In this world, Magic is Everything. All people, all races, are granted with the power to perform mystical and magical feats via grimories, mystical tomes granted to each and every child on their 15th birthday. Those blessed by the mana can have their names written down in legend.
Shattered Grimoires is the work of the mind(s) of Ardere & Shattered Grimoire's staff. All characters and content are copyright their creators, and may not be replicated without their creators' permission. Black Clover is owned by Yuki Tabata and published by Viz Shonen Jump. All images belong to their original owners. The theme you are currently viewing was made by Eliza of ElizaCodes exclusively for Shattered Grimoires.
[attr=class,cyrustext]Since the Shatter several months ago, Cyrus had had a lot of things on his mind. For the most part, things were the same; he was still a member of the Elwood family, they were still one of if not the lowest noble families, and the different towns of the Clover Kingdom still seemed to be more or less the same besides a few minor differences. He was still a member of the Golden Dawn, and most of the friends he had made during his time as a knight still seemed fine.
But for every few similarities, there was a difference. He had been unable to track down Fibi despite much effort on his part; in fact, he had yet to even find any records of her store. He had an older sister who had clear memories of the two growing up together, which he still found very difficult to get used to. The Elwood family estate was no longer within the Royal Capital; now it was in the Forsaken Region, not too terribly far from where he was at the moment actually.
What else had changed?
With all the differences and similarities he and the others he had met who remembered the world before the Shatter had discovered thus far, there was no doubt in the sap wizard's mind that there may still yet be more changes left undiscovered so far. Now that he was thinking about it, there seemed to have been a number of changes even before the Shatter that he could remember. Many of the Clover Kingdom's people had begun to awaken what seemed to be latent racial heritages, himself included; it would appear that he had some elven ancestry that he was previously unaware of. Then there was the appearance of devils and demons just prior to the Shatter.
Such appearances had not stopped once the world had changed, however. No, if anything it seemed as though they were becoming more common. In fact, reports of such a creature supposedly having been spotted was what brought Cyrus out here with his squad's Captain, Zaven Blake, in the first place. From what they had been told, there had been sightings of a strange entity out in the remote corners of the Forsaken Region, seemingly centering around an abandoned house they had yet to spot.
To be honest, the numerous questions that kept posing themselves had Cyrus worried. He was a studious sort who found joy in discovering the answers he sought; not knowing all of these things put him on edge. He had told Zaven as much during their trip out here.
"I don't like this, Captain." He said, watching his spirit companion Hama as she circled a large tree that they were passing. "The Shatter was crazy enough on its own, but all this crazy stuff just isn't letting up either. Now we're getting reports of daemon sightings out in the middle of nowhere?"
Cyrus crossed his arms and tapped the side of his head with his left index finger. "We're too reactionary right now..." He continued, having been thinking about this for a while now. "I've had it on my mind for a bit, to be honest. I don't know if it's because the world is different now, or if it was like this before too, but I feel like the entire Kingdom is just... sitting right on top of one disaster piled on top of another, you know?"
He bit his lower lip, thinking back to an idea he had been working on. "We need to be out here. We can't just keep waiting for a new demon to show up, or for some wizard to try and turn the Kingdom into his own personal playground. We need... we need to be more proactive."
It wasn't often that Cyrus voiced his concerns. He usually just followed orders and did as he was told. But he had been with the Golden Dawn for probably about a year now. He trained with Zaven regularly, and after all this time he felt comfortable admitting his worries to the man. Hama returned to her usual seat on her partner. "No sign of the house yet." She informed him, stretching her arms before laying across the length of his shoulder.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Zaven Blake had just returned from his own adventure not too long ago, a trip to the desert that changed his view on what the world at large held within it. He had seen dragons, land sharks, a family that think he slept with their virgin daughter (allegedly), and even a main spirit...He had also received a number of gifts from that adventure; armor and weapons and ancient things, one of which was his own shadow spirit, Hraban...the Raven shadow spirit. Zaven had kept the being under wraps, even from Cyrus and Hama as he did not discover the spirit until just recently as it had fallen out of the coat he received from the treasury of Tchazzar. That day was an odd one, he received a portion of the spirit’s power and he did not know exactly what to do with his mana for a moment, but the little spirit that now hung on his shoulder or appeared as a raven near Zaven’s room or in it directly. [break][break]
He walked with Cyrus to their destination, of which was unknown to him at that time, but he listened to his protege speak about the Shattering some more in depth, just like in his office nearly a month or so ago. He told him about things that were off in his life and even going as far as to suggest that they be out in the open like how the pair were right then to proactively combat the forces looking to devastate Clover. ”Cyrus...A lot has changed. We have lost and gained things precious to us. I gave up on love...or at least I thought I did. The woman I was set to marry was gone after the event, my family became a mess, and I found out that a girl who used a strange gravity defying magic had disappeared just as we had finished discovering these energy lines that go around the world. Yet I have gained...I found something worth fighting for, I found love again even if I know I cannot have it, and the world is flourishing. All we can do is try our best...and even when that may seem as if it is not enough we have to continue carrying on. So since we are all the way out here. What are we going after? I know about all the rumors that are circulating about daemons but I haven’t heard of any being this far out.. Zaven finally finished up as he came to a stop. [break][break]
Up ahead where Hama was investigating Hraban showed up near one of the buildings she was investigating. He looked at her for a moment before cocking his head to the side. A moment later it hopped back over towards Hama as she moved away from him, the shadow spirit was intrigued with life since it had been awoken by Zaven, last it knew there was a Great War between mana beasts and tribes were wiped out and the dragons were ruling, now it was in the care of a man known as the Shadow of Dawn, a shadow mage with...peculiar tastes to say the least. It felt good though to be among the world though so he did not mind it. He watched this other spirit with curiosity.
[attr=class,cyrustext]Cyrus looked over at the strange raven that he had only recently begun to see hanging around the Golden Dawn squad's Captain, eyeing it curiously. While certainly different from the sensation that he was accustomed to with Hama, the creature definitely gave the boy a familiar sort of vibe from its presence as the tiny woman; he had no doubts in his mind that this was a spirit that had bonded with Zaven at some point, fairly recently if he had to guess. How recently though, he had no clue; he seemed used to its company well enough, but this was the first time he had been able to see the spirit up close.
It was rather different than his own companion, who shared what seemed to be a mutual interest in the other elemental. As Hraban observed her, so too did she him; it was not often that spirits had an opportunity to meet one another, but thus far the raven had yet to say anything to she or Cyrus. Was it attempting to pass itself off as just another bird? Could it not actually speak like she could? Spirits ran the gamut of all shapes and forms, so it wasn't impossible. Hama hoped that he was just playing the quiet game for now, though; she would certainly be excited to speak to another of her kind, even if it was of a different element (which was incredibly likely, given the apparent rarity of sap as a magic element in the modern world).
Zaven spoke up after Cyrus gave the man his thoughts on things of late, agreeing that a lot had changed and going into detail on the experiences he himself had been through since the Shatter took place. It made the young man feel stupid; worried that he might have come across as selfish for just talking about his own issues. Everyone who remembered how things were before had lost something dear, even if they perhaps didn't know it just quite yet. He urged his protege to push onward, and Cyrus nodded numbly.
"Oh, I have no intentions of letting a sudden turn send me back to the starting line, sir." He assured the head of the Blake family, voice almost uncharacteristically confident by the boy's own usual standards. "It's just, the point I was trying to get at is that it isn't enough just to keep carrying on. After all, what good is walking down the same path if it never leads anywhere? All I'm saying is that we need to be on the lookout for new paths, not just waiting for one to open up to us."
At this, a small smile claimed his face. "I actually have something that I've been trying to put together in what little downtime I have, you see. Separate from the squad. I've been putting aside funds wherever I can, and working on a proposal I hope to present to the Wizard King himself... if I can gather enough support, that is."
The idea of submitting his idea to Jagen himself was an imposing one. But he really did think that it had a chance of making a difference. This was the first time he had brought it up to Zaven, though; he wanted to get support for his idea, without relying on the reputation of his superiors. There was a difference, as far as Cyrus was concerned, between standing on the shoulders of giants and riding their coattails.
It was at this point that Zaven asked about the daemon that had supposedly been sighted in the area, and Cyrus stopped when he did. "According to the reports that we've been getting for the past few days, there's a two story house somewhere out in this area of the Forsaken Region that's overgrown by vines and other wildlife. Apparently it was once the home of a family of non-magic users who aimed to prove they could survive the harshness of the Kingdom without spells. Whether that's what led to their demise or not, nobody knows."
Hama nodded with his summary so far. "Appearance descriptions have been pretty consistent among witnesses too!" She added on, gesturing with her hands to mimic the creature's apparent look. "Only appears around dawn and dusk, to start with. Seems to be big and round, with these two big tentacle things sticking out of the sides like snake heads coming out of its mouth. Two to four little eyes up above a huge mouth that seems like it has another mouth inside. Seems to be nearsighted though; it hasn't seemed to take notice of anybody who saw it."
She flew back into the air above, peering out over the treeline. "They also said there's some sort of big clearing of the trees and stuff around the building, with a big chunk taken out of the house like the mouth of a cave!" She continued, trying to find the aforementioned clearing.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Hraban looked at her before changing form into the little half bird half man hybrid that it was and used the shadows to get right in front of Hama as it remained silent. Instead it offered up a handshake, much like it had seen Zaven do many times before. It then pointed to it’s mouth before shaking his head as if trying to signify that it had no real vocal ability. If Hama asked Zaven, the Shadow of Dawn would explain, if she understood and did not ask then that was that and Hraban would smile before pulling the spirit into a hug much like it had seen Zaven pull in a member of the opposite sex in as greeting once or twice. [break][break]
[break][break]
Listening to Cyrus for a moment he would remain quiet before answering the boy. It seemed that the time that the little sap boy had spent away doing missions and adventuring for the kingdom had done him some good...but he knew what happened if it ever became too much...he was a victim of such circumstances after all. When Cyrus mentioned bringing up a certain idea to the Wizard King and the fact that they were out all this way to investigate a daemon sighting he put two and two together. ”You know...there was a time before The Shattering...I was apart of an order, the Gaslight Order, it does not exist anymore...they were corrupt and...things happened. However, I do not look down on your goal, it is admirable to want to fight the forces of evil proactively, and I can help in some capacity but you know as well as I do...our duty is to the Magic Knights first and foremost…When the time comes and you have enough support, I will help with the backing of my family’s wealth.” He said with a soft smile as he remembered the first part of the little discussion. ”When it comes to being on the lookout for new paths...sometimes it can be difficult because of our jobs...the best piece of advice I can give is that we all walk many paths...some more twisted than the others, but there are some similarities in all paths, remember this and keep your eyes forward...the more you look around the more opportunities you may actually miss.” He offered up that advice as Hama came back to talk to him about the things that have been going on. The people out this far have managed to see that there is a daemon patrolling and assaulting many...it really was a matter of time before there was a Magic Knight squad or two. ”Very well...We should get to work then, the faster we find this thing and put an end to it...the faster I can get back to the one task I have at hand…” He said as he continued forward, reaching out with his sensory to try and perceive anything.
[attr=class,cyrustext]Hama watched curiously as Hraban seemed to change form, assuming a more humanoid shape before extending a hand in a manner that reminded her of how Cyrus often would greet new people. The shadow spirit pointed to its mouth, as he shook his head, seemingly in an effort to explain his lack of speech. To this she arched an eyebrow, casting a curious gaze at the Captain of the Golden Dawn as if asking for more elaboration. Still, she knew what a handshake was and so hesitantly extended her own to complete the gesture.
It was at that point that Hraban seemed to get some sort of crazy idea in his silent head and moved to pull the girl into a hug. "Okay, now THAT is NOT gonna fly, short dark and creepy!" She barked harshly as she ducked beneath his arms and stepped back, holding her own arms as she glared at him and flew off ahead to resume her scouting.
Cyrus watched her, and then turned to his leader's companion. "Hama doesn't really like people trying to touch her out of the blue," He explained, knowing how much she valued her personal space. "Please don't think too much of it, Hraban."
After he had said his piece about the state of the kingdom and what he hoped to achieve with his project, Zaven briefly spoke about an organization he himself had once belonged to that never existed; the Gaslight Order. He praised the younger man's desire to be more proactive in the fight to protect their kingdom, and even extended an offer of backing his idea with his own wealth, but also reminded him of their duties to the Golden Dawn. At this, Cyrus managed a smile. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that sir." He assured the man. "Even if my project becomes as successful as I hope, I would never abandon my place in the Magic Knights! The good we do and the role we play in Clover is far too important to give up for any reason. And... thank you, for the offer. It would help a lot, heh. Though I actually have earned enough to purchase a minimal base of operations myself! It's been about two months since I last ate anything besides bread, but it's been worth it!"
Still, he was curious about this Gaslight Order that Zaven had spoken about. He had never heard of such an organization as far as he could recall. And the mention of the group's corruption... it called to mind a concern a young woman he met at a bookstore had voiced when he shared his idea with her; the fear that some might use his organization as a method of acquiring the same relics and power that he wanted to keep out of just such peoples' hands.
Before Cyrus could ask him to tell him more about the group, Zaven continued by adding onto the analogy of paths that Cyrus himself had used before. "The more you look around, the more opportunities you may miss", huh? The words seemed odd, but he understood what the man meant. It was good advice. And Cyrus was not the sort to refuse good advice when others saw fit to give it. "I'll keep that in mind." He said simply, a more relaxed expression on his face.
Zaven noted that he hoped they could wrap this business up quickly, citing something else important that he had to address. Cyrus was curious as to what it was, but once more he found himself interrupted before he could ask by someone else speaking. This time however it was Hama, who came flying back. "I found the house! Just like they said, it's like an entire wall of the house is gone! And I saw something inside that matched the description we were given too!"
Cyrus looked at Zaven, nodding, and turned back to his partner. "Lead the way, Hama!" He requested, and she beckoned them to follow her as she sped on ahead.
Not two minutes of running later did the house come into sight; missing wall and all, with a large clearing around the building itself. No grass, no exterior walls, not even any trees. In fact, looking off to the side, he could spot a large path that seemed to be just the same; it seemed the creature was one of habit.
"Good work Hama." He complimented the fairy as she landed on his shoulder, briefly eyeing the other spirit. Her anger from earlier was gone, replaced by focus as they neared a confrontation with this monster. "It was definitely awake, but it didn't see me. I think it was eating something. Sounded like-"
Before she could explain, a mixture of sounds rung out across the clearing; a high-pitched sharp squeal like pieces of metal grinding against each other, and a deep gurgling sound that felt as though it was shaking the area. "... that." She finished, rubbing her head.
Cyrus looked over at Zaven, drawing his grimoire. "Any particular way we wanna do this?" He asked, deciding to defer to his more experienced Captain on the matter. "If this clearing is any indication, I'd say this thing's got quite the appetite. It'll probably be coming out in just a few minutes to go find something else to eat."
As if on cue, the party would hear a series of heavy stomps coming from the direction of the house. It seemed like Cyrus was more right than he had known. From the large gap in the wall emerged... something. Something otherworldly, the likes of which Cyrus had never seen before. "Well... I think that it's safe to say that's our guy." He mused. The creature was looking straight in their direction, but didn't seem to acknowledge or even notice their presence at all. Instead it seemed to take more interest in the debris still laying scattered around the broken building, reaching out with one of its strange tentacles and placing a large piece of stone in its mouth before chewing.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Watching the spirits for a moment was funny, the new to the world Hraban was ducked away from before Hama went back over to Cyrus so Zaven gave a light chuckle before shaking his head. Hraban came back over to Zaven before he explained to Cyrus about what was going on with this particular spirit of his. He is a functioning mute for now...I have been trying to find out what has caused him to become mute, but the best I could come up with is that the time he was locked away before I found him could be the issue. He also is drawn to those of the opposite sex, even though they are spirits Hraban here sees Hama as solely female, not that she isn’t...solely female.” He clears his throat before going back to it. ”So please do not think anything ill of him, he is learning of course. He has yet to see another spirit yet so it was natural he wanted to give a hug, it is like when a long lost family unites.” He would explain as they continued to walk, the two spoke a little at length about the organization Zaven was a part of as well as the one Cyrus hoped to create one day before reassuring him that he was not going to forget about his duties [break][break]
After a few more minutes of walking and Hraban and Hama looking for whatever it was that they were out there for a report came in. Zaven nodded as Cyrus took them in the direction of the house. Seeing the devastation of what had come through the area Zaven immediately activated the Final Abyss before his grimoire came up beside him. He offered Cyrus his long coat, holding it out to him as his armor underneath looked like he was well protected anyway. ”Whatever it is...you will need this more than me.” He said as Hraban hovered behind Zaven for a moment until the daemon made itself known. Cyrus asked for direction as Zaven opened his grimoire. ”When fighting something big, it is better to be on the side of a giant as well...TALOS! ARISE!” He would say as the giant Grand Golem that Zaven controlled would rise up from the shadows and ask for orders as he pointed at the direction of the devouring daemon. ”Go forth and destroy!” He said with a sudden coldness that was not like his usual self. He then held out his left hand as a shadow bow formed in his hand. ”The plan is to kill the damned thing of course...before any more destruction is caused.” He said as he took a step forward and pulled back the bow string as the bow formed in his hand as he notched the shadow arrow. ”Erebus Strike!” He said with a single command as the black arrow seemed to swirl with the shadows as if pulled to him from the world itself.
[attr=class,cyrustext]Cyrus and Hama both listened with a great deal of interest as Zaven explained precisely why it was that Hraban wasn't speaking; specifically, the fact that he simply wasn't able to for some reason. Zaven proposed a theory as to why, which seemed reasonable enough, but they both doubted it was something as simple as being locked away for a long while. After all, from what Cyrus had discovered about the scroll Hama was delivered to him in, she was likely from at least a few centuries before their own.
The reveal that Hraban seemed particularly drawn to figures of the opposite sex (a subject Zaven seemed unsure of how to approach, given the company), made the sap spirit arch an eyebrow. "He still sounds like a creep to me." She said bluntly, never being one to sugarcoat her opinion of others. "Family or not, there's a limit to the shit you can try to pull from out of nowhere."
Once the house and their new enemy came into view, Zaven offered Cyrus his coat to wear as protection, which the boy accepted quickly. The sight of the armor Zaven wore beneath the cloak intrigued him, but he knew now was not the time for asking such questions and focused on putting the coat on so that he was ready to contribute to the fight. Though he shared no affinity with the shadows as Zaven did, wearing the garb certainly made him feel better protected. "Thank you sir." He said simply as the Captain prepared to initiate the battle.
The Blake family head gave a reasonable bit of advice as he summoned a golem; a bit of a "fight fire with fire" sort of situation, as it were. The sound of his shouting and the sight of the mighty shadow beast rising from the shadows finally seemed to catch the monster's attention, but it surprisingly didn't seem interested in attacking as it continued to snack on the debris around the old house.
Zaven called forth a familiar looking bow as well, and released a shot from it as he commanded his golem to attack. The arrow was loosed and flew towards the creature, striking it dead in the center of its back and causing it to release an ear splitting screech not unlike the one it had done before. That seemed to have been enough to earn them the demon's enmity, as it finally turned to face the knights. And as Talos approached it, the creature roared once more, but this time it launched a barrage of rubble from its grinding maw at the golem.
Cyrus called out a golem of his own, a single Odur so that it was able to draw on a bit more power than usual. "Press onward!" He commanded his own soldier, who joined Talos on the frontline of the battle. The beast turned to face the new opponent, and Cyrus readied another spell. He fired off his Falling Star, the projectile cutting through the air like a massive shuriken with five points. It passed harmlessly through his golem's body as it prepared to strike, heading straight into the beast's massive mouth... and the creature bit down.
Cyrus' eyes widened at the sight. "It... it ate my spell?!" He said, utterly flabbergasted by the spectacle. He had seen his spells suffer many fates in his time; connected, yes. Avoided, sure. Blocked, absolutely.
But... eaten?
The Odur continued its attack, but found its blade caught by one of the monster's mouth-like arms. It then opened its main mouth as a familiarly colored glow came from it... and a barrage of star projectiles exploded out of it. "That's my spell!" Cyrus realized, commanding his Odur to get between the shrapnel and the two knights. Thankfully its large body was able to prevent the hail from reaching them.
"So it can eat magic and then spit it back out... almost like a form of Spectra magic. Or perhaps like a strange sort of Spatial magic." Cyrus observed, trying to figure out a good comparison. He was tempted to lean towards the latter since the spell behaved normally once it was released.
"Odur, shield bash!" He commanded, and his golem raised its shield bearing arm to smash into the arm holding it, causing the creature to screech again and release its sword.
"Probably best to avoid targeting its mouth, then." Cyrus noted; if it could reflect his spell back at them, he internally shuddered at the thought of it doing the same with one of Zaven's spells. Hama watched as the creature glared at the two golems, focused entirely on them rather than the wizards controlling them. "Maybe we could go for its back again? Boss's first shot hit it dead on."
Zaven heard Hama speak and decided it was best to let things lie as they were, he was not one to meddle in the affairs of beings that were even above his own when it came to mortal status. Hraban however pointed at himself and looked a bit dejected. ”Me...cre..epy…”He knew what the word meant...he was not dumb. On the inside Hraban was absolutely on fire because of this incident. The Raven/Shadow spirit was usually so full of charm and suave...he remembered the time before he was locked away in that treasure trove...He could woo spirits and mortal females alike just from his speech alone. What kind of shit was this. Zaven however, whistled to Hraban and the spirit returned to him and hung his head low. Zaven just gave the little spirit a pat on its head. ”Don’t worry buddy eventually your voice box will work and you won’t sound like some sort of soulless creature..” He said as Hraban just turned into a raven and pecked at his head for a moment in a sort of comical fashion as the aforementioned events happened. [break][break]
The arrow that hit the daemon in the back caused the ear piercing shriek to fill the area. Then as the two Golden Dawn mages progressed forward there was resistance as a spell of Cyrus’s own make was shot out, only to be eaten and then fired back at them. Thankfully his golem was ordered to get between them as Zaven jumped up to the shoulder of Talos. He knew what needed to be done as Cyrus spoke with Hama for a second. Zaven could get the general idea of what needed to happen. ”Cyrus...take care, the back of this creature is your mission. I will lead it away from the area. Do not come and try to help me. Do you understand this order?” He would say then finish off with a question...was the captain really challenging his will and ability to work now. Regardless of his answer Zaven would fire the shadow arrow from Erebus Strike at the creature, the arrow once again was drug to the mouth of the daemon before it took aim at Zaven and Talos. The arrow was launched back like a damn missile as it whistled through the air. Zaven shot his bow again, the spells collided, the end result was an explosion of mana that rocked the area. Talos stumbled back for a moment, but still remained upright, as Zaven smirked, the daemon no turned its eyes to Zaven and Talos as the giant golem took an aggressive fighting stance, the two behemoths were about to go head to head, and Zaven was just ready to fight. He had no intention of leaving the side of his golem. Leaving the back to Cyrus.
[attr=class,cyrustext]Hama arched an eyebrow as Hraban seemed genuinely taken aback by her comment about him being creepy, even managing to work out a few words despite what Zaven had said about him. On his return to the Captain and his pecking of the man she laughed, and even Cyrus couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "At least you're a little funny, I guess." The sap spirit conceded, willing to at least throw the poor bird a bone.
As the party began to piece together just what this strange demon was capable of, Zaven relayed an order to his second in command about how they were to proceed; Zaven would attract the beast's attention so that Cyrus would have an opening to strike its vulnerable back without the risk of it sending his magic back at them. The boy nodded, a determined expression on his face as he drew his grimoire. "Got it. Don't worry... I think I have just the spell for this situation. Been wanting to try it out, anyway." He assured the shadow wizard as he put his plan into action.
Once more the demon absorbed one of their spells, this time Zaven's; the Captain of the Golden Dawn was prepared though, and released a second arrow from his bow to intercept the first. Even the massive Talos seemed a bit shaken by the clash of the two spells, but stood strong and seemed ready to fight. And now, thanks to their attacks, the creature's back was wide open.
"Odur, that's been enough." Cyrus said, releasing the spell for his soldier and causing the knight to melt away into nothing. His grimoire flipped to a new page, as he readied the newest of his golem creations. In his eternal endeavor to widen the scope of his own abilities, Cyrus was thankful for the numerous forms golems could take. And up until this point, his golems had tended toward more balanced or agile creations. He liked to have the maneuverability such creatures provided, but sometimes it just wasn't enough.
That being the case, he had decided to take a page out of Zaven's grimoire, of a sort. A deep, dark orange glow appeared beneath Cyrus as his spell began. "Come forth, Meleager!" He shouted, and the ground shook as his new warrior arose. A massive titan on par with Talos in sheer size, the black amber that made up its body almost made it seem as though it were made of stone or crystals. But as its master's mana flowed through it, the darkness was illuminated at key points throughout its body and began to glow the same as the ground had when it was first summoned. Cyrus himself was now standing on top of the creature's head, within a crown-like battlement.
"Meleager, crush this beast!" He commanded, and the amber Guardian bellowed in acknowledgement. It reached forward and grabbed the beast's tendrils, squeezing them hard enough that the demon screamed in outrage. It tried to turn to face this new foe, but its body's shape didn't allow for it now that its tendrils were being held. Hama grinned at the sight. "You know Cyrus, I think this might just be my favorite of your golems yet!" She declared, always loving the chance to see their soldiers run wild.
Cyrus smiled a bit, finding it difficult to argue at this point. While he was used to fighting from the backs of his golems, there was certainly something different about doing so with one so large and powerful. The demon continued to struggle and swung its clubbed tail at its restrainer, but while it connected the Meleager did not budge. Instead it raised one of its feet and delivered a brutal stomp to the limb, trapping it against the ground. Before it could try anything else, Cyrus gave his golem an order.
It complied, releasing the monster's left arm and grabbed the tendril coming from the left side of the creature's mouth, and with a mighty pull the Meleager managed to rip off one of the demon's mouth-tipped arms, and all three of the beast's mouths screamed in unison at the pain. The golem dropped the limb, which thrashed wildly on the ground for a few seconds like a snake with its head removed.
Hama smirked. "It really should thank us you know; one less mouth to feed!" She joked, and Cyrus rolled his eyes in response. "Can you try to take this a little seriously Hama?" He asked his friend as he kept his eye on the monster, while she stuck out her tongue at him in refusal.
The Shadow of Dawn gave a slight grin at the sight once all the smoke was cleared he saw the new golem of Cyrus’s own design. A peculiar thought rose in his head that perhaps his own standing really was viewed upon differently than his own thoughts previously...he would have to give this more thought once back at the base, but for now the daemon was screaming in pain as the large golem ripped off an appendage. Talos was already engaged with the creature at this point, bringing a hammer fisted strike down upon its bulbous body he would feel the earth quiver from the strike just before the earth cracked and splintered off as the daemon lunged forward and took a large bite of the golem, causing the integrity of the golem to fail as the thing was blasted away by the spell reversal. This sent Zaven flying several meters away, but the shadow mage was a quick thinker, and he summoned Typhon to save the day as he landed on the dragon golem. ”Good, I was going to be offended if a little attack like that was the end of it all.” He said before zooming forward as he had another plan, one that would put him in danger, and he knew that, but he had to keep the attention on him. ”Erebus Strike!” He called out again as he shot arrow after arrow into the creature, making them hit multiple parts of its body just to piss it off more. [break][break]
The plan was working as again the creature forgot about Cyrus as Zaven exhausted his mana to give his junior a chance to strike back and stop the madness. He did not say any words to the other mage as he just let loose arrow after arrow towards the mouth and the head of the creature, also its arms to keep it nice and mad at him as it swung out to attack him finally since the reversal attacks were not working.
[attr=class,cyrustext]It had been quite some time since Cyrus and Hama had last seen the mighty Talos fall in battle, which was certainly a testament to the impressive power that this daemon possessed. They were fortunate that this one seemed to lack the intelligence of most of its kin that Cyrus had heard of or seen; it was like a wild animal defending its territory, rather than an invading enemy. The force of Talos' destruction sent the Golden Dawn's Captain flying back, but he was able to summon his Typhon golem in time to avoid any serious injuries and stay in the fight.
Just as before, Zaven loosed a fearsome storm of arrows at their target to keep its attention focused on him, and once more the strategy worked. No doubt such a tactic would have been rather predictable were this creature akin to the Calamity, he thought to himself as the beast fought against his squad's leader. This was good; the attacks were more than just distractions, but were also adding onto the beast's deteriorating condition as well. It was becoming slower to react, and Zaven had adapted enough to keep his arrows away from the monster's mouth to prevent it from turning any more of his spells back at him again.
It should almost be done, now. It was time to end this. "Hang on, Hama!" Cyrus advised his partner, who nodded and held onto the hood of his Magic Knight's mantle. "Meleager, pull its tail out from under it!" He ordered the titan of amber. It rumbled in response and removed its foot from the clubbed limb, grabbing it in one of its massive hands. The monster could tell they were up to something and swung its one remaining mouth-tipped arm back to try and blindly swing at them. The attack struck the golem's chest, and it swayed at the powerful strike, but held firm in following its order. With a mighty heave the Meleager pulled the daemon's tail up into the air before slamming it down on its face, flipping the creature onto its front so that its massive maw was forced into the dirt below and cracking the earth from the devastating impact. Its roars of anger and pain were muffled by the soil choking it.
"Can't eat magic if your mouth is full of dirt!" Hama summarized as the golem pinned the monster down into the ground with its foot. It tried to chew through the earth in an attempt to escape, but the Guardian of sap held its remaining tendril and tail tightly to keep it from escaping. "Now we end this." Cyrus declared, opening his grimoire once more. The pages glowed, and he once again summoned a single Odur golem. "Sleep, lost giant!" He bid the monster, his knight-like servant raising its sword high in the air before stabbing down into the creature's exposed back. The otherworldly creature let out a horrible grinding shriek of pain as the blade pierced it, flailing wildly as it tried in vain to escape.
Slowly its struggling weakened as its injuries set in, and its body seemed to start breaking apart. Cyrus eyed it cautiously, watching for any last ditch efforts it might make to strike them while it seemed to be at its weakest.
Zaven had watched Cyrus with a smile on his face, the look of determination was clear and the creature just was not able to keep up as the exchange dragged on...its energy faded fast, leaving the giant daemon without any area to escape to. Cyrus summoned a final golem as it nearly flipped the golem over before shoving a sword into it and causing it to begin to wither and die. Zaven was not taking any chance. Holding out his palm his grimoire opened as he Summoned the shadow golem Talos once more and then ordered it to move forward and then help finish the damned thing by ripping it to shreds, the screams died off and the valley soon returned back to the silence it had experienced before. He had Typhon go to Cyrus as Zaven looked a little bit worse as he had a few wounds on his face, and was sweating from the battle. He looked at his protege and gave him a thumbs up. ”Congrats on this...you did a fantastic job and took the lead very well and showed no hesitation even when I was harmed. You will make a fantastic leader Cyrus. Now let's take a small break...there is something I need to discuss with you…” He said as he pointed to the remains of an abandoned house the daemon had been eating earlier. He found a chair to sit in at a broken table in the middle of an old fashioned kitchen. This was to remind Cyrus why he was fighting, he knew the conviction that the man had...he wanted to make sure that ALL of Clover was protected...not just the capital and noble regions. It was like him when he was at that age, and it made Zaven smirk as he began to breathe slowly so he could absorb mana. Once Cyrus joined him, he would finally speak in a serious tone. [break][break]
”So...you have shown yourself to be a capable leader, a dedicated knight, and humble protector...Do you think you have what it takes to step into the next realm...are you ready to become a Vice Captain.?” He asked suddenly and looked at the sap mage’s eyes.
[attr=class,cyrustext]It would seem that Cyrus was not alone in his sense of caution, as Zaven also saw fit to make sure that the strange daemon was down for good by commanding Talos to rip the withering beast to shreds and guarantee that it was dead. The sight was honestly kind of gruesome, but the sap wizard considered it a necessary evil; with the bizarre powers that many daemons possessed, allowing them to persist for even a moment longer than necessary was tantamount to suicide. Best to nip the problem in the bud, as they say.
Cyrus turned to face the Golden Dawn's Captain as he approached on the back of Typhon, his draconic golem that had caught him when Zaven got knocked back earlier. The head of the Blake family looked surprisingly roughed up; from the distance between them during the fight he had not been able to see the wounds he had suffered or how tired he seemed. Still he met his second in command with a thumbs up that the boy returned with a smile, removing the coat that Zaven had loaned him and offering it to the man.
Zaven praised Cyrus' conduct during the battle, and how he had pressed on with their strategy despite any bumps in the road they had encountered in the short but intense sequence. "Thank you sir!" He said gratefully, glad to see that his performance had been seen in a good light. The shadow wizard then led him into the remains of the house that the daemon had been using as its nest, saying that there was something he wished to speak to Cyrus about. He followed after the man, curious as to what it could be. His golems followed, with the Meleager positioning itself by the opening of the building while the Odur shrunk itself down to fit inside the house.
Cyrus and Hama both looked at the ruined kitchen the two found themselves in as Zaven sat down to rest at the broken table, the young man briefly wondering what dinner may have been like for the family that lived here oh so long ago. He imagined it was peaceful and warm, like he figured the devastated hearth he could see out of the corner of his eye once burned.
As Zaven regrouped himself, Cyrus stood across from him, leaning against the remains of the counter for a moment's respite of his own while Hama flew down to sit on its edge. Zaven had a rather serious expression on his face as he prepared to speak.
"...are you ready to become a Vice Captain?"
Cyrus, and for once, Hama, were both struck speechless by the question. The spirit's attention rapidly darted between her partner and their leader, while Cyrus simply stared back at the shadow mage. He in no way thought that this was a joke; he doubted very much that Zaven would jest about something like this. But still, it caught him completely off guard. Him? An Elwood, the Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn? And not just any Elwood; Cyrus Elwood; the boy whose entire family beyond his immediate relatives treated like a speck of dirt to be wiped away, and who they ignored the successes of whenever they presented themselves?
Him?
"... me, sir?" He said, after a fair few seconds. Hama looked to him, surprised that those were his first words in response; she had been right there with him since they first bonded, undergoing the same training that Zaven had given him. Hell, technically speaking he was more or less the Vice Captain already in all but title!
Cyrus thought about what Zaven had said, leading up to the big question. The qualities he said that Cyrus possessed. Did they really apply to him? He had certainly changed a great deal since he joined the Golden Dawn; that much he was willing to admit. But to be named the Vice Captain... such a possibility hadn't even been on his radar when he first joined the Magic Knights. All he had wanted to do was do his part to protect the Clover Kingdom and earn his rightful inheritance from the Elwood estate so his parents could finally live in the comfort he felt they deserved.
For nearly a minute, Cyrus was silent as he contemplated what to say. His face turned blank, and a memory came to him; the day he had first met Zaven. He had just been meditating out in the Forsaken Region, preparing himself for the Magic Knight Exams on the horizon when the Golden Dawn's leader approached him. He had come to personally take a look at Cyrus after hearing about his odd magical element and how early he had signed up for the Exams. He had offered the fledgling mage a challenge; to hit him a single time before being hit himself.
Cyrus had succeeded, somehow. Though he knew Zaven had been holding back immensely at the time. His eyes locked onto the other man's as a thought occurred. If that had been how he was recruited into the Golden Dawn. He looked at Hama, who had a determined expression on her face as she nodded before he returned his attention to the Captain.
"... It isn't going to be as simple as just saying yes, is it sir?" Cyrus asked the Captain, standing up straight with his grimoire ready in hand.
The silence was all the confirmation he needed to give him that casual grin as he put his feet up on that ruined table. He could tell that the young man and his spirit companion were ready for this challenge, and as a captain he was ready to administer such a challenge. That is when he heard Cyrus speak up, looking like he was ready for the challenge, he felt the young man’s mana and gave a grin. ”Easy...no...no this will be as I was administered the challenge. You and I will fight for keeps, and as if our lives were on the line...which if you mess up and misstep...it may very well be.” He gave a simple warning before looking at his junior, he did not even have the air of a dangerous man at this time, he looked calm and collected...Inside he was, he was ready to give this young man a shot...to take the next step...to become something greater. Zaven just let Hraban float about and then finally as the little spirit landed on the fridge he said. [break][break]
”F-Fight.” [break][break]
Zaven’s hand came up as his grimoire flipped to the page he wanted instantly, ”Fissure Blades.” He said calmly as he threw two shadow daggers at his junior Golden Dawn mage. They traveled at a speed of 45 m/s and would deliver [SENIOR] rank damage if either hit. The Shadow of Dawn was not playing, he was not sparring...he literally just struck at Cyrus as if he was trying to kill him. His oppressive Aura would kick in, and the heavy air was thick with his mana. ”Shadow Rose Garden.” He said as a massive garden of dark roses rose out of the ground looking to stab Cyrus causing [SENIOR] Endurance Debuff if hit. He still was sitting there when using the magic, he had now stood up and was waiting.
[break]
[attr="class","zavenstat2"]COMBAT SUMMARY
[break]
[attr="class","zavenreescroll2"]
[break][break] TL;DR Name of Spell: Shadow Rose Garden Elemental Type: Shadow Rank and Spell Type: Senior | Hex Range and Speed: 80 Meters | 70 Meter AoE | 45 m/s Mana Cost: 24| 12 Stats Effected:25% Endurance Debuff Applicable Perks: Quick Shot, Sinister Magic, Mana Conservationist, Area of Triumph Description: Zaven releases the shadow mana in his grimoire as it spreads across the ground creating an elaborate garden of black wispy roses that grow up to the knees of Zaven for scale (1 meter tall). The thorns of the roses will begin to dig into the enemies that have been targeted and they will begin to sap the opponent's life force away as Zaven causes [Senior] Endurance Debuff while the spell is sustained.
The Caster and those he designates within AoE are immune
Name of Spell: Fissure Blade Elemental Type: Shadow Rank and Spell Type: Senior | Attack Creation Range and Speed: 80 meters | 45 M/S Mana Cost: 24 | 12 Stats Effected: +6 Power to Spell Applicable Perks: Quick Shot, Mana Conservationist Description: Zaven creates a solid blade of shadow mana that can be between 16 inches to 24 inches in length. This can only be used as long as Zaven is in possession of a piece of material that can be considered a hilt (examples are; a small tree branch, a metal rod, an actual tang of a blade).
The blade can take the form of any bladed weapon. The weapon can be thrown. The limit of how many blades can be made is based on control.
[attr=class,cyrustext]Zaven seemed to approve of the fact that he didn't assume he would just be given the position if he agreed, and explained that he would be tested in the same way that the Shadow wizard himself had been back when he first ascended to the position of Vice Captain. This wasn't going to be like their training or sparring matches in the past; this was going to be a real fight. Cyrus was nervous at the idea of fighting his Captain, knowing better than most just how powerful he was, but also excited for the chance to test himself. "Understood." He responded simply, readying himself for the battle as he worked to devise some sort of plan. He had the outlines of one forming as they spoke, when Hraban flew to sit on top of the kitchen's fridge. Hama also decided to stay off to the side; as much as the two of them were partners, she knew Cyrus would want to do this for himself. It was his position to fight for, after all. She encouraged her friend enthusiastically.
The raven spirit called for the fight to begin in its shaky voice, and Zaven wasted no time in launching his first barrage of spells. The second the call was given Cyrus commanded the Odur golem that had followed him inside to charge the Captain, putting itself between he and the man's first attack. Though it was only a Senior class spell, the damage was double that to the golem thanks to the mage's far greater power than its own durability. But still it charged forward, straight at his master's opponent as its shield was destroyed, raising its sword and swinging at Zaven.
Cyrus ran back outside, knowing that staying inside such a small area as the ruined house would do him no favors against the Golden Dawn's leader. As he ran he aimed a spell back into the house, firing off five instances of his Falling Star spell into the structure. "Falling Star!" He made no effort to evade the oncoming Hex, knowing that with his level of speed that the chances were slim to none he could succeed in doing so.
The stars all launched towards the Golden Dawn's Captain, but whether they hit him directly or not they would explode into massive hails of star-shaped shrapnel covering a 70 meter radius each. With such a wide area of effect, he hoped that Typhon outside might be caught in its radius as well; though the damage would likely be reduced due to Cyrus' low power, it would still be some damage.
Once Cyrus was outside he would waste no time. "Meleager, attack Talos now!" He commanded the titan. The sap monster would let out a groan of acknowledgement and swung its massive amber fists at its fellow Guardian in an attempt to smash it. Cyrus could feel his Captain's sheer mana, standing as more than just an indicator of how difficult this would be. He had a couple of ideas on how he could proceed, but it all depended on what Zaven would do and how his initial retaliations fared.
[attr="class,cyrusstats]Stats & Information
WC: 0523 | TWC: 6071
[attr="class,cyrusstats]
Mana Skin
24/24
Health
16/16
Mana
310/385
Movement Speed
05
Damage Taken
00
Healing Recieved
00
Mana Used
80
Mana Regen
55
[attr="class,cyrusstats] Combat Notes Odur defended Cyrus from Fissure Blades, taking Grand damage (Int health left) Odur aimed an attack at Zaven Cyrus fired off five shots of Falling Star at Zaven (and hopefully Typhon) Cyrus was hit by Zaven's Endurance Debuff Ordered Meleager to attack Talos
Items On Hand Magic Knight's Mantle
Spells Used Odur sustained Meleager sustained Falling star cast
Name of Spell: Falling Star Elemental Type: Sap Rank & Spell Type: Senior | Attack Creation Range & Speed: 80m | 40m/s | 70m AoE Mana Cost: 30 | 15 Stats Effected: +9 Power Applicable Perks: Apex Predator, Battle Knight, Area of Triumph Description: A simple yet powerful spell, embracing practicality and results. Reflective of Cyrus' desire to prove himself within the Magic Knights, he can use it to create a star-shaped mass of amber as large as 40 cubic meters (though he can also form it in a smaller shape for when such size is impractical). Once the desired size, Cyrus shoots the star from its position above him in the direction of his target, spinning like a massive shuriken or discus for cutting and impact damage. On casting this spell, he receives a +9 buff to his Power stat (thanks to Battle Knight). When Falling Star makes contact with an enemy or object, or simply reaches the end of its range, its behavoir is determined by Cyrus; it can either dissipate then and there, or it can explode into a hail of shrapnel made of smaller stars that will cut those within a 70 meter area (thanks to Area of Triumph). Repeated successful castings of this spell will also provide Cyrus with a +3 buff to his Power stat, up to 5 times for a maximum possible buff of +15 thanks to Apex Predator.
