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.
It had been a little over a month since the Wizard King Jagen Lavender had made a dire announcement, one that had caught many off guard. In this announcement, he had told everyone something that he was holding close to his chest, the true identity of who the witch queen was. The daemoness Lilith. He also informed everyone that she wasn't alone, there were two others Aemon the bloodsoaked daemon champion and Asmodeus, the daemon who had been the cause for the shattering. In this announcement, he had informed everyone he was calling for the royal knights to be assembled and had chosen three captains. These captains were former Crimson Lion vice-captain Lydia Ravencrest, Crimson Lion captain Ardere Kasai and Golden Dawn Captain Zaven Blake. It was soon after this announcement was given that the Royal Knight exams had happened and the three captains were able to choose their teams based on the best candidates for the daemon they would be fighting.
While they were preparing and training, life in the kingdom continued to move forward, it wasn't as if it could stop after all. Due to the daemonic threat and what had happened when the Royal Capital, Raque and moreover Kikka there was uneasiness within the populace. No one could blame them for having their faiths shaken and in some cases shattered with what they had been through when it came to the magic knights. They had done their best fighting enemies that came out of nowhere and they had no information on, but there were many that were just plain angry with how some things were handled. Two weeks after the Royal Knight exams came to an end, in the hopes to recruit more into their ranks and to put people's minds at ease the Magic Knight exams were called.
Jagen and his advisor Samson were in constant meetings with the three Royal Knight captains so everyone was on the same page and as much information was given as possible. They themselves were on high alert and because of this were strategising the best they could while doing their duty to the kingdom and the crown. This meant they couldn't be there on the day the exams started, it was uncommon but being the senior archivist of the Wizard King's office the blonde-haired Ravencrest made his way to Kikka in Jagen's stead. This way he could get a play by play of what was going on. Jagen after all had made a specialized dungeon for the examinee's to do, the dungeon was more about choice and morales over physical power. A true way to make sure the sins of the past wouldn't be repeated.
Getting to the spectator's box normally reserved for Jagen and Samson when they attended. He fixed the black blazer of his suit as he looked over those in attendance. Taking a breath he pushed up his glasses. "I realize this is not quite conventional, but, as you are all aware we are facing a threat like no other. The Wizard King Jagen Lavender and his advisor Samson are doing their best to make sure those facing that threat have all the information they need to succeed and so can not be here today. They have sent me in their stead to inform you all, that all is well. Soon enough the captains will make their speeches to those hoping to become magic knights, please put your hearts and minds at ease knowing that soon we will see the future strength of Clover revealed before our eyes." His voice was strong and held authority as he spoke. With that, he would take a seat watching what was about to unfold before everyone's eyes.
Venturing out of the trial of attrition, Griswold had noticed that he was the first to make his way through, meaning the others had either run into trouble along the way, needed more time when it came to figuring out the proper solutions to the puzzle rooms, or were simply content with taking their time going through each of the individual rooms so as to not make any mistakes by rushing. It was a fair means of going about it, especially because the thing one might consider the “treasure” at the end of the dungeon being a spot on one of the magic squads of the clover kingdom. In spite of how quickly he had gone about it himself, he too had encountered a bit of trouble along the way, even though that trouble wasn’t exactly due to the dungeon itself but due to the person that was supposed to work with him, but turned out to just be another hurdle for him to pass.
By now, he imagined the guy was being collected by the magic knights in charge of such things so they could patch him up after the damage he had taken from Griswold, as well as the damage he had inflicted upon himself by fighting like a jackass and getting stabbed by a monster before stabbing himself through the shoulder and causing quite the serious wound in the process. Hopefully, the other groups that were currently going through the motions would not have to deal with such issues among themselves, and would be able to make their way out through their own merit. Once he made his way out, there was one person whom Griswold wanted to challenge to a spar, and that was Hans. After the dungeon the two had finished, Griswold had received quite a few pointers when it came to wielding a sword properly, and had managed to further master his spells quite a bit.
After parting ways and going in their own separate directions, Griswold had kept training for these exams and the inevitable fight against the archdemons that would take place not long after a new batch of magic knights was chosen. Making use of the opportunity to watch some of the other people going through their trials, he watched the one where Hans, Verena and someone he did not know ventured into the room with the sarcophagi. Remembering quite well how his own experience in that room had gone, he wondered how the three of them were going to be making their way out of it, and if their encounter would be any different from his own. Because they were all higher ranking mages, it made sense that the threat level might have been turned up a few notches, or that their puzzle would be harder to complete. Regardless, it was something he would be keeping an eye on as their group had the guy in it that he wanted to spar.
While he knew he had no chance of breaching his defenses, he at least possessed a level of fire power that would make it hard for the guy to land any blows on him in return, which should at the very least make for a reasonably interesting bout. Looking around, it seemed that several people had barely even gotten into their trials at all, though one other group had at least begun making some progress, this being the one in which he at least recognized two people. One of them being someone he had first met in a dungeon, and did not exactly think too highly of, in spite of the fact that he had managed to also become a royal knight, and the other being the girl he had tried showing the ropes of what it meant to be a magic knight by killing a bunch of goblins, fighting some pirates and killing some kraken out at sea. Though not exactly comparable, it seemed their team also ran into a bit of trouble among themselves, and that one of them was an extremely self-absorbed noble.
As they had passed through the room that had them facing their fears and now put them into the one where they’d need to fight a bunch of shades, he’d also be doing his best to keep track of their progress. While he did so, he wondered if there were going to be any others that took an interest in this kind of thing, as he would probably be able to watch some spars from here as well. And that kind of thing was always interesting.
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Last Edit: Jul 13, 2021 14:52:35 GMT -5 by Griswold
Post by Alva Vermillion on Jul 22, 2021 17:23:10 GMT -5
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[attr="class","bslmarg"]what a weird BUBBLE[break]
[attr="class","bsltmarg"]we live in.
[attr="class","bsbody"]Young mage was rushing through the streets of the Royal Capital, excited to start a new day full of adventures. He was however even more excited that he gets to spectate the Magic Knights trials as he did since his early childhood. It was a tradition that his father would take him to watch as young mages showed their abilities in order to prove their worth to the captains. Not long ago, Alva was at that place and he remembered both of his parents cheering respectfully from the spectator seats. “I am late, I am late!” He shouted while rushing the streets and occasionally hitting people. He always made sure to loudly apologize, but he didn’t stop – he was in fact really late. This will be the first year he attends to the exams alone, because his father was on a mission of some sort. Alva didn’t really know what kind of mission it was; he also didn’t really care - he was just a little annoyed that his dad planned mission just during this time. It was obvious that the Clover Kingdom was in disturbing times, and mission could have been important so Alva didn’t really make any scene but held his grudges silently. He was ready to exaggerate every moment of the exams when he would be talking to his father about it.
[attr="class","bsbody"]When Alva finally arrived to the spectator´s zone, the amount of people was overwhelming. “Wow I think there are even more people than during my exams!” He was excited and started looking for a right place to have the best view. Eventually he sat next to a woman and two children, who were very loud but also really cheerful and young mage enjoyed that. When the Wizard King didn’t make an appearance Alva was a little surprised. “Well, he did show up at my exams.” He said smiling to the children next to him, it didn’t even seem like they would be interested in that knowledge. He was mostly just bragging, however a part of him wanted to lighten the mood as everyone around him seemed a little shocked that Jagen Lavender would not appear. Situation regarding recent events was probably more serious than Alva anticipated. This wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying the exams anyway!
[attr="class","bsbody"]Watching the eventful exams very closely, young mage was really enjoying himself. “That guy is so cool!” He shouted when Echo was showing off his light magic. Alva never really thought about how cool the light is, as it wasn’t very common type of magic. Many more mages presented themselves in a very interesting manners. Some really interested him, which he obviously made sure to announce to the kids sitting next to him. He then tried to remember what his solo presentation was like, but the memory was a little vague. There were some exploding bubbles for sure. Alva really enjoyed himself and was also a little happy that he would not have to exaggerate the stories he will be telling his father later on, as these mages were indeed spectacular.
[attr="class","bsbody"]Once the sparring part began, Alva had really clear memory of his one. He remembered his opponent, not by name but his abilities. It was a girl with very impressive wind magic. “I actually haven’t seen her since, hopefully she made it into one of the squads.” He was again speaking to the kids, who by now didn’t really seem to be listening as the scenery was getting quite dramatic. When Echo was fighting Sol was one of the few moments Alva wasn’t commenting on anything nor smiling. “That guy is a jerk.” He then stated as he listened how cruel Echo was towards Sol. It made him feel a little uncomfortable and when it looked like he was going to seriously damage pierce Sol´s eye he had to close his eyes. He was just not ready to witness this bloodbath. The whole arena was quiet and that was a sign for Alva to open his eyes. To his surprise, Lydia Ravencrest intervened and he started smiling again. “Nice! You know kids, she is from my squad.” This was probably the first thing he said to them that resonated. As the guards escorted Echo the whole atmosphere was starting to calm down.
[attr="class","bsbody"] The exams continued, like nothing happened and probably nothing did. It was obvious that Echo would not be a part of Magic Knights and Alva wouldn’t be surprised if he got arrested. During the dungeon part Alva was a little lost, as the magic projections were confusing him. He really enjoyed watching those groups of participants collaborating and dealing with the traps the Wizard King would prepare for them. “Ooh, I want to do a real dungeon so bad now!” During his own exams he didn’t exactly excel at the dungeon part, what saved him was that he had great sensory abilities which rest of his teammates lacked. It was nevertheless fun experience and it got Alva just more excited to explore a true dungeon. His eyes were mostly focusing on the team of Griswold and Echo, as he was really curious how that was going to turn out. To his surprise, his teammate was very strong and Alva was cheering for him. It was really fun watching them figuring out all the floors and a lot of their tactics gave Alva new ideas that he would later try to use.
[attr="class","bsbody"]Once they were about to finish, Griswold actually attacked Echo. That was a shock, Alva always thought that exams were supposed to be friendly with a healthy competitive spirit, but that was maybe just his case. He was feeling a little guilty, as he actually enjoyed Echo being beaten up even though it wasn’t a nice thing to do to your teammates. Well, that was one group, the other groups were also doing good it was just visible that both Echo and Griswold were far more experienced than the rest. Alva completely forgot that people could try to join the Magic Knights at any age, but usually they would do that after acquiring their grimoire and training for a little while, at least that was Alva´s case. Once Griswold left the dungeon and actually joined the spectators Alva didn’t hesitate and stood up and went straight towards him. “Great job! I am sure you will make it.” He said cheerfully before leaving and returning back to his seat next to the kids.
[attr="class","bsbody"]TLDR: Came, was amazed excited and commented on what was happening. In the end came to Griswold and praised him.
[attr="class","florencetext"] Lydia had just made her way back up to the stands after dealing with a dumbass who tried to blind his opponent in a spar and then tried to place the blame on the magic knights instead of himself. It was honestly pathetic on his half and annoyed Lydia more than he already had. After all, she was at the exams to watch fights not step in the middle of one but, of course, she was a magic knight and her job was to protect people. So that meant if someone was going to get maimed she needed to step in. After all, it was no secret that the head of the Ravencrest family was the fastest mage in the kingdom. She chose to walk back instead of flying back into the stands as to not block anyone's view of the exams with her wings. She would then spot Griswold who had already finished the exams which wasn't a surprise to her. Lydia hadn't actually spoken with them since the one time she killed the crazy woman that was trying to kill him. [break][break] She also noticed another Azure Deer mage who was named Alva if she was remembering correctly. However as far as she could remember they'd never spoken before. She was able to hear what the younger azure deer mage said thanks to her animal-like hearing. She would waste no time walking over to the two of them. Well compared to other dungeons and the such he's done that one was more than likely no problem for him. It's unfortunate that he teamed with that kid for it. Lydia's attention would then turn to Griswold. It's been a while since we last spoke Griswold. If you don't mind me asking what are you hoping to achieve by joining the knights again? After all, you already protect the people of clover without being a knight and you don't strike me as the type to do it for money. So sure there is another reason?
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[attr="class","florencelabel"] pow
[attr="class","florencelabel"] dur
[attr="class","florencelabel"] sta
[attr="class","florencelabel"] sen
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[attr="class","florencelabel"] speed
[attr="class","florencetag"]240
[attr="class","florencetag"]0
[attr="class","florencetag"]160
[attr="class","florencetag"]180
[attr="class","florencetag"]150
[attr="class","florencetag"]30 m/s
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[attr="class","florencelabel"] mana skin
[attr="class","florencelabel"] health
[attr="class","florencelabel"] mana regen
[attr="class","florencelabel"] mana pool
[attr="class","florencetag"]archmage
[attr="class","florencetag"]archmage
[attr="class","florencetag"]70 ic // 85 ooc
[attr="class","florencetag"]495/495
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[attr="class","florencextra"]COMBAT SUMMARY
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[attr="class","florencetext2"]You can put spells and whatever here idk [break][break] Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum. [break][break]
Being approached by someone he did not actually know personally, Griswold imagined that this was only natural as he had been one of the people competing to become a member of a magic squad. Judging by appearance, the guy was a member of the Azure Deer, which was a squad of people he had not exactly worked with a whole lot yet. Whether they were busy in regions other than the ones he had been working in, or simply got assigned to the kind of jobs he himself did not take up a lot, he could honestly say that he really did not know a whole lot about what they did in general. Though truth be told, the same could be said about the vast majority of the magic squads, even of the one he had been part of himself for a few months. In the end, it all came down to people wanting to do what was in the best interest of the country and doing whatever kinds of missions were thrown their way, so knowing the specifics of each magic squad had never been something Griswold could be bothered with.
“Thank you, I appreciate the sentiment. And to be honest, I hope so too, even though my little outburst may have made things a bit tricky for me. My apologies for that by the way, I would have preferred it if people wouldn’t have been forced to see all that.”
While he was in no way regretting what he had happened to Echo, he did regret that the people in the stands had to witness it. Violence was often something that was frowned upon, especially among people that might one day have to work together on the same team towards the same goals. But in this case, there was no way for him to hold that violence back, not after all that had been said and done during the tower of quinteps and the trial of attrition itself. Just because someone wanted to supposedly better themselves did not mean that they could just pretend the past had never happened and that those they had wronged would just forget. By the time he noticed that his former vice captain had also taken to the stands and approached them, he wondered how much of she had seen and heard. Judging by what she said, it seemed that she had managed to hear about some of his exploits, and even mentioned that it was a shame that he had been teamed up with Echo.
“Yeah, teaming with him was… unfortunate. We already had a history prior to this dungeon, which I imagine may or may not have become clear throughout the trials. I had hoped I would have been able to better contain myself, though there came a point where the mockery and the threats reached a point where I’d have much rather gotten rid of him entirely. Especially once he threatened both me and the peasants as a whole.”
Having gotten used to the guy threatening him, it was something he had gotten used to in the more general sense as a wandering mercenary who worked for the benefit of the commoners and peasants of this land. And when helping those who couldn’t really help themselves, it was not all that uncommon to have to deal with people threatening to slit his throat when he slept, claiming they’d have him stabbed in the back when he least expected it, that he shouldn’t feel too comfortable in a crowded street and more. But as far as threats went, as long as they were aimed at him specifically, it was something he could deal with without too much of a hassle. However, once they were made towards a group of people as a whole, people that had nothing to do with the actual issue or argument, that was where his restraint was forced to take a seat in the back and watch as things went down.
Now that it had happened, there was no way to take back the abuse the man had suffered because of his own actions, as well as Griswold’s magic. And truth be told, he was not ashamed of it for a second, as he imagined any good magic knight would have taken action once someone threatened the wellbeing of those that already had a much tougher life than others in this country. Had they been anywhere else, there was even a chance Griswold would have outright killed the guy and reduce his body to ash, just to make sure he would never be able to act upon his threats. The forsaken realm was a massive place after all, and because people were living as scattered as they were, there was no way to properly look after all of them at the same time. So while it might not have been the honorable thing to do, it was something he would have been able to live with.
So when the question came as to why he had bothered to try and become a magic knight, the answer was relatively simple. Or rather, it wasn’t a simple thing to answer because it was bound to rub some people the wrong way, and it had taken him quite some time to properly figure it out for himself at the time, though the past months had made it clear that it was still something he should strive towards regardless of the outcome.
“During my time away from the magic knights and the royal capital, I’ve been hard at work in the forsaken realm, as well as the common realm and the fringe from time to time. One of the things I saw there was that there are too many peasants living far apart from one another, making it hard to look after them all as this makes them prime targets for man and beast alike. So much so even that I’ve had far more to do as an unaffiliated mercenary than I ever did as a Crimson Lion.”
Taking a momentary break to think about the next portion of his answer, he knew that Lydia had at some point been a high-ranking member of the lions too, meaning there was a chance that she could take offense to his statement. But the matter of the fact remained that he was at times a blunt instrument that preferred speaking the truth in a straightforward manner as opposed to dancing around the issue and sugarcoating it in the process. Not being all that talkative normally, Griswold figured he should do his best to at least provide as much of his reasoning behind his goals as possible. He had to, as straight up claiming that he wanted to become captain of a magic squad out of the blue would just get him ridiculed and laughed at. And seeing as how he was dead serious about the rank he wished to one day rise to and his reasons for wanting to do so, being ridiculed was one of the worst things that could come out of it.
“While I’ve learned a lot during my time as a Lion, I’ve also learned a lot as a wandering merc, which is why my aim now is to hopefully be deemed worth of becoming a Black Bull. With a bit of luck, I can combine what I learn there with what I’ve learned prior to joining to bring about prosperity and safety within the forsaken realm. And the best way to do that is to become captain of one of the two squads tasked with looking after the region.”
While it might have sounded high and mighty, that was not something that would dissuade him from speaking his mind on the matter. Not doubting for a moment that the present captain was doing his best with what he had at his disposal, at times, a fresh wind was needed in order to bring about the positive change the realm wanted to see.
“That is why I have come here today, and that is my “endgame” as some people would put it. So even if my outburst in the trials ended up costing me the right to do so, I’ll just come back next time and try again while continuing to spend my time among the peasants of this land, and atoning where needed.”
[attr=class,cyrustext]Cyrus was seated not far from Griswold, Alva, and Lydia as they spoke, but had been thus far too focused on the exams themselves to really interject in their conversation. He had picked up on the subjects being discussed, however, and certainly had his own opinions about it.
Another reason Cyrus hadn't joined the others, however, was that he was with company. Two young women, one a year his senior and one his junior, each seated on either side of him. To his left was the girl with short brown hair concealed by a simple yellow hood as she watched the proceedings of the exam curiously. This was Zarya, a friend of Cyrus' who was herself a former member of the Magic Knights, having left around the time of the Shatter in order to do research into the incident and other happenings throughout the Clover Kingdom.
On his right was Magdalene Blake, the girl who he had recently taken in after rescuing her from captivity at the hands of her father. The girl's vivid red eyes mainly focused on the action below, but she would also frequently stop to look around them, as if worried their group might be attacked. Her clothes were a simple white dress, accented by a few gold pieces of jewelry and black ribbons in her hair. Cyrus glanced at her as she took another look around them. "Maggie, please try to relax. You don't have to worry, we're fine here." He assured the girl, who quickly turned to look at him once he began to speak. She slowly nodded, but still looked unsure of that herself.
Cyrus looked at Zarya, who hadn't taken her eyes off of the participants. "Well, what do you think of the new prospects?" He asked her. Cyrus had invited her to join he and Magdalene as spectators, since she had expressed an interest in seeing just what the Magic Knights were like after spending so long away from them. She hummed thoughtfully. "The tests this exam are certainly more abstract than when I first joined the Black Bulls." She observed dryly; whether she thought it was a good thing or a bad thing was impossible to tell by her tone.
"They've all got talent, of course. Some moreso than others. Though I can't say I approve of a few of their... mentalities." She continued, speaking in particular about Echo and Jirou.
Hama, who was sitting on the back of the empty seat in front of Cyrus, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, there's a couple of real asses here this time! It's pretty sweet to see those types get put in their place, though!" She noted. In particular, the sap spirit turned to face Griswold and flashed him a clearly approving grin and thumbs up, having loved his interactions with Echo throughout the whole thing.
When Griswold explained to Lydia why he sought to join the Black Bulls in particular, Zarya's ears perked up and she finally turned away from the tests being held. "Well, if nothing else you certainly have the attitude and mindset down. I can't say for what the Black Bulls are like now, but I figure you'd have fit in just fine back when I was a member."
Magdalene turned to look at the group who the two had turned their attention to. In particular her eyes fell on Lydia, and instinctively she shifted her position a bit, putting herself between the unfamiliar woman and Cyrus. The Vice Captain, noticing this, put a hand on her shoulder, and she tensed for a moment at the contact before nodding, returning to her original position. Cyrus waved at the others. "It certainly has been quite the exam. Though to be honest, I don't have much to compare it to since I didn't participate in one myself."
He nodded to Magdalene and Zarya as he spoke to the other group. "This is Zarya and Magdalene, some friends of mine. Good to see you again, Lydia and Griswold. I trust that you've both been well?"
Truthfully, even if it weren't for the chance to see who might become his comrades in the future, Cyrus was glad to have attended this event. Ever since his confrontation with Garret he had been rather busy, since he'd assumed control of the Elwood family. He was in the process of putting together an investigation of sorts, so he appreciated the chance to clear his head of that unpleasantness for at least a little bit.
He then held out a hand for Alva, his usual way of greeting strangers. "Pleasure to meet you; Cyrus Elwood of the Golden Dawn. And this is my partner Hama." He introduced both himself and the spirit, who took her usual seat on his shoulder and waved to the stranger. "Hey hey!" She greeted him casually. Zarya simply gave a small nod for her own greeting, clearly not quite as social as the other two.
Seeing how casually Cyrus was interacting with these people, Magdalene seemed to relax just a little bit. "... Hello." She managed simply, recognizing the name Lydia from stories Cyrus had shared of their previous missions together. "Thank you for all that you have done."
She didn't explain what exactly she was thanking the woman for, but still wasn't really comfortable enough talking to people to try any harder. It was mostly in thanks for protecting the Rising Dawn; she owed him so much, so she could at least show respect to someone who he owed in turn.
Cyrus looked at Griswold next. "More eyes in the Forsaken Region is always appreciated. As a local of the area, having more eyes patrolling the wilds is never a bad thing."
