Tales of magic: grimoire of transmorfigration
Chapter 7
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Opening Arc- "Crow and Quill"
Chapter 7- "Birdsong"
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The Eldritch Horror stood before the weak child, who was obviously terrified.
"Are you afraid?"
"No. I was just tired of standing still, so I started running."
"...."
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April 26, 1886
Weidson, Pridon
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Mid-afternoon, the Pub in East side of Weidson.
13th Dale Street.
A young man, wearing a brown suit, sat infront of the piano, touched the keys with his hands moment, and then smiled.
'It's the same as before.'
The audience was eager to listen.
And then he was ready to play.
Without wasting any more time, he began. The steady rhythm of his fingers dancing around the piano was simply breathtaking to listen to.
As the tempo of the music increased, the cheers from the audience was louder still.
He was happy, doing this. It was something he was good at.
"Lancaster Speindel, I presume."
This voice seemed to have originated from behind him. It was a man's voice.
"Don't respond, It might cause a stir. Just listen to me."
Lancaster did as the mysterious man said. He focused on his piano, whilst listening to the man's words.
"My name is William Sharpside. I'm also referred to as 'Hunter', and I am here to take your life"
'Is that all?'
"I'm surprised. You don't look scared in the slightest."
Lancaster shaked his head.
"We'll talk outside, okay? Goodbye for now."
And he heard footsteps, indicating that the man had walked away.
Lancaster heaved a sigh of relief.
He hated distractions while he was playing the piano. It was difficult to focus on it, when someone was breathing over your neck and spitting nonsense.
He had had such an experience before, and it wasn't a pleasant one for him.
'Enough of that! I'm playing the piano!'
So he continued to play a bunch of songs, until the audience dispersed, and he had to leave. His fingers were tired too.
The young musician left the pub, late in the afternoon. As he was leaving, he saw a tall man wearing a black trenchcoat and a black hat.
This man had visible scars all over his face, which could have been handsome otherwise.
"Come over here so we can talk"
The voice from earlier. William Sharpside.
Lancaster obeyed silently.
The two of them walked together in silence. Soon, they were in a dark corner between two buildings.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lancaster said, smiling.
'This man must be a fan of my work. But It's absolutely not acceptable to start disrupting me because of that. And he also speaks of 'taking my life'.Only he must know what he meant by that.'
"I want to kill you."
'That's a bit more explicit. Sounds as though he has a few issues up in his head.'
"I really want to kill you. I'm not joking about it. But the thing is, I'm not sure if I can."
'he has completely gone off the deep end. He must be mad.'
"You think I am mad?"
"Why do you want to kill me?"
"You need to die now, so you don't suffer and then die later. You are Fated to become a Mage. And in doing so, you will lose your humanity. You will join a battle to the death, of your own free will.."
"I won't."
"Huh? But It's set in stone. It will happen no matter what."
"Even if what you're saying is true, in such a scenario I would never agree of my own free will. Do you know why? It's because It sounds like commitment." Lancaster paused, then continued.
"Sure, the prospect of magic being real is fun, but not if I am going to start fighting to the death. That sounds complicated."
'No way magic could be real anyways, but I'll really be glad if it was. Magic powers could mean a lot of interesting things to do. At least it will be better than doing nothing.'
"Well, if that's how you think, I don't really need to tell you anything else- or anything at all for that matter. Let's get on with the killing."
William brought out a small pistol from his pants, and pointed it expertly at Lancaster's forehead. He was serious.
"I want to know, if Fate can somehow stop me from pulling the trigger and ending your life."
Lancaster realised that he was in mortal danger.
Instead of shivering in fear, Lancaster was shaking from excitement.
"You would really kill me?"
Lancaster wasted no time in grabbing hold of William's wrist, twisting it so hard that he let go of the gun.
William, sensing the danger coming his way, jumped backwards almost instantly.
The pianist's leg was stretched out, in the place where William's groin had been.
"Ho ho ho. You're fast, old man."
"I'm not old. Also, how do you know how to fight?"
Lancaster straightened his legs, and kicked the gun further away from William.
"I learnt some things awhile back. It was fun."
William frowned.
"That wasn't what I meant."
"I know. But I'm not just going to spit out my entire history to a guy I just met, especially one that's trying to kill me." Lancaster was still excited.
'It's been so long, since I had a real fight.'
"I must say, I never expected this."
"What were you expecting?"
"A weakling, like your cousin."
'how the hell does he know I have a weakling cousin?'
"Magic, Lancaster. Magic."
"What do you mean by magic."
"I mean unbelievable, unexplainable power. I could give you a demonstration, then you'll understand."
'A demonstration of magic?'
"I will show you, if you'll watch. Later tomorrow, I will visit you and teach you what magic is."
"That sounds really interesting. You know what, I'll be waiting for you, William."
The man smiled. And then he left, walking away.
So did Lancaster.
He walked as though it was a normal day. Because it was.
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April 27,Pridon.
13:34
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Lancaster lay on his bed, thinking.
'Magic. If magic existed, then....'
The small house comprised of a bed,a stove, and some kitchen things a table, a lamp, a telephone and his piano. His only possession as of that moment. The walls and floors were rented. So was the roof.
It was how he liked it.
But, it wouldn't hurt to change things up, once in a while.
Infact, he looked forward to it.
'then I must have magic. I mean a whole new experience not many people have explored. It just might be fun.'
'But reality always comes knocking. He's never late. Telling you that such a thing is impossible. F*cking rules.'
"You are indeed a mystery to me, Lancaster."
It was William again. He climbed through the window, like a theif.
'And I didn't hear him come in.'
Lancaster practically jumped out of his bed.
"Nice to see you again, stranger!"
"You know I'm not a stranger." William said. He was frowning as he pointed the palms of his hands towards the young pianist.
There were symbols drawn on his palms. They looked occultic.
"You want it to be real, don't you?"
Lancaster had never thought about it that way. But when he did, he realised that it was true. He wanted magic to be real.
The tall man's hands lit up with a green light. As he moved his hands, the wind started to blow with so much intensity, that Lancaster felt shaken by it. William focused his hands towards a window.
The windows shattered as the winds furiously attacked it.
"Is that enough for you?"
William's hands stopped glowing.
"Yes. It is."
Lancaster couldn't stop smiling.
He had seen it with his own two eyes. Magic was real.
"Do I have to make a pact with a demon?"
"Yes."
"Then no. I'm not becoming a Magician." Lancaster rejected him almost instantly.
'It's not worth it.'
"The pact isn't bad."
"What about the killing you talked about? You know, the battle to the death?"
"It can't be helped. You'll have to do it."
"I won't. No matter how cool this magic thing is, It's not fun and games if my life is on the line. I don't really want magic that much any ways."
William looked sad.
"I guess, this time, I'll just kill you... You see boy, Fate decrees that you will be a mage. You're destined to become a mage. Hence, you won't possibly die before achieving your destiny. That's not how it works. According to what is now common knowledge among mages, if you - A fated- must die, it must be a part of your destiny being actualised, or after you have accomplished your destiny."
"That's strange and messed up."
"Yes it is. That is why, whether you want to or not, you will become a mage."
"No I won't. This whole Fate thing annoys me even more! I do whatever I want, and I don't want to be some slave!"
"Who said anything about slavery?"
"You said I would be forced, against my will to become a mage. But enough of that. I guess I'm immortal until I become a mage, right?
"That sounds like it... But that's not what I said."
Lancaster laughed.
"Immortality huh. Let's test it."
He walked across the room, away from William.
"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.
"Shoot me."
"Huh?"
"I said, shoot me. Test if this Fate can be challenged. Let's see if I live or die. This time, I'm too far away to intercept your gun before you fire, and it's not like I can dodge bullets."
"You're serious. Very well, then."
William produced a shotgun. An old hunting gun.
And then he fired.
"You missed."
"I have eyes, too."
William fired again.
"You missed again, gunslinger."
'I don't believe it' William thought.'How did I miss. When ever I focus my mind on Hunting, and I fire a bullet with my Eyes on the target I never miss.'
"I will try again."
And so William continued to try, over and over again, missing by just a hair every single time.
'Is this the intervention of fate?' William thought.
"I'm out of bullets. So I think I'll try a knife."
Lancaster grinned.
"Come at me."
William attacked, stabbing into the boy's arm, drawing blood.
"I wonder, why bullets wouldn't work on you, but a simple knife will."
The young man laughed a bit, not even looking a little bit concerned about the pain in his upper arm.
"I guess I already have magic, don't I?"
"Magic?"
"It's a trick, using powerful magnets to change the trajectory of your bullets. It's quite useful."
"You're not only physically powerful, and good at fighting. You're also talented, at the piano, and at this- whatever this is."
"You're not really good at praising people."
"You sound just like someone I know, minus the nagging."
"Your wife?"
"No,not yet. Anyways, I wasn't trying to praise you. I was just stating the facts. You are strong and unpredictable, Lancaster."
"So?"
William removed the knife. Lancaster didn't flinch.
"So, I think you would make an excellent mage. Too bad, I'm going to kill you."
"Again with the killing, dude. I love my life, I don't need death."
Hunter turned his back to Lancaster.
"Do you love your piano?"
"No. I like playing, but I don't love it. I can do without it."
"Do you love your house?"
"I guess not."
Hunter smiled. It was ugly.
"I have prepared your funeral pyres. I hope it suits your exotic tastes, Lancaster."
Lancaster's eyes widened.
"Fire?"
"You're smart, let's see if Fate would intervene."
Then he jumped over the window, closing it. Lancaster tried to open it, but was somehow incapable of doing so.
Soon, a young man could be seen sprinting out of a burning building, only escaping the explosion by the skin of his tooth.
"I thought you weren't afraid of death." Hunter smirked, looking down at Lancaster's charred body.
"I love my life, and nothing else."
"Interesting thing to say. So you are afraid."
"I'm not."
Lancaster hauled himself up, and stared at his adversary.
"I won't try to kill you anymore. I want you to be a Mage too much. I expect great things from you."
"Why?"
"Because you're not normal. You don't seem to have any real definitive goal. You just exist. You don't worry about the future. You love your life as it is now, but you don't fear death, or danger. Instead, you're excited about it. You ....are you even human?"
"That's a stretch. Are any of those traits something humans can't possess?"
"You're right. I didn't think. The real question I wanted to ask was; do you want to remain human? I mean, there must be a reason why you have dedicated your life to the pursuit of nothing. Doing whatever pleases you, learning whatever you fancy. If you had the chance to do the exact same thing, but on a much larger scale, won't you accept?"
"I don't have a choice, if I say no, you could kill me. I will be a mage, because I want to. Quick question though. What's the deal with the battle to the death?"
"The war between the Mages proves who is worthy to obtain the full power and Knowledge and Understanding of magic. It's a fight that must happen. It's a fight I detest."
"I love fights. Alright then. I'll join your little magic club. And then I'll master this thing called magic. And I will reject the competition altogether."
"How? When you get a taste of Magic, you will want more."
"I will beat as many as I can to their senses, and make them let me live the way I want "
"Crow..."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Your cousin, he looks and sounds much weaker in comparison to you. But he has a spirit that refuses to back down. I wonder..."
"Rambling huh? You really have lost it. So, how do I get magic?"
"I'll show you. Also, on an unrelated note, I might have caused the death of your cousin Lisa."
"I don't care."
"Right. You don't love anybody, almost forgot about that."
Lancaster grinned , once more.
'This will be fun.'
However, William had something different on his mind.
'I don't understand him at all. Why is he like this? What really goes on in his head. I have too little information to understand, and too much information to stop thinking about it. I will solve this puzzle, and then I will kill you.'
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