Post by Mury on Apr 3, 2008 23:49:03 GMT -5
(( Open to all. Adieu. ))
This would be it.
Hours of thought had lead to weeks of research and preparation, feeding off months (years?) of prior experience and knowledge. Past events did little to change his mind; the things he had done before no longer had any bearing on his new decisions. It was an insult to the concept of action to say he had come to a conclusion, for he had come to several conclusions, one after the other. The Justiciar's mind was set.
5:00 A.M.
This morning of April 4th, unlike so many before it, did not greet him with a stack of shiny boxes and wrapped brooms at the foot of his bed. He was up far too early, and had no need to yawn or stretch, as he had not slept a wink. For the seventh month in a row, Muryllis had beaten dawn's twilight to rising, and did not feel the least bit tired. His mind was far too engaged to allow for a desire to sleep; come to think of it, he had not even bothered to sleep in three days.
No matter.
Within ten minutes, he was ready. Under the ambient glow of his ring, which floated lazily above his head, he sat for most of that time at his desk, thinking up a decent note to leave on his bed in case somebody came in... it occurred to him that he was almost writing a suicide note, and so he abandoned the idea and walked out of his ground-level room, the ring floating back onto his finger and dimming back to darkness.
There was nothing for him to carry, as all 'preparation' involved thought and the presence of his essential artifact; the only things which stood out against the blackness of the school's halls were his pale, white face and the emblem of the Firefox Justiciar glimmering on his lapel. Little could be seen otherwise, but there was enough moonlight streaming through the windows to guide him. Several minutes of unhurried walking soon lead him to one of the less-used entrances to the dungeons; he entered and quietly made his way down the steps.
There were no lights in these hallways, so he resorted to casting a dim light on the floor. Of course, the Ravenclaw alumnus knew where to go - he had been scoping out the perfect spot to perform this ceremony - and, soon enough, he was standing at the locked door to an unused spare classroom. Unlocking it was easy; the caretaker apparently had not bothered with anything above Alohomora level. Muryllis slipped quietly inside.
6:00 A.M.
Soon enough, the room was ready for his ceremony. It was decently large, twenty feet square, and now-lit torches dotted the walls. Any spare desks and chairs were moved to a nearby classroom- he could have levitated and bound them to the high ceiling, but he had no idea what to expect from the coming endeavor. There were no markings on the floor; no alchemical procedures were needed, as everything was purely arcane. Now, he could begin.
Muryllis sat in the middle of the room and pulled his ring off. Its shape would make no symbolic difference, so he molded it into a small, dense orb, and let it float between his hands. The first phase of his plan involved binding as much magic to the outside of the orb as possible, and so he did this; within minutes, a thin layer of translucent white energy, compressed until it became matter, began to cover the metal. Soon enough, the layer was thicker and pearly white. In a half hour's time, the energy surrounding the sphere was of the necessary width, and so he stood, pacing back while the energy-encased artifact floated a foot above the ground before him. He stretched out a hand and shot a bolt of energy at the complex.
At first, Muryllis thought he had failed; the beam engulfed the orb, but did not latch on completely until a few seconds later. Then, he grinned - perhaps a bit wickedly. Now, he could turn his channeling beam into a sort of arcane umbilical cord, opening a path directly into the trapped lump of Nephilim blood-metal. A swirling wind had begun to pick up, and the faint smell of ozone suggested electrical activity at the point of connection. The torches lining the walls blew out, but frequent flashes of light from the orb provided more than enough light. Moments later, the flashes turned into a brightly glowing ambiance with a light red tint. The wizard's grin grew wickeder as the light grew brighter, and, had he not used precautionary enchantments during setup, he surely would have gone blind twice over by now. Suddenly, the glowing and wind leveled off, and progress began.
A glimmering silver thread could be seen climbing through the beam from the orb to Muryllis's hand, the first sign that his attempts had not been in vain. Concentration began to give way to eagerness and anxiety; as he considered, only for a moment, the magnitude of what he was about to accomplish, all emotion turned to sheer ecstasy, and he focused it all onto his task: channeling the magical energy from Syrus's metallic creation into himself.
Infusing himself with the godly, undying power of the Nephilim. He looked away, only for a moment... a moment too long.
6:58 A.M.
Fantasy lead to lost focus, and thus began the undoing. The sheath of compressed energy surrounding his orb lost stability, rupturing at its point of connection with its umbilical beam. For a split second, the room was once more flooded with light so magnificent, it permanently imprinted the wizard's shadow onto the wall behind. In that very moment, monumental amounts of magical energy burst from the ruptured casing - the metal, too, which had actually been itself an advanced and potent form of stably compressed magic, vaporized and was released, and the mighty beam of raw magic was blasted violently outward, directly at Muryllis. At the moment of impact, his mind clicked and instantly reviewed several counters to the situation.
He could die. In fact, he probably would die, if he didn't do something immediately; very few humans had even the slightest chance of surviving, in any form, such a barrage.
He could attempt to absorb the magic by forming a barrier behind him which would reflect any energy - and body parts or soul fragments - back at him, combining it all into one. This approach, however, required nanoseconds which he simply didn't have, and seemed more likely to result ultimately in the first option.
Then, boldly enough, he could force the bulk of the damage onto his physical body, and... yes... excellent; excellent indeed. If a grin could be made in one third of a microsecond, he had managed it.
6:58:49 A.M.
The monstrous, red-hued cascade slammed into his body, its magical nature doing no more than stunning - and, soon enough, killing - every cell in his body. It passed through, seemingly chasing a blue wispy mist which had shot out of Muryllis's body. The bright pink light faded, and all that was left was the haze - now purple.
6:58:51 A.M.
The purple mist floated now, releasing its own faint light on the now-calm room which had only seconds ago been filled with a roaring, howling, angry red light. At the top, an extension could be seen with two pale white points of light; the spirit of Muryllis floated now, still dazed from the collision.
6:59:03 A.M.
Another extension, suggesting the form of an arm, bent forward, and the two eyes examined it. Something resembling a sigh echoed off the stone walls.
"A ghost... no, beyond ghost... "
He had achieved an ethereal state, a form which transcended ghostliness and resembled, if anything, the elemental forms of the respective gurus. That same arm stretched out farther, then curled up and back; he flexed his magic, if that made any sense, as his form began to phase and alternate erratically.
6:59:10 A.M.
Muryllis was sparking with energy as the aftereffects from the merge began to settle in. Below him, he perceived his unharmed body - cold dead now, with the telltale Avada Kedavra-esque lack of indication to a cause except for that faint, out-of-place small of ozone drifting near the ground; behind it, the black imprint of a shadow remained, while the rest of the room was a pale gray. The spirit form of Muryllis began to spasm as he fought to bring the energy that made up his being under control.
6:59:34 A.M.
The sparks were more numerous now, lighting the room up more and more, resembling the orb which had been floating in the center only minutes before. Muryllis was ecstatic; never before had he felt this way, never before had he been so alive! His mind, now part of the floating soul essence, was still attempting to comprehend the unimaginable amount of power he controlled - power he was! He had become an ethereal; an arcane elemental, a perfect being! His gaze dropped back down to the old body; it was worthless to him now, for it was flawed and incapable of supporting such power - but his mind was. His mind... was? Was it? More energy rippled through him, and more violent spasms shook his ghostly form.
6:59:51 A.M.
The room was alight again, and Muryllis's essence was shrieking in agony as the uncontainable force of energy began to rip him apart. The screams were soon drowned out by the phantasmal howling of unleashed energy, much louder than before; he was almost mislead by the sudden darkness which overcame the room, but the howling was only becoming louder, and soon, purple sparks were branching off every stone surface in the room and swirling around, the wind picking up more and more until the limp corpse was being flailed around mercilessly. He could not contain it... he could not contain it... he could not contain it...
6:59:57 A.M.
Birth.... the first sight of his parents.... his first birthday.... the birth of his younger sister.... his admission into Nostri Magi.... his mastering of silent casting.... his first broom flight around Rome.... his love of Charms.... his first crush.... his abandoning of emotion in favor of knowledge....
He roared in pain, magical energy lashing about, the winds knocking his old body straight through the bolted door and out into the hall.
His transfer to Firefox University.... his meeting Roan.... his oath to Scorpius.... his venturing into the haunted mansion.... his fights with Roan.... Roan.... his apprenticeship to Syrus.... Roan.... his meeting Unknown.... his fights with Roan.... his arming for war.... his training as a Redeemer.... his participation in the War of the Shadows....
The force of his rage was incredible; all matter, including air, was pushed out and away from him, until there was nothing between him and the walls, less even than a vacuum - non-existent nothingness; he roared all the louder, for the pain was so great...
Empty darkness.... his lapse into depression.... his unconditional love for Roan, a forbidden blossom which had no place in existence... Roan.... darkness.... enlightenment.... greed.... treachery.... Roan....
His power was so incredible! He could feel how limitless it was! But the pain.. why could he no longer contain this power? What had he done wrong?!
What had he done wrong.... why had he abandoned Roan.... was he dying.... why was he dying....
The last howl dwarfed the rest, reverberating throughout the stone walls of the room - some even shook in place enough to move half an inch.
Silence.
6:59:59 A.M.
Agony....
With a muffled crack! the air around him snapped back in, and his spiritual body dissipated.
7:00:00 A.M.
Agony....
Pain....
Love....
Bliss.
This would be it.
Hours of thought had lead to weeks of research and preparation, feeding off months (years?) of prior experience and knowledge. Past events did little to change his mind; the things he had done before no longer had any bearing on his new decisions. It was an insult to the concept of action to say he had come to a conclusion, for he had come to several conclusions, one after the other. The Justiciar's mind was set.
~
5:00 A.M.
This morning of April 4th, unlike so many before it, did not greet him with a stack of shiny boxes and wrapped brooms at the foot of his bed. He was up far too early, and had no need to yawn or stretch, as he had not slept a wink. For the seventh month in a row, Muryllis had beaten dawn's twilight to rising, and did not feel the least bit tired. His mind was far too engaged to allow for a desire to sleep; come to think of it, he had not even bothered to sleep in three days.
No matter.
Within ten minutes, he was ready. Under the ambient glow of his ring, which floated lazily above his head, he sat for most of that time at his desk, thinking up a decent note to leave on his bed in case somebody came in... it occurred to him that he was almost writing a suicide note, and so he abandoned the idea and walked out of his ground-level room, the ring floating back onto his finger and dimming back to darkness.
There was nothing for him to carry, as all 'preparation' involved thought and the presence of his essential artifact; the only things which stood out against the blackness of the school's halls were his pale, white face and the emblem of the Firefox Justiciar glimmering on his lapel. Little could be seen otherwise, but there was enough moonlight streaming through the windows to guide him. Several minutes of unhurried walking soon lead him to one of the less-used entrances to the dungeons; he entered and quietly made his way down the steps.
There were no lights in these hallways, so he resorted to casting a dim light on the floor. Of course, the Ravenclaw alumnus knew where to go - he had been scoping out the perfect spot to perform this ceremony - and, soon enough, he was standing at the locked door to an unused spare classroom. Unlocking it was easy; the caretaker apparently had not bothered with anything above Alohomora level. Muryllis slipped quietly inside.
~
6:00 A.M.
Soon enough, the room was ready for his ceremony. It was decently large, twenty feet square, and now-lit torches dotted the walls. Any spare desks and chairs were moved to a nearby classroom- he could have levitated and bound them to the high ceiling, but he had no idea what to expect from the coming endeavor. There were no markings on the floor; no alchemical procedures were needed, as everything was purely arcane. Now, he could begin.
Muryllis sat in the middle of the room and pulled his ring off. Its shape would make no symbolic difference, so he molded it into a small, dense orb, and let it float between his hands. The first phase of his plan involved binding as much magic to the outside of the orb as possible, and so he did this; within minutes, a thin layer of translucent white energy, compressed until it became matter, began to cover the metal. Soon enough, the layer was thicker and pearly white. In a half hour's time, the energy surrounding the sphere was of the necessary width, and so he stood, pacing back while the energy-encased artifact floated a foot above the ground before him. He stretched out a hand and shot a bolt of energy at the complex.
At first, Muryllis thought he had failed; the beam engulfed the orb, but did not latch on completely until a few seconds later. Then, he grinned - perhaps a bit wickedly. Now, he could turn his channeling beam into a sort of arcane umbilical cord, opening a path directly into the trapped lump of Nephilim blood-metal. A swirling wind had begun to pick up, and the faint smell of ozone suggested electrical activity at the point of connection. The torches lining the walls blew out, but frequent flashes of light from the orb provided more than enough light. Moments later, the flashes turned into a brightly glowing ambiance with a light red tint. The wizard's grin grew wickeder as the light grew brighter, and, had he not used precautionary enchantments during setup, he surely would have gone blind twice over by now. Suddenly, the glowing and wind leveled off, and progress began.
A glimmering silver thread could be seen climbing through the beam from the orb to Muryllis's hand, the first sign that his attempts had not been in vain. Concentration began to give way to eagerness and anxiety; as he considered, only for a moment, the magnitude of what he was about to accomplish, all emotion turned to sheer ecstasy, and he focused it all onto his task: channeling the magical energy from Syrus's metallic creation into himself.
Infusing himself with the godly, undying power of the Nephilim. He looked away, only for a moment... a moment too long.
~
6:58 A.M.
Fantasy lead to lost focus, and thus began the undoing. The sheath of compressed energy surrounding his orb lost stability, rupturing at its point of connection with its umbilical beam. For a split second, the room was once more flooded with light so magnificent, it permanently imprinted the wizard's shadow onto the wall behind. In that very moment, monumental amounts of magical energy burst from the ruptured casing - the metal, too, which had actually been itself an advanced and potent form of stably compressed magic, vaporized and was released, and the mighty beam of raw magic was blasted violently outward, directly at Muryllis. At the moment of impact, his mind clicked and instantly reviewed several counters to the situation.
He could die. In fact, he probably would die, if he didn't do something immediately; very few humans had even the slightest chance of surviving, in any form, such a barrage.
He could attempt to absorb the magic by forming a barrier behind him which would reflect any energy - and body parts or soul fragments - back at him, combining it all into one. This approach, however, required nanoseconds which he simply didn't have, and seemed more likely to result ultimately in the first option.
Then, boldly enough, he could force the bulk of the damage onto his physical body, and... yes... excellent; excellent indeed. If a grin could be made in one third of a microsecond, he had managed it.
6:58:49 A.M.
The monstrous, red-hued cascade slammed into his body, its magical nature doing no more than stunning - and, soon enough, killing - every cell in his body. It passed through, seemingly chasing a blue wispy mist which had shot out of Muryllis's body. The bright pink light faded, and all that was left was the haze - now purple.
6:58:51 A.M.
The purple mist floated now, releasing its own faint light on the now-calm room which had only seconds ago been filled with a roaring, howling, angry red light. At the top, an extension could be seen with two pale white points of light; the spirit of Muryllis floated now, still dazed from the collision.
6:59:03 A.M.
Another extension, suggesting the form of an arm, bent forward, and the two eyes examined it. Something resembling a sigh echoed off the stone walls.
"A ghost... no, beyond ghost... "
He had achieved an ethereal state, a form which transcended ghostliness and resembled, if anything, the elemental forms of the respective gurus. That same arm stretched out farther, then curled up and back; he flexed his magic, if that made any sense, as his form began to phase and alternate erratically.
6:59:10 A.M.
Muryllis was sparking with energy as the aftereffects from the merge began to settle in. Below him, he perceived his unharmed body - cold dead now, with the telltale Avada Kedavra-esque lack of indication to a cause except for that faint, out-of-place small of ozone drifting near the ground; behind it, the black imprint of a shadow remained, while the rest of the room was a pale gray. The spirit form of Muryllis began to spasm as he fought to bring the energy that made up his being under control.
6:59:34 A.M.
The sparks were more numerous now, lighting the room up more and more, resembling the orb which had been floating in the center only minutes before. Muryllis was ecstatic; never before had he felt this way, never before had he been so alive! His mind, now part of the floating soul essence, was still attempting to comprehend the unimaginable amount of power he controlled - power he was! He had become an ethereal; an arcane elemental, a perfect being! His gaze dropped back down to the old body; it was worthless to him now, for it was flawed and incapable of supporting such power - but his mind was. His mind... was? Was it? More energy rippled through him, and more violent spasms shook his ghostly form.
6:59:51 A.M.
The room was alight again, and Muryllis's essence was shrieking in agony as the uncontainable force of energy began to rip him apart. The screams were soon drowned out by the phantasmal howling of unleashed energy, much louder than before; he was almost mislead by the sudden darkness which overcame the room, but the howling was only becoming louder, and soon, purple sparks were branching off every stone surface in the room and swirling around, the wind picking up more and more until the limp corpse was being flailed around mercilessly. He could not contain it... he could not contain it... he could not contain it...
6:59:57 A.M.
Birth.... the first sight of his parents.... his first birthday.... the birth of his younger sister.... his admission into Nostri Magi.... his mastering of silent casting.... his first broom flight around Rome.... his love of Charms.... his first crush.... his abandoning of emotion in favor of knowledge....
He roared in pain, magical energy lashing about, the winds knocking his old body straight through the bolted door and out into the hall.
His transfer to Firefox University.... his meeting Roan.... his oath to Scorpius.... his venturing into the haunted mansion.... his fights with Roan.... Roan.... his apprenticeship to Syrus.... Roan.... his meeting Unknown.... his fights with Roan.... his arming for war.... his training as a Redeemer.... his participation in the War of the Shadows....
The force of his rage was incredible; all matter, including air, was pushed out and away from him, until there was nothing between him and the walls, less even than a vacuum - non-existent nothingness; he roared all the louder, for the pain was so great...
Empty darkness.... his lapse into depression.... his unconditional love for Roan, a forbidden blossom which had no place in existence... Roan.... darkness.... enlightenment.... greed.... treachery.... Roan....
His power was so incredible! He could feel how limitless it was! But the pain.. why could he no longer contain this power? What had he done wrong?!
What had he done wrong.... why had he abandoned Roan.... was he dying.... why was he dying....
The last howl dwarfed the rest, reverberating throughout the stone walls of the room - some even shook in place enough to move half an inch.
Silence.
6:59:59 A.M.
Agony....
With a muffled crack! the air around him snapped back in, and his spiritual body dissipated.
7:00:00 A.M.
Agony....
Pain....
Love....
Bliss.