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.
[/style][style= text-align:justify; font-face:courier new; font-size: 10pt; text-shadow: 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px #708acc; border: ; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: justify; padding: 1px;]Mania had ambled through the festival ground, intoxicated off the sights, smells and sounds. It was quite frankly more stimuli than Mania was used to, but the festive spirit in the air seemed to quell any uneasiness the young rogue had felt. Experiencing the festival had been a good call for Mania, he was beginning to see why so many people looked forward to them and why they were so frequented by many folks. Lost in the party like ambiance, Mania had been wandering for a long time and ended up before a large out of place regal mansion. It was a odd sight given the locale, so with his fickle interest caught the rogue would enter and admire the fine interior. The masked rogue would be greeted by a snobbish looking noble woman and man dressed in higher society fashion. They would provide Mania with a particular role in a scenario setup by the two.
Listening intently as they explained a short story as well as some rules, filling him in with everything required to play this peculiar mystery game. In short Mania and a select few others would be gathered and left inside the giant mansion. The couple had been vague, but there was something haunting the mansion and it would seek out the contestants to either eliminate them or force players to join it. It was a curious setup Mania mused, as he thought about several situations and scenarios of what could go down. Honestly it would be up to the human element - meaning what kind of people would be participating. As the couple spoke they would lead Mania to a reception area. It was a spacious area and well lit. They would tell Mania to feel free to wait at this location until they would finish gathering enough participants for the event. Mania would wave them off and take a seat in one of the many chairs. The interior was chique, but nothing of particular note caught the masked rogues eyes.
"This should be a fun little game. I hope some interesting players show up...."
As a fan of mysteries Mania was more than excited to try his hand at surviving the night. He would sit idle and pondering random thoughts, slightly fidgeting as he awaited the other players. Taking a long sigh as he waited, Mania slipped into thoughts about his past three months. What he'd be doing, where he had traveled and who he had meet. Though relatively early in his adventure Mania had manage to see quite a bit of The Clover Kingdom. He met some interesting people and saw things he had only read about. There had been many firsts for the masked rogue and he was hoping that more were coming. Mania was on the path of slowly getting stronger, but he lacked a true focus - a goal. There was no lack of an appropriate one Mania thought to himself. Many things mildly pique the rogue's curiosity, but nothing truly spoke to him.
For lack of a better word Mania thought he lacked passion. The emotional drive putting all into your feelings. The thought would repeat itself over and over, Mania slipping further into deep contemplation. It was like an endless library made of shadows inside Mania's mind. The masked rogued pictured himself falling deeper searching for a particular book before in the sea of shadows and darkness. Mania would stay like this, time appearing to momentarily pause. Just for him. Opening his eyes from behind the decorative kitsune mask Mania would fetch a cigarette from his pocket. Lighting it, Mania took a deep, long pull before exhaling. Mania was beginning to think no one would show, but truth be told it had only been a short while since he had been waiting. He was over eager to start, which was why he started to smoke. The action always helped for Mania to clear his mind and focus. Ridding himself of any butterflies in the pit of his stomach. Another pull and Mania would shift from his seated position. Standing up he would prefer to be standing when another showed as he smoked.
It would be a fun night indeed Mania thought once more, going back over the fine details of this peculiar event. With the use of no magic this would purely be a test of wits and instinct - things Mania excelled at most. This was definitely right up Mania's wheel-house and he was excited to test his mettle.
STATS
POW: 000 DUR: 025 SEN: 014 STA: 014 CON: 013
SPEED: 5m/s HEALTH: senior MANA SKIN: senior MANA POOL: 050/050 MANA REGEN: 05 IC/10 OOC
Up until now, Griswold could honestly say that he was enjoying this little festival a whole lot more than he did the last social gathering he had attended, and that wasn’t even because of the obvious reason that it wasn’t in the noble region this time, or in the bloody royal capital itself for that matter. Because he truly hated balls and the like as it was just a bunch of people in high places or people who wished to be in high places and would therefore go about sucking up to those same people, a festival such as this was much, much better. Here, people all of walks of life were welcome to take part in the activities and do their best to win things like the pumpkin carving competition he had just taken part in, or do the zombie hunting game he initially did not even know was a game to begin with.
Even though he could have known, the whole talk about the veil between the worlds being thinner and the spirits and souls walking among them got into his head, which explained why he had initially aimed to dispatch every single undead that got into his sights. Once all of that had been cleared up however, he really had enjoyed himself with it, as well as with the two other contestants. While the sheer difference in power had been apparent from the start, Griswold had never been the kind who tried to stunt others in their growth. So instead of using his magic, and in so doing saving the surrounding area from wildfires, he had just been wielding his swords and dagger, thus turning it into a bit of an exercise for him. While games were fun, if there was any long term gain to be had from it, that would always be what took precedence.
And seeing just how much he had physically grown himself was truly a good thing, as it meant that all of his jobs and all of his training had paid off in more than just money in his pockets. With the zombie hunt, he had also been able to get a look at some of the aspiring new member of the Golden Dawn and how they handled their fights. As one of them had accompanied him on a mission once, before he became a magic knight, it was nice to see how much he had grown since they last met. As for the new guy, he imagined Dante had what it took to climb up higher too, as he had the tenacity to face one of the zombies stronger than himself and keep going until he had one. At least that was what he had imagined, as he hadn’t heard about anyone dying on the festival terrain.
Now that he got to take a good look around, the sheer amount of people that had gathered here and broke away from the main grounds to take part in the events that were out there was quite something. Clearly the amount of people walking around here since the moment he had first set foot on the terrain had doubled while he had been killing fake zombies and working on an artistic rendition of a pair of wolves on the side of a pumpkin. But the way he saw it, that was a good thing. The more people that came here, the more were likely to rent a room for the night or get food from any of the local inns and taverns, putting some money into the pockets of the local businesses, which was better than just putting that money into the banks of the larger businesses down south. But that was just Griswold and his way of thinking, primarily looking out for the poorest of the three regions.
But seeing as how he was here to enjoy himself, or at least his variation on enjoying himself, which usually came down to him figuring out how to use something as a form of training, he did a slow paced round around the festival grounds to see who all had been gathered here. Keeping tabs on any of the faces he both knew and those he did not know for perhaps some later point in time, the time had come to look into something he had not gotten familiar with up until now. And since there were two rather interesting looking buildings here that were not there before the festival, which was something he’d know quite well as someone who frequented the area as often as he did, it was there that he would start. Not really knowing what he was getting himself into at this point, he imagined he would figure out what needed to be done once he actually arrived.
-----------------
Approaching the house he had been eyeing from a distance, Griswold could not help but wonder as to whether this was merely some kind of prop or if people had gone through the trouble of actually building a new house out here in the forsaken realm. If it were to be a real house, he would obviously want it to stay so it could be put to good use in the region, either as home, a place of storage, an orphanage or a school. As these were generally the kind of things that were lacking and much needed in the area, he put it out of his mind for the time being. It was often easy for the black swordsman to get lost in his thought, swaying away from the whole idea of “having fun” and remaining in the realm of work. Pulling his mind back into the present, he looked over the house, as well as the people near it.
Noticing a couple that was wearing a very expensive looking get-up, as well as a guy wearing some kind of a fox mask. Not really thinking much of it at first, it turned out only one of them was actually someone looking to take part in whatever activity this was. Listening in as he approached, it seemed as though they were explaining the rules of the game, which honestly sounded like a lot of work and not directly like something he would personally enjoy. But since the two had noticed him and his potential interest in the matter, they more or less drew him in. With a sigh, he approached and stood closer to the building so he could hear more clearly how it was supposed to be played. Apparently, those taking part in it were going to be assigned a role before being locked into the building and having to make their way out without the use of magic.
As it turned out though, there was also supposed to be a saboteur within the group that would work against the others. While interesting to some extent, Griswold did not really imagine such a game to be a lot of fun if it was just two people who would constantly be watching one another so they could pin them as said saboteur the moment one of them were to make a somewhat shady move. Because of this, he felt like it was only right to voice his opinions in hopes of there being someone else lurking about that might be interested in taking part in this whole ordeal.
“This sounds fun and all, but unless we get at least one more contender, I don’t think there will be a whole lot of fun to be had if the only two people can just keep one another in their gaze the entire time.”
Meddling in the lives of mortal human beings was all in the way you comported yourself, or so Nix imagined as she pricked her thumbs mumbling something about wickedness. She was dressed in black; the traditional witch’s wardrobe, candles sitting on her hat, melting under bright flickering flames. Had she been invited she may have been more prompt but as it were she was entirely here of her behest? No, it had been the solitary invitation of misbehaviour that had been alluding to her and had thus garnered her attention. The mansion-like premise in which this part of the festival had taken location was too royal an opportunity to pass up. Nix put the hokiest of pokies through the front door and announced her presence, adamantly stomping her foot on the floorboards to let the other people know her arrival was taking place. Dressed stereotypically as a witch for the spirit festival, her coterie of designers had exhausted no known expense in delivering the fundamental aesthetic for their snazziest customer and had spared no expense in giving her exactly what she wanted. Which delighted her to no end, the splendiferous quality of material used in her costume was just as snazzy as Nix felt. Given that this was her first spirit festival that she was allowed out, she was exceptionally super duper excited to partake in the festivities. Formal occasions required her utmost sincerity and manners, after entering the mansion estate she was entrusted with a mask. This made little difference to her ability to be recognised as she wore her Silver Eagle mantle and was a whopping however tall she was usually. Being that she was feeling snazzy, she noticed a man wearing a masquerade fox mask. She gave this man finger guns and commented on his snazziness, “Keep up the snazz.” Full well knowing the situation, Nix gathered her wits and rocked on her heels. This arbitrary notion was to let the others know she was waiting, patiently.
[/style][style= text-align:justify; font-face:courier new; font-size: 10pt; text-shadow: 0.5px 0.5px 0.5px #708acc; border: ; letter-spacing: -1px; text-align: justify; padding: 1px;] Two would join the mad house games. The first Mania recognized. It was the stranger from the Pumpkin Carving event. He was fairly older than Mania, he could tell from the subtleties age and maturity brought upon ones physical appearance. He was dressed in a blue and white warriors outfit that seemed to fit his his outward appearance of being a warrior. The rogue was half inclined to believe he had been followed, but to what end Mania mused? "It would be a shame, I'm actually looking forward to the game."
Mania coolly spoke whilst putting out the cigarette. Not shortly after the second showed. She was a girl with a uniquely, vivid color of hair. It was a deep red otherworldly crimson, the rogue's second observation was the girls height. She was fairly taller than Mania himself and she especially stood out wearing a traditional witches costume. She had a lot of energy about her as she gestured to Mania complimenting the rogues choice of costume. He could tell she was a Magic Knight giving the color mantle she was still sporting. Silver meant she was a silver eagle, but the rogue would not be put on edge. It was a fun night after all and no one knew him. Not that Mania's face was plastered all over town or anything. A smile would flash Mania's white teeth as he returned her gesture with a similar motion. Forming a gun with his hands he would wink behind the decorative kitsune mask.
"Looking good yerself there!"
Mania would state as she begin to teeter back and forth. A telling sign of those who were impatient. Looking back at the man he had seen earlier Mania would begin speaking again.
"Three's a party, might not be a boring game after all huh?"
There would be a pause before Mania continued.
"How you enjoying the festival big guy? There's so many different things to try and do. Me myself dunno if I can partake in everything in a single night "
Mania had already spent a significant amount of time meandering through the festival, but he wasn't disappointed in the slightest. For his first time attending such an event, simply being able to experience it first hand was satisfaction. Nope, the rogue had no real complaints, though he was interested in the strangers thoughts. As if only to reinforce his own. Mania wasn't sure if the couple would start with just the three of them, but he was sure it was soon to get underway if only to let them experience the game since three players could theoretically participate and make the game interesting. "Same for you?" Mania spoke aloud, directing his fickle attention towards the whimsical witch.
"You enjoying the festivities tonight?"
A little small talk to pass the time never hurt anyone. If anything Mania hadn't had much interaction with people lately so he was happy for the opportunity to converse. His loner tendencies not often affording Mania the gift of company. He didn't hate being alone, but people were social creatures. No matter how minute the person cared for others, people often sought the company of another.
STATS
POW: 000 DUR: 025 SEN: 014 STA: 014 CON: 013
SPEED: 5m/s HEALTH: senior MANA SKIN: senior MANA POOL: 050/050 MANA REGEN: 05 IC/10 OOC
With the arrival of a third member, it seemed that there was no longer a way for him to get out of doing this, which might even be a good thing. Were it up to him, he would only have done the things in which he could either smash stuff to bits or play around on his own like he had done with the pumpkins. Letting out a deep sigh, he looked at the two overeager people that were either actually cosplayers pretending to be noble, or were actual nobles trying their hardest to get people involved with their game. Whatever the case, he had come this far already, so he might as well go through with it and see if there was any fun to be had within. While an explanation had been given, Griswold still only understood fairly little of the whole subjects, so if he were to go in now, he’d more or less be winging it and seeing how that would end up going.
“Meh, I’m not sure if I want to. The pumpkin carving was amusing, and the zombie hunt was more eventful than I had anticipated. That said, they went by fairly quickly, so I’d say doing all of the activities before the end of the night depends entirely on you and your level of skill.”
Responding to the somewhat talkative individual, Griswold only knew that he had seen him around the festival grounds and at the pumpkin carving contest, but aside from that, they were not exactly acquaintances. As for the girl that arrived after he did and more or less locked him into this activity through means of his own words, he did not know who she was either. So right now, they stood in front of the house, an eastern warrior, a candle-hat witch and a guy with a fox mask. Not really listening to what the two had to say to one another, Griswold moved forward to the people in charge of this activity, wondering as to what they had left in store for him. Claiming that anyone who entered was handed a note with their supposed “role” on it, they had already been told that one of them would end up being a saboteur.
Wondering what might happen if he ended up becoming the saboteur and what that would mean for the rest of the game, he assumed that he would still need to make his way out while seeing to it that the rest of them did not. While that was entirely an assumption on his part, he stepped forward and accepted the note from the two nobles. Opening it in such a way that the others would not be able to see it, he quickly glanced over the contents before putting it into the inner pocket of his coat. As it would clearly be no fun whatsoever if he were to ruin the game by attempting to read the notes of the others or having them read his, he just shrugged and made his way over to the front door. As he had no intention of being here for the remainder of the night, the black swordsman imagined that the sooner they were in, the sooner they would be able to make their through and eventually out of the building.
Before he was allowed entry, he was told that he needed to disarm himself, as taking his weapons inside would grant him an unfair advantage over the others. Not enjoying the idea of having others put in charge of safeguarding his weaponry, he first took the scabbard off of his belt, handing the woman his dagger with the wolf pommel. Next, he released the harness that allowed him to hold both of his swords on his back, handing the fairly heavy bundle of blades to the man. While the dagger was by itself not all that special, the two swords were worth a lot of money due to the fact that they had both come from elven ruins after not having seen the light of day for hundreds of years. Feardèanamh was the first one he had found some months ago, a dark blade that had once belonged to a dark elven warlord that was intent of using a powerful artifact to quite literally wash the land clean of humans.
While he had clearly not succeeded, the same dark magic he wielded still remained within the blade to this day, allowing Griswold to access it whenever he might have need of it, for a cost. While there was no real way of telling, the blade was likely worth the most out of all those he owned due to the fact that it had such an extensive history. As for the other sword, Disglair, he had no idea where it had originally come from, only that it was old, was made by elven hands and likely forged from some kind of mineral that allowed it to shine as brightly as it did. Truth be told, it had always been somewhat funny to him how one of his swords was as dark as it was, while the other seemed to radiate even the darkest and deepest caverns. That, and with the things he had already been through with all three of his weapons, there was no way he’d end up losing them.
“Some of these are most likely older than your entire family tree, so they’re worth a lot to the right person. That said, if you lose these, I can promise you that you’ll regret it for the rest of your lives. As for you two, hurry up and get in so we can start.”
Making that much incredibly clear to the two hosts was very important to Griswold, not because he would actually do anything to hurt them if they somehow lost it, but because he wanted them to believe that he would so the chances of them taking their eyes off of them were slim to none. Believing this to have been plenty of incentive to keep his stuff safe, Griswold also imagined it wouldn’t really take a whole lot more aside from just an invitation to get the other two to pick up their assigned roles, drop whatever crap they had on them and make their way in too. As soon as he turned to cross the threshold and enter the building, he could feel how his magic was being restricted somehow, just like how he could tell his magical senses were being dampened, but not fully removed. Wondering what this was all about, he’d wait for the rest of the party to enter before going off to figure out an exit.
Circe arrived at the mansion just moments after her face had been painted at the artist station. She touched a cheek gingerly with a delicate finger and found that with relief it had already dried. The rainbow colors swirled around her visage, like a sinking hole which tilted and swirled around her left eye. The art was certainly childish, as was the artist stand in the first place where children had lined up. Circe assumed it was part of the nature of the festival and was determined to participate in the weirdness of society people. Meanwhile, the rest of her garb was a stark contrast, having even been mistaken for a costume rather than being realized as her regular attire. Circe wore a pair of comfortable pants, s sweeping low cut maroon shirt, and a dark black and blue cloak made of crow and raven plumage. With the large golden necklace at her throat, Circe looked darkly elegant, despite the dissonant painting on her face. She greeted the couple outside of the mansion who didn't comment on her appearance at all. Instead, they directed her to enter the mansion and await the secret role that she would be given.
As the couple walked with her towards the fancy wooden door, Circe listened to the set of rules she must follow while inside. It was surprisingly easy to play a secret role because nobody anywhere knew her. Living isolated in the woods gave her the benefit of privacy and secrets and apparently she was well suited to a game that was bent upon these things. She would not be allowed to use her magic in the activity, which also suited her just fine. The game was apparently all about survival and escape: that sounded like an easy challenge, except for the mysterious "thing" the couple mentioned would hunt and kill or transform other players. Circe had no inclination to work with the other players anyway, especially if one of them was going to be a traitor. She thanked the couple as they left her in the lobby, peering around with her golden eyes. Circe appraised the others: a man with a handsome face and beard, a smoker in a fox mask, and a teen girl the same height as she. She frowned a bit, her dark lip stained lips wrinkling in the corners from her little scowl. The girl was in some sort of comical witch costume, "Vulgar and outdated," murmured the woman before closing her eyes. She supposed that traditions for witches might be different in society, where the women were much removed from the thick delight and danger of the wilds. When she reopened them, there was a welcoming smile on her face and a tone of cautious kindness as she introduced herself, "When does this affair actually begin?"
She was not much for small talk, given that she had only the conversations with her mother on a regular basis to reference for associations with others in public. She had already looked over the folded note she had been given which denoted her role. Circe was relaxed in her silence but she sensed that she might have bothered the atmosphere for three who were already present. She had the good sense to look a little apologetic, but said nothing.
Post by Victoria Dubois on Oct 26, 2021 19:03:10 GMT -5
After walking through the entrance, Victoria elected to walk around for a bit, taking in the various decorations that had been set up throughout the area for the Spirit Festival. Under normal circumstances, she would have headed straight over to where the Murder Mystery was being held as she liked to be punctual but she felt that she had the time available to get to explore a bit before everyone started heading over to the events. The officials had spared no expense in their decorations and that sort of effort needed to be appreciated at the very least in her opinion. Plus she didn't want to miss an opportunity to mingle with the attendees given the fact that she had seen some important people in the crowd when the baron had been giving his speech. A large-scale event like this would be drawing in all sorts of people from around the kingdom and a social butterfly like her wouldn't miss the opportunity to get to make some connections that could end up being beneficial later.
As she walked through the entire festival grounds, Victoria glanced at some of the games going on, finding some of the people that she had seen earlier had already taken part in some. The most interesting one had to be the zombie hunt where she observed one of the Royal Knights absolutely decimating his way through a majority of the zombies that had been let loose in the forest. There had been 2 members of the Golden Dawn here as well and while they had done a decent enough job in her opinion, they just hadn't really gotten a chance to show their stuff with such a powerhouse in their midst which was a shame. Still, she made sure to keep a mental note to look in on the both of them later especially seeing as she believed that one of the Golden Dawn members was from the Wilheim family though it was a bit difficult to tell due to his costume.
Once that event had finished, Victoria figured that it was time to head over to the murder mystery, expecting to find that some people had signed up. When she arrived and talked to one of the workers, she was both surprised and disappointed to learn that they had already started with a group meaning that she'd be unable to join it for the next hour as they went through the game. Most of the other events that she had been interested in had also started or were midway through as well meaning that she would be unable to join anything unless one of the other games had ended already. Thanking the attendant, Victoria made her way back out and began walking through the campgrounds once again. She knew that the zombie hunt was open but she had no plans to go trapezing through the forest in her outfit nor was her magic geared towards being able to fight anything so she'd merely be a hindrance and forced to rely on her golems the entire time. It would be a good battle experience but not one that she wished to undertake at the moment.
Through her wanderings, Victoria found herself outside the regal mansion where the owners had generously agreed to host one of the games. If her memory served her correctly, this should be the location where the Locked In game was being held. This was one of the games that had interested her, seeing it as an opportunity to test her detective and people-reading skills and well as getting to test her acting skills so she hoped that it was open. Making her way inside, she was greeted by the couple who owned the mansion, wasting no time in asking them if there was a game going on that she could join at the moment. Lucky for her, a game had just been started and there was still enough time for her to be able to join in with the rest of the group which Victoria readily agreed to, thanking the couple for not only allowing her to join but also for opening their home up. She made sure to compliment them on the decor; one noble to another, before opening the door and meeting with the rest of her group.
Looking around, there were already 4 people inside the room though she only recognized one of them, that being Griswold who she had seen at the zombie hunt earlier. None of the other 3 looked to be anyone that she recognized or of any real status or wealth but she kept a neutral expression on her face as her eyes swept the room. Just because it was likely that they were of peasant descent didn't mean that they couldn't end up being useful for something so it was better to keep her options open and not burn any bridges that she didn't have to. "Good evening everyone. My apologies for joining late, I got a bit distracted looking at some of the sights. I'm Victoria Dubios, looking forward to playing with you all." she stated, giving a curtsy to the room.
Word Count: 861 Total Word Count: 1873 Arriving from: Spirit Festival
Nix being handed a particularly snazzy position in this event was primed and proper for a reason. Her lithe fingers devilishly opened the envelope, particularly enjoying the contents, which were incredibly snazzy. Had they been reasonably afraid before this point, Nix would be able to understand. Some of the underwhelming reactions the other participants were currently possessing were more or less unprepared for what awaited them. Rifling through her satchel Nix brandished a candle in her other hand, it was red tallow and smelt vaguely of strawberries. Its importance was underplayed until it was alight, the warm light it radiated added a certain; albeit sombre, thematic to the room. She ran into the mansion, not waiting for the others to question her. Her response to any questions was simple, like a child playing hide and seek who had rushed to go and hide first. The foregone conclusion was that she would explore the insides of the mansion first before anyone else had a chance to end the game. As it was, it was lavish. Expensive taste maintained the ornaments she found inside, Nix ran up the stairs all by herself before waiting for someone to walk past. Getting into the spirit of the festival, she had opted to lay in wait and surprise her first victim. Holding the bright candle may have been contrary to the enthused young woman’s proposal, but that did little to dim her enthusiasm. Everybody loved a scented candle, or, at least so she thought.
Magnus has a blue mask on that covers his eyes and face.
Magnus's looked around the festival grounds seeing reception areas set up for each of the games. The whole thing looked rather organized, he was sure there were some events that weren't as neatly set up but the layout of some gave him an idea of what to do with the Aurelius family if they decided to host an event within the coming days. The horse galloped over to a new area a reception area, it neighed as it came to a stop, children from all around began to run up to Magnus curious and awestruck by the stallion. Magnus chuckled, he made sure to let the children know not to stand behind the horse, and that the horse liked to be scratched beneath its jaw. Thankfully though the horse could be temperamental at times, it loved attention more than anything and was good and gentle with children so he had no worries. Tying to horse to a nearby post, he made sure to keep a watch on it, as he made his way over to the receptionist desk. He got a detailed understanding of the game and submitted his name for the entry, he was told that he had taken his entry information to the actual game site's reception area. This was simply for people didn't stumble upon the mansion the game had been set up in. Magnus got the directions from the man at the reception desk and was told that the game was probably on its way to starting and that because of so he should hurry. Magnus wasted no time, he was excited to play this game, and he politely told the kids that he had the leave, and he and his steed who had the name "Cloud" were off just a few moments later.
With Cloud's large body, being a horse originally having been bred for merchant travel and carriage pulling its magic saddle reducing Magnus's weight on its back made quick work of the terrain and moved at an ample speed. Making his way to the "mansion" Magnus couldn't help but admire the work they had done to make this place look believable. He was curious as to who the workers were, and if they could actually build a truly sturdy mansion that could exist more than just temporarily but with the detail given to this prop, he wouldn't be surprised if they could in fact do so. He made the mental note at some point to try and get the worker's contact info for the Spirit Festival. He was curious as just how many skilled laborers this took and what magic they used. Regardless of his awe at the mansion, he still had to make his way inside. He wrapped the horse's leash around a large tree tucked within ample shade, as to keep it cool. He laid down a bag of feed in front of its face, knowing the horse's picky eating habits, sure that it would simply nibble away at the feed until he was back.
Magnus plucked a blue mask that only covered his eyes and nose from his vest pocket. Slapping it over his face he made his way into the mansion, then quickly made his way to the receptionist area, being told that the game would soon be starting. He agreed to the terms of the game, let them know that he had signed up at another location, and gave them the prefilled information that was stamped and approved from his earlier encounter. Thankfully this caused the whole ordeal to go a lot faster and smoother. As such he made his way over toward where the other participants were standing. He draped his white-gloved hand over his chest. "My name is Magnus, a pleasure to meet you all." He said. his blue eye did a quick glance around the room and all the participants. His tall 7-foot height and large frame caused him to nearly tower over many of the others. He gave a gentle smile and smelled of honey and chamomile. Contrary to his large and imposing appearance, Magnus was a gentle soul. He was kind, and always polite to those who deserved it. This game was something he choose because he thought it would be enjoyable. With his eye for art, and household management he was sure he could discover clues here and there. Not only that but he figured this event would be a chance to meet new people and to make new acquaintances. As he continued to glance around at the participants that when he noticed the two magic knights. A Silver Eagle mantle and a Blue Rose mantle. His eyes would linger over the girl with the blue rose mantle. She looked regal and refined, she had the air of a noble, and Magnus immediately took intrigue in her. Mainly due to the Magic Knights squad she was a part of. It had been a year since he had met a Blue Rose member, the squad that he had aspired to be a part of. He knew it was only a matter of time until the next magic knight exams, and he had heard that if he was lucky he potentially would be able to join earlier if he was to meet the captain and was someone with an impressive amount of accomplishments.
These accomplishments were something he had been working hard to achieve and gather as of lately, choosing to take one job given to most citizens. However, as of lately he had yet to find as many as he'd like, especially considering his schedule often being occupied by family matters that he slowly but surely found himself moving further and further away from. Hoping to live his life for himself, as opposed to others. This game seemed that it would have more of an impact on his social circle than he thought. As he was now determined to get to know this woman better. However, he didn't discount the fact that there were others here, in fact, he was just as curious about them as he was the Blue Rose knight, and how they would play the game.
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Summary: Magnus makes his way to the event, he ties his horse around a tree in shade. He goes inside the mansion gives his sign-up sheet to the reception desk and goes over to meet the others once his process is done. He has on a blue mask along with his costume shown above in spoilers. He glances over everyone, especially taking notice of Victoria as she's a Blue Rose member. "My name is Magnus, a pleasure to meet you all."
Rank & Element: Junior | Paint Class & Type: Imbued | Magic Trinket Magic Specializations: Golem Creation Appearance & Lore: Click For Image A Magical Ornate Paint Brush Set that comes with five 4-inch Paint Brushes in total all with different widths and styled bristles. The paintbrushes are ornate in design, with swirls of small patterns and silver in color. They have purple bristles that fade into white at their tips. Nothing is too special about these paintbrushes on their own except they are sturdy and have no need for a palette as they are capable of producing any color of paint on their own with a small infusion of mana. These paintbrushes were a gift to Magnus from his mother when he was younger and as such he cherishes them dearly but also uses them for his magic. However, as they are a magical set, they all share the same durability, thus if his weapon was to break even if it was just one paint brush due to an attack capable of destroying a junior rank weapon all of them would break. Outside of the fact that they can release paint, these weapons are nothing more than blunt objects. As such they cannot be used to stab or pierce without the usage of a spell or its ability. Abilities:
Type & Uses: Flow | 3 Active, 2 Overheat Rank & Specialization: Junior | Golem Creation Size: 1 meter Mana Cost: 8 Per Flow | 4 Upkeep Type of Golem: Scout Description: Click for Image of Golem Magnus channels his paint magic into the movement of the paintbrushes amplifying the paint into a large amount from the tip of the brushes. He uses shades of white, gray, pinks, greens, and yellows to create the shape of a humanoid body, specifically a woman with long hair. The paint flows to life, taking greater depth and shape from the image, revealing a portrait of a young woman with dark gray to green hair, pink mystical eyes, a gray dress, and glowing pink and yellow flowers blossoming from her. The golem has a sheen to its skin like wet paint. The golem is a Scout type and as such is built for speed, flight, and sensory.
Type
Power
Durability
Sensory
Range
Speed
Health
Scout
5
15
20
50 m
12m/s
Intermediate
MADE BY NOVA
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As he listned to the strangers reply, some notable players would join the game.
Mania's attention was fickle, like a cat.
Sharp hazel eyes would watch keenly beneath an ornate kitsune mask, a cursory glance afforded to the three newcomers. The first was a dark-haired woman, her face painted in an eye-catching rainbow design. Perhaps it hinted at her whimsicalness, maybe a desire for wanderlust? Mania would muse the thought, whilst enamored by the liquid gold of her eyes - bewitched the young rouge was frozen in time as if touched by the hand Midas. The woman's choice of attire was equally intriguing, she walked into the room clad in a raven feathered cloak. The deep sable black shimmered dimly - like the curtain of night itself. The rogue's eyes would drift back to her dark-colored beautiful lips
"Soon I believe~"
Mania would coo playfully.
The couple would slip Mania a piece of parchment denoting his assigned role for the game. He would unfold it discreetly, a wide smile creeping upon his devilish-looking visage as he read the note and pocketed it. The next was a small blonde garbed in extravagant wear, she reeked of privilege and nobility The pungent stench was repulsive to Mania. Her ilk was the kind Mania bore a great disdain for, but not because of their riches and status.
No.
It was their pride that ticked the rogue off. He bore a great disdain for those with an ego, megalomaniacs drunken in a stupor of their self-anointed importance. It sickened Mania, like eating spoiled fruit - the taste unpalatable. The Blue Rose Magic Knight would introduce herself with an elegant curtsy, causing Mania to mentally scoff as the final player entered the room. He was a towering, older man wearing a blue mask. His entrance was heralded by the scent of honey and chamomille. The way Magnus carried himself led Mania to believe he was a noble, but there was a peculiar air of magnanimity to the seven-foot giant. Magnus appeared interested in Victoria, the rogue noticing his lingering gaze upon her figure. He would fold his arms, following Griswold and Nix who had left to through the door, eager to start the game.
Mania was of the same inclination and would be allowed entry because he had no item on his person except his grimoire. Instantly Mania could feel the odd sensation of his magic being jammed. It was as if the house was somehow dampening Mania's ability to use magic. The most important way to winning the game would have to be finding out who was the traitor amongst them. Easier said than done as randomly guessing at which participant would be given the role of saboteur would be like finding a needle in a haystack. He could use this tangent of thought against the others he begin to think, sure anyone, not the traitor would believe. There would probably be little trust among the group too, everyone was a suspect - Mania included.
The next important thing was the mystery thing that lurked in the mansion. No one knew what or how it would act. It was the wildcard in this game. Mania being the third to enter would join Griswold, Nix already down the long spacious hallway. Off to explore, she seemed like a child up to mischief gleefully pranced about. Mania would choose to wait with Griswold, opting to try to blend with the group. Sticking out could have its own downfalls he thought as both he and Griswold stood by idly. Mania wasn't particularly in a silent mood for some reason tonight, he was feeling more social than usual. So he would decide to probe Griswold a bit, seeing if he could maybe get the man to slip. The rogue was quite doubtful, but a try wouldn't hurt.
"Who do you think the traitor is? My Yuls on Magmus. He was the final person to join last I saw."
Mania wasn't sure if Griswold knew about the final three players, seeing as how he had quickly walked off while he was distracted. Mania had provided it for no particular reason, it was simply a shot in the dark. WC: 697 TWC: 4,003
Waiting inside for things to begin, the first person that made her entry was not someone Griswold himself had ever encountered before, and he was quite good with faces. That said though, him being good with faces often came at the cost of forgetting what their names were. But in this case, there was nothing to forget as there was simply nothing to remember in the first place. Asking when this whole thing was going to start, Griswold figured things had more or less started the moment everyone made their way into the room, which was hard to really figure out as she had not been one of the two people he had expected would set foot inside. That said, there were more surprises on the way it seemed as another woman made her way into the building not longer after the first. That said, she seemed like more of a girl, rather than a woman.
“That’s okay, I already figured some of us might need some time to get into the building. I imagine it might be scary for some, to not have access to their magic or spells while in a building full of strangers.”
Replying to the younger of the two women, he was just about to respond to the older of the two when the door opened again, allowing entry to another girl. Being the one dressed in the witches outfit adorned with candles, she seemingly wasted no time in rushing past them and moving into the house, which by itself seemed somewhat shady, though it was too early to tell if she was a saboteur or not. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense that on larger groups of people, there might even be more than just a single person working against the rest, which was absolutely something he was going to need to stay aware of. Before he could really respond to that, the door opened again, this time to let in an older man and the guy he had been waiting outside with prior to getting fed up with wasting time and heading in on his own.
Nodding at the man that introduced himself as Magnus, Griswold could quite honestly say that he had no idea who this man was either, which seemed to be a recurring theme. The only person he “knew” was the one that came in along with Magnus, which was solely based on the fact that they had more or less been carving up pumpkins at the same time. Aside from that, every single person in this room was an unknown factor. Waiting for a little while longer as he just remained quiet and waited for the door to be locked from the outside, he was now confident that no one was going to be entering into the room from this point on. Knowing now that these were all of the contestants, he imagined that with the six of them, it was very well possible that there were at least two saboteurs among them.
This in turn meant that the remaining four could work together, just like how the two saboteurs could work together. Clearly this would only work if people knew what role had been assigned to the other, and considering that the saboteur was likely going to lie about their role, there were really no grounds to build any trust upon, which seemed to be the overarching theme of the game: mistrust. But that was fine, Griswold had become quite used to working alone as other people usually just held him back anyway. Moreover, while his magic had been shut off, it seemed that he could still sense fairly well, as well as still being able to use his physical attributes. While he would not be able to test it without making an ass of himself, the building that limited the use of magic more than likely had not affected either his speed or his strength, which gave him the upper hand here, or so he believed.
“With everyone inside and the door locked, I imagine this is the point where the game officially starts. While one of the contestants already disappeared into the building, I think we can all go out separate ways and figure out a way out of this place. So…. Good luck I guess.”
Not really replying to the finger pointing that was being done to make someone look like a potential saboteur, which by itself was something a saboteur might do, Griswold wandered from the entry space into the next room. Leaving the rest of the group behind to do their own digging and searching, the room he wandered into seemed to be some sort of trophy room. Above the door he ventured in through was the head of a stag, which was looking across the room to look at the head of a doe. It was almost romantic if one was willing to forget the fact that these creatures had been killed for sport, rather than survival. In the center of a room stood a large wooden table with a glass casing in the center, in which stood the skeleton of either an alligator or a crocodile, which was another odd thing to display in his opinion.
Finally, the walls were all adorned by bookcases filled with all sorts of books and curiosities like gemstones, small stuffed animals worked out by a taxidermist and other random items. Believing most of them to just be fake or props for the sake of the game, he imagined that every room must have had something going on in it that might either lead them out of the place or would simply get them one step closer to winning. So with that thought in mind, Griswold began snooping about to spot anything out of the ordinary in a very extraordinary room.
Circe stood composed for awhile, reflecting on her role and how she was to use it without sharing it with others. She supposed the talents that she could lend in this activity were going to be useful enough, but with the suspicion coursing through every person's veins, it was likely more than not that the players would be the greatest challenge of all. One of them was at least purposefully meant to be their undoing. She pursed her lips into a tight line when the handsome bearded man gave his answer. She hadn't been afraid before of the restrictions against magic within the house, but pointing out that she would be among five other strangers whom she could not trust without a magical defense now put her on edge. She was unaccustomed to the tricks and plays of the people in society. What if she were attacked!? She gave the man a wary look, trying decide if he was the trustworthy type.
She watched as his eyes flitted around the room, analyzing. Circe did the same. The one in the mask was particularly hard to get a feel for, but nobody seemed overtly to be the actual traitor in this game. When the bearded man advised they all go out individually to seek their own paths, Circe's frown deepened. Originally, she had no intention of working with the others in this game. However, given the number of players it seemed more wise to partner up. If everyone had a partner, who wanted one, they could watch each other's backs. And if anyone went missing, the rest of the group would be sure to deduce the saboteur from the loss. She extended a hand out to the bearded man and rose her voice in the tone of an elegant confident woman. "I disagree. We should partner up, if we all can." The golden eyed woman explained her reasoning to the rest of the group. Then, she followed the bearded man and said, "I'm Circe, and I will be following you if you don't mind."
He moved through an entry way and into a trophy room. She examined the animals with a bit of disdain, hoping they were fake. Dead things were the source of all life and unless it were for survival, she had no patience for people who int interrupted the natural cycle and way of things in the woods. Circe gave a little sigh and wrinkled her nose, as she walked around the edges of the trophy room. There were bookcases, glass stands, and areas filled with the stuffed animals she had spent her life with in the forest. Her confident style wavered and she looked downcast as her golden hues took in more and more dead animals used in decor for a single room in this mansion activity. She was angry and sad and broke the silence and isolation of her own emotions by speaking. "What do I call you, then?" Her hands pressed against the walls themselves, knocking against the empty spaces, looking and listening for hollow sounds or changes in texture. A building like this was bound to have hidden places and she was keen on discovering them.
Nix blew out her candle and sat in the dark, waiting for someone to follow her. The walk up the stairs may be daunting for a few of the members, but she was sure that one of them would eventually brave the perils of the house and join her. Being snazzy as she was Nix explored, finding a room that appeared to be a dining room. She sat at the table and pulled her chair in, picking up a spoon and balancing it on her nose. This entertained the young witch to no end, her mask in her lap was depicting a pumpkin. The bright orange contrasted with her fiery red hair, which pleased her immensely. Lights suddenly sprang to life around the room, dimly illuminating her surroundings, she could see better and she saw no one in particular. Re-arranging the knives and forks to be on the opposite side for each of the places at the table, Nix devilishly enjoyed this small act of pestilence. Thinking that anyone who ate here would have to either use their left hand or spend time rearranging the utensils themselves. Nix hid one of the plates under a chair cushion, another act of pure malevolence. She was on a roll and had no idea what to do next, so she walked back to the room where they had all gathered and descended the staircase. Feeling every bit accomplished with her meddling, her avarice for destruction seemed to be uninhibited. There were fewer people gathered, Nix figured they had gone off to explore the recesses of the mansion or had left respectively. Nix tested out her strength by strictly not entering combat but by flicking a nearby bookcase, she was nervous and wanted to do a good job with the others. Hoping to frighten at least one of the other game contestants.
Idleness gave way to boredom, she wanted to read one of the books in the common room but found it was stuck in the bookcase as if by glue. She yanked on its spine but all that happened was the bookcase swung around and opened up into another, darker room which was as it were. Unexpected and uninviting. Who would make a bookcase into a door? That wasn’t vaguely apparent at all, and this confused Nix for a moment. It was her choice to walk into the darkness, and if anyone followed her it would strictly be by chance.
Post by Victoria Dubois on Nov 2, 2021 19:42:47 GMT -5
Not a single one of these people so much as reacted to her greeting nor did any of them even have the common decency to greet her back. The least one of them could have done was at least give her a wave or some sort of head nod or any kind of greeting. The only ones who seemed to even acknowledge that she had entered would be an older-looking male teen as well as the royal knight, both of whom glanced her way before turning back to their own individual business. Victoria moved to a corner of the room, setting herself a bit apart from the others though keeping everyone else within eyesight, deciding to observe everyone. She would have preferred to start a conversation to get to know at least one but since no one responded to her greeting, she didn't have an opening to start a conversation.
It was as she was observing everyone when she took note of the witch costumed girl digging into her bag and removing a candle and lighting it with a flare of her magic. The girl would then begin to move forward, running deeper into the mansion without a backward glance at any of them, leaving behind the hint of strawberry in the air. Victoria's eyes narrowed at that, wondering if perhaps she was playing the role of the traitor of the group. It was suspicious behavior yes she didn't want to commit to thinking that the traitor would utilize such an obvious move as that. "Still, it would be best to keep that girl in mind as a suspect moving forward." she thought as she flipped her card to see her role. Mentally noting her skills, Victoria glanced over her card at each of the others in an attempt to learn their roles.
Given the fact that she did not know the list of roles that could be assigned outside of the traitor, Victoria would be attempting to gauge whether it was something good or bad based on their expressions. She had already seen that whatever role the younger teen had gotten had excited him when she first arrived but no one else had pulled one out so she had to assume that they had already read theirs before she had entered. None of the others seemed overly anxious or acted in any other suspicious manner so Victoria would be going in blind to guess. As she was thinking of her next step, the door would open up once again, bringing a taller, elderly gentleman wearing a face mask with it. From the fine appearance of his clothing material, Victoria guessed that he was from a lesser noble family much like herself and had displayed good manners to boot as he greeted everyone made him someone that Victoria wouldn't mind getting to know.
"Greetings Magnus, I'm Victoria Dubois. It is a pleasure to meet you as well." she curtsied back in greeting. She noted that his eyes had lingered on her during his greeting and wondered why. To her knowledge, she had never met with this man before and there was no way that she wouldn't remember meeting such a tall man before. Especially given the unique smell of honey and chamomille that he gave off, giving the man a soothing aura to Victoria's senses. Perhaps her father had some sort of business deal or had worked with the man's family before and he recognized her as a Dubois.
With Magnus' entry, it seemed that there would be no one else joining them as Victoria heard the audible lock of the door she had entered in as well as the magic suppressing effect going off throughout the manor. It was a disconcerting feeling to have her magic be forcibly suppressed like this but she had signed up for this event knowing that it would happen so it wasn't like Victoria would complain that much. The more important matter was that everyone seemed to be teaming up, or at least trying to do so in the case of the other 2 teens. Griswold had rebuffed the other male's attempt at a team-up, electing to go on his own into the mansion while the other girl in the group attempted to dissuade him for this. Victoria meanwhile would take this opportunity to walk up to Magnus, asking the older gentleman if he would like to team up with her in this event. Regardless of his answer, Victoria would move further into the house as well, wishing to get the game started and begin searching for any clues that she could.
A light springing onto her left drew her attention and as she quietly made her way down the hall, Victoria could hear the sound of silverware being moved around. A small peek inside showed her the form of the witch girl switching the places of the knives and forks around as well as hiding a plate underneath the cushion of one of the seats. Victoria was beginning to see that the girl was a mischievous character, acting very much like an imp since she didn't see how any of this could be the actions of a traitor. Noticing the other girl making her way back towards the dining room door, she quickly backtracked and entered into one of the side rooms that she had seen earlier, hiding as she waited for the footsteps to pass on their way back towards the foyer they had entered in from. Looking around, she saw that she had entered into some sort of servants' quarter area from the decor. With a mental shrug, she'd begin to open the drawers looking to see if she could find anything useful towards helping with their escape or any clues about whatever the mystery being was that would be hunting them. If Magnus had elected to come with her, Victoria would decide to start up a conversation with him, complimenting him on his choice of costume as she searched.
Word Count: 1,009 Total Word Count: 2882
Summary: -finds the other contestants rude for not responding to her greeting -moves to corner of room and observes others, gets her role as well -Notices Nix leaving out the room and using fire magic -Greets Magnus back -Asks Magnus if he wants to team up before secretly following Nix to see what she's doing -Hides from Nix in a servants' quarter. Begin rifling through while complimenting Magnus' costume if he followed along
Post by Magnus C. Aurelius✾ on Nov 2, 2021 22:02:50 GMT -5
Magnus noticed that his gaze was lingering on the blue rose knight for a little too long. However, she and some of the others had been kind enough to return his greeting in their own way. However, here's was the only one that confirmed what he thought at first glance and that was that she was a noble, a fact that some of the others had already taken note of if they so cared too. Taking a cursory glance around he noticed the others, and took note of their costumes, from kitsune masks to witches, gold eyes, and a feathered cloak with black and blue, a bearded but stoic man, and the blue rose member. When it came to wondering who the saboteur was, Magnus couldn't help but think it could potentially be any of the people inside especially considering their costumes.
Given their costumes and what he had seen so far, Magnus hadn't much to go on, the game offered many mysteries and though they all had just met, none of them had truly given away much of their hand. He had no clue what anyone's roles were beside his own. So far, they had discussed splitting up and in Magnus opinion, it was a good idea, however, the house yielded many mysterious, or at least he figured it did, and considering that even though couldn't use magic, it said nothing for the house itself or those running the game behind the scenes. Of course, this meant that all manner of crazy things were possible.
The locking of the door echoed throughout the house, audible enough for them all to hear it. Magnus gave a small smirk at this, the game was on, and it was time for the fun to begin. However, the feel of his mana being dampened was something that caused Magnus to shiver slightly. The feeling of having his mana be once again weaker like it was when he was cursed wasn't something he was fond of and it brought up unpleasant memories, so much so that a bit of discomfort could be seen on his face before it was quickly removed and replaced with a smirk once more. He took a simple but much-needed breath as he glanced around the room, looking at the ceiling the floor and taking in everything he could about the room. However, as it stood, nothing was standing out to him thus far.
Magnus was never one who had the talent for sensing magic, so having his magic dampened didn't hinder him much if at all. Outside of having to move slower than what he could with his magic, this was otherwise fine. He would simply have to use his natural senses and eye for detail. What came next. however, was to be a testament to just how fast the young minds around him came to move and operate. They decided to split up and within moments they had all gone their separate ways. Thankfully even though he was a latecomer, one of the others would offer up their hand in being working together. Magnus gave a simple nod and stated that he would be delighted too.
He'd let Victoria take the lead, as she seemed to move with purpose and quickness that left Magnus with no choice but to, If he wasn't careful he'd be left behind, especially considering all the other youngsters moved with the same haste she did. Magnus wasn't surprised by this though, after all, it was a game. The only one who looked at as mostly a social event foremost was probably just him himself, this would be one of those moments when he would have to work and talk at the same time, and for him, multitasking was second nature. Carefully as can be he trailed behind Victoria slightly, being careful not to let his large shadow loom too far over her own for fear of being spotted even more easily than was already possible due to his large and imposing size.
He ducked into one of the side rooms Victoria and him had seen, as she had seemed to notice Nix making her way back. He was curious as to why she was suspicious of the young energetic girl. Maybe she had seen something in her, that he himself hadn't either way. The issue at hand was to try and not be seen himself. He began to look around the room himself, opening up the drawers on the other side of the room Victoria had not yet gotten to, diving the work without a moment's delay. Making haste as if it was almost a calculated movement, and making sure that everything he opened was closed, and everything he had picked up was placed perfectly right back down the way it had been before.
Magnus smiled at Victoria's compliments, "Thank you for your kind words," light blushing would overtake Magnus's cheeks, his smile getting just a tad bit larger. He would have to think Margaret later, after all, it was most of her hard work that allowed this outfit to be possible, and not just that but it had a horse to go with it. The girl was truly coming into her strengths as an Aurelius family member, it wasn't a task he could give her that she wasn't able to accomplish at least when it came to household management and good procurement.
Magnus spoke in hushed tones, not wanting to give their position away, "I'm curious, Ms. Dubois if you don't mind me asking... Just how long have you been a member of the Blue Rose?" Magnus asked inquisitively. He wondered if Victoria had any connection to the woman who had saved him once before in the past, he had later learned that she had passed due to incidents involving some of the more cruel and traumatic things that had to happen to the Clover Kingdom in years passed, apparently, she had been a victim of the daemon actions in Raque and it's resulting flood.
Summary:
Magnus takes note of everyone, follows Victoria, continues having a conversation with Victoria while in the servant's quarters, and asks her what made her want to be a member of the Blue Rose.
Magnus has a blue mask on that covers his eyes and face.
