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 Valo Stark✾ on Apr 22, 2024 8:22:17 GMT -5
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Valo Stark
"Don't need a reason to seek strength."
The sounds of clashing swords could be heard over and over again from a distance near the Black Bulls base. Valo and Kiyoshi were training their skills with a blade against each other, as they have done before. Kiyoshi had been Valo's teacher when it came to swordplay the past few months, and the young mage had come a long way. He always had a gift for the more physical arts, but Valo never considered becoming a full fledged swordsman like Kiyoshi was. He preferred to still use his near mastery of hand to hand combat for most of his fights. But making sure he was skillful in using a sword was important to him, just to cover his bases.
Valo dashed towards Kiyoshi sword in right hand at his full base speed for now, he knew Kiyoshi could handle it. If anything the wraith might be slightly faster with Valo using any augments. Valo turned his arm swing his sword towards Kiyoshi's ribcage the wraith parried it with graceful skill, and swung to counter only to meet Valo's flat side of his sword leaving both a stalemate. A second passed before a flurry of sword clashes came again, neither one able to get the advantage on the other.
Kiyoshi put up a hand signaling for the spar to come to an end for now, usually their spars lasted much longer so Valo was a bit confused. "You've improved quite a bit young master. Your skill with a sword is three times as good as it used to be." Kiyoshi said to Valo sheathing his own sword. Valo stabbed his sword into the ground and rolled his right shoulder a few times. "Enough to use your swords now?" Valo asked the wraith with a chuckle.
Kiyoshi had a rare tiny smirk on his face. "We're almost back to our full state." he said to Valo looking up at the bright sky. "Of course nowhere near where I was when I was alive, but close to back when we served our old master. Before she made us swear to you." Kiyoshi said bringing up Lillitu. Valo knew it was a touchy subject, the twins didn't speak on their old master often or at all to be honest. They would keep those things close to their chest, it was sacred to them and Valo respected that.
The young mage did look a little surprised though. "Back to your full state?" his question had a hint of excitement in it. If he could unlock the full power of the relic and the wraiths it would be an incredible source of power for the tough battles ahead. Apart of him wanted to continue training to see if that alone would allow him to finally master this relic. But he had spent countless hours sword training with Kiyoshi, meditating in lush forests with Anata and talking with Charlotte. Was it more 'training' that they needed, it couldn't be. Then an idea came to mind.
He had yet to really utilize the relic in real dire battles, always choosing to make sure they were safe. But thats not what they here for, they were powerful mages in their own right. They were here fight, and they could so so very well. Each possessing not just one but two powerful elements, and each one holding a very rare one at that. Valo probably wouldn't use them for his captain test, even though there was no rules against it. They were a power that was added to his own, obviously more than just a weapon for use cause they are real people. But they would fight alongside him against any of the most powerful threats.
Charlotee, Anata and Nanami were close by tending to the garden and flowers around the Black Bulls base. The two women weren't traditional warriors like how Kiyoshi and Valo were. But they were just as powerful in there own right. Valo knew Charlotte already, she was fierce, she actually taught Valo how to be as fierce as he was now. But she was a mother first, so her more motherly and caring side always showed the most. Valo did have to find someway to connect to Anata though, she was probably going to the more difficult to build a true sync with.
While pondering all of this, the young mage did remember he made plans with Gawain for some training.
There was something odd about visiting the headquarters belonging to another magic knight squad. To Gawain, it felt like being somewhere where he was honestly not supposed to be as it almost felt like spying on the internal affairs of others. Why he felt that way, he couldn’t truly place a finger on it, but the feeling was there none the less. Then there was the fact that, unless he behaved and stopped showing his ass to his fellow squad members, his captain had threatened to remove him from the Silver Eagles and put him in with the Black Bulls. Though not much of a threat for someone who was himself a commoner in every sense of the word if not considered to be a peasant outright, there was also the fact that his former mentor and cousin had at some point aspired to become the Captain for this very squad.
Perhaps it had been for that reason that he himself had never really considered the Black Bulls to be a viable option for him, as he did not wish to become like the black knight. He wanted to be his own person, and he wanted to change things for the better in his own way rather than just copying what the other had done. So as strange as it might have felt for him to be here, it was something that quite frankly couldn’t be helped. Due to his training with the practice contraption, Gawain had come to find out that if he wanted to get in any way stronger as a hand to hand combatant, he was going to have to start studying the martial arts. But when it came to things such as that, he was honestly not in the know. Because whenever he brought it up, people just spoke a bunch of words that he felt were made up, likely some kind of odd foreign name for whatever the fighting style was about.
Naturally, his mind had drifted towards Valo. Because when they had gone through a rather hectic and smelly magic dungeon beneath the church in Nairn, it was quite plain to see that the man was quite skilled when it came to the use of hand to hand combat, as well as the use of swords. And when he said ‘good’, he didn’t mean that the man could kick hard and that he could stab really well, but that there seemed to be a method to the way in which he carried himself. For just like his own practice against the training contraption taught him how the act of attacking and defending the thing was something that more or less turned into some kind of choreographed dance over time, so did he imagine the frequent practicing of certain kicks, punches and blocks would eventually become assimilated through muscle memory.
But for such a thing to take place, he would actually need someone to teach him how to do it first.
So while he had thought about looking into some of the families hailing from beyond the borders of Clover and the continent, he wasn’t quite sure whether the people of the rising sun would be open to teaching outsiders. Being unsure as to where Valo had learned his techniques, the quickest way to find out was simply by asking. And so he had come all the way down to the forsaken realm, to the town of Sosshi, to see if the man would be willing to teach him how to do it. Luckily for the both of them, he was a miraculously quick study, so if he could give some examples and some solid pointers, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be able to pick up and eventually master it in no time at all. Whether that was him underestimating the difficulty of mastering a martial art or if it was him overestimating his own ability to learn and master things, it didn’t matter. Not really at least. They’d find out soon enough after all.
Wandering onto the terrain and trying to find Valo, the quickest way to find someone when looking for instructions on fighting would be by going to the training yard. Luckily for him, that place was easy enough to find. For as easy as it was to find it however, there were a few things that seemed a bit strange. There were people tending to the gardens, and by the time his eyes fell on Valo, it seemed that he was doing some sort of sword related practice with someone else. In short, they were far from being alone here. And while he couldn’t outright place it just yet, it felt like there was something off about these other people. Not in the sense that they seemed bad, but there was something out of the ordinary. He just couldn’t figure out what it was.
Post by Valo Stark✾ on Apr 23, 2024 23:07:07 GMT -5
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Valo Stark
"Don't need a reason to seek strength."
Sosshi was a trading town, and the home of the Black Bulls base. But it also had another lingering odd piece of info. Some believed there was curse in this town, its been burnt down, destroyed, and demolished a number of times only for it to be rebuilt. It had been quite sometime since it last fell to ashes, many believing the curse to gone.
- - -
As if he planned it exactly, Gawain showed up right when he came to mind. A wide smile was on Valo's face with Gawain's arrival. "Hey! Ash hair!!" Valo called out to the silver eagle. The silver eagle magic knight was looking to learn some martial arts skills, to add to his arsenal. And Valo was pretty much the premier martial artist in Clover, even without having beast aura as his main element Valo's physical abilities were near second to none. His career as a magic knight started with his martial skills, and how well he could fight.
He had invited Gawain over to the Black bulls base for some light training and instruction, and since he would be training his relic at the same time why not knock down two birds with one stone. Valo walked over to Gawain giving him a small singular wave, "No your not intruding at all! We were actually just getting warmed up! Welcome to the Black Bulls Headquarters!" Valo had grown to liked the Black bulls base quite a bit, it felt very much like home just like the Green Mantis base did. It was very large mansion like building, enough to house lots of eccentric mages like himself. But it also had weird and strange things about it, as if it was made out of magic. It wasn't a typical building that was for sure, that was a sense of a eerie but fun vibe that it gave off.
Gawain was from Silver Eagles which was a squad known for it's connections to nobility, so their headquarters was pretty huge and lavish probably like the Golden Dawn. Valo has seen a lot of Golden Dawn because of Hinota, and he has only seen the Silver Eagles base a few times. What was funny was, Gawain didn't really come off as a noble. Valo has met all sorts of nobles and royalty now, but Gawain didn't give off that kind of vibe at all. He would try to remember to ask him about it later on.
"No your not intruding! We were just getting some practice in! The one with the sword is Kiyoshi, the young lady with black hair is Anata, the young lady with silver hair is Charlotte, and the little one is Nanami!" Valo said to Gawain introducing him to the group. Kiyoshi stood where he was simply nodding in Gawain's direction. The ladies though waved to him with a smile on their face.
Valo looked back at Gawain. "So you wanna get straight to it? You wanna brush up on some martial arts skills?" Valo asked him
It was somewhat strange to see how quickly Valo had gotten familiar with him, calling him “Ash Hair” even though they had only met a few times. Normally people weren’t really like that around him, especially not within the Silver Eagles, as many of them were rather uptight or just plain boring. There really weren’t a whole lot of people there he could turn to for training either, as they did not possess the knowledge or skill he needed to witness and measure up to, or they simply did not wish to go through the trouble of helping him. It was one of the reasons why he frequently wondered whether or not he was really cut out to be one of them. But at the end of the day, the Captain seemed to believe that he did, allowing him access based off of his merit and his potential for what was still to come.
And judging by the amount of stars he had earned leading up to the upcoming Star festival, there wasn’t a single person that could claim otherwise.
“Thank you, it’s my first time being here, and my first time seeing any headquarters other than my own. It’s certainly different.”
And it was, it well and truly was. When compared to the marble white castle the eagles were stationed in, many of the other squads’ bases likely would seem underwhelming in most regards. For Gawain personally, it was the aesthetic of the castle that was just outright pleasing to the eyes, though many of the people inside of it were just bland and colorless. In that sense, they more or less fit in with the marble. The way he saw it, it was a nice castle with a lot of pleasurable additions to it such as a good quality training ground, a spa for him to soak his bones into a broth after training or after a difficult or tedious mission, and it was relatively far removed from people as a whole due to not allowing a whole lot of them onto their grounds. Helping people was good and all, but there were times where he just wanted some alone time.
Doing a quick bow before all of the other people that had been gathered here, it wasn’t something he was used to doing, which honestly showed quite a bit. He had seen how some members of the Yuiee family did it during the gala some time ago, and as far as it being respectful, it was at least an attempt on his side. That said, he wasn’t much for all of this sort of thing. He preferred speaking to people on the level, without anyone trying to elevate themselves or having to lower themselves due to some held position, esteem or believed esteem. The latter of which being the worst, and often held by the nobles of the country that believed themselves to be better than everyone. But Gawain didn’t want to feel like he was better than everyone. He wanted to Be better than everyone, simply because he was. And that took hard work and determination, not a silver tongue and a lot of money.
“Getting started now wouldn’t be the worst thing. I’ve already been working very hard at getting all of this mana and unutilized energy to go where it is needed. I’ve already figured out how to increase the output of my punches and kicks, as well as maintaining a constant flow to increase my pace and reaction.”
Responding to the question as to whether he wanted to get right into it, the boy honestly was fine either way. He was a relatively quick study, usually only needing to see things once or twice before he could put it to use after a training session of proper length. His means of doing things seemed odd to most people, but there was something about the way in which his brain worked that allowed him to pick up on the more minute details and movements when it came to the workings of this, or their ebb and flow so to say, that made it easier for the boy to adjust or outright copy and adapt it into his repertoire. And for that reason, he needed to learn how to do this whole martial arts thing and make himself into a more formidable opponent.
“Uhm, I also worked out how to strength my mana skin, and I managed to master Ki a month ago. So while I’m still working on increasing my striking power, I believe the best thing to do now is to tie it all together by learning martial arts… or art.”
Post by Valo Stark✾ on May 1, 2024 22:44:39 GMT -5
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Valo Stark
"Don't need a reason to seek strength."
Valo took a seat on the grass sitting crossing his legs, there was nice breeze in the air and a smile on his face. "I hope different means good! Well you silver eagle guys work in a big castle right? I forget what that base looks like, but if nobles pay for it it must be real fancy." Valo replied, though he himself now had a taste of what the fancy life like now mostly because of his fiance Hinota who was a royal princess. Though Valo had learned to adjust to her life when with her, he much preferred his commoner upbringing. It's how he was raised and it allowed for a more free lifestyle which was important to him.
Gawain continued mentioning how he learned to increase his mana reserves and how he learned physical reinforcement. Physical reinforcement or how Valo liked to refer to it PR, was not only his favorite magic specialization but it was arguably his best one. It was first magic specialization he unlocked spells for in his grimoire. He was a sage when it came to utilizing PR and could even use it to dispel any harm or debuffs on his body along with other things. But before even that Valo trained to be a good fighter, what he lacked in magical talent and ability he made up for with his physical ability.
In this way Valo was the opposite of someone like Gawain, Valo wasn't born a immense talent he was projected to be pretty weak early on. In Valo's case he had to make his magical ability match his physical ones, in order to become more a complete mage. Gawain held incredible talent especially for his age with a very rare element to boot. He was well trained too he used his magic spells with precision and next to no hesitation. And it he didn't lack physical ability, it was just that he may have been to reliant on his magic. If there was anyone that could help Gawain with this, it was probably Valo.
Gawain mentioned mastering his Ki training which made Valo's eyebrows perk up for a moment. Valo knew about ki and even used it to a certain extant, but he had not mastered it yet. He probably would have mastered it by now, but his grimoire and his element were continuously going through developments and changes he couldn't focus on it.
"I don't think our ages are that far apart, but I gotta admit you remind of a younger me but also completely different. Hahaha. That made no sense. What I'm saying is, you constantly seek ways to get stronger and improve yourself. I'm very much the same way." Valo said clenching his fist towards the end. Valo was constantly seeking ways to get stronger, to get better, and at the end become one of the greatest knights that have ever lived. He had a drive and a fire that was impossible to extinguish, because he sought a strength just for the pure reason of being strong. He was starting to think Gawain might be the same way.
Valo started to stretch his legs. "I don't like to focus on just one martial art, instead ive learned to incorporate on a number of them and add it to my own style of fighting. True fighting methods are to be formless and unique, while observing and learning. Absorb what is useful, discard what is not and add what is uniquely your own." Valo now in motion, started to do some simple and slow punching combinations. "It is a constant flow, one movement leading to another. Then once you are comfortable with your movement and flow, you can start to add counter techniques and using the opponents strength against them. You following?" Valo started to explain things to Gawain while giving a demonstration with his own movements.
Kiyoshi was watching them not to far away, and the others were doing their own thing involving the garden and plants.
Even though Valo took a seat, Gawain couldn’t bring himself to do the same thing. Instead, he just awkwardly stood there as the other spoke about how he forgot what the Silver Eagles base looked like, and that it had to be fancy if the nobles were backing it. Truth be told, it really was. Even though he was far from being a noble himself, he loathed to admit that he had grown accustomed to taking steam baths and actual baths pretty much daily. After he had finished training, he’d take a bath to soak his sore muscles. After he completed a mission or survived another dungeon, he would take a steam bath before once again soaking himself in a bath, leaving a broth of blood and sweat for the next person to enjoy. Even if it was not exactly required, one of the attendants had taught him that soaking himself after a training helped relieve some of the stress on his muscles.
As such, it was something he had entered into his routine. And when he did, he always played around with the scented oils that were freely distributed by the attendants to any who wished to dabble in them. Personally, he had always enjoyed the scent of jasmin, so the entire castle reeking of it honestly wasn’t the worst thing. Aside from really enjoying the more lavish things in life that he could play around with in the castle, he still remained a commoner in every other way, something many of his fellow eagles would be keen to remind him of. But Gawain did not need people to remind him of what he was, what he had been through, what he had survived, and what he had become. Who he had become. To him, the reminders he received just pushed him harder and harder, determined to prove to himself that he was better than everyone else in the squad up until the point where the others would believe it too.
“Thank you, that sounded very strange.”
Not really sure why he said it like that, or why he thanked the man for saying what he did, he honestly didn’t yet understand in which ways they were similar yet different yet. He could more or less determine a few things based off of their previous encounters, but some of it remained a mystery until it was explained.
“I’ve got my own reasons for wanting to get stronger. It’s not because I’m some commoner kid trying to get my fellow eagles or peers to notice me, I don’t give a shit about any of that. My reasons are my own, though I want to become stronger than anyone and everyone.”
Changing up his facial expression for a rather stern and serious one, he thought about the people that had died to get him to where he was today. His grandfather, grandmother and father dying to protect him from raiders. His mother dying to protect him from a carrion-eating monster in the swamps. He thought about all of the time he spent training and talking with Griswold for close to two years, bridging the gap between coming back to Clover and becoming a grimoire-wielding magic knight. He thought about the Silver Eagles that refused to accept him for who he was, as well as those that would sooner work against him than with him. But he also thought about the people he had been working with up until that point, people like Hania, Valo, Kingsley, Amon, Mordred, Maleana and Seron. Some of which who were beneath him in skill, as well as some who were still a considerable distance ahead of him still. But wouldn’t be for long.
“So anything you can teach me is going to be useful. If it is as you said, that learning a whole bunch of different martial arts at the same time and adapting only the useful parts can be performed that easily, I will give it a try for sure!”
Not sure whether it was actually going to be as easy to do as it was made out to be, or if maybe he had misunderstood that part entirely, he was as ready as could be when it came to soaking up all of the knowledge he could. When Valo began moving around and showing off his moves, Gawain did his best to just observe at first. Due to the manner in which he had adopted the use of Ki into his day to day life, there came a point where he could see all of the moves coming by more and more clearly. Whether this was due to the same moves coming around every so often, a pattern started to form in his mind within which he could predict which move likely followed up the one he had seen before. In that, it was very much like what the man had just told him, in that everything was a constant flow with one move leading into another.
Slowly picking up on some of the move in an attempt at mirroring what he saw, albeit at a much slower rate than what Valo could do with it, some of the moves felt like they were a bit strenuous for him, likely due to his smaller frame and height. Others however felt a lot more natural to him while being far easier to emulate with some degree of grace. Still, he would continue to try to go through all of the moves, even the ones that seemed like they wouldn’t fit him right now. Somewhere down the line, there was no telling when one of them might come in handy in some more niche situation. One thing was for certain however, having found someone that was willing to help him learn these kinds of things outside of his squad was a real lifesaver.
“Yes, I think I do. I normally use my magic to destroy things once I get a good idea as to how they’ll move next, so I assume the application of ‘counter moves’ wouldn’t be all that different.”
