Log: Holy Grail War

[colchismagecraft]

🧙 WHO: Caster & OPEN (with a couple of closed TLs)
⚔️️ WHAT: Caster's gone on a grief-induced rampage after learning of the death of her lover back home
🕒 WHEN: June 6th, late night
🗺️ WHERE: The Brocéliande woodland
⚠️ WARNINGS: Violence, Arson, Kidnapping, Death Threats, Magical Torture, Grief, potential Body Horror (Will add more as they come up)



So here it was...the Witch of Betrayal finally showing her 'true colours' to Avalon. After that network post, Caster readied herself for whatever would come of it- the forest fire providing an ominous backdrop.

Since she'd come to Avalon, so many had told her she was a good person- and now, she was publicly burning it all to the ground.



[ooc notes: TL prompts will be in the comments!

I don't want Caster to get killed, but I'm all for her potentially getting maimed/scarred provided we plot first. If you don't think it's IC for your character to not just murder her, send me a message so we can plot how she can remove herself from the situation/have someone else intervene before it gets that far!

She'll be using her familiar symbiosis to fight and leaning toward making the actual description of that transformation slightly body-horror-y, but if you're not comfortable with that then just give me the heads up and I'll have her already turned when the thread starts.

Darin will have his own TL for rescuing him/fighting his own familiar fusion, which I'll link here when it's up- feel free to tag one or both as you see fit!]

Comments

[colchismagecraft]

[Medea moved the hood of her cloak just a little- not too much, but just enough so he could meet her tired eyes easily.

A pact it was. With a Master at her side she could lean on or who could shield the worst, she didn't need to hold back in enacting her revenge the same way she would otherwise. She shared his anxieties though. Their agreement didn't hold the same power a traditional pact had- they would need another plan.

Once his hand dropped, she turned her attention back to her weapon. Even without most of its power, it still served it's purpose as a ritual knife.]

Yes... 'Rule Breaker', a manifestation of my nature as a betrayer.

I don't know if it can break the bond between Magus and Familiar the way it could at home, I've never tested it. I've at least been able to use it to help set up traps in magic circles throughout the outer edges of the forest- and the smoke from the fire helps conceal them.

...I also have this.

[She held out the enchanted dragon fang again, her familiar watching it closely.]

[impostorsyndrome]

I've been wondering about that. What is it?

[He can tell it does something. Here in Avalon, Kadoc's lost any skill he once had in being sensitive to magic or sussing out its nature through exposure; it's like a sense of his is gone, and he's only just beginning to be used to it. And yet he can tell just looking at that thing that it's something powerful, and important. He eyes it, and then looks back up to her face, as if the answer might be waiting for him there.]

[colchismagecraft]

It's a dragon fang- I used these to create an army of familiars to fight for me at home.

[It was that, in part, which had given Archer a clue to her identity- after all, conjuring an army from dragon's teeth was known in her family, and in her legend. But there was little need to hide that here.]

But the Traders taught me a different magic I can call upon with these as a catalyst. A fusion with my familiar.

...That should give me all the power I need.

[impostorsyndrome]

—You're gonna fuse with your familiar?

[Whoa whoa whoa, hey now, this is magic he's familiar with, and to say it fucked things up immensely . . . well, it had worked and all, but Kadoc still can't look at it quite neutrally. It's a fraught topic! Explaining the yaga is way beyond what he can get into right now as they're gearing up for battle, but he at least has to know:]

Temporarily, right? You're sure? You're not gonna go twisting your spirit origin permanently for the sake of this?

[colchismagecraft]

It shouldn't last much longer than an hour- I've seen someone else on the network do such a thing, but...

[Using a magic this dangerous for the first time during this sort of battle was reckless. She wasn't blind to that. But that level of concern was a little surprising.

Did he know something she didn't?

...She'd seen Hijikata do it. And as far as she knew, he'd returned to normal relatively unscathed. It wasn't as if she hadn't carefully studied the components and spell, either.]

My heart's already been twisted. I doubt this will fracture what's left of me any further.

[Would it twist her spirit origin- damage the very core of who she was? That was a frightening thought. One that she'd probably dwell on further if she had any thought to her own future.]

[impostorsyndrome]

You'd be surprised when it comes to manipulating the core of what makes you human. Yeah, you're a Heroic Spirit, not exactly a human anymore, but the principle's the same.

. . . Just be careful.

[If there's a way here to do this, maybe there's a way to undo it too. He doesn't know. But he's not going to talk her out of it, is he? He sighs and fusses with his hair, but then he just shrugs, arms crossing.]

[colchismagecraft]

...I know.

[She did feel a shiver of fear, but- but it was what she had to do.]

Don't get yourself killed on my behalf, alright?

[Stepping forward, Caster reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder a moment, before looking out toward Camelot.

And behind them, the fire only grew hotter as it continued to rage, the air growing stifling.]

[impostorsyndrome]

Don't worry. I've got my reasons not to die here.

[But he can feel that prickle at his back, the blaze beginning to fan up even higher. That can't be let to get out of control—he'd come here partially for that reason too, but what the hell can he do about it? It'd been smaller on video, and he'd had stupid thoughts of maybe encasing the whole area in a Light bubble to choke the air out of it. That may have been possible half an hour ago, if he could get a good vantage point, but now? He's at a loss. Hell, maybe he should borrow that dagger, fuse with his own familiar, and hope he ends up with the frost magic he knows the hydra should rightfully have.

Well, but wait a second here. He turns his head to his familiar, hanging there around his neck passively, with a surprised jerk.]

—Can you do something about the flames? We've gotta contain this before everyone dies without anyone getting to the vengeance part. It's served its purpose.

[His familiar says nothing. Kadoc's pretty sure it can't form speech anyway, even though it clearly understands it. With a soft thud, it unwinds from him and lands on the ground, and slithers towards the edge of the blazing forest.]