If you picked full party, then she autojoins if Luna point check goes through.Originally Posted by Skull Leader
If you go with fewer, you would have chosen whether or not to bring her. Not bringing her in a "solo" match would lead Shinji dying.
If you picked full party, then she autojoins if Luna point check goes through.
If you go with fewer, you would have chosen whether or not to bring her. Not bringing her in a "solo" match would lead Shinji dying.
Choice 163: [x] Ayaka Sajyou; [x] Elesa Labelle
Choice 164: [x] Send Zelkova to explore while Shinji goes to the office of the Center for Alchemical Studies
Choice 165: Of course, the island is a vast place indeed, with the village and the area dedicated to the Champions making up only a portion of the grounds, which, beyond the boundaries of the protected zone, are wild and untamed, with dangers and horrors that none but the Champions are officially authorized to go out into. Knowing this, where does Shinji send Zelkova, while he visits the office set aside for Center of Alchemical Studies observers?
[ ] The Village (with Luna)
[ ] The Champion housing area/facilities
[ ] Leave him at the arrival area to see who is there
[ ] Send him into the wilds
Last edited by alfheimwanderer; May 15th, 2017 at 08:33 PM.
[X] Send him into the wilds
I'd like to vote for the wilds, but am afraid of something happening to Zelkova; for now, I'll vote for [X] the Champion housing area/facilities.
Sending Zelkova into the wilds sounds foolish to me. Its basically an wild nature preserve filled with strange powerful creatures and dangers that are left over from the Age of the Gods era. The magical version of an uncontrolled Jurassic Park, one could argue. That there is a town built on the island of inhabits that are living there safely, leads me to believe that there is some sorta powerful barrier (or defense network) separating the Town and VIP areas from the dangers of the rest of the island.
It is very likely that one does not simple walk into this wild area. Not without setting off some kind of alarm, or worst. And even if you get into the area, I imagine that barriers that are likely there are designed more to keep everything from entering into the town. Thus I believe that we run a serious danger of having Zelkova walk into the perserve but not be able to walk back out, at least not without grabbing some unwanted attention.
That in addition to whatever danger Zelkova might find if he goes into the wilds. I trust Zelkova to be able to handle himself and to even be able to deal with most boundary fields on his own as its his strength but I think if he goes we are having bit off more than he can chew. There will be time to explore that land during the competation, bested not to tickle the sleeping dragon at this moment if we do not have to.
The other three choices are acceptable choices to me that differ in what goal/info we want at the moment more. Do we want Zelkova to scope out the power levels of the other champions with Pansy? Solidify the base camp defends by going to champions facility, with a possible random event meeting some one there. Or do we go see the sights of its town, and maybe its mysteries by having Luna and Zelkova go visit the town.
I think that we should do the village, because I think it is the place that Shinji will likely have little time to explore later before everything to start and I am sure the place is a once in a lifetime kinda area to explore so we should make the best we can by seeing it now.
[X] The Village (with Luna)
I'll go with the wild - while there is a risk the information could be worth it.
In all honesty, Zelkova should be fine from injury (for the most part) as long as his actual body remains in a safe place. While Zelkova might be hurt, he isn't under the threat of death.
We would also stand to benefit the most from knowing what the lay of the land is going to be like, especially considering the nature of our abilities.
[x] The Wilds
I will be online, should anyone wish to discuss the choice in question.
I am not worried about that part of the problem of going into the wilds. Zelkova can handle himself as you say.
But there has to be some kind of protection barrier protecting the town from the Wilds. A barrier that is design to keep things from entering the town. If Zelkova goes into the Wilds, there is a real chance that he will not be able to come back out. Sure his physical form might still be safe with Shinji but the mental part will be stuck on the other side. That can not be healthy for anyone.
This island is super old and is run by ancient powers. They have to skills, including barriers that only the strongest would have any chance to be able to combat. The same being that likely made the stone hedge and its connection to the Other Side of the World. Once Zelkova goes into the wilds he is gonna register like he is a part of the wild creature/sprites that live on the island. The protections are not just going to let him back across.
Think of this way, Zelkova power level vs the barrier's power level is in my mind far too close for comfort to canon Shirou vs the Einzbern Family Mansion's Barriers.
I do not want us to have to deal with Zelkova being separated from Shinji. The risk is to just too great for me to accept. Without Zelkova around, Shinji's abilities are reduced in a time that he can not afford to not be at 100%. Plus the burden on Shinji mental health to be worrying about missing Zelkova over the course of the next week or so before he can go into the Wilds to maybe be reunited with his partner.
No this recon option is far too dangerous for I think for all of you to just hand wave the issues away and say that it will work out. None of the other options have nearly the same level of danger in them. Yet they still have a role to play. Please pick one of the other three choices.
Please, its not because of the physical danger to Zelkova but a matter of causing Shinji to have to operate without Zelkova around for awhile.
Last edited by Skull Leader; April 4th, 2017 at 09:19 PM.
Pretty much this.
Also, who says there won't be any danger to Zelkova? Sure, his physical body will be left behind; sure, he can take care of himself; but the Isle of Thule goes back to the Age of Gods. Who are we, as readers, to say that nothing on the Isle can affect spirits? Who are we to say that nothing on the Isle can be a threat to Zelkova?
[x] champion housing
[X] The champion housing
Tally is currently
[1] The Village (with Luna)
[3] The Champion housing area/facilities
[0] Leave him at the arrival area (with Pansy) to see who is there
[3] Send him into the wilds
Please finalize your votes in the next 24 hours, as I am currently writing up the next chapter, and will have a new question ready by then.
I guess I should put my money where my mouth and change my vote to go with the group that not Sending Zelkova into the wilds.
[X] Champion Housing
OK change my vote to [X] Champion Housing
Choice 165: [x] The Champion housing area/facilities
Chapter 48. Fragments of Oblivion
As far as the eye could see, everything was white, the pitch black of the polar night giving way to the fury of an arctic storm. Icy winds howled like the baying of frenzied wolves, as ready and eager to tear into unprotected flesh as the fangs of those great predators, whipping powdery snow all around until nothing could be seen.
For those unfortunate enough to be caught within it, there was no such thing as warmth, no such thing as color, no such thing as direction or time.
No way out, and no way to know how long it would last, as the storm erased every trace that a world had existed before it, could exist without it. Within the tempest’s embrace, one’s very sanity, one’s sense of self was in danger – for how long could one maintain a grip on the existence of the self without some point of reference?
Of course, for someone like George Weasley, who spent most of his time in spirit form, and whose vision did not rely upon ambient light, none of these things so much as inconvenienced him.
‘How…unfortunate for my competitors, who are merely flesh and blood.’
Granted, they were impressive despite their…physical limitations, with Krum being the first to unlock his orb and leave the castle in search of the fragments, and Delacour demonstrating her magical strength by conjuring a fully corporeal Patronus, but some measure of competence was to be expected from those who bore the title of Champion.
‘I suppose the Goblet of Fire must indeed have some ability to separate the skilled from the common rabble,’ George mused, thinking back to what he remembered from his brief glimpse of the chalice. ‘And of course, to lay a geas upon those it selects so that they cannot simply change their minds. All of which could make it quite a useful tool for Britain in the here and now…’
Officially, the Goblet was tied to the Tri-Wizard Tournament, becoming active before each one so that it could select a representative from each participating school in the competition, but George saw no reason why it couldn’t be…repurposed to help the British Ministry select skilled and powerful individuals to lead the army it was training.
Given the Goblet’s reputation as an impartial and incorruptible judge of ability, and the level of performance of its chosen Champions, those selected for leadership would no doubt be respected by their peers, while simultaneously being bound by whatever magical contract they agreed to by submitting their name for consideration.
‘…giving their army of small-minded weaklings a spine of steel.’
From what he’d seen during his time at Hogwarts, many of those who had either been conscripted into the army or who intended to join it were fools. Self-important children, puffed up with pride with the thought that they were doing their part to defend their nation against some grave threat, believing that such was enough to make them like the Boy-Who-Lived, or like one of the Stone Cutters.
And when push came to shove, they, with few exceptions, would no doubt reveal to the world that they were a cowardly, undisciplined lot with no understanding of loyalty or the horrors of war – just like those foolish little Hufflepuffs who had so misjudged their capacity.
Unless, of course, they had capable officers coordinating them and bolstering their courage by example, as would be the case if – and he supposed it wasn’t really that big an if – the Ministry did decide to use the Goblet for its own purposes.
‘Perce will probably end up keeping his role as the overall commander of the trainees, but I’m sure the Ministry will want to appoint some lieutenants for him. People to help him lead the common footsoldiers – and to make sure his loyalty is absolute.’
Still, if they intended to repurpose the artifact for military use, they needed to make sure his performance in the Tri-Wizard Tournament was something…spectacular, something beyond mere mediocrity.
That was, George suspected, the reason why the Ministry had been so quick to offer him a replacement for his shattered wand at their expense, with Ollivander himself coming to Hogwarts to present him with a newly crafted instrument.
‘Cherry with a dragon heartstring core…a dangerous, exceptionally powerful combination…’
Cherry was one of the rarest wand woods, resulting in wands of truly lethal power with almost any core. In combination with Dragon heartstring, however, the most powerful of the Three Supreme Cores, it was absolutely a lethal weapon, capable of amplifying a wizard’s magic many times over – so much so that it was generally thought to be a bad idea to grant such a wand to a wizard without exceptional self-control and strength of mind.
Ollivander himself had warned him about the power of his new wand, mentioning that wizards without exceptional self-control and strength of mind often ended up destroying themselves or those around them, but that as a Champion, George was no doubt destined for great and terrible things.
‘Well, I suspect the Ministry wouldn’t shed a tear if I accidentally – or purposefully – killed my competitors, though I won’t be giving them that satisfaction.’
Even if he was contractually bound to try to beat them, he thought that utterly destroying them might be a tad excessive, given that they hadn’t done anything to earn his ire, and that it might reveal more of his capabilities to Britain than he was comfortable with them knowing. Besides that, he rather liked Delacour, given her intriguing abilities and her inner fire. Yes, she was beautiful, he supposed, but to someone who spent most of his time looking not at people’s physical forms but at their souls, everyone was beautiful in one way or another.
It was funny, really. For most humans, Delacour’s beauty would be the first thing they noticed about her, even before factoring in her allure, but for him, it was almost an afterthought – just another indication of how the logic and norms of humanity no longer really applied to him, and hadn’t, since he’d acquired his ring of power and his satori-bond.
‘And now I’ve acquired another…object of interest…’
To his spirit sight, most wands were simply bits of natural magic in a physical shell, which amplified the effects of any magical energy channeled through them, but lacked a will of their own – though the longer one used them, the more the magic in the wand slowly shifted to fit to match that of the wizard (a process that could be reversed and reset if a wand was taken from its owner).
The wand that Matou procured for him, however, didn’t feel…like a simple tool at all, but a malevolent will bound to his own by his blood and by the runes carved into the fine-grained aspen that enclosed the seething darkness at its core. Indeed, while other wands simply existed, this one had been tied to him from the very moment it had been brought into existence, something he’d very quickly become aware of, as it…fed on a trickle of his magical energy.
‘Unlike what a wand should be…but not unlike the satori I am bonded with.’
He’d come to understand over the last few months just how different youkai were from the diminished beasts that remained in Britain, as well as how a satori differed from the kitsune or kodama that Lovegood or Matou had partnered with.
The beasts sold as pets in Britain – owls and kneazles and the like – retained faint traces of their magical heritage, with owls having some ability to track individuals based on their true names and understand the intent of those addressing them, and kneazles being able to see patterns to an extent (thus explaining their ability to react violently or aggressively towards those who were suspicious or deceitful). Powerful youkai like the ones his younger colleagues worked with were capable of far more than that, possessing powerful magic and being quite capable of teaching their partners how to use such – which implied interesting things, because if a wizard could use these unusual magics, did that mean a wizard was part…creature?
And what did that imply about goblins, who hid their magic from wizards out of fear of wizards stealing their techniques, and who were quite capable of using wands to cast magic (or else the Ministry would never have prohibited wands going to non-humans)?
A satori, however, operated in a different way, as it had simply integrated itself into his very being, gifting him with several potent abilities, such as its way of seeing the world, its ability to read – and alter – the thought patterns of other living things, and most interestingly, a way of grasping and replicating spells and other abilities with ease.
…coupled with his ring-given ability to shift into spirit form, his rate of learning and growth had become far faster than his peers, with few being able to truly test his limits.
Lovegood, Matou, Parkinson, Lockhart…and Lestrange, were exceptions to this, with Matou being something of a hard counter to his abilities due to the tools he wielded, Lovegood’s fusion abilities being something he could not replicate, Parkinson and Lockhart being very good at deceiving his ability to read others, and Lestrange having an uncanny ability to see through and counter his abilities, which he hadn’t originally thought her capable of.
‘But I digress.’
The point was that, due to the youkai bonded with him, he had some experience with being connected to other existences, and so recognized the wand as alive. Matou had been rather tight lipped about just who had crafted this wand, and what exactly had gone into its construction, though he had confirmed that it was indeed quite…unusual, much like the wand the younger boy had acquired for his own use earlier in the year.
Well, far be it for him to reject an unusual gift, especially one which might help him close the gap between his abilities and Matou’s, though all the same, it was the Cherry and Dragon Heartstring wand that he registered as his ‘official’ wand, so the Ministry wouldn’t have cause to ask…inconvenient questions about where his loyalties lay.
Invisible in the storm, George smiled as he felt a tug on his magic.
‘A clue…the artifact shard must be close…’
And with it, likely some kind of guardian for the relic that he would be able to test his wand on, with the storm shielding him from any prying eyes. He was looking forward to it – and from the vague impressions of rage, impatience and a desire to destroy all in its path he sense from the wand – he wasn’t the only one.
In his many years of life, Minister of Magic Lucius Malfoy had never really understood what it meant to be utterly helpless. He had always been a major figure in Britain, even before accepting an official position in the government, with the Malfoy family’s considerable wealth and his skill with dealing with his peers, helping him find a way to deal with any mishap or…setback he encountered in life.
Perhaps the best display of his…acumen was when the Dark Lord had met his end while attempting to kill the Boy-Who-Lived, with the Death Eaters captured and placed on trial for their crimes. Lucius had successfully convinced a jury of his peers that his actions had not been his own – that he had been as much a victim as anyone else, forced into Lord Voldemort’s service by the Imperius Curse. Afterwards, a few choice donations to charities to support “fellow victims” of the Dark Lord, use of his majority ownership of the Daily Prophet to subtly influence the stories being published, and a few…small tokens of appreciation to Ministry personnel had allowed him to rehabilitate his reputation among all but the most stubborn of folk.
For the most part, the stubborn ones had been people like the last surviving Prewett and long-time Aurors like Alastor Moody, who held grudges and harbored deep suspicions but had no concrete proof, and so were unwilling to destroy their reputations by going after an upstanding pillar of wizarding society.
He’d played the game of politics and image with some skill over the next few years, making himself virtually indispensable to wizarding society through charitable contributions, advice to Minister Fudge, and quiet support of one legislative measure or other, until at last, after the greatest tragedy in Britain’s history, he had been chosen as Minister of Magic, entrusted with the heavy responsibility of leading the nation.
His long experience at putting on an act had been all that kept him going at first, given his grief at losing Narcissa, but he had managed, somehow, to keep things going, using the convenient fiction that Bulgaria had been behind everything and that the rest of the world conspired against the British people to unite what remained of his nation under one banner.
Perhaps it was unscrupulous, deceitful, dishonest of him to manipulate his fellow citizens so, but what choice had he had? If he had not acted decisively by calling the citizenry to arms, by giving them a target for their anger and hate, the nation would have no doubt collapsed into anarchy – becoming an easy target for whichever nation had attacked them to begin with.
Grief could be paralyzing – he couldn’t use grief, no really. But rage and all the frenzied passions that came with it – those he could use. With proper direction of that emotional impetus, a Britain that had lost half of its citizens overnight could still be strong, could become powerful enough to stand against whatever – or whoever – dared to stand in their way.
And the Boy-Who-Lived understood that.
In accepting Lucius’ invitation to become the British Youth Representative to the Wizengamout, Potter had declared himself in support of the Ministry, throwing his considerable popularity and influence behind its agenda and deeds, a bold statement that effectively put paid to the opposition, as they had no pole they could organize around to contest his policies.
Granted, the restrictions on foreigners and non-humans that had been imposed had the side-effect of destroying the reputation of people like Matou Shinji, but a few innocent lives were a small price to pay to keep Britain from imploding in on itself.
Had the Potions Champion accepted the generous offer of Citizenship that Lucius had extended, perhaps things would be different, with Matou being seen as a loyal friend of the Boy-Who-Lived, a “good foreigner” who stood with Britain in its time of need, but as it was, Malfoy had no real issue with the Japanese boy being cast as some kind of opportunistic villain.
After all, examples needed to be made for the sake of order, small evils committed to serve the greater good.
That was what he told himself, why he hadn’t let himself take time away from his duties to mourn his late wife or to check up on his wayward son.
Everything he had done to create a strong Britain, all the sacrifices he had made, the evil he had knowingly committed – all of it had been part of an attempt to keep Draco safe from the fate that had befallen Narcissa, to at least protect his son as he hadn’t been able to protect his wife, but now…
…now Draco lay in a coma after striking down an unhinged Fred Weasley, with Luicius, for all his skill and power, utterly helpless to do anything to help him.
In the wake of the disastrous Capture the Flag match, the two had been brought back to Britain for treatment. Not to St. Mungo's, where the press might learn of their…infirmity, but to Hogwarts, where access was strictly controlled, and where Aurors could keep a watchful eye on the unused classrooms that had been converted into wards for them.
‘While I cannot keep rumors of what happened from spreading at Durmstrang, this incident needs to be kept out of the public eye in Britain until we decide how to present it.’
It was tempting…very tempting, to simply classify Fred Weasley’s actions as the result of foreign influence, given that he had spent a considerable amount of time in Japan, but that might affect the way the public saw the Boy-Who-Lived, who had spent more time abroad than either of the Weasley twins, and Lucius knew he couldn’t afford any…doubts as to Potter’s reliability.
Worse, it was well-known that Draco had been spending a considerable amount of time with Matou’s paramour, and with Draco having used some unknown – presumably foreign – spell to all but kill a Stone Cutter – one of the heroes that the youth had come to idolize – Lucius could easily see any accusations of foreign influence backfiring.
Badly.
So, until they understood why and how this incident had occurred – and at least one of the parties involved recovered from their aliment – it had been decided that keeping the incident hidden was probably the best response.
Which was why Lucius was standing in Draco’s ward, watching Lily Engel, the slim red-haired Unspeakable who had been recommended to him by the Head of the Department of Mysteries, examine his comatose son with several arcane instruments, none of which he recognized.
Not that he really recognized her either, but then, he rarely spent time in the laboratories of the Department of Mysteries.
“Most curious,” the woman noted, raising an eyebrow as she finished her examination and turned to face her superior. “You will be pleased to know that physically, there is nothing wrong with your son, Minister. The Healer attached to our Department did an excellent job at repairing the damage caused by his confrontation with Mister Weasley.”
“...then why isn’t he waking up, Miss Engels?” Lucius Malfoy asked quietly, frowning as he looked at the peacefully sleeping form of his son. “I presume you’ve ruled out the influence of…foreign magic?”
“Indeed. Aside from the lingering residue of phoenix song, however, there are no traces of foreign magic anywhere in his system, no indication that a curse or other spell is responsible for his condition,” the Unspeakable answered. The woman seemed intrigued by his son’s condition, which unnerved him somewhat. “In fact, there is very little magic in his system at all.”
“How little?”
“Less than is found even in Squibs and Muggles, Minister,” Engels replied, a statement that had Lucius’ eyebrows shooting for the sky. “Frankly, the only time I have ever seen anything remotely like it is in victims of the Dementor’s Kiss.”
“What?!” Lucius Malfoy exclaimed, his expression slipping into something frenzied before he managed to get it under control again. “…the Dementor’s kiss?” he whispered, in disbelief.
“That is the only situation I am aware of where one’s magic could be so diminished to the point that it does not replenish itself over time,” the Unspeakable noted impassively, as if her superior’s outburst had not happened at all. “I don’t wish to go into the theory of it, but I trust you are aware that our capacity for casting spells, while practically inexhaustible, is not actually so?”
“Miss Engels, what is the relevance of this to my son’s current condition?”
“Why, what he did to Mister Weasley, of course,” the woman replied, a thoughtful expression coming over her features. “The other young man you had me examine.”
“What about him?” Lucius snapped, shaking his head.
“As you are aware, his condition is rather different from your son’s,” Miss Engels recalled, frowning. “Despite our Healer’s best efforts, his physical condition remains unstable, with his magic in a…frenzied state, damaging him from within.”
“…how so?”
“It burns his flesh. Freezes it. Rends it. Knits it back together in a way that leaves terrible scars. It stops the flow of blood, reverses it, sends it forward again. It is utterly uncontrolled, much as has occasionally be observed in Obscurials, save that in his case, the damage being done is mostly internally focused.”
“…an Obscurial?” the Minister echoed. He vaguely remembered hearing the term once, but it had been so long ago…
“Ah, nevermind that, sir,” Engels said with a frown. “The point is that Mister Weasley’s case, his very magic is what is killing him.”
“And you think this is linked to my son…how?”
“As you may recall, in the final moments of the ill-fated match, your son defeated Mister Weasley with what appeared to be a spear of light,” the Unspeakable related. “A spell powerful enough to tear through two layers of dragonhide as if they were merely parchment.”
“Yes, one that we think might have come from abroad. What of it?”
“Given the circumstances, I suspect it wasn’t a spell at all, but the entirety of your son’s magical energy, concentrated to such an extent that nothing his foe did could resist it,” Lily Engels explained. The woman shook her head, looking towards a blank wall. “The spells we use today are incredibly efficient in their construction, using only a very small amount of our magic to great effect. That is why confrontations between wizards are generally contests of skill, which end with one side being disabled or killed, not contests of power and endurance.”
“You’re saying that my son found a way to tap his magic directly?” Lucius questioned, raising an eyebrow at this statement. “And defeated the Weasley boy through…accidental magic?”
“The principle is not dissimilar, given that before they are trained, young wizards accomplish very difficult feats without knowing quite how to do them using raw power,” the Unspeakable allowed. “Once a wizard has been trained, they generally lose the ability to use their magic in such a…direct manner. As such, your son is quite a curious case.”
“Do you have any idea why or how he could have done this?”
“I suspect his wand had something to do with it,” Engels said quietly. “Especially given the phoenix song that was heard shortly before the…conclusion of the incident.”
Lucius Malfoy sighed, seeming to slump in on himself as he heard this news.
“…will he recover?”
“Your son? Or Mister Weasley?”
“Both.”
“In the case of the former, I do not know. We can keep him under observation for some time, with our Healer maintaining his physical state, but with his lack of magic…”
“…I suppose that’s all I can ask,” the Minister of Magic grunted, shaking his head as he tried to keep emotion from his voice. “And Mister Weasley?” he forced himself to ask, despite not really caring about the child who had precipitated this state of affairs.
“In his case, I suspect the answer is no,” the Unspeakable said grimly. “Given what we have learned so far, my inclination would be to simply end his suffering, as his status as a pseudo-obscurial makes him potentially quite dangerous, even if the destructive effects of his magic are inwardly focused for now. My colleagues, however, believe that his…condition presents us with an interesting opportunity for…research.”
“The decision is mine, I take it?”
“Yes, Minister.”
It was tempting, very, very tempting to simply order that Fred Weasley be given the mercy of death, given that even the Unspeakables did not believe he would recover. But…
‘…no one else should have to lose a child. And who knows, perhaps he will eventually wake.’
Perhaps.
“…allow your colleagues to do as they wish,” Lucius replied at last. “After all, if we are going to take the trouble to keep my son alive and watch over him, we may as well do the same with the Weasley boy. Fewer questions all around, don’t you think?”
“Your will be done, Minister.”
As he slipped from the howling storm into the dank quiet of a fetid cave, George Weasley found himself in quite a rather good mood. After all, at long last, his efforts had paid off, and he was close to securing one of the shards he needed…even if meant liberating it from a cave full of mountain trolls.
He suspected that if the weather were better, the trolls would have been out and about, looking for something to eat and generally defending their territory, with his task being to sneak past them into their den to steal the artifact without them being any the wiser, with the possibility of having to fight a troll or two lingering within the den before reaching it.
With conditions as unpleasant as they were, however, a full dozen had taken refuge within the vast cavern, huddling around the glow and warmth of the artifact shard as they fed on strips of meat torn from the smoked haunches of some unknown animal.
‘This could be troublesome…’
After all, even if his ability had allowed him to slip past the boulder at the cavern’s entrance, acquiring the shard would be a bit more difficult, especially as he was all but certain that the shard was enchanted to resist summoning or other magic.
‘Which means I either have to try a more indirect approach, as I did in the first task’ – which wouldn’t help him get it through the boulder – ‘or to physically seize the item so I can take it into spirit form with me…’
To do the latter though, he would need to take a corporeal form, and doing that around so many hungry trolls – in a confined space, no less! – was decidedly unwise, as the lumbering beasts were deceptively fast for their size.
‘I could fight them, one at a time, since they pose no threat to me while in spirit form, but their magically resistant hide could make things quite a bit more difficult, and there are no convenient clubs or such I can levitate here.’
He could set off a massive explosion, but that would likely result in a cave-in, something that would be…mildly inconvenient, as it would bury – if not destroy – the relic he was after.
George almost scowled at the thought that perhaps he would need to wait for the storm to pass, wasting valuable time, though the expression faded, and almost without realizing it, his new wand was in his hand…and in his mind.
‘Kill.’ It seemed to whisper. ‘Destroy.’
He looked upon its patterns, and then, understanding, levelled it at the gathering of unsuspecting trolls.
“Die,” he whispered, as cloud of living darkness emerged from the tip of the instrument, rushing towards the brutes, who had only a moment to react before it was upon them, engulfing the cavern.
George looked on and listened, feeling, and hearing the effects of his new wand, as the trolls screamed, howls of pain and terror reverberating over and over in the cavern before – all too soon – the darkness dissipated, receding into the wand, leaving behind only dust and echoes.
And the artifact shard, shining as it floated in the air, untouched.
‘I see. The Ollivander wand just amplifies the effects of whatever I cast. This one however…’
This one was geared entirely towards destruction – with its core being a living curse wished nothing more than to be unleashed upon his enemies, allowing him to wreak havoc with no cost, aside from the small trickle of magic it consumed.
‘Very curious indeed…’
It was thrilling, how it had simply ignored the resistance of the trolls, finding its way into their eyes, their noses, their mouths and all other orifices, ripping them apart from within, draining every scrap of life and magic from them. Dangerous, yes, but thrilling all the same.
As he took physical form and approached the shard, George found himself grinning. That had been…easy. Far easier than he’d expected, despite the cleverness that the tournament organizers had showed in where they’d hidden this item, and what would have been a challenge to anyone else.
Even to him, had he not been equipped with his new wand – though he didn’t think Lestrange would have said the same.
No, indeed. He rather thought she would exterminated every one of the trolls with ease – and enjoyed it as she did, her silver eyes bright as she cut them down – or watched them all die from the effects of a potion.
In a way, as he seized the shard that was his objective, he thought he understood the Beauxbatons potions champion a bit better now – or at least her preference for solitude.
After all, when one was within the safety of the walls of Durmstrang or some other school, one never knew who might be watching, who might be judging, who might decide to make it inconvenient to show one’s true abilities.
Out here, away from the restrictions and confines of society, from the rules the weak imposed upon the strong, there was no need to hide one’s abilities.
No need to hold back.
Choice 166: At the office set aside for Center of Alchemical Studies observers, Matou comes across a most unexpected sight: a red-haired re-eyed woman in her late twenties clad in a white shirt that almost glowed in the light, pitch-black slacks, and a rather familiar orange jacket, who was puffing away on a brand of cheap Taiwanese cigarettes.
"Ah, the British Champion we have heard so much about," the woman drawled, her blood-red eyes bright with amusement. "What brings you to this humble office?"
'...Master? What are you...?' he thought - almost asked, until he thought better of it. Clearly if the magus was pretending not to know him, there had to be a reason for it.
"I was simply curious about who the Center for Alchemical Studies had sent to observe this event." 'Or rather, who Sion decided to send with my ticket.' "You are acting as their representative, then?"
"I am indeed," Aozaki Touko replied, taking a long draw on her cigarette. "Along with my associate, Mister Peverell."
"Good day, Champion," the crisp voice of Tomas said from behind him, with the puppet smirking slightly as Shinji almost jumped. "Did you have some questions for us? Or some interest in joining the Center, perhaps?"
How does Shinji respond?
[ ] (write-in)
Last edited by alfheimwanderer; April 9th, 2017 at 06:48 PM.
[ ] (write-in)
Ask what kind of interest have Center for Alchemical Studies with this event. And if they can give us some information about the island.
Also ask to tomas if he can talk with us in private later ( with the intention of understand how tomas can fly and if if possible learn that ability in the future)
Last edited by skulkidcachi90; April 10th, 2017 at 10:26 AM.
This is an acceptable write in, that I would be fine with winning. I would like to modify it a bit to stay with core ideas of it but to word it a little better in my mind.
1. Asking what kind of (public) interest for the event the Center has, seems to be more not a question that seeks answers but more for Shinji to continue the cover story of Shinji not knowing Touko/Tomas beforehand. The question is already one that Shinji knows the answer to, official its there to observe and recruit young talent, and unofficially there to learn about the mysteries of this ancient floating island. Coming out and just asking them why they are are there comes across as sorta rude.
2. I think its better to use Tomas's lifeline here of do you want to join, as a opener. By admitting to being curious of Alchemist due to his past, he can also admit his curiosity on the island and shift naturally to asking about the island with out having to come out and say it fully. We want an conversation here that allows for a third party to think that Shinji is just being a starstruck young kid that thirsts for knowledge but its over his head, like everyone thinks he is.
3. The last part about asking Tomas to meet with him in private is a good one but one that I think needs to be handled better than just outright saying it in public, as there is a reason for Tomas to pretend that he doesn't know Shinji. If Shinji should treat this request as if he was talking to Lockhart where speech can have double meaning and the real talk is hidden underneath. Plus Tomas is a mind reader that likely to be scanning Shinji, all Shinji has to do is mental 'shout' the real request to him and let Tomas handle the Sytherin answer that hides the meeting.
So my amended write in will be the following,
[X] State that he has an interest in Alchemy due to an old friend. And start a discussion about the wonders of the island and its mysteries. During which Shinji is mentally shouting a request to Tomas with his outside facing partition to meet him in private.
Last edited by Skull Leader; April 10th, 2017 at 03:35 PM.
Did meeting his "recent fellow champion" influence his interest in Alchemy at all? Personally I don't think so and I think that it's better not to refer to her at all. Granted I'm biased, but as said I don't think his conviction wavered since meeting Sion and not mentioning her would help to lessen his playboy image a little bit. His fellow students weren't oblivious to the looks he's been giving Rachelle when he first met her and there's those rumors floating around already and it's best to not feed the flame even if there probably aren't many people listening. It also reinforces the image of his loyalty to his dead friend. So I think it'd be best if you left out that part or at the very least make it "champions".
Good point. I will take that part out. I had it in as a way to point Lestrange's alchemy skills out to them but now that I think about it, he has already noted it to Sion by letter I believe.
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