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.
The forest around Hapshass was.... different to say the least. The Game was a bit more sparse, which made sense. With so few that settled in the forsaken realm, it was strange to see the effect that a larger population of humans had on the ecosystem. The towering woman leaned against a tree as she surveyed the little town from afar, her eyes wandering with slight wonder to the vast expanse of water that lay beyond. She had always lived so far inland that any big body of water was a rather novel experience for her, let alone the sight of the ships that were docked there. She put on a rather pleased smile as she gently hopped down from her spot and began to traipse calmly toward the town proper. It wasn't that far away, and already she was rather excited to get there and get a better look at the place, as well as the dock itself. But beyond just that, she'd also heard that there was a Mage Knight base somewhere nearby! The notion of being able to see one of the famous Clover Kingdom MKs was a rather exciting prospect as well, and she couldn't help the bit of speed she put on as she approached the town. If there was ANY chance of getting to see the magic of others up close, this was it!
As she actually arrived at the port town itself, she couldn't help but slow down just a little as she began to appreciate just how many people there were. And no doubt, the glances that she garnered didn't go unnoticed either! Beyond just being rather tall, the woman struck a bit of an imposing figure! Looking terribly out of place to say the least with her rather thrown-together clothes, most of them she'd made herself. But she, if nothing else, seemed pleased with the attention she dew, and a warm smile popped up across her face as she offered respectful greetings to those she passed by, all while beelining for the port itself as those in her path promptly gave her a bit of a wide berth. Something she noticed...... but didn't pay much mind to for now. She could worry about the people distancing themselves later. Her first priority was checking out the boats!
Post by Gillian Stroud on Oct 15, 2020 21:25:11 GMT -5
Of all the rotten luck one could have, Gillian found himself sent into the forest of Haphass. He was told to keep an eye out on the animals there, especially bears. He might have been a mage, but he had no offensive magic. If a bear wanted him dead, he'd be dead. Did they not realize that? Were they dumb? It was supposed to be one of his hard earned days off, too!
Well, whatever. It didn't matter. He just needed to keep an eye out on the wildlife and observe it, making sure there was nothing out of the ordinary, that animals weren't getting too close or too violent. That sort of thing. It wasn't anything difficult--just as long as that wasn't the case.
However, true to a Magic Knight of his caliber, he hadn't gotten started. Instead, he was lazing about the docks, mantle on his person. Due to his Mist Magic, he admittedly did have a preference for the sea, so he supposed being stuck in Haphass wasn't the worst thing in the world to happen to him. At least, that's what he thought.
Now, Gillian was many things. A nice person was not one of them--in the perspective of someone else, at least. But one of those many things included well versed in travel, mostly due to the distance he had to travel. He heard stories of the Witch's Forest, an all female group. But somehow, this woman didn't strike that. She looked straight out of some sort of bizarre fantasy novel, a group of warrior women who crushed men and didn't let them in, similar to the Witch's Forest.
Why was she so tall? Why was she so built? Did she know that she was violating the natural order that was genetics? Did Gillian even know what genetics were? In any case, he said nothing--all he could do was gaze upon this freak born with two x chromosomes.
It was on her way to the boats that something caught her attention. A Magic signature more significant than the normal citizens that sort of mosed around the area. Her spine tingled just a little as she found herself slowing down just a little on her way toward the docks. She paused, glancing around and seeing.... no shortage of people sort of staring at her. This was..... considerable. Was a mage nearby? She perked up, promptly a bit more enthused as she kept walking, looking around until she finally seemed to noticed Gillian. Her brows lifting for a moment as she noticed one of them was wearing something even SHE recognized. A Mage knight mantle! Of course she had no idea which squad it actually belonged to, but the sight of it promptly put her into good spirits, her expression breaking into a placid smile as she noticed him staring at her like the others! She was actually a little impressed to get such a reaction out of a Magic Knight as well! Hmmm, maybe she DID sortof stick out a bit more than she'd hoped. But that didn't matter now.
Calmly, she made her way right over to him and tilted her head, fearless, not even an ounce of hesitation in approaching the man as she spoke up. "Hello there! Hope I'm not being too much of a distraction!" She chuckled good-naturedly, gently pointing out his somewhat gaping expression in a way that was softened to say the least, making it clear she was aware that she was quite a sight, and quite reasonable to stare at, alleviating any responsibility he might have had in not slacking his jaw so to speak. She paused, glancing in the direction of the port. Hm. Well she had wished she could have gone right to the water, but she supposed that could wait for the time being. "You're a Magic Knight aren't you? I heard some of em have bases far out on the fringes, but I still didn't expect ta see one so soon!" She chimed brightly, promptly reaching out to offer her hand to shake in the man's direction. "Name's Tora! A pleasure to meet ya!" She noted, promptly breaking into introductions. The very thing on her mind? She wanted to see his magic, but she had been raised to be polite, and so she knew better than to just go asking him to whip a spell out in the middle of the town. Introductions first, and then patience!
Post by Gillian Stroud on Oct 17, 2020 1:44:52 GMT -5
Even her manner of speach came off as a sort of primitive sort. He wasn't one to judge--he was a commoner as well, but it was as if this girl came straight out of the woods one day, acting as though that was a perfectly normal manner. Gillian couldn't help but raise a brow. What was her deal? Was she oblivious? How? How did a person become that big--how did a woman become that big--and not realize how much she stood out? Was it carelessness? Surely, nobody could simply just be that unaware of how abnormal they were.
"Uh..." Gillian began to say, looking up. "Not to be rude, but I don't think most people around here have seen anything like you. So... uh, you probably are a distraction."
Of course, he meant to be rude, but he couldn't show that. Not with the mantle on. And then, an idea was had. He'd just leave the work to her, take the credit. Easy day's work. She seemed laughably naive bumpkin. He'd been in the city for three years now; he knew this sort of thing like the back of his hand now. Not just that, she was almost certainly capable of fighting an animal barehanded, clearly. Hell, he was sure that a freak like this had some animal in her as well. Probably part bear, the freak.
"That's right," Gillian said, offering a sly smile as he offered the woman a polite bow. "Amedeus Blake, of the Azure Deer."
The fact of the matter was he didn't really stand out that much, visually. He was handsome, sure, but he knew better than to believe he'd stand out in the ranks. Most importantly, there was zero chance she knew anything about the Blakes.
"I regret to inform you though that I must ask you to come with me--you needn't worry, but in such a busy port area, one of your stature is likely to cause some issue for any potential working men and women. But you know, I've just the thing! Have you a minute to spare with me? There's a thing I believe you'd just be perfect at handling, and it'd go a long way in getting my own captain to give you some attention. We're just going into the woods, and I can tell right away you'd be a perfect fit to help me with a task. It's my first time here in Hasphass, wouldn't you believe it? I'm actually a relatively new Magic Knight, so someone who would excel in tracking would be ideal to assist me."
"What say you? Feel like having a Magic Knight be indebted to you?"
She could, in almost an immediate level of sureness, tell that the man seemed to misinterpret her humble demeanor as something other. Her head tilted slightly to the side as he spoke in regards to obstruction before her attention shifted to their surroundings. True enough, the people seemed to be watching, but there were still a fair ammount who were going about their business, trying not to stand out. Some even seemed in more of a hurry to evade her gaze. Some of them certainly seemed distracted, others seemed to be more or less mosying on, and others .... well they clearly just wanted whatever they were doing to be over. It was fairly late into the day, she could imagine some of them were on the tail end of their day's tasks. When her attention shifted back to the young man, she smiled, even returning the gesture he'd offered her in greeting. What a peculiar man.
She was rather curious about that first part. The man's words felt almost hurried as he went right from one topic into the other. From her needing to leave the port, to having a task for her. When he seemed to have not really been doing anything not a few moments prior. But she kept her reservations. And then, promptly, he made mention of a Mage Knight being in some sort of dept with her. Which was, honestly, a bit of a nail in the coffin. He was leading her onto something, or at the very least, trying to get her to do what he wanted. Wether that was not being around port, doing this task, or perhaps just wanting to show off to his superior, that string of topics was an awfully slick metaphorical incline to whatever it was he wanted her to do.
But.
That smile never faded in the slightest. She watched him with a slightly tilted head, interested in this strange, fast-talking little man. She quite liked him! He was .....interesting! A little entertaining even, and she couldn't help but chuckle just a little as she let her wrist sweep to the side, cards spilling into the open air out of nothing. A flicker. Sleight of hand. And quite suddenly, she had a full deck in palm. She watched him, still smiling as she shifted, rolling the deck in her palm, and actually managing to shuffle it one-handed with quick, twisting, rapid little shifts of her hands, the top half of the deck sliding to her thumb, her hand opening, allowing the two piles to slide by one another, and then pressing them end to end, bending the cards into an arch, and then closing her hand, shuffling them in a slow prrrrrrt of singular cards shifting between eachother. She did this three times before finally she thumbed a card off the tip, onto the back of her other hand. A Coin card.
She smirked down at him.
"I like you! You're funny. And it looks like luck's on your side!" Not in the slightest. While of course, it looked entirely like just a card trick, it was, in fact, her magic. She made sure the card came up that she'd wanted. But well. This man had seemed to make up his mind about her right on the spot. The chances were that he wouldn't imagine a big bulky woman like her would have something as subtle as card magic. And even if he did, he didn't seem like he had the gall to go calling her out on it either~
She slipped in beside him and promptly patted him firmly on the shoulder. "Alright then, let's go see about this task a yours eh? An don't worry about owin me nothin." She noted with a winning smile. Watching him rather expectantly~
Post by Gillian Stroud on Oct 19, 2020 19:38:20 GMT -5
Whereas Tora could tell Gillian was up to something, the opposite was not true for the Magic Knight. At least, at first. Whether or not he lied or not was of no consequence to the other woman thing. The Azure Deer was confident in this woman's own confidence, too. He had no problem downplaying himself if it meant getting what he wanted at the end of the day. Still, right now he was certain that this woman was playing in the palm of his hand.
Gillian had not been paying attention to how he'd been saying, only what he had been saying. Nor had he been paying attention to others in the area. After all, why would he? It's not as though he was on a mission for their sake. It was nothing more than recon. He just wanted someone to cover for him in case things went wrong. Such a brute would be more than enough to achieve just that. Honestly, why was he to be tasked with such a thing?
Well, a job was a job was a job. It didn't matter at the end of the day how it got done, as long as it got done, and nobody he involved got hurt. He'd get in trouble for something like that. At the end of the day, he'd have to offer an assist if she somehow got hurt. Thankfully, he very much doubted that'd end up being a factor.
And then, she tried pulling a fast one on him. What, did she downplay his own sensory abilities? That was what he excelled at. There was a reason he was in the Azure Deer. His ability to detect and to hide was second to none compared to his peers in that sense. Well, that wasn't enough to actually get upset about it. She tried presenting it as sleight of hand, but he detected a slight spike in magical energy. More importantly, she already revealed her hand--pun intended--quite too soon.
She was more than just bronze. Gillian had chosen incorrectly. That likely meant that she already saw through his deceit, and was playing along because she could. She didn't seem that much stronger than he was, but he wasn't the sort to go picking fights to begin with. Besides, picking a fight with a citizen? Absolutely not. He wasn't an idiot, and the problems that'd ensue from it were far from worth it.
Letting out a charming chuckle, Gillian smiled. "Thank you! You seem quite the interesting person indeed. How lucky of me indeed!"
He wasn't.
"What I am to do is to simply gather a survey of the wildlife in the area," he explained. "Now, I'm not much a hunter--you look the part of one quite experienced in that area, however. I do hope you'll pardon any offense you might take by that, if any. However, I'm not much a fighter, nor am I armed. I don't know the wildlife of the area, so I'm hoping I can count on you in that sense. Of course, if I feel you are threatened, naturally I will intervene as best as I can. Even asking this much is quite unbecoming of one in my position, but I simply lack the aptitude for it."
Gilian made sure that every expression and word in his voice didn't give him away. He'd happily let her believe he still was underestimating her. At the very least, things would be more interesting. "Per chance, might I get a name to address you by? It will go miles in making this easier for both of us."
She nodded idly along as he seemed to explain the situation. Something called a ...survey? And he mentioned hunting at that. She tilted her head a bit to the side as she drummed her fingers along her forearm. "Gotcha.. So you need me to track some animals around the area. We just identifyin em, or do you need parts of em?" She inquired calmly enough, to make sure she was understanding well enough. So he admitted that he flat out wasn't cut out for the task in the first place. But well that wasn't really her business for the time being. Though now that she thought about it.... "Hmmm, well I suppose that makes sense. And if ya like, I could even teach you a bit about trackin and huntin if ya like." She offered with a grin, straightening herself up and rolling one of her shoulders as she prepped herself for the task a head. However, she did perk up when he finally asked that last question, following the man as he led the way into the forest proper. Vaguely wondering if there were any details he wasn't telling her. But well, she didn't fret TOO much about that for now.
"The name's Tora Gui. No fancy titles for the time being." She introduced herself, reaching over to offer the man a handshake as they went, smiling calmly as she did so. He was certainly an ....interesting first Mage Knight for her to encounter. But she had a positivity about her. As perhaps a bit underhanded as he were, he didn't seem to have any bad intentions. He was, however indirectly getting his work done, and she couldn't help but feel ike there was something about him she wasn't quite picking up on yet. Like seeing a smudged pane of glass and not being entirely sure what was on the other side. It was entirely possible that he was just some lazy piss looking to make his evening a bit more leisurely. But if nothing else, Tora was a curious woman. If the man were truly intent on living a dull, uninteresting life, why become a magic knight at all? Even if he happened to be a commoner, the guy had that sortof noble slickness about him. He could just as easily pass himself off as a noble long enough to set himself up. Maybe even get himself adopted and just cruise. And yet, for whatever reason, this wily man was in perhaps one of the more dangerous and active professions. At the very least, she intended to find out more about how he came to be one.
Post by Gillian Stroud on Oct 20, 2020 0:42:01 GMT -5
"Just identifying them," Gillian explained. "My exact mission is to gather a report on various wildlife. You see, there happens to be quite a ferocious bear in this area, so I was tasked with inspecting the wildlife in the area and investigating anything out of the norm--to see if they pose a threat to the people, besides the bear. My exact mission is more akin to recon, but limited in it's scope to the wildlife. But, I'm ill-equipped in case things do go south. I confess I wasn't eager to do this mission as a result."
Perhaps the first truthful thing to have left his mouth since he opened it.
The raven haired man stopped once they approached. "Henceforth, it might be best if you take the lead. As but I am a novice, I'm quite good at taking orders, especially when dealing with those who are more knowledgeable in a craft than I."
That wasn't entirely true. Of the two, Gillian was likely far more adept at hiding himself. It was highly unlikely that he'd be detected if he put even the most minute effort in. Not to mention, he refused to follow anyone's orders beyond that of higher ranking Knights. But he was also curious about the capabilities of the beast woman before him.
"Our goal is to track down specifically the carnivorous animals. However, we are to not engage that bear in question. Supposedly, it's much larger. We are to be out of sight as best as we can, but if we are attacked--well. We should defend ourselves, no?Though admittedly, if I sense we are in over our heads, it's an immediate retreat. Sounds reasonable right, Tora?"
Tora nodded gently along as Gillian explained the situation, her eyes scanning about the forest as they went, taking the lead as he indicated it would be a good idea to do as such. She did notice that the forest was unusually quiet. That was not usually a great sign, the forest was oft a place of considerable noise at least idly. Birds and the like. If it was this quiet, then the animals were either too spooked to make noise, or were dead from failing to do so. As they moved, she would pause now and then, furrowing her brows just a bit as she would pause and glance at the bark of the trees now and then as Gillian continued to speak and explain the mission. So there was some sort of nuisance in the forest? Certainly interesting to say the least. She'd heard of some troublesome bears, but one that drew the attention of the mage knights? Well, admittedly she didn't actually KNOW how high or low of a bar that was. But all the same, it was probably worth noting. Though she was a bit ....intrigued.
"Understood. If it gets too rough, ye can get on outta here if ya like." She noted, asserting her own lack of intention to that effect. At least not contingent on his instructions. She knew when to avoid a fight if she was out of her league, but well. She knew herself better than anyone, and the man had already shown he was not exactly cut out for combat. So she presumed he would have a fairly low threshold for peril. All the same, she found herself stopping at the edge of a treeline through a small clearing, furrowing her brows for a moment as she glanced at one of the trees. "Hm....well there WAS a bear here...." She murmured, crouching down and lightly running her fingers along gouged marks along the bark of the oak. "Bears tend to mark around their territory. Like a cat er somethin scratchin things. I seen a few since we got inta the forest. But ain't none of them fresh. So either the Bear moved and stopped patrolin this area, or somethin happened to it." She observed, glancing in Gillian's direction for a moment, to see how the young man was taking the information.
She stood back up and furrowed her brows, her nose wrinkling for just a moment. She looked around, following the breeze, until she spotted a rather large brush near a downed tree. She took a moment to survey the spot, circling it just a little, glancing around before she finally approached and paused a short ways away. At this point Gillian would probably smell it too, the smell of something dead. And lo and behold, once the pair of them circled around, they would see......some of it. about a third of a bear corpse strewn near the other side fo the bush. The nearby downed tree having busted open, looking almost like the bear had been rammed into it before whatever got it had chowed down. Well, that or some scavengers had gotten to it. If the flies were any indication, it had been a day or so since it'd happened. "Hmm, welp, looks like we got somethin else to start trackin." She noted with a pleased smile, circling a bit more so that she could eye the ground around the body, looking for any tracks amidst the thrashed ground.
Post by Gillian Stroud on Oct 21, 2020 14:16:41 GMT -5
Gillian might have been truthful about his inexperience with hunting, but he was knowledgeable enough to know this silence was unnatural. Neither sight nor sound was heard as they ventured into the forest. It was an eerie quietness, as though they had just wandered into some sort of another world. There were several possibilities for this silence that he was able to come up with, but only one of them happened to be a good thing. Unfortunately for the Azure Deer, he was something of a pessimist, and thus it was ruled out entirely. Circumstantial evidence did not always point in the direction of just that--circumstantial.
"That's not an option," Gillian responded on the offer to flee if things got bad. "I still am a Magic Knight, and you are a civilian. I have to ensure your safety above my own, especially as I am the one who brought you here. My magic is quite suited for retreating, after all, so if we need to flee, I can make it happen."
Oh, how he wished he could just abandon this genetic horror if things did get rough. If he had it his way, he'd just watch and observe while she fought. Though if it was against any actual threat -- like a bear -- they were to flee immediately. He couldn't justify her having to fight against an actual bear. To say nothing of the fact he sure as hell couldn't.
The Azure Deer took notice of the tree line that Tora had pointed out. So it was a territorial thing? That made sense, but those gouges were clearly quite old--glasses or not, he could see that much clear as day. No more recent than a month or two, tops. He'd seen a few of them since they entered. Gillian supposed they could rule off the idea that it simply left this area. The idea of a bear of all things leaving what it had marked as its own territory sounded absurd, even by Gillian's standards.
Which left the idea that something had happened to it. Realistically, it could have been hunted by some hunters. It'd be quite difficult for any ordinary animal to have successfully felled an actual bear. If it was a mana beast though...
Gillian, having been born where he was, was quite used to the stench of death by this point. The smell didn't bother him as much as it might have another. It wasn't to say it was pleasant, but he simply was able to stomach it without reacting to it. But it was a smell impossible to ignore, too. The Magic Knight's eyes widened in shock at such a sight. There was no way any hunter had been able to do this. Even if they had the means, there was no need to. They'd have brought the animal in full back home to display as a trophy. This bear was prey for another. Of that, there was little doubt.
"Wait," Gillian insisted. "I was not expecting something like this. I need to think of how we should proceed if we do at all. I've little doubt that this is the work of a Mana Beast, and one powerful enough to fell a bear. I don't think at this point we should continue. We should return."
She perked up just a little as she took a moment to shift her gaze in his direction, smiling mirthfully to herself as she listened to his prompt and firm aversion to the idea of just leaving her in the event of a scuffle. She found herself chuckling softly at that, giving the man a pleased smile as she gave him a playful thump with the back of her hand to his shoulder, grinning as she spoke. "Ahah! You're cute! A little shady, but ya have some interestin way about ye. I like you." She noted with a smirk. FURTHER pleased to see the light of recognition in his eyes as she explained the meaning behind the markings. He seemed a sharp lad, even if he was not used to this, he seemed a quick learner. Excellent to say the least!
Of course, as they came to the corpse itself, she did notice a sudden change in his demeanor. He seemed very offput in fact and she couldn't help but raise a brow slightly in response to his clear alarm. Interesting to be sure, he seemed to be quite on the alert thanks to this new change. She let her attention shift, eyeing around them as she considered the situation, though her head tingled just a little as she felt..... a bit like she was being watched. She turned, as she almost felt as if she noticed something, but looking around, she saw nothing. But of course, unlike her: Gillian was more than astute. He would feel it in the ground. It's mana signature had more or less beewn nonexistent, at least until a few seconds after they had begun to inspect the bear, as if sensing their presence, he would feel something directly below them. There was a sudden shift, the ground beneath them twisting for just a moment as something promptly tore it's head up from it's resting place, a rather large beast to be sure. About two meters in length, soil fell from it in chunks. Of course..... it would be .....hard to see. The air twisting about it's body, much more readily observable thanks to the dirt clinging to it's almost invisible body... invisible save for the big red gashes in the seemingly open air. But of course, Gillian would be MORE than able to see it the rest of it. It was camouflaged.
The thing was, also, very injured. While it had been able to best the bear, it was clear it hadn't been a decisive win. Large gouges and chunks of it were missing, which hampered it's camouflaging ability. Allowing Tora to see it despite it's ability to hide. The monster turned, locking it's gaze on the pair before the petals along it's mane peeled back, showing LONG, 4 foot long claws that peeled out of it's flesh, opening up like a mane of daggers as it's camouflage peeled away and it HISSED at the pair of them! It's tail whipped upward before it sought to SLAM down toward the both of them. And in that time, a card popped int existence in Tora's hand, burning up in soft watery flame before it promptly burst around her body. A sudden surge of water that formed tifts of fur along her elbows and knees, as well as claws over her fingers and over her shoes. A Grin spread across her face as she leapt up into the air, with surprising speed, and then promptly executed two sharp whip kicks! The air SCREECHED as magic raced out, she landed a kick on the creatire's back, just in time before that tail slammed into her and sent her skidding back, her mana skin crackling for just a moment before the zone around the beast BURST. The tranquil forest suddenly converted into a RAGING line of water. The earth, the trees, everything in the path of that first kick for ten meters suddenly transformed into a raging torrent of water, causing the beast to SCREECH in confusion as it thrashed around in the water.
As she skidded to a stop just beside the Magic Knight and grinned rather wide. "Lucky us! Looks like we get to scrounge off the bear's work!" She all but growled, her personality seeming to have taken a VERY aggressive turn as soon as combat had begun. She looked like she was having fun! A clear and obvious love for combat shining in that gentle giant's eyes as she promptly opened her clawed hand. Two cards spilling out of her grimoire into her hand before she promptly pressed them to the center of Gillian's chest. Almost immediately, he would feel the magic flowing through his body. something creeping along his back as he felt a sudden energy flowing into him. As well as a long, bladed weapon, a Pudao, forming in her palm, and then promptly thumped him gently in the chest with it, insisting that he accept the weapon as she gave him a wink. "Take this~ Should make you plenty fast enough to not get hit." She chimed, and indeed he would feel considerably faster. Her attention then shifting back toward the beast that was in the midst of peeling itself out of that raging water, giving Gillian plent of time to make up his mind on wether or not he would be backing Tora up or just attacking from a distance or something.
Either way. It seemed that Tora had EVERY intention of taking this beast down.
-20 mana for Coin of Earthly Fiend Number 36: Chen Da
Name of Spell: Coin of Earthly Fiend Number 36 - Chen Da: Leaping Tiger Shroud Elemental Type: Card Rank & Spell Type: Junior | Physical Reinforcement / Transformation (Transmutation) Range & Speed: 10 m/s 10m aoe(linear) Mana Cost: 10 base 5 sustain Stats Effected: 7 m/s(speed buff on self) Applicable Perks: Full Blitz Description: Chen Da, the 36th Earthly Fiend, nicknamed the ‘Stream Leaping Tiger’. Upon activation, the card appears from Tora’s grimoire. Promptly after, water forms tufts of fur at Tora’s knees and elbows, and claws along her fingers and toes (over her shoes if wearing them) as her body is reinforced boosting her speed. Upon activation, or later so long as the spell is still being sustained, Tora can perform a melee attack with her legs (kick, sweep, stomp) to activate the offensive transmutation portion of the spell, unleashing a sidewinding streak of magic, carving its way following the attack, creating a long slightly conical line of raging water my transmuting the terrain slightly ahead of Tora into water. This surging line of water spans 10 meters from the attack point, tapering outward to a winding 3meter wide cone in one direction(Multiples produced by the ammo rules can be fired in different directions). Any target including Tora who is within this zone once during their turn will sustain 1/2 Junior damage every post that they do so, until this spell ends and the terrain returns to normal, leaving the terrain damp and water damaged. . Targets within the raging water zone are slowed by 30% as per the Offensive Transmutation rules the first turn they come in contact with the changed terrain.
Name of Spell: String of Heavenly Spirit Number 23 - Shi Jin: Nine Falling Dragons Elemental Type: Card Rank & Spell Type: Junior | Physical Reinforcement / Attack Creation Range & Speed: 25m 10m/s Mana Cost: 10 base 5 sustain Stats Effected: 7 m/s(speed buff on self), +4 Power Applicable Perks: Full Blitz, Battle Knight Description: Shi Jin, the 23rd Heavenly Spirit, nicknamed “Nine Tattooed Dragons”. U[on activation, two cards appears from Tora’s Grimoire: one for the reinforcement and one for the weapon (This is not produced via ammo rules, but simply the two parts of the spell). Following this, the spell wraps around her and then forms Nine Dragon Tatoos stemming from her lower back and curling along her body, mainly her shoulders, ribs, hips, arms in pairs with a single dragon snaking up her spine to the base of her neck. This reinforces her body, boosting her speed. Additionally, a Pudao, one of Shi Jin’s weapons of choice, forms in her hands, buffing her power.While this spell is being sustained, Tora can execute a slashing attack, producing a 16in wide 5 meter long sleek dragon that surges forward, slashing objects in it’s path. This slashing attack produces 1 extra dragon projectile per 15 control (as per dual spec ammo rules).
Mana: 60-> 40
Tora's new speed: 12 m/s Gillian's new speed (Should he accept): 12 m/s
Tora's Mana Skin: Senior -> Intermediate+ Junior (Jr damage from tail hit)
Dealt 2 Melee hits (total of Jr Damage done) 1 proc of Transmutation Damage (1/2 jr Damage done)
Bite: Int damage Tail swipe: Jr damage Stealth Ability Ending (Similar to Cold-Blooded/visual Illussion, used while in stasis underground. When Sunflower Stalker tunnels, this stealth becomes active suppressing Mana signature and presence completely, and rendering it invisible to those below 19 (15 base +4 from 20 control) briefly while emerging. However, thanks to damage sustained from the bear, this is not currently functioning properly and thus it's injuries can be seen while emerging.)
Post by Gillian Stroud on Oct 23, 2020 2:13:47 GMT -5
Of course he'd be the first to notice. How could he not? He had fined tuned his senses specifically to avoid danger in the first place. "Get back!" Gillian uncharacteristically ordered before the mana beast rose from the forest ground.
Of course. Of fucking course this would happen. This was his day off and he was still being ordered around due to the short handedness that was taking place in the Magic Knights. What was more surprising was the fact he hadn't noticed it when it was this close to begin with. He wasn't physically strong enough to actually toss her back or anything of the sort. And pushing her down to the ground to avoid the surge was just as stupid. That'd leave them both vulnerable, and it wasn't as if being able to sense its mana informed him of the scope of its size. At most, a vague inkling.
When it emerged from the ground, Gillian realized that the bear had done quite a bit of damage. Though he was tempted to momentary glance towards the bear, surprised that a mere animal was capable of injuring a mana beast in such a manner... No. It was a bear after all. Perhaps it wasn't that surprising. Gillian could tell that this wasn't an impressively powerful mana beast. It was injured, but the most dangerous thing about it would have been the invisible nature it possessed. Even then, that had been seriously hampered. The bear had managed to fight it off. Even if it couldn't see it, it still had an odor to it. An impressive feat, and all the more reason Gillian was glad to not have to deal with it. To make it even easier, this one was likely recovering after a still relatively fresh battle.
As Gillian was far more astute to the nature of the beast, he wasn't to be caught off guard by its initial tail swipe. He quickly retreated to the back, doing so before the beast even emerged its head. His mobility was enough to allow this much to happen. When Tora had been hit, there was initially some concern on his behalf. "Do me a favor and don't tell my superiors about that," he said, sheepishly scratching his neck after Tora's own little battle shpeel.
Yeah, he wasn't wrong. She was definitely a brute. A battle loving maniac. She'd got along just fine in the Black Bulls or Green Mantis.
Without warning, she suddenly placed her hands on his chest. "Hey, what gives-" he shouted, before realizing it. Mana was pouring into him. Ah, so that was it... a polearm appeared in his hand.
So that was her trick. She was about to make him work. Ugh, damn woman. This was exactly why the only person he really loved was himself. At least he wouldn't make himself work any harder than he absolutely had to. But he couldn't afford to abandon her. The risk of being found out was too great. Not to mention, this Mana Beast was still a threat to the average citizen. "I don't get paid enough for this crap..." Gillian thought to himself.
"You know, I have no practical training with this thing, right?" he mused as he could feel his body just practically begging to move.
There was a definite boon to this weapon just by being in his hands. He could feel it. He knew he was much faster than he already was. He also no longer had any reason to keep up the facade. It had passed that point now that things had come to this, as much as it irritated him to admit that. "Well, whatever. I wanna' try something real quick."
Gillian's eyes set their gaze upon the head of the beast. A thin mist began to envelop the area. It wasn't especially potent, given this was without a Spell. Against a normal mana beast this wasn't going to be especially effective. But given that Tora had just provided him with an ample bit of water earlier, and his own use of Mist Magic, not using this against a wounded mana beast was practically a sin. It wouldn't be enough to hamper Tora in the slightest, either. Not as thin as this was.
Taking advantage of this new burst of speed, Gillian rushed the mana beast in a surprisingly bold charge, knowing it was already incredibly weakened. He wasn't capable of any fancy tricks, but he knew a polearm had one very reliable purpose.
To skewer.
His aim was one of the limbs. Of course, he fully expected it to attack back in any manner it could. His bet was that it'd be with one one of its front arms. Trying to approach the face was too dangerous, but immobilizing it and picking at where the bear had already damaged. Like a scavenger aiming to finish what another creature started. That was Gillian's preferred way of doing things. In any case of an impending counterattack, Gillian would use the polearm to swing his momentum around, taking one strong step to cement his place if he was safe, and then attack from a likely vulnerable position, aiming to pierce what he could.
Unfortunately for the foolhardy knight, he was also going as fast as he could, too. Whether or not his reckless abandon was a good idea or not was up in the air.
ill add a stat thing if you want me to but pls understand im lazy and would have to get it off another account, plus make edits to it.
She was pleased to see the urgency with him, but even more than that, seeing him abstaining from fleeing, and even accepting the weapon? Perfect~ As the beast struggled to free itself from the raging waters, Gillian rushed in, and promptly executing quite the impressive lunge with the pudao! He was faster than she expected! And as the beast turned to filail at him in it's staggered state, that weapon would sink clean into it's limb! Causing a screech to escape the beast as it cried out as a result of the blade sinking into it's limb! The conjured blade biting into flesh and even bone as that momentum carried it fairly well! The Stalker SCREECHEd loudly! It's body flailing for a moment as it struggled to correct itself, half of it's body still in the surging water, continuing to batter it's body as Gillian kept it skewered on the weapon. A perfect chance!
With her boosted speed, she launched herself at the beast, speeding into it's flank and then slamming one clawed fist into the beast's neck, right into one of the gouges in it's flesh, causing it's body to JOLT to the side, dropping onto it's side before she raised a clawed shoe and then stomped down on that same spot. A wet SNAP sounding as she promptly managed to break it's neck, the chunks of muscle missing allowing that exposed section to easily break the column of bone by dislocating a disc. With a violent shudder, the beast promptly went still, it's tongue lolling out as it's eyes glazed over, Tora letting out a soft, steady sigh as she peeled her foot from the carcass and then allowed the spell to dissipate, thankfully the aura of water meant that none of the blood remained on her, vanishing along with that magical liquid leaving her hands and shoed quite clean. She inspected the body of the monster thoughtfully, her head tilting to the side. "Doesn't seem like a normal animal, didn't even see anythin like this outside of the kingdom." She murmured thoughtfully, eyeing the inside of the beast's mouth. She scanned for a good couple seconds before finally reaching in, peeling a claw from one of it's teeth and then glancing at the bear corpse. "Huh, Musta burrowed underground after it ate. Ever seen a creature like this?" She asked, right back to her usual soft, warm tone as though that whole melee had never happened. "Suppose this kinda concludes the census though. I dun think we're gonna find any other animals around since this un spooked em all... Unless you think there might be more of these?" She ventured, putting a hand on her hip thoughtfully. She had to admit it was a good thing that it was injured, the thing was pretty tough-skinned, eyeing how shallowly the blade had penetrated it's body, it probably would have taken quite a lot more effort to take it down had the bear not done such damage to the thing. She stuck the claw into the water and then wiped it off on the grass as she glanced at Gillian, curious as to what it was he figured they should do next.
Sunflower Stalker's Health:Int + 1/2 jr (-Jr from Gillian's skewer) -> Int (-1/2 jr from Transmutation dot) -> Jr (-jr from 2 melee hits) -> Sunflower Stalker killed
Mana: 40->30 (Sustain for Leaping Tiger Shroud and Nine Falling Dragons) 30-> 35 (Mana regen, in combat)
Post by Gillian Stroud on Oct 24, 2020 2:28:01 GMT -5
Between the initial attack on Tora's part and his own strike on a forelimb, the beast was easy pickings. Of the two, it was the woman who was far more accustomed to actually fighting than he was, and that was fine. At the end of the day, she was still the one who did the heavy lifting, whether or not he was involved in the matter. When thought of through that lens, it really didn't matter if he put in work or not. He just did the bare minimum, as he always planned on doing.
The beast fell down, dead. For Gillian, that was good enough. There was a distant look in his eye as he stared at the remains of the fallen mana beast. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about this wasn't the fact they were attacked by a mana beast, nor the fact a civilian got hurt while on his watch. It was the fact that this woman snapped the neck of a beast quite larger than they were. ...Well, perhaps saying she got hurt was generous. This freak of a human being was a Black Bull or Green Mantis through and through. That battle loving mania of hers was right up their alley in his eyes.
"...It goes without saying I was lying about putting a word in for you about my superiors. The Azure Deer aren't a fighting squad to begin with. Recon and scouting are what we do. I doubt you do discreet." Gillian admitted. There was no point in hiding much else at this point, given he had just witnessed a human snapping the neck of a mana beast of all things.
"...But you'd be right at home with the Black Bulls. A shame I got nobody to introduce you to."
The raven haired man's eyes glanced over to the remains of the bear, then back to the remains of where the mana beast would have been.
No, even now that things had ended, there was no point in keeping up the facade. Gillian would give her this much. She was strong. Far stronger than he would have ever given her credit for, and that was saying something given that was the entire reason he brought her to begin with. Still, he wouldn't say she was fearless as much as she was opportunistic. She wasn't the sort to pick on game weaker than she was, but she also wasn't going to seek superior opponents if it could be helped. Gillian ventured she just played her cards when it was convenient but otherwise kept her hand to herself. She'd fight a good fight, and that was all she sought. In that sense, there was a fierce simplicity about her. But she was also cunning as well.
How terrifying.
"Mana beasts have been more and more of a threat. The Azure Deer have noticed higher activity on their parts," he admitted. "No point in keeping that secret even if it was. The entirety of the Kingdom by this point knows it. Between the mana beasts and Kikka right now, the Magic Knights have our hands full. It's why someone like me was sent out despite the situation, on a day off, no less."
He noticed she seemed curious about what to do, eager to see what was next. "Hey listen. We really should get going back. Seeing a threatening mana beast like this within a town's jurisdiction is all the more reason for me to hurry back and report it. I really, really can't be responsible for whatever happens next. That's my ass on the line there."
Her brows perked slightly as he spoke. Wholly unaware of how alarmed he was of the feat. Snapping a neck honestly was mostly a matter of overcoming the supportive muscle mass, and frankly with most of the beast's neck muscle having been ripped out, dislocating the spine had been a fairly trivial affair when stomping on it, aided by her body weight and focusing the force onto a single spot on an injured beast? Well alright probably still a bit impressive. But she had no idea how durably mana bests generally were. So she had no frame of reference. All the same, she broke out into a BIG, happy grin as he admitted to his fib. "It's a little cute ya thought I believed it in the first place." She noted fondly at the man, giving him a little hip check before listening to the rest of what he had to say. Though she did raise a brow slightly. " You don't got to worry about that though. Not like I'm hankerin to join up with the Magic Knights or nothin. M'just yer ordinary gerl enjoyin some tourism in the kingdom!" She noted with another big smile, as if a woman of her abilities roving the countryside were the most normal thing ever.
Though as he went on to explain the concern of the mana beasts, she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "You did pretty well for yerself. But ya don't seem all that great at fightin. Sure yer a scout, but scouts are oft the ones gettin closest tae the enemy when you have little information on them. As sech, yer the most likely to find yerself in an unexpected fight agin somethin you have no information on. If ennething I woulda figured you would need ta be just as combat effective fer your job. Ell, you think you would have been able tae get away from this thing if ye'd run into it yourself?" She noted thoughtfully, flipping a card through her fingers thoughtfully. The slip of paper flashing now and then as it transitioned from a card, to fire, to eletricity, to water, and so on, idly shifting the little slip of paper rapidly through different elements like some sort of transmutation mental exercise. Mundane, but still something that made the mental muscles work to keep its shape and such. Though the way she was doing it made it seem more like a tick, like pacing or drumming the fingers, physical and magical busy work to keep her mind juices flowing. "Sounds resonable. Let the town know an all. They'll probably be sendin a couple more a you knights here to investigate this thing I figure. Anythin ya want me to do in the meantime? Ah was plannin on just passin through. But I dunno if you have any other knights nearby who kin keep the place secure till more knights can pop up. After all they had you stationed here an doin this so I assume there ain't nobody too close by." She ventured with her head tilted.
