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.
Ain't it funny?[break] I like being alone,[break] but I hate being lonely.
@posie
[attr="class","lonelytempy"] [break]
[attr="class","lonelyscroll"] So he was back again? [break][break] Vaile kept his head low, a simple black hat was atop his head, hiding most of his silver hair and the brim was enough to cover his crimson eyes if he kept his head down. He kept his mana presence hidden, masking it so no one but a decent enough sensory mage could detect it. [break][break] He kept the collar of his coat up, making it so that no one could truly get a good look at his face by a simple passing glance. [break][break] It was better if he wasn’t recognized. He made sure to go later in the day when the crowd to sign up wouldn’t be as noticeable. Shadows were beginning to grow longer as the afternoon turn to evening. He went to the tent that was in front of the arena, nodded at the attendant who showed him where to sign his name. When he had to show his grimoire, he kept inspection as brief as possible. [break][break] When he picked up the pen, he didn’t sign with his noble name. They would all know who he was when he entered the arena. At least for the moment in this town, in this place, he would have preferred not to let his name be known. [break][break] Why it always had to be Kikka, he didn’t quite know. It seemed the town had recovered well enough, good for them. [break][break] Curse the Daemons that had made their home here. [break][break] Sometimes, he did feel like someone was watching him. Yet as he reached out with his senses, he could only pick up on the presence of a magic knight or two that was stationed around to keep guard, likely watch over the examinees who intended to sign up. He thanked the attendant, and the young woman wished him good luck in his chances for the exam. [break][break] It was only then when he turned around that he did finally understand his uneasiness He had been being watched, but not by something he needed to be on guard about. [break][break]
He saw a small child, hardly four or five years old. She was holding a little doll, dragging it across the stone pavement. She was crying, tears streaming down her face. No one seemed to have taken notice of her. [break][break] She was lost. [break][break] Vaile turned his head away, keeping his gaze downward. He didn’t have to help. Someone else would do it. [break][break] Someone better than him would do it.
[attr="class","posiescroll"] It would appear that a number of unsightly complications presented themselves to the Vermillion name barer, seemingly centered around the myriad of participants that clustered here in Kikka. Though emotional sensing wasn't an magic ability that the noble giant held dominion over, Posie was still rather adept at analyzing the mood of others and knowing how to read the room. What he sensed here was a problematic mixture of ideology, a titanic congregation of mixed nerves, overindulged egos and a skillfully poured cocktail of nonsensical delirium that seemed oozing outward from those who hailed from realms even less important than the commoner's. [break][break] Rolling his eyes, the large six feet and four inch tall man found himself doing his best to ignore the aspect of his nature that forced him to get involved in other people's business. Not wanting to attract any more untoward attention to himself, especially given the fact that he knew he already stood out enough for his sheer stature. Still, he made himself scarce from the heart of the crowd. Choosing not to engage with the livelier participants of the Magic Knight Exams. There were a few individuals of note here, but he couldn't quite place his finger on what made them stand out in his mind. He had always been an observant brute. Even if he did prefer to isolate himself often. [break][break] Unfortunately, isolation was not in the cards this early on. It appeared as though one of his soft spots had seemingly been conjured up from the murk and mire, bringing forth a small innocent that seemed distraught. Children were one of few things that mattered enough to be active for within the examinee's purview. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he had so many younger siblings of his own, which he had neglected oft enough to not have any reasonably genuine relationship with. Not even to the point of speaking when passing in the halls or bantering after long days of training. His siblings were foreigners to him, mysteries that he lacked the willpower to unravel. [break][break] With a deep sigh, the golden hues of Posie's eyes looked over the small girl, grasping at straws from her body language and her behavior. She may have seemed distressed, but she was watching... something. Someone. He tracked her line of sight to a man who seemed to shy away from the youth's gaze. It was strange... but the mastodon of magic could have sworn that there wasn't a person right there. There couldn't be... he lacked mana... he lacked a presence. Still, he managed to see him somehow. All due to this child. Figuring that it was a parent abandoning their child, he hung his head low before making his way over towards the silver haired fox. Raising his head up a bit as he looked the man over more thoroughly. [break][break] "Pardon the interruption. Uh. Hmm. Are you... with that little girl? She keeps staring at you..." He hated forcing conversation, but this was a matter of importance.
[attr="class","posiesummary"]Combat Summary
[break]
[attr="class","posiescroll2"] TL;DR It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for 'lorem ipsum' will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like). [break][break] Spells Spell spell spell
Ain't it funny?[break] I like being alone,[break] but I hate being lonely.
@posie
[attr="class","lonelytempy"] [break]
[attr="class","lonelyscroll"] "Pardon the interruption.” [break][break] He felt the young man before he saw him. [break][break] He knew it was young, and he knew it was likely another junior mage throwing their hat into the Magic Knight exams for the sake of it. The youth didn’t do anything to mask their presence of magic at all. It felt warm as it approached him. [break][break] Vaile turned his head, but his crimson eyes didn’t meet the other. He kept his muted surprised well hidden, noticing how tall the youth was. The shadow mage’s gaze met where the young man was motioning, towards that little girl who had taken an interest in the silverette. [break][break] Hidden from view, Vaile could feel his right hand curl into a tighter fist. He quelled darker thoughts, knowing that this youth probably was just like so many others. [break][break] He was a young mage trying to prove themselves, do the right thing, so on and so forth. He knew the type too well. [break][break] “No.” Vaile answered abruptly, sighing a little. Finally, he focused his senses on the little girl herself. Her own magic was barely even there. It felt light, airy. She would likely grow up to be a wind mage of mediocre, commoner regard. [break][break] And so, he reached out with his senses again, searching for a presence of mana that was similar to the little girl’s. While not always true, it was more common to see that family members had similar magic. Parents and children. Siblings and cousins. Brothers and sisters. It took him a moment, but he did find a few mana signatures that were like the girl’s, but only one of them seemed to be moving through the crowds at a more rapid rate than the rest. [break][break] “The parent should be over that way,” Vaile pointed down the southern path, further away from the entrance of the stadium and more into the somewhat busier streets of the town. [break][break] “If you feel inclined to help her.”
[attr="class","posiescroll"] Posie wasn't typically the kind of man that resorted to a direct confrontation unless absolutely necessary. He wasn't a coward by any means, he merely valued fighting at a distance. This allowed him to have a different set of approaches to most scenarios. He didn't know much about this stranger, however, he was intrigued by the manner in which this clearly shy mage nonchalantly pointed out unique magical signatures from this heavily dense crowd. [break][break] It was more than a mere guess he figured, given the fact that this man didn't have any of the telltale signs of lying on his face. To figure out the precise location of the missing child's guardian was an impressive feat to be sure. That this individual had a great skill in the art of sensory Magic. The moment Posie wasn't able to detect the girl's family but this man could, the variables changed. All logic dictated that the man before him was worthy enough to be his teacher, his master. [break][break] Perhaps he did have a bit of the old Vermillion blood in him somewhere. [break][break] The young ogre crossed his arms over each other just underneath his pectorals. He'd take his time before responding to the aloof and elusive looking man. In truth, he was concerned that this new found potential source of good information what's merely throw him to the side without a second thought. Although he didn't often like speaking to strangers, it wasn't hard to see the various benefits of having someone of the skill level give him some information prior to the exam. [break][break] This was his only chance to finally learn something useful from someone that had similar abilities to himself. Granted he was speaking a lot of guesses about the nature of this man. But nothing ever came out of talking to a handsome man. right? It would appear as though he didn't really have a chance to dwell on it; instead he opened his mouth and his deep voice rang out once more. [break][break] "Sorry. Do you think that you could accompany me over towards this location that you're pointing out? It's clear that you have a great understanding of how to send out people. I think that if we work together we will be able to make sure that this young girl is not traumatized from this ordeal. Especially with so many shady characters walking around, I would hate for her to go missing before she can make it back to her family" He would look at the stranger with a serious face doing his best and then attempt to convince the man to help him. [break][break] Granted it might not have worked, but it was a family trait to be a little hardheaded. He had a great deal of confidence that he would be able to convince this man to help him one way or the other. All he had to do was turn on that charm that he was known for. Which… he had never used on a fellow man before, but he figured it was worth a try. [break][break] Or it could make him look like a total asshole.
[attr="class","posiesummary"]Combat Summary
[break]
[attr="class","posiescroll2"] TL;DR It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for 'lorem ipsum' will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like). [break][break] Spells Spell spell spell
Ain't it funny?[break] I like being alone,[break] but I hate being lonely.
@posie
[attr="class","lonelytempy"] [break]
[attr="class","lonelyscroll"] "Sorry." [break][break] Oh. [break][break] That was it. That was the thing about it. Helping someone because it was the right thing to do. Vaile stood still because he was essentially forced to sit through the miniature monologue that the younger mage suddenly decided to give. He knew the constructs of social interaction well enough that it was rude to interrupt someone when they were speaking directly at him. [break][break] Apparently, the youth thought he was some master of sensory magic. [break][break] "I am more capable than most, not as skilled as some…" Vaile admitted in stark response, eyes still avoiding looking at the giant youth directly. As of right now, he was using his skill to be helpful to a child. Who wouldn't do the same if they had the ability? [break][break] He was quietly reminded that he would have done nothing if the youth hadn’t decided that it was his business to be helpful. [break][break] At the very least, he could give it to the kid for being as respectful as one could be in the situation of suddenly finding and oddly admiring a mage who was obviously of a higher caliber than oneself. [break][break] The youth was still right. Without some sense of direction, both he and the child would end up lost together. Vaile held back another sigh, raising his head to look at the face of the other, allowing crimson eyes to be seen just under the brim of his hat. “I can show you the way.” He admonished, still being cautious about his words and how many he revealed. “Hurry, then.” [break][break] Vaile turned toward the child, still looking dumbfounded in the middle of the arena’s main entrance courtyard. Frightened and alone, she still clutched that doll tightly as Vaile approached her carefully. [break][break] Big brown eyes. A shy, demure little fawn. [break][break]
Kneeling in front of her slowly, those doe eyes looked straight into him. A sharper feeling pierced his heart, almost making him groan in pain, but he held it in with a deep breath. He remained most visibly calm, despite the racing of his heart. [break][break] He blinked once. [break][break] It was dark in Kikka. A world of darkness had swallowed all sun and hope. Hans was kneeling in front of him, cradling a lifeless body, desperately throwing a healing spell onto it. But Vaile knew, they all knew… The shadow mage felt his stomach fall to the ground. Every breath he took shook his body to shambles. He felt dirty. He felt sick. He had made a mistake. [break][break] It had been his fault. [break][break] That child was-- [break][break] He blinked again. Crimson eyes returned to the present day while evening shadows grew longer on the stone pavement. Doe eyes still looked at him, saying nothing, but silence spoke so much more. [break][break] Vaile lifted a hand, and shadows stretched out from his sleeve. His fingers curled through tendrils of shadow before curling and forming into a crescent shape. The little girl looked intently, fascinated by how the black mana shaped in his hand. The little shadow bird shook out as if it had just taken a bath. [break][break] There was a giggle. Doe eyes had laughed. Vaile’s little bird flew out from his hand, shadow feather falling from its wings. [break][break] “He’s lost.” Vaile said suddenly. “Like you.” [break][break] The girl turned back to the silverette, lips turning to pout. “I-I’m not lost.” [break][break] “Then where’s your mother?” Vaile countered. [break][break]
And that seemed to stump the girl enough to elicit a look of worry so severe she seemed just about to cry. And through those pursed, pouted lips, he did hear a mumbled ’I don’t know’. [break][break] Perhaps Vaile saw his misstep, and he looked away in odd reprehension. [break][break] Where was that odd two-toned youth anyway? Wasn’t he the one who wanted to help the kid?