The First Age
Aurora Durante - Printable Version

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- Aurora - 09-06-2014

Birth date: Sept 22, 2024 @ 11:55pm (21 years) - deceased (Winter 2046)

Origin: Wichita, Kansas, USA
Powers & supernatural powers: Channeler, Atharim
Channeler experience level: Adept
Are you a reborn god? Yes

Psychological description: Aurora is quiet in nature, while she might not be talking, she's observing everything. Taking everything in to categorize and organize for later use. But once Aurora gets a thought stuck in her head she's unbending. She is a passive creature by nature, but she has a temper and has been known to unleash her wrath. Aurora likes to help people, it's her main goal in life.

Physical description: Aurora is 5'5"(1.651m) weighing approximately 140lbs(63.5kg) with natural blond hair that she tends to color on occasion. She keeps her hair long and layered, but keeps it up and out of the way when on a hunt. Aurora has grey-blue eyes that tend to change to one or the other depending on what she wears. She likes to wear skirts and pretty things, but her family's career tends to see her in more utilitarian wear, things that function well in any condition. But Aurora is never with out her pretty clothes, even if she can't wear them.

Current strength level: 12
Potential strength level: 26
Reborn God: Nut (Egyptian)

_Family_

The Durante family has been a long line of American Atharim for as long as the family can remember. At least 6 generations of Atharim in their family line. Not all followed the path they grew up on. But that was their choice.

Bryan Durante married a girl he met on the job. She was a tough little cookie who he had saved from a dranaika. Bryan had become Cleo's knight in shining armor and they married quietly in some small town outside of Denver, Colorado.

Two years later they had twins - Aurora and Nox, while hunting in Witchita, Kansas. Aurura was first, born just before midnight, her brother Nox followed 8 minutes later the next morning.

Aurora and Nox spent their early childhood doing what kids do. Because their parents traveled, they traveled with them. They went to school like normal children, except that their school was online.

When they were ten years old Bryan started teaching them the ways of the Atharim. Teaching them about monsters, how to hunt and track them.

When they were 13 years old he started taking the twins out with him on hunts, armed with crossbows and knives.

_Death Omen_

The Durante family was out by Mount Saint Helens. They'd just finished a taking down a nest of cherufe. Aurora and Nox were now 15, they'd been hunting on many occasions with their father and mother and were learning the ways of the Atharim on the job.

Bryan and the twins were in their hotel room cleaning and tending to their arsenal of weapons. Cleo went out to get food while they were busy. She could have sworn she saw a large black dog with red eyes out of the corner of her eye. But when she looked she saw nothing. The smell of rotten eggs wafted to her nose and she quickly went on her way home take out food in hand.

When Cleo got back to the hotel she could have sworn she heard a low growl behind her. She turned to look but saw nothing. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

Another few days went by and Cleo hadn't seen the dog, she was probably just tired. It was time to hit the road again and Cleo was packing up the trunk of their car. She heard the growl again. This time Nox was around. She asked, "Did you hear that?". Nox shook his head. "No, Ma. I didn't."


Cleo looked around and saw the large black dog with red eyes staring back at her. She pointed. "Do you see that?"

Nox looked in the direction his mother was pointing and saw nothing. Clearly she saw something. Nox was trying hard to think what it could be. He knew they had studied something like that, but try as he might he couldn't remember. Aurora was the book one, she could tell him. Nox turned his back to find his sister.

The moment he did, he heard his mother screaming. Nox quickly turned around and saw his mother fighting with something, her body was being shreaded by unseen claws. He stood in stunned silence. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak or scream for help. All he could do was stand there and watch.

Another scream broke Nox from his daze. Aurora stood opposite him watching the scene unfold. She drew her knife but she was hesitant to use it. Nox followed her lead. But what was it? How do they kill it?

Her mother stopped screaming as she drew her final breathe. The struggle was over, the stench of sulfur was everywhere, but there was no monster to be seen. Their father ran over to them, he'd been at near full sprint from the looks of his panting when he dropped down to see to his wife. He looked up at each of them in turn. "What did this?"

Both, Aurora and Nox shook their heads. Aurora being Aurora pulled out a book she'd been reading, or she had for study, or her notes, Nox didn't know for sure. But it was a book.

She thumbed through it. Her thoughts wandering through what she knew. She looked up to Nox. "Did Mom say anything to you before this started?"


Nox nodded. "She heard something, and saw something. But I didn't."


Bryan got up with a frown and took a deep breath. He put a hand in Aurora's book. "It was a Hellhound. There is nothing you could have done about it."

_Night and Day_

Aurora and Nox had been close up until their mother died, the entire event had caused a rift between all family members. Bryan had taken up drinking, they were rarely going after jobs as he wallowed in the hotel room.

When Nox and Aurora turned 16 a few months after their mother's death they started doing the jobs and returning to their father with the news. They worked well as a team, but Nox was heading right into the fight without a plan. They had barely made it out alive after attempting to take on a Rougarou nest by himself. Aurora had gone in and picked off the mob from a distance while Nox tried to fight with sword and axe and whatever else he had strapped to his body on the hunt.

Close to their 18th birthday they return from dispelling a wefuke from a girl in a near by town. Aurora and Nox disagreed on the method of dispelling. Aurora wanted to try something new, something she'd found in some of her research. Nox just wanted to kill the girl. Nox didn't wait for the discussion to end before he launched a bolt from his crossbow at the girl's head. The entire way home they argued about ethics and people and just about everything.

When they arrived home they found their father lying on the bed, sleeping. They tried to wake him. But upon closer inspection they found he was dead. From the looks of it by a couple hours, but dead none-the-less. Aurora and Nox were on their own.

_Healing_

Nox and Aurora burnt their father's body as per their family tradition - something about ghosts or something neither Aurora or Nox really understood or cared to. It was tradition and it was what their father would want.

Their father had taught them how to look for the oddities, but they hadn't actually done it themselves. Their first few tries ended up with nothing to show for it. They either ended in a mundane reason, or they were ousted from the scenes and weren't allowed to take a look at all.

It wasn't until they found a case of a flying something attacking people out near the Mexico/California border. They said it looked like a dinosaur. Both Nox and Aurora knew what it could be. Quetzalcoatlus were rare but Aurora had seen them in their father's books. Their nick name was sin-eaters. They supposedly preyed on those who sowed discord. Aurora wondered what the witness had done. Nox didn't care and pretty much ignored her attempt at conversation.

They drove the distance to the border in relative quiet, they only fought once and a while, but mostly it was silent as they reflected on things. They fought alot since both of their parents had died, but they still worked well as a team, when Nox was playing on the team.

They found the cave where the witness had said he'd seen a dinosaur. It was hardly anything to speak of. They went in with headlamps and rifles.

Nox went first, as usual. At first the cave ceiling looked like rocks, and then not them. Nox fell down and his momentum caused him to slide down the unseen slope of the cavern they were entering.

Aurora noted that the creatures were indeed quetzalcoatlus. But there wasn't much they could do with that swarm other than burn them. But now they were in flight and heading into the daylight. She wondered what that would look like to the common eye.

Nox lay limp at the base of the slope, Aurora panicked. She couldn't lose her brother. She looked at him, she checked everything, she didn't see anything wrong with him. But he wouldn't wake up. Her panic grew, the world grew clearer. She thought she could almost feel what was wrong with Nox. She could feel the bleeding inside, but she blinked and then that feeling was gone. The world was dark and almost sad again. But Nox, he blinked up at her with glossy tired eyes. "What happened?"


Aurora told him he'd fallen. They talked through their game plan, they both agreed burning was the only sure way.

They would come back later when they were more prepared and torch the place.

_Fire_

Every once and a while weird things like that would happen with Aurora. Things that shouldn't have happened did and there was no explanation to it at all. Aurora would spend days on end being sick too, it was weird. Aurora had tried to figure it out, she thought she remembered their father talking about it to their mother once when they'd been through a town with the sickness. But she couldn't remember exactly what had happened. The kid had ended up dead later.

A month after they had turned 19 something weird happened again. But this time, Aurora saw it first hand. They had been hunting an Oni. Someone had reported a bear, but the witness claimed it was horned and green. He had of course been drunk so the details were always skewed, but after closer investigation the pair had found the Oni's cave. It was their first of this kind of creature. They'd read their father's notes. Strong, stupid but fast.

Their father had been wrong. The thing was not stupid, it was intelligent. It had separated the two from each other. It focused on Aurora. But Nox was not stupid either, he'd been learning strategy well. He'd had a few teachers along the way, but it seemed some of those stupid games he played online were actually helping with his tactics. He'd come up from behind, when Aurora had been cornered by the beast.

Aurora looked past the beast in fear. It was about to grab her and smash her into the walls before eating her... tenderizing her as you might say. But Aurora watched as Nox formed a ball of fire in his need to kill the beast quickly and it flew at the Oni and engulfed it in a fiery inferno. The smell made Aurora gag and vomit. But Nox had saved her. He stared at her, they clearly understood the meaning of it.

Nothing like that had happened with Aurora, nothing quite so visible. Things fell, or objects moved with out her knowledge. But Nox, he weilded power, visible fire. They both stared at the burning corpse of a monster.

Aurora had known exactly what to look for in the books now. She remembered seeing something about magic and reborn gods. It was what the Atharim were made to do. But now they were the hunted. But both Aurora and Nox agreed, it would be a useful tool if they could get a handle on it.

_Learning Control_

They had both come to the realization that they were special. Aurora had gone into research mode. But both had agreed that this was a secret that they did not intended to share. It could mean their deaths if they did. But they also had to learn how to control it. Otherwise the sickness would take them. They lived on the outskirts of society as it was as hunters, but now they had to be doubly careful.

It was a struggle at first, learning what it was they had done.

Aurora struggled with her power in ways that Nox did not understand, and Nox couldn't understand Aurora's either. They were opposites it seemed, unable to feel or touch what the other felt. Yet they were the same. It fit their life rather perfectly. Everything had been meant to be different for them since the day they were born. While they were twins, one was female, the other male. One born on one day, the other the next. A mere matter of minutes separated their birth, but a whole day difference none-the-less.

Aurora eventually came to grips with her power. She surrendered to it completely. But Nox he struggled. Aurora tried to help Nox but it didn't work for him that way. Surrendering felt like a death sentence. He had to force control over it.

They spent months trying to connect with this new found power. They stayed in the woods, a cabin that they'd stayed in often as children while they had waited for the next job, or while their dad was off hunting some creature that was too dangerous for them to even know about.

It was peaceful and quiet and no one bothered them.

Those months brought the two closer together, and yet set them so far apart. The duality of their powers, and the opposites caused strife and anxiety. Aurora wanted to help Nox. Nox wanted to teach Aurora, but the powers were too different. But neither one reach their power with out the other present. Their gifts seemed to be tied to one another.

They eventually found that it was easiest if they were in close physical contact. Holding hands was awkward at first. But they started to practice. Once their gifts had been attained they could weild it with out contact. But dropping the source of the power, and they would have to struggle to regain it, it was far easier just to use one another than to fight that constant battle.

They accepted the fact they needed each other despite the fact their tempers were wearing thin and they got on each other's nerves.

For the next few months the pair worked on tactics. How could they fight and hunt monsters with their new found gifts.

Aurora and Nox spent an entire year in seclusion learning how to fight with their power. They had to remain close to one another. They worked well as a team before, but now, they worked better. Nox had come to accept that he needed his sister, and Aurora had learned to let Nox lead, he'd take suggestions and listen if he felt in control. It worked well.

Their bond as twins only strengthened, and their reliance on one another grew.

_Moscow Bound_

After a year and a few months of seculusion the twins got agnsty and wanted to return to the real world. To the hunt.

They searched the news for the perfect article, but the didn't find anything off hand until they saw the article about blood less corpses. Rumors abound of vampires. But they both knew vampires were a myth, a real myth, to cover the real culprits - dreyken or dranaika. Perfect job. Though it was the dranaika they both hoped for. The power of foresight would be a very interesting test of their abilities.

But they weren't the only Atharim to find the information. Another hunter, he had gotten their first. Normally the twins would have backed off, first come first serve, but Nox was itching to get in a fight.

They found the lair of the dreyken after he'd fed first. It was an easy dispatch, at least for them. They wove fire and air effortlessly and the creature burst into flames.

The other hunter though, he came upon the burning corpse as the twins watched to make sure it really was the end of the creature. It could have been a worse encounter. They exchanged information but he said, they needed to be initiated. That it was something their father should have done long ago. But he hadn't for some reason. Probably hoping that they'd choose another life.

He gave them details, a name, a place, very specific instructions on who to contact. He sent them to Moscow, to undergo initiation. He said that it was their God given right to have the Regus preform their intiation. They were born Atharim, from a long line of Atharim. It was about time their line meet the leader of their ogranization. At least that's what he told them.

They boarded the plane with information in hand. But they had no idea how to send word they were coming, so they went. Their instructions were specific.

But as brother and sister do, Nox and Aurora argued most of the way to Moscow.

Nox grabbed his sister's arm. Everything else happened so fast. He embraced his power, he only meant to amply his voice, to get his point across. Instead, the weave peirced through the cabin's interior and to the outside world. Nox fell out the new opening. The plane went down. The only saving grace was it was nearing landing anyway. Aurora blacked out before the plane had ever landed

_Airliner Down_

Approximately 3:45PM the Lufthansa flight LH1446 from Frankfurt, Germany crashed into the runway of the Moscow airport. It is unknown what cause the crash. Survivors have been taken to Perinatal Medical Center and GMS Medical Clinic. At last estimate there are 10 dead, identities of the victims have not yet been released.

Update: The black box has been recovered from the wreckage. Authorities are examining the information and will release information at a later time.

Update: The information from the black box was inconclusive. Authorities are still unsure of the exact cause of the crash. The only definite piece of information to the crash that is of any use, is the cabin lost air pressure quickly, but there do not seem be any mechanical failure. Investigators are looking into other leads.

Update: Rumors leaving the hospitals where the survivors are being treated speak of a silent explosion - no one seems to know the source or the cause of this phenomenon.

Update: Authorities have investigated the wreckage. It does look like the plan exploded from the inside out, causes are unknown. There was no mechanical failure or explosives used. Authorities are baffled by the data they've collected.

_Aurora Waking Up_

The blurry mind of sleep is clouded with things from the dream world and reality. Sounds and motion register at the edge of a dream. The faint beeping of something incorporates as some strange element in a dream. The voices outside enter your head and interrupt the progress. Except that your dream makes it all make sense, like that's what is supposed to happen. And then you realized that you were dreaming. That the beeping you heard was an alarm going on next to your bed. The voices were people gathering around you. When you open your eyes, everything is blurry, nothing makes sense.

"She's awake. I'll go get the doctor."

Doctor? Where am I? The scene clears and the people come into focus. White walls standing behind them She didn't recognize a soul that stood above her. A woman leaned over her with a light and checked her eyes with it. Why was she here?

The woman smiled and spoke. "Do you know where you are?"

Where am I? Speaking was hard, her mouth was dry. Another woman brought a cup of ice. "Try this."

The ice was cold but it did help."No. A hospital?"
Looking around she saw nothing familiar, the window's shades were closed. Nothing was familiar.

"You are at GMS Medical Clinic in Moscow? Do you know why you were in Moscow?"

She shook her head. The women were concerned. "Do you know who you are?"

"Of course I do. My name is...
She didn't remember her name. What the hell happened to me? "I can't seem to remember."


The woman nodded. "You were in a plane crash. You were brought here unconsious. You've been here a week. You had a few personal items on you. And your luggage was found. They are in the closet over their." The woman pointed. "Let me get them for you."

The woman handed her a wallet, and a small purse first, the rest of the luggage remained in the closet she had opened. Inside her purse she found her own passport. It looked like her. Her name. Aurora Durante. Age 21. Birthday yadda yadda. But that was about it. It didn't bring up any memories. She had none. She had no idea even why she was in Moscow to begin with, much less anything else of importance.


Edited by Aurora, Aug 22 2016, 11:37 AM.

- Aurora - 08-22-2016

Edited by Aurora, Aug 22 2016, 11:49 AM.