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.
In the northeastern portion of the forsaken realm, many of the people live off of the land. Whether it is from the food they grow by themselves on their farms, the stag and boar they manage to hunt down in the northern forests, somehow, they manage to make it work. Recently, however, there have been reports about something descending from the north that spooks the local wildlife and takes livestock from the local farmlands. While no residents have gone missing, people say that it is only a matter of time before “The Beast” strikes again. This is why they called it in with the magic knight squads, hoping they can settle the matter once and for all.
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[attr="class","shadowsSub"]Details
Maximum Number of Players: 2 [break]Minimum Word Count: 1500 [break]Location: The Forsaken Realm [break]Special Requirements: For starters, you are to discuss with the locals what they have seen, heard and tried to do to keep the beast out. Naturally, none of what they tried helped, and all of their “information” in terms of how the beast might look is based on hearsay. The only bit of useful information they might be able to provide is where the last attack, or rather, livestock theft took place, as there have been no signs of any animals being killed, just disappearing. Go there, look for tracks, and get ready to track it north.
[attr="class","shadowsSub"]NPC Information
What NPCs are in this mission? Please fill out the template for any notable NPCs. While those you have to socially interact with during the mission are not required, any enemy that is presented in the mission must be listed here.
Every once in a while, a request for aid came in from the northern regions that left people either speechless or outright made them want to deny aid entirely. One such case being a request coming from the forsaken region that asked for aid with their livestock disappearing into thin air. Some had put in a request claiming that it had been done by brigands and other such rogues that took their animals in order to butcher them for food and sell off any excess for a quick buck. Yet others claimed that it was caused by some large monstrosity that took their animals in the night, and that large tracks had been found in the mud prior to them disappearing due to the heavy rainfall of the past few weeks. The contradictory stories had left various people looking at the mission and outright declining due to not wanting to waste their time on any wild chase leading nowhere.
For Gawain, it was mostly just a means of getting outside and potentially getting to either fight a band of brigands or duke it out with a powerful creature. Either way, it was a win win situation for him.
Flying into town while standing on top of his broom like a surf board, the boy landed on his feet while gripping the handle. Stashing the object away so that he would be able to move around without looking like he had come for a cleaning job, the young knight started having a look around the place. Truth be told, he did not really know where to start due to how vague the mission parameters were, not to mention the amount of different requests that had come in towards dealing with one and the same problem. Right now, it seemed like he had to search for a grain of truth inside of a whole pile of dung. What with some people acting purely out of hearsay and superstition, others acted based off of what made sense to them. To some, a monster would be the best way to explain the loss of cattle, while to others it made by far the most reasonable sense to think they were stolen by other people.
So as it were, the only thing the boy could really do right now was to go by as many of the people that had voiced their requests as possible as a means of getting a semi-decent lead to follow up on. Along the way, it seemed like the wise idea to also get as many insights from the other townsfolk he passed by. You could never know whether someone might provide him with a coherent angle by which to approach the situation while coming from an unexpected source. For now though, he would head towards the home of the nearest farmer.
Post by Seron Volari-Blake on Feb 11, 2024 15:14:02 GMT -5
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[attr="class","maintex"]He'd be having words with Felanor when he got back.
Words he was all but certain that she would simply laugh at, thank him for doing as she asked, and then continue doting upon his daughter as if he hadn't just walked through her front door. Clever woman. Even so, she was a dear friend and he owed her more than a favor or two in the years since his settling into civilian life. Not to mention her agreeing to keep an eye on his little girl, better so that she was out of the way of any potential danger. No matter how much talent she'd already started to show with magic years prior, without a grimoire of her own? He was not about to put his only child at risk, bad enough he'd be throwing himself back into the deep end as it were. Let alone someone else he cared about.
Of course, it didn't seem like much of a 'deep end' quite yet, when much of the trials he'd faced were simply travelling out from the Royal Capital, sure he'd handed over a little Yul to expedite the process a fair bit. But walking for days at a time before he could even reach the right location was quite a hassle. Still, the Forsaken Region as a whole wasn't unknown to him, given his mother still dwelled upon the edges, he did not blame her for remaining here after all she had been through years before. He had even found a moment to stop by for a night before continuing on his way. As tempting as it was to remain at her side, to help for a few days, he had to press on. There was more then one issue his dear friend wanted dealt with, and just as when she had told him of what she needed to begin with, the edges of his mouth pressing into a thin line, was a clear sign of his displeasure at recalling just what he had been told.
Most importantly? That the Magic Knights would be involved and as a result, that he'd have to work with whomever they'd sent along. As an institution he did not wholly hate them, but it had become rather instinctual to avoid any interaction with them personally in the months since he'd lost Liana. Even those of her former squad had kept their distance at his own request, though they'd mentioned putting in a good word should he ever desire to return and while a nice thought, returning to a battlefield wasn't his idea of a good time. Much as he used to enjoy the adrenaline rush, he couldn't be quite so sure anymore, back then it hadn't been a problem. He only had himself to worry about, to care if he got himself hurt by throwing himself into the fray. Now? There was so much more he might lose if he wasn't careful.
It was why he had somewhat stubbornly insisted upon going alone, rather then Felanor accompanying him as she had originally intended days prior. With her looking after his daughter, the mage knew he could at least be reassured that she was safe, no matter what he would be heading into over these next few weeks. Almost like the old days, no one else to worry about but himself and potentially whomever they sent, neither of which comforted him whatsoever as he made his way north. She'd given him a rough overview but little else, which meant once he got to the right town in particular, he'd have some asking around to do. Hopefully the locals weren't too distrusting of strangers. Of course if they were, he'd still have the same amount of work to accomplish. So perhaps it did not matter either way.
Stepping into the town itself, everything seemed relatively normal, at least at first. A few people were, understandably weary of him as he entered, though he had not bothered to pull up the hood of the cloak that hung around his shoulders and draped over his form. Bad enough that he was coming all the way here from so far, he didn't need the folks here thinking him some kind of criminal based on appearances alone. Better to be somewhat open, or at least polite, information was likely to be found everywhere and not just from words alone. Considering the behaviors of animals varied greatly, somethings would be better observed rather then verbally told to him. Not that he would doubt any one person's insistence that their knowledge was correct. It didn't take long to find such one such person either.
While the loss of livestock was obvious as he'd looked around a bit, the reasoning for how it happened seemed to be a rather debated topic about the town. One such person had mentioned to him their suspicions about it being stolen by those not that far away, a neighboring town, a rival of theirs it seemed. Another insisted that it had to be the work of the local monsters that lingered that far away. Both made sense logically sure, but both were unlikely to be correct at the same time. Still it was worth looking into where it the livestock had actually been taken from first, before he made any rash decisions. Though he'd seen no sign yet of any Magic Knight about, but he wasn't about to pause and wait around for whomever it was that had been sent out here.
"Thank you so much for the information miss, if I find anything near where the cattle were taken I'll be sure to let you know." A softer tone, polite and placating in the surest possible way. No doubt whatever he news he may or may not return to her at a later date, would be spread about the town like wildfire within a few hours at most. Gossip it seemed, was minimal in this otherwise normal town. Thankfully he did not have to live here after this was settled and done. Seron wasn't sure he could live with every individual around him clucking like hens about the slightest bit of potentially interesting information to weave it's web within this place.
Moving about the town, there seemed to have been a bit of a misconception going around that there were supposed to be two people investigating the case together. As such, the boy picked up a bit of annoyance when he inquired about the situation as the people in question felt like they needed to repeat the same story for no reason other than the young mage double-checking. This was obviously not the case, and it made him feel like this whole investigation was hitting a bit of a snag already. Sighing deeply as he thanked the person he had been speaking to for answering truthfully, the ashen haired youth wandered off towards the next farmstead. Maybe it was because he rarely paid attention to additional briefings, or maybe he hadn’t properly read the parameters before going off to handle the task at hand, but he was quite sure he was meant to be going about this alone.
Not allowing his mind to wander off to thoughts of there perhaps being impersonators going around or people using a magic knight cover as a means to safeguard their livestock snatching operations, Gawain mused that he would find this other person soon enough. There northern townships were generally not that large to begin with, the only difficulty in reaching places and people being the distance between the towns and the farmsteads scattered about. The only real information the man had managed to give him about a supposed partner was that it was a man with ‘knife ears’, popular slang used by common folk when talking about those who held stronger elven features. Gawain knew for a fact that elven blood ran through his veins as well, though aside from his turquoise eyes and incredibly bright hair, he did not have any visible markings on his body nor their tell-tale pointy ears.
The way he saw it, if he could not locate this man within the next ten minutes, more time would not be wasted on the issue as he would go about looking into what information he had received so far. Even though much of the stories were… conflicted to say the least, the majority of them seemed to imply that the thieves, or creatures, were snatching up their prey and taking them north towards the Fringe. Up there, even if the culprit wasn’t monstrous, the chance that he would end up running into magically altered creatures while moving through the region was about as high as running into a pompous, egotistical asshat while at a gathering of nobles. Even as he continued pondering, the boy was not one who was incapable of multitasking, as he kept his senses on his surroundings, trying to pick out the individual that was either trying to do his work for him, or using it as a cover for something nefarious.
When his eyes fell on someone who had seemingly just closed off a conversation with one of the townsfolk, he would make no attempt at rousing any suspicion, nor would he try to appear in any way upset. The truth was that while he was not upset, he did not enjoy wasting time. So when he could ascertain without a doubt that this individual possessed the necessary elven features to become a suspect, the boy pulled up on him. Since he was not wearing any magic knight attire as such would just make any potential rogue elements within the area aware of him, the ashen haired youth with the bright eyes would just look up at the older man as he began to speak.
“Are you the one that’s been going around asking questions about livestock theft in the area? If so, I’d appreciate it if you’d be willing to ‘spill the beans’, as they say in these parts.”
Post by Seron Volari-Blake on Feb 12, 2024 13:22:15 GMT -5
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[attr="class","maintex"]No matter what, some things remained the same.
Seron found that, regardless of location, status or even in which Kingdom a person dwelled within - some things did not change. Most notably, that of how people reacted to being asked a question, body language could tell a lot about someone even if you did not otherwise know them. Or perhaps never have interacted with them before. It was not nearly as effective as having spent time with another for a long period of time, but it was something. No matter how harsh his Grandfather and the rest of his family had been, those lessons certainly stuck with him. Alone, away from those he loved, he supposed he was slipping just slightly back into old habits. A terrible idea really. But the quicker he got information out of these people, the sooner he could leave them to continue their days peacefully.
Or so he told himself.
So he pried bit by bit, seeking the grains of truth from the lies and exaggerations from stories told to him. Some of those he spoke to had no clue, and instead lied and boasted their way through answering him. Not wanting to be seen as suspicious he supposed, or perhaps this really was a rare twisted form of entertainment for some of them, and no matter what everyone wanted to be involved in some way. No matter how insignificant such involvement may be. Of course there were some that simply refused to speak with him outright, though he wore no mantle, they assumed him as such, even as he insisted otherwise. Such people though few, he took as a lost cause, he would not be here for hours on end just to try to convince these few to speak with him. It would be naught but a waste of time.
Amusingly, those that refused to speak with him, were the ones that referred to him as 'knife-ear' when they thought he could not hear them. He could. While Seron had no liking towards such a term for those granted more elven features, including himself, he wasn't about to cause some sort of scene over it. People like that would find themselves in unpleasant situations eventually as it was, regardless of what he did, better to simply let karma take it's rightful course. Eventually he found one of the last few he had yet to talk to, an elderly woman who seemed all too happy to chat with him and explain what she saw. Truthfully for once. She saw no need to lie it seemed, refreshing and very helpful. Whatever was causing these cattle to vanish, it had nothing to do with those in this town.
With his answers in hand, and now a plan already being formed, he softly thanked the woman and stepped away to let her go about her day once more. Soft steps leading him to double back, straight towards where the cattle had last been seen before disappearing like ghosts in the night. Or at least that was his intention until he was stopped by someone, a rather small someone, but that made sense once he took a look at him. Not a grown adult, but still a child. With a grimoire clearly on display, oh joy, had the Magic Knights truly sent a child to help him? Sure the boy's mana felt rather strong from a brief look, but even that could be deceiving.
"That depends on who, exactly, is asking. Does it not? I am not one for sharing anything with those I have just met simply because they ask nicely. If you wish to persist, you are welcome to follow me." If the younger male would understand why he chose to be careful to such a degree or not did not matter, though he kept his tone polite and without malice. Information had it's uses, in small amounts or not, it could always be used as a weapon in the right hands. A kind of blade that did not need magic to be used. Nevertheless, he did not stop and stand there while the other questioned him. Not when there was work still to be done. Instead he stepped around the child mage and continued towards his original destination. If he wanted answers, he'd just have to keep up.
Honestly, the fact that this guy did not know who he was was not all that strange. Most people outside of his own squad or those that he had worked with directly had no idea who he was. To most, he was just a kid with a grimoire, though those that actually saw the grimoire up close and noticed the four-leaf pattern knew soon enough what was what. After more or less refusing to answer his question and walking away from him, there was this small portion within Gawain’s mind that told him to send the guy flying all the way to the royal capital. He had asked him nicely after all, and this was the treatment he was getting in return. Frowning as the man walked past him, the boy turned around and adjusted his pace, walking slightly faster than the man did to be the one leading the pair from the front.
“I’m Gawain, and persisting is what I do best. Following a tour-guide however is not.”
Walking out front for a while without saying anything, he made sure to keep adjusting his pace so as to ensure that he maintained the lead. He was stubborn like that, and confident enough in his own speed to know that few would be able to match him once he tried, let alone surpass him. Luckily, he just stuck to walking and slightly matching what speed this elf would throw at him. Knowing quite well where they were supposedly to be headed, it wouldn’t take them long before they ended up going off-road and into one of the animal pens. Given how big they were, most of the cows that were still grazing paid them little to no mind, though they cleared out as the two got closer to their positions. It went to show that, while they were not overly sheepish, they weren’t about to just let anyone get right up into their business either.
While that knowledge would not do a whole lot for the sake of the investigation, it was still something he would keep in the back of his mind. As he kept on going, he would remain quiet as he inspected the area, noticing the amount of deep puddles left after the heavy rainfall. At first, he did not really see them for what they were, as the downpour of water had warped the outlines and overall shape into nothing more than puddles. However, after a while, he could tell that there was an odd type of pattern to them. Deciding to follow the puddles for a bit, they would eventually reach the far side of the animal pen, marked by a wooden fence that seemed entirely unharmed. On the other side of the fence however, Gawain found the kind of thing he had been looking for. Proof of the culprit in the form of a massive footprint that hadn’t outright been washed away by the rain.
Judging from the depth of the footprints, the creature weighed a lot, the spacing between each step proving that its size was something to weary of as much as its potential strength. But more than that, if this creature was responsible for stealing any of the missing cows, the lack of blood, guts and carcasses meant that it was strong enough to lift up an entire cow and take it for a ride. It was also smart enough to not barge through the fences but step over it, which went to add to the fact that this thing had to be very big, very nimble, or perhaps a combination of the two. There was no doubt in his mind that Griswold might have known what could have been responsible, as he had danced with plenty of mana beasts and other mutants and aberrants in his time as a knight. Gawain however had only seen so many, and only knew so much.
“Since you didn’t seem to eager to answer questions, I still don’t know much as to why you’re here trying to do a magic knight’s job. Though I’m sure by now, we can at least agree that there were no livestock thieves, but there was a roving beast with some pretty big feet.”
Standing up straight after inspecting the prints up close, he would allow the elf to do the same if he felt so inclined as he checked the fence itself to see if maybe it had rubbed off any fur or scales against it. Unfortunately, the fence was unmarred in its entirety, leaving little that might add to his speculations. A shame to be sure. At this point, Gawain didn’t really care much for the man’s name or his intentions, though if there was to be some kind of cooperation to be had here, some information would need to be provided. The boy wasn’t the type to head out into the wilderness with an unknown variable that might very well try to stab him in the neck once he was busy defending himself from whatever might come their way. If no introduction or tale came, he was fine with letting the guy go on his way on his own while taking a break in town for a bit. In the worst case, he’d haul his corpse back from the Fringe once his turn came to find the beast.
Post by Seron Volari-Blake on Feb 25, 2024 18:11:18 GMT -5
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[attr="class","maintex"]He knew he was unlikely to get a decent answer.
As polite and courteous as he had been in asking for some kind of explanation before divulging what he knew, some kind of confirmation as to who the boy worked for without a shadow of a doubt before sharing knowledge. Information that he would have given over without further thought, if the young man simply told him whom he was doing this for, and wasn't just some random child who decided to poke his nose in and act as stubborn as an ox. What had he been met with instead? Nothing more than a first name and a whole ship's worth of sass to go right along with it. Reactions like this, to an inquiry that he thought seemed so very simple to understand, made him worry for his daughter's own teenage years. Heavens above he hoped she would not be anything like this.
"I see I expected too much asking such a simple question, my mistake." If the boy would not tell him anything more, then what was he supposed to do? Blindly trust an arrogant teenager who, judging by his increase of speed to walk ahead of him rather then beside to ask further questions of his own, was likely to storm ahead regardless of what was said or even any scrap of an answer he might decide to hand out. Even as he kept walking, he kept a certain distance, not out of fear, but who in these lands blindly trusted without proof as to who someone was? The foolish and the soon-to-be as well as the recently deceased, that was who. Such might apply to him if he wasn't careful. Relying on someone else was fine, when you knew what their intentions and allegiances were.
Most Magic Knights were rather open about being such, and from that, a general want to help the people of this Kingdom that he had gradually relented into calling a new kind of home. A potential misunderstanding or not, the fact that the other just charged ahead. Told him plenty about what sort of person he was dealing with, and might still have to be for a few hours yet, if he was a Magic Knight of course. The one sent out here may have already gone ahead for all he knew, it wouldn't be surprising if that were the case. Either way, Seron knew he was likely to end up with a headache from all of this before the day was done. Maybe if he was lucky, this whole situation wouldn't be too much of a hassle to clear up.
Reaching the edge of the town's usual pathways and stepping off-road showed little difference save for the frequency of the tracks leading to some of the larger animal pens. Clearly quite a few of the townsfolk had come out here to see the damage done, if not a large majority of them. None of them were those of individual's rushing to and fro however, the likelihood that another within the town had caused this seemed to be less and less likely by the minute. And of course the young man stormed ahead of him, impatient as well perhaps? Either way the mage took his time, tracing first around the outskirts of the pen itself. Few other tracks were spread about the place, and the recent rainfall only made it more difficult. But there was little magic here as far as he could tell.
At least, it all seemed that way until he hopped over the fence on the side furthermost from the town, one that led away from civilization and far more into the wilderness of the region as a whole. Well wasn't that rather telling. Barely anything at all really in terms of tracks left despite the rain, but clearly whatever had taken the cattle was smarter then your average beast and that alone was worrying. Hopefully none of the townsfolk had decided before he or anyone else had arrived, to try and charge off after whatever beast had caused this, well to the few that had figured it out anyway. The rest simply pinned the blame on those few of their neighbours they held a strong dislike for it seemed. Still what was left was useful and meant he had a direction to go in. It was a start.
Of course as he was looking everything over, another oh so helpful remark was thrown his way. Partly right, partly wrong. And still just making assumptions rather then asking. "I could say the exact same of you, on both accounts. Given I have no idea why you are here or who you work for - if anyone at all, I would think my caution to be understandable. Clearly that is not the case to you.'' He took a moment, let such words set in. Calmly waiting, not that he thought he would get much of a reaction either way. The only point they agreed on thus far was the matter of the animals that had been taken, whatever it was that was out there? It was smart enough not to smash through things in order to claim what it wanted, and that to say the least was rather concerning.
"We can agree on that much yes. The thievery tales were likely the result of contempt held between a few of the individuals within the town, though I wonder if any of them are foolish enough to have gone into the wilderness alone trying to find the beast. If nothing else this creature seems to be somewhat more intelligent then would be expected, even for a weaker mana beast." Not all such beings were slobbing messes with no knowledge to speak of, but it wasn't exactly common to see those who held some form of intellect lingering around places with a large population. Not unless it wished to blend in, and few such mana beasts could that he'd witnessed and heard about. So why here of all places? That was the question.
With a sigh, he moved carefully enough to avoid stepping in what was their only lead at the moment. Stopping to lean back against the nearby fence, half perched upon it for a moment in thought. If the foolish boy wanted information, the utmost basics would not do him any further harm. It was not as if he was going to be giving the other his full name. "My name is Seron. I was asked to deal with this as a favor to an old friend of mine, does that satisfy your curiosity enough for the time being?" Level-headed enough of an answer, even if some small part of him. From his youth most likely, wanted to be terribly petty, wanted to snark and sass the child for being so stubborn and arrogant about the whole thing. But he had not come out here to argue with a child, Felanor certainly might have a good laugh about it later, but he wouldn't if it came to pass.
No matter what happened, this issue had to be dealt with one way or another and sitting about the town wasn't going to do anyone any good. Stewing about a problem would not make it go away, he'd learnt that the hard way as a young man himself, no point repeating it at this age. The best thing they could do now, was to head deeper into the wilderness and try to find what had caused this, perhaps kill it if need be. That is, if the younger mage did not simply storm off ahead on his own before that happened of course. He wouldn't be surprised if it happened, but he could always hope for the alternative.
[PTabbedContent=] [PTab=Battle]Did no one teach this kid manners!? [/PTab={tab-min-width:50px!important;background:#242424;tab-background-color:#242424; tab-font-size:10px;tab-font-family:courier new;tab-text-transform:uppercase;tab-letter-spacing:0px;tab-font-weight:bold;tab-color:#a1a1a1;tab-hover-background-color:#4a4a4a;tab-hover-webkit-transition-duration:0.5s;tab-hover-moz-transition-duration:0.5s;tab-hover-transition-duration:0.5s;tab-webkit-transition-duration:0.5s;tab-moz-transition-duration:0.5s;tab-transition-duration:0.5s;}] [PTab=stats]
Though he heard the things the man had been saying, part of him chose to ignore it while the other half ignored it mostly because his mind was focused on other things. For as much as he liked to debate things and behave like a scamp, Gawain was far more curious as to what kind of a creature could just scoop up a whole cow and walk away with it under its arm or in its mouth. Part of him wanted to see if he could grapple with this beast while at the same time being able to return the livestock that had been taken. However, doing the latter seemed like it was going to be a very difficult thing to do, as most monsters did not outright take animals for the sake of befriending them. These animals had likely been taken back to some nest or lair to feed its young.
With a nimble leap, the boy hopped up and over the fence, figuring the best thing to do from this point on was to just see if the tracks could be followed any further. He didn’t see the point in returning to the townsfolk, informing them of some potential monster being up and about that took their animals right out of their pens and made off with them. Doing so would not really do much more than incite panic among the populace, which was something he had learned to avoid. When dealing with people who had such a strong tendency to swing towards the superstitious, he did not want to come back here after chasing down the monster to find that they had been burning witches or sacrificing other livestock for the blessings of the four great spirits, or whatever people did.
“I’m not sure what takes your fancy, Seron, but I wish to proceed and find what took these cows. If you want to go back and inform the people, I won’t stop you, though I’m not waiting. I want to see what curious creature we’re dealing with.”
With that, the boy almost started skipping his way through the vegetation while following the trail left by the creature. Funnily enough, you’d expect a beast this size to push over trees and crush things under foot, though it seemed to be able to maneuver quite well, even when carrying a large farm animal along with it. It was all just so damned weird as it defied the things he thought he knew. Usually it was the case that the larger a creature was, the less intelligent it was as it had no need for smarts and the like when you could just crush anything underfoot. In all honesty, in a world like this, if humans hadn’t managed to master the use of magic, they would be a whole lot lower on the food chain. It was something he thought about quite often as he continued his quest for ever greater levels of power.
And that quest continued ever so slightly with every new endeavor such as this.