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.
Another long pull of the fine cigar would be taken by Mania as the final participants to arrive would finally show, signaling the finality of the quest given. Mania would turn his head slightly towards the agent of avarice as they spoke. He was listening intently, wondering just when the big shot of the Eclipse Raven would show. Surely enough, from the shadowed corner of the furthest place in the room, the hooded figure would rise, removing her hood to reveal her snow-white hair and blood-red eyes. She didn't offer a name as she spoke, which was off-putting to Mania. He wasn't sure how he felt being employed and a part of an organization where he didn't know the leader's name, but perhaps later he could get a personal meeting with the mysterious leader and pick her brain some. For now, though, it seemed they all had succeeded in making the cut. Mania's gaze hovered aloft around the room, looking at all the faces of his now newly acquired comrades.
There were quite a few rogues within the bar and as the woman went on to explain there were only two iron-clad rules to follow if one wanted to remain within the good graces of the organization. The first was silence about the operations of the Eclipse Ravens. Under no circumstances were they allowed to mention or discuss anything dealing with the organizations. She made that notion abundantly clear and Mania had no qualms with it. He knew the Eclipse Raven had a far reach and agents in places where the word would probably get back easily to them. The second and final one was about knowing when to cause a commotion and when to operate via subterfuge. Easy enough to follow Mania mused as he exhaled the smoke and sat up in his chair. His hazel eyes never leaving the white-haired woman person. There was a seriousness in her tone, which Mania believed she was quite the stern person and that this organization heavily valued secrecy.
With that said, she made her closing remarks she collected the information that was procured by the rogues before stepping through a spatial portal with the agent of avarice, leaving the bar and the newly joined rogues. Was that it? Mania thought as he blinked slowly and took a final swig of the hard body alcohol. Would she simply summon them again when needed? She didn't state anything really about what the organization wanted or even give them more tasks to complete. Perhaps she would contact them soon with further instructions to be given, but for now, it was done. Mania, now a member of the esteemed Eclipse Raven had felt a sense of belonging. Something that the rogue hadn't experienced since his younger days in the Spade Kingdom where he operated with other cutthroats, but not in an official capacity such as this. It felt good to have a place with allies, at least for now he thought as he took another hard pull of the fine cigar.
A few of the rogues had already taken their leave, but Mania was sure he'd be seeing their familiar faces soon enough when they would be called upon to act on behalf of the Eclipse Ravens. Things were about to get much more interesting for the young rogue, he mused about what awaited him in the future and how he could use the pull of this organization to further his own aimless ambitions. The thought excited Mania as he turned to Jorah.
"Looks like we made the cut, though I am worried Yemir had yet to show. I know she was excited to join, perhaps she had some things to take care of?"
Mania would say, his tone seemed troubled. She wasn't the type of person who didn't see a job done in its entirety. Maybe he would run into the small girl again sometime soon? Mania would even buy her a tall glass of milk, but for now, he simply thought she had her own plans and agenda to tend to. He was hopeful that would be the case, but his troubling psychosis made sure to whisper doubts and plant seeds of discord within Mania's mind. He still thought back to how off and sluggish Yemir had looked towards the end of their mission. Pushing the thoughts aside, Mania would finish off the cigar and rest of the alcohol before standing up.
"Till next time Jorah, I'll be seeing ya soon. If you happen to see Yemir tell her I said to find me. She knows my usual hangout spots."
Turning to face the exit Mania would make a gesture with his hand, waving the gentleman rogue goodbye as he set out. There was still much for the young rogue to do.
[EXIT] Word Count: 799 Total Word Count: 2,019 From Civil Unrest Word Count: 4,050 From Oceans 2 and a Half Total Word Count: 6,069
Post by Jorah Von Shurke on Dec 13, 2021 19:41:38 GMT -5
Jorah sat back as the agent stood up and got the little club meeting started, all the pieces were in place and everyone had their own little cliques that they congregated in. Jorah took a long drag from his cigar as he received the news from the woman that revealed herself. So they were all a part of this group now. He remained quiet as they were all given the usual spiel about not telling anyone about their secret bad man group. He let out a light chuckle as he blew a cloud of smoke, this was a cliche story type of thing and he really did not have an interest in it outside of personal curiosity. Yet he found himself here listening to it all, even finding a small amount of joy in how Echo was treated…that loud young man was liable to get himself and those around him killed.
Still though…it was entertaining.
After the rogues present began to take their leave, Jorah remained. He drank his fill, smoked the cigar, and even ate in contemplative silence. That was soon broken too as Mania decided it was time for him to go. Standing up and stating that Yemir did not make it and that he was even worried caused the elder rogue to glance at the young one. “I think your cause for worry is well placed, but I think it is best to respect the wishes of those that choose not to be here. I will go look for her once this is all through, do not worry.” He said as he put the cigar out on the table, neglecting the dirty crystal ashtray. When Mania stood up and bid Jorah adieu and Jorah would likewise hold his glass in a salute to the fledgling rogue as a sign of respect and goodbye before he finished the glass. “Till next time.” He would say with a smile as the rogue left his side as well. He kept to himself, not bothering to look around the room any longer as he just continued to order drinks for a time. It was difficult for the man in his forties to become drunk off of this alcohol yet he was getting a buzz that seemed to suit him well and as the band decided to get up and play…Jorah listened in as he reveled in the ecstasy of a job done right and with that…he was at least…stable…for now.
He took his leave sometime before the bar closed, telling them to put the drinks on his tab, leaving a few yul for the food and the cigar before walking out. By the time he left he was now seen as somewhat of a big fish in a small pond as it were.
He simply needed to swim to a bigger area.
He made it back to the inn and retired for the night, going to the desk where the stationary he ordered was kept and began to write a series of letters.
”To Whom it may concern…
IF you are reading this, then you are one of the few that know of who I am. Congratulations on this and I hope you are well. From my understanding the orphanage is doing well even though it has been investigated. That is fine, I Jorah Von Schurke of sound mind and body bequeath my estate to the ever so noble and beautiful Isabelle Steim. She will see to it that the children are taken care of and treated as humans rather than outcasts. My troubles will continue and without a doubt I will find myself in increasingly…criminally recognized acts of justice against the people of this kingdom. I do not think of myself as a hero, but I am most certainly not the villain. I will be sending three identical letters. One of course to you Isabelle, one to the Church of Salamander whoever decided to do with it what they will, and one to Zaven Blake of the Golden Dawn for nothing more than accounting.
Please note that I am only moving forward because the people of Clover need something better. They need someone willing to get their hands dirty…they need justice and an executioner that will not have to hold back due to some foreign interest.
My day will come, whether that is of reckoning, recognition, or of payback it matters not. I will become a force that all will see and history will not forget.
-Jorah Von Schurke”
He finished writing the letters and addressed each of them before giving them to a courier that would deliver them in the morning. Jorah slept comfortably that night before waking the next morning and heading off towards a place he would one day call his “hideout”.
[EXIT] WC:805 TWC:5,033 (including the previous thread linked in the post before)
Post by Echo Jaegar on Dec 14, 2021 16:35:58 GMT -5
[nospaces]
[attr="class","echoquote"]
❝My light [break]is brighter [break]than the sun!❞
[attr="class","echotemp] After Echo, Jin, and Aelia had made it back to the bar and separated from each other that’s when things would seem to happen. As Echo and Zeus had their small talk it would seem that the agent of avarice had overheard them and would quickly shutdown what Echo was telling his cousin. Echo would take note of this but he was quickly taken back by the next set of actions. [break][break] Just after Echo told Zeus that he had got them their ticket into the group, the agent of avarice would seemingly flick their wrist and move their hands a bit, which would summon forth a spatial portal. The very next motion made would direct said portal to swallow Thalia and Zeus, which would prompt Echo to simply look at the portal and than at the mysterious figure with a blank face. In truth he was angry but he knew he was in a place where he could not simply go crazy without any consequences, so he would keep his cool. [break][break] The red head took a heavy hit of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out before he would stand up and begin to speak after hearing the words from the agent. “Well if you were just gonna do that I could have took them with me… They the only team I ever need but… its your world I just live in it I guess.” Echo would take another hit from his cigarette before he would find his way back into his seat. Within moments a person from the corner of the room would make themselves known to the rest of the bar. [break][break] The person was wearing a black cloak with the hood up, obviously to protect their identity and make themselves as low-key as possible. However all that would soon go out the window when the person in question would take off the cloak and hood to reveal themselves and to Echo’s surprise it was exactly who he had been looking for. The red head would smile as he hit his cigarette, staring into the eyes of the woman. In this brief moment of eye contact Echo felt as if she had relayed a whole message to him, and from said felt message he would make his prior connection to her hidden for the time being. [break][break] Echo would simply sit silently from this point forward, as in his mind he had completed 2 of his main objectives in one sitting. From that point all he had to do was listen to the rest of this speech. Once she was done talking Echo would simply get up and leave without saying a word. However he would think to himself *Things are def gonna be interesting from here on out…*
Aya let out a sigh of relief and gave a small bow, wiping the sweat from her brow as she did so. She tugged her hood over her pink hair and more importantly her horns. Though she had taken the first steps into joining this organization and though she had an inkling that whoever had allowed her to join probably had the skill, insight, or information that she, in fact, had horns. No one else around here besides one man was probably privy to such information and even then she wasn't even sure if her father had noticed her, and she preferred it that way. He had a lot going on after all, and for now, she was nowhere close to where she believed she'd be of any true use to him. She needed to get stronger, that she knew for sure, and after abandoning the broom she stole, she also knew she would most likely prefer to get another one as flying by the sky was much more practical than walking everywhere, and truthfully she had gotten tired of doing so as well. Not to mention the safety, involved, it was extremely rare for others to actually try and randomly strike up a conversation with someone while they were flying.
Aya watched as the cloaked person took heed out of the information given to them before returning a far corner of the room herself shrouded in the shade as she strained herself to listen from the distance. Watching as the figure in the room would bring down their hood, taking their cloak off, Aya was surprised to see a young woman. However, she enjoyed or rather respected the fact even though they had made it into the organization the woman still seemed rather secretive, even if that wasn't her intent. Knowing that the woman was the leader of their organization dubbed "Eclipse Raven" Aya found that she was content with the name, thinking it sounded flashy and powerful, she didn't mind it much at all. She was just excited with the fact that she had taken some of the first steps back on the path to reclaiming her lost power. The voices in the back of her mind had finally soothered, from what seemed like temperament and anger to now what she believed was compliance for the time being, though she knew not how long this would last.
Aya simply listened as her newly revealed leader spoke electing not to speak considering the way she looked at the red-haired man. Even as she did she found that all of her questions would be answered in time, she knew why they had to do what they did, and she agreed with it. After all, she figured if she was to ever create her own organization that the people or at least the new recruits were at least up to snuff. She made sure to take mental notes of the two rules, finding that they were easy to remember. If you couldn't keep your mouth shut or if they didn't have any self-restraint what good were they in any organization let alone one that dealt in the realm of the criminal underground. Although she did favor this organizational style of doing things, at the very least they would be what she deemed at least interesting and clever enough to help her accomplish what she wanted. Aya believed this arrangement would be mutually beneficial. With it all said and done, for the time being, Aya made her way out without saying anything to anyone. It was on to other ventures for the time being.
Post by Jin Zhongli on Dec 23, 2021 14:31:04 GMT -5
Jin Zhongli
Soon they would get their answers, if all this was worth it. They just needed to be patient, looking around and seeing majority of the same faces here. Even Aeila's very particular connection with the other white haired male, she was nervous but she held it together which was good. Soon enough what Jin assumed was the same person as before started to speak. Immediately responding to Echo's claims making Jin smirk to himself. He then proceeded to remind them that if they are selected it was pretty obvious that no one was to speak of it at all, that pretty much went without saying. But maybe some people needed a reminder just in case.
Aeila, Echo and Jin were the last to arrive which was fine, the white haired rogue was never nervous about not making it. Right after that though another hooded figure spoke up congratulating them, and revealing her face. She had an elegant face with white hair just as stark as Jin's, he also felt something oddly familiar about her. He had no idea but it was something, he ignored it though. She was quick to the point, not sharing her name for now that was smart. And establishing her position in all this, she was the leader of Eclipse Raven.
She continued to speak and Jin kept his ears open. She said her points nothing to surprising to be honest, but she addressed what need to be addressed. The importance of using a particular set of skills for those particular jobs when need be. Jin had already been trained and knew this like the back of his hand, but apparently not allot of people in this line of work did the same. That was a liability. She kept it short said her last words and walked into the portal the agent had made and took her leave.
But it seemed the interesting things didn't stop there, Aeila's particular individual came over and locked eyes with her. Stating that they needed to have a little chat soon and he will be in touch. His tone was polite but his eyes told a different story, Jin found this quite interesting. But these kind of encounters were not new for him, many times his siblings and him had dealt with enemies wanting to seek them out. All of them had been effectively hushed permanently. Before the person walked away, Jin replied. "Looking forward to it." with a casual tone and facial expression to match. This would let him know Aeila isn't alone anymore, and anyone that seeks her out will find Jin as well. When he waved behind, Jin waved back with a bright smile on his face. Truth be told he didn't take the guy to seriously. He doubted he would pose a threat to Aeila and Jin. Based on the fact that Aeila knew this person, Jin already had a direct connect to find out more about him. She may not know much but it would probably be enough, and on the other side this individual knew next to nothing about Jin. So the odds were heavily in their favor if it did come to blows, but maybe something could be worked out. That all depended on Aeila she was good at keeping her calm, but she was nervous and that was fair. If she wanted this man gone they could probably have that worked out rather easily, unless he had a bunch of connections. Maybe the time was coming close to figuring out exactly where Aeila's previous home was and what they are about.
With everyone leaving Jin turned his head towards Aeila, things have been a little weird for her lately. She just recently made a very big decision in her life deciding to not go home where things were not safe for her. But the universe works in mysterious ways as now that she finally settled on that decision that very same past has shown it's face to seek her out. Jin was in a similar boat but his issues were probably not as threatening as hers, his siblings won't attack or kill him outright. At least most won't try and kill him. "You ready to leave? We should go stay at a Inn to avoid whoever that was tracking us back to home." Jin had suggested it didn't hurt to be cautious, he wasn't nervous but he didn't like having any potential eyes on where he rested his head at night. "We can talk more there." He said as stood up he wanted to keep any conversation here out in the open short, there was many things to discuss once they were in a safe location. But she was probably still pissed with him to talk anyway.
[Exit]
STATISTICS
POW: 031 DUR: 004 SEN: 037 STA: 021 CON: 060
SPEED: 7m/s HEALTH: senior MANA SKIN: senior MANA POOL: 095 / 095 MANA REGEN: 20 IC / 25 OOC
Aelia remained still sitting in the chair next to Jin, she wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with her brother being so close but she was able to keep such things hidden. She turned her indigo eyes to Echo as he spoke to his associates but it was clear to her by the agent's actions whatever was said he was having none of it. She may have not been paying attention to what Echo had said to the two people who had been all but ejected from the tavern but she could guess given the agents reply and warning. She was wondering just how long he would survive before he too would be joining her graveyard, although, she had to wonder if that would be such a bright idea given how he was very much a wild card in life and her wraiths kept their personality and mannerisms. Such a wraith could be a liability, one she wasn't sure she'd be keen to deal with.
Soon after a cloaked figure brought down their hood and revealed a beautiful young woman with blood ruby eyes and white hair just like Jin's or her brothers. She took note of the look that was thrown at Echo realizing that there was a connection between the two, that was never a good sign. She knew that Jin likely picked up on it but if he hadn't then she would inform him later. It was something that would merit some digging but as she spoke of her standing in the group it was something they would have to tread carefully with lest they become victims of curiosity akin to that of the proverbial cat. When she said that she wouldn't be revealing her name she expected nothing less, they completed one task but that meant nothing in the long run, it was a smart move on her part.
She kept her speech short and sweet going over base rules that all rogues that were worth their weight would know and that rookies should know, but then, there were people like Echo who believed that being as loud as possible was the only way to complete any kind of task. He was going to get himself seriously injured if not killed if he kept down the path he was going and that worried her. She pondered for a moment if it was wise to let Echo into the group given his behaviour, then there was also the fact he had taken part in the magic knight exams not so long ago. She could only wonder what he was thinking because if any of the others knew about it he wouldn't be trusted and more seen as a turncoat to those in their profession.
It was then the woman left through the spatial portal after the agent collected all the information letting them know she would be in touch soon. She was glad that it was coming to an end because through all of this she had made her first real decision and was now second-guessing herself, more so when her brother walked past her saying they needed to chat and that he would be in touch. She hugged her grimoire closer to her and nodded a little, she knew she was no longer alone, that she had Jin but it didn't take away the fear that he had instilled in her. She didn't open her mouth to say anything but that hadn't stopped Jin, he had made it quite clear to her brother that they came as a pair and where she was he would be there too.
This filled her with warmth and made her feel at ease "Not want talk" she whispered unsure if her brother even heard it as he left the tavern, but even if he did she doubted he would take her seriously. She turned her eyes to Jin as he spoke "Away here... not safe." she indicated that she didn't want to be in Kikka any longer, she knew her brother would look for an inn within the town so he could get some rest but she knew she wouldn't be able to get rest being so close to him again. Standing she nodded to show that they should go to an inn before they would leave she'd lean in close so only he would be able to hear her words "Ryoshi. Old Brother." were the two words she spoke indicating their relationship as older brother and sister as well as what his name was any other questions would need to wait until they were sure they were alone.
[exit]
Word Count: 768 Total Word Count: 8,228
I can end and prolong the life of all, but I can't change the fate of those who fall. I can't turn back time once death has arrived...