Glitter and Grimoires {IC}

[Marionette]

Glitter and Grimoires
OOC | IC | Characters​

Two witches loitered in the shadow of a building's eave. Even on such a moonlit night, it was difficult to make out their exact features. Each had straight black hair and wore dark, flowing fabric.

One pulled down her wide-brimmed hat and held tight as the breeze picked up. "It's a restless night," said Rena.

The other kept the hood of her cloak lowered, even as the wind whipped her hair around her face. She sunk down and leaned against the weathered stone behind her. "You've heard," Reba said, toying with the sandy earth.

"I've heard." Rena's knuckles were still tight on the brim of her hat. "What should be done?"

"Don't know." Reba opened her hand and watched particles of soil drift into the wind, swirling away through the night air. "Maybe nothing. Let nature run its course."

"Possible. But, well..." Rena flushed, adjusting her hat again. "It worries me. That's all. We know nothing about them in the first place. What if..." She blew a sharp breath through her nose. "Never mind. I just keep hearing that they have an amazing power."

A third witch approached. Incredibly long, curly, blonde hair billowed behind her as she surged toward the building. She stopped at the threshold. Her gaze flicked briefly over Reba before catching Rena's eye. The newcomer smiled, blue eyes icy and distant, before disappearing behind the door.

Rena stepped into the moonlight. Her pale skin almost glowed, yet her black eyes seemed to darken. "Sister, I have business. I won't be long."

Reba nodded. "Town meeting, right. I'm going home." She wandered forth as Rena followed the blonde witch inside. "Amazing powers, hm..." thought Reba. "I'll be the judge of that." The lone witch headed for the forest's edge, picking her way over the path toward the tower she shared with her twin.

Inside, the blonde witch stood at the center of a tavern already crowded with an audience. One boot rested on a chair as she spoke. "I come bearing news of Sweetbalm. Witches of Elderwood, the situation is even worse than anticipated. I've seen the damage with my own eyes. The people of Sweetbalm are safe, but who knows for how long?" The tables came alive with nervous chatter. "We must," the speaker said, voice rising over the growing din, "must prepare. We cannot be caught unawares. Not here. Not in Elderwood."

"But Celinda!" someone cried. "They're just using magic, aren't they? Shouldn't we treat them like any other upstart?"

"Ah, yes, however -- Rena, be a dear and hand me my notes." Celinda scanned the papers. "They use magic. But those who witnessed the incident have reported that their magic feels completely foreign. It is also immense, destructive, almost instantaneous... it didn't seem to tire them or slow them down at all."

Rena shuddered. She thought of Reba, alone in the night. Though she knew her sister could protect herself -- far better than Rena could, at that -- she still worried. There was no telling where the strangers were hiding, or how many had come, or...

"Rena! Rena, you can take my notes now." Celinda's voice shocked Rena out of her daydream.

In the forest beyond Elderwood, a young girl knelt in silence. She didn't seem to care that her bare knees were pressing into earth and pine needles. Her jean shorts and hoodie were dirty and snagged in places, while her sandals were caked with mud. She had come to a rest in this quiet thicket, alone, barely looking at her surroundings. Tears began to well in her eyes. One by one, they slid down her cheeks and plopped onto her legs.

"Where could he have gone?" the girl whispered. "And where have I gone?" All the magic in the world wouldn't help her if she was lost and forgotten. There was no one around to appreciate her as a magical girl -- or as Anna Chase. She couldn't believe anything could make fighting giant monsters look attractive. But right now, she'd give anything to be back home, blasting beasts with her mascot by her side.

Somewhere beyond the trees, a twig cracked, and Anna's head snapped up. "Tulip, is that you?" She stood, stepping toward the sound and wiping at her tears. "I've been worried sick!"

But there was no response, only more cracking twigs.

"Uh... Tulip? Is that you?"

 

[Enezrel]

"Uh... Tulip is that you?"
Gio stumbled and landed snapping more pine trees.
He fell landing on his side snapping more pieces of wood.
See saw a girl with tears down her face, suddenly standing up he pointed his sword at her,
"I am not Tulip. I am Giovonni Virtuoso. And you are?"
_________________________________________
Christie was flying looking somewhere anywhere for Gio. The salty ocean air hurt her lungs as she breathed it.
'GIO! GIO!" she called. She needed to touch him to re-establish their mental conection everyday.
She suddenly felt tired, All this flying around faded her energy quickly...
Suddenly she began to fall...

 

[Michelle the Editor]

Maggie saw lights through the trees, and sped up. Her shoes and the hem of her robe were muddy, it was dark and she'd been walking for a very long time. She'd planned to start a lot earlier--Elderwood-the-forest was a tricky, unpredictable place at night--but a hawk had chosen that moment to go after one of her rabbits. She'd managed to scare the bird off, but the rabbit was scratched up and by the time she'd finished doctoring him, it was dark out. Maggie had almost been tempted to just stay home, but the meeting sounded important.

So here she was, hopefully about to reach Elderwood-the-town. The lights grew brighter, and Maggie was able to make out the shapes of buildings. The town was almost eerily silent and empty. As Maggie headed for the tavern, she thought she saw dark shadows moving between buildings, but when she looked there was nothing. Or at least nothing that wanted to be seen...

Maggie slid the door open as a blonde witch--Celinda, was it?--reading from notes. Quietly she slunk over to an unoccupied chair and dropped into it. She couldn't help but sigh a little in relief at getting off her feet. Glancing around the room, Maggie wondered just what she'd missed. Everyone looked very grave and serious. Was this about those new, weird witches? Maggie had been hearing rumors here and there about strange, frighteningly powerful beings who'd started to appear around the world. She tried to think of a way to ask without making it obvious that she'd missed the beginning of the speech.

 

[Lucius Cypher]

Man, monsters, or beast, all and any where his query. That was to say, Karnage was hunting. Hunting for a new master, or maybe just something to vent his frustrations on. He had been in this forest for at least a week ever since his last master proved to be useless and disrespectful. Was it so hard to show a bit of appreciation to his power? Granted, he could certainly understand treating Familiars as tools. But that didn't mind he liked it when it happened to him. He wasn't going to start advocating better rights for familiars or anything, but he certainly would like to find a Witch or Warlock who didn't treat his life as disposable. His life wasn't worth theirs, and he wanted to find someone who recognized that. It also didn't help that he might have... Maimed his last master. So Karnage was also on the run.

So that's what brought Karnage to the forest beyond the Elderwoods. Just aimless wandering around, trying to find a new master to serve. A knight errant, or perhaps more of a black knight, looking for a new lord. "Perhaps I should not be so picky. I have been spoiled by my own history of leadership." Karnage reminisced about his past briefly before he heard the sound of snapping twigs and tree branches. Curios and bored Karnage went to investigate. He arrived to a scene in the forest, looking for the source of the noise. He did his best to be stealthy, but it was hard when you were a seven-foot tall grey demon. He saw something fall from the skies, and Karnage shot a Painful Lasher to catch it.

 

[sleepinghat]

Humans are very simple, and Pierrot has lived long enough to know this. With just a little push, they can destroy one another in an instant. It's what drove them to discover magic after all. Not for some noble cause like the history books told us, but for mutual destruction. Disguised as an old witch using several glamour spells, Pierrot listened to the woman named Celinda as she read her notes about these 'strange witches'. He knows a warlord in the making when he sees one, and the woman in front of him is an example. She's subtly urging her fellow witches to go into war by telling them how dangerous they are. She could've chosen a diplomatic approach but diplomats don't get famous, so she chose this approach. I don't really care what happens, Pierrot thought and whispered to the witch named Rena seated in front of him and whispered a lie. As a Pseudologos, he can influence other people with lies. The closer it is to what the target wants to hear, the more powerful the lie becomes. "We should start hunting these freak shows", he whispered into Rena's ears with his old lady voice. "If they have that much power on their own, imagine the power they would have together. Fight now while they're scattered. You have someone to protect too, right? Now go on. Be a dear and tell Celinda to issue a hunt".

Pierrot stood up and left the tavern. As soon as he's outside the town of Elderwood and deep inside Elderwood forest, he reverted into his favorite form: A teenage boy with black hair and reddish-brown eyes. His original form is more grotesque and he didn't like it so he chose to revert to this form instead. He went to the forest because he sensed something similar to this 'strange witches' they were mentioning in the tavern. Now what would happen if he brought them to a town filled with witches scared of their destructive abilities? Pierrot casted several glamour spells and made himself look like an old woodcutter. He made a lantern appear out of thin air and ran towards where he sensed them. "W-who's there?!", he said with an adult male voice. He made his voice crackle a little bit to pretend he's scared. He then stumbled upon two young kids sitting in the middle of the forest. The boy was holding a sword while the girl was wet with tears. There was no doubt, this was the source of the power he was sensing. But they're kids!, he thought in surprise. But he kept his composure and knelt towards the two kids. "What are you two doing in the middle of the forest? Don't you know it's dangerous to be wandering around at this hour?!", he said while mimicking concern. "Are you lost? There's a town a few miles beyond the forest. I can get you a room where you two can stay the night".

 

[daird]

This wasn't good. It seemed that so many of the witches were clamoring for war. Darella wasn't naïve; she'd fight right alongside her sisters and brothers if it came to that. Yet war was a last resort, in her mind. Better to try to make friends first.

Standing up, she said, "I think that war may well be unnecessary. I agree that we should not take undue risks, but neither should we provoke these strange magicians. If it comes to war regardless, I shall gladly join the cause, but I will seek peace before I draw a sword."

 

[Marionette]

When Maggie entered, Rena's gaze lingered upon her, trying to remember if they had met. She blushed and turned away when she realized she was staring. Soon enough, she was distracted. The words of the old woman barely seemed to register, but they sent another shudder through her nonetheless. The dread in her stomach hardened, weighing her down like an iron ball. She couldn't just... sit here, could she? She did have someone to protect, even if she was usually the one being protected. Didn't that mean she should finally pay them back?

Celinda paused her speech only when the chatter rose octaves. She would wait for the room to settle with a smile on her lips, a wry teacher waiting for disorderly pupils to remember their shame. If they did not, she had only to clear her throat. She spared the newcomers no more attention than moths fluttering through the door. The sweep of her eyes over Maggie was swift, like scraping mud off one's boot. She lingered just a little longer on the old woman near her assistant. She couldn't place this one. It mattered little. They all sought the light. That was the important thing. Rather than individuals, Celinda trained her attention on the crowd, gauging their collective response. After all, a leader must concern herself with the good of the whole.

As her speech wound down, Celinda did look at Rena. The other witch had her eyes downcast, as they so often they were. But Celinda could usually tell when Rena wanted to say something. This was a useful skill, as Rena rarely said the things she wanted to say. It was one of the things Celinda liked about her.

"For those who are just joining us: word from Sweetbalm," said Celinda. "No injuries, but much damage. You should have seen the crater. This strange new power is great -- and potentially a great danger." She clasped her hands. "Thank you for your care and attention. Now, I would like to hear your thoughts. Darella makes a good point. There are many things we do not yet know, including their motivations."

"I think we should -- prepare for the worst," stammered Rena. "I mean, if they're mounting some kind of attack. We don't know... how many there are, or... anything really. Shouldn't we..." She looked around the room, half-terrified. Her body trembled, and her voice rose to almost a squeak. "Move first?"

Anna jumped back and blocked herself with one arm at the sight of Gio and his sword. "Stay back! Seriously, you don't want to mess with me!"

Her heart beat hard and fast. She hadn't seen a single soul since she arrived here, unless you counted Tulip, whom she'd been separated from for more than a day now. She was lucky she had some snacks in her backpack to ration, and at least some of the plants here seemed to be the same as on Earth. There was a lot she didn't recognize, but she'd managed to fill her lunchbox with apples on the way. They hadn't killed her... yet.

Right now, she was a lot more concerned about the guy with the sword than some otherworldly fruit. "I, um, I'm Anna. Anna Chase, if it matters. I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me." She realized how stupid that sounded, unarmed as she was... but she meant it.

The sudden appearance of a lamp half-blinded her. Her eyes adjusted to the sight of an older man, and she took another step back. Part of her wanted to take off running. She'd spent days running from every crunching twig and snapping branch, though. She could hear more noise in the distance, and for the first time, she realized she didn't care. She was tired of running, physically and mentally. If she had to, she decided, she would transform this time.

But the man was talking. His voice was rough, but he didn't sound unkind. He could take them to... a town? A real town? Her eyes moved between the two strangers. She waited to see how Gio would react.

 

[Michelle the Editor]

Maggie thought as the other witches chattered. So it was true, there was a new power in the world and they didn't understand it yet. Sweetbalm was alarmingly real and close by, compared to all the vague rumors of towns being razed. But still, there was something very strange about all of this...

She spoke up. "Why and how were there no injuries? I mean, if the damage was as bad as it sounds, for not even one person to be seriously hurt sounds like either good fortune or good aim." She heard murmurs, and hastily added, "I couldn't guess these strangers' motivations either, I'm just saying that it's easy to try to hurt someone, mess up and still cause injuries, but it's a lot harder to hurt nobody by accident. And actually, if the fight was as big as it sounds, did anyone actually see these witches? It sounds like they didn't, but how is that possible?"

 

[Marionette]

"It was not a fight so much as an... incident." Celinda paused. "It was on the edge of Sweetbalm proper. Screams and crashes were heard. By the time villagers arrived in the area, the strangers were already engaged in their magic. Villagers witnessed huge, blinding lights that left the ground pocked with craters and smudges. It looked as if they had blasted something or someone, but all villagers were accounted for. Perhaps I should say there are no known injuries."

She sat on the table, taking a slow draught from a mug of spiced cider. "The strangers ran when they saw the villagers, who well outnumbered them. It's possible that they ran into one of the nastier beasts out there. Or perhaps they turned on one of their own. Maybe they found a stray witch. Until one is apprehended or comes forth, we just can't say."

 

[Michelle the Editor]

"Then if we can't say, it's probably not wise to declare war on them just yet," Maggie said. "At least, not until we know what's going on a little better."

She hoped that made sense to people and didn't just sound like she wanted to avoid a fight. She did, combat had never been one of her strong points or interests, but she thought she was being logical, at least.

"Not that I think we shouldn't be ready, they're clearly dangerous, but...I don't know, I guess I just don't want to go looking for a fight. Does that make sense?"