[IC] Of Shadow and Flame: Beginnings

[Pixl]

She introduced herself as Noriko, head of the Protectors. That was Gavriil's first question. "Protectors?" He asked while picking himself up with some stiffness. Or so he thought; this healing process he had undergone had left his body in a condition as if he was just simple waking up from the night. The only trouble in getting up was that natural tiredness that came with sleep.

Sure, he felt different. There was something inside of him, some innate power that he could not detect before. But he felt at ease with it, as if it was a long-lost friend. This feeling was with him the whole time. However, the girl just ordered him to transform. How could he? Gavriil did not know where to even begin with such a process. He racked his brain for an answer for a moment, and then decided that he was getting nowhere thinking about it. This got him curious about the feeling, and so the boy tried to focus more on this feeling inside of him. He wanted to recognize it and analyze it. But before he knew it, he was willing forth a power that he could not control the flow of. He felt his large body overcome by strength, and a sudden burst of energy rushed from inside his body out. BOOM. The sound of his transformation exploded around the room. But Gavriil was not shaken up by it, for he was too entranced with the feelings he was experiencing. He felt larger and much stronger. The tank top he was wearing sharply defined the contours of his newly expanded muscles as well. Once the noise subsided, Gavriil looked around the room, and then at his own hands, as if to make sure that this was all real. He could not see at the time, but his once-blond buzz cut hair had elongated to reach the small of his back and brightened to a very white hue. Once he discovered this trait, though, he would think it useless to his abilities.

Gavriil looked back at Noriko. He was not sure what to think, so he waited for her guidance; this was an entirely new world to him after all.

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi shrugged. "If you don't wanna introduce yourself, then whatever, I get it." He adjusted himself on the sofa once again. "Alright, so obviously a lot of the people here don't know what's going on. I'll try to give you the short version. Basically, people and to a lesser extent, Mediators, produce a lot of what you call emotional energy. It comes from the thoughts and feelings of all living beings, though animals don't end up producing it in amounts that matter most of the time. This energy has to go somewhere, and a lot of the time what it does is turn into a magical beast. Magical beasts come in pretty much any shape and size you can think of, with their power depending on the type and amount of energy that formed it. Some of them are benign, but most are pretty dangerous if not outright malicious. It's particularly bad in cities, where they can't just flee into the wild.

That's where we come in. Ever seen a magical girl anime? Yeah, that's pretty much what we are, except we don't run on sunshine, rainbows, and hugs, exactly. You do get power from your emotions, though. Like what just happened to Dexter, Mediators will look for people and form contracts with them, which allows them to transform into a more powerful version of themselves in exchange for agreeing to protect Mediators from beasts instead of just running off and doing whatever. Some people do the same thing with other magical people, but that's super uncommon since humans have a much harder time sensing potential in the first place, and the ability to give your energy to someone else is rare and tough to master. There's also wilders, who got their power from a shard, but those are also pretty rare for a few reasons. Shards are pretty much little gems containing concentrated emotion, FYI.

So, yeah, that's basically what I do. I hunt magical beasts using my powers and try to avoid upsetting the factions. Any questions?"

((Pixl, you're getting something similar from Noriko.))

[Yash]

Krys turned to listen to Takeshi before the nice guy could say anything. This is what she had wanted to know. So my guesses were correct. Magic is real. Magicians and beasts alike roam around the cities. These magi go about fighting these beasts and stopping the carnage in the cities. This was something she had suspected. The confirmation of it made her wonder what else didn't she know. I can see these creatures. I was pulled to that place. I could feel the energy from that beast. This means I too have some power. Does that mean I need to get into a contract with a mediator to unlock my power? I wonder if Astros would do it. Takeshi then mentioned how people could do the same thing. I wonder, would Takeshi do it for me? He seems powerful, and the fact that he knows about it suggests he could have learned to do it. She looked at him. "I have a question, but it's for Astros." She looked at the mediator, "If I accept a contract from a mediator how do I know what powers I will get? Can I choose them or will it be something out of my control? Apart from protecting other mediators, is there any other requirement of the contract? Till when is the contract valid? Do I have to protect mediators at the cost of my life?"

[Chevaleresse]

Astros answered quickly. "Your first question is a bit difficult. The powers you possess aren't under your conscious control, though with enough practice you can learn a great variety of things. Additionally, what powers you do get and have a natural inclination toward are based on your personality, thoughts, and desires.

Now, for your questions about the contract. It varies from individual to individual, so these answers are for myself only. The only other thing that could be considered a requirement is that you do not harm, directly or indirectly, a Mediator. The contract lasts until your death, even if I should die. You are expected to sacrifice yourself if it comes to a choice between your own life and that of a Mediator, but this will rarely happen." The catlike being took a few steps toward her. "Do you have any other questions? If not, I am willing to form a contract with you right now."

[Cyaloom]

Dexter immediately thought about his new role: he, being a magical person, could prevent the Beasts from killing other civilians in the cities; and what happened to his father would have been a lot more unlikely to happen again to someone else. But he still had some doubts he needed to get cleared.

"Thanks for this explanation" he said, slightly embarassed for the question he had to ask later. "But what are these factions you mentioned and what do they do? And then..." he stopped there. "My potential should have been unlocked but... how do I transform? I can't just think 'transform yourself' and do it, it seems. And, if I have to say the truth, all that happens is that my eyes hurt a little." he mumbled afterwards, as this was the question embarassing him. He tried to transform before, after Astros unlocked his potential, but nothing happened. And he just tried that, staying focused on using his inner powers. As he said, all he felt was some slight pain in the eyes, like when his eyes were more red and hurt a little because he needed to sleep.

"Again, what's happening to my eyes? I know I have strange eyes, my parents were very surprised of that, all of my classmates could recognize me because of my eyes and some people thought they were even a bad thing (like a black cat or a broken mirror*). And, although I thought they were like normal eyes for all of this time, they are not in reality." she thought as he was waiting for a reply. And, actually, an answer from everyone could have been alright - after all, there was only one human in that place, and was probably going to become a magical person very soon... Astros was already showing his interest about making another contract with that woman.

"Wait a moment... Astros, you made contracts with me, Takeshi and now this woman? Isn't there a limit to the people you can deal a contract with?" Dexter asked. It was just out of curiosity: the words seemed to come out of his mouth very easily - not that it was a problem now, Dexter did not insult someone.

[Yash]

"No, I don't have any other questions that need to be answered just yet. I can learn the rest over time. I think I am ready to accept your contract." Krys was feeling nervous. My life is going to change forever after this. I hope I am making the right decision. Though, it's not like there is any other path for me anyway. I don't have any real life at home, my family thinks I am crazy and I barely have friends. My job is good, and I like it, but I know deep down that it isn't what I want to do forever.

Dexter had started talking by then, saying something about the factions and then asked Astros about the contract he was going to make with Krys. She too thought about it. I wonder how unlocking others potential affects Astros. Krys looked at the catlike being, thinking over the entire situation. She had made up her mind about it but was a little frightened about the whole situation. I shouldn't think too much. Accept the contract and learn to live my new life. That was all that stayed in her mind after that. Her new life. This new world. She started thinking about her own life after that. Thinking about her journey till here.

[Pixl]

[[i assume you meant just reply under the assumption she just told me everything]]

The boy listened to the explanation, and took a second longer to come to terms with it. The world was not what he though it was. Normally, he would be cautious in accepting such a truth, but he had just experienced transformation, and his eyes were as objective as objective gets. There were no delusions there. Gavriil just stood there, transformed. And then he nodded. It was all he could do; he had to accept this reality as his own or he would get nowhere.

Suddenly he felt a wave of exhaustion. The feeling surrounding him receded back into his core and his features shrunk back to his normal size--which was still quite large. He lost all control over his legs and fell back into the bed in which he awoke. The transformation did not even last five minutes. He was close to blacking out, and could see the blue-haired girl in front of him as his eyelids shut themselves.

[[Note; he's not unconscious, just tired. Noriko could probably wake him up if she wanted]]

[Chevaleresse]

"Transformation works a bit differently for everyone. The way lots of people do it, from my understanding, is trying to sort of reach for the power within yourself, as cheesy and overused as that sounds. You have to want it really badly, particularly at first when you're not used to doing it. Your eyes probably hurt because of the infusion; like I said, everyone reacts a bit differently." Takeshi shrugged. "Your eyes are unusual, so they might end up being some sort of focus for your powers. They're affected by your personality so it's not all that farfetched."

Astros turned his head to look back at Dexter for a moment. "The only real limit I have is the amount of energy I can expend in a short period to make contracts. I must rest for several days after this night, as my energy will be depleted. I could perhaps manage one more infusion without doing serious harm to myself. Because of this, I recommend being conservative with your power usage." With that, he turned back to Krys. "I will infuse you with energy now. Be prepared." His eyes took on a glow once again, and Krys felt a strange feeling envelop her entire being.

[Yash]

Krys felt this strange feeling in her body. It started in her extremities. Her toes and fingers alternated between hot and cold and it felt like she was getting little pin pricks all over her arms. She closed her eyes as it moved inwards, towards her torso and that is when it started hurting. It was like catching a rose and being pierced by the thorns. It happened all over her body. Little pricks all along her arms and legs, crawling up her torso and neck. Not very painful, but enough to make her wince. It started feeling as if the energy was rushing into her brain. Her entire life, all her memories and emotions, flooded her being. She gritted her teeth. Then it stopped. All of a sudden everything turned back to normal. She slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see bloody marks all over her hands and arms, but there was nothing. She rubbed her arms as if she were cold and then looked around. It felt like a few minutes had passed, but it had been only a few seconds. Her head throbbed a little. "That.. Was unpleasant to say the least. Thank you Astros, for giving me your energy. I think I will try transforming now."

She thought about what Takeshi had said about transforming. For a few seconds she closed her eyes and concentrated. She thought something was happening, but when she opened her eyes there was nothing different with her. "Nothing. I guess it isn't going to be that easy", she chuckled. I'll have to really dig deep if I want to do this, she thought and remembered the weird feeling that she had felt when Astros had infused her with energy.She tried pulling it out of her. She could feel the tingling again, like her powers were manifesting when suddenly her head started throbbing again and she stopped. I need to rest for a bit I guess. I can't stress myself too much. I have powers now, I could feel them, but maybe I should build my strength first to control them.

She took another sip of water from the canteen Vixen had given her. It helped her a little, so she had some more. Wow, that is much better. I guess my body needs time to adjust. I guess this new life is going to take a while to get used to. She sank lower in the sofa and started staring out in front of her, occasionally eyeing the TV.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"You're not going to get transforming right away..." Vixen said to Krys, it wasn't nearly as cold this time. It was rather... emotionless still, but not cold. That was step up for Vixen at the very least. "I couldn't do it for at least 2 years after I got my powers. To be frank... I didn't want to believe I had them at first, and had no guidance so I am sure it too me longer than your average person." She looked down as she said this, not really making eye contact. It wasn't out of shame, or guilt. Vixen just rarely looked people in the eyes, or tried not to all the time. You could gauge a lot about people from their eyes, veritable windows into the soul. But, Vixen only dared look once. If you did it too much... the people became that much more real. It was hard to not treat them as people then, not get attached. "It helps to visualize something, to make the emotion you feel into a construct in your mind. Like, Ice." as she said this she transformed her entire left arm into Ice like she had before. It shimmered a pale blue. She then let go of the magic and her arm returned to normal. "Or perhaps Lightning." she did it again, this time her arm crackling with green electricity. "Or possibly Mist." Now it shone a bright Indigo. But then she released the magic once more. "Your powers will manifest as something different, but that is where to start looking. Concepts that describe and polarize the emotion within... to be harnessed and honed. Once you find that... Transforming will be easy to cause. You would still need to train to efficiently use that energy, but causing the transformation would be second nature."

[Shamitako]

Kindle felt herself being nudged awake, even though she couldn't remember falling asleep. She remembered sneaking out the night before, she must have been exhausted when she made it back to the hospital. The nudging must have been the nurse waking her for some kind of test or medication or whatever. She opened her eye, and was immediately met not by the cold white walls of her hospital room, but by a strange group of people she didn't recognize. She sat up quietly, she seemed to have been lain on a couch, and watched patiently as Mr. Scraggly and a cat explained what was going on.

Oh, hey, Mr. Scraggly, I remember what happened now. She thought, There was a crazy monster and he killed it and it was awesome.

Feeling somewhat safer now that she at least sort of knew who she was dealing with, she felt open to speaking. There wasn't much she had to say, but at least one item had caught her interesting during the whole explanation bit.

"Hey, Mr. Scraggly." She began, "These shard things, what do they look like? And what would happen if someone tried to say, touch one?"

[Hiss13]

Nagi turned to look to the boy she had once seen in the adjacent building while ignoring the incomplete hooker joke Bobby had made. "Dexter, correct? Since Takeshi seems to be busy attempting to awaken the other woman's power, I will give you a super brief explanation of the different factions. If he has anything else to add or correct, he can do so. Among magi, there exist three large factions. The first are the group I used to be a part of, the Protectors. In essence, they are a group who protects humanity from the magical beasts and believes that magical beasts who attempt to harm humanity should be killed at all costs. The second is the Preservers. They are a group that works to safeguard beasts and are willing to sacrifice human lives to do so if they feel it is necessary. Due to their ideologies, the Protectors and Preservers can generally come into conflict. That's where the third faction, the Peacekeepers, come in. This group generally works to prevent conflicts between the two groups from arising and are more focused, I think, on anti-personnel combat and suppression. After that there are Loners who are generally people who have yet to join a faction, Deviants like myself who are not in a main faction by choice, and some minor no name factions."

She paused for a moment and looked back at him. "If I were you, I would try and find a faction to join. It's even alright if your ideologies don't mesh too well. As a new Magus, you need a support system and the factions would probably be the best place for a new Magus to find one. This may be due to some lingering sentiment, but I would recommend that you try and join up with the Protectors. As far as I could tell, they are very willing to take in newly awakened Magi who are trying to find their legs and were a great support when I was part of them."

Edited April 15, 2015 by Hiss13

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi turned to reply to the girl, with a faint sigh of resignation toward his new nickname. "Shards look like little gemstones, or pieces of glass. Sometimes they glow. If someone touched one, it might just blow up; they're pretty volatile. If it's the right person, though, they could transfer their energy into them and make it so they could transform. Sound familiar?" He said this last bit with a hint of a knowing smile.

[Felicity]

"Sounds like Ultra Jewellry" Bobby blurted from his resting place. He didn't really know what to make of these factions. He didn't particularly care. It all sounded like pointless bureaucracy. Bobby always took the best route when it came to Ethical issues. He fucked off.

[Cyaloom]

"Perfect, thanks for the explanation." replied Dexter quickly. All of his doubts seemed to have been cleared now, but one.

He actually listened to Vixen and looked the woman transforming partially with admiration and curiosity, then heard the nickname the other girl found for Takeshi and couldn't help but find it funny. "Mr Scraggly"...

Now, he had another question to ask; not for shed light on his uncertainties, but because of his curiosity. "You..." he said pointing at the girl who answered him before. "You were in a faction, but now left it because of your own choice...? Am I allowed... to know what happened?" he whispered, then added: "I have some things to admit... This interests me even more because you were in the Protectors. Now, something I don't like to talk about happened to me some weeks ago... A Beast..." and here Dexter's voice become even more soft and sad "...killed my father, and I was the only one to see it. Now that you've told me about Protectors, I've also had the idea to join them. But you left them! Was something not right there? Maybe I could change my plans".

Edited April 17, 2015 by Cyaloom

[Hiss13]

"I'm not going to divulge details about my past." Nagi spoke in a melancholy tone. "It's a long story and frankly, I see no reason in divulging it. However, I will say I only left the Protectors for my own reasons that had nothing to do with the faction itself. If you really are wavering because of what I said, don't. There are no issues with the Protectors. Frankly, I view them a lot like heroes protecting humanity who I can no longer walk on the same path as." Nagi paused for a bit and looked down at her feet.

"I chose that gray and bloodied path on that day after all. That's why I left them. I am the one who decided to walk this path of necessary evil." She looked to Dexter and gave a smile. "Besides, I can only assume that you wish to prevent the tragedy that occurred with your father from happening. If so, then you absolutely should go to the Protectors. I just happen to want to prevent tragedies in my own way. That is all."

[Cyaloom]

"OK, sorry... but it's understandable. So, now I know that Protectors could actually be a good choice..." Dexter whispered, this way ending the conversation, as he had nothing left to say or ask. He knew all he needed to make a decision about factions, he knew more about transformation, so all he did was sitting there, watching the news on the television or looking around.

At the moment, the beast had already been defeated and it seemed like there was nothing to do, until "Mr Scraggly" alias Takeshi, or someone else, gave some instructions to the others.

[Yash]

Concepts that describe and polarize the emotion within... to be harnessed and honed. Once you find that... Transforming will be easy to cause.

Something that describes my emotions. Something I can relate with would be good. "Does it have to be something like an element? It could be an item or a person as well, couldn't it?" she asked Vixen. Even then I don't know what to think about. I don't think there is any object in my life that has any meaning any more. All I had in my life before this was my work. Tending to my flowers was the most important part of my day. I did enjoy it, taking care of the beautiful flowers. Watering them, pruning them when needed. I guess it was when I felt calm. I could forget about my past and live my life in peace. I remember when Aito-chan was in the shop and I used to sing to him. It started me singing to the flowers. I was the happiest then. I even remember the rainbow roses I made. It took me well over a week, but it was worth it. They were beautiful. Thinking of the roses, Krys could feel the tingling in her core again. She stood up as it was growing stronger. Suddenly the smell of roses was everywhere. Her hair turned red, and her clothes turned black. She felt her clothes become heavy, and as she examined herself she saw that there was red armour forming over her clothes. Before she could complete her transformation, she was exhausted and fell on to the sofa. The scent went away and the feelings stopped. Her clothes and hair turned back to normal. Her stomach grumbled a bit and she realised she was hungry. Wow, so that is what transforming feels like. I almost did it. I'll need to practice before I can perfect it. I guess not having eaten anything since lunch has taken its toll on my stamina as well. She looked at Vixen, and smiled. "I almost did it. I guess I just need to work on it for a while." She could feel the energy draining out of her. She had some more water from the canteen and sat back, trying to rest from the exhaustion.

[Shamitako]

"Yeah, that sounds familiar." Kindle mused.

So, did that make her like these people, able to use magic? Or did the shard thing just explode in her face?

"So, um, how would one find out if they did have these magical power things?" She asked, "Meaning, I think I found one of these shards."

She touched her eyepatch nervously. And what if she had? Being some kind of superhero would be cool and all, but it sounded like she'd be obligated to fight these beast things. Finding the shard had been an accident, she didn't want to risk her life for no reason. She suddenly realized how careless she had been earlier, trying to ride the beoar. It was dangerous, she could have died. She took her hand away from her eye and set in solemnly back on her lap. Life now seemed a whole lot darker.

Edited April 18, 2015 by KosherKitten

[Chevaleresse]

"Mediators and mages with enough experience and practice can tell. You do, by the way. Guessing the shard you must have found did more than blow up." Takeshi leaned back in his chair, waiting to see the reaction to his statement.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I will assume you found that answer in you thoughts, but it can be anything. The emotions attached to image of a person or object could be enough to fuel it, they need only set the spark." Vixen said to Krys. "While you might not be strong enough now... your power should grow and it should strengthen you in time. now that you have found the way to cause it, you need know no more. You must only refine that power, the raw emotion. It shall come with time, fret not." Vixen knew this well for herself, though she doubted she was the strongest one here. Her training was mostly on her own... and it was dreadfully slow as a result. However, she had been training so long she was probably much more powerful than she thought. Was it eight or nine years... that she was this way? She couldn't even remember, but the long time was enough to train to decently high power. She would probably be immensely powerful if she was picked up by a faction at this point. But, things didn't turn out that way and never would have. She wanted to be by herself... she wanted to be alone, there was less pain that way.

[Felicity]

"Fear is an excellent example of Transforming fodder!" Bobby said with a stupidly exaggerated smile and a thumbs up. He figured that giant beast roaring a him was the only reason he had transformed. Like, he had nigh shit himself when the thing opened its maw.

[Chevaleresse]

"True. Fear's a pretty good motivator for anything, though most people usually end up transforming for the first time in a bit less, you know, life-threatening situations." Takeshi let out a broad yawn and adjusted himself on the couch once more. "Well, it's been a pretty long day. Anyone got any more questions, or can we get to sleep?"

[Yash]

She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, not without something to eat. Her energy was almost gone. Another thought in her mind was the sleeping arrangements. She was a little nervous about it since it seemed a little obvious that everybody was supposed to sleep in the same room. It was something she wasn't all that comfortable with. Sleeping in the room with boys. Specially since she hadn't done it since her trip with- No, I don't need to think about that any more. I have a new life now and I will live in the present. It's dangerous enough that being stuck in the past could easily get me killed. She snapped back to the room looking at the others sitting there. She got up from the sofa and walked to one of the mattresses at the end of the room and flopped down on it. "Umm.. Dibs. This doesn't really have anything to do with anything but, do you have something to eat? I'm pretty much starving now and I guess others would be hungry too." Krys asked Takeshi.

[Chevaleresse]

"Um, yeah, there's a fridge over there." Takeshi gestured to a doorway, which lead to a small kitchen. "Come to think of it, I'm kind of hungry too. Could you grab me something?" In the cupboards and fridge, one would find pretty much what one would expect from a nineteen-year-old stocking their own shelves; junk food and cheap, easy-to-make meals.