. Another method many
Darkfires will use is meditation, in which they will meditate in
order to balance themselves (which is equally as effective for
those that don't have as much mental focus as some Darkfires).
No matter the method though, this is a very necessary training,
as Darkfires cannot use their full power without finding their
balance. If a Darkfire is unbalanced in their elemental and
spirit power, then they will have difficulty focusing their
elemental power, and will have severely weakened elements. Some
Darkfires who can't focus this properly have even been known to
create explosions of elemental and spirit energy when trying to
use their elementals as the powers cannot be focused properly.
There are major enemies that also do try to unbalance this kind
of balance in the body, mind and spirit (For example, Malice Al
Zalam has the ability to unbalance this kind of training) and
those enemies are particularly dangerous to the Darkfires as
they can be weakened to the point their Darkfire elements no
longer work. The biggest weakness of the Darkfires is lack of
focus, as this can, at worst, completely keep Darkfires from
focusing their elemental power safely.
- Darkfire Elementals: Finally getting to the actual elementals,
each Darkfire can start out with up to two elements, and older,
more experienced Darkfires can sometimes learn a third or a
fourth depending on the Darkfire and their experience. There are
also rare Darkfires that will be born with three or four
elements (usually born with both a holy and dark variation of
one or two elements), but this is very rare. Darkfire elementals
work by fusing positive or negative spirit energy to their
elemental power to create specific elements. Negative spirit
energy fused to an element will create a dark elemental, which
will have some darkness type properties to it, and positive
spirit energy fused to elements will create holy elementals
which will have positive power properties. Each element is
different, and some even have unique abilities depending on the
Darkfire, such as holy flames might be able to heal others using
holy power. Each Darkfire has two usually to start with, and as
they get older and more experienced, they may gain one or two
more through training and focus eventually. It is also possible
that some Darkfires can use elementals to create different
elementals, such as some wind users who create lightning or
water users that create ice. The elements used by the Darkfires
are usually of the six main elements which correspond to the
Darkfire's elemental affinities. Among the elements one can use
are fire, water, ice (often combined with water affinity),
lightning, wind and earth. Darkness and light are very rare
affinities, and often seen as redundant in the clan since the
spirit energy often acts as the light or dark in the Darkfire
elementals. For the most part, these elements can be used just
like their main elementals, and can be used creatively by
Darkfires to battle enemies and utilize their Darkfire
techniques. For example, fire can be used to create explosive
attacks, burn enemies, and even melt objects. This is the main
power of the Darkfires that they are usually known for, and this
is the power they use in their Darkfire skills. However, these
elementals are still based supernatural elemental power, which
means that the Darkfire's skills are not very useful against
those that can counter their elemental abilities. For example,
fire can be countered by certain water and ice manipulation. It
is also possible to block supernatural elemental power using
energy manipulation, where certain energy manipulators (like
mana users or chi users) can use their energy to block attacks.
- Rare Darkfire Abilities: Combined Elementals: This is a rarity
among Darkfires, in which some rare Darkfires will gain one or
possibly two elementals they combine together instead of a dark
or holy elemental. These elementals are more rare, but some
Darkfires do learn these by combining certain elements. It is
often believed that the Darkfires holy and dark elementals
combine and the two spirit energies of the elementals negate
each other (leaving only the elemental energies). It is often
more common to see these kinds of elementals when multiple
Darkfires are working together, as they will sometimes combine
elementals to create combined elementals. The elemental powers
they possess create a unique elemental, in which every element
has a combination with another. For example, Qrow Darkfire
possesses heat lightning which combines fire and lightning
together into one power in which the lightning is red and
generates fire from the lightning. However, depending on the
element, some have multiple combinations. For example, fire and
lightning don't just make heat lightning, but could create
lightning flames in which the flames generate lightning blended
into the fire power. There are many different kinds of
elementals, and some Darkfires are born with this affinity
instead of normal dark or holy elementals. Darkfires who have
this often utilize two combinations corresponding to their
elements. For example, ice and fire usually have ice flames and
burning ice abilities. Those with this power usually have it as
it replaces the normal Darkfire elementals. Users with this lose
their normal Darkfire elementals in favor of pure elemental
power, which has its strengths where dark and holy elementals
might fail. Normally all of these elementals are neutral in
nature, not being positive or negative except in very rare
circumstances. While some Darkfires can still use the elements
separately (IE Qrow could use dark flames and holy lightning,
but couldn't combine the holy and dark into his heat lightning),
the combined elements are not compatible with the combined
element. Of course, these elements all have counters, usually by
elements outside of their elements, such as heat lightning is
countered by water or ice manipulation. These elemental powers
may have unique properties, but mostly work with the properties
of whatever element is the base of the power. For example, ice
lightning is countered just like normal lightning, despite it
having a freezing element to it.
- Darkfire Unique Variations and Abilities (usually most
prevalent in hybrids): Depending on the Darkfire, some Darkfires
have unique spirit power that can be used. Depending on the
Darkfire, the Darkfire can learn to add certain affects from
their spirit to their elementals. For example, angelic or
demonic Darkfires might have special spirit effects, depending
on their natures. Angelic Darkfires might have pure holy
positive spirit that will grant a light based spirit power-up,
or a demonic Darkfire might gain a demonic stronger spirit
power-up due to demons having much more potent spirit energy.
This depends on the spirit that the Darkfire possesses, and a
Darkfire may have some unique powers or none depending on what
other abilities they possess. This is most present in hybrids in
the Darkfire clan, usually Darkfires that are born of
supernaturals (such as a chi user Darkfire who used chi
elementals). However, there are a few effects that are common
among Darkfires that even full Darkfires can learn. The first is
that some Darkfires can learn corrupted elements as a means to
try and counter users of the same element. The corrupted element
art uses a Darkfires spirit energy not to turn the element into
a dark/holy element, but instead uses the spirit energy to
corrupt the element and create a corrupted element instead using
a vampire's cursed nature. This is an art that some Darkfires
have learned to counter other elemental users, specifically
those of the same element that the Darkfire cannot normally
damage. There are also certain effects that can be done with
positive and negative spirit energy that may or may not be
unique among Darkfires depending on their abilities. For
example, advanced users of positive spirit elements might be
able to manipulate the positive nature of flames to heal others,
or manipulate the negative nature to poison enemies with
negative spirit energy depending on the power and knowledge of
the Darkfire. Typically, this is dependent on the Darkfire, and
is unique for each Darkfire depending on what they learn. This
is a purely option training, and usually only used by those that
have special extra skillsets that can combine with the Darkfire
skills. Typically all of these effects can be countered like
normal elements, as long as one keeps in mind the unique nature
of the elements created. For example, corrupted flames are still
able to be dodged or blocked like normal flames, but cannot be
absorbed by flame users or the flame user will take internal
damage when they try to absorb this flame (bypassing elemental
immunities).
- Specific Limited Elemental Variations: Depending on the
Darkfire and their elements used, some can use other versions of
their elements, depending on the element they use. This is most
common in earth and wind users, as earth users could specialize
in many different types of earth, with some earth users being
able to use plants, some specializing in metal, some in crystals
or some in sand manipulation. Each element has it's own specific
uses, depending on what the user wants to learn, as each element
can be broken down and may have unique manipulations based on
the element. For example, some lightning users may only use
magnetism, giving them magnetic manipulation, or earth users
being able to generate specific types of earth. This is a rare
case among Darkfires where some Darkfires cannot use every part
of a certain element. For example, there was one Darkfire who
could manipulate metal, but no other earth element. While this
does limit a Darkfire, this often leads to these limited
elementals being more powerful or may lead a Darkfire to having
more elemental abilities. For example, a Darkfire born with
three elements could have a magnetism power, a metal
manipulation power and then a normal elemental (with magnetism
and metal both being limited but a Darkfire can have both
limited powers). The limited elementals are also typically
stronger than normal elementals, and can still be turned into
dark/holy elementals, or rare combinations of elements depending
on how the powers are manifested. For the most part, most
Darkfires see this as a problem with their elemental power, but
some Darkfires can make the best of this with knowledge and
creativity. For example, a Darkfire who could manipulate
magnetism might still be able to create lightning by converting
magnetic energy. This mostly just depends on the Darkfire's
affinities. Of course, as one might expect, these elements are
still countered like normal elementals. Usually, the only
advantage this grants is slightly stronger elementals, or
granting Darkfires more elementals but in specific variations.
- Darkfire Advanced Elemental Training: Once reaching a certain
level, Darkfires are able to learn advanced elemental abilities,
which comes once they master the basic elemental abilities.
Depending on the element and their training, almost every
element has advanced abilities that can be learned, as
elementals can do more than just be used to throw an element
around. Using this advanced training usually takes time and
requires a certain level of mastery of the basic elements. This
also requires a little scientific knowledge of elements, such as
lightning users learning how the magnetic properties of
lightning work and manipulating lightning to make use of those
magnetic properties. By learning the science of how elements
work, Darkfires are able to apply that to their powers and learn
how to use their elemental powers beyond just blasting opponents
or throwing around elements. Depending on the element, every
element has advanced elemental training, such as wind users can
learn to generate plasma, or earth users might be able to learn
how to generate lava manipulation by absorbing fire attacks into
their earth manipulation. These abilities are usually different
ways to use elements, and most can be passive, such as fire
and/or ice users typically learning to adapt to almost any
extreme temperature, or lightning users being able to manage
their own magnetic field. This power just depends on the
Darkfire and their knowledge. Of course, as one might expect,
the Darkfires still have their weakness to counter elements, and
any advanced powers they use are still countered using counter
elements or other abilities that can counter elementals. It is
also worth noting that some of these advanced training powers
use more energy than normal, such as using elements to absorb
other elements may take more power to maintain control of one's
elemental manipulation due to it needing to control other
elements as well (like an earth user would expend more power
trying to create lava since it would have to absorb and control
a heat element). Other abilities can be countered in other ways
(like wind users can use wind to fly, but users can still find
ways to hit a Darkfire that is flying around).
- Advanced Darkfire Training: Elemental Condensing: When using
elemental power, sometimes normal elementals just don't pack
enough of a punch. For this problem, the Darkfires learned an
art of condensing matter into smaller space by smashing the
molecules together to condense energy into a smaller form. This
technique is a battle technique that the Darkfires utilize in
their attack and defense, where they utilize this to create more
condensed elementals. Typically, this requires not only a
mastery of elemental power, but also requires a mastery of
changing the form of energy as well as changing the form of
matter. However, when used properly, this can create much
stronger elemental abilities, where the Darkfires can condense
their elementals to strengthen their attacks. In addition to the
elementals themselves being stronger, the effects of the
elementals also become much stronger, as the condensing of the
elemental also has effects on what the elementals can do. For
example, a condensed explosive dark flame attack will explode
with far more force than normal, due to the explosion being
concentrated by the condensing of the dark flames. Any elemental
can be used, and the effects depend on the elemental used.
Darkfires can even control how much the elemental is condensed,
allowing more or less condensing to control how much power is
put into their attacks. This is an advanced art, and Darkfires
do have to be skilled with more than just elemental energy to
use this effectively. It is also worth noting that the Darkfires
who use this also have to expend more energy and concentration
in order to use this, as using this will often require
concentration to utilize this effectively. The more energy they
condense, the stronger the attack they create at the cost of
more condensing also costing more elemental power in order to
use. And if a Darkfire doesn't do this correctly, their
elemental condensing could literally explode in their face, as
not doing this correctly could cause an explosive reaction. As
one might imagine, dodging these elements are still the same,
but blocking is more or less what is different, as this is
designed to be used against stronger opponents. One can still
block this if they are strong enough, but with the condensed
energy and amplified effects, the attacks are much harder to
block.
Darkfire Basic Elemental Combinations (Users can use unique
combinations, but these are the basic elemental Darkfire
combinations without any other power to enhance them.):
- Darkfire Elemental: Dark Flames: This is most Darkfire family
members' first Darkfire elemental that they can use, which is
typically one of most Darkfire's major elements. This uses fire
manipulation, fused with the user's negative spirit energy to
create black darkness flames or purple flames which the Darkfire
family is known for (The color between purple and black varies
depending on the strength of the Darkfire's spirit as weaker
flames are purple but stronger dark flames are black). These
flames are fairly easy to use, and work much like normal fire
manipulation with the exception of these flames being stronger
than normal flames. This is one of the main elements used in the
Darkfire training, in which many start with this flame (But not
always). Users are able to generate and manipulate these flames
using their Darkfire elemental powers like one would expect.
However, this goes beyond just using darkness to bond to flames,
but using the dark flames just like what one would expect from
any fire manipulation. When used, Darkfires with dark flames are
able to do things like create fireballs, create explosive
attacks, or melt objects with their dark flames. Depending on
how they're used, these dark flames act like most other flames
with one major exception. Similar to some flames like hellfire,
the Darkfire's dark flames burn much hotter than normal flames,
and are able to consume any flame that is a lower temperature as
they are known as the flames that burn fire itself (most normal
flame types other than ones that use hotter temperatures like
other Darkfire dark flames, and Hellfire). Depending on the
other abilities of the Darkfire, some Darkfires can add certain
effects to their dark flames, such as a demonic Darkfire might
create dark hellfire to do demonic damage. However, on their
own, these flames just do darkness spirit energy damage as well
as burning with flames. These flames are mostly countered by ice
manipulation, and users have to create cold ice (much colder
than normal ice) to counter these flames due to their very high
temperature. However, users can counter these flames just like
other flames, such as using wind manipulation to create a vacuum
where flames cannot burn.
- Darkfire Elemental: Holy Flames: While it's rare for a
Darkfire to not immediately start with dark flames, some
Darkfires instead gain the affinity for these white holy flames.
This uses fire manipulation, fused with the user's positive
spirit energy to create white holy flames or blue flames which
is the opposite of the normal Darkfire flames (The color between
white and blue varies depending on the strength of the
Darkfire's spirit as weaker flames are blue but stronger holy
flames are white). These flames are fairly easy to use, and work
much like normal fire manipulation with the exception of these
flames being stronger than normal flames. This is the other
flame ability used by the Darkfires, in which some gain this
ability either alongside their dark flames or instead of dark
flames. Users are able to generate and manipulate these flames
using their Darkfire elemental powers like one would expect.
However, this goes beyond just using positive spirit energy to
bond to flames, but using the holy flames just like what one
would expect from any fire manipulation. When used, Darkfires
with holy flames are able to do things like create fireballs,
create explosive attacks, or melt objects with their holy
flames. Depending on how they're used, these holy flames act
like most other flames with one major exception. Similar to the
Darkfire's dark flames, the Darkfire's holy flames burn much
hotter than normal flames, and are able to consume any flame
that is a lower temperature as they are known as the flames that
burn fire itself (most normal flame types other than ones that
use hotter temperatures like other Darkfire dark flames, and
Hellfire). Depending on the other abilities of the Darkfire,
some Darkfires can add certain effects to their holy flames,
such as a holy Darkfire might create healing holy flames or holy
flames that burn away demonic presences. However, on their own,
these flames just do positive spirit energy damage as well as
burning with flames. These flames are mostly countered by ice
manipulation, and users have to create cold ice (much colder
than normal ice) to counter these flames due to their very high
temperature. However, users can counter these flames just like
other flames, such as using wind manipulation to create a vacuum
where flames cannot burn.
- Darkfire Elemental: Dark Lightning: Lightning is a very common
element in the Darkfires, and is often a second element to many
Darkfires. Of course, there are plenty of elemental powers, but
this is one of the more common ones alongside holy lightning
possibly thanks to Qrow passing down his affinity for lightning
in the Darkfire family (as it seems those directly related to
him are more commonly seen with lightning affinities). This
affinity allows a user to utilize dark lightning by fusing
negative spirit energy to their lightning power, creating a dark
lightning power. When used, this can still be used like normal
lightning as one expects. Lightning is often a very used power,
and those that learn it simply are able to do things like
creating electrical waves, electrocuting people with
electricity, or even learning to manipulate magnetic forces.
Advanced users of lightning can do things like manipulate things
that are magnetic using magnetic forces, create EMPs to take out
technology, or even create concentrated lightning to more easily
pierce opponents. However, Darkfires with dark lightning can do
something unique with this lightning, and that is that they can
use dark energy and shadows as a conductor. Those skilled with
dark lightning can actually use shadows to amplify their
lightning, and can attack enemies that are melded into the
shadows thanks to this property. There are plenty of properties
of magnetic manipulation one can take advantage of depending on
their skill level and knowledge, with there being plenty of
techniques one can learn and different ways to use lightning and
magnetic forces. If one wants to counter lightning, the best way
to do so is to use water, which can short out lightning
manipulation. For this dark lightning, light can also be used to
counter this as well due to its shadow type nature. Users can
also do things like use lightning to remove ionic charge, or use
physical objects to try and block electrical attacks as well
using things like earth manipulation. One can also use energy to
try and block the attacks as long as they can avoid the extra
effects of the lightning.
- Darkfire Elemental: Holy Lightning: Lightning is a very common
element in the Darkfires, and is often a second element to many
Darkfires. Of course, there are plenty of elemental powers, but
this is one of the more common ones alongside dark lightning
possibly thanks to Qrow passing down his affinity for lightning
in the Darkfire family (as it seems those directly related to
him are more commonly seen with lightning affinities). This
affinity allows a user to utilize holy lightning by fusing
positive spirit energy to their lightning power, creating a holy
lightning power. When used, this can still be used like normal
lightning as one expects. Lightning is often a very used power,
and those that learn it simply are able to do things like
creating electrical waves, electrocuting people with
electricity, or even learning to manipulate magnetic forces.
Advanced users of lightning can do things like manipulate things
that are magnetic using magnetic forces, create EMPs to take out
technology, or even create concentrated lightning to more easily
pierce opponents. However, Darkfires with holy lightning can do
something unique with this lightning, and that is that they can
use positive energies like holy energy and spirit energy as a
conductor. Those skilled with holy lightning can actually use
holy energy and spirit energy to amplify their lightning, and
can eventually learn to attack intangible enemies by attacking
on the spiritual plane with this lighting. There are plenty of
properties of magnetic manipulation one can take advantage of
depending on their skill level and knowledge, with there being
plenty of techniques one can learn and different ways to use
lightning and magnetic forces. If one wants to counter
lightning, the best way to do so is to use water, which can
short out lightning manipulation. For this holy lightning,
demonic or dark power can also be used to counter this as well
due to its positive type nature. Users can also do things like
use lightning to remove ionic charge, or use physical objects to
try and block electrical attacks as well using things like earth
manipulation. One can also use energy to try and block the
attacks as long as they can avoid the extra effects of the
lightning.
- Darkfire Elemental: Dark Water: Water is another of the
elements Darkfires can have an affinity for. For this affinity,
Darkfires with this ability can fuse negative spirit energy to
their water affinity to create dark water, also sometimes called
black water by some users (Due to its darkness type nature).
Most users will create water from moisture in the air, changing
the moisture in the air into a liquid form to create water that
they can fuse their spirit energy to. This water manipulation
works much like other water manipulations, with users being able
to do things like being able to create waves of water, and can
even fire pressurized water in projectile attacks at opponents.
Advanced users can not only manipulate the acidity of water
(making it acidic or basic to eat away objects), but advanced
users can also manipulate the temperature of water to
essentially create boiling or icy water depending on the
temperature manipulation. While ice is usually a different
element, users of water can still learn ice manipulation through
mastering temperature manipulation of water. In addition, this
water can also have a unique effect on others, in that opponents
can be poisoned with this water, in which users have often used
its effects on wounds of enemies to put the dark water into
their system. When poisoned, opponents will not only suffer
energy poisoning that will cause internal damage, but the dark
water can also rot away wounds and prevent them from closing
properly due to the dark nature of the dark water. This water
can be used a variety of ways, with this water often working
best against holy or positive energy type opponents. Opponents
that want to counter this can counter it with different
abilities. For example, fire may evaporate water into vapor, or
lightning can be used to separate water back into hydrogen and
oxygen, or wind can be used to break apart the molecular bonds
that hold water together (separating it back into hydrogen and
oxygen). Depending on the users skill level, these attacks can
also be blocked (though it is not recommended to block advanced
users pressurized water blasts, as advanced users may be able to
break through metal with strong enough pressurized water
attacks).
- Darkfire Elemental: Holy Water: Water is another of the
elements Darkfires can have an affinity for. For this affinity,
Darkfires with this ability can fuse positive spirit energy to
their water affinity to create holy water, creating a positive
type water (This is not true holy water like most think). Most
users will create water from moisture in the air, changing the
moisture in the air into a liquid form to create water that they
can fuse their spirit energy to. This water manipulation works
much like other water manipulations, with users being able to do
things like being able to create waves of water, and can even
fire pressurized water in projectile attacks at opponents.
Advanced users can not only manipulate the acidity of water
(making it acidic or basic to eat away objects), but advanced
users can also manipulate the temperature of water to
essentially create boiling or icy water depending on the
temperature manipulation. While ice is usually a different
element, users of water can still learn ice manipulation through
mastering temperature manipulation of water. In addition, this
water can also have a unique effect on others, in that opponents
can be healed with this water (If a user can properly bring out
the positive qualities in their positive spirit energy), in
which users have often used its effects on wounds of allies to
heal them. This water can also be used on dark or demonic
opponents similar to true holy water and can be used to damage
those with dark or unholy natures (such as this can damage
demons and vampires). This water can be used a variety of ways,
with this water often working best against dark or unholy energy
type opponents. Opponents that want to counter this can counter
it with different abilities. For example, fire may evaporate
water into vapor, or lightning can be used to separate water
back into hydrogen and oxygen, or wind can be used to break
apart the molecular bonds that hold water together (separating
it back into hydrogen and oxygen). Depending on the users skill
level, these attacks can also be blocked (though it is not
recommended to block advanced users pressurized water blasts, as
advanced users may be able to break through metal with strong
enough pressurized water attacks).
- Darkfire Elemental: Dark Ice: Whether it is being used as its
own element, or being used as an extension of one's water skill,
this ice manipulation is another Darkfire elemental that can be
used by some Darkfires. In using this element, Darkfires combine
their negative spirit energy to their ice manipulation to create
dark ice that they can manipulate. Usually, users will most
often create freezing energy using their ice power, and freeze
the moisture in the air to create ice attacks. However, users
can also use freezing energy to create dry ice if they can
create cold enough freezing energy to freeze the carbon dioxide
in the air (Which requires a temperature at least -78 Celsius or
below). Users can also find other ways to create ice if they
have enough scientific knowledge, such as some scientific minded
Darkfires have found that using pressure might be able to create
special forms of ice not normally found on Earth. However, no
matter the ice power, most act the same, in that users can do
things like freeze objects or opponents if they can hit them
with freezing energy, users can create projectile attacks to
fire at opponents, and some advanced users can even freeze
energy if they are skilled enough. For dark ice, Darkfires often
have a unique effect with this ice in that opponents or objects
in the ice will suffer dark damage that will rot away their skin
as it freezes, thanks to the dark nature of the ice. This makes
this ice great against those of holy natures, or those
vulnerable to dark attacks. Advanced users can create pressure
with freezing energy, and even crush people or objects inside
ice with enough practice. Some users even learn to create ice
from boiling water by using pressure to force the boiling water
into solid form to create an ice that is almost as hot as the
sun (though this is rare among Darkfires and requires not only
immense knowledge, but immense mastery of not only ice
manipulation but master of pressure manipulation using freezing
energy). Opponents can usually counter this with strong enough
fire manipulation, such as using hellfire or Darkfire flame
skills to melt colder ice powers (such as hellfire being
somewhat effective against dry ice manipulation).
- Darkfire Elemental: Holy Ice: Whether it is being used as its
own element, or being used as an extension of one's water skill,
this ice manipulation is another Darkfire elemental that can be
used by some Darkfires. In using this element, Darkfires combine
their positive spirit energy to their ice manipulation to create
holy ice that they can manipulate. Usually, users will most
often create freezing energy using their ice power, and freeze
the moisture in the air to create ice attacks. However, users
can also use freezing energy to create dry ice if they can
create cold enough freezing energy to freeze the carbon dioxide
in the air (Which requires a temperature at least -78 Celsius or
below). Users can also find other ways to create ice if they
have enough scientific knowledge, such as some scientific minded
Darkfires have found that using pressure might be able to create
special forms of ice not normally found on Earth. However, no
matter the ice power, most act the same, in that users can do
things like freeze objects or opponents if they can hit them
with freezing energy, users can create projectile attacks to
fire at opponents, and some advanced users can even freeze
energy if they are skilled enough. For holy ice, Darkfires often
have a unique effect with this ice in that opponents or objects
in the ice will suffer holy damage that will purify those of
dark or demonic natures as it freezes, thanks to the positive
nature of the ice. This makes this ice great against those of
dark or demonic natures, or those vulnerable to holy
purification. Advanced users can create pressure with freezing
energy, and even crush people or objects inside ice with enough
practice. Some users even learn to create ice from boiling water
by using pressure to force the boiling water into solid form to
create an ice that is almost as hot as the sun (though this is
rare among Darkfires and requires not only immense knowledge,
but immense mastery of not only ice manipulation but master of
pressure manipulation using freezing energy). Opponents can
usually counter this with strong enough fire manipulation, such
as using hellfire or Darkfire flame skills to melt colder ice
powers (such as hellfire being somewhat effective against dry
ice manipulation).
- Darkfire Elemental: Dark Wind: Wind is one of the most
versatile elements alongside earth manipulation. Darkfires with
wind manipulation are able to manipulate the air, and those with
this affinity can fuse their negative spirit energy to wind to
create dark wind. When using wind, users are able to manipulate
the air around them for different purposes. There are many forms
of wind or air, in which users often learn to manipulate many
gases in the air. For example, users may not only learn to just
manipulate oxygen, but could learn to manipulate things like
smoke, poison gas or even manipulate rare gases. Users of
air/wind manipulation can do things like creating shockwaves of
air to attack enemies with, creating slashing waves or enhance
the cutting of bladed weapons, or even use the air to create
tornado-like attacks. Some advanced users can even do things
like remove the air out of an area and create a vacuum
environment, usually as a means to choke someone or put out
flames, can use air manipulation to re-bond cells and heal
injured people, or can even manipulate sound waves in the air
using sound manipulation. Other advanced users of wind may even
learn to create other elements using wind, such as some that
learn fire by using wind to manipulate plasma, or wind using
ions to create lightning, or some that can even control moisture
in the air to essentially create water and ice attacks. Using
wind manipulation is a very versatile skill, and can be used for
a lot of different skills depending on how its used. This
depends mostly on the knowledge of the user, and their skill at
manipulating the air around them. Users of dark wind also have
their own unique effect, in which dark wind has a corrosive
effect on objects and energy due to its dark nature. When used,
the dark nature of the wind is able to affect most objects by
using its dark nature like an acid that can eat away almost any
substance (except those immune to dark wind specifically). Users
that want to counter this are best off using earth manipulation,
though some users can find creative ways to block or dodge air
manipulation such as using fire to burn the oxygen in the air,
or using water manipulation to absorb kinetic energy of wind
attacks.
- Darkfire Elemental: Holy Wind: Wind is one of the most
versatile elements alongside earth manipulation. Darkfires with
wind manipulation are able to manipulate the air, and those with
this affinity can fuse their positive spirit energy to wind to
create holy wind. When using wind, users are able to manipulate
the air around them for different purposes. There are many forms
of wind or air, in which users often learn to manipulate many
gases in the air. For example, users may not only learn to just
manipulate oxygen, but could learn to manipulate things like
smoke, poison gas or even manipulate rare gases. Users of
air/wind manipulation can do things like creating shockwaves of
air to attack enemies with, creating slashing waves or enhance
the cutting of bladed weapons, or even use the air to create
tornado-like attacks. Some advanced users can even do things
like remove the air out of an area and create a vacuum
environment, usually as a means to choke someone or put out
flames, can use air manipulation to re-bond cells and heal
injured people, or can even manipulate sound waves in the air
using sound manipulation. Other advanced users of wind may even
learn to create other elements using wind, such as some that
learn fire by using wind to manipulate plasma, or wind using
ions to create lightning, or some that can even control moisture
in the air to essentially create water and ice attacks. Using
wind manipulation is a very versatile skill, and can be used for
a lot of different skills depending on how its used. This
depends mostly on the knowledge of the user, and their skill at
manipulating the air around them. Users of holy wind also have
their own unique effect, in which holy wind has a purifying
effect on objects and energy due to its positive nature. When
used, the positive nature of the wind is able to purify
corrosive or corruptive presences such as demonic or darkness
type presences (making it useful against those of dark natures).
Users that want to counter this are best off using earth
manipulation, though some users can find creative ways to block
or dodge air manipulation such as using fire to burn the oxygen
in the air, or using water manipulation to absorb kinetic energy
of wind attacks.
- Darkfire Elemental: Dark Earth: Another of the more versatile
elemental manipulations. Those that learn earth manipulation can
learn a variety of earth types, and have plenty of options.
Users of this element can fuse their negative spirit energy to
earth to create dark earth that they can manipulate. There are a
variety of options for manipulating earth, such as one could
draw on almost any material around them from dirt to stone, to
even brick and concrete depending on what is available to them.
Users of earth are able to do things like create sand from dirt
that can crush people with immense force, use concrete and brick
to hit opponents with strong earth attacks, or some even can
pull people into the earth or pull the earth up around someone
in order to trap them. There are a number of ways to utilize
earth, and some may even include absorbing other elements, such
as some who can create lava manipulation by having earth absorb
flames to create molten lava or having earth absorb water to
create mud manipulation. Advanced earth users have been known to
use crystals for armor, create metal for weapons, or even can do
things like use glass to reflect light or use certain materials
to absorb other elements. Depending on the earth manipulation,
there are plenty of options, and earth is one of those elements
that users will never run out of. Some advanced users of earth
even learn to combine and mix certain materials to create new
materials, or even manipulate the structures of current
materials. One such example is among advanced earth users, they
can manipulate carbon to create armor around themselves that is
stronger than diamond or metal, and one was able to create earth
traps that could literally crush creatures the size of
elephants. For the unique effect of this earth manipulation,
dark earth is able to generate dark energy buildup according to
how the user wants to use it, which can explode when the earth
hits something. When the energy explodes, it can do severe dark
energy damage to everything around where the earth attack
explodes. Those that want to counter earth manipulation are best
using wind manipulation (which is earth's main counter), though
using other ways to defend oneself against earth like using
energy defense to avoid damage from earth, or using other
elements to absorb earth (like fire absorbing earth and becoming
lava), but absorbing other elements is dangerous as the user
might be able to take control of both elements (who takes
control depends on who's control of an element is stronger, or
who has more of the element under their control).
- Darkfire Elemental: Holy Earth: Another of the more versatile
elemental manipulations. Those that learn earth manipulation can
learn a variety of earth types, and have plenty of options.
Users of this element can fuse their positive spirit energy to
earth to create holy earth that they can manipulate. There are a
variety of options for manipulating earth, such as one could
draw on almost any material around them from dirt to stone, to
even brick and concrete depending on what is available to them.
Users of earth are able to do things like create sand from dirt
that can crush people with immense force, use concrete and brick
to hit opponents with strong earth attacks, or some even can
pull people into the earth or pull the earth up around someone
in order to trap them. There are a number of ways to utilize
earth, and some may even include absorbing other elements, such
as some who can create lava manipulation by having earth absorb
flames to create molten lava or having earth absorb water to
create mud manipulation. Advanced earth users have been known to
use crystals for armor, create metal for weapons, or even can do
things like use glass to reflect light or use certain materials
to absorb other elements. Depending on the earth manipulation,
there are plenty of options, and earth is one of those elements
that users will never run out of. Some advanced users of earth
even learn to combine and mix certain materials to create new
materials, or even manipulate the structures of current
materials. One such example is among advanced earth users, they
can manipulate carbon to create armor around themselves that is
stronger than diamond or metal, and one was able to create earth
traps that could literally crush creatures the size of
elephants. For the unique effect of this earth manipulation,
holy earth is able to generate holy energy buildup according to
how the user wants to use it, which can explode when the earth
hits something. When the energy explodes, it can do severe
positive spirit energy damage to everything around where the
earth attack explodes. Those that want to counter earth
manipulation are best using wind manipulation (which is earth's
main counter), though using other ways to defend oneself against
earth like using energy defense to avoid damage from earth, or
using other elements to absorb earth (like fire absorbing earth
and becoming lava), but absorbing other elements is dangerous as
the user might be able to take control of both elements (who
takes control depends on who's control of an element is
stronger, or who has more of the element under their control).
- Darkfire Elemental: Black Darkness: While it might be a bit
redundant for a Darkfire to have negative spirit energy fused to
darkness, some Darkfires have learned to manipulate darkness and
create this darkness. Darkfires cannot create holy darkness as
they cannot fuse positive natures to darkness (as they lack the
ability to bond the two powers properly), but instead fuse their
negative spirit energy to darkness to create a more powerful
enhanced darkness enhanced by the Darkfire's dark spirit energy.
This came to be called Black Darkness (which does sound
redundant), but this darkness was designed for users like
Kendrix Darkfire who specialized in darkness instead of only
using other elementals. Users of this darkness utilize a
powerful darkness that can be used like normal darkness. Users
are able to do things like meld into shadows to use shadow
travel, manipulate the acidity of their shadows to make them
more corrosive, or even use darkness projectiles to try and
spear opponents. Some advanced users can use darkness for other
things, such as manipulating gravity and distorting time and
space (which requires a scientific understanding of how dark
energy affects gravity and distortions). Some master level users
may even be able to create small black holes using darkness to
absorb light and physical matter temporarily (though these black
holes usually cost a lot of energy to maintain, and opponents
can usually avoid these if they take proper precautions). When
used, this darkness can even be used with other forms of
darkness, such as a Darkfire may learn purifying darkness (if
they have someone who will teach it to them), or some might even
learn primordial darkness. Typically, the only real danger of
using darkness is if the users connect to the shadow realm,
which can be dangerous and is usually avoided (Unless the
Darkfire really knows what they're doing and how to avoid
dangers in the shadow realm). Avoiding this is like avoiding a
stronger darkness, and this operates much like normal darkness
except that it is twice as potent as normal darkness. Other than
that, this can be countered like other darkness (like using
strong enough light to counter it).
- Darkfire Elemental: White Light: While it is rare for
Darkfires to gain black darkness, it is even rarer for a
Darkfire to be born with an affinity for light (given most
Darkfires default to darker natures). Similar to how positive
power cannot be fused to darkness, negative power cannot be
fused to light as the Darkfires lack the ability to bond their
contradictory negative spirit energy to light energy. However,
when used, this does allow a Darkfire to fuse their positive
spirit energy to light to create a white light that is stronger
than normal light. Users of this light are able to create this
light from normal light and create a light that is white in
color. Users of this light are able to utilize light just like
one might think, such as using light beams to attack opponents
or using light to create heat to burn people. Advanced users can
learn to do things like create concentrated light attacks that
can pierce darkness techniques, create illusions by manipulating
visible light, or some can even create heat or cold depending on
the visible light manipulated. Users have even been known to
focus light into focused light beams that act like lasers and
can cut through almost anything. Some users can even learn to
turn into light, or meld into light in order to use light to
travel around. Users can even create flashbang style attacks to
blind people. Some users can even remove the light from an area,
blinding opponents if used properly (as long as they don't have
darkvision). Users of this light also have a unique effect, in
that this light can also purify dark or demonic presences, by
using positive energy light in a manner similar to holy light.
Users that want to counter light can counter this light just
like any other light, such as using darkness (though users have
to be careful against concentrated light), or using other
counters like using mirrors that can reflect light. Opponents do
also have to account for the stronger light power, as this power
uses light that is twice as potent as normal light due to the
powers used to create this.
Darkfire Abilities:
- Darkfire Elemental Aura Generation: When a Darkfire learns
their elements, the first thing they are taught is how to bond
that element to their aura. Instead of a normal spiritual aura
like spirit users might have, Darkfires focus their elementals
into their vampire auras. The elemental aura becomes the basis
of the main Darkfire training after they master basic elements,
and this aura becomes the power source as this elemental aura
becomes a passive ability. Typically, this does things like
powering the Darkfire's elemental regeneration, or can generate
elemental techniques. In addition, this also uses certain other
abilities like elemental absorption, and other elemental
abilities. This aura is powered by one elemental combination the
Darkfire uses, with many choosing their dominant element as
their aura due to the aura being stronger depending on the
element chosen. This aura uses whatever element is chosen, and
generates that power much more naturally than normal. While the
Darkfire doesn't limit their elemental options by choosing one
element over another, this does often give them a dominant
element that they can utilize more easily, and much easier to
use techniques. If users match this to certain other abilities,
their aura can enhance their Darkfire abilities in different
ways, like if a Darkfire uses the same element for aura and
elemental regeneration, the energy used for regeneration is
reduced, or using an elemental weapon generates stronger weapons
when using the aura to generate the weapon. Typically, this is
just like any other aura, and mostly a power source, aside from
a few things the elemental aura can do. Users can have more than
one element in their aura (as some do have a two-layered aura),
but doing so weakens the individual elements as a result. Once
an element is chosen, the elemental aura cannot be changed, and
can only be changed with special training that takes a long time
(meaning this cannot be changed in a battle and can only be
changed outside of battle).
- Darkfire Elemental Aura Element Absorption: Part of a
Darkfire's elemental power is not just generating elemental
power, but absorbing elemental power as well. This power has
great use in battle, as the aura can absorb similar elements.
Once absorbed, the elementals are used to replenish the
Darkfire's power, and empower their elemental abilities.
Typically, this absorbs the elements similar to the aura of the
elemental, which works by converting elemental power. For
example, since most Darkfires use dark flame elemental aura,
those with dark flame auras are able to absorb other flame
attacks and convert them into dark flames that can be used to
replenish the Darkfire's power. This process allows a Darkfire a
way to replenish and strengthen their auras, usually allowing
them to extend their power, or give them a way to absorb new
power when they run low. This power is a fairly basic ability,
where Darkfires just absorb elementals. Depending on the
elemental, the elements can only absorb the same elements (AKA a
fire aura cannot absorb ice or lightning). It is also worth
noting that absorbing an element requires overpowering it and
converting it to the Darkfire, which requires the Darkfire's
elemental control to be stronger (meaning the Darkfire must be
able to overpower the elemental control with a stronger
elemental control and then convert it to their own elemental),
or requires the element not to be under someone else's control
(IE absorbing a natural element around them that no one else
controls). Typically, the biggest danger this power has is
corrupted elements, which can hurt the Darkfire to absorb if
they try. The other danger is overloading the aura with power,
which some Darkfires have to be careful of if there is a lot of
an element (IE a wind user would have to be careful not to
absorb too much wind) as their auras can be overloaded like many
other energy absorption powers.
- Darkfire Elemental Aura Defense: This is an effect of the
Darkfire elemental aura training that was designed alongside the
elemental rebirth power. This elemental aura then becomes the
basis of defense, in which they use an elemental aura to up
their ability to block attacks and can dampen blows they take
from attacks. This elemental aura can also be used to power a
vampire's regeneration, in which they can regenerate faster when
the aura is at it's strongest. There are two modes of this
power, the first is the standard aura in which the element of
the aura isn't visible but still present in power around the
vampire, in which they don't have the full aura active, but this
always grants a slight defense boost. However, in battle, this
can be activated to full power, where the aura becomes visible
and charged, and amps defense and regeneration to it's max
power. When used, this aura can even grant the user special
abilities depending on the element, such as earth users being
able to use earth to create elemental armors around themselves
or lightning users being able to push away magnetic objects away
from their aura depending on the advanced level of the Darkfire.
However, counter elements can more easily break this defense,
and aura breaker abilities and weapons can instantly break
through this defense. This also requires elemental power to use,
and the more energy being put out, the more quickly a Darkfire
uses up their elemental power, meaning that using this at full
power is not useful using all the time, but most Darkfires only
use it to block or dampen attacks rather than keeping it active
all the time. If using it at full power, this can burn through
elemental power, and eventually wear the Darkfire down.
- Darkfire Elemental Rebirth: This is the main purpose of the
elementals used by the Darkfire Clan that they developed their
powers for. The clan specializes specifically in elemental
regeneration, using a specific elemental as a catalyst. After
choosing an elemental to power their regeneration, their
regeneration is passively empowered by their elemental
regeneration. Once used, Darkfires are able to regenerate almost
any injury barring the exceptions of the heart and brain. Most
Darkfires are strong enough with this to even regenerate lost
limbs, or can regenerate damaged organs thanks to their strong
regeneration. Darkfires are able to replenish their elemental
power by absorbing elementals, and can use elemental power from
the area around them to save on their own power (IE an earth
user could use earth around them to regenerate rather than use
their own elemental power). Typically, most Darkfires have their
own way to get new elementals, usually by finding elementals in
the area around them somehow. The Darkfires are known for this
regeneration, and known for durability and defense over power,
due to this power not only regenerating their body, but also
regenerating stamina during fights as well. This regeneration
is a passive ability, so power negation doesn't usually negate
it, but regeneration negation powers and items (like varanium)
do interrupt this regeneration. Depending on the Darkfires, some
Darkfires regenerations can be interrupted or slowed with
counter elements, such as an ice user could freeze a Darkfire's
body before they can regenerate using fire to prevent the flames
from regenerating the Darkfire. This depends partially on the
Darkfire and the elemental they use, and cutting off a Darkfire
from their elementals they need to regenerate is the best way to
wear down a Darkfire since they can only regenerate as long as
they have either the elemental they need, or the power to
generate their elemental power. It is also worth noting that
each Darkfire can only use one element to regenerate, and
switching requires special training and cannot be changed in
battle no matter what skills or instant power gain abilities the
Darkfire has.
- Darkfire Elemental Teleportation: Another technique the
Darkfires use using their elementals, this time using elements
for getting around. Similar to how shadow users can shadow meld
and use it to travel places, the Darkfires can use their
elements to teleport, using their elementals as a catalyst to
move from place to place. A Darkfire can teleport anywhere in
the world with this technique, as long as they know where
they're going and can concentrate on where they want to go.
Typically, utilizes a combination of factors, but the simple
aspect of it is that the Darkfire uses this power and then the
elemental power connects to another location and takes them
there. For example, a wind user could connect to another area
and the wind then is used to teleport by moving the Darkfire to
that area using the displacement of the elements between the
locations. Some more advanced Darkfires more easily learn to
utilize this by taking elemental form once they learn the power,
using the elemental power to more easily change locations.
Typically, this is a power that is used outside of battle, but
some Darkfires can use this in battle to teleport around.
Depending on the element, each element can connect to an area
depending on how it's used, and this only requires training and
modifying some supernatural teleportation using the Darkfire
elemental powers. However, in order to use this, Darkfires do
have to know where they're going, which usually means that
either they must know where in space and time the place is they
want to go to, or they have to have been there before (usually
the latter among most), and Darkfires cannot use this to travel
across time or dimensions (with a few exceptions), because this
teleportation isn't strong enough to break the dimension of
space and time. As such, most Darkfires have to be careful while
using this, as if they don't know where they're going, they
could end up somewhere random, or they could end up inside of
solid objects if they end up in certain random locations which
causes other problems. And once chosen, Darkfires cannot change
what elemental power they use for their teleportation without
special training to change their element. Though most of the
time, the element chosen is more for show than anything. The
only thing that most Darkfires choose when choosing an element
to teleport is usually how much of an element they can use in
the environment. For example, wind and earth teleportation takes
almost no energy because earth and wind literally connect the
entire world so both teleportations can go anywhere without a
Darkfire usually having to expend their own energy, so Darkfires
usually opt for more convenient elements that are more abundant
in the world to prevent them from needing a lot of power to
create an elemental. Though a way around this for some is for
some Darkfires to use their auras to teleport, in which their
auras radiating elemental energy can be used as their element
for teleportation, something most flame and lightning users do
when they don't have flames or lightning respectively to use to
teleport.
- Darkfire Elemental Familiars: This is another advanced
technique of the Darkfires, in which they are able to use any of
their elements to create elemental familiars to help them in
battle using the vampire abilities to generate or create
familiars. When used, they use their elemental and a portion of
their spirit energy to connect themselves to the familiar,
letting the two share senses which makes the elementals very
useful for things like spying on people or scouting out an area.
When used in battle, these familiars can be used to fight
opponents, in which, depending on the element, can use special
abilities on opponents, such as flame familiars being able to
burn opponents or shoot fireballs, or ice familiars being able
to freeze opponents and fire ice attacks. Each elemental
familiar is made up purely of an element, and can take whatever
form the Darkfire wants. This means that each elemental familiar
technique could be different, depending on what the type of
familiar the Darkfire wants to make. Depending on the familiar,
the familiars can also have attributes from what they're made
as, such as bird familiars being able to fly, and wolf-like or
tiger-like familiars having claws, or snakes that specialize in
using their elemental touch (Such as electrocution, burning or
freezing depending on the familiar) to damage opponents through
constriction or injecting their elemental energy into someone
through a snake bite. Of course, as one might expect, the
counters to the elements remains the same, such as ice freezing
a fire familiar or water shorting out a lightning familiar. And
the more familiars made or the larger the familiar is, the less
power that each familiar has, as having multiple familiars or a
larger familiar reduces the power since having more or larger
familiars means more energy has to be put out to maintain the
familiars.
- Darkfire Elemental Vampire Semblance: This was designed to be
able to awaken semblances through elemental power similar to
semblances aura users develop. Just like spirit power, users can
awaken one specific ability through their vampire power, just
like aura users can. Because every semblance is usually unique
(even though some are passed down in families), there are as
many semblances as there are grains of sand on a beach, so it's
difficult to talk about each one. Most are able to gain things
like special elemental techniques, or some gain new elemental
combinations. There are a wide variety of these semblances and
how to use them, so each Darkfire is often different. Some known
semblances could be things like elemental portals that can be
used instead of teleportations, or some who can use elementals
to do things like using positive elementals to heal/amplify
others, or some who can gain certain aspects to an element that
make it unique. This could result in a variety of things
including an amped elemental, a new elemental combination,
transformation skills using elements, or elements with unique
abilities. It is usually hard to predict what power one will
have, though some semblances do seem to be genetic. No one is
entirely sure how these powers come about, and depending on the
Darkfire, some may not generate their semblances except under
specific circumstances. The main thing is that this power is
still experimental, as it was an attempt by Qrow to replicate
aura semblances, and even with special training, this is usually
50/50 at best if one gains a semblance or not. Each semblance
has unique qualities, which includes both strengths and
weaknesses (each semblance has weaknesses that must be stated by
the player to balance the ability).
- Elemental Form: This power is used by advanced Darkfires who
learn to change their bodies into elementals themselves. Similar
to how some vampires use intangibility, the Darkfires use their
elemental form similarly, which lets them avoid attacks. Not
only does it help avoid attacks, but also helps them regenerate
without needing to use their power if they can consciously turn
into elemental form as a substitute. This form lets the Darkfire
change into any element they control, such as most of them being
able to turn into dark flames, as it's a major elemental among
most Darkfires. When in this form, a Darkfire can also
regenerate by reforming themselves using their element, but this
doesn't use any less power than normal regeneration, so the only
real benefit to using this is to use this to avoid attacks while
regenerating or using it to regenerate more easily. While they
can't attack, Darkfires can use the effects of whatever
elemental form they're in on others who try to attack them, such
as a fire user burning people who come into contact with the
fire form. While in this form though, they can be forced back to
normal by counter elements, such as dark flame forms being
forced back to normal against ice powers. Opponents who also use
form negation attack powers can also counter this power through
abilities like haki form negation, and other skills that
developed ways to counter this, as well as aura breaker weapons
also working to the same effect. While in this form though, a
Darkfire cannot attack opponents, as they aren't physical enough
to attack beyond simple effects (like fire burning opponents on
contact).
- Elemental Shapeshift: This was a power that was passed to the
Darkfires through Qrow, who possessed a shapeshifting power he
gained from a curse placed on him that he turned into a new
Darkfire art. This modified art allows the Darkfire to use their
elemental form to transform, turning into something akin to an
elemental familiar, but the Darkfire themselves take this form
instead. Many use this as a means to travel using bird form, or
can use it to scout out areas as a small animal. Whatever they
turn into is up to the original Darkfire, as the possibilities
are pretty much endless. This is very similar to the elemental
shapeshift form, but instead focuses the Darkfire to take a
specific form instead of just being an element. Depending on
what they transform into, they may gain certain attributes, with
some even being able to change into certain supernatural
creatures depending on their power and elemental, such as some
Darkfires who take the form of elemental dragons. Some choose
birdlike or flight capable forms so they can fly around, being
useful for scouting and flying around, while some prefer battle
forms, like wolves, tigers, and bears. Typically, this is more
of an advanced elemental form, and the means to learn their
unique elemental form (more later). When in these forms, the
Darkfire doesn't gain new abilities (aside from certain
beast-like attributes depending on the form), and they cannot
create new abilities usually (like a dragon form won't suddenly
have dragon energy). Though it does have the same drawbacks as
the elemental form, as one who uses form negation, aura breaker
weapons/powers, and counter elements can still force them back
to normal. It's also worth noting that the longer a Darkfire
stays in this form, the more power they use, and have to keep
their power sustained to stay in this form.
- Unique Elemental Form Shapeshift: Thanks to special developed
Darkfire skill by Qrow, each Darkfire is able to awaken one
unique elemental form they can take in their elemental form that
has unique abilities and acts as their main transformation
ability. This form granted is unique to each Darkfire, and
depending on the form, most Darkfires gain enhanced abilities
through their unique form. For example, if one gained the form
of a bird, they would not only be able to fly, but would gain
enhanced sight and hearing comparable to that of birds. Some can
gain other powers, like the enhanced strength of a bear, or the
speed of a cheetah when in their unique forms. After gaining
this form, the Darkfire is able to manipulate the form, where
they can change how solid or intangible they are, or can change
certain aspects of their physiology. For example, a dark flame
form could become more solidified flames that don't hurt people
to touch, or they could stay a flame that can burn people who
touch them in battle. They can also still manipulate their
elementals in battle, such as a fire form could still use fire
attacks on opponents. Each unique elemental form is different,
and the Darkfire is able to switch into this form at will, and
maintain it more easily than normal elemental form. Most
Darkfire elemental forms are typically much easier to use than
their normal body, which is why many Darkfires usually prefer
their elemental form rather than a typical human form, though
there are many that don't use this unless they have to depending
on who they are. Typically, how the form is used is up to the
Darkfire, with each Darkfire being able to use it for different
uses. For example, a birdlike form might be more useful for
scouting and spying, while a bear form might be more useful for
battle However, in this form, while they reform more easily
thanks to being in elemental form, they also can be damaged more
easily by counters to the element, such as ice countering a fire
form or lightning countering a water form.
- Unique Elemental Form Sustenance: Each elemental form,
depending on the elemental and on the Darkfire, is often able to
sustain themselves on things differently than they do as a
normal human. Each form has it's own unique ability for
sustenance, in addition to some other forms that the Darkfire
can do to keep their power restored. For the most part,
Darkfires who opt to stay in their unique forms often simply
have to keep their power up in order to remain in their unique
form, which usually involves doing normal things like eating and
sleeping, though what they eat typically changes based on the
form. Usually, Darkfires don't have to do anything too complex
in order to maintain these forms if they want to unless they use
their power through battle and run low on power, as using their
power in battle could use the power they need to stay in their
elemental form. While Darkfires can still recharge on their own
elemental powers using similar elements, such as a dark flame
form being able to recharge on a normal fire, some can also
recharge more energy by other methods, such as a flame user
being able to eat and burn up anything to keep their flame form
burning, or a water user drinking water to maintain their form.
Each form is different, and some can even do things like eating
normal food to survive, assuming they can gain sustenance or use
it in restoring their power in some way, like an earth user
could break down the earthly elements in food and use it to
absorb the earthly elements. Many Darkfires even find other ways
to do this, such as a wind user absorbing air from around them,
or come up with unique abilities, such as a bat form using blood
as a power source since blood sustains a vampire's power. This
is different depending on the Darkfire, and if they don't do
this in some form, they will eventually run out of power to
maintain their form, and once that happens, they will return to
normal, and won't be able to change until they replenish their
power.
- Darkfire Elemental Amplification: The Darkfires are able to
use their elementals to power themselves up, being able to use
elements to passively enhance their ability by absorbing a
specific element into themselves using their auras to amplify
their physical abilities and elemental abilities. This ability
was designed originally to replicate aura amplification, but
instead of using aura, a Darkfire users their element to enhance
their powers temporarily using their element. However, a unique
thing Darkfire can do that aura users can't is that a Darkfire
can absorb elements outside of their body that aren't theirs,
being able to absorb elemental attacks if it's made of an
element they control. This includes being able to absorb special
elementals, such as a lightning or flame user being able to
absorb heat lightning or lightning flames used by an opponent as
long as it is made at least partly using an element they
control. Depending on the elemental absorbed, the Darkfire can
gain temporary abilities based on the element absorbed and what
properties it has, usually gaining abilities depending on the
other power used in combination with their elemental. For
example, a Darkfire absorbing holy flames could gain temporary
holy power as the flames empower them, or a lightning user could
gain ice powers temporarily from absorbing ice lightning.
However, this is only temporary, as this requires the element in
order to power up, which means that opponents have to attack
with a similar element. This also cannot be used with corrupted
elementals, as others who use corrupted elementals designed them
to counter powers like this. The Darkfire can also only absorb
similar elements. This means that the element must be present in
at least some of the element. For example, a fire user couldn't
absorb ice lightning because there is no fire or heat power used
in it, though a fire user can absorb heat lightning because it
does use fire/heat based power.
- Darkfire Elemental Healing and Purification: This power
utilizes the Darkfire's elemental power in a different way, in
which their elemental powers are designed to heal others by
using their elemental power. How this is used depends on the
Darkfire's elemental power, and not all Darkfires can heal
effectively, but most can heal in some way. Typically, healing
someone using a Darkfire power utilizes the elements in unique
ways, and learn to utilize this to replicate the effects of
healing and purification abilities. This power utilizes the same
power source as the elemental rebirth power, but instead of
healing oneself, the power heals others by projecting their
power over someone else. For example, a dark flame user might
use their dark flames to use heat to bond a wound closed, or
using lightning to re-bond cells together using magnetic bonds
to draw the cells back together. This depends on the element,
and each element can do this in some way, with earth and wind
usually being the best healing elementals. Typically, this power
is used to replicate healing and purification of other races
abilities, even if it's not always as effective. This can be
used with any elemental, though most elementals achieve the same
end result somehow. Typically, this works best with wind or
earth abilities, since using earthly elements can more easily
heal wounds using the body's earthly minerals to restore the
body by manipulating the minerals, or wind can re-bond cells
together more easily. The second part of this power is
purification, where Darkfires can purify certain types of
presences by using their elemental power. For example, a holy
elemental could purify death energy, or a dark elemental could
purify a holy energy poisoning. For purifying presences, usually
lightning and fire are the two best ones to use, since they can
destroy targeted cells and energies more effectively than most
other elementals. And with purification, the holy or dark aspect
also makes a difference in purification as well. This mostly
depends on the user and their knowledge, and not all Darkfire
elementals are great (as one might be better for one aspect of
this power over another). Typically, this power is hard to
master, but many Darkfires can use this very effectively if they
know what they're doing.
- Darkfire Elemental Touch: This ability is dependent on the
elementals used by the Darkfires. This lets a Darkfire use their
touch to use their elemental power on someone, by focusing their
power through their aura when then are in physical contact. This
is more useful with some elements than others, and depending on
the element used, some elements can do different things. Fire
users are able to burn and melt things through physical touch by
heating things up, ice users are able to freeze things on
physical touch by using their ice powers to freeze, lightning
users are able to electrocute things using physical touch, wind
users are able to slice through things with their attacks, and
earth users are able to manipulate earthly elements through
touch, like absorbing metal and other elements from touching an
object or change the form of an object through touch. Some who
use this are able to do different things depending on the
element, with more advanced users having more techniques using
this power, such as an earth user being able to break down the
elements in certain weapons to disassemble them. Some have even
built combat styles around this power, using it to amplify their
physical combat. Of course, the vampire can only use the touch
powers of their own elements, and depending on how skilled they
are, certain vampires may be able to do more with their
elemental touch ability. However, this does require physical
touch to use, and some users can only use this on certain things
(like most earth users would only be able to affect objects, and
might not be able to affect people unless they have specific
powers to do so). Typically, energy defense or counter elements
are the best ways to counter this, such as using ice to counter
a fire touch, or using energy defense to protect against the
elemental effects.
- Darkfire Elemental Blade: By focusing the elemental aura, the
Darkfire can create an elemental blade around their arm, usually
extending from their hand into a blade. Typically, this is an
attack skill designed to fight opponents. Just like many of the
elemental abilities, Darkfires typically have to learn how their
elementals can be used, as each elemental power for this is
different. For example, a dark flame blade could burn through
certain objects when cutting objects, or a wind blade could be
made to more easily cut through objects and fire slashing waves.
This depends on the Darkfire and their elemental powers, but
most are able to do this with any elemental power they control.
Typically, the easiest blade to create is the same as their
aura, as doing so using their aura elemental power is usually
easier than other elements due to it requiring far less power to
use, and it being easier to concentrate from an aura. Beginners
can use this fairly easily once focusing it, but advanced users
can learn to fire elemental blasts and waves from this blade, or
the blade having different effects based on what the user wants
to do. For example, a wind user could focus their wind blade
with explosive gases to explode on impact with an opponent, or a
lightning user could reverse one's magnetic field on contact to
send them flying back from the point of attack to knock them off
balance. This depends mostly on the element and the Darkfire's
elemental knowledge, though most Darkfires typically use this
more with a weapon, with some even having weapons specially made
for utilizing this technique. This is countered just like any
elemental power though, and counter elements are usually the
best method. Some physical defense skills might also defend
against certain uses of this, though usually energy defense is
the best defense against this power since energy defense can
block most elemental abilities.
- Darkfire Elemental Spear: This is a basic elemental techniques
the Darkfires developed based on the basic elemental bolt spell
(a basic elemental spell). In this technique, the Darkfire
concentrates elemental power from their aura into a small spear
like form, and then fires it at opponents. While it may seem
simple, there are plenty of ways to utilize this ability. For
example, this technique is very adaptable, and can be modified
for a variety of purposes. For example, the Darkfire could
change the spear form into another form like a sword, knife or
trident if the Darkfire wants to stylize the attack differently.
Another example is that this technique can be fired from a
Darkfire's elemental aura directly, where the aura can be used
to fire this for faster attacks when the aura is in an active
state. This technique can also be fired in a few different
variations. The normal form of this technique is where the user
will fire one elemental spear. However, there are two other
major variations that the Darkfires have come up with over the
years (with some coming up with other variations). The first
variation is that Darkfires can use more energy and create a
barrage of these spears, essentially creating a flurry of
elemental spears, whether they are concentrated on one person,
or fired from the aura in multiple directions to take out a
group. The other variation is a charged spear, where the
Darkfire can charge the spear using elemental energy to make it
stronger to either grant it a stronger impact, or increase its
piercing power. And depending on the element used, the spear
will have specific properties, such as a dark flame spear can
melt through almost anything, or a concentrated lightning spear
can specialize in piercing. Depending on how it's used, there's
a variety of variations to this technique depending on the
element, and how creative the Darkfire is with this technique.
As one might imagine, countering this can be done with counter
elements, or other energy defenses depending on the attack.
Depending on the attack, some may be better to dodge than block,
or vice versa ( For example, piercing attacks should be dodged
rather than blocked).
- Ultimate Darkfire Technique: Darkfire Lance: This is the
ultimate technique of the Darkfires utilizing immense elemental
power. Once a Darkfire is able to condense elemental power, the
Darkfires can learn this ultimate technique. When using this,
the Darkfire creates a long projectile to throw at opponents out
of elemental power by combining the elemental blade technique
with the elemental condensing and elemental spear techniques.
When thrown, the Darkfire Lance explodes on impact, creating a
massive explosion of elemental energy. Depending on the
elemental power used, the elementals will have unique effects
upon exploding. For example, a dark flame lance will explode
with enough dark flame energy to incinerate almost anything in
the explosion, while a holy ice lance will freeze anything in
the explosion of the lance. For the most part, this is designed
to be the most powerful technique the Darkfires have, in which
they learn to utilize this to create a powerful move to attack
with. The Darkfires can even choose not to throw it, and instead
wield it like a lance weapon where they can attack with it,
creating small explosions on impact when hitting opponents or
objects with the lance. This technique is another that can be
modified for the situation, where Darkfires have also been known
to turn the lance into other forms, like a sword or a trident,
or even one Darkfire who fired it from an elemental energy bow.
This technique creates a strong enough explosion that it can
take down most opponents, and using the Darkfire's elemental
power will usually make this a very powerful attack. However,
because of the sheer power of it, a Darkfire has to be careful
with it, as it takes absolute mastery to use this technique
without hurting oneself with it, as the user can be hurt with
this technique just as opponents. For example, if the Darkfire
is caught in the explosion of the lance, they can be affected as
well, with certain impacts and effects that can still affect the
Darkfire despite it being their elemental energy (for example, a
Darkfire may survive the dark flames of a dark flame lance
explosion, but the pressure can still kill them if they are
caught in it). As such, Darkfires are advised against using this
if they aren't sure they can hit opponents. It is also worth
noting that this technique requires a lot of elemental energy to
use, so many Darkfires can only create one or two of these, with
only a few more powerful Darkfires being able to create more.
This is a technique that one should dodge rather than block,
because of the explosive potential of the attack.
- Elemental Sense: In order to sense their elements, Darkfires
have to use their elemental connection in order to be able to
tell where their elementals are. Thanks to the Darkfire's
elemental training, they learn to sense their elements, granting
the Darkfires unique senses depending on the elements they
control. For example, fire and ice manipulation (whether
positive or negative Darkfire elements), will usually grant
thermal vision by analyzing the temperature of everything around
them, with the Darkfires being able to sense ice or fire.
Electrical senses include being able to sense electricity and
even being able to tune into electrical-based communicate or
sensing magnetic fields. Wind manipulation will grant the
Darkfire the ability to sense the gases in the air, where they
can identify any kind of gas in the air around them thanks to
them being able to sense the air. Earth manipulation will grant
the user an earth sense, where they can sense anything solid
around them, including people by sensing the earthly elements in
everything. Water manipulation can grant one the ability to
sense the moisture in the air, where they are able to sense
things like humidity or what form moisture takes. For the most
part, this is not just about sensing elements though, as this
grants the Darkfires the ability to sense those around them.
Since every element is all present in the Darkfires, any of the
Darkfires can sense people around them by the elementals (such
as earth users can sense people by the earthly elements, or
lightning users can sense others by their magnetic fields).
While each elemental sense is different based on the element,
they all accomplish the same end result, letting the Darkfire
sense both their elements around them and sense other people
around them. This power isn't about predicting opponents like
some battle senses are, but rather this is about being able to
sense the environment around the Darkfires, and allow them to
act accordingly. As such, this isn't really good for offensive
combat, and is mostly only good in battle for sensing the
opponents using elemental senses. However, Darkfires cannot use
this to predict or read opponents, as this is more of a general
elemental sense.
- Darkfire Elemental Armor Defense Skill (Defense
Amplification): This technique utilizes an element, but
concentrated towards a certain part of the body in order to
defend the body against attacks. By combining the elemental
touch and elemental aura, the Darkfires can use this technique
to improve their defense. For example, a Darkfire with lightning
would charge a certain part of their body with lightning to
improve defense, such as coating their arm on condensed
lightning to block an attack with their arm. This allows a
Darkfire to condense the elemental from a certain point in their
body, in which they use it to defend against attacks more
easily. The element improves defense, and depending on the
element, some elements can have unique effects when the opponent
attacks. For example, a Darkfire using dark flames could form
this around their body and use it to burn opponents who hit them
(as the element used still has effects of the element on
opponents if they make contact with it). And when using this,
the form of the technique can be altered depending on the
situation and creativity of the Darkfire, such as earth users
who have used this to create armor around their bodies, or a
lightning user who used this to influence the magnetic fields
around attacks to repel them on contact. Depending on the
element used, the elements can be used with different skills for
different effects, and depending on the Darkfire, this can turn
a defensive move into an offensive one (such as a Darkfire who
uses the dark flame defense can make the dark flames explode on
impact to damage an opponent while they're attacking. However,
while this power is defensive, it can still be broken by
stronger attacks, as users may be able to still attack and break
this if their energy or physical strength can overpower the
defense. There are also certain other techniques that can
counter this, such as energy attacks being able to pierce
through, or users who use aura breaker weapons being able to cut
through this defense. It is also worth noting that Darkfires
using this cannot hold this for too long or use this to cover
too much of their bodies, as this technique takes a lot of
energy, and cannot be held in place for too long without
draining the Darkfire of power.
- Darkfire Elemental Armor Offense Skill (Attack Deflection and
Form Negation): This technique was based on certain other
abilities, like swordsman wavelength and similar abilities that
use attack deflection and form negation. This variation of
elemental defense is more about offensive skill, where the
Darkfire will focus their power in order to attack opponents.
This could be as simple as charging their fist with elemental
power to affect enemies when they punch them, or using an
elemental power to deflect an attack. There are two major
aspects to this power. The first is using this to deflect
attacks, where the Darkfire uses a mastery of energy to change
the trajectory of an attack with their own attack. For example,
the Darkfire could parry an attack using the elemental defense,
and use the elemental armor to redirect the attack by focusing
the elemental to move the attack aside. More advanced users are
even able to reflect projectile attacks back on opponents when
using this power, in which advanced Darkfires are able to use
this to great effect to change an attack's momentum by attacking
it directly and using their elemental power to influence an
attack (such as a magnetic user being able to redirect attacks
using magnetic force). The second part of this is form negation,
where powers like Pai Zhua or Haki have been used in order to
strike opponents using energy that dispels energy. This allows a
Darkfire to attack an opponent no matter the form they are in,
and even works against intangible opponents. This can even be
used to attack incorporeal beings, such as spirits, in order to
allow the Darkfire to strike things that normally wouldn't be
able to be attacked. Since the Darkfires had a major rival in
the Hazeldines, this was designed originally to attack them when
they are melded into the shadows, or attack certain opponents
who can also take different forms like some who can also take
elemental forms. However, it is possible for those with stronger
energy defense to block this technique if they have a similar
defense skill like haki, Pai Zhua or certain types of chi
training, as stronger energy defense skills can block this if
the defense is stronger than the offensive skill. And just like
the defensive skill, this techniques effects can be instantly
dispelled by energy dispelling or aura breaker weapons and
powers. This power also requires focus as well as elemental
power, and typically uses more power than normal to utilize this
since this technique requires extra power to condense and affect
attacks.
Elemental Spirit Bond Abilities (Optional Unfinished Ability
Set):
- Darkfire Second Release Elemental Spirit Bond: This particular
technique was designed by the Darkfires, in which the Darkfires
designed this to combat the Hazeldine Ritual Bindings that
granted them demons. The Darkfires instead chose this art, not
only to fight the Hazeldine demons, but also to allow the
Darkfires to strengthen the world's spirits in exchange for the
spirit helping the Darkfire. When using this, Darkfires bond an
elemental spirit to themselves, and use that spirit as a
companion bonded to them as long as the elemental spirit is with
them. When bonded, the elemental spirit feeds on the Darkfire's
elemental power, and in exchange, the spirit grows stronger and
helps the Darkfire however it can. Depending on the spirit, some
spirits may have other abilities, and thanks to this training,
the Darkfires have arts that can be taught to the elemental
spirits while bonded that let the spirit do certain things.
While the spirits don't start out as dark or holy (as they just
start out as neutral elemental spirits, they gain temporary
boosts while bonded to a Darkfire, such as a Darkfire with dark
flames will be able to empower a fire spirit to grant it dark
flames while it is with the Darkfire. This art not only allows
the spirits to bond with the Darkfire and spend time helping the
Darkfire, but this actually takes time to strengthen the
elemental spirit so that when the elemental spirit is let back
into the world, it is far stronger than it was previously thanks
to the Darkfire. While the spirit may gain a Darkfire element,
these spirits are actually neutral in nature, in which they
don't gain a holy or demonic affinity unless the Darkfire has
training of specific types (such as a demonic Darkfire might
have a spirit that gains demonic elementals). For the most part,
these elemental spirits are still vulnerable to spirit
weaknesses, such as spirit destruction. These spirits can also
be countered with anything that counters their powers, such as
elemental powers can be countered like normal, and spirit powers
can be countered by other energies. This training is incomplete,
as Darkfires stopped developing this when the Hazeldine wars
ended, as it no longer became necessary to counter the ritual
bindings of the Hazeldines. However, some Darkfires do still use
it to try and develop the abilities, even if only because it
helps improve the world a little at a time by strengthening the
elemental spirits that make up the world.
- Darkfire Elemental Strengthened Spirit Connection: While the
Darkfires are not really too tuned into the spiritual realm and
the spirits that make up the world (as they don't focus on it
beyond learning their Darkfire abilities), Darkfires gain this
through training to master their spirit, in which they must
strengthen their spiritual connection. This particular training
led many Darkfires to be able to tune to the Spirit Realm, with
stronger spirit-based Darkfires even learning to communicate
with spirits in the Spirit Realm. This power allows a Darkfire
to tune to spirits, and even opens them up to learn how to use
spirits in battle, and even to learn other spirit arts. This
training is necessary in order to learn how to utilize this
elemental spirit training, as Darkfires had to learn this in
order to focus on their bonded spirit. However, there are some
spirits that can even teach the Darkfires more about this
ability and teach the Darkfires other ways to use this ability.
Another great source of spirit tuning training are spirit tuned
races like the moglins, who specialize in certain types of
spirits depending on the type of moglin. Typically, most
Darkfires strengthen their connection to their spirit, and to
other spirits in order to use this which grants them a much
stronger spirit sense. However, there are dangers of this
training, such as opening up to spirits can cause dark spirits
to take notice of someone, which they usually do when someone
tunes into the spiritual planes. And since most Darkfire spirit
abilities are still weak to dark spirits, these Darkfires have
to be careful since dark spirits are usually very hard to kill,
even on a good day when not dealing with more powerful dark
spirits like collectors and consumers. There are other dangers
as well, such as spirits trying to possess the Darkfire, so the
Darkfire must not only train their spirit, but their mind as
well to resist the dangers that come from this training. Of
course, as one might imagine, this is not an offensive power,
and is more about passively connecting to spirits rather than
using this in battle. This is a necessary part of utilizing the
Darkfire elemental spirit, and this maintains the connection
between the two (without it, the bond between the Darkfire and
spirit would eventually break).
- Darkfire/Elemental Spirit Spirit Realm Mystic Knowledge: After
gaining an elemental spirit and being bonded together, the
spirit and the Darkfire are both able to connect with the Spirit
Realm, a realm that is opposite of the Shadow realm and a realm
where only spirits typically inhabit. This realm is one that
normally human or other supernaturals wouldn't be able to access
or learn of, unless they are trained specifically to use spirit
arts, or have special spirit connection senses. Typically, only
nature-based creatures connected to the world itself know of
this realm and how to access it. For example, one nature group
is the moglins who are tied to the spirit realm just like the
spirits (as the moglins go to the spirit realm when they die
rather than the afterlife of normal mortals). By accessing this
connection, the Darkfire and the spirit gain much greater
understanding of the balance of spirits in the world, and open
the door so the Darkfire can learn more about spirits. This
power is very useful among spirits, as they use this connection
to help guide them, or they can use the spirit realm's
connection to allow them to call for other spirits in certain
situations. This is more of an effect of the spirit tuning
training, but is a great method for the Darkfires to learn more
about spirits and the realm where they come from. Typically,
this is more just opening up the Darkfire to the true realm of
the spirits, and doesn't really do much in battles. This is more
just a way for the Darkfire to gain new knowledge and learn more
about the Spirit Realm, including learning how to access and
enter the Spirit Realm (though this is only allowed under
specific circumstances). However, while this does open up the
Darkfire's senses of the spirit realm, this also draws attention
from dark spirits, due to dark spirits usually noticing people
who become too tuned to spirits (as dark spirits kill or absorb
spirits usually). This knowledge doesn't have much use in
battle, and is more a passive skill.
- Darkfire Elemental Spirit/Host Connection: All of the spirits
who become bonded to Darkfires have a special connection to
their hosts, as the spirits run through the body and become a
part of their host while they are bonded together. This goes
beyond just fighting together, as the two become connected in
spirit and mind as well as in power. The spirits act as a second
entity running through them, who can communicate with their host
while the two are in sync properly whether the spirit
communicates normally or by feeling (as not all spirits may talk
in the traditional sense). Not only are they connected to the
host, but they are also connected to the mind of the host, in
which, similar to the elemental familiar technique, the host can
process everything the spirit processes, being able to share
their senses. The connection makes it so the two can fight as
one, but still both think and act separately since they are two
separate beings. This gives a variety to attacking, as the
spirits can come up with their own strategies and combat tactics
depending on the situation. However, this is useful outside of
battle as well, as the Darkfire can learn from experienced
spirits, and Darkfires are able to sometimes gain certain things
from the connections, like certain spirits having spiritual
abilities that transfer over to the Darkfire while they're
bonded together. Each spirit has it's own name which the
Darkfire must learn, and has their own set of abilities
(typically depending on the spirit) and this gets amplified when
bonded to the Darkfire. Typically, this connection is a
symbiosis between the Darkfire and the spirit, in which the
spirit and Darkfire must act together to survive. If they are
not able to sync their abilities properly, or the two don't
trust each other, then the balance of this power falls apart. If
the Darkfire and the spirit cannot sync properly, their powers
together will not work, and over time the spirit and Darkfire
might lose their connection completely if they cannot sync
themselves properly.
- Darkfire Elemental Spirit Possession: When the Darkfire host
is in trouble or unconscious in a battle, the spirit or spirits
in their body can possess them, controlling them so the spirit
can take over the fight, or escape so the Darkfire won't get
killed. This has a few benefits in or out of battle. The first
is that the elemental spirit can use it's own special abilities
through the Darkfire themselves, and many spirits will have
unique skills the Darkfire doesn't have that might only work if
the spirit is in control. So rather than using power to manifest
the spirit, sometimes it is more beneficial to just possess the
Darkfire. This can also be useful if the Darkfire is up against
an opponent with spirit destruction abilities, as using this can
allow a spirit to fight without exposing itself to allow for
spirit destruction powers to destroy it like it would if it were
in manifested physical form. Unlike Hazeldine demons, the spirit
possessing isn't trying to take over or harm the body, but takes
over only when it's mutually beneficial like if the Darkfire is
knocked out and the Darkfire is at risk of dying, as the
elemental spirits usually don't like forcing themselves to take
over a body, and typically respect their host's will. The spirit
mostly just helps when it's needed, such as a spirit possession
will let the spirit fight opponents the Darkfire couldn't fight
normally, such as the spirit might be able to take on certain
dark spirits and other spiritual plane entities that the
Darkfire normally couldn't hurt since the spirit would still be
able to use it's spiritual abilities. Of course, this is also
useful in the fact that the spirit or spirits can also possess
objects, such as possessing armors and statues to fight with
depending on the situation. This is mostly useful when it comes
to possessing demon armors and angel armors with nothing in
them, as the spirit can use it as a substitute body temporarily.
Unlike the Hazeldine demons, there is no negative effect of the
Darkfire allowing possession, since the spirit will usually only
possess the Darkfire with their permission, and there is no risk
of one taking over the other. The only downside is that certain
abilities of the Darkfire might not be accessible while the
spirit is in control, as the spirit's powers would be the only
ones usable in the case of a spirit possession.
- Darkfire Elemental Spirit Elemental Feeding: When an elemental
spirit is not manifested in physical form, it is able to feed on
elemental power of the Darkfire, being able to feed on their
extra elemental energy which would normally be released and
wasted, which the spirit uses as a means of sustaining itself.
This lets the spirit make use of this energy to not only
replenish and maintain their own energy, but can be used to grow
the power of the spirit over time as the spirit devours this
energy. As the spirit feeds on this energy, it will eventually
start growing stronger and be able to gain new abilities over
time, which can also trigger new abilities in the Darkfire as
well through their connection that may even remain after the
spirit and the Darkfire part ways. The spirit can also feed on
energy to regenerate itself if it's damaged during a battle by
feeding on the regenerative elemental power the Darkfire has
(though only with the Darkfire's permission). Normally a spirit
doesn't need regeneration, so damage to spirits usually requires
help to regenerate, in which the Darkfire can supply the
elemental power to regenerate the spirit at the cost of some of
their elemental power. This not only helps maintain the
elemental spirit, but also helps them grow stronger and
strengthen the bond of the two as the spirit and host are able
to grow stronger together, as the spirit devouring energy also
helps make the host stronger since the Darkfire has to produce
more elemental energy in order to keep the elemental spirit feed
and up to strength. If the Darkfire doesn't feed the elemental
spirit, the elemental spirit will grow weak and may eventually
die or the connection between them may fall apart if nothing is
done. Typically, the spirit feeding on the extra power isn't at
all harmful to the Darkfire, and usually there's more benefit to
allowing this, but if the Darkfire doesn't allow this feeding,
then the spirit will eventually sever the bonds between then and
go back into the world if the Darkfire won't allow it to feed on
the power it needs to survive, as the elemental spirit needs
this energy to sustain itself. There also comes a point where
the elemental spirit will reach its max potential, and
eventually will cap out on it's ability to grow stronger from
feeding. It is usually at this point that the Darkfire releases
the spirit back into the world and takes up a new spirit, unless
the spirit and the Darkfire decide to stay together even though
once maxed out, the spirit and Darkfire won't gain any new
abilities (which is typically what happens since the Darkfires
will often grow attached to the spirits they bond with over
time, and the spirits may also become attached to the Darkfire)
- Darkfire Elemental Spirit Unique Form Manifestation: Just like
the unique elemental form training of the Darkfires, the
elemental spirits also have unique elemental forms they can
manifest in the same way. Depending on the spirit, all spirits
will take a unique elemental form that reflects their spirit
form, in which many take the form of animals or supernatural
creatures. Just as there are endless unique possibilities with
the Darkfires' own transformations, there are just as many with
elemental spirits. The spirits gain their unique form separate
from the Darkfire, and can take this form at will. This art is
designed to allow the spirit to be able to manifest itself and
allow itself free movement in the outside world, usually for
purposes like helping the Darkfire with certain tasks. The
spirit needs only to borrow power from the Darkfire to remain
manifested, in which the Darkfire will usually have to keep the
spirit manifested through their elemental power, though
depending on the spirit, some can manifest on their own without
the Darkfire's energy. And depending on the spirit, there are
different abilities the spirit might have, usually depending on
the form it takes. For example, a thunderbird might have the
ability to generate intense sound using the thunder of it's
wings, or an animal form might have claws it can use to attack.
Some may use this to stay alongside the Darkfire, such as a bird
form sitting on the Darkfire's shoulder, or some may use this in
battle to help the Darkfire fight, or some can even use this to
scout or spy on others. This mostly depends on the Darkfire, the
spirit and the power gained from the bond to create a unique
form. Typically, each form is vulnerable to counter elements,
such as the dark flames would be vulnerable to ice, and
lightning would be vulnerable to water. Also, the elemental
spirit can only manifest if the spirit has the energy to (which
can be worn down enough that the spirit cannot manifest).
Elemental spirits are also more vulnerable to dark spirits,
which are a major problem to elemental spirits, and some dark
spirits may try to absorb them. This form is also very
vulnerable to spirit destruction abilities, which can destroy
the spirit completely.
- Darkfire Elemental Spirit Arts: By gaining elemental spirits,
elemental spirits can grant the use of special spirit arts, that
are usually dependent on the elemental spirit (as each spirit
has different abilities and spirit arts it might have). Each
elemental spirit has it's own arts, which act like it's own
unique techniques and abilities it relies on in battle, which
usually power most of the spirit's special powers. There are a
nearly infinite number of spirit arts in the multiverse, but
some examples might include techniques like spirit purification
(some elemental spirits use it to strengthen themselves and
weaken dark spirits), elemental spirit attack and defense arts
(The most common spirit arts known among elemental spirits),
elemental alchemy (which is a variation of their normal
elemental arts) or some who even grant animal spirit arts that
grant it certain animal abilities. There are plenty of elemental
spirit arts that the spirits use, and most teach their specific
arts to the Darkfire. Some Darkfires can even utilize unique
arts based on what they use to power their spirit arts (as more
than spirit energy can be used to power spirit arts depending on
the Darkfire's knowledge and how they develop their power), such
as one Darkfire who used ki-based spirit arts. This is done
through both the spirit and the Darkfire working together, and
usually combining the spiritual powers of the Darkfire with the
spirit. When using this, there are many different options,
though elemental spirit arts are usually the most common spirit
art used among elemental spirits. Some spirits can even utilize
other spirits, such as one great fire spirit who could call on
other spirits to utilize their spirit arts. There are a few
powers that you will never see spirits use though. For example,
spirits will almost never use spirit destruction, as spirit
destruction is dangerous to them just as it is to enemy spirits.
Because each elemental spirit art is different, it's difficult
to point out all of them, but most of them are typically
elementally powered in some form, since the elemental spirits
are elementally power-based and spirit energy based. While they
are typically more powerful than normal elemental powers and
spiritual powers though, these are still countered the same way,
and aside from accounting for the power itself, opponents need
only account for the increase in power when using these
abilities.
- Darkfire Elemental Spirit Astral Trap/Separation Arts: This
spirit art that is designed to separate or trap astral beings
that some elemental spirits developed to be used against dark
spirits. This art is designed to use special spirit enhanced
items to separate someone from their astral body, such as
temporarily separating a soul from the body (though this doesn't
kill the person, but just incapacitate their soul while they are
separated from it). This art is designed to separate and trap
astral beings. The second half of this, which involves trapping
astral beings, usually involves trapping the astral being in a
specially made containment item, which has to be specifically
focused to contain the being. Typically, this is a very useful
skill to use on stronger opponents, as if they are hit by it,
most opponents have little resistance to having an astral body
pushed out of them. Typically, this is most used for pushing
souls out of bodies, but this can also be used on angels, fallen
angels and demons to push them out of their vessels, which can
be very dangerous to them. This can also work on separating some
astral beings out of others, if they have spirits or other
presences in them (such as if they have to fight another
Darkfire or Hazeldine that have spirits in them). This does have
to hit an opponent through physical contact, with the item
having to touch the skin of the person that the Darkfire is
trying to affect. And if the soul isn't bound or trapped in
something, then they will return to their body or where they
were cast out from within 10 minutes. Typically, this is mostly
useful for removing and trapping spirits, rather than killing
them, as once contained, the spirit usually has trouble leaving
the containment on their own, but destroying the runes on the
containment can free the person trapped. This also cannot kill
spirits, as nothing in this art is used that can kill spirits
since it's just a trap power. This knowledge also requires the
Darkfire to know what creature they are trapping and plan
accordingly, such as a containment item will have to be marked
with angel trap sigils to keep an angel's spirit contained. This
means that a certain level of trap knowledge is necessary for
this power to work.
- Darkfire Elemental Spirit Familiar Training: After heavy
training, a Darkfire is often able to teach the elemental spirit
to create elemental familiars at will without needing the
Darkfire to create them (thus teaching the spirit the art of
elemental familiars if they don't know it already). Spirits can
not only create elemental familiars that they can control so the
Darkfire doesn't have to control them by themselves, but spirits
can also use some of the Darkfire's power to call other
elemental spirits as familiars temporarily as a way of using
this power in their own way. Depending on what the situation
requires, the spirit can control the familiars it generates from
the Darkfire and spirit's elemental powers, but it can also
communicate and help other elemental spirit allies fight
alongside them. For example, the elemental spirit could grant
other spirits elemental power from the Darkfire, temporarily
empowering them with special elementals. For example, a dark
wind spirit can empower another wind spirit with dark wind to
also empower it into a dark wind spirit while it has the
enhancement. This allows a Darkfire to concentrate on their
fights without having to control their elementals, and the
spirit can even control elementals at far greater distances than
the Darkfire normally could, allowing this to be of great use to
the Darkfire in battle so they don't have to focus on
controlling their own elemental familiars. It is also beneficial
because spirits normally cannot be seen except under specific
circumstances, so some may use this in order to spy on enemies.
This power depends on the user and the spirit, but typically,
this means that the spirits summoned will be different every
time this power is used, and this depends on the spirits that
will head a call from the elemental spirit, as elemental spirits
won't always head the call of every elemental spirit (For
example, most elemental spirits won't go to a battle against a
dark spirit knowing they probably can't win). And depending on
the spirit, the normal elemental familiars will also still work
just as they normally do except that the Darkfire won't need to
move their focus to controlling the familiars since the spirit
can control them.
- Darkfire Elemental Spirit Weapon/Item Possession: By trying to
gain specific advantages over the Hazeldines, this power was
developed purely by accident. When the Darkfires developed this,
it was to allow a spirit to empower a weapon, not possess it,
but thankfully, the Darkfires found a use for this power among
their elemental spirits. When used, the elemental spirits
eventually became able to possess weapons and items, which
allowed a number of abilities to be used. One such advantage was
when they traded knowledge with the Hazeldines and the
Hazeldines let the Darkfires use spell books that allowed the
spirits to charge their spirit arts onto pages, creating a
collection of prepared elemental spirit arts (akin to the
Hazeldines who use this to charge their spellbooks with dark
arts and dark magic spells). This also allowed a spirit to
possess and empower an item in a way that can sometimes grant
their powers to weapons, such as a thunder spirit who possesses
a sword could not only strike with the power of lightning, but
some can even use thunder-based sound manipulation in their
attacks. This depends mostly on the spirit and it's abilities,
but some have specifically tied their power to weapons or items,
due to how effective it can be for a spirit to possess a weapon
or item. For example a water spirit could possess a bottle of
holy water, and then use the holy water as it's own form to
create forms to attack using the holy water. Since this power is
dependent on the spirit, it's hard to say what abilities a
weapon or item would get, and sometimes it even depends on the
weapon or item, so each weapon or item typically has unique
effects when possessed by a spirit. However, in battle, it's
worth noting that these abilities usually require the spirits
energy, and if it runs out, then it must return to the Darkfire.
The possession also cannot empower a skill or power into an item
or weapon unless its a skill the spirit can use (such as a
spirit that cannot use fire cannot empower an item with fire).
The powers gained by items and weapons can still be countered
like normal though, such as elemental powers are still countered
by counter elements.
- Ultimate Darkfire Elemental Spirit Technique: Spirit Fusion:
This is the ultimate technique of the Darkfire elemental spirits
(currently), in which the Darkfire and the spirit fuse the
Darkfire's soul to the spirit to create a temporary fusion of
power that syncs the Darkfire and the spirit together. When
used, the Darkfire and the spirit become one, and the result
empowers a Darkfire considerably. While the Darkfire may lose
access to certain abilities (Such as the spirit being able to
control elemental familiars), this is still the most powerful
technique this training possesses. This not only combines the
spirit and Darkfire's power, but amplifies it using the fusion
of spirits. When in this state, the Darkfire and spirit cease
being two separate entities and temporarily become one being.
This grants enhanced fusion arts, where the spirits and the
Darkfire can combine their techniques to create new techniques
they wouldn't be able to use separately. Not only does this
allow new techniques though, but the Darkfire's body is
empowered by the spirit and allows the Darkfire to take on
unique properties, such as elemental spirits in the form of
animals might grant the Darkfire certain animal properties, or
the spirit could just amplify the Darkfire's physical stats
considerably. This is the strongest art the Darkfires have for
their elemental spirits, and utilizes both the Darkfire and
spirit to their full potential. When fused, the two are much
more powerful, and are able to take on much more powerful
opponents when the two fuse together. However, there are certain
dangers to this power, in which if it is not done correctly,
damage could be done to the connection between the spirit and
the Darkfire, as this is not an easy technique to initiate. This
technique also only works until the Darkfire runs out of power,
and it is worth noting that this fusion drains energy much
faster than normal power use since the Darkfire and spirit are
both using power in this rather than just one using power. This
is only a temporary power-up, and if a Darkfire is not careful,
they can power down at inconvenient times if they don't use this
at the right time.
- Forbidden Art: Elemental Spirit Absorption: When those who use
elemental spirits defeat someone else who is fused to spirits
(usually those with arts similar to this), the Darkfire can use
a forbidden technique to absorb the spirit into themselves when
it's released after the opponent's death. This is a forbidden
technique among the Darkfires, in that it's possible for a
Darkfire to steal another's elemental spirit upon death, and
allow the Darkfire who wins to gain a new spirit or just add the
power of the spirit to their spirit. This lets someone absorb
and then bond the spirit to themselves, giving them new
abilities and sometimes giving them new elements from the old
user depending on the spirit and the bond. This makes the user
stronger the more spirits they absorb, but also has a side
effect of the Darkfire needing to possess more elemental energy
to use this. Whether it's to maintain multiple spirits, or it's
to utilize stronger spirit power, the Darkfires who use this
have to learn to generate more elemental energy. For this, a
substance known as elemental dust (used by aura users usually)
is a great way to keep up with the spirits, but overdoing it and
absorbing spirits can be more draining than helpful due to the
cost of keeping the spirits maintained with elemental energies.
The main use is usually either strengthening an element the
spirit specializes in, or gaining a new element that the user
wants. However, these elementals still work the same way, in
that they can still be countered like normal elementals. It is a
forbidden technique though for a reason, as this only usually
happens when one Darkfire betrays another, and this art is seen
as the Darkfire betraying the family if a Darkfire kills another
Darkfire to take this power for themselves. This can also be
seen as a means of enslaving spirits, with the Darkfires look
down on. As such, Darkfires don't do this unless it's to save an
ally spirit who is at risk of dying with the host, in which some
will use this if it means saving a spirit bonded to a fellow
Darkfire from death, which is usually the only acceptable use of
this in the clan. Forcibly taking a spirit can also be
dangerous, as the user has to overpower and control the spirit
in order to use this if the elemental spirit is not willing to
be transferred.
- Forbidden Art: Dark Spirit Bonding: This is the other
forbidden art, in which some Darkfires have experimented with
bonding dark spirits to themselves rather than normal spirits.
This is a forbidden technique for a reason, as every Darkfire
knows how dangerous it is to try to use dark spirits. This art
utilizes dark spirits rather than elemental spirits, usually
used by those that favor darker powers. For example, some early
Darkfires in the Hazeldine war actually experimented with this
power, trying to make use of enemy dark spirits for themselves.
When used, this works much like the elemental spirit, except
that the Darkfire has to actively keep the dark spirit from
trying to take over their minds (and in most cases, devouring
their souls). Dark spirits bonded to a Darkfire are usually
accidental, in which the Darkfire means to call an elemental
spirit but ends up calling a dark spirit by accident (usually
done by those that experiment on their own rather than gaining
help from more experienced Darkfires). This art does have
certain strengths, in that Darkfires with this art can gain far
stronger spirit powers and powers of darkness than any other
type of spirit, and the Darkfire might even gain special
abilities based on the spirit they use, such as one Darkfire who
bonded with a consumer and was able to endlessly devour energy
through touch. And instead of connecting to the spirit realm,
this power would allow a Darkfire to connect to the Shadow
Realm, in which the Darkfire would gain a knowledge of death and
darkness from the shadow realm. Dark spirits have their own
shadow arts, which are usually hazardous to normal mortals, but
some Darkfires do learn to utilize it if they embrace certain
aspects of the dark spirit power. The major danger to this, is
that the dark spirits are impossible to control forever, and
eventually the dark spirit will overpower the Darkfire, either
possessing them or at worst, eating their soul and taking over
the body permanently. Just like death wraiths who have tried, no
Darkfire has done this and not eventually been overcome by this
art. Of course, as one might expect, this still has the same
weaknesses as dark spirits, in which most dark spirits are able
to be destroyed with spirit purification or spirit destruction.
Darkfire Aura Abilities (Optional Extra Skillset, but requires
Branwen Family Training):
- Branwen Family Aura Skills: Those that know the Branwen family
in the London universe know that the Branwen family are mostly
thieves, but the family also knows how to fight supernaturals
and supernatural hunters. The major skill they perfected for
defending themselves was the aura manipulation, which the
Branwen Family uses as one of their main abilities (and this was
also taught to the Darkfires). While Raven Branwen used certain
concepts of aura in some of the Darkfire skills, some Darkfires
have gotten deeper into this power and learned how to utilize
this power with proper training through the Branwen Family. The
Branwens are a family of vampires that use this to fight their
enemies and hone their skills, in which aura is a specific power
that was designed to focus the body and spirit to create energy
in the body that is used to generate power for one to use to
defend themselves against strong enemies. Among the two most
useful things about aura manipulation is aura defense and
semblances. Darkfires and Branwen family members with this skill
training learn to utilize aura as one of their extra skill-sets,
and this works well for those that want to gain a skill-set not
based completely in elemental power. When used, aura is a
specific mix of spirit and body energy that creates a unique
energy that can empower the body, similar to some other energies
like chakra (which is also a mix of body and spirit energy).
Aura users learn to focus this power and can use it somewhat
similarly to other energies, with aura having its own defenses
and abilities. For the most part, this power is very simple, but
is used to great effect to battle opponents with more
complicated abilities, and the semblance abilities of aura allow
each user to gain their own abilities using aura. Because of
this, the Branwens are just as skilled at fighting supernaturals
and supernatural hunters as the Darkfires are, even though most
people don't acknowledge them since the Branwens are far more
secluded from other vampire clans than even the Darkfires. Of
course, aura is only usable as long as the body has aura to use,
as the body can eventually run out of this energy is overused
like any energy, and things like aura defense can be overpowered
or countered directly with things like aura breaker skills and
weapons. This aura can also be countered by other energies as
well, such as spirit users have overpowered aura defense with
concentrated spirit blasts. Another major problem is that this
power is meant to be a very simple power, and some opponents can
easily see the strengths and weaknesses of this power far more
easily (meaning opponents that are skilled at predicting enemies
and learning an opponent's powers will more easily see through
the powers of aura manipulation.
- Aura Base Energy Manipulation: This energy is the basis of the
aura skills (as one might probably guess). This energy is made
in the body by teach the body to combine energy in the body with
energy of the spirit, created through meditation and focus. This
aura has a few different uses. The first is defense, in which
aura defense is often used by those that favor defense or might
be weak normally. The other is aura amplification, in which aura
can amplify physical and supernatural abilities. This energy is
a basic energy that is created by the body (though it takes
training as this isn't a natural energy). This combines energies
of the body, and combines it with spirit energy to create a
unique mix of power not unlike chakra energy (and this power
shares a lot of similarity to chakra manipulation). This uses a
similar concept to chakra, except that this is done more through
focus and mental training than hand signs like chakra users use.
Once focused, this energy can be used by aura users once aura
users learn to draw on this power. Users will find that any
person with body and spirit energies can use this, as it is a
power that even a normal human can learn to utilize. As such,
it's properties are much like the other energies that are used
by the body, such as aura can amplify the body like other
energies like ki and mana, or how aura can be used to focus
energy based attacks. This power can be used creatively for
different things, where some have even developed specific aura
skills. This energy is the basis to all aura skills, and powers
any aura skill whether it's attack, defense or otherwise. As one
might expect, this works similar to other energy users, where
users of aura can be countered similar to other energy users.
Other energies can be used to counter aura, to which there are a
number of energy manipulations one could use (among them are
spirit energy, mana, chi/ki, and even chakra). This energy is
just like any other energy, and can be overpowered or cancelled
out completely by skills that may utilize things like aura
breaker powers and items. The major downside to this aura though
is that it is pretty simple, and there are not multiple types of
aura manipulation unless one has a unique ability to combine it
with another energy. When using it on this, most aura users use
this the same way, and it is unlikely one will find those with
unique aura energy types like other energies as most aura users
use aura the same way. One may find unique abilities powered by
aura, but aura is always used the same way and is not as
creative as, say, ki abilities (in that there aren't multiple
types of aura and there aren't multiple versions of aura used).
- Branwen Family Art: Animal Transformation Form: This is a
Branwen family art where they utilize their aura to change their
form. This grants the Branwen family the ability to change their
forms similar to shapeshifters, where the Branwens can take
almost any creature's form depending on how they choose to. The
Branwen family usually uses this to change into animals, where
they have a specialty of using aura to change into a unique
form. This ability uses a vampire shapeshifting ability, though
this isn't used to the same extent that some other clans might
use it. By using this, a Branwen or Darkfire can change their
forms into almost any creature they choose if they know enough
about the body structure of the creature. Once in another form,
a user can use the form for different purposes. One could use
bird forms for scouting an area, or they may use a battle form
for fighting enemies or use certain other animal forms for
different purposes. When in animal form, the Branwen or Darkfire
will sense as a normal creature, in which their presence changes
to match whatever creature they change into. Branwens and
Darkfire can even use this to change into battle forms, such as
turning into a bear or a lion to attack enemies, or turning into
a mouse to escape a situation. Each Branwen and Darkfire can
also unlock a specific form that might have unique abilities,
such as Raven Branwen turns into a raven and has special aura
abilities when using this skill. Typically, the Darkfires use
this more as elemental shapeshifting, but they can use this
ability on its own as they may learn it in addition to their
elemental shapeshifting. This is an art more used by the
Branwens, but the Darkfires can learn this as well. However, the
Branwen family art does not grant special abilities unless using
a unique form, similar to the Darkfire elemental shapeshifting.
Aside from some forms having advantages like some having claws
or some being able to fly, there are no abilities gained from
changing form except in rare cases or one is using a unique
form. Users can also be more easily attacked in this form, where
different disadvantages of an animal may be something opponents
can take advantage of (such as smaller animals being weaker, or
certain animals that might be slower to fight).
- Branwen Family Art: Elemental Dust: This is something that
some aura users developed that the Branwen family got a hold of
that allows aura user to use aura to create solid crystals that
house elemental energy. The Branwen family is able to develop
dust, in the forms of crystals and powder, that house elemental
energy in it that can be used in battle. Typically, this is
created to be used later, where Branwens create crystals and
powder using elemental energies by focusing their aura around
elemental energies and then crystallizing it. When used in
battle, the crystals are activated with aura, where the
elemental energy released allows a user to utilize these
crystals to attack with elemental abilities. For example, a user
might throw a fire dust crystal that will explode on impact
similar to a grenade, or could throw lightning dust powder at
opponents to create static in the air around an opponent. This
can be useful in battle, but also can be used to influence
objects such as using flame dust to melt an object. When used on
objects, dust can have effects on objects depending on what kind
of dust is used and the object it is used on. For example, the
Branwen family often used fire dust to melt safe locks so they
could steal valuables or use lightning dust to stun someone who
would catch them stealing (since they were a family of thieves).
The Darkfires can also use this dust, where they instead utilize
it to create elementals they can take control of and convert
into Darkfire elementals. Depending on the user, this can be
used a variety of ways, even if one cannot use elemental powers.
Some can even line their clothes with dust in order to allow
them to use this in battle, such as one who lined their clothes
with fire dust that could be activated and allow the user to
create fire attacks. By using energy to activate the dust, this
is a sort of makeshift elemental manipulation that requires very
little energy from the user (only requiring the energy to
activate the dust). The only downside is that dust (whether it's
in crystal or powder form) has to be focused and made ahead of
time, and cannot be done in the midst of a fight since it takes
time to create dust. And using this is dangerous against those
that can manipulate elements, since this is a basic aura
manipulated elemental power. These elements can also still be
countered like normal once the dust is activated (IE Fire
countered by water and ice).
- Branwen Family Art: Kindred Link: This is a skill that Raven
Branwen developed as part of the Branwen family aura skills, in
which she developed this ability to quickly make her way to
allies. This power uses supernatural telepathic connections to
connect to a person (which the Branwens and Darkfires both use
using different skill-sets), where the user is able to use this
to develop a permanent connection to others. However, the use
for this connection is not simply communication, but rather a
user uses aura to tap into this connection in order to create
portals to those that the user has a connection with. This can
be used on anyone the Branwen or Darkfire wants to connect to,
in which most Branwens and Darkfires will use this on those
close to them so that they can teleport to them if they are ever
in danger or need help. This skill uses aura and the connection,
and can be used as long as the user has aura to create the
portals and a connection with who they want to go to. Because of
the connection to the person, the user doesn't have to know
where the person is, as their permanent link with them lets the
user open this portal to them no matter where they are. This is
not only useful as a means to helping others, but can even be
used for quick escapes from dangerous situations by using this
to open a portal to someone away from a fight. In order to use
this, the Darkfire or Branwen must first develop a telepathic
link to the person they want to form a bond with, in which they
must form a permanent link with an ally. This doesn't really do
anything to the person who is linked, but more just allows the
Darkfire or Branwen to always be able to create portals to the
location of someone with this link. Of course, as one might
expect, the purpose of this is to easily move from place to
place, and unlike normal teleportation this is highly limited in
how it can be used compared to normal teleportation. Users with
this skill can also only teleport to those they have bonded to,
so users cannot teleport to someone they have never created a
bond with. And in order to create a bond, a user has to go
through a telepathic process which can take time (meaning this
cannot be done in the middle of a battle).
- Aura Defense: This is a passive power used by all aura users
in which they focus their aura as a defensive barrier around
themselves. This is the main draw to those that want to learn
aura, as users usually hope to use this to protect themselves.
By focusing their aura through training, the body creates this
defense as long as the body has the energy to create aura, and
this becomes a passive defense. While users can still be
damaged, attacks don't actually hurt or pierce them until the
barrier around them is broken, in which users are protected by
the aura manipulation. For example, an opponent may slash an
aura user with a sword. While the impact could still damage the
user, the defense will prevent the sword from piercing the body
as a defense for the user unless the sword has specific
abilities to negate aura or is strong enough to break the aura
defense. Once a user has learned this, they can use this without
needing to focus on it, as the body will passively protect
itself from outside damage without the user having to think
about it. This can defend not only against attacks, but can
grant defense against certain environmental hazards as well,
such as a user could use this to go through fire or extreme cold
without any damage (though users are still affected somewhat by
temperature, so fire and ice may still do slight damage to the
body). When using this power, users are able to defend against a
great variety of attacks and supernatural abilities as long as
their bodies have the energy to do so. This defense is very
useful, and can turn even a normal human into a stronger being
that isn't so easy to kill. There are a few ways to beat aura
defense though, that users will have to be aware of. The first
is that opponents may overpower the defense, in which a strong
enough attack will actually break through this defense even if
the user has power left. Strong enough opponents who can
overpower this can basically force a user to have to change
tactics if their defense doesn't work as intended. It is also
possible that physical impacts can still damage users even if
their defense isn't pierced, such as falling could release
enough impact force to damage someone even if the brunt of the
impact is protected against with aura defense. The other method
is to run a user out of energy, where if they take enough hits
(even if they don't take damage from them) or are worn down
enough, the user will eventually run out of power and this aura
will no longer work. Once out of power, a user will be
vulnerable. The last method is to use an aura breaker weapon or
use a skill that negates energy, which can break this defense
almost instantly with little effort.
- Aura Physical and Supernatural Amplification: Thanks to the
power of aura, those who use it also have amplified supernatural
power and physical abilities similar to other abilities like ki
or mana amplification. Aura users learn to passively use this
amplification similar to those like ki users, and can utilize
this alongside abilities like their aura defense. When used, the
physical and supernatural abilities are amplified with aura,
which strengthens not only the body, but the abilities the body
can use. Most humans who use this use it for the physical
enhancement, where they can amplify themselves with this, but
those with special abilities can empower their other abilities
as well. For example, an aura user with magic abilities could
use this to amplify their magic abilities. Users strengthen this
power by training in aura and strengthening their aura
connection, in which the stronger their bodies and spirits
become, the stronger their aura becomes as well. As their aura
becomes stronger, their amplification becomes stronger as well.
In terms of physical stats, this aura amplifies not only
strength and speed, but increases stamina, durability and even
agility. Users are able to use this to push their bodies beyond
normal physical limits, where humans have used this to keep up
with certain supernatural creatures in battle without having to
become supernaturals. Users can push this amplification further
through physical focus, where they may be able to temporarily
amplify themselves more if they focus their aura. Because this
is usable by any race, any race has the potential to use this
power. Of course, as one might imagine, this amplification
requires aura running through the body (which is done through
aura training to allow the body to passively produce this energy
even though it isn't a natural energy like spirit or mana is).
Once one runs out of aura, this amplification is no longer
usable until the user recovers enough to be able to use their
aura again. This amplification can also be overcome by those
with similar amplifications, such as supernaturals with
supernaturally enhanced stats or other energy users physical and
supernatural amplification. Users who focus their aura to push
their amplification further may risk damage to the body if they
amplify themselves too much, and some users may suffer permanent
damage or loss of ability to produce energy if they suffer
enough damage from this.
- Aura Unique Semblance: As most aura users learn, everyone has
a unique ability when it comes to aura, given in the form of a
semblance. Aura users all gain a unique semblance, where they
are able to utilize their aura to awaken a semblance. Because
every semblance is usually unique (even though can be passed
down in families), there are as many semblances as there are
grains of sand on a beach, so it's difficult to specify
semblances. Semblances are all usually different, and even those
that inherit semblances may have unique aspects of their
inherited semblances depending on the user. There are a wide
variety of these semblances and how to use them, so each
semblance is unique in some way even among those with similar
semblances. Some known semblances could be things like healing
power, illusionary powers, energy clone creation, a power that
enhances physical stats, or even powers that may include
elemental manipulation. It is usually hard to predict what power
one will have, though some semblances do seem to be genetic. No
one is entirely sure how these powers come about, and depending
on the aura user, the semblances can end up being just about
anything. The one thing all semblances do have in common though
for aura users, is that they are always powered by aura, no
matter the semblance (any exceptions to this are rare and must
be stated by players). Users always utilize aura to use their
semblance, and if they have no aura, they cannot use their
semblance until they recover their energy. And just as each
semblance is different, awakening each semblance is also
different. Some users can go their whole lives without gaining
their semblance, or some may gain their semblances from an early
age (and in rare cases, some may awaken them as soon as they are
born). For the most part, the awakening process is different,
and requires a different trigger for each person to awaken their
semblance. This means that to gain their power, each person must
figure out their own trigger, which could take years (as
mentioned, some go their whole lives without awakening one). And
each semblance will have its own weaknesses that must be stated
by players. For the Branwen and Darkfires, they can have
semblances, but only if they don't already have elemental
semblances through their Darkfire training. If they do, then
their elemental semblance is essentially what their aura
semblance would be (meaning that unlocking the elemental
semblance means that Darkfires or Branwens that also use aura
cannot gain an additional semblance).
- Aura Attack Skills: Users are able to utilize aura to attack
their enemies, where users can utilize this to create techniques
that can attack enemies. There are two major aspects to this
power. The first is creating energy based projectile attacks,
where users are able to create energy attacks in almost any form
they desire by manipulating their aura into specific shapes. For
example, there is a technique known as aura bullet which allows
a user to fire a small blast of aura at opponents like a bullet
(based on the mana skill of a similar name). By doing this,
users can utilize the energy to attack in different ways.
Advanced users may even be able to concentrate their aura to
create stronger projectiles, such as advanced users might create
concentrated aura spears that can pierce armors or use certain
properties of aura to heat up an object they are in contact
with. Typically, this depends on how the user utilizes this
power, and how creative they get with this energy. There are
plenty of ways to use this in projectile form, and there are
many that can even develop their own attack skills. The other
way people use this is to form the energy into weapons, such as
swords, scythes or gauntlets by focusing the energy into certain
shapes. Depending on how the user manifests this power and their
understanding of energy, they will be able to use this in a
variety of ways. Not only can users create weapons, but users
can even create projectile attacks using their aura that they
can even fire from created weapon attacks (such as an aura user
could fire a slashing wave from an aura energy sword). Depending
on the user, there are many ways this can be used, and depends
on the creativity of the user. This is the main set of skills
that aura manipulators use to attack enemies, with some even
being able to combine this with other skills (such as one might
create a projectile attack out of aura and then make it
explosive if they have a knowledge of how to create explosive
power using energy). Most of the time, aside from semblances,
this power is just simple energy, so it can be countered as
such. Opponents can still dodge and block most uses of these
skills (even advanced uses if the opponent knows how to handle
the attacks), where aura works similar to most other energies
when used on its own.
- Aura Lock: This is a technique where an aura user locks
themselves in place, designed purely for defense. By using their
aura and hardening their aura coming out of their bodies, they
are able to up their defense considerably, making it so nothing
can move them at all or damage them as a means to protect
themselves from damage. This technique can lock a person in
place and protect them from almost any damage done to them while
this technique is in effect. Users of this technique needs only
to solidify their aura around their bodies (which can be done
with enough practice), and can create a nearly unbreakable
shield. Users have used this to do things like protect
themselves from explosions, or used it to defend against enemy's
supernatural attacks. Typically, this can do things like block
energy, or block many kinds of force. This skill is temporary,
where users can only use this in short bursts since the energy
cannot remain solidified for long. Users also should be aware
that this technique will lock them in place, where they will not
only not be able to attack but won't even be able to move while
this technique is in effect. While a great defensive move,
staying in this too long may leave the user vulnerable when they
come out of this locked state if opponents know how this works
and know that this locked state can only be used temporarily. It
is also worth noting that certain skills can immediately break
through this, with the two most common methods being aura
breaker powers or weapons, and dimensional distortion/energy
that can be used for dimension cutter type attacks. When in this
state, users cannot move, and this can be a disadvantage at
times as well if a user cannot avoid certain dangers. For
example, if the user tries to use this in a building and the
building collapses on them, they could be trapped under the
collapsed building only to be crushed when they come out of
their aura lock. As such, users have to be careful how they use
this, as using it in certain situations could risk putting the
user in an even more dangerous situation than they were trying
to avoid.
- Aura Chakra Point Enhancement: Aura users are able to
concentrate their aura to other points of their body, where this
technique has them focusing on certain chakra points in the
body. By focusing into certain chakra points, the user can use
aura to amplify certain specs of their being, allowing for
different effects. This is somewhat similar to chakra
manipulation, except that aura manipulators don't permanently
gain these powers (instead this is a temporary enhancement).
Users that use this are able to focus on certain chakra points,
which grants them the ability of that chakra point. For example,
the Manipura chakra point is focused around energy manipulation
and amplification, which enhances one's use of energy
manipulation (useful for aura users to enhance their aura in
battle by amplifying this chakra point). Each chakra point has
different effects, and any chakra point can be amplified (unlike
chakra where users have to have affinities for certain chakras).
Once amplified, the user gains that temporary skill, and can
utilize some form of enhanced ability. For example, the
Swadhisthana chakra point is focused around emotional
manipulation and control, where aura users may enhance this to
allow themselves to use their emotions to amplify their body's
abilities (such as how certain emotions may provide different
temporary enhancements to the body). A major use of this is
among aura users who focus the Vishuaddha chakra point, which
increases intelligence and cognition. When amplifying that
chakra point, aura users use it to not only increase their
intelligence, but also their reflexes in battle and enhance
their perception further. Users also use the Sahasrara chakra to
draw their potential to the surface (usually as a means to
unlock certain abilities like their semblance), though this is
usually done outside of battle. Users can utilize any of the
chakra points without needing to have an affinity for them, but
this power is only temporary and requires focus to keep active.
And unlike chakra manipulation, only one chakra point can be
activated at a time (meaning users cannot activate all their
chakra points at once). So users have to be careful what they
choose since each chakra point has a specific aspect to it. And
similar to chakra manipulation, if a user overuses a certain
chakra point, they will damage that chakra point to the point
that if enough damage is done, that chakra point can longer be
used.
- Aura Extra-Sensory Perception: Users of aura are able to
enhance their senses using aura, where their senses gain an
amplified precision. This can amplify a user's natural senses,
but also grants them special senses to be able to sense the area
around them. Most users gain enhanced senses when using this, in
which all of their normal senses are enhanced. This means that
sight, hearing, smell and even touch are enhanced by aura.
However, the enhancement to perception has a few other abilities
that can be used. When used by advanced aura users, this
perception can be used to tell when enemies might be near, as
users can sense the presences of others, and this sense also
grants one the ability to sense when an opponent is about to
attack by sensing the murderous intent emitted from beings when
they attack. Some blind users have even been able to use this to
replace their sight when they are able to sense those around
them, with some blind users being able to use this to perceive
more efficiently than others. Some may even develop unique
senses when using this, such as some who could develop special
unique senses, such as one fire user who used this training to
gain a thermal sense. Users can also use this in battle as a way
to perceive the world around them and keep themselves oriented
if they are knocked off their feet, where advanced users are
able to more easily recover when knocked off their feet. Similar
to some animals who have a sense for reorienting themselves,
aura users can utilize this similarly to orient themselves.
Advanced enough users can also learn to sense the aura (the
energies emitted from other beings, not just other aura
manipulators aura energy) of other beings, being able to sense
the energies that run through living beings and allowing them a
sort of sixth sense in terms of being able to enhance their
abilities to sense presences. Of course, as one might expect,
these enhanced senses are useful, but do come with some
downsides. For example, depending on the enhanced senses, some
aura users may have senses that are able to be taken advantage
of (like enhanced hearing is vulnerable to certain sound
frequencies). There are also those that can hide from certain
senses, like those that cannot be sensed by others.
- Aura Transfer/Aura Revive: This technique is usually for
allies, where aura users learn to transfer their aura to others
similar to how ki users use this power. While the absorption of
other's aura forcefully is something of a taboo among aura
users, most users learn this as a way to help their allies, in
which they can transfer aura to allies in order to power them up
or restore their energy. Users can do this with their own aura,
even reviving someone from death if they are healed and they are
transferred energy before their soul leaves for the afterlife
(Though this is very hard to do and doesn't always save a person
from death). Typically, this power is very useful when fighting
in groups, as it allows people to support each other. Often,
aura users transfer special aura energy to each other at times,
such as an aura user with special aura energy (where they could
have a unique energy due to their semblance) transferring some
of that power to allies in order to power them up with it. This
power can also be used to temporarily grant someone who is not
an aura temporary aura defense and amplification, where the
person amplified will be able to use this aura defense to
protect themselves from enemies. This is best used on allies who
have depleted energy, as this can restore some of their lost
energy and allow them to utilize the aura for their own skills.
This can even be used to help someone recover a little faster
from injuries, as long as the injuries aren't too severe.
However, the major danger of this technique is that users can
get overwhelmed at a certain level, and overwhelming them could
cause them to literally explode if they accept too much aura, or
cause damage to their bodies beyond a certain level that can
cause permanent damage. Amping one's power beyond one's limits
has it's consequences, which is why people must be careful when
using this on allies and make sure not to give them too much
aura. There aren't many people who absorb aura because aura
isn't the most powerful source of energy in the body (as it's
more of a power source than useful for attacking like, say,
mana), so aura absorption techniques aren't really used among
aura users, forceful or not.
- Aura Environmental Interaction: Similar to the chakra
technique of a similar name, this uses aura to interact with
objects, but instead of focusing into the person, they learn to
focus it through parts of their body for different effects on
the world around them. For example, focusing the aura to one's
feet could empower their jump by boosting away from wherever
their feet are planted, or they could use their chakra to
connect to objects, like focusing chakra to the feet and
sticking to a tree. They can also focus the chakra to their feet
to do something like walking on water, or they could use this on
their hands to get a good grip on something. This ability is
usually determined by how creative the user is, and how well
they understand how aura is used. This skill can be used for a
variety of ways to interact with the environment, and creative
users can find unique ways to interact with the world. For
example, one user was able to use this to bounce off pockets of
air in order to do things like changing direction or running on
the air. When using this though, this balance of the aura
applied to the body that interacts with the environment has to
be precise, where not using the right balance will cause adverse
effects. For example, aura too focused could destroy an object
one wants to interact with (such as using this on one's foot to
walk on a tree could crush the part of the tree the user steps
on), though some have weaponized this effect to essentially
focus the aura to their body to do more damage to opponents
(like an aura user who might use their grip to focus aura to it
and crush someone they grab a hold of like an aura user crushing
someone's arm by grabbing it. However, not enough aura used in
this will make it where this skill essentially doesn't work at
all (such as trying to walk on water but not using enough aura
will see the aura user sink into the water because they aren't
using enough aura). This is another skill that is useful to
everyone differently since more creative users can find unique
ways to use this to their advantage to do different things, and
some people can also have different interactions through this
with their chakra natures, forms and types. However, because it
requires such a delicate balance, messing up the users can
essentially be used to counter this, such as interrupt a user's
concentration so they might mess this up.
- Aura Healing and Purification: This ability specifically uses
a power similar to Anahata chakra (green chakra) that is
centered around healing and purification, used by advanced
enough aura manipulators. Instead of chakra, a user utilizes
aura through specific chakra points in the body to focus this.
As one might expect, aura users use this to heal and purify
themselves or others. Those with this aura ability are able to
not only heal, but can even gain certain levels of faster
recovery when mastering this skill. This can use abilities to
heal others or themselves, with healing being the main focus.
Those that use this will find it works similar to certain other
healing powers, where the energy is applied to wounds and then
the energy is used to re-bond the wound and repair it (requiring
anatomy knowledge). Aura users also learn the ability to purify
the body, where they can purify unwanted presences from the body
(specifically things like energy poisoning). The most obvious
example is sickness, in which some with this aura training can
actually get rid of certain sicknesses using aura (though this
is a bit difficult to do). As one might expect, this is mostly
around support rather than fighting, since this aura technique
is about healing, not using techniques in battle. Those who use
this with certain aura techniques may even develop special
healing skills with this technique, such as one who could fire
aura spears that could heal and purify others. Those with more
skilled uses of this aura skill are usually also able to recover
much more quickly from injuries and sickness as a result of this
aura ability essentially speeding up healing. However, this has
no real use in battle other than healing and purifying allies.
Healing is not as easy as one might think, as healing requires
not only healing, but making sure one heals properly and that
the wounds are properly cleaned of debris and contaminates.
Those that utilize this are also only really able to utilize
basic aspects of this, as this isn't strong enough to heal
certain fatal injuries, and cannot purify unless the user knows
what they're purifying.
Darkfire Demon/Holy Armor Familiars:
- Demon/Holy Armor Familiar Bond: Using an art developed by the
Darkfire family to punish the souls of their enemies in
servitude, this technique lets a Darkfire take a soul and bond
it to a demon armor or holy armor which they then bond as a
familiar. There are two major aspects to this power, the first
is soul bonding and the second is Demon/Holy armor abilities.
This particular skill is used to create familiars out of souls
using soul manipulation. While most Darkfires feel it's barbaric
to take souls and use them like soul eaters do, many Darkfires
who use this art see this not only as a way to fight their
enemies, but also to punish those they see as evil. Instead of
taking souls for personal gain though, the Darkfire bonds a soul
to a demon armor or holy armor in order to create a unique kind
of familiar that the Darkfire family created using certain
vampire familiar arts. These armors are bonded to souls which
are controlled by the Darkfire's familiar abilities by fusing
their spirit to the demon or holy armor used. The Darkfire
controls the familiar, and can even share their senses with the
familiar. The armors gain unique abilities based on the soul
that is put into it, where the armors abilities depend on the
soul that is placed in it. That is why there are demon armor and
holy armor variations of this skill, as some souls are better
suited for demon armors while some are better suited for holy
armors. When fused, the new armor familiar will have all the
abilities the soul had in life, and will gain the abilities of
the demon and holy armors that might grant new abilities based
on the armor. In addition, each demonic and holy armor each come
with unique weapons, which are different for each holy or demon
armor (usually). Among the more well known familiars are the
initial familiars that the Darkfires created: The Pursuers and
the Paladins. Some Darkfires don't use the full art, but instead
create Pursuers and Paladins since they are the only Darkfire
familiars that don't require soul bindings (as they are created
by fusing some of the Darkfire's spirit energy to the familiar
rather than fusing a soul). Each familiar is unique depending on
the demon or holy armor used, and the soul bonded. This means
that each one may have unique weaknesses, but usually demon
armors are best countered with holy power and holy armors best
countered with unholy power. The familiars can also be forcibly
de-summoned if the soul seal that is on every armor familiar is
destroyed (as without it, the armor and soul are out of sync and
must de-summon). It is also possible to destroy the souls in
these armors with spirit destruction techniques.
- Darkfire Armor Familiar Summoning/Bond: No matter the
familiar, the Darkfires are able to use their vampire power to
summon the familiars, usually by different methods. Depending on
the type of familiar, Darkfires have different summoning
abilities for their familiars, usually through use of either
using their blood as a catalyst, or using special summoning
powers. This allows a Darkfire to summon any armor familiar that
they've created, in which some Darkfires even have unique
summoning abilities. For example, when Hei Darkfire can use his
ultimate genjutsu skill in order to summon his familiars by
manifesting them using solid illusions. This type of power is
required to summon any familiar, and the Darkfires have to use
this to summon familiars. Not only do the Darkfires have the
ability to summon, but they are also bonded to all their
familiars on a spiritual level in order for the Darkfire to
create and control these familiars. Through this connection, not
only can the Darkfire control and command the familiars, but the
Darkfire is able to share their senses with a familiar in which
the Darkfire can perceive everything the familiar does. The
demon and holy armors can even be summoned multiple times, in
which Darkfires can actually summon one familiar multiple times
(though multiple summons of the same familiar weakens the
familiar in combat). For the most part, this is a basic power of
familiars, and is a necessary one for all Darkfires with the
familiar training to utilize, and each Darkfire must learn this
to use familiars. Without this summoning, familiars wouldn't be
able to be summoned. Of course, as this is a necessary part of
summoning familiars, opponents may be able to interrupt certain
summonings if they know how these work. For example, if a
Darkfire is using an incantation, interrupting it may prevent
the familiar summoning. Or if a Darkfire uses a glyph circle,
destroying the glyph circle before the familiar is summoned
could also interrupt the summon. Of course, all familiars still
have their weaknesses, and even if summoned, opponents can still
overcome familiars if they know what the familiar can do and can
avoid the familiars attacks. Darkfires can summon multiple
copies of one demon or holy armor familiar, but the more that
are summoned, the weaker the armors become.
- Darkfire Demon/Holy Armor Familiar Aspect: Demon/Holy Armor
Control: The first step to the Darkfire familiar art of using
demon or holy armor familiars is that the Darkfire must first
choose either a demon armor or a holy armor to bond a soul to.
When they have chosen one, they then fuse some of their spirit
energy to it, creating a special bond with the armor that allows
the Darkfire to control the armor. This is the source of the
demon or holy power of the demon/holy armors, where depending on
the type, the armor will have all the basic abilities of the
demon/holy armor. For example, demon armors basic power utilizes
demonic energy that powers all of their abilities, and holy
armors utilize holy power as their basic power that powers their
abilities. The armors don't utilize bodily energy, but instead
have energy that flows through their armors that utilizes
connections to demonic or angelic forces depending on the armor.
Both armors have their own sets of abilities depending on the
armor, which both sets of armors usually mirror each other in
abilities with exception that their powers are opposites (one is
demonic and the other is holy in nature). In addition, each
armor familiar also has a unique weapon that is granted to it
after the bonding of a soul (to which the armor then gets a
unique weapon usually related to the power of the soul). These
armors are the basis of the art, and not only possess the
abilities of the demon/holy armors, but also possess their
passive abilities, like them being able to reassemble themselves
using demonic or angelic telekinesis, or even them being
conductors of lightning that can store electrical energy in
their armor to use against enemies. Of course, this is only the
first step, and these armors still have to be bonded to a soul
in order to be used in combat, unless the Darkfires create
specific types of familiars that aren't designed to have a soul
in them (specifically, this is how the Pursuers and Paladins
armors are designed). These armors still have the same
weaknesses as demon and holy armors, such as demon and holy
armors powers being able to be countered with their opposite
powers (demon armors can be countered by holy power and vice
versa). These armors can also be destroyed just like any
demon/holy armor by destroying the soul mark that bonds the soul
(which de-summons the armor familiar).
- Darkfire Demon/Holy Armor Familiar Aspect: Soul Manipulation
Armor Bonding: This is the first aspect of the Darkfire armor
familiar art. Before using an armor for a familiar, the
Darkfires have to fuse a soul to the armor which they bond to
themselves with their spirit energy. This is done through a
special soul seal that is placed somewhere inside the demon
armor (where it is difficult to find without knowing where it
is). Normally, the Darkfires are not one for taking souls, but
the Darkfires will utilize souls for these familiar arts when
they need to. Depending on the soul, the soul can grant the
armor different abilities, such as an elemental power user might
grant an armor that elemental power the soul has. Typically, the
soul is bonded to a demon or holy armor, depending on the soul,
in order to allow the soul to bond with it and become a
familiar. The soul is also what grants the abilities of the
demon or holy armor (besides the basic powers of the armors),
and grants life to the familiar (as the armors don't operate
without Darkfires fusing souls to them. By using this power to
control a soul, the familiar then undergoes a process of bonding
that will forever bond the familiar to the Darkfire as a
familiar. This power allows the Darkfire to utilize souls to
create these familiars. Once fully bonded to the soul, the holy
or demon armor familiar is able to be used like any familiar, to
which the familiar only has to be granted their unique weapons
based on the armor used. This is a pretty basic aspect that must
be done in order to create a familiar, but once done, the
familiar becomes the Darkfire's permanent familiar. The only way
to break this bond is to break the bond while the Darkfire is
bonding to the familiar, or else the bond between the Darkfire
and their familiar cannot be broken (at least, not by known
means, as there may be familiar spirit separating powers or
items that are unknown). Of course, the soul mark used to bond
the soul to the armor is both the source of the power of the
armor, but also a weakness, in that the soul marks destruction
will forcibly de-summon the familiar. Other than that, this
works like most normal familiar arts.
- Darkfire Demon/Holy Armor Familiar Aspect: Demon/Holy Armor
Familiar Unique Weapons: This is the next and last aspect of the
Darkfire armor familiar art of building armor familiars. Once
the armor has been fully bonded, and can be used, the armors
then develop their unique weapons. Similar to other races with
unique weapons like death wraiths and soul reapers, the armor
familiars also have special soul bound weapons. Typically, most
armors come with some form of offensive weapon and a shield to
use against opponents. The weapon formed is usually a sword, but
some armors may develop other weapons, such as one that
developed a trident as their weapon. The shields are usually
mostly the same, though some may have unique abilities depending
on the shield, like one that could store up energy and release
shockwaves. The weapons on the other hand, are always unique,
and have powers depending on the soul that is put into the
familiar. For example, if the soul is a dragon soul, the weapon
might have dragon power based on the type of dragon, or if the
soul is a werewolf with nature powers, the sword might have
nature abilities. Each sword typically has some sort of unique
ability, which depends mostly on the soul. Depending on the
armor, the weapon will either be a demonic weapon for demon
armors or a holy weapon for holy armors. This is another reason
why the armors have to be chosen based on the soul, due to the
fact that a soul that is holy in nature needs a holy weapon, and
wouldn't be able to wield a demonic weapon (and vice versa).
These weapons are bound to the armor, similar to other
soul-bound weapons. Unlike death wraith and soul reaper weapons,
these weapons are either holy or demonic in nature, and can kill
certain kinds of creatures. Demonic armors are able to kill holy
creatures like angels and holy magic users, while holy armors
are able to kill demons and many demonic type dragons. Of
course, as one might expect, every power has weaknesses, and
opponents can overcome weapons and shields of these armors just
like any other weapon or shield (such as some opponents who
could overpower and break normal weapons and shields).
- Basic Darkfire Demon Armor Familiar: The Pursuers: These are
armors which are basic demon armors with no soul, used by the
Darkfires to practice the demon armor familiar technique by
using their spirit energy in place of a soul in order to give
the familiar life. Almost every Darkfire has a collection a
number of these, which are designed to utilize the power of the
Darkfires. These familiars are designed to be able to use
darkness, and gain the power of dark flames from the Darkfire's
spirit energy as their main power. These armors also come with a
sword that manipulates dark flames as its main power, in which
the armors can create explosive offensive attacks using dark
flames. In addition, the Pursuers also have a large circular
shield which is filled with darkness energy. With this shield,
the Pursuers are able to use the darkness like a barrier around
their shields, in which this grants their shields stronger
defense (as it can block certain energy attacks normal shields
would be pierced by). For the most part, these are like any
other demon armor, and can not only use demonic energy, but the
familiars can also utilize the normal demon armor passive
abilities, like being able to conduct lightning or being able to
reassemble themselves with demonic telekinesis. For the most
part, all these Pursuers are mass produced demon armors that the
Darkfires designed solely for this specific art of familiar
creation. As such, the Darkfires usually have multiple Pursuers
they can summon, and unlike other armor summons, the Darkfires
can summon all their Pursuers they have without weakening their
familiars (mostly because these familiars don't have as much
power to use as normal demon armor familiars). Because they
don't have souls bound to them, these armors are nowhere near as
powerful as they could be, and are just basic combatants that
the Darkfires can summon. These armors are still countered like
normal demon armors, such as demon traps can trap them, or holy
powers can more easily counter them. As long as one is familiar
with demon armors and the powers of the Darkfires, they can
usually overcome these as these aren't meant to be
overwhelmingly powerful. Just like the normal demon/holy armor
familiars though, these can be instantly destroyed if their soul
mark is destroyed.
- Basic Darkfire Holy Armor Familiar: The Paladins: Much as the
Pursuers are meant to be used to practice the demon armor
familiar technique, the Paladins are meant to be the holy armor
equivalents. As one might imagine, these are holy armors which
the Darkfires will practice the holy armor bonding techniques,
and the Paladins become the holy equivalent of the Darkfire's
Pursuers. These holy armors are also mass produced holy armors,
and possess holy power where the Pursuers possess demon power.
When fused with the Darkfire spirit, the Paladins gain enhanced
holy energy, but also gain holy flames as their main power in
the same way the Pursuers utilize dark flames. The Paladins
don't have a shield and sword like the Pursuers, but instead,
the Paladins have gauntlets on their arms which can extend and
release blades from both wrists gauntlets. Not only do the
gauntlets have blades that are used to attack, but the shape of
the gauntlets allows them to be used to defend against attacks
as they work like smaller shields. While they don't have sword
and shields like other armors, they utilize these gauntlets
which can be used for offense or defense. These gauntlets also
have another ability, in that they can generate holy flames that
can be used to attack enemies with explosive holy flames, or be
used to melt objects on physical contact with the blade. For the
most part, this is a basic holy armor, in which it uses holy
energy as its main source of power. Each Paladin has this holy
power and the white flames, just as the Pursuers have their dark
flames and their demonic power. For the most part, all these
Paladins are mass produced holy armors that the Darkfires
designed solely for this specific art of familiar creation. As
such, the Darkfires usually have multiple Paladins they can
summon, and unlike other armor summons, the Darkfires can summon
all their Paladins they have without weakening their familiars
(mostly because these familiars don't have as much power to use
as normal holy armor familiars). Because they don't have souls
bound to them, these armors are nowhere near as powerful as they
could be, and are just basic combatants that the Darkfires can
summon. These armors are still countered like normal holy
armors, such as using angel traps can trap them, or demonic
powers can more easily counter them. As long as one is familiar
with holy armors and the powers of the Darkfires, they can
usually overcome these as these aren't meant to be
overwhelmingly powerful. Just like the normal demon/holy armor
familiars though, these can be instantly destroyed if their soul
mark is destroyed.
Darkfire Assassin Training:
- Stealth and Assassination Master: During their time alive,
many Darkfires often end up becoming assassins, in which most
Darkfires learn the arts of stealth and assassination, with many
of the younger members of the clan utilizing this training. This
leaves them with intense training in stealth missions, as they
often have to keep their identities secret, often even from
family. Most Darkfires who do assassin work are extremely
talented at stealth, which is one of the two main things the
assassins in the clan are known for. In addition to that, most
Darkfires are also great at special assassinations and/or
stealing, and using their knowledge and resources to assassinate
people or steal objects in often simple ways. Most Darkfires
quickly learn the arts of stealth and assassination, and develop
them very quickly in order to survive as an assassin. It is
usually a good idea to have an alias as an assassin, as most
have nicknames, like Qrow Darkfire was the original "Black
Reaper." Depending on the Darkfire, some have their own ways of
doing things, but as the Darkfire develops, they develop ways to
keep their assassination missions secret and stealthy rather
than racing in and killing everyone unless the situation
specifically calls for it. Every assassin usually has to go
through specific training to learn to do this, as this is a very
dangerous profession to get into, and Darkfires who become
assassins usually don't live too long once they get into this
profession. Some more advanced Darkfires who are assassins can
attest that the job is dangerous, and even with training,
nothing usually goes as intended.
- Master Torture and Interrogation Expert: Most would think
assassins would be experts in assassination and interrogation,
and assassins in the Darkfires are no exception to this rule.
Many Darkfires are trained in this to a large degree, as some
have had to kill people hunting them, or interrogate someone to
find a target. Most Darkfire assassins learn how to kill as
silently, and learn how to interrogate people as needed. Most
Darkfires have their own ways of handling situations that
require assassination or interrogation, though most develop some
methods of doing so, as some may use weapons to kill their
targets or may use their supernatural abilities to attack
opponents. In addition to learning assassination techniques,
most Darkfire assassins will also often learn interrogation
techniques for those situations where they need to learn
something from an enemy. Some assassins will interrogate others
through pain, though some more skilled Darkfires interrogate by
infiltrating a group to get close to their target by gaining
their trust. For Darkfires, this depends on the Darkfires and
their methods, as every Darkfire will often have different
methods for doing the job. The one thing that is common is that
most Darkfires have methods to assassinate and interrogate,
which is something many Darkfires have no trouble doing once
they become assassins (as that's the point of the job).
- Silencing Sound Attunement: Most Darkfires who have done
assassin or thief work know how hard it is without special
abilities to keep from making too much sound when trying to be
stealthy. Most Darkfires compensate for this by using special
clothing which doesn't make as much sound, allowing the Darkfire
to move without making too much sound to alert opponents.
However, the Darkfires developed a special skill as well for
advanced thieves and assassins who don't have things like sound
manipulation, that uses a Darkfire's senses to tune their sixth
sense to the world around them and once they are trained highly
enough to connect to the world around them, they are able to
suppress simple sound waves by focusing their sixth sense to
interrupt the sound waves they want to interrupt. This lets them
nullify sound fairly easily and prevents sounds like a
Darkfire's walking and moving from being heard by others,
allowing a Darkfire to keep themselves hidden even among the
most sensitive listeners by interrupt the sound waves themselves
rather than trying to prevent the sound waves from coming about
in the first place (which is nearly impossible to do for most).
Though they can't do things like cover their smell or be
invisible without special techniques, they can use this to at
least negate the sound they make when on assassination missions.
- Stealth Shadow Meld: Another stealth maneuver among advanced
Darkfire assassins, where they developed the ability to meld
into the shadows and shadow travel, as well as hiding in shadows
to remain invisible to the naked eye. When used, this skill lets
a Darkfire fade into the shadows similar to a death wraith's
shadow meld, so that the Darkfire can hide in the shadows. When
in the shadows only supernatural sixth senses or those with
things like murderous intent sense can sense a Darkfire hidden
in the shadows, as this uses the shadows to hide their sight,
sound and scent to allow the Darkfire to stay hidden as long as
they are in the shadows. When in the shadows, a Darkfire can
also learn to use this advanced skill to teleport from place to
place, though this really isn't as useful as elemental
teleportation for most. However, this is useful especially at
night as it can easily hide a Darkfire, making stealth far
easier than one would think. However, when using this, Darkfires
have to be careful that they are exposed to sudden bursts of
light, as a strong enough burst of light can reveal them or even
damage them if they are still in the shadows when something like
a sudden burst of sunlight shines in a darkened room. Certain
creatures with darkvision may be able to see Darkfires hidden in
the shadows, or some other users that can sense the shadows
might be able to sense the Darkfire hiding as well.
- Chameleon Invisibility: Though not actual animal types,
Darkfires advanced in their training as assassins can actually
eventually learn to manipulate their body types as they become
more experienced in things like silencing their sound, but
instead of focusing on sound, they focus on the light, changing
the visible light around them by focusing their sixth sense to
manipulate light instead of sound. This allows a Darkfire to
hide in plain sight, with advanced users able to hide even among
supernaturals without them realizing the Darkfire is there.
While this doesn't grant things like illusions, this art is
designed to help a Darkfire hide when standing still, hiding
them using the light to change what the area around them looks
like, almost seeming like a chameleon's ability to blend into a
background (which this training was based on). This skill is one
of the most advanced skills as it requires bending light using
nothing but the sixth sense connecting to the world around the
Darkfire, which is far harder than it might sound. This is a
very hard skill to learn, but once learned, is very useful for
hiding, even being useful for things other than assassination
and thieving. Typically, this only hides a Darkfire from view
when the Darkfire is still, and once they move, this power
cannot be used to hide the Darkfire, as no Darkfire can
manipulate the light while in motion (unless they have light
manipulation abilities, which most Darkfires don't).
- Wavelength Manipulation: This is an advanced assassin
technique which allows a master assassin to manipulate their
wavelengths in order to match others, and to an extent, can
influence other people's wavelengths through physical touch.
This ability is very useful, in that master assassins can match
their wavelength to someone and it will make assassins almost
unnoticeable to most people as a means to hide in plain sight.
Skilled assassins are even able to use this to walk right by
even supernaturals without them ever noticing him when used by
advanced users. In addition, while people can sense users of
this training, they don't pop out as a threat, meaning the
assassin doesn't set off any "fight or flight" instincts in
people, or people who are good at noticing people will have a
hard time even noticing the assassin. The feeling people get
that "someone is watching them" isn't something people feel with
most master assassins and can be killed before they realize the
assassin is watching them (unless they have a way to see past
this), since they can become so good at basically matching the
wavelengths of people or crowds so that they don't stand out in
any way. The only time they often stand out is when they want
to, which is usually when the assassin is not working as an
assassin (like if they're posing as a normal person). And this
part of the wavelength manipulation doesn't actually disguise an
assassin's presence, so if they're not using any presence
suppression, they can still be sensed by supernaturals if they
can sense the presence of others, even though it takes strong
senses to sense people who use this.
- Wavelength Interruption/Influence: This is a more advanced
version of the wavelength manipulation assassins use. A user is
able to use their ability to affect the wavelengths of others
rather than just using it to hide. When used, they can interrupt
someone's wavelength with something as simple as a clap and
using it to interrupt the wavelength of the opponent, which
throws off opponents as they are forced into a stun state while
trying to reorient themselves. This leaves a momentary opening
for a user to attack if they want to attack or they can use the
momentary distraction for an escape depending on the situation.
Alongside their ability to interrupt a wavelength though is also
their ability to discern other people's wavelengths just by
looking at them, seeing their state of being by wavelength. When
used by advanced users, another other ability lets them use
physical touch to temporarily tune to someone's wavelength and
influence their wavelength rather than just interrupting it.
This doesn't do anything complex, like mind control, but simply
can be used to calm or agitate someone depending on how the
wavelength is manipulated. Usually, this is used to tune someone
to an extreme calm until they fall asleep similar to how an
angel uses their sleep ability to knock people out. Of course,
people with certain training can resist this, and those immune
to being manipulated won't be manipulated by this if they know
how it works. This also only works through physical touch,
requiring physical contact in order to manipulate or interrupt
someone's wavelength.
- Wavelength Presence Suppression: A master assassin is able to
use their wavelength suppression to completely suppress their
natural presence similar to certain supernatural hunters
abilities by completely suppressing their wavelength to the
point that they are not able to be sensed by many supernaturals.
This is a type of wavelength manipulation they can turn on and
off at will, which is useful for both being on the job or off
the job as an assassin that can be very useful for sneaking
around. An assassin is able to use this on jobs to completely
suppress themselves when among hostiles, and when combined with
other skills, it's usually easy to see how master assassins are
so difficult to catch. For the most part, a master assassin gets
good at using this to suppress themselves on the job, but most
know when to use it and when not to use it, depending on the
situation. Most don't expect this is one of the main things that
makes some master assassins so hard to trace, due to them being
able to switch between his assassin mode and his normal life
mode. Typically, this is the same as other presence suppression
powers, and doesn't do things like make the assassin invisible
or unable to be perceived through other senses. For the most
part, this just suppresses a presence to other presence senses.
- Wavelength Protection: This ability controls another
assassin's wavelength and it's influence on the mind and body,
allowing them to use it to protect themselves from psychic
abilities and mind manipulation abilities (including other
wavelength manipulation abilities). While some typically play
along with this sort of thing to trick their opponents, master
assassins that use this are pretty much immune to these kinds of
powers in the same way a group like the Darkfires disciplined
mind training would be, and allows a user to not only control
what affects him, but also lets him keep himself calm and
collected, even in dangerous situations so that he doesn't have
to worry about losing control. For the most part, this works
alongside the other parts of his wavelength training in order to
make a master assassin even harder to find when they don't want
to be found. And as one might expect, this is also something
that most assassins only use on the job, and may or may not use
this off the job depending on what they are protecting
themselves from or trying to hide from. This is more of a
passive defense, and requires specific training to protect
oneself using this. This may seem basic, but this is actually a
very difficult power to learn, only used by master assassins.
While this may seem unnecessary by many, master assassins are
usually prepared for anything they might face, however unlikely.
The only real danger to this is psychic powers that overpower
the wavelengths of the assassins, which can be done by strong
enough psychics.
Darkfire Samurai Training:
- Master Samurai: Many of the current Japanese Darkfires learned
to fight during the Hazeldine/Darkfire war during the Meiji
revolution, in which it was the last major war using swords
since most switched to guns afterward. However, those who did
grow up during the Meiji revolution or during similar battles,
many learned the art of the samurai, from not only learning some
type of sword style, which can be anything from Kenjutsu to the
Shingetsu style to many other styles available in the world.
Each Darkfire often has learned their own unique sword style, or
other weapon style depending on their weapon preference. The
most common thing among the samurai trained Darkfires is their
sense of honor, and having a specific code for when killing is
necessary. Unlike the assassins of the Darkfire clan, the
samurai are not as quick to kill their enemies. Those who are
trained in sword or weapon styles by Japanese Meiji era
Darkfires can also learn these styles, being trained in the same
arts, even if the only thing they learn is the code of honors
among the samurai trained Darkfires. The biggest thing the
samurai trained Darkfires instill though is honor and only
killing when necessary, as they don't like training "assassins"
like much of the clan in Japan tends to be, but try to keep
those they train from killing for no reason, as sword fighting
and constantly killing becomes dangerous to the minds of those
who wield weapons, something any one who's killed with a sword
knows. This training is more about controlling oneself, and
their weapons, rather than just using a sword to kill people.
- Specific Sword Styles: There are many sword styles out there,
in which there are too many to truly list. There is no main
sword style used by the Meiji era Darkfires, as they mostly just
learned whatever style was the most comfortable for them with a
few creating their own styles. Among the Darkfires, there is the
Shingetsu style, which focuses on cutting and piercing, there is
Jin Darkfire's Mujushin Kenjutsu style (which Jin is picky about
teaching to people), there is also normal kenjutsu, a basic
sword style that focuses on functionality over style, and well
known sword styles like Kendo. Sword and weapons styles are
usually broken down into four styles: supernatural abilities,
technique styles, sword draw styles and basic styles.
Supernatural styles are usually unique styles designed around
supernatural abilities, which many Darkfires end up making
themselves and teaching them to those who can use similar
styles. The technique style is based around techniques, based
around special moves that are designed to be used in battle in
specific ways, which is often the most commonly used style among
the Darkfires. The third is sword draw styles, usually based
around speed, which focus on sword draws as their main attack,
from which sword draw styles like Laido and Laijutsu are derived
with the idea being that a sword draw is among the fastest and
strongest of attacks a user can have, making it the best thing
to use in combat. The last is the basic style, in which most are
derived from Kenjutsu and Kendo, the most basic styles that
teach functionality over techniques or style, focusing on simply
movement and fighting rather than advanced skills. Each style
has it's own strengths and weaknesses, like certain styles being
speed or strength focused, but sacrificing certain other stats.
- Spirit Sword Tuning Defense Spirit: When a Darkfire is trained
in the ways of the sword, advanced Darkfires eventually learn to
tune their spirit to their sword, allowing them to focus their
spiritual aura to their sword. When used, this has a few
different abilities. Advanced Darkfires trained in sword
abilities are able to focus their spirit into their sword,
creating a defense in the sword itself that allows the Darkfire
to protect their sword from damage by stronger opponents. This
is able to protect a weapon, as this was designed to help normal
swords defend against supernatural attacks, from many different
forms of attacks. As such, Darkfires learn this as part of their
sword training. In addition to their style, this aspect is
usually added to their sword styles that allow them to keep
their swords from getting broken in battle. For a swordsman,
most swordsman will say attest that without a sword most
swordsman are not able to use their sword style without their
sword, so protecting their sword is imperative to survive. While
swordsman do have to learn to fight without a sword, not letting
their weapons get broken is very important to most swordsman,
especially ones with special swords like supernatural swords
that are fairly unique. Of course, as one might expect, this
power only works as long the defense power isn't broken by a
stronger attack, as opponents can overcome this with strong
attack powers if the attack power is stronger than the defense.
- Spirit Sword Tuning Attack Spirit: Once a Darkfire has learned
to tune their sword to their spirit power, they are able to
enhance their sword with specific effects, thanks to the
Darkfire training. This training lets a Darkfire do more than
just defend, and lets the Darkfire gain special attack focuses
through their sword thanks to this training. By using this, a
Darkfire can focus any special spirit effect they are able to
use through their specific spirit training, which usually
depends on their heritage and affinities. Most are able to learn
a few though based on the basic vampire natures. The most common
one though is the corrupted nature, in which the Darkfire uses
corrupted spirit to attack opponents with a cursed spirit effect
that allows a sword's attack force to be infused with this
spirit, allowing it to do more damage to an opponent when the
force is absorbed that can corrupt the energy in the body of the
opponent. This attack focus is great for those that need to
fight against certain energy users, like aura defense users, as
this can corrupt energy and prevent those like aura users from
using energy defense. This corrupted nature is very useful
against supernaturals, which most Darkfires developed this
special sword training to fight. Depending on the Darkfire, some
Darkfires will gain specific abilities from other spirits, so
this is hard to define for every Darkfire. However, the one
thing that is universal, is that opponents can avoid the effects
of this ability by not getting hit, in which opponents will only
be affected by this if they are hit by the attack.
- Swordsman Physical Combat Attack Concentration: Master
swordsman will usually say one thing: a sword doesn't make the
swordsman. Many swordsman took this literally, and took the
advice of master swordsman when they said that the real weapon
is the body of the swordsman. Swordsman who developed this
ability modeled this ability after a sword's ability to cut, but
instead uses physical combat to achieve the same effect.
Advanced swordsman learn to use this in order to allow
themselves to learn how to fight without a sword, but still cut
opponents down. Even without supernatural abilities, some
swordsman are able to slice opponents with a chop, or they might
be able to spear someone with their hand. This combat is based
on the sword styles, but uses physical combat to achieve the
same effect. Not only does this allow a swordsman to train their
physical combat, this also helps enhance a swordsman's
understanding of the force of attacks and how to concentrate the
force of their attacks better. When properly trained, a
swordsman will learn to slice things more efficiently, and
concentrate their attack force much more easily, but they will
also learn to cut opponents down without swords, with masters of
this skill even using things like wooden swords or sword sheaths
to cut down their opponents. This is a pure combat ability that
focuses the physical force of attacks, which means the attacks
themselves don't really change, but rather it's just how the
swordsman concentrates the attacks. If opponents account for
this, they can usually defend these attacks, assuming they know
what to expect (as some people with this combat style can be
very unpredictable as they can fight with things that aren't
weapons).
- Swordsman Wavelength Attack Focus: This is a trick among
swordsman, where cutting through objects isn't about power, but
concentration which is learned only by experienced swordsman who
have been near death at some point in their life and learned to
tune into this. By tuning into the wavelength of objects, a
swordsman is able to cut only what they want to cut, such as
cutting through a tree without cutting the leafs falling from it
by tuning their wavelength of their attacks to target only a
specific wavelength. This technique lets the swordsman cut
through almost anything by tuning their attacks to the
wavelength of whatever it is they're trying to cut. They don't
have to know what the material is, only be able to process the
wavelength of the item or opponent. This lets them cut through
almost anything, assuming the opponent isn't also using this
power to block them. This can also cut through defensive energy
skills, such as walls or barriers by some advanced users. This
swordsman technique requires the user to be tuned to the world
around them, and once mastered, the swordsman can essentially
cut through almost anything with enough concentration. However,
this obviously doesn't do any damage by itself, simply being
used to tune attacks to their opponents. This technique can be
countered however, by simply changing the wavelength of the
object or person being attacked, such as using an energy
amplification technique to change the wavelength of the object
or opponent. While the sword would do some damage as it's still
a sword slash (if it hits), then the sword would do highly
reduced damage.
- Swordsman Wavelength Projectile Ricochet: Thanks to the
wavelength sense some swordsman have, Those with it are able to
use their connection to the swordsman wavelength to reflect
attacks back at opponents or at other opponents from their
sword/weapon. This ability comes from using the swordsman
wavelength in order to tune their wavelength to the wavelength
of the kinetic energy of a projectile, in order to reverse the
kinetic energy when attacking a projectile. Advanced users of
this can even learn to reflect projectiles in specific
directions, rather than just reflecting the attacks randomly.
Usually, this only requires the user to react fast enough to
tune their sword's wavelength, assuming they can use this in
time to reflect a projectile, and they will be able deflect
projectile attacks. This works on energy attacks, other
projectiles, and even works on things like cannonballs and
bullets (if a user can react and move fast enough). While most
users have to concentrate to do this, advanced users of this
learn to do this subconsciously with enough practice, which
gives them more time to react to projectiles. This is a
difficult technique to master, due to how many different kinds
of projectiles there are that could be used, and the speed many
projectiles travel. For opponents, most aren't able to change
the wavelength of a projectile, but if opponents can speed up
their projectiles so the swordsman doesn't have time to react
and tune to the wavelength of the projectile, then the user may
not have time to use this.
- Form Negation Wavelength Manipulation: This technique was
developed as part of the wavelength training, in which they can
attack people who are either intangible or in elemental form.
This uses the user's ability to tune to wavelengths to attack
someone while they're in another form, allowing them to
essentially attack them and ignore their form they're in to do
damage to them directly by tuning to the wavelength of the
person's original body rather than attacking the form they're
in. For example, an opponent in water form would take damage as
though they were in their normal form when this technique is
used properly as this would attack the opponent's body rather
than the water form. This technique is quite useful for the user
especially fighting supernaturals who use intangibility or use
energy or elemental forms to avoid damage, in which users of
this developed this specifically to combat these kinds of
opponents. Users of this usually have to concentrate to use
this, but advanced users will learn to use this subconsciously
when an opponent uses intangible forms. Opponents can counter
this by manipulating their wavelengths so they don't match the
user's attack, if they know how the wavelength power works
which, for the most part, is something only swordsman can tune
their mind to (Though there are plenty of similar abilities in
other training that use similar abilities in other forms). Of
course, opponents can still easily dodge the attack, as this
does require landing an attack in order to take damage even when
the wavelength is properly tuned to the opponent.
- Energy Negation Wavelength Manipulation: This is another
technique that developed as part of the wavelength training.
This technique lets them dispel energy techniques similar to an
aura breaker, in which this was designed to operate similar to
the form negation ability. Thanks to this, they are able to use
sword slashes and their ability to use wavelengths to tune to a
wavelength and dispel it with a sword slash by tuning the
wavelength to the energy's wavelength and focusing on using
their physical force of their wavelength to dispel the
wavelength of the energy. This is an advanced technique that is
much harder to do than it sounds, and if used properly, it works
great for swordsman who fight projectile attacks. This only
works on energy type attacks and defenses, and doesn't work on
solid objects or living beings, as this is meant for energy
rather than solid objects (solid objects is what the normal
wavelength training is for). While they can use this to negate
energy, they cannot use this to simply kill someone in energy
form, as an energy form (like an elemental form) works
differently (and on a different wavelength) and must be attacked
using form negation rather than energy negation. The most this
can do to someone in elemental form is negate some of the energy
used to keep their body in it's elemental or energy form.
Opponents who want to counter this can counter this by changing
the wavelength of the energy used, if they know how this ability
works (which those who see similar abilities will know how it
works).
Vampire Celerity Discipline Abilities (The amount of skills a
Darkfire learns usually depends on their skill level in combat
and their training, as well as which disciplines they choose to
specialize in):
- Celerity Discipline: Cat's Grace: Many know the phrase "A cat
always lands on its feet" (which, fun fact: That's actually a
myth, cats don't land on their feet all the time). In the case
of the vampire disciplines, they based this combat training was
meant to utilize this particular concept, and trained vampires
senses and combat adaptability to create something akin to the
concept it was based on. This has to do with training what is
called "the righting reflex," a reflex that helps one reorient
themselves when they are no longer in the right position. While
this reflex is a bit different in humans compared to other
animals like cats and primates, vampires have learned to use
celerity training to train this particular reflex. Not only does
this allow vampires to more easily orient themselves when in the
air, but this also lets a vampire stay grounded in a fight more
easily. With this righting reflex, they are much harder to knock
off balance, and if knocked off balance, a vampire can reorient
themselves much more easily than many other humans and some
creatures without this reflex. This uses special agility
training in order to train the body to recognize when it is
off-balance, and trains the vampire's instincts to reorient
themselves automatically like some mammals do. Usually, this
training is more about training the vampire's instincts, and
training the body's reactions to certain situations. As one
might expect, this is more of a means to train combat talents
more than a supernatural talent. With this agility, vampires can
more easily learn certain other combat talents, and this can
serve as a way to allow vampires to more easily recover from
things like falls or being knocked off balance. However, it is
worth noting that whether or not a vampire can use this
effectively usually depends on the same factors as other animals
that utilize the righting reflex. For example, the height of a
fall can determine if this can be used effectively, as falling
from a high enough height usually means one can more easily
reorient themselves. Another downside to this is that vampires
can still hurt themselves from either taking damage from attacks
or falls, depending on what the situation that requires this
training's effects. For example, falling from a large height
will still likely hurt the vampire's legs on impact when landing
on their legs, or a physical attack can still hurt a vampire
like normal.
- Celerity Discipline: Rapid Reflexes: This training enhances a
vampire's reflexes to insane levels, being based on how
swordsman sometimes claim to see things in slow motion when in a
fight, due to their reflexes increasing to the point that they
see everything happening in much slower speed to allow them more
ability to react. However, unlike what most people think, seeing
things in slow motion has nothing to do with time manipulation,
but deals mostly with the power of one's reflexes and how fast
the brain operates. Many vampires with this train to gain
reflexes that allow them to react far more quickly to
situations, with advanced enough users even being able to see
and dodge gunfire when combined with other speed-based training,
or even dodging point blank speed-based attacks that most would
not be able to dodge. This ability allows a vampire to use this
training to see things in slower motion than most people, and
uses their combat senses to enhance their reaction times. This
requires not only training the body, but also training the mind,
due to the mind needing to be able to react much more quickly in
order to use this training effectively. This not only takes
advantage of the physical combat training vampires will do to
hone their skills, but also takes advantage of their
supernatural nature to enhance their minds enough that they can
train in this manner. Masters of this discipline have been known
to dodge bullets, as well as one who was able to dodge a
lightning strike. However, the main problem is that, depending
on the vampire, not all vampires can dodge certain attacks as
they are still limited by physical limits they can reach (the
limits they reach depend on the vampire). And while some
vampires see the world much slower, a major problem is when
their bodies cannot always keep up with their eyes, as the body
may require special training in speed or strength to defend
against certain attacks, as reflexes alone cannot defend against
certain abilities (such as unless one is fast enough to dodge
bullets, they cannot physically dodge bullets even if they can
see the bullet on the path to them). For the most part, these
reflexes also mostly take place in battle, making this more of a
combat skill. When used outside of battle, this is more about
reacting to unexpected dangers so the senses aren't always quite
on the same level they are during battle situations.
- Celerity Discipline: Blink: Any fighter will often find it
annoying when they are too far away to attack the opponent and
cannot get close as the opponent keeps moving away. This
training was designed to overcome this particular problem in
combat, in which a vampire boosts their speed temporarily enough
to bridge large distances between themselves and opponents in
the blink of an eye (Hence where the skill gets its name). Users
of this are able to move extremely fast in short bursts, and are
able to move fast enough that they are often able to get close
before most opponents are even aware of what has happened. By
training the body of a vampire, they are able to put all their
muscle power and movement into short bursts of intense speed,
much like how athletes might be able to push their bodies during
events past their limits with enough determination. Users of
this usually use this to get close to opponents and attack an
opponent at close range, hopefully before the opponent can
react. Typically, this is great for vampires who are physical
fighters, as most physical fighters typically don't have
specific abilities that let them combat opponents from a
distance (unless they have specific shockwave style attacks or
some other physical attack style that focuses on distance
attacks). This is useful for fighters, and can even be useful in
escaping pursuers as well as a user could essentially use this
to get away from someone as easily as they could use it to get
close to someone. Because of how this is used, this can only be
used in short bursts, and vampires cannot overuse this without
completely over-straining their bodies (as using it can
literally tear muscles apart if overused). Users of this
typically use this only in desperate enough situations, usually
only using this when any other method of getting close to an
opponent has failed. Another thing to note is that even though a
vampire can move fast, that doesn't always mean that the vampire
can move faster than the opponent can. And how fast the vampire
moves often also is determined by their physical abilities, so
some may move faster than others when using this if they have
better combat abilities based in speed.
- Celerity Discipline: Draught of Elegance: This power allows a
vampire to give their celerity abilities to another vampire or
blood drinker by giving them some of the vampire's blood in
order to amp up an ally (usually being used to amp one that
doesn't use celerity training). When used, by drinking some of
the vampire's blood, the vampire is able to transfer the
abilities of their celerity to an ally. This is useful for those
that can use this for allies that don't have the same combat
training those with Celerity training. This has also been used
to help train those wanting to learn Celerity skills as this
allows a vampire to firsthand see how the skills work when then
start training and have a teacher that can allow them to
experience the skills firsthand. Typically, this is very useful
when working together as a group, as someone with this can give
their blood to others to give them the same celerity abilities
as the user, in which the skills the user are copied to the
person who drinks the vampire's blood. Depending on the celerity
powers gained, allies can usually make good use of these
abilities (usually depending on the abilities), and since
Celerity is mostly based around speed, this can really help
those that need extra speed in fights. Typically, those that use
this only gain the celerity powers of the vampire, and only gain
them temporarily, as this usually wears off once the blood has
been digested (though enough blood of a vampire can grant these
abilities permanently, but usually requires most of, if not all,
the blood of the vampire). Users of this can only give their own
celerity powers, and cannot give powers they don't have (for
example if a vampire doesn't know the Projectile ability, they
cannot transfer that ability). This also only works on those
that drink blood (as this was designed to allow a vampire to
temporarily grant abilities to another vampire). This is also
not really useful if the vampire mostly works alone, as those
who work alone won't have anyone to grant these abilities to, or
anyone to gain these abilities from. This also only works for a
limited time, depending on how much blood the vampire drinks of
the Celerity user, and all of the given abilities work the same
as the abilities normally would with any other Celerity user.
- Celerity Discipline: Projectile: For vampires, most vampires
try to move fast, but projectile attacks typically move at
normal speeds. While some vampires can use enhanced speed to
gain some increased speed on projectiles, most projectiles move
at normal speed. However, vampires figured out a way to use
their celerity training to apply their speed to projectiles,
where vampires utilize this to fire projectiles with incredible
speed. This is a basic vampire celerity art skill which many
vampire clans teach in celerity training, and is pretty easy to
learn by vampires with a speed-based skillset that train in
Celerity disciplines. This combat technique speeds up something
thrown at opponents, letting vampires transfer their celerity
combat speed to projectiles whether it's throwing knives,
weapons, or even bullets fired from guns. This speeds up almost
any manner of projectile attack as long as the user can apply
their Celerity training to their projectile, essentially making
something simple as a thrown knife into a speed akin to a
bullet, or even making a bullet into an even faster projectile
attack. This can also be applied to supernatural abilities, such
as some with supernatural energies might be able to use this on
projectile attacks to essentially speed their projectiles up to
the point that they become very difficult to dodge. In addition
to increased speed, the increased speed also does more damage,
as not only does whatever projectile hit the target, but the
impact damage of the increased speed also does more damage as
well. This allows a projectile attack to match the speed of a
vampire with enhanced speed, and has been even applied to
weapons through runes and certain item empowerments. Fast
opponents can still dodge these projectiles (as long as they
account for the enhanced speed), and the attacks can still be
blocked usually if one accounts for the increased strength of
the projectile. This is designed for opponents fast enough to
dodge normal projectiles, as this technique is designed solely
for speeding up projectile techniques and making them harder to
dodge. Those with enough speed can still dodge these projectiles
however, usually being dodged by those with their own enhanced
speed skills.
- Celerity Discipline: Unerring Aim: When moving at higher
speeds, it can be difficult to aim a projectile attack, let
alone try to account for the movement of an opponent when using
a projectile attack. This training was designed to be used for
aiming projectiles move efficiently at high speeds, allowing a
vampire to more easily account for speed and movement during
speed-based fights through special reactionary and instinct
training to allow them to more easily attack enemies. Users are
able to throw or fire projectiles with far more accuracy than
they normally would be able to manage at such high speeds, as
this teaches a vampire to more easily account for opponents
movements, as well as the accuracy at which the vampire
themselves fire or throw projectile attacks. As such, this is a
useful attack training for those that use a lot of projectiles
while using their celerity training, such as energy users who
fire energy attacks at opponents, or gun users who try to aim at
opponents while moving too fast to normally be able to aim. When
used, this is great for battles where the vampire has to move
fast, as this training allows on to adapt to the speeds they
move more easily and allows them to learn how to more easily
control their aiming of attacks at higher speeds of movement. As
such, users of this have to learn not only how to move and
accurately aim at high speeds, but they also have to learn how
to predict opponents movements, and try to account for their
movement when using this (Which usually depends on the user and
how good they can get at predicting their opponents in battle).
However, as one might expect, not all opponents are easily
predictable, and some might still be able to dodge even high
speed projectiles. Sometimes, no matter how accurate a vampire
is with where they want to hit, the opponent may or may not be
in that spot when the attack hits that spot. The only thing that
is guaranteed is that the vampire will usually hit the spot they
aim for while moving at high speed, as predicting opponents
movements can be a bit tricky. Also, depending on the vampires,
this does require training to master their reflexes and
movements at high speeds (meaning this requires a certain level
of mastery of speed-based movement to use)
- Celerity Discipline: Lightning Strike: They say that lightning
strikes in 1/1000 of a second, and is faster than sound.
Vampires who developed this skill wanted to create an attack
similar that could be used in a similar manner that would be too
fast for opponents to dodge. Vampires who use utilize this learn
to utilize their speed in a way that allows them to attack an
opponent with blinding speed in short bursts, which is usually
meant to close gaps when opponents are too far away to attack.
However, users also utilize this to try and attack opponents
before they can put up their guard or have a chance to prepare
any kind of defense. Because of the speed of attack, this skill
is designed to move at speeds that few can even perceive, let
alone hope to block or counter. Using a short burst, a vampire
can span short distances and attack an opponent with a physical
attack, and certain vampires can even use this along with
certain other abilities they might have for unique effects.
Users with this not only strike with the intense speed though,
but advanced users of this skill also use the intense speed to
increase the power of their strike, which advanced users can set
up stronger strikes with the intense speeds at which they move.
This discipline ability is very useful for speed based vampires,
as vampires with this are able to attack faster than most other
vampires and hit far harder as a result which makes this a very
dangerous skill when mastered. However, while fast, this
training can only be used in short bursts, due to the strain
this puts on the body when the body is moving at speeds it
normally cannot handle. Due to how fast a vampire moves with
this discipline, the strain it puts on the body is immense even
for a vampire, and overusing this can result in physical damage
to the body such as the muscles tearing apart and bones
breaking. Some faster users may also still be able to dodge
this, depending on the speed of the opponent, as some opponents
can not only react, but also counter lightning speeds. Usually,
faster opponents will be able to dodge or block this, and even
slower users may get lucky if they figure out an attack is
coming and try to put up their guard before the attack takes
place. And if a user doesn't use this properly, they can also do
physical damage to themselves with this skill. And if a user
uses this, opponents will usually figure out quickly that they
need to be fast, and usually won't let users get a chance to use
this more than twice.
- Celerity Discipline: Flawless Parry: This was a skill that was
designed by Celerity users to be a defensive skill, designed to
be used when a vampire is about to be hit by an attack. Users
utilize this skill by focusing their physical ability into their
movement, in which vampires that use this learn to perfectly
counter attacks. This is designed to be used by those who in
motion, in which vampires are meant to use this defensively if
they are attacked. If the vampire is attacked and they cannot
properly parry the attack, they then use this skill to parry the
attack. When using this, a user changes their motion in an
instant, where they learn to modify the motion of their
movement. A user then uses the change in motion to sacrifice all
motion and kinetic energy for one perfect parry that is designed
to deflect an attack. While it may seem counterproductive to
sacrifice all motion and kinetic energy, users that use this
don't just sacrifice it for no reason, but instead sacrifice
their motion and kinetic energy to focus it into their parry.
When done, this allows a user to defend against an attack in
instant where they wouldn't normally be able to react. This
combat technique is done through complicated movement, but users
learn this by utilizing their movement in a unique way. It
doesn't matter how fast or how slow a user is moving, this
sacrifices all motion and kinetic energy, bringing the user to a
stop once they move to parry. If done properly, this parries the
attack, and harmlessly deflects the power of the technique away.
Depending on how much kinetic energy and motion is used, this
can determine how much power and effectiveness can be put into
the parry, where those with enough movement can do the parry far
more easily than those with little movement. However, while this
is a great way to defend oneself, this cannot be used
offensively. That means this is a purely defensive technique
that cannot be used to counter-attack and has to be used to
parry the attack. Another thing to note is that when used, this
temporarily stops a user, in which it takes a few seconds for
them to build up kinetic energy again after sacrificing it. That
means that the user is often vulnerable for a moment while they
are unable to move. This time where the vampire is trying to get
back into motion leaves them open, and opponents can easily take
advantage of that.
- Celerity Discipline: Precision: This skill is one used by
Celerity users that want to move more precisely. When using this
skill, users put themselves into a trance, putting them into a
focused state that lets them focus their movement. When in this
state, a celerity user is able to move with a precision in their
movement that is far more focused than their normal combat. When
in this state, the user wastes no movements or attacks, and
their movement becomes far more efficient due to the precision
of their movement. This is a great way for users to get more out
of their combat abilities, especially if they have trouble
focusing in combat (in which this is most useful for those that
normally couldn't focus long enough to focus on precision
movements), as users who use this can put themselves into this
trance and the trance will let them focus their combat far more
effectively than they would normally be able to. Users can use
this state as long as they can somehow reach this state, where
some have different ways of putting themselves into this trance.
Some may have ways to manipulate their own minds, or some may
use their vampire hypnosis abilities on themselves, or some may
even use meditation to put them into certain mental states. No
matter the method though, the end result is the same, where
users will go into this state with the intent of being able to
focus on the precision fo their movement. And depending on the
method, this can be a bit dangerous, as users cannot strategize
while in this trance, since their minds become focused only on
their movement. This means that users cannot use their
intelligence and they cannot focus on anything else other than
their movements to avoid and attack enemies. And while this is
very useful and can make almost any celerity user use their
movement more efficiently, this may not always surpass the
opponent's precision movement, as there are some that have much
more precise movement without needing this combat technique. And
depending on how this is achieved, some methods may not let the
user easily remove themselves from this state, and some may have
to come up with means of pulling themselves out of this state if
they need to. Users should also be aware that a strong enough
blow to the head can also knock them out of this trance if the
blow is strong enough.
- Celerity Discipline: Tireless Tread: This was designed by
fleeing vampires, who developed this to make escapes from
certain vampires. This lets a vampire cover a massive amount of
ground at high speed, where a user will run for eight hours.
Users run for this long in order to build up a pace they run at,
and they run up 50 miles per hour for at least eight hours to
cover at least 400 miles. As one might imagine, this is a method
mostly used for traveling around, where a user will often use
this to cover a massive amount of distance. This is often not
used due to modern travel methods like cars, planes and trains.
Another reason this isn't used is because of how some that use
Celerity training also have supernatural means of teleportation
to other areas. Because of this, this skill has fallen into
disuse among vampires, where most will use other methods of
travel. The biggest reason this is used these days is not just
for its travel, but there are vampires who prefer this method
because it leaves no trail to follow since traveling using
things like vehicles usually leaves a trail others can follow to
track the vampire, but with this ability, a vampire doesn't
leave that trail behind. It is also worth noting that those that
use this skill can run for eight hours without wearing
themselves out in the process. However, when using this, users
do have to use this for at least eight hours and have to move a
distance of at least 400 miles in order to effectively use this.
If they don't, this ability cannot be used due to the required
movement that needs to be used for this to work. This is not
about simply sprinting for eight hours, but instead users figure
out a pace to run at, and then they utilize this to run at that
pace. Another thing to note is that users that use this cannot
tarry too much, or else they may risk this technique not
working, as tarrying too much can hinder them from finding the
speed they need to run at. Vampires who cannot be out in the day
time should also consider the times they choose to use this
technique, as vampires that cannot be out in the day will need
to plan on being in a place safe from the sunlight or else they
might be out when the sun comes up if they run too long.
- Celerity Discipline: Momentum: While Flawless Parry is a pure
defense ability, this ability is more of a offensive alternative
that vampires can learn. When using this, a vampire focuses all
of thier Celerity training and speed into one single moment that
is designed to allow feats of pure strength. When used, a user
focuses their movement in a manner similar to Flawless Parry,
but instead of sacrificing their movement, they instead focus
their movement into an attack. When they properly focus their
speed, this allows for feats of strength far beyond that of
normal, where the user uses their speed to boost their strength
in the moment that they choose to use their Celerity power.
There are two major ways this is used. The first is for feats of
strength, where users can do things like lifting things they
normally wouldn't be able to. In this method, this is used more
for momentary boosts in power that are designed to use intense
strength. The other method of using this is for attacks
directly, where a user focuses all their speed into the strength
of their attack. With this, a user is able to put all their
speed into their attack for raw strength, which can hit far
harder than a normal attack would be able to. When used in this
manner, the user focuses their speed into their attack, and then
as they're attacking, they use this to amplify the attack. This
is a mostly offensive ability that lets users focus their
celerity for more strength, and is more about sacrificing speed
for a moment to increase their power. For speed based fighters,
this is something that they can often learn, as those that move
at high speeds often know that moving fast isn't just about
speed, but can also be used to increase physical power due to
the speed being able to build up far more power. Typically, the
effectiveness of this depends on not only the strength of the
user and durability of the opponent, but also on the way this is
used, in which how this is executed usually determines how much
amplification comes from this technique. Users that build up
more speed can use stronger attack, and those that don't build
up as much power can still use this, but don't attack as
strongly. Opponents can also still block or dodge attacks as
well, depending on their physical combat abilities.
- Celerity Discipline: Flower of Death: This is a vampire
celerity art combat technique where a vampire transfers their
speed with their celerity training and applies it to their
combat tactics. This gives them a huge boost in hand to hand
combat, letting them move extremely fast in their combat and
making it so they are extremely hard to keep track of in a
fight. In addition to this, users also learn to take advantage
of the extra momentum when they attack at faster speeds,
allowing them to also hit much harder than normal vampires
would. Instead of just using raw power or skill, vampires with
this hone their speed, power, and combat ability in their
celerity training to a deadly level. Combined with an already
fast opponent, this art can be deadly in close combat if the
opponent can't keep up with the user, and is designed to be
combined with the physical combat styles of the vampire that
utilize their speed. Users of this are taught to fight in close
combat at incredible speeds, enhancing their speed, and at
times, their strength as well due to the increased speed. Those
who use this are dangerous in close combat, and when combined
with techniques like martial arts combat techniques, this
technique can make a deadly fighting style even deadlier. This
is more about refining combat, where users learn to gain bonuses
to combat through their own training by refining their combat
abilities to a powerful degree. However, unlike precision, this
doesn't require a trance-like state (Though this also doesn't
grant the same level of precison that Precision does). Users of
this can still be outclassed by certain opponents though, as
there are plenty of other speed enhanced trainings out there
like werewolves who have their own gift that works similarly to
celerity training, and there are plenty of martial arts trained
combatants that use very precise and focused movements as well
that can rival this training. Typically, this is more about
refining one's speed into more efficient combat, and relies more
on their own combat knowledge. Typically, this can be dangerous
to enemies, but users have to have the training to be able to
handle more precise movements and more focused combat in order
to use this training. This also is not a passive skill, and is a
skill that must be consciously used as it requires conscious
concentration to focus on their physical combat.
- Celerity Discipline: Stutter-Step: In this skill, users learn
to boost their defense using their Celerity training. When using
this training, a vampire learns to train their Celerity for use
in defense, where users are able to use their speed to help them
in battle. This skill allows a user to use their speed to dull
the impacts of attacks, so that they don't do as much damage.
When in motion, users of this learn to focus their speed, but
instead of using it to attack, users instead use their intense
speed to dull the impact of areas around them by manipulating
the speeds they move. This is a defensive ability, which weakens
the impact on the body of the user when hit. This doesn't weaken
the attacks of opponents directly, but instead, the user is able
to weaken the impacts of the attacks. To the untrained eye, it
just looks like a user manages to take less damage, but users
know that there is more to this than that. When used, a user
changes their speed, in which they move away from the attack at
the moment of impact, which reduces the amount of the impact the
user takes from the attack. This is a very subtle movement,
designed to go with the attack, rather than just outright try to
block the full force of it. This is a purely defensive ability,
where users learn to reduce the damage of attacks, which can be
very useful to combatants. However, this does require precise
movement at the right time in order to use this, and this does
require training to properly utilize this skill since it
requires specific combat training. And while users take reduced
damage, this doesn't change their resistances or their defensive
stats, so they still can only handle the same amount of damage
they normally would be able to handle. And depending on the
strength of the opponent, sometimes even this skill cannot
completely help someone avoid fatal damage. Some stronger
opponents may still do immense damage if they have enough raw
power, or some that can create shockwaves from the force of
their physical attacks may still make contact with the opponent
even when using this skill.
- Celerity Discipline: Unseen Storm: This skill is one that uses
a vampire's speed training to move in bursts of speed to make
themselves appear invisible. When using this skill, vampires
train up their speed, but instead of moving to just attack,
users often use this to attack while seeming to be invisible.
This is a skill that is heavily favored by those that use
stealth, as they can use their speed to move around and stay
unseen. Typically, this is used while in motion, in which users
move with enhanced speed, where they use their speed to their
advantage. However, this doesn't just require speed, but
requires movement that is designed to use the speed in a
specific way. When used properly, the user moves in a way that
they don't reflect light off their bodies. They don't move
faster than light, but instead move in a way where they don't
stay in one place long enough for the light to effectively
reflect off of them. This works as long as a user stays in
motion, and can be used effectively those that favor stealth,
being a particular favorite among assassins and those that
prefer to be able to make their first attack without being seen.
If done effectively, the user stays invisible the whole time
they are in motion, and can use this to avoid being seen. As
mentioned before, this is meant for stealth, where users utilize
their movement in a more unique way. However, while this is a
useful skill, a user does have to remain in motion in order to
stay invisible, and if they slow down below a certain point,
they will become visible again. Also, if a user uses this to
attack, they will usually have to stop as they are attacking,
which makes them visible when they attack due to the fact that
users have to slow down to attack or risk running into someone
or something. When not in motion, this skill cannot be used, and
users must remain moving at a certain speed to use this. Also,
while they cannot be seen, vampires can still be detected in
other ways, such as those with enhanced senses can hear or smell
the vampire, as well as vampires with presence senses being able
to sense the presence of the vampire.
- Celerity Discipline: Zephyr: This is perhaps the strongest
skill of the celerity disciplines, used by only high level
Celerity users with the proper speed training. Users of this art
are able to move at extreme speeds, to the point that many can
often defy gravity. Many users are familiar with how speed can
be used effectively, but this art takes this to an extreme. The
speeds that some vampires are able to put out with this skill
can match many of the fastest supernaturals including ones that
utilize the speed force (which creates some of the fastest
beings known). When at this speed, most will have trouble
keeping up perceiving the user, let alone trying to keep up with
them. Users of this are able to do things like run on water,
with some even being able to run up walls and even across
ceilings when used by the more advanced users. This is a very
useful ability that lets a vampire move fast in battles, and
grants them speed that surpasses that of most fighters with
advanced users even being able to move faster than less skilled
Celerity users. However, this is usually only used in short
bursts, due to it being difficult to control in extended uses.
For most vampires, moving this fast is great, but for many,
their minds will often have trouble keeping up with their speed
in this form, unless they have special training to train their
minds to handle this kind of speed (which usually requires more
training even after learning this skill). The biggest danger to
this is if the vampire's mind or body cannot keep up with the
speed they put out, in which even the body can wear itself out
or even damage itself if the speed output is faster than the
vampire's body can handle. Since this can only be used in
bursts, users are usually vulnerable in the moment right after
they come out of this intense speed, as they have to switch from
their fast speed to their normal speed, which leaves them able
to be attacked. And of course, as one might guess, just because
one can use this, doesn't automatically make them faster than
their opponent, as some can be faster even without this skill,
depending on the opponent since some may have speed based
training that can counter this.
Fortitude and Presence Vampire Disciplines:
Will be done later
Basic Vampire Race Abilities:
- Vampire Dark Nature/Connection to Darkness: It's no secret
that most vampires are creatures of the night. And because of
their cursed and undead type nature, they have a natural
connection to the dark. This goes so far for many vampires that
they aren't even able to go out during the day. Vampires have a
natural connection to the dark, which is the source of many of
their darkness based abilities. This darkness nature is not just
a normal darkness nature though, but the darkness nature is an
unholy nature, which is something that makes them a type of
unholy creature that focuses on dark power. For the most part,
vampires don't have to be of clans like the Lasombra to take
advantage of this dark nature, as there are plenty of ways to
take advantage of this nature. With this nature comes a number
of abilities, and vampires end up being a unique kind of
creature with connection to the darkness do their natures. For
the most part, the vampire power is something of a curse to
most, but unlike werewolves, vampires have more darkness and
undead type power in their nature than cursed power. There are
many ways vampires take advantage of this, where some use
darkness manipulation in their arts like the Lasombra, or some
that utilize the dark nature for other things like dark arts or
dark magic. There are a number of ways one can learn to use
their dark nature, but almost every clan accounts for this dark
nature in some way, with exception of those like the holy
vampires who have holy natures instead of darkness type natures.
This is typically a type of cursed power with undead elements
(though not undead to the levels of creatures like zombies),
where this is a negative power that is on the same level as
unholy energy and basic demonic energy, and this is even
something that some vampires realize can combine with other
natures depending on the vampire, such as how some take demon
power in order to become demonic vampires. This dark nature is
the basis of most vampires, although there are rare occasions
where normal vampires may have different natures depending on
the vampire. Because of this nature, most vampires gain a major
weakness to sunlight, which burns them alive if they are not
true daywalker vampires, or vampires with ways to block the
sunlight from reaching them (such as how the Hazeldines use
darkness barriers to go out in the day so that the sunlight
doesn't reach them). As for countering this nature, holy power
is the best way to do so, where those that fight vampires will
almost always use holy weapons specifically since they are best
for killing vampires. However, there are weaknesses to vampires
that can be exploited, usually depending on the clan they come
from as each clan has specific weaknesses (more in weaknesses).
- Vampire Darkness Empowerment: Vampires, thanks to their dark
nature, gain empowerment in the dark. Most vampires can only go
out at night, so they often don't realize they can are empowered
by the dark, but those that go out in the day often realize that
they are stronger at night (if they are a vampire type with a
dark nature). However, this doesn't just apply to night, but
this works in any absences of light, due to the fact that their
dark nature works as long as there is an absence of true
sunlight. This grants vampires the ability to not just use the
night, but can use almost any dark area, whether it's
underground, in a building with no windows or lights, or using
even using shadows. Depending on how much darkness is around
them, vampires gain more power the darker it is. This means that
vampires are at their strongest when there is no light, and are
deadliest when they are in pure darkness. Of course, vampires do
have their own variation of darkness vision some races like
death wraiths have, which they use to see in pure darkness. When
this empowerment takes effect, this empowers the vampire's
abilities, both their physical and supernatural abilities. Any
abilities that use darkness or dark natures gain a boost in
power and ability, and some arts may be uniquely used with this
power-up. Of course, vampires also gain enhanced physical
abilities, where the darkness gives them better physical stats
the darker it is around them. Typically, vampires are usually at
their strongest during the nights of the new moon, where
vampires have an advantage due to new moons having very little
moonlight. However, areas that have no light also grant vampires
much more enhanced dark power, depending on the area. There are
different ways some may take advantage of this, depending on the
vampires. For the most part, this empowerment may be strong, but
strong enough light does cancel out this empowerment if one can
use light, or use sources of light nearby to reduce this
empowerment (opponents can use things like street lights or even
lights in buildings to reduce the darkness and weaken this
empowerment depending on how strong the light is.
- Vampire Darkness Manipulation: As one might guess from their
natures, vampires can also manipulate the darkness around them.
This is a basic darkness manipulation, where users are able to
use darkness energy, also known as shadow manipulation. Vampires
have the ability to manipulate darkness in some form, no matter
how little they can. Typically, this depends on the clan the
vampire belongs to, as clans can be born with more or less
darkness manipulation depending on the clan. For example, some
clans like the Gangrel clan don't really utilize darkness in
combat and many clans that don't use darkness often don't even
ever fully achieve their manipulation of darkness energy.
However, on the other end of the spectrum, those like the
Hazeldines and the Lasombra have specific arts for using the
darkness, which allows them to use the darkness much more
efficiently than others. When used, vampires are able to do
things like meld into shadows to use shadow travel, manipulate
the acidity of their shadows to make them more corrosive, or
even use darkness projectiles to try and spear opponents. Some
advanced users can use darkness for other things, such as
manipulating gravity and distorting time and space (which
requires a scientific understanding of how dark energy affects
gravity and distortions, and is typically a high level darkness
user power that not many achieve). Some master level users may
even be able to create small black holes using darkness to
absorb light and physical matter temporarily (though these black
holes usually cost a lot of energy to maintain, and this also
requires immense scientific knowledge where only the highest
level darkness users can learn this). When used, this darkness
can even be used with other forms of darkness, where some may
learn other darkness types if they have the affinity, such as
some can tap into primordial darkness if they utilize their dark
nature well enough. Typically, the only real danger of using
darkness is if the users connect to the shadow realm, which can
be dangerous and is usually avoided (even vampires often know
not to mess with the shadow realm unless they absolutely know
what they're doing). Avoiding this is like avoiding any other
darkness manipulation, such as using strong enough light
abilities, or some more creative people can use other powers to
counter it as well.
- Vampire Spirit Energy: There are many vampires that have
abilities that run on their spirit energy, such as how the
Darkfires have powers that let them combine elementals with
their spirit energy. This energy comes from the spirit of the
vampire, just as normal spirit energy would come from any other
soul. Most vampires have spirits that are cursed in nature, but
have positive and negative spirit energy much like other souls.
Depending on the clan and arts, vampires can learn to utilize
their spirit energy for specific arts. Thanks to this, vampires
can often learn different skills using their spirit energy,
depending on the vampire. This is one of the main powers a
vampire uses to power certain abilities, which works alongside
vampire psychic energy to operate as two of the major sources of
vampire power besides their darkness nature. This mostly depends
on the vampire, and the clan abilities they possess, as not all
vampire clans power their abilities on psychic power. For
example, some clans may focus more in physical combat, and may
not utilize spirit power. This energy is a basic energy which is
summoned by vampires when needed, usually to use special
techniques they gain from their clan. With the exception of
those like holy vampires, vampires almost always have their own
balance of negative and positive spirit, which must be
maintained if one is to use their spirit energy. Because of
this, spirit energy isn't too difficult to use, but vampires
often never tap into the full ability of spirit energy, since
this is usually used passively by vampires without realizing
what it is that grants them power. Those like the Darkfires know
that this is spirit energy, but most don't go beyond knowing
that which is a good thing at times because it makes them less
likely to be noticed by the spirit plane since they don't tap
enough into that plane. If they were to, they could essentially
learn to utilize spirit more carefully, such as learning spirit
user techniques. However, this is still countered like most
other spirit energies, with holy energy being the best thing to
counter the cursed nature of vampire spirit, or using counter
natures (such as using positive power to counter negative spirit
and vice versa).
- Vampire Psychic Energy: This is the second most common power
that vampires possess that they use. Not only do vampires use
spirit energy to power some of their abilities, but vampires
also possess a natural ability for psychic energy to do certain
things. For example, clans that utilize the Dominate discipline
rely on psychic energy to utilize their ability to influence the
mind. This is a basic power that vampires utilize that grants
them some psychic abilities, which are usually used in clan
techniques, such as the clans that use the Dominate or Presence
Discipline. A psychic energy isn't normally considered a "holy"
or "unholy" power, a vampire normally uses this as a neutral
power that is purely affected by the mind (though psychic power
has a tendency to be mystic in nature). In addition, what they
can do with their psychic energy often also depends on the
vampire, where different clans have different ways of using
this. Some may use this to hypnotize others, while others may
use this to project their presence on others, or some may even
have psychic abilities they can utilize as well. Some psychic
vampires may even have certain attack arts, such as telekinetic
blasts or other psychic abilities they can use to attack.
Depending on the vampire and their clan abilities, this is an
energy that can be quite versatile and used for a number of arts
that one can learn. Almost any vampire can utilize psychic
energy to the same degree, and what they can do it with depends
on the clan. This means that the weaknesses to their psychic
power also depends on the abilities and the clan (each psychic
ability has its own downsides and weaknesses). For example,
trying to hypnotize others may not work on those with strong
will, as those with strong will can resist hypnosis and psychic
influence and some may even have arts or technology to resist
psychic influence (such as how nanomachines used by Foxhound in
the Crow Mercenary universe can resist psychic influence by
regulating the mind). Typically, attack skills also have
weaknesses, where many can be blocked or avoided in some way.
Again, this mostly depends on the vampire and the abilities they
have.
- Vampire Dark Magic/Dark Arts Affinities: Due to a vampire's
dark nature, there are a number of darkness abilities that a
vampire can learn. Most vampires gain an affinity for darkness
in some form, where some gain special abilities based on their
dark nature. The first is a dark nature that allows darkness
manipulation, which is already covered under a vampire's
darkness manipulation. With this ability, vampires can learn
darkness abilities, but their abilities may depend on the clan
they belong to or the powers they are born with. The other two
things to note are dark magic and dark arts, both of which are
powered by dark natures. Dark magic is often powered by either
darkness or dark mana, and vampire with magic usually gain an
affinity for dark magic. While some rarely do gain normal magic,
many often gain dark magic instead of normal magic. Depending on
the magic, vampires often specialize in dark magic before other
forms of magic. However, some vampires do specialize in other
magics, such as some in psychic magic, some might focus chi
magic, or some may other forms of magic that don't convert to
dark magic. This depends on the vampire and their abilities. The
other thing to note is dark arts, where darkness users can learn
the dark arts if they are able to learn them. There aren't too
many known clans to specialize in the dark arts that are still
around though, as the few that did have either been wiped out
during previous Sabbat/Camarilla wars, or have been taken out by
the other groups. However, those that do may be able to learn
dark arts that they can utilize, which are arts powered by
darkness that can be used with a connection to the darkness.
While it should be noted that these powers are useful, not all
vampires have magic affinities or dark arts affinities, and this
mostly depends on the vampire and the abilities they are born
with. And of course, as one might guess, these affinities are
best countered by holy power, but also light abilities can also
counter these darkness powers fairly well, depending on the
powers used. There are other ways to counter darkness, but holy
power usually remains the best for fighting vampires.
- Vampire Shadow Meld/Vampire Teleportation: Vampires have a few
options when it comes to teleportation. The first is that
vampires with darkness manipulation can learn to shadow travel,
where they are able to connect to the shadows and travel using
shadows. This is a basic art for darkness users, which allows
them to use the shadows connection to the shadow realm to move
from shadow to shadow. Users can use shadows to travel around,
where they are able to connect to any other shadow in the world
they want to travel to. The second option is that some vampire
clans have unique teleportation arts that are used to teleport
around. The two most well known ones are the Tepes clan ability
to teleport using the power Demon's Gate and the Darkfire clan's
ability to teleport using their elemental teleportation.
Depending the vampire and the clan they are in, there are many
different arts out there that allow teleportation. Most usually
work in one of two ways. The first is that they connect to an
area somehow, in which their teleportation connects to an area
and they use it to go there. This method is usually a fairly
instant teleportation, where users can just teleport at will as
long as they have the energy to teleport. The second method is
teleport using portals where some vampires may do things like
creating dark magic portals, or some vampires may have arts that
create portals to other areas. This is usually done through
incantations or preparation, where a vampire creates a portal
that connects two areas. Typically, teleportation using portals
is more reliable than just teleporting, since this focuses on
connected two areas and doesn't usually require as much
concentration. Depending on the art, there are different ways to
use this, but almost all arts usually end with the same result
of allowing a vampire to get from point A to point B by
teleportation rather than having to travel there by normal
means. However, no matter the art, a vampire usually has to know
where they want to go, and if they don't, they may end up
anywhere in the world if they either don't have a location in
mind, or they get messed up at certain moments while
teleporting. And depending on the level of error, some have
ended up in random areas without meaning too. Also, most
teleportations cannot usually travel to other universes or
through time, unless the vampire has some form of distortion
power or some way of breaking the time-space barriers that
separate the universes and timelines.
- Vampire Life Force/Soul Energy Absorption: Vampires have the
ability to utilize life force and soul energy, which is usually
dependent on the vampire. This ability allows a vampire to
absorb life force, usually through blood, to sustain their own
life. While part of this has to do with their feeding, vampires
also can use their ability to absorb life force to absorb more
power from others by taking their life energy. This is usually
done when drinking their blood, where they bite into someone and
drain their life energy through their blood. However, there are
some vampires who develop arts to absorb life energy normally,
in which some do have energy drain abilities through physical
touch. The other thing to note is that vampires can also take
souls, where vampires have the ability to take souls and either
use them as sacrifices if they are about to die, or some
vampires use souls to gain new abilities or even to use as
familiars. Depending on the vampires, many vampire clans have
different arts for this if they utilize it. Some examples
include the Tepes family being able to use life energy to create
familiars out of the people's life energy, or the Darkfires
taking souls and putting them into demon or holy armor
familiars. Different clans will all have different ways to use
this if they do use this, and some may even use this without the
need for using clan arts depending on the vampire. However,
there are some downsides to using this. Those that use life
force absorption or soul absorption for new abilities will also
gain whatever weaknesses of the powers they gain, and depending
on the power, some powers may require a slight physiological
change to their bodies (such as dragon power turning a vampire
into a dracopyre). Those that use familiar arts using life force
or souls can summon familiars, but most of the familiars can be
taken out by holy powers, or any weaknesses that the person's
original life force or soul had (IE a dragon familiar would have
dragon weaknesses). Absorbing souls also comes with its own
weakness, where those that absorb souls become unbalanced in
life and death energies that requires them to continue devouring
souls or else they will rapidly age until they die. Absorbing
life energy is usually safer in that there aren't a lot of ill
effects, but doesn't grant as much power as soul absorption
does.
- Vampire Familiar Creation: Depending on the vampire, vampires
have a number of arts that allow them to gain familiars. Most
vampires have some way of making familiars. One example is how
some may use the life force or soul absorption technique to turn
those they absorb into familiars, such as how the Tepes family
art allows them to absorb the life force of others and turn them
into familiars. This method is usually the most common for
creating familiars, due to the fact that vampires can turn those
they've fed on into familiars. There are many different methods
of creating and maintaining familiars, depending on the vampire
and clan they belong to, but the end result usually involves
turning those they feed on into some form of familiar. When
used, familiars are very useful in that they can fight on behalf
of the vampire, usually using the powers the familiar is created
from, and the familiars act according to the will of the
vampire. Depending on the art, this could be as simple as
manifesting an image of the person that became a familiar, or
some like the Darkfires have specific ways to use familiars like
attaching souls to demon or holy armors in their own familiar
art or even the Gangrel clan that can make familiars out of
animals. No matter how its used, those that are turned into
familiars become permanent additions and extensions of the
vampire that the vampire can summon and de-summon at will. With
this, the vampire could use these familiars in battle to fight
enemies, or they could use them for other purposes, such as
sending a familiar to scout an area. Depending on the familiar
art, most vampires usually have a connection to their familiars
where they can usually connect with them in some way, and many
vampires often have ways to share their senses with familiars.
There is usually no limit to how many familiars a vampire can
store up, as this mostly depends on if they want to. However,
there are some familiar arts that may limit how many a vampire
can summon at once. For example, some users cannot summon more
than a few familiars at a time due to the power required to keep
familiars manifested. And even though familiars are useful,
opponents can still destroy familiars with certain abilities
depending on the familiar, such as soul based familiars can be
destroyed with spirit destruction abilities, or some familiars
that take physical form can be destroyed like normal beings.
Typically, when destroyed, many familiars often cannot be
summoned for a while, or take more energy to summon a familiar
again after it has been destroyed.
- Vampire Feeding Ghoul Creation: When vampires feed on someone
that they either don't turn into a familiar or they don't turn
into a vampire servant, they usually kill the person they feed
on. However, when dead, the person doesn't die, but instead
becomes a vampire-like zombie creature known as a ghoul. When
turned into a ghoul, people fed on by vampires are turned into
another kind of servant of the vampire, where they become
creatures that only care about feeding on human flesh due to
their zombie-like nature. When in this state, the person dies,
but the body remains animated, depending on the vampire and
their arts to create ghouls. For general vampires, feeding on
someone without completely absorbing their essence usually
creates ghouls, and depending on the vampire clan, some may use
the ghouls to their advantage. These ghouls are under the
command of the vampire who creates them, in which the vampire
tells them what to do and they obey. While ghouls aren't smart
by any means, many ghouls are at least smart enough to be able
to use weapons like blades, guns or any other thing they can use
to attack enemies. For the most part, people who become ghouls
lose all personality and become undead creatures who cannot
interact anymore with people. Most ghouls only care about eating
human flesh, and will turn those that they kill into ghouls as
well (allowing ghouls to make more ghouls by feeding and killing
others). Most ghouls can take heavy damage, where they will keep
going even if most of their body is destroyed. However, like
most undead, holy power can destroy them, where holy power and
holy weapons are the best way to kill ghouls. Destroying the
heart or brain with a holy power or weapon usually kills them,
with silver usually being the best way to kill a ghoul (which
can be used by anyone). Another thing to note is that in most
cases, the ghouls only last a certain amount of time after being
created. After a certain amount of time, they will return to
being dead, once the power that they have has faded. And if the
vampire who created them dies, usually the ghouls will die as
well (except in certain cases like the Freakchip vampires).
- Vampire Intangibility/Mist Form: Many vampires also possess
some form of intangibility, which is another power that they
have. There are two major things that many vampires have. The
first is intangibility, where they can phase partially into the
spirit plane. When doing this, they can pass through objects
almost as though they were a spirit depending on the vampire and
the intangibility art used (different clans may have different
arts to use intangibility). The most known intangibility is the
art the Tepes family uses. There is also another major
intangibility art to note, and that is how some vampires can
turn into mist as part of their basic vampire abilities. This is
most often noted with the Nosferatu, who have abilities centered
around being able to turn into mist. This is an art not all
vampires learn, but many can learn to turn into mist if they
learn to focus their intangibility properly. There are a number
of intangibility arts out there, such as how the Lasombra can
fuse to the shadows, or how the Darkfires can turn into
elemental forms. For the most part, intangibility can be useful
for going through objects, but is also useful in battle where
users will often use intangibility to avoid attacks (usually by
allowing attacks to phase through them depending on the
intangibility art used. There are many ways to use this
depending on the vampire, and many clans have techniques that
utilize intangibility in some fashion. However, while this is a
very useful skill, some vampires can only stay in this state for
a certain amount of time before returning to normal (depending
on the vampire as some arts are different). Another thing to
note is that almost all intangibilities can still be attacked if
one knows how to attack. The best way to attack someone who is
intangible is to use some form of attack that attacks the
spiritual plane, as this can attack a vampire even if they are
intangible. Another thing to note is that vampires have to be
careful when they use this, as vampires have to be careful they
are not in solid objects when they return to solid form. If they
are, then the solid matter will often override their bodies, and
they will take damage or lose parts of their body. For example,
a user could put a sword through a vampire's body, and if they
become tangible again, the part of the body where the sword is
will usually be split by the sword if the sword is still in
their form when they return to normal.
- Vampire Coffin Dark Sleep: When a vampire is near death, or
sometimes if the vampire dies, the vampire goes into a special
sleep. They go into a dark place, where the light won't reach.
The most common example is how some vampires sleep in coffins,
in which vampires may choose coffins for the lack of light. When
using this, vampires can usually cheat death by going into a
regenerative sleep where they will slowly recover over time the
longer they are in sleep. Some also use this to go into
hibernation, usually as a means to not have to feed for long
periods of time. Depending on how its used, this has even been
known to bring some vampires back to life where vampires will
often be put into coffins, and they may eventually come back to
life after enough time has passed. This has to do with the dark
nature of vampires, where they can sleep in dark areas and use
their darkness empowerment to regenerate their bodies. Some
vampires may have different arts for this depending on the
vampire and whatever clan they belong to, but most vampires can
use this in some form depending on the clan. There have been
reports of some vampires going into sleep for a hundred years
and then awakening, or some that will use this sleep to recover
from deadly injuries by going into sleep. Vampires are able to
use this as needed, where they only need a dark place where they
can sleep where they won't be affected by light. This is why
some chose sealed coffins, due to the privacy that they allow
since they can seal themselves inside and others cannot easily
get them out. Depending on the vampire, some actually can store
the soil of their birth place in their dark area where they
sleep, in which they can use this to boost their recovery. It
isn't known why this helps them recover faster, but this,
combined with this sleep, can often help regenerate vampires
even faster, where some have even been able to avoid having to
drink blood for longer periods of time while doing this.
However, there is always the danger of being interrupted, and
vampires are usually most vulnerable when they are asleep. If
sunlight hits them when they are sleeping, it can destroy them
(usually), and those that take it upon themselves to kill a
sleeping vampire can usually do so with the right weapons, like
silver or wood (depending on the weakness of the vampire).
- Vampire Blood Rage: This is an ability that tends to be more
of a weakness to a vampire, in most cases, than a strength. A
blood rage is what happens when a vampire goes into a frenzied
state, usually either losing their mind temporarily, or they may
go into a frenzied state for a certain period of time. When used
vampires in this state often gain enhanced physical stats, where
they gain power that makes them stronger when in this state.
Typically, vampires in this state are much harder to kill, and
with their enhanced state, they will often have highly enhanced
physical stats. It's not entirely known what causes a blood
rage, as triggers may be different depending on the vampire. One
known trigger is that some vampires go into these rages when
they smell or see blood, where some vampires who go a long time
without human blood may be at high risk of going into this state
as their bodies tries to force them to consume blood for their
own survival. Some vampires also go into this state out of anger
or desperation, where some will go into this state based on
their emotional state. If used in this manner, their anger often
amplifies their state even more than blood rages caused by
seeing or smelling blood. Because of this, vampires can be very
dangerous when this state, because not only do they not have
control over themselves, but they can be very unpredictable.
This is usually a problem with younger vampires without as much
experience, as some freshly turned vampires may go into this
state while not being used to the vampire states they are in and
what certain triggers will do to them. As vampires get older
though, they go into this state less and less, and usually only
go into this state when in extreme hunger and they smell or
sense blood. However, there may be some vampires who utilize
this rage in some way, where some may gain empowerment by anger
to gain a frenzied state, or some may use this to gain enhanced
amplification to fight certain enemies if they tap into this in
desperation. However, while vampires in this state are harder to
kill, vampires usually cannot pull themselves out of this state
on their own, and usually either require someone close to them
to talk them out of the state (if the person has anyone they
care about), or they must continue in the blood rage until the
blood rage subsides, which usually happens after enough time has
passed that the trigger that caused the blood rage has passed,
or the emotional state that caused the rage has passed.
- Vampire Shapeshift: Just like other races, vampires have the
ability to shapeshift their bodies using their ability to change
form. This is an art that lets a vampire take a new form,
whether it's human or some vampires can take other forms like
those of animals or other supernatural creatures. This is an art
that is used for basic form changes, where the specific changes
can usually depend on the vampire. Many are familiar with
angelic and demonic shapeshifting, and this is very similar in
nature. Those that use this can change into almost anything if
they know the form they want to take and how the form works.
Depending on the skill level, some vampires can even disguise
their aura to sense as though they are something else, where
some users can change their presence almost entirely with this
art. One such example is the Tepes shapeshifting art, where they
will often use this to take other creatures forms and sense as
other creatures, such as using an animal disguise and changing
their presence into that of an animal. This can also be used in
battle, where vampires can shapeshift their bodies in certain
ways, where some can do things like shapeshift their claws, or
shapeshift their body into other forms like summoning wings to
fly. There are arts for using shapeshifting, such as how the
Gangrel clan uses shapeshifting to shapeshift their bodies to
gain animal-like traits, such as using webbed feet to swim, or
using claws to attack enemies, or even using certain creatures
eyesight to see more efficiently. And some other clans have
unique shapeshifting abilities, such as how the Darkfires have
elemental shapeshifting where they can take the forms of their
elementals (by combining with their intangibility art). This is
a very useful skill if a vampire is creative enough, as vampires
can take all kinds of forms. However, while they can take all
kinds of forms, they cannot do things like changing their
abilities (for example, changing into a dragon won't give them
dragon abilities) depending on the arts used (Some may have arts
to gain special abilities through transformation). Also, a
vampire's mass stays the same when they change, so changing into
larger beasts may sound useful, but vampires who go into larger
forms often take more damage and cannot hit as hard as they have
less weight when in larger form. Typically, while all vampires
have this, most don't use it unless it's for a clan art that
uses this power.
- Vampire Unique Forms: Some vampires have arts that grant them
unique forms, which could be any number of forms some of which
may come with special abilities. For example, the London Branwen
clan and the Darkfire clan both have unique forms they can gain
through shapeshifting arts, where they gain unique forms they
can change into that have special abilities that they can use
depending on the form. This depends on the vampire, and many
vampires may have different ways of using this, such as the
Gangrel and Branwen vampire clans have arts that allow them to
take unique animal forms. And there are some vampires who can
gain other unique forms, such as enhanced forms that can be used
in battle. For example, the vampire ninjas suppress the entirety
of their vampire form, and release their full vampire selves in
their battle form where they extend their vampire wings and
their eyes change to a red or yellow glow (red if they survive
on human blood or yellow if they survive on animal blood). There
are some vampires that utilize this as a means to keep a
relatively human form, where they save their vampire form for
fighting enemies. There are also transformed states like vampire
released forms, used by clans like the Darkfire and Tepes clan
who can release their full vampire power. For the Darkfires they
use their Darkfire released form which is unique to the
Darkfire. And for the Tepes, they usually have a form of level
restraints where they can go to Level 0, where those restraints
are completely gone and their full vampire form takes effect,
such as how Alucard Tepes's form takes the form of Count
Dracula. There are many ways to use this training, where
vampires will often have different arts depending on the clan
they are born into, and any other abilities the vampire might
have. However, most of these forms have weaknesses, depending on
the art. Such as how the Darkfire full release form is only a
temporary power-up, or how the vampire ninja's full vampire
battle form grants them more weakness to vampire weaknesses
(such as holy silver or holy weapons) since they release their
full vampire power. And unique forms may have unique weaknesses
as well.
- Vampire Blood Powered Abilities/Blood Power Amplification: One
reason for vampires to drink blood, is for the effect blood has
on their special abilities. This is something that typically
works differently depending on the clan. For most clans, the
first and main reason blood is used is that blood is used to
power a vampire's abilities. In this method, vampires take blood
not only to sustain their bodies, but also to maintain their
power, where the blood of those they drink become the source of
their power. By using blood like fuel, most vampires power their
supernatural abilities on blood, and this is used to allow
vampires to keep using their power. In much the same way food
fuels the body, and certain foods fuel the body's ability to
carry out tasks, blood also works this way to power a vampire's
abilities. This is something that almost all clans use, where
their blood powers their abilities, and is a passive skill. The
other skill that not all vampires have, is to use blood as an
amplifier, in which clans like the Tepes clan have been able to
use blood like an amplifier to essentially allow them to use the
blood they take to amplify their power rather than simply
sustain it. In this method, vampires usually store the blood and
power up the more blood they have, usually in combination with
skills like soul steal or life force drain. When using this
method, this is another passive skill, and is used alongside
powering their abilities. For the most part, this is a basic
passive skill vampires have that most don't think about, unless
the vampire clans have a way to utilize this like certain clans
like the Tepes family do. However, this does mean that vampires
do have to drink blood in order to sustain their power, and most
vampires (exceptions must be stated) drink blood to survive.
Typically, this depends on the vampire, as some survive on
animals, some on humans, and some may even drink the blood of
other supernaturals. And those that use blood as an amplifier
have a dangerous side effect. Certain abilities being amplified
can amplify them to a state beyond the vampire's control, or
certain abilities being amplified could cause unexpected things
to happen, such an amplified power could go out of control
because the blood amplification was too much. When this happens,
the only way to stop the power is to drain the blood of the
vampire until the power lowers to a level they can manage.
- Vampire Hypnosis/Charm: Many are familiar with some vampire's
who have the ability to hypnotize their human victims. Most
vampire do this with psychic power, where most vampires have
some psychic power that they can use. Depending on the clan,
there are disciplines specifically designed around this
hypnosis, such as the presence and the dominate disciplines.
Typically, this is designed to manipulate humans, where vampires
will often use this to hypnotize humans to do a task for them,
or they may use this when feeding on a human so that the human
doesn't try to fight or run away when the vampire is feeding on
them. This art is usually done through eye contact, in which
many vampires will usually use some sort of visual hypnosis to
put their victims under this power. This power is a fairly basic
vampire power, but can be quite useful depending on how it's
used. Typically, the use of this depends on the vampire, and how
they want to use this, as most vampires don't rely on this
unless they either have specific disciplines or skills, or they
have a real use for this skill. Those with strong wills are able
to resist this power as one would expect, and those with
immunity to hypnosis abilities would, of course, be immune to
this. This power usually only works with simple commands,
depending on the hypnosis art (again, different vampires have
different arts for this), and typically, stronger commands will
result in tougher resistance. Usually, the best way to use this
is to make simple commands that are easy to follow that fall
within what the person being hypnotized would do, as some more
complicated ones will meet heavy resistance. For example, a
simple command like having someone grab something for them would
be less likely to be resisted than if the vampire used a command
like ordering a person to kill another if the person doesn't
want to kill. Typically, the more risk to the person being
hypnotized, the stronger their minds will be able to fight
against the hypnosis as a defense mechanism to preserve their
own life. It is also worth noting that this typically only lasts
a certain amount of time depending on the hypnosis, as some
special arts will use this longer than others.
- Vampire Third Eye: Vampires have a unique ability, where they
gain a special sixth sense known as the Third Eye. Those
familiar with the concept will likely be familiar with how this
works, where vampires naturally have this to gain a passive
sense that lets them sense the world around them. One major use
of this is that vampires are able to use this to sense the world
around them, usually being able to sense where things are, and
sense the presences of living beings. This lets a vampire sense
the presence of others, and not only read their presence, but
the vampire can also read what they are and how strong they are
by the presence. For example, some vampires can recognize
dangerous threats others wouldn't be able to sense, such as
vampires may be able to sense powerful beings most beings cannot
sense, and this also even gives vampires the ability to sense
the spiritual plane to a degree (though not nearly to the degree
of those like spirit users unless they go through special
training). However, this also has the ability of seeing through
the world, where vampires can see through things to see the
world around them as it really is. This allows a vampire to use
this ability not only to sense presences, but they can also do
things like sensing deception, or they can even sense things
like illusion skills or they can sense other skills being used
by a being. Unlike other beings with presence senses, vampires
specialize more in sensing the world rather than focusing on
individuals, and this can allow a vampire to gain a very strong
sense of the world using this skill. Vampires using this skill
can also tell where things are at farther distances than other
creatures, and can use this to more easily target certain people
or objects. This skill uses mental focus to focus on images, and
allows vampires to see the world in a bit of a unique way.
However, there are ways this power can be deceived, such as
other vampires may be able to affect the vampire's mind, or some
may be able to outmaneuver this sense if they are fast or
skilled enough. Also, certain presences cannot be sensed,
specifically among those that have a presence suppression skill.
Vampires with this skill can be deceived by it, where some have
ways to fool these kinds of senses.
- Vampire Darkvision and Enhanced Senses: Vampires have highly
enhanced vision, and gain highly enhanced ability to see in the
dark. Vampires are able to see in the dark as easily as in the
light thanks to their dark natures, and are able to operate even
in complete darkness thanks to their ability to use similar
darkvision to creatures like death wraiths. Vampires may have
varying degrees of this power depending on the vampire and the
clan they belong to, with some having stronger vision than
others in the darkness and some can strengthen this vision over
time and training. All vampires have this darkvision to some
degree, though depending on the vampire, some may not see as
well in total darkness as others with stronger darkvision. In
addition to this though, vampires also have highly enhanced
senses depending on the vampire. The second thing to note is a
vampire's enhanced senses, where vampires all have enhanced
senses thanks to their vampire enhanced states. Each vampire may
have a different balance of senses, but all of their senses are
enhanced to some degree depending on the vampire and sometimes
depending on the clan. This can also depend on training, as
vampires can train their senses through combat training in order
to get the most out of their combat training. However, while
most vampire do have highly enhanced senses, a vampire's
enhanced senses can be overwhelmed by certain things, such as
enhanced sight and darkvision could be overwhelmed by a
flashbang (which can work quite well against a vampire), or a
strong sense of smell could be overwhelmed with a strong enough
smell such as chlorine gas. This depends on the vampire and
their senses, but most vampires can be overwhelmed in their
senses in some way with almost all being vulnerable to
flashbangs due to their darkvision and enhanced vision. However,
there are some that are more balanced in their enhanced senses,
and these senses may not be as easy to overwhelm. However, as a
tradeoff, those with lesser enhanced senses cannot match those
with higher enhanced senses. Depending on the vampire and clan,
some may even gain special senses that are unique to them or
their clans as well.
- Vampire Claws: Many don't often realize it, but just like
werewolves, vampires have claws as well that extend from their
fingernails that they can use. While vampires don't show off
their claws, and most don't use them unless they have arts to do
so, these claws are still usually present in most vampires.
Typically, vampire claws are as much of a weapon as a werewolf's
claws, where vampires can use their claws in much the same
manner. Depending on the vampire and abilities, certain vampires
may have arts that can utilize their claws effectively, such as
some clans may keep their claws maintained and sharpened, or
some may have specific disciplines to use their claws like the
Gangrel clan has specific arts using claws. While a vampire's
claws are naturally sharp, vampires, like werewolves, can
sharpen their claws to deadly effectiveness, where their claws
become deadly weapons that they can use. Depending on the
vampire, some claws may be different sizes, or some might have
slightly different capabilities, but there are plenty of ways
for a vampire to use their claws in battle if they choose to
(though not all vampires may have claws, depending on the type
of vampire). Most vampires can be very dangerous with their
claws even if they don't use them much, and can easily rip
people to pieces with their claws if they have the skill too.
Typically, the level of skill using a vampire's claws depend on
the vampire, as not all vampires use their claws, and some may
even not realize they have claws depending on the vampire if
they passively keep them suppressed. If one wants to avoid the
claws though, avoiding the claws just requires the opponent to
avoid the strikes of the vampire when the vampire is using their
claws in battle, as their claws are a type of short-range close
combat move (unless it's a case where they can fire slashing
waves from their claws using things like physical attack waves).
Most long distance claw slash attacks, if used, can also be
dodged or blocked (Depending on the vampire and their abilities
if the opponent can account for the vampire's enhanced strength,
and their abilities), though opponents should be careful of
vampires who have claws that are able to cut through metal, as
some vampires do have much stronger claws that can claw through
metal objects.
- Vampire Discipline Affinity: Depending on vampire, and their
training and clan, vampires are able to learn the vampire
disciplines of any vampire clan that they have an affinity for
(usually determined by the vampire clan they belong to. Every
vampire clan has their own set of abilities and disciplines,
which vampires can learn if they are trained. There are a number
of vampire disciplines out there that vampires can learn
depending on the clan. One category of disciplines usually uses
supernatural abilities, where vampires utilize different
enhancements to their vampire abilities (Such as the Lasombra
using disciplines to enhance darkness control or the Gangrel
clan using clans to grant them better shapeshifting powers to
give them animal-like features). There are a variety of vampire
disciplines, from physical combat, to transformation abilities,
to even alchemic abilities that exist, and these are
specifically designed to be used by vampires. This depends on
the vampire, as their training usually depends on the clan they
belong to, or the training they receive (as there are general
vampires not part of clans that may use individual discipline
abilities). Most vampires usually learn vampire disciplines in
order to find ways to enhance their power further and take
advantage of their skill affinities, so that they can use their
abilities to their maximum. As one might expect, each discipline
has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, which depend on the
disciplines. For example, combat based disciplines are usually
only used in close combat, where they often don't gain long
range attack skills with combat based disciplines. What
disciplines a vampire can learn is dependent on their vampire
heritage and their training, as well as the clan they train in
since they will most often learn these from a vampire clan. Some
disciplines may require specific training before a vampire can
use it, in which case the vampire must usually train for
whatever power is required to use the discipline. For example,
those vampires without certain magic affinities that are
required for alchemy won't be able to learn any thaumaturgy
skills, or vampires without good control of darkness cannot use
the oblivion discipline.
Darkfire Kenpo Training (Darkfires can usually learn up to four
or five sub-styles, but more substyles means skills won't be as
refined as those who specialize in less styles):
- Darkfire Combat Style: Darkfire Kenpo: This is a variation of
Chinese Kenpo, utilized mostly by the Darkfire family as they
modified the style to fit their own combat style. It still has
the same substyles (and a few other substyles thanks to the
Darkfires modifying the style), but has been modified so that
the Darkfires can better focus their combat talents through this
style. This style has many substyles, allowing for many
different options in terms of how the Darkfires want to train.
There are styles based in defense, some based in raw offensive
power, and some that are more balanced. There is even a few
unique substyles based around the Darkfires using elemental
power in their combat, such as the Leijiquan substyle that uses
lightning in combination with physical combat for techniques
like a lightning punch that can strike the opponent on impact.
The Darkfires allowed slight modification of this style (usually
more modification is done around the unique elemental
substyles), where each Darkfire is able to modify it based on
the substyle they use and combine different substyles together
for different types of combat (such as some that might combine
Ranshohan (fire style) with the Piquaquan substyle to create
rotating force that explodes when the user hits an object or
opponent). Those that use more defensive substyles can focus on
defense, or those that want to focus on power can focus on
overwhelming opponents with a powerful offensive. This is mostly
dependent on the individual Darkfire's fighting style, and this
is the Darkfire family's choice style of combat. Since it is
quite a versatile style that can be adapted to many different
styles, this style is very useful to help the Darkfires hone
their combat talent. Usually, this style is like most styles
where no matter what substyles are used, how it is used is
dependent on the person using the style. Almost every style has
strengths and weaknesses, such as one focused in offensive power
will not have much defense, or elemental styles can be countered
by counter elements. And despite how good the Darkfires are at
fighting, there are opponents out there that can still outclass
them even though the Darkfires are a clan that is very good at
combat. It is also worth nothing that using more substyles makes
this style harder to master, and may not be as effective against
those that limit and master fewer substyles even if having more
substyles means more versatile combat (so using less or more
both have advantages and disadvantages).
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Tai Chi/Taijiquan (Shadow Boxing):
Developed as a martial arts style, Tai Chi is often known by
many as more of an exercise regiment than a fighting style. This
style focuses on meditation, movement, and focus. While many
recognize Tai Chi for slow movements, there are also faster
paced forms that are taught for combat. This style uses
coordination and relaxation to increase the body's
effectiveness, rather than using muscle tension like many other
styles. This is often more of a defensive style, in which a user
focuses more on neutralizing or redirecting attacks, and usually
doesn't focus on attack. This style is known for it's health
benefits, as users of this style often use things like
meditation to relieve stress in the body, and using movements to
strengthen the body. Users of this style not only benefit from
it in combat, but their training can also improve their daily
life style, in which users of this style are less susceptible to
stress and body tension, allowing their bodies to stay in peak
physical shape longer. When in combat, the focus of this style
is response to changes in outside forces, in which the body is
trained to respond to different aspects based on how the person
uses the style. In this style, the focus is not on opposing
force to meet attacks, but is on redirecting and yielding to
attacks. Users of this style learn flexibility and agility, so
that they can more easily avoid attacks from opponents. However,
just because this style is more defensive doesn't mean users
don't have means to attack. This style focuses on throws,
grapples and other methods to redirect opponents, in which users
of this style take advantage of an opponent's momentum. For
example, when an opponent throws a punch, the user may use a
technique to duck under the punch and then throw them while
their momentum is carrying the opponent forward. Because the
body is trained to react to certain forces, this style tends to
focus on honing the body to react instinctively, and allows
users to train themselves defensively. Because of how this style
is, this style is not a powerhouse style, but does work well
against powerhouse styles as this style can redirect stronger
opponents and sometimes counter faster opponents. This style is
more about avoiding fights rather than engaging, meaning this
style is not usually for those seeking fights, but more for
those seeking to avoid fights. The major weakness of this style
is that it relies on relaxation and coordination, so opponents
who let anger or other stress causing emotions into their life
will often be hindered in this style. And like any style, this
style may be countered depending on the user, experience and the
techniques an opponent might have.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Baguazhang (Eight Palms): This
sub-style is known for it's use of circular movement as well as
it's coiled and uncoiling actions. This style is based around a
more balanced style, using similar techniques to the Tai Chi
style. This style is more about open palm strikes, known for
it's flexibility and body alignment. Users learn a lot of low
stances, staying low to the ground, and striking opponents
vitals through proper striking techniques, throws and precise
footwork. This style is a very balanced style, allowing a user
to build their stats up more evenly than some other styles. This
is a very simple style to learn, as it is pretty simple to train
and learn, but it is still a very skilled style to those that
would take the time to master it in its entirety. While this
technique isn't about overwhelming power or about pure defense
like some styles, users of this style can still keep up with
many other focused styles, as this style has some useful
techniques like how to break one's defense with an open palm
strike or using certain close combat grappling and joint locks
to disable others. By using this style, users have more of a
circular movement around their opponents, and focuses on
patience rather than rushing in. Those that practice this must
have the patience to keep calm and watch their opponents,
waiting for openings or waiting for opponents to make their
moves in order to counter-attack. This style may seem simple,
but it's training allows for more focus and control, and is a
great style for those that want to learn to focus and learn
patience since the style teaches focus and patience to help
focus the mind. This, similar to Tai Chi, is a style that not
only trains the body, but also trains the mind as well by
training reflexes, reactions and even helping improve thought
when in stressful situations. Though simple, this style is not
to be underestimated, as masters of this style are very good at
countering other styles. Though, as one might expect, opponents
can outclass this style with certain more focused styles (like
pure power styles or pure speed styles might outclass this since
this doesn't focus on specific stats). When facing a style, it
is not just the style itself, but mastery, experience and
technique that often determine who will win using certain
styles.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Hikaken/Piquaquan (Chop Hanging
Fists): This is a substyle of Chinese Kenpo, which goes by the
name Hikaken, or is also known as Piquaquan (chop-hanging
fists). This sub-style focuses on striking power, relying on the
rotations of the arms and it's open palmed techniques to create
stronger striking techniques. This style lets the user use their
arms and legs like whips to build up incredible force in their
attacks, which lets them not only hit harder and faster, but
makes their techniques even harder to dodge. This technique uses
training similar to Baguazhang, except that this style focuses
more on attack than on defense. This sub-style is incredibly
powerful, in which those who master it can even overpower
certain metals such as an advanced user who dented the top of a
bus with this style. This style uses rotation, in which the body
rotates to build momentum and strength, to strike opponents.
This is a dangerous style to opponents, as this style can
usually break the bones of opponents hit with this style and do
severe damage to the body when opponents are struck, due to the
strength of the techniques of this style. Combined with the
enhanced movement, this style can be a great style for keeping
opponents on the defensive, as this style is focused more around
overpowering opponents than on defending them. However, that
doesn't mean that defense takes a backseat in this style, as
this style still uses enhanced movement to move around enemies
using rotational movement (such as the stepping method Kouho
Haiho). This style is best used at medium to long range, and is
capable of producing massive damage against opponents when used
properly. This style is a much more offensive style, focusing
more on offense than on defense, though this still uses movement
to great effect, as this style focuses on not wasting a single
move, as every move in this style has a purpose, whether it's to
dodge an attack, or build momentum. Though those who use this
style often find ways to use dodging to build momentum for
attacks. The only real problem with this style is that those
that use this style recklessly can do just as much damage to
their body as opponents, as some users have been known to
shatter the bones in limbs when doing this if they execute
techniques wrong. And like most styles, there are other styles
that can counter this style, depending on the style, experience
and abilities an opponent might have.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Uryuu Banda (Black Dragon Smash):
This is another substyle of Chinese Kenpo, which involves dual
stage attacks modified by the Darkfires to be used in their own
combat style based on Chinese Kenpo. This style is very
difficult to master, requiring years of training to learn
effectively even among combat prodigies. This style attacks
using a simple attack, but attacks in a way that when the user
blocks, the user does a second attack. One such example is using
an elbow attack, which is then blocked, and the user extends
their arm and hit the opponent on the side of the neck. This
style often requires experienced opponents to dodge the second
attack, making this very useful against those who don't have
enough martial arts knowledge as this can be used very
effectively against opponents as it was designed to counter most
mortal reflexes as it relies on the opponent blocking the attack
so the user can deliver the second, more brutal attack. This
style is meant for the first attack to be predictable, with the
second attack being far less predictable. As this style not only
relies on the first stage being predictable, but also on the
opponent blocking, this style requires not just precise movement
and deception, but also requires the user to predict how his
opponent will block an attack. This is designed to take on those
with enhanced combat intuition who rely on their combat instinct
rather than their techniques. As such, this is very useful
against not just lesser martial artists that aren't well trained
enough, but also works against experienced martial artists that
have trained their bodies to react certain ways to certain
attacks. As such, those more experienced often have a harder
time countering the second attack of this style. This also works
against those with raw combat talents, as this can also take
advantage of combat talents as most combat talents react to
attacks similarly (as in most will dodge an attack or block it
in some form). As such, the best way to combat this style is
with advanced training techniques, usually using techniques to
counter rather than relying on instinct to guide one's
movements. Since this takes advantage of those who have trained
their bodies to react, the obvious answer is to think about
one's attacks in the moment rather than react (though they can't
think too long or the first attack will hit them). And like with
most styles, there are other ways to counter this depending on
the style, user and experience.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Chishoken/Ditangquan (Ground Boxing):
This is a very difficult substyle of the Chinese Kenpo style, in
which the user focuses solely on speed and acrobatics, usually
using speed and fast attacks to try and overwhelm opponents. In
normal Ditangquan, the users would focus on defense and offense,
but this version of the style was modified by users for those
that have a more speedy and offensive style. Users of this style
train in aerial acrobatics, as well as things like tumbles,
falls, turns, somersaults and other movement options in order to
train their movement and agility in combat. By doing this, users
are able to not only take on opponents with blinding speed, but
can also take out groups of opponents extremely quickly.
Combined with the combat techniques to strike the opponents
similar to other styles like Baguazhang, this style focuses on
open palmed strikes, and strikes the vital points to disable
opponents by using speed to try and strike their vitals enough
times to disable them. This style is often favored by those who
specialize in speed-based combat, and requires an immense amount
of combat speed and flexibility to utilize this ability
effectively. Because of the faster movement, the power of the
attacks also increases, meaning this form also has increased
power compared to some other styles as well. This style also
trains the mind and reflexes, as the higher speed the body is
trained to move at often requires the mind to react and operate
far more quickly than with other styles. However, the main focus
of this is speed and agility over all else, using techniques to
keep opponents from being able to attack by using fast attacks
to keep opponents on the defensive. Masters of this style can
utilize this to almost appear to vanish when moving to dodge or
attack, with some being able to move fast enough that their
attacks are not even visible to the naked eye. When it comes to
this style, the major downside is that the body focuses on
agility and speed, so attacks are focused with that in mind. The
increased power is more an effect at moving at higher speeds,
but other than that, most attacks are actually a bit weaker
since speed is more heavily trained for. This means that attacks
are a bit weaker (though the increased speed increasing power
and attacking vitals are both means to counter this weakness).
The training of the mind is also important, as without this
training, the mind wouldn't be able to comprehend how fast they
were going which would be a major problem. Some that cannot
process how fast they move with this style may have to only use
this in short bursts. Other than that, mostly the same rules
apply as other styles, where styles, users and experience
usually combine to determine who will win overall as it is not
just one factor that decides who would win a fight using a
style. This is also the most difficult style to master,
requiring time and effective training no matter the combat
talent as this style requires building up the body and mind, not
just learning techniques like most people think.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Ranshoquan (Burning Fist): This style
is based around using flames in combat, which is one of the
substyles created by Qrow Darkfire when he was building the
Darkfire combat style. Since many Darkfires often start with
flame natures, this style is often taught as one of the first
elemental substyles one can be exposed to. In this substyle of
the Darkfire Kenpo style, this combines elements of Baguazhang
and Piquaquan into the style, in which users learn a balanced
combat style. However, in this style, instead of just normal
physical attacks, users learn to incorporate their fire affinity
into using their flames (usually dark flames or holy flames
depending on the affinity). In this style, open palmed attacks
are used to strike the opponent, often striking them with fiery
fists. Depending on the Darkfires there are different ways to
utilize this style, where some will use a more low stance and
use the arm momentum to shoot fireballs from their open handed
strikes, or some will focus their flames to create explosive
impacts using Piquaquan concepts (such as using the arm like a
whip while the hand is concentrated in powerful flames, and
having the impact of the hand create an explosion of flames on
impact). As one might imagine, this is quite an adaptable style,
which different users can utilize different aspects of this
style. Users can also combine this with certain other substyles
as well, where they can combine the elements of fire with their
substyles to create different combinations. This style is more
of a balanced style, focused on it's strikes and fiery attacks
that do more damage when striking the opponent. For the most
part, as one might expect, this style is weaker to water and ice
attacks, and if an opponent uses water or ice, they can diffuse
the fire out of this combat style. Other than that, this is like
any other combat style, and can be countered by others depending
on the opponent's style, experience and abilities in the style.
This style is usually pretty balanced, so usually specialist
styles that focus on specific aspects like power or speed may
have ways to overcome this style.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Fennushui (Flowing Water): There is
no shortage of the styles that try to focus on the fluid motion
of water, and creating the type of force flowing water can
create. There are many styles that try their best to utilize
this aspect knowing how combining fluid movement with strong
impacts can create a devastating attack. This style was created
under the same premise as many other flowing water type styles.
In this style, the Darkfires combined elements of Tai Chi with
Baguazhang. By using Tai Chi's movement and defensive style, a
user can combine that with the Baguazhang coiled striking style
to create a style that can hit with both great agility and
immense force. Those that learn this style are also able to
combine water into their style, where they specifically learn to
use water in different ways. For offensive fighting, the user
uses the movement of Taichi to build up movement as they focus
water into a pressurized state, and then the coiled strike to
essentially push the water attack to blast an opponent at the
point of impact of the attack. To the untrained eye, it often
looks like a user hits an opponent and blasts them with water at
the point of impact. This style focuses on martial arts to
enhance the movement and striking power of water attacks, which
as many know can hit with immense force. In defense, users often
use the kinetic absorption aspect of water, where they will use
water in conjunction with blocking in order to lessen impacts.
For example, anyone that has tried to move underwater knows it
takes far more effort to move around than on the surface. By
applying this to defense, a user uses water to slow an
opponent's attack, so that they can more easily block the
attack. Certain advanced users of this style can also combine
this with other aspects of water, such as boiling water, to
damage opponents when they try to hit the user, or some can even
use cold water to freeze people who come into contact with their
water (or even turn their attacks into freezing attacks). While
this is meant to be used with normal water, it is still a useful
combat style that utilizes the aspects of water to its fullest.
This is a balanced style, but focuses more on striking power and
counterattacks than on pure offensive power or defense.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Bingchugan (Freezing Touch): This
style utilizes aspects from Jujitsu and Judo, which focuses on
different grabs and throws. This style is more up close and used
at close range. Borrowing certain aspects from other styles and
combining them with this style, a user learns this style as a
means to grab opponents. In addition to utilizing this style to
throw or lock down opponents, this style also focuses on what
this style refers to as the "Freezing Touch" for which the style
is named after. When using this style, a Darkfire uses their
elemental touch power in combination with their combat, where
they are able to freeze objects through physical contact.
Opponents will often figure out quickly how dangerous this can
be when combined with the aspects this style is combined with.
Those that are skilled in this style use grabs, joint locks and
other close combat holds that can not only restrain opponents,
but more aggressive users of this style can do things like break
someone's bones, or dislocate (or even shatter) joints. And when
combined with the freezing touch of this style, the user uses
the contact with the opponent to freeze the part of the body
they are touching. While most Darkfires don't go for lethal
attacks, this style can be a very deadly style to those that use
it, as freezing the body can not only do damage, but severely
slow and even stop opponents. By freezing a part of the body,
that part of the body will be slowed considerably unless the
opponent completely breaks the ice freezing the part of the body
(And in certain stronger uses of ice could stop movement
completely). The Darkfires who use this style only utilize the
freezing touch aspect of this style in order to disable
opponents, even though some like may also use this style to kill
opponents. This style is mostly about close combat, so opponents
will often find that staying out of physical contact range is
best with this style. Because this style relies on touch and
grabbing an opponent, opponents should not give the Darkfire a
chance to grab them. While Darkfires can fire ice attacks at
long range opponents, usually distance is a better option than
fighting up close when it comes to this style. Users can also
counter the freezing touch with certain energy defenses
(preventing their body from being frozen directly), or they can
counter with counters to ice (such as fire).
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Leiji (Lightning Strike): This is a
style that is often replicated in other styles just as the
aspect of flowing water is. Many styles focus on striking fast
and striking strong like lightning. In this style, users learn
to do just that. By using the Chrishoken elements of the Kenpo
style, a Darkfire learns extreme speed, while also having to
learn Baguazhang to strike opponents. When done correctly, the
style will often be extremely fast, while also hitting with
immense impact. When combined with lightning manipulation, users
of this style are able to hit opponents and then use their
lightning at the point of impact to blast opponents. While this
may seem similar to the flowing water style in some aspects,
this style focuses more on speed and striking power. When using
this style, most Darkfires not only focus on amping their bodies
with lightning to enhance their physical stats, but also focus
on electrocuting their enemies when striking them or when
blocking attacks. Some users of this style have even thrown in
some aspects of Judo and Jujitsu to grab, throw or even lock
down opponents and then use their lightning to electrocute
opponents (usually as a means to disable them). Like Chrishoken,
this is a mostly offensive style, designed around overwhelming
an opponent and not allowing them to get an attack in rather
than fighting defensively. Users of this style are both fast and
hit with strong force, making this a great style to use
offensively. Darkfires that use the grabs, locks and holds also
have certain other options when fighting up close, which gives
this style even better use against opponents. However, unlike
the Chrishoken style that focuses more on offense, this style
does have some defensive options that are carried over from the
Baguazhang style. Users can not only use defensive blocks and
parries, but can also use lightning defensively to electrocute
people who try to make physical contact with opponents.
Opponents that want to counter this style will often find that
the best way to avoid electrical attacks is to use either water
to short out the style's lightning, or use non-conductive
clothes or armor to avoid getting electrocuted. Other than that,
this style can be countered like any other speed based style.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Fengyakugan (Wind Fang): As one might
guess, this style utilizes the air in conjunction with physical
attacks. This style uses wind to carry the user and make them
more lightweight, even allowing one to use the wind to fly
around by using strong enough gusts of air to carry oneself.
However, in combat, this sub-style combines aspects of Tai Chi
for movement and agility with rotation techniques from
Piquaquan. Users in this style are trained to use rotation to
generate gusts of air around their bodies, which they they focus
into their attacks. When generating this air, the user focuses
and condenses it into their attacks, which can be used in a few
different ways. The first is that one can blast opponents on
impact, such as a punch could blast an opponent with a shockwave
from the attack, or the wind could even be fired in the form of
a shockwave from an attack, such as sending the force of a punch
using a shockwave of air. For the most part, this style is
focused around rotation to build up power. Just like Piquaquan,
users learn to use rotation to enhance their techniques, turning
their limbs into whips. However, in this style, users also learn
to use the wind generated in their movement to help their attack
and defense with advanced users even generating small tornadoes
around them to further enhance their combat attacks. When used
defensively, a user can use the wind to help redirect or parry
attacks, or one can even use the air to help them dodge an
attack by boosting their movement. However, this style gets his
name from the more aggressive combatants that use this style in
a different way. Instead of just creating shockwaves to blast
opponents, more aggressive users of this style instead focus the
air's shockwaves this style generates into slashes of air that
can slice through opponents. When used this way, users have been
known to slice through rock and some can even slice through
concrete, whether it's a close range attack, or a long range
shockwave style slashing wave. When used in a more aggressive
style, this style can be used to slash opponents instead of just
hitting them, such as a kick could slice through a large
boulder. This style is useful both at close and long range
thanks to its shockwave attacks. When fighting this style, it is
usually best countered using any counters to earth, such as
using objects like metal or solid enough objects that can block
shockwaves. This style can also be countered similar to
Piquaquan, since it uses more rotation styles of Piquaquan than
Tai Chi styles.
- Darkfire Kenpo Substyle: Yanbaoquan (Rock Blast): This style
is the earth style of combat. There are two major aspects to
this style. The first is a concept that combines Uryuu Banda
(the two-stage attack substyle), with a technique known as the
Futae no Kiwami. The idea behind the Futae no Kiwami is that
every material bears a level of resistance, and a single blow's
impact is wasted trying to break this resistance. Instead, this
style uses two stage attacks to get around this problem. This
style uses a normal attack, except that the first impact is
altered slightly so that the body can naturally do a split
second attack to take advantage of the first impact. For
example, the most starting form of the Futae no Kiwami is to hit
an object with the proximal interphalangeal joints of the hand
to absorb the objects kinetic resistance, and then immediately
folding the hand to hit with the knuckles on impact. When
combined with the Uryuu Banda substyle, users are able to use a
single attack to absorb the resistance when an opponent blocks,
and then strikes with a second attack immediately to do intense
damage. When done correctly, this style utilizes this to cause
heavy devastation to objects, such as someone could use this to
punch through a boulder or even a brick wall when used by a high
level user. Users in this style learn to utilize dual stage
attacks, where they attack an opponent, and then attack
immediately after using the concepts of the Futae no Kiwami to
hit with an even stronger attack at the moment of impact.
However, mastering this fighting style is the first step of the
Yanbaoquan style. When the user has mastered the basic combat
techniques using dual stage attacks, the user then learns to
utilize earth around their bodies, where they are able to learn
to do this with earth when fighting. For example, a user can
attack with a stone fist, and then at the moment of impact, turn
the stone fist in spears that can pierce the opponent after the
initial resistance has been broken by the first stage of the
attack. Because of the pure power of this, this style gets
favored by those that prefer raw power over other physical stats
due to the sheer damage the second stage attacks do. Advanced
users can even use three stage attacks once they've mastered the
style (such as a stone fist could become spikes to break through
an opponent, and then explode the spikes outward as a third
stage attack). While this is a powerful style, this style is
also the hardest to master. No amount of natural combat style
allows one to perfectly master this style, and this takes years
of intensive training to use properly. Most users only learn
this by training their body to instinctively use dual stage
attacks (requiring a big training path in the Uryuu Banda
substyle). If one wants to avoid the power of this style, one
needs only to stop the second stage of the attack. Since this
style requires precise timing, a split second off with this
style throws off the second attack completely. This is why the
style is so hard to master, since it requires precise movement
and timing to get right. Users that want to counter this can
also avoid close range combat if they want to avoid the attacks
altogether.
- Darkfire Kenpo Stepping Method: Sonido: This stepping method
is the other stepping method used across the Darkfire Kenpo
style, and seems to be based on hollow Sonido or hollow Sonido
was based on the Darkfire's art (as it's similar in nature and
both styles are similar enough to believe that one may have been
copied from the other, but no one knows which came first in a
chicken or the egg type situation). This is a supernatural style
training in movement, in which users are able to move at high
speeds, replicating certain supernatural beings movements using
amplified physical stats and techniques. This style of movement
uses supernatural movement styles in order to utilize their
speed to the utmost ability. In the case of the Darkfires, they
use their natural vampire physical amplification of their bodies
to power the speed boost in this style. When used, this is
designed to allow users to move at high speeds, covering
distances between then or an opponent or even traveling at high
speeds when needed. This style produces an audible boom or
static when used, which led to it's name which literally
translates to "Sound Step." Advanced users of this style are
fast enough to leave afterimages, and some have even figured out
how to use certain steps in order to leave behind essence that
creates an almost solid afterimage. While not fully there, the
image has some substance to it in which a user can do damage
with this, or use it to fool opponents while they move behind
them. This style is extremely fast, and when in motion, the user
will often disappear from view because they move faster than the
eyes can track. By using this, the Darkfires incorporated this
into their combat styles, alongside the Kouho Haiho. While the
Kouho Haiho is used at close range, this is used at mid range or
long range in order to cover distances, but can also be used in
close combat due to it allowing fast movement even if one needs
to move around an obstacle. Some elemental style users have even
combined this with certain elemental styles to grant them
certain effects, such as those with lightning may boost their
Sonido to enhance their movement speed by using lightning
amplification to increase the movement and power of their body.
Both stepping methods are essential for any Darkfire Kenpo user
as the style uses Sonido and Kouho Haiho as a backbone of the
Darkfire Kenpo style since the legs are usually the foundation
of most combat styles. This is only a movement method though,
and not a combat style unto itself, so using it on it's own is
not always as effective. However, if one wants to counter this,
they can usually know when someone uses it by the sound the user
makes when they go into it. If one wants to counter it, there
are plenty of high speed movement options and other movement
styles that can counter this depending on the skill of the user.
As with any style, the user can be overcome when using this
depending on the opponent's style, skill, experience and
techniques they may have.
- Darkfire Kenpo Stepping Method: Kouhou Haiho: This is the
stepping method used by those who use Chinese Kenpo, being
derived from the Baguazhang sub-style and modified to work for
the Darkfire Kenpo style as it's main way of moving around and
using stepping methods. This technique is focused on dodging
opponents, and specializes in moving around opponents while
they're attacking. The key to this technique is how the user
moves their feet, as when the user steps forward with the right
foot they can put all their weight on it and that leaves the
left foot free, allowing them to pivot away to the other side of
the opponent. The user leaves their upper body in place until
the very last moment, and by pivoting away, the user moves with
immense speed when they pivot away. Users often use this in
order to sidestep opponents and get behind them, in which this
style is more about moving to avoid attacks. However, this style
is far from being purely defensive, as this stepping method does
also have offensive elements to it. The main thing is that this
makes taking advantage of opponents easier, as the point of this
movement to the side also can be used to knock opponents
off-balance by kicking their legs while the opponent is in
motion. By doing this, users learn to take advantage of an
opponent's momentum, and use it to their advantage. Because it
uses the opponent's momentum, not the user's own physical
strength, most find the throws extremely easy to use when done
right as this can knock even stronger and larger opponent's
off-balance. Typically, this style is only really used in close
quarters to an opponent, and is only effective when used near an
opponent. Using it far away doesn't grant any special movements,
since this style is more for sidestepping around opponents than
moving through empty space. As such, users of this style should
only really use this in close quarters combat, and switch to the
second stepping method, Sonido, when trying to move through
distance (more on Sonido later). This stepping method also has
to be done precisely to be effective, and if an opponent figures
out what the user is doing, they can also move out of the way if
they can change their movement direction. The major use for this
is getting behind opponents, so once opponent's figure this out,
this stepping method can be countered since it is a very simple
stepping method.
- Darkfire Kenpo Stepping Method Variation: Elemental Step:
Depending on the Darkfire, there are a number of ways to use
elementals to enhance movement. Some Darkfires have developed
ways to utilize elements in their movement methods, with each
element being able to be used differently. There are many ways
to use elements in stepping methods, so it is hard to list them
all, but there are some major uses. For fire, users may utilize
it to create explosions under their feet to boost them forward,
or they may use this to increase their leg strength by using
fire amplification of their legs, or they may use fire to heat
their bodies and use the heat to increase blood flow and muscle
tensity so that the body can move faster. For water
manipulation, some may use this to help them stop when they are
in motion more easily, to reduce friction by using water to
absorb the heat from friction or create a moving water stream
that they can ride as a means to move more easily with less
physical movement. For ice manipulation, there are those that
use this for reducing friction by reducing heat, or even using
sliding movement to more easily move and make their movements
less predictable. For lightning manipulation, users have been
known to enhance their legs with lightning to enhance their
physical stats and nervous system reactions, or they have also
been known to use this to stick to objects using static cling if
a surface is magnetic. For wind manipulation, users have been
known to use air manipulation to reduce wind resistance
(increasing one's speed) or using gusts of wind with movement to
help the body move faster by using the wind to help move the
feet. For earth manipulation, users have been known to stick to
materials, or some have also used foot movement to create waves
through the earth to release their built up kinetic energy into
the earth so they can build up more kinetic energy when moving,
or some have also been able to kick up earth to use as stepping
stones, such as using stones in the air as platforms to bounce
off of. For the most part, each element can be used differently,
and depending on the Darkfire, there are many ways to use
elements besides just the main uses that are listed. For the
most part, this is an optional training that some Darkfires use,
depending on the elements they use. Depending on the element
used, each element's effects have counters, such as using water
to short out lightning can negate lightning amplification and
static cling abilities. Depending on the skill used, the skills
will always have counters usually depending on the elemental
power used, meaning that the individual stepping method can
usually be countered by countering the element that is used.
Other Combat Abilities:
- Weapon Combat Styles: While the Darkfires are known for
regeneration, they are also known for physical combat. Depending
on the Darkfire, Darkfires are skilled weapons users that
utilize weapons depending on the background and training.
Depending on the Darkfire, all Darkfires are trained in basic
weapons styles, with the main basic styles being Kenjutsu and
Kendo. However, each Darkfire can learn different styles
depending on their combat abilities. There are many weapon user
styles, from sword styles, to knife styles to even blunt weapons
or other weapons. Depending on the skills of the Darkfire, most
Darkfires choose skills based on their own specific skillset. In
terms of the Darkfires, there are usually two main types of
weapon styles that the Darkfires use. The first are the
swordsmen of the Darkfire clan. Those Darkfires trained in
swordsmanship, usually among the Darkfires that were former
samurai in ancient Japan, often have sword styles designed
around using swords in combat. Some of the more known sword
styles beyond basic styles include the Shingetsu Style, and the
Gatotsu style. In these cases, the Darkfires trained in
swordsmanship often use katanas in combat as their preferred
weapon. The second most common are the assassin weapon styles of
the assassin type Darkfires who are trained for stealthful
assassination. For the assassin type Darkfires, their styles are
based not just around swords, but the assassin Darkfires tend to
favor smaller weapons like knives and other weapons useful in
assassinations. In this aspect, assassin type Darkfires tend to
favor styles that are more suited to their assassin natures.
Most assassin Darkfires usually favor some form of Ansatsuken,
which is a Japanese concept of combat that spawned many assassin
styles. Some examples of Ansatsuken include Satsujinken
(Murderous Sword Style) which uses the sword to specifically
kill opponents, the Sasoriken style (Scorpion Blade) that uses
certain kill styles using knives to strike like a scorpion, and
the Sentoken (Whirling Blade) that utilizes a variety of
different weapons that are used uniquely for assassination
techniques. Almost all Darkfires fall into one of the two
categories, no matter how they are trained in their base skills.
Of course, as one might imagine, there are plenty of styles, so
a Darkfire can have any style they want depending on if they can
find someone to teach them. Each style has its own strengths and
weaknesses, which are different for each style. For example,
speed based styles might be countered by power based styles or
vice versa.
- Master Weapon Users/Marksmen and Weapon Counter Styles: During
their time fighting and learning combat, the Darkfires have
often become a master of weapons, in which most have trained in
a number of weapons from swords to knives to staves, and even
many knowing how to use guns. For the most part, Darkfires have
to learn different weapons to learn different combat styles, so
the Darkfires will often figure out how weapons work into their
styles over time and find weapons that they are comfortable
using. For example, the Darkfires may not be much for using guns
in combat, but there are many Darkfires who have been trained in
gun style combat, where many have become expert marksmen even
among those Darkfires that don't use guns. However, the main
purposes to train with so many weapons is not just to find what
the Darkfire is comfortable with, but to train them in how to
combat and counter weapons. For example, training in guns shows
Darkfires what to look for in those that use guns, such as
noticing when the enemy is focused on aiming, or using the
barrel of the gun as a visual reference to see where the
opponent is aiming their gun. This works for many weapon types,
where Darkfires learn to understand how weapons are used and
learn to recognize how their opponents will use weapons against
them. While they do get this training in their weapon styles,
the Darkfires also learn how to counter supernatural weapons,
where the Darkfires train to combat supernaturals and learn to
fight supernatural weapons. For example, a Darkfire can find
ways to counter a weapons user that can fire lightning from
their sword in some fashion, such as some who may use a metal
weapon to absorb the lightning from the supernatural weapon.
Depending on the Darkfire, the Darkfires are experts in weapons
from using them, to even learning how to counter them. As the
Darkfires would say: If one wants to counter something, they
must first understand it themselves. This allows Darkfires a
much more knowledgeable use of weapons, which they take
advantage of. While Darkfires do tend to favor certain types of
weapons depending on the Darkfire, they can use most any weapon
to some extent, with Darkfires having varying skill with others
depending on their training.
- Supernatural Weapons Expert: During the Darkfire's specialized
supernatural training over the years, which taught them a lot
about supernaturals, the Darkfires have learned how to utilize a
number of supernatural hunter weapons that can be used to fight
enemies even if they are not supernatural hunters themselves.
Among them include things like silver weapons to fight
werewolves, holy weapons to fight vampires, and even dragon
killer weapons to fight human form dragons. Before the varanium
and stilled silver compounds to negate supernatural specific
abilities, the Darkfires relied on special preparation and
supernatural hunter weapons in order to combat supernatural
threats (though the Darkfires did utilize varanium and stilled
silver after they started to be used in the present timeline).
For example, before going into a werewolf infested forest, the
Darkfires would try to determine what kind of werewolves they
were fighting, and if vulnerable to silver, they would utilize
silver throwing knives and other silver weapons if the
werewolves they were fighting were vulnerable to it. There are a
number of supernatural hunter weapons that the Darkfires know
how to use, and know how to utilize them thanks to their time
spent fighting supernaturals. There are many types of
supernatural hunter weapons and sub-weapons, but the Darkfires
have a variety of weapons with some even coming up with their
own weapons, such as Kindron Darkfire who came up with the idea
to create spyrite weapons to fight dark spirits when he
developed a stable spyrite material. Among weapons the Darkfires
use include silver throwing knives, blessed holy weapons,
throwing axes designed to take out an opponent's wings, holy
water for fighting unholy creatures and demons, and even having
angel blades if for some reason a Darkfire has to fight an
angel. Depending on the situation and the Darkfire, most
Darkfires have a collection of weapons. However, depending on
the weapon, Darkfires do have to be careful, as they cannot hold
certain holy weapons without special equipment, such as how
Kindron Darkfire invented special gloves for holding holy
weapons if one is not able to hold holy weapons/items normally.
- Other Physical Combat Styles: While Darkfire Kenpo if often
the favored style used by the Darkfires, the Darkfires do also
tend to train and learn basics of other styles, whether it is to
apply aspects to their own style or to learn how styles work so
they can counter them. Just like weapon styles, the Darkfires
also train in other combat styles to learn how to counter them,
where they will even learn how supernatural combat styles work
so that they can more easily combat them. Depending on the
Darkfire, some may even choose to specialize in other styles
other than Darkfire Kenpo if they find another style they might
prefer. Because of how many styles are out there from official
styles of combat, to supernatural combat styles, and even a lot
of unique combat styles, it is hard to list each one. For the
most part, it comes down to what the Darkfire wants to learn and
if they can find someone to teach them certain combat styles.
For the most part, martial arts styles alone are quite numerous,
and depending on the preferred style of the Darkfire, they may
find a style better suited to them, such as one Darkfire who
chose to specialize in Muay Thai rather than the Darkfire Kenpo
style. There are also many Darkfires who might learn
supernatural combat styles, which is how many Darkfires come up
with new variations of the Darkfire Kenpo styles, such as how
some of the elemental substyles were inspired by aspects of
other supernaturals (such as the elemental step abilities having
some inspiration from the Hazeldine's unique elemental steps to
match their own elemental combat styles). The most important
aspect of combat though for the Darkfires is learning to master
their own combat potential, and all their combat styles are
based on this aspect. There are a number of combat styles
available, so listing them all is impossible, but a general
common thing is that the more styles one knows, the harder it is
to master them all. While having multiple styles does allow one
to mix and match aspects of styles more easily, trying to train
in too many styles can limit one's combat ability. Another thing
to note is that style has its own strengths and weaknesses. For
example, grapple and throwing styles require close combat and
making physical contact with opponents, or styles relying on
power may be countered by speed-based styles that can dodge the
power based style.
- Supernatural Training: Supernatural Strengths and Weaknesses
Expert: Since most supernaturals have to fight other rival
supernaturals and have to learn in order to survive their
fights, most learn everything they can about other races and
become experts in almost every kind of creature, and while they
specialize in specific types of supernaturals (Like how some
will go after only rival supernaturals like werewolves might go
after rival werewolves or vampires), most supernaturals can
learn to fight many other types of creatures as well depending
on their training. And depending on their training, most
supernaturals have to learn how to fight different types of
creatures whether they want to or not once they start training
(as many supernaturals will get hunted down by not only other
supernaturals, but by supernatural hunters for simply existing).
Depending on the supernatural, some will search libraries on all
manners of supernatural lore and creatures depending on what
they have access to, and over time they will come to know the
strengths and weaknesses of many types of races, including
spells, exorcisms and traps used against almost all manners of
supernaturals. Depending on the age and experience of the
supernatural, most learn as much about killing other
supernaturals as they can, as the more they know about fighting
supernaturals, the higher their chance of survival against a
wide variety of possible threats they may encounter. Of course,
supernaturals typically use this opportunity to learn what they
can, but most typically are only limited by the information they
can find and what information they can retain. However, the best
way to learn to fight supernaturals is through experience,
though knowledge of supernaturals is also very important. It is
important to balance knowledge and experience when fighting
supernaturals, and being sure to know the strengths and
weaknesses of most supernaturals if they want to survive, since
threats may come in all shapes and sizes. Of course, this can be
limited depending on the knowledge of a user, where some may not
know about certain creatures, such as how the The'Galin were not
in any history books before they just suddenly appeared, and
only angels and demons from before time began knew of them.
- Supernatural Training: Supernatural Hunting and
Tracking/Tracking Avoidance: For the most part, supernaturals
have to learn specifically how supernaturals are tracked, not
just so they can track their enemies, but to learn how those
like supernatural hunters might track them . Because
supernaturals are getting smarter and learning to counter
supernatural hunters, supernatural hunters have to be creative
in how they handle tracking supernaturals, which also means
supernaturals must adapt in response in a never-ending cycle.
Usually, training can involve things like being able to analyze
foot steps of creatures to find out more about where their
opponent is going, while some more skilled supernaturals can use
tracking more effectively to learn more about the supernaturals
they're tracking. For example, many supernaturals that don't
rely on supernatural senses may use foot prints to track an
opponent, but master level supernaturals can learn what kind of
creature made the prints by analyzing things like how deep the
footprint is and the size of the stride being a way to tell a
rough estimate of the weight of the make of the tracks, or even
traces of elements in the footprints could be signs of certain
supernaturals (such as demons leave behind a sulfuric trace
wherever they go and is also in their footsteps). In addition,
supernaturals are also trained to listen to the environment, in
which the environment can be a great way to track opponents. For
example, most know that when everything in a forest goes quiet,
even the bugs, it usually means there is a predator nearby, and
some supernaturals can use that to tell when they are close to a
possible target. This skill is something that not only requires
knowledge of tracking, and using the environment, but also
requires knowledge of supernaturals as well. For example, some
werecreatures actually jump through trees in the forest rather
than walk on the ground, in which supernaturals have to
understand that and use that knowledge to their advantage.
Supernaturals usually have a sense of when creatures are around
them, and most are trained specifically to track supernatural
creatures. Most have come up with many ways to track
supernaturals, as the world of supernatural hunting is rapidly
changing as supernaturals come to learn supernatural hunter
tricks for hunting. And while some may learn to use hunting and
tracking without supernatural senses, many supernaturals also
have supernatural senses that can also help them more easily
track or sense potential enemies they may encounter, or
potential enemies that might be tracking them.
- Supernatural Training: Exorcism, Weakness and Trap Knowledge:
Most supernaturals have to learn how to use exorcisms and traps
for a multitude of creatures and mythologies, due to exorcisms
and traps being something that can possibly save their lives
against certain types of enemies. Due to supernaturals having to
learn about a number of supernaturals, and having to adapt to
many situations, most have to learn extensively what
supernaturals and supernatural hunters are weak to, and how to
cast out stronger supernaturals than they can handle if they
want to survive. Supernaturals can use exorcisms and traps in
order to take advantage of other races weaknesses, and typically
use this on other creatures that are vulnerable to exorcisms and
traps as a means to overcome them more easily. For example,
almost any supernatural and human these days know that holy oil
works well for trapping angels, and many even know demonic
exorcisms to exorcise angels back to Heaven. For the most part,
they also know how most supernaturals operate, as they have to
know the differences between supernatural creatures and use
whatever weakness for the creatures they are trying to learn to
overcome. Most supernaturals seek as many ways to exorcise and
trap beings as possible, specifically for finding ways to trap
stronger enemies they may have to run away from, or finding
unique ways to counter some supernatural hunters who have come
up with new tricks as more and more supernaturals are trained in
supernatural hunter tactics. As such, many supernaturals that
are experienced have had the time to build up their knowledge
and even amateur supernaturals have learned about traps and
exorcisms to some degree as there are numbers of cases where
knowledge of this can help save a supernatural's life if used
properly even against some stronger opponents. Some
supernaturals have learned a lot about these not just through
books, but by watching other supernaturals and watching
supernatural hunters. Some even have unique ways to take
advantage of these based on their knowledge and creativity, such
as one set of supernatural hunters, who came up with the idea to
carve devil traps onto bullets in order to prevent a demon from
being able to leave the body they are in, which supernaturals
took and used to counter demons as well.
- Supernatural Training: Supernatural Hunter Extermination
Experts: Supernaturals who want to survive supernatural hunters
have to become experts in supernatural hunting techniques.
Besides just using them to fight other supernaturals,
supernaturals also have to use supernatural hunting tactics to
counter supernatural hunters that hunt them. Most supernaturals
will learn how supernatural hunters operate, whether the hunters
are human, werewolf, vampire or even demon or angel. In order to
survive, supernaturals learn everything they can about how
supernatural hunters operate, and how to avoid most supernatural
hunter traps or tracking. This is another aspect that makes some
supernaturals even more dangerous, as many supernaturals in
recent years have had to learn ways to counter supernatural
hunter traps and learn quickly the tricks supernatural hunters
used to find and combat them. Because all supernaturals do
encounter supernatural hunters from time to time that will try
to kill them (Some will hunt down supernaturals for simply
existing), they will often not only learn through books and
training, but most end up having to fight to survive against all
manners of creatures (not just humans, as there are even
supernaturals who act as supernatural hunters in some places).
Usually, hunters will hunt down almost any supernatural creature
even if some may only ever go after dangerous supernaturals, as
many hunters will see supernaturals as enemies. Because of this,
supernaturals have to learn quickly about how to avoid, counter
and kill almost any manner of supernatural hunters (many only
kill supernatural hunters when necessary, though the less moral
ones will actively hunt down and kill supernatural hunters to
protect themselves). Most supernatural hunters have to be very
creative about how they lure out spirit users like many
supernaturals, because of the fact that most learn over time how
supernatural hunters work, where supernatural hunters have to
learn new tricks and supernaturals have to again learn the new
tricks in a never-ending cycle.
- Supernatural Training: Presence Suppression/Crowd Blending:
Most supernaturals have to learn how to blend into crowds and
learn to avoid suspicion in order to avoid things like
supernatural hunters. It used to be that supernaturals had to
operate in secret in order to avoid the secrets of supernaturals
existing from getting out as was the unspoken rules before
supernaturals were revealed to the public. While that is not a
focus anymore, supernaturals still learn to blend into crowds
and learn to avoid suspicion from normal people, mostly to avoid
unnecessary attention. And because many supernaturals also live
in the open by learning to blend into crowds, this even more
important to avoid dangerous supernaturals who might try to take
them out if they are discovered. As such, the ability to blend
into a crowd is still just as important as it was before
supernaturals were discovered. For the most part, supernaturals
often learn the best ways to avoid drawing attention to
themselves in crowds, learning methods to keep suspicion off
them. For example, some supernaturals will have ways to hide
their weapons or supernatural items when out in public, often
wearing casual clothes or clothes to fit whatever area they're
in (such as wearing clothes common to the area they're in to
avoid looking out of place) that can allow them to not show
anything they might carry with them. Because a lot of
supernaturals aren't human, many supernaturals also have the
help of supernatural abilities to help hide their presences, and
even humans can learn things like the assassin's wavelength to
help them avoid detection by supernaturals and supernatural
hunters. Crowds can be very useful, as crowds can mask someone's
scent, due to so many people often being in one area that the
scents are impossible to differentiate, and hiding in crowds can
make one hard to find if they blend in to the crowd well enough,
allowing a supernatural to be able to avoid suspicion from
supernaturals they are hunting or from supernatural hunters (as
many supernaturals are always on the lookout for hunters). The
Darkfires, no matter how they're trained, use this to blend into
crowds whenever they can, as they often don't want to draw
attention to themselves, which has become quite important over
the years both to hide form supernatural hunters, but also to
hide form enemy supernaturals.
- Stealth, Stealth Killer and Infiltration Expert: While some
would consider many Darkfires experts in this, almost all are
experts in stealth and infiltration with varying degrees of
knowledge. As one might expect, assassin trained Darkfires are
the most trained in this, though the other Darkfires like the
swordsmen of the Darkfires do also have to learn this as well.
There are usually two methods favored by the Darkfires. The
first is the more unpopular method where the Darkfire will often
kill anyone in their path, in which the Darkfires that use this
thinking usually operate under the assumption that one can't be
found if everyone who can find them is dead. There is an
advantage to this, as Darkfires who use this method will be able
to avoid detection by killing people along a path and then not
have to worry as much about having to sneak past those same
people, but the downside is that if new people show up and see
the bodies, they will know something is wrong without fail. Of
course, there are some that will use non-lethal force to take
down opponents instead of just killing them, as some Darkfires
tend to not want to kill people they believe might be innocent,
or some that may try to avoid killing unless absolutely
necessary (And this is usually one of the more popular methods
of infiltration among Darkfires). The only real problem with
this method is that groups with strong communication are more
likely to realize someone is attacking their group if they try
to call out to someone only to find that they're not answering.
The last option (and the most popular one among the Darkfires)
Darkfires have is that some of them learn to sneak by without
encountering enemies, which is favored by most Darkfires to
avoid combat, and avoids a major weakness of the first method in
that those with strong communication will be less likely to
notice a Darkfire sneaking around if the Darkfire is not
disturbing the area. However the major weakness of this method
is that sneaking past without encountering enemies may result in
less casualties, but Darkfires will have to avoid encounters
before and after they accomplish their missions since they will
often have to go through an area to get to where they're going
and then go back through an area in order to leave that area.
Darkfires are very good at this, even if they aren't trained in
assassination, though assassin Darkfires are the best at using
this to get past both supernatural hunters and supernaturals
(though getting past some supernaturals may require preparation
and specific items or strategies to avoid detection). However,
stealth only goes so far, and depending on the skill level of
the Darkfires, they may or may not be good at this (for example,
assassin Darkfires are often masters of this, but swordsmen
Darkfires are usually not too focused on stealth since they
rarely ever have the need to sneak around).
- Murderous Intent Sense: This lets those with this sense when
an attack is coming, usually by being able to tell when someone
has the intent to kill. This is a skill most warriors get by
fighting constantly for many years, learning how to sense
someone's murderous intent usually through encountering it
first-hand enough that they start to develop a strange sense
that lets them read people and be able to tell when someone has
the intention to kill. This lets the user read their environment
as well as the people around them in order to see what attacks
might be coming their way by reading an opponent's body language
and the "sense" of people around them. This gives them a passive
sense of reading people who might try to hurt them, as they can
sense when someone is ready to attack, and most people can
usually sense when that murderous intent is aimed at them. Some
can sense this literally as an aura through things like ki
sense, but most sense it in an instinctive way once their
instincts have been developed through constant fighting and
battles. This gives the user time to predict an attack, and to
some extent, helps the person predict what opponents will do in
a fight by reading their murderous intent. For example, by
reading an opponent's body language, such as how they move or
how tense they might be, a user of this can read opponents
movements in order to predict how they will fight or attack, as
some have developed entire fighting styles predicting people
through this method, such as the Hiten Mitsurugi sword style
that uses this to predict opponents. However, this sense is not
perfect, and some opponents can't be read if they can disguise
their murderous intent or they learn skills that can trick
people with this sense. Those who have no ability to feel
emotions also don't give off this murderous intent, as those who
don't have emotions don't feel the intent to kill. This sense is
usually pretty reliable unless one can suppress their murderous
intent, and is usually instinctive among people who have seen a
lot of battle and those that have fought for their lives
multiple times. The only real way to develop this is experience,
as no amount of training can truly grasp how this sense truly
works as it is only a passive ability that one can pick up by
experiencing murderous intent firsthand from enough people that
they learn to recognize the murderous intent in the feelings
they get from people.
Passive Abilities:
- Darkfire Vampire Wings: Depending on the vampire, most
Darkfires have wings of some type. The most common one is that
Darkfires often have bat-like vampire wings, which is usually
standard for Darkfires. However, some Darkfires also have unique
vampire wings, depending on the Darkfire and their abilities,
such as how some Darkfires may have elemental wings with special
abilities, such as one Darkfire with lightning who had
Thunderbird wings, and some Darkfires who have Dark Flame wings.
If the Darkfire has normal bat-like wings, then they will often
appear pure black (though sometimes might also be partly red
depending on the Darkfire) and appear almost demonic in a lot of
ways. All Darkfires can use their vampire wings to fly, where
they are able to also utilize their elemental powers to usually
allow them easier flight (such as dark flame users may use heat
under the wings to generate lift, or wind users might use wind
to push themselves upward more easily). Depending on the
Darkfire, their wings may also be strong enough to help defend
them, as some Darkfires have wings strong enough to block
physical or projectile attacks, and Darkfires are even able to
regenerate their wings if needed. Some Darkfires may even gain
unique abilities with their wings, depending on the Darkfire,
such as one with Thunderbird wings could blast opponents with
thunderbird lightning when moving their wings, or some may fire
projectiles from their wings like one with raven wings that
could fire dark flame charged feathers from their wings at
opponents. Typically, this can be different depending on the
Darkfire, and depending on the Darkfire, wings can be at varying
levels of strength and durability. Darkfires can even use
vampire shapeshifting to keep their wings suppressed when in
normal form, and can keep their wings suppressed as long as they
need to, only calling on their wings when needed. Of course, as
one might imagine, if these wings are damaged, they cannot be
used to fly, and even stronger wings can be overcome with strong
enough attacks if a user tries to use them for defense. Also,
any abilities the wings might have will also come with their own
weaknesses, with unique wings often having unique weaknesses
(such as dark flame wings might be vulnerable to ice, or
lightning wings being vulnerable to water).
- Vampire Regeneration: Vampires, like some other supernaturals,
have supernatural regeneration that can be used to heal
themselves when they have taken damage. Vampires have strong
regeneration, and can regenerate from far more injuries than
humans can. Depending on the vampire, most vampires can
regenerate anything as long as their heart and brains aren't
destroyed. Vampires also typically have varying levels of
regeneration, depending on the vampire and the clan they belong
to since some vampire clans have regenerative abilities. In
addition to vampires having strong regeneration, their
regenerations can also be enhanced if the vampire in question is
a hybrid, in which some hybrids possess increased ability to
regeneration. Among known examples are angel/vampire or
demon/vampire hybrids (though demon/vampire hybrids are
typically a little more common) and werepyres (werewolf/vampire
hybrids). This is a passive skill that heals a vampire when they
take damage, and this power is sustained by the blood they drink
that maintains their power. Typically, vampires are very hard to
kill unless one is prepared for vampire regeneration, in which
often vampires have to be killed in one of a few ways, or
special weapons have to be used on them in order to kill them.
Every vampire has this regeneration in some fashion, with some
having stronger regeneration than others. For example, some
vampires can regenerate limbs, while some may not be able to, or
some vampires can regenerate their internal organs while some
cannot. This depends on the vampire, and sometimes depends on
the clan the vampire has been trained in. If one wants to
overcome this, the best way to do so is to behead a vampire, as
most vampires will die if their head is cut off. However, most
vampires can also be killed if their hearts or brains are
destroyed as most vampires cannot regenerate their hearts and
brains (except for very rare cases). Vampires are also
vulnerable to certain vampire killing weapons, such as holy
silver, regeneration negation materials, and certain vampire
killing holy weapons. Depending on the vampire, some may be
vulnerable to other weapons, like demonic vampires would be
vulnerable to demon killing weapons or angel blades due to their
demonic power. For the Darkfires, they mostly rely on elemental
regeneration, but they also have normal vampire regeneration
that can heal most normal injuries as long as they don't lose a
limb or their internal organs. The Darkfires can regenerate
limbs and organs with their elemental regeneration, but cannot
regenerate their heart or brain normally (unless they have other
abilities that enhance regeneration). Some Darkfires are trained
with their regeneration though by taking damage in a controlled
situation as they are training, in which some Darkfires
strengthen their regeneration by constantly using their
regeneration until it becomes more efficient and can regenerate
more damage (Such as some Darkfires would be dropped off cliff
sides in order to train their regeneration though this is a very
extreme method of training). Typically, the more extreme methods
of training are more effective, but are far riskier to one's
life, so the Darkfires usually have to be careful when training
their regeneration that they don't push it too far.
- Assassin Darkfire Training: Silent and Speed Based Movement
Body Training: For the Darkfires who are trained assassins, they
are trained specifically for their work. Assassin type Darkfires
are trained to be mobile and stealthy, and they gain special
training for just such this purpose. When trained in this
method, the Darkfires are trained to move with little to no
sound at all, in which they can move without making any sound.
While some Darkfire assassins do use items to help suppress
their sound, most Darkfires are able to move without sound
thanks to special training. By using this training, assassin
Darkfires are able to move through areas without disturbing the
area too much, where they learn to step lightly and can move
with precision to allow them to move without alerting others to
their presence. In addition, the Darkfires who train in this
method of training also learn to move incredibly fast, where
they learn to battle in speed based movement. Some may train
their speed in different ways, but the Darkfires who become
assassins are trained in mobility and speed over power, due to
the fact that most Darkfires who become assassins need to be far
more stealthy than just trying to brute force everything in
their path. This training is given to every assassin type
Darkfire, and they are trained in this to varying degrees
depending on the Darkfire. This is a basic training that most
assassin type Darkfires go through, and most find that the
Darkfires who go through this training will often gain an
instinctual way of moving, not just in battle but outside of
battle as well. In addition, many Darkfires that go through this
training also gain a trained talent for mobility and speed based
combat, with most Darkfires often specializing more in speed
than power. However, the increased speed does also create an
increase in power, even if the increase isn't as strong as those
that train purely in strength. This means that the Darkfires who
train in this also gain some enhanced strength from this
training as well. However, while the Darkfires who train in this
are silent and can move with mobility, there are combat
trainings that can counter this, and this doesn't stop Darkfires
from being sensed by supernatural sixth senses that sense
presences, and doesn't stop more skilled opponents from noticing
them if their senses are sharp enough (like experienced
assassins may not just rely on normal senses).
- Assassin Darkfire Training: Poison/Contaminate
Resistance/Durability Enhancement: For the Darkfires who are
trained assassins, this is the next major training most gain.
From a young age, those that are trained to be assassins are
trained specifically to become resistant to poison and
contaminates, specifically so that other assassins cannot kill
them easily. When in this training, the Darkfires have their own
methods of training in this aspect. The most common one is a
common assassin trick where the Darkfires who train in this are
fed small amounts of poison and contaminates so that their body
develops resistances and, even in some more extreme cases,
immunities to poisons and contaminates. This means that
Darkfires who have been trained properly are usually resistant
to poisons and gain a natural talent for resisting almost any
poison or contaminate as long as it's something they have had
some exposure to. And even if a Darkfire doesn't gain special
resistances, this also has another purpose for the Darkfire's
training. When training in this method, this also trains a
Darkfire's durability, where they learn to operate under extreme
circumstances and strengthen their bodies against internal
damage. While internal damage would usually be done through
poisons and similar things, this also helps strengthen the
Darkfires bodies against attacks, where the Darkfire becomes
more durable both inside and out thanks to this training. Most
Darkfires have resistances to a lot of common poisons and
contaminates thanks to this training, and even gain the ability
to build up resistances to poisons and new contaminates more
easily. However, while this is great for granting durability
enhancement and poison resistances, this doesn't always help
against some opponents, such as those who are experienced enough
may still poison a Darkfire if they are skilled enough with
poison to change the poison to something the Darkfire doesn't
know, or contaminates that the Darkfire may not be able to gain
resistances to might include things like varanium and some
supernatural metals. And in terms of durability, stronger
opponents can still bypass a Darkfire's durability with stronger
attacks.
- Swordsmen Darkfire Training: Strengthened Body Training: There
is a saying among swordsmen: A weapon is only as skilled as its
wielder. The Darkfires who train as swordsmen took this to
heart, and focused their training on themselves. The Swordsmen
of the Darkfires embody the belief that the user's body is their
greatest weapon, and they train their bodies accordingly. Many
swordsmen are known for different kinds of combat, but the
Darkfires who use this style focus more on the basics of combat
and training the body using physical fitness training to
strengthen the body to its limit. By training agility, speed,
power, and even durability, the users of this style focus more
on building their basic combat skills rather than learning
techniques. This has led to advanced Darkfires in this training
to becoming skilled warriors that not only can fight with swords
with great efficiency, but can also fight just as easily without
a sword. This style is typically tailored to each Darkfire,
where each Darkfire that uses this trains their specific
physical stats to their limits, though usually the biggest
training they get is strength and durability. This training is
not just about training the body, but it is also about knowing
oneself and the limits of the individual Darkfire. This is a
basic training, in which the swordsmen of the Darkfire learn
best by training their bodies. Those with training in this learn
not only to more efficiently wield weapons, but the Darkfires
that train in this focus more on turning their body into a
weapon they can use in combat. By strengthening the body, the
Darkfires also gain a strong durability and a strength in
combat. However, this isn't just limited to strength, as
Darkfires also train in ability and speed (though usually they
focus more on durability and strength training). The Darkfires
use this as their most basic training when training as
swordsmen, and allows the swordsmen of the Darkfire clan to gain
a unique trained combat talent for power and durability compared
to the assassin Darkfires who specialize more in speed and
mobility. In terms of countering the Darkfires who use this,
typically stronger opponents can still beat this training, with
stronger opponents being able to overcome the increase in
durability.
- Swordsmen Darkfire Training: Precision Body Control/Movement:
For the Darkfires who are trained as swordsmen, few things are
as frustrating as attacking an enemy and their full power not
being transferred into a blow. When people attack, some of the
force is always wasted, due to things like the force dispersing
not just into the attack, or some of the attack force may be
countered by wind resistance or friction. In order to counter
this, the Darkfires build themselves up in learning to control
their movements, and train themselves to precisely control their
body and actions. In this training, a Darkfire learns to
specifically move and put their force of movement as fully into
their attacks and movements as they can, trying to minimize the
loss due to things like friction and air resistance. Depending
on the Darkfire, there are many ways to do this, but most
Darkfires train by learning to move with precision in their
basic training, only moving the exact amount that they want to
move. Upon learning to do this, they not only gain specific
movement abilities, but they learn to focus their physical
strength depending on what they want to do. For example, if a
Darkfire should want to fight in a non-lethal manner, then they
could focus the strength of their attack to not be put into the
blow itself, and more into spreading the impact force over the
body. This could turn a potential dangerous slash into an
incapacitation move rather than a fatal blow. This also allows
Darkfires to move in a way that they can also put all of their
strength into attacking when they choose too, and they are able
to utilize this training to focus more attack power than most
other fighters or swordsmen. However, while Darkfires who use
this are tougher and stronger than many other warriors, this
doesn't mean that Darkfires are invincible, and their training
can still be overcome by stronger or sometimes even more
experienced warriors. This is a good method of training, but is
not meant to be the only method of training a Darkfire does as
it's more of a basic training than an actually fighting style,
so this shouldn't replace any fighting styles the Darkfire has.
- Darkfire Inherited Ability: Natural Combat Talents: Every
Darkfire is born with unique combat talents. Since the Darkfires
are a vampire clan and a family that learns combat from an early
age to learn how to master themselves, the Darkfires are all
born with some form of combat talent. This combat talent comes
in a variety of forms depending on the Darkfire and what natural
talents they are born with. For example, there are many
Darkfires born with supernatural combat adaption where they
develop a natural talent for subconsciously adapting to
supernatural combat. For example, Hei Darkfire has a natural
talent for adapting to his enemies combat style, where he can
adapt to almost any combat style and learn how to counter it
during combat. Some Darkfires could develop natural talent for
other things though, such as some who have an instinctual combat
sense that lets them instinctively recognize threats and avoid
danger (with such Darkfires usually having some instinctual
dodging ability). Among other natural talents include Darkfires
who may have natural talents for certain weapon styles or
skillsets. As mentioned, this combat talent is different for
each Darkfire, and some may even have multiple natural talents
(Such as Kindron Darkfire who had a natural talent for using a
sword, a natural high IQ, and a natural combat adaption talent).
This isn't just limited to how to fight though, as some even
gain specific intelligence or reflex based talents that might
not always apply to combat. Depending on the Darkfire and their
talents, this comes in all shapes and sizes, making it hard to
list each case of this, but the results usually blend together
and most end up in the same result: The Darkfires are naturally
talented in combat, and are not to be underestimated. While the
Darkfires aren't skilled enough to take out every single threat
out there, the Darkfires are very skilled warriors who have
natural talents for combat that they have to figure out and
train up. Of course, natural talent can only go so far, so it is
important to note that the Darkfires also train their talents
and don't just rely on the natural talent. This talent can be
overcome by some opponents, especially among those that have
natural talents of their own, or some that have no talent can
overcome a Darkfire's talent if they are skilled enough through
training or experience. Also, it is rare, but some Darkfires
might be born without natural talents and can only get stronger
through intense training to push beyond not having natural
talent. Typically, this type of combat talent grows stronger
more quickly when the Darkfire is younger, but levels out when
the Darkfire reaches a certain older age once they reach a
certain level of combat talent. This means that Darkfires
usually have more growth when they're younger when they're still
learning, but their growth slows down when they get older and
their talent comes more from experience.
- Darkfire Trained Ability: Trained Combat Talents: The
Darkfires are not just naturally talented, and as mentioned
before, the Darkfires train in combat at an early age. Whether a
Darkfire has natural talent or not, the Darkfires all train in
combat in order to build up their skills. There is something to
be said for experience in combat helping a warrior grow, and the
Darkfires are no different. Through training and experience, the
Darkfires build up their combat from the ground up, to the point
that most Darkfires will go so far as to train the basics for
years before they move on to more advanced training in order to
master the basic foundations of their skills which gives them a
better ability to learn new things once they have mastered the
basics. Just like the natural combat talents, this talent comes
in a variety of forms, but the result is the same: Every
Darkfire trains their combat to the best of their ability, and
trains to gain the most of their combat. Through training and
experience, the Darkfires can learn different things about
combat. Among some of the more common trained combat talents are
those that learn to adapt to opponents through experience, such
as those Darkfires that were experienced with fighting the
Hazeldines tailored their combat when fighting them to counter
the Hazeldines combat styles. And some Darkfires may even learn
to counter other opponents abilities through things like
strategic thinking or by utilizing certain combat abilities in
response to certain abilities in order to counter them. As time
goes on, the Darkfires train themselves to use this more and
more easily, where they may even use this combat talent without
thinking, such as one experienced Darkfire who had trained to a
point where they were able to dodge attacks instinctively as
they had such combat experience that they could subconsciously
recognize threats. The more experience one gets, the better the
talent will become, no matter what trained combat talent the
Darkfires develop over the years and no matter how much or how
little natural talent the Darkfire has. Usually, the most common
one is learning to adapt to combat styles as the Darkfires learn
about more combat styles, or learning to adapt to certain
supernatural combat by studying how others fight. As one might
imagine though, this is something that also only goes so far
depending on the Darkfire. This kind of combat talent starts out
slow, but as the Darkfire trains, they gain more ability to
learn as time goes on. Of course, all combat talents can be
countered by stronger combat talents, or by opponents that might
have special training to counter combat talents (usually through
combat talents of their own). Typically, this is a combat talent
that starts out small, but grows over time, in which this talent
usually becomes stronger as the Darkfire's get older and more
experienced. This typically gets stronger as the ability to
adapt lessens as a Darkfire gets older, meaning that older
Darkfires rely more on experience than natural talent.
- Darkfire Elemental Power Affinity: There are a few ways to
gain the elemental power necessary to become a Darkfire. The
first is to be born into the family specifically with at least
one parent being a Darkfire or turned into a Darkfire through
being turned by a Darkfire which grants a natural elemental
power affinity, or the second is to be adopted into the clan and
trained in the clans abilities (usually with either a trained
elemental ability or a learned one). Either case that happens
though, the Darkfires become naturally tuned to the power of
elemental energies thanks to their training and affinities. By
tuning to the power of the elements, the Darkfires utilize their
unique affinities for elemental abilities. If a Darkfire is born
without an affinity for elemental power, there are methods of
helping a Darkfire learn affinities through training. Of course,
as one might expect, the Darkfires specialize in elemental
power, and can natural adapt to gain stronger elemental power
through training. Not only do Darkfires learn elemental power
more easily, but they are even able to analyze other uses of
elemental abilities used by others in order to gain new
abilities by applying certain aspects of other elemental and
alchemic magic to their own. Depending on the Darkfire, there
are those that are smarter than others, and may watch others to
come up with unique ideas, or some might gain more elemental
knowledge through other means such as studying chemistry and how
elements interact. Of course, as one might expect, this affinity
mostly only applies to their elemental power, and this affinity
does make them more vulnerable to things that counter elemental
energy. For the most part, Darkfires have affinities for their
elementals they possess the ability to learn, but that doesn't
meant that counter elements cannot still be used to counter the
Darkfire's elementals. For example, a dark flame user might have
a talent for manipulating fire, but ice and wind being used to
stop their fire can still work as long as the person with the
counter element knows more about countering than the Darkfire.
- Darkfire Elemental Resistance/Immunity: With the Darkfire's
elemental abilities, the Darkfires also gain a certain elemental
resistance/immunity. When it comes to the elements the Darkfire
controls, they gain an immunity to those elemental powers, which
is usually shown by their ability to not only take no damage
from elements but by also being able to absorb elements they
control. When it comes to elements they control, they also are
nearly immune to other variations of their elements, such as a
fire user would be immune to most kinds of fire (though
depending on the type of flame, other powers in the flame might
do damage). Darkfires gain a very high resistance to elements,
and usually don't take extra damage unless under specific
circumstances, such as a holy energy elemental might damage them
with the holy energy if they don't have a holy version of the
elemental. However, this doesn't just apply to the elements they
control, as they also gain a resistance to other elemental
abilities they don't control, including having a slight
resistance to even elements that counter their own elementals.
For example, an ice user would gain an immunity to ice, but
resistance to many other elementals including counter elements
like fire and lightning. The Darkfires take far less damage from
elemental energies than other supernaturals, due to their
mastery of elemental energy as a whole (even if they focus on
specific elementals). However, there are some exceptions to
this. First, there are aspects of the elemental powers that can
do damage, such as impact damage or spearing damage even if the
Darkfire has an immunity (IE A fire user could be damaged by the
impact or pressure of an explosion despite being immune to the
heat and fire damage). Depending on the elemental variation,
some elemental variations can also do more damage to a Darkfire.
The biggest example, is that those without holy elementals still
take holy energy damage from holy energy elementals (IE a dark
flame user could take holy damage from holy flames). Darkfires
also still take extra damage from corrupted elementals, as well
as their elemental resistances don't apply to energy form
changes that make energy more like elemental power, such as
spirit lightning or burning darkness.
- Darkfire Unique Vampire Secretive Aspect: True Day-walker
Vampire: Most known what sunlight does to most vampires, and
that they cannot go out into the sunlight. This is a problem
that some have gotten around this in creative ways (where
day-walker vampires find ways to go out into the sun without
burning up), such as the Hazeldine clan use a darkness barrier
to protect themselves from sunlight. However, there are rare
cases of vampires who actually can walk into sunlight without
any consequence, which are known as true day-walkers. The
Darkfires are one such set of vampires, who are able to go out
into the sun. This means that among the Darkfires, they do not
have the same weakness of sunlight that most vampires do. While
light abilities can still hurt them (and people using sun light
manipulation can still do damage to them), simple sunlight
doesn't do damage to them, and Darkfires can go into the sun
just like any normal person can. This is a passive skill that
all Darkfires are born with, or that those turned into Darkfires
gain on being turned by a Darkfire specifically. The Darkfires
are not limited to the night like other vampires, and can
operate at any time they desire. However, this isn't quite as
nice as one might think, as this not only is something that
would make the Darkfires further outcasts if other clans found
out about this aspect but other vampires would come after them
in order to take their blood so they could gain the Darkfire's
ability to walk in the sun. This is a trait highly sought after
by many vampires, in which the vampires would likely try to
drink as much blood of the Darkfires as they could in order to
gain the ability to walk into the light. This means that the
Darkfires have to keep this aspect of their clan secret, in
which the only clan that does know about this is the Hazeldines
(because the Hazeldines use darkness barriers to go into the
light where they are also a form of day-walker). Because of
this, the Darkfires still stick to the night, and don't go out
during the day time so that no one will find out about them
being able to go out in the daytime. And as mentioned earlier,
this doesn't mean that the Darkfires are immune to light
manipulation abilities, but it does mean they don't take extra
damage to sunlight manipulation abilities (unless there's a holy
element to it to make holy light manipulation which the
Darkfires are still vulnerable to as well.)
- Vampire Servant Turning/ Master-Servant Bond: This is the
ability that allows a vampire to turn people into vampires,
usually replicating the type of vampire that turns them (IE a
Lasombra could turn another into a Lasombra power vampire).
There are two main ways to turn someone into a vampire. The
first is that a vampire can bite someone with the intent to turn
them, and instead of drinking their blood, their bite instead
puts a curse on the person using the bite to transmit the curse.
The second way is that someone can be cursed if they drink
vampire blood, which turns them into the same kind of vampire
that corresponds to the vampire who's blood they drink. There
are different arts for turning people into vampires out there
besides just the two though, as some clans may have different
methods to turn people depending on the vampire and the clan
they belong to. Views on having servants are usually mixed,
where some clans prefer to have servants, while others may not.
However, no matter the circumstances, once used, the servants
become bonded to the vampire who turned them. Typically, this
makes the vampire who turned them their master, and the vampire
servants are forced to serve the master. When turned in this
manner, there is a special bond between the master and servant,
where the master can communicate telepathically with the servant
without needing to use normal telepathy thanks to the special
connection that is created in this method. This lets the master
read the servants minds, and let's the master communicate with
the servant when needed. This even allows the master to tell
what the servant is thinking. This only requires to use one of
the methods depending on the clan and vampire, and can be done
on any creature that can be turned into a vampire (though
certain creatures like werewolves that already have cursed
natures may not be able to be turned). The downside to this
though is that if the master dies, the servants connected to the
master often go insane as an effect of being connected to their
master. The only way for the servant to be freed from the curse
is for them to drink of their master's blood, which usually has
to be done either with additional help, or at the master's
request (due to the servant curse usually not letting a servant
stand up against their master, more later). There are also
vampire cures that can turn someone back into a human, though
most only work if the vampire hasn't drank blood. The Darkfires
have a specific custom about servants, and they often only make
servants of those they wish to adopt into the family, or if they
have human servants that want to become vampires. The Darkfires
have a custom against forcing others to be servants, and will
punish Darkfires who break this rule, as those who are turned by
the Darkfires are usually acknowledged as adopted into the
family.
- Vampire Servant Curse Aspect: Torture Curse: When a vampire
turns someone into a servant vampire, the vampire is able to
control the servant curse. The master vampire is able to use
this curse to command their servants, usually giving them
commands as their master. However, not all vampire servants will
operate as the master wishes, and the master vampires can apply
the torture portion of this curse. By applying their connection,
the vampires have arts for their master curse to use to torture
their servants if they disobey, such as the most popular one
being that one can use feedback from the curse to cause severe
mental pain to the servant. Other arts include one where the
master vampire will overwhelm the servant's mind with disturbing
images, or some are also able to ignite the pain nerves in the
mind and body of the servant to cause them pain without doing
any actual damage to them. This is meant to control the
servants, usually using this curse to enforce the master's will
on the servants. Master vampires often will use this to keep
their servants in line, punishing behaviors that they don't
like, or using this to stop servants who might rebel against
them. This causes immense pain to the servant vampire when used,
enough that even the toughest and most pain resistant person
will often be stopped in their tracks. This prevents a servant
from being able to turn against the vampire, as the master
vampire can usually read the servant's thoughts to the point
that the master vampire can usually tell when the servant is
going to rebel and will use this to usually discipline them.
Different clans have different views on how to use this, but
this is something that can be used with almost any vampire
servant creation curse ability. However, this cannot be used to
kill a servant. Some servants can go crazy if exposed to enough
mental pain, but this cannot kill servants due to this mostly
only being able to cause pain rather than actually hurt the
vampire. Of course, this also only works on those that the
master vampire turns into their servants, and the servants
cannot turn this curse back on the master. As mentioned, this
can only be removed by drinking the blood of the master vampire,
or by using a method that would turn the servant vampire back
into a human (Thus no longer making them cursed to be a
vampire). The Darkfires hate using this, and rarely should have
to use it if they practice their "only use it to adopt or allow
a human servant to become one of them" philosophy. Since the
Darkfires consider their servants as part of the family, they
would only use this if one of their servants go crazy, and it
would only be used to subdue, not to punish due to how they view
servants as family.
- Vampire Servant Curse Aspect: Life Transference: This is
another, much less used aspect of the master-servant curse used
by vampires, where a master vampire can use this to transfer
life through the connection to the servants. When used in this
manner, a master vampire and a servant vampire can transfer life
force between each other when needed, usually as a means of
keeping each other alive. This is usually used by the servants
to keep their master alive, usually at the request of the
master. This allows a master and servant to help each other when
needed, where the flow of life energy can be used in the
connection. The obvious method is that servant vampires, when
life energy radiates from them, it is taken in the connection
and makes the master vampire stronger (which some vampires use
this to their advantage to create many servants so they can
become more powerful by constantly gaining some of the life
force of the servants). This doesn't kill the servants, as they
only radiate their extra life energy off their bodies which is
absorbed into the curse. This method is not even really
noticeable to others, as most just assume the extra life energy
coming off servants just dispels into the air like all the other
extra energies in the body that come from the body. However,
when used actively, the vampires can transfer life to each
other, where the servants can transfer life to the master, or
the master can transfer life to the servants. This is usually to
boost their recovery, or keep them alive in dire situations.
Since most servant vampires go crazy when their master dies,
most servant vampires have to do their best to keep their master
alive, so that they won't have to risk losing their minds.
However, this cannot be forced to be used (though a master could
torture a servant until they do transfer enough life energy), as
the vampires usually have to consciously use this. This is
usually a method where killing the master can be difficult, but
not impossible. The passive skill of the master vampire to gain
more power can be countered, if the servants are freed from the
master vampire (to which this power would stop working when the
connection severs). Vampires can only send so much life force
though, and this may not always be enough to save the master or
servant, depending on the situation. For the Darkfires, they
will often use this to help their servants, who they consider
family, and the servants will also usually willingly help the
Darkfires as well. Since the servants are usually accepted as
family, this is usually just a means to help each other when
needed, and isn't really used to take advantage of servants like
some vampires would. The Darkfires usually do their best to keep
their servants alive, so if a servant needs life energy to heal
from an injury, the Darkfires will usually not have a problem
doing this, just as the servants will also usually help when
needed.
- Vampire Blood Devouring: Human/Animal Blood Sustenance: It is
no secret that vampires have to survive on the blood of others.
In order to sustain their power, they require mortal blood,
which acts to sustain them and their abilities. This is the main
method of survival for vampires, where they must drink blood in
order to survive. While there are some like holy vampires where
the rules change, most normal vampires are limited to this
method. There are a few ways of doing this. The first is through
drinking human blood. This is a preferred method of many
vampires, where they will drink human blood through the bitten
area. The most popular method is to bite into the carotid artery
in the neck, where many vampires will use the blood flow of the
carotid artery to more easily draw the blood from someone. Some
that don't want to attack humans can also take stored human
blood from places like hospitals, where they can essentially
take the stored blood and drink the blood without needing to
attack a human (Some prefer this to avoid hunters tracking them
down). Another method, which was an idea introduced by the
Hazeldine Clan, was going after humans sentenced to death, where
prison humans who are to be executed can be easily taken out
without needing to kill innocent humans. However, this method
often requires a connection to the prisons that hold these
criminals, which groups like the Hazeldines can actually make
deals with prisons to devour prisoners who are to be executed as
a means to not only feed, but also kill those who are sentenced
to die anyway. Drinking human blood is usually the most
dependable way to sustain a vampire's power, with no real ill
effects. Vampires have plenty of ways to get human blood, and
depending on the vampires, some may even have unique methods,
such as blood manipulators can remove blood from the body more
easily to devour. Vampires do have to drink blood in order to
survive (though there are a few alternative solutions in
alternate nutrient devouring that are available), and if they do
not, then they will get weaker until they eventually cannot move
anymore, and they will either die or go into hibernation
(depending on the vampire). How this is done depends on the
vampire (usually depending on the methods of the clan they
belong to), but it is something that must be done in some
fashion, even if the vampire doesn't want to. In the Darkfire
clan, they almost never attack humans, as the only way they
would is to kill criminals who are sentenced to death (a method
the Hazeldines often used to get their food rather than just
going after humans). Darkfires usually either choose to live off
blood packs from places like hospitals, or they will live on
animal blood if they must (more in alternate nutrient
devouring).
- Vampire Blood Devouring: Alternate Nutrient Devouring: There
are alternate methods to those that don't want to drink blood,
though they usually aren't as often sought after as the normal
method of just drinking human blood. The first method is that
those that don't drink human blood can drink animal blood. Some
vampires have found that eating the blood of animals is also
something they can survive on, without needing to attack humans.
This is particularly useful for those that don't want to attack
humans or want to avoid hunters coming after them (since hunters
usually look for people dying of drained blood to track vampires
down), where they will instead go after animal blood. By
drinking the blood of an animal instead of a human, the vampire
can sustain their power, although there are a few effects of
this that aren't favorable to the vampire. This is a method that
vampires can live on, and is like comparing tofu to actual meat.
While animal blood can sustain the vampire's power and their
body, it is never truly satisfying, and the vampire will often
always be hungry (requiring them to learn to control their
hunger more effectively than other vampires so they don't lose
control of it around humans). Another thing to note is that
vampires can only survive on certain types of animals, usually
having to go after mammals blood (as things like coldblooded
animals do not work the same and can actually make vampires
sick). Another method of alternate nutrient devouring is a
growing movement in some universes where artificial foods are
developed to sustain vampires. For example, in some universes,
Kindron Darkfire comes up with a way of creating artificial
nutrients that can be fed to vampires without them needing to
survive on human or animal blood at all. These artificial
nutrients are usually one of two things. The first is artificial
blood, where some have learned to create artificial blood that
can sustain vampires. However, the artificial blood depends on
how its created, and some artificial bloods may have negative
side effects. The second is using artificial nutrients in normal
food, where artificial food is made with artificial nutrients
added specifically for vampires (in universes like London, this
is usually created by Kindron Darkfire). However, the downside
is that there are vampires who will always view these artificial
foods as not being like the real thing, and likely would never
accept this as a way to live (unless they had to). As mentioned
before, vampires have to drink blood or gain nutrients in some
form, and if they don't, they will lose power until they die or
hibernate (depending on the vampire and clan). These are
dependable methods, but usually have some downsides to them.
Usually, it takes discipline and commitment to commit to these
alternate methods, something some vampires may not be willing to
learn. But those that do learn this can survive far more easily
as a result. In the Darkfire clan, most prefer these alternate
methods, and while some do drink human blood packs, they will
also often flock to eating animals, and if alternate nutrients
like artificial foods exist, they will often also go for
artificial foods (for example, in London, many are taking a
liking to Kindron Darkfire's alternate nutrient foods, and
trying to support Kindron being able to widely apply the
artificial food as a means to feed vampires without needing to
feed on humans).
- Vampire Blood Devouring: Supernatural Power Gain: This is the
second use for blood absorption. There is a saying among
vampires: Human blood is how vampires sustain their power, but
drinking supernatural blood is how they gain new ones (powers).
This is mostly just as it says, where vampires are able to gain
new abilities depending on the blood devoured. This allows a
vampire to drink supernatural blood, where they actually don't
survive on supernatural blood the same way that they do on human
blood. Instead, the intent is to gain the abilities of the
supernaturals they devour. Typically, this could be just gaining
one or two abilities, or if enough blood is taken, then one can
gain all of the abilities of the supernatural they take blood
from. This can also be permanent or temporary depending on how
much blood is taken. Some clans have unique arts for this, and
some clans even use this instead of human blood to sustain
themselves (as another alternative method of blood devouring).
This can be different depending the vampires, where vampires can
gain specific abilities from blood. For some, they may gain a
vampire equivalent of a power, or some may have physiology
changes to adapt to the power they take (such as drinking dragon
blood may result in them gaining dragon abilities but instead
awakening draconic vampire powers, while some that gain
physiology changes may become dracopyres). This depends mostly
on the vampire, and the changes to the vampire usually depend on
the blood. Some powers will require physiological changes to the
body to use, while some may not. Typically, the most reliable
method is to drink the blood of other vampires, where vampires
can use this to gain another vampire's abilities much more
easily (since they don't have to worry as much about physiology
changes when just taking another vampire's blood). However,
while this is great to gain new abilities, it also gives the
vampire the same weaknesses as the power they gain. Another
thing is that unless enough blood is taken, the powers gained
may not be permanent, and not as many powers may be transferred
if enough blood is taken. Usually, most of the blood in the body
has to be taken in order to gain the powers permanently and gain
all the abilities of a person. For the Darkfires, they try to
stay away from this if they can. While there is no rule against
it, the Darkfires usually try to avoid conflicts with other
supernaturals so they don't want to use this as a means to not
**** off other supernatural clans. Darkfires also often view
this method as a shortcut to power, and it is something they
don't like to do since they prefer to train up their abilities
rather than shortcut their training to just try and gain new
abilities. While those like London's Kendrix Darkfire aren't
afraid to use this, the Darkfires often prefer not to use this
skill and prefer to train up their own skills before attempting
to gain other abilities from other supernaturals.
- Supernatural/Long Life Ability: Multi-Linguists/Language
Learning: Most supernaturals who have been around for a long
time, for one reason or another, have had to learn multiple
languages. There are a variety of reasons for this, such as
languages changing over time, or some may need to move to other
areas and learn new languages, or some may just travel and need
to learn languages to communicate. Some also may use written
languages for other things, such as some supernaturals may code
notes and things in other languages to confuse potential
enemies, or some may write in languages to communicate to each
other and make it harder for people to intercept. No matter the
reason, most supernaturals and even humans who live a long time
will learn multiple languages. There are a few ways to learn
languages, depending on the individual. The first is that one
can learn a language tree, where some language trees correspond
more easily to each other (for example, Spanish and Portuguese
are in the same language tree, and have a very similar
language). This can be easier to some since it is easier to
learn a language, but some find it difficult when so many parts
of the language are too similar. Another method is used among
those that have learned multiple languages, where they will pick
up languages by listening to others speaking it, such as one may
listen to a language and learn what the words mean as a means to
understand the language. Of course, the third is perhaps the
more obvious one where one can read and study to learn a
language just like other people do (which can come more easily
to supernaturals that have enhanced intelligence). This can be
used to learn a number of languages, and most supernaturals have
to learn multiple languages as a means to communicate with
others as their lives go on. There are plenty of languages out
there, with the main ones used in the world often being well
known languages like English, French, Spanish, and some other
languages like Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Portuguese. This
mostly depends on the supernatural and where they live, and
where they go in their lives. However, most supernaturals and
even humans, who live long enough do learn multiple languages,
and some older ones may even know ancient languages. In the
Darkfires, they know a number of languages. These days they know
English, Japanese, German, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and French,
due to all the interactions they've had living in Japan for a
long time. Because the Darkfires originated in Japan, they have
been living there for a long time, and most's primary language
is Japanese, though almost all have a secondary language these
days of English since English is dominating more and more
languages.
- Vampire Supernatural Long Life: Vampires are a type of
supernatural that live extremely long lives. The life length is
uncertain, but some vampires can live for upwards to 10,000
years before dying of old age, and some can live even longer
depending on the vampire. This is mostly in part due to their
regeneration, because of the fact that the vampires have
regeneration that reduces aging effects to a near halt. Most
vampires age very slowly, and while some can age in different
ways, it is known that vampires can live very long lives. There
are negatives to this, such as some vampire kids can stay kids
for much longer (as there are fifty year old vampires that are
still basically like children), and some may change in different
ways differently from others which makes this hard to quantify
among every vampire clan. Different vampires often grow at
different rates, but it is known that vampires will often stay
in their prime for thousands of years, and will not get old very
easily. Because of this, it is hard to determine exactly how
long a vampire will life, due to the fact that no one knows
exactly what causes the thing that causes a vampire to age past
their prime. When a vampire starts aging past their prime, it is
because their regeneration starts to break down as they get
older. As it does, their body starts to age, and their
regeneration gets weaker as a result over time. This is why
vampires die of old age, and is the only way they die of old
age. It isn't known what causes the regeneration to break down,
ether it's aging past a certain point, or if it's some kind of
bodily reaction that eventually happens in all vampires.
However, when it does happen, the vampire will start aging,
until they get old and eventually die of old age. While they can
still seemingly regenerate injuries as normal, their
regeneration is harder to use, and takes longer as the vampire
gets older. So far, there has been few counts of indefinite
vampire life spans, as the only ones that have been known to
live past the normal long life span are those like London's
Cain. It is hard to quantify just how long vampires live, but
all eventually age and die of old age. However, that assumes
that they aren't killed by other means, such as being murdered
or being killed by sicknesses, which can still happen to
vampires as they can still be killed by others, and can be
killed by sicknesses. In the Darkfires, despite being
specialized in regeneration, Darkfires also have this lifespan.
While it isn't set in stone how long a Darkfire will live,
Darkfires also have to worry about their regeneration eventually
breaking down. Even the head of the clan, Qrow Darkfire, will
eventually age and die, even if it seems that he has lived
longer than most other vampires. There are only a few exceptions
to this (which must be stated by players), such as a demonic or
angelic vampire hybrid (since angelic and demonic beings don't
age and live indefinite life spans).
- Supernatural Item/Weapon Connection: This is a supernatural
art that is used by a few types of supernaturals, which many
groups develop as a unique method to use weapons. Supernaturals
can usually connect personal items or weapons to themselves,
where they use a special soul connection to their items. Clans
like the London Tepes family, and Darkfire family are often best
known for their use of this, as they have special techniques to
connect and attach items and weapons to themselves. This works
by creating a special bond in the soul to an object, where the
supernatural will allow their soul energy to become bonded to an
object they want to bond with. This grants a few abilities,
where the user can do things like summon an item at any time, or
they can have a special connection with the item. Supernatural
arts can allow some to store items using this connection, where
a user will use this connection to phase their connected items
to their souls where they store the weapon in their souls. This
allows for easy carrying of special items and weapons, where a
user can store a number of items in their soul depending on the
connections. This is a very useful skill, and some users have
special arts for this skill, where some can summon weapons from
anywhere in the world, or some can even telekinetically control
their weapons even when separated from them. This is done
differently for some users, where some users will bond the
weapons/items to their soul directly where they need only phase
an item back into reality, or some may summon items through
portals, or some may even phase weapons from their body
depending on how the connection works. This is a useful skill,
especially for storing personal items and weapons, and allows a
supernatural to always be connected to these items and weapons.
However, one cannot store an infinite amount of items, and the
amount of items that can be stored depends on the art. When
used, one cannot exceed that limit, and if they try, they will
find the strain on their soul makes it so they cannot maintain
connections to so many objects. Typically, the best way to use
this is to use it on two-five items at most, and change the
connections depending on the items (the connections can be
changed, but requires a process to be done that cannot be done
in times like during battle). And while the item is able to be
connected, the item can still be destroyed, and the connection
cannot repair the item (except in rare cases like a death wraith
soul sword). For the Darkfires, they have an art that connects
weapons to themselves, where their weapons become a part of
them, similar to the Tepes family art. The Darkfires can use
this connection to use their weapons as extensions of
themselves, and can even use telekinetic control of their
weapons when needed as part of their connection to their
weapons/items.
- Supernatural Weapon Teleport/Connection: There are many forms
of supernatural powers that attach items to oneself, usually
tying weapons to themselves in some form so that they can summon
them when needed and summon their weapons from wherever they
might be. There are a few different ways to do this depending on
the creature and how they use this, such as storing a weapon in
one's soul in which the weapon becomes a part of them
permanently, allowing them to summon and de-summon their weapon
at will, and even control it to a degree. There is also those
that have a special connection with their weapons, where they
simply just develop a connection and then are able to summon
that weapon at any time to them, using that supernatural
connection. Some arts even allow stat boosts for a user and
their weapon when used together, which works even better with
intelligent weapons depending on the creature. Each race
typically has their own ways of doing this, whether it's an
intangible storage, connecting it to their soul to store it in
their soul, or even just making a connection that lets them
summon their weapon from anywhere to them. This has it's uses as
it's usually designed to allow weapons to be used by the user,
and not be able to be taken by enemies (as this specifically
connects it to the user so that only the user can summon and
de-summon it, even if the enemy gets a hold of their weapon).
Some advanced users of this art can even use telekinetic
abilities to control their weapons with this connection,
depending on the creature and the weapon used. Typically, this
connection can only be made with certain weapons or items, and
as mentioned before, there are limits to how many objects can be
used with this method. Weapons and items using this method may
be controlled by their hosts, but there are ways to counter
this, such as destroying the weapon may prevent the supernatural
from being able to use it, or using certain skills that
interrupt supernatural connections may also interrupt a
supernatural's connection to their items as well. For the
Darkfires, they can use this to telekinetically control their
connected items, and they can use this as effectively as others
like the London Tepes clan. For the Darkfires, this works mostly
as stated, with the only thing to note being that Darkfires
usually only use this on their main weapon, but can connect
multiple items and weapons to themselves if they desire to
(though they are limited to 10 items at most).
- Vampire Enhanced Senses: Supernaturals in general have highly
enhanced senses. Depending on the supernatural, some senses may
be enhanced more than others, with even the same types of
supernaturals may have different combinations of enhanced
senses. This is often unique to each supernatural, where their
senses enhance to match what they do (IE a werewolf relies a lot
on smell, so most of them have enhanced senses of smell). Some
may have more enhanced senses than others, in which there are
positives and negatives to having either stronger or weaker
enhanced senses. Among some examples include an enhanced sense
of touch that allows one to sense more through touch than other
beings, an enhanced sense of smell that some beings use to be
able to smell far more than most beings, enhanced sight that may
be able to process seen things faster or may be able to see
farther than other beings, and even an enhanced sense of taste
where a supernatural can taste things that most other beings
wouldn't. This depends on the creature, but there is usually two
methods of this. There are highly enhanced senses, where users
have high levels of senses whether it is one sense or multiple
senses that are enhanced. Those with this kind of sense are far
more sensitive to the environment around them, and are much
harder to sneak up on. However, those with stronger senses are
more vulnerable to having their senses overwhelmed, where
stronger enhanced senses can be used against the supernatural
(IE a werewolf's highly enhanced smell can be overwhelmed by
strong enough smells). Meanwhile, those with weaker enhanced
senses don't have nearly as high senses as higher levels, and
don't have quite as high of an ability to sense the environment
around them. However, lesser enhanced supernaturals do have an
advantage in that their enhanced senses aren't as sensitive and
cannot be overwhelmed nearly as easy as those with higher level
(even if it costs them not being as able to interact with the
environment). This is different for each supernatural, and both
higher and weaker enhanced senses have positives and negatives.
This doesn't include certain other senses, such as supernatural
senses, though, and those are usually listed separately. The
Darkfires usually also vary from Darkfire to Darkfire, though
most have lesser enhanced senses, with only their sense of
touch, sight and hearing often being higher through physical
training they endure to build up their senses. Some do have
higher enhanced senses, and they have the same positives and
negatives listed above.
- Supernatural Enhanced Mind: Enhanced IQ, Reflexes and/or
Memory: Depending on the supernatural, most supernaturals have
enhanced minds thanks to their supernatural power. The first
thing that is enhanced is their intelligence, in which some
supernaturals gain certain intelligence boosts depending on what
kind of creature they are and what supernatural power they
possess. This has a few uses, such as allowing a supernatural to
more easily learn information, or might help supernaturals
develop strategies for certain situations. Depending on the
supernatural, some might gain stronger intelligence than others,
and depending on the race, they may have ways to utilize this.
The second enhancement is to the supernatural's memory, where
supernaturals can have very good memory thanks to their
supernatural enhancement of the mind, especially if they do
things like focus through meditation. Those with this will often
have a hard time forgetting things, and some smarter
supernaturals may even have a photographic memory or eidetic
memory. The last enhancement that supernaturals may gain is the
enhancement of their reflexes, which allows them to react much
faster than most creatures can, especially if they are trained
in combat. Depending on the supernatural and the training some
are able to utilize these traits depending on the supernatural.
Each supernatural usually has a different combination of these,
where they will have different levels of enhanced mind.
Typically, all of these enhancements work in unison, and
depending on the supernatural, the balance of enhancements may
be different depending on the specific supernatural, and their
natural abilities (such as smarter supernaturals might gain
better intelligence, but more combat-based supernaturals could
gain stronger reflexes). Typically, most supernaturals are
either balanced with a slight increase to all their enhanced
mind stats, or they can specialize in specific stats for higher
stats, but this usually means lesser stats in certain other
aspects as a result (Like an enhanced intelligence and reflexes
might have poor memory). This depends on the supernatural and
the enhancements, and certain things like physical training or
mental training may also enhance certain other traits as well.
For the Darkfires, they specifically train the body and mind,
where they often gain enhancements to all their mind abilities.
They mostly focus more on training than natural boosts (which
they do gain slight boosts to all their mind stats, making them
start out as lesser enhanced but enhancing all their stats).
- Vampire Third Eye Ability: Vampires have a unique ability,
where they gain a special sixth sense known as the Third Eye.
Those familiar with the concept will likely be familiar with how
this works, where vampires naturally have this to gain a passive
sense that lets them sense the world around them. One major use
of this is that vampires are able to use this to sense the world
around them, usually being able to sense where things are, and
sense the presences of living beings. This lets a vampire sense
the presence of others, and not only read their presence, but
the vampire can also read what they are and how strong they are
by the presence. For example, some vampires can recognize
dangerous threats others wouldn't be able to sense, such as
vampires may be able to sense powerful beings most beings cannot
sense, and this also even gives vampires the ability to sense
the spiritual plane to a degree (though not nearly to the degree
of those like spirit users unless they go through special
training). However, this also has the ability of seeing through
the world, where vampires can see through things to see the
world around them as it really is. This allows a vampire to use
this ability not only to sense presences, but they can also do
things like sensing deception, or they can even sense things
like illusionary skills or they can sense other skills being
used by a being. Unlike other beings with presence senses,
vampires specialize more in sensing the world rather than
focusing on individuals, and this can allow a vampire to gain a
very strong sense of the world using this skill. Vampires using
this skill can also tell where things are at farther distances
than other creatures, and can use this to more easily target
certain people or objects. This skill uses mental focus to focus
on images, and allows vampires to see the world in a bit of a
unique way. However, there are ways this power can be deceived,
such as other vampires may be able to affect the vampire's mind,
or some may be able to outmaneuver this sense if they are fast
or skilled enough. Also, certain presences cannot be sensed,
specifically among those that have a presence suppression skill.
Vampires with this skill can be deceived by it, where some have
ways to fool these kinds of senses. For the Darkfires, they have
much more keen senses than most vampires, and they can use this
much more effectively than other clans can. Some Darkfires are
known for having good senses using this, and the Darkfires
honing their senses through training and meditation also helps
them make the most of this sense.
- Supernatural Telepathy: This ability lets a supernatural
creature communicate telepathically with anyone they can connect
to. Typically this power uses their supernatural power, in which
they use it to tune to a person if they know where they are in
order to communicate with them. This lets them communicate with
other people without having to speak, with them being able to
share thoughts directly with others when the creature isn't
speaking out loud. This can be used with just about anyone as
long as the supernatural knows where the person is physically
located, and they can even often read the mind while in a
telepathic conversation with them thanks to the connection
created when they use telepathic communication. This allows a
two way communication with almost any being, as long as the
supernatural is willing to maintain the connection. However,
there is a way around needing to know where one is, in which
there is an art where those with this telepathy can create a
permanent connection with those close to them, such as family
members or close friends. If one uses the permanent connection,
this doesn't just let them communicate no matter where they are,
but also lets a user tell where their connected person is at any
given time. This is a basic skill among many supernaturals, and
some supernaturals have special connection abilities, such as
some supernaturals possess the ability to summon those they have
connections with (such as some universes' versions of the
Darkfires possess the ability to summon those they have
connections with when needed). As mentioned, when using this, a
supernatural does have to know where the user is, unless they
have a permanent connection. And when using a permanent
connection, the other person has to accept the connection, and
if they don't then the connection cannot be used. These
connections can also be severed at any time whether it's by the
supernatural or by the person they're connected to, which can be
done specifically if the person or supernatural doesn't want to
communicate with a connected person anymore. There are also ways
to block telepathic communications, such as certain frequencies
that may confuse the mind's ability to process telepathy, or
certain wards that might prevent telepathy. There are also
certain types of opponents who can listen in on communication
done telepathically (it is rare, but sometimes it does happen
sometimes with certain psychic opponents). In the case of the
Darkfires, the Darkfires have the ability to utilize this skill,
and they even have the ability to summon those that they have
permanent connections with if needed.
- Darkfire Disciplined Mind: Since the Darkfires require focus
in order to use their elemental abilities, the Darkfires
developed this in order to learn to more easily focus their
minds. Eventually this turned into a whole art unto itself and
proved to have uses outside of just helping a Darkfire focus.
This art lets the Darkfire take complete control of the world in
their mind, shaping it to their own devices and letting the user
control their mind through mental focus. Each inner world is
different, and solely depends on the one with this art. This
requires mental focus and training, where a Darkfire will often
learn this before they even learn how to use their Darkfire
abilities. This not only lets the users control their minds, but
allows them to become immune to mind control or other attempts
to influence their mind due to the Darkfires focus being able to
detect and counter attempts to influence their mind (which
resulted as an accident of this training). This also lets them
enter into the inner worlds of others, and more advanced users
can slightly influence those who's minds they enter. However, it
is worth noting that going into other's minds is mostly as a
method of training, and Darkfires don't have too much use to go
into other people's minds outside of training, since their
disciplined mind training is more focused on them learning to
control their own minds. And by controlling their own minds, the
user can do things like shut down certain parts of their mind
should the need to, or manipulate their emotions at will once
they learn to focus and control their inner world. This is a
training that is absolutely necessary for a Darkfire, in which a
disciplined mind and proper focus is needed for them to utilize
their abilities. This art is one that all Darkfires must learn,
and while the other arts of this are useful in different
aspects, these other aspects are optional to learn. However, the
main art is not option, and all Darkfires must learn it in some
capacity. This art is not always perfect though, as this art can
be overwhelmed at times if a person isn't skilled enough with it
to handle certain things, such as some psychic abilities may be
able to overcome this skill if the psychic skill can overwhelm
the mind.
- Darkfire Disciplined Mind Art: Mental Landscape: When using
the Disciplined Mind art, the Darkfires learn to shape their
minds through their mental landscape. However, the Darkfires
found that there were uses for the mental landscape beyond just
simply controlling their emotions. For example, the Darkfires
often use this to tell what their mental state is by seeing how
their emotions affect the mental landscape. While this is
different for every person, there is always some sort of effect
that comes when the mind is affected. For example, anger may
cause a fire to well up in the mental landscape, or sadness may
cause rain to fall in the mind. There are also other ways of
using this though, such as some Darkfires use this for mental
image training, where they train in their minds so that they can
build themselves up through mental training. Darkfires can even
enter this landscape when they are asleep, where they can even
effectively suppress their dreams to instead spend their sleep
in their mental landscape. This is very useful for training, as
many Darkfires will use this to test new techniques, or use this
time to meditate and focus on how to better train their mental
states. Darkfires can also enter the mental landscape of others,
where they can not only go into their mental landscape, but can
send the person into their own mental landscape. This is usually
a method of training to help others learn how to access their
mental landscapes, or to help train someone in the mind as a
means to keep the training secret from others. When in the
mental landscape, time moves at a slower pace, due to the speeds
at which the mind operates. Depending on the person, spending a
large amount of time in the mental landscape could equate to
seconds in the real world. Many Darkfires can spend hours in
their mental landscape and only have less than 30 seconds spent
in the real world. However, this is more about mental focus, and
isn't really useful beyond mental training and possibly helping
others learn what mental states are like. Most Darkfires often
use this instead of dreaming only because it is a better method
of doing something productive while they are asleep. However,
psychics can also enter this landscape depending on the psychic,
and some psychics can also affect the mental landscape
(specifically among those that can affect the mind with psychic
powers).
- Darkfire Disciplined Mind Art: Darkfire Emotional Meditation:
This is a unique training art that the Darkfires developed.
Because most Darkfires have emotional problems that often go
cause problems, they developed this art to help them overcome
emotional states that might hold them back. While not always
effective depending on the issue that the Darkfire has, this is
designed to help a Darkfire reach an equilibrium in their minds.
When used, a Darkfire uses meditation as a means to focus their
mind, similar to how others meditation. The Darkfire focuses on
meditation, and then uses their disciplined mind skill to help
them focus on the emotions they want to affect. This helps
Darkfires overcome mental blocks and problems, especially among
the fact that Darkfires often have to use this to balance out
the dangerous lives they live. Specifically, the assassin
Darkfires often are very close to the edge of losing themselves
to becoming mindless killers, and have to use this training
specifically to help them keep their minds focused on not
letting themselves fall into a desire to kill. The Swordsman
Darkfires often use this as a means to meditate and calm their
minds, which helps them maintain a calm and focused demeanor
when using their sword skills. All Darkfires have some use for
this, and it is a necessary training Darkfires often learn as
part of the Disciplined mind training. If it weren't for this
training, the Darkfires would have likely become a dark and evil
clan, who only cared about killing their enemies. However, the
Darkfires manage to maintain their mental states with this
training, and help keep themselves from going over the edge.
However, depending on the Darkfire, some may have a harder time
using this than others, and this isn't always effective on every
Darkfire. Some may have higher levels of emotions than others,
making this harder to use. And for those with emotional trauma,
this may not be as effective in helping overcome trauma (usually
trauma is a very difficult thing and causes a lot of problems
for Darkfire's and their abilities), as trauma often requires
more than just mental training to overcome. While this can help
with trauma, it is never the only thing a Darkfire does. Another
thing to note is that Darkfires have a certain weakness to
certain emotions depending on their control, they may be more
vulnerable to emotions they constantly suppressed if they are
forced to feel them. For example, those that constantly shut
down negative emotions may have a harder time overcoming those
negative emotions if they don't learn to feel those emotions.
This is a major problem among Darkfires, as some will constantly
suppress all their emotions, and then be overwhelmed by emotions
when their control of their emotions fails in dire situations.
- Darkfire Disciplined Mind Art: Mind Aspect
Modification/Shutdown: This is an art of the Disciplined mind
art, where the Darkfires learn to modify and shut down aspects
of their mind. This was a special effect of their training, and
one the Darkfires started using as an advanced use of this
skillset. Those that master the basics of manipulating their
emotional states can learn to modify their mental states, by
shaping their mental landscapes. For example, the Darkfires can
use this art to shut down their emotions temporarily, where they
can suppress their emotions so that they can effectively keep
their emotions from affecting their judgement. This is an art
that can be used in battle as well, where a Darkfire can
suppress their murderous intent, or a Darkfire can suppress
things like their anger or hatred to avoid it sending them into
a rage. This is a very useful skill that can be used a variety
of ways. But there are also other ways to use this as well. For
example, the Darkfires may use this to shut down their pain
processing points in their mind, where they can temporarily make
it so that they can dull or even make themselves not process
pain at all. Darkfires can even induce certain emotions
artificially, where they can fake emotions and modify their
mental states so that the emotions can appear genuine (such as
hormones could be released in the mind that correspond to the
emotion which leads to the body responding according to the
mind). This is a very useful skill that many Darkfires utilize
pretty effectively, such as how the assassin Darkfires will
often use this to infiltrate, where they will use this to fake
their interactions and make the interactions appear genuine,
often fooling all but the most sensitive of supernaturals (only
a few supernaturals can see through this method of modifying the
mind and often requires strong psychic ability to do so).
However, this can also be damaging to a Darkfire if they rely
too much on it. For example, always suppressing emotions could
lead to them doing something they normally wouldn't do if they
keep their emotions suppressed, or those that rely on
suppressing pain may have problems recognizing damage to their
bodies to the point that even more damage will be done if the
Darkfire doesn't realize their body is damaged.
- Darkfire Disciplined Mind Art: Psychic Resistance: This skill
comes with the emotional control and mental shutdown effect
training as a sort of side effect. Because Darkfires have to
keep their emotional states under control to use their
abilities, this training has led them to be able to resist
skills that affect their emotional states as a result of their
control (With them having specific resistance to psychic
abilities that affect the mind). With the emotional state
training, Darkfires could essentially resist certain psychic
skills, or other skills that may affect the mental state (such
as demons or angels utilizing emotional influences). No matter
the Darkfire, the Darkfires have to keep a cool-headed mental
state no matter the situation, and this training has led to
Darkfires being able to keep that in harsher conditions
depending on how skilled they are at controlling their emotional
state. Some are better at this than others, and some have even
trained this specifically based on other mental training
capabilities (For example, some who encounter psychic abilities
may specifically train to fight those abilities). Once the
Darkfire has learned to control their mental states, they gain
this resistance alongside it as a passive skill, which they
train through controlling their mental state and their ability
to shut down parts of their mind. There are different ways to
use this depending on the Darkfire and their mastery of their
mental states. For example, someone who uses an ability to
activate the pain nerves in the body could find that Darkfires
with enough training can focus out the pain with enough mental
focus, but some can actually shut down their pain reception
parts of their mind to counter it. For the most part, this
depends on the influence and how the Darkfire is able to
respond, with more experienced and creative Darkfires usually
being able to account for momany abilities that affect the mind
specifically. However, as mentioned, this does depend on the
Darkfire and the mastery of their ability to master their
emotional states and their ability to shut down aspects of their
mental state. Not only for their training, but also their
emotional balances they maintain. Each Darkfire usually
maintains a unique balance of their emotional state, and
depending on that balance, some abilities may affect the
Darkfire more easily. For example, always suppressing negative
emotions means that when the Darkfire is forced to face those
emotions, they may have a harder time doing so.
- Darkfire Disciplined Mind Art: Fool Senses: This is an
accidental use of the Disciplined Mind training that has been
put to use over the years, and is an optional training used by
the Darkfires. By controlling the mind and the subconscious, a
user of Disciplined mind is able to suppress the aspects of
themselves that show when they are lying. For those that read
aura and body language, a user of the Disciplined Mind art will
always seem like they are telling the truth, due to the fact
that the users of this suppress the usual subconscious signs of
lying. For example, those that lie may do things unconsciously
like bite their nails, or they might turn their heads away.
Normally, these are subconscious reactions someone does when
they lie. For those with this training though, disciplined mind
users instinctively suppress those instincts due to them
completely controlling their conscious and mostly controlling
their unconscious mind to prevent unwanted unconscious
reactions, as well as controlling their emotional state to
prevent themselves from showing signs of lying. Those that use
this always seem like they are telling the truth, and even
advanced mind readers cannot tell when a user of this is lying
due to the fact that the mind is controlled by the user and the
usual signs of lying are not there. While a Darkfire can still
lie, their lies and truths don't show any different even among
those that are the best at reading personalities and reading
emotions. This is a bit difficult to master though, as it takes
more than just suppressing certain parts of the mind since a
user has to not only learn how to suppress reactions and
suppress hormonal responses, but learn what reactions
specifically they give off when they lie and suppress them.
Since each person has different reactions when they lie, the
users have to learn those reactions unique to their own selves.
For the most part, while this may seem very useful, most have
learned by this point that the Darkfires can do this, so most
people don't even try to tell if the Darkfires are lying since
they can just fool senses with this. For the most part, this is
only really useful in certain situations, and usually only
useful if the person the user is trying to fool doesn't know
they are a Darkfire or trained in this art.
- Darkfire Vampire and Combat Enhanced Physical and Supernatural
Stats: Darkfires have vampire enhanced physical and supernatural
abilities, but also they have enhanced combat training to
further enhance their abilities. The Darkfires are fighters and
warriors, whether they are swordsmen or assassins. As such, the
Darkfires are highly skilled in combat, and have enhanced
physical abilities. As one might guess, this is different
depending on the user. Darkfires often have specific trained
abilities depending on their physiology and abilities, in which
they may focus on specific stat training, or they may have a
general stat training to enhance all their stats. Because of
this, it is hard to quantify every Darkfire's physical and
supernatural enhancements. However, there are usually two levels
of enhanced stats. The first is that users gain special training
towards certain stats, which lets them specialize in a few stats
to train those stats to levels beyond normal supernaturals. The
other method is that one can train in a more general sense and
train up all of their stats for a more even stat boost. There
are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. The
specialized stats allow for much higher stats than other
supernaturals depending on the level of specialization, but the
downside is that other stats will often suffer as a result (IE a
speed and agility based training will often mean strength may
not be as well trained and won't be as enhanced). For those that
do the general training, this offers are more even stat
increase, but the stats aren't as increased as those with
specialized training. Those with specialized training tend to
focus more on their strengths, and often have to leave out their
weaker stats and find other ways around them. However, those
with generalized training often are much more balanced and have
a much easier time balancing all of their stats in combat. The
Darkfires will often choose one of these two methods to train,
where they will train depending on their own preferences. This
makes each Darkfire unique in how they are attuned to combat. Of
course, as one might expect, the Darkfires may still be overcome
by those with stronger stats, or some with experience may also
overwhelm the Darkfires physical abilities (as there are some
things to be said for experience giving someone better ability
to counter enemies than just raw training). Though the Darkfires
do also usually have experience on their side since they do
train and combat enemies.
Transformation:
- Darkfire Vampire Release Form: By reaching deep into their
vampire power, a Darkfire is able to gain a released form that
releases their true power. A Darkfire reaches this skill by
battling their internal self and battling the parts of
themselves they suppress. After doing so, the Darkfire gains
access to a special release form ability, where they use a
release command to release their full power. This is believed to
be similar to an arrancar's similar ability, Resurreccion, and
it is not known if the Darkfires or the arrancars used this
first. However, when used, the Darkfire often takes a unique
form, where the Darkfire will not only gain enhanced abilities,
but may gain special abilities depending on the form taken. For
example, one may gain a bat-like demon form that may grant a
demonic-like power, or someone with dragon power affinity may
gain a dragon-like form that replicates the powers of a dragon.
This is unique to each Darkfire, and each Darkfire often has to
learn their own form. However, this is a useful skill to those
that have reached higher levels of training, as it allows a
Darkfire to boost themselves in combat and use their enhanced
released forms to battle stronger enemies. In order to use this,
a user simply has to release the full strength of their aura and
then state their release command (IE Qrow Darkfire's release is
"Strike Down, Kurai Rakuraimaru"). When in this state, the
Darkfire gains enhanced physical abilities, and often will gain
unique physical traits when in this form as well. For example,
bat-like form would have wings that a Darkfire could use to fly,
or a wolf form would allow wolf claws and teeth. This is, of
course, unique to each Darkfire, and this means that each form
is different. This also means that the abilities of each form
are different, and hard to quantify. However, one thing that is
constant, is that a Darkfire cannot stay in this form for very
long, as this requires a lot of energy to maintain. Also, each
form does have its own weaknesses which must be stated (for
example, a water form would likely be weaker against lightning
or a fire form would likely be weaker against ice). And if a
Darkfire wears out the time on this form, they will often be
exhausted when returning to normal, and this can usually only be
used once per certain period of time (different depending on the
Darkfire), so it is best for a Darkfire to only use this when
all other options are exhausted.
Clan Strengths:
- The Darkfires elemental abilities can be used in a variety of
ways. Those familiar with advanced elemental abilities know that
every element has more use than just being thrown around and can
be used for a variety of purposes. Advanced elemental users may
even be able to create other elemental powers with their
elemental abilities as well, such as how wind users can
sometimes create lightning, or how water users can create ice.
And since the Darkfires not only are skilled at manipulating
elements, but they are also very smart about how they do it, the
Darkfires are very versatile fighters. Smarter Darkfires can
even figure out new ways to use their elements depending on
their scientific knowledge, where some can come up with unique
methods to use their power. And with the dark and holy aspects,
the powers are further enhanced to allow much more skillful use
of their elemental powers where they can also even use their
Darkfire elements somewhat uniquely beyond just doing positive
or negative spirit energy damage with their element. The
Darkfires elemental skills allow for some very creative
skillsets, with each element having many different possibilities
only limited by the Darkfire's scientific knowledge and
imagination. Many are familiar at this point with how the
Darkfires use elemental abilities, and how they use their
abilities makes each Darkfire unique in how they use their
elemental abilities. For example, one will often find that two
dark flame users may not have the same ideas about how to user
their flames, and one may focus on one aspect, while another
focuses on another. There is no right or wrong method, but
mostly depends on the preference of the Darkfire and how they
want to train their skills. The Darkfires are usually good at
feeling out how they need to use their skills, and with their
specialized training, they are very skilled warriors. Combined
with their intense discipline, their physical combat skills, and
their skills like regeneration, it isn't hard to see why the
Darkfires are such skilled combatants, and why they gain some
combat potential.
- Even more than their elemental power and their combat
abilities, the Darkfires biggest strength is their regeneration
more than anything. With regeneration, the Darkfires gain a huge
advantage that even other vampires lack in combat. There is a
reason why clans like the Darkfires are able to compete with the
top level vampire families like the Tepes family (including
being able to compete with modified vampires like Alucard Tepes
and Yuri Jahad). While the Darkfires aren't as skilled at
regeneration as creatures like demons and angels who can
regenerate from being rendered into puddles of blood), the
Darkfires regenerative abilities go beyond just healing injuries
(though their ability to regenerate injuries is still very
effective). They can heal injuries, where many can even regrow
limbs they lose using their elemental regeneration. However,
their regeneration also helps them not only recover faster, but
also allows them to recover stamina much more quickly than other
races. This is a huge advantage that the Darkfires have over
most vampires, in which their regeneration allows them to keep
their stamina longer than most other vampires. Because of their
advanced recovery, the Darkfires have far more stamina than
others, and can do things like staying in battles for much
longer. The hardest thing when fighting a Darkfire isn't trying
to match their power, but instead trying not to get exhausted.
The Darkfires often specialize in outlasting their opponents,
where they will often use their enhanced stamina to wait for
their enemies to get too tired to fight back, and then they will
end the fight. Because of this, fighting Darkfires is a
difficult process, as unless one finds a way to counter their
regeneration, Darkfires will often find ways to simply wait for
their opponents to drop from exhaustion. While their
regeneration isn't perfect, and can be interrupted, it is still
one of their most useful skills, and is one reason why the
Darkfires are known so well among many other clans as a clan to
make plans against before trying to fight them (as those that go
into fights without a plan will often fail against the
Darkfires).
- Darkfires are often born with natural talents for combat and
abilities, where the Darkfires will not only use these natural
talents, but will also train those talents to the best of their
abilities. The Darkfires seek to hone their skills and
abilities, and spend their whole lives training to master their
abilities. Many advanced extremely quickly, and learn advanced
skills fairly easily. The Darkfires are very smart, and usually
can figure out the best ways to take advantage of their skills.
This makes the Darkfires very skilled warriors, and makes them
even more dangerous in combat. The Darkfires even sometimes take
in those with unique talents, in which they have adopted some
that they felt had great potential. The Darkfires seek to expand
their talents in combat as best they can, in which they seek to
grow through their training and combat. The Darkfires tend to
practice a more passive approach, where they try not to flex
their power on others, but they also don't decline challenges as
warriors. These talents can even create unique abilities in
vampire hybrids, such as the Darkfire Dufort Toldora-Darkfire
who's natural talent with his Darkfire talents combined with the
Tolodora family's own natural talents to create some truly
unique abilities that make Dufort a very dangerous opponent to
his enemies. Darkfires are often able to take advantage of their
talents, and hone those skills over the course of their life
times. Of course, they do advanced quickly while they're
younger, but as they get older, their growth does eventually
level off, and instead they will often focus on training the
next generation, or they may find other ways to train themselves
that may help them continue training. The Darkfires combat
skills are not to be underestimated, and even if one can counter
the Darkfires regeneration and their elemental skills, the
Darkfire's physical combat skills are still honed to a level
that can surpass most supernaturals. And thanks to their
alliance with the Hazeldines, the Darkfires have friendly rivals
that they can train with in order for both clans to help build
each other up in ability, which has also made both clans even
stronger.
- The Darkfire family is a much more unified clan than most
other clans, for better or worse. This is both a strength and a
weakness to the Darkfires. In terms of strengths, this means
that the Darkfires are much closer to each other despite there
being two different sections of Darkfires (the swordsmen and the
assassins), and much more trusting of each other than most other
clans would be. The Darkfires also are more willing to welcome
outsiders and adopt others into the clan than many other clans
would be (again, for better or worse). The Darkfires always have
a philosophy: If you attack the Darkfire family, it is the
equivalent of declaring war on the clan. Ask certain groups like
Nightshade or the Apocalypse timeline Count Stradh what happens
when you tick off the Darkfires by attacking their family, and
even if they won't admit it, they know the Darkfires retaliate
hard against anyone who goes against the family. One such
example is the Interdimensional Sabbat, which took over the
entire worldwide Sabbat in their world to go after Edgardo
Salvador after Edgardo accidentally killed the Karasu Darkfire
in their world. The Darkfires will go to any lengths to protect
their family, and they will not show mercy to anyone who
threatens their family. And over time, this unity has even
extended to the Hazeldine family, where the Darkfires and
Hazeldines have now become allies and friendly rivals thanks to
the piece set up by Hei Darkfire and Alice Hazeldine. Now, the
Hazeldines are cared for as much as the Darkfires themselves,
and the Darkfires will even go to war to protect the Hazeldines
just as the Hazeldines will also go to war to protect the
Darkfires. The only exception to this is if the Hazeldines and
Darkfires were to be turned on each other, but both clans have
seen enough times where people have tried that they trust each
other enough that they will investigate first and not jump to
conclusions due to the fact that both clans have been fooled too
many times by people trying to turn them against each other. It
is often a major nightmare for other clans when the Darkfire and
Hazeldine clans team up in retaliation against someone for
attacking one of their families.
- Unlike most vampire clans who stick to one view or another,
the Darkfires are much more open minded than any other clan (for
better or worse, as this also works against them). The Darkfires
usually are open-minded when it comes to new concepts, and are
usually smart enough to see the benefits of new concepts. When
it comes to issues between others, the Darkfires usually make
great mediators, as they are great at seeing both sides of an
argument. For example, when the Sabbat and the Camarilla argued
about their views, the Darkfires saw both sides as flawed in
their thinking, but also having good points as well. The
Darkfires often do their best to find a good middle-ground when
it comes to issues, and they are very skilled at seeing multiple
angles on almost any issue. The only time the Darkfires tend to
have trouble with this is if a group or clan attacks their
family, and then their open-minded views go out the window when
they retaliate against someone who wrongs their family. Because
of their willingness to adapt and change their views, they can
usually find a way to bond with many groups that most wouldn't
want to. This is a big reason why Hei Darkfire and Alice Rynn
were able to make an uneasy peace with the Camarilla (despite
the Sabbat fracturing in two with the Sabbat Traditionalists
refusing to be led by the Darkfires). Overall, the Darkfires are
very smart, and they won't just jump to conclusions on most
issues. The Darkfires are also ones that prefer to do their
research on issues that come up, where they won't just jump into
one side's views without looking at all the facts first. The
Darkfires are often very philosophical and look beyond most
issues on the surface. This is how they were eventually able to
come to terms with the Hazeldine clan despite multiple wars
against each other, and with Hei Darkfire and Alice Hazeldine
working together, the Darkfires were able to find a common
middle-ground so their clans could become allies. While the
Hazeldines aren't nearly as open minded, they have accepted the
Darkfire's methods of viewing the world and have become more
open-minded over the years as the Darkfires learn and adapt,
often learning and adapting with them thus strengthening both
clans even further, and further unifying their clans. The
Darkfires will often seek peaceful resolutions to most
conflicts, rather than violence (with some exceptions).
Clan Weaknesses:
- Elemental Counters: The Darkfire's elemental abilities can
still be countered, in which the Darkfire's elemental abilities
are usually weak to counter elements. For example, fire often
would counter ice and earth, or water might counter fire and
lightning, or earth and wind can often counter each other (every
element has its weaknesses). Depending on the knowledge and
abilities, almost any elemental can be countered by another in
some way. For example, most don't know that one can actually
counter fire with electricity, as electricity can be used to
manipulate flames. The Darkfires elemental powers may be
versatile, but there are also many versatile ways to counter
their abilities. If one has enough scientific knowledge, there
are many ways to counter elementals. For example, wind abilities
can not only be used to create other elements like flames and
lightning, but can also be used to put out flames and lightning.
Wind manipulation can create a vacuum, snuffing out flames if
they don't have oxygen to burn and wind manipulation can
manipulate the static in the air to remove the static that
creates electricity. It isn't just with elemental powers that
their powers can be countered though, as others can counter
elements with other abilities as well. For example, energy users
can counter a Darkfire's elemental skills by using energy
defense, such as using a barrier skill may help a user defend
against elemental skills or using certain energies can even
contain elemental abilities. Depending on the abilities used,
elementals can be countered by a great many abilities, and just
requires a little creativity from the user. This means that the
Darkfires elemental powers, while useful, can still be
countered. And just as their positive and negative spirit
energies add power when creating their unique elementals, this
also adds an additional weakness. When using these, the
elementals will be more easily countered by the opposite
attribute (IE dark would be weak to positive energy and holy
would be weak to negative energies). So opponents have a variety
of ways they can counter the Darkfire's elemental abilities.
- Elemental Counters Part 2: There are a few other abilities
that can more easily counter a Darkfire's elemental abilities.
The first is darkness and light. The Darkfires will often stay
away from light and darkness abilities, due to the fact that
they see them as redundant. Because the Darkfires utilize
negative and positive power in their elementals, with the
negative elementals basically being dark and their positive ones
essentially being considered light type, the Darkfires will
often not bother with dark or light elementals when training
their elements, due to what they see as redundancy. This means
that darkness and light are much less used, and more easily able
to counter the Darkfires. Specifically, light can be used pretty
effectively, since things like light beams can pierce many
elemental type attacks. And darkness is another skill that can
be used by advanced users to essentially counter many kinds of
abilities. For example, light might be amplified by ice
abilities, or darkness could absorb heat. This is another aspect
that just requires creativity, but Darkfires that don't have
light or dark often don't care much for darkness or light
manipulation. The next counter is corrupted elements, and other
elements that are created from energy rather than elemental
power. Corrupted elements are just as easily able to counter a
Darkfire's elemental power as any other elemental, where
Darkfires who try to absorb corrupted elementals will take
physical damage to their bodies if they try to absorb a
corrupted element even if it's the same element. The only
exception to this is if a Darkfire can create corrupted elements
of their own, in which case they can absorb their own corrupted
elements (but not others). In terms of other elements, other
energies can replicate elemental effect, such as spirit
lightning, and these cannot be absorbed by a Darkfire without
physical damage as well, due to the fact these are not true
elements. Corrupted and other energy elementals are very useful
as it usually bypasses a Darkfire's elemental immunity to their
elements, and counters their resistances to other elementals as
well.
- They can die: The Darkfires can regenerate much better than
most vampire clans, but they can still be killed just like any
other vampire. The Darkfires still have the same vampire
weaknesses where they can be killed more easily by holy
abilities or by vampire killing weapons. For the Darkfires, they
cannot regenerate their hearts or their brains, which are vitals
that can kill them if they are destroyed. Some Darkfires can
regenerate internal organs, and some cannot, so it is a mixed
response. Another method to kill a Darkfire is to cut off their
head, as unless they have angelic or demonic level regeneration,
it will kill them to do so just like it would most other
vampires. Regeneration may be a strength of the Darkfires, but
those that plan well enough can find ways to counter the
regeneration of the Darkfires. There are a number of things that
can negate regeneration these days, such as varanium or other
regeneration negation skills that some have developed to counter
regeneration. One can use these, and they work just as well
against a Darkfire as they would against any other regeneration
type. The Darkfires often will rely a lot on regeneration, so
some will take hits if they feel like they can survive it and
regenerate. This is something that some clans can use against
the Darkfires, as using a varanium or similar item/weapon could
catch them off guard if they take the hit and take damage they
can't recover from. Another thing is that some Darkfire's
regeneration can sometimes be interrupted by holy power, due to
the effects of holy energy on their vampire natures. In
addition, certain supernatural hunter abilities can specifically
counter their regeneration abilities, such as some that are
specifically set up to counter a vampire (such as a magic
supernatural hunter that had magic arts designed to vampire
natures by purifying their cursed and dark nature). Things like
holy silver, or vampire killer weapons can also negate their
regeneration temporarily depending on the Darkfire (as long as
it's not something like a holy vampire Darkfire like Father Hei
Darkfire). And if an opponent can counter a Darkfire's
regeneration, they can effectively counter one of the Darkfire's
more dangerous abilities.
- Attacking the family is a bad idea: The Darkfire family ties
can be a dangerous thing to them, even if it is one of their
strengths. If someone crosses their family, their attention
becomes highly focused on the person who wrongs them, to the
point where they can get tunnel vision when they go for
retaliation. The best example of this is the Interdimensional
Sabbat, which resulted of a Darkfire retaliation that led to the
Darkfires putting aside their normal views on not killing
innocents and going after Edgardo Del Salvador until they had
pretty much completely taken over their world, and they had
killed a ton of people that had nothing to do with their
vendetta against Edgardo. This can be a dangerous thing, and the
Darkfires can take retaliation too far. Because of this, the
Darkfires views on family is a dangerous thing to them. However,
it is also something that can be used against them. Because the
Darkfires will always protect their family, some have used this
fact to their advantage by capturing members of the family to
lure the Darkfires into traps, where they use the attack on the
family to try and take advantage of the Darkfire's retaliatory
nature. And if the Darkfires get so bent on retaliation that
their judgement is impaired (which can happen), then the
Darkfires could be lured into traps that can get them killed.
The Darkfires are very skilled in terms of combat and they are
quite unified, but this unification also can be effectively a
weakness to them if it is used correctly. The Darkfires will go
to any means to protect their family, and this may even mean
putting aside some of their more passive views. While the
Darkfires are a little less prone to retaliation thanks to their
friendship with the Hazeldines who often help them in times of
distress, the Darkfires can still suffer impaired judgement if
the family is in danger. There is no worse thing to impair the
Darkfire's more passive nature than retaliating in revenge. Any
warrior can be hindered by the need for revenge, and the
Darkfires are no different. The Darkfires need for revenge can
hinder their combat, and even make them outright sloppy in
combat if they are not focused and calm.
- People hate their middle of the road views: Because of their
middle of the road views, the Darkfires have become mostly
out-casted from the rest of the vampire clans since they refuse
to side with one group over another. The Darkfires and
Hazeldines both went to Japan to avoid the other clans, and for
a while even hated each other before they eventually made peace
and became allies. The Darkfires are often not looked well upon
by other clans, with the best example being when Hei Darkfire
took over the Sabbat in London. Rather than accepting a strong
leader who had proven himself over and over again, the group was
splintered and half of the group created the Sabbat
Traditionalists because they hated Hei Darkfire's views. It's
not always about them being Darkfires, and groups hating the
Darkfires (But there are plenty of groups that hate the
Darkfires specifically, some of which include groups splintered
off from their own family), but it's usually about how they see
the world. Many see their more peaceful approaches to problems
as a sign of weakness, as many often think that the Darkfires
should fight rather than try to solve things peacefully. This
has led to a misconception that the Darkfires are weak, though
many are starting to see that it is not the case, mostly thanks
to London's groups seeing how dangerous the Darkfires can truly
be. The Hazeldines share in this view, and have also become
outcasts from the rest of the clans as well, which makes the
Darkfires and Hazeldines stronger allies. However, because of
their views and their more peaceful ways of trying to solve
issues, it will always lead to some seeing them as weak, or
never truly agreeing with their ideas of how the world should be
run. The best allies for the Darkfires is typically other
outcasts, but even many outcast groups also dislike the
Darkfires as well. It's not always for the same reasons, but
most groups that know the Darkfires usually find some reason to
dislike them, as well as disliking the Hazeldine clan (in which
some dislike the Darkfires because of their alliance with the
Hazeldine clan and some even hating the Hazeldines for their
alliance with the Darkfires).
- The clan's biggest secret: Because Darkfires are true
day-walker vampires, most nighttime based vampires will hunt
them down in order to take their blood and gain their abilities
if they find out about the Darkfire's true day-walker abilities.
Darkfires are one of the few true day-walker vampires who are
able to be out in the day and not take damage. The Darkfires are
often hunted by those that find out about this, and their blood
is like a rare resource for vampires seeking the ability to not
have to live in the night. Because vampires are often known to
be weak to the light, true day-walker vampires are much harder
to find and take down because they are able to blend in to
normal life so much more easily. Vampires will seek the blood of
those like Darkfires, so that they can drink their blood and
gain their ability to survive in the daylight. This makes the
Darkfires a target among many vampire clans that know about
their abilities as day-walkers, and vampires will seek to take
their blood in order to steal their day-walker abilities. Of
course, that isn't the only reason to take the Darkfire's blood,
as some vampires will also take the Darkfire's blood in order to
gain their elemental abilities, since the Darkfires are among
the strongest elemental users among the vampire clans. This
means that the Darkfires are usually targets of many vampire
clans, and might even be targeted by ally clans, such as how
they used to be targeted by the Hazeldine clan despite the two
clans living in peace (this isn't a problem anymore, but used to
be and led to a few conflicts between the Darkfires and
Hazeldines). Because of this, many Darkfires have a hard time
trusting other vampires, and will often seek to only work with
other family members, as well as working with the Hazeldines
after the Hazeldines stopped trying to take the Darkfire's power
(since they developed their own ways to go out in the day time)
and the Hazeldines stopped being enemies. Of course, this is not
even taking into account other aspects of why the other vampire
clans go after the Darkfires, and this is not the only reason
why the Darkfires are usually targeted.
- Supernatural Hunters hunt vampires: Almost any vampire has to
worry about supernatural hunters at some point, and the
Darkfires are no different. Even though the Darkfires usually
avoid trying to draw supernatural hunters attention by avoiding
killing innocent humans, the Darkfires are still vampires that
supernatural hunters will hunt down. Even though the Darkfires
are usually much more peaceful towards others than other vampire
clans and supernaturals in general, that doesn't mean that
supernatural hunters will just ignore them. Supernatural hunters
familiar with vampire clans may know of the Darkfires if they
know enough about the vampire clans of the world (specifically
if they know the vampire clans of Japan), and supernatural
hunters that have operated in Japan definitely know the
Darkfires as one of the two main vampire families that control
the government of Japan. Supernatural hunters who know the
Darkfires know how dangerous the Darkfires are, and can usually
prepare if they know they will be facing a Darkfire vampire.
While Darkfires are skilled fighters and known for having high
levels of combat talent, supernatural hunters who are prepared
enough can counter all the Darkfires can do. For example, most
supernatural hunters will have some form of supernatural hunter
weapon, such as a holy weapon or some weapon they can use to
kill creatures like vampires and werewolves. And as for a
Darkfire's elemental abilities, most supernatural hunters are
prepared for elemental abilities in some fashion, since
elemental manipulation is among the most common supernatural
abilities among supernatural creatures. There are a number of
supernatural hunter clans in Japan that have tangled with the
Darkfires and Hazeldines before, so there is no shortage of
supernatural hunters that know the Darkfires for supernatural
hunters to ask about the Darkfires if they don't know about the
clan and what they can do. While the Darkfires often avoid
supernatural hunters, it is still a problem that any vampire
clan has to face, and the Darkfires are no different.
- Hazeldine Rivals: For the Darkfires, the Darkfires have a
major rival in the Hazeldine clan. While other vampire clans
will often attack them, no clan has competed with them as much
as the Hazeldines have. Many wars in Japan's history had been
used by the Darkfires and Hazeldines to fight each other, with
the past of the two clans often competing for who would rule
Japan. Over the years, the Hazeldines have trained specifically
to fight the Darkfires, just as the Darkfires have trained to
fight them. Besides supernatural hunters, the Hazeldines are the
biggest rivals to the Darkfires. Luckily, the Hazeldines and
Darkfires have become allies thanks to Alice Hazeldine and Hei
Darkfire negotiating peace between the two clans. Thanks to
this, the Hazeldines and Darkfires don't kill each other on
sight like in wars past. However, the Hazeldines and Darkfires
do sometimes still disagree on certain things, and there are
plenty of Hazeldines out there that don't follow the rules of
the clan (some have been known to attack the Darkfires even
though there is relative peace). While rules in place forbid
conflict between the two clans, individual conflicts still arise
from time to time which can result in fights between members of
both clans. However, the most common fights for a Darkfire will
involve Hazeldines looking for training rivals. The Hazeldines
and Darkfires now have a system where they are friendly rivals,
and almost all Hazeldines will look for a Darkfire that matches
their skills to battle as a rival. For example, Qrow Darkfire
and Dovelthain Hazeldine were considered rivals (before
Dovelthain died), and most Hazeldines will find a Darkfire to
train against as a rival. Normally, this training rivalry isn't
deadly, and is more to train so that both the Darkfire and
Hazeldine can train and grow as fighters. Overall, the
Hazeldines are the ones that know the Darkfires best, and the
Hazeldines train specifically to counter the Darkfires. Whether
it's friendly rivalry, war between the clans, or rogue Darkfires
or Hazeldines, the Hazeldines are usually the biggest counters
to the Darkfires.
- Water (Yes, seriously): In terms of other vampire weaknesses,
there are also two types of water that can also be used against
the Darkfires, which is holy water and purified water. Holy
water is water with a holy element added to it (whether by
supernatural holy energy or by special concoctions of the church
to create holy water), and purified water, which is water
without any other elements in it (purified water is just pure
H2O, having been purified of all impurities and any other
elements in the water). Using either water can burn a Darkfire
just to touch, where the water will dissolve their skin when in
contact with it and it can prevent regeneration for a time,
making it a good weapon to use against them. While holy water is
a fairly obvious weakness against a vampire, purified water is
one that also works against many vampires that people don't
actually know about (in which purified water is able to counter
a vampire's cursed and dark nature due to its purity). Another
major vampire weakness is that the Darkfires, like some
vampires, can also be bound to a coffin through certain tricks
and rituals used by supernatural hunters, which are designed to
keep vampires contained (such as using certain weapons that
knock out a vampire, and using a binding agent to keep them in
hibernation while the coffin is closed). While Darkfires don't
sleep in coffins like some vampires do, they can still be bound
to them like many races of vampires can (even if it feels
unnatural to them). In terms of coffins, there are some ways
some can even bind a Darkfire to them as servants using certain
occult knowledge. While not a Darkfire, one such example of this
is how the Hellsing family bound the vampire, Alucard, to serve
the Hellsing family. The Darkfires are not immune to being bound
and tied to something, and if it is used properly, groups could
capture the Darkfires and use them to their advantage. However,
the Darkfires would not willingly be bound to any other group,
so one would have to account for that if they wanted to bind the
Darkfires. One would have better luck into talking a Darkfire to
willingly join them, which individual Darkfires may consider if
the group can prove to be a valuable enough ally.
- Vampires need blood of the living: As vampires, Darkfires have
to feed on blood in order to keep their strength up. There are
two major options for feeding. Darkfires can feed on human blood
(which is usually what most vampires in general do), or they can
feed on animal blood. Human blood is usually better for the
Darkfires just like most vampires, but the major problem is that
hunting humans will usually put Darkfires on the map for
supernatural hunters to come after them if they kill humans.
Darkfires usually get around this by only killing criminals and
those that are sentenced to death by the government, as a means
to only go after those that would only be executed anyway. Since
the Darkfires have special connections to the governments of the
countries they live in, they will usually use this to find
people the government will allow them to feed on, or get
resources from the government such as bags of blood that they
can feed on. The other option is feeding on animal blood, which
is more of a substitute for human blood. Some vampires uniquely
choose this option because feeding on animals makes them less
likely to be targeted by those like supernatural hunters and
rival vampire clans. By feeding on animals, Darkfires can
usually keep a lower profile when not in their home territory.
The only problem with feeding on animals is that animal blood
isn't as satisfying and often requires the Darkfire to
consciously control their hunger as they will be more likely to
go into blood rages if they sense human blood. No matter the
option though, Darkfires have to maintain their power through
some method, with these two being the most common. There are a
few other methods, that are relatively unknown. The first is
through synthetic means, where some have found ways to create
synthetic blood with all the same nutrients as blood, but is
made synthetically to prevent vampires from having to kill
humans. So far, few have tracked down sources of this, but there
are a few that make synthetic nutrients or synthetic blood, with
the main one being that of London universe's own Kindron
Darkfire. The other options is that some Darkfires can learn to
maintain themselves on supernatural blood, which normally would
grant new abilities. Normally, supernatural blood doesn't
sustain power and would grant new power, but some Darkfires can
actually train themselves to maintain their power on
supernatural blood. However, by doing this, a Darkfire will lose
the ability to gain new powers through drinking supernatural
blood. Darkfires have to maintain their power through blood in
some form, and without it, will grow weaker until they die. And
as they use their power, they will require sustenance faster
than if they don't utilize their abilities (since using
abilities requires energy).
- Hypoglycemia, anyone?: When it comes to hunger, there is
another thing to note about the Darkfires as a weakness. Many
that know the Darkfires know that they don't just live on blood,
but they eat human food as well. Their diet is a bit unique, in
which the Darkfires, as vampires, survive on blood and human
food. This is because the Darkfires burn off calories much
faster than their bodies can handle due to their constant
battle-like nature. Since the Darkfires do a lot of training and
fighting, they tend to burn a lot more calories than most
others. On top of this, the Darkfires have a very fast
metabolism, due to their bodies being in peak condition. Due to
this, the Darkfires have very fast metabolisms that can actually
burn off food even faster. Due to this, the Darkfires tend to
have a hypoglycemic nature to them, where they have to eat far
more in calories to keep their strength up. This is something of
a major disadvantage to them, as their metabolisms can be a huge
detriment. This means that Darkfires that don't eat regularly
could have hypoglycemic reactions, to the point where they could
pass out from hunger if they skip even one meal. This is
something of a curse to Darkfires more than a blessing, because
they have to eat far more than normal people, and they
metabolize things much faster. In terms of food, this is easy
enough to get around, where a Darkfire just has to eat regularly
to keep their strength up, but this also affects Darkfires when
they drink, as alcohol has highly reduced effects on them due to
the fact that they metabolize alcohol much faster and the
alcohol doesn't really affect them as easily. Most Darkfires
have to eat a lot in order to survive, and they not only have to
eat regularly, but they also tend to eat far more than others.
As vampires, the Darkfires could survive by drinking more blood,
but they have instead adapted over the years to surviving on
both blood and human food as a means to keep their metabolism in
check. Those that don't eat will suffer hypoglycemic reactions,
and could even pass out from hunger in as little as 12 hours
without food. Because of this, this can be a major weakness to
Darkfires, as when they get hungry, their ability to fight gets
weak, and their abilities start to get sloppy when they get
hungry enough due to them usually not being able to concentrate
when hungry.
- Vampires are creatures of the night: The Darkfires are almost
all unholy creatures steeped in a dark nature, and take far more
damage from holy effects and holy abilities (unless they are a
specific type immune like a holy vampire). Holy abilities are
usually the best thing to have when facing the Darkfires, and
holy abilities can usually be used to more easily counter the
Darkfire's abilities. For example, holy weapons designed to kill
vampires can interrupt a Darkfire's regeneration (unless they
are immune to holy effects for some reason), or holy powers can
do more damage to Darkfires due to their unholy nature. While
those of holy natures may take more damage from Darkfires, users
of holy power will find that the Darkfires take far more damage
from holy energy, in which holy powers can burn their skin and
destroy their bodies if used effectively against them. This
doesn't just apply to holy powers though, but also applies to
holy locations, such as sacred grounds (except cemeteries) or
blessed locations (Like churches). When in these locations,
Darkfires will take holy damage, with their bodies
disintegrating slowly as the Darkfires remain in these locations
(unless Darkfires have unique abilities or hybrid race aspects
to survive holy locations, such as holy vampires). The only way
around this is for the owner or the priest of said locations to
grant the Darkfires permission to be there, in which granting
permission can allow a Darkfire to enter the location. When it
comes to holy effects, most Darkfires are weak to the effects of
holy power (exceptions must be stated). There are many ways to
utilize this, such as hiding from Darkfires on sacred or blessed
grounds, or using holy power to more easily damage Darkfires.
Holy powers are among the best powers to have against the
Darkfires, whether assassin Darkfires or samurai Darkfires,
since all Darkfires except a select few are vulnerable to holy
effects. This includes holy weapons and holy items also doing
more damage against Darkfires as well. The only way around this
is if Darkfires have special skillsets or race aspects that make
them immune (like Father Hei who has holy vampire power and is
empowered by holy effects).
- Power requires control: Because controlling their powers and
controlling their instincts takes so much mental focus,
Darkfires must train heavily in controlling their mind.
Darkfires must learn to be able to use disciplined mind training
in order to control their minds through focus, as it is
absolutely necessary for them to control themselves or it could
affect their abilities. Trauma is one of the biggest dangers for
a Darkfire, as trauma or forms of mental incapacity could affect
their elemental abilities. The most known one is mental trauma
affecting their regeneration abilities. Some Darkfires, if they
suffer a trauma, will associate that trauma with injuries caused
during the trauma and the injuries might not regenerate if that
trauma takes a mental toll on the Darkfire. When this happens,
trauma based injuries won't regenerate until the Darkfire has
overcome the trauma completely. However, this isn't the only way
to affect a Darkfire's power. Among other examples, if a
Darkfire is suffering emotionally, their powers might run out of
control, or might not work at all depending on the Darkfire and
the trauma they are suffering. This can lead to major problems,
as Darkfires who are suffering traumas won't be able to use
their powers effectively, and at some point may lose access to
certain powers completely if they don't overcome that trauma.
While Darkfires can overcome trauma with time depending on their
mentality, trauma is one of the biggest ways to mess up a
Darkfire's power. This has even led to some Darkfires becoming
corrupted by trauma, in which their powers may change as a
result of it, such as in the Apocalypse timeline where Hei's
powers became pure demonic (where he lost access to his positive
elemental abilities and his elements became purely demonic) and
then his elementals became soulless variations after Hei was
revived as a Dark Lord. Trauma almost never has good effects on
the Darkfires, and has led to some even losing their ability to
manipulate elements. Because of this, it is always essential for
Darkfires to continuously train their mental states, and train
their disciplined mind to try and avoid this. Trauma is not
something Darkfires can suppress even with their disciplined
mind training, so it is important for Darkfires to not let
trauma affect them in the first place or it can be a problem no
matter how strong the Darkfire.
- Honor codes are a b*tch sometimes: There are weaknesses in the
Darkfire's unique codes depending on the Darkfires. Both groups
of Darkfires, the swordsmen and the assassins, have specific
honor codes that some may see as a strength, but have some
dangerous aspects that can be dangerous to the Darkfires. The
first is that the swordsmen Darkfire are bound by specific honor
codes, usually in the form of Bushido style codes. This usually
includes a "do not kill unless it is a last resort" rule. In
terms of the assassin Darkfires, the Darkfires who are assassins
do not kill unless it is someone they feel deserves death.
Because killing is a downward spiral in most cases, the
Darkfires are always at risk of losing control of themselves and
becoming just mindless killers. Because of this, both groups of
Darkfires tend to live dark lives, and are never far from the
edge no matter how calm and collected they may be on the
outside. While the swordsmen stay further from that edge than
the assassins, the swordsmen get closer to that edge since they
refuse to kill unless it's necessary so they get closer to that
edge faster than the assassins who live with the deaths they
cause. The assassin Darkfires don't get as close to the edge
with each kill, but they are always much closer to the edge than
the swordsmen due to the fact that they aren't afraid to kill.
Because of this, the Darkfires walk a fine line, and this line
can be a very dangerous thing no matter which type of Darkfire
is present. It takes a lot of mental training and meditation for
a Darkfire to not be consumed by dark thoughts, and they must
always be wary of the fact they could be consumed by dark
thoughts. When looking at the multiverse as a whole, one will
find that there are more evil Darkfires in it than good ones,
and the dark natures that the Darkfires walk is a very dangerous
thing that can easily backfire on them if they let their guard
down. As mentioned, there are things that can easily push them
over that line, and the Darkfires know it. The Darkfires must
always train their minds first, and learn to control themselves
as effectively as possible to avoid succumbing to their darker
thoughts.
- Can you kill something not alive?: Each set of familiars has
unique weaknesses. While familiars can often be re-summoned,
they can be destroyed depending on the familiar depending on
what power is used to beat them (such as some can be destroyed
with spirit destruction). Another major thing is that each
Darkfire has to have connections to the familiars in order to
control them, and the connection can be broken depending on the
Darkfire. Most Darkfires may need some focus to control
familiars, and the destruction of some familiars may cause some
backlash on the user (as in complete destruction, not just
de-summoning when defeated). For the demon/holy armor familiars,
they may often seem tough, but the soul mark made on the armor
being destroyed will forcibly de-summon the familiars since they
cannot operate without that soul mark connected the soul to the
armor. And of course, the demon and holy armors can be countered
by their respective counters (IE demon powers can counter holy
powers and vice versa). The Darkfires require enslaved souls in
order to use the familiar arts they have, and the Darkfires have
to keep this in mind. The souls can also have additional
weaknesses depending on the soul put in to the demon or holy
armor, such as a dragon soul put into an armor familiar will
likely be weaker to dragon hunter abilities as a result. The
powers of the familiars are still able to be countered depending
on the familiar, where each familiar will often have its own
abilities (aside from the Paladins and Pursuers which are
universal between Darkfires). If the Darkfire's familiar is
defeated in battle and destroyed by a method that doesn't
completely destroy the familiar, even then the Darkfire won't be
able to summon the familiar again for a while, unless it is a
familiar they can summon multiple times at once (such as Hei
Darkfire's ultimate genjutsu lets him summon multiple familiars
of the same type at the same time). As mentioned, spirit
destruction is usually a great method of permanently killing
these familiars, as it destroys the spirit of the familiar
rather than simply forcing them to de-summon.
- Even Spirits can be killed (Elemental Spirit Users Only):
While this skillset seems great for strengthening the world's
spirits, this skillset is still somewhat incomplete because the
Darkfires stopped working on it after the Darkfires made peace
with the Hazeldines. When used, this skillset is still weak to
counters to spirit power, with things like spirit destruction
still working very well against these elemental spirits. Users
of this will find that elemental spirits can still be countered
like any other spirit, whether its spiritual power, spirit
destruction powers, or other weapons or powers that counter
spirits. Some users have even had some success limiting spirit
powers by trying to use spirit enslavement on them (which may
not work on a Darkfire's spirit, but it will force them to stop
in their tracks as the Darkfire and the spirit have to work
together to overcome it). However, this skillset did come with
another unexpected danger, which was increased attention from
the spirit plane. Specifically, this skillset tends to open up
the Darkfire to the spirit plane, and may open up the Darkfire
to notice by dark spirits. In the simple words of Qrow Darkfire:
"When you see them, they see you." This means that those with
this skillset are more likely to be attacked by dark spirits,
and a user of this will need to learn how to counter dark
spirits. So while this may be a good power for using spirits and
building spiritual power, it does come with extra dangers as
well. And while having elemental spirits may seem great, there
does come a point where the spirit does reach a max limit on how
strong it can get, where it cannot get any stronger. At that
point, the Darkfire has to release that spirit back into the
world and get a new spirit (Though some may stay with the fully
grown spirit since many Darkfires get attached to spirits they
host since the spirit and Darkfire tend to become close over
time). Growth for spirits may start out quick, but eventually
the growth of a spirit levels off, and the older and more
experienced spirits may not be able to grow as much as the
younger and more inexperienced spirits out there. And of course,
it is absolutely forbidden to use this skill to host dark
spirits outright by the Darkfires for obvious reasons, even
among the most extreme Darkfires.
- What even is Aura? (Aura Users Only): While aura is a very
simple way for others to gain the power to protect themselves
from dangerous threats, it is also simple for opponents to learn
and counter. Aura is a very simple power, and designed more for
functionality than to be a flashy skillset. While the Branwens
and the Darkfires are able to use aura skills to great effect,
aura is pretty easy to counter in that it's not complicated to
figure out. The best way to beat aura is to simply overpower it,
where almost all the aura abilities can be overpowered by
stronger energies and attacks. It is even possible for a
physically stronger opponent to overpower aura defense if they
are stronger than the aura energy that protects the person.
Compared to other energy users, aura is much simpler, and
designed on purpose to be a power anyone can learn. It is also
possible that other forms of energy can more easily be used to
overcome aura manipulation, such as a spirit user might use a
blast of spirit energy to try and break the aura user's aura
defense. For aura users, their aura defense is perhaps the most
important aura power they have, as it protects them as long as
they have aura to power their aura defense. However, once
overpowered, or worn down, any aura user can become vulnerable
once their aura has gone down. The Branwens have ways to help
make aura use a little more useful and help users last longer in
battle, such as using elemental dust or using certain animal
transformations. But the simple fact is that aura is one of the
more easy to counter abilities. While it is more useful when
combined with other abilities such as a Darkfire could utilize
aura defense and elemental defense to increase their defense,
aura is only useful until it is broken by an opponent, and then
a user has to find another strategy for winning a fight. And of
course, like any aura user or any energy user in general, things
like aura breaker weapons and powers can instantly break through
this power and negate aura defense.
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