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.
Post by Jagen Lavender♛ on Apr 26, 2020 5:28:38 GMT -5
The reports across his desk in an unfashionable order, his brow furrowed with rage as the Wizard King, Jagen Lavender thought to himself about the situation in the Witches Forest. Ardere, Silas, and many other magic knights had been working on investigations for months as the campaign against the daemons came to a head just recently with the discovery of the “forgotten tower”. This had lead Jagen himself to travel to the Outer Forest, and set up a temporary camp. He had already begun to send out his own recon team. The most recent reports read that the tower, which lay deep inside the Witch Queen’s territory, was surrounded by legions of daemon forces and that a great evil lurked at the top of the tower...all attempts to recon area have come up with the same solution. That was that there was no force currently strong enough to muster to break the ranks of the daemons.
The Wizard King slammed his fists down in rage as he knew that the danger that was now presented by this evil force was threatening to end not only Clover but the very world itself...he had to end it now. The only way he knew how to do so was to call in his most powerful allies; Ardere and Silas. These two alone were worth entire armies as their destructive power rivaled even that of a god in some instances. Without another action he used his mana to fetch him parchment and a pen as he wrote two letters to the only ones he could hope to pull off this task.
“Dear Ardere, Dear Silas
I hope this letter finds you hastily as we do not have much time. I am sure the both of you know the implications without saying if things do not end well here...The daemon forces have started appearing at this "Forgotten Tower" deep within the Witches Forest, and she has not done anything to stop this from happening...therefore it is up to us...yes I am going too if you are both wondering…
We must break their ranks and get to the top of the tower so that we may put an end to this damned event before it shatters the very world into pieces. I trust you both to meet me at my encampment tonight, and it pains me to say this but....talk to your loved ones before you leave. This is a battle some of us may not come back from. Please. Travel safely.
-Jagen Lavender”
Once he was done he sent off the letters with his fastest couriers before falling back into his chair. The die was cast, and he was betting on an uncertain spread. He stood outside his temporary encampment, staring off towards the Capital. There was a power growing out here. He could feel it. Jagen only hoped they could get there in time to stop it.
Last Edit: Apr 26, 2020 16:43:52 GMT -5 by Ardere✧
[attr="class","ardereescroll"] The Forgotten Tower. Ardere had never heard the name before, but something about it resonated with him. He felt this ominous power during his investigations into the Witches Forest. The Witch Queen was hiding something. He knew it. Maybe she was not an evil villain, but she knew more than she let on. One did not get to be over a hundred years old and not know what is going on in their forest. She knew. The question was, did she truly understand its power? Was she using them to stop it, rather than risk her witches? The Captain did not know. What he did know was that Jagen did not often ask for help from people personally. He must have felt it--a deep power inside the Witches Forest. Even the Wizard King was weary. Ardere had no plans on failing today. Whatever was out there, they would stop it. He had Silas with him today. The two had grown quite a bond over the years, and their synergy in combat was uncanny. They had a chance today. There was no need to say goodbye to his loved ones. He respected Jagen, but that would imply he might not come back. He was going to come back. Too many mages had died for him to go out now. He wouldn't be like them. Ardere wouldn't die for his country and his friends, he would live for them. He would live for them and protect them. That was who he was. [break][break] The Captain of the Crimson Lions normally had the advantage of Claire teleporting him places, but she had not been to where he needed to go. He would have to use a transportation spell--not that he minded. Today was not a calm day. The clouds grew darker by the moment, lightning nearly shattering the blue window into the universe that was the sky. There was a darkness in the air. Strange mana was almost palpable as he made his way onto the roof of the Crimson Lions base. Standing on the roof for a moment, his cape fluttered in the wind. Staring off into the dark skies, he took a deep breath. The lightning continued to grow worse and the wind was almost enough to knock a grown man over. He could see the largest storm clouds in the distance; towards the Forsaken Region. I don't know what's going on out there, but I'm coming for you! Leaping off of the roof of the base, he dropped down at least a hundred feet before lifting up. Soaring through the air with his Archangel's Tunic, he flew down close to the ground as he summoned his spell. Matsukaze! A blazing horse burst forth from the ground as he landed on it and began to ride into the distance. He had a bit of a journey ahead of him, but he would get there in time. Matsukaze was one of the fastest transportation spells out there. Come on boy. Let's go! [break][break] Ardere left mid afternoon, as soon as he could. The letter had arrived to him during lunch unfortunately. As he grew closer to where the Wizard King was, the weather began to grow worse. The mana was palpable even from a mile out. He had never felt anything like this before. His Ki sensory was going haywire, and the fact that his magical sensory was picking it up made him weary. He was not a great sensory mage. It was why he had taken up Ki in the first place, but this....it was something else. The sky was beginning to grow dark. The Captain felt fate's hand around his throat. He had not felt this since the Shining Stone Palace. What would his fate be tonight? There was only one way to find out. [break][break] He arrived at the Wizard King's encampment by nightfall. There were dozens of knights roaming around the encampment, all he recognized as Senior rank and higher. Was Jagen this worried? It was enough to give Ardere butterflies a bit, but he powered through it. He saw Jagen's tent, the large one in the back. Knock knock. Anyone home? He said as he entered the tent. Ardere had an interesting relationship with the former Purple Orca Captain. Ryoku Kasai who was his father, had been the current Wizard King's mentor. It was weird to think that other than himself, he was one of the few who may have looked up to his dad like he did. Not to mention Jagen was close with Lysander. The two had functioned as battle partners for some time. The Sword and Shield of clover, that was what they called them. Be frank with me old friend. What the hell is going on?
[attr="class","florencetext"] As Silas read the letter sent to him by the wizard king he would let his anger get the better of him disintegrating the piece of paper. The coral peacock captain of course wasn't mad at Jagen after all it was the job of the captains and the wizard king to deal with threat that the other knight weren't able to. It was more of the fact that in the past five months of this investigation he knew heard of this forgotten tower or anything of important's to help better fight these Deamons. It felt as if they were fighting a losing battle and to make matters worse they were helping out the witches forest yet there queen didn't seem to want to help at all. Surely someone as old and powerful as she was had to know something about this and there was no way in hell she didn't know about this tower. Silas felt as if she was hiding something whatever it was he didn't know but he had a duty to his kingdom and his people so he couldn't just sit around thinking about things like this. Getting up the lava mage would make his way to his room grabbing a shirt putting it on before making his way over to the spot he kept his armor. [break][break] It had been a while since he wore it not since the shinning palace but whatever he was walking into could be worse than that so he wasn't going to risk it by coming in unprepared. After getting dressed for combat he would make his way out of his room and to Aika's office while he would have normally knocked before entering he didn't have the time. The vice captain would look at her captain in his red and gold armor it was a rare sight for anyone in the kingdom to see which meant he was going to do something important. "I won't waste anytime the wizard king has summoned Ardere and me to the witches forest he thinks something big is going down so your in charge of the squad till I get back if I even make it back."With that Silas would leave her office making his way outside of the base before summoning Fafnir and taking flight. With it wasn't the fastest spell out there it would get the job done and he would have arrived at the same time as Ard however the storm slowed him down and he was the last arrive. Landing at the encampment he would take a look around noticing all the senior ranked or higher knights however it didn't seem like there was any other captains of vice captains besides Ard. [break][break] Wasting no time he would make his way to the wizard kings tent before stepping in side and looking at the two other mages as he put his sword back in it's sheathe."I guess I'll be the first to say it. I don't like this we are heading into this tower without know what it is or who's inside of it. This is a really bad hand unless the witch queen finally spoke up and told us something about it?"
[break][break]
[attr="class","florencelabel"] pow
[attr="class","florencelabel"] dur
[attr="class","florencelabel"] sta
[attr="class","florencelabel"] sen
[attr="class","florencelabel"] con
[attr="class","florencelabel"] speed
[attr="class","florencetag"]240
[attr="class","florencetag"]0
[attr="class","florencetag"]135
[attr="class","florencetag"]60
[attr="class","florencetag"]205
[attr="class","florencetag"]30 m/s
[break]
[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 // 60 ooc
[attr="class","florencetag"]375/375
[break]
[attr="class","florencextra"]COMBAT SUMMARY
[break]
[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]
Post by Jagen Lavender♛ on Apr 28, 2020 13:11:01 GMT -5
Jagen set out with a small regiment of knights to the border of the Witches Forest, the weather was becoming ominus the closer they got and the air began to reek of something akin to sulfur. As the setup began an omen of something fate played overhead, the sky churned and billowed as clouds swelled and poured rain, and sudden strikes of lightning off in the distance sounded like the gods were laughing at them. Jagen’s knights usually were very proud and full of energy, were now looking uneasy and morale was not high, but their duty and resolve kept them with the Wizard King as he was eager to end this campaign by any means necessary, even if it cost him his life or the lives of his men...he was ready to go to that distance.
Once they set up their base camp and found shelter from the outside environmental hazards he found that his sneaking suspicions; that someone kept an eye on him during their past few months had turned out to not be wrong as Zaven and Wolfe walked into the tent as if they were just waiting for the regiment to arrive.
After very brief greetings of handshakes and warm smiles, Wolfe laid out the situation and held out a map to the tower where the daemons had gathered while Zaven informed the Wizard King that he could not let this happen without getting involved himself. It seemed that Zaven took initiative to find Wolfe and encourage the man to join in his quest as well. Zaven then apologized for his prying eyes that even penetrated the castle.
Jagen could only sigh, he had figured that something like that was happening...when and if this all passes over...he is going to make sure to vet his couriers more stringently. Jagen nodded as he looked at the two mages, a Black Bull...and the Shadow of Dawn...who would have thought.
“Alright fine, you two are already here so your task is to perform the recon for us. When the time comes we will fire off a flare...” Jagen says as he pulls out a crude looking firework from his left pocket, and an identical one from his right pocket, handing it to Wolfe. “And you are to fire off one near the tower...the more mana you pour into it, the brighter the flare will be. This thing will blind creatures, and it will let us know how dire the situation is depending on the color...Be safe, and be ready to run if things get too much, don’t be heroes...we will join you when the cavalry arrives.” Jagen would say as Wolfe and Zaven would salute and disappear into the forest.
Jagen would go back to his tent before dismissing his guards to ensure the perimeter is safe as he took out the map from Wolfe and Zaven. Looking it over, the small amount of recon that the pair had already done revealed a small strategy that would lead to a “possible” opening near what they described as a weak link in the horde. Jagen pondered on what his next move should be when he heard a familiar voice at the front of the tent, a moment later and Ardere walked in and asked him candidly what the hell was going on as the Wizard King sighed and was about to tell him when another familiar face walked in...Silas. As he put away his sword and asked a frankly honest question, followed by an assumption he held up his hand as if to tell them to hear him out.
“The forgotten tower from what I know is a place where mana seems to be distorting at an alarming rate, and previous reports just gave me a general knowledge of where it might be located. The Witch Queen has gone silent, so I have decided that if something is to be done...it is best done by us now so that we can investigate the forest further through conquest if necessary.” He looked at Ardere and sighed, “Old friend quite frankly I did not know much about what to do until just a short while ago myself. Silas, our info for this raid is actually from someone you might know personally...Zaven Blake. It seems as though him and Wolfe have gone through some preliminary recon to further our understanding of the area and have drawn us out a map.” He motions to the table and waits for the two to follow. “I have given them a mana flare that I have created to fire once we begin the operation. These will distract and blind the forces that are centralized around the tower while allowing us to meet up with Zaven and Wolfe. The small force I brought with me will also help as much as they can. Now is our time for planning though...so let us get to it.”
[attr="class","ardereescroll"] Ardere was no sensory mage, but he could feel a weird mana in the air. He imagined that once he got closer to the tower and he could get a good read on it, as well as utilize his Ki, he would have a better understanding. But if this tower was distorting the area, then some kind of otherworldly magic was at play here. It was not like what he had felt in Sosshi or the Shining Stone Palace, it was far more unique. But with the help of the Wizard King and 3 other Captain level mages, they had a good shot. Even with an army of Daemon, they would be no match against this group of mages. But the legions of Daemon were not what worried him, it's what was at the center of the tower. Whatever was powering this disruption had to be something of epic proportions. The Captain was determined to find out what it was, and stop whatever it was doing. [break][break] The Witch Queen's silence either mean she has more of an understanding of this than we do, or she's just as scared as we are. The latter is what fuckin' terrifies me. But if we stick together, we could get to the bottom of this. Unfortunately we'll have to talk to Zaven and Wolfe once they have more information. It was frustrating. They just didn't know enough about the situation, but what they did know was that the Daemon were attached to it. If it's anything like what happened in the Forsaken Region, then I'll bet my year's salary there's some sort of mana crystal powering that thing. Whether it's dark mana or something else, I have no idea. But if we can destroy that, then hopefully we can stop this. That's assuming I'm right though. The sky was getting darker. They could feel the ground rumbling from lightning scattering across the forest and the thunder shaking it. He hadn't felt such thunder in quite some time. The howling of the wind sounded like screams of the damned, and the ground continued to tremble like the apocalypse was coming. If Ardere had anything to say about that, it wouldn't be anywhere close. [break][break] Ardere looked at the map. They were currently in the Outer Forest. The Tower itself was in the Central Forest, pretty close to the Witches Capital, but still off to the side a bit. It was close to where the fire mage had discovered that access tunnel. Suspicious. Wolfe and I are probably best for daemon control. We can focus on them while we bust in. Probably best to blow a hole in the center of the tower and enter there, rather than the front door. And assuming all goes well the three of you can make it to the top while we hold your backs until we all make it up. With the 5 of us, it shouldn't be too much trouble. But once we get to the top of that tower, there's no telling what we'll find. It was a shit storm of a situation. They truly had no idea what was up there. For all they knew, some massively strong daemon or group of daemon was up there. They knew there were masters, daemon stronger than the rest. What they didn't know was their true capabilities.What do you think, Silas?
[attr="class","florencetext"] Silas would listen as Jagen gave the two captains all the information he had himself. While the lava mage was glad that Zaven was here and was even the one who found out that the deamons had a weak link he couldn't help but not like it at the same time. As Ardere gave the base line of the plan he had the coral peacock captain would also look over the map. "Well we have one major problem and another that could end up being a major one if what I think it true so I'll start with that one. Zaven gave us the information that there line was weak in a certain spot. While I trust him I can't help but question why. With the amount of deamons here it's clear this tower is important it makes no sense they'd have a weak link in less they were trying to make us think the was the case. Of course it could be they just don't have enough forces to hold strong in the whole line. [break][break] Now onto the major problem. Ard is right we should blow a whole open and head in that way however we are sieging this place and when sieging anything you always want more than double to forces in the place. The problem is we don't even match there forces and while the five us are are powerful mages we can't fight a whole army ourselves they'll overwhelm us. We also aren't in the position to commit all the mages we have in the cap to attack because if the attack fails we leave clover open to being invaded. So I say we take the five of us and the five strongest grand mages we have an attack leaving the rest to defend the camp. The rest of plan remains the same however we leave the grand mages at the bottom of the tower to defend it from reinforcements. I won't lie most of them will more than likely die but that's the plan I have.
[break][break]
[attr="class","florencelabel"] pow
[attr="class","florencelabel"] dur
[attr="class","florencelabel"] sta
[attr="class","florencelabel"] sen
[attr="class","florencelabel"] con
[attr="class","florencelabel"] speed
[attr="class","florencetag"]240
[attr="class","florencetag"]0
[attr="class","florencetag"]135
[attr="class","florencetag"]60
[attr="class","florencetag"]205
[attr="class","florencetag"]30 m/s
[break]
[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 // 60 ooc
[attr="class","florencetag"]375/375
[break]
[attr="class","florencextra"]COMBAT SUMMARY
[break]
[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]
Post by Jagen Lavender♛ on May 6, 2020 14:08:01 GMT -5
Hearing the two of his friends and trusted Magic Knight Captain's talk, each with their own views on the current situation at hand. Jagen decided it was best to remain quiet throughout their explanation of the info he just gave them, their views were similar but also varied on the fact that the info given was so inconclusive that it was maddening shown on the two captain’s faces. It was time for him to speak so he stepped up to the map.
”Alright, Ardere...I am willing to bet my life that the Witch Queen has something about this in her pocket to be used as bargaining...but I am not here to bargain any longer. Zaven and Wolfe will know more once we get to them. Looking at the map and hearing that you agree with Ard, Silas...I am convinced that this is a trap set for us one hundred percent, but the thing is...we don’t have a choice. That section probably has something to do with control over the tower or a way up to the higher levels. While I know that Wolfe and you…” He points to Ardere. “Are good for crowd control...the fact of the matter is that we ALL need to move up. The men that are here know the likelihood of coming back alive is slim, but they know what happens if we fail here. So as you said yes the two of you will be best for busting a hole in their formations to allow us to gain entrance...I believe it is best that Wolfe lead the men I brought with me...They will hold the line as best they can so we can move up the tower, the opposition there will most likely be smaller forces but stronger as we move up...It is doable, but our risk of death is the same either way. Leaving them at camp here is the same as abandoning them in case we fail...it is best to keep as much power as we can with us in this case Silas, but I will agree that this is a major problem that we are woefully unprepared for.”
Jagen pondered for a bit, his brain thought of ways that they could get away from the horde, but all signs pointed to the breach and clear method, but as Jagen thought about the recon that Zaven and Wolfe did already...the one thing that they did not say was crowded was airspace. ”What if we met up with Zaven and Wolfe and we breached from higher up. There is a chance that using the flare’s distractions and coupled it with one of my men that can provide us with transport over...we blast through the wall. Then we take over with a full force? What do you two think?”
Zaven and Wolfe were making their way through the forest, keeping a low profile and their mana signatures as close as they could to the background mana of the area while on approach. They killed more than five groups of smaller daemons with ease, but one thing was apparent as they got closer...the stifling amount of negative mana was getting thicker...their view was becoming clouded as well. Zaven was moving silently still, keeping his wits about him as he had a job to do. Wolfe was eager to get it done as well, but the two men were woefully unprepared for what they would see when they arrived at the edge of the treeline to the clearing the Forgotten Tower was located in.
[attr="class","ardereescroll"]Ardere ground down on his teeth. Perhaps Jagen was right. Leaving them here was the same as leaving them to die. At least if they stuck together, they had a chance at surviving. Unfortunately no matter how much they planned, things could still go awry. The sad fact of the matter is, my King, that we can stand around here planning as much as we want but there's no telling what will happen once we reach that tower. The mana, it's palpable. I feel like my skin is gonna leap off my god damn body right now. I say we get moving, and we take the men there. The Crimson Lion Captain took a deep breath. He was steaming. The tension was high, so high that even the Wizard King himself seemed to be feeling it. But we'll go with your plan. I think we're all in agreement that we need to breach that tower up high. I have no idea if its reinforced with magic, but if you can create a transport spell for us Jagen, then Silas and I can give it our best. We'll bust a hole in that tower one way or the other. And with that, the fire mage nodded before exiting the tent. They did not have time to dawdle. The mages needed to move. Whatever force was lurking out there was growing in strength by the minute. [break][break] Stepping out into the camp, there was no outward fear amongst the men. But he could feel it. Ardere could sense the tension and unease. He could feel their worry. There was not much he could to to alleviate that, but he could fight for them. That was the best he could do right now. Not with his words but with his actions, he could show them that there was still a battle to fight. Even though things were confusing and scary, there was still work to be done. And the Crimson Lion would stand right in front with them. He would await Jagen and Silas outside the tent, as the Wizard King would give them the order to go. He only hoped that Zaven and Wolfe were being safe out there. The Witches Forest was more dangerous now than ever. They had to be careful. But once things were prepared, they would be off to the Forgotten Tower. After all this time, the fire mage wondered why he had never encountered it. Perhaps there was an illusion around the tower itself that not even his Ki could see through. Or perhaps the tower had burst forth from the ground. He did not know. What he did know is that once they busted a hole in it, it was game on. Whatever Daemon was lurking within was in for one rude awakening. This would be one of the most powerful makeshift squads in history. He just hoped they could pull it off without a hitch. There was always a hitch.
Post by Jagen Lavender♛ on Jun 12, 2020 12:37:06 GMT -5
Zaven and Wolfe had made their way to a cliff face that overlooked the valley in which the tower was located, they were both covered in filth...their journey was quiet, but having to rely on stealth was not of the two’s strong suite while traveling together, but all worked out well with the melee weapons they had it seemed. Though they had done so, the two of them had both received injuries, though Wolfe looked much worse for wear. He was often a vanguard for the two while Zaven acted to mark areas for the small fighting force of the Wizard King. Wolfe now had two broken ribs, a cut along his forehead, and two fingers on his left hand were now fractured, Zaven had a puncture wound near his left shoulder, a cut across his back and a gash across his left eye.
Looking out over the daemon forces it was excruciating...they could not do anything, at best they would slow them down if the group was found out, but it was something at least. Zaven grabbed the flare launcher from his jacket and eyed it carefully, then looking to wolfe he would sigh. ”This may be the wrong time to ask this, but what are you planning on doing when you return to the kingdom after this?” Zaven asked Wolfe. The former Black Bull captain looked at him and smiled before pulling out that flask of his, a fine silver flask, opening the cap he would take a large swig from the container before offering Zaven the same, the Golden Dawn Captain took it and took a drink as well, the cool amber liquid sliding down his throat before the feeling of the burn came to put a fire in his belly. ”I...Zaven you know as well as I do that this was a one way trip...we just have to make sure the Wizard King gets to the top so that way whatever the fuck is going on will finally be over...The liquor will help ease the pain, so drink up...the next part is where we begin the real challenge.” He would say before grabbing the flare launcher from Zaven and launching it into the air.
The daemon horde was confused for a moment, the blinding light causing them all to look away...the signal had been given.
Jagen looked up, just past the treetops as he saw the flare overhead, the color was black with an electric blue aura around it. It must have meant that the pair had reached the area designated for the attack. The group had been following the markings left by Zaven, little shadow golems left that would disappear once the Wizard King interacted with them. The plan was to arrive at the designated area and then get to the upper floors with magical breaching...the men would hold the floor with Wolfe while The Wizard King and the captains would move up so that control of the tower could be taken quickly and effectively.
”Looks like we are gonna have to step up the pace boys...we don’t have much time now that the flare has been fired off.” Jagen would say as they would begin to move at a faster pace so that the soldiers would be ready, Jagen would pull the flare launcher out, and prime it as he knew that they were close, the mana signatures from the two were just ahead. The time to breach and face their destiny had finally come.
