Tag Archives: Sons of Sword

What exactly is a Crisho

Crishi (plural for Crisho) are the main race of creatures for the Sons of Sword Universe.  They were created by the last surviving humans who stayed safe by hiding in a bunker.  Due to the aftermath of some failed experiment or terror attack (I haven’t decided yet) the atmosphere would kill the humans, and only the humans, if they were to venture out of the bunker without protective gear.  Unfortunately, other beings created by these scientists led to their end.  (Uh… spoiler?)

The end of these scientists is referred to as Year One by those that remember the event.  (Year One: Another book perhaps.  Try to act surprised.)  The whole experience was bitter-sweet for the Crishi it has affected.  However, the stories in Sons of Sword take place thousands of years after this event.  Most Crishi think of this part of their history as myth.

The Crisho race is on a scale of centimeters to feet with humans.  So, the average height of a Crisho is about five to six centimeters.  Some are taller or shorter.  They have been granted human intelligence and have the same reactions to their height as humans do.

The first Crishi were given the intelligence of the scientists that made them.  As a result, technology came rather quickly for them.  Immune to the atmosphere, they are allowed to roam free in the world and thus change it to suit them.  They have made adjustments and use technology to thrive in any environment with their devices

The Crishi were created by blending cricket, lizard, grasshopper, and human DNA.  However, the end result is not as ghastly as one would expect.  The humans designed the Crisho race to look almost like humans.  This means the heads, arms, legs, fingers, toes, hips, and torsos of Crishi would be almost indistinguishable from humans in a silhouette.  However, there are still significant differences between human and Crisho anatomy.  

Crishi have grasshopper-like wings on their backs (of course) that reach from their shoulders to their waists.  However, their clothing is very similar to ours.  When the Crisho wings are not in use, they fold perfectly onto their backs, so the Crishi can behave much like a human would in most situations.  At times, a Crisho may wear clothing altered to allow the wings to be used.  

Still, wings go unused in daily life.  Perhaps a thief would want to use wings to get around a little easier outside.  Crisho athletes may use their wings in their respective sport.  Maybe the Chisho just wants to make a fashion statement.  Either way, although displaying one’s wings is not considered obscene, it’s just not done often.

Even if they were used, they are much like grasshopper wings and not meant for sustained flight or even gliding.  At best, the wings could be used to direct a jump or ease a fall if the Crisho has strengthened its wings to do so.  If the Chisho is wearing clothing that has any weight to it, these acts become much more of a challenge.  If there is a strong wind, forget about it; the “flyer” would be at its mercy.

Another difference is that Chishi have much thicker skin that sheds in large sections every few months.  The process is as uncomfortable as it sounds and results in a great deal of irritability.  However, after the process the Crisho’s skin is perfect for a short while.  

During the skin rebirth process, small amounts of a damaged or severed limb could be reformed.  Eventually, a Chisho limb would regrow if severed.  This is good because limb severing is an elementary part of certain fighting styles in the Sons of Sword Universe.  After a few months, an arm or leg can be completely replaced.  Even the bone would be as strong as it ever was.  

A side effect of limb regrowth is an increased appetite and strange cravings as the limb is reforming.  The body needs to replace all the bone and tissue lost by the trauma.  The unique minerals the body needs may be hard to find in the usual diet.  

This ability also causes doctors to be slightly less concerned about the conditions of a limb.  It’ll grow back or repair itself to become just as good as it was, so there is little concern for the outer limbs.  They instead focus on internal organs, which don’t grow back.

Crishi skin appears different as well.  When Crishi are born, they all share a bright, light leaf green pigmentation.  As they mature, continued shedding reveals the colors and patterns the Crisho will have for life.  This color can be any color imaginable with patches, spots, or stripes of up to any two other colors imaginable.  However, only about fifty colors will be mentioned to keep things simple.  

The Crishi are a spirited, intelligent, creative race that have survived a great deal of hardship and challenge.  They have built vast empires, technologies, and machines to stand against the giant beasts that inhabit their world.  I hope you enjoy their adventures.

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #032

The suit was getting hot; really, REALLY hot.  It became painful for Metcalf to move as movement forced more contact with the scalding suit.  It took a great deal of concentration for Metcalf not to cry out or turn the suit off right then and there.  She still needed its protection to stay relatively invisible and safe from the training-bots.

Enduring the searing pains, Metcalf managed to get into the alley’s shadow.  She immediately disabled the suit’s light bending technology.  Though she was no longer invisible, she was still hidden enough.  The neutral colors of the suit blended well enough to hide her from the flying patrols.  Crouched near a dumpster, she was safe enough from the wandering patrols.

Though the suit’s visual protection was deactivated, the thermal guard was still active.  The heat from the mechanism was still trapped in the suit, it would not cool by itself.  Metcalf was still cooking and the discomfort pressured her steady mind.  She had to do something, anything immediately before she could rest comfortably.   

After a few frantic seconds, an idea came to mind.  Though Metcalf was not a Thermal Master, she could use her Motion Mastery to cool her suit almost immediately and be on her way again.  The bots may get a clue of where she is, but hopefully, she’d be gone by the time they’d solve the puzzle.

The dumpster had a disgusting rusted hole in the bottom corner.  Gross, but it would have to do.  Metcalf barely opened her sleeves exposing just a little heat to the air.  Sticking one hand into the hole, she reached out with the other hand and prepared for the chill.  

With the next gust of wind, Metcalf pushed the air out of her suit replacing it with the air from the outside wind.  The hot air went into the dumpster while the cool air filled her suit.  Of course, her body needed time to stop sweating and the chilled air and what sweat she had suddenly felt the chill.

Now she was freezing again.

——

As Master Fu drove across town in the van, she took in the scenery.  The sight of this simple city in the morning was a welcome contrast to the life she knew in the capital.  Closed stores and large gaps between building gave testament to the lower population and the simple income of the locals.  

Insula also thought of her student’s progress.  Metcalf was doing quite well up until now.  There were a few rookie mistakes here and there, but that was expected on her first test mission.  Metcalf had shown vast improvements in just a few months, evidence that she was taking the training very seriously.  

There was a good chance that Metcalf could have already been a wonderful agent under different circumstances.  Unfortunately, she had found herself stuck and this particular goal was still far from achievable.  Metcalf had been at Sword Mint Academy for so long that the grading curve placed on her would be nearly impossible to overcome.  She would have to become better, train harder.  

Insula had been keeping close tabs on the test everything in this test especially the training-bots used for the mission.  Some of them were controlled by the peasant Commoners to give an added element of realism.  According to what she had noted, none of the bots or the guards had noticed any kind of disturbance.  Her student was hiding well so far.  However, Metcalf still needed to get to the van in time for a smooth extraction.

In the road ahead, the robotic guards had made a road block.  Insula didn’t know if her automated bots did this or the bots that were controlled.  Either way, Insula couldn’t help but smile to herself.  

This is going to be fun.

#1 – Lost and Found #31

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #031

Now that Metcalf had a plan of attack, she had a real chance at victory.  A great holo-movie lie was that someone could be good enough at improvising to escape a challenge such as this.  Being a big fan of the holo-movies, she giggled to herself at the lie.  Without a plan, mistakes and successes were indistinguishable until it was too late.

A small light on Metcalf’s visor flashed signaling information being received.  With a few touches on her glove, she saw what Master Fu was planning.  The convenience store her instructor talked about was not that far, a short walk in a normal situation; pretty convenient.

Thinking ahead, Metcalf also checked Master Fu’s vector.  If Fu stayed at her average speed, she should be at the store within two fifths of an hour.  Not a lot of time given the current situation.  At least, she knew where she was going and about how long she had to get there.

For the extraction to be flawless, Metcalf had to be a swift ghost.  It would be too easy to track her if she leaves a clue in the same area as a mysteriously escaping van.  It would also be suspicious if Master Fu shopped at a convenience store for more than three minutes.  It was time for Metcalf to be on her way.

Metcalf heard the faint marching of the training-bots in the distance.  She crouched low to the ground.  Her suit quickly turned dark shades of the shadowed grey alleyway.  She was impressed as the color of her suit even mimicked the small cracks on the ground.  She crept slowly towards the street hoping not to see any guards but prepared to disappear if any were seen.

Thankfully, the patrols hadn’t made it this far out yet.  She needed to stay ahead of them.  So she needed to move.  Still the street was the most dangerous place she could be right now.  Her color changing suit would not help her unless she crawled on the ground.

Ugh.  I don’t need this right now.

Getting even lower and flatter to the ground, Metcalf prepared for the trek across the street.  There was a good reason why the suit she wore was nicknamed the Chameleon Suit.  She had to pretty slow for it to hide her perfectly.  She was definitely strong enough to handle the crawl.  Her motion energy skills would help her move more easily at the slow pace.

I’ll have to avoid streets from now on.  It took a dreadfully long half minute before she was almost across the street.  Thankfully there were no early morning drivers in the factory district.  Also, it was either a blessing or a curse that there were no patrols flying over her area.  It was wonderful not to be caught.  Still, with no patrols, she could have dashed across the street without a care and had been on her way.

She felt inner joy as she touched the curb.  However, a high-pitched whine above her head ended all how her inner cheer.  Judging from the sound, a speeder patrol hovered just a decimeter away.

Metcalf’s natural response was to freeze in place, a good response since they couldn’t actually see her.  The stealth suit started getting warm as she waited for them to make a move.  It sounded like there were about three speeders.  Metcalf had to be patient and look down not showing them the slightly less camouflaged visor.

After fifteen seconds of pure terror, the speeders lifted higher into the sky and sped off to the intersection.  Instead of celebrating her relief, Metcalf used this time to activate the cloaking field around her suit.

One of the suits flaws was that it could only be reasonably hidden from one angle.  She would prefer them not to see a chisho-shaped bit of concrete sticking out of the road.  That would be an obvious tell.

Unfortunately, activating the suit’s cloaking field exposed another flaw.  It was getting really hot!

#1 – Lost and Found #30 – Lost and Found #32