The Country Side East

S

Summers Mori

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"Is this it?" Theo asked, looking down at the artifact that would cost him everything. It was a plain golden bracelet, with a red gem embedded in the middle. If not for the faint otherworldly aura that he could feel around it, it would have looked like some cheap knockoff from a street-side stall. As it was, he would probably be betting his life on the little piece of jewellery.

Touching the gem, Theo once again cast Structural analysis on the object. All he received was a fuzzy, chaotic pulse, same as all other other times that he cast the spell. Whatever it was, the thing was beyond the realm of human comprehension. He would be feeling a lot better about this if the artifact had more to back up its authenticity than the word of a black market merchant. Even if the man had a reputation for honesty.

"I already told you that it's an angelic artifact. Take it or leave it. Researchers from the clock tower would be more than happy to pay for something like this."

Gritting his teeth, Theo took the artifact and handed over control node for his golems. "I'll take it."

The merchant took the mystic code with a grin on his face. "Pleasure doing business with you. Please come again, if you survive the war."

They both knew that it wasn't going to happen. Without his golems for protection, even if he survived, his enemies would soon hunt him down. As of now, his only choice was to win.

***
​
Standing in the tall grass, Theo looked down at the bracelet in his hands. Aside from his Opus, he had traded all his golems for this piece of jewellery. He still wasn't sure if it was a real artifact, but it was the best he could do on such short notice. All the authentic catalysts of any power are heavily guarded, or a closely kept secret.

Sighing, he tossed the bracelet into the circle that he burned into the ground, doused by his own blood. No use worrying about it now. Not like he could turn back at this point.

Clapping his hands together, Theo prayed to God. He wasn't religious, but prehaps it could help in this case.

The circle ignited as he started the ritual, his blood now serving to fuel the flames. A young man stood beside him, his Opus, providing a constant stream of pantra.

Let silver and steel be the essence.​
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation
Let Purble the colour I pay tribute to / Let my great Master Solomon be the ancestor
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall
Let the four cardinal gates close.
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.​

I hereby declare. ​
Your body shall serve under me.
My fate shall be your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail
If you will submit to this will and this reason…Then answer!​

An oath shall be sworn here! ​
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell! ​

Yet, though serves with thine eyes clouded in chaos​
Thou, bound in the cage of madness.​
I am he who command these chaos​

From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power,
Come forth from the ring of restraints,
Protector of the Holy Balance!​

And the world exploded in light.​
 
The light would fade, and Gisela stood before the mage and his golem, the grass around her seeming to have been scorched in a perfect circle, not burnt by fire, but definitely singed at the tip, a few blades smoking slightly in the sunlight. The angel observed the man before her with a mixture of curiosity, wariness, and disdain, the latter obvious in her eyes. She had realised that a chance at getting the grail meant being bound to a sorcerer, but she had thought they would seem more... impressive. Mages on her home plane were fantastical affairs, either clothed in armour, light emanating from sigils carved into the metal, or showing skin covered in tattoos which flowed like fire. This human seemed to have none of these, and while the angel considered the fact that magic in this world may not be as grand a thing to command, it wasn't particularly promising that this mage wasn't dressed for the part.

She stepped forwards, looking around her at the fields surrounding them, and again, wondered about this human's proficiency. Surely, a more crowded place was better? What if she was... in a different mood? She looked back towards him, and felt fairly confident that she could rend him limb from limb should she have to, not that she would. The grail was too enticing a prize, and even if she had to drag this mortal battered and bruised, she would have it. She didn't quite like the sound of his incantation though: 'your body shall serve under me'?

"You command these chaos..." she said softly, her voice still carrying over the distance clearly as she stretched her wings, the feathered limbs casting a large shadow on the male before she folded them on her back. "I should hope we don't take that too literally" she said, disdain obvious in her voice as she tilted her head to one side, regarding the male with her pale blue eyes, as if she could see into his soul. As this happened, there would be a slight prodding at the mage's mind, almost a physical pain, as if someone has poked a needle into his flesh. He would feel something in his mind, spiked and sharp, and noisy, the mind of a broken angel trying to read his.
 
@Zarek

Theo flinched as he felt something stab into his mind. As a mangus, he was no stranger to pain, but it did little to improve his mood. The thing standing before him was definitely an angel, but it was twisted somehow. Everything about it was just slightly...off, as if an artist didn't bother to check the details. Its skin was pale, slightly grey, and the colouration seemed to slightly change every time he looked at it. The feathers of its wings moved in unnatural ways, always just barely moving in in different directions. While it wasn't as horrific as some of the experiments that he had seen, the servant's image was certainly disturbing.

It looked down at him with disdain, a divine being gazing down at a mortal, and it did not like what it saw.

Well, judging by the prana it was emitting, it was powerful at the very least. In the end, that was all that mattered. Looks like that artifact was the real deal after all.

"Enough, Berserker." Theo said, trying not to let the pain leak through his voice. He couldn't show weakness to a being like this. "We must work together, if we are to win this war. Your attempts at intimidation are unnecessary."
 
@Summers Mori

The angel withdrew the tendrils of her mind, complying with the mages command, but grinned at him, exposing teeth that seemed a bit too menacing for a creature supposed to be of the divine. Before, such games wouldn't have appealed to her, but now, she found them amusing, watching mortals try and convince her that they were on par with her somehow. They never were, but they always managed to trick themselves into thinking they were, something she considered an achievement in itself. She stepped closer to the male, looking at the golem next to him curiously, before circling around her summoner in an almost predatory manner.

"I am not called Berserker.." she began as she completed her revolution, before a look came across her face, replacing the disdain and curiosity with something akin to sorrow, and then she moved towards the bangle which bound her, still lying in the grass. She knelt in front of it, wings raised slightly to avoid touching the ground, and gingerly cupped it in her hands, a single tear falling from her cheek and onto the floor, the signs of a trait she had assured herself was abandoned long ago, yet still cropped up at the most inconvenient of times. The tear glowed slightly as it hit the dirt, and a single flower sprouted from the spot, a vivid purple, about a foot in height. Gisela wiped her eye with a hand, still looking at the artifact, minor conflict seemingly forgotten, and apparently forgetting her master stood above her.
 
Theo watched as the angel's face rapidly shifted from arrogant to mournful. Well, he had expected some mental instability when he summoned Berserker. Though he had been hoping for something more akin to constant murder rage instead of mood swings. He could only hope that there was some sort of pattern to her madness. There was nothing worse than an unreliable weapon.

"Of course," he responded. "My apologies. My name is Theodore Brown. May I know what you are called?"
 
The angel seemed to ignore him at first, before getting to her feet, the artifact now on her wrist, clearly something she was used to. A more sober look took hold of her, no longer mournful or disdainful, as she considered telling her name. She knew they held power, and while she didn't like being called Berserker, she wasn't ready to relinquish her actual name.

"I am... was... the archangel of Xandikar" she said, skirting around his question. While he had withstood her mental invasion, it wasn't very dangerous, nor prolonged; he might give up anything if a foe actually tried to coerce him with magics.

"And what does this do?" she asked, attempting to draw his attention away from the topic of names as she gestured to the golem, although her curiosity was only partially emulated.
 
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Crimson spattered the walls. Ruby liquid stained the floors. Who knows what set the Beserker off. Perhaps it was just simply too much all at once? Perhaps it was simply that the madness overtook the beserker over some distant memory that enraged it. At either rate, the result was clear. Beserker was now masterless.

Ruler's weary eyes had seen this sort of thing before. His own story resulted in the death of many people, and none less gruesome than the sight he saw before him. It was a grim sight indeed.

"Ya've really made a mess o' things, Beserker." Ruler said to the angel-like being. He bent down what remained of the arm of the previous mage and took the seals away. "Luckily, the grail's decided to give ya another chance. I've come with a new mage for ye. Try not to kill this un, eh?"

Broch turned around to the woman who'd followed him here. The seals he'd taken off the previous mage now were passed along to her.

"Not everyday ya get a second chance, now issit?"
 
Shit.
I guess this is what I get for poor punctuality.

Alison offered a brief nod to her new partner. The mage chosen had messy brown hair and wore a leather peacoat that she took great care not to stain with the blood. "Yeah, being killed would suck pretty bad," the mage shrugged and accepted the new seals. "I'll try not to do, well, whatever that person did." The hands in her pockets gripped the steel spheres she carried. They were likely going to be necessary over time, alongside her own abilities. "So, er, Ruler, did you pick me due to my abilities, or is it just because I'm late?" Her own magicks combined with a Berserker's vicious attacks could prove to be a powerful combination, but she could already imagine a loose cannon servant to be more harm than good if she makes a mistake. She spent a few more moments mulling the subject over, before turning back to her new ally.

"Well, my own name is Alison Green, you can call me Allie or Green if you don't want to use my full first name," she leaned to the side, not realizing the door threshold was a few feet behind her. She gasped a little, and as she did the room seemed to 'tilt', blood splatters dripped and ran sideways for a moment as Alison tipped and 'fell' back upright, at which point the room seemed to 'snap back into place' with the mage upright and standing. "I uh, I can do that."
 
When the pair walked in, the angel seemed less like an angel, and more like some Lovecraftian horror, wings looking as if they were rotted, feathers having fallen off to reveal pink sinews and bleached bone. Her hair, usually a golden yellow, seemed tinged pink, blood staining the tips where it had touched the wet and slick floor. She lifted her head when the new mage walked in, and quickly regained whatever self control she had, wings returning to their former glory, hair fading into its previous colour. Blood still stained the ends, as well as her hands, and the angel looked at them, before shaking them, ridding her fingers of most of the blood.

She listened to the rulers speech with impatience, not really caring if she had made a mess of things. She didn't reply, and watched with relief as the seals were passed on, with only the slightest twinge of regret: while she wanted to cure herself, she didn't like the idea of being commanded once more. But, she decided, it was a necessary evil.

The angel didn't seem fazed by the room tilting: her wings extending slightly to afford her better balance, before folding behind her back again, the white pristine against the veneer of blood surrounding them. The angel looked at its new master with something approaching contempt, already not liking what it saw: if she could barely stand while on flat ground, what chance did she have when people were trying to kill her? Insofar, the Berserker's experience with mortals on this plane was bad, with one of them already dying, and the one that came to take their place seeming to have trouble staying upright, a feat she had seen younger humans manage.

"Let us hope you don't fall again" she said, sounding irritated, as if this mage was some small child who needed to be led by the hand. "For your sake"

She wouldn't usually do it, it not being something she saw as needed, but she extended an arm, proffering a handshake to her new master, wanting to see how she would react to the blood on her hands. In the recesses of her mind, she heard faint laughter, and she couldn't help but smile along with it.
 
Ruler turned to Allison and shook his massive mane of a head. "No." He murmured. "I did not choose ya at all. But the Grail 'as decided to make ya a candidate. Especially since there is a rule breaker in the war this time." He grumbled.

"You two are now partners in this war. But I also want ya to look for an eighth magus that's got an servant. The boy is a danger worse than you are when it comes to magic, Berserker. If you see a boy named Max, he is to be killed on sight. An' tha's an order." He looked to Allison. "Anything else before I leave ya two be?"
 
“Er, Alright, we need to kill Max. Any information on the servant bound to him?” Alison glanced down at the servant’s hand and hesitantly shook it, flicking her wrist to splatter a bit of the blood away from herself and onto an already stained wall. The Mage noted the expression of the Berserker and instinctively reached into her pocket with her free hand, letting one of the steel spheres float in a slow orbit around Green. She slowly stepped back as it revolved just past arm’s length from her. Precautions, in case the servant lived up to their title once more.
 
The angel took note of Ruler's kill command, and nodded, not happy with being ordered around by a second person, but realising that she didn't have much choice in the matter. Upon hearing of the danger he posed, she raised an eyebrow.

"I somehow doubt it. You know not what I am capable of, a mortal wouldn't be able to hold a flame to my power"

She looked at the orb now revolving around Alison, and tilted her head, clearly curious. "And what might this be?"
 
"None." Broch muttered. "I do know 'e was summoned usin' my command seals. So 'e may not be an normal servant. Best keep yer guard up at all times." He grumbled. "The boy, though.. 'e's about yay 'igh.." He held up his arm to indicate the height of the man. "Sandy colored 'air. Scrawny. An' pale."

He rubbed his neck. "Be careful, make sure 'e 'as command seals. An' if ya can't take 'em alone, just call out to me. I'll 'ear ya." He waved and started for the door.
 
“No information, the best way to go into anything,” she sighed and looked for a sink to wash her hands in. “That’s a tool I use to defend myself. If I felt threatened enough, it would be moving much faster, enough to nearly take a man’s hand off if it were to strike someone. I’ve got a few of those that can all be spinning at once, but doing that indoors is reckless.”

“Is there somewhere we can practice, Ruler? I’d like some familiarity with what Berserker can do before a real battle happens.”
 
Berserker couldn't help but grin at the revelation that the mage was defending herself, seemingly from her own servant, the exposed teeth seeming sharper and more demonic than an angel's should be.

"Don't worry" she said "be smart about things and we should get along fine, like a house on fire". She grinned wider, fully aware that houses and fire didn't get along much.

The angel looked at her hand, and after a few seconds, a gentle glow emanated from her palm, the blood seeming to shy away from it and drip onto the floor, until her fingers were clear of the liquid. She ran her glowing digits through her hair, ridding it of the blood, and turned back to the master, trying to hide her anticipation at showing her skills. While it may be a sin, the angel did indulge in pride.
 
Ruler raised a brow. "'ere, I suppose. The last tenant is no longer in need of this 'ouse. Or somewhere out in the fields around 'ere, if ya really need the space. Otherwise, yer gonna 'ave to test 'em out on other servants."
 
"I'd prefer outside. If this is our house now, I'd prefer not to trash it any more than it already has been," the cold water rinsed off the blood easily enough, and the mage made her way outside. Once outdoors she set two more spheres into orbit around her, each one roughly a foot farther from her body than the one before it.

"With the designation of Berserker, I can assume what you probably can do, but I'm still curious to what exactly that entails."
 
The angel followed the master outside, blinking in the light of the sun. She watched the orbs circling the mage, and felt decidedly irritated. While she had implied that she might kill her master, it both annoyed and hurt the angel that the girl genuinely thought that she was in real danger. Granted, she was in the company of a being which would think nothing of razing whole cities, if only because their state of mind while doing so would be inadequate.

"And what" said the angel, her irritation coming through in her voice "would you have me do?"
 
"I, well, I don't particularly know," Green shrugged. "Do you attack things with a weapon? With your hands? Magic? I want to know what I'm working with here, because my own magic is very specific in what it can and cannot do. I could, perhaps, increase the force of a swung weapon, or make you more stable on your feet, or even make your body light as a feather for a few moments."

"Though, I guess if we aren't going to get past breaking ice, we could always just look for other pairs to beat up," Allie scratched her head and held out her hand, collecting and storing the steel balls one by one.
 
Berserker reached a hand out into the air, and seemed to clasp her fingers around something, before the hilt of a sword materialised in her hand. She pulled at the hilt, and the rest of the blade seemed to be drawn from nothingness, until a metre long sword was in the angels grasp, the blade golden and glinting in the sun, yet retaining a look of simple elegance. She swung the weapon around in one hand, a gentle hum sounding as the blade cut through the air.

"This is one of my weapons, I fight with two of them. Magic as well, but it is more defensive unless..." she looked up in the age old manner of someone searching for the right phrase, and settled on "...things take a turn for the worse" She noted the collection of the steel orbs, and held her sword blade down, if only as a show of good faith. "And what are you capable of?"
 
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