Tales of magic: grimoire of transmogrification
Chapter 15
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Opening Arc- "Crow and Quill"
Chapter 15- "Downpour"
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Whenever the rain falls, it nourishes the growing plants and animals, giving them life, life that comes from above.
The rain could also take away life, coming in a storm that calls forth a flood. Wiping out thousands of lives and leaving lands desolate and uninhabitable.
Now it's time to call forth the rain. I don't know whether it would be a small shower, or a terrible storm.
Let the rain fall, and wash away the blood stains on the battlefield.
Let the rain fall, and hide my tears from my enemies.
So I can win.
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Spirit world.
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Quill stood in the rain, sheilded from the downpour by a blanket of energy summoned from the Umbrella spell.
'This is familiar. Sudden rain, right outside the bakery....'
Quill remembered the day everything changed, and his expression stiffened. He clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth.
"I still want to win."
'Win, huh? How will you do that, when you are siding with your enemy?'
"Demon."
'I wonder when you all unanimously agreed to call me that.'
"What are you doing here? You didn't come in when that Vampire was about to kill me..And you're the cause of all of this."
'What did I do, Blighted One? I only gave you advice, it was your choice to take it, or forget about it. We both know which path you chose.'
Quill shaked his head.
"But you gave me magic."
'So your magic is now at fault?'
Quill shaked his head again.
'I'm wasting my time here. But then again, wasting time is the point. I have to save my magic, and if I want enough magic Power, I have to wait for this demon here to slowly give it to me.'
"Is there any way you could replenish my Power faster."
You are asking me to favour you over the other Mages. Sure I love to poke fun, but giving you more Power faster isn't fair. If you want advice though, I can help, for a price.
"Why do you keep saying that! You still haven't called in the favour from last time."
'It was not a favour. You are not too good at listening, blighted Mage. I shall order you whenever I want, against your will.'
"That wasn't what you said!"
I am a demon. That is what you call me. You should expect me to want your soul, more than anything else. Yes It was a favour, that was the exact language I used. But because I said it, it doesn't mean I meant it.
"...."
Journal. I remember that I must have recorded what happened somewhere inside you, while all the Knowledge was going into my head. I didn't? Ah well. But I'm sure that demon isn't capable of lying. He told me that once. I'm sure about it. But he just lied just now.
"If I ask you for more advice, I will owe you another favour. Is that it?"
'Yes.'
"..And somehow, I think something's not right about that."
'Quill. I didn't realise that you were becoming intelligent. You just realized that making deals with a demon god is not a good idea.. quite fascinating.'
Quill tried to ignore him, walking around the Sanctuary, while keeping close to it's walls, touching one of them with his right hand.
The wards. You are trying to allow the wards on the walls of the Sanctuary protect you from hungry spirits outside. But - free advice here - the kind of spirits hanging around your Sanctuary, ate not the type that will be stopped by the wards on the surface of it. Also, you have failed to realise a crucial detail.
'Which detail?'
Glad you asked. If you want to know, I would love a portion of your soul. Or a favour.
'A favour.'
Damn, all these demons are the same. They can't have enough of 'soul'. Wait. What am I even thinking about? This shouldn't be normal!
There are spirits who are capable of entering, if you leave the door open.
'What kind of advice is that?'
The wall. That vampire broke open a wall, a space for evil spirits to come in and take what they want, then leave. Any kind of spirit can walk into your body through your Sanctuary, and do whatever they want with you. You are more than just Blighted now. You are a spiritual hotspot. Hundreds of spirits could walk into your Sanctuary and torment your soul, or do far more worse things that I won't tell you about.
Quill held his head with his right hand.
'What kind of messed up sh*t is this?'
'What am I going to do?'
You have options, Mage. But don't be desperate, or things might get worse. Also, you must be determined for a chance at things getting better.
'So what can I do?'
You have three options.
Your first option is to flee and build a new Sanctuary. I don't have to tell you how difficult that is.
'Yes. Yes.'
The second option is suicide. You kill yourself and end your suffering. As your soul dies, the Sanctuary crumbles and the spirits are forced to leave. The spirits would be gone, but so will you.
'I don't like where this is going. Three options? More like only one.'
The final option is the reparation of your Sanctuary. You must seal, or banish your spirits, while simultaneously fixing the wall. This is the only option you could take to banish the spirits that would probably not result in certain death.
'So, how?'
You chase away the spirits that are trespassing by drawing diagrams to ward them away. And you deal with the ones that have a right to be here by communicating with them, sealing them away, or outright dominating and defeating them. But to attempt any of that, you need Power.
'I know I'm asking you the same thing again. But please tell me how?'
Wait patiently, and don't die while you do... Though there is one more option, but I know you will not agree.
'You knew I won't agree with option 2.'
This one is different. You see, if you want Power, you could sacrifice part of your body to me, by saying my name, and the part you wish to offer up to me.
'Desire?'
That may be my Title, but not my name. My name is written in the book of magic and in your Knowledge. When you say, or Write down my name, and make the sacrifice, I will give you more Power than you can imagine.
'So that's a spell, between us.'
Yes. That is exactly what it is. It's demon magic. I eat your flesh, and I give you Power in exchange. The Power I will give you, is equal to the amount your body can handle. But you must give me a complete body part. A full arm, or an entire leg. Maybe a little thing in between your legs, or one of your ears... The more vital it is, the better.
'...that is something I would never do... I'll rely on Lancaster. He's tough and really strong, he should have had a plan. When I meet him again, we'll hash something out.'
Do whatever you want, Blighted one.
The demon receded back into the book of magic, looking amused. Though his body's form had disappeared, his voice still lingered in the air.
Eventually, you will give me what I want.
'I won't give you anything. I'll win this fight, with Lancaster's help.'
"I'll go to Lisa's room. It's not far from mine, and I could easily step in and help out Lancaster." Quill said with a smile, and ran through the rain, towards the front door.
Once reaching the front door to his Sanctuary, he was shocked to see Spirits hanging around, trying to get in.
The strange spirits were dark, and wet. They looked like puddles of thick black mud, that was pulsating and had eyes somewhere.
"Well, I'll just ignore you."
Quill attempted to move around it, but the spirit blocked his path.
Journal, I don't understand what I am seeing. And honestly, I don't want to. I just want to go inside, is it so difficult?
I want to die.
'Who said that?'
The Mage looks around, searching for the voice that said that. He couldn't find anything. He opened up the door and walked into it, quickly boarding it up the second he was inside.
He scrutinized every inch of what he could see of his 'living room' before being completely sure that there were no spirits. He took another step, and then another.
I want to die.
"Why do I hear that?"
Quill made a beeline for Lisa's room.
'The house is eerily quiet. For every movement I make, I hear sounds, awkward sounds. Like shadows of things that might not exist. If it was only one that won't be too bad. But it isn't just one. There are so many different sounds, that just seem wierd. I know, something isn't right.
This is the spirit world. And there are supposed to be hundreds of spirits inside this Sanctuary. Why am I not seeing any of them? Are they invisible? Are they hiding?
Well, as far as they ignore me, I have no reason not to do the same.
Magic- meter says 3:45. I don't know exactly how Lancaster calculates it, but I know that is more like three point something high, right? So It's a lot more than before. But will it be able to seal Vlad? I'll have to test it to find out.
I still want to die.
What is this, Journal? I Wrote those words on you just now. Why did I? What do they mean? What's going on?
Evil spirits? Come on! Show yourselves! I'm quaking in my boots, but I will fight you. I won't back down.
Why won't I?
I am weak. I don't know what I'm saying. I don't know who I am. How do I stand a chance against these odds. Hundreds of evil spirits, not just seven....
I couldn't even face one.
"You are muttering to yourself, boy." A lady's tender voice, remarked.
"What's going on?"
Quill saw who( or what) could have been the most beautiful lady he had ever saw. She was dressed in a tightly fitted red gown. And she had such a beautiful smile.
"You are dying. That is what is going on. You cannot leave this kind of situation whole. It's just not possible. But I want you whole though. I love you, ...."
The words that came out of the lady's mouth were distorted. She said a name, but no one other than herself could hear it.
"What did you say..."
'She is a spirit. She has to be. I've got to run away.'
"I said that I loved you, ####."
'The heck is it talking about?'
"You don't know more. But you must understand. The only way to survive, is to let me help you."
'That sounds like a good idea.'
Of course it is.
'No!'
Quill turned his head and then he saw hundreds of creepy skeletons and zombies. There wasn't enough space for them on the floor so many of them were even standing ontop of others. Within the swarm of undead, a greater, bigger bone figure loomed.
The 'woman' behind him began to laugh hoarsely. Her angelic voice was gone and now it ws replaced with something that haunts people's nightmares.
"You rejected me. But you can't...That thing over there is legion. It is an undead army of grand multitude. Legions king was also summoned by you, so was I. You called us here, Mage. Nobody summons me, and just ignores me."
"..." Quill was unable to speak. His lips were quivering.
Journal, I just realized where that deathwish came from. It was from me. I want to die.
"But Mage boy, the legion will kill you, and use your dead body to create a new soldier that will join their ranks. The vampires will suck you dry. The Gremlins would mess with your body and your house. The souleater will simply devour you. The Fey will curse you. And the imps would corrupt you, and then destroy you."
"...Any difference with you?"
"Oh, I will make sure to treat you properly. Like a proper succubus would, before taking your soul."
Quill opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"There is no resisting. No running away. Nowhere to hide. Thousands of other spirits have gathered together with the six Great spirits within you. Our armies, have arrived. You cannot possibly have a chance at eating your cake and having it. We gave you power, we kept you alive. Now you shall pay the price."
The succubus started to advance towards him. He could finally see the horns on her head, and the fangs in her mouth. Her wings, made her look far less alluring- but only for a moment. Because the next moment, they were gone.
"Lancaster!" Quill managed to scream.
"Your friend is gone, boy!"
Quill refused to listen, and ran to his room, finding the hole, and Vlad who was simply waiting. There were other vampires there too.
"Hm. This one must be the Mage."
"Let's crush him."
"Shut up, Leon. We don't need to go all out. We let him break first, then we pick apart the left-overs. We have too much competition for his soul as it is. Joining the competition means we could lose and get nothing."
"Lancaster! Where is Lancaster?"
He left. He got up, and disappeared to his body. He deserted you.
You know he left. You know you shouldn't trust him.
Just like you can hardly trust yourself.
What do you see? What do you hear?
How much could you really trust? What is real?
Quill screamed and held on to the sides of his head.
"That sounds nice and all, but I don't want a broken, tainted body. The blood will be bitter." The female Vampire whined.
"You'll just have to manage it. We haven't drank the blood of a Mage for a long time. There might still be Power left after the fey and all the are skeleton are done."
"Claus, I wouldn't bow my head to any of the others, and appear weak among them. We will join the battle, which means we should make our move."
Quill bit his lips, and he let go of his head.
"Ward."
Ward spells and bind spells were the easiest to learn. Quill hardly had to study for an hour to do this.
Diagrams that had been Drawn nearly instantly started to glow a bright white colour. These circles moved around the ground, and the shadows started to move back.
'The negativity is leaving me.'
You know it's the truth. Your only ally has deserted you, left you to die. You have noone else, except for a demon that wants your soul. Don't you realise. Fighting back is futile, stop resisting, and let us have you.
Quill clenched his fist. Tears were streaming down his eyes.
"Vlad, what are you doing stranding around. Let's kill him!"
"Don't you dare touch my boy." The succubus was back, and behind her were so many succubi, that Quill couldn't count.
"That soul belongs to me." An eerie voice stated.
"Quill honey, come over here."
Claus jumped, carrying a huge axe. He swung the ax at Quill. But it didn't reach him.
"He he he. Vampires again."
Small red things stood in the way. Quill ran.
'The madness is too much, I don't want this.'
Then what do you want? Know well enough that it is unattainable. You have lost it, Quill. You are hearing voices in your head.
Quill ran around the Sanctuary, seeing more and more spirits. Then he ended up in the bathroom.
The door was opened slowly.
"You can't run from me forever, Mage boy."
Quill stared at her, mentally exhausted.
You want to fall for the succubus' trap? Or do you still want to die. It is the easiest way. If you just die, then it will end. The pain you feel in your head. The deep emotions, that you don't understand that are trying to take over you, will be incapable of doing so if you simply surrender.
'Lancaster left me. I'm running out of Power, for some reason, its 2:04 now. It's not supposed to be that way.'
'I want more Power.
And I know what I have to do.'
" I want to win, not die."
Death is the only you achieve victory against such foes.
"I want to win!"
Why? Why do you fight so hard?
The succubus crossed the room reaching him.
"Get out of his head, bitch. He's mine."
And then the woman in red kissed Quill.
Who are you? Who are you really?
'...I don't know.'
She continued to kiss him, caressing his head fondly.
' I don't know who I am...'
You are lost, Quill.
Then all of a sudden, just like the heavy rain came suddenly, memories started to replay in Quill's mind.
Jordan.
Lisa.
Risa.
Dad.
Journal, you know!
Quill is not, and will never be my name! A name is only a worthless string of letters. I know exactly who I am! I'm Llyod Middlesworth's son! Risa is my second mom! I was Lisa's elder brother! I'm that wierd kid. The one that braids his hair! I write storybooks for fun! But I want to be successful! I want that train! I want a hot girlfriend, preferably not an old demon in disguise!
I will say it again. I haven't given up! I will not give up! I'm weak. I'm useless. Compared to others, I'm nothing! But I want to be something! I'll do whatever it takes, to prove to everyone, that I'm not weak. I will prove to Dad, that I'm not a lazy boy that doesn't want to work in the bakery! I'll prove to my peers that I'm cool! I'll prove to the Mages that I'm better than them. I'll prove to the Crown that I'm not some insignificant ant!
I'm a man. And I will not go back on my words! Even if I only wrote thm down, but never said them. All of you must understand, that I am not a pushover! Jordan Middesworth might not be my name, but it is exactly who I am!
He pushed the succubus away. The demon was laughing.
"Hope. Take one of my fingers."
The book of magic opened up, wherever it was. The demon appeared behind Quill.
The succubus was getting up. Her face contorted in rage.
"You are sure about this, Quill."
"Take it!"
"Very well then."
A surge of Power came out of him.
'I know. I know how it important it is. I didn't know before. I didn't understand. I thought I could cheat my way there. But I was wrong. There is no victory, that was won that way.... However this victory will be mine. I'm not relying on anything, other than Quill's Power. I'm not going to desperately flail around like a weakling. Not anymore.'
The pain came as well.
'If this is the price I have to pay, then so be it.'
Words were spelled out on the wall using Inscribe. They were written on every wall, at the same time.
They read: "Get out of my property!" In both english, and the words of magic.
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