[Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

Archives of Occultus Magica's beginnings, ten years prior to the current story.
CadetNewb
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

Post by CadetNewb »

"Wait, a stardust bomb?" Coco's voice intruded on the whole fiasco.

The (somewhat) grown up Mahou Shojou Lich stood there a little ways away, hands on the hips of her frilly cute dress, but head cocked to the side as her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. "Duncan likes using funny, different things, but even when he uses that stuff, he makes sure to put it in a launcher or something to toss it far away. Like a Davy Crockett Nuke Bazooka" the girl remarked. "He once put a little-little bit of it into a German Potato Masher type grenade with the stick on it. You know, the kind that helped you throw the grenade further, that you always see in World War Two movies? And Duncan still ended up a little singed!" Coco added.

"What are you doing with that much stardust? It's like a miracle you haven't broken it and blown up in a mushroom cloud on accident already with all the dangerous stuff going on around!" the precocious little girl added, now leaning forward at the waist as she lectured the woman, going so far to wag a finger at her.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

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The woman stared left and right, taking a step back. Her thing fingers shivered over the surface of the vial. Her eyes swiveled left and right, as was very evident by the size her glasses made them. Yet she didn't back down, a determined look on her face signifying an underlying lack of trust. All three of them were making a very good case, but in the end, it only managed to work the intensity out of her muscles.

On a closer inspection, this woman was actually very radiant for what like looked like a manic shut in. Her hair was very reminiscent of Zulan's in its life and color, possessing that same unearthly reaction to the air, waving like the rippling waters of the lake, albeit in a messy way. Her clothes seem to be of the same material as the one they were forced into wearing on their way down. Yet, they were more pristine in fiber, if not also messy and stained with various colors, mostly along the sleeves.

"I... Uhm..." the woman looked between them, before her eyes caught something at Coco's leg, "Decanus?"

Behind Coco's leg, was Decanus, simply standing half-way hidden behind Coco, appearing for the first time since the fight. He was silent, not making much in the way of noise, and staring up the woman in his shaded gaze. He seemed less relaxed.

"Oh goodness, I thought I was the only one left!" Tears began to form at the edges of woman's eyes.
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be a close match between the Lake Sisters. Zulan was always so kind to me, always acting like a big sister in case the other Guardians sought to tease or belittle my nature. Yet, even then, there were times when I just couldn't speak to Zulan. She wasn't versed greatly in the lore of magic or alchemy. Her sister, though, she was something else. Always working seriously, yet so easily strung into a lazy afternoon if it were anything about the subjects of magic and alchemy. I could talk to her for hours, and waste so much of time just listening to the things she had to say, and like her sister, she was kind. Unlike the rest of her guardian family, she was not powerful, nor strong, nor vested with magic spells.

We fonts are a lonely people, and it was nice to find someone like me, a real friend, for once.
"I... I don't know what to say," continued the woman, hugging the vial to her chest, squeezing it a bit in between, "I-I... saw the Stone Guardians come to life, and when they were defeated... I - I thought I was next! Oh Decanus!"

She leaped forth at Coco, though not directly at her. The vial fell onto the ground and shattered, exploding into a tiny cloud of sparks, like a fire-cracker. As that fizzled out, she chased Decanus around Coco a few times, the little god deftly evading the woman's hands. Frustrated, she stepped back, puffing her cheeks, as the small god continued to hide. She stepped over to Ruarc and threw her arms around him, seeking comfort in someone no matter the cost. Though, this was no ordinary hug, this was a stifling measure that left the druid's face trapped into two sources of pillowy warmth. It was soft, and smelled neatly of blueberries.
There was another reason I liked her, but it's not worth going into.
"I'm sorry for the bit of madness!" she said, still a little bit panicked, "I've been driven stir-crazy since the start of all of this mess, b-but I'm still kicking!"

She cleared her throat, "You don't seem so bad, and you have Decanus in your company. So... So I'll trust you. You said you were looking for someone?"
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

Post by Straken »

Ruarc felt a definite sense of relief when the woman turned out to be friendly, and he couldn’t help but laugh when the bomb turned out to be little more than a low caliber firework. What caught him off guard was when the woman suddenly turned and gave him a rather friendly hug, to which he responded with a surprised “Murph! Uhwah huh?!” while his arms shot to the side to show that this hug wasn’t his doing. After a few moments he reciprocated the hug before pulling away.

“Ahem, well, now tha’ tha’s done,” the blushing Druid said as he straightened his robes. “No harm done, and now tha’ we all see eye ta eye we can finally make progress. We are looking for our friend Percival Caxton. Since you are familiar with Decanus perhaps you know him as well?”
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

Post by Kokuten »

"Oh? Oh!" the woman held Ruarc at a distance, her fingers still dug deeply into the druid's sleeves, "Oh! Oh! Oh! You're all Percy's friends, aren't you! I think I can recognize you without the panic goggles now! I wondered why you all looked like the statues."

She giggled manickly, before stepping back.

"Let's see, a young man who always looks a little too full of himself," judged the woman expertly, tugging off her glasses, before squinting at Ruarc, "You must be Duncan."

The glasses were then pointed to Riley, "You're the little one, you must be Coco! My my, you do look a little dead... I expected more ribbons, though."

Then to the real Coco, "And you... The older girl? Kagami! You look like the kind of girl he'd like."

She set her glasses to her face, rather smuggly, as if she absolutely knew her deductions were one-hundred percent true. Then, she stood up firmly, resting her fists on her hips, tucking her knuckles into her robe. A little radiance began to glow around her, as if she were angelic in some way.

"I," she paused for dramatic effect, quickly snapping a glance to see if they were watching,"am the Guardian of the Sun! Tulan! Alchemical master; creator of twelve different golem classes; discoverer of over a hundred new alchemical reagents, albeit in common every-day weeds; brewer of the finest tasting potions and beers, I make poultices with potency abound; and finally, a master transmuter!"

She crossed her arms, wheezing just a little bit from the showy exertion, "I'm sure you've heard of me."
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

Post by Straken »

”I look full of myself?” Ruarc thought to himself as he felt slight irritation at being compared to Duncan, and the woman’s failed attempts at identifying the other members present only supported the notion that she was rather batty. Then the woman began a quick rant about herself, to which the Druid mumbled under his breath, “And she says I seem full of myself?”

Once she had finished Ruarc simply looked at her with perplexed look, as he almost expecting her to say something more. When it was apparent that she was finished and now seeking feedback, the Irishman gave a peculiar nod that could also have easily been a shake. “Yeah, sure we’ve heard of ya,” he replied before once again mumbling something to himself, “Or maybe Ah’m thinkin’ of Zulan.”

“Ahem, well, anyway do ya know how we can help Percy? Also would ya happen ta know where our friend Reiko is? Ah believe she ran this way during the fight with the statues.”
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

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Coco's eyes widened in complete and absolute horror.

The glass vial tumbled, end over end mid-air. She didn't even get a chance to yell out a "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" in slow motion; it was already too late! It shattered across the ground and consumed the entire valley in a multi-megaton thermonu - Coco's train of thought stopped right about there. The reason why was because the Mahou Shoujo was now rapidly turning her head left and right, left and right as Decanus was chased. It was only a matter of mere moments before it was Coco who spun round and round and round as the Mini was chased about!

Coco had no clue what to make of this new woman, only that she was very dizzy!

Yet again teetering on slightly unsteady feet as the chase came to a very soft and cushioned close, the odd woman's words barely registered in the dazed girl's mind. It was only when this woman spoke again that Coco rushed right up to her, vertigo tossed aside and replaced with a giddy look of hope. "Me? I look like a girl Percy would l-like?!" she stammered, mouth wide in an ecstatic smile.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

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"Tch, my cheerleader of a sister is always hogging all attention! Honestly, no one appreciates all of my hard work, I practically keep this place running! Hmph!" Tulan's eyes were sharp, just above her glasses, just like Zulan's were when the water god dropped that caring demeanor, in truth, the two were practically twins, sharing almost the same face save of accessories and hair length. This one, however, seemed cocky, confident. She was a scientist sure of herself. Ruarc could see a lot of Percy in her, as the young, still missing, man also put all of his faith into the intricate formulas of Alchemy.
The Lady of the Lake was considered a gracious woman, who freely offered her daughters in service to the world. Some of the mages speculated on how the Lady could have conceived at any time, but many had knew that Merlin, Archmage of the Occultus Magicus, at the time, was one who freely approached her lake, and gained audiences on a regular basis. One could conjecture, but no one had the gall to ask the gracious Lady such a crude question. The Puddle was a noble girl, who sought learning from the famous Knights of the Round Table. The Sun, always locked herself away.
"I don't know anything about a Reiko, the three of you are the first I've seen for... weeks I think. However, for finding Percy, you've come to the right person, as I, Tulan, am the ever stalwart and never defeated protector of--...!" Tulan was jolted out of her confident and debonair stance as Coco rushed her. The blonde goddess squeaked, putting both her arms up in a cowardly defense of her face, a symbol, much like Zulan's, burned over her forehead, revealing the mark of the guardians.

When it all seemed to be a simple question, the dorky goddess slowly put her arms down, shivering and stuttering. "I-I... I'd s-s-say so... I m-mean, w-we t-talk a lot, and I... I watch o-over the centri-- tri--... tri--fuge!"
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Gwathdraug
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

Post by Gwathdraug »

“Just run up to him and throw him a big hug then give him a peck on the cheek.” Riley said offhandedly from behind Coco and Tulan. “Surprise him like that and he'll just start feeling obligated to like yah. Oh, yeah, no that probably won't work though – seeing as we are all just standing about waiting for him to get bonked down the Styx.”

Still keeping her distance from everyone – Tulan had proved both to be unpredictable and a hugger (which Riley had enough of those in her life already) and possibly a liar – Riley shuffled to the side so she was more clearly visible to the glasses wearing guardian.

Making sure she was showing off the best scowl she knew how to scowl the young Stage Magician paused as she breathed in deeply through her nose before exhaling in the same manner. “One. Riley. Erin. Alstad. Pleased to meet you!” Riley closed her eyes and flashed a big, pleasant grin before snapping her eyes back open and returning to her scowl of earlier. “Two: I don't think you've done such a great job keeping things running. If you haven't noticed Aurus turned into a pile of bubbling slag and the sky could quite possibly be falling in some places around here.”

Finally stepping forward Riley seemingly decided to drop the scowl all together as her features flashed back towards the happy grin from her introduction. As the young girl took a few more steps forward the faint whispers of chittering voices blathering nonsense seemed to roll from out behind her as the area about her darkened. “Now. Two questions in one will be fun won't they – a proper scientist should jump at such a chance at explanation, no?”

“If you have never been defeated once in your entire period of existence why is your Master and friend dying and if you know how to find Percy – so that we can help – for what inconceivable reason are we standing stagnant here stroking egos?”
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

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"I--... Ah..." Tulan began to shrink a little bit, hunching over as the small girl began to correct her on not just her identity, but her actions as well. She brought her hands together to keep them from shivering badly. For a few seconds she had nothing to say, she looked a Decanus, who wasn't even paying attention, and was, in fact striving to keep distance away from her. First, tears began forming to the edges of her eyes. Then, her knees buckled, and she began to sob uncontrollably.

"I-- cahn't," wheezed Tulan shrilly through her crying, "I-... I cahn't defehnd anythinb! I'm not a fighter, I'm ahb alchemist! I've been trhying to work up the couhrage, but I cahn't! I'm scared!"

She heaved another sob, dirtying her once-pristine robes more, "I-- I'm so useless! A-alchemy is a-all I can douh! I can't command special powers, nor magihck! And even if I tried, I'd probahbly fail! Worthless! Worthless worthless worthless!" She stamped a fist into the grown, before quickly shaking it in pain and drawing it into her chest. "Y-you're right! If I cahn't save ouhr font, mhy friend, what good am I!? I-... I-..."
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 4.1] The Mantle of Responsibility

Post by Straken »

“Hey, Ya don’ need ta cry, just calm down an’ think,” Ruarc said at the start of Tulan’s meltdown, but it seemed as though she hadn’t heard him. So he tried again, but still the woman cried. The Irishman let out a sigh and scratched his brow.

“Oi! Quit with yur cryin’!” Ruarc said as he raised his voice to get her attention, before kneeling down to try and look Tulan in the eye. “Jus’ calm down. We don’t need’jya ta be anythin’ right now. Right now, you are tha one who knows this place best. Ah’m not askin’ for a miracle from ya, but do ya think ya can give us an idea of where ta start? Think ya can give us a hint, Tulan?”
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