bravenewworld | In the blood

Entry tags:

In the blood

Who: Merrill, Waver Velvet
What: Merrill and Waver talk about blood magic
When: August 31st
Where: Forest Shrine
Warnings: Only for my action bracket laziness

[It's been a few weeks since the gods' last test in the caves, when Merrill and Waver spoke about magic and their respective connections to it. Blood magic in particular had been a topic of interest, and the two had resolved to talk about it later. Well, now it's later, and Merrill has decided that it's as good a time as any to have that conversation. After sending a quick invitation to Waver's Warp Band to meet her at the Forest Shrine, Merrill heads out herself to wait for him. This would normally be the sort of thing she'd be content to talk about in their usual haunts at the library, but a practical demonstration would of course involve her own blood being spilled, and she's at least considerate enough to know that splashing it all over the texts stored there would not only be rude but also result in a very irritated Bilbo Baggins. So the forest it is. She's waiting there, sitting up against a tree as she turns over her Spiritomb's Keystone in her hands and looking thoughtful.]

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Merrill?

[Waver spoke up softly once he reached the Forest Shrine, breathless and harried from his trek through the wilderness to make it there. The invitation had come with little notice, but their conversation in Diancie's caverns and the curiosity it awoke in him lingered close to the surface whenever he neared her usual haunts in the libraries. Blood magic was an art that wasn't for the squeamish or the faint of heart, he knew, but that didn't mean he was necessarily prepared for a last minute hike in the heat of the final leg of the summer.

His voice echoed in the darkened shrine, until his eyes lighted upon Merrill's slender figure. Pushing his tangled, sweaty hair from his face, he cast her a testy look.]

I understand not wanting to do this in the library, but did we have to come all the way out here?

[Merrill looks up at Waver with mild confusion as he makes his way into the small clearing, tilting her head and blinking curiously.]

It isn't that far outside of town.

[Glancing at the stone in her hands, she slips it into the small bag at her side for the time being as she stands up.]

Also, I thought Bilbo would be terribly upset with me if I spilled my blood in his library. You did want to see how my magic works, didn't you?

I do; I just didn't expect a hike.

[While the trek may have been nothing for Merrill, Waver utterly lacked the experience of freely wandering the wilds in his youth. And, even if the walls hadn't been a factor, he had always been drawn toward intellectual instead of physical pursuits. His stamina was untrained, much like the rest of his being.

Sighing, Waver gratefully stepped into the shade and set his bag down to relieve his shoulders from the weight. Even for a hike, it seemed, he couldn't travel without at least one book...]

Regardless, we're here. It's been a little while, Merrill-- how are you?

[Poor Waver. If he gets this exhausted traveling over relatively flat terrain, Merrill would hate to see what would happen if she'd asked him to meet her in the mountains. Not that they'd have to go out quite that far just for something like this. All she needs is a place where they won't be disturbed or seen - blood magic is rather unnerving to watch, after all.]

Oh, I'm fine. Yuuna's been back from her training for a few weeks now, so we've been spending the time relaxing. This will be good practice, though.

As long as this isn't an imposition or anything...

[He sounded uneasy, as if making a personal request to see something so unique was somehow forbidden in his mind. Even if it was to be good practice for her, he didn't want to disturb anything that the couple may have had planned for that afternoon.]

Oh, no, not at all! Where would you like to start? Do you want to hear about it or see it first?

[She might be a little excited to share this with someone who won't judge her.]

Whichever you think is easiest; I've never seen it done before.

[Regardless, he was curious no matter the method she chose. This was an entirely foreign art to him- as an academic, he couldn't pass it up.]

Well... I suppose I should start at the beginning, then. With how I learned to use it in the first place.

[Reaching into her pouch again, she draws out a small stone.]

Do you know what this is?

No, I don't, [he said, leaning in close to peer at the stone.]

What is it?

It's called a Keystone. Thousands of years ago, my people sealed dangerous Pokemon into them, to prevent them from causing trouble. I learned my blood magic by unsealing this one.

[Merrill taps on the stone, releasing the Spiritomb inside. Its single eye swirls ominously inside the vortex of light and glowing orbs that comprise its body. The same swirling pattern can be seen in one of Merrill's own eyes.]

[A Spiritomb.

Waver instinctively pulled back, startled by the appearance of the Ghost-type Pokemon that he had heard of but never encountered in such close proximity before. The shared patterning between the two of them wasn't lost-- something strange must have gone down between the two of them.]

How is that possible? I know Spiritombs have a bad reputation, but I didn't thin that blood magic was involved with it.

Eluvian spoke to me - into my mind - from within his prison in the Keystone. He told me that he had been around for untold centuries, and knew the secrets of the old Dalish civilization of Arlathan that I had been searching for for so long.

[She frowns a bit as she speaks - it's easy to see where this is going. At the same time, the Spiritomb's grin curls up at the sides ever so slightly.]

So I bonded myself to him, using my own blood as a catalyst. It wasn't strong enough to break the seal, but he promised me that he would reveal it all once I gained enough strength to do so. Of course, once my clan found out what I had done, they banished me.

[Waver scratched his cheek while he listened to the tale, noting that there was something suspicious about the arrangement.]

It sounds like it wasn't that simple, [he said, casting a wary look at the Spiritomb.] Was he telling the truth, or does he have a history of doing this kind of thing?

[The hollow, echoing laughter that follows immediately after Waver's question should be the only answer he needs. Merrill frowns, tattoos glowing with a purplish light for a moment as she raises a hand and forces the Pokemon back into his Keystone before putting it away.]

...No. He was lying. When I evolved, I spilled more of my blood onto his stone to unseal him completely. The first thing he tried to do was kill me and possess my body.

[She sighs, recalling the encounter. It wasn't pleasant for her.]

I was able to overpower him, but there was no way to break the blood bond we'd already forged. So we made a new deal - that Eluvian would help me in my search for the lost history of the Dalish. And in exchange, after I die, he can do as he wishes with my body.

[Somehow, he wasn't surprised by the part about it being a lie. Merrill's resolve and her solution, however, was.]

That-- that's reckless, [he stammered, eyes glittering in concern while his imagination went wild with the possibilities. Although he didn't speak to the Pokemon like some, he was well enough acquainted with the sinister and the bone-chilling to recognize it when he encountered it.] That's dangerous, [he continued,] what insurance do you have that he won't betray that pact?

I'm stronger than he is.

[It's a fact, and she states it very plainly.]

And he knows I have strong allies. Not just my other Pokemon, but Yuuna too. And all of my other friends. He'd be foolish to try it again. I won't leave myself unprotected.

It still doesn't sound safe, [he said, although he could see the truth of her words with a glance.

Her relative power had been plain to him from the very beginning-- and a scholar didn't just go and attain that kind of power without a lot of time and effort expended first. But regardless of what he knew of both Merrill and Yuuna, he couldn't help but feel nervous for her sake. It was hard to imagine a life spent knowing that your body would be taken by something else at the very end of it.]

It's not.

[More bluntness.]

But I do know what I'm doing.

[As hard as that is to believe.]

...Would you like to see one of my spells? I've had access to Dark type blood magic ever since Eluvian and I formed our first bond. I can show you the magic of my people too, if you'd like - that's all from my original Fairy type.

The bond actually changed your typing?

[His eyes were wide now, as if he were trying to get a better look at her because he could scarcely believe in his own senses.]

I didn't even realize that such a thing was possible!

[It spoke volumes of the nature of her particular situation-- and he prayed that the Magi in Sanctuary never caught word of her peculiar circumstances.]

You can show me whichever you prefer; I'm curious about everything, to tell the truth.

Maybe. Or it might have unlocked a potential I had all along. It's hard to tell which came first. But it definitely changed me.

[Magic is weird like that.]

All right, then. I'll start with the blood magic.

[Drawing a dagger from her side, she slices the palm of her hand.]

The first step, of course, is to spill your own blood.

Right. That makes enough sense....

[Though his impulse was to turn away at the sight of someone intentionally harming themselves, he kept his focus locked on the technical, academic aspects of the process. Magic was a science in and of itself, in many respects-- even something inborn needed honing and fine-tuning, like any instrument.]

And then you focus your will on what effect you wish to achieve.

[As Merrill speaks, she holds her hand out, and the blood that spilled begins to levitate in small globules in front of her. Flicking her fingers forward, it disperses into a fine mist, covering an area of the clearing and hanging there in the air for a time before evaporating entirely.]

That spell is called 'Death Cloud.' It slows the movement of anyone caught inside, and can even put them to sleep or stun them sometimes.

[He watched the display, paying attention to every detail as if this were something that might be part of a quiz later on. Though macabre, he could see how effective such an art could be. After all, there was no way a practitioner could ever lose contact with their base medium...]

Doesn't it hurt? [He asked, knowing that something like this couldn't be so simple. The nature of the bond she had with Eluvian was chilling enough, but that couldn't possibly be her only price.]

Every time, yes.

[As usual, the answer comes quickly and very matter-of-fact. It's clearly something she's just used to by this point.]

[A look of concern crossed his face.]

Then why do you keep practicing it if it hurts? How can you work yourself to actually begin the preparations for this kind of art?

[He couldn't fathom the idea of willfully cutting himself for the sake of his magic. The idea of killing a beast with his bare hands was foreign enough-- taking a blade to his own flesh was almost unthinkable.]

It gets easier. You get used to focusing through the pain. And it's been effective and reliable. It's not as if I can get rid of Eluvian, after all, so I might as well make the most of our bond.

[Waver fround, still uncertain about how he felt about it.]

That's certainly one way of seeing it, especially if it's more reliable than your natural talents. Spiritombs are fearsome pokemon, after all.

Still...that is quite a way to have to pay for being curious. I wonder if some of the Magi in Sanctuary would have done what they did if they had to face the same consequences.

That's the problem with the Magi of Sanctuary. I don't think they've had to face very many consequences at all for their actions. If they had to feel even half the pain they put those people through with their blood sorcery, I think they'd have much more respect for the lives of others. They could stand to face a consequence or two, I think.

You're right, they really could. Unfortunately....I can't think of any possible way to make that happen. And, even if any of us could, it's long been out of our hands.

Maybe that will change, now that Union is involved. The people of this city have a strange way of changing peoples' minds.

So I'm starting to see.

[And, if a person like Merrill could wield blood magic and remain uncorrupted, then there was a possibility that the same might be said for magi who ventured into Union's walls in the future.]

How does the other magic you know compare to this? Is it a drastic change? Is it easier or harder?

It's much easier. That was the magic I started with. The magic of my people. I trained in its use as First to the Keeper. It's as natural to me as breathing.

[A nod.]

That makes sense.

So. How have you been able to reconcile yourself with the both of them?

They don't really have anything to do with one another, apart from their historical association. It isn't difficult or painful knowing how to do both - it's no different than knowing how to speak Dalish and the common tongue. But I can show you what it looks like so you can see the difference.

....If it's not an imposition.

[He scratched at his cheek nervously, wondering if it was going too far to ask this much of his felllow academic.]

I'm really curious to see how everything compares to what I know from Sanctuary.

No, it's fine.

[Merrill crouches down to retrieve her staff, standing up and concentrating for a moment. As she gathers her power, greenish energy tendrils emerge from the ground in an area around her, entwining around each other and grasping around for a target.]

This is called Wrath of the Elvhen.

[That spell looked more familiar-- if he were to try to emulate it or create something similar, he would use a Grass-typed mechanism as a base and borrow from the vining tendrils that many appropriately typed pokemon used for their actions.]

...That's an entirely different style than what they teach in Sanctuary, [he pipped up, watching with intent fascination.] There didn't seem to be a standardized channel for it-- is it an art that anyone can learn, or is it passed down like Enlightened traits?

[Merrill looks a bit quizzical at that, blinking for a moment as she thinks.]

...I don't know. I'm not the only one who can use it, though. It was taught to me by the Keeper. But if I had the potential for it the whole time, I could have developed the talent myself, right? So... maybe it's both?

I see....that's really interesting.

[It inferred that he might not be able to learn it, but there was still the possibility that he could come up with something similar if he was given enough time and put in enough effort.]

Well... I suppose that's about everything, unless you had any other questions.

I think I understand the basic idea of everything, Merrill.

...Thank you.

You're welcome. I hope it helped answer your questions.

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In the blood

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