Acquisitioners of the Gifts

Her eyes and ears across Cathedris

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We're not what we once were.

— Number Three

We have become what we have always been meant to be.

— Number Three

The Acquisitioners of the Gifts are Dr. Anabelle Evingston's most trusted team of operatives, tasked with finding dangerous and often reality warping objects known as the Gifts from the Sky. These Gifts have horrific powers that are at their most powerful when directly next to a human, and the Acquisitioners are the only ones successful in retrieving any number of them.

Who They Once Were

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It's like a dream come true -- who wouldn't jump at the chance to hunt artifacts from before the damn gods ever existed?

— Number Six

What came before should not surface again; lest life turn into a nightmare become real. The end is all that drives us forward.

— Number Six

Long before the Altruistic Concilium of Sacred Architecture ever existed, before strange and terrible plans began to unfold that threatened the fate of the planet, an exceptional and highly trained squad of operatives worked for the Legion, completing secretive and dangerous missions across the globe. Valuable target extraction, Comprilith reconaissance missions, and exploritory evaluations into Rendling hot-spots -- there wasn't anything that these soldiers couldn't do.

It was their repeated and continued success that piqued Dr. Evingston's interest in the group. She had great need for skilled operatives such as these; in the middle of her meteoric rise through the Legion ranks, Evingston had obtained ancient information hinting towards the existence of otherworldly objects that have existed since long before the gods themselves.
As soon as she had gained enough authority to do so, Evingston appointed herself as direct commander of this squad of operatives. She hired her long-time friend Helen, an exceptional markswoman and tactitian, to join the operatives -- now working towards a new goal, with a new title, known simply as the Acquisitioners. They became Evingston's eyes and ears across Cathedris, extending her grasp into every area thought once off-limits.

by Jr Korpa

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The Comprilith. Secret cave networks that stretch for eternity under Caed's island. Ancient ruins that lay forgotten in deep river bends. We've seen it all, every secret Cathedris has to offer.

— Number Five

My mind is not my mind. My body responds to another. I am dedicated to this task, and I will see it through, but it is not my choice. I have but one goal, one desire, and that is to reach the end.

— Number Five

The Operatives

Original

15

Current

6

In order to keep their identities secret, due to the nature of their missions and the objects they collect, the Acquisitioners are only ever referred to by their callsigns -- numbers One through Six. They've operated under these rules for long enough that some of them are thought to have forgotten their original names.

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Their Target

The Gifts from the Sky, seven otherworldly artifacts that are thought to have existed since long before the gods themselves. Some theorists even believe the gifts to be the items that actually caused the creation of the gods; an idea that has not fallen on deaf ears within the certain portions of the Legion.
Currently three 'Gifts' are known of by name, each bit of information painstakingly collected by agents of the Regiment for Humanity: the Errant Thoughtseed, the Dreamshare Shard, and the Waxweep Rock.

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Their Commander

Before she vanished from the public eye, Dr. Evingston was an exceptional member of the Legion -- head of Legion Intelligence long before she ever assumed command of the Acquisitioners.
It was through her relentless pursuit of power that she climbed the ranks, and it was through her insatiable lust for knowledge on what came before that the discovery of the 'Gifts' was ever made in the first place.

by Jr Korpa

Who Are They Now

What once was 15 now has become 6; in the mission to retrieve the very first Gift from the Sky ever discovered, the Errant Thoughtseed, horror and tragedy struck the team. None of the survivors ever discussed what happened in the complex caves beneath Caed's Island -- but none of them were ever the same afterwards.
Still, they retained the skills that made them so valuable to Dr. Evingston. In some areas, they became even better. Despite being reduced to a mere 6 members, the Acquisitioners became that which does not fail; a scalpel in the hands of Evingston, precision equipment designed to explore all over the world. If new information was found, they'd be the group sent to extract it. If rumours began to spread, and someone needed to be silenced without anyone knowing -- the Acquisitioners would be deployed.

Number One

Prior Name

Evelyn

Specialization

Polyglot

Age

34

Height

6' 3"

Weight

210 lbs

Rank

Officer

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It was always goal number 1 on my bucket list: visit every single country. I even began learning as many languages as I could to see it through. That's the reason I ever joined the Legion in the first place -- to see the world.

— Number One

I've seen to much I've seen to much I've seen too much. I want to go home but there is no more home. There's no more home. I have no where to go but forward. I have no where to go but where I am told. I am no where.

— Number One

by Jr Korpa and by Anton Darius

by Jr Korpa and by Ben Sweet

Number Two

Prior Name

David

Specialization

Technician

Age

37

Height

5' 10"

Weight

175lbs

Rank

Officer

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Somehow I've become known as "Mr. Fixit". Heh. I don't mind really, it's better than the nicknames some of the others have gotten. And it's true anyways -- there ain't nothing I can't fix. Comes in handy in the field. Especially with all the untested tech we get these days.

— Number Two

Somehow I've become known as "Mr. Fixit". I don't understand why. I don't know who that person is. Someone known by that nickname could fix anything -- they could fix anything. Anything. I can't fix anything. This cannot be fixed. I cannot be fixed, I cannot be helped.

— Number Two

Number Three

Prior Name

Ava

Specialization

Medic

Age

41

Height

5' 3"

Weight

160lbs

Rank

Senior

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We'd just finally been able to clear a flare-up of Rendlings, but we had suffered numerous losses. I'm working on someone who's arm's been torn off -- and I see it at the foot of another soldier. I look at him and ask, "hey, give me a hand, will ya?". No one laughed, sadly.

— Number Three

I desire to be joined, I shall become one with the many. I shall shed my individuality and become part of the collective, part of something greater than I. It is what I am destined for... and yet it is not my time. I cannot enter the embrace of all. I cannot stitch myself into the divine organism. I weep.

— Number Three

by Jr Korpa and by Colton Sturgeon

by Jr Korpa and by Joe Shields

Number Four

Prior Name

Jacob

Specialization

Research

Age

47

Height

5' 5"

Weight

155lbs

Rank

Senior

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Originally all I wanted to do was explore the Comprilith. Even did it for a few years as a private contractor; there was something so viscerally enjoyable about trekking through an ever changing layout, never knowing if it'd be your last day in there. Never knowing what you might find.

— Number Four

♫ In the endless halls, of my mind, I drive myself, forward and mad; lost in my thoughts, nowhere to go, I'll never leave, isn't that sad
It's truly a pain, it never won't hurt, I have forgotten, all that I am; the halls are all empty, the pain invisible, where am I where am I where am♫

— Number Four

Number Five

Prior Name

Juan

Specialization

Demolitions

Age

30

Height

5' 9"

Weight

210lbs

Rank

Officer

Revert

If I'm honest, creating things is my favourite pastime. Building them up from nothing, having an actual visual indicator of your progress. Yeah, sure, knocking over the tower of blocks is great and all, but that joy lasts moments, not like the time it takes to create something.

— Number Five

It should have only lasted moments. I should have been able to blink. It's all I can see; it replays again and again, harshly illuminated against the backs of my eyelids. I cannot escape that which I have done. These moments torment me forever. I cannot make them stop.

— Number Five

by Jr Korpa and by HONG FENG

by Jr Korpa and by Brian Lundquist

Number Six

Prior Name

Amir

Specialization

Weaponry

Age

35

Height

6' 2"

Weight

220lbs

Rank

Captain

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I've never wanted to lead people. Never been much of a public speaker either. Just wanted to head out to a range and shoot. Got too good at it, it seems. Now here I am leading a bunch of people I have no business leading. At least they're good folk.

— Number Six

Aiden. Malik. Olivia. Emily. Sarah. Marcus. Helen. John. Maya. I'm sorry. Aiden. Malik. Olivia. Emily. Sarah. Marcus. Helen. John. Maya. I'm sorry. Aiden. Malik. Olivia. Emily. Sarah. Marcus. Helen. John. Maya. I'm sorry. I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop myself.

— Number Six

by Jr Korpa

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It's nice for us all to get together and give these quotes; I'm sure we'll look back at them fondly some time in the future.

— Number Six

I'm not whole anymore, I'm not -- wait. I don't remember saying those things. Those words are not mine. That is not me.

— Number Six

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