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]It was a dreary day in the Forsaken Region; the sort that most might actually picture when they hear the name of this particular part of the Clover Kingdom. Such weather had persisted for several days now, with it having finally stopped raining earlier today.
Normally, this would be the sort of weather that Cyrus would enjoy using to take the opportunity to get some reading done; it was always so relaxing, in his opinion, shortly after and before a big storm. But instead, on this day, he was currently racing across the sky of the Forsaken Region on his Gauya Eye golem, thankfully protected from the bitter wind by his usual modest clothing and Golden Dawn mantle.
Cyrus was not alone as he flew, however, being accompanied by the Captain of his Magic Knight squad himself. And as they cut through the air, his thoughts went back to the day before, when this excursion had first been set in motion.
The day before, Cyrus had been patrolling the Forsaken Region. Given his family's home was located in the area, and the recent events preparing for the approaching conflict with the arch-daemons, it only seemed fitting for the sap wizard to take up scouring the lands for any signs of suspicious behavior or happenings.
He had been keeping to these patrols whenever possible lately, and so had gotten into a pattern of sorts for how he searched the region. But as the storm approached during this particular patrol, he decided to go ahead and head back to the family estate to make sure that everything was prepared to weather the storm.
And as fate would have it, this change from his usual routine had proven quite fruitful.
Not wanting to be struck by lightning once the storm began, Cyrus chose to fly lower than usual, keeping close to the ground. But as he flew, both he and his trusty Scout golem sensed something amiss; an unfamiliar presence, which was especially odd given how remote the Elwood estate was.
Cyrus had called out to the presence, urging them to reveal themselves, while also stalling so that his golem could pinpoint their location. As luck would have it, realizing that they had been discovered had frozen the person's legs, and it was a simple manner to expose and restrain them with Cyrus' Restraining magic.
"Who are you?" He had demanded of the stranger once his illusion was dispelled. "Why are you skulking about near the Elwood estate? As Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn, I would strongly advise against trying to lie to me."
The realization of who he was up against encouraged the man to surrender, though he was still quite reluctant to talk. "I-I didn't mean any harm, good sir knight! I was merely delivering a message!" He had assured his captor.
Cyrus demanded he hand over the letter, but while the man was stuttering about how he was supposed to give it directly to the elder of the Elwood family, Garret Elwood, Hama quietly emerged from her partner's grimoire and snatched the unmarked envelope from his hand before he had time to realize what was happening.
Cyrus opened the envelope to read the message inside whilst his golem kept its singular eye on their quarry in case he got any sort of funny ideas. The Vice Captain's own eyes narrowed as he read, and after rereading it once he stowed the letter away in his bag.
"I'm afraid that you'll be coming with me to the Golden Dawn Headquarters, sir. I have some questions that I need answered and would like to get the opinion of my squad's Captain, Zaven." He had told the man, ushering him onto the sap creature; it didn't require much convincing on his part, the man thoroughly frightened of the almost unnervingly polite and civil man taking him into custody. Though the mention of Zaven in particular seemed to freeze him in place for a moment.
And off they flew to the Royal Capital.
Cyrus had the man, whose name he learned was Erston Willet during the flight, locked in a holding cell once they had arrived at their destination, and immediately contacted Zaven about the suspicious character he had apprehended.
Cyrus brought the message and envelope to his Captain in his office, placing it on the desk. "The envelope isn't marked with any seal or anything. But the sender... just take a look for yourself." He would explain as the Shadow of the Dawn read it himself.
Garret
This message has hopefully found your hands and eyes only...if it has not then well, I can only assume your brat has made more discoveries to further inconvenience me. There is a point to this correspondence and that is unfortunately your brat is connecting dots while patrolling the Forsaken Region and is getting close to our...shared interests and also the site where the girl...I believe her name was Magdalene is being held. Find something to steer him in another direction so that I can move our interests to another location, if this is not done soon...I will ensure that I see that your family is ruined from the inside out, do not forget that Zaven Blake is the captain of the Golden Dawn and there are ways to get to you.
I must cut this little warning short because I have found the target that we have been searching for...after many months of hunting her down I will have answers for my own questions and will become the head of the Blake family once more and we can share the wealth of MY findings.
Do not fail me -R. Blake
Rolin. There was no other name Cyrus could think of that it could be, given the situation. Zaven's father had been in contact with the Elwood family's head, and from the sounds of things had been for quite some time. He thought about the contents of the message over and over in his head, wondering at what all it could mean. What were their shared interests? Who was Rolin looking for? And who was this "Magdalene" character he mentioned? Hopefully they would find answers once they reached this bunker.
The messenger had tried to be stubborn about revealing the location of the facility he had come from, but between the Captain and Vice Captain he couldn't hold his tongue for long.
All Cyrus knew for certain was that he was going to have a very long chat with Garret, once he got back to the Elwood Estate.
"It should be just up ahead!" Cyrus called out to Zaven, scanning the ground below for signs of the structure. He had flown around this area plenty of times, so the fact that he had missed it means it must have been hidden pretty well.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Zaven was looking over the axe from his adventure many months ago in the desert, writing the runes down and trying to transcribe them as best as he could when there was the feeling of Cyrus approaching. The Golden Dawn captain waited for him to enter, but had already put the weapon away as the vice captain tossed the letter down on the desk and spoke to him, telling him what was going on as Zaven opened the letter and read it. After he did so once, he scanned through it again, then again as he sighed and stood up, folding the letter back and sliding it into the envelope he looked at the noble knight that stood in front of him. ”Looks like we will have to take a look, our fates are ever so woven together as usual Cyrus. Please lead the way.” Zaven said as he motioned towards the door, the captain of the Golden Dawn had already readied his weapon and grabbed his coat, ready to follow his vice captain to hell if it needed to happen...why was his father wrapped up in this conspiracy and why was it that the Elwood family seemed to be joined at the hip to the Blakes? [break][break]
As they arrived over the area where the specified building was Zaven had reached out with his sensory skills to try and feel for any sort of mana signature that would link his family to this place and he felt as if he had never done this before as the world seemed even more vibrant than before...he must have finally had a breakthrough. He looked around and took in a deep breath as he focused on the mana signatures in the area, soon he found the exact signature he needed...much like his own and he pointed to a large concentration of it...he broke through an illusion. ”The reason you had not seen it was because of some sort of strong illusion, and I was finally able to break through it. Lets descend, do not worry about the canopy...it does not exist.” He said as he finally began to go lower into the trees, finally entering the space that was covered by an illusion. They were FAR away from any allied territory so the only thing that was keeping the two mages safe...was each other.
[attr=class,cyrustext]The remark Zaven made about their fates being intertwined once again gave the young a curious thought, wondering why exactly that seemed to be the case so often. One or two instances of their destinies intermingling could be dismissed as nothing more than mere coincidence; one could even say it would be expected, given their connection through the Golden Dawn.
But now? Now it wasn't just the two of them; now, as it turned out, their own families were also connected somehow. Never before had Cyrus heard Garret or anybody else in the Elwood family so much as mention some sort of relationship to the Blakes, and yet here they were investigating the communications between two, now former, family heads.
Zaven managed to pierce the illusion concealing the facility they had been searching for, guiding his Vice Captain to land beneath the false canopy shroud. Cyrus got off of his golem but kept it summoned, just in case there was some sort of trouble; they had no idea just what was waiting for them here. But there was only one way to find out.
Cyrus stepped forward, approaching the building to get a better look at it. The structure resembled a bunker; the sort one might build as a refuge from war or the like. It was clearly old, but there had also obviously been care put into maintaining it; the path to the entrance was narrow, but well worn, and he could see patches in the walls that were definitely newer than what surrounded them.
As he approached the front, he reached out with his Ki senses. Nothing clearly seemed to be amiss immediately, though a glance back at his Gauya Eye told him otherwise; it sensed something, and communicated as much to him. "Well, there's definitely something here." He noted to Zaven once he knew what the golem was telling him.
Cyrus looked at the door itself, and noticed something familiar. There was no handle or obvious opening, but the wall had a distinct pattern of lines carved into the surface. "This is like that hidden entrance I found at the Elwood estate, after I captured that courier." He reported to the Captain, feeling along the grooves for a certain... there it is.
Cyrus' finger dipped into one part of the carving that was deeper than the others, covered by a tiny illusion not unlike the one concealing the bunker itself. "If this works like the one back home, then all I need to do is..."
Cyrus pulled out his grimoire, and a thread of sap emerged from it before flowing into the concealed whole. For a few seconds it continued to flow, until the lines carved into the door began to shine with the familiar orange glow of his magic. A low rumble could be heard as the door seemed to hum to life, slowly sliding down beneath the ground. Cyrus smiled.
"I thought so. It's like a key for a door moving tumblers; the magic poured into the hidden compartment fills the interior of the door, filling in gaps in a broken rune to activate it." He explained, looking into the building. There was a featureless hallway before them, dimly lit by magic lanterns and torches placed sporadically.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Zaven landed first, hoping off of his golem with a single thought on his mind...what the hell was his father messing with? He noticed that Cyrus was also quiet for the moment, the usually talkative vice captain was unusually quiet as they made their way to the building hidden here. He noticed the areas around this small compound that looked as if it was still in working order. As Cyrus told him about what was going on and how it reminded him of another similar place at his estate Zaven was beginning to put things together. He remembered his father had a few “houses” he kept for training and to keep his own projects hidden from the public eye, it would make sense for him to have accomplices. [break][break]
As the sap began to activate the lock on the door Zaven was half tempted to just blow the door away just to get to the bottom of whatever this little project was. ”It seems that way, perhaps there will also be a point where shadow mana is going to be needed. The answers for all our questions hopefully lies inside. I hope you are ready?” Zaven asked him as he waited for the door to swing open, or perhaps it was all a trap and they would now have to fight their way into or out of that area they now found themselves in. Either way, Zaven was ready to face whatever challenge that was before him.
[attr=class,cyrustext]At the question of if he was ready to continue onward, Cyrus nodded, though truthfully he was not so certain. While he had always felt that Garrett was a secretive sort and rather sketchy, seeing evidence of just how deep his shadow was had proven to be something of an eyeopener for the youth. What could possibly lie in wait for them within the facility, that had been so important as to be hidden so thoroughly?
Well, they weren't going to find any answers just standing around outside the bunker. And with that thought in mind, Cyrus took the first step inside.
Immediately what struck him was the very air about them; though the walls were decorated with lit sconces, it felt unnaturally could. Like a deep cave, or a tomb. Certainly not the way one would expect a place that saw fairly regular use to feel. Perhaps there were goods or devices here that required a low temperature in order to function? Already his head buzzed with questions, but he knew that they were not the right ones for the moment; his curiosity about the temperature could wait.
Cyrus kept his grimoire at the ready in case of traps or some form of resistance, but so far the structure seemed all but dead. No tripwires, no magic circles, he couldn't even detect any beasts around... and yet.
"... Zaven, do you feel that?" He asked, looking back at the Captain. "It's only faint to me, but I can feel something on the edge of my Ki senses' range; just a single... no, two or three signatures. I think that it's people. Two are together, one's a little farther away."
He looked onward as they came to what seemed to be a relatively small lab of some sort, with shelves lined with documents and books with papers strewn about the table in the room's center. Each of the room's walls had a door, no doubt leading further into the respective wings of the facility.Cyrus picked up one of the torches from the wall and held it up to one of the signs to better read it in the dim light. "Holding Cells..." He read out loud.
It was then that Hama chose to emerge, taking a look around the room herself. Seeing her friend checking out one of the hallways' signs, she took it upon herself to investigate another. The eastern wall's sign was illuminated by the soft glow she gave off, crossing her arms and tilting her head as she read. "This one over here says 'Surveillance'." She reported. "Which way were those signatures you sensed?"
Cyrus pointed to both the doors they had read so far. "The surveillance area seems to be where two of the signatures were. But the lone one is in the... Holding Cells area." He answered back. The spirit hummed thoughtfully. "Well if there's people here and they're in the surveillance room, why hasn't anything happened to use yet?"
Cyrus shook his head, uncertain. "I don't know. It could be that they're waiting for a moment to take action. Or possibly only meant to observe." He looked down the hall he had walked to. "Or... maybe it's not intruders they're supposed to be watching for."
Hama frowned, then looked over at Zaven. "Can you see what the third door says?" She asked him.
[attr="class,cyrusstats]Stats & Information
WC: 0558 | TWC: 2237
[attr="class,cyrusstats]
Mana Skin
24/24
Health
18/18
Mana
455/455
Movement Speed
05
Damage Taken
00
Healing Recieved
00
Mana Used
00
Mana Regen
00
[attr="class,cyrusstats] Combat Notes N/A
Items On Hand Magic Knight's Mantle Scorpion's Eclipse Strength of a Nation Puppeteer of the Current
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Zaven kept to himself more than usual, his demeanor leaning more towards a cautious and apprehensive approach as he knew that if his family was involved with whatever was going on here…it was likely to be something very bad indeed. Once Cyrus opened the door and stepped inside, it was easy to see that the place was maintained very well…so much so that Zaven had determined that this place might have someone still inside. He spread out his mana and began to sense his surroundings. The place was massively alive with mana and the environment had a taste…of bloodlust and he sneered as he knew that this meant death was near. The air was thin and as they walked through, Zaven was keen to get this done…he removed his lava axe and held it in his right hand as he examined the area with his Vice Captain. That was when he felt three beings ahead of them and Cyrus of course felt it as well using his ki, calling out to Zaven as the Shadow of Dawn kept looking ahead. ”Yes I feel it…Cyrus keep your head down, this is feeling more and more like a trap.” He said as he scanned the corridor with a heavy hand, ready to bring the judgment with his weapon. [break][break]
That is when Cyrus and Hama split up and began to look through the corridor at the various rooms and different areas. Zaven walked past them all as he moved to intercept anything that may just pop up. However he heard the words of Cyrus and Hama as they revealed that they had found holding cells and surveillance rooms…Zaven opened the door to a room and there on a stone table…lay a body, not just any body either…this cadaver was that small child…he looked at the walls and he felt a pang at his chest…his eye twitched as he did not know if it was the scar or his own heart, but regardless the Shadow of Dawn was…disgusted by his discovery and he wanted to set fire to the entire place. ”I found…the experimentation rooms. Please…do not come near here Cyrus…” He said as even Hraban, having a link to his partner and felt those feelings…only amplified the feelings more. His heart was beating in his throat as his mouth became dry. ”This place is evil Cyrus…whatever our families have dug into here…it is something…more than just a crime.” He said as he growled.
