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: Vones has managed to create a large party of select explorers, archaeologists and magic knights to go find the ancient ruins of a serpentine swamp temple. There’s about 20 of you altogether and as the group proceeds through the jungle, you have to help ward off waves of attacks until you reach the temple.
Minimum Number of Players: 1 Minimum Word Count: 2500 Location: Forsaken Region
NPC Information:
Enemies: Forsaken Treants x 6 per Magic Knight
Giant Black Mamba x 4 per Magic Knight
The Forsaken Treants are large loud undead trees that have been possessed by some sort of evil magic and turned into mana beast. They move slowly, at 5 m/s and have intermediate health. They deal intermediate damage with a swipe of their dry branches. These creatures are extremely sensitive to heat, lava or fire magic and attacks with those elements deal double damage to them. They’re also indiscernible from regular trees unless the mage has 15 sensory or higher until they attack.
The Giant Black Mambas are fast, moving t 15 m/s; they have senior rank health and tend to drop from the top of the tree branches onto the party of adventurers, attempting to bite and/or swallow the party members. They deal senior rank poisonous damage that causes a movement hex if they manage succeed in such an attack and then try to swallow the bit target whole.
Special Conditions: All damage taken in this mission by the Magic Knights and the party of adventurers will remain going into the next mission. There is a very short rest between the end of this mission and the next in the chain, but not enough for health or mana skin to recover.
For once in her life, Rosalia regretted having heels installed in her combat one-piece. [break][break] Having a stunning leather and latex black outfit with little silver and gold accoutrements was always a showstopper, but perhaps in a swamp, where her heels continuously sank into the actual mud or slipped on the wet grass, this was not the smartest thing to wear. Nevertheless, the model would not show her weakness to this area, and casually used a little bit of her affinity to make her shoes have a boot platform so the heel didn’t actually sink in. She didn’t want to slow the party down. [break][break] Her ruby eyes swept over the large party of archeologists, magic knights and explorers, before finally landing on Artemis and Naxel. The crew walked together at the middle of the party, so as to be able to spread around quickly if some sort of enemy arose to attack them. She found the two other Magic Knights pleasant company. Artemis was beautiful and intelligent; something that she found surprising considering the first thing that popped into Rosalia’s mind when someone said Green Mantis was murder hobos with poor manners. Lord Naxel Blake was…he was him. She was still annoyed at the male for positively ignoring her back at Da Inn, but he had apologized, so she decided that she would at least acknowledge that he existed. His excuse had been that he was busy with work, well tough luck, all Magic Knights were busy with work on a daily basis…well, the Bulls were looser in their erm…ways of handling work, but Rosalia was an exception to that rule, alongside Chisana. They had a new girl around too, someone called Titaniya or something. She was very tall, which the beauty didn’t particularly care for, but she seemed to have an extremely snappish attitude towards their Captain…and that made Rosalia want to pick a fight with the noble mage several times. Instead, the witch had used her magical aura to cool off and hide behind her mask of booze, sex and books. [break][break] The Black Bulls family was growing rapidly, and there was no guarantee that she would like all of them. Hopefully Aurelia hadn’t burned the base down while she was away. Or Malcolm and Chisana hadn’t put a dent in the second floor again because they were training. Or Bruce hadn’t gambled away half of the squad’s liquor storage. Rosalia let out an audible groan of pain when she imagined the chaos that might’ve occurred while she was gone. Fuck. [break][break] As the group continued stumbling through further into the ancient jungles, with Ilhiana leading the way, the crimson-haired woman would turn to Artemis and make small talk. There were legitimate things that she found curious about the blue-eyed woman. “All due respect, but erm, out of all of the squads…why the Green Mantis?” She blurted out bluntly as her eyes continued roaming about the jungles for any danger. She had kept a hand on her grimoire the whole time, ready for any monster or trap that the biome could throw at them. [break][break] It was somewhere around then when she heard Ilhiana shout from the front of the crew. “LOOK OUT ABOVE!” The words immediately made Rosalia undo the leather strap from around her waist and flip her vision upwards, barely managing to step back as four giant black snakes dropped in the center of the party, hissing at the adventurers. They had separated the group effectively and it made the witch’s eyes narrow visibly. [break][break] “Well fuck.” The woman said as she dodged back the giant jaws of one of the beast before she poured her mana into the grimoire. The temperature dropped around the group as she murmured. “Ice Magic: Sheer Cold.” [break][break] A wave of sheer cold mana pulsed around her in a 40 meter radius, shielding Artemis and Naxel while a black frost covered the snakes rapidly, rendering them dead after a split second. Her ruby eyes had grown icy as she scanned around the area. Something was still incredibly off. Rosalia decided to maintain her spell until it was deemed safe to move again. So far nobody had been hurt. So far. They had clearly begun entering the enchanted section of the jungle.
“It’s quiet…too quiet…can either of you sense something I can’t?” The beauty asked the other two Magic Knights as her eyes roamed the forest quietly. Ilhiana had raised a hand at the front, indicating for everyone to hold their positions. Yeah…fuck. [break][break]
Mana Conservationist: You will be able to use spells with less mana than others when it comes to casting spells! Each rank of spell will have its spell cost go down by the following amounts, please remember that this is based on the rank of the spell not the character! [Juniors]: 2 | [Intermediate]: 4 | [Senior]: 6 | [Grand]: 10 | [Archmage]: 16
Description: A zone of ice-cold energy spreads from the air and ground around Rosalia outwards, covering a 40 meter cubed radius and dealing senior damage to all enemies within her range, knocking them back 8 meters. Allies (including the caster) gain a shield blocking senior rank damage that appears as an invisible shell of icy black mana. This AOE can be maintained for its affected area, repeatedly dealing damage to Rosalia's enemies if they don't move outside of its range.
There has been a gap in time before Ilhiana Vones has got them all ready to leave for the mission itself. Of course, assembling the proper amount of crew was not an easy task. Researchers had to make sure that there was a good balance between those who can fight, those who knew the lay of the land, and finally those who are knowledgeable in the temple at hand. Artemis was, as expected, in the crew that was supposed to be fighting off any stray and unwanted mana beasts. When she had finally been called to start the mission, Artemis found herself wondering just how much combat they would see throughout this experience. She had prepped herself for any situation, knowing that she had a team of other Magic Knights with her. It would be very interesting indeed to finally see the Azure Deer Magic Knight finally in action, and of course, the Black Bulls Magic Knight as well. [break][break]
Speaking of her team mates, Artemis would glance at Naxel Blake first. The young man seemed to have a history with the Black Bulls Magic Knight in their employ. A personal one, it seems. She was not certain whether to be embarrassed for the young man for having such a spat with a beautiful woman, or if she should be shocked that he was able to somehow attract the young woman enough to have a past with her. Of course, she did not know what kind of past the both had, but judging from their interaction, it must have been something personal. [break][break]
The woman in question, however, was somewhat of an enigma. Artemis was unsure what to think of Rosalia Boreas, as her name was introduced to her prior to this mission starting. The Black Bulls Magic Knight had strength within her, at least, from what Artemis can discern from her mana signature. But what captivated her was the young woman’s beauty. It captured the attention of passers by alike, and Artemis was certain that she had been a model or some sort previously. How could she not? She had, after all, the grace and beauty of a butterfly. However, Artemis knew that this butterfly had a sting in her as well, the strength to fight and to defend, nor a wallflower, but akin to a Venus flytrap. [break][break]
She was then asked a question, one that she was used to answering by now. “My past is not as clear cut as most of the other nobles.” Artemis responded, her voice steady as they made their trek. The woman was not of noble birth, at least, she was unaware of any Boreas noble family, so Artemis was not surprised she did not know of the Somerset family head’s past. “The Green Mantis felt like the proper place for me, and I chose to join willingly.” It was always a surprise when people heard that part. “It isn’t as bad of a squad than most people think. We have our bad eggs, and good ones, just like all the other squads.” She shrugged, “just more bad than good, sadly.” [break][break]
It was then that Artemis felt something stir in the air. The canopy of the trees felt sinister, and before she could shout a warning, another sensory based mage had alerted the group. The yell made everyone alert, and without any reprieve, four black giant snakes appeared, falling into their group, separating it into two. Artemis was about to cast one of her spells, but stayed her hand. Rosalia seemed to have everything in order as she culled the four snakes with one area of effect spell. Cold was the word she would use. Cold, and very much powerful. Artemis did not waste any of her mana this time, and the group continued forward. [break][break]
“Naxel. Any news of our Vice Captain by chance since I last saw you?” She would ask the Azure Deer mage whom she had contacted previously about the missing Vice Captain of the Green Mantises. “The Captain has been...tight lipped about the situation, so I hope you have any news at all about it.” [break][break]
As it were, they finally came upon a spot where everything felt sinister. The air was foul, and Artemis felt the slight nudge of her mana sensing capabilities warning her. She flared her Ki as well, taking stock of the surroundings, before calling out. [break][break]
“The trees.” Artemis had her grimoire out at this point. The trees around them seemed to come alive, and as she did a count, she muttered “Eighteen?” [break][break]
Artemis would turn towards Rosalia, “I suppose you can take out the six of them on either side us? You might not be able to see them, but they will show their nature when they attack. Your area of effect spells will be very useful in that regard, hm?” She would turn to the Azure Deer mage quick, “Naxel, you take on the ones behind us. The rear will be our weakness, and I trust in your magic to deal with them. I don’t think you’ll have a hard time seeing these creatures.” She then drew her grimoire up in front of her, “I will take the ones in front of us.” [break][break]
Artemis started to make her way forward, before calling back towards the group. “Be careful, they will try to surround us. Only fight if you can, stay in the middle if you can’t. Rosalia, Naxel, and I will handle these aberrations.”
Name of Spell: Shadow Creation Magic: Dual Scythes of Umbra[break] Elemental Type: Shadow[break] Rank & Spell Type: Intermediate | Attack/Physical Reinforcement[break] Range & Speed: 40m | 20 m/s[break] Mana Cost: 20 | 10[break] Stats Effected: +4 power | +5 m/s physical speed[break] Applicable Perks: QuickShot | Full Blitz | Knock back[break] Description: When summoning his grimoire the book will quickly flip to the correct page the spell is located. Upon speaking the spell, two orbs will rise out of the pages of the book to appear in front of the user. A chain will shoot out of one to attach to the other orb. Then, the orbs will take shape into two double bladed scythes. On both scythes, one blade comes out to curve slightly downwards at the end while the other side slightly curves up at the end. Due to the chain with this spell the user can throw the scythes, and can easily pull them back. When the user touches the weapons handle a black and blue mana will appear around the user which gives a +5 m/s speed boost to the user, and which Full Blitz an addition +5 m/s will be added. This spell also has quick shot which gives an addition +5 m/s to the speed of weapon spell. It also has knock back which can knock back the opponent 4 meters, plus +5 for every 10 stats the user has in power.[break][break]
"A SHADOW IN THE MAKING."
Naxel, and the group, had began their journey on the path to their Archaeology adventure. There were a lot more people that had been assigned to this mission than he thought. When he looked around he saw that Artemis, Rosa, and himself were the center of the group. Around them were the rest of the archeologist, he figured, that were brought on by the Vones woman. It took him a minute to maneuver his eyes through everyone, but he finally noticed that Vones was the one leading the pack. This wasn’t really a shock to him. She is the one that is in charge of this whole expedition. So it is mainly common sense that she would be the one who led everyone where we were going. Though, Naxel did like where himself and the other two were stationed in the convoy. He seen this as kind of a strategic planning. If some kind of creatures would happen to try and attack them, then one of the three would easily get to them quickly. Having one placed around the group would wind up making things a little bit difficult for everyone. Naxel was only just an Intermediate 5th Class Magic knight. Speed was one thing that he has been training as much as he could with the help of his spells. But if multiple creatures were to attack his flank then there would be a couple of people that would lose their lives. As well as Artemis or Rosa would have their own troubles to deal with to where they wouldn’t get to them in time either. So having the three of them within the center of they convoy was the best idea that was made for the three of them. But his train of thought on the matter would be cut short when he noticed the end of the conversation his partners had.
Then, after giving Artemis a reply, the Vones woman had screamed out for everyone to look above. It was four giant snakes that had fallen from, he guessed, the trees above. They had landed to where the whole group was split up, having Naxel right next to Rosa. He noticed that she had already had her grimoire out with the intent of casting a spell. Naxel knew what kind of power this beautiful woman possesses. How he would see it was that looks don’t make up a persons abilities. Anyone with a great amount of power will have different appearances. Only a fool would allow themselves to think that someone that is beautiful wouldn’t have the ability to possess power. Though, he was kind of happy that she had went on to recite a spell from her grimoire. When the words would escape her lips Naxel would feel a sudden temperature around them. This was the power that his dear friend, Rosalia, was capable of doing. She would kill the snakes with such ease from what Naxel could tell. The noble didn’t really care for going up against serpents of that size. He hated all kinds of serpents whether they were small or large. He was just happy that Rosalia was able to kill them things off in the amount of time that she did. “Good job beautiful. I see you have become even more powerful than the mission at the Royal Party. That seems kind of sexy if you ask me.” He spoke out in a normal tone while leading it towards a whisper near her ear as he said the last part. Naxel would then hear Artemis go on to ask him a question about her Vice-Captain, and swing his head around to look at her. He was able to find out some information, but he didn’t know if it was going to be enough for her. “I managed to do a little digging in areas that I shouldn’t of been in. But from my understanding is that they were sent on a mission with the details being classified. The file was placed within one of the Senior Knight offices, but I know a couple of people who will help a friend out.” Giving Artemis, what he hoped, something that would put her mind at ease for the time being.
The group would then come upon an area that seemed like a change in atmosphere. The feeling felt sinister while the air had a foul smell to it. Naxel had noticed that there were some trees that were different from your normal ones. He would then notice that Artemis had noticed them as well. She would say out the number eighteen in guessing that was the amount of creatures she noticed. Artemis would then go on to give out a game plan, and assign Naxel to the back of the convoy. He didn’t waste no time when he was given his assignment. The Noble would head towards the back of the convoy with his grimoire coming up to appear in front of him. Then, by the time he made it towards the back, there were two trees that began to move out of the normal action of a tree. The two had up rooted themselves from the ground while having a couple of limbs acting as arms. Naxel found these creatures a lot more comforting to fight than the serpents that had attacked them not that long ago. With a grin appearing on his face he would place his hand over his grimoire to begin reciting a spell. “Shadow Creation Magic: Lord Umbras Dual Scythes!” After reciting, there would be two orbs of black and blue mana rising out of the book. A chain would then shoot out of one to attach itself to the other. Then the orbs would shoot out into the shapes of two double blades scythes. Naxel grabbed both of the scythes with his hands. His body would begin to be covered in a mana aura, and his body feeling as if it was able to move quicker than usual. The creatures had noticed him casting a spell, but didn’t seem to really care. “This is going to be fun. I suppose.” He would then dash towards the one that was charging on his right side. Right before he approached it he would jump up to lung himself towards the tree. Sadly, the one on the left had swung one of its limbs to counter Naxel. That kind of action wasn’t going to stop him, though. The noble would swing his left arm across his chest, and then outwards, to slash the limb cutting it in half. Afterwards, Naxels jump was cut short causing him to land right in front of the right side tree. His smile grew a tad bigger as he would quickly raise back his right arm only to bring it forwards to slash the tree in half.
That was one down, and the other was only half finished. Naxel would actually jump, once again, towards the left tree to give it another slash in a vertical way. The tree was cut in half causing the entire thing to hit the ground. All of this fun wasn’t over just yet, because he could sense that there would be more coming here soon. In the short meantime he would turn his head back towards the group with his smile still going. “I managed to take two of them out. How are the rest of you holding up?” Screaming out a little bit to make sure that the other two could hear his voice.
Rosalia raised an eyebrow when Artemis stated that she joined the Green Mantis willingly because she felt it was the right place. Perhaps…perhaps they weren’t so different after all. When she had taken up the Black Bulls mantle it was because Malcolm had provided her with a choice that she hadn’t known she needed. She didn’t realize how much she was suffocating within the Roses until she met the man, until they had a drink and she let all of her anger and frustrations spill forth from her lips in the form of dark humor. That was, after all, when Rosalia realized that the Blue Roses weren’t the right place for her. The freedom that the Black Bulls provided was a breath of fresh air…and she loved it. The red-head nodded at the noblewoman’s explanation, actually understanding her more than she thought she would. [break][break] “Yeah…the members of the Bulls can be that way too. Although I wouldn’t call them bad eggs, rather…everyone’s a mess, me included… We just tend to clean up after each other one way or another.” The witch grinned at Artemis, thinking back to her family. Her mind quickly turned to worry about the shenaniganery going on without her there (not that she was all that stable either but at least she didn’t set people on fire…she just slept with them).
[break][break] After the set of four giant snakes was frozen solid, the beauty glanced around, worried that something was wrong. Nobody seemed to be injured, fortunately, and soon Ilhiana had resumed the walk, letting Rosalia dispel her senior rank area of effect magic so as to not waste anymore mana. She’d feel herself pause when she heard Naxel call her beautiful, then powerful and then sexy. Her ruby gaze turned to meet his and she pursed her lips at him. He was giving her too many compliments.
[break][break] On one side, she was still pissed at the male. He’d completely ignored her presence at first, making her feel insignificant when she thought they were friends. Now he was just acting like he wanted to desperately get her in his good graces again. On the other, Rosalia loved sex. And compliments or no, she knew when a man was interested in sharing a bed with her. Frankly she was thinking of bedding one of the random male archeologists or historians that were coming on the adventure with them, but Naxel Blake was…well, one-night stand material? Considering the way he’d treated her a day ago, she had lost most of her trust in him as a friend, and he’d have to work to restore it. "Thanks, Lord Blake." Petty compliments could only scratch the beauty’s surface, even if they could trigger her lust.
[break][break] Their descent deeper into the swamp continued for a while with her two Magic Knight partners engaging in a conversation that she really didn’t feel she was a part of…until Artemis made her stop and cock an eyebrow. The trees? As her hues scanned around she found herself completely puzzled by this. They looked completely normal. But when her ally explained that the problem came from either side and was probably impossible for her to see, the Black Bull mage caught on. Sensing shit wasn’t her strong suit, only her instincts tended to kick in at extreme times, and those were pretty fucking broken as well.
[break][break] “I’m on it,” the ex-model would respond with a cool and collected tone. She still held her grimoire in her hand from earlier and was ready to cast her spell nearly instantly as Naxel and Artemis split up around her, with the Mantis going forwards and the Deer taking the back. She felt the Blake’s magical aura spike first behind her, and she knew he was already using a spell. At least in combat, if not in flirting, the red-haired beauty knew he could hold his own.
[break][break] “Alright then…” the witch would shake her head, pouring her mana into her grimoire as the people unable to engage in combat succinctly moved to gather around her. It made sense, she supposed, that the three of the magic knights would take the rears.
[break][break] “Ice Creation Magic: Sheer Cold.” Rosalia would cast once more people had moved within her range and more of the inanimate trees that she couldn’t really understand seem to have moved in closer. She made a mental note to research them as she sent out yet another pulse of ice cold mana around the group, her eyes widening when she heard angry screeches coming from the trees that she had felled without realizing. Several enemies had scrunched up and frozen over completely, to a point of shatter, as the temperature around the large party dropped again. She could hear someone sneeze behind her.
[break][break] Artemis said she had sensed 6 on either side of them…and from what she could count; she’d barely gotten 9 out of those twelve. Not being able to see what you were fighting was a pain in the ass. Were they just out of her range?
Mana Conservationist: You will be able to use spells with less mana than others when it comes to casting spells! Each rank of spell will have its spell cost go down by the following amounts, please remember that this is based on the rank of the spell not the character! [Juniors]: 2 | [Intermediate]: 4 | [Senior]: 6 | [Grand]: 10 | [Archmage]: 16
Description: A zone of ice-cold energy spreads from the air and ground around Rosalia outwards, covering a 40 meter cubed radius and dealing senior damage to all enemies within her range, knocking them back 8 meters. Allies (including the caster) gain a shield blocking senior rank damage that appears as an invisible shell of icy black mana. This AOE can be maintained for its affected area, repeatedly dealing damage to Rosalia's enemies if they don't move outside of its range.
Artemis would listen to Naxel Blake explain what he might have found for her. The whereabouts of the Green Mantis Vice Captain was something of a mystery at the moment, though the Captain, Barron Castle, did not seem to be weary about it. In fact, the Captain had acted his normal and usual self, which in truth, was far more intimidating and scary than if he had not been acting like himself. The man was somewhat of a legend in terms of his power, and his survivability, especially during the Diamond Wars. However, the war itself changed the man. Gone was the strong, competent, yet very quiet Captain, and replacing him was a fragment of himself. Artemis had not met the man that most would know as Hannibal. She had not met the man who was supposedly one of the strongest Green Mantis Captains to have taken the position. She had not met the man who had faced Diamond mages without even blinking, not thinking of surrendering. The Barron “Hannibal” Castle that Artemis had met and gotten to know was the man who was broken. Shattered like a wall mounted mirror that had seen better days. It was one of the reasons why she had decided to go down the path she was taking now. The Green Mantis cannot be left under the shadow of such an oppressing figure. The squad needed to be better, it needed someone better.[break][break]
“Thank you,” She would nod, as Artemis kept her eyes up front. She had made her way towards the front of the group now. There was nothing for it at this point. In the end, she would have to wait until this whole affair is over. Even then, if the Vice Captain does not show their face, Artemis will be moving forward with her plans. There were things that she needed to accomplish, and she hoped to have them all lined up by the end of the year. It will be a grueling task, but the first step is very close. “The files will be appreciated, at least, after this mission that we are currently on.” It would be good timing, after all, Artemis was set to challenge that Green Mantis Captain for the Vice Captain position fairly soon. If the Vice Captain was alive, Artemis was sure that she can wipe the floor with them. If not, then it will be Captain Barron Castle that she would have to face, and that would be a fight of another level. In the end, she would be ready. How could she not be? She had been preparing for this moment for a year now.[break][break]
Artemis would mull over the interaction of the Azure Deer mage, and of the Black Bulls. Truly, she was sure that there was some form of history there. Possibly, though she was certain now, that the history was something personal. There was a coldness to their interaction, and Artemis was unsure what to do about it. She was, after all, not really good with relationships such as these. [break][break]
“The Green Mantis, our bad eggs are truly bad eggs.” She would shrug, her eyes now peering towards the forest. They were there, the mana beasts. The trees that were alive, corrupted, and very much tainted with darkness. “The Black Bulls are a good squad. You have a good Captain, and a great reputation. Though you all have your own quirks, you still are good people.” Artemis sighed. “The Captain has not been himself, and the squad has hit its all time low.” There was no sugar coating it, after all. “We try our best, not only to rise above the low expectations, but to also cull out the bad eggs. And when we say bad eggs, we truly mean bad eggs.” The rotten kind, the murderers and thieves who have truly not seen the error of their ways, and would seek protection with the Green Mantis cloak to do their deeds. [break][break]
The disturbance started then. As Artemis predicted, the trees were their enemies. Mother Nature, it seems, was not in her brightest mood. Artemis felt enemies attack them from behind. The trees seemed to have thought that two of them would be enough to flank the group. They had been correct, if it was not for Artemis’ pre-planning. The group’s rear was usually made up of the weaker mages, those who were unprepared to face the enemies head on. The front of the group in usual formations held the strongest, those who can forge forward and carve a path. Artemis only hoped that she was right with her assumptions of Naxel Blake. He had a strong mana within him, and it had potential. [break][break]
From the sounds of it, the Black Bulls mage had also started her share of the action. The people huddled around her, and Artemis did not need to see to know that she had cast an area wide spell. It seems the action was starting simultaneously, and she expected her quarry to come forward soon as well.[break][break]
“Poseidon’s Wrath.”[break][break]
Water began to coalesce around Artemis. Instantly, without warning of the mana build up, a wave of water as tall as those found during windstorms, crashed through the treeline. The trees that were ordinary were left untouched, if not, more nourished because of the mana infused water. Those that were mana beasts, corrupted by a dark and evil magic, were forced into submission.[break][break]
“Be cleansed.” Artemis would whisper, as she forced down the mana beasts, the wave of water horses trampling them into oblivion. With a flick of a finger, the wave crashed back, pummeling those who were not down with the force of the waves. Mana beast or not, these trees were not strong enough to survive. Artemis saw to it that the water horses trampled each and every one of them. [break][break]
As the fighting winded down, Artemis felt another presence. “Above!” She would cry out, hopefully alerting Naxel and Rosalia of their new enemy. It seems that the forest was definitely going against them.
[break][break]
COMBAT SUMMARY
[attr="class","polluxscroll2"]
TL;DR
Artemis killed the last of the Forsaken Treants. The rest of the Giant Black Mambas are now attacking. All eight of them.
Name of Spell: Poseidon's Wrath[break] Elemental Type: Water[break] Rank & Spell Type: Grand | Attack Creation & Sensory (Illusion)[break] Range & Speed: 150 meters | 85 m/s | 110 m AOE [break] Mana Cost: 50 | 25[break] Stats Effected: +12 Power, Blinds, -12 Sensory[break] Applicable Perks: Area of Triumph, Battle Knight, Master Illusionist, Quick Shot[break] Description: Artemis calls upon the inner rage of the ocean and sea using her grimoire. Amassing a huge amount of conjured water, the spell itself is a huge tsunami like wave that Artemis can control through her mana. The huge amount of water takes the form of water horses, which visually charges towards Artemis' opponents. The spell itself is coated with an illusion, which masks it from the following senses of her opponents: sight, sound, smell, and mana. At first hit, those hit by Poseidon's Wrath are blinded. The blind effect only happens once per opponent. Artemis is able to create more than one Poseidon's Wrath based on her control, while it follows ammo rule on damage. The spell also follows ammo rule on avoiding allies. Those within the area of effect will have their sensory debuffed following debuff rules.[break]
Name of Spell: Shadow Creation Magic: Dual Scythes of Umbra[break] Elemental Type: Shadow[break] Rank & Spell Type: Intermediate | Attack/Physical Reinforcement[break] Range & Speed: 40m | 20 m/s[break] Mana Cost: 20 | 10[break] Stats Effected: +4 power | +5 m/s physical speed[break] Applicable Perks: QuickShot | Full Blitz | Knock back[break] Description: When summoning his grimoire the book will quickly flip to the correct page the spell is located. Upon speaking the spell, two orbs will rise out of the pages of the book to appear in front of the user. A chain will shoot out of one to attach to the other orb. Then, the orbs will take shape into two double bladed scythes. On both scythes, one blade comes out to curve slightly downwards at the end while the other side slightly curves up at the end. Due to the chain with this spell the user can throw the scythes, and can easily pull them back. When the user touches the weapons handle a black and blue mana will appear around the user which gives a +5 m/s speed boost to the user, and which Full Blitz an addition +5 m/s will be added. This spell also has quick shot which gives an addition +5 m/s to the speed of weapon spell. It also has knock back which can knock back the opponent 4 meters, plus +5 for every 10 stats the user has in power.[break][break]
Name of Spell: Shadow Creation Magic: Claws of the Shadowy Abyss [break] Elemental Type: Shadow [break] Rank & Spell Type: Intermediate | Attack [break] Range & Speed: 20m AoE (+20m perk) | 20 m/s (+5 m/s) [break] Mana Cost: 20 | 10 [break] Stats Effected: + 4 Power | Knock back [break] Applicable Perks: Quick Shot | Area of Triumph [break] Description: When summoning his grimoire the book will quickly flip to the correct page the spell is located. Upon speaking the spell, Shadows would then pour out of their grimoire to cover the ground around him over a 20 meter area. When the area is completely covered a giant Shadow Claw will rise up out of the shadowy floor. Naxel can control this claw to attack by simply moving his own arm around to control the Claw. The claw itself is 6 feet wide and 10 feet tall, while its arm can stretch over the 20 meter area. With the Quick Shot perk this spell gains an addition +5 m/s. Also, starting at 4 meters, there will be an addition +5 meter knock back for every 10 points in power. Lastly, for every 20 points in control an addition Claw will be summoned from the shadow floor. There will also be an additional 10m plus +5m for every rank starting with junior. [break] [break]
"A SHADOW IN THE MAKING."
Not much time had passed after Naxel finished off two of tree creatures. These two went to strike from the back, but wasn’t able to make it into the group, thankfully. At the end Naxel had sensed more of these creatures attempted a strike over on Rosa’s side of the group. Though, as soon as Naxel had sensed them, it felt as if the creatures were gone within an instant. He had felt a change in temperature, once again, and knew even more of how awesome her power could be. It felt right to know that she was going to be the Captain of the Black Bulls one day, due to her power. The Noble was also happy that she was on their side of this expedition. Going against her would be the same as if someone wanted to commit suicide. The same would be applied to the other Woman, Artemis, due to Naxel sensing her mana spike. More creatures must of attempted to strike from the front of the group as well. This whole trip was starting to sound as if it was more of a suicide trip than anything he had previously took on. Naxel wasn’t too worried about what more would be thrown at them. He could handle his own with whatever was thrown at him, but the two women with him were clearly on another level. His hopes slowly started to rise with the rest of the trip being a smooth sail. That was quickly extinguished when he heard Artemis scream to look above once again. When his head shot upwards there were more giant snakes falling from the sky above. This time three of them landed right behind where the two tree creatures were defeated. Naxels worrisome feel started to take over the hope that he was just feeling. He didn’t want to fight snakes, but now he had no choice but too.
After the creatures had fallen on the ground they started to take on a formation. Two on the outside were closer to Naxel than the on that was in the middle. It seemed as if the two outside snakes were going to try and circle passed the Azure Deer. Naxel wasn’t going to let them get by him, and lose any of the people in this group on his watch. So, Naxel reared back both of his arms, with the scythes in his hands, and then brought them forwards to send one at each side snake. When they left his hand he slung then in a way that would cause them to spin all the way towards the creatures. His left hand on the middle of the chain, so that he would pull them back when he needed too. Both weapons struck the creatures causing a cut on their slithering bodies. Afterwards he would pull on his chain to bring back in the scythes. This action didn’t sit very well with the two snakes as you could see the anger build up in their eyes. Naxel noticed his, and summoned his grimoire back in front of his body. The pages quickly turned before stopping on one certain spell he really liked. “Shadow Creation Magic: Claws of the Shadowy Abyss.” Those words flew out of his mouth before shadows began pouring out of his book. It would go outwards to reach an area of 40 meters, and have all three snakes over the new shadow floor. Then, once the floor was finished, the two outside snakes would quickly make a lunge towards the Azure Deer Knight. No look of worry struck his face except a smile of mockery. Naxel lifted up his arms a little, and two giant claws would shoot out of the ground below the snakes. Both claws had their hands flat to strike, and pierce, the bodies of the snakes. Both their bodies would hand on top of the claws without an ounce of life being visible at all.
This action didn’t sit too well with the snake that was in the middle of their formation. It curled up its body as if it was about to take a nap while its two partners were fighting. All that Naxel could tell was the blood thirsty look that was on its face. Naxels body would then do a small quick shiver that ran from his feet up to his head. The looks of both dead snakes made him have a queasy feeling go through his body. During that shiver the other snake took its advantage, and lunged towards the young Knight. Naxels attention quickly shot towards before he would throw his arms downward. Doing so would cause the two shadow arms too drop down smashing themselves onto the last snake. Both dead snakes were between the last snake and giant shadow claws. It wasn’t enough to kill the final snake, so Naxel would rear back his right arm to sling it forwards. Sending his right hand Scythe spinning towards the snake. The scythe would then clash with the snakes head ending the life it just had. He hated when he had to use both of these spells like this. Cause trapping them first, and then killing them felt a little inhumane when it came to fighting creatures. But it was a quicker way to stop them from causing any harm to the Deer, and the group as well. He was only considered lucky, because he sensed that five other snakes had landed over where Rosa was located. Her magic was quite powerful, and these snakes would wind up dying before then get a chance to even think. His smile would continue to go across his face when he turned his attention back towards his area, in case more try to attack.
Rosalia let a little smile slip onto her face when Artemis gave her opinion on the Bulls. A good Captain? My my, wouldn’t Malcolm like to hear that compliment? Perhaps if she said that she’d heard it from Artemis he’d finally accept the truth. She had to bite the inside of the cheek so as to not let her little smile grow into a grin. The Green Mantis member had even said they had a good reputation, words that she thought she’d hear once hell froze over or a meteor fell from the sky. Her eyes turned upwards immediately. Nope, no meteor. What was happening in the world? Was she dreaming? Someone was calling The Black Bulls a good squad! Oh that made her happy. Probably more happy than it should. [break][break] Her mood fell a little, however, when she heard that the Captain of the Mantises was having a problem, and that they were having a hard time fixing the attitude of most of their members. “I’m sorry to hear that, I hope it all gets sorted for you.” She responded sincerely, her voice was quiet and carried a little in the wind. Rosalia loved the Magic Knights. She found them to be her one purpose for living and existing, so hearing that a squad was suffering didn’t make her feel good. No use kicking someone while they’re down, even if she did feel jokingly competitive on occasion.
[break][break] Once her pulse of ice had finished, Rosalia shook her head at the tree spirits that she seemed to have missed. She was going to try and attack them again, but it seemed that Artemis had beaten her to the punch. A stunning spell in the form of beautiful steeds of water spread around the area, bleeding into the monsters, as if to cleanse them of their corrupt magic. It seemed to have worked perfectly, as when the wave of water subsided, more of those giant trees lay on the ground motionless. The beauty could feel Naxel Blake’s familiar mana flare up from behind her when Artemis screamed for them to watch out from above. Her crimson hues glanced up at the set of giant snakes dropped down from above towards them.
[break][break] How many was that? Five of them? And fucking hell, one of them was falling straight down towards the group of people gathered around her. Rosalia cursed under her breath as the pages of her grimoire flipped rapidly before stopping at her page of choice. A glow lit up said page as the beauty poured her mana into the grimoire and turned her head upwards towards the snake. Fucking gravity would be its undoing right now. “Ice Creation Magic: Winter's Kiss!” The words left her pretty rosy lips just before a she breathed out a giant cone of black ice, straight at the snake. Like a roar, the ice travelled through the air and covered the giant mamba in solid ice, killing it before it hit the adventurers gathered around her.
[break][break] The beauty watched as it landed like a statue of ice around them, shattering on the ground, raising some mud around at the adventurers and archeologists. But she didn’t have even a moment to spare to worry about that. She still had four large black snakes surrounding them. It made her want to groan audibly. For some reason they persisted to attack them, even though they weren’t easy prey. Why? Probably because they were the only prey in this forest. They didn’t want to eat each other and thus ganged up on the group of outsiders who were just passing through. [break][break] The beauty clicked her tongue before wiping her lips with the back of her hand. Her Winter’s Kiss spell tended to let her breath trail in the air afterwards, as the sudden change in temperature was so high. Her icy gaze turned to the four remaining enemies as she felt Naxel finish taking on the set of three that had jumped him at the back. Luckily, Rosalia still had her Sheer Cold spell out and was ready to fire out a wave of it at the monstrosities the moment they decided to move in for the kill.
There were a few seconds of absolute silence, with the occasional hissing sound as the mambas’ forked tongues slipped out of their lips and licked the air. Probably some method of communication, or just a weird snake thing, she didn’t know, the beauty admitted to not having really read as much on the reptiles. She preferred mythology and magic specialization books (sometimes even adventure stories…) Perhaps when she got home after this expedition she’d visit Malcolm’s office and see if the man had managed to steal and encyclopedia or two on snakes, or reptiles as a whole really. She was sure her Captain wouldn’t mind if she borrowed one. His interested were in brewing and art anyways.
[break][break] Her gaze shifted instantly as she saw movement off the corner of her eyes. There it was. All four of them moved at the same time towards the group huddled around her, each seemingly aiming for a different target. Once they all were within range, but not close enough to bite into any of the actual archeologists, Rosalia would release another wave of her maintained Sheer Cold pulse out through the crew, shielding a few of the outer-most friendly archeologists just in case before impacting on the snakes and covering them in a bloom of ice.
[break][break] The woman turned around rapidly, making sure to sweep her eyes over all of the left over enemies, before the tension dropped out of her shoulders. Oh my god, and they still hadn’t actually reached the temple of the evil snake priestess thing. Fucking hell.
[break][break] “It’s official, if any more of these things jump out at me, I’m skinning them and making a purse and a set of leather shoes.” The beauty commented out loud to her fellow magic knights, kind of joking in order to ease her own annoyance.
[break][break] She was ready for the rest of the journey forwards, as annoying as it might be to walk in the swamp in heels.
Mana Conservationist: You will be able to use spells with less mana than others when it comes to casting spells! Each rank of spell will have its spell cost go down by the following amounts, please remember that this is based on the rank of the spell not the character! [Juniors]: 2 | [Intermediate]: 4 | [Senior]: 6 | [Grand]: 10 | [Archmage]: 16
Description: A zone of ice-cold energy spreads from the air and ground around Rosalia outwards, covering a 40 meter cubed radius and dealing senior damage to all enemies within her range, knocking them back 8 meters. Allies (including the caster) gain a shield blocking senior rank damage that appears as an invisible shell of icy black mana. This AOE can be maintained for its affected area, repeatedly dealing damage to Rosalia's enemies if they don't move outside of its range.
[break][break]
Name of Spell: Winter's Kiss [break] Elemental Type: Ice (Shadow Oddity)[break] Rank | Spell Type: Senior| Attack Creation+ Defense Creation[break] Range | Speed:80 meters| 40 m/s[break] Mana Cost:24|12[break] Stats Effected: +9 Power[break] Applicable Perks:Battle Knight
Mana Conservationist: You will be able to use spells with less mana than others when it comes to casting spells! Each rank of spell will have its spell cost go down by the following amounts, please remember that this is based on the rank of the spell not the character! [Juniors]: 2 | [Intermediate]: 4 | [Senior]: 6 | [Grand]: 10 | [Archmage]: 16
Description: Rosalia opens her pretty red lips and breathes a cone of miniature black ice spikes, so small that they appear a painful black blizzard to her enemies who take senior damage upon impact. Allies found within the range of the Winter's Kiss (Including the caster) instead receive a senior rank shield of black glacial mana that will protect them.[break][break]
Artemis would have sent her spells towards the group of black mambas. They were mana beasts, larger than their regular counterparts, and very much a threat to the group. The water mage would hold her magic, however, since her group mates seemed to have everything at hand. The problem was that the group itself was very much in a precarious position. If the two Magic Knights were not able to deal with the humongous black coloured snakes, then their next targets would be the researchers. Artemis knew that the researchers themselves were no Magic Knights in terms of power level. In fact, she was sure that the researchers had little fire power in them in terms of spells. Their prowess lay in their mind, having read and reread research about what they might be facing. Truth be told, Artemis saw them as a liability. What else were they but that? However, she would do her job. As a Green Mantis Magic Knight, she needed to do better than what was expected, especially since her Magic Squad’s reputation was on the balance. [break][break]
“Keep an eye out! Do not stray from the formation!” Artemis called out towards the researchers. They needed to be on the ball. Any type of reaction that was panicked would cause their group. [break][break]
Naxel Blake would engage those around him. From what Artemis could see, he was doing well. The fight had become more of a melee kind, and his shadow Magic was effectively cutting through the four black mambas that had engaged him. Interestingly, the creatures looked as though they had some form of sentience. She was not sure whether it was sentience in the first place, though they definitely had some form of intelligence to actually create a plan and then execute it. Instinct? Artemis would argue that mana beasts can have both instinct and some form of conscience. This was one of the reasons why Artemis always approached any types of mana beasts, especially those of a higher range of power and strength, very carefully. While the low level mana beasts were slaves to their instincts, the higher tier definitely held some form of intelligence. It made the fighting much harder, and surviving even more so. [break][break]
Rosalia was also on the move. Artemis held her spell back, hoping to see more of the woman’s magic. Ice was a beautiful magic, even more so than water and gemstone. There was something about the element itself that made it mesmerizing to look at. Quick and painful, the mana beasts were quickly dispatched without hesitation. Artemis expected nothing less from these two mages, their competence showed through their work. Artemis needed to do nothing else as the fight finally winded down.[break][break]
“Exciting.” Artemis would remark. “The mana beasts seem have been waiting for us.” The forest itself now felt alive. Artemis’ sensory opened up even more now, with the dredge that was the mana beasts’ mana signature all but gone now with their deaths. “Do we know if this site that we are heading towards had some semblance of defense system outside of its immediate vicinity?” It was a thought, and truly, something that could definitely happen. “Either way, we seem to have gotten past the worst.” Artemis modded, before starting to lead the group now. She would keep the current formation, just in case they get ambushed once again. All she knew was that the deeper that they traversed into the jungle, the more dangerous this mission started to feel. Artemis was on her guard, her life and her group’s lives would be on the line if she weren’t.
Name of Spell: Poseidon's Wrath[break] Elemental Type: Water[break] Rank & Spell Type: Grand | Attack Creation & Sensory (Illusion)[break] Range & Speed: 150 meters | 85 m/s | 110 m AOE [break] Mana Cost: 50 | 25[break] Stats Effected: +12 Power, Blinds, -12 Sensory[break] Applicable Perks: Area of Triumph, Battle Knight, Master Illusionist, Quick Shot[break] Description: Artemis calls upon the inner rage of the ocean and sea using her grimoire. Amassing a huge amount of conjured water, the spell itself is a huge tsunami like wave that Artemis can control through her mana. The huge amount of water takes the form of water horses, which visually charges towards Artemis' opponents. The spell itself is coated with an illusion, which masks it from the following senses of her opponents: sight, sound, smell, and mana. At first hit, those hit by Poseidon's Wrath are blinded. The blind effect only happens once per opponent. Artemis is able to create more than one Poseidon's Wrath based on her control, while it follows ammo rule on damage. The spell also follows ammo rule on avoiding allies. Those within the area of effect will have their sensory debuffed following debuff rules.[break]
A few minutes had passed since Naxel fended off the serpent creatures that fell from the sky. Just like before he was able to sense the other serpents fall near where Rosa was located. Those creatures were just like the last set to go up against Rosa, and wound up being defeated by the hands of her icy magic. Noticing this made Naxel continue to keep the smile he had on his face. All of the creatures along this path seemed to have all been defeated. Naxel turned towards the group to noticed that no one had become injured by any of the attacks that happened. This was a great relief to his mood, because they were able to keep this many people from being injured, or killed. Also, the fact that is was done by only three Magic Knights made the order look even more impressive than what it already was. Everything was now good as Naxel had noticed that Artemis had now obtained the point of the group movement. He didn’t know how much further they had left to go before they got to where they was going. So, in the mean time he had decided to stay in the back of the group. This was so that he could continue to keep an eye out in the back in case there was another wave on creatures. While doing so was when one of the people in the group had tapped him on the shoulder. They wanted to thank the Azure Deer for what he had done against the trees and serpent. The fights weren’t all the great in the eyes of the Noble. What he had done wasn’t really a sight for common citizens to see. Killing evil creatures like he had done would easily make people relive what they had witnessed. Naxels magic wasn’t like Rosas or Artemis’. The shadow magic he has was one that could easily be seen as a dangerously evil magic. Luckily he hadn’t scared anyone since he had joined the Magic Knights. Maybe this group of people, who witness his fight, would really just shrug it off like most of the other people have.
