A Conjuror's journey

[E.Nigma]

Harry entered the headmasters office, entirely unsure of why he had been called. He knew it was of the utmost urgency, because Dumbledore hardly ever summons him at this hour of night.
"Harry, my boy, have a seat."
Wanting to get straight to the heart of the matter, Harry swiftly sits in a chair far too familiar to him.
"What is it sir? did Voldemort attack!? are the Weasly's alright?"
"No, no nothing of the sort. But I'm afraid the news I bear is just as, if not more, grave."
With those words Dumbledore took off his glasses and gave Harry a look only a man who'd been in war is capable of mustering.
"There's something you need to see..."
Dumbledore walks over to an unobtrusive desk, hidden in the side of his office. It holds what appears to be an automated abacus, several puffing bread boxes, and globe with only a single glowing dot.
"I've run the numbers and done the calculations. I'm sorry to say, they all point to one fact. The phoenixes are abandoning our world, Harry." Dumbledore spoke in a weary tone.
Harry looked noticeably confused as to the significance of that statement. However, before he could ask, Dumbledore began to answer.
"As you know, phoenixes are forces of good within magical lore. Without their influence our world will become a much darker place. This clearly pertains to our ongoing fight against the forces of evil. The phoenixes must know, in their own simple way, that this is a fight the light will not win... That we will not win!"
"No!" Harry gasps, horrified at the implication of his own ensuing demise. All the portraits begin to argue animatedly over the best course of action. Dumbledore stares forlornly at his bird perch in resignation. Only when the argument on the wall heats to frantic proportions, one old headmaster throttling another, does something change. The sight of his mentor beginning to falter, fills Harry with determination.
"I will do it! I will take the ring to Mordor... though I do not know the way." The room falls silent at Harry's proclamation.
"You mean to say, you will retrieve our wayward pheonixes and avert impending doom?"
Harry nods, now determined to see this journey through.

- Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Mysterious Phoenix Snatcher

 

[PieceThruWar]

[X] Check in with Moira to see what she's been up to.
-[X] Wear your trusty Amulet of Mara prominently on display.
--[X] Bring flowers, too.

I reiterate: What could go wrong?

Click to shrink...

Having just been forced to beat Espinoza to death, you realize that putting on a random necklace without checking it first was probably a bad idea. Ducking into a shaded alcove, you hold your breath and watch as the crowd runs pushing and screaming in search of you. At first you'd thought it was Cattleya trying to entice you into summoning a pet for her. That changed when, having rebuffed her and walked out, you were accosted by a cow faunus.

She'd immediately asked to elope as if you'd somehow known each other well and were intimate on any level rather than the complete strangers that you were. Denying her hadn't ended well, since she'd pulled out a knife and attacked, but luckily Espinoza was there to save the day. That he immediately followed in her footsteps was a terrible sign and you hadn't hesitated to attack him first.

Simply walking away from the scene meant you'd passed several dozen people as you made your way through the building to your goal of checking in with Doctor Vahlen. Each and every one of them had produced similar results and you traced it back to the necklace you'd wrapped around your neck. How in Oblivion had an amulet of Mara even come to be in your belongings? You never cared for marriage or the goddess of such and none of those associated with you should even know who she is.

Of course, taking the thing off was impossible. It would be too convenient if it could just be removed, hence why there was some sort of curse upon the thing.

After another two hours of sneaking around the facility, careful not to let those with bioelectric skin detect you even while invisible, you slide into the hidden laboratory. The resident scientist is nowhere to be seen, so you sit down in her chair to relax for a moment when your own gene-mod causes a tingling sensation. Too slow to react, a hand reaches around to cover your mouth as a needle pricks your neck.

"I've never felt this way about someone before." Moira whispers in your ear as the world begins to fade away. "I don't think I could handle rejection, so I won't give you the chance."

--------------------------------------

Nestled atop a golden perch in a strangely decorated room, Fawkes steepled his wingtips in front of his beak. "All according to plan."

"Goodness me, you since when can you talk?" His startled pet asked from below, ticking and whiring devices all around.

"You're imagining things, have another lemon drop." The primordial flame replied, watching in satisfaction as the eccentric old human went back to humming a tune as he filled out the schools accounting information.

 

[Vicjer]

Something Wicked This Way Comes ​

Taiyang Xiao Long stood on his porch gazing out into the horizon in the direction of Vale--in the direction of Beacon; his face appearing carved from stone for all the emotion he expressed. Even from here a great flash of white light could be seen, followed by a mushroom-shaped cloud.

He knew this could only mean one thing: The time had come.

He turned around and went back inside his home.

* * * * *

He exited a short time later, only now clad in a dark robe with the hood drawn up and hiding his face. In his hand he carried a burlap sack, one constantly bulging as whatever lay within struggled to break free. Whimpers could be heard from the sack.

Taiyang stalked off into the forest. He followed along the path for a time as he continued deeper into the woods. Until suddenly he stopped. Looking off to the side, he searched for what he knew to be there. Finally, he found what he was looking for; there he saw a tree with a symbol carved into it on the underside of one of the branches: Ω. He walked over to the tree before stopping next to it and looking among the other trees further away from the path. There he saw another tree bearing the mark; he approached it. This process continued, on and on he would find new marked trees, each leading him farther off the beaten path and deeper into the forest than the last.

Long hours later, deep in the heart of the forest, Taiyang came to the mouth of a cave. A dark and ominous mist poured out seemingly without end. He could hear an eerie, high-pitched whine--not unlike a tuning fork--emitting from within. A preternatural cold flowed out from the cave entrance and seeped deep into his bones.

He paid these things no mind as he entered the cave without hesitation. He ventured deep into the blackness, nothing to light his way; though when any such light would be devoured by the darkness rather than actually illuminating anything, there wouldn't be much point in it anyway. He navigated his way through the cave in complete, unnatural darkness; he had long since memorized the way.

Eventually, he could see something piercing through the darkness around him: a deep red light. He followed it into a chamber many miles underground at the end of the cave; the light appeared to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In the centre of the room there was a circle, and inside that circle was the same marking from the trees, only this one many times larger.

He approached the circle and set the burlap sack down in the middle; the struggling and whining increasing, but to no avail. Standing over the circle, he raised his arms into a Y-shape and he spoke: "Ecneserp eniht htiw em ecarg uoht taht hceeseb I! Gnireffo siht uoht tneserp I, eno krad!" As he spoke, the room rumbled; each passing word of the chant increasing the intensity of the tremors. Then he reached into his robe and withdrew a wicked-looking dagger. He plunged the dagger down into the poor, unfortunate soul within the bag, drawing a sharp yelp from the creature inside.

"Rejoice, Zwei, for you now serve a higher purpose!" Taiyang declared, fanaticism swelling in his heart.

The struggles and sounds from the sack declined as blood spilled out. The blood began to fill the circle, and yet not a single drop breached the perimeter as if there was a wall preventing it from passing. Then the ritual circle and its contents burst into flames; the fire black as pitch and hotter than the planet's core.

Inside the fire, sickly green shapes were forming. First was a face that appeared to be that of a human man, though the teeth revealed by its large grin betrayed that notion, for they were rows upon rows of nigh-impossibly sharp serrated fangs. Then, a glorious mane swaying in non-existent wind, followed by a massive lion-esque body, with great leathery bat-wings. Last to appear was a scorpion-like tail.

The creature towered over Taiyang as it looked down upon him as if he were some unsightly, wretched thing that deserved nothing more than to be erased from reality. When compared to the majesty of one such as this creature, he was indeed such an existence--all were when in the face of this splendor, after all, and he was no exception. And this was only a fraction of the being's true glory, for it was not really here, not truly, as this was a mere astral projection rather than its true body!

Taiyang fell to one knee, right fist clutched over his heart, and lowered his eyes to the floor. "Greetings, my Master."

His Master gazed at him impassively. Finally, it spoke; with a voice like thunder and a tongue beyond his comprehension, it spoke. The chamber shook, his ears and eyes bled, his brain revolted at the alien sounds of the unnatural language. But the message was imparted upon his mind none the less: Speak.

And Taiyang did: "All has proceeded as you have foreseen, my Master. The wizard's arrival, his apprentice, their allies," here he paused for a moment, his voice taking on a hard edge as he continued, "her return," he growled out before his voice returned to its prior tone, "the Breach, the fall of Beacon and Ozma's current host in a great explosion. All of it."

For the first time since its arrival, his Master's face showed true emotion: pure, endless hate; malice on a scale beyond mortal ken. It spoke once more.

Tyne.

Taiyang reeled from the word as if it were a blow; more blood leaking from his orifices, his brain rattled, even his bones creaked. He mustered his will once more and pressed on, "What is thy bidding, my Master?" he asked as he raised his gaze once more to look upon the radiant glory of the Manticore.

Twin, baleful eyes of emerald hellfire gazed back at him, and it spoke one final time.

Void.

His whole body shook again at the effects, pushing Taiyang to the edge of his limits. And with that, emerald beams of power lanced out from his Master's eyes and crashed into Taiyang. He screamed his voice raw as his body was burned from the inside out as he felt his Master's power course through him. Finally, an eternity later, it was over and he collapsed.

With that, the projection faded away.

As Taiyang's consciousness faded, the meaning behind his Master's final word engraved itself in his mind. He was to capture the wizard's apprentice and bring her here as a sacrifice to his Master, for only the power of the Void was able to undo the ancient Geas that bound him to his current plane; to break the unyielding, timeless chains imprisoning his Master once and for all.

And with this newfound power his Master granted him, nothing would stand in his way! Not the Maidens, not her, not Ozma, not Salem, not even that damned Tyne!

Soon, the Sovereign of Sin would rise again, and all Creation would be bathed in His glory as the Manticore's reign would be upon them all!

* * * * *

AN: And so Taiyang's true colours are revealed at long last! Not satisfied with being an abusive father and husband, he chose to serve the incarnation of Evil!

What shall our intrepid heroes do in the face of this foe!? Can they truly prevail!?

Find out next time on A Conjuror's Journey!