Oh hey, look. The World's ending.
Nameless [Kingdom Hearts / Zero no Tsukaima]
- Thread starter Golden Lark
- Start date
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
But guys I do spazztastic freak outs all the time.
Of course I most stick to brob and I haven't done it in a while but still. Annnnd I've inadvertently derailed a thread again.
Of course I most stick to brob and I haven't done it in a while but still. Annnnd I've inadvertently derailed a thread again.
spencer1519
(Verified Heretic)
- Location
- Oregon, USA
Welp. There goes that kingdom.
Golden Lark
The First Fiction User
The general gist of it is, as she shunts the emotions and channels them into Nameless/Darkness, she's not experiencing them. She's stood up to terrifying lectures from her mother before, and her sister would be an occasional yet not particularly horrific new trauma. She wasn't even really feeling much; that was mostly feedback from resonance in Nameless. If the crop slaps had actually been terribly hard or painful, then yes, some backlash might be necessary.CyganAngel said:
In general, on some level I see Lousie as having been raised in part by a drill sergeant. It is expected of her to never, ever lose her decorum and shame the family, no matter the situation. That such behavior conflicts with the opinions of her heart is a notable point; but in this case, her sister raging out is not anything new or scary. Hell, Louise is probably perfectly aware of what some of her behavior looked like from the rest of the family's perspective.
In the end, I was going for emptiness, patience, staring down at an unpleasant yet passing inevitability. Everything would have been fine as Louise clamped down on her own emotions and the excess from Nameless; she only slipped when he was struck and his own reflex overwhelmed her control. You don' react when the drill sergeant is screaming at you, you stand there and take it until it is over. Not exactly a healthy mechanism for family interaction, but what can you do?
Waking up Nameless' will has put a buffer between her own heart and whatever dark scars are present on his heart. That said, a will can be much more complicated to handle than passive echoes of sympathetic feelings.
I read through that section again and it rings hollow, which is more or less correct. The only thing Louise is allowing herself to feel is the internal slamming down of the bursts of alien feelings until she can find a way to deal with them. Eleanor wasn't particularly concerning her overmuch beyond adding to the burden a bit.
As I said here, my own feelings on the matter are mixed.Golden Lark said:
On the one hand, that's a terrible thing to do to a person. Or at least, to a human being.
But while Derflinger is a person, he's not a human being. That's not to say that he's worth less than a human being, but that treating him exactly like a human being is a folly. Unless the elves who made him were particularly cruel, he wasn't made with the full human (or elven!) complement of desires. He should basically desire very little except serving as a weapon and surviving to continue serving as a weapon.
And a weapon that has forgotten its own origins and abilities isn't a very good weapon. Especially if it's developed a less-than-helpful attitude.
That would be a good reason not to make your weapons people, yes.Sunder the Gold said:
Once you've broken that rule, any further ethical problems are of your own making, and therefor you have no excuse.
Nothing beyond the level of Lyrical Nanoha-style Intelligent Devices, anyway.Candesce said:
Intelligent enough to have rudimentary personalities and opinions, but not human enough to care if they suddenly lost 50 years of memories if it meant more clearly remembering information pertinent to their purposes. Certainly not human enough to develop a lewd, irreverent, wise-cracking attitude.
If Raising Heart survived 100 years after Nanoha's death and spent that time being used as a personal computer rather than a weapon, but suddenly found itself needing to serve and protect as a weapon again? It would probably voluntarily delete those peaceful memories if necessary, in order to better serve its current master. Because Raising Heart was made to serve a master; that's its purpose in life.
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm not sure what is being argued here.Sunder the Gold said:
From what I remember, Derf likes being used in battle. But as you said, Derf has become a person sometime within his existence.
I uphold that it is inherently wrong to mindrape a person unless they are completely batshit and broken beyond normal means of repair. And as Derf is not a numb gibbering wreck in need of magical brain surgery, nor a unfeeling and inhumane genocidal psychopath/sociopath, I am quite adverse to his memories and self being stripped from him.
I don't see how Raising Heart can compare to a feeling person. It is a vi at most. Unless Nanoha has managed to make it into a person with all those befriendings.
So it doesn't matter if he isn't the best weapon, or if he is a perv. He is a person regardless of not being human. And I've heard of many humans I wouldn't think of as persons.
Neveron
I am the Mane, come to investigate the tides
- Location
- Subarctic Sweden
Wasn't that also Lark's intention with the scene?BadRoad said:
Giygas
Cutest Sawk i could find. Lucario is a nice extra.
Yes, it is probably a bad idea data draining a being of pure darkness. But, if i remember well, it was implied that the "Holy Man" was actually the Nobody of our little Nameless, thus the use of Data Drain, if a little reckless, is justified: he could get back his heart, after all!Lilithium said:
I don't know .hack but, based on informations got on the wiki, Data Drain does have the side effect of infecting the user when used: given that too much darkness usually corrupt your heart, transforming it into an heartless, using something that naturally infect you as a side effect on something that corrupt your soul doesn't seem a very good idea.FaceMeltor said:
Hmm... I'm not familiar with .Hack, but is that data drain ability reversible? I mean, the data was just drained, not destroyed. Plus, the memories almost certainly still exist in Derf's heart, and it is a lot more difficult for data manipulation to permanently alter hearts than memories, assuming 'data drain' follows the same pattern as the canon KH2 data manipulation stuff. (Actually, until it was specified that 'data drain' was from .Hack, I had assumed that it was just a name for something along the lines of what Ansem the Wise could do.)
Really, as far as I can tell, this seems rather similar to what Ansem the Wise did to Roxas shortly before KH2 started.
Really, as far as I can tell, this seems rather similar to what Ansem the Wise did to Roxas shortly before KH2 started.
Well, the dot.hack wiki describes Data drain as:Jorlem said:
So I guess the it extracts the memories and weakens the target.
Ok. Still, that wasn't happening in a KH universe, and this is. Remember, even when Data!Sora had all his memories of his adventure removed via data manipulation, he still was able to recognize King Mickey as someone trustworthy, immediately afterward. A computer simulation of Sora, generated from the records of the real Sora's adventures, ended up with enough of a heart to hold on to who he was. I think Derf will be fine, it will just take a while for him to recover.
28
Golden Lark
The First Fiction User
Secret Report 2
Being illiterate and mute should have angered me. The brand that seared itself into my right hand should have enraged me. My alien circumstances should have terrified me.
Instead, I simply played along quietly. I bided my time.
I was given robes, fancy ones. My . . . summoner quickly copped to the fact that I needed language tutelage. He arranged for various children's books and instructional material for me to digest. Regaining a kindergarten grasp of a language in a holy place seemed ironic, if nothing else.
I noted the glares from my summoner's visitors as the days passed. Apparently I had been elevated to some lofty rank by dint of my summoner that men had toiled for years to achieve- or at least I surmised as much from the number of fancy decorations on my robe as compared to theirs. I could recognize jealousy on sight, language barriers be damned.
I didn't quite have a grasp on my personal state of being until one day in the library as I was approached by one of the jealous ones. He struck up conversation that I could not return, trying to curry favor in a slimy and all but transparent way. I did by best to ignore his 'help' as I checked more titles on shelves; with a grasp of the alphabet I had thought I could at the very least glean some small insight from the names of tomes.
When the 'helping' man reached out to give me a reassuring pat on the back, I idly realized that if I had still been emotional I would have flinched away and shuddered. These thoughts were foremost in my mind as his hand reached my back and pressed in, far deeper than it should have had I been a proper and solid being.
His expression was shock as he stepped back, then a moment of glee- and finally a mask of terror. He turned and yelled for help, beginning to run.
Apparently he had found his lever to remove me as an obstacle.
All I knew is if I was evicted from this place here and now, any opportunity or potential I had stumbled upon was all but lost.
I reached for him. He was already yards away. I didn't think, I didn't feel, and I didn't even worry. My mind was floating thoughts between the current situation and the annoyance of the language barrier, and how this could have been avoided had I
just had
what
I
need-
-ed.
The sound was nostalgic. The visual was enchanting. The implications were subtle.
The power was obvious.
The man fell to his knees, then to the floor. As the crystalline arms folded and retracted back into a ring around my wrist, then into invisibility, I considered the small crystal that had appeared in my outstretched right hand. I went to slip it into my robe, but it was pulled into the non-mass of my body instead.
Vocabulary. Grammar. Inflection. Dialect. Accent.
Of multiple languages.
I glanced to my side, to the bookshelf. Titles were clearly readable. I scanned down the list. My attention locked onto one.
"Halkeginia and the Founder; Twenty Children's Tales."
One question answered. One more hypothesis all but proven.
I stepped over to the fallen man. He was unconscious. I turned him over with a foot, and a very shiny ornamental knife slipped out of his belt and clattered onto the floor.
Perfect.
I picked up the knife, and pulled open the front of my robe and shirt. Yet more silvery fabric met my gaze.
I let go of my clothing and closed my eyes.
Focus.
A body of flesh. Remember it.
As if clenching a muscle, I pulled open my clothes once more and saw bare flesh instead.
Nodding, I yanked my robe forward, slammed myself back into a bookshelf, and slashed myself across the chest. Blood dripped onto the floor as I tossed the knife over to a likely place it would have landed. Finally, I assumed a position on the floor and tested my new language skills.
"Guards! GUARDS!"
[***]
As I was rushed to a healer, his Holiness was informed. He came to me as I lay in bed, reviewing my potential next moves in my mind. As he entered I smiled and bowed my head forward, the expression coming far too easily.
"Your holiness. Through this tragedy I seem to have gained the use of the tools I need to be of use, at last. The Founder works in mysterious ways."
The young pope's expression shifted slightly. I couldn't tell from what to what.
"So it would seem. Then, I will repeat myself from the other day. I am Vittorio Serevare, Pope Aegis XXXII, Shield of the Founder and Shepard of His People, ruler of Romailia in His name."
I didn't sweat or hesitate. The false name leapt to my lips instinctively.
"I am called Optimus Victoria, and as I understand it I have entered into your service as Vindálfr, the Right Hand of God."
I held up the back of my right hand in confirmation. He nodded.
"Indeed. I was worried after the pact was first sealed; if you hadn't understood my call, it would have been awkward once you became aware of the nature of our relationship."
I shook my head.
"It is fine, Your Holiness. The summoning ritual chooses well. The animals that are usually bound do not regret the contract despite not speaking the tongues of man. I was much the same."
The young Pope nodded once more.
"While I am eager to hear more about you and of what exactly happened to grant you your new gift of speech, I shall first ask if there is anything you need."
I blinked, and glanced around. I looked at the two of us in a mirror on the bedchamber's wall, and at my own impassive expression.
"Need, yes, but not immediately. Before I go out into the public, I would ask of you to supply me with a full mask. It will be important that my face not become known, I think."
"Oh? Already planning to lead a double life, doing good deeds anonymously among the populace?"
I smiled, but the expression did not reach my eyes. Yes, I was definitely going to need that mask.
"Something like that, Your Holiness. Something like that."
Being illiterate and mute should have angered me. The brand that seared itself into my right hand should have enraged me. My alien circumstances should have terrified me.
Instead, I simply played along quietly. I bided my time.
I was given robes, fancy ones. My . . . summoner quickly copped to the fact that I needed language tutelage. He arranged for various children's books and instructional material for me to digest. Regaining a kindergarten grasp of a language in a holy place seemed ironic, if nothing else.
I noted the glares from my summoner's visitors as the days passed. Apparently I had been elevated to some lofty rank by dint of my summoner that men had toiled for years to achieve- or at least I surmised as much from the number of fancy decorations on my robe as compared to theirs. I could recognize jealousy on sight, language barriers be damned.
I didn't quite have a grasp on my personal state of being until one day in the library as I was approached by one of the jealous ones. He struck up conversation that I could not return, trying to curry favor in a slimy and all but transparent way. I did by best to ignore his 'help' as I checked more titles on shelves; with a grasp of the alphabet I had thought I could at the very least glean some small insight from the names of tomes.
When the 'helping' man reached out to give me a reassuring pat on the back, I idly realized that if I had still been emotional I would have flinched away and shuddered. These thoughts were foremost in my mind as his hand reached my back and pressed in, far deeper than it should have had I been a proper and solid being.
His expression was shock as he stepped back, then a moment of glee- and finally a mask of terror. He turned and yelled for help, beginning to run.
Apparently he had found his lever to remove me as an obstacle.
All I knew is if I was evicted from this place here and now, any opportunity or potential I had stumbled upon was all but lost.
I reached for him. He was already yards away. I didn't think, I didn't feel, and I didn't even worry. My mind was floating thoughts between the current situation and the annoyance of the language barrier, and how this could have been avoided had I
just had
what
I
need-
-ed.
The sound was nostalgic. The visual was enchanting. The implications were subtle.
The power was obvious.
The man fell to his knees, then to the floor. As the crystalline arms folded and retracted back into a ring around my wrist, then into invisibility, I considered the small crystal that had appeared in my outstretched right hand. I went to slip it into my robe, but it was pulled into the non-mass of my body instead.
Vocabulary. Grammar. Inflection. Dialect. Accent.
Of multiple languages.
I glanced to my side, to the bookshelf. Titles were clearly readable. I scanned down the list. My attention locked onto one.
"Halkeginia and the Founder; Twenty Children's Tales."
One question answered. One more hypothesis all but proven.
I stepped over to the fallen man. He was unconscious. I turned him over with a foot, and a very shiny ornamental knife slipped out of his belt and clattered onto the floor.
Perfect.
I picked up the knife, and pulled open the front of my robe and shirt. Yet more silvery fabric met my gaze.
I let go of my clothing and closed my eyes.
Focus.
A body of flesh. Remember it.
As if clenching a muscle, I pulled open my clothes once more and saw bare flesh instead.
Nodding, I yanked my robe forward, slammed myself back into a bookshelf, and slashed myself across the chest. Blood dripped onto the floor as I tossed the knife over to a likely place it would have landed. Finally, I assumed a position on the floor and tested my new language skills.
"Guards! GUARDS!"
[***]
As I was rushed to a healer, his Holiness was informed. He came to me as I lay in bed, reviewing my potential next moves in my mind. As he entered I smiled and bowed my head forward, the expression coming far too easily.
"Your holiness. Through this tragedy I seem to have gained the use of the tools I need to be of use, at last. The Founder works in mysterious ways."
The young pope's expression shifted slightly. I couldn't tell from what to what.
"So it would seem. Then, I will repeat myself from the other day. I am Vittorio Serevare, Pope Aegis XXXII, Shield of the Founder and Shepard of His People, ruler of Romailia in His name."
I didn't sweat or hesitate. The false name leapt to my lips instinctively.
"I am called Optimus Victoria, and as I understand it I have entered into your service as Vindálfr, the Right Hand of God."
I held up the back of my right hand in confirmation. He nodded.
"Indeed. I was worried after the pact was first sealed; if you hadn't understood my call, it would have been awkward once you became aware of the nature of our relationship."
I shook my head.
"It is fine, Your Holiness. The summoning ritual chooses well. The animals that are usually bound do not regret the contract despite not speaking the tongues of man. I was much the same."
The young Pope nodded once more.
"While I am eager to hear more about you and of what exactly happened to grant you your new gift of speech, I shall first ask if there is anything you need."
I blinked, and glanced around. I looked at the two of us in a mirror on the bedchamber's wall, and at my own impassive expression.
"Need, yes, but not immediately. Before I go out into the public, I would ask of you to supply me with a full mask. It will be important that my face not become known, I think."
"Oh? Already planning to lead a double life, doing good deeds anonymously among the populace?"
I smiled, but the expression did not reach my eyes. Yes, I was definitely going to need that mask.
"Something like that, Your Holiness. Something like that."
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29
Golden Lark
The First Fiction User
Five arms of light lanced out, comprised of colorful squares of fluorescent shades. The sound was strange, like nothing Louise had ever heard before in her life. Before she realized what was happening, she was rolling back to a crouch, having dodged the assault. Nameless had thrown himself in the opposite direction.
Gasping for breath, Louise looked at the ground behind where she had been standing, where the arms of light had struck.
Five geometrically perfect hexagonal chunks of earth and rock were now missing, each a foot or so wide.
She shuddered, imagining what that would have done to her body, or Nameless'. Then, as if shrugging off a distasteful piece of clothing, she discarded her hesitation and doubt. Nameless could have died. Her familiar could have died.
As for the Cardinal, whatever magic he has used had run its course, and the odd flower-like projection radiating form his wrist had vanished from sight. This didn't do anything to allay any of Louise's fears, however. Fear of danger and of greater, more important things, like tarnishing her family name.
It took a moment of focus, but she swallowed and cleared her mind of doubt. As far as she was concerned she could worry about repercussions later. For now, there was clear and present danger. No Inquisition she'd ever heard of open with an assault. Arrests? Sure. Interrogation? Obviously. Heretics were dangerous, after all.
But this was for all she could see the raving attack of a madman. Yes, that made perfect sense. Henrietta would never have unleashed this beast on her.
As Louise galvanized herself with rationalizations, the masked priest turned his now-clenched hand palm down and dropped some quantity of dirt and sand to the earth. Slowly he turned his gaze from noble to familiar, as if expecting something.
Nameless' nervous motions grew ever more steady as Louise found her resolve. She drew her wand, and felt her heartbeat pound as she willed herself to level it at her assailant.
At a cardinal.
"So, you have a spine after all," the man remarked.
"FIREBALL!" shouted Louise.
She knew it wouldn't be a fireball, and she didn't care; an explosion suited her purposes just fine at the moment.
What she didn't know was that the sword the priest suddenly slipped out of his robes could absorb that explosion's magic with little more than a dull popping sound.
Now they both had weapons pointed at each other, and Louise's confidence began to erode quickly. As the crystalline bracelet reappeared around his right wrist and its arms grew in size once again, she found herself low on options.
A pulse of fear from Nameless got her attention for its intensity. That pulse then reddened with anger, blackened with hate, and was plunged down into darkness. It did not take long for the darkness to respond to the sacrifice.
Louise felt the coldness rise up in sympathy from the bottom of Nameless' being. It wafted from every pore, swirled around, and transmuted flesh to that ephemeral black stuff she had seen time and again these last days. However, unlike the previous occurrences, she could feel feedback this time. Her heart and will were not being accepted without resistance; rather, there was already a bit of heart and will present this time. This detail kept her from panicking further as the Void-blessed shadow form of her familiar lunged forth towards her assailant at his impossible speeds.
Her heart and his both lurched to a halt, however, as the Priest's spell retracted suddenly and he tossed his sword to his off hand in one smooth motion. The green-blue was now just a thin bracelet around his right wrist, but what was more important was the rune engraved there. Nameless slid to a stop just out of reach of the masked man, hands akimbo and ready to claw life and limb.
"No. An unwise move, familiar." Nameless jerked in place, then shuddered once, twice, and stopped. Louise felt her emotional connection cut off.
Nameless turned to face her, and suddenly she was staring down the monster that had panicked the entire Academy as it stepped forward. Her heart skipped a beat.
"The Right Hand of God commands the hearts of all mindless beasts without effort. This includes magical beasts, and also men that submerge their own minds for whatever reason."
Nameless stepped towards her again. She refused to acknowledge what has happening. She barely heard the man as he droned on.
"However, this test is not about your Familiar's dark form. I have nothing to learn from it," he said as his own arm pointed at her Familiar's back.
Louise willed herself to move as the green and blue nightmare spun out to its full size and the spell's haunting noise began again. She charged towards Nameless, heedless of his possessed status, to tackle him out of the way of that spell if necessary.
When she reached him, he twisted out of the way of her grasp, snatched her wrist, and spun, flinging her away from the target zone of the spell.
"My control is perfect, as you should appreciate, Familiar."
Then the arms of light impaled Nameless from behind, retracting instantly. He fell to his knees, and the darkness around him vanished, ripped away. Louise felt her connection to him snap back into place, with a wave of -FEAR-fear-concern-panic-helplessness-revelation-joy in freedom-CONCERN-relief- buffeting the back of her mind. He got to his feet slowly and turned back to the assailant, warily.
In his right hand, palm up, was a black crystal a few inches high. Familiar violet-tinged darkness swirled about inside of it.
"I shall keep this as payment for the mercy I granted. Consider what I could have done and be thankful."
-revulsion-resentment-horror- . . . -reluctant acknowledgement-
Louise leveled her wand on the man again, unsure of the greater context of what just happened. He slipped the dark thing into his robes and smoothly switched his sword back to his right hand.
"Dare to use your unearned darkness against me again, and I will be less merciful the second time."
Louise didn't have time to parse that statement before the robed man dashed towards her, sword raised for a chopping blow.
And then Nameless' back was towering in front of her with his arms crossed to intercept the strike.
-Certainty-
No!
As the sword swung down, Louise flinched, then threw an arm over her eyes reflexively after a sudden flash of light.
Slowly looking, expecting blood, she saw Nameless still standing in front of her. Stumbling backwards, she got out of the way as he planted a foot behind him for balance and lurched forwards.
In his hands, held awkwardly to to his crossed arms, was a bar of clear crystal as thick as Louise's wrist. It held back the blade without shattering or chipping.
"Master. Unknown magical pattern present. Unable to absorb."
Did . . . did the sword just speak?
Such questions would have to be considered later, as with a grunt Nameless shoved the offending blade away and refreshed his grip on his new tool. Without hesitation the masked priest lashed out with another slash and something like a swordfight began.
'Something like' a swordfight because after about five seconds it became obvious to Louise that neither combatant had ever been trained in the use of a sword. Not that she had much experience in that realm herself; she was as yet still much too small to be worth much in such an altercation without proper magical enhancement. Still, watching her parents spar (not to mention various knights and guards) gave her an appreciation for good swordplay, which this most assuredly was not.
It did change the fact that two terribly tall men were swinging dangerous objects at each other at high speeds, however. Well, one object more dangerous than the other, but regardless there was no opening for her to safely provide spell support. The crystal rod and the saber clashed again and again, amateurish as the display might have been.
The robed man hopped backwards.
"Not good enough. What is that? The extent of your will? A stick?"
Nameless swung wide, and the sword intercepted the blow. Then the masked man reached out and grabbed the rod.
"You fail to realize the inherent flaw in your tactics!"
The rod was wrenched upwards and the priest reared a leg up and kicked Nameless squarely in the chest with a telegraphed blow. He went flying back a couple feet, without the rod. The masked man examined it for a moment, then threw it aside, far away from Louise.
"You are out of options. The darkness will not save you from me. Her magic will not save you from me. And more importantly," he turned to Louise and dashed forward, "Neither of those things will save her from me!"
Time slowed down for Louise as she stepped backwards. Nameless was scrambling to his feet, and the priest loomed over her as he brandished his blade. Amateur or not, he had weight, reach, and weapon over her. Louise was no fool; there was a reason she had never gotten into physical altercations with Kirche during the bad old days. Still, she had to be able to do something.
Balance is essential for all swordplay, my daughters. Rather, for virtually all combat. Deny your enemy his footing and you deny him everything.
Louise pointed her wand down and spoke with a quick motion.
"Unlock."
A quick burst of power shifted the soil under the masked man's rear foot, causing it to slip backwards.
However, what Louise failed to account for was the fact that his inertia had him now falling forward, blade thrust in front of him even faster than before.
"No!" The priest exclaimed.
Louise watched as cold steel closed the distance to her chest. Even as the priest seemed to be jerking his body away, it was too late. There was no time to fear or to brace or to dodge.
Then all was darkness, and Louise was falling.
Then light, and she landed with a grunt on . . . Nameless? She felt his labored breathing underneath her.
She looked up, and saw one of the dark portals he usually employed hovering above her head. Then she looked to her right and saw the twin portal on the ground where she had been, and the priest rolling to a stop from his attempt to spare her. Then she looked down, and in Nameless' hand, pointed at where she had been standing, was a crystalline sword - no, a giant key? Another one? The image of the Staff of Destruction flashed in her mind.
Lace-like threading protruded from the double hand-guard and comprised the 'teeth' of the key. It looked like some sort of ornamental mantlepiece, like it would shatter the moment it was gripped too firmly, let alone used as a weapon. At least the Staff looked like it could hurt someone if they were struck with it.
Before she could take in any more detail, the portals shrank and evaporated, and Nameless was gently pushing her off of his lap.
His lap.
Oh.
Scrambling with a bit of embarrassment, Louise got to her feet and watched as the Priest did the same some yards away. Nameless stood slowly, never pointing his new artifact anywhere but towards the enemy.
Said enemy took one look at the new weapon and . . . nodded?
"I hereby clear you of suspicion of harboring an abomination, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. My test is finished."
He then slipped his sword back into his robes and turned his back, walking away.
"Wha-wa-wait just a minute! You think you can just accost a noblewoman, brandish a weapon at her, cast strange magics, and then simply walk away?"
Nameless hadn't dropped his guard for a second, but was making no move to pursue.
The tall priest stopped of turned to face them again.
"As a matter of fact, I do. However, I realize I failed to properly introduce myself earlier."
He bowed, the motion almost mocking in its formality.
"I am Cardinal Optimus Victoria, humble servant of Pope Aegis XXXII, Shield of the Founder and Shepard of His People, ruler of Romailia in the Founder's name. Rumors in your wake gained my attention, and I took it upon myself to verify you were not in fact committing heresy by perverting the Void."
"P-p-perverting?" Louise was too stunned to articulate further.
The man displayed the back of his right hand again. Nameless tensed, and then looked around in a frenzy as a dozen small pools of blackness bubbled up from the ground. After a moment, each pool coalesced into a small, quivering creature of blackness, each a mirror image of Nameless before she kissed him and completed the contract.
"The holy creatures of the Void scour impurity from the hearts of men. However like any tool, in the wrong hands they can be dangerous beyond measure. To carelessly invoke that power is to invite disaster and unleash a plague of darkness on the land, for no man is perfect and they have no will beyond their base instinct. Those chosen by the Founder to wield such might are mighty, indeed, and must be tested to ensure they will not abuse their new gift."
The twelve creatures flattened, then faded as they seeped into the ground. Louise found her tongue once again.
"But if they were chosen by the Founder, what business is it of mere men to question their right to their power?"
The masked mad nodded.
"You have asked the right question, girl. Perhaps there is hope for you, yet."
He then turned away again and resumed walking.
The neighing of one of the horses and the startled voice of the carriage driver knocked Louise out of her confused stupor, and she turned and went to get back into the carriage.
"Onwards to the Academy, Young Mistress?"
Louise started out of the window at the direction the priest had walked. He was nowhere to be seen.
"No, driver. To the capital, the castle. Her Highness has summoned me through improbable means."
"As my lady commands," he replied. The carriage lurched into motion.
Nameless had clambered into the carriage after her, and she turned her attention to the object he was still grasping. The crystal Staff of Destruction, if she guessed correctly.
Or at least she tried to, but he kept fidgeting with it, trying to find a comfortable way to set it down that would not result in it poking them on their laps or falling over and/or hitting one of them. Before Louise could grab it or ask him to pass it over, his brow creased as he glared at it.
-annoying-finished-inconvenient-vanish-
And in a puff of darkness, it was gone.
-relax-tired-safe-sleep-
And he was out, leaning back and ignoring his ever-more-confused Master's desire for information, lightly snoring. Louise gaped at the audacity for a moment, then sighed and leaned back in her own seat. Whatever else, after that, he deserved his rest. Their troubles were only just beginning, it seemed.
Louise sank into sleep amidst fears of disappointing her sovereign somehow, despite everything so far.
Gasping for breath, Louise looked at the ground behind where she had been standing, where the arms of light had struck.
Five geometrically perfect hexagonal chunks of earth and rock were now missing, each a foot or so wide.
She shuddered, imagining what that would have done to her body, or Nameless'. Then, as if shrugging off a distasteful piece of clothing, she discarded her hesitation and doubt. Nameless could have died. Her familiar could have died.
As for the Cardinal, whatever magic he has used had run its course, and the odd flower-like projection radiating form his wrist had vanished from sight. This didn't do anything to allay any of Louise's fears, however. Fear of danger and of greater, more important things, like tarnishing her family name.
It took a moment of focus, but she swallowed and cleared her mind of doubt. As far as she was concerned she could worry about repercussions later. For now, there was clear and present danger. No Inquisition she'd ever heard of open with an assault. Arrests? Sure. Interrogation? Obviously. Heretics were dangerous, after all.
But this was for all she could see the raving attack of a madman. Yes, that made perfect sense. Henrietta would never have unleashed this beast on her.
As Louise galvanized herself with rationalizations, the masked priest turned his now-clenched hand palm down and dropped some quantity of dirt and sand to the earth. Slowly he turned his gaze from noble to familiar, as if expecting something.
Nameless' nervous motions grew ever more steady as Louise found her resolve. She drew her wand, and felt her heartbeat pound as she willed herself to level it at her assailant.
At a cardinal.
"So, you have a spine after all," the man remarked.
"FIREBALL!" shouted Louise.
She knew it wouldn't be a fireball, and she didn't care; an explosion suited her purposes just fine at the moment.
What she didn't know was that the sword the priest suddenly slipped out of his robes could absorb that explosion's magic with little more than a dull popping sound.
Now they both had weapons pointed at each other, and Louise's confidence began to erode quickly. As the crystalline bracelet reappeared around his right wrist and its arms grew in size once again, she found herself low on options.
A pulse of fear from Nameless got her attention for its intensity. That pulse then reddened with anger, blackened with hate, and was plunged down into darkness. It did not take long for the darkness to respond to the sacrifice.
Louise felt the coldness rise up in sympathy from the bottom of Nameless' being. It wafted from every pore, swirled around, and transmuted flesh to that ephemeral black stuff she had seen time and again these last days. However, unlike the previous occurrences, she could feel feedback this time. Her heart and will were not being accepted without resistance; rather, there was already a bit of heart and will present this time. This detail kept her from panicking further as the Void-blessed shadow form of her familiar lunged forth towards her assailant at his impossible speeds.
Her heart and his both lurched to a halt, however, as the Priest's spell retracted suddenly and he tossed his sword to his off hand in one smooth motion. The green-blue was now just a thin bracelet around his right wrist, but what was more important was the rune engraved there. Nameless slid to a stop just out of reach of the masked man, hands akimbo and ready to claw life and limb.
"No. An unwise move, familiar." Nameless jerked in place, then shuddered once, twice, and stopped. Louise felt her emotional connection cut off.
Nameless turned to face her, and suddenly she was staring down the monster that had panicked the entire Academy as it stepped forward. Her heart skipped a beat.
"The Right Hand of God commands the hearts of all mindless beasts without effort. This includes magical beasts, and also men that submerge their own minds for whatever reason."
Nameless stepped towards her again. She refused to acknowledge what has happening. She barely heard the man as he droned on.
"However, this test is not about your Familiar's dark form. I have nothing to learn from it," he said as his own arm pointed at her Familiar's back.
Louise willed herself to move as the green and blue nightmare spun out to its full size and the spell's haunting noise began again. She charged towards Nameless, heedless of his possessed status, to tackle him out of the way of that spell if necessary.
When she reached him, he twisted out of the way of her grasp, snatched her wrist, and spun, flinging her away from the target zone of the spell.
"My control is perfect, as you should appreciate, Familiar."
Then the arms of light impaled Nameless from behind, retracting instantly. He fell to his knees, and the darkness around him vanished, ripped away. Louise felt her connection to him snap back into place, with a wave of -FEAR-fear-concern-panic-helplessness-revelation-joy in freedom-CONCERN-relief- buffeting the back of her mind. He got to his feet slowly and turned back to the assailant, warily.
In his right hand, palm up, was a black crystal a few inches high. Familiar violet-tinged darkness swirled about inside of it.
"I shall keep this as payment for the mercy I granted. Consider what I could have done and be thankful."
-revulsion-resentment-horror- . . . -reluctant acknowledgement-
Louise leveled her wand on the man again, unsure of the greater context of what just happened. He slipped the dark thing into his robes and smoothly switched his sword back to his right hand.
"Dare to use your unearned darkness against me again, and I will be less merciful the second time."
Louise didn't have time to parse that statement before the robed man dashed towards her, sword raised for a chopping blow.
And then Nameless' back was towering in front of her with his arms crossed to intercept the strike.
-Certainty-
No!
As the sword swung down, Louise flinched, then threw an arm over her eyes reflexively after a sudden flash of light.
Slowly looking, expecting blood, she saw Nameless still standing in front of her. Stumbling backwards, she got out of the way as he planted a foot behind him for balance and lurched forwards.
In his hands, held awkwardly to to his crossed arms, was a bar of clear crystal as thick as Louise's wrist. It held back the blade without shattering or chipping.
"Master. Unknown magical pattern present. Unable to absorb."
Did . . . did the sword just speak?
Such questions would have to be considered later, as with a grunt Nameless shoved the offending blade away and refreshed his grip on his new tool. Without hesitation the masked priest lashed out with another slash and something like a swordfight began.
'Something like' a swordfight because after about five seconds it became obvious to Louise that neither combatant had ever been trained in the use of a sword. Not that she had much experience in that realm herself; she was as yet still much too small to be worth much in such an altercation without proper magical enhancement. Still, watching her parents spar (not to mention various knights and guards) gave her an appreciation for good swordplay, which this most assuredly was not.
It did change the fact that two terribly tall men were swinging dangerous objects at each other at high speeds, however. Well, one object more dangerous than the other, but regardless there was no opening for her to safely provide spell support. The crystal rod and the saber clashed again and again, amateurish as the display might have been.
The robed man hopped backwards.
"Not good enough. What is that? The extent of your will? A stick?"
Nameless swung wide, and the sword intercepted the blow. Then the masked man reached out and grabbed the rod.
"You fail to realize the inherent flaw in your tactics!"
The rod was wrenched upwards and the priest reared a leg up and kicked Nameless squarely in the chest with a telegraphed blow. He went flying back a couple feet, without the rod. The masked man examined it for a moment, then threw it aside, far away from Louise.
"You are out of options. The darkness will not save you from me. Her magic will not save you from me. And more importantly," he turned to Louise and dashed forward, "Neither of those things will save her from me!"
Time slowed down for Louise as she stepped backwards. Nameless was scrambling to his feet, and the priest loomed over her as he brandished his blade. Amateur or not, he had weight, reach, and weapon over her. Louise was no fool; there was a reason she had never gotten into physical altercations with Kirche during the bad old days. Still, she had to be able to do something.
Balance is essential for all swordplay, my daughters. Rather, for virtually all combat. Deny your enemy his footing and you deny him everything.
Louise pointed her wand down and spoke with a quick motion.
"Unlock."
A quick burst of power shifted the soil under the masked man's rear foot, causing it to slip backwards.
However, what Louise failed to account for was the fact that his inertia had him now falling forward, blade thrust in front of him even faster than before.
"No!" The priest exclaimed.
Louise watched as cold steel closed the distance to her chest. Even as the priest seemed to be jerking his body away, it was too late. There was no time to fear or to brace or to dodge.
Then all was darkness, and Louise was falling.
Then light, and she landed with a grunt on . . . Nameless? She felt his labored breathing underneath her.
She looked up, and saw one of the dark portals he usually employed hovering above her head. Then she looked to her right and saw the twin portal on the ground where she had been, and the priest rolling to a stop from his attempt to spare her. Then she looked down, and in Nameless' hand, pointed at where she had been standing, was a crystalline sword - no, a giant key? Another one? The image of the Staff of Destruction flashed in her mind.
Lace-like threading protruded from the double hand-guard and comprised the 'teeth' of the key. It looked like some sort of ornamental mantlepiece, like it would shatter the moment it was gripped too firmly, let alone used as a weapon. At least the Staff looked like it could hurt someone if they were struck with it.
Before she could take in any more detail, the portals shrank and evaporated, and Nameless was gently pushing her off of his lap.
His lap.
Oh.
Scrambling with a bit of embarrassment, Louise got to her feet and watched as the Priest did the same some yards away. Nameless stood slowly, never pointing his new artifact anywhere but towards the enemy.
Said enemy took one look at the new weapon and . . . nodded?
"I hereby clear you of suspicion of harboring an abomination, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. My test is finished."
He then slipped his sword back into his robes and turned his back, walking away.
"Wha-wa-wait just a minute! You think you can just accost a noblewoman, brandish a weapon at her, cast strange magics, and then simply walk away?"
Nameless hadn't dropped his guard for a second, but was making no move to pursue.
The tall priest stopped of turned to face them again.
"As a matter of fact, I do. However, I realize I failed to properly introduce myself earlier."
He bowed, the motion almost mocking in its formality.
"I am Cardinal Optimus Victoria, humble servant of Pope Aegis XXXII, Shield of the Founder and Shepard of His People, ruler of Romailia in the Founder's name. Rumors in your wake gained my attention, and I took it upon myself to verify you were not in fact committing heresy by perverting the Void."
"P-p-perverting?" Louise was too stunned to articulate further.
The man displayed the back of his right hand again. Nameless tensed, and then looked around in a frenzy as a dozen small pools of blackness bubbled up from the ground. After a moment, each pool coalesced into a small, quivering creature of blackness, each a mirror image of Nameless before she kissed him and completed the contract.
"The holy creatures of the Void scour impurity from the hearts of men. However like any tool, in the wrong hands they can be dangerous beyond measure. To carelessly invoke that power is to invite disaster and unleash a plague of darkness on the land, for no man is perfect and they have no will beyond their base instinct. Those chosen by the Founder to wield such might are mighty, indeed, and must be tested to ensure they will not abuse their new gift."
The twelve creatures flattened, then faded as they seeped into the ground. Louise found her tongue once again.
"But if they were chosen by the Founder, what business is it of mere men to question their right to their power?"
The masked mad nodded.
"You have asked the right question, girl. Perhaps there is hope for you, yet."
He then turned away again and resumed walking.
The neighing of one of the horses and the startled voice of the carriage driver knocked Louise out of her confused stupor, and she turned and went to get back into the carriage.
"Onwards to the Academy, Young Mistress?"
Louise started out of the window at the direction the priest had walked. He was nowhere to be seen.
"No, driver. To the capital, the castle. Her Highness has summoned me through improbable means."
"As my lady commands," he replied. The carriage lurched into motion.
Nameless had clambered into the carriage after her, and she turned her attention to the object he was still grasping. The crystal Staff of Destruction, if she guessed correctly.
Or at least she tried to, but he kept fidgeting with it, trying to find a comfortable way to set it down that would not result in it poking them on their laps or falling over and/or hitting one of them. Before Louise could grab it or ask him to pass it over, his brow creased as he glared at it.
-annoying-finished-inconvenient-vanish-
And in a puff of darkness, it was gone.
-relax-tired-safe-sleep-
And he was out, leaning back and ignoring his ever-more-confused Master's desire for information, lightly snoring. Louise gaped at the audacity for a moment, then sighed and leaned back in her own seat. Whatever else, after that, he deserved his rest. Their troubles were only just beginning, it seemed.
Louise sank into sleep amidst fears of disappointing her sovereign somehow, despite everything so far.
