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.
Description: One of Clover’s most famous archaeologists, Ilhiana Vones, has been allowed by the Wizard king to explore the deep jungles of the Forsaken Region in search of a lost temple. She wishes to gather a group of well-educated researchers and protectors to help her on her journey. Spend some time in the Grand Magic Archives and educate yourself before you attempt to get into her crew!
Minimum Number of Players: 1
Minimum Word Count: 1000 per person
Location: Royal Capital
NPC Information: N/A
Enemies: N/A
Special Conditions: Have the character read up on dangerous snake temples in ancient jungles!
The Grand Magic Archives of the Royal Capital was truly something to behold. Artemis herself was not a mage who thought themselves above books, and the Grand Magic Archives was one of the places that she enjoyed spending time in during her childhood. She could still remember coming here during her father’s time as the Head of the Somerset family, when the Somersets had been active in the dealings of the Royal Capital’s fisheries. Of course even today, the Somersets still control a lot of the fisheries within the Royal Capital’s harbour, owning boats that were most used for fishing, and some transport ships for easier access to Hapshass’ canneries. Though, unlike her father, Artemis has not taken full control of the business aspect of her family, and instead had given it to her mother for management. She was, first and foremost, a Magic Knight. This meant that most of her life will be spent in the field of battle, for the protection of the Clover Kingdom. It was the life she chose.[break][break]
Nostalgia aside, Artemis was here for one specific reason: to gain access to tomes and literature that concerned the topics of snakes, venoms, and temples that concern those two topics. She had been asked to prove herself to the lead researcher if she wanted to go on this mission, and never failing to meet a challenge, she obliged. Little did the researcher know that this was already a habit for Artemis anyway. Before she went on any missions she had accepted, Artemis made sure to read up on what she might encounter. One might call her too prepared, especially since Artemis herself could most likely bulldoze the obstacles that she faced. However, she would rather be safe than sorry. At the end of the day, Artemis never went anywhere underprepared, so despite the mission parameter needing for her to read up on these certain topics, she truly had already intended to do it anyway. She wouldn’t tell the researcher that though. [break][break]
“Let’s see here, hm.” Artemis browsed through the aisle that had a lot of the snake topics placed in it. The system of the Grand Magic Archive was very orderly, and it made it easier for Artemis to actually find specific topics without weaving through the different aisles of bookshelves. She was, at least, grateful for that.[break][break]
“Snakes. Temples.” Artemis continued to whisper to herself as she weaved through the aisle, making sure not to hit random people that were loitering about. “Temples that have snake effigies. I suppose that topic might be what I am looking for, hm.” The search itself was easy, though by this time, Artemis was carrying more books than what she normally could with one hand. The tones themselves were very thick, and from what Artemis could see, lightly dusty. It seems that this was a topic that was not so popular with the Magic Knights, nor was it popular with the common public. She supposed that was just something that nobody ever really thinks of, nor is it really for light reading. [break][break]
With a shrug, Artemis started carrying her books back towards a desk she found herself to occupy. It was a long desk, with benches that reminded Artemis of the church back in Hage. It was certainly very uncomfortable, though Artemis was sure that there were more comfy chairs that lined the Grand Magic Archives. Or maybe the curators of the Grand Magic Archive just did not want loiterers inside their charge, and so made the chairs as uncomfortable as possible. Truthfully, Artemis could see why they would do the latter. Tomes inside this archive were precious, and some of them were priceless. It was no surprise that the curators made sure to keep the place as empty as possible, though it never stopped Artemis from actually sitting inside for hours when she had been very little. The place inspired knowledge, and Little Artemis had been thoroughly inspired to learn. Her love of books definitely stemmed from this Grand Magic Archive.[break][break]
However, just before she could settle in, she felt a presence close to her that was eerily familiar. She knew this mana signature, though it definitely was not a part of her Magic Squad. Another squad then? Was it a previous team mate? Artemis looked around, trying to find the mana signature. They were definitely close. She wondered why they were here, though the answer seems very certain. If they were looking through tomes of the same subject matter as Artemis, then they must also be going to take part in the mission she accepted. She supposed the more the merrier, after all. [break][break]
Boredom. Boredom was the feeling that was running through the entire body of Naxel. He was sitting in the middle of a briefing about a case he wasn’t even apart of. The only reason he was hanging out in the back, listening in, was to get a feel of how everyone does things. This was so that when it was his time to stand in front of larger groups of people that he would know what to do. Whoever this guy was, that was talking right now, was someone who had major confidence in the way he spoke. Every word flowed out his mouth without ever skipping a beat. His insight on the case he was over was truly remarkable. Just by listening to him, watching him, and everything else you could say that he was one of the best Knights we had. It was good to know who your competition was after all. But this all came to an end when the door right to him opened up. Naxel was paying attention to the man talking once the feeling of someone touched him appeared. Turning his head he noticed someone was peaking into the door looking straight at him. At first it was kind of weird, but no one really comes looking for him unless something needs to be done. So, Naxel rose out of his chair to quietly exit the room. Once he was outside he noticed it was the Missions officer once again. For some reason he didn’t have anything with him like he normally did. The young noble cocked his head to the side with the rise of an eyebrow following behind.
The Missions Officer crossed his arms when he saw Naxel cock his head to the side. He also gave off a blank blunt look in response to the Nobles action. Afterwards, Naxel turned his head back right, so he could get information out of this man that pulled him from a briefing. “What can I do for ya today? Must be something good for you to pull me out of this briefing.” Breaking the moment of silence that had went on for too long. Naxel would also give off a smile to the man that stood in front of him. “I’ve received word that an Archeologist is looking for a group of Magic Knights to help assist with an exploration. They are needing researchers and protectors to accompany her. Since I know you have been looking for some better investigations I thought a research job wouldn’t be bad. You have a good eye, and I am sure that would help this person out.” Naxel would then take a moment to think about this. There wasn’t really much information he knew about researching stuff. He could do research through books, so that he could have some insight on things for his cases. Doing a Research Exploration type deal just sounded like more of a pain than anything. This was something that would actually go into books for others to see if they were to find something worth telling. It was an unsettling thought when he actually thought about it, but his mother would probably be happy if she saw him inside a research book. Though, before Naxel could give a response, the man spoke up with some interesting information. “I was also able to gather that an Artemis Somerset of the Green Mantis has taken this mission. We both know you like to know who you are doing this mission with if someone has taken it.” He said to the Noble while crossing his arms in a waiting fashion. “Hmm... I’ll take it. I know who Artemis is. There are still some things I wanna try to get out of that woman.” Finally giving a response to the man that he was long awaiting an answer for.
The man handed Naxel a piece of paper, with a location on it, before walking off. He was still a very strange man in some ways. One day Naxel will break that from him, and maybe they’ll have a conversation longer than a brief moment. Naxel shook his head, and went out the door to the squad courtyard. Once there he used his bracer to summon his shadow chariot. He would then hop into to fly off for the Royal Capital. The trip doesn’t really take all that long anymore. Since his item enhancement he was able to fly a lot faster than he was originally able too. It would always take so long for him to get to places, and miss a little bit by the time he got to where where ever. Now he could fly to the capital in no time. Though, when he arrived at the Capital, he would fly down towards where the Grand Archive was located. When he was descending down he started to feel a familiar mana signature come from inside. A smile came across his face when he automatically assumed it was Artemis. He would then jump off of the Chariot once he was close enough to the ground. Then walk inside to notice the massive size of this building. It was a great sight to see, but now wasn’t really the time to admire it. Naxel would follow the signature the best he could before coming up on Artemis. “Well well well. Look who I managed to find today.” Speaking to his friend with a little louder than a whisper.
Artemis looked up as a familiar voice greeted her. She was not surprised to find the young Azure Deer mage looking right at her, having sensed him already as he arrived the area. She had been unsure who her partner was going to be, though she neither really cared nor minded. After all, this was a mission, and as long as it succeeded, Artemis gave little mind to who she had to work with. “Naxel Blake of the Azure Deers.” Artemis nodded as she looked at the young man and nodded, “You’re finally here.” She continued, before turning back towards the books she had gathered. There had been quite a bit of tomes that had caught her eye, though in the end, she was able to narrow it down somewhat. The topic of snakes was something that was fairly common in the bookshelves. There was quite a bit of snakes and their species within the Clover Kingdom after all. Even more so, snake bites are quite common ailments as well, especially for those living in the Forsaken Region. The wild life there was very untamed, which led to more incidents with animals. However, grabbing books with the topic of snakes was not enough. In the end, Artemis had to dig deeper to look into specific types of snakes. Especially those that lived in supposed temples. Even more so, the snakes that could have been worshipped, deities possibly. Or even just very poisonous snakes that could be used as traps within temples.[break][break]
“I have already compiled a set of books that seem to cover the topic at hand.” Artemis would wave at the small stack of books that she had been compiling earlier on. She had, of course, had already read through almost all of them. Being an avid reader herself, speed reading was nothing new to her. Using her finger, she would trace each line very quickly, and her eyes would dart and read through it without a hitch. It was something she developed as a child when she had first started learning how to use her magic properly. However, even then, the tomes she had been able to grab had been quite hefty in their knowledge base. This meant that Artemis had to be very careful, and more selective when she read. She quickly pilfered through the information that was useless, and sorted out what she deemed useful. “All of these have something to do with snakes and temples. Most of them will talk about poisons, and some of them will talk about re-animation of some sort. Sometimes of mages’ skeleton, and other times they are the snakes themselves. However, specific temples with snakes in them are few and far between, and the information that can be found is very scarce. I was able to narrow it down somewhat, though I’m unsure if this would be enough.” Artemis shrugged, her eyes now darted back towards the book she had been previously reading before the young man arrived. She had wanted to finish this one, with it being the last book she had to read.[break][break]
The book itself was interesting. It talked of different types of temples dedicated to different animals. There were rumours that animals had been the central type of deities that were once praised and worshipped. It was believed before that the animals embodied magic, and that they were the primary beings that had been made before humans and other races had existed. The animals, therefore, were the primordial beings of magic. At least, that had been the belief. It also says in the book that the animals exhibited unnatural powers, the ability to do things that were considered inhuman. Magic, it seems coursed through the veins of the animals that had been worshipped centuries ago. From what Artemis could see, it seems as though these animals were not unlike magical beasts. Mana beasts would be the term used by the Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom. Mythical, powerful, and able to withstand normal weapons, these creatures were lauded with worship, and had been central figures of religions in olden times. However, in the end, this type of religion was eclipsed by others, such as naturism as well as polytheism. Remnants of this old religion, however, seems to still be existing today in the form of old temples and what not.[break][break]
“I think I have what I’m looking for.” Artemis finally looked up from her book, pushing the book itself towards the young man, hoping he would have had enough time to look through the stack she had on the side. “Check this one out. Once you’re done, I think we’re ready to go.”[break][break]
Artemis stood up, collecting her stuff. She turned towards the young man, “I’ll meet you outside once you’re done. I need some fresh air after this…” She gestured at the atmosphere, which can get really heavy with the amount of books and shelves around them.[break][break]
With that, Artemis would take her leave and wait for Naxel just outside the library itself. She was anxious to get this mission started.
Naxel had took a seat at the table when he heard Artemis’ reply to his greeting. The Green Mantis seemed to have complied a list of books on temples and Snakes. He had read the report that was given to him, and it did mention the need to know about these two things. Most of the things that Naxel has experienced, during his time as a Magic Knight, were things that you would normally see within a town. People who want to rob one another, Steal, mug, etc. Snakes and Temples were something that was way out of his normal day to day study. To be fair, he didn’t really think that there were any temples to still be around in this day and time. You will see maybe a temple type deal where people might pray at, but an ancient one? Seemed like whoever this Archaeologist may be is someone who likes dangerous things. It didn’t really matter all that much to the Noble, due to him always up for helping someone. Plus the Wizard King seems to think this would be a good idea to get some knowledge on whatever they are looking for. So, Naxel reached out for a book to get started reading up on temples. The first book he had grabbed was one that explained the architecture of some temples that have been discovered. One of them seemed to be several stories below the ground, and more floors that were yet to really be explored. Another was a smaller temple that seemed to be very well fortified with traps. By just looking at those two, so far, it seemed that this might be a lot more dangerous than he feels it would be. Come to thing of it, he didn’t remember everything about whether or not this place they were going had even been explored before. That also raised a major red flag within his head.
While continuing to look at this book on temples he was interrupted by his co-Knight. She had went on to explain that the books she had were about snakes and temples. Naxel would then become a little more concerned when the word poison came up. That would quickly bring back a memory of himself almost getting poisoned by a thug with a poisoned knife. It wasn’t completely the same thing as facing a creature that was poisonous itself. The concerning feeling would still stay either way, and he was professional enough to keep it out of his expressions. Though, he could grab one of the books to go ahead to start reading it. One of them went on to explain the few different types of poisonous snakes that were located within a jungle area. Some of the sketches they showed had them looking very horrifying. The sizes that they could get up to was what really had him more worry now. So, he decided to close that book before he would get would, for some reason, back out of this mission. He would then go on to look at the book that Artemis had on temples. By this point Artemis seemed to have obtained enough research, and needed some fresh air. He wondered if what she had found has caused her to become worrisome herself. She seemed like a very well handled woman that could stand her ground easily. Naxel hasn’t ever really seen her fight before. Mainly cause he just met her not that long ago. With how these creatures seemed to be described he would eventually see what she was made of. But, Naxel would think that he had enough Knowledge on what was needed for this mission. He then decided to get up with the books still on the table. Lastly, he would head out the door to meet Artemis that mentioned she would be waiting for him outside.
[Exit]
WC: 1554- 2 stat points in Sensory due to squad perk
