The winter break was short and sweet. Students from Shinnou Academy returned to start another school year and the sophomores met each other once again. Now that they’re a year older and more experienced, the academy hoped to train them better for their own safety. New students also arrived and was integrated into the academy’s luxurious but peculiar lifestyle through a war breakout caused by certain ephemeral ramkins. The first two weeks of the spring semester were spent training the sophomores for their upcoming school trip to the Canada Headquarters.
The Canada Headquarters (Zone 5) is a renowned C.O.R.E headquarter for their eco-friendly and self-sustaining environment. It is centered at the city-town of Whitehorse, Yukon. The sophomore’s trip to Zone 5 lasted less than a week, but an abundance of events occurred during their stay. With their field training and final day at the headquarters giving them disturbing yet important experiences, the students are faced with important questions that will require them to seek out answers for their futures and themselves...
The spring classes started with Coeur Central sending out an announcement for the students to train for the upcoming trip to the Canada Headquarters as part of their yearly curriculum. Keeping the intensity of the Canada HQ’s field training in mind, the students were given a roster of trainers on the school bulletin board, where they could choose teachers and trainees to train specific aspects of themselves that they want to improve.
Hence, the next two weeks were spent with the students and their trainers while they continued their usual class schedules as well.
Spring 22
Into the Forest
The students arrived at their lodges the day before, tired and weary after the long flight. The administration gave the students the day to rest and relax before the field training. Students stayed in humble lodgings in a housing complex for their accommodations, where each houses had 8 students staying in it while the teachers stayed in their separate own lodge. Trainees were spread amongst the houses to keep an eye over the students like usual.
The day after, which was Spring 22, the students were all gathered at Canada Headquarter’s briefing hall to be briefed about their field training and shown the usual demonstration video. After that, the students were left to form teams using the party system. Teams that were formed submitted their members and leader to the agents that were assigned to accommodate them, after which they were all sent to the entrance of the forest where they met the Elkvinvid. The Elkvinvid were magical stags gifted to the Canada Headquarters by the Iceland Headquarters as a symbol of their good friendship. Teams that were ready were allowed into the Yukon forest through an opening in the blockage at the edge of the forest, where they were all sent to their respective paths and locations.
TEAMS
Team YattaRIP:
Higgins, Lynn
Mikami, Atsuki
Teramura, Toshio
Tokita, Shuichi
Vasiliev, Aimi
Team Cherubabies
Demain, Martinez
Iversen, Lilianne
Kwon, Sangchul
Sanohara, Souma
Shimada, Akako
Tsukuyomi, Hisato
Team Royal Ram Rangers
Amemoto, Iori
Koizumi, Momoka
Okimoto, Megumi
Sakuraba, Sakurai
Sunakawa, Takato
Tamara, NaomI
Team Azure Knights
Hanae, Yui
Qian, Aleksandr
Serizawa, Rion
Uzuki, Yamato
Yuzuriha, Kaede
Team Shiki Oriori
Amemori, Saiun
Lazarev, Dominik
Miyanagi, Naru
Nagato, Haruki
Yabumi, Tatsuya
Team Mizukuma
Amemori, Shion
Daskalov, Tomoko
Mikan, Arisa
Ricci, Florencio
Rosendahl, Fei
Shigekazu, Touma
Canada Headquarters’ field training is completely different from Singapore Headquarter’s. The latter’s training relied on each team’s cooperation and exchange of information with each other in order for it to succeed, while the former’s forbade any form of interference between each team’s progress. Canada Headquarter’s field training had one goal: To catch the famous ‘Wendy‘. The name is short for Wendigo, creatures that lived in the large wilderness of Yukon. Each team was given three Wendiballs, a crystal ball that is used to capture the aforementioned creature by throwing it at them when they’re incapacitated. Each team is only required to capture one and bring it to the checkpoint at Joe Mountain for purification. With the forest being infested by the starved creatures, the Canada Headquarters decided to use them as their training targets to keep their population dwindling over the years by capturing them and purifying them as normally killing them would often just lead to more being born. Purifying them was the best way for them to also remove the evil spirits which caused such creatures to be born in the first place. Canada Headquarters lacked coeur users that can purify them, which lead them to depend on trainees or students who visited to purify the forest for them yearly. Whether their lack of parapsychological Users was due to mere fate or lack of such coeur Users being born in Zone 5, noone was sure. However, they excelled in other fields and had Eemyfa to protect them, thankfully.
The field training was meant to be intense and life-threatening. Various creatures that range from harmless ro extremely dangerous reside in the Yukon forest, so a team’s unity was very pertinent to their own survival. Of course, the headquarters made sure to give each team a Will’o’wisp, courtesy of Flammddwyn, a small fireball that’s meant to save the students should they face mortal danger that they cannot escape. Drones were displaced all over the forest in the form of animals, birds, and even bugs, all to capture and follow the students to keep track of their training visually.
Agents were stationed at the checkpoint, but they weren’t allowed to interfere with the students until all of the students exit the forest with their captured Wendy in tow. The training started at 1 o’clock in the afternoon, and each team all arrive in their own time depending on their team progresses.
Great Unity: Team Cherubabies (Abandoned Campsite)
Team Cherubabies arrived a few meters away from their supposed destination without much problems. With the Elkvinvid as their mounts, their trip through the wilderness and rough terrain of the Yukon Forest was easier than it should have been if the students went on foot.
The team started their field training with united positivity despite the underlying tension in the air. Deene made sure to distribute ‘gifts’ to the others, warning them that his contrecoeur isn’t pleasant and might cause him to injure people should. With Sangchul as their leader, they proceeded in a proper formation towards the path ahead while they kept being mindful of the sounds of twig snapping and rustling leaves in the thick forest that surrounded them. They knew that they weren’t alone. Sangchul suggested that they do the ‘silent game’, which the team accepted since they knew that the Wendy that they sought for could imitate their voices.
They eventually arrived at the old and abandoned Yukon Campsite. The supposedly abandoned piece of land had evidence of recent use with relatively new tents, scattered pieces of equipment along a disturbing blood trail, and a large hiker’s backpack. Deene was the first to break away from their formation. He approached the large trail of blood, only to find out that it was indeed, fresh. Worried for survivors, he immediately contacted the agents overseeing their field training through the RamPhone. Much to their dismay, however, they only received an uncaring response telling them to continue their investigation.
The team continued on despite how they felt.. They considered the culprit being Wendy, but none of them knew what their target actually like. So, they could only speculate. Upon closer inspection, Lilianne obtained a matchstick from the fallen items just in case it became dark before they finished. Deene inspected a bloodtrail that lead to one of the tents, only to find recently consumed cup noodles stacked onto each other. Akako saw that the campfire was newly put out, with some ashes and smoke still emanating from the burning cinders. Sangchul found a GoPro, some magazines, and a book aptly called “Book of Monsters” under a stack of clothes in the hiker’s backpack.
Souma tested the GoPro and found out that it still worked. He watched one of the clips, which featured two brothers venturing the forest and talking about the achievement or ‘clout’ that they’d get just by being in the very forest that was banned from human entry more than 300 years ago. The two brothers also sought the infamous “Wendy”, yet it seemed like they treated it more of a joke rather than a serious and dangerous creature that has terrorized the locals.
In the midst of their investigation, the same voice that was heard from the GoPro echoed once again from the shadows of the forest. The voice didn’t really sound like it was in dire need of help, but it asked for it all the same. This caused alarm in the group, knowing that the creatures that they were looking for can copy voices. They went back into formation and approached the source of the voice anyways, worried that it might really be a survivor that needed help. If it wasn’t, they’d be ready to defend themselves…. or so they thought they would.
The attack was sudden. Before they even realized it, three emaciated creatures that were apparently “Wendy”, jumped the group. In their confusion, one of the monsters managed to get a firm bite on Sangchul’s arm, injuring the boy. Another tried to bite onto Deene and the last one that pulled on Lilianne’s hair had its hand cut off by Hisato’s sword. After quick-thinking from Lilianne and Akako, the previously gone campfire roared to life once more. The fire, which they knew to be the monsters’ weakness, caused all three of their attackers to retreat back into the shadows of the forest, allowing the group to try and recover.
The next thing they knew was that gathering near the campfire gave them a semblance of a sanctuary. They remained on-guard, of course, but the first thing that they needed to do was patch up Sangchul’s arm. As they recollected themselves from the scrambles that the sudden attack did to them, they started planning their next move. Akako admitted that she’s unable to control paper that was completely lit on fire, but suggested that the magazine paper from the backpack would burn longer due to its material. Deene patched up Sangchul, and Hisato also got his wounds treated by Lilianne after a lecturing from her and Akako.
Akako started reading through the Book of Monsters and opened the bookmarked page which was titled the “Wendigo”. The book contained information that they already knew, but one thing that they didn’t know about was the fact that the creatures were blind and could only see and attack creatures that moved.
With that new information, the team decided to use a puppet as a bait. Thanks to Lilianne’s coeur, they conjured a life-size puppet resembling Deene that Akako could control. They all moved towards their respective posts while Akako made the paper bait move around out in the open. They waited and waited, until four Wendigo’s finally emerge from the tree line, all seemingly interested in the paper doll. Their interest didn’t last long, however, when one of the creatures wandered away from the pack and made its way towards the campfire hesitantly.
Hisato silently tossed one of the Wendiballs towards the stray Wendigo in an attempt to catch it, but upon realizing that there was someone in front of it, the creatured immediately screeched and jumped at the boy. The other three hear this and waste no time in joining their brethren, all four Wendigos attacking Hisato with no mercy. He dodged most of them and even managed to pin one on the tree using his sword. He called for the others to catch the pinned one with the ball, which they succeeded in doin. Lilianne also captured another one that ran towards the group, now they had two Wendigos captured.
The capture of their packmates made the other two Wendigos fly into rage. They attacked Hisato once again, with one of them succeeding this time by injuring him with a deep bite onto his shoulder. The other one was caught by a Wendiball thrown by Souma before it could even sink its teeth into him. Thinking fast, Souma apported a lit torch to Deene, which the latter then used to slash onto the grotesque creature that was munching on Hisato’s shoulder.
In the midst of all of the chaos, another creature suddenly entered the fold. The new creature resembled a human in wolf’s fur, its features being closest to what was supposed to be a skinwalker. The noise in the campsite attracted the creature, and though they didn’t know that it was, it’s clear that what it wanted wasn’t far off from what the Wendigo’s wanted. It ran towards Hisato, Deene, and Souma. Lilianne managed to sneak close to it and use her newly learned aikido knowledge to throw it off and temporarily immobilize it in the bear trap that was nearby.
They all sprinted to safety with their goal now fulfilled. They dispatched the skinwalker that attempted to thwart their path and ran towards the checkpoint with Akako’s coeur shielding them. Before long, a pack of 8 wendigos found their way to the team and chased after them. The paper bait that they used earlier was now burning while it was designated at their front to deter any approaching Wendigos from lunging at them. The burning paper around didn’t keep the creatures at bay for long. As they all ran, laughter was exchanged from both sides. It started with the Wendigos that mocked the students’ futile escape, but in their hysteria, the students found themselves laughing too.
As soon as the paper bait disappeared, one of the creatures sped ahead of the group to block their path. The group only managed to escape thanks to Deene’s new skill, which allowed them to evade and pass through the creature. Deene hit his contrecoeur instantly and became possessed. Hisato made sure to carry the now violent and erratic Deene, with Lilianne sticking close to both of them in the event that Hisato tries to use himself as bait once more.
After an exhausting and gruelling run, the students finally reach the checkpoint and drop on the snow after recognizing safety. Flam, who waited for them, was shocked at the sight of the possessed Deene, but spare no second in purifying the spirit that possessed him with the consequence of Deene forever knowing how it felt to be burned alive. All of the the students knock out on the floor, with Hisato rejecting any form of help due to his oath. After the others were sent to the infirmary, a few agents stayed with Hisato to try and watch over him while they waited for someone who can help, and that someone was Naru, who was already on his way back with his team.
Lost Souls: Team Shiki Oriori (Cave)
Team Shiki arrived at the mouth of a dark cave, where the Elkvinvid that they mounted refused to go any further. They were prompted to dismount and enter the cave on foot.
Upon entering the cave, the atmosphere became significantly heavier compared to the lighter tension that haunted them while out in the woods. Compared to the winter forest’s illuminated snow, the cave’s pitch black darkness was unwelcoming and eerie. The flashlights that they all held eventually became useless when the batteries run out, prompting them to ask Tatsuya for help when it came to navigating the dark cave on their own. Tatsuya’s coeur helped them find nearby creatures in his mind’s map. The previously five-man (literally) team is joined by a mysterious girl who introduces herself as Diana, a seemingly cheerful young girl who was supposedly their classmate from the academy that they all forgot.
Cautious as ever, Naru became apprehensive at the girl’s sudden appearance. Diana attached herself to Tatsuya easily while she tried to explain who she was after being questioned by most of the team members. Saiun and Dominik walk ahead of the team to get away from their weird new companion, while Naru made sure to keep Haruki and Tatsuya close. A mind bending fog passed by the team, which caused them to ease into the idea of their new friend being actually a part of them.
The team continues further into the cave. Tatsuya eventually shook off Naru’s hand off him to walk ahead of the group with Diana close by. They eventually reach a narrow tunnel where one of the bigger Wendigos appeared from the path they came from. The group all calmly assessed the situation with Haruki in the lead. Smaller Wendigos appeared from the path ahead of them as well, ultimately causing them to be trapped on both sides without any escape. Much to their surprise, however, the bigger Wendigo attacked the smaller Wendigos first, which allowed the team to escape through the path ahead with Tatsuya leading them to what his coeur indicated as the safest spot in the cave. Diana immediately recognized where he wanted to go and tried to stop him and the team by suggesting another route that they could take, but all of the previously available safe routes eventually became useless with more of the smaller Wendigos appearing one after another.
Without any other choice, Tatsuya carried Diana to the safe zone against her will. The girl became quiet as soon as he went against her wishes, but with a large mob of the monsters coming after them, the group found themselves to have barely reached safety at where seemed to be a deity’s lair. The monsters couldn’t get to the team thanks to a barrier that prevented them from coming any closer, but they stayed right outside it knowing that the students would have to leave eventually.
The students went further into the dead end. They find an inscribed image of a bat on the wall at the end of the tunnel, a dead body with a familiar tag on its hand, and the skeletal corpse of who they recognized to be their teammate, Diana.
Diana immediately became defensive and attacked the team with a strong gust of wind. She admitted that if she took Tatsuya’s soul, she’d become free from the cave. Haruki flew backwards and out of the barrier while the rest of the team manage to stay within the threshold. The Wendigos wasted no time in trying to get to him who was now at arm’s reach. Haruki escaped them with his fire spheres and he quickly re-entered the barrier.
Meanwhile, Tatsuya’s soul was already being exchanged with Diana’s and through their connection, Tatsuya found out that Diana was a local from Whitehorse who was dragged and given as a sacrifice to the local deity, Camazotz as a prank. She didn’t officially die until a group of men in white robes found her in the cave and attempted to capture her, which explained the other dead body across hers. Her memories also showed him that the cave never showed signs of exit when Diana attempted to look for it. Unable to move, Tatsuya remained where he was while what was supposed to be Diana’s dead corpse slowly shifted into his likeness. Tha transfer was stopped by Naru, who merely approached the spirit and gave her a strong slap on the face. This immediately cut off Diana and Tatsuya’s connection, leading the latter to drop down on the ground in exhaustion from his near death experience.
Obviously incensed, Diana questioned Naru’s choices.of action in dealing with her. It seemed that she expected him to purify her using his coeur, yet a strong slap was all that she received. Naru reprimanded her like he usually would while the others felt bad for her, particularly Tatsuya who saw her glimpses of her past. The team recollected themselves and assessed Diana’s words. In her defense, she explained that it was necessary for her to test them in order to be sure that they weren’t like the men in white robes that she saw in the expansive cave tunnels during her stay as both a live human and as a wandering spirit. Tatsuya’s visions also show of the same people chasing after her, which indicated that they were important figures behind things that occurred underground.
Naru questioned Diana further, but before she could answer again, the deity known as Camaztoz, who was responsible for Diana’s outburst earlier appeared before them as a large bat. It spoke of the men in white robes being blasphemous individuals that desecrated its holy grounds by feeding the Wendigos and creating more of them, which eventually caused the Yukon Forest to be infested. Camazotz seemed to be attached to those who were closer to death’s door like Haruki and Saiun, which caused it to taunt Naru often because of his apparent attachment to the humans that he held dear, even as someone of his standing.
Before they could continue the discussion, however, the bat deity reminded them of their initial goal right before the big Wendigo that they met earlier suddenly reappeared from the corner. It got rid of the smaller ones first in a bloody massacre. Diana and the bat stepped back to let them do their jobs, not interfering in the event that they die and it receives more sacrifices.
Dominik, who brought his pellet guns, shot at the big monster’s knee in an attempt to maim it. It proved to be useless in killing it, but Tatsuya eventually found its weakpoint under its chin, wheresoft flesh was exposed so it could easily move its mouth for chewing. The big Wendigo becomes vulnerable for a few seconds, which Naru took advantage of by successfully capturing it with the Wendiball. A smaller Wendigo that survived the earlier onslaught landed on the 5 feet Wendiball in an attempt to keep it hostage. Seeing Dominik approaching it and exiting the barrier, it immediately lunged at the boy, only to be eaten by the hungry bat deity that was upset at the lack of deaths that the scene in front of it just gave.
Now that they captured their “Wendy” and with the rest of the creatures that initially tried to harm them being dead, the team made their way back to the exit with Diana and the bat deity, During their walk, the students found out more about the shady activities from the white-robed men. According to Diana and the bat deity, cave tunnels were being used as secret passageways by a cult for underground human experiments. The men would bring in users extract their coeurs from them through their hearts. With normal humans who don’t have coeurs, their souls were an abstract and spiritual object that cannot be accessed through physical means. However, with coeur users, their abilities were basically the manifestations of their souls that centered itself where the physical heart was. It was thanks to this physical connection to the soul that the cult was able to extract coeurs from Users, but this rendered the bodies soulless. While implanting the hearts and coeurs into non-users were initially successful, it would cause two souls in the same body to fight and break the person, eventually also destroying their souls much to the bat deity’s dismay. The students were in shock, of course. They wished to investigate the new information that they just received, but with the Yukon Forest being a dangerous place to be in, the bat deity urged them to leave if they wished to keep their lives.
The exit of the cave was now in sight. Naru didn’t forget Diana’s wish to pass on. Despite her already being dead, the students couldn’t help but feel bad after knowing her history. Death was always a touchy subject to most people, but Naru allowed Diana to pass on peacefully and sent off her soul. Before they could leave the cave, however, Camazotz gives them a gift that it gave others before. A curse on Saiun to prevent him from dying, despite his suicidal nature. It immediately disappeared after and left Saiun and his team worried.
With the checkpoint being close, they made haste towards Joe Mountain where Flam and the other agents waited. Naru went ahead of them after he received a distress call from the agents at the checkpoint, telling him that Tsukuyomi Hisato is injured but won’t accept help from anyone else but him.
Saiun, Dominik, Tatsuya, and Haruki let their friend go ahead. Keeping Camazotz’s advice in mind, they stopped their movement whenever a creature passes by and they eventually reached the checkpoint after one last sprint away from the approaching Wendigos. They all arrived safely and is greeted by Flam, who takes the five feet tall Wendiball from the team for purification.
With that, Team Shiki Oriori ended their field training on a positive note despite all of the disturbing scenes and information they’ve just witnessed.
Pits of Misery: Team Mizukuma (Abandoned Mines)
Team Mizukuma arrived at the entrance of an abandoned mine on the top of a hill. Old planks and the aged wood greeted the group with the strong winter wind picking up due to the high altitude. The group had elected Shion as their leader prior to leaving for their current location. It didn’t cause much worry for anyone else, but it seemed to worry Arisa the most. Not because of jealousy, but rather because of Shion’s apparent carelessness. He summoned a bear for defense at least, to make sure that none of them got into danger too soon.
Nevertheless, they proceeded into the mines and is met by the old tools that was left behind by old miners and workers. The lack of wind did not make their surroundings any warmer. Bloody hand prints and stains around the entrance greeted them. After inspecting it further, it left the group disturbed as they continued. Arisa suggested that the should avoid speaking to make sure that the “Wendies” won’t use their voices against them, a plan the group all agreed with. Flor was especially apprehensive about the whole thing, but everyone else tried to face their training with positivity. Being new to CORE’s method of training their students, Flor, Touma and Tomoko were understandably perturbed.
They eventually met a fork in the road and they unanimously chose the first path. Their soon doubted their choice when their boots stepped on a puddle of blood, fresher than the stains that they encountered at the entrance. A woman’s screams was heard from somewhere in the cave and alarmed the students. The bear summon that Shion created melted into the blood, unfortunately, and they meet a dead end. The team had no choice but to return to the fork that they previously encountered and switched their route to use the third path after Shion summoned another painted creature for defense.
Upon reaching another divergent path, they were given two more choices. A left path and a right path. The left path had shady voices coming from it, beckoning them to choose it. They all chose the right path upon using the mocking voices as a sign to stay away. They ended up at a minecart station, where old but recently used matchstick boxes, torches that are lined up, and a bloody and foul-smelling minecart with the words ‘Never Forgive Jehova’ written in blood on its interior were located. Shion had wanted to ride the minecart and entered it despite the foul stench. The other team members followed and upon turning on the engine, the screeches of the Wendigos resonated from all around the mines. A whole mob of a dozen or more smaller Wendigos attempted to prevent them from escaping deeper into the mines but despite the cart’s slow start, they picked up speed thanks to Fei and Touma’s coeurs.
The minecart rails were rough and bumpy, especially with the speed that they were going at. The Wendigos didn’t give up, however, and all chased after the students as they descended. One of them managed to get onto the cart, only to be stunned by Arisa. In the chaos, the students caught that same Wendigo that clung onto the cart, as well as another one that attempted to block their path ahead.
The Wendigos weren’t the team’s only problem. as a boulder blocking the rest of the path ahead drew closer. Arisa destroyed it and they continued their descent, but not in the way that they had hoped. Due to the extreme speed of the cart, their mount derailed they all fell down the dark void below, their imminent doom looming underneath. Touma slowed down their fall and gave them enough time to think. Shion finally summoned a large pillow to catch all of them as they huddled together mid-air.
The team landed on a lake, with the pillow cushioning them and preventing anyone from drowning in the cold winter waters. Upon coming back to their senses, they realized that they ended up in the deepest part of the mines where the minecart was initially headed. Of course, with the cart destroyed during their hasty escape, it was no longer at the station that stood a few feet away from the lake. Apart from the lake and the minecart station, a stench fouler than the ones they’ve encountered before reeked in the air too.
Everyone made it to land. Flor used his coeur to help Touma recover some of his stamina. The previous defense summon that Shion made dissipated after it defended them from the debris of rocks flying towards them earlier, so he made another one just in case. They recovered themselves once more before they walked around to investigate the area, only to have found a pit of corpses, both fresh and new. They were all clearly horrified and traumatized at the sight of the feeding ground right on front of them. Across the large pit was a door that they thought could have been their exit. They tried contacting C.O.R.E regarding what they just found, but they were so deep down into the mines that signal was practically non-existent. For those not used to the terrible things that happened around Shinnou students, it was a dreadful reality to face, but they had to keep on surviving anyways.
They decided that the first thing that they had to do was escape. Now that they caught their Wendigo, the only thing left for them to do was run back to the checkpoint in one piece. Fei and Arisa used Shion’s mount to to fly over the pit of corpses and they arrived at the landing where the door was. Their attempts to open it were futile. No matter how much they pulled or pushed against it, it wouldn’t even budge. Their efforts seemed to have called for the attention of whatever was on the other side. An unknown source suddenly started slamming and smashing at the other side of the door, but like with the two students’ attempts, the door didn’t budge either.
Arisa and Fei returned to the group and they all searched for another way out. They found a path covered by vines, with fresh air seeping in from the other side and a line of trees awaiting them. Their relief was cut short when the same mob of Wendigos eventually caught up to the group from the other end of the tunnel, urging them to dig faster. Arisa, meanwhile, used the two Wendiballs to stun the mob while they tried to open a path to the outside. The whole ordeal made Flor question how experienced the others were when in situations like these. With all the dangers that surrounded them, Arisa and Fei made it clear that they had no choice but to be desensitized and save their energy for survival. The path finally opened and Arisa retrieved the Wendiballs. Flor threw oil towards the path behind them and Fei activated his bombs and threw it towards the tunnel where the mob slowly got back up on their feet. As soon as they left, the narrow cave erupted with an explosion, giving the students time to escape and return to the checkpoints without any other delay.
They all arrived at the checkpoint in one piece and handed their Wendiballs to Flam as they looked forward to their post-training celebration, ending their team’s field training.
Divine Intervention - Team Azure Knights (Yukon Waterfalls)
Team Azure Knights were left by the Elkvinvid a few meters away from their team’s designated location. With only the path ahead for them to follow and Yui as their team leader, they marched towards the river where they could hear the loud splashes of the strong current and the waterfall that it lead to. They came across a bush of berries that seemed to be growing out of season during their walk. After testing it for poison, the group harvested the berries as extra provisions for their training.
They reached a clearing where a few canoeing equipments were found. Most of them were old and had holes, but the team managed to find one that was still useable. They used it to go along the river in search of the aforementioned “Wendy”. Aleksei went underwater to help guide the canoe against the harsh current while he had a rope on his waist that was being held by his teammates for safety. Yui also helped steady the canoe, but it wasn’t long before their calm canoeing trip became chaotic.
The movement from the bushes around them irritated the group, causing Yui to taunt them to show themselves. Her taunts were answered, but what started with only one Wendigo landing on their canoe became more when the rest immediately followed by running along the riverbanks and waited for a chance to attack. Rion immediately used his coeur to petrify the Wendigo. Aleksei, who noticed the commotion from underwater, immediately attacked the creature that landed on their canoe and brought it down into the water with him.
Apart from the Wendigos, the river coming up ahead led right up to the waterfall’s drop. Other routes or river channels were blocked by the creatures in an an attempt to make the students return to land. Yui prepared to prevent them from falling since there was no other way to escape. Meanwhile underwater, Aleksei struggled with defending himself from the Wendigo that he brought down. He managed to dispatch it and get away, but the current became volatile in the area of the river that they were going through because of the upcoming waterfall. Yuha and Yamato did their best to keep ahold of the rope, but Yuha ended up falling into the water as well. In the end, Yui managed to get both Aleksei and Yuha back onto the canoe right before they reached the end of the waterfall. Yui made the canoe float using her coeur and slowly descended down. The Wendigos that were chasing after them almost followed, but the screams of two unknown men who came across the mob back up where the students came from made them shift their attention.
Now momentarily safe, the students dry themselves off with their will’o’wisp as they tried to recover since Aleksei’s shoulder was dislocated from the earlier scuffle. Their moments of rest didn't last long, however, when they noticed the large snake-like creature circling them from underneath the water. Using one of Yamato’s metal feathers, they distracted it by throwing the object a few feet away as they tried to get back onto the riverbank before it could return. Their efforts seemed to be in vain, when the large horned serpent suddenly returned and grabbed Aleksei by the feet and ‘ate’ him.
The team wentinto a frenzy because of the sudden attack and possible loss of their friend, but the snake immediately spat the poor boy out back to his teammates before approaching Yamato instead. It seemed that Aleksei’s earlier action of crushing the berries on his hand caused the snake to mistake him for food because of the scent.. The team immediately realized that it sought the berries they harvested earlier and offered it to the horned serpent. After consuming the berries, it offered its healing abilities to fix Aleksei’s shoulder as thanks by letting them scrape off a part of its horns into powder for him to consume.
It introduced itself as the guardian of the river, but their meeting was interrupted when more mobs of the Wendigos appeared. It offered to save them by entering its mouth so that it could swim somewhere safe, which the group reluctantly agreed to take as they needed a proper plan if they were to succeed in capturing one of the Wendigos.
After a long ride in the horned serpent’s mouth, they arrived at an underground cave that was closer to the checkpoint. They proceeded to plan their next move, but not before arguing with each other because of a small misunderstanding. The horned serpent remained quiet the whole time, mostly focusing on Yamato who was the quietest of them all. After their argument, the horned serpent questioned Yamato’s lack of initiative despite his apparent wish to become stronger. It peeked into their future out of curiosity and warned not only Yamato, but all of them about their future should they not change. Before it could tell them details of its vision, however, the serpent was disrupted by what it sensed to be the Wendigos arriving and it immediately returned underwater to stop the other monsters from getting to the group.
Their initial plan was for the serpent to intercept the others as another token of its gratitude for the offerings earlier. Yamato would have served as the bait because he had the advantage of flight while the others worked together to incapacitate the one Wendigo that was supposed to reach them. However, before any of them to do their part of the plan, Yui used her coeur to stop the lone creature from movement and captured it using the Wendiball herself.
Despite their goal being met, Aleksei and her teammates were of course worried about their teammate’s own recklessness. The snake returned to see their small argument, which got resolved after a while. Now that its job of repaying them for the offerings were done, the horned serpent decided to return to its lair and allowed them to leave using the path it directed them to.
Their last sprint towards safety proved how exhausted they were from their previous encounters. They almost did not make it with a mob of frenzied Wendigos at their tail, but Rion’s efforts to petrify them slowed them down. Aleksei also stunned them to prevent them from running towards the group any further, while Yuha buffed his teammates with a speed-up effect to allow them all to cross the threshold into the checkpoint together.
The team’s field training finally ended, with the barrier closing behind them and preventing any creature from crossing the checkpoint. They were all appropriately accommodated and healed. Their goal of capturing a “Wendy” was met, but the horned serpent’s incomplete words would be something they’d have to consider, as cryptic as it was.
Pushing Extremes - Team Royal Ram Rangers (Abandoned Village)
Team Royal Ram Rangers were dropped by the Elkvinvid at the entrance of an old village. The area around the village was heavy, with a looming presence that hoveredr the group as they entered. There were stone murals that stood around the entrance and a bone pit not too far from it, with the former depicting a certain story.
Upon investigating the images closer, it immediately causes alarm from the students as it depicted creatures consuming humans. They discussed their options, but before they could properly talk, a fog suddenly surrounded the group and spirits of what seemed to be the old villagers surrounded them. The language barrier made it hard for the two sides to communicate, but the sentiment that the students meant no harm at least got through the spirits. They tried to communicate with the students by pointing at the bone pit and desperately trying to warn them to go away, but in a turn of events Naomi ended up falling into the pit while trying to tug team leader Iori away after she approached it.
Unbeknownst to the students, the bone pit sealed a malevolent spirit known as the ghost witch, the spirit of an evil shaman who refused to die and hence came back as an evil spirit. Naomi got back up to the surface and away from the bone pit, but a bone accidentally fell into her pocket during her fall, which essentially made a piece of the seal broken and allowed the malevolent ghost witch to exit and try to completely destroy the seal. A black figure suddenly appeared and, the spirit of the ghost witched slowly formed.
The spirit of the villagers immediately ushered the students into one of the dilapidated tents. They students were in somewhat of a panic now since they were unprepared for whatever was going to happen next. After a gruelling round of one-sided charade, the students realize that they have to return the bone that fell into Naomi’s pocket in order to seal the malevolent spirit once more. However, they had to cover their eyes with cloth because just seeing the ghost witch was enough to curse them.
The villagers’ previous efforts to move objects and touch the students caused their spiritual energy to be drained and their forms to dissipate, leaving the students alone to throw back the bone into the put to prevent the evil spirit from escaping. They all set out while holding each other close, inching closer and closer to where they believed the bone pit was with the villager’s guidance. The ghost witch was already formed at this point, but due to the seal still being there and its spirit only being able to momentarily escape with only a fraction of its original power, it couldn’t harm the students unless they see it. It attempted to remove the blindfolds using strong gusts of winds, but to no avail.
Naomi successfully threw the bone back into the seal, which dragged the ghost witch’s spirit back into the bone pit and kept the students safe from its curse… Before they could get a moment’s rest, however, three Wendigos suddenly appeared after noticing the commotion created by the ghost witch.
The monsters immediately attacked the students. One of them wrapped its skeletal arms around Sakurai and almost took a bite out of him, but Iori thankfully saved the boy from being Wendy feed after she dodged their lunges herself. Another Wendigo that attempted to attack Momoka got trapped in her vines and consequently got caught by a Wendiball because of its immobile state. The third Wendigo who attempted to pull Iori away from the group got shocked by Gumi’s coeur, causing it to be incapacitated.
After much more commotion, a mob of 10 more Wendigos appeared at the village and targeted the students as their first meal in a few years. The students all made a break for it back to the checkpoint now that they’ve caught their Wendy and accomplished their goal. Gumi incapacitated majority of the mob by pushing her limits, which allowed Sakurai to catch another Wendigo that was ahead of its pack and dragged it back with them to the checkpoint which was already just a few feet away.
The Wendigos at the back took a while to recover, but since Naomi and Gumi got severely hit by their contrecoeur after overexerting themselves and going way past their current capacity. Momoka made sure to help Gumi cross the checkpoint first with Kyo, Naomi, Sakurai, and Iori trailing behind them. They all get attacked by another mob of three of the monsters. Naomi almost got bitten, but Sakurai shot an acidic fluid at the creature’s face which caused it to fall back and keep a distance away from the three. Anything that burned or melted their hard skin was a threat, so while the three Wendigos decided to leave the three be and attempted to drag Iori back with them instead.
Momoka, who already left the unconscious Gumi at the safezone with the agents, also exceeded her own limits by summoning eight large vines to drag the team past the checkpoint. Kyo, Naomi, and Sakurai got ahead first, but Iori decided to stay behind and buy them some time. The Wendigos didn’t let go of Iori and pulled her against the vines that were trying to get her to safety. After everyone got to the safezone, Iori immediately used her coeur to swing away from the Wendigos and getting to safety, allowing their team’s field training to end without any casualty.
Kyo, Sakurai, and Iori arrived at the checkpoint exhausted but fine. Momoka, Gumi, and Naomi all suffered extreme backlashe and were all knocked out by a contrecoeur-induced coma, leaving only three of the team active and conscious.
Dissonance - Team YattaRIP (Abandoned Mansion)
Team YattaRIP arrived a few feet away from the gates of an abandoned mansion. The gate was broken down and rusted, but it was held up by multiple vines and plants that had overgrown the gate’s perimeter. After discussing how to open the gate, team leader Lynn created two human-sized plant golems to gain access to the other side of the gate rather than destroying the plants.
The two golems were now an extra shield for them that lead the group into the mansion. The building’s interior greeted them with a foul stench that attacked their senses and intense darkness. Before moving forward, Toshio and Atsuki used their coeurs to scan the area to look for the sought-after “Wendy”. Atsuki sensed a certain presence in the hallway ahead of them while Toshio felt an intense feeling of hunger that disappeared as soon as it appeared within his perimeter.
Their search lead them to the hallway where they encountered an open room with a mirror, which they approached to see a spirit screeching at them to ‘get out’. The group felt disturbed of course, but Toshio screamed back at the spirits with the same intensity as the spirit. The screaming attracted the Wendigos, who jumped in from the boarded window and ambushed the group who was initially distracted by the spirit. Another Wendigo also heard the commotion from the other end of the hallway and made its way towards them while the other two attacked the students.
Shuichi and Lynn got injured during the ambush, even with the golems protecting them. Two of the Wendigos attempted to drag Shuichi and Atsuki away, while one attempted to devour the golem. In an effort to get away from the creatures and regroup, Lynn attempted to use her coeur and set one of the golems ablaze since they all knew that the monsters were scared of fire. Due to the weather, however, the golems could only heat up enough to scare the Wendigos away to flee, but not without the two boys that they already held onto earlier. Aimi created a machete and hacked off the arm of the one dragging Shuichi away while Atsuki headbutted the one that was focused on himself. Toshio had attempted to capture the Wendigos during the whole scuffle, but the confusion made Lynn forget where it was and all three escaped.
The Wendigo that had its limb hacked off ran back to the forest, while the other two ran down into what seemed to be a lower floor underneath the mansion. While they tried to go after them, Shuichi had separated from the group in an attempt to escape on his own.
As soon as they reached the lower floor, a mob Wendigos suddenly flooded into the mansion. The door behind them was shut and locked, but there was still two Wendigos that awaited them in the same floor. One of the monsters attempted to ambush the once more by jumping at the middle of the formation, but Aimi slashed its face with a machete and incapacitated it. The mob of Wendigos break through the door and Aimi tried using her coeur to make them float to the ceiling and be unable to move, but she only managed to get three at most. Seven Wendigos were left behind, plus one from earlier that was already hugging Lynn and attempting to eat her. Atsuki prevented the rest of the mob from getting in by using a protective barrier over the basement entrance.
Aimi defended Lynn while Toshio tried to defend Atsuki while he was keeping the barrier up, but both of the boys ended up getting injured and bitten by the active Wendigo that was focused on them. After weakening the other one that targeted the girls, Lynn captured it after Aimi injured its legs, achieving their goal of capturing a Wendy.
Atsuki’s stamina eventually ran out, causing the protective barrier to disappear. In the heat of the moment, Toshio activated a new skill that gave higher defense to his teammates, which immediately caused him to become blind from his contrecoeur. Eventually, Aimi made one of the flashlights explode using her coeur and ignited a fire within the hallway. With the Wendigos now being warded off and on the other side of the fire, the team only needed to escape, but the increasing mob on the other side lead by the earlier Wendigo who had its limbs cut off by Aimi and shouted at by Toshio returned for what seemed to be vengeance.
Meanwhile, Shuichi managed to escape a mob of ten Wendigos while trying to maneuver his way out of the mansion alone. He barely escaped and was scared terribly, only ever using his coeur while getting away from the mob. He escaped to the research facility first and used it as a hiding spot, until his teammates found their way there.
Despite the fire, the air around the team suddenly became cold and spirits’ voices surrounded the team. The voices urged them to escape and lead them towards a secret door, even helping the blind Toshio find his way to the exit along with his friends while giving the angry boy rough treatment as payback for his earlier treatment. The students are led safely into what seemed to be a research facility, complete with glass cages, large tubes, and research documents.
Lynn read one of the documents, only to discover that the place was an underground facility that attempted to create artificial Users. The experiment failed and the students surmised that the Wendigos were the failed test subjects being turned into Wendigos just by staying in the forest. They were all shocked. They wondered if the academy and C.O.R.E knew about the place while they tried to investigate further. A locked door caught their attention and they attempted to open it just in case it could be an escape route. The door didn’t budge, but the strong smell of corpses and death seeped through the cracks from the other side. It did not open, but another unnoticed door did when a large Wendigo suddenly entered after hearing movements in the research facility.
Their escape lied beyond the Wendigo’s large and gruesome physique, but they were all exhausted and spent. They all initially depended on Shuichi to help stop the deadly creature so that they could escape since he was the only one who could still use his coeur without suffering the backlash. However, his refusal to do so incited an argument between him and Aimi, which unfortunately distracted them for a moment and gave the monster a chance to attack them. Aimi and Shuichi got slammed onto the walls in the midst of their argument. The monster kept targeting Aimi and Lynn, which ended up with Aimi knocking out for a few minutes after another attack.
In a last ditch effort, Lynn used her coeur despite her contrecoeur’s effects slowly appearing. She dug up a part of the open ground where soil was available and managed to find a live root, immediately making it grow and immobilize the Wendigo.
With that, they managed to escape with an inch of their lives and made it back to the checkpoint using the expansive tunnels in the underground mines. The team arrived back at the safe zone with their captured Wendigo, with all of them being carried to the infirmary in stretchers and finally being allowed to rest.
Aftermath (Joe Mountain)
The field training officially ended at 4:00PM when the last team arrived with their Wendigo. Flam greeted all of them whenever they arrived and took the Wendiballs for purification. The students were sent to the infirmary even if they were not injured for a wellness check and were also offered counseling in the event that their experiences in the field training were too traumatizing. Most of the students came back fine, but some of them were unluckier than others with their injuries and their contrecoeurs causing them to be prioritized in an intensive care unit section of the Canada Headquarters.
With the field training done, the agents close off the borders of Joe Mountain once more, unaware of what and who the students found until the reports were received. Knowing that despite their efforts to keep people out, there were still rebellious people who attempted to get into the forest for some sort of challenge, video blog, or expeditions to prove C.O.R.E’s concern about the Yukon Forest wrong. Most of these people are saved thanks to the animal drones that were used for monitoring the area, but there were times when it’s too late for them to rescue trespassers. Sometimes, said trespassers aren’t even found.
The expansive wilderness of Yukon Forest made it rather impossible for the Canada Headquarters to investigate every nook and cranny. With it being essentially deserted and returned to nature, spiritual activity thrived once more. However, according to what some of the students found, it seemed like Wendigos and deities were not the only ones residing in the forest….
Spring 24
Waves of Mayhem
After much needed rest, the Canada Headquarters was finally opened for a tour by the students of the academy for their last day in Whitehorse. They were properly introduced to the sentient druid known as Eemyfa, a living tree that helped protect the city from the evil creatures and spirits that resided in Yukon Forest.
The initially calm and lighthearted day immediately turned heavy and ominous when news of a large tsunami approaching the bay of San Francisco, California in the United States of America was broadcasted all over the headquarters. This cancelled the tour for the students, with the agents all assuming their positions. The agents that greeted the students, Amilia, Sorrel, and Wyatt all returned to work after sending the students off to the lobby to catch the bus back to their lodge.
The tsunami itself was initially measured to be 7-8 feet tall in size, but it grew larger and larger as it approached the coast. There was barely any sufficient time for an evacuation to be held, but the people who could see the tsunami from their bayside homes or buildings immediately ran further into the land for safety. Despite their efforts, however, the destruction and the deaths of the people that was shown on the live news coverage shocked the people who watched. The destructive force of the tsunami caused any building that it passed by to be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Heavy traffic due to people wanting to bring their cars and important belongings caused numerous deaths, with the tsunami hitting from Mussel Rock Park and all the way to Rockaway beach.
Amilia was sent to San Francisco with the rest of the Public Safety Department and also the Shinnou University trainees that came to the headquarters to help oversee the sophomores. Wyatt returned to his post in the Human Resource Department to receive calls for help and send out agents to where they are needed. Sorrel returned to the Intelligence Department to gather information about the catalyst behind the sudden tsunami.
Without any warning or seismic activity to cause the tsunami, C.O.R.E and the students themselves already suspected that it was caused by a coeur. Upset by the sudden tragic event, the students talked about the tsunami and the possible causes, only for the topic to be shut down when it was suddenly that they couldn’t do anything as they are.
Due to the events of the past year, it was clear that the students of the academy were desensitized and preferred to not talk about the horrors that they’ve been through. This was something that most of the students had to cope with in their own way, but more than a few others were upset with the lack of initiative from their peers when it came to dealing with the tragedies that they faced. Eemyfa also became upset at the students’ downtrodden reaction to the event, causing some of the students to rethink their choices of action (or lack thereof) when it came to the attacks.
It only took a whole afternoon for the agents to return with a dead body. The students finally jump up into movement when Sorrel came back to check up on them and the newly arrived Amilia. The students who were at the headquarters decided to help by giving out blankets and warm chocolate drinks to the shaken patients and civilians while the others started buying relief goods to donate to the victims of the tragedy. By coordinating with the principal, Shinnou Academy also prepared donations for the event, knowing that even if they couldn’t bring back the lives that were taken, they could at least help the victims who were left behind by the tsunami.
Upon further investigation, it was confirmed that the cause of the devastating tsunami was a corrupted and artificial User. More details have yet to be released, but the investigations about an organization kidnapping Users and illegally experimenting by implanting their coeurs on either kidnapped or willing non-Users had been ongoing for quite some time now. The recent events proved how much power these illegal organizations were, but with Gillebhrath being the most active, who knows what other organizations were planning to bring the world into.
And so, Shinnou Academy’s second year students finally ended their school trip to Zone 5, knowing deep in their hearts that they were soon to be greeted with a wave of mayhem.