[Episode 4] The Worth of a Soul

Archives of Occultus Magica's beginnings, ten years prior to the current story.
User avatar
Kai
Site Admin
Posts: 701
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:18 pm

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Kai »

The two raven-haired Japanese girls seemed resolute. The younger, Miyuki, seemed to be forcing herself to be so, but had decided that she would do whatever it took to help Percy. She hadn't even gotten him properly fit yet, and there were several other things that they had to get sorted out before he was allowed to go anywhere, besides.

Raiko, still holding onto Ruarc's hand, seemed to be quite prepared for whatever awaited her. The Shrinekeeper's daughter had no fear visible, only the will and charisma that seemed to get her through everything. This was, to her, another task to be completed, something else that she must do. And she was going to do it, whether or not anybody else could.
Kalshion
Posts: 78
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:47 pm

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Kalshion »

The home had an odd feeling to it, one she had never felt before - a feeling even her own home lacked. It wasn't something she could put into words, in fact, it wasn't something she could fully think about in terms of what it was exactly - only that it was different. When she saw the door, and heard the teacher comment about it and what might lay beyond, she thought about it - pondering deeply with both arms folded over her chest and looking the door up and down before she looked at the others with a curious expression and then back at the door. "Can it be opened?" she asked the teacher.
CadetNewb
Posts: 296
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 12:59 am

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by CadetNewb »

It was all simply magical.

Not in the sense like back at Coco's own home back in America, with a few magical items here and there - no. This was completely different. Rather, it was everywhere! From the ceiling and walls, all the way down into the very floor itself! One could call it outright excessive, she knew that was what her big brother would have said, but one could also call it simply fantastic. And then there was the style! Whereas most Leetenbaum homes looked modernist in design, this was all deliciously different - the little girl didn't know what to call it right then and there, but it was nice! She wanted to simply squee at the sight when she first came in and beheld it all, but, Coco caught on fast. The somber mood, the slightly dimmed lighting...

And the writing.

When Coco's eyes fell upon the signs, and understood what they were, she blushed. Here was something that Percy himself had written when he was just as old as she was! As old as...she was going to be forever. The thought brought her back out of a quickly imagined fantasy, and right back to the fact of the matter. They were all here, in Percy's home, not because they were invited over for a little party or some such silliness, but because something had gone horribly wrong. And whatever it was, it seemed as though stepping through that door would change everything, the way Mrs. Caxton held herself and said it all seemed right enough for such. As mean and condescending as it was.

The little girl, dressed in her school's winter best, ignored the chatter from the others and took a step forward, looking up at Mrs. Caxton with a hint of childish defiance.
User avatar
Kokuten
Posts: 1258
Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 11:06 pm

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Kokuten »

The door knob rattled gently as Elizabeth's slender fingers polished over the flourishing metal. A small gem at the center of the knob, once glowing red as a ruby, glowed green as an emerald. Riley knew this well enough, all the doors in the Caxton household were locked. Only those who had been recognized as a visitor by the Caxton Matriarch or Patriarch would be able to switch the sigilocks on and off. However, the woman at Percival's door held her position, surveying the children before her. The look on her face had become something unreadable, lacking the previous fire that brimmed around her edges. Now it was something of an observation, curiosity even.

Perhaps it was the headstrong nature of all these children.

"Only welcome visitors can open doors in this house," Elizabeth said, smiling gently as she turned the doorknob, the latch clacking loose for the door to open. "I'm glad to say you're all welcome."

When the door swung open, they were greeted by a gentle, gliding breeze of cool air into the warmer living room. For most, it was there first time...
--I remember it well. The stone, the drab colors, the poor sense of design. The floors where of a special marble that sunk gently into the ground so as to act as form of hard carpet. The walls were polished stone, with pictures and poster items carefully placed in neat order. There was a door to the right of the way in that led into a small lab, but people rarely went in there. Most of the time was spent in the sleeping area, with that oaken dresser that seemed to be split for two, a bed split for two, even the room, which once was a denizen for one, was made loosely for two. There was a window next to the bed, which had a lovely view the back yard. The whole place was rustic, traditional to its origins, if not a little clammy--...
In the room, there were five people that the children could see after Elizabeth opened the door. Three of them were familiar, two of them were not.

Two of them were a man and a woman, their eyes occluded by a tightly fitting wrap over their eyes. They were wore heavy black coats, and carried intimidating looking staves. What they wore seemed to be uniforms, but despite the fact they matched, there was no real marking of what the uniforms were a part of.

The third person there was Alistar Caxton, a man the group had met only once before. The man was standing by the bed, his eyes staring down onto the fourth and fifth person.

Modeka was there, the fourth. She was still, very much so, as if in a closed-eye trance. She was sitting seiza style next to the fifth person in the room.

Percival Caxton, the man of the hour. He was nestled on his back, appearing to be resting on his bed, in a deep sleep. His stomach rose and fell with gentle breaths, and despite the occasional word between Alistar and the other, and even the opening door, he didn't not stir. A closer look would show Unity, his trusty staff, resting next to him, glowing every so gently and revealing a certain quality that couldn't be told in the dim light of the room. Percival's skin was of a deathly pallor, as if he were beyond the restful sleep he appeared to have.

"He has been sleeping for a week." explained Elizabeth, nodding to the current occupants of the room, guiding the children in, "We weren't sure what to make of it at first, so we tried to stir him using certain mystic methods. Nothing worked, so we decided to study him and wait, keeping Riley separated until we could truly discern a cause."

The woman stepped over to her young son, and placed a hand on his now pale cheek.

"This morning, we found him like this, pale as if unto death, and with his construct sitting here, next to him," Her eyes turned to the unresponsive Modeka, the mini practically a statue in her current state, "We have tried to do everything to get the construct to waken. I've exhausted every measure I could muster. The only thing I could truly do was call the people who have the most familiarity with him, and his powers."

The woman turned to look at the other with her soft expression marred by a quickening dourness, but even as she did, her hand moved down the boy's arm, and gripped his lifeless, slumbering hand, weaving fingers together. Those eyes, which held such fire before, came back with a needy expectancy, a hope that one of them could do something.
User avatar
Gwathdraug
Posts: 281
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 9:48 am

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Gwathdraug »

Riley pushed to the front and the group and then, as she rolled her shoulders and flipped her cloak out behind her arms, the young girl strode forward to stand before the side of Percy's bed. Turning her head the stage magician flashed Elizabeth a smile. “Worrisome – but irrelevant as-” Riley hiked her thumb back at the group behind her. “- we are all here now.”

With that being said, Riley collapsed down into a sitting position, her legs crossed (skirt stretching and remaining unnoticed to the cruel treatment it received at the hands of the rather ungirly young girl), one hand resting against her waist while the other rubbed her cheek in thought.

The stage magician's eyes tracked back and forth between Percy and Modeka – though on the first pass the girl did stop on Alistar long enough to give him a short thumbs up – before finally settling on Percy solely.

Then with a sudden burst of movement Riley spun on her tailbone – her cloak unbeknownst to her rustling lightly and pooling about her lower half to cover the stretched skirt – so she was facing the rest of the group that had arrived with her. Crossing her arms and then immediately pivoting her left forearm upward the stage magician snapped loudly and with little announcement the young girl's illusionary cat-with-hat appeared before her.

“Percy is not here.” Riley said simply and as if the group might not understand that short statement the cat rolled it shoulders, stretched, and then elaborately pointed out the pale boy to the group. “We are here.” The cat made little movement as this was said but instead rubbed one paw against its eyes and then slumped as if all hope had left it. “So. What kind of friends are you? Quit gawking and get over here and help find out how we get to him!”

At that the cat took a few angry steps towards the group and then threw its illusionary little hat at the group with a perfect on-one-foot-and-fully-extended cast before rooking back on its feet and placing its hands in its hips with an expression that said, 'What, is that not enough encouragement for yah?'
User avatar
Mr. Blackbird Lore
Posts: 722
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 1:48 pm

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Whether it was her upbringing or something simply second nature to Emilia, she had little curiosity about Alistar- whom she had yet to meet- and the two dark figures. The first was most obviously the father, and the others were clearly individuals of magical prowess and authority judging by their dress and equipment. Anything else about this trio was irrelevant.

So her gaze fixed upon Percy's waning form; her brows furrowed, pondering the problem before her like a student provided a philosophical quandary. First things first: she had to define the parameters. "He is a Font. Is it possible this has something to do with that?" While waiting for an answer, she stared deep into Percival's soul, looking at everything even though she understood very little. His name, his status as a font, his lack of conscious thought: these things were clear and visible to her. What she sought was an explanation of his condition, and explored the magical parts of his soul in the hopes of glimpsing some sign of malevolence or infirmity.
User avatar
Straken
Posts: 1211
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 4:40 pm

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Straken »

Once he was inside the home Ruarc, with Raiko and Laoise in tow, followed Mrs. Caxton to Percy’s room, all the while trying to think back to the dark tome he had received from the young summoner. The timing between receiving the ancient book and now the Welsh lad’s current issues were too close, and Ruarc was not really fond of coincidences.

When he actually made it into Percy’s room the Druid did not like what he saw. Ruarc’s friend was in an apparent coma and the causes were unclear ever to experienced mages, and Ruarc unfortunately felt that he might have an answer or at least the start to an answer. The young mage let go of Raiko’s hand and Laoise left her perch, sensing that Ruarc was focusing the dove glided down short distance to land on Raiko’s shoulder instead. Slowly Ruarc began to move towards Percy’s bed in a wide arc as he changed his perspective of the boy without ever averting his eyes.

“Okay, let’s begin,” Ruarc mumbled to himself in Irish as he adjusted his glasses, switching to academic mode. “Basics, yes, start there. Percy is a Font, and Fonts do not possess their own reservoir of mana; instead siphoning and channeling magical energy through their bodies by utilizing some form of foci. However this mana can, and most likely will, have severe repercussions on a Font’s body as the foreign mana slowly, or quickly depending on use, erode away at the Font’s body. Perhaps due to the recent increase in the amount of mana he has had to channel has begun to show side effects?”

The thoughtful Druid’s circuitous path finally brought him close enough to the end Percy’s bed side that he could have reached over tapped the boy on the leg, but Ruarc’s face was stern as he focused on dredging up old knowledge; all the while he continued to quietly mumble his thoughts rather quickly in his native tongue. Now his thoughts trained on The End the dark tome that seemed to be filled with secrets about Fonts. The tome had been a large one, and now Ruarc pinched the bridge of his nose just beneath his glasses as he mentally flipped through the pages again.

“So, Fonts cannot utilize magic from their soul. Is this because the foreign mana numbs the body to its own energy? Or do Fonts have no soul altogether, and simply a form that is given shape by excess mana that is flowing through like a sieve?” Even as Ruarc contemplated these thoughts he shuddered slightly as he also recalled the creation of Fonts and their status as living storage devices for magical energy. “In either case it should be possible to seal, or at least limit the amount of magical energy he is taking in; like managing a floodgate. The author ever wrote in the intro about the tome’s usefulness in binding a Font’s magic. But I hesitate to attempt any of those runes, especially on a friend, and how would the runes react differently when used on a Font? Hell, I don’t even know if any of this is actually relevant or not, so what if I accidentally kill the poor lad because I made a bad call?”

Taking off his glasses for a moment, he sighed and switched over to using English. “Hang in there, Percy.”
Kalshion
Posts: 78
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:47 pm

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Kalshion »

Sakura mentally gulped, pondering if her escapades might've somehow effected him, but not wanting to actually say anything in case she might've been the cause. She looked over at the boy, curiously cocking her head to the side, she didn't understand what was going on except that the boy was 'sleeping'. "So, how do we help him?" asked Sakura in a sort of child-like curiousity.
User avatar
Kai
Site Admin
Posts: 701
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:18 pm

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Kai »

Miyuki couldn't think of anything to do in this situation, as she had never come across any kind of affliction such as this. She'd been to hospitals, and seen people with diseases, but whatever was happening to Percy was something entirely different. Even those with as much power as his parents had no method by which to heal their son, and that made Miyuki feel that there was nothing she could do, either, at least not from here.


Raiko, after Ruarc walked closer to Percy, and Laoise alighted upon her shoulder, listened to the Irish mumblings of the taller, older boy. She of course, understood what he was saying, and responded in the same language, probably confusing some of those present. "Does he need a seal? I can provide one, if it's needed to save his life. But, if we do seal him, what shall happen to the others, the Elementals? will they be destroyed, or will they simply fade and Hibernate as they had before?" Raiko rested her parasol on the shoulder opposite the dove, and used her free hand to fish around in her pockets, as if she was looking for something. "I might have something that will only make a partial seal, if that would help..."
Luca
Posts: 65
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 5:12 am

Re: [Episode Four] The Worth of a Soul

Post by Luca »

Once again, the hapless Mr. Miller found himself way out of his depth. All of these words the teacher didn't understand were being passed around. It was almost al though it was a cant of some sort, and Miller simply didn't get it.

Then, as he examined Ruarc, Percy and the doll-like Modeka, he had a suggestion, unrelated to Percy's status as a Font: "Ruarc, what if this is something to do with the Elementalia Magicus? Do you think we could glean anything there?"

It could've been some sort of magical parasite that'd stricken Percival, he imagined. It wasn't that long ago that the teacher discovered his symbiotic relationship with Michael, so he concluded that such a thing as a parasite could exist too.
Post Reply