Macy grasped at her wand tightly now, for the past half an hour did her feeling of uneasiness grow more unnerving. She glared in varying directions, although a part of her reasoned that the atmosphere around the area had terrified her enough to make up illusions, another part would take odd and concerning glances in Veronica's direction.
'Nothing's happened to me…nothing's happened…' she recited continuously in her thoughts.
The inklings to leave were enticing but Macy knew well what was at stake, at least for her master. Performing a dangerous Divination more than once was already a risk best left avoided but neither did it mean that survival was impossible, thrice was a different story. If and well and truly if Veronica made it through the divination sound of mind, much to Macy's prayer's, a third divination was a sure fire execution. There were entities and creatures who simply couldn't be bothered by the intrusions and presences of human beings, there were those confident enough that their secrets were far too well kept for even the slightest to be revealed so much so that a double divination, dangerous as one may never be too sure couldn't compare to the horrors that might be incurred from a third divination.
She recited something under her breath causing the tip of her wand to glow a shade of gold as that same glow flowed over her body, it was a basic protection spell. The Dragons of old were said to have scales so strong that no weapons were able to pierce them, they were beings unknown to the sight of their own blood and one could understand why as Macy felt herself protected by a thin layer of magic.
'I should probably do one on Lady Veronica as well…—'
At this moment Macy heard the clang and clattering of metal as her head quickly spun in direction of the noise, eyes narrowing with her wand at the ready.
"Who's there?" She shouted in what felt like empty space, ahead of her was the path in which they'd come.
The residential areas of poor structure, small homes and apartment buildings were half standing and almost completely razed, the corpses lay strewn in unnerving symbolic meaning with the stench of rotten flesh in the air. The sound came again, this time easier to discern as to what it came from, pots and pans perhaps to which Macy was brought back to the reality that this was a place people once lived, perhaps not happily but lived.
"I know you're there, so just come out already!!" She said, although not really psyched to know what was there.
"You're not supposed to be here…"
Macy's blood ran cold…
"Why are you here?" There were footsteps now and Macy could now discern where they were coming from, a ruined home just twenty meters short of where she stood although to give it a more accurate description and the home was more of a rubble stand than the remains of a home.
"We're here on an investigation, we'll leave shortly…" Macy answered, her gaze occasionally on Veronica behind her.
"No! No! the authorities were here a few nights before!! We gave them that much time so why are you here!?" The voice boomed, Macy's body unconsciously taking a step back.
"Show yourself first and we can settle this properly, the investigations we did before were far from extensive enough"
"Extensive!?" Macy could see it, a figure appearing from the rubble, "You of the Middle district disgust me!"
It was a man, tall and fairly aged that appeared before her. His disposition seemed quite irritant and unlike many of the lower district that her and Veronica had met till now and Macy could note that he was by far the most well dressed, clean and unblemished clothing, neither toren nor old.
"Pardon me but you don't exactly look like you're from here either" She replied, although a ruisse to buy time.
"Is that how you see us all? So barbaric that it's a surprise to see one like myself? You find it surprising there are those struggling against this suffering brought by you people!?"
Macy's wand was now threateningly in front of her with its tip, a menacing and visible hue of bright pink.
"The will's of the upper district are not in our hands to overturn"
"We make the majority!! Why fear?"
Macy found this a random question, such a debate had been settled and fought over years ago. The lower district had long given up hope on the Middle District's intervention, they were coward's in their eyes, or more aptly, they were well kept prisoners in a golden cage that found their circumstances comfortable. Why was this man bringing up a topic that many of the lower district, no matter how true, were pretty adamant about; the middle district were coward's.
She hesitantly answered with a narrowed gaze, "And face death? I'd rather not"
The man seemed expectant of this answer but also disappointed, "Then why act like you care for this place!? Why investigate the mysteries of our own deaths, why care!?"
Macy took a glimpse towards Veronica, still noting her calm demeanor and then looked back at the man, "It's a job"
"Nonsense!!!" At this point something flickered into his hands that caused Macy great surprise.
"That…!!"
"Phantasmal claws" The man whispered with eyes of a brightly slit green as a glow of the same color sparked on the tip of his wooden wand, pointed in her direction as a flurry of beastly hands flew towards her.
Macy didn't waste a second in reaction, her wand swiping to the left in a wide arc as a wall of condensed rubble appeared before her, "Earth's protection"
The claws collided with the wall of rubble, destroying it completely in a resounding bang as they disappeared in the process causing a wall of dust that quickly dissipated as the man looked on in delight, "A Witch of the Earth domain? How troublesome"
Macy, however, could barely pay attention to his words and followed suit with a counter before she ran back to the receiving end of things. Her wand jinked to the left and right, then up in a vertical slash forward as the rubble around her broke apart and swarmed in her direction before sharpening to what were spear like masses that flew past her and towards the man.
"Bare witness to my sincerity, may the dead protect me till my days of darkness" The man said as Macy watched in horror as the body's strewn on the floor flew in his direction, throwing themselves in front of him and the corpses were skewered by the spear-like masses thrown in his direction.
"Disgusting…" Her gaze narrowed, "Truly a member of the dead"
"Is our Eminence not a God of the Dead?" The man asked, amused as Macy clicked a tongue.
"An ability only benevolent in his grasp, your people can only use it for slaughter" She flicked her wand forward and then downwards as a rumbling and a bang sent the man crashing into a wall behind him, "I really don't want to hurt you"
Macy glared but the man's demeanor couldn't be anymore but psychotic, "I asked you to leave, before we hurt you"
"We…?" Macy asked but she soon understood why, the corpses around her lightly groaned, spasming and snapping to life as they slowly rose to standing stature, face's riddled in anguish and pain now devilish sneers overtaken by malicious intent.
"A pure necromancer?" She asked with wide eyes and hissed a sharp breath, "How deplorable…"
"Only natural for your people to see us so"
Macy felt a little cornered although every fiber in her being told her it was most definitely time to tail it, she'd promised Veronica that she'd only interrupt if it was exceptionally clear that the divination had become dangerous and so far, that hadn't happened.
She flicked a mass of rubble in the man's direction as the walking corpses used themselves as shields, surprisingly sturdy although most were missing a good portion of their own bodies. The attribute of Earth magic was versatile in its varying first few abilities, Circles weren't simply stages of power but a showing of a Mage's understanding in their own affinities. Due to advances in magicking knowledge and similarities of affinities, such as two Wizards or a Witch both having an affinity to a certain domain were there spells and levels of understanding already known from a certain range of circles.
For example, the first circle of the Earth domain focused over the knowledge of control. An emotion most associated with the Earth domain was confidence and the desire often in relation, was dominance. The reason why the idea of control was placed into such emphasis in the beginning of one's journey through this affinity was that both confidence and dominance were easily emotions that lead down a path of arrogance and tyranny, a mage's mental state greatly affected the fluidity and potency of their spells and certain emotions and nature's had flaws that lead to unhealthy aspects. Thus the idea of control, the first circle of the Earth domain three destructive spells and growing in power was fully understanding each Circle's idea; what did it mean to have control?
A blast of golden light shot through the head of a walking corpse as Macy's attention turned towards creating a wall of stone around Veronica, her concentration half focused on the disfigured jaw clamped onto her wrist which she wrenched and sent an arc, blasting and dispersing the ground in front of her as limbs were sent flying.
"I heard those of the Fate domain were quite troublesome in battle, seeing as how they catch glimpses into the future but that doesn't seem to be your companions only abilities" said the man as Macy pummeled the head of another corpse drawing nearer Veronica's wall of protection and glared, "My, that sounds familiar…"
Macy's heart palpated with worry now, news barely traveled from the middle district towards the lower, often either warped or untrue. Veronica had made it quite clear that her identity was not to be known till she felt it necessary and there was good reason for that too, if this person were to recognize Veronica then was Macy allowed to kill them? Murder was something her master would like to avoid but if it meant her identity, would she allow it?
She evaluated the situation seriously, the man in front of her, although a necromancer was at most a Wizard of the third circle, if she placed a great deal of effort into a fatal attack then killing wasn't a problem. Yet there were questions running through her mind, what was a Wizard of this caliber doing in the lower district? The resources and knowledge surrounding Magecraft was small, with the radical natures and desires of the Lower district and one could say that this was an intentional predicament meant to further place binds onto what was an unpredictable group of lunatics; at least in the eyes of the upper District.
'Wouldn't Lady Veronica be able to divine his corpse though?' She habitually thought but quickly scrapped the idea while fending of the waves of the dead, 'Lady Veronica, I think it's about time we leave!!!'
Her attack collided with a cacophony of anguished screams as she was slightly thrown back, crashing into the wall of Earth surrounding Veronica as she hissed. Her wand quickly flickered in defense of a second attack as a spray of sharpened rubble collided with phantasmal claws much larger than the first few she'd seen, bringing her wand upwards as several rocky constructions jutted from the ground before flinging in the man's direction.
"Is that it?" The man cried in mockery as Macy clicked between gritted teeth, a wave of irritation nearly overcoming her.
"So much confidence from vermin" a stream of bright Emerald struck her in the chest causing a stinging and piercing pain as cracks of spiderweb nature appeared on the wall protecting Veronica which she'd been thrown into, "Gah!"
Macy coughed, breathing through sharp breaths as a splatter of crimson appeared on her hands…it was her own.
Her gaze narrowed, "Tch"
"Vermin?" The man asked, a palpable level of malice in his tone, "Did you all hear that?"
Macy chuckled, although the act was a little painful, "Do all necromancers have this kind of relationships with the dead? It's quite pitiful"
But the man's expression didn't turn to one of anger, "I'm not talking to them"
Just then did Macy notice figures appearing from distance ahead, although a multitude of the dead laid strewn across the ground both her and Veronica had tread before coming here, these held no disproportions on their body's, not the incongruency or staggered steps of a corpse held on phantasmal strings but people.
"This is the lower district, our home whome you've trespassed"
Macy dispelled the wall between herself and Veronica as quickly as possible and ran to grab a hold of her, "Veraina, we're in a bit of a predicament!"
However Veronica was unresponsive, Macy shook a few times but the divination barely seemed interrupted.
"It seems your friend won't be able to help you" The man said, now a crowd of Lower district residents swarmed behind him, "helpless you must be feeling, no?"
'Damn….'