I have always belived that knowledge is power, knowledge of the rules a thing must follow allows you to capitolize on such rules, knowledge of the limits of a thing allows you to know either how to keep it within it's operational boundries, or push it well past them, knowledge of the psychology of a thing allows you to very accurately predict it's feuture behaviors, as well as cause such behavior to work to your advantage. The downside is simple, without the ability to physicly oppose one's enemies, all you can really do is watch as you lose friends and allies, wishinfg that you could stop the events from unfolding.

The ability to bring the fight directly to one's opposition from what I have seen requires dedicated training and practice. Enough so that when one is able to deal with any opponent that may arise, you seldom identify the root cause of the problem and wind up treating symptoms as they come up rather than treating the underlying disease.


Anyway I fully intend to spend some time studying the body from a more hands on point of view, a few weeks, months, or even years, however long it takes to garner what I need to be able to bring the fight to those who sacked the temple, and retrieve the artifacts taken, as well as bringing closure to the loss of the last family that I had remaining.

I would say you are on the right track.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you.

Hopefully, I will be as quick a study at this as I have been at everything else, there is so mutch that needs cataloged, and so few people recording and compiling it all.

You need beaurocrats. We got plenty of that.

People should go with their strong suit. If you're good at fighting be the one in the front. If you're good at research be the one that tells the one that's in the front how to kill what he's fighting.

Ron Caliburn wrote:Knowing the enemy is imortant to learning how to effectively combat it.

But those folks who spend all their time studying and taming creatures isntead of working towards stopping them from killing people aren't really any help.

i gotta appreciate that kind of thinking.

A few short months ago Mr. Caliburn, and I would have had more than a few biting retorts and things to point out that would prove my normall position on such.

As it stands now, I will agree with your statement, and will find a way to bring ruin to that which has wronged my family.

Normally I would agree with Ron. I usually study to learn to kill better, however my current situation is making me rethink that philosophy a little.

Ron Caliburn wrote:Knowing the enemy is imortant to learning how to effectively combat it.

But those folks who spend all their time studying and taming creatures isntead of working towards stopping them from killing people aren't really any help.

Mr. Caliburn, I have to agree and disagree with your statement. If there wasn't those that study the creatures many of us here wouldn't know how to cmbat them and if they are good at research and not combat would it not be a waste of thier life to try and use the knowldge they gained through research in the field and get themselves killed. Are they not supposed to pass that knowledge on to the warrior for him to use and return to thier research to find other weaknesses in the enemy?

Don't get mad for this comment but couldn't we say that Miss Darken was more or less what some would call tame or as I prefer no longer a monster but a human stuck living in a monster's visage.

Now that was good. Don't let them fool you Mr. Caliburn you have a very good sence of humor.

There's a difference between those who study ways to kill monsters and those who treat them like some sort of high school science project.

The difference is the later become pet food.

Ah, so thats where they get Science Diet from.

Not necessarily Mr. Caliburn. A great many entities that you would see destroyed are simply misunderstood. A great many more are are implacible foes with whome there can be no reconciliation. I study in order to better understand the difference, and when necessary find new ways to eliminate those who are threats to the species.

When in a properly controlled lab environment, there is nothing that cannot be safely studied - unfortunately I do not yet know how to have a properly controlled environment for the sudy of many things.

Kei Nakamura wrote:When in a properly controlled lab environment, there is nothing that cannot be safely studied - unfortunately I do not yet know how to have a properly controlled environment for the sudy of many things.

My point excactly. This isn't a buisness for trial and error - instead it's trial and burial.

And this differs from reasearch involving high energy particle physics how? Or studying unknown microbs to try to find valuable medicinal properties for that matter.

And since for many things I lack the skills to properly contain them for study, whenever I get the opportunity, I perform my studies and tests in a "field environment" , preferabley right next to someonee who is capable of and prepeared to eliminate teh subject if it prooves a threat to others.

The major disadvantage of this, is that the theories are untested before use, which greatly increases the hazard of testing various theorums.

Sophoroto wrote:Don't get mad for this comment but couldn't we say that Miss Darken was more or less what some would call tame or as I prefer no longer a monster but a human stuck living in a monster's visage.

Sophoroto . . . that wasn’t the case. I . . . Celeste . . . was no tamer than other vampires. The difference was she had a conscience and chose to try and obey it. Thankfully, she never fell. But the risk was always there.

Kei Nakamura wrote:Not necessarily Mr. Caliburn. A great many entities that you would see destroyed are simply misunderstood.

But still dangerous. Just because they do not “mean” to hurt us doesn’t mean that we cannot defend ourselves against them. Study has its place and so does hunting. We must find a balancing act.

Did I ever say we should not defend ourselves?

I merely question the wisdom of the "kill first, and then forget about asking the questions" policy that seems to run rampant on these boads in a cyclical maner.

To those of you who have such a policy and claim it is due to not having the training to ask the questions, I do officially offer my sevices to assist in asking the questions that you "don't have the training" for, as well as finding new ways to stop those things that need dtopped.

I have actually had the pleasure of working with someone who came from "elsewhere", he didn't know for sure where, but with his looks, I am certain he would have floored quite a few of you when you met him in person - assuming you didn't try to kill him as a knee jerk reaction because he looked almost exactly like the woodcuts of a "classical" devil. Handsome, red skinned, small horns coming out of the forehead, a tail and cloven hooves instead of feet. His brother was less fortunate when it came to his appearance, but they both worked very diligently attempting to keep Tokyo nights safe for common people, as well as attempting to keep the quiet war for her shadows in the shadows.

Kei Nakamura wrote:Did I ever say we should not defend ourselves?

No, you didn’t. And I will thank anyone who gave me a chance as a vampire. But there are those who seem to think that just because “they don’t mean to,” allows for letting their guard down.

Kei Nakamura wrote:I have actually had the pleasure of working with someone who came from "elsewhere"...

Me, too.

And I don't mean myself.

Eilonwy Solstice wrote:

Sophoroto wrote:Don't get mad for this comment but couldn't we say that Miss Darken was more or less what some would call tame or as I prefer no longer a monster but a human stuck living in a monster's visage.

Sophoroto . . . that wasn’t the case. I . . . Celeste . . . was no tamer than other vampires. The difference was she had a conscience and chose to try and obey it. Thankfully, she never fell. But the risk was always there.

Kei Nakamura wrote:Not necessarily Mr. Caliburn. A great many entities that you would see destroyed are simply misunderstood.

But still dangerous. Just because they do not “mean” to hurt us doesn’t mean that we cannot defend ourselves against them. Study has its place and so does hunting. We must find a balancing act.

Miss Solstice, I believe that for once the young Sophoroto has made a very valid observation. While Miss Darken was still a vampire she was sepperated from them by the fact that she had a conscience and chose to try and obey it which is why he would say a human trapped in a mosters visage for monsters have no consciemce. Which is why he chose to put it that way instead of saying Miss Darken was tame.

And no Sophoroto I am not saying you have not had valid observation in the past.

Sure you do.

Just have to worry yless.

Kolya wrote:Sure you do.

Just have to worry yless.

???
Is this another “I’m not joking” moments?

Eilonwy Solstice wrote:

Kolya wrote:Sure you do.

Just have to worry yless.

???
Is this another “I’m not joking” moments?

Absolutely.

First of all, Ron, if you're asking those questions AFTER a creature is killed, then HOW do you find out the answers? Bring it back???

Second, there is a FAR cry between knowing about what you're dealing with and how to deal with it BEFORE YOU TRY, and using that as an excuse for having a lab rat undead creature. The key is knowledge, but knowledge and study are two separate things. For example, learning about how a zombie operates and how they're made is a good idea for the future. Creating zombies just so you can study them is crossing the line, as well as MANY ethical standards.

Third, and I want to make this ABSOLUTELY CLEAR-- Isn't this the SAME group of people who said that they'd never allow anyone who was a non-human join, regardless of their intentions? *Certain* people refused to break from their "kill first" mentality even to consider why they might want to join in the first place. (it wasn't just one person saying this, btw) A few people here believe that arming yourselves against enemies helps, and that's fine. I'm not saying DON'T try to defend yourself, or DON'T protect others, but what if someone was trying to defend others who was a werewolf? What if he wanted to get revenge on the things that caused his life hell? Or, for that matter, what if "Celeste" had just been cast aside like she was nothing? "She's a vampire, she'll just try to attack us first chance she gets", huh?

Sorry, Ei, I'm not trying to be mean. But there are some attitudes that may need to change.