Excerpt from initial report to the Department of Policies regarding Lord Symblemis Gaiuslink's assassination, 28 Dec 1997
I, Azegami Chiba, am fully willing to accept the consequences in my severe delay in reporting this event. I was not aware of this assassination myself until around four hours ago, and rest assured that I will cooperate with the Department regarding exactly who issued the orders to assault the Isles of Scilly in Lord Gaiuslink's name on the 27th of December
When a Lord is assassinated, there are certain emergency protocols that come into play almost immediately that will transfer their authority to their Proxy Lords.
These protocols often occur by themselves. Essentially, the Lord's death is the activation condition for a number of rituals that trigger these protocols.
It's akin to becoming a blood sacrifice for a few dozen spells at once. It's a very complex system that requires one to have dominion over both information and death itself to interfere with.
Fortunately, I had a certain teacher who had taught me a thing or two about that.
I wanted to save Moth-Eaten first. Everything else could wait. If we left her be, she'd just become a dead scandal.
She's more than just a political thorn in someone's side.
So as far as succession was concerned, Lord Gaiuslink was still alive as of Saturday 27 December 1997.
He was about to exercise some emergency powers.
I told Azegami that she could claim innocence from being under duress, but I got her to help me navigate the power structures and get the order out as soon as possible.
Gaiuslink is called a puppet family of the Barthomeloi, but that goes both ways.
Slash the left hand, and the right hand will strike you in retaliation.
If one were to declare war on Gaiuslink, that would be a challenge to the Barthomeloi clan as well.
Ordinarily, nothing would happen as a result of this. The Barthomeloi having a Dead Apostle in their service was a secret that they would not allow to come out so easily.
For Magi, just as many murders looked like suicides, so too did many suicides look like murders. This would be covered up.
Unless, of course, the precise details of the incident were obscure.
For instance, there had been a certain Executor who had been in London interfering with a certain "diplomat" and her activities for quite some time now.
It's been said that the Chelon Canticle Brigade have the authority and expertise to operate swathes of the Clock Tower by themselves.
Even putting aside their sheer strength, they were comparable to Lords from those political powers alone.
If a member of the Brigade were here, she could hypothetically have known exactly what they required in order to authorise them to make use of that.
On top of that, she would have known exactly the necessary steps to take in order for an instruction to deploy to arrive through the proper channels.
If they were to cooperate with the Department of Zoology, there was no doubt that such a capable force would be able to determine where and when to strike in less than eight hours, and they could no doubt arrive there in less than twelve.
Once they arrived, a Dead Apostle's entire territory, castles and all, could be reduced to ashes in mere minutes.
I didn't need to fool them forever.
I just needed to be able to interfere with the chain of command for long enough to issue a single order that would be guaranteed to work.
If I could hijack the seat of a Lord, the Lord of Zoology, for just thirteen hours, then we had a chance.
These would be my last hours in Clock Tower. I already knew that. I wasn't getting away with this.
But so what? What was I even here for?
My family had cast me away once too, and the world still turned.
So, on December 27th, I exchanged my past and present to give her a future.
There are Magi tearing down my walls.
There is a monster in the dark.
Life as information. Information as heat. Heat as phenomena.
Zentaure had spoken of such things in his younger days to me as he researched.
I now understand what he was saying better than I ever had.
At first, it had been a dragon, the image of greed. The irony, I had thought mockingly, in becoming a dragon to save your princess.
But it went far beyond that.
The dragon had been the image of the devil.
"So you have taken in the Scripture of the Adversary," I thought next. I almost congratulated him. It was, after all, a sword. Such a form was perfect for his Scabbard Magecraft.
But no, it was not that. It had started as a mere imitation of it.
As I slashed his flesh with blades of wind, he did not bleed ichor, but thousands and thousands of runes.
The blade lent itself well to imitation. The Abrahamic faiths knew very well the mystic powers of words.
Even then, that shape did not remain.
With the very same transformation formulae that Zentaure had once used, the boy transformed his very words into his own life.
His very existence has become one I could not grasp.
His shape and size are uncertain. Only the gleaming light is clear.
His claws and fangs stretch like mountains for years and colours.
He walks on a thousand legs, and his thousand arms bind themselves with ten thousand manes.
The stars in the sky are his wings, and the sun and moon are his eyes.
It is a transient phenomenon. It is one understood only by him.
He has turned his flesh and blood and history and name into fire itself.
Through its knowledge, the demon generates perpetual heat.
As my realm is burned to cinders, as my clan are cremated before my eyes, I have to wonder.
Will he be able to ever be human again? Yes, he probably will.
Not by his own power, but by the girl he has come to save.
Isn't that unfair?
Why is it that you will be able to return from the guise of a monster, the guise that has trapped me?
You want to know?
Tell me.
I won't.
...What?
I'll never be able to return to how I was. I knew that when I chose this.
My past is over. It's not coming back. I sacrificed it to get here.
Then what's the point in you trying to bring her back with you, you fool?
What's the point in loving something you'll never reach?
I'm not doing this to be with her. I'll never be able to live by her side.
That's okay. If I have to let her go, then I will.
What's important is that she'll get to live, even if not with me.
This is my last gift to the moth-eaten girl I love.
Ah. Now I think about it...
Oh. Now you mention it...
I never even said "I love you", did I?
Figure 6
For many people it will be enough if at each moment there is a purpose to what they are doing, without every moment being devoted to the same purpose, and without the overall pattern itself having a purpose.
≫Thursday January 1st 1998
"SATURDAY LORD" SENTENCED TO EXILE
Sveinn Herydir-Dragilaz, the student who impersonated the late Lord Gaiuslink, has been sentenced to banishment without trial by a unanimous vote at the Grand Roll held yesterday after a Barthomeloi representative reportedly attended.
The details of the late Lord's death are still unclear, but a Proxy Lord of Zoology has confirmed that Herydir-Dragilaz was not responsible for it, and simply took advantage of the circumstances. The motivation to instigate an attack on White Island in the Isles of Scilly is unconfirmed. Additional reports that Symblemis Gaiuslink had been concealing his nature as a Dead Apostle are also not yet publicly substantiated.
Azegami Chiba, a member of the Chelon Canticle Brigade of Japanese descent, was also accused of knowingly giving fraudulent information surrounding the incident, and is thought to have contributed to the erroneous communication by falsifying official statements from the Department of Zoology according to Herydir-Dragilaz's instructions. Although no official sentencing has been passed on her by the Department of Policies, she has been formally expelled from the Brigade and is awaiting trial later this month.
Barthomeloi Lorelei, the head of the Brigade, has declined to comment.
A Magus called Salmac-Jarðar showed up on New Year's Eve, you know.
Never heard of them. I guess the Meluastea have some connections, huh?
I almost thought you did it, Azegami.
Are you kidding? I can't get away with anything right now.
So? Who is that, anyway? Or does even the sneaky little Moth-Eaten not know?
They asked me where to find Sveinn. I told them.
Just like that?
He won't mind.
I guess not.
I have a feeling I know why he was exiled now, at least.
That was weird to me too.
I mean, whatever that was he did to fight Petra... That's at least enough for a Sealing Designation.
Given that I'm getting demoted to Enforcer, I was worried they were gonna make me go after him.
He got off real lightly, even with both of us pulling the strings.
It's good news.
Maybe I'll wait for him to come home next year.
What do you mean?
Excerpt from internal communications between Ellen, the Gate of Advancement, and Ganne, the Gate of Rebirth, on Dec 29 1997
despite the suddenness of his candidacy, I would like to reiterate that Sveinn Herydir-Dragilaz has independently rediscovered a key principle of the Fifth Magic entirely through the use of runes. Although he is disinclined to seek us out on his own, that is all the more reason that I would like to personally arrive to guide him to the open Gate. I understand that it is unorthodox, and that is precisely what I seek the aid of the Gate of Rebirth, as the use of his own existence as fuel has drastically reduced his personal capacity. I appreciate the skepticism regarding the Fifth Magic, and it also exists within my own Gate, but I put it to you: are his methods - the Odic runes - not in line with our edicts and philosophies? Is it not the aim and goal of the Wandering Sea to
burning life: Rheingold
SVEINN HERYDIR-DRAGILAZ
[ [ ACCESS FILE ] ]
| Alias: |
Saturday Lord
Rúnatal |
Magecraft: |
Flame Poem Exothermic Stanza
(self-titled) |
| Date of birth: |
May 1 1985 |
Origin: |
Convergence |
| Height/Weight: |
181cm/65kg |
Element: |
Fire |
| Country of origin: |
Sweden |
Circuit Quantity: |
C |
| Affiliation: |
Wandering Sea
Ellen, Gate of Advancement |
Circuit Quality: |
C |
| Image colour: |
White blue |
Circuit Composition: |
Normal |
|
Day of decisive battle: |
incinerating the Shrouded Keep |
|
Legacy |
Sveinn's 21-hour period of impersonation have had surprisingly significant long-term ramifications, despite the lack of short-term consequences. The Chelon Canticle Brigade's command structure has been significantly overhauled, as well as there being far more safeguards implemented to prevent identity theft against Lords in the future. The punishments for doing so have become far harsher, and the Department of Policies has set up a branch specifically dedicated to investigation of potentially falsified documentation. As such, Sveinn Herydir-Dragilaz has gone down in infamy as the Saturday Lord, a minor but ultimately significant figure in the legal history of the Mage's Association.
In addition, significant sanctions have been placed on attempts by the Department of Modern Magecraft to research perpetual motion, as Symblemis Gaiuslink's connections to their faculty have been identified as a key reason why Sveinn was able to come so close to Magic, which is considered to have endangered Mystery. Further investigation into the events of December 27 1997 have been barred for the same reason, and Sveinn's Magecraft has been classified under the same level of secrecy as Reality Marbles.
After the events of the Saturday Lordship, Sveinn was inducted into the ranks of the Wandering Sea by the Primordial Designate Mirjam Salmac-Jarðar, a member of the Gate of Rebirth, on behalf of a friend from the Gate of Advancement. The Barthomeloi clan agreed to this arrangement, settling on the sentence of exile from Clock Tower on the condition that he remained there. He would be allowed to return once a year on December 31st, when the island Baldanders emerged into the World once again.
Sveinn currently lives in the Gate of Advancement with an adopted cat named Maxwell. His activities within the Wandering Sea are relatively unknown, but his return trips to his home era have been fairly consistent in terms of where he goes and what he does. As a result of these visits, he has sired four children: two daughters by Ethidemiliasite Meluastea Enmorde and two daughters by Tegeirian Arianhrod Caulendale.
The former daughters, Keystine and Bellestrade, have remained within the Enmorde branch of the Meluastea clan. Although Bellestrade is very effective in both the Department of Archaeology as well as very politically savvy, the latter skill is usually dedicated to cleaning up after her much admired older sister. Keystine, by contrast, possesses tremendous natural ability in Magecraft but a chronic inability to pay heed to others, with an incredibly chaotic record of causing all kinds of social, diplomatic, and bureaucratic disasters wherever she goes.
The situation of the latter daughters, Rucatiel "Cate" Malia Caulendale and Sifa Herydir-Dragilaz, is somewhat more complicated. Both daughters inherited their mother's traits to a certain extent. Cate was separated from her mother - who is now married to one Maria Schweiger - at birth by the Holy Church, and thus has not met her father. Her mother Tegeirian has, of course, managed to meet her multiple times despite explicit orders. Cate is currently acting as an Executor of the Eighth Sacrament, partnered with a gunslinging "holy" woman who absolutely insists on trying to immaculately conceive.
Sifa was adopted back into her father's clan, and her inherited attributes gave her excellent compatibility with the demonic sword Gram. Due to the lack of any compatible master to the cursed sword Tyrfing, she was adopted by the current head of the Herydir-Dragilaz. This claim makes her the de-facto heir to the status of clan head. Incidentally, no sanctions or punishments have been issued to the Herydir-Dragilaz clan due to the disownment of Sveinn years prior to the Saturday Lordship incident.
Naturally, aside from what little shared in his most recent contact with the present day on December 31st last year, his movements and current goals are obscure to the outside world. He refers on multiple occasions to "King Odin", "Grimhildr", "Belial", and "Hesperus" in the diaries exchanged with his daughters, but precisely who he is referring to is not explained further. |
| ◆ |
| Personality |
| Likes: |
Academia, history |
| Dislikes: |
Academics, politicians |
| Talents: |
Opportunism, working with deadlines |
| Natural enemy: |
Barthomeloi Lorelei |
| Alignment: |
Chaotic Good |
Sveinn is extremely lucky, and he knows it. With every bad thing that happens to him, it ultimately leads to an opportunity for growth or advancement for him, and he strongly appreciates that. One might simply consider that to be a product of optimism rather than circumstance, of course - it is in the eye of the beholder. When he was younger, he was almost ashamed of his good fortune, believing himself to have deserved a proper punishment for his failings, but has since written off the concept of failure almost entirely in any long-term sense. Failure, to him, is a transient phenomenon that only serves to become a new path.
Calm and intellectual, he has substantially mellowed out over the past two decades. His "tsun" component has largely evaporated - perhaps because he lives a life of more solitude than he did before. Largely having departed from politics now that he has entered the Wandering Sea, he continues his research without getting wrapped up in any dramatic developments. Really, it's quite similar to his time at Rocks Road, just... quieter. Because of that, he has little to prove, and little reason to be dishonest with others or himself.
In the mere twenty-four hours every year in which he can visit his family, he is as doting as he reasonably can be on his children; bringing gifts, advice, and affection. He has substantial qualms with his status as an absent father, even though he knows there is very little that can be done about it. As a result, he has established a custom with his daughters of writing diaries to exchange them every year in order to act the part of a role model as best he can as well as to keep tabs on them. For various reasons, he often cannot visit the Caulendales, in part because they do not have a permanent household, and the Herydir-Dragilaz want as little to do with him as possible, so he will usually spend most of New Year's Eve with Ethidemiliasite and the Enmorde sisters.
◆ |
| Abilities |
This information
has been redacted.
But you probably get the gist of it by now. |
Figure 7
So Odin graved in the age ere man, when he arose, when he came home.
≫
appearance of Keystine Meluastea Enmorde; 31 Dec last year |
She swivels on her chair slowly, turning to face me as I enter.
On her lap is a small blue butterfly.
"Well, well, well," she smirks. "If it isn't... Dad."
"Hey," I greet.
She grins.
"You're super late," she assesses.
A pang of guilt. "Sorry. Got caught up on the way out of the door in Sweden. My own dad seems to be in bad health."
Her eyes light up.
"Oh, right, that reminds me! I wanted to tell you! You know that kid, Nils?"
The name is familiar.
"So, I've been checking out his work recently, and he's done this crazy thing with his Scabbard Magecraft," she explains. "He's definitely getting invited to this thing I'm planning, by the way."
She's talking pretty fast, and doesn't deign to elaborate before she swaps off the topic.
"It gave me an idea for who I should summon, so I wanted to ask if you could put a word in for me with those guys later today."
My eyebrow curls up before I even realise. "Summon?"
"Yeah. See, Bel doesn't get it, but I was talking to this old fart, Darnic Prestone, and I got to doing some reading."
Oh boy. I have no idea where this is going, but I can see the flames of a mad genius in those eyes.
"Turns out, in Japan, there was actually this thing," she rambles, "you know how you do something pretty close to Magic?"
The butterflies around her quiver, as if her excitement is flowing through them.
"There's this huge thing that was used for the Third Magic, apparently, and they took it apart about ten years ago."
I think I've vaguely heard of this, and nod for her to continue.
"So, like I say, I was talking to Prestone, and I had this great idea." |
THANK YOU, LUNA.
THIS HAS PROVED VERY INFORMATIVE.
THAT WILL BE ALL.
- LAPLACE
Author's NoteAuthor's Note
Whew, this was a big one. It wasn't anywhere near the scope I wanted it to be, but I wasn't gonna make it if it were.
Suffice to say, I don't think I'm going to be this ambitious next time. Maybe I'll include the cut content in the snippets thread or something, and hopefully this makes sense without it.
Special thanks to Izshta, who isn't on this site but allowed me to reference her stuff.
Every name I dropped has lore, obviously. They might emerge again some day, if I get my shit sufficiently together.
Originally Posted by Dreamerless
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